Zero Stars For Star Wars VI (Spoiler Alert)

cbsnews.com ^ | May 16, 2005 | John Podhoretz.

[Ronzo]

I would recommend a movie called Dark City, from maybe six years ago. It is like The Matrix without the kung fu. Really excellent flick.

Oh yes! That was a very good movie, a 9 out of 10 on the Ronzo scale. Only thing, it was a bit TOO Dark, not a joke or laugh in the whole thing. I like movies that mix serious with silly, which the original three Star Wars movies did very well.

But there is one thing that Dark City had that no other SF movie has, her:

Any movie with Jennifer Connelly in it automatically gets a +8 minimum on the Ronzo scale...

I've been a fan of hers ever since "The Rocketeer"

[wideminded]

But if you look at something like 'Glengarry Glen Ross' where someone else is directing, the effect is a poetic/profane hyperrealism.

"Who am I? Rolex watch, that's who I am."

[skinkinthegrass]

Paul Verhoeven ("Starship Troopers") write & direct "Sith". Now, THAT would have been something to look forward to.

That a GREAT POINT! .."Starship Troopers" was a great movie. :D

[skinkinthegrass]

..the book was no slouch, either.

[HitmanLV]

But that's the trend these days in movie-making. Villains aren't blatantly, flat-out evil, they're just "confused" and "misunderstood". They had a bad childhood, blah blah blah.

That can be handled well. Both villians in the Spider-Man films have clearly been pushed to mental illness, causing their turn to crime. That being said, they are no less evil.

Doc Ock, for example, won't let anything stand in his way in Spider-Man 2. He is a genuine homicidal (genius) maniac.

[kevao]

An Empire Troll this John Podhoretz is! Yet how many of us this movie will not see?

[Ronzo]

Did you see I,Robot with Will Smith?

Oh yes. That DVD is part of my permenant DVD/Video collection...along with a mere 400 other titles...

Mr. Will Smith is a lot of fun! Also have that other silly movie he was in, Independence Day. But my favorite movie of his is a movie where he only has a small, cameo appearance where he plays himself! That movie is Jersey Girl. It's not a SF flick, but HIGHLY recommended anyway...

I was surprised how much I liked I, Robot. Not a great movie, but very servicable for a summer blockbuster. It scored a 6.5 out of 10 on the Ronzo scale. I usually don't buy movies less than 7 on my personal scale, but I got a great deal on the DVD: $13. It's a decent popcorn movie for when I don't feel like thinking...

[Horatio Gates]

and then the lines at the cinema disappeared....

Meesa going anyway. Yoosa should follow me now, okeeday?

[montag813]

As he explains in the rounded tones of an opponent of the John Bolton nomination, "Good relations with the Wookiees I have."

ROTFLMAO!!!

[montag813]

The reason the 3 Star Wars prequel suck is because George Lucas either was too cheap, or too egotistical to again hire THIS MAN to write his screenplays, as he did with the 3 Sequels....

Lawrence Kasdan, screnwriter of Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kasdan's wonderful touch is found in the boastful wit of Han Solo, the bitchy Leia's sparring, the intense confrontation beteen Vader and Luke. Why oh why didn't George Lucas hire him again instead of torturing us with his own ham-fisted sophmoric dialoque???

[lmr]

The problem is that Vader never was a superior villain

Vader had asked Luke to join him because the Emperor foresaw his own destruction by Luke in Return Of The Jedi. As Vader put it, "We can rule the galaxy as father and son."

Vader may have become the "Superior Villain" if Luke would have joined him.

What I always thought was cool about Darth Vader, he was strictly business. He was just trying to take over and control the galaxy, and he wasn't about to let anyone get in his way. His whole obsession with this made him evil and the fact that he was mostly machine as Obi-Wan himself put it in the original "Twisted and Evil"

[montag813]

Lucas hires million dollar CG experts - why can't he hire a decent ghostwriter?

He did, for Empire and Jedi...Lawrence Kasdan (also Raiders), cannot understand why he skipped him for Parts 1-3. Big mistake.

[Ronzo]

Those are some fun movies there bt! But you might as well add this classic '58 Steve McQueen film to your list:

Also, if I remember correctly, you can catch Clint Eastwood in one of those flicks you listed: "The Flying Mantis." I believe he has a tiny little role as an F-86 pilot who tries to shoot down the Mantis... Those 50's giant insect movies were great! I fondly remember one with giant scorpions destroying Mexico, but can't remember the title...

The Thing, a.k.a. The Thing from Another World, was a fantastic movie, considering it was one of the very first SF films. I also REALLY like the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which still gives me creeps when I watch it! It also has the VERY beautiful Dana Wynter, who was quite a talented actress. She was also very good in one of my favorite war movies: Sink the Bismarck!

And in the 90's category, I think you mean "Mars Attacks" not "Mars Invades!" I agree that was an AWESOME film, which I scored as a rare perfect 10. I have a whole new appreciate for Slim Whitman and Tom Jones after having watched that film. Definately Tim Burton's best film since the classic Pee Wee's Big Adventure. It's interesting how both 1996 movies Mars Attacks! and Independence Day were both heavily influnced by War of the Worlds; ID4 was almost a remake.

Thank you for mentioning "Road Warrior." Great film, made Mel Gibson a real movie star! Also a big fan of Galaxy Quest, but you really need to be a Trekkie to fully appreciate it!

[KellyAdmirer]

Also, if I remember correctly, you can catch Clint Eastwood in one of those flicks you listed: "The Flying Mantis." I believe he has a tiny little role as an F-86 pilot who tries to shoot down the Mantis...

Was that the one where they finally killed the thing in the Lincoln Tunnel? If so, I always got a kick out of that one....

[Ronzo]

Was that the one where they finally killed the thing in the Lincoln Tunnel? If so, I always got a kick out of that one....

That's the one!

[Destro]

Lawrence Kasdan bump

[SoCal Pubbie]

Anyone who bought original Mars Attacks! trading cards as a kid, as I did when they came out in 1962, and spent years trying to complete the collection, watching the revival unfold as public interest grew, has to rate the movie version as one of the biggest disappointments of all time.

[Destro]

what about the horrible remake to Planet of the Apes?

[Ronzo]

I have a question for you fans, I have never seen a Star Wars movie. My son now 9 wants to see this one, should we try to see the other episodes first to understand this one or can we get away with seeing this and understand the story?

No way. He might enjoy it, but he certainly won't understand it. Lucus is counting very heavily that you've seen every single Star Wars movie up to this point. A lot happens here that was carefully developed in the two previous films.

[A Jovial Cad]

You should see the the first three movies, i.e., episodes IV, V, & VI, and go straight into Revenge of the Sith from there (IMHO, of course).