It's Star Wars day!

Mercutio

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Movie opens at Midnight tonight, presumably worldwide. Who is going to be missing some sleep tomorrow?
 

i

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I'll probably go in a couple of weeks. I have no interest in joining the crush.
 

LunarMist

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There have been 5 already? I saw the first one in high school and it looked kinda cheap in parts, but was at least interesting. Remember those stupid flashlights sold at the time? I suppose they are collectibles now.
 

Fushigi

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LunarMist said:
Am I the only one with zero interest?
Nope. Two things ended my SW interest:
1. The re-edited versions of the original three.
2. Episode I.

Those were enough to shatter my interst in anything new from Lucas & Co. Thankfully, I still have my LD box of the original three, un-mucked-up.


Unleashed wasn't bad, BTW. Fight scenes you'd actually expect from Jet Li and an OK story. Could have used one or two more fights, but overall I wasn't disappointed. One of the better efforts for an HK action star in the US. Of course, it still doesn't compare to Once Upon a Time in China and My Father is a Hero.
 

Mercutio

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Groltz said:
LunarMist said:
Am I the only one with zero interest?

Nope.

Perhaps not entirely zero here, though.

Merc, let me know when you find a good torrent for it someday.

There's a real-deal screener on fulldls.com, if you really want it. Quality, especially the sound, is terrible.

I saw all the other Star Wars movies, including the first one (I was 2 at the time, so I don't remember it really well but...), on opening day.

I remember standing in line through *two* showings to see Return of the Jedi. My family went in late afternoon and it was dark before we got in the theater.

I have basically the same problems with Star Wars as Fushigi, but at this point I really do want to see it end.
 

Buck

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'Two things altered my SW interest:
1. The re-edited versions of the original three.
2. Episode I.'

I'm happy to still have my original VHS set, but they're getting a little worn. Episode I was bad, but I thought that Episode II had some good moments. I particularly liked Count Dooku and the Kaminos.
 

Buck

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As fascinating as these movies are, I find it interesting how something as non-visual as listening to an Opera can be more enjoyable than watching movies. No matter how many times I've heard something like the duet between a Tenor and Baritone from Don Carlo with beautiful music and a chorus in the background, I still enjoy it. After a while, any movie seems to get old with me (I'll usually have to wait long periods of time before watching it again). But that is just my personal experience.
 

i

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You think it ends here?

What about episodes 7, 8, and 9?
 

Mercutio

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I think Lucas authorized Timothy Zahn to write them. The novels have been around for at least 15 years at this point.
 

P5-133XL

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I liked it. It was entertaining enough and told a good story that tied up lots of loose ends with special effects were really very good (They've learned alot through the years). Regardless, it still ends up as a movie without real substance.

I liked The Interpreter much better: More emotional content with good concepts and plot twists. For me, its the type of movie that communicates well and will make me think and possibly incorporate some of its messages into my own thinking.
 

Mercutio

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Let me boil it down for everyone:

V > III = IV > III > II > I

Did you all get that?

I was immensely satisfied.

No, Jar Jar does not talk (although, curiously, Ahmed Best is still credited). I was a little disappointed by this - his actions in the second movie obviously had very serious consequences and I think the character is elevated by that.

Yoda knows how to make an entrance.

Natalie Portman is the hottest pregnant woman EVER. She was also the weakest link in terms of acting - Hayden Christiansen stepped up substantially IMO. Acting in general was better than in I and II. Not great in some cases, but at least acceptable for everyone.

Kenny Baker (R2D2), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) are all credited above Christopher Lee and Samuel L. Jackson.

I can't say too much about the actual content of the movie, knowing that probably half the people who visit this site will see it sometimes soon.
One thing that was missing in RotS was humor. This movie takes itself MUCH more seriously than other Star Wars movies do. And, OK, I thought Lucas went overboard with the slapstick in episodes I and II. But even the original movies had Leia's sniping wit - "Aren't you a little short for a Storm Trooper?" and the like. The weight of the world really does hang over each and every line.

On the other hand, Vader's first labored rasp sent chills down my spine. I don't think I would've been in the proper frame of mind for that moment if there had been a "3PO gets disassembled" joke in the preceding hour of film.

The scoring is just phenomenal. This movie brings together the themes from ALL the movies, and uses them appropriately. I really felt it when the sinister chorus of the Emperor's Theme began, and the driving crescendo of horns and percussion that is "Duel of the Fates" was never so rousing as at the climax of this movie. Anakin and Padme's Love theme, fittingly, never rises from its diminished key, and of course the close of the film gives both Luke's theme and Leia's - what a great touch. There is an emotional connection - for me at least - with almost every moment of music in this film. How often can you say that?
Also have to say that a lot of the best cues from the movie didn't make it to the soundtrack album. Boo!

Overall though, there is NOT much to complain about. Lucas manages to pull off a complex and entertaining story with a great deal of emotional weight. The action is more lively and imaginative than any other film in the series. I'm proud to say that I'm a fan.

Thank you, George.
 

Mercutio

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Couple more things:

1. Very early in the movie, while the ship carrying Anakin, Palpatine and Obiwan is landing a ship very much like the Millenium Falcon is visible in the lower right corner of the screen.

2. It's scary how much Ewan McGregor looks like Alec Guiness.

3. There's a "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" trailer attached to RotS. I'm not a big CS Lewis fan by any means, but I did read those books when I was little. There aren't very many times a movie trailer has struck a nerve with me but... wow.

This is shaping up to be a great year for geek movies. Sin City, Revenge of the Sith, Serenity and the Fantastic Four.
 

timwhit

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I don't think Sin City was a geek movie. I'm not a comic book fan and I loved Sin City.

Still have to see Episode III. I really didn't much like the last 2, but if Merc is right this might be worth seeing in the theater.
 

Mercutio

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It's worth seeing in the theater. It's worth $8. I'm going again tonight.

The workprint download is awful. I'm OK with that 'cause it'll drive more people who were on the fence about seeing it into the theater.
 

timwhit

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$8 is cheap nowadays. In crappy Orland Park they were trying to charge $9.50. My friend and I walked out of the theater.
 

ddrueding

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$9.50 is the norm here, $10.50 is the going rate in SF. The price is still low enough to not be an issue for most viewers, I don't know why they didn't charge double fir the first week.
 

Fushigi

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2 x $9.50 = pretty much the cost of buying the DVD. No wonder I mostly buy DVDs instead of going to the theater. Just as cost-effective as taking my wife to the show and we can watch it at our leisure as often as desired. The 'theater experience' nowadays mostly means putting up with rude people and maybe paying 10 times the actual cost for some consession stand stuff.
 

Corvair

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I've not seen any of the Star Wars movies.

Actually, I once saw about 3 minutes and then later about 1 minute of what I believe was the second or third Star Wars movie. I was over at someone's house working on an old Ampeg SVT bass amplifier head (a 300 watt all-valve bass guitar amplifier).

This was 1987 or maybe 1988. The movie was blaring away on cable TV, video tape, or laserdisc as I walked in. It was still on when I walked out. I recall something going on in the movie where the movie's characters were chasing someone, or being chased by someone, and they were all riding "aerial jet-ski" craft through a redwood forest, dodging tree trunks and tree limbs. That's all I recall. Seemed like a kiddee movie for sure. Yawn.

 

freeborn

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And of course there is always the usenet. My internet backup project is under way. I think I might manage about 0.0000001 % :)

Free
 
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