Hello readers, thank you for all the support you’ve provided throughout the year, whether it’s in the form of messages, likes, shares, or simply reading my blog posts.
2025 had one thousand more views than 2024. I hope it will continue on an upward trajectory in 2026.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Well, I finally got around to seeing this. This lapse would be very difficult to explain to my ten-year-old self. But was it worth the wait?
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (also known as Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker) is a 2019 American epic space opera film produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. Produced by Lucasfilm and Bad Robot, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the third installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017), and the final episode of the nine-part “Skywalker saga.” And what a saga, it has proven to be.
Rey continues her journey with determination, compassion, and the kind of emotional resilience that would make any Jedi Master weep proudly into their robe. Her arc is full of self-discovery and inner conflict, and the movie treats her struggle with genuine sincerity. She’s not just swinging a lightsaber—she’s wrestling with identity, legacy, and the age-old Star Wars question: “What if my family history is… a lot?”
And in fairness, her family history is complicated to say the least. You see, it turns out Palpatine is her grandpa. These Jedi and Sith seem to be all related.
Meanwhile, Kylo Ren remains one of the most entertainingly conflicted characters in the entire franchise. Adam Driver commits so hard to every glare, whisper, and emotional breakdown that you half-expect the Force to file a noise complaint. His journey is dramatic, intense, and surprisingly touching—proof that no one does “angsty space villain with great hair” quite like him.
The one thing that doesn’t come off is the kiss between Rey and Kylo Ren or Ben at that stage. It comes out of nowhere, and to be frank, brothers and sisters have had more sexual chemistry in this saga.
The supporting cast brings warmth, humor, and that classic Star Wars camaraderie. Finn is earnest and heroic, Poe is charmingly reckless, and their banter gives the movie a breezy, adventurous feel—even when the fate of the galaxy is, once again, hanging by a very thin thread. New characters slide in with confidence, while familiar faces return like old friends who immediately start helping you move furniture without being asked.
Visually, the movie is a feast. Lightsabers glow dramatically, starships collide with operatic flair, and the Force has never looked so… forceful. Every frame feels designed to be replayed, paused, and pointed at while someone says, “Okay, but that part was actually really cool.”
And yes—this film is emotional. It wears its heart on its Jedi sleeve. Themes of hope, legacy, redemption, and chosen family run through the story like the Force itself. It reminds us that the past matters, but it doesn’t have to define us—a message that feels very Star Wars and very earned.
This is a film for all ages that leaves you feeling all warm inside.
Four stars out of five from me. My ten-year-old self gives it a million.
Believe it or not, it turns out that I missed some of the Star Wars films. And, perhaps you have too. They don’t appear on anything, except Disney, so they are easily missed. At least, I had two good films to watch. Always look on the bright side of life, eh.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the cinematic equivalent of showing up to a family reunion and discovering that Uncle Luke has undergone a profound philosophical transformation, dyed his hair gray, and now has very strong opinions about the Jedi Order. And honestly? It’s not the best part of the film. Uncle Luke is a bit too entrenched for my liking.
Visually, the movie is absolutely gorgeous. Every frame looks like it was designed to be someone’s desktop background. The red-and-white battlefield on Crait is striking, the space battles are inventive, and the quieter moments are given room to breathe. From an Irish perspective, the scenes on Skellig Michael are fantastic. We’re going to have yanks visiting these shores for many years to come.
Rey and Kylo Ren are the central characters of this film, and it is clear that this is their trilogy. Good versus evil, the light versus the darkness. Except, there is a bit of grey in both of them, leaving you unsure what way things are going to end up.
Most of all, this film is great entertainment for all ages. I give it four stars out of five.
Have you seen it? Let me know what you think.
Well, readers, I watched this gem on Sky earlier. The first few minutes revisit what had been a best-selling book, later turned into a starring Gillian Anderson.
The show lulls you into a tranquil daze. There are drone shots of cliffs that look like they’ve been photoshopped by the concept of serenity itself. Gentle strings hum. Someone says something earnest about “healing.” You exhale. It’s about a 650-mile walk you can do in the South West of England as told by Raynor Winn. She had just lost her house, and her husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The walk was transformative.
And then—record scratch—a talking head appears to ask a question so sharp it could open tinned beans: “But did that actually happen?” From there, The Salt Path Scandal becomes less a journey and more a brisk hike through footnotes.
The documentary’s true star is its tone, which can best be described as polite British skepticism wearing a fleece. Nobody yells. Nobody lunges. Instead, the filmmakers deploy the deadliest weapon in the national arsenal: calm, persistent follow-ups. “Just to clarify,” a narrator says, with the menace of a librarian about to revoke privileges. Every “just to clarify” lands like a small pebble in your shoe—annoying, impossible to ignore, and increasingly painful over time.
You see, the book claimed to be a memoir. Like, it was supposed to be true. But once, a journalist, Hadjimatheou, probed a bit. Well, there were reasons to be skeptical.
Structurally, the series is a masterclass in pacing. Each episode introduces a claim, lets it bask in sunlight, then quietly rotates it to reveal a price tag, a date discrepancy, or a witness who remembers things… differently. It’s less gotcha journalism and more hmm, interesting journalism,
By the finale, you’re left amused, mildly scandalized, and deeply suspicious of any memoir. The truth is out there somewhere.
It gets four stars out of five from me.
Have you seen it? Let me know what you think.
Rosemary’s proves to be everything he hoped for. It is crowded, but not so much that he can’t move around in his wheelchair. The latest music from Earth, a strange electric form, is playing. Strobe lighting is going back and forth. Now, what to order? It had been some time since his last one.
A gender neutral bartender, with bright purple hair and a blue latex suit, approached. “What can I get you, sir?
“Any recommendations?”
“Well, my favorite is the Lunar Dicer. How about that?
Derek smiled. “Yeah, let’s give it a go.” He has no idea what’s in it. But that’s what he wants today, a change in the drudgery of his day-to-day, that seems to have gone on forever.
A moment later, the drink is beside him and within reach of his mouth with a straw. He takes a sip as he watches scantily clad women dance in the distance. The taste is strong, like that of cognac.
After another few sips, he starts to move to the music.
“Eh, you have some nice moves there, you should bring your chair out onto the dancefloor!”
It takes a second over the din of the music for Derek to realize that the woman at the next table was talking to him.
Derek spends hours more going from moon to moon after that. A siren goes off for a few seconds. It’s a warning that the fair is coming to a close.
Damn, I haven’t even seen Jupiter itself yet!
He powers over to the huge planet. There are no human settlements in its atmosphere to admire. Not yet, anyway, plans have been drawn up. He concentrates on its great red spot, a giant perpetual storm, and the differing colors of its clouds.
Feeling a pang of sadness, he turns around to look at the crowd around. Everyone else is either with their partner or with friends.
He shakes his head. Thinking like that will get him nowhere. Yes, it would be nice to have a girlfriend to share days such as these, but he needs to be realistic. The closest thing he had to one was Maeve, and he’d probably never actually meet her.
It had been a good day. That is what he needed to concentrate on.
Now, for the final part of his plan. A nice pint of ale in Rosemary’s. He had never been there before, but it looked like an interesting place to go, and most importantly, it was close by.
Derek marvels at the display of the base. The miniature buildings on the moon have all been made to the exact specifications. It even shows little people going back and forth between them, carrying out routine maintenance and other functions. He is most interested in the spaceport. This is where human exploration and colonization would expand to Saturn and beyond. Then there is the Le Poitre telescope that scans for habitable new worlds in the galaxy. He could have spent the whole day absorbed in that base, but there was so much more to see at the exhibition.
He looks up to see which moon he will look at next. The woman with the tattoo that had been on the train is standing there looking at him, but disappears into a crowd passing by.
Derek thinks little of it. Due to medical advances, there are very few people in wheelchairs. Even less on the moon. The odd time, Derek would find himself followed by someone enamored by his chair. Life is too short for him to worry about it.
He powers his chair over to the volcanic moon lo and watches intently as lava oozes over the surface. The realism is beyond his expectations.
Hi everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the festive spirit. Personally, I love this time of year and having some time off. It’s great to catch up with people, also.
I like giving these updates every six months or so on all my projects. Occasionally, these posts prove really popular. Other times, I’d be lucky if anyone apart from myself reads it at all. Such is life, I guess. First, an update on my longer-term projects.
Wheelchair Wars
This has now been fully critiqued. I am about to employ a successful author to read through it to see how it could be improved. I’m aiming for the stars.
Romance Short Stories
Critiqued, but I need to work through the suggestions and rewrite as appropriate. Hopefully, this will be significantly improved over the holidays
Pegasus
The first draft is complete; the next needs to go through the critique process.
Distant Love
First draft being written.
The blog itself is going quite well. Last year, it received 1,746 views. It’s looking like this year will be more like 2,746. Still, quite a way to go to become profitable, but moving in the right direction.
I have 2,700 followers on Bluesky. Hoping to get that up to the 5k range by next year.
Plenty of things planned for next year, and hopefully, see you there!
Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hawke in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and he’s back with a bang. This dropped on Sky only yesterday, and I was immediately psyched up to watch it. You know what you are going to get – great action scenes.
From Wikipedia:
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a 2025 American action spy film directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen.[7][8] It is the direct sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023) and the eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. The film stars Tom Cruise in his final portrayal of Ethan Hunt,[9] alongside an ensemble cast including Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny and Angela Bassett.[10][11] In the film, Hunt and his IMF team continue their mission to prevent the Entity, a rogue artificial intelligence, from destroying all of humanity.
Imagine if your toaster became sentient, hacked the world’s nuclear codes, and then asked nicely for world domination. Now replace the toaster with The Entity, a rogue AI that threatens to blow up everything except dessert buffets. Ethan Hunt is all that stands in its way.
It’s a long film. I mean, very long at a running time of 170 minutes. Personally, I watched it over two days and thoroughly enjoyed it. One sitting would be a significant endurance test.
The action scenes are what really set this apart. The underwater cinematography is incredible, as are the shots on the planes. Additions to all the great shots and stunts Tom Cruise has given us over the years.
On that subject, we do get quite a few flashbacks of previous films. Much like a tribute to the franchise’s greatest hits.
I give the film five stars out of five. It’s like Tom Cruise.
Do you agree? Do let me know.
Now, there is little standing space left, and Derek’s concern has grown about someone falling on him by accident. He tries to put concerns such as those to the back of his mind. There is only one stop left. He has nearly made it and can already feel a slight deceleration.
The doors open, and the packed crowd jostles its way out with him following closely behind. He has reached Zone A. The largest settlement on the moon. All the passageways are filled with a mass of people. The settlement is composed of fifteen layers, with him currently at the lowest level.
He sees a sign for the Jupiter Fair. It leads him off the main thoroughfare and down a tunnel. After going about a hundred metres, he hears cries of excitement ahead. His own heart begins to beat a bit faster.
The tunnel opens up into a vast chamber. A massive holographic display of Jupiter and its moons is centre stage with throngs of people everywhere. It’s even better than he could have dreamed of.
He knows where he wants to see first – Europa and its human settlement. He powers past the small outer moons for now and heads straight towards it.
Mark's Writing Corner 