Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
The Washington Post has a special on-line only Star Wars section
Lots of good stuff here now with more scheduled for the next week, including web chats with Matt Stover and Jeremy Bulloch. There’s also a “Sith Sense” blog with entries about DC area news. The most interesting tidbit there is that the American Film Institute theater in Silver Spring MD will be showing ANH, ESB, RoTJ, TPM and AoTC in early July as part of the AFI’s tribute to George Lucas. Details to come.
Whoohoo!
Got my tickets for the 12:01 am show next week – they’re playing it in three theaters at my local multiplex. Three! So now I feel like a bit of an idiot for heading straight to the theater after work. But now I’m wondering – should I try to convince my friends to relive our high school days and get there early enough to be at the front of the line? (We did that for the Special Editions… yes, I’m just a youngling, I know.)
First off, another new commercial sporting more of the lovely Palpatine footage that makes us Sith get all giggly and excited… Note to Lucasfilm: Less of Padme. More of Palpy. Sell the evil.
The highlight of today’s articles – Anthony Daniels on what kind of wine to drink while watching Revenge of the Sith.
The BBC looks at why Star Wars still matters. Because, you know, all this media coverage apparently has people wondering. Includes testimonials from fans. Meanwhile, Reuters wonders if its good for cinema.
Would you pay $500 to see ROTS early?
And now for something completely different… a bit on Lucasfilm’s new Presidio headquarters. Pretty!
And the articles just don’t stop coming.
George Lucas on The O.C. tonight. Are you fanboy enough to watch it?
Watching The O.C. isn’t exactly a given, but skipping work? “Worker absenteeism on the Thursday and Friday opening of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith could cost U.S. employers a whopping $627-million (U.S.) in the two days, according to one report.” Please – most of us arranged vacation time months ago. Get with the program, folks.
Boston Globe article on the fans. (Thanks, Helen!)
MSNBC wants these plot holes filled.
The Village Voice reviews ROTS rather unfavorably… But to call it “the most expensive stoner film in history” might be overstating it a bit. Most stoners I know are too lazy to operate a DVD player, let alone stumble their way into a theatre. And “galactic Thomas Kinkade gallery”? Them’s fighting words! (Except, well, we concede Naboo. But that hack Kinkade doesn’t do hellfire.)
Associated Press has a look back at George, touting that he’s glad to leave Star Wars behind: “Lucas’ accomplishments marked a one-of-a-kind revolution. He sneaked into a Hollywood that no longer had the verve or nerve to make the weird, giddy, goofy Saturday matinees of his youth.”
MTV interviews George Lucas: “Han and Leia probably did get married,” Lucas conceded. “They settled down. She became a senator, and they got a nice little house with a white picket fence. Han Solo is out there cooking burgers on the grill. Is that a movie? I don’t think so.”
MSNBC catches up with Hayden Christensen: “It was absolutely overwhelming, just from the aspect of getting to act behind a mask,” Christensen said. “That is a very freeing position to act from, and to have that mask be the mask of Darth Vader is extremely empowering.”
Even Mark Hamill can’t escape the frenzy: “And I said, ‘There’s no way this will fail’ because it’s got a sense of humor. It’s the key element that most science fiction films don’t have, which is a sort of arch sense of humor. Now, we’re playing it completely straight, but it’s inherently absurd. I mean, I can’t tell you how much we laughed on the set to have Alec Guinness in a scene with a big, furry dog that’s flying a space ship.”
PVP has a very astute view of the prequels. Seems pretty much in line with my own experience…
The Beat hearkens the Nerdpocalypse.
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Revenge of the Sith, yesterday. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I will have no problem staying spoiler-free as I am still fairly incoherent about it.
Bottom line? This movie is Star Wars. This is what everyone has been waiting to see.
It’s not to say that it’s a perfect movie. But it’s fun. It’s shocking. And it’s powerful.
Bring tissues. Granted, I cry at commercials. I needed three tissues to make it through. Adjust your needs accordingly. But there has been talk that a certain CJer was still crying fifteen minutes after the movie ended. I cried 10 minutes after and probably would’ve gone more if I hadn’t spotted my face in the mirror. (Big, red nose. Blood-shot eyes. It wasn’t pretty.)
Parents go first. I now know why LFL has been tap-dancing around this while, at the same time, telling parents to be cautious. To say much detail about why anyone younger than probably 10 shouldn’t see it without some parental guidance would be to give away a major plot point.
Suffice to say that the level of usual Star Wars violence (limbs, etc) is at a much higher volume. The storyline involves some heavy-duty topics. And there are several scenes that contain amazingly graphic images.
I am, quite frankly, surprised the film didn’t get an R rating for those graphic shots, alone.
Parents really need to go first so they can decide how their younglings will respond. It’s pretty intense. And you’ll probably want to be poised to cover eyes. But given how fast this movie goes, you need to see it once so you know when to dive over to cover their eyes.
Overcome. At this point, I don’t think I’m still responding with the joyous glow of first viewing when I say that I think this ranks right up there at the top of the Star Wars films. You have a bit of everything in this one. I think most hardcore fans will be pleased. And it will give us much fodder for the intense fan debates we all know and love.
A day after seeing it, I still find myself distracted by memories of the film. I’m still trying to think about things in the story. This one’s staying with me.
And I really want to watch the Classic Trilogy right now….
My internet is spotty today, so forgive me for not gathering all the press screening reviews before I started posting. I’ll be editing this post throughout the day as I find reviews, so keep checking back.
First, the fans:
Our own Supreme Chancellor’s spoiler-free review, of course.
TheForce.net: Scott Chitwood, Josh Griffen, Matt and Neely. Chitwood also has a review at ComingSoon.net.
The Movie Blog: 7 out of 10 stars.
Ain’t It Cool News: “I’m having a really hard time writing about this one. It’s just so damn big.”
Now the press:
Variety: “Entertaining from start to finish and even enthralling at times, “Sith” has some acting worth writing home about, specifically McDiarmid’s dominant turn as the mastermind of the evil empire.”
Hollywood Reporter: “The final episode of George Lucas’ cinematic epic “Star Wars” ends the six-movie series on such a high note that one feels like yelling out, “Rewind!””
San Diego Union-Tribune‘s sci-fi blog, The Disembodied Brain: “It is dark and moody, but the pace carries you along like a rampaging Wookiee.”
… And more at Rotten Tomatoes. (As of this edit, ROTS has ten reviews and is 90% fresh!)
TFN reports that there will be a Star Wars segment on today’s Entertainment Tonight, and two new TV spots that aired during Total Request Live and Smallville yesterday. (Hopefully they’ll be up on starwars.com later tonight.)
ETA: “Seduction” and “To Protect You” up now.