Return of the X-Wing

Posted on August 16, 2012 by TriciaBarr

In the Star Wars Original Trilogy, X-wing pilots were the Top Guns of space. In their orange flightsuits, they hunkered down in single-man cockpits and took on the deadliest superweapon in the galaxy. Without even knowing the characters beyond their callsigns like Red Five or Gold Leader, the audience knew these were men of distinction. Besides the famous Luke Skywalker, the movies give fans glimpses of X-wing pilots like Biggs (“Hurry, Luke! They’re coming in much faster this time.”), Porkins (”I can hold it!”), and Gold Five (“Stay on target!”). One of them, Wedge Antilles (“Look at the size of that thing.”), survived all three movies; after pulling out of the trench run in A New Hope, he made a name for himself wrapping a tow cable around an Imperial walker’s legs in The Empire Strikes Back and firing one of the critical shots to destroy the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi.

In the stories of the Expanded Universe, Wedge and Luke went on to form the elite Rogue Squadron, a unit that fought in many of the most important battles in the New Republic’s bid to finally bring down the Empire. The X-wings’ heyday was the 1990s, first with the highly popular videogames from LucasArts, then in other media. Dark Horse Comics released the X-Wing: Rogue Squadron comics in the late 1990s. The primary writer of that 35-issue series, Michael Stackpole, authored a novel of the same name in 1996. Despite the fact that the stories featured only minor movie characters like Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson, the X-Wing series earned a passionate fanbase. Aaron Allston added a new elite commando unit to the mix with his entry, Wraith Squadron. With nine successful books over a four-year span, the series came to an end when Del Rey took over the novels license from Bantam.

Two years ago at Star Wars Celebration V, a seemingly off-hand mention that another X-Wing book was in the works garnered excited whoops from the fans in attendance at the Del Rey panel. After a thirteen-year wait, stories about X-wings and their pilots are returning in force to the galaxy far, far away, with last week’s release of fan-favorite Aaron Allston’s latest book, Mercy Kill.

While most of the books released in the recent Expanded Universe required the reader to commit to a lengthy series, Mercy Kill takes a different approach, weaving a tight tale around a vibrant cast of characters. In my interview with the Allston in this month’s Star Wars Insider Issue 135, I asked the author why the X-Wing series appealed to so many fans even though it doesn’t focus on the Jedi or the iconic heroes and villains of the movies. He believes “fans appreciate the X-Wing series precisely because the Jedi and the Force play a reduced role…readers like to be reminded that characters who aren’t superheroes have an important role to play in the galaxy far, far away.” Although Allston is known for his humor, this book is packed with action, intrigue, and just enough tragedy to remind the audience how high the stakes actually are.

Over the years the X-Wing comics and books have introduced many memorable characters. They include Corran Horn, a Corellian law enforcement officer turned Jedi Master, Winter, a childhood friend of Princess Leia’s who became an intelligence agent, and Tyria Sarkin Tainer, an Antarian Ranger who earns her Jedi Knight status by thinking outside the box. Allston consistently crafts relatable female action heroines in the vein of Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor, earning him praise among Star Wars fans. In Mercy Kill, daughters of Wedge Antilles and Tyria Sarkin Tainer continue their family legacies as new recruits into Wraith Squadron, which also includes returning favorites Voort “Piggy” saBinring, a genetically altered Gamorrean, and Garik “Face” Loran, a former movie star.

For science fiction fans looking for an enjoyable action-packed read, you really have to look no further than Mercy Kill. If this book whets your appetite, the previous nine books have been released in an ebook bundle or can be purchased individually. (Starfighters of Adumar, a stand-alone, still stands as many Expanded Universe fans’ all-time favorite.)

X-wing stories and action heroines are making a comeback on the comics side, too. Dark Horse Comics announced just prior to San Diego Comic-Con that Brian Wood would be writing an upcoming new comic run, simply titled Star Wars, set shortly after the events of A New Hope. Wood noted in his Tumblr post, “Oh yeah, Leia’s an X-Wing pilot.” The io9 exclusive featured a panel depicting the Star Wars princess flying one of the iconic starfighters.

This past Saturday at GeekGirlCon, I moderated a panel on the female characters in Star Wars: “From Jedi Princess to Sith Witch.” While some time was spent on the archetypal characters like Princess Leia, the female characters who fall outside of the archetypes – like mercenaries, X-wing pilots, smugglers, intelligence operatives, and politicians – were the ones I was most excited to talk about. If you missed the coverage of GeekGirlCon this weekend the panel was tweeted live by @GeekGirlCon and there is a Twitter summary at my blog.

*****

Tricia Barr took her understanding of brand management and marketing, mixed it with a love of genre storytelling, and added a dash of social media flare to create FANgirl Blog, where she discusses Star Wars, fandom, and strong female characters. She also writes about Star Wars for Random House’s science fiction and fantasy blog Suvudu.com. Her interview with X-Wing: Mercy Kill author Aaron Allston can be found in this month’s Star Wars Insider Issue 135.

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5 Throat Rips That Will Leave You Speechless!

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Action Flick Chick

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Action movies will often feature explosions, car chases, and hand to hand combat, but not all of them delve into the brutality of having the hero rip someone’s throat out. A hero has to have a certain kind of hardness to go to that level of violence against their foes, and it’s shocking, but oh-so-awesome when they do. So, gather round, kiddos, and let’s embark on a journey full of shock, blood, and giggles by thinking back to some of the most awesome throat rips in action films.

5. Under Siege (1992)

Steven Seagal plays former SEAL, Casey Ryback who’s had enough bad guy shenanigans and decides to take matters into his own hands…literally! He also might take someone to the blood bank, if they’re lucky.

4. Road House (1989)

Dalton (Patrick Swayze) tries to be the better person by not instigating any fights with the town bullies, but they just kept pushing him. One baddie goes too far and suffers an acute case of a hole in the neck. If you want to get to the shining moment in the fight, skip to ~ 2:50.

3. Blade (1998)

Blade (Wesley Snipes) fights vampires time and time again and is always looking for new ways to exterminate them. He doesn’t bother with any fancy vampire killing weapon this time, he opts for a more hands on approach. Part of what I love about this throat tear is what Blade does afterwards. Skip to ~ 1:05 for some vampire jugular ripping fun.

2. Underworld: Awakening (2012)

This gruesome throat rip doesn’t belong to Selene (Kate Beckinsale) as most would think, but to her daughter Eve (India Eisley). See it at ~4:25.

1. Rambo [(2008) the fourth one]

This one is my favorite blend of kick ass hero taking down a despicable baddie about to do horrible things. RAMBOOOOO!

Honorary mention goes to television show Game of Thrones. It’s not very often you see this kind of gore on a TV show, but Khal Drogo doesn’t care. When a person threatens him, he has to teach them to hold their tongue!

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!

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Avi Lerner Talks Possible Expendables 3 Cast!

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Action Flick Chick

Holy space balls! The Expendables 2 will hit theaters this weekend, and producer Avi Lerner is already talking about who will show up in Expendables 3. In an interview by Total Film, Lerner discusses who’s in the works for another film: “We’ve approached Clint Eastwood to be one of the guys, we’ve got a character in mind for him. We’re talking to Harrison Ford. [And we want] Wesley Snipes when he comes back from prison. I’ll give you one more name, we’ve got Nicolas Cage to play [one of the characters]. And we’re going to bring Mickey Rourke back, if he won’t be too crazy. I like Mickey. And of course, all the existing stars [will return]”

I’ll say it again: holy space balls! How amazing would it be if they could really pull in all of those legendary men? Of course, just because they are approaching some of these guys doesn’t mean we’ll see them in the third installment, but it does mean that there’s a chance.  Sounds like Nicolas Cage has already agreed to the film, but that’s no surprise seeing as how he doesn’t turn down anything. Now they just need to add a few action chicks and we’ll be all set. This would be the third installment, after all, it’s time to add some kick ass women to the boys club…or create a separate female Expendables.

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!

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Falling Skies Season 2 Episode 9 Review!

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Action Flick Chick

“The Price of Greatness” is the next to last episode of season 2 of Falling Skies. It ramps up the tension and the story for what will hopefully be an explosive finale. The 2nd Mass. has reached the safe haven they’ve been searching for the whole season, but is it everything they thought it would be? Just like a lot of things in life, no, no it’s not.

Here’s what happened in a nutshell:

The 2nd Mass receive a standing ovation as they enter Charleston’s underground bunker, but the tides quickly turn and the 2nd Mass. discover this underground oasis isn’t the haven they thought it’d be.

Annnnd, John Locke shows up (Terry O’Quinn from Lost)!! I don’t care what his character’s name is, Terry O’Quinn will always be John Locke. Period. Locke is Charleston’s civilian leader, author, historian, and coincidentally an old friend of Tom’s. Tom tells him about the skitter uprising, and how this is their opportunity to strike back against the aliens, but Locke tells him to shut his mouth and do nothing.

Captain Weaver reunites with his daughter. She says she and Diego (her boyfriend) were separated on their way to Charleston, and he never made the rendezvous point. They could still be out there and she wants to go look for them, but Locke won’t even entertain the idea. I’m sensing a theme here with good old Locke boy.

The 2nd Mass are disarmed and housed separately against their wishes. Dr. Glass shows her tougher side by putting a fellow doctor in his place when he tries to dump his work load on her, and Matt punches out a kid for bad mouthing the 2nd Mass. Woo! Little Mattie’s growing up.

Pope and the Berserkers go to target practice and try to swipe some weapons. Maggie tries to stop them until the Charleston military pull guns on all of them. One of the Berserkers moves a little and the army dudes shoot him in the shoulder and take the rest of the group into custody. Tom complains to Locke, Locke says too bad, we do nothing. He can’t risk looking weak in front of the civilians or he’ll lose control of the situation.  He’s trying to keep them under Locke and key! BAM!

Hal tries to tell Maggie he doesn’t care about her past. And what does she do? She gets angry saying that he should have a problem with it. She says that he should have said she’s the most terrible person for having a kid in prison, and she can’t deal with someone who’s okay with it. What the f*** writers! Hal comes back with “I don’t know that Maggie, you’re not her anymore, this is our chance to start over.” And ultimately they reconcile.

A de-harnessed boy shows up with a message for Tom from Red Eye. Red Eye wants to meet up, but Locke puts the boy in lock down, saying that Charleston needs to lay low and do nothing so they won’t get noticed. He then decides to put all of the 2nd Mass in lock down until they can be trusted to behave. The General of Charleston finally stands up to Locke and places him under arrest, letting the 2nd Mass go to plan a meeting with old Red Eye.

Likes:

  • Dr. Glass actually getting to do something by standing up to that doctor. It still wasn’t very much, but thus far she hasn’t really had a role in Falling Skies except to miraculously heal people.
  • The 2nd Mass. rebellion. They aren’t drones to be bossed around, Locke!
  • Pope not siding with Locke on trying to take down Tom. If anyone was going to torment Tom, it will be Pope and only Pope.
  • Locke! Woo!

 

Dislikes:

  • The whole Maggie’s got a secret past is stupid and annoying. It’s done. We know about it, now please move on because I like the tough soldier Maggie, not mopey “I’m not good enough” Maggie.

 

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!

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Poster and Trailer Released for Red Dawn (2012) Remake!

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Action Flick Chick

The poster and trailer for Red Dawn (2012) has been released! This is one remake I’m not too torn up about because while the original has it’s selling points, I have no attachment to the film. Even though I’d like to see Hollywood think outside of the remake box, this film packs some great acting chops with stars Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Josh Peck, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. In it, a group of teens find themselves fighting to save their town from an invasion by North Korea.

Wolverines! The Wolverines will claw their way into theaters November 21, 2012.

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!

 

 

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Coming Attraction: Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (2012)!

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Action Flick Chick

Forget Paranormal Activity 4, this Halloween I’m going to see Silent Hill: Revelation 3D!  This sequel to 2006’s Silent Hill sees the return of a few familiar faces, as well as newcomer Heather, star of the third Silent Hill game. While the first movie scored high marks on visuals and presentation, it didn’t exactly wow people with its story or characters, so let’s see if the sequel can atone for its past. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D reveals itself on October 26, 2012.

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!

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Falling Skies Season 2 Episode 8 Review!

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Action Flick Chick

Season 2 of TNT’s Falling Skies is gearing up for the end with a very non-exciting, talking-filled, we-don’t-have-to-get-anything-accomplished-because-the-season-finale-is-around-the-corner type of episode entitled “Death March.” The entire episode follows the 2nd Mass. as they travel to Charleston, a journey in which no one dies (at least no character with a name) despite the morbid name. With only two episodes left in the season we can only hope that things will pick up from here.

Here’s what happens in a nutshell:

Matt writes out a will in case he dies. What kind of important crap does a little KID in the middle of an APOCALYPSE have to leave behind? It’s not like he’s even got his normal kid stuff, like Pokemon cards. Dudes’ got nothing!

Maggie, Hal, and Pope go on their own to scout things while the 2nd Mass. drive to Charleston. Maggie tells Hal that she doesn’t think he could kill Pope because he doesn’t have enough dark in him, and he takes offense to it. You’re upset that a girl thinks you’re not evil? I think you need to rethink that, Hal. Their truck breaks down, and while Hal is away looking for supplies, Pope asks Maggie, “What’s Hal going to do when he finds out exactly who and what you are?” Oooooh, intrigue. Pope tells her she might want to tell Hal the truth if she really cares about him. So after they get the truck fixed, she tells Hal her awful past: after she got out of the hospital she hooked up with a “bad” guy, broke into some houses, got caught and pregnant, and ended up in a women’s correctional facility. She had the child in jail where they immediately took him away. That’s it. That’s her big bad story. That kind of crap doesn’t hold water when there’s freaking aliens running around, folks! Hal says he needs time to think when someone stops their truck in the road.

Meanwhile, a harnessed kid gets hit by one of the 2nd Mass.’ cars en route to Charleston. Even though she was hit by a high speeding car, the child is fine, but the harness is damaged. She makes friends with Matt and explains how all the harnessed kids are “siblings.” Then one of her “siblings,” Tyler, jumps on the side of the bus. The girl says she has to go with him, pushes Matt and Dr. Glass down and runs into the woods. This all felt very random, and hopefully pays off later.

After spending many episodes with the mission of getting to Charleston, they finally arrive! Except… Charleston’s main bridge is destroyed, along with the city itself. They mourn over their whole season’s mission being a waste of time. Then Captain Weaver gives an inspiring speech about how they should stick together and MAKE a place to live rather than search for one. Then army men appear from the bushes and say looks can be deceiving and that Charleston exists. Underground maybe? Hal and the rest are already there and Lourdes mourns over Jamil some more.

Likes:

  • Crouching Hal, Hidden Charleston.

 

Dislikes:

  • Boring, too much talking.
  • Very random harnessed kid scene. Sure, that information is probably important for later, but it could have been introduced more skillfully.
  • Hal needing “time to think.” Maggie’s reveal is a flimsy excuse to keep them apart.
  • Maggie’s lame-ass “troubled past.” Boo hoo, she should’ve been on Maury. This show has bigger fish to fry than one girl’s jail-baby.
  • Not a single alien in this episode.

 

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!

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Total Recall (2012): Get Your Ass to a Different Movie!

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Action Flick Chick

The original Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, may not have top notch acting, top notch story, or revolutionary visuals, but everything it does have- unique setting, gloriously cheesy acting, mutants- gives it lots of character, thusly becoming a well loved classic action film. The remake has top notch visuals, good actors, and fantastic action yet lacks anything unique enough to make me give a damn about it. Total Recall (2012) adds +1 to the pile of Hollywood’s needless remakes.

While everything that made the original film fun and different was stripped away to produce another empty, money-sucking Hollywood vessel, at least the film makers didn’t just create a scene for scene remake. The story lines differed enough to…well, be different, but certainly not better. In Total Recall (2012)­­ Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) searches for his identity after discovering his memory has been wiped and his “wife” (Kate Beckinsale) tries to kill him. It takes place in the future, but stays on Earth rather than getting anyone’s ass to Mars.

Beckinsale and Jessica Biel were great in their action roles. They each pulled off some tough fight sequences, with Beckinsale mostly going up against Farrell in some knock down drag out brawls. The action was frequent and large scale, but I didn’t care about any of it. Farrell did a nice job in his role, but he brought nothing unique or especially likable to the character, though, to be fair, he wasn’t given an interesting character to work with. Oh and the presence of the triple-breasted girl felt forced and out of place.

Start the reactor, Kuato. I grow tired of these remakes.

Time Until Action: ~ 1 minute

Action Rating:  4 Boobs on a Hooker, out of 5. (Remember, this is the ACTION rating, not how much I liked the film. Total Recall had some great action, but the film overall gets a thumbs down.)

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!

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