Movie Review: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

plot: mmm... lacking. the evolution of anakin the young pod-racing pup to darth vader... blegh. what a waste of potential. george lucas is mildly incompetant at writing romance. the politics were childish, sort of like something out of the simpsons. palpatine's rise to power was just as contrived as anakin's descent into the dark side. at least that was consistent. small holes in continuity (especially leia in ROTJ, who comments that she remembered her mother being sad, but beautiful). the main villains of the piece were about as threatening as stormtroopers were to ewoks.

visuals: stunning in the 'i spent $120 billion dollars on these computer graphics' sort of way. i understand that the technology available now has far surpassed what lucas concocted for IV - VI, but the ships and technology that appeared in the prequels really detracted from the quality of the 'older' movies. obviously green screen was the only way to go with fictional planetscapes and celestial dogfights, but still... a bit overdone? maybe if lucas had spent more money on better actors... too many scene wipes. it was like me playing with the video mixer in the sanctuary for the first time.

acting: natalie portman was wasted ("hold me, anakin, just like you did by that lake on Naboo" "oh annie, you're breaking my heart!"). hayden was... uh... slighty better because he got the look, but once he tried to speak... fail! it was like watching attack of the clones, but with more sweaty hair. ewan mcgregor was a resounding meh. he looked like george lucas. jar jar was awesome. he looked shocked when palpatine announced his empire, he looked sad at padme's funeral and HE DIDN'T SPEAK AT ALL. yoda was hype. but i think he wasted all his energy on chopping up clones. mace windu was pretty uber, considering all the other jedi masters died like star trek security teams.

sound: john williams is THE MAN.

lightsaber duels: you know why people thought lightsabers were so cool back then? because it was cool and new and rarely used. now it's just overdone, like padme's hair.

rating: 2/5 if you didn't see Episode I and/or II.
5/5 if you saw Episode I and/or II.

Parrish the thought

when asked about her medical condition and how it might affect her ability to vote today...

“Come hell or high water, there’s no frigging way I’m going to let one ovary bring the government down.”

- Parrish, Independent MP

i thought she was referring to Stephen Harper.

the physics of poetry & the poetry of physics

where physics is the manifestation of the inherent beauty of mathematics, so too is poetry the realization of the beauty of language. be it in math or words, both wield their media with a mastery and a precision rarely seen in any field. both subjects are built upon the centuries-old foundations of their respective masters, each one remembered for their pioneering, their creativity, their diligence.

the difference lies in the gender ratio of the classes. that has definitely been the most difficult part of the transition, going from an all-boys club to a veritable sorority. i'm afraid that my hand-waving dismissal of lady mary wroth's depressed whining and pining may get me into trouble with the more vociferous of my female peers.

there was no mention of this in the manual.

Fountain

from the Readymade collection by marcel duchamp

Update: Virgin Mary Stain

a 37 yr. old man was charged with vandalism and defacing state property for writing "BIG LIE" in black shoe polish over the yellow, white stain under a Chicago overpass that resembled the virgin mary. pilgrims wept as state workers painted over the defaced stain.

The Ecstasy of St. Theresa of Avila

Beside me on the left appeared an angel in bodily form . . . He was not tall but short, and very beautiful; and his face was so aflame that he appeared to be one of the highest ranks of angels, who seem to be all on fire . . . In his hands I saw a great golden spear, and at the iron tip there appeared to be a point of fire. This he plunged into my heart several times so that it penetrated my entrails. When he pulled it out I felt that he took them with it, and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one can not possibly wish it to cease, nor is one's soul content with anything but God. This is not a physical but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it -- even a considerable share.

dirty euphemistic nun!

hm... third catholic satirizing post. is anyone offended yet?

excerpted from Catherine Mulroney's article, "Life inside the Star Wars galaxy", The Toronto Star, May 2, 2005

"While watching television coverage of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, I launched into a monologue on what this might mean for the Catholic Church.

I was interrupted mid-sentence, however, by a child who was compelled to remark upon how closely the new Pope resembled Emperor Palpatine."