Movies:
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
With the surprise success of the first film it wasn't hard to imagine a second movie would be made. But how could it be done? Well, somehow the filmmakers were able to pull it off, and with the introduction of both Miles "Tails" Prower and Knuckles the Echidna the movie was made richer, and while the human characters were relegated to the sidelines somewhat, that was okay because with the two fan-favorites added in, this allowed Sonic's story to be expanded more, and of course, Jim Carrey as Robotnik is nothing short of amazing.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Like Joshua said in his own post, this movie was going to be an emotional one with Chadwick Boseman's passing. And the filmmakers, cast and crew all felt it and were able to channel that grief into their work, and as the audience you felt it. The introduction of Namor only adds to the experience and credit to Tenoch Huerta to delivering a performance that made both Namor sympathetic yet also menacing.
Shows:
Obi-Wan Kenobi
This was a show that I had heard bits and pieces about for years but nothing really confirmed, until last year. And while the end result may not have been everyone's cup of tea, it was still a good series. It answered a lot of questions about what Obi-Wan was up to and where he was mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Ewan Mcgregor nailed it with his performance here, as did Hayden Christensen, who returns as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Both portrayed characters that are broken in ways beyond what they could imagine, but in the end they manage to get to the point where they become the classic characters that we recognize in the classic trilogy.
Star Wars: Tales of The Jedi
Star Wars animation continues with this new series headed by Dave Filoni. When I first heard of this I wasn't sure what to make of it but given that Filoni was involved I gave it a shot and having already seen Clone Wars and Rebels I should know better - when Dave is working on a project and is able to do what he does best, he delivers something really special. With these short episodes we are able to get to see more of Ahsoka and Dooku's respective backstories, how it reflects who they ultimately became, and how the people around them and their experiences helped mold them to that realization. In addition we also see once again how the Jedi were blind to what they were doing, and that lack of perspective sowed the seeds for their own downfall despite them believing they were doing what Jedis were supposed to do.
Star Wars: Andor
Like with everyone else, I had no idea what to expect with this series, unlike Kenobi or Boba Fett. Turns out that was a good thing because while we knew Cassian Andor from Rogue One, we didn't know much about his backstory. Well thanks to this series we know more, and while it started slow, the show picked up within a few episodes and audiences loved it as time went by. And the best part is that Season 1 is only the beginning according to creator Tony Gilroy. So it's going to be more interesting seeing where the characters go and how it leads to Rogue One.
Books:
Boom! Studios Mighty Morphin (Vol.1-5)
Ever since "Boom! Studios" got the license to Power Rangers it has been one incredible surprise after another, with "Shattered Grid" being the epic event that truly lived up to the hype. But even with that the story is getting started, and with me I've been following the "Mighty Morphin" series since it started, with Vol. 5 being the most recent trade I've gotten.
(Yeah, I tend to wait until the trades come out to read them all. I'm weird that way. 😅)
Without giving too many spoilers, not only do we get the identity of the new Green Ranger, but we get more information on Zordon's backstory and another Eltarian who is also connected to our present-day Rangers as well as Zordon* himself.
*Speaking of which - Zordon definitely learns a lesson or two.
The Earth Saga: Minus Epsilon, Defiant Order, Horizons
There have been many books that talk about the possibility of first contact, but usually it's either in the far-off future or it's usually in a more intimate setting where one is a human and the other is an alien. However, in the Earth Saga books audiences are treated to a space opera-type story that happens here on Earth in the modern times. Aside from grammatical/punctuation errors this is a good, well-written story that showcases what would happen if Earth had first contact, and in this case an alien ship that crash-lands on our planet. When Special Forces Officer Joe Hunt and a group from SETI end up making contact with the stranded aliens the encounter is a bit...rocky at first, but then as Hunt is made Technical Advisor and as he and his team get to know the visitors - Communications Officer Ranix cheif among them - Joe finds he has to not only help keep Earth from another nuclear war, but keep relations between the aliens and his home planet intact - something that will be needed once it's revealed that the aliens' longtime enemy The Coalition may have intercepted a transmission they sent to their friends and family in The Alliance.
There's plenty more as the story goes, but I've only gotten through the first two books as of this post and I'm currently in the middle of Book 3. But with everything i've read, it is an incredible story, a good combination of down-to-earth, contemporary moments with fantastical space-opera moments. Author Donald B McFarlane really did a good job of showing just how we would react if aliens arrived on Earth, and i'm looking forward to the rest of the saga.
in all, it has been a pretty good year for my reading list, and I'm glad that some of my favorite titles have made their way here. What could be next reading-wise for me next year? Well, guess we'll find out.
Until then, stay tuned everyone! 😀🥳