Star Wars Hysteria

Awaken the force within at San Antonio's 9 best Star Wars events

The San Antonio Wookie Walk takes place this Sunday.

San Antonio Wookie Walk Facebook

Ten years ago, the last chapter in the history of Star Wars was written. Revenge of the Sith completed the trilogy, but that was the gospel according to 20th Century Fox. Now that Disney is commanding the fleet, there is new life to old characters and new characters in an ancient story.

The Force Awakens takes place 30 years after the Battle of Endor portrayed in Return of the Jedi. Leading up to the next episode opening December 17, we've rounded up the best Star Wars events in the Alamo City. May the force be with you!

Nerdtacular
Nerdtacular is the nerdiest con in the city. Santa Darth Vader will be in attendance and guests are highly encouraged to cosplay. Enjoy performers, panels, music, and food at Wonderland of the Americas. Fifty unique vendors of toys, collectibles, clothing, and jewelry will have something for every Star Wars nerd.
Saturday, December 12 at 10 am; Sunday, December 13 at 1 pm

"Star Wars: The Force of Art" Gallery
"Star Wars: The Force of Art" is a one-day gallery exhibition sponsored by Alamo City Comic Con and Alamo City Artjam at Centro de Artes. Paintings from nationally known artists Drew Struzan, Terese Nielsen, Adam Hughes, Jason Palmer, Lawrence Reynolds, Dave Wilkins, Gary Villareal, and more will be displayed in this free exhibit until 7 pm.
Saturday, December 12 at noon

Lone Star Wars: A Renewed Hope Art Extravaganza
Lone Star Wars features the full power of the force by local mural artists. Scotch Willington, David Blancas, and others will showcase their Star Wars-inspired art at the Second Saturday Paint Jam at The Paint Yard. The traveling extravaganza brings together the world of art and geek culture. Although the event is free, bring your wallet in case you desire to purchase some art. Cosplayers, fun photo opportunities, and open discussions on the Star Wars films will be offered until 8 pm.
Saturday, December 12 at 1 pm

Kidz Night Out: Star Wars
Registration for Star Wars Kidz Night Out is $35 per child. What you receive is a high-energy evening full of Lego entertainment for kids ages 5 to 12. Pizza, games, projects, and more than 20,000 Lego bricks are provided. Children are supervised by the Bricks 4 Kidz center's trained staff to allow adults some time alone for Christmas shopping. Bricks 4 Kidz will also offer a Star Wars Spring Break Camp March 14 through 18 of 2016. Refer to Facebook for more details.
Saturday, December 12 at 7 pm

San Antonio Wookie Walk
The San Antonio Wookie Walk is not just for bipeds from the planet Kashyyyk. It is an event where Star Wars fans come together to show their love of the light or dark side of the force. Live music, artists, vendors, and a car show will be offered along the walk at the largest Star Wars event in the city. Bring comfortable shoes to this free event. The route moves from the Tower of the Americas to the Alamo. It gets dark early, so be sure and bring your light saber.
Sunday, December 13 at 4 pm

Kreative Karaoke presents The Voice Awakens
Star Wars Kreative Karaoke will celebrate the new movie with live performances, art galleries, karaoke, and Star Wars-themed drinks at the bar. There will be raffles and a costume contest. You must be 21 or over to attend this free event at Limelight.
Tuesday, December 15 at 9 pm

Stars Wars Marathon
The Star Wars Marathon in cinema starts at 4 am with Episode I (The Phantom Menace) and continues until 7 pm with Episode VII (The Force Awakens).
Thursday, December 17

Star Wars Fandomania
Santikos is the must-visit destination during the opening weekend of The Force Awakens. The theaters encourage attendees to dress up in good taste. Blasters must be left in the car and light sabers must be turned off during the screening. The theater will also be rewarding anyone in costume with popcorn and ticket giveaways.
Thursday, December 17 through Sunday, December 20

Third Annual Star Wars Party
The Third Annual Star Wars Party at Brass Monkey features no cover and $1.75 tall boys. The venue will be decorated and encourages all patrons to do the same. Plus, free Star Wars shirts will go to the first 20 customers.
Friday, December 18 at 10 pm

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Freddy Lopez is one of many artists that will be at the "Force of Art" gallery this weekend. Painting by Freddy Lopez

Star Wars: The Force of Art/Facebook

Freddy Lopez is one of many artists that will be at the "Force of Art" gallery this weekend. Painting by Freddy Lopez

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Movie Review

Saoirse Ronan plays a WWII-era mother in melodramatic film Blitz

Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

Elliott Heffernan and Saoirse Ronan in Blitz.

The horrors of World War II are 80+ years in the past, yet they remain a fascination for many filmmakers. The latest film to tackle the era, Blitz, is centered around the German Blitzkrieg air raids on London in September 1940, but uses a more personal story to illustrate its impact.

Rita (Saoirse Ronan) lives with her 9-year-old son George (Elliott Heffernan) and her father Gerald (Paul Weller) in the lower class neighborhood of Stepney, but no one in the city is immune from the bombs being dropped by the Germans. The government has opened up some of the Underground (aka subway) tunnels for residents to use as bomb shelters, but the haphazard nature of their availability leads Rita to send George to safety in the countryside to protect him.

George, who is biracial, experiences racist abuse on the train, and instead of remaining with the other children to their destination, he jumps off and tries to make his way back to London. Meanwhile, Rita is doing her best to keep her mind off of George’s absence, working at a munition factory and volunteering at a bomb shelter, not knowing that George has put himself back in danger.

Written and directed by Steve McQueen, the film should be one that elicits emotions relatively easily, with ordinary people dealing with the effects of war and a mother separated from her only child. And while all the elements are present, there’s that certain something missing that leaves the story somewhat uninvolving. McQueen makes you want to see George make it back safely and for Rita to be reunited with him, but there is a degree of sentimentality that’s missing from the film as a whole.

Instead of going down that road, McQueen puts a big focus on the racism and bigotry experienced by various people in the film. Flashbacks give a sense of what George and his dad, Marcus (CJ Beckford), went through prior to the war, and Ife (Benjamin Clementine), a warden who tries to help George find his way home, encounters it multiple times while just doing his duty. While McQueen’s point — that people of color still had to endure acts of hatred in a time when people should have been coming together — is valuable, his methods of showing it are often heavy-handed.

Still, the film is well-made and remains visually engaging throughout. The combination of practical sets and CGI put the viewer right in the middle of the bombed-out London, and there are few missteps with how the city is presented. And even though the main mother-son story is only lightly effective, the trials and tribulations that each go through individually are interesting and occasionally suspenseful.

Ronan is a fantastic actor who might get nominated for an Oscar yet again for her other recent film, The Outrun, but this role pales in comparison. Whether it’s because the 30-year-old is a bit young to be fully believable in a mother role or because of the storytelling missteps, she’s merely good instead of great here. Heffernan does a solid job in his film debut, reacting ably to McQueen putting him through his paces.

Blitz joins the seemingly never-ending well of stories from World War II, and while it doesn’t succeed as mightily as other notable war films, it never becomes anything less than watchable. The family story at its center could have been more heartfelt, but McQueen is still a great filmmaker with a flair for visual composition.

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Blitz is now streaming on Apple TV+.

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