Author: Alex Diaz-Granados
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Book Review: ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Adaptation (Marvel Comics)
On June 18, 2019, Marvel Comics published the trade paperback edition of Solo; A Star Wars Story, which collected issues 1-7 of writer Robbie Thompson and artist Will Sliney’s adaptation of director Ron Howard’s 2018 film about the early adventures of Han Solo, Chewbacca the Wookiee, and their first caper as smugglers in the early…
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Music Album Review: ‘Superman: The Movie – 40th Anniversary Remastered Edition’
In December of 1978, Warner Bros. Records released Superman: The Movie – Music from the Original Soundtrack, an album produced by the man who composed and conducted the score, John Williams. Warner released the album in three formats, each one slightly different from the other. The vinyl LP version consisted of two 33 rpm records…
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Book Review: ‘Star Wars: The Original Topps Trading Card Series – Volume One’
If you are old enough to remember when Star Wars hit the pop culture scene in May of 1977, you probably recall that in those last years before videocassette recorders became affordable enough for the average American consumer, there really weren’t many means for fans to “take the movie home” until 20th Century Fox saw…
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Book Review: ‘Wacky Packages New New New’
Wacky Packages. If you were a kid growing up in the early to mid-1970s, you probably remember Topps’s Wacky Packages stickers, which were parodies of American consumer products and their packaging (hence the name “Wacky Packages”). More than likely, if you were around 10 years old in 1973 when Topps – known for its Bazooka…
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Book Review: ‘William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back: Star Wars Part the Fifth’
I would as eagerly kiss a Wookiee’s lips. – Leia Organa, William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back: Star Wars Part the Fifth, Act I, Scene 1 On March 18, 2014, Philadelphia-based Quirk Books (home of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) published William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back, Star Wars Part the Fifth. Written…
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The Force is with…my ‘Star Wars’ Blu-ray box sets
A long time ago (well, almost nine years ago) in a country not too far away, 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) released the six existing films of the Star Wars saga in the high-definition (HD) Blu-ray disc (BD) format for the first time in several iterations of box sets. The centerpiece of the…
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My Adventures in Screenwriting: ‘A Simple Ad’
On May 2, 2019, New York City-based actor-director Juan Carlos Hernandez uploaded a short film titled A Simple Ad to the online video-sharing platform YouTube. Produced by his wife, actress-producer-editor Adria K. Woomer-Hernandez for their indie film company Popcorn Sky Productions, A Simple Ad is a brief but poignant story about loss, grief, and the…
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I miss my mom, but….
In the early hours of Sunday, July 19, 2015, my 86-year-old mother, Beatriz Diaz-Granados, died of complications from dementia, heart failure, and the effects of a five-year-long confinement to a hospital-type bed in what used to be our guest bedroom in our small Miami-area townhouse. Since then, my life has undergone a series of unforeseen…
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Book Review: ‘William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope’
The Force. The Force doth give a Jedi all his pow’r, And ‘tis a field of energy that doth Surround and bind all things Together, here within our galaxy. – Obi-Wan Kenobi, William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, Verily A New Hope, Act II, Scene 2 On July 2, 2013, Philadelphia-based Quirk Books published Ian Doescher’s William…
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Blu-ray Set Review: ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Limited Edition Collectible Steelbook’
On March 31, Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) and Lucasfilm Ltd. released the Limited Edition Collectible Steelbook three-disc set of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker exclusively through Best Buy. This bundle presents director J.J. Abrams’ 2019 film – the conclusion of both the Sequel Trilogy and the nine-film Skywalker Saga – in two Blu-ray…
