Wow, how many times have I uttered that phrase? So, I love Star Wars. Yeah, that must come as a surprise, what with Final Jump coming from Star Wars, the references I've put in this blog, and the fact that for my picture I have an image of Yoda. Yep, Star Wars Geek just came out of nowhere.
But, seriously, I enjoy Star Wars. All of them, including Phantom and Clones. No, it's not blind faith that causes me to enjoy them. It's because I like the story that it sets up, which is a bit more complicated than the original trilogy. There's politics and impending doom, two things which the original trilogy left out. Why was there a rebellion in the OT? The natural response is, "Because the Empire is evil." Okay, why? "Um, well, they blew up a planet with that Dead Star thingy." Yeah, but there was a rebellion before that. "Um, well, because the Emperor and Vader are evil." And we know this because... "Because, uh, because the opening crawl says so." So you just naturally believe everything you read? Maybe the rebellion wants to take over so they can blow up planets. Ever think of that? Just reflect on the Star Wars rant from Chasing Amy (a great movie until about 30 minutes from the end and it just jumps off a cliff). Luke Skywalker is the Nazi poster boy who just shows up and decides that his way is right and blows up Vader's shit. No, going by just what the original trilogy has to say isn't good enough for me. Now, by looking at the political landscape established in Eps 1-3, and how Palpatine is manipulating everyone, that fills in the holes. I understand now why the Empire was really evil. I'll get to see the birth of the rebellion and understand the Star Wars galaxy a little better. So Jar-Jar was an annoying character. Hell, when Episode I was in theaters, it was nice to have him in the movie. You know why? Because he entertained the kids who would normally be screaming their motherfucking heads off. That's what worries me about Episode III. It's going to be an extremely dark and scary movie, and some parents are going to be stupid enough to actually bring their kids. So, when Palpatine kicks Yoda's ass, or Anakin cuts off Mace's arm, or all the Jedi are killed off in an extremely harsh manner, kids are gonna freak, some will cry, and some may just shit their pants. And I'll be there, trying to enjoy a movie that I've been waiting years and years for, and I'll have to struggle to hear it over "Mommy, is he alright? Mace just got pushed outta window?" "Oh, sweetie, he's fine, I'm sure." I think I'll just stand up and yell, "Lady, quit lying to the kid. Mace is fucking dead. If I shoved you out of a window and you fell 20 stories, how much spring would be left in your step? Now take you crying baby outside and leave him there, like George Lucas, the MPAA, and everybody else in this damn theater says you should have done in the first fucking place!"
So, yeah, I like Star Wars. So there's little humor in the prequels. That's good. It establishes that impending doom. What humor there is, it's mainly British, wry humor delivered by Obi-Wan. No, there aren't any of the great lines like, "I'd rather kiss a Wookiee," "I can arrange that. You could use a good kiss." or "You came in that? You're braver than I thought." That's alright with me. If Lucas did that with the prequels, what would be the point? He'd just be remaking the original trilogy, which is kind of what he did with the story of the prequels anyway, but that's for another post. No, Lucas cannot write dialogue. I still cringe at Anakin's "I don't like sand" monologue from Episode II. In the original trilogy, Lucas wrote the story, other people wrote the dialogue (He actually had friends write the majority of the dialogue from Star Wars and had other people write Empire and Return completely). Yet there are moments in Phantom and Clones that I enjoy, like the battle at the end of Clones, the lightsaber duel in Phantom, and the underlying idea that we're watching the end of an era for these people and the majority of them have no clue. Yeah, I'll agree, Lucas has been more focused on, as Ewan McGregor put it, special effects instead of performance. There comes a point when you need to rely on something other than visual stimulation and just let the story and acting come through. Lucas cast great actors, but only McGregor has put in a good performance thus far, with Ian McDiarmid giving him a run for his money in Revenge of the Sith, from what I hear. Well, McDiarmid has been great in all the movies thus far, but Sith seems to be his breakout (also, just from the trailers alone, Palpatine is creeping the shit out of me). I read somewhere that only one scene in Phantom had no computer effects in it, and that was a brief shot of the gas coming out a vent in the conference room at the beginning. That is just plain, fucking ridiculous. Come on! Instead of being logical, Lucas went wild with effects. Now, I will admit, I prefer the digital Yoda to the puppet from Episode I, and the digital backdrop of Coruscant is great, but otherwise, Lucas could have easily made the prequels using the same basic techniques that he used for the original trilogy. I enjoy the movies, but I think I would have enjoyed them just as much if he had known when to cut back of the visuals and gone for the acting.
So, yeah, story holes filled, visual bonanza, really excited about Episode III. God. Just a week. That's crazy.
The SotP from last time was "One of These Nights" by the Eagles. It's a weird song, but a good one. That line that I quoted, actually, sums up the perfect woman for me. Someone who is pure and good, but is also a little crazy and wicked. Maybe I'll find her one of these nights. Otherwise, the song is decent. Not great, but not horrible. I like it. I listen to it. Not much else to say about it. I read this biography on the Eagles a couple of weeks ago that was really good and revealed a lot about their lives without ever really saying anything about their music. It might sum up a song in a sentence, a couple of songs getting a paragraph. I don't think it said a thing about "OoTN" other than who wrote it and who sang lead on it. I guess I was hoping for some criticism from the book, but all I got was a little too much information on the drug habits of Don Henley and Glenn Frey (Wow, they did a lot of coke. It seems that Frey did so much coke that he had to have the linings in his nose replaced a couple of times, once with kevlar or teflon, I don't remember which. It takes a hell of a lot of blow to require that sort of thing). The book ended on a down-note, describing the concert they gave when they were accepted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When they finished, the book says that there was a moment of silence, then belated clapping. I think I'm quoting it right here: "The lights went down. The ride was over." And that's how the book ends. The Eagles actually went on to do other things, including a tour in 2004 and working on a new album, but the book makes it seem like they might as well have killed themselves right then and there. No happy ending for that band. Whatever.
Song of the Post: Well, I'm sitting at work and don't have any music going, so I'll just turn on my MP3 player and see what comes up. And it is: Son of a fucking bitch! The damn batteries are dead. God fucking dammit. These batteries don't hold a damn charge at all anymore. God dammit! Alright, well, let's see what Yahoo! Radio pulls up for me. Jesus fucking Christ. The one station on Yahoo! Radio that I can listen to is playing fucking "Sweet Home Alabama," a song that will never show up as a SotP. Hell, let's see what VH1's radio has on. Finally, something fucking decent. Alright, here, finally, is your Song of the Post: "Mother, mother, / Everybody thinks we're wrong. / But who are they to judge us / simply cause our hair is long?"
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Monday, May 09, 2005
Done, part two
You know, graduation wasn't as bad as I figured it would be. I still hated the pictures, the pomp and circumstance (song and otherwise), the worthless speeches, and the amount of people stuffed into the room. Yet, it was nice to be there to cheer on friends and have them do the same for me. Years from now, I won't remember who I was sitting next to, the name of the student speaker, or the date of the event; instead, I'll remember walking across the stage and hearing, somewhere out in the crowd, that my best friend yelled out, "Yeah, baby!" and that I got to return the favor when I yelled for him to "rock on" as he walked across. That alone made the ceremony worth attending.
I also found out that I officially graduated college today. That may seem like an odd thing to say, especially after going through a graduation ceremony, but if I had somehow completely fucked up and failed a class, it meant that my undergrad career was not yet over. Luckily, that did not occur. I ended up with 2 Bs (stupid journalism and field experience), 3 As (I don't even like Shakespeare or Orwell, but I was extremely happy to get that out of 509), and a pass (thanks, Mrs. G.). So, with that, I am officially an alum, which means that they'll start asking me for money in the next couple of days.
So, to celebrate, I got to sleep in until 11 this morning. God, I loved that. Then I had to run all over town, dropping off paperwork and selling a piece of crap video game (to anyone who has an Xbox and reads this: Do Not Buy the Revenge of the Sith Game! What a piece of fucking crap. The only good part about it was the highly edited footage from Episode III, and that is not worth $50. Looking for any footage with Natalie Portman in it, fanboy? Sorry, not in there. Hell, I think her character is mentioned once in that incredibly short game. Compare that to how important she is to the movie when it comes out in 10 days. Looking for the excellent lightsaber combat that they promised in all the previews? Ha! I laugh at your gullibility. They said that how you moved the right thumbstick would be how your character moved his lightsaber, which was the one feature from Obi-Wan that I kind of liked. Sorry, that disappeared somewhere along the line. Now, when you move the left thumbstick, you know what happens? Nothing. No camera movement, no character turning, absolutely nothing. That's bullshit, my friends. I hoped that LucasArts had learned something from the debacle that was the Phantom Menace game, but it seems that they just removed any good parts of TPM game and made the RotS game. At least I know the movie will be better than the "adaptation." I ended up unloading the game onto EBgames and bought Republic Commando). Other than that, it's been a nice, slow day. I wish I had more of these.
It makes me question how a person survives "the real world." How can a person work 40 hours a week, use Saturday and Sunday to clean the house, mow the lawn, spend time with kids, or whatever, then start the week again, and somehow stay sane? I know there are people who put off that weekend stuff so they can have days like mine, but then they're just hurting themselves. Me, I don't have any of those responsibilities, and am happy for it. Will I have any days like this when I start working full-time? I sincerely doubt it. Crap.
Alright, the SotP from last time was "Southern Cross" by Crosby, Stills, and Nash, but no Young. First off, the song is very much in the vein of Jimmy Buffett, with sailing references and metaphors all over the place, including the line that I quoted. So, it makes sense that Jimmy sings it in concert. Second, the song seems to me to be about the stupidity of love. Just look at the lyrics: "You understand now why you came this way: / because the truth you might be running from is so small, / but it's as big as the promise, the promise of the comin' day;" "So we cheated and we lied and we tested, / and we never failed to fail, it was the easiest thing to do. / You will survive being bested, / Somebody fine will come along, make me forget about lovin' you;" and "In a noisy bar in Avalon I tried to call you / but on the midnight watch I realized why twice you ran away." So, love mixed with blind stupidity seems to be something that it evokes from me. I don't know, maybe that's just me.
Song of the Post: "I've been searchin' for the daughter of the Devil himself, / I been searchin' for an angel in white. / I've been waitin' for a woman who's a little of both / and I can feel her but she's nowhere in sight."
I also found out that I officially graduated college today. That may seem like an odd thing to say, especially after going through a graduation ceremony, but if I had somehow completely fucked up and failed a class, it meant that my undergrad career was not yet over. Luckily, that did not occur. I ended up with 2 Bs (stupid journalism and field experience), 3 As (I don't even like Shakespeare or Orwell, but I was extremely happy to get that out of 509), and a pass (thanks, Mrs. G.). So, with that, I am officially an alum, which means that they'll start asking me for money in the next couple of days.
So, to celebrate, I got to sleep in until 11 this morning. God, I loved that. Then I had to run all over town, dropping off paperwork and selling a piece of crap video game (to anyone who has an Xbox and reads this: Do Not Buy the Revenge of the Sith Game! What a piece of fucking crap. The only good part about it was the highly edited footage from Episode III, and that is not worth $50. Looking for any footage with Natalie Portman in it, fanboy? Sorry, not in there. Hell, I think her character is mentioned once in that incredibly short game. Compare that to how important she is to the movie when it comes out in 10 days. Looking for the excellent lightsaber combat that they promised in all the previews? Ha! I laugh at your gullibility. They said that how you moved the right thumbstick would be how your character moved his lightsaber, which was the one feature from Obi-Wan that I kind of liked. Sorry, that disappeared somewhere along the line. Now, when you move the left thumbstick, you know what happens? Nothing. No camera movement, no character turning, absolutely nothing. That's bullshit, my friends. I hoped that LucasArts had learned something from the debacle that was the Phantom Menace game, but it seems that they just removed any good parts of TPM game and made the RotS game. At least I know the movie will be better than the "adaptation." I ended up unloading the game onto EBgames and bought Republic Commando). Other than that, it's been a nice, slow day. I wish I had more of these.
It makes me question how a person survives "the real world." How can a person work 40 hours a week, use Saturday and Sunday to clean the house, mow the lawn, spend time with kids, or whatever, then start the week again, and somehow stay sane? I know there are people who put off that weekend stuff so they can have days like mine, but then they're just hurting themselves. Me, I don't have any of those responsibilities, and am happy for it. Will I have any days like this when I start working full-time? I sincerely doubt it. Crap.
Alright, the SotP from last time was "Southern Cross" by Crosby, Stills, and Nash, but no Young. First off, the song is very much in the vein of Jimmy Buffett, with sailing references and metaphors all over the place, including the line that I quoted. So, it makes sense that Jimmy sings it in concert. Second, the song seems to me to be about the stupidity of love. Just look at the lyrics: "You understand now why you came this way: / because the truth you might be running from is so small, / but it's as big as the promise, the promise of the comin' day;" "So we cheated and we lied and we tested, / and we never failed to fail, it was the easiest thing to do. / You will survive being bested, / Somebody fine will come along, make me forget about lovin' you;" and "In a noisy bar in Avalon I tried to call you / but on the midnight watch I realized why twice you ran away." So, love mixed with blind stupidity seems to be something that it evokes from me. I don't know, maybe that's just me.
Song of the Post: "I've been searchin' for the daughter of the Devil himself, / I been searchin' for an angel in white. / I've been waitin' for a woman who's a little of both / and I can feel her but she's nowhere in sight."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
