Posted by: wRitErsbLock at November 13, 2007 01:55 PM (+MvHD)
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hahahaha. Thanks for sharing that. It amazes me what kind of creative stuff people come up with for YouTube. (The Izzard bit is funny on its own, but it's even better with the lego choreography)
Posted by: ricki at November 13, 2007 03:09 PM (qrkix)
Posted by: Margi at November 14, 2007 01:37 AM (wSEpS)
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You'd probably also appreciate the "Trooper Clerks" fan film at Atom Films, where the stormtroopers work at the "Death Stop" and argue about useless crap all shift. It's a riot even if you haven't seen Clerks.
Posted by: nightfly at November 14, 2007 03:02 PM (PuuC1)
My Movies
Both my darling blogchild and the crew at Dean's World have been hashing out a list of movies you can see over and over again.
I have a few of those myself. In our house they're called "Movies I can fall asleep to".
See I have this thing with movies. If they get really predictable, or really embarrassing for the main character, I skip it. Fast Forward, skip, turn off, you name it. I won't sit through it. Consequently, there are VERY FEW movies I can sit through more than once without skipping through, let alone enjoy over and over and over.
The funny thing is, those movies somehow migrate to the bedroom. I'm a slow-sleep insomniac, and (like everything else with me) contrary to the usual advice of removing distractions from the sleep zone (aka no TV in the bedroom), TV actually distracts my brain enough to let me fall asleep. Especially things I've seen before. So we have a rotating stash of movies that live in the DVD player in the bedroom and get pressed into service in conjunction with the 90 minute sleep setting on the TV just about every night.
So, without further ado, movies I can sleep to:
White Christmas Blazing Saddles Star Wars Empire Return of the Jedi Fellowship of the Ring (either disk 1 or 2; but not Twin Towers. I always want to skip the "Sam and Frodo" parts too much) Return of the King (Disk 2 works better... less Sam and Frodo) Kill Bill vol 1 Kill Bill vol 2 The Blues Brothers South Park Team America A Christmas Story Fiddler on the Roof Disney's Robin Hood
I'm certain there are more, but these are the ones currently in the DVD case in the bedroom.
Here's some good news for a change
The Shackleford clan has increased by one. Mrs. Rusty gave birth via C-section to a healthy daughter earlier today. Drop by the Jawas and give Rusty and family some love.
I sure hope she takes after her mom. Dad is on the left, below:
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Ya know, I don't even need to post anymore. I can just go from site to site and see what people are saying about me. Sheeeeeesh.
You just wait 'til I finish construction of the Death-Mullet Star. Paybacks are a bitch, CTG, and my Midget Stormtroopers are fierce.
Posted by: zonker at June 01, 2007 05:25 AM (PrUNH)
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It wasn't me, I really had nothing to do with it.
Seriously.
Damn dream.
; )
Posted by: Christina at June 01, 2007 06:39 AM (d3xGU)
So, did you see it on opening day? I was 6 months old then, so the answer is NO for me. In fact I didn't see one in the theater until Return of the Jedi.
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I lived in Cody Wyoming in 1977, and it took until nearly August for it to arrive. They printed far fewer copies of films back then, and a lot of theaters in other cities were holding it over due to demand. I saw it at the drive-in with my family. I thought it was the coolest movie I'd ever seen. I still love a lot of the music soundtrack, but the original three movies have lost a lot of lustre for me. I barely acknowledge the later ones.
Posted by: PaleoMedic at May 25, 2007 09:58 AM (xirX/)
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No, not opening day. I was 14 and I wasn't allowed to go to PG movies. That fall, we moved to Canada, and it was only rated G there, so I finally got to see it!
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OMG - you make me feel soooo old! I was home from college for the summer. I hadn't even heard about it and then one day it was all over the news about how people were standing in line, etc... it was the first movie to ever have advanced ticket sales. Up until then (well, maybe NYC was different) no one bought tickets until they walked up to the window and purchased them.
There was only one theater in St. Louis showing it. Luckily it was an excellent venue - I saw it (in a PACKED theater - 3 weeks after it opened) on a GIANT screen. It was, at that time, the most incredible movie I'd ever seen. There had never been special effects like that before. I was completely enchanted by the entire story (okay so I'm a sucker for that kind of good-evil storyline *grin*) and the ability of Lucas to create such realism on the screen.
It's hard to imagine now - but back then it was simply astounding. I loved it. Although I must admit, it did not change my life. LOL.
Posted by: Teresa at May 25, 2007 10:58 AM (gsbs5)
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Yes, it's burned into my memory. I saw Star Wars in the theater some time that summer. I was between my junior and senior years of college, and I was on vacation with my family. I believe we were in Ohio— it was definitely not in my home state of Wisconsin. We saw Star Wars listed in a local paper, and decided to go out and see it one evening. My younger brother was feeling sick to his stomach, he stayed behind in the motel room. The rest of us went out and... well...
You understand, I had loved science fiction from an early age, but growing up I had been nearly alone in my taste for SF. I mean, I grew up back in an era when SF was a vaguely disreputable ghettoized genre, and not nearly as popular as it is today. So I was absolutely blown away by the movie. I had never seen anything like it. I had never imagined anything like it, except perhaps in my own SF-drenched imagination. Certainly never seen anything like it on the screen.
And what's more, I knew in my gut that I was seeing something archetypal. Deep juju. There was something there that resonated with me so deeply... This broke on me in an instant, very early in the movie, when Darth Vader first appeared on the screen.
It's hard to think of another movie that had such an impact on me the first time I saw it in the theater.
Posted by: Paul Burgess at May 25, 2007 03:44 PM (7EVyU)
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Star Wars was one of the first dates I had with the ex. We double-dated, and smuggled in a bottle of vodka. I insisted we sit on the front row. We polished off the bottle, and the next day I asked 'What the hell was that movie all about? What was with the wolfman in the spaceship?' I later saw it again. It wasn't too bad. But I've always cast a bit of a jaundiced eye at it because of the wookie.
Posted by: Velociman at May 25, 2007 03:51 PM (2+Qms)
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Just for the record...
YOU are a tard.
But I still totally love you.
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You baby!!! I was 11. My most vivid memory of the movie was the ship in the opening scene...it just went on and on and on....
and also the trash compactor scene. Uhhh, the Stormtroopers couldn't find them down there?
And did it impact my life? Yeah, I fell in love with Harrison Ford!
Posted by: Mrs. Who at May 26, 2007 06:13 PM (9FXen)
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I actually saw it the year it was released, after my freshman year in college. I'm not a big sci-fi fan, but an English teacher from high school (who had abused me terribly-yet-justifiably while I was in her classes) highly recommended it. I loved it.
It really didn't change my life except for the fact that had I not seen it, I would now be more than $100 (compounded interest) richer had I not paid to see it.
Maybe I should sue George Lucas.
Today's the Day!
So much so that I ran out and picked these up before work today to be sure they wouldn't be sold out:
The ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSIONS. You know, where Han shoots first.
I am so freaking excited! I bought these on VHS (on a whim) the last time they were released in 1996 or 1997, shortly before the "Special Edition" movies were released, and I watch them only rarely for fear of destroying the tapes. Now I have them in a much more durable format. Yay!
Posted by: Amanda at September 12, 2006 10:29 AM (ay+rD)
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I'm sure hubby already knows, but I'll send him your post as a reminder.
I suppose that means a trip to Best Buy on the way home tonight.
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at September 12, 2006 10:54 AM (QP6Jm)
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Remember when Lucas said that he'd never release the original theatrical releases? I knew that he was lying them: there's too much money to be made from originalists like me.
And it isn't SWIV: A New Hope. It's STAR WARS, damn it!
Does that sound whiny? I meant it to.
Posted by: physics geek at September 18, 2006 10:43 AM (KqeHJ)
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This is one of my favorite new songs. I'm thinking I might just have to catch these guys live...
And who knew that Chewie could play the drums and that Boba Fett could play the keyboard?
The UNALTERED, ORIGINAL versions of the Star Wars OT (that's Original Trilogy for the uninitiated) will be released in a 2 disc set with the Special Editions on
SEPTEMBER 12, 2006.
This will be a limited release until December 31, 2006
Lucas is still a bastard. He wouldn't do this except that it will make him more money than all his other VHS/DVD releases combined.
You scored as Star Wars: A New Hope. You are the film score to Star Wars: A New Hope. You accompany a multi-movie story of a rebellion lead by Jedi knights against a mighty, yet ultimately vulnerable, empire. Your stirring orchestration set a new standard for movie scores and transformed your creator John Williams into a household name and taught people to admire a muppet.
These are not the captions you're looking for...
This kind of thing makes you wonder whether the translator's an idiot or the Chinese just think Americans are idiots.
As Star Wars works to make us aware of its own narrative structure, other odd things about the films start to come into focus. Most significantly, we start to notice that the films are an elaborate meditation on the dialectic between chance and order. They all depend upon absurd coincidence to propel the story forward. Just what are the odds, in just one of near-infinite examples, that of all the planets in that galaxy far, far away, the droids should end up back on Tatooine, in the home of the son of the sweet (if annoying) boy who had built C-3PO decades before? Throughout all six films there are scenes of crucial serendipity. Such dependence on unlikely coincidence isn't unique to Star Wars. As literary critics have long pointed out, the arbitrary yoking together of events in the service of storytelling is one of the fundamental characteristics of all narrative. R2-D2 needs to hook up with Luke on Tatooine, just as Prospero's enemies need to wash up on the shores of his island, and Elizabeth Bennet needs to marry Mr. Darcy, for the narrative requirements of those stories to be fulfilled. The audience's willing surrender to narrative coincidence is demanded by the story's need to conclude itself.
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It might be possible to examine the films in that light. But I really don't think it was a conscious decision by Lucas.
Posted by: owlish at November 03, 2005 10:51 PM (rzugH)
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This is sorta off topic, but does anyone else think it odd that when C3PO hooks up with Luke on Tatooine he doesn't twig to the name Skywalker and say "hey, my maker's last name was Skywalker, maybe you've heard of him?"
I now have a little chuckle when he has that oil bath and goes "oh, thank the maker", and he's talking about Anakin.
And yes, I have seen the movie a gazillion times.
Posted by: Amanda at November 04, 2005 12:01 AM (Lb4zU)
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I've never put that much thought into the Star Wars movies. I'm a huge fan, but I don't spend that kind of time thinking about, let alone analysing, the movies.
Amanda: They erased the memories of the droids. That's why neither C-3PO nor R2-D2 remembered Anakin/Darth nor Obi-wan.
Posted by: Contagion at November 04, 2005 05:30 AM (Q5WxB)
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I doubt Lucas put this much thought into the films either. Hence the clunky, awkward plot changes and the weird extra bits.
Ex. When Yoda gives Obi Wan instructions at the end of Ep III on "communing" with Qui-Gon, it's supposed to be the way that Yoda and OW learn how to turn into the force at death, disappear, and come back as ghosts. Qui Gon, however, never does this. Anakin can only do it after his redemption by fire in ROTJ. There's a logical disconnect there that GL never resolved.
Posted by: caltechgirl at November 04, 2005 11:43 AM (/vgMZ)
Citizen Chewbacca
British actor Peter Mayhew, best known as Han Solo's hetero life mate Chewbacca will become a US Citizen on Monday.
"Mayhew, 60, played the fur-covered warrior Chewbacca in the original "Star Wars" trilogy of the 1970s and 1980s, and the latest movie, "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."
"I got married to a Texan lady. That more or less decided it," said Mayhew, who has been married to his wife, Angelique, for six years.
...
When he takes his oath to become an American, Mayhew said he'll recite what he can remember and "it will be a Chewie growl for the other parts.""
Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, and freshness. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Green is also commonly associated with wealth and happiness, so someone with a green lightsaber like yourself is a fortunate soul.
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You were destined to have a Red Lightsaber. Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, and determination as well as passion and desire. You have seen the Strength and Power of the Dark Side of the Force and have you thirst for more of it.
Posted by: vw bug at May 26, 2005 07:14 AM (V4mW3)
Music Question for the Masses
Who else saw the Millenium Falcon (pronounced Fawl-con) cameo in SW ep. III? I didn't until we saw it again yesterday afternoon.
I guess that was Lando, huh?
BTW points to the first person who can tell me where the post title comes from. My DH doesn't get to play.....
Update: edisoncarter scores a win with "Depeche Mode: Music for the Masses"
Posted by: caltechgirl at May 23, 2005 05:01 PM (eV5t9)
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Crap... I'm too late. Mental note: "Visit caltechgirl's blog more often." ;^)
Posted by: Paladin at May 23, 2005 05:40 PM (Rfqkp)
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Ahh... music trivia... I love this stuff... and we do like similar bands I believe... you can check out the stuff I'm into on my blog...
I have a DM dedication album from a bunch of alternative bands, Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Hooverphonic, etc. It's called "For the Masses". You can see more on Amazon.
Now, post some more trivia!
AP
ps. New Order has a new album out called "Waiting for the Siren's Call"... good stuff but not as good as "Get Ready".
One more review
Michele, whose Star Wars geekiness surpasses my own solely because she was old enough to go to the theatre to see Star Wars and Empire when they first came out, has a wondeful review up.
Warning: Review Contains Spoilers!
Her experiences with the film are similar to mine. Tears? check. Chills? check.
Plus she has a great sum-up of the scene where Vader gets his mask, and explains better than I can why it doesn't bother me....
One thing I disagree with, Michele's unhappy that Padme names the twins right after they are born. I figure, if Padme (and Anakin) had picked out a boy name and a girl name (planning for either), it makes sense that she would want her children to have those names, and, knowing she was dying, made sure to name her children before she couldn't.
Here's an excerpt (non-spoiler):
Do you want to know how much of a geek I am? I can't believe I am going to admit this here. When the opening scroll started and the music began I actually teared up. I swear to you, there were tears in my eyes and I almost, nearly started crying. And I'm not the only one. There was a palpable sense of relief in the theater when the scroll came up. Like everyone sighed at once. Finally, our questions answered. The closure. The scroll and the music is the beginning of the end, and it's very bittersweet because you know that once the movie starts, you're on your way to it being over. Not just the movie being over, but the whole Star Wars saga that you spent 28 years of your life thinking about and talking about is over.
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You went to the 8PM show and posted by 11:00PM. Very diligent. I cheated and took my son out of school an hour early so we could see an afternoon show. But I got caught in you 4:30 rain storm walking out from the theater.
Anyway - I agree - Lucas pulled it off and with you assessment overall, though I'm still fast forwarding the Padme scenes on DVD.
Could you have a more gleeful evil emperor?
Super G
Posted by: Super G at May 20, 2005 08:39 AM (EeQUM)
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I'll have to come back and read this, I have tickets to see it at 7:30 tonight.
Posted by: Contagion at May 20, 2005 08:43 AM (Q5WxB)
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Oh yeah - I forgot - Go Heels. Best of luck on your dissertation defense!
Posted by: Super G at May 20, 2005 10:42 AM (EeQUM)
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You actually thought Portman was good? I strenuously object (get THAT movie reference!)! Portman and Christensen had no on-screen chemistry and were given cheesy one-liners ("hold me like you did on Naboo?") in an attempt to make some sort of love story.
But the real crime was when Darth Vader first appeared and began crying for Padme. That, my friend, is not what an evil villian does. :-)
However, the special effects and story-line made it watchable and enjoyable. But I honestly do not know why Spielberg was reduced to tears during the thing...
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BTW, the line about Padme is supposed to make you realize that Anakin is in the suit, that he didn't magically transform in to some wholly evil other, so that when he kills the emperor to save Luke at the end of ROTJ, you get it. He is still in there.
It's actually fairly realistic, if whiny. In real life, the first thing he would have asked about after waking up from being unconscious probably would have been his wife and kids, assuming he cared about them.
But he does look like a wuss.
Posted by: caltechgirl at May 20, 2005 03:05 PM (eV5t9)
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I just got back from the movie. I can understand the scene with Vader crying for Padme. It makes sence to me. I however did not like the way he finally embraced the darkside. Way too much apathy for me. I don't want to give away spoilers for anyone that hasn't seen it so I'm not going to go into too much detail. But it's a very specific scene that bothers me. It reminded me of when my 12 year old does something wrong, is punished and gives me that "I don't care" look.
Other then that I liked the movie, it's still no Empire Strikes Back.
Posted by: Contagion at May 20, 2005 11:29 PM (977gQ)
