General rundown of my day.
Thought I was going to take my psychology test today, only to find out the center was closed. Still admittedly nervous about the matter of the test. On the bright side, went to the bookstore, got new books, and also watched ATTACK OF THE CLONES with my mom. Just have to say, gah, so many feels.
I admit that the prequel trilogy has been a part of my life since I was only in middle school, really. I mostly remember picking up a copy of the book at Disneyworld (where Darth Vader was signing autographs -- I was too scared to go up and ask him for one. XD Maybe next time I go to Disneyworld and find him, I'll ask. :) and just falling in love with the world and its characters. Anakin, especially. I can actually relate to him a bit, believe it or not, especially with some of the restlessness I felt when I was a kid (I didn't exactly have the most easy of beginnings. It could always be worse, but yeah...nonverbal learning disabilities, anxiety -- it was kind of hard), that sort of "flying with Jedi Knights" and all. And I relate to him even now, especially considering...well, my nightmares have unfortunately started up again. (It's not fun, really)
But yeah, going back and watching this again was just...well, it felt like coming home again. Great characters (Padme, Anakin, Dooku, etc.), great emotion (I know Corde's death was one thing that really got to me, for example, as well as Anakin's confession to Padme, and her subsequent "We would be living a lie" thing *, and Shmi's death, especially Anakin's breakdown in the garage and Padme comforting him), and great moments of humor (the meadow picnic scene, for example, and C-3PO's brief stint as a battle droid, to name a few. And Obi-Wan's sarcastic "Good job" when Anakin said they decided to come and rescue him). Honestly, while most of ATTACK OF THE CLONES was a bit of a downer (the Clone Wars starting, for example, when it was funny, it was really funny, and when the time came to get emotional, it was really very emotional. Not to mention the matter of Dooku. I know he was one of my favorites because he wasn't doing this for the sake of being evil or whatnot -- he genuinely thought that he was doing what was right, and it came back to bite him in the end. I liked the little moments of Christopher Lee sort of averting his eyes, for example, when he was talking about Qui-Gon and how he wished Qui-Gon were here, basically -- sort of like he was trying not to cry. It's something that's sort of blink-and-you'll-miss-it, but it's a very humanizing touch to Dooku. It can't possibly be easy, losing your former Padawan like that. (Although I kind of wonder why Dooku joined up with the one who helped set up Qui-Gon's murder, in a way; that's a little odd)
I also really loved Anakin. True, he had his "dammit, Anakin" moments, but overall he was very likable. I loved his discussion of compassion with Padme, his laugh with Obi-Wan in the turbolift, his part in the battle of Geonosis, and, on a more somber note, the scene with his dying mother. Heartbreaking, but very well-done. Something about the broken whisper of "Stay with me, mom..." Yeah, that really really got me.
I also loved Padme. Strong, fierce, McCoy-ish, brave, flawed...she's always been one of my favorite female characters and it's really accentuated here. I really loved her snapping Anakin out of his funk to go and save Obi-Wan, and when she finds a way out of her chains during the Battle of Geonosis. And her confession of love for Anakin before the arena.
And then there's Yoda. Believe it or not, Yoda's really growing on me. I liked him ribbing Obi-Wan about "losing" a planet (even first reading the PT novelizations, I was cracking up at that scene. That was priceless. XD), and his Big Damn Heroes moment with the Clones, as well as his duel with Dooku (just awesome all around). And Obi-Wan was awesome too. I know stuff like the chase through Coruscant and "You don't want to sell me deathsticks" (seriously, anything with the name "deathsticks" is a guaranteed "no thanks") were some of my favorite scenes with him. Honestly, the entire film was awesome. Only thing that ruined it was the BluRay player being ridiculous; a bit of a decoder problem. We had to sort of constantly restart it and do Scene Selection. But other than that, it was awesome.
* Which honestly makes sense. I mean, Anakin would get in trouble for being in a relationship in the first place -- and I confess I find it ridiculous a rule, really. I mean, obsession is bad and should be avoided, but love itself will save you, help you, not condemn you. We're very social, emotional animals, and I think the key really is to not suppress it, just find a bit of balance in it. (If I make any sense) I think the problem with the Jedi Order is that they took it to extremes on occasion, and even blindly followed it instead of asking questions (hell, there's even the matter of "there is no why" in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, i.e. something that can be extremely dangerous. So yeah, Jedi Code...good concept, rather flawed, but perhaps more of a flaw in the Jedi than anything else. But yeah, Anakin would get in trouble for being in a relationship, and so would Padme. And the Holonet would be pretty much all over that story.
So yeah, overall? I liked it a lot. Definitely recommended.
I admit that the prequel trilogy has been a part of my life since I was only in middle school, really. I mostly remember picking up a copy of the book at Disneyworld (where Darth Vader was signing autographs -- I was too scared to go up and ask him for one. XD Maybe next time I go to Disneyworld and find him, I'll ask. :) and just falling in love with the world and its characters. Anakin, especially. I can actually relate to him a bit, believe it or not, especially with some of the restlessness I felt when I was a kid (I didn't exactly have the most easy of beginnings. It could always be worse, but yeah...nonverbal learning disabilities, anxiety -- it was kind of hard), that sort of "flying with Jedi Knights" and all. And I relate to him even now, especially considering...well, my nightmares have unfortunately started up again. (It's not fun, really)
But yeah, going back and watching this again was just...well, it felt like coming home again. Great characters (Padme, Anakin, Dooku, etc.), great emotion (I know Corde's death was one thing that really got to me, for example, as well as Anakin's confession to Padme, and her subsequent "We would be living a lie" thing *, and Shmi's death, especially Anakin's breakdown in the garage and Padme comforting him), and great moments of humor (the meadow picnic scene, for example, and C-3PO's brief stint as a battle droid, to name a few. And Obi-Wan's sarcastic "Good job" when Anakin said they decided to come and rescue him). Honestly, while most of ATTACK OF THE CLONES was a bit of a downer (the Clone Wars starting, for example, when it was funny, it was really funny, and when the time came to get emotional, it was really very emotional. Not to mention the matter of Dooku. I know he was one of my favorites because he wasn't doing this for the sake of being evil or whatnot -- he genuinely thought that he was doing what was right, and it came back to bite him in the end. I liked the little moments of Christopher Lee sort of averting his eyes, for example, when he was talking about Qui-Gon and how he wished Qui-Gon were here, basically -- sort of like he was trying not to cry. It's something that's sort of blink-and-you'll-miss-it, but it's a very humanizing touch to Dooku. It can't possibly be easy, losing your former Padawan like that. (Although I kind of wonder why Dooku joined up with the one who helped set up Qui-Gon's murder, in a way; that's a little odd)
I also really loved Anakin. True, he had his "dammit, Anakin" moments, but overall he was very likable. I loved his discussion of compassion with Padme, his laugh with Obi-Wan in the turbolift, his part in the battle of Geonosis, and, on a more somber note, the scene with his dying mother. Heartbreaking, but very well-done. Something about the broken whisper of "Stay with me, mom..." Yeah, that really really got me.
I also loved Padme. Strong, fierce, McCoy-ish, brave, flawed...she's always been one of my favorite female characters and it's really accentuated here. I really loved her snapping Anakin out of his funk to go and save Obi-Wan, and when she finds a way out of her chains during the Battle of Geonosis. And her confession of love for Anakin before the arena.
And then there's Yoda. Believe it or not, Yoda's really growing on me. I liked him ribbing Obi-Wan about "losing" a planet (even first reading the PT novelizations, I was cracking up at that scene. That was priceless. XD), and his Big Damn Heroes moment with the Clones, as well as his duel with Dooku (just awesome all around). And Obi-Wan was awesome too. I know stuff like the chase through Coruscant and "You don't want to sell me deathsticks" (seriously, anything with the name "deathsticks" is a guaranteed "no thanks") were some of my favorite scenes with him. Honestly, the entire film was awesome. Only thing that ruined it was the BluRay player being ridiculous; a bit of a decoder problem. We had to sort of constantly restart it and do Scene Selection. But other than that, it was awesome.
* Which honestly makes sense. I mean, Anakin would get in trouble for being in a relationship in the first place -- and I confess I find it ridiculous a rule, really. I mean, obsession is bad and should be avoided, but love itself will save you, help you, not condemn you. We're very social, emotional animals, and I think the key really is to not suppress it, just find a bit of balance in it. (If I make any sense) I think the problem with the Jedi Order is that they took it to extremes on occasion, and even blindly followed it instead of asking questions (hell, there's even the matter of "there is no why" in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, i.e. something that can be extremely dangerous. So yeah, Jedi Code...good concept, rather flawed, but perhaps more of a flaw in the Jedi than anything else. But yeah, Anakin would get in trouble for being in a relationship, and so would Padme. And the Holonet would be pretty much all over that story.
So yeah, overall? I liked it a lot. Definitely recommended.