Talk about anything here that there isn't another specific forum for. General chit-chat between the SG regulars. The Moderators will be sad pandas if you spam... too much.
Grievious coughs because...
[spoiler]
G-man kidnapped Palpatine and was about to escape but before leaving in the shuttle, Mace Windu came, saw, and crushed its chest with his Force power. The Jedi Master then Force jumped after the shuttle and deflected all its lasers with his lightsaber and was about to use his Force to bring down the shuttle, but it had sped far, far away already.
[/spoiler]
I watched this on one of the more recent episodes of the Star Wars: Clone Wars animation. Good stuff!
Yeah I went to see it again the friday after its opening, and I realized just how bad the movie really was. It was only exciting the first time through because of everything that was expected. But the second time through was just very unsatisfactory, especially because almost everyone inside was watching it for the first time. Laughing at every corny little Star Wars nuance' and reference made, as if they were the only ones who noticed it.
"Only in the absolute stillness of the mind can truth be obtained..."
Personally I think the prequel trilogy is pretty good. I think nostalgia makes Ep. I & II disappointing for a lot of people I have talked to about it. Ep. III fares a little better under such criticism, but really, watched from a non-nostalgic point of view, they are a lot of fun.
nostalgia seriously is not the main reason the old trilogy is "better" than the new one, although obviously it ramps up the emotional damage the bad new films are inflicting on fans. from a purely film-critical point of view, the old ones (particularly 4 and 5) are just better films. they have better plotting and dialogue and better-developed characters, just to name a few things.
I finally saw Ep 3...
It starts well (except for the somewhat bombastic intro text). The action scenes are good, fast-paced, and their general mood feels right.
But something starts getting wrong with the first Hanakin&Padme scene. The dialogs range from correct to downright atrocious. And don't get me started on Christensen's facial expressions... (looks like all of the acting is concentrated in the eyebrows)
I think the movie has a solid backstory with very strong, intemporal themes, but the execution of those ideas is flawed with caricatural acting (bad directing?) and dialogs. It's rather frustrating.
Story-wise, the Hanakin-Padme couple is supposed to be a key element of the plot - its focus point, since it provides the basic reason for Hanakin Skywalker to turn into Darth Vader (and consequently the Republic to turn into the Empire).
But, on the screen, it gets all wrong. The supposedly dramatic romantic scenes are just boring, contrived and caricatural - not credible.
I think the movie lacks of a Padme perspective - her whole character has become too passive, too inexistant : just some convenient plot-device to provide an excuse for Hanakin to turn into Vader (and then an extrafast growing womb for the main characters to be born just in time for the next movies - followed by a convenient instant death for no rational reason, except "drama" & "story continuity").
Concerning Hanakin, "protecting the woman he loves" can sound like a good reason for a man to turn to the dark side (could have been a perfect archetype of the overprotective, jealous husband who ends up destroying the things he treasures most). Except not. Because even though he spends long times talking about how much he cares for Padme, it never shows (come on, his wife is pregnant, and he doesn't ever touch her stomach to, like, feel the baby moving or something?) Correct portraying of a couple needs more acts, and less words, I say.
Ideally, I think the Hanakin-Padme couple should have get more focus. Yet, when you see how Lucas handled it, maybe it's a relief it didn't.
Another big letdown was the portraying of "the dark side", especially in the last part of the movie. After the Chancellor turns into the Emperor, his speech becomes more caricatural than ever (same thing for Vader). "I shall inflict peace and justice on the universe, mwhahaha ! (and when I say 'peace' and 'justice', I really means 'war' and 'terror' *winks*)"...
Isn't the dark side supposed to be subtle and devious, master at manipulating words? They're so obvious, it doesn't show.
I think the 'Golden Moment' is when Vader has been told he killed Padme and 'screams' "nooooooooooo".
I think the biggest flaw of the film is Hayden Christiansen. The guy can't act, the only reason one know's he's getting more angry is that they put more shadow make-up under his eyes
Hey guys, have you figured out how the fuck anakin learns the ghost thing in a second? You know, only Yoda, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan knew it, so how does he appear at the end of ROTJ? OMG WTF INCONSISTENCY!
maybe he learned it the same way qui-gon did, which is after he died. he just learned it quickly.... uh, under the guidance of the other dead jedi doing it.
Ward wrote:Ok ok, and how doesn't Obiwan know of Leia when he says "LUKE IS OUR LAST HOPE" in ESB. IN ROTS HE CLEARLY KNEW THERE WAS ANOTHER SKYWALKER.
Coz :
(1) he's gone all Alzheimer's and doesn't remember
(2) he's a fucking male chauvinist pig and doesn't trust Leia to do the job
(3) he wants to give Master Yoda a chance to show how very much wiser he is
(4) George Lucas sucks
I think any movie with a giant pit of green acid, three headed monkeys, pirates, pirates with gotees, insult sword fights, dancing skeletons, ghost pirates, rootbeer, bigwhoop, and bad voodoo would be the best bad movie if done correctly.
Psychonauts 
But if they wanted to make money they'd choose someone like Brad Pitt 
