Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Today was a good day.  I went for a long morning walk with my daughter which knackered her out during it, and me afterwards.  The sad thing is that I have gone on this walk and more in the past with no issues but this was not the case today.  It was great to chat and bond again and I think she liked it as well.

When it came to my son, we bonded while watching Clone Wars.  We are now on the final series, which excites him.  I am going to have to take him to Tub and Cone again, but that means placing an order which means eating earlier.  Dinner today was another amazing meal made by my wife before she had a Zoom school reunion.

And of course, the kids and I watched Rogue One.  Well, my son watched bits of it while playing Animal Crossing.  I do love this film, almost as much as the holy trilogy of the original films.  Well made, it such a shame that episodes seven, eight and nine fall so short of matching up to it.  Probably the darkest of the films, it shows the grey that is absent in most of the other films.  Of course, there is the issue at the end of the film about how The Empire were unable to obtain the location of the rebel base from the prisoners that they would have captured or the data banks of the ship they boarded.  But other than that, no major plot issues.

Star Wars next or as some call it, A New Hope.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Today was a quiet one.  My wife and I had a romantic morning drive to the shops.  Being in the butchers was interesting as I was sent in as it was quite cold (the weather today has decided it is a bank holiday weekend).  I had to order food while on the mobile phone and did not get too much wrong.  I had spent a lot of the morning before that bonding with my son while watching Clone Wars.  We are on series six, which is a lot darker compared to the first series.  When it comes to the Star Wars sage, it shows how the Jedi become a lot more grey compared to the shining white they claim to be.

After lunch, while my wife got some rest after a stressful week, the kids and I watched Solo.  It is a shame that there is to be no sequel as I rate this film as being either my fourth or fifth favourite Star Wars film.  It was a great way of tying up the issues with the Kessel Run from Star Wars itself as well as how Han got the Millennium Falcon.  As a film, like with how I remember Rogue One, when it comes to the plot and a lack of glaring holes, it is much better compared to episodes seven to nine.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

We have finished watching Revenge of the Sith.  Which is an interesting take on democracy and what happens when it is bent to deal with a crisis.

Before I get onto that, the kids are well.  My amazing son has started back at school.  His work ethic at home has been lacking and he has been keen to return to school.  Since testing for COVID19 has been available I have been keen for his return as well as if he catches something, it may not mean 14 days in isolation.  But such a decision is a risky one as COVID numbers are going to rise again.

Lock-down is being eased because there is capacity in ITU, not because it is safe.

My daughter has had exam week and has been doing this while at home.  Her iPhone is still AWOL and because of this, she has not been out for the walks she normally goes on.  And she now may not be the tallest child.  It is hard to tell because she will not compare height any more.  But it is close.

Anyway, people across the world are shocked at the actions of a minority of the police in the USA.  Like in all nations, racism exists in the USA.  And this probably was a contributing factor in the death of George Floyd.  People can argue either way if it was or not, but the actions of the police in suffocating him are inexcusable.  Just like the death of Ahmaud Arbery is inexcusable, as was the refusal of the authorities to take action over the way an unarmed jogger was killed until a video of this death was shared on the internet.  Amber Ruffin is one of many black people who have talked about how they have been treated.  But what is surprising is how a minority of the police have been acting towards peaceful protesters.  It is almost like they are obeying instructions to dominate the streets.  Trump has stated that he thinks that armed forces should be involved, something that those forces may disagree on.

Today's speech from President Palpatine.

(Attn: @pattonoswalt ) pic.twitter.com/HWpDFnqgaZ

— Andy Harris (@THEAndyHarris) June 2, 2020

The question is if Trump will respect democracy or decide that it must respect him.

Cycling Sunday with my son

I got my son out on his bike!

Went for a three mile walk in the morning, did some housework (not enough though) and took my son out on his bike.  Just to his school and back, but that is better than doing nothing.

Love, Simon

Today, our family film was Love, Simon.

Before I get onto that, a quick summary of our day.  May daughter has lost her phone.  Out of charge, we think it is somewhere in the house,  searching her room (without her permission when she was in the shower) was an interesting experience and one which had to be witnessed with our own eyes.  And while this would mean grounding her normally, thanks to the new normal, that is not possible.  And with her phone missing, is a phone ban going to work?

My wife and I did go for a drive for food.  A trip to the butchers was curtailed when spew saw the queue and instead, we had our hot date at the bakers.  Social distancing in queues now is the accepted norm, though we have not been to places where it is not able to be put in place as easily.

Our lawn was mowed today, and I tried to get the kids to help,  my son did not want to as ‘it is the half term holiday’ which was an excuse I could not comprehend.  As discussed earlier this month, him and exercise are terms that rarely meet.  He did come out in the end, but was not able to lift his end while his sister could.  And later in the day I went for a long walk with her.

Love, Simon is a good film.  I imagine that in times to come, this may have the importance to this generation as films like The Breakfast Club have to mine.  Out simply, it is about Simon, who is gay and his experiences in an American High School.

Needless to say, this film will not appeal to all, but it touched our hearts and taught me things which I did not know before.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

We watched the beginning of this film last night, but has to stop once the kids started to bicker.  But after we all had been working today, we watched the rest of the film.

The day started with a courier run to my work.  My wife had wanted to know how to use a blood glucose machine so I brought one home from work last night and she saw how to use it.  This morning I returned it to work, taking the bike which was quite tiring.  After that it, it was work which was quite busy. After that, I went for a walk with my daughter and after dinner, we sat down to watch the rest of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

All I remember of the original is one of the leads, so I cannot compare this to the original series.  But it was an enjoyable film.  While predictable in places, it had memorable characters though the down side is that the villains were two dimensional and the film reverted to type on occasions.  It was good enough that I look forwards to any sequel that is made.

Ready Player One

I liked it.  Predictable and with a few errors. (People using VR headsets in public will get injured and if everyone on the planet takes part in a game, why are all the best players in the same city that the baddies are located?) But the film flowed well and the story was well told.  I do like the settings where the story too place. Though I would like to know how high rise trailers are maintained.  I love the reference to games of my past, though I never got to play them, and I love the films of old.  (I may watch The Shining again and get round to watching the Chucky films.)  I had heard about it, and had no interest to watch it before.  My daughter however recommended it on Sunday which is why we watched it.  My son had half watched it then but took more of an interest when we watched the second half last night.  Neither my daughter or I could be bothered to fill him in on the bits he decided to miss though!

And I am still knackered today.  I walked to work and back yesterday and my wife had a genius idea to get my son out.  He had been quite laid back, still wearing his pyjamas when I got back.  I did offer to walk with the kids, and while my son said no at first, the inspired idea of my wife came into play, which was to order some dessert which we collected.  While both the kids came with me, my daughter went home after the two started to bicker.  Walking with one child was fine, though two would be better...