Free-form Thoughts on The Force Awakens

NOTE: I initially started writing this soon after The Force Awakens was first released into theaters. It got a little long, and I obviously didn't finish it right away...but, upon revisiting, I found things in here that I thought were relatively important, as these things go, and that I still had just a little bit more I wanted to say. So, all that said, and on the off chance you're still worried about this sort of thing, yes, there will be SPOILERS AHEAD.

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It's been well established that I grew up in thrall to Star Wars. Born in July of 1977, less than a month and a half after the first movie premiered, I literally have never known a world in which it did not exist. I grew up with Luke, Han and Chewie, and Princess Leia as the ultimate good guys, and my action figures were my prized possessions as a kid. The various Luke figures were known by their colors—White Luke was in his initial Tatooine outfit, Orange Luke was in his flight suit, Brown Luke was in his Bespin fatigues, and Black Luke was in his Jedi outfit. (Curiously, Luke in his Hoth gear did not have a nickname, or, if he did, it has been lost to history. Winter Luke? Maybe.) Remember fire safety lectures as a kid? When they'd tell you that if your house was on fire, you were just supposed to get out without stopping for anything? I remember thinking something along the lines of, "Yeah, sure, fine, but there's no way I'm leaving my burning house without Black Luke." True story.

Orange, Brown, and White Lukes, respectively (not mine, for the record, although I do still have a bunch of the old action figures).

But I digress. The point is this—when the prequels came out, I was excited, but those movies (and leave arguments about their quality aside for now) were never going to be 100% for me. I knew pretty much everything I needed to know about Anakin Skywalker's backstory. I saw all the prequels at midnight showings, yes, and I was bummed that they mostly sucked, sure, but it didn't affect me too much, because what I really wanted from Star Wars was the further adventures of Luke, Han, and Leia. I got that from the Expanded Universe (which eventually expanded too far and became tedious), and I was okay with that.

Another thing I want to mention is that, because I loved the action figures so much, Star Wars was pretty much all I could think about around Christmas during my youth because all I wanted were figures and ships. To this day, I have a tendency when talking about Christmas presents to say something along the lines of "I can't wait to see which Star Wars guys Santa brings me." Another strong memory is climbing under the Christmas tree every chance I got (knocking my mom's nativity scene from hell to breakfast, no doubt) and pretending I was Han Solo, working on the Millennium Falcon.

At any rate, fast forward to 2015, when a new Star Wars movie was set to premiere a mere week ahead of Christmas Day, and it's something of a miracle that I managed to function at all as an adult. My wife got Christmas presents and everything (although I didn't get around to wrapping them). I managed mostly by refusing to let myself dwell on the movie coming out. After all, this was what I had been waiting for—a continuation of the original story, with the original actors (even Harrison Ford!) as Luke, Han, and Leia.

So I was stoked, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also at least a little bit apprehensive. If this movie sucked, with these characters in it, it would be more of a blow than the prequels. And for that reason, I was glad George Lucas wasn't involved. As skilled a moviemaker as he is, writing and directing just aren't his forte. Best to eliminate him from the process entirely. (That said, I would be incredibly interested to know the details of the story treatments he had written up, which JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan discarded.)

I bought a ticket for opening night on the night they went on sale, suffering through the malfunctions of overloaded websites until there was an opening. By that time, all the very earliest showings were sold out, somehow, but I managed to get one for 7:20, ensuring, at the very least, that no one would be coming out before I went in. Back in the prequel days, of course, even having a ticket, you needed to get to the theater early to get a good spot on line with other people who had tickets, to make sure you got a good seat. This time around, reserved seat, no problem. Which was cool in its way, but I kind of missed the old way, crowding into the lobby with a bunch of other like-minded superfans for an hour or so beforehand.

Finally seeing the movie was an emotional experience. As much as I tried not to let myself think about it in the days and weeks leading up to release day, in truth this was the culmination of 32 years of anticipation. Once I got into the theater, I gave myself over to it and just let it wash over me. There were several moments in that first viewing that gave me chills, but the biggest one was when the Millennium Falcon appeared onscreen for the first time. Not gonna lie, I almost lost it. So many of my imagined childhood adventures featured the Falcon in some way, and seeing it again really was like greeting an old friend.

Perhaps strangely, seeing Han Solo meet his tragic end was not one of the most emotional moments for me, probably because I had seen it coming since they first announced that Harrison Ford was returning to join the cast. Ford, after all, had lobbied for Solo to be killed off in Return of the Jedi; I was surprised he agreed to be involved with the new movie, and assumed Solo's death as a foregone conclusion. So when it indeed happened, I was ready for it. What I was not ready for was the very next shot, in which Leia, worlds away, feels his death through the Force. Devastating.

I ended up going to see The Force Awakens seven times while it was still in theaters. That may seem excessive, and I know it exasperated my stepmother-in-law for some unknown reason, but I couldn't get enough. And beyond that, I wanted to savor it, because this is probably the last time that a new Star Wars movie coming into theaters is going to be a really big deal. There's going to be a new SW movie coming out each year through at least 2020 (starting with Rogue One this December). I'm sure I'll be excited about them, and seeing them in theaters will be awesome, but not "I've been waiting years for this" awesome. So I let The Force Awakens be a really big deal for me, and it was great, and I regret nothing.

A Galaxy Far, Far Away, Reduced and Redux

Today is George Lucas's 70th birthday. With all the Star Wars news that's been coming out lately, I've been meaning to put together some of my thoughts; today seemed like an appropriate day to sit down and make that happen.

First came the news that the existing Expanded Universe (read: all the SW-related novels, comics, video games, etc. published up to this point) are being, essentially, discarded. They'll remain in print (and here I'm thinking mainly of the novels) under a new "Legends" banner, but they're not considered part of the "official" story; while certain elements may be appropriated and reused, future contributors to the SW universe are in no way beholden to what came before. The only things that are official are the six feature films, the Clone Wars animated series that recently ended, and the upcoming Rebels animated TV series. Going forward, anything that comes out (beginning with the appropriately titled novel A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller in September) will be part of one official, unified storyline.

Generally speaking, I think this was the right move. I actually wish they had gone one step further and nixed the Clone Wars cartoons. I'm still in the midst of watching the final season, which was never aired on television and distributed instead through Netflix, but I've seen the rest. While there were some cool parts, I think the low points outweigh them. The main thing that drives me crazy is the return of Darth Maul. Yes, he was a cool character that was vastly underutilized, but the fact remains that he got cut in half and then tumbled down a massive shaft. The dude died, and giving him robot legs and pretending he survived is just lame. You gave him a badass brother; that should have been enough.

Actually, I feel similarly about the rest of the Expanded Universe, that part that did get severed from the official Star Wars canon. There were high points (I've written before that, despite my love of the movies as a kid, my continuing level of fandom owes a huge debt to Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy), but the low points were so bad that they absolutely had to go. I mean, come on: the ridiculous escalation of superweapons (the Sun Crusher, the Darksaber, World Devastators, Centerpoint Station...was there another Death Star? There may have been)? A clone of the Emperor (twice, I think)? Luke dating a ghost? The endless, contradictory musings on the nature of the Force? Ugh. Look, all of Zahn's novels were great, as were Aaron Allston's, and I really enjoyed the Han Solo trilogies (both Brian Daley's and A.C. Crispin's) and The Lando Calrissian Adventures (which were so totally unlike anything else in the SW universe); just about everything else was terrible. It would have been too confusing to pick and choose which stories happened and which didn't (and I'm sure there's plenty of disagreement over the quality of various works), so it all had to go. Besides, from a storytelling standpoint, it wouldn't have been easy to keep all of that and then pick up the storyline thirty years after Return of the Jedi in a way that would easily catch up those with no knowledge of the EU stories.

So all that is gone but not forgotten, and I do think it will be interesting to see which existing elements get reused and how. Grand Admiral Thrawn is such a great character--he has to get back into the mix somehow, right? I'd like to think so. I also think it'll be interesting to see when and how the "Legends" stories get overwritten. New stories are going to be told to bridge the gap between Return of the Jedi and whatever ends up happening in Episode VII. How will they be different from the tales we've already heard? Only time will tell. I just hope they bring in adequate talent to do the job. I was underwhelmed with the initial batch of authors chosen to expand the universe officially with new novels (John Jackson Miller, James Luceno, Kevin Hearne, and Paul S. Kemp). I liked (didn't love) Miller's previous SW novel, Kenobi; Luceno's work has been decent at best, despite having some pretty cool topics and characters to work with, like Darth Plagueis, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, and the Millennium Falcon); Kemp's novels I honestly can't even remember if I've read or not; Hearne hasn't written for SW before, and I'm not familiar with his other work. To be fair, I don't know who would have been better; I don't read a ton of sci-fi. I do think it would have been awesome to let Zahn kick things off, as he did in the first place, and I'd enjoy seeing more SW from Matthew Stover. One name from sci-fi I am familiar with is John Scalzi--I know he's turned down the opportunity to write SW before, but personally I'd love to see what he could do with it.

And continuing with the "I just hope they bring in adequate talent to do the job" theme, we come to Episode VII itself, currently scheduled for release on December 18, 2015. Let's start with the old news first: I'm not conversant with J.J. Abrams's entire oeuvre, but I like what little I've seen (the two newest Star Trek movies as director, and Super 8 as director and writer). I'm excited to see what he bring to the table, and bringing back veteran writer Lawrence Kasdan from the original trilogy gives me great optimism. I'm also stoked that John Williams will be back to compose the score; given his age, I'm sure a day will come when Star Wars music is composed by someone else, and I do not look forward to that day.

Of course, as we all now know, Kasdan and Williams aren't the only old hands being brought back from the original trilogy. The recent cast announcement confirmed that original stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, and Kenny Baker will be reprising their roles as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2, respectively. I think that'll be nice. It'll be awesome to see them in their familiar roles once again as they (I'm sure) pass the torch to a younger generation of heroes and villains. I'm still hoping they find a spot for Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian as well. I don't know a ton about the newcomers, except for Max von Sydow, who's always good, and Andy Serkis, who's an interesting addition. Everyone else? No real clue. I've seen Adam Driver in Girls, but that role is so far away from anything he'd do in Star Wars, there's no way to extrapolate. Domhnall Gleeson was fine in a bit part as Bill Weasley. I've heard good things about Oscar Isaac and John Boyega, and I'll try to catch some of their movies (primarily Inside Llewyn Davis and Attack the Block) in the meantime to get up to speed with their work.

The most important thing about the new movies, I think, is for the writers to let them be what they are. The original three movies had a broad appeal, including to kids, because it was a swashbuckling adventure with relatable characters, a lot of action and humor, and, of course, a happy ending. The prequel trilogy fell short in part because it was a very different story, but Lucas tried to tell it in the same way. The descent of a republic into fascism, and the fall of a hero into a power-hungry mass murderer? Not a story that can be told (well) if you want to aim it at kids. One thing I do think is good is that they're going to make a bunch of new Star Wars movies, and hopefully that will give them the freedom to make different kinds of movies. The prequels should have been dark. If the upcoming trilogy or standalone movies have a dark storyline, they should be able to go with it, with plenty of room to make other movies that are lighter. Variety and depth--that's what I'm hoping for.

Needless to say, George Lucas's work, and plenty of products based upon it, has brought me a great deal of joy over the course of the past 36 (almost 37) years. Despite my disenchantment with the prequels (primarily The Phantom Menace; it was the only one I'd describe as outright terrible, and the following two likely would have been much improved with a better start to the series) isn't enough to make me not excited for the new trilogy and everything else Star Wars still has to offer. I'm very much looking forward to it.

Movie Review: Fanboys

A brief plot synopsis, in case you haven't heard of it (which you probably haven't): five friends in their 20s, all huge Star Wars fans, take a road trip from Ohio to San Francisco to break into Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy of The Phantom Menace before its release so one of their number, who has a terminal illness, can see it before he dies.

This is a comedy, by the way.

Those of you who know me personally or who have paid much attention to this blog know that I'm a huge Star Wars fan myself. I'm not one to dress up in costumes, but I do have a well-worn collection of Star Wars T-shirts. I was at the midnight showings of all three of the prequels. I have all the movies on DVD and watch them often. I have a decent collection of action figures, both from my childhood and, yes, more recently; I play the video games; I read the novels and comics. I have a Jeremy Bulloch-autographed photo of Boba Fett hanging on my office wall, a wedding gift from one of my best friends. In that sense, I'm the guy they were portraying in this film.

Now. All that said, I flatter myself that I'm also a fairly rounded, well-adjusted adult male. Yes, I love Star Wars. I also have other interests. I love sports, for instance. I have friends who are not Star Wars fans, either at all or at only a casual (read: healthy) level, and I can and do hold conversations with them. Some of these friends are female, and somehow I manage to refrain from devolving to a stuttering, slobbering mess in their presence. In fact, hey! I'm married, and yep, I've had sex. And you know what? I even kind of enjoy Star Trek, too. In all of these respects, I'm the complete antithesis of the guy they were portraying in this film.

I suppose I'm going into a bit of a rant here, but this constant depiction of fans of Star Wars (or Star Trek, or Lord of the Rings, or basically any kind of science fiction or fantasy) as one-dimensional and socially incompetent is really, really tiresome. Yes, I realize these people exist, and I can even see the humor in the stereotype, believe it or not. But at a certain point, enough is enough. I do have friends who are just as die-hard in their love for Star Wars as I am, and none of them are like this. This movie was written and made by Star Wars fans; I guess I just thought they'd be more true to their own. I almost couldn't get through the movie because I was so irritated by these characters.

Despite that, I decided to sit through the whole thing and try to let go of my irritation as much as possible. In all, I'm glad I did. The general asininity of the characters aside, the movie was obviously an homage to George Lucas and Star Wars and the spot they hold in our culture, which was pretty cool. It definitely enhanced my desire to see Skywalker Ranch at some point. It was fairly amusing. And once the comedy of the characters' personalities has been established and they were allowed to emerge as (at least mildly) real people, it turned into a fairly decent rumination on friendship and being yourself.

Oh, and Kristen Bell in the Slave Leia outfit? Two thumbs up from this reviewer.

Miscellaneous

(Mostly) Wedding Post # 3: F**king A

* What a way to start off the week: almost being killed (twice) on the way to work by a lady driving a Lexus SUV, a girl who was too busy putting on hairspray and mascara to bother with such mundane details as heeding "Yield" signs or keeping her obnoxious vehicle in a single lane.

* This week is going to pass by very slowly if people keep asking me about the wedding as much as they have today. I'm expecting a slow week. Actually, it should be a pretty peaceful week. Just about everything is taken care of at this point, unless something comes up between now and the rehearsal on Friday. I do have to write some vows or something, I think.

* I won't go into detail on my bachelor party, but I do want to give a shout out to my boys Mike, Matt, Mike, and Walt for showing me a killer time. I picked a great group of guys, and they definitely sent me out in style. Unfortunately, a couple of guys I invited weren't able to make it, and they really missed out. It was a perfect mix of "clean and wholesome" and "drunk and debaucherous," and there's no way I could have had a better time, even if I had planned it myself.

* No, I'm still not nervous, despite the fact that the wedding is now a scant four days away. I am, however, starting to get a little bit excited, at least for the reception. The inability to invite everyone notwithstanding, we do have a pretty good crew coming, the food will be awesome, there should be plenty of alcohol, and we put together a good list of tunes for the DJ. Hopefully that will be enough to keep people around and having a good time until we have to close the place down.

* I'm also pretty excited about the week following the wedding, when Brandi and I will be jetting off to Cozumel for a few days. If nothing else, it'll be awesome to get out of town and away from work for a while. I haven't been on a real vacation in a long time. I've never been to Mexico, so that should be really cool. Actually, I've only flown twice before, and that was just from Dayton to Grand Rapids and back. So this whole thing will be a totally new experience for me.

* Brandi and I went on Sunday night to see X-Men: The Last Stand. Pretty good movie, but not nearly as good as the first two. That's disappointing, because the first two were awesome, and this one had a lot of potential to be better than it was. The first two did such a great job of developing the mutants' characters, and this one fell a little short in that regard. It relied on action more than character development, and thus some of the characters (especially the new ones) felt pretty extraneous. It was also a little cheesy in parts (it made me think of He-Man sometimes), whereas the first two were so easy to take seriously. I think it was a mistake for the studio not to go ahead with production instead of waiting for Bryan Singer to direct, but I suppose it doesn't really matter. The film is already making a ton of money, and it's not like it was terrible. I just think it's a shame that it didn't live up to its full potential.

A Little of This, a Little of That

Okay. After so long away, I'm not totally sure I'll get to everything I'd like to tonight, but we'll see what happens.

* First off, the chicken pox episode is almost entirely over. I've been back to normal in terms of how I feel for nearly two full weeks now. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for the last of my rash to clear up. My arms and legs only have a couple of spots left, but my chest and back still have quite a few. My face has probably cleared up the best, but the ones that are left are pretty deep. I'm ready for them all to be gone. There's still some occasional mild itching, but it isn't too hard to ignore. I missed a grand total of six days of work at a bad (busy) time, but they kept everything up for me so that I've been able to get caught up with little trouble since I've been back.

* Earlier this evening I watched the MAC Championship football game between the Akron Zips and the Northern Illinois Huskies, played at a neutral site at Ford Field in Detroit. It was a hell of a game. I honestly didn't think Akron would be able to stay in this game, but they came out and got an early lead. NIU came back and took a fairly decent lead, though, and held it until nearly the end of the game. Then Akron came back and put themselves back in the game, then scored again with only ten seconds left to take the lead and win the game. They're going to a bowl game (the Motor City Bowl, also at Ford Field) for the first time in their history, and I say good for them. Seeing the game on television, though, I think they have to move the MAC Championship game back to campus sites. Go back to the old system, where they rotated the game from year to year from the stadium of the East Division and West Division winner. Either that or play the game on a Saturday. Having a weeknight game at a neutral site virtually assures that the crowd will be small, as it was tonight. A great game like that deserves a great crowd. At least if it was at one of the teams' home stadiums, the students and home fans could have been there, or if it was on a Saturday, the fans would be more likely to travel. Some teams (say, BG and Toledo) would have drawn better due to their proximity to Detroit, but that matchup didn't quite happen.

* Speaking of football, BG's season ended with a 44-41 2OT loss to archrival Toledo, and they finished the year 6-5. That record likely would have been better had QB Omar Jacobs not missed almost three full games with an injury, and had the record been better, BG would have been in the MAC Championship game over Akron. As nice as that would have been, I don't really believe that this year's team was championship caliber. The offense was very good (when Jacobs was healthy), but the defense and special teams were suspect...and that's being kind. It'll be interesting to see where the Falcons go from here. The defense should get better with more time under the new defensive coordinator, and the special teams just can't get any worse. The offense will be in transition, losing their two top receivers and tailbacks. Jacobs may opt to leave early for the NFL as well. Hopefully he'll be back, because the team needs him and I think he needs another year before going pro. One way or another, it'll be interesting to watch next season's Falcons take on a killer schedule--including a "home" game in Cleveland against Wisconsin, a home game against Boise State, and a roadie at Ohio State.

* As one season ends, another begins. On Wednesday night I made my first visit to Anderson Arena to get my first look at the BGSU men's basketball team. This will be an interesting year for them as well. There are a ton of newcomers to the team, most of which are freshmen. I think there's some talent there, but they have a long way to go before they're a good team. They played hard and looked good in the first half, but faded in the second and lost 76-66 to Oakland. I'm hoping they can develop as the season progresses to a point where they're dangerous as the postseason approaches, but I think they might be a year away. As long as they keep playing hard, though, they'll at least be fun to watch.

* The iPod saga continues. I returned it for service on November 3, and I don't have it back yet. Needless to say, I'm getting pretty irritated at this point. Brandi called the store this week to see if she could find out its status for me, but they said they couldn't help her without the order number on the paperwork. Of course, somehow the paperwork has been misplaced, so we couldn't get any information. I'm giving it until early next week. If the iPod hasn't shown up at my door by then, the people at Best Buy are going to have to deal with me in person. I want my iPod, and I want it to work. I've been without it for nearly two full months now, and that's unacceptable.

* Sometimes I think I would be willing to trade my other talents (which are numerous) for the ability to sing well. Of course, if I could do that, I have a feeling I would be insufferable. I think I would probably sing everything I had to say.

* Last week Brandi and I went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was pretty decent, but I feel like it could have been done better. I understand that they have to cut some stuff in order to adapt such a long book into a two-hour movie, but I always feel like they cut the wrong things. The one thing that bothered me most about this one was the removal, at the very end, of a minor incident that turns out to be a major plot point. It's vital to setting up the story for the next one, and I'm very interested to see how they deal with it. The last movie also removed a major plot point, and it has diminished, in my eyes, two otherwise very good movies. Neither would have taken much time, so the decision to leave them out utterly mystifies me.

* While there, we saw the trailer for the upcoming King Kong film. In general, I'm totally uninterested in King Kong. Still, I have a great deal of respect for Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings fame), and the trailer looked awesome. I may have to see this movie.

* Earlier this week, I finished reading Star Wars: The Unifying Force. It's the conclusion to the New Jedi Order series and the story arc that deals with a new alien species, the Yuuzhan Vong, invading the galaxy. I liked the series in general, but I'm not sure I liked this book. It attempted to almost totally re-define the Force, and it just seemed forced (no pun intended) and lame. I'm glad I've finally finished the series, though. There are a bunch of Star Wars books I haven't read (both post-NJO and prequel-era), and now I can move on to those.

* My goal for this month is to finish all the books I'm currently working on by New Year's, before I start on anything else. I don't think it'll be too much trouble if I can maintain my focus, but it's sort of contrary to my nature to finish something without immediately opening something else. I just want to start the new year with a clean slate.

It's Been a While

It's been quite some time since I've posted a column of notes, but I think I've finally worked up enough stray thoughts to pound one out.

Even with all the excitement over Revenge of the Sith, I haven't lost sight of the fact that there are plenty of other movies coming out this summer. I'm really looking forward to War of the Worlds, and I'm becoming more and more intrigued by Batman Begins. Recent trailers I've seen have piqued at least some interest in Fantastic Four and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I'm also looking forward to the latest Mike Judge project, 3001, which is supposed to come out in August. There's also some mild interest in Madagascar, The Wedding Crashers, and The Longest Yard. I know I won't get around to seeing all of these in theaters, but I'll probably catch most of them at some point.

Here's a preliminary order I've worked out for Star Wars novels I want to read after I finish Revenge of the Sith. First comes The Unifying Force, which is the final New Jedi Order novel. Then comes Survivor's Quest, which is the novel that follows the NJO series (I think), and is written by Timothy Zahn, who writes incredible Star Wars novels. After that will be Labyrinth of Evil, which is the book that leads directly into the events of Episode III. Once I finish that one, I'll have to sit down and figure out what else is out there. I know there are plenty, but right now I'm so far behind that I don't even know of all of them. The one I'm really looking forward to is Outbound Flight, which is another Zahn novel. The story of it was mentioned briefly in his Thrawn trilogy, which was the first series of books to begin expanding the Star Wars universe.

Before I get too deeply into the Star Wars novels, I want to finish up a couple of other books I've been working on for quite some time. I'm nearly finished with War and Remembrance, but I still have a ways to go on The Dark Tower. That one has sort of gone on hiatus, but I want to get back into it and finish it up in the near future.

I do intend to eventually stop talking about Star Wars quite so much. Right now I'm geeking out and loving every minute of it, so you'll just have to deal for a little bit longer.

Brandi and I watched Pulp Fiction on DVD earlier this evening. Brandi bought it for me for Christmas, and we hadn't gotten around to watching it yet. She hadn't seen it before at all, actually. It's one of my favorite movies of all time, but I don't think she liked it very much. When I think back, though, I don't think I liked it all that much the first time I saw it, either. It's a movie that requires a little bit of thought. Maybe she'll come around; maybe not.

For some unknown reason, the person in charge of the satellite radio at my office has made the change from our usual classic rock station to an eighties station. I like the classic rock, but it has definitely made for a nice change. Eighties tunes are the tunes I grew up on, so it has definitely been bringing back some memories. Strangely enough, the memories it has brought back most strongly have been of being in a bowling league with my cousin Rachel when I was younger. We were at the bowling alley every weekend, and most of these tunes were playing on the jukebox. Good stuff.

It's been an interesting week at work. I've gotten quite backed up, owing to a 28-page flyer that was given to me for proofreading late last week. While I went through that, other stuff has been building up. Today, someone finally got around to telling me that we're doing two 48-page catalogs this month, in addition to the 28-pager and some other various projects. It's our wonderful communication system in action once again. I also have to invest some time in my graphics responsibilities, as the other guy who does it has gotten quite backed up with his other responsibilities. I'm finding that I don't mind at all. I'm keeping very busy this way, and it makes the time pass by so much more quickly. I just wish that they would keep me advised on how much work is coming my way--it makes it so much easier to prioritize and make sure everything gets done on time.

The Reds have made some roster moves this week, parting ways with second baseman D'Angelo Jiminez and relief pitcher Danny Graves. They've been doing well since then, having won the last three games and sweeping a series with the Washington Nationals. I was a little surprised by the movies, but overall pretty pleased. Jiminez had been playing poorly all season, and hopefully this will give Ryan Freel a chance to play every day. I was more surprised they let go of Graves. He wasn't doing a very good job in the closer's role, but I just figured he'd be given a different role in the bullpen until he got himself back on track. He didn't endear himself to anyone by giving grief to the fans over the past couple of weeks, though, so it's probably better for all concerned that he's gone. It looks like the closer's role has been given to David Weathers, but I would like to see Ryan Wagner get a shot at it. Still, as long as they keep playing well and getting wins, I'm not going to complain much.

Second Time Around

If any of you keep regular tabs on my movie page, you may have, over the next few weeks, cause to wonder if I have completely lost my mind. On the right side of the page, where I keep a list of each movie I've seen so far this year, you will see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith appearing several times. Not yet; as of right now, it's only up there twice. I'll be seeing it many more times while it's in theaters, though.

Currently, I've seen it twice. I went to see it for the second time yesterday after work. I didn't think it was possible, but I actually liked it even more the second time around. I think it was because I knew what was coming, so I could glance around the screen and take in some of the secondary details instead of just focusing on the essentials. I'll probably like it more and more each time for the next few times I see it. Eventually it'll level off, but for now I'm enjoying the climb.

I'm sure it baffles some people that I, and so many others like me, spend money over and over again to see the same movie more than once in the theater. Sure, after I saw it the first time, I could have waited until November for the film to come out on DVD before I saw it again. A film like this, though, was meant to be seen in the theater. The special effects, both visual and auditory, are best experienced in the large-scale format you can only get in a real theater. I've got a pretty sweet home theater system, with a nice flat screen TV and a powerful surround-sound system, but it still isn't the same. The theater is the way to go. The darkened room with the film as the sole focus allows you to immerse yourself more complete that you can at home. I actually get so into the movie that it takes a while for me to readjust to the real world after I leave the theater.

Eventually I'll probably post a full-blown review, but I'll hold off for now. I want to give everyone a chance to see it before I get into a discussion of some of the finer plot points. Beyond that, I also want to see it a few more times to fix it more firmly in my memory, and I also want to read the novel (which I bought last night) to see how it complements the film.

After I finish the Revenge of the Sith novelization, I've got plenty of other Star Wars reading to do. I need to read the last book in the New Jedi Order series, which I've had on my shelf since it came out. There are plenty of other books that have come out in the meantime, and eventually I plan to get to most of them. Now that the films are complete, I'm hoping that the books will be able to explore more into the world of Darth Vader. Perhaps they've even started already. I'll find out. The question I have to answer as I go forward is whether or not I want to get into the graphic novels that are also out there. I have a few already, but I've never been a dedicated reader. I think the answer will probably be yes. After nearly twenty-eight years, I'm still hungry for all the Star Wars stories I can get my eyes on.

For now, though, I'm content to enjoy Revenge of the Sith while its run at the theaters lasts. I've got one more viewing planned for this week (Friday after work), and I'm thinking I may be able to drag Brandi out to see it again at some point over the long weekend. Go ahead, consider me a freak if it makes you feel better; I get such limited opportunity to indulge my freakish behaviorin this way, I'm taking full advantage while I can.

Revenge is Sweet

After months of anticipation, the experience of seeing Revenge of the Sith is now in the past. It lived up to my highest expectations and then some.

My cousin Mike and his girlfriend Lisa drove up to Bowling Green from the Dayton area to go see the midnight showing with Brandi and me. They got here around 7:00 or so with a surprise. Lisa had made Star Wars t-shirts for all of us, and they were very cool. Brandi and I quickly changed into our new shirts, and then the four of us went out for pizza.

After dinner and a non-related side trip, we arrived at the theater in Perrysburg around 9:30. I had purchased tickets online a couple of weeks ago, so I just had to swipe my card to retrive them from the ATM-like machine in the lobby. From there, we got in line to get into the auditorium. Opening night line-sitting is quite an experience. It's actually as much a part of the event as the film itself. It sounds goofy to outsiders, but it's actually a lot of fun to be around a bunch of like-minded people and listen to the chatter. It's also a lot of fun to see otherwise normal and straight-laced adults dressed up as Jedi, Sith lords, Wookiees, and other creatures and characters from that beloved fictional universe. Our line time passed by quickly.

They let us into the auditorium at 11:00. You know you're on your way into a Star Wars films when they check purses and bags on the way in to ensure that no photographical equipment is smuggled in. Fortunately, I was wearing jeans with deep pockets, so our candy-smuggling ability was not hampered. We had to wait in the auditorium for just over an hour before the movie started. This time was also fairly entertaining, seeing even more costumed people filing in and milling around. Eventually a local camera crew came in to interview some of the folks wearing costumes, which was pretty cool.

Eventually the theater darkened and the previews began. Each successive preview was greeted by more and more groaning from an audience full of Star Wars fans who were finally so close to their latest, freshest fix that they could feel the promise of it pulsing against their skin. When the previews ended and the familiar 20th Century Fox fanfare played, there was much rejoicing. And I do mean much. I attended midnight showings of each of the previous SW prequels, and this was by far the most boisterous crowd I've ever been a part of. It reached a crescendo when the title flashed onscreen, followed by the opening crawl, and then the crowd settled into a respectful, almost reverent silence to fully soak in every detail of the new installment.

I'm sure it's evident at this point that I liked this movie very, very much. I'm not ready to say that it's the best of the entire series, but it's definitely and by far the best of the prequel trilogy. And I say that as someone who really enjoyed Attack of the Clones. This new film was everything it needed to be. The action was fast and furious, the effects were incredible (as always), questions were answered, and the film was very, very dark. You could feel the frustration and anger as Anakin Skywalker turned toward the Dark Side of the Force and unleashed that emotion in a spate of shocking violence.

The violence, though, was very understated. Most of it was implied rather than actually shown. Yes, there was violence shown, and some of it was fairly graphic, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. It wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been if I would have made the film, for instance. That approach was sort of refreshing, actually. I'm not one who minds onscreen violence at all (a couple of my favorite movies, for example, are Braveheart and Pulp Fiction), but it's not always bad to have it take place off-camera. In this case, it allowed George Lucas to keep his film at a relatively safe PG13 rating, but it also seemed appropriate stylistically (to me, at least).

All too soon, the movie was over, setting the stage for the events that take place in Episode IV, which was made twenty-eight years ago. Yes, there were still some minor questions left unanswered, but all in all the film was extremely satisfying. It was the Star Wars experience that fans have been waiting for, myself included.

In many ways, I'm sad that it's over now. Don't get me wrong, I'll definitely see the movie in the theater again (and again, and again; I'll be fairly shocked if the number of instances stays in the single digits), but it won't be like the first time. No more buying tickets weeks in advance; no more waiting in line for hours just to get into the theater; no more hordes of Jedi storming the theater; no more midnight screenings with my cousin Mike; no more waiting in breathless anticipation to see what happens next. Unless, of course, Lucas changes his mind and decides to go ahead with another trilogy after all. As much fun as the films were, the anticipation of another one was almost as good. Yes, I'm sad to see them go. I enjoy the books, and the video games, and I'm looking forward to the television series, but...it just isn't the same as a full-length motion picture event.

Still, I'm going to enjoy Revenge of the Sith while it's in theaters, and I recommend you do the same. If you've ever enjoyed any of the Star Wars films, I doubt this one will disappoint you. It definitely manages to capture the lightning in a bottle that they've had in their best moments. Its tone may be dark, but it's a fun movie nonetheless.

The Circle Is Now Complete

The reviews are in. See this film.

Revenge of the Sith

Speaking of creating monsters...I may have created a frenzy by asking Brandi to marry me, but I doubt she has any idea of what awaits her when the newest Star Wars film hits theaters. It opens on May 19, meaning that two weeks from today I'll be preparing to go to the midnight showing. I can't friggin' wait. I don't read much about it, because I don't want to accidentally see something that will give away even the tiniest bit of plot, but I can't help hearing things from time to time. The word so far is that it kicks some ass. I'm so ready for that. I just have a good feeling, like this one is going to be the best of the bunch (not just the prequel bunch, but the entire movie franchise). It'll take a lot to top The Empire Strikes Back as the best, but this one could do it. It's such an intriguing point of the story. If Lucas is as good a filmmaker as he was considered before these prequels began, there's little chance that this film can be less than awesome.

I'll likely see the film in the theater about ten to fifteen times, and more if it's as good as I feel like it will be. I don't care if that makes me a dork. There's just nothing like seeing Star Wars on the big screen. It's such a grand spectacle, and as this is the last of the bunch (although he's going to redo them all in 3D starting in '07, if I read correctly), I plan to take full advantage of every chance I have to see the film in the way it is meant to be seen.

After I've seen the film at least once, I'll read the novel, listen to the soundtrack, play the video game, read the articles, etc. Until then, I'm staying as chaste as possible so as to take in as much of the experience as possible on that magical night.

Movie Review: Fever Pitch

In the course of my job, which deals with marketing videotapes and DVDs, I read a pretty fair amount of movie reviews. In the main, I find them astonishing. A lot of critics seem to nitpick, almost as if they're looking for something negative to say. I think the single most common failing of most movie critics, though, is neglecting to take into consideration the movie's intended purpose. Not every movie sets out to be The Godfather, after all. If a movie is intended to be nothing more than an entertaining movie for a date, for instance, I think critics would be well served to concern themselves mainly with whether or not it achieves that goal, rather than criticizing every flaw that makes a movie unworthy of being considered a masterpiece.

Such is the case with Fever Pitch. I almost never read reviews in advance of seeing a movie, for two reasons: first, I don't want to have my opinions tainted by someone I've never met and whose tastes likely don't match mine; and secondly, I want the whole movie to come as a surprise. Reviewers are generally pretty good about not giving spoilers, but I really try to go in with as little knowledge as possible. After I've seen a movie, on the other hand, I occasionally like to read reviews, to see how well my opinion matches the "experts," and also to see if they can provide any insights I may have missed.

So, after Brandi and I caught Fever Pitch on Saturday night, I checked out some reviews yesterday and was a little surprised by what I found. They weren't overwhelmingly bad, but they were decidedly mixed. Some critics thought the movie was good; others, not so much. I was just surprised by the direction taken by many of those who didn't like it. They seemed to expect far too much from this movie, especially given that the creators of the film have also made such classics as Dumb and Dumber.

I went into the movie expecting a nice, entertaining, diversionary popcorn movie, and that's exactly what I got. Actually, I had a little bit of trepidation because I generally find Jimmy Fallon to be not very funny and a little bit annoying, but that was balanced by the presence of Drew Barrymore, whom I like very much. As it turned out, I liked the movie very much as well.

The main reason I liked the movie to much is because I identified with it strongly. I'm not a Red Sox fan, but I am a passionate fan of the teams I do follow (and I think several people close to me just nominated that as "Understatement of the Year"). I've been that guy who looks at the team schedule before making other, potentially awesome plans (although nothing quite as extravagant as a trip to Paris). I've been that guy whose team spirit has nearly (or perhaps even entirely) destabilized relationships. In many ways, I'm still that guy, as much as I try to take it down a notch. I recognized Fallon's character because he's me, and the writers of the script absolutely nailed it.

One thing I appreciated about this movie is that it did not make Fallon's character out to be a loser. There are too many movies like that already. It's easy to characterize a die-hard fan (of anything, not just sports: as someone with a deep appreciation for all things Star Wars as well as sports, I know this only too well) in a certain negative light, and this movie didn't take that road. Sure, he's got season tickets and never misses a game, not to mention his amazing memorabilia collection, but he still "has a life." He's not holed up in his basement, on Internet message boards all day, or anything like that. He's got friends, he teaches honors geometry, and he's dating a hot chick. Granted, his relationship with the Sox almost costs him that relationship with the girl, and you could argue that there's a certain loser-ish quality to that, but I would argue against you. The movie explores that, at any rate. I'm just glad that they took the character in the direction they did: he's a more or less normal guy who happens to be a big-time fan. No big deal.

The difference between myself and those critics who panned the movie may simply be our backgrounds. I've been that guy, so I knew where the movie was coming from and was totally into it. Some of these writers probably never have been that guy (or girl), and so didn't identify with it in the same way. Would I have liked the movie as much if I didn't see myself in it? Probably not. I may have liked it, but I doubt that I would have appreciated all the subtle nuances, all the things they got exactly right. I wouldn't have seen as much truth in it.

Okay, so they nailed the main character, and they also nailed the difficulties of having a committed romantic relationship under those circumstances. The movie was pretty funny, he gets the girl in the end, the Red Sox win the World Series, and the audience goes home happy. Bingo! Here we have our successful movie. Was it perfect? Of course not. Some things definitely could have been done better. Even if they had been, though, I don't think the movie was going to be nominated for any Oscars. Overall, in my critical review, the movie gets three and a half stars (out of five). It's not American Beauty or Return of the King; on the other hand, it's also not Romeo + Juliet (which may well have been the worst movie I've seen; no one can ruin a film quite like the ever-awful Leo DiCaprio).

One thing that definitely could have been done better was to make more of a connection between the relationship and the Red Sox season. Everyone has seen the commercials: this was marketed as a baseball movie, and specifically as a Red Sox movie, but baseball and the Red Sox are really just background noise, barely brought into the foreground at all. I think they missed a real bet by not better tying the ups and downs of the relationship to the ups and downs of the season. There was an attempt at that, I think, but it wasn't very prominent. They could have done a lot more with it.

Another thing they could have done is focus more on Barrymore's character's counter-obsession, which is work. Again, they did a little bit with this, but perhaps not as much as they could have. It seemed as though Fallon's Red Sox obsession was an obstacle to their relationship, whereas Barrymore's work obsession was just an obstacle to his obsession. Just to change it up, I think they could have reversed roles for a short sequence, just to show that there are other things which can get in the way of a relationship. Work may seem more important than baseball (to some people, I guess), but when it boils down, anything that is taken too far can be a detriment to a relationship.

Those are minor quibbles, though. I liked the movie the way it was, and I liked it a lot. When it comes out on DVD, I'm sure I'll add it to my collection. It may not be as much a sports movie as Field of Dreams or Hoosiers, but it's no less enjoyable for all of that.

Hearts in Atlantis: Compare and Contrast

A quick note before we begin in earnest: this evening I'll be discussing various plot points in the movie version of Hearts in Atlantis, so you may want to consider skipping this entry if you haven't seen the movie but still plan to. I know it's been out for several years now and most people that want to see it have already done so, but I wanted to mention that right up front, just in case. One of my more unpleasant Internet experiences caused me to learn which major Star Wars character was killed off in the novel Vector Prime before I had gotten around to reading it; it was in a forum that I did not expect to contain spoilers, and no warnings were given beforehand. As a result, I usually try to give notice about stuff like that. Sometimes I forget, but I try. At any rate, I doubt anything I mention tonight will be earth-shattering, but you never know. I may get on a roll.

First off, the acting wasn't all that great. Granted, a couple of the main characters were children, and I never expect great performances from child actors. Sometimes you're pleasantly surprised, but it's best if you don't put your hopes too high. I didn't think the actors portraying Bobby Garfield and Carol Gerber (Anton Yelchin and Mika Boorem, respectively) were too bad, but they didn't blow me away either. That was fine. I was most disappointed in Hope Davis, who gave us a very weak Liz Garfield. She never made me believe what she was saying or doing, and I just think her character was too soft. In the book, her harshness was a major motivating factor in Bobby's character development, and I felt like the movie missed out on that. I will say that Anthony Hopkins did a great job as Ted Brautigan. Of course, I expected a lot from Hopkins, because he's great. That wasn't how I pictured Brautigan (I actually picture him looking a lot like James Whitmore), and sometimes that can be a hard thing to get past in a movie that's been made from a book, but Hopkins made it a breeze.

On a similar note...I really like David Morse (who is making a living from Stephen King films--this one, plus The Green Mile and The Langoliers), but I don't think he's the actor I would have cast as the adult version of Bobby Garfield. I don't have an alternative in mind, but it wouldn't have been him. Then again, the way his character appeared in the book and in the movie were two different things. Morse served the purpose well enough for the movie role, but I pictured the adult Bobby as being harder, more guarded, more run-down by life (and definitely bald).

Another thing that's nagging at me is the question of why Bobby turned out to be a photographer? In the book he was a carpenter. I can't think of a great reason for either one of these eventual professions to be relevant to the overall story, but if it isn't relevant either way, why not leave it as it is? I'm not sure. Given that young Bobby was seen looking through prisms several times, which later plays into his photography, I'm guessing that there was something to it. If so, I haven't quite figured out what it is.

Of course, there are always plot differences between movie and book versions of a story. Another fairly large one is that, in the movie, Bobby returns to his hometown to learn that Carol Gerber has died in the meantime. In the book, Bobby returns home thinking she's dead, but finding out later that she's alive and came back to town just to see him. This is something that had to change, though. The aims of the book and the movie are totally different. The main point of the book lies in the years after their shared childhood, so it's necessary in that version for them to come together at the end to bring out that point and provide closure to the story. The main point of the book is in the difference between "then" and "now," so having a reunion with Carol would only prolong the story unnecessarily. Instead Bobby meets her daughter and enjoys a momentary reminiscence and reflection on those days, and that's it.

One thing I was very interested to see was how (or if) they justified the title of the movie. It was the name of the book, which was named for the second story within. The story the movie was based on, though, was the first, which was titled "Low Men in Yellow Coats." In the second story, the lost city of Atlantis was a reference to the innocence of a generation before Vietnam swept it away; the "Hearts" portion of the title referred to both the standard conceit of the human heart as the seat of emotion (especially love) as well as the actual card game of Hearts. This story was related to "Low Men" only in that it featured the character of Carol Gerber, now several years older and in college, and some of that story's backstory took place in the first story. At any rate, the movie did attempt to justify the title, and I think it did so in a way that Mr. King probably didn't totally object to. In the movie, childhood itself is Atlantis, and broken hearts abound toward the end, as Liz's betrayal of Ted leads to his separation from Bobby.

If they had chosen to title the movie differently, they couldn't have called it "Low Men in Yellow Coats" either, because the Low Men are gone from the story. In the book, these Low Men were otherworldly, not entirely human creatures who are tracking Ted for his abilities to "break" the beams that hold all of existence together in another dimension. This will make a limited amount of sense to anyone who reads the book in a vacuum, but King's "Constant Reader" will know that it ties Hearts in Atlantis to the major work of his career, the Dark Tower series. The filmmakers must have thought this detail would have confused casual moviegoers, so they took it out. The Low Men in yellow coats were replaced by Low Men in dark suits and hats, who turned out to be vaguely psychic FBI agents who wanted Ted (also a psychic) to aid in the fight against Communism. It's sad that King's movies don't all tie together the way so many of his books do, but the events of the books and the events of the movies, although similar in many cases, obviously take place in separate worlds.

Hearts in Atlantis is King's book about the Vietnam era, but it's also about the effects of time. The movie really can't say much about Vietnam without the stories that take place in the middle of the book, so it takes the second theme and runs with it. It's mostly about the magic and discovery of childhood, and the loss of innocence that inevitiably comes at some point. By telling the bulk of the story as a flashback from older Bobby, who appears only at the beginning and end of the film, it's also about how things change from childhood to adult. In fact, that's probably why they made Bobby a photographer. Once childhood is gone, the memories are like a photograph. You can look at it and perhaps feel an echo of the magic that surrounded you at that time, but you can never totally step back into it.

I enjoyed watching the film, but I wasn't as enthralled with it as I am with the book. As with most King books, this one evolves a great deal in the minds of the characters, and that doesn't always translate to film (one major reason why King's films frequently fall short of his books). In this book, as much as any other King book, the characters really jump off the page and start breathing, and that wasn't totally the case in the movie. The movie wasn't very alive, aside from the performance of Anthony Hopkins. I'm glad I saw it, though, because it did open up a little bit more of the book in its own way. A lot of movies based on books don't do that very well, or at all.

The Perfect Pizza (and So Forth)

Last night I ordered pizza from Papa John's for dinner. When the pizza arrived, I opened the box to find the most incredible-looking pizza I have ever seen. It looked so good, in fact, that I found it necessary to take a picture:



The photograph simply doesn't do this pizza justice, but rest assured that it looked even better in real life than it does above, where it still looks pretty damned good. I took a leftover slice to work with me today for my lunch, and a couple of people in the lunchroom commented on how good it looked.

Speaking of work, tomorrow is our company Christmas party, which should be pretty interesting. The people I've talked to have all said that company parties are generally a good time, so I'm looking forward to it. I saw some of the prizes sitting in our company president's office yesterday, and they were good ones.

Also, our department was told today that we're being taken out to lunch one day next week on the president's dime. We've been told not to wear jeans that day, so we must be going someplace really nice. I think we're being rewarded for a job well done with our last catalog deadline, which was last week. We already had a meeting to be congratulated and thanked for getting it done well and on time. I can't even believe the contrast in this area from my last job, where no one was ever congratulated, thanked, or rewarded for anything. In addition, the president made a point to pull me aside today to ask how things are going so far. I can tell already that he really is interested in keeping employees happy, as well as customers. I think that's awesome.

I found out last night that former BGSU quarterback Josh Harris has signed with the Cleveland Browns to be a backup there for the rest of the season. I hate the Browns with every ounce of my soul, but I am excited for Josh. I would love to see him do well in the pros. I think he will, after some seasoning, and this move may give him a chance to get some playing time and some much-needed experience this year. I'm really hoping, personally, that he doesn't end up with the Browns long-term, but as long as he does well, I'm all for it, no matter which team he plays for.

The extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King came out today on DVD, and I hustled out after work to pick up my copy. Brandi and I watched it tonight, and it's incredible. The added and extended scenes add about 50 minutes to the film, making it over four hours long, but it's totally worth it. Everything added serves to give the film just a little bit more flavor, or to help clear some things up. I wish the makers of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban would have done something similar--as good as that movie was, they left some gaping holes in it. That aside, I really have to say that the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the finest series of movies I've ever seen, and by a pretty wide margin. I intend that as no slight to the Star Wars films, which I love. The LotR films are just incredible in every aspect. Of course, watching the movie has given me the urge to read the books again, so I'll probably start on those pretty soon.

I've been using Mozilla's Firefox browser the past couple of days, trying it out as an alternative to Internet Explorer. I'm still getting used to some aspects of it, but overall I like it. It really does seem to be faster, and that's nice.

The Return of Notes, Quotes, and Billy Goats

Today was my first really good day at work. I was busy all day long, and I had to make a ton of corrections. A busy day is a good day, especially when I'm doing a lot of editing. I still haven't been totally trained. I keep hoping that it's coming, but no luck so far. It should be soon, though. I just want to get to a point where I know what to do when there isn't anything in my inbox. Fortunately, I had enough work today that there's plenty left over to start with in the morning.

If my calculations are correct, tomorrow I should get my first paycheck from my new job. I'm looking forward to that.

Making the day even better, I got to spend some time at Anderson Arena this evening. The BGSU Falcons took on the Bluffton Beavers and won 87-60. Despite the 27-point win, the Falcons didn't play particularly well. It was a fun game to watch, though. The crowd was pretty good (Coach Dakich actually came over to the student section during one of the timeouts to thank everyone for coming--a nice gesture, but one he shouldn't have to make), and there were quite a few dunks. I think all of them came from Josh Almanson, who really bulked up in the offseason and has looked great so far. He has always been a solid player, but this year it looks like he's ready to live up to his full potential.

Tonight Brandi and I watched the movie Super Size Me, the documentary made by a guy who ate nothing but McDonalds food for a whole month. It was pretty incredible. Looking back, I can't say there was really anything in there that was really surprising, but it was a real eye-opener to see it laid out the way it was. Very good movie. I'd like to say it will inspire me to clean up my eating habits, but we'll see. I've actually been trying to eat better gradually for quite a while now, and I think I do a pretty decent job. I still eat fast food at least once a week, though, as I just can't pass up Wendy's on Friday.

If Barry Bonds had a shred of decency, he would simply retire from baseball before the beginning of next season. If he continues to play, he's going to break the all-time home run record, and then that record is going to be tainted by the fact that he has taken steroids. He absolutely has to know what a mess that would create for the game, so he should walk away and not let it happen. Do I expect him to do that? Absolutely not.

Notre Dame is still looking for a head coach after being spurned by former Bowling Green coach Urban Meyer, who took the job at Florida instead. Hey Irish, I bet you could pry George O'Leary away from Central Florida! Didn't you try to hire him last time? I think he'd probably be willing to listen to offers after leading the Golden Knights to an 0-11 record in their final year in the MAC.

Best News Ever

The Schwartz Is with the Spaceballs Sequel

More Star Wars Thoughts

Last night Brandi and I watched Return of the Jedi on DVD. I've now watched all of the feature films in their updated form as they were released on DVD last Tuesday. I have to say that they look and sound great. The people who cleaned up and remastered the films, both the video and audio portions, did an outstanding job. In no way did these movies look to be as old as they are. Someday I hope to have a home theater system that will do these movies justice.

The additional changes that George Lucas made for the DVD release were pretty minor. I finally got the subtitles thing figured out, so the alien speech translations are still there.

One change I liked was updating the scene in The Empire Strikes Back where Darth Vader speaks to a hologram of Emperor Palpatine. Palpatine was formerly played by Clive Revill; with the update, it's now Ian McDiarmid, who plays Palpatine in all the other films. This isn't a major change--aside from the look of the scene, there was only a slight dialogue change--but it really does help the consistency. Now Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine has the same look and sound throughout all the films, and that's a nice touch. It wouldn't have been a big deal had they not done it, but since they could, I'm glad they did.

One change in that film that I didn't like so much was the re-dubbing of Boba Fett's few lines. The dialogue stayed the same, but now it's in the voice of Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett (Boba Fett's father) in Attack of the Clones. This seems neither necessary nor particularly desirable. How many sons sound exactly like their fathers? The original voice had a distinctive sound that really seemed to fit the character. The updated voice seems a little bit off. That may be just because it's new, but it seems to be enough that the change was superfluous.

I'm undecided about the insertion of Hayden Christensen as the spirit of Anakin Skywalker at the end of Return of the Jedi. He looks nothing like Sebastian Shaw, the actor who provided the face of the unmasked Vader. It seems to me that Luke would not even recognize his father as a younger man. This seems like a change that didn't really have to be made, but since it was, that's fine. I don't really care either way.

All in all, I'm just glad that these movies are finally available on DVD. I've been waiting a very long time for them, and it turned out to be worth the wait. Now I can watch them as much as I want, and they'll look just as good years from now as they did this week.

Next up is the disc of extras that was included with the set. I haven't looked at any of them yet, but I'm looking forward to it, especially the Empire of Dreams documentary.

I Have a Bad Feeling About This

After all the hype and anticipation, I only watched the first half of one Star Wars movie last night. I wanted to wait for Brandi, who expressed an interest in watching them with me, so we didn't start watching until she got home and got settled. That was fairly late, and so we only got about an hour into the movie before we were ready to go to bed.

Still, that tiny bit of viewing made me feel pretty apprehensive about the DVD set as a whole. Here are some ridiculously premature observations.

Any Star Wars fan will tell you that having Greedo shoot first was the worst decision in the history of film, and quite possibly in the history of mankind. I've always been on board with that opinion, and seeing the movie again last night brought home just how egregious it was. I realize that Lucas didn't want Han Solo, one of the "good guys," to look like a cold-blooded killer, but come on! He's surreptitiously pulling his gun from the holster during the whole conversation; what else was he going to do? Aside from that, doing the scene that way required some terrible editing. The frame visibly freezes for a split second so that Greedo has time to get a shot off. Beyond that, his gun is pointed directly at Solo, and so the shot comes out at an angle to miss him. It looks terrible. If Lucas was going to make changes to these movies beyond what he had already done for the Special Editions, he should have put this scene back the way it was.

In that scene, and also in the scene where Solo talks to Jabba the Hutt outside the Millennium Falcon (a scene that wasn't in the original theatrical release), the subtitles have been removed that translate what Greedo and Jabba are saying. I'm sure this is done for consistency--at no point is Chewbacca's alien speech translated, but you get an idea of what he said from context. Still, I don't like it. Greedo's speech included some important clues to Solo's backstory, which plays a role as the movies progress. People who have seen the movie as many times as I have already know what's going on, but anyone seeing the movie for the first time (Brandi, for example) is going to miss out on those little details.

I initially liked the Special Editions when they first came out, but as time passes I find that they bother me more. These DVDs and their additional changes just add on to that. I definitely like the cosmetic touch-ups to the original effects: the original explosion of the Death Star, for example, was notably weak. Beyond that, I wish Lucas could have left well enough alone. It was cool to see some of the deleted scenes added back in, but none of them were really necessary. It just seems like he changed some things for no reason, and left things alone that could have used a change. Theoretically, a lot of it was done in the name of continuity with the prequel trilogy, so a certain amount of judgment will have to wait until Episode III is released in May. I just don't think a lot of this stuff was necessary at all.

I'll hold any further opinions until I've had a chance to watch all three of the movies.

Perhaps You Feel You're Being Treated Unfairly?

Lucas revisits his Star Wars empire for box set
Star Wars trilogy gets a makeover

It it were happening during any other time of the year, I would already be in a frenzy over the release of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD, which happens in less than two weeks, on September 21. With football season just getting underway, I have that to keep my mind occupied, but suffice it to say that I'm still managing to grow more and more excited about the release date as it approaches.

Of course, calling these movies the "original" Star Wars trilogy is something of a misnomer, as the movies are no longer in the original form in which they were released in theaters in 1977, 1980, and 1983, respectively. These aren't even the "Special Edition" films that were re-released in 1997, as franchise owner George Lucas has continued to tinker with them cosmetically. Some changes, such as scrubbing the film and cleaning up the special effects, make perfect sense. Others, such as inserting a replacing a shot of Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker in Return of the Jedi with one of Hayden Christensen, are totally unnecessary.

While I liked some of the enhancements of the Special Editions, some of the changed seemed out of place and just didn't make much sense. Even some of those changes reportedly have been updated in these most recent versions of the films, so perhaps they'll fit in better this time around. However, it seems like Lucas could give fans the best of both worlds by presenting these films in two versions--the original theatrical releases (with only necessary changes, like scrubbing the original film), and the new "director's cut" versions.

On the other hand, as something of an artist myself, I can see Lucas's point of no longer wanting the original versions in circulation. I'm sure not too many writers would want first drafts of their work available after the finished product comes out. Of course, not too many "first drafts" explode into such a phenomenon as the original Star Wars trilogy did, with both a technical impact (on filmmaking) and a cultural one. In this case, I think Lucas should have given in and presented both versions. Plenty of Star Wars fans (myself included, sadly) would be willing to shell out the extra cash to have both. Lucas has never seemed allergic to making extra money, so it's puzzling now that he's missing out on this opportunity.

At any rate, I'm just glad these movies will soon be out on DVD, in whatever form. I can't wait to get the set in my hot little hands, and from there into my DVD player. I have a feeling the time between that Tuesday and that Friday will pass by rather quickly, as I immerse myself in the films and all the bonus materials that come with them.

Friday the 13th

Today seems like an appropriate day to discuss my fascination with the horror genre.

I can't really explain it, other than to say I've always been fascinated by the macabre and tales of the supernatural, and I've always enjoyed the sensation of being frightened by such tales. I think it started when I was pretty young. I loved Scooby-Doo, which generally revolved around Scooby and the gang investigating claims of ghosts, phantoms, monsters, etc. Those cartoons are just funny now when I catch them on Cartoon Network, but some of the episodes were pretty creepy to a five-year-old.

I graduated from there to books like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and others like that, plus "true" tales of ghosts and unexplained phenomena. I had some sleep-deprived nights due to some of those stories, let me tell you. No nightmares or anything like that, but I would lie awake just thinking about some of the stories. In my own sick and weird way, I liked it. I'd scare myself, really. I knew the stories weren't real, but...what if they were?

I was in sixth grade when I started reading authors like Dean Koontz, John Saul, and Stephen King. Some of those novels were more about psychological horror, which was new to me. I totally grooved on it, though. And they also wrote enough "conventional" horror to keep me happy in that regard. To this day, one of my absolute favorite novels is Koontz's Watchers. I've read it a number of times. Even now, after I've read it so many times, it still has the power to creep me out. I think that's awesome.

Around the same time, I started watching horror movies. My friend Rachel and I used to rent all the horror movies we could get our hands on, and I've seen some really bad ones. Of that ilk, I'll go out of my way to mention the numerous movies based on the book Watchers that I just raved about--the novel was great, but none of the movies stayed true to it, and thus they all sucked. Sad but true. I was pretty into the standard fare of Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, though. Alien is an awesome horror flick, too, although a lot of people write it off because it's also science fiction. Personally, I don't care if it takes place in outer space--that movie is damned creepy.

I haven't seen a lot of the more recent horror films, I'm sad to say. Partially it's because some of them look so awful, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that no one is really interested in seeing them with me. I haven't yet seen The Ring, The Sixth Sense (although I know the surprise, dammit!), or The Blair Witch Project. They're all on the list, though. I think the last horror movies I saw were Scream and Scream 2, actually. I thought the first one was good and pretty clever, but after that it got stale.

Of course, a lot of Stephen King novels have been made into movies, and I've seen quite a few of those just because I enjoy his work so much. Some of the movies are terrible, but some are great. Don't bother with The Dark Half or The Stand (although yes, I do own The Stand on DVD). It was pretty decent, as was the original Salem's Lot (I didn't get to see the updated version on TNT). Misery and Pet Semetary were both pretty awesome. The translations of his work are really hit or miss. I like to see them, though, one way or another.

Right now, I'd have to say I'm pretty interested in seeing The Village. I haven't seen any of Shyamalan's films, actually, but I want to check them out. I haven't seen The Exorcist, which shames me as a horror fan, but I'd like to see that and then the prequel that's coming out shortly. Also, for kind of a guilty pleasure I'd like to see Alien vs. Predator (and Freddy vs. Jason for that matter). Since Brandi is most definitely not interested, however, I'll almost certainly have to wait until they all come out on DVD, and then I'll watch them by myself.

Movie Review: Spider-Man 2

As always when I write a movie review, this entry could and probably will give away some plot points, so proceed at your own risk. If you haven't seen the movie but plan to, I suggest you skip this one. Oh, but come back and read it after you've seen the film.

I follow similar advice myself. I almost never read reviews of movies I haven't seen yet, because I feel like they give away too much. I'll often go back after I've seen a film, though, and check out some reviews, just to see how my opinion differs and to sharpen my own perception of the film. I think it's a good system. Still, even without reading reviews, you can still get a feel for the general consensus about a film just by catching headlines and listening to people talk. I had heard that Spider-Man 2 was pretty good, and I liked the first one a lot, so I went in with pretty high expectations.

I was not disappointed at all. This movie is incredible.

First off, it's everything you would want a superhero movie to be. It's got a fast pace, it's funny when it should be, and the action sequences are awesome. There's a scene with a runaway train that will leave you on the edge of your seat, and that isn't the only one like that. It's very intense and fun.

It's also more than that, though. The film does a great job of showing Peter Parker as a real person, and of exploring the dichotomy between him and his Spider-Man alter-ego. He feels a need to fight crime as Spider-Man, but doing so is interfering with his own personal goals, not to mention his ability to pay his rent. This all comes to a head when he decides to give up being Spider-Man and get his own life in order, including his pursuit of Mary Jane Watson (the proverbial girl next door), who is inconveniently engaged to the son of Peter's boss.

Obviously, there comes a point where Peter is forced to take up his role of Spider-Man once again, and this point comes when Mary Jane is captured by the nefarious mad scientist Dr. Octopus. This leads, eventually, to MJ discovering his secret identity, which in turn leads to the way the movie ends (hint: she doesn't marry the astronaut), which should provide some interesting plot points for Spider-Man 3 (due in theaters in 2007).

Anytime I'm presented with a mythic hero like Spider-Man, I automatically make comparisons to Luke Skywalker. It's an automatic reaction. At any rate, I noticed one interesting thing that I thought was worth noting. When Skywalker casts away his lightsaber toward the end of Return of the Jedi, he's denouncing his dark side (the path his father took) and putting himself firmly on the noble path of the Jedi. However, when Peter discards his Spider-Man outfit, he relinquishes his noble side (the path encouraged by his uncle) and returns to the murk of being a mere mortal. He's not turning toward the "dark side" (to use Star Wars terminology), but he does become more inner-directed and selfish. Eventually (probably in the third film) he'll have to integrate these two sides of his personality, now that he knows he can't simply stop being one or the other.

Since I mentioned Star Wars, I may as well go on a bit of a semi-related tangent. One thing you'll notice about both Spider-Man films is that the computer generated graphics are a little weak. They're fairly decent, but if you pause to consider for a moment, you're never going to be fooled into thinking that Tobey Maguire is actually web-hopping above the streets of New York. It looks like digital imagery. That's perhaps because the filmmakers knew that the story was strong enough that they didn't have to focus on impeccable visuals. The two most recent Star Wars films, on the other hand...the computer graphics were awesome, but the story could have been told a lot better. I'm still holding out hopes that the yet-to-be-titled Episode III can be as good as Spider-Man 2 when it comes to showing emotional depth and despair. The fall of Anakin Skywalker should be full of anguish, and so far George Lucas hasn't shown himself to be capable of working with that type of emotion.

Of course, part of the reason the Spider-Man films have done so well on the emotional side is because the casting director has done a superb job of selecting actors to fill the roles. Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst have great chemistry as Peter and Mary Jane, and Alfred Molina did a great job as Dr. Octopus. Also, James Franco, who looks to be the next villain as the Green Goblin reincarnated, did a nice job as Peter's friend Harry.

Any problems I had with the film were due to certain plot points being underdeveloped, which I'm sure was something they had to do to keep the movie's run time at a reasonable length. Harry Osborn seemed to go crazy a little too quickly. Not enough time was spent on the madness of Dr. Octopus. Also, there was a little thing with Peter and his landlord's daughter, and then she disappeared...what happened there?

All in all, though, the movie is very good, and worth the $9.25 to see it on a big screen with awesome sound. I wouldn't mind seeing it again at some point before it leaves the theater, and I'll definitely pick it up when it comes out on DVD.