:: The Optic Monologues ::

:: Saturday, May 18, 2002 ::

***EPISODE TWO SPOILER SIRENS***

ok. so. i've seen Episode II twice already. 2 1/2 hours of exposition? yes. loved it anyway? yes. i've lurked on a few star wars boards, and it seems that most fans are generally pleased. kinda. lots of gripes about the politics of the Clone Wars not following the expansion novels. but there don't seem to be an overwhelming number of people disappointed with it. my personal faith is restored in lucas. kind of. i've given up on my faith that the prequels could be as good as the original trilogy. that's unfair, i think. hollywood is different. audiences are different. and lucas is a flannel-wearing toy salesman. i won't forgive him for Ep.I...... i can't. it was blasphemous. but i try to overlook it. we all make mistakes. doozies. anyway. yeah..... i was genuinely moved many times. My random Star Wars ramblings:

- major tingles when that logo pops up and the anthem starts. always. i wish someone would bottle that feeling and sell it to me.

- Anakin has his own infamous Twin Sunset moment. i thought it certainly could have been longer and more dramatic. they used the same sweeping theme as in A New Hope. he's hugging padme in the same general spot that their son will stand years later. wow. he really could have drawn that bidness out. and how giddy was i that we *met* uncle owen and aunt veru?

- Yes, the love story was rushed. very rushed. it's a flaw, but no reason to get so huffy *coughEBERTcough* i thought some of the lines were also cheesy. which is purely bad writing. and it *was* only 2 1/2 hours, with a *lot* of politics and story line to move along. it moved very quickly, just as Ebert said. but it didn't really bug me or anything. i'm rather impressed that they fit all that info into a 2 1/2 hour movie. it was a lot of exposition. which i *guess* we could attribute to the fact that it's really a 6 part story.... i mean, Spider-Man was nothing but exposition. and it felt oddly-paced. but that's because it's one installment of a trilogy. yes, i know the original star wars trilogy wasn't so rushed. but it also wasn't so political. there weren't so many characters. storytelling was simpler then.

- lots of classic Artoo and Threepio gags. that slapstick stuff wouldn't work on anyone but them. i thought those puns during the battle were funny. *giggle* "this is such a drag......." .......and you won't catch me laughing at puns very often.

- You always hate Vader until you see how pathetic he is under that mask. and he smiles at his son. and i always cry. i dooon't *want* him to become evil. but i suppose he must, if he's to bring balance to the force. he just had to do it the hard way.

- Natalie Portman did beautifully. wow. i really wasn't annoyed by her in the slightest. i really respect her character. i was doubting her acting capabilities. Leia is a lot like her mother. that's for certain.

- 'Tis all about the Yoda. yes indeedee. Ebert can go sit on his thumb and rotate. i almost fell into the "Yoda is like Gandhi...... and handles everything with peace." trap. but not quite. Jedi would not be taught to wield lightsabers if defence if they were not ethicly allowed to use them. and a lightsaber spar is not random violence..... it's also a duel of the minds. yoda fought strictly in self-defence. now, all the flying and flipping around was a little stupid and showy, but i can let that pass. i mean, if lucas wanted to show that yoda was dueling with a very powerful opponent and winning, he could have made them move super-fast. although that would have been a Matrix ripoff. kinda. but not *that* fast. you know what i mean.

- 'Tis all about the Mace Windu also. purple lightsaber. need i say more?

- you know, Ewan McGregor really is pulling off the Sir Alec Guiness fairly well. not great, but i'm not being picky about that. i could tell they were trying to make them look as similar as possible....... feh. not bad. he also got his personality on ok. but again, when am i not impressed by ewan?

- the score was satisfactory. definately. i'll elaborate more on it after my third time. i always get a good idea of the score after the third try. but i can comment on two portions of the score:
the younglings: i don't knooow what it's called. when they put that ball on the thingy and the room fills with stars. it was visually beautiful. but the music was really perfect. it fit with Yoda's line "remarkable, the mind of a child is"..... or something to that effect. i can't remember. i was just moved by the relationship between the younglings and the master. it was so perfect.
the love theme: ok. so.... it could have been better, but it's still great. not perfect. but great. which isn't a bad mark at all. it could have captured the impossibility of their love more. but it was still lovely.

- i didn't get until this time through that Boba Fett is Jango Fett's CLONE. duh squared. props to Cory for that one. i totally didn't see it. i'm so blind. i was like "who would sleep with him, and why would he keep the child? he's a dickhead."

- ok, so..... i'm a sap and cried at the end. because it was romantic. and i'm a sped and didn't see the wedding coming. and i was all emotional about all that's to come.

i like how everyone compares Anakin's immaculate conception to Jesus. and how they assume it's supposed to be "a play off of jesus's birth". like, hi....... there are other immaculate births in literary history and religious history. buddha, for one. so stop trying to force religious symbolism on the friggin' movie.
:: Delanor Benson 4:00 AM [+] ::

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:: Tuesday, May 14, 2002 ::

guess what? i'm going laundry. yes i am. all my school laundry. which means i'll have more than two pair of pants to alternate between.

i miss having classes now. i'll be glad when i start back to school in a couple weeks.

i'm going to chicago with renata and her mom. i didn't see how i was going to pierce something *and* buy a bus ticket. i don't have that much bling. problem solved. god bless the third reich of america. not. which means emily and *nina* lovin'. fo' real. which means i get to see emily's new apartment (maybe).
:: Delanor Benson 1:43 AM [+] ::

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