Groundhog Day is terrific. The only movie I've seen more times is Office Space, because it was like my own life, over and over. . .
Posted on 06/01/2005 10:34:25 AM PDT by quidnunc
Vengeance is mine, saith the Sith, whith thoundth like Violet Elizabeth Bott. No such luck. Instead, it’s George Lucas, with what he insists is the final film in the Star Wars sextet. My guess is the first film in the new Star Wars septet will be opening circa 2008. Anyway, Revenge of the Sith is, so Lucas assures us, a ‘tragedy’. It might have been wise to have stationed an announcer at every movie house to announce this fact over the PA system since it eluded the audience I saw it with last weekend. When the Sith hits the fan, the fan bursts out laughing. Oh, to be sure, they were diverted by the opening dogfight and Obi-Wan Kenobi riding a wild four-legged space beast to hunt down General Grievous. But they were howling with laughter through all the so-called ‘tragic’ elements. When Senator-Queen Padmé (Natalie Portman) reveals that she’s pregnant, her secret husband Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) reacts with an eerie glassy-eyed expression as if he’s hypnotised himself trying to remember the next line. Eventually, Lucas prompts him and he utters the words, ‘I’ll have the club sandwich.’ No, wait. That’s just what it sounds like. He actually says: ‘You’re so … beautiful.’
‘It’s only because I’m so in love,’ says Padmé tonelessly, like a spy giving the reply password.
‘No,’ says Anakin. ‘I’m so in love. With you,’ he adds helpfully, just in case Padmé figures it’s the hot-looking Wookie strolling by in the background.
At this, my fellow theatergoers exploded with guffaws of derision. May the farce be with you! The final descent of Ian McDiarmid’s Chancellor Palpatine into Darth Hammitup brought on more laffs, as did the moment when Anakin attempts to talk Padmé into joining him over on the Dark Side: ‘Together you and I can rule the galaxy,’ he snarls. Well, tries to snarl.
‘Obi-Wan was right. You’ve changed,’ says Princess Padmé. ‘I don’t know you any more.’ He used to look like Princess Di flashing those big eyes from under his hair. But suddenly he looks like Princess Di with too much kohl and in a peevish mood. What can this mean?
-snip-
No one goes to Star Wars films expecting high art, and if they do, they deserve our pity and derision.
It was a big, goofy, loud epic filled with explosions, robots, sword fights and wookies. Considering what passes for so-called deep meaningful films these days, I'd take the comic book simplicity of Star Wars anyday.
I actually found the line, "You were like my brother!" very poignant, and it was delivered well by Ewan McGregor.
As my husband and I were leaving the theater, I cracked him up by saying, "FINALLY! A star wars movie with a happy ending. The dirty hippie peaceniks all die, and the grown ups take over..."
Again, I'm probably one of the few who actually sided with the Sith. I thought it was as good as Empire, which for me is saying a lot. Empire was the best of the original trilogy.
Thank God. I thought I was the only one.
These movies are space opera fantasy. They are part fairy tale, part serial camp adventure like the old flash gordon and buck rogers serials, part fireworks- ohhh ahhh special effects. They are for fun, good guys vs bad guys, shoot em up with "ray guns". Nothing more. They are not political commentary, they are not a religion. They are what they are. Fun. And if kids get excited about space travel because of it or learn that being a good guy is the right thing to do, then that is a bonus. If the lines are sappy, if they are campy, just enjoy the ride. I sure have.
Just for the FUN of it.
"This is pitiful. A thousand people, freezing their butts off, waiting to worship a rat. What a hype. Groundhog Day used to mean something in this town. They used to pull the hog out and they used to EAT it. You’re hypocrites. All of you! Am I upsetting you, princess?"
I think the reviewer was right for the most part. The opening few scenes were kinda hokey and the fight scenes with the funky looking soldiers getting sliced up with the light sabres seemed to be put together as an afterthought to kill some time. Alot of the dialogue sounded like a junior high school play. The original Star Wars (and Return of the Jedi) had a comic element that was intentional. This last one had a comic element also but I don't think it was intended.
But I do have a quick question. I thought in the original Star Wars (if I remember correctly), R2D2 and C3P0 were purchased from some traveling junked robot dealers. I didn't see how that gap was closed between Episode III and Episode IV. Anybody?
In II, at the point where Anakin hunts the Tuskans, you can see his shadow has become Darth Vader. One of the few things in the movie not blasted into the obvious.
I know i am in the minority here, but I've always thought the Star Wars series truly great, although in many ways deeply flawed.
To me, the greatness lies in the theme (as I see it) - the fall, salvation, and redemption through love. The related tie in of good vs evil, in epic terms. That is why although it has new age overtones, Christians tend to react strongly to it.
He's already back as a Force ghost. They replaced Sebastian Shaw with him in the latest DVD version of "Jedi". George must be a Democrat. He's replacing people on film, like Stalin.
This, more than anything, captured Yoda's seduction by the fluffy side of the Force, and his final descent into a character torn between fierceness and cuteness.
fierceness=ferocity
Don't FReep angry
The ship Bail Organa [Jimmy Smits] uses at the end of "Sith" is the ship Leia is fleeing from the Star Destroyer on at the beginning of the original "Star Wars". Organa turns both R2D2 and C3PO over to the ship's Capatain, with an instruction to wipe C3PO's memory banks. Both droids are on the ship when Vader takes it, and flee in an escape pod with Leia's message to Kenobi.
Anyone trying to take this seriously is kind of undermined by all the goofy commercial tie ins Star Wars has had over the many years. How can you take Darth Vader seriously when his lightsaber had a battery failure while dueling the energizer bunny and that he recently choked an M and M?
I hope someone can help you. I've missed a couple of episodes of Star Wars and haven't seen the current one yet. More than likely, I'll wait until they all come out in a boxed set of DVDs and watch the episodes in order.
Well, it's easier to understand why he would do those things now that you know he's just a zit-faced Ashton Kutcheresque punk (albeit a little toasted) under that mask.
What ever you may think of him, after watching Leo in The Aviator, my respect for him as an actor has increased tenfold. He amazed me repeatedly in that one.
"Ooooh, snap!"
It's worse than that because Indiana Jones made Harrison Ford, not Star Wars, IMO.
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