Music & Movies

I enjoyed the movie as a completely different work than the book. If the book had been written the same as the movie (no Tom Bombadil, sketchy account of elves) I wouldn't have even finished Fellowship of the Ring, let alone the rest.

Yes, but it changed the feel of the movie; The movie seemed to go straight from one fight on to the next.

Star Wars looked pretty good on the digital screen. Dialogue was crap, but hell, we certainly expect that from Lucas, who seems these days to be trying to win the fuck-you-fans award. What was worse was some of the editing -- there was actually some decent meat in the story that just got squashed by the hyperboles that always followed.

High point: animation of Yoda's face
Low point: cartoon-esque stopped crescendo in soap opera "torment" scene between Anakin and Padme

what I really hated in the orginal star wars movie was the last scene from the last movie where it shows owan and yoda taking about how their was still two more with the force. It lead me to believe that there was going to be another movie.

What the hell are you going on about, Crab? Episode 2 was awesome! The actors who portrayed Padme and Anakin weren't the best around, but that's not the end of the world(certainly better than 95% of all action movies out there). George Lucas was focusing on building the story that led up to the original three.
And if the hyperboles you're referring to are the action sequences that often follow the emotional scenes, what's wrong with those? I don't think they squash any meat.

Natalie Portman (who played Padme) is an incredible actress and did an amazing job with the gosh-awful lines she was given. (watch her in Beautiful Girls, a great movie).

No no I wasn't calling the action hyperbole at all -- thank god for the action! But you'd have a subtler, more telling insight into Anakin's character and foreshadowing how a good boy could go so bad, then immediately followed by turning him into a whining, puling, shrieking snot that made it totally unbelieveable Obi-Wan or Padme could have tolerated him for more than a day.

I see. Well I guess that may be attributed to sub-par acting, or different types of writing. Lucas once said the Star Wars trilogy was not meant for movie stars(although they've all had backgrounds, I think star wars has been the biggest thing they've all done). The movie rocked, and I think Lucas is in no way trying to win the "fuck-you-fans award".

star wars is NOT the only movie in the world!

The reason he wins that award for me is that in every interview he basically says he doesn't care what people think about his movies. He refused to even read reviews of the Phantom Menace and is so protected from outsiders on Skywalker Ranch that anyone who utters less than praise for every element of Star Wars is summarily thrown off the ranch and permanently un-invited. He thinks his biggest mistake was letting someone else direct The Empire Strikes Back, which was by far the best movie of the entire bunch. I think this is basically a Michael Jackson type figure here with some talent and definitely imagination, but not the right stuff to pull off a believable script that avoids soap-opera overdramatizations and simplifications and pissy dialogue. And it wouldn't hurt him to remember the first rule of fiction: show, don't tell.

Sorry, obviously you liked it a lot, I just feel like just about anyone with a college degree, let alone one in Film, could have improved the movie a lot in the first 1.5 hours, and likewise with Episode I (I know it was background, but that doesn't mean the dialogue has to be shit, and yeah, could've chosen a better kid actor too).

Well the reason Lucas doesn't care about what people think of it is because he has enough money. He doesn't shun people that think badly of it, he just doesn't go looking for opinions. He's focusing on telling a good story. I guess the "good" part is left to be decided, and it wouldn't hurt if Lucas paid more attention to what the fans thought of it, but I think Star Wars is still awesome when it comes to what the series does well.

What the series does well is maintain a fanbase so devoted that no matter what Lucas churns out for the rest of his life, it's guaranteed to both make money and be declared brilliant by a given number of people.

Right -- even though it was clear it was gonna suck in at least two respects, there was never any question but that I was going to spend my $10 and see it. Though I stop well short of then calling it "brilliant".

I'll see the next one too. And unless he *really* pissed me off I'd see episodes 7, 8, and 9 if they ever made them (maybe after Lucas is dead). But you're right Rex to attribute that power to the series rather than to Lucas himself. Let's take a vote -- if Episode III were being done by another writer and director, would you see it?