gedblog

SPOILER WARNING: This post contains basic spoilers for all six Star Wars films. If you are the only person left in the universe who has not seen these movies, then you might not want to read on. Just sayin’.

If there was a bright spot regarding the Star Wars prequels, it was the opportunity for fans to get answers to many of the questions Lucas introduced in episodes IV, V and VI. Fans were hungry for any information relating to the Jedi Order, the evil Sith, where Anakin came from, the story of his children and more. With very few exceptions, Lucas dutifully managed to tie up many of the various plot lines in neat little bundles and send even the most rabid fans home satisfied.

Although I freely admit I’m far more of a Trekkie than a Star Wars geek, there are still questions that none of the six movies answered to my satisfaction. Since I’m not familiar with every bit of the Star Wars universe, I thought I would throw some of these questions out to the masses and see if anyone had plausible explanations for how they fit into the grand scheme of all things Star Wars.

“Do you remember your real mother?”

In Return of the Jedi, right before Luke goes off to turn himself over to the Vader and the Emperor, he has a farewell talk with Leia where he explains why he has to leave. Luke begins the scene with a simple question to Leia “Do you remember your mother? Your real mother?” Leia responds that “She died when I was very young. She was beautiful, but sad.” When I saw this scene in the theatre (before the prequels) I assumed Leia was speaking of her real mother, not her adopted one, which is the point of Luke asking about her “real mother”. But since we know from Revenge of the Sith that Padmé died in child birth, Leia couldn’t have been talking about Padmé.

The dialog is confusing on several levels and because of that, I don’t think we have an accurate understanding of whom Leia is describing. Luke is obviously trying to get some info, any info on his mother, and so he asks his sister about their collective mom. But since the story from Episode III doesn’t jibe with what Leia describes, this entire scene seems to be apocryphal. If Leia was simply describing Queen Breha Organa, then there was little dramatic motivation for Luke’s question in the first place.

“The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi”

Although Lucas does a satisfying job of explaining the birth of Luke and Leia, and how they were hid from the Empire, we are still left with a pivotal unanswered question. Namely how and when did Darth Vader discover he had a son? The answer to this question isn’t just one of curiosity, it also holds one of the key developments in the entire story arc. Since Emperor Palpatine lies to Vader and explains that Anakin’s own anger killed Padmé, the eventual discovery of Luke must come as a revelation on multiple levels. This revelation would logically be the tipping point where Vader decides to plot to overthrow the Emperor.

The most logical explanation is that after the Battle of Yavin, Imperial spies learn that the young rebel who destroyed the Death Star was named Luke Skywalker. Vader instantly realizes he has a son and that the Emperor has lied to him. If this is the case, then this dramatic development is one of the greatest missed opportunities in the entire series. I would love to see how Vader’s rage played out against the Emperor, but alas this was not to be.

From the audience’s point of view, the first time Darth is informed about the “Son of Skywalker” is in The Empire Strikes Back when the Emperor himself tells Vader that “The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi”. Thanks to Vader’s non-reaction in this scene, between Episodes III and V, Darth must somehow learn of Luke, the Emperor’s deception about Padmé’s death, and a long lost son. Through all of this, ironically Vader doesn’t even blink. I don’t buy it for one second.

The Virgin Birth

In The Phantom Menace we learn the origin of Anakin Skywalker. Shmi tells Obi Wan and Qui-Jon that amazingly, Anakin had no father. This in itself wouldn’t be too difficult to accept, except for the strange scene in Revenge of the Sith where Palpatine tells Anakin the tragedy of Darth Plagueis. The future Emperor relays the story of a Sith master so powerful he was able to control life itself. The subtext of this scene is that Plagueis was Palpatine’s master and that it was Palpatine himself who slew Plagueis after he had taught his young apprentice everything he knew.

Given the implied nature of the scene, we are left with many questions. Chief among them – is Palpatine Anakin’s “father”? Did Plagueis himself will Anakin into existence by using Shmi Skywalker to bring him to term? Did Palpatine kill Plagueis when he learned he was grooming a replacement apprentice? All of these questions (and more) are never answered in the films. Some Star Wars comics have put forth theories about these plot points, but since they cannot be considered “cannon” they remain only fan speculation.

Although it’s no secret that I consider the prequels to be inferior follow-ups to the original Star Wars trilogy, it is none-the-less a testament to Lucas’ storytelling that I find myself asking these questions, even today. The archetypes he used in weaving the Star Wars universe are powerful and speak to the allure of great drama. Given Lucas’ propensity to keep churning out all things Star Wars, we may very well get many of our answers. I think I speak for fans everywhere when I say, go for it George, just leave Jar Jar in a galaxy far, far away… from us.

Ask any person what’s their favorite adaptation of A Christmas Carol, and you never know what they’ll say. There have been so many versions of the classic tale over the years, it’s daunting to pick a single version. I suspect that for most people, their favorite is the one they were introduced to as a child.

Without a doubt, my favorite version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the 1970 musical adaptation, Scrooge starring Albert Finney, Kenneth More and Alec Guinness. Produced by the same team that gave the world Oliver!, Scrooge is perhaps the liveliest version of the story I’ve ever known, and for my money the most satisfying. It features a memorable array of songs, strong acting and a large, energetic cast that gives the film the feeling of a broadway production.

Although the film never won any Oscars, Albert Finney did win a Golden Globe in 1971 for Best Actor in a musical or comedy. Finney is the heart and soul of Scrooge and manages to make us both despise and love the character simultaneously. From our glimpses into his past as an abandoned boy, to the heartbreaking loss of his finance Isabel Fezziwig, Finney’s Scrooge is a real person, with a host of dreams squandered in the pursuit of wealth.

When Scrooge’s transformation finally arrives at the end of the second act, it’s made all the more believable thanks to Finney’s incredible depth as an actor. As Ebenezer awakens at the foot of his bed to learn he has been given a second chance, Finney performs the moving “I’ll Begin Again” and makes us actually believe he has changed for the better.

Too many adaptations spend hardly any time after Scrooge turns from the dark side. I enjoyed the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol, but the end is very short and just doesn’t give you that “It’s a Wonderful Life” feeling that the end of Scrooge does. All this, combined with some of the most beloved holiday songs from composer Leslie Bricusse, add up to one of my all-time Christmas favorites. Since the soundtrack has never been released on anything other than vinyl, I’ve spent the last few Christmases making my own by digitizing and editing the audio from the DVD release. If you’re interested in getting a copy of it, drop me a line and let me know. I’ll be happy to share my efforts with you.

What version of A Christmas Carol is your favorite? Patrick Stewart’s performance? Bill Murray in Scrooged? Don’t forget Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol! Don’t be a humbug, drop a note in the comments and share your memories with the rest of us. Merry Christmas everyone!

Around the office we often get into conversations about our favorite movies, what we’ve seen recently and what’s worth watching or avoiding on DVD. On more than one occasion the topic of Pixar films have come up, which ones are our favorites and why. After encountering a post I found from Airbag on the Metacritic ratings for Pixar films, it seemed only natural that I jot down my own ratings for these lovable movies. Feel free to post your own ratings in the comments if you’d like to play along.

1. The Incredibles – I own every Pixar movie on DVD (except WALL•E since it’s not out yet) and The Incredibles is the one that gets popped in the most. The story moves along at a great pace, all of the characters are treated equally, the action sequences are worthy of blockbuster live action flicks and the art direction is to die for. Love it.

2. WALL•E – The only reason why this isn’t number one on my list is probably because I can’t watch it whenever I want. Once the DVD comes out, it may supplant The Incredibles at my favorite. Amazing what the folks at Pixar did with little if any dialog, a desolate, future Earth and a potted plant. Not as funny as some of the other Pixar flicks, but every bit a classic.

3. Toy Story – The one, the only, the original. Although the computer animation is starting to show its age, the story, characters and humor can hardly be beat. Woody & Buzz make the best comedy duo since Abbot and Costello and are surrounded by an incredibly funny cast of sidekicks to boot.

4. A Bug’s Life – For lots of people this one is usually farther down on the list, but I really liked Bug’s Life. The story is original, the misfit saves the day and PT Flea’s troop of traveling bugs manages to completely steal the show. I wish Pixar would have made a sequel for this instead of the upcoming Cars 2.

5. Finding Nemo – Overall I like Finding Nemo a great deal, but over time I found it really is geared more for children. Unlike The Incredibles, much of the comedy is childish and the incessant worrying of Nemo’s dad, played by manic Albert Brooks, gets on my nerves after the first hour.

6. Cars – I enjoyed Cars more than I thought I would, especially the lovable tow truck Mater. The movie suffers from the creator’s obvious indulgence with a love of automobiles and runs a bit too long for my tastes. That being said, it does have the most infectious song of all of Pixar’s flicks – Cheryl Crow’s Real Gone, which I love.

7. Toy Story 2 – There are lots of parts about Toy Story 2 I love like Buzz and Woody’s journey through a huge real-life toy store. Then there are parts that kill the movie for me like the depressingly sad montage of Jessie being discarded by her owner. This single scene makes me second guess myself whenever I go to put the DVD in, which is a bad thing.

8. Monsters, Inc. – I love the concept behind Monsters, Inc. as well as the characters and the voice work by Billy Crystal and John Goodman. And although Boo is terribly adorable, I’ve never cared for the way Sulley seems to throw away his life-long relationship with his best friend Mike just because this little girl follows him around and calls him “Kitty!”. There’s a real mean streak at the heart of Monsters, Inc. that I think many people overlook because of the humor and the adorable little girl and it bothers me.

9. Ratatouille – Critics loved it. I didn’t. Sadly, it’s the only Pixar film I regret buying. I didn’t go to see it in the theater which could be part of the problem. Despite this, I was sure I was going to love it on DVD at home but again, I didn’t. I’m not sure if it’s the whole “rats & cooking” thing, the focus on location rather than story or what, but Ratatouille left me cold. That being said, it’s still 100x better than many animated flicks out there.

As a bonus, I’m also including my 5 favorite Pixar short films here as well. I’ve been in love with these little movies since I first saw Knick Knack at RIT. Amazingly, Pixar keeps cranking out winners with their short films, although some are more successful than others.

1. For the Birds
2. Knick Knack
3. Presto
4. Jack-Jack Attack
5. Luxo Jr.

Box office results reveal that the anticipated right-wing comedy, An American Carol, has tanked in its first weekend of release. The conservative comedy should have faired well, especially considering it was produced and directed by one half of the hilarious Airplane! team, David Zucker. The film opened on an impressive 1,639 screens and was publicized on conservative blogs and in the media. But when compared to comedian Bill Maher’s documentary Religulous which also opened this weekend, the results are startling:

Although Religulous opened on just 1/3 the screens as Carol, it made almost as much, with triple Carol’s per screen average take. It reminds me of the supremely unfunny Half Hour Comedy Hour produced by FOX as a right-wing answer to The Daily Show. That attempt at conservative humor lost 82% of its audience after it’s tortuous premiere and was soon cancelled. If conservatives think they can do comedy, they have yet to prove it to the rest of us.

So like millions of Americans, I went to see PIXAR & Disney’s latest animated film, WALL•E this weekend. For those of you living under a rock, the film tells the tale of a brave little robot who is left to clean up the Earth after mankind dumps so much trash that he can’t live here anymore. Adventure, romance and of course humor ensue for the tiny bot with a Johnny 5 complex.

Reviews from critics and the movie-going public have been overwhelmingly favorable, and it’s easy to see why. Behind the futuristic facade of WALL•E lies basically a love story between WALL•E himself and the angelic EVE. The story also cleverly taps into an topical issue that is sure to raise the ire of some of the more conservative audience members – environmentalism.

Back in August of 2007, I wrote a post about PIXAR’s advanced PR for the film, via the Buy n Large viral website. Buy n Large is the company responsible for the vast consumerism that ultimately makes the Earth uninhabitable to the human race in the film. The message in WALL•E is clear – if things keep going the way they’re going, we won’t have a planet left to live on. This moral imperative is one of the major plot points of the film, and I’m betting it won’t be very long until we see right-wingers railing against Disney and PIXAR for “green propaganda”.

I’m willing to bet that by no later than this Wednesday, Michelle Malkin, Bill O’Reilly, Neil Boortz or some other misguided blowhard will do their best to alter WALL•E’s portrayal as lovable protagonist to that of a mechanized propaganda bot intent on brainwashing your kids. Rest assured it will happen, and when it does, I’ll update this post with which offender was first to pull the trigger.

In the end, nothing these people can say will diminish the movie’s endearing success. WALL•E is nothing short of an animated masterpiece that has its heart and message in exactly the right place. There is plenty of emotion and humor to keep audience goers smiling and parents safely content. And if kids get interested in recycling or gardening, let’s just say it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

UPDATE: Here’s a tweet that illustrates what I’m talking about. It’s starting.

UPDATE II: DING! DING! We have a winner, or rather a big, fat ignorant loser… in the form of everybody’s favorite shill from CNN, Glenn Beck. Think Progress has more too boot. To quote Weird Al, “Man, I hate it when I’m right.”

Although Mystery Science Theatre 3000 is best known for the lampooning of various B-rated sci-fi movies and horror flicks, I always enjoyed their roasts of public service short films best. These self-righteous reels from the 40’s and 50’s, always did take themselves too seriously and made perfect fodder for Crow, Tom Servo and Joel’s witty zingers. The clip below is classic MST3K as the trio firings on all cylinders. I’ve tried to get into Michael J. Nelson’s new take on MST3K, called RiffTrax, but it just isn’t the same. Thank goodness for YouTube so we can sit back, relax and enjoy “A Date with Your Family”. Just don’t enjoy it too much, after all, the dinner table is no place for emotion!

I’m pleased to report one of my favorite science fiction films of all time is the latest flick to get the Hollywood make-over treatment. Airing over two nights, beginning tonight at 9pm est on the A&E network, The Andromeda Strain, tells the tale of a particularly nasty alien microbe that threatens to wipe out all life on earth. Director Ridley Scott’s new version of the classic 1971 picture promises to be full of action, suspense and smart science and features a solid cast including Benjamin Bratt, Viola Davis & Andre Braugher.

Based on the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton, the original version of Andromeda gave audiences of the 70’s a realistic look at what just might happen if an alien microorganism fell to earth. The movie’s deliberate pacing, cold electronic soundtrack by Gil Mellé and use of multiple simultaneous shots (spoofed in Austin Powers and made famous today by FOX’s 24) builds suspense and impending dread even when viewed today. If the original Andromeda Strain had a weak point, it was surely the rushed ending which bottled things up neatly, without deliberate action from Wild Fire’s team of sequestered scientists. Somehow I doubt Scott will let his version go out with a whimper, and if he plays his cards right, this new version just might be a classic for the ages. High hopes to be sure, but coming from the director of Black Hawk Down, Blade Runner and Alien, I would expect nothing less. Should be a fun couple of nights, check it out.

UPDATE: After having watched both parts of the new version, I can see my hopes were sorely misplaced. Ridley Scott should stick to directing real films instead of producing made for TV movies cause this version couldn’t hold a candle to the original. The plot gets wrapped up in the meaningless exploits of an addict reporter whose actions ultimately don’t amount to squat. The effects were second rate and all of the great scientific detective work at Wild Fire felt rushed. Save yourself four hours of your life and don’t bother to tune in to the repeats OR purchase the DVD. Go buy the original 1971 version instead. At least Andromeda is actually creepy in that version.

I’m pleased to report that episode 008 of Sci-Fi Cast is now online and is truly one for the ages. Dave Caolo and I participate in the geek version of Fesivus and “air our grievances” with the Star Wars prequel films. We cover a wide range of important nerd-esqe topics such as GCI sets, the less than deadly Nuisance Battle Droids, poor casting decisions and how a high school biology lesson managed to suck the life out of the Star Wars universe. This one’s our longest episode yet, clocking in at 47 minutes, so if you’re looking for the Cliff Notes version of this episode, simply skip forward to the 39′ minute mark to avoid all that tedious mucking about in hyperspace. If you love Star Wars however, tune in for the whole cast, I think Dave and I do a fairly good job of putting into words what was so frustrating about ep I-III. Don’t forget to post your own prequel pet peeves (or favorite bits) in the comments over at theSciFiCast.com! Next week we return you to our regularly scheduled program of BSG. See you then!

One of the things I love most about Twitter is the way interaction between friends and followers can take on a life of its own. Today I casually threw out a question on Twitter that turned into a genuine laugh riot. Taking a cue from one of my all-time favorite shows, Who’s Line Is It Anyway?, the question I posed was this:

Name a quote from a Star Wars movie that could apply to your significant other.

Without missing a beat, I received back dozens of responses, some of the best of which I’ve reposted here for your amusement. Thanks to everyone who took time out to play today, it was a blast!

panache: “Either I’m going to kill her or I’m beginning to like her!”

MauriceReeves: “I don’t know who you are or where you’ve come from, but from now on you’ll do as I say, okay?”

gedeon: “She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts kid.”

Moltz: “IT’S A TRAP!!!”

firecracker: “Why you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerf herder!”

dmoren: “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.”

krystynheide: “I cannot teach him. The boy has no patience.”

and my personal favorites:

ag_michael: “You are required to maneuver straight down this trench and skim the surface to this point. The target area is only two meters wide.”

luomat: “No no no, this one goes THERE, THAT one goes there!”

bettnet: “Size matters not. Look at me, judge me by size, do you?”

splorp: “Get in there, you big furry oaf! I don’t care what you smell!”

While I was busy watching the Red Sox vs. Yankees tonight, the world kept turning and evidently things happened. Here’s some stuff I missed while I was watching the slugfest in New York:

The Democratic Debate – Evidently ABC gave new meaning to the term “pointless”. Moderators spent most of their time talking about “Bittergate”, sniper fire, Reverend Wright and get this, flag pins. Some of the comments on the ABC website, courtesy of The Huffington Post are just brutal. Good to know the MSM is still doing their usual bang-up job.

The Indy IV Backlash Has Begun – Apparently the folks at CHUD think they know for a fact that the new Indy movie will suck. Why? Because its final running time is clocking in at 140 minutes. I mean who’d want to sit in a theater and watch Harrison Ford play one of the most beloved screen heroes of all time for THAT long? And before you get that puss on your face, this isn’t a podcast, it’s a feature film. I figured the movie would suffer from overly high expectations, but to pan it just because it’s 13 minutes longer than The Last Crusade is plain stupid.

Full of Hot Air – The next time George W. Bush announces an “important” speech from the rose garden about one of the most pressing challenges facing this nation, maybe he’ll actually want to take action instead of offering more bloviating. The press made a huge deal about how the Bush Administration was about to do an about face regarding climate change today, and all we got was vague notions of future shifts in potential policy. It’s unsurprising that Bush is doing whatever he can to try and rescue his legacy before he leaves office, but I expected more than the typical Bush bait and switch.

Knowing Is Half the Battle – First there was Snake Eyes, and now there is Scarlett. I’ll hand it to the people behind the PR for the new G.I. Joe movie, they sure know how to put lipstick on a pig tease! This movie just keeps getting better and better. I have a feeling that when picts of the Baroness hit the web, I’ll probably blow a gasket. Yo Joe!