GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
First of all, I'd like to just thank everyone who read and replied to my post about parents and children. I'm quite glad to know that it touched a few hearts, and stirred a few tears. Thanks also to anyone who posted some advice for me in that post. They've been taken to heart. :D
And now we get on to the good stuff.
I haven't come on to the internet for days now. Leik, seriously. That's coz I can't get the internet at home working, and I don't have any money to use for internet cafe's either. I haven't seen "Exodus Pt. 1" yet, and I don't think I'll download it since it's the second to the last episode, and I want to be surprised. If I can handle the temptation, I'm not going to download Exodus Pt. 2 either. IF.
I GOT MY MP3 PLAYER.
My dad said I could have it already, but "on loan." I totally get what he means. The player is on loan. My good grades will be the payment. So yes. I shall do my best this school year.
And because I now have an MP3 Player, I'm gonna need some MP3's. There are a few MP3's I need, and if anybody out there is willing to lend me a few of their MP3's, I'd be very appreciative. I've got a list of what MP3's I want right now, if anybody has anything on the list, I'd be very happy if you could lend me a copy to download into my player.
~"You All, Everybody" by DriveSHAFT. I have it on my computer, but the USB port of my computer is whacked, so I can't download it from my CPU. I'll have to download it onto a CD and get it from there. If ANYBODY AT ALL has it...
~"Regresa A Mi" by Il Divo. That's the Spanish version of "Un-break My Heart." I was able to record their performance of it on Oprah last Sunday, but it was a shortened version.
~Any good Spanish songs y'all might have...I love listening to and memorizing Spanish songs...I learn a bit of Spanish that way...
'K...next order of business...
I saw it. I saw it. I saw "Revenge of The Sith," and it was brilliant. I'm a bit glad I couldn't get on the internet for days on end, because having seen it a day ahead of the rest of the world means I couldn't talk about it right away. And now that a fair number of people have seen it, I can talk about it now. I'm still putting it under the cut, so that people who don't want to get spoiled don't accidentally read it.
First of all, let me start off by saying...
Oh.
My.
GOD.
It was brilliant. It was totally cool. It was totally AWESOME. Leik, SERIOUSLY. It's no "Empire Strikes Back" or "Return of The Jedi", but it came really close. So now, I do the break down.
HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN/ANAKIN: Because the prequel trilogy is about him, I'm going to start with him. Hayden Christensen first. I became a fan after "Life As A House," (will somebody PLEASE tell me WHO WAS IAN SOMERHALDER IN LIFE AS A HOUSE?!?!?!?!) was totally disappointed and put off by his performance in Episode II, but I think he redeemed himself here. Not a lot, mind you, but still. He did a better acting job than he did in Episode II. I think the fact that Anakin is going through heavier emotions in this one helped with that. Here he's not just angry, or jealous, or lovestruck. He's desperate, he's worried, he's confused, he's full of hot hatred, and that wider range of emotion given to him I think helped him develop the acting. I love that in this movie you forget that Anakin is 5 years younger than Padmè. I think marriage has forced him to grow up for this movie, and grow up he did. He's no longer the precocious little high-flying podracer of Episode I, nor is he the stubborn, jealous, irritating barely-adult in Episode II. He's a man now, and he's more real now than he was in Episode I and II, that's why you feel for him at first, you pity him for a while. Then you hate him when he can't get over himself, you hate him for letting that wretched Palpatine live. Then while you watch the intercutting of Obi-Wan and the others trying to save what's left of Padmè's will to live with Palpatine giving what's left of Anakin's charred body new mechanical limbs in an effort to save him, you feel sorry for him. What happens to Anakin here suddenly gives Darth Vader a whole new depth. All of a sudden, Darth Vader isn't just this wheezing creature borne of pure evil. He is-was-human too, a majority of him. He had loved, and he had lost, and maybe that's what drove him to become what he is in Episodes IV and V, that belief that he had killed Padmè, when he did not. Not in the way that Palpatine told him anyway.
NATALIE PORTMAN/PADME: Ladies and gentlemen...it's the SANDALWOOD GIRL. ::sigh:: I was not too happy with Natalie. I guess the best compliment I can give her is that she was a little less wooden in this movie than in Episode II. I thought she was better in Episode I, when she was hidden beneath the heavy dresses, and headgear and white face paint. Seriously. She did get better as the movie progressed though, but I still can't forgive her. To her credit, however, I will say that I thought her best and most poignant scene was when she was looking out the window of her apartment, across the city, at the Jedi Temple, and Anakin is in the Council Chamber, obviously thinking of Padmè, which finally leads him to save Palpatine (the bastard!) but yeah. I thought that was a powerful scene. No dialogue, whatsoever, but there was no need for words in that scene, was there? They were looking out across the city at each other, each thinking of the other, and Anakin finally gives in. She didn't have to say anything to convince him. That was a good scene. But otherwise...::headshake:: Sorry, girl, I don't care if you've got a Golden Globe win and an Academy Award nomination in your belt, I just...no. Just...no.
EWAN MCGREGOR/OBI-WAN KENOBI: OLD FOGEY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoot! Sorry, Obi-Fans, but Obi-Wan really WAS an old fogey in this one, but a lovable one. You just couldn't help but respect him. Everytime he comes on the screen, even the men have to shut up and listen, because this is the Obi-Wan that fans of the classic trilogy have come to know and love, only with a bit more pinache. In all 3 movies, Ewan has not disappointed as Obi-Wan (though it's a bit hard to warm up to Episode I Obi-Wan coz he was a bit of stooge in that one), and you cannot help but respect him for that. He took a well-loved character, stayed in character for all 3 movies and yet made the character his own somehow. All hail Ewan McGregor.
GENERAL GREVIOUS: Dooooooooooooood. What happened?!?!?!?! I watched Clone Wars when Cartoon Network was showing it, and DOOOOOOOOOOOD, General Grevious was BADASS in that one. I was excited to see how much damage he'd do in Episode III, but...but...OMGWHATHAVETHEYDONE?! He comes on to the screen all big and scary and machine-y and...limping and wheezing and coughing? WHAT THE FUCK. What did they doooooooo?!?!?!?!?!?! And I thought he'd be a bigger figure in the wipe-out of the Jedi, seeing as he was made-out to be this tough-to-beat Jedi killer (doood, he hung Shaq Ti from the ceiling with electrocuted glowing wires, fuhchrissake), and HOW does he go down? By taking a few laser bolts to his exposed vital organs. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT. Then again, it WAS Obi-Wan who went up against him, and doood, do we really think Grevious is ANY match for Obi-Wan? No, didn't think so.
JAR JAR BINKS: Said no more than 2 words: "EXCUSE ME." And I forgive George Lucas a bit.
C-3P0: Wasn't very used in this movie, for which I'm a bit grateful. I'm not a huge fan of Threepio.
IAN MCDIARMID/CHANCELLOR PALPATINE/DARTH SIDIOUS: Doooooooooooooood, you have GOT to be one of the most cruel villains to ever hit the TV screen. You selfish bastard, you lying, cheating son of a bitch, you totally bribed and duped Anakin, you evil HOR. You're totally cool, mwahahahahaha.
CHRISTOPHER LEE/COUNT DOOKU: Is given the Saruman in "Return of The King Extended Edition" treatment. Is killed 7 minutes into the movie. By getting his head lopped off. It was essential though, for what may seem the tiniest of things, but is in fact pretty big. In RoTK:EE, he had to be killed and had to fall so that the palantir would end up in the water. Here, in Episode III, Anakin had to kill him because it was his first baby step towards becoming Darth Vader. It confuses Anakin, this killing of Dooku. He should have been kept alive to stand trial. "It's not the Jedi way," he says, almost in tears. So Dooku's death wasn't such a waste. Shame Christopher Lee didn't have as much screentime though.
R2-D2 AND YODA: TOTALLY ROK'D MY SOX. I shouted "FOUL!" when the big commander droid kicked Artoo so hard he fell down. I cringed and winced and said, "...Ow!..." everytime Yoda hit something hard when he fell from that high place in the Senate Building. Poor little green thing.
ANI AND OBI'S LIGHTSABER DUEL: Is the stuff of coolness, y'all. And that is all I can really say about that.
THE DEATH/WIPE-OUT OF THE JEDI: Almost made me cry. It's a horrible picture, every scene in which a Jedi is killed by the clone troopers. They almost don't know what's going on. They have about 2 seconds of realization before they're gunned down. Add that to the very sad background music that John Williams has conducted with genius effort, and you've got an almost tear-jerker of a sequence. It's a bit hard to believe, very hard to watch all these strong Jedi Masters going down one by one by one. The worst part of it, though, is Anakin. Yes, Anakin AGAIN. We're not going to stop talking about Anakin coz, let's face it, it's his movie. There's that scene where he goes back to the Jedi Temple with about 200+ clone troopers with him. He goes back into the supposedly deserted Council Chambers, and there he finds the younglings, all hidden behind chairs, unsure of what's going on and what they should do. Anakin is all alone, and the younglings come out, thinking they're safe. "Master Skywalker," says one little one, "The Temple is surrounded. What are we to do?" Anakin doesn't answer. Only pulls out his saber and activates it. And you know what happens next. It's tragic, it's sad, it's evil, it's horrible. You're glad Lucas doesn't show you the carnage of it, the evilness of the scene. It might be a bit much.
THE LAST FEW SCENES: PADME'S FUNERAL INTERCUT WITH DARTH VADER'S REBIRTH: It's not quite the tearjerker, but it's almost there. Padmè's looking utterly beautiful (and still has the pregnant belly, although she gave birth to the twins just before dying) in her navy blue funeral dress thing. In her fingers is woven a chain, and on the chain is the pendant Anakin had carved for and given to her way back then. Somewhere in space, while friends and family are saying a teary goodbye to Padmè, Palpatine is fitting Vader with mechanical legs and another mechanical arm. Then the armor is put on him, then the mask, then the hood. Then he does the breathing thing, and it sends chills up your spine. It's not the first time anyone hears it, but in a way it is. And it still gives you that chill, that breathlessness, that knowledge that evil is born. Then Palpatine tells him that "It appears in your anger, you killed [Padmè]." I wanted to kill Palpatine right then and there. From the get-go, anyone could tell he was just using the "promise" of a power that could save Padmè from death to get Anakin to turn to the dark side, so the hatred for him is understandable when he says Anakin killed Padmè.
THE OVERALL STORY: I think this story is the closest George has ever gotten to "Return of The Jedi" and "Empire Strikes Back." This story was more Star Wars-y than the other 2 were. You had the wars, you had the huge armies of wookies, and the clone troopers, and the...doood, just trust me on this one. This is as Star Wars as the prequels have ever gotten. This is the best of the 3. Believe me.
GEORGE LUCAS: Yes, I didn't catch his cameo in the opera house. Dammit. But I did see his kid, Jett Lucas. For those of you who don't know, he's the Padawan learner who rushes out of the temple just in time to save Jimmy Smits' (Bail Organa) ass, but is shot down by the clone troopers in the end. Sucks, man. Anyway...I thought he handled the pressure very well. There's a lot of pressure riding on this movie, no doubt about it, but the fact that he was able to come up with a well thought-out, brilliant movie even under all that stress means he can cope with it like the best of them. I was a little iffed about the cheesy lines though (ANAKIN: You're so...beautiful. PADME: It's only because I'm so in love. ME: Whu?! Eew.), and the fact that he pulled a Peter Jackson (Lucas shot a scene with Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, Spectral Jedi Extraordinaire, and it got totally cut. Just like Christopher Lee's RoTK scene. Shuckums.), but I forgive him. It was a brilliant movie, and I totally applaud him.
Okay, end of review. Not as spoilery as I thought it would be, but hey, that's a good thing. I hope I didn't give too much away...So for those who haven't seen the movie, SEE IT NOW. Seriously.
And now we get on to the good stuff.
I haven't come on to the internet for days now. Leik, seriously. That's coz I can't get the internet at home working, and I don't have any money to use for internet cafe's either. I haven't seen "Exodus Pt. 1" yet, and I don't think I'll download it since it's the second to the last episode, and I want to be surprised. If I can handle the temptation, I'm not going to download Exodus Pt. 2 either. IF.
I GOT MY MP3 PLAYER.
My dad said I could have it already, but "on loan." I totally get what he means. The player is on loan. My good grades will be the payment. So yes. I shall do my best this school year.
And because I now have an MP3 Player, I'm gonna need some MP3's. There are a few MP3's I need, and if anybody out there is willing to lend me a few of their MP3's, I'd be very appreciative. I've got a list of what MP3's I want right now, if anybody has anything on the list, I'd be very happy if you could lend me a copy to download into my player.
~"You All, Everybody" by DriveSHAFT. I have it on my computer, but the USB port of my computer is whacked, so I can't download it from my CPU. I'll have to download it onto a CD and get it from there. If ANYBODY AT ALL has it...
~"Regresa A Mi" by Il Divo. That's the Spanish version of "Un-break My Heart." I was able to record their performance of it on Oprah last Sunday, but it was a shortened version.
~Any good Spanish songs y'all might have...I love listening to and memorizing Spanish songs...I learn a bit of Spanish that way...
'K...next order of business...
I saw it. I saw it. I saw "Revenge of The Sith," and it was brilliant. I'm a bit glad I couldn't get on the internet for days on end, because having seen it a day ahead of the rest of the world means I couldn't talk about it right away. And now that a fair number of people have seen it, I can talk about it now. I'm still putting it under the cut, so that people who don't want to get spoiled don't accidentally read it.
First of all, let me start off by saying...
Oh.
My.
GOD.
It was brilliant. It was totally cool. It was totally AWESOME. Leik, SERIOUSLY. It's no "Empire Strikes Back" or "Return of The Jedi", but it came really close. So now, I do the break down.
HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN/ANAKIN: Because the prequel trilogy is about him, I'm going to start with him. Hayden Christensen first. I became a fan after "Life As A House," (will somebody PLEASE tell me WHO WAS IAN SOMERHALDER IN LIFE AS A HOUSE?!?!?!?!) was totally disappointed and put off by his performance in Episode II, but I think he redeemed himself here. Not a lot, mind you, but still. He did a better acting job than he did in Episode II. I think the fact that Anakin is going through heavier emotions in this one helped with that. Here he's not just angry, or jealous, or lovestruck. He's desperate, he's worried, he's confused, he's full of hot hatred, and that wider range of emotion given to him I think helped him develop the acting. I love that in this movie you forget that Anakin is 5 years younger than Padmè. I think marriage has forced him to grow up for this movie, and grow up he did. He's no longer the precocious little high-flying podracer of Episode I, nor is he the stubborn, jealous, irritating barely-adult in Episode II. He's a man now, and he's more real now than he was in Episode I and II, that's why you feel for him at first, you pity him for a while. Then you hate him when he can't get over himself, you hate him for letting that wretched Palpatine live. Then while you watch the intercutting of Obi-Wan and the others trying to save what's left of Padmè's will to live with Palpatine giving what's left of Anakin's charred body new mechanical limbs in an effort to save him, you feel sorry for him. What happens to Anakin here suddenly gives Darth Vader a whole new depth. All of a sudden, Darth Vader isn't just this wheezing creature borne of pure evil. He is-was-human too, a majority of him. He had loved, and he had lost, and maybe that's what drove him to become what he is in Episodes IV and V, that belief that he had killed Padmè, when he did not. Not in the way that Palpatine told him anyway.
NATALIE PORTMAN/PADME: Ladies and gentlemen...it's the SANDALWOOD GIRL. ::sigh:: I was not too happy with Natalie. I guess the best compliment I can give her is that she was a little less wooden in this movie than in Episode II. I thought she was better in Episode I, when she was hidden beneath the heavy dresses, and headgear and white face paint. Seriously. She did get better as the movie progressed though, but I still can't forgive her. To her credit, however, I will say that I thought her best and most poignant scene was when she was looking out the window of her apartment, across the city, at the Jedi Temple, and Anakin is in the Council Chamber, obviously thinking of Padmè, which finally leads him to save Palpatine (the bastard!) but yeah. I thought that was a powerful scene. No dialogue, whatsoever, but there was no need for words in that scene, was there? They were looking out across the city at each other, each thinking of the other, and Anakin finally gives in. She didn't have to say anything to convince him. That was a good scene. But otherwise...::headshake:: Sorry, girl, I don't care if you've got a Golden Globe win and an Academy Award nomination in your belt, I just...no. Just...no.
EWAN MCGREGOR/OBI-WAN KENOBI: OLD FOGEY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoot! Sorry, Obi-Fans, but Obi-Wan really WAS an old fogey in this one, but a lovable one. You just couldn't help but respect him. Everytime he comes on the screen, even the men have to shut up and listen, because this is the Obi-Wan that fans of the classic trilogy have come to know and love, only with a bit more pinache. In all 3 movies, Ewan has not disappointed as Obi-Wan (though it's a bit hard to warm up to Episode I Obi-Wan coz he was a bit of stooge in that one), and you cannot help but respect him for that. He took a well-loved character, stayed in character for all 3 movies and yet made the character his own somehow. All hail Ewan McGregor.
GENERAL GREVIOUS: Dooooooooooooood. What happened?!?!?!?! I watched Clone Wars when Cartoon Network was showing it, and DOOOOOOOOOOOD, General Grevious was BADASS in that one. I was excited to see how much damage he'd do in Episode III, but...but...OMGWHATHAVETHEYDONE?! He comes on to the screen all big and scary and machine-y and...limping and wheezing and coughing? WHAT THE FUCK. What did they doooooooo?!?!?!?!?!?! And I thought he'd be a bigger figure in the wipe-out of the Jedi, seeing as he was made-out to be this tough-to-beat Jedi killer (doood, he hung Shaq Ti from the ceiling with electrocuted glowing wires, fuhchrissake), and HOW does he go down? By taking a few laser bolts to his exposed vital organs. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT. Then again, it WAS Obi-Wan who went up against him, and doood, do we really think Grevious is ANY match for Obi-Wan? No, didn't think so.
JAR JAR BINKS: Said no more than 2 words: "EXCUSE ME." And I forgive George Lucas a bit.
C-3P0: Wasn't very used in this movie, for which I'm a bit grateful. I'm not a huge fan of Threepio.
IAN MCDIARMID/CHANCELLOR PALPATINE/DARTH SIDIOUS: Doooooooooooooood, you have GOT to be one of the most cruel villains to ever hit the TV screen. You selfish bastard, you lying, cheating son of a bitch, you totally bribed and duped Anakin, you evil HOR. You're totally cool, mwahahahahaha.
CHRISTOPHER LEE/COUNT DOOKU: Is given the Saruman in "Return of The King Extended Edition" treatment. Is killed 7 minutes into the movie. By getting his head lopped off. It was essential though, for what may seem the tiniest of things, but is in fact pretty big. In RoTK:EE, he had to be killed and had to fall so that the palantir would end up in the water. Here, in Episode III, Anakin had to kill him because it was his first baby step towards becoming Darth Vader. It confuses Anakin, this killing of Dooku. He should have been kept alive to stand trial. "It's not the Jedi way," he says, almost in tears. So Dooku's death wasn't such a waste. Shame Christopher Lee didn't have as much screentime though.
R2-D2 AND YODA: TOTALLY ROK'D MY SOX. I shouted "FOUL!" when the big commander droid kicked Artoo so hard he fell down. I cringed and winced and said, "...Ow!..." everytime Yoda hit something hard when he fell from that high place in the Senate Building. Poor little green thing.
ANI AND OBI'S LIGHTSABER DUEL: Is the stuff of coolness, y'all. And that is all I can really say about that.
THE DEATH/WIPE-OUT OF THE JEDI: Almost made me cry. It's a horrible picture, every scene in which a Jedi is killed by the clone troopers. They almost don't know what's going on. They have about 2 seconds of realization before they're gunned down. Add that to the very sad background music that John Williams has conducted with genius effort, and you've got an almost tear-jerker of a sequence. It's a bit hard to believe, very hard to watch all these strong Jedi Masters going down one by one by one. The worst part of it, though, is Anakin. Yes, Anakin AGAIN. We're not going to stop talking about Anakin coz, let's face it, it's his movie. There's that scene where he goes back to the Jedi Temple with about 200+ clone troopers with him. He goes back into the supposedly deserted Council Chambers, and there he finds the younglings, all hidden behind chairs, unsure of what's going on and what they should do. Anakin is all alone, and the younglings come out, thinking they're safe. "Master Skywalker," says one little one, "The Temple is surrounded. What are we to do?" Anakin doesn't answer. Only pulls out his saber and activates it. And you know what happens next. It's tragic, it's sad, it's evil, it's horrible. You're glad Lucas doesn't show you the carnage of it, the evilness of the scene. It might be a bit much.
THE LAST FEW SCENES: PADME'S FUNERAL INTERCUT WITH DARTH VADER'S REBIRTH: It's not quite the tearjerker, but it's almost there. Padmè's looking utterly beautiful (and still has the pregnant belly, although she gave birth to the twins just before dying) in her navy blue funeral dress thing. In her fingers is woven a chain, and on the chain is the pendant Anakin had carved for and given to her way back then. Somewhere in space, while friends and family are saying a teary goodbye to Padmè, Palpatine is fitting Vader with mechanical legs and another mechanical arm. Then the armor is put on him, then the mask, then the hood. Then he does the breathing thing, and it sends chills up your spine. It's not the first time anyone hears it, but in a way it is. And it still gives you that chill, that breathlessness, that knowledge that evil is born. Then Palpatine tells him that "It appears in your anger, you killed [Padmè]." I wanted to kill Palpatine right then and there. From the get-go, anyone could tell he was just using the "promise" of a power that could save Padmè from death to get Anakin to turn to the dark side, so the hatred for him is understandable when he says Anakin killed Padmè.
THE OVERALL STORY: I think this story is the closest George has ever gotten to "Return of The Jedi" and "Empire Strikes Back." This story was more Star Wars-y than the other 2 were. You had the wars, you had the huge armies of wookies, and the clone troopers, and the...doood, just trust me on this one. This is as Star Wars as the prequels have ever gotten. This is the best of the 3. Believe me.
GEORGE LUCAS: Yes, I didn't catch his cameo in the opera house. Dammit. But I did see his kid, Jett Lucas. For those of you who don't know, he's the Padawan learner who rushes out of the temple just in time to save Jimmy Smits' (Bail Organa) ass, but is shot down by the clone troopers in the end. Sucks, man. Anyway...I thought he handled the pressure very well. There's a lot of pressure riding on this movie, no doubt about it, but the fact that he was able to come up with a well thought-out, brilliant movie even under all that stress means he can cope with it like the best of them. I was a little iffed about the cheesy lines though (ANAKIN: You're so...beautiful. PADME: It's only because I'm so in love. ME: Whu?! Eew.), and the fact that he pulled a Peter Jackson (Lucas shot a scene with Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, Spectral Jedi Extraordinaire, and it got totally cut. Just like Christopher Lee's RoTK scene. Shuckums.), but I forgive him. It was a brilliant movie, and I totally applaud him.
Okay, end of review. Not as spoilery as I thought it would be, but hey, that's a good thing. I hope I didn't give too much away...So for those who haven't seen the movie, SEE IT NOW. Seriously.