The latest news is that George Lucas is doing a remix job on the original Star Wars trilogy...again...including adding a "Noooo!" when Vader tosses the Emperor off the platform during Return Of The Jedi. As outrageous as this is in the face of, I guess good taste, Lucas is determined to redo these movies over and over again so we may as well accept it. That's part of the healing process right? Denial then acceptance? With this in mind, I would like to add my own wish list of original trilogy revisions. Not because the changes I propose would improve the films, but to make them worse. If you can't beat 'em, then join 'em!
1. Replace Sir Alec Guinness with Dos Equis Man 2. Make Han Solo the son of Chewbacca, making it a father and son team. And make Greedo his half brother. Because everyone in Star Wars has to be related to each other. 3. Whenever the Emperor or Obi Wan Kenobi calls Vader by name, replace "Vader" with "Annie". For example, "Only a master of e-vil Annie!" 4. Give C-3P0 a sex scene so people can stop questioning what his sexuality is. 5. Change the cantina band song to 2Pac's "California Love" 6. Add five extra minutes to the launching into hyperspace effect sorta like the 2001 A Space Odyssey scene 7. This isn't a suggestion but just wondering, why does it take so many people to run a moisture farm? Aren't you just driving up to a machine and taking a tub of water out of it? Do you really need Luke and extra hands to drive a car sorry land speeder and lift tubs? Don't those machines make the already dry air dryer? 8. Have the snow creature that captures Luke on Hoth voiced by Gilbert Godfried. (in Godfried voice) "Oh my God you were just hanging off the ceiling-ouch you cut off my arm that's so painful" 9. Completely replace the astroid chase between tie fighters and the millenium falcon with all new digital effects and add an mascot astroid alien somewhere. 10. Have Leia kiss first 11. Amidala's force ghost should appear somewhere, maybe she talks Vader into saving Luke at the end of Jedi. 12. Change R2-D2's speech to english so C-3PO just repeats whatever R2 says like he's translating. 13. Replace Yoda with Qui Gon Gin and shoot all new footage. Let's see Mark Hamill run through the trees of Dagobah with Liam Neeson on his back. 14. Give Vader's mechanized voice auto tune 15. Add scenes of Boba Fett without his helmet talking to the decapitated skull of his dead father in his Hawaiian accent. "This one's for you pop!" 16. Have the millenium falcon blow up with the Death Star 2.0 at the end of Jedi so it makes sense when Han Solo says "I don't think I'll see her again". 17. Bring back the original Jabba The Hutt, that guy that looks like a left over from Conan The Barbarian. 18. After the end credits of Jedi, have one armed / one eyed Samuel Jackson show up to say "Luke, I'm forming a team..."
In the end, we're going to have almost as many different versions of Star Wars as we do Blade Runner. With that in mind, I say "Stay thirsty, my friend".
I struggled with what to write for the sixth and final post in this series and it just fell into my lap. This morning my wife said "It's Star Wars Day."
"What?" I asked.
"Today is Star Wars Day" my wife replied.
"Like a literal day about Star Wars? May the Force be with you."
"Or may the 4th be with you."
Hard as it is to believe, there really is a Star Wars day. So it is time to reflect back on what Star Wars meant to me in the 70s. And what it meant to me was everything.
I saw it right there on my grade school report card, the teacher wrote "Star Wars! Michael talks about Star Wars all the time" or something to that effect. Because I was obsessed with this movie, saw it about three times in the theater and was jealous of those who made the news viewing it over 100 times. Adults have all the fun I thought. It was a sensory experience I had not seen before, everything moved fast and sounded faster. I began to learn the dialogue by heart. I drew an endless series of pictures featuring the Millenium Falcon or X Wing fighters. And I had to have every single item with the Star Wars label on it.
Yes, my poor parents were the victim of George Lucas as he completely reinvented movie merchandising. And being a kid with no concept of money, I had to have it all. ALL OF IT! I had to have the little Star Wars dolls, even the ones you had to mail away for, so I could put them on that plastic rotating stand. And watch in horror as those little light sabers permanently slid out of the arm of Luke Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi or Darth Vader shortly after beginning to play with them. Got the first four collections of Star Wars bubble gum cards (blue, yellow, orange and green) until they started to resort to pictures of models used in the background of a one second scene to fill space. I had Star Wars T Shirts, posters, books, artist conceptual art, book bags, toys, bed sheets, buttons, hand held games, board games, soundtrack albums, narrated albums, disco albums based on Star Wars, and probably a plethora of stuff I can't even remember. Yup, I was Star Warzed from head to toe, body and soul.
You see, Winnie and I learned something that day. Something changed, Wayne would never ride a bike again...wait, sorry, wrong type of flashback.
Aunt Lily then went to art school, leaving Uncle Barney in charge of the money. And that was how I met your mother...damn, having a hard time getting the right memory here...
Star Wars in addition to my Star Trek obsession put my mind into outer space (from where it has yet to return! Ha ha). The original Star Wars movie was perfection, it has sort of gotten lost in the shuffle after sequels and prequels added so much detail (Midiclorins? Bueller...Bueller?)to the SW universe that it's hard to remember the incredible mystique it once had. But for one moment in time, every boy wanted to be Han Solo and shoot first at a galaxy of wonder. Happy Star Wars day or as Princess Leia would wish, Happy Life Day.
Man on the run: Rajai Davis ignites the A's with stolen bases
Baseball season has begun and with it a new year of Oakland A's baseball. Last year, my wife and I became fans of the local team and started attending games. They weren't a very good team (if you think of "good" as translating into more wins than losses) but they were ours.
First Place A's! - Yes the season is only like two weeks old, but the A's are in first place. No significant players have been injured in those two weeks. Rajai Davis and Daric Barton are producing runs. Hope is alive!
It's pronounced Su Skee? Sah Skay? Shawshank? - Ultimate obstacle race program Ninja Warrior released footage of it's most recent tournament, an exciting one which saw many players go to the second round (there's four rounds/courses to beat). I was bummed to see my favorite who is always introduced as "gas station manager Shingo Yamamoto" go down in the third round because of a recurring dislocated shoulder injury (an injury that started years ago when competing in the final round of a prior Ninja Warrior). Controversy abounds when fan favorite Makoto Nagano got an unprecedented do over on round one because of equipment malfunction (this is a show where in previous tournaments equipment malfunctions were considered an additional obstacle to overcome. This included when you're gripping a rolling log and the log rolls off the tracks!). With the do -over, Nagano made it to the final round and came within a second of reclaiming his grand champion title. Brooks was here.
Undercover Lovers - After 3 years of sexual tension, spies Chuck and Sarah finally, uh, slipped each other the secret password on Chuck. They delayed this as long as they could because as anyone on previous shows driven by sexual tension can tell you, the partys over shortly after the lovin' begins (see Moonlighting). My favorite tv show still may have enough tricks up their sleeve to keep things entertaining, but combining this with having Chuck's sidekick Morgan turn from Buy More manager to goof ball spy reeks of "jumping the shark". Having said that, the story arc leading up to Chuck and Sarah connecting in Paris was awesome bro!
Jammin On The One - Musical luminaries Daryl Hall and Beck have formed separate loose knit groups of musicians to jam with on the internet. Hall (usually assisted by the late T Bone Wolk) has jammed with people like Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), Todd Rundgren and Diane Birch at his web site Live At Daryls House. Meanwhile, Beck and friends decide to cover an album at a time at Beck's Record Club. Currently, they're covering INXS' classic Kick album. These sites give us music fans the rare chance to be a fly on the wall of these jam sessions we normally read about online or in magazines. Cool stuff.
Send Me Some Pizza Rolls Please! - VH1 News tipped me off to Red Letter Media, a You Tube channel that among other things makes detailed reviews of Star Wars and Star Trek movies. But the reviews aren't just some talking head going on and on, it's done like a video essay acted from the perspective of an elderly homicidal serial killer. The insightful criticism mixed with Saw like impulses and craggy impatience make for demented fun. Included below is part one of the seven part Phantom Menace review.
How Many Roads Must A Man Walk Down, Before You Call Him A Man? - I was watching tv and saw footage of Jakob Dylan at SXSW, totally blown away how much he sounds like his old man as he gets older. This song "Nothing But The Whole Wide World" is nice.
The cinematic event of the 90's for me wasn't Jurassic Park, or The Matrix, or even Independence Day. It was the re-release of the original Star Wars trilogy, granted with updated special effects. The chance to see the three classic films on the big screen again led me and tons of others to stand in a long line at the movie theater like it was 1977 all over again.
It was a thrill to view these movies "as they were meant to be seen" again, even though the added special effects seemed just OK to me. The only added scene with punch for me personally was a chance to watch the Jabba The Hutt scene in its entirety after decades of seeing just still pictures (even if it had the most jarring new effect with Han Solo "stepping" on Jabba's tail.) While the rest of the new effects (like the Death Star battle) were spiffy it was hard not to miss the old scenes that had been committed to memory.
I can't claim to be a total purist and hate the special editions, it's just a shame that Star Wars became like a scab that George Lucas couldn't stop picking. Particularly after the prequel trilogy, the original films got more revisions than a bill through Congress. Just the same, the 90s would have been a bit duller without the re release of these incredible films.
...And now, the best of the rest. It looks like 2010 is shaping up to be the year of Avatar, last year it was all about blood sucking vampires pouting 90210 style. They are the latest fad and I've got to say one of the most bizarre ones I've seen, and I've lived through Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles twice. Either old age is setting in or mainstream filmmaking is becoming increasingly empty - with a few exceptions of course. Those exceptions are my Top 5 movies of 2009 (not including The Hangover because I have the DVD but haven't watched it yet).
5. The Watchmen
It looked like this film wouldn't see the light of day for the longest time. Now it has, in a new version every four months. There's the original cut, the directors cut, the ultimate cut and who knows what else and the movie has only been out for a year. Naturally The Watchmen couldn't live up to its hype or the graphic novel that spawned it, taken on it's own terms though it's good. Well cast, ably directed with a sleek appearance and effective in evoking the basic themes of the comic made The Watchmen watchable. Nicely done pulp fiction.
4. Taken
Liam Neeson dramatically threatens a kidnapper a continent away and then proceeds to kick more ass than he did in Star Wars, Darkman and Rob Roy combined. Carrying on like a post retirement Jason Bourne, Neeson outwits and outguns the trash who took his daughter with cruel efficiency. Even when the film completely goes off the rails in the last half hour, I was rooting for Neeson to win. Bonus for the down and dirty approach the director took to give Taken a more realistic feel. And also an extra award for having the best movie advertisements of the year. Those images of the daughter witnessing the kidnapping of her friend and awaiting her own while Neeson is on the phone with her is pulse pounding stuff. An extended commercial was used on tv that was so long you thought you accidentally changed the channel to a different show that you didn't want to change off of. Best marketing of the year!
3. Food Inc.
A disturbing documentary about the near omnipotence of the food industry over its own production, distribution and even media coverage. Food Inc reveals a world where the standards and operating conditions of the industry has sunk to Upton Sinclair The Jungle levels while we eat a billion variations of corn and beef from shit covered cows. The film offers no easy answers, just presents the dire situation. Tough stuff to watch but important viewing nonetheless.
2. Star Trek
So I'm guessing...no Star Trek Voyager movie? Just kidding, JJ Abrams effectively reboots the classic Star Trek crew with gusto in an update that jettisons everything high brow about it. Exploration? Looking for the common ground to communicate with others? Not here, what we do have is the Star Trek that Paramount execs have dreamed about for decades: lasers, explosions, gun fights, fist fights and a lot of running. That's not necessarily a bad thing though, the original Star Trek and its multiple variations had run its course. Star Trek was THE popcorn movie of the year and a ton of fun. More like a sequel to Starship Troopers than Star Trek.
1. Up
This was one of the hardest movies to grasp based on the advertisements, once I saw the film I could tell why. Developing the motifs hinted at in Wall-E, Up takes CGI animation to a new emotional level. The opening minutes featuring a dialogueless montage of a couples' life from childhood meeting to the death of a spouse was one of the great moments not just of 2009 but all of cinema. Not a dry eye in the place after that, except for the kids that were too young to understand what was going on. After that opening, likable characters help carry an adventure filled with playfulness and touched by sadness. Awesome movie.
Now that I've gone over the movies, my favorites of tv in '09 were:
5. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Into its second season, the animated series has improved by varying its plot lines more while developing its characters (the Anakin Skywalker from this series would have been much more believable in turning to the dark side if he was shown as the win at all costs shortsighted slasher he is here instead of the whiny crybaby in the actual films. Wah, I miss my Mommy let me take over the galaxy instead.). The action has zip that occasionally reaches the crescendo heights of the original Star Wars.
4. Flight Of The Conchords
The New Zealand duo stumbled a little in the second season, the songs weren't quite as consistently sharp as the first season. Then they go and pull out an incredible episode where Jermaine and Bret fight over a girl who has lost her epileptic dog culminating in a charity concert for epileptic dogs where the duo unleash a light show that seizures all the dogs in the house. Overall the Conchords retained their sense of naive fun and were able to serve up plenty of memorable moments (like the Art Garfunkel fetish, the coffee cup that leads to prostitution, etc) to make it a fun season.
3. Family Guy
Even stretched as thin as he is, Seth MacFarlane has been able to keep Fam Guy going. It's not quite as funny as it had been in the past but there is still good stuff to be found. Long John Peter was classic ("A-Ha!") as was the Patrick Swayze tribute ("Roadhouse!"). And the first episode of 2010 where Peter loses his memory and Meg tells a doozy of a joke was the best episode in a while. Still my favorite animated series on tv, though American Dad and The Cleveland Show are time passers at best.
2. The Big Bang Theory
Knock knock knock...Penny? Knock knock knock...Penny? The second best geek show on tv (or if you go by ratings, the best), Big Bang Theory was consistently funny every week as super nerd anal retentive Sheldon found new ways to misconstrue his surroundings. Having watched seasons 1 & 2 on DVD after Christmas, I'm eager for a new season of geeky fun.
1. Chuck
Speaking of geeky fun, the second season of Chuck showed signs of slowing down until it hit a story arc about finding Chuck's dad and the mystery programmer Orion (both played by the always likable Scott Bakula). Like the fine souffle', Chuck mixed James Bond, workplace comedy and geek attitude to a frothy mix (and obviously I know nothing of souffle's). A great ensemble screw ball comedy with a veneer of spy stuff, Chuck is a great show that can't seem to find an audience. And it returns this Sunday in a two hour special!
And that was that in 2009. In tv the show Community came in at a very close 6th place, almost a tie except I abused the"tie" thing in the previous post. I've gotten some Christmas gifts worth reviewing, so reviews and more things to come. And below is the behind the scenes preview of Chuck. Looks awesome as ever.
1977 summed up in one photograph by Dynamite magazine, the preferred reading for grade school kids in the know!
Last weekend we went shopping which included a trip to the record store to shop for $3.00 CDs, one of my favorite things to do. While in there looking for rarities I came across something I haven't seen anywhere in my searches: Shaun Cassidy's Greatest Hits. I only wanted one song off it, a lost treasure from my childhood. "Da Doo Ron Ron". This dopey remake was recorded when Cassidy was starring on one of my favorite programs, The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries. Parker Stevenson. Shaun Cassidy. Pamela Sue Martin. A power trio for the ages! Solvin' mysteries and rockin' out at the end of the program to this song.
I took a look back and made a Top 10 list of my favorite songs of my younger days and found out two things. The first I knew, I was a huge Michael Jackson fan. A kid who could sing and dance like that...it's sad what he would become later, but back then he was hands down the most talented kid in the world. The second I just figured out, I liked anyone related to Shirley Jones. That's one magic woman there. Which leads into kicking off my list.
Rule #1 of childhood - I wanted that bus! That awesome psychedelic multicolored school bus that was modified into the touring vehicle. I had two Partridge Family records, including one that looked like the bus. And the opening with that great song and the birds hatching from the eggs? Classic. And after seeing pictures from back then, I may have worn that Partridge Family outfit at one point. Velvety vest and puffy white shirt. I don't even think it was influenced by the tv show, it was just the style at the time. Seinfeld would have been proud. By the way, I recommend viewing the clip of the song if only to see the Partridge Family play a Power Of Women rally where they win over the hippies and haters with their song of love.
There was something soothing about the 70's sounds of the Australian blonde. I used to play this song on the record a lot. I honestly don't even know how I got the record. Was it one of my parents records? Anyway, this song always takes me back to playing with toys in my room. Hot Wheels rule! Oh, and I was too young to really appreciate that she was, in the lingo of the day, a super fine fox.
Years before Robert Redford was The Electric Cowboy, Glen Campbell saddled up for a glittery ride as the Rhinestone Cowboy. Maybe I did like these songs and that's how I got them, the hook has stuck in my head for most of my life. "Like a Rhine-Stone Cow-Boy" and the strings go Duhhh-Duh. This is a song I got into from watching tv, taken from an age when kids still wanted to be cowboys. Hard to believe now, there was a time where a guy could dress in a white cowboy get up and ride a horse without coming off cheesy. The 70's was such a simpler time.
Cassidy's remake of a 60's pop hit boosted his role as a teen idol over Parker Stevenson. The music isn't too different from other teen idol jams of the day, Leif Garrett and his ilk. Musically, it was interesting how the doo wop leanings of the original were transformed into a sort of 70's surf rock. Nice memories of watching tv and reading Dynamite magazine to catch up with the important happenings of life.
The same song Megan Joy butchered on American Idol this year (caw,caw), Jackson's Got To Be There record had a lot of covers. I also remember "Ain't No Sunshine" from this record too (what, did American Idol use this whole record as a template this season? Kris Allen played "Sunshine" twice). My personal idol in childhood, MJ could do no wrong.
The dynamic duo of 70's pop, the Captain and his Tennille was all over tv back in the day. I wasn't a fan of the Captain, he always looked creepy with his sailor outfits on dry land. Tennille I was OK with, even when she would show up trying to act on Fantasy Island. This song and I think they did "Muskrat Love" were staples on tv and radio. That jaunty piano bit always grabs me. Interesting how boy / girl combos were the thing back then. There were The Carpenters, Sonny and Cher, Donny and Marie...you don't see that kind of thing anymore. A reminder of a more innocent time.
John Williams is without a shout of a doubt the greatest classical composer of my lifetime in my opinion. The themes for movies that man comes up with have embedded themselves into the national consciousness in a way that no other piece of classical music has since the days of Mozart. Even in the 90's, the best part of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was that kick ass song Williams wrote. Anyway, in the 70's the only way to improve on greatness was to add a disco beat and laser gun sounds. Fortunately Meco was around to figure that out and give us a tape of this stuff. I played this tape constantly as a kid because I was totally obsessed with Star Wars. If it wasn't for Meco, I probably would have picked "A Fifth Of Beethoven" from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
One of the first pieces of music I can remember liking was "Benny and the Jets". I would literally think of jet fighters flying when I heard this song, because when you're a kid pretending your hand is a jet plane is really cool. And he always had the flashiest outfits, didn't he dress like Donald Duck once?
I was a huge fan of Grease in 1978 and that went with emulating the stand out moment of Danny Zuko, "Grease Lightning". I liked the fast beat and fired up singing particularly the "Go Go" parts. This car is automatic, it's systematic, it's hyydro-matic. It's Grease Lighning! It's also funny, when I saw Grease on video a decade later I realized this (and a lot of other Grease songs) were pretty nasty. "You know that ain't no shit and we'll be gettin' lots of tit, Grease Lightning!" Actual lyrics from the song, no lie. By the way, after seeing that VH1 rehab show it's hard to see Jeff Conway do all that running, dancing and singing and believe it's the same person.
The only thing better than Michael Jackson by himself was when he was performing with his brothers. Those choreographed spins in multicolored outfits were mesmerizing. And whoever wrote this song "A-B-C, easy as 1-2-3" is a freakin' genius. Talk about aiming for your target audience. One of my strongest childhood memories is taking a Jackson 5 record to school in a brown paper bag for show and tell. And I used to live for that Scooby Doo episode where the Jacksons and Osmonds team up to solve the mystery.
And that's my top 10. If I had more room I would include the Bee Gee's "Tragedy", Foreigner's "Hot Blooded", The Osmonds "One Bad Apple" and KISS's "Rock And Roll All Nite". And the scariest rock star of them all, Donny Most Ralph Malph as the KISS like superstar in that episode of CHiPs. You don't remember that one you say? Well, here's a clip of the episode right now!
It's the law of diminishing returns. The more copies you make, the lesser the quality can be. Even so, sometimes there are surprises out there.
I was drinking when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray. A long time ago in a childhood far far away, one of the greatest movies of all time was made. Star Wars changed history and the face of mankind was changed forever. So powerful was Star Wars that it spawned a second set of sorry sequels years after the first series of sequels ended. Collectively, the prequel series of Star Wars movies were weak and tainted the brand as a whole. But bad product has never stopped a brand name before, not as long as it keeps selling. And as a result we have a new splinter to add to the Star Wars universe, the CGI animated Clone Wars.
It started with the movie that I got the DVD for in December. All I can say is that I'm glad I waited until DVD to watch this. On TV it's as impressive as the Cartoon Network series, the animation is pretty good, the characters are more lifelike than the live action films and the story telling somewhat plausible (at least not everyone is someone else's uncle, aunt or parent anymore). Star Wars: The Clone Wars is better than say The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones yet that's not saying much. The story to Clone Wars is a little insipid, some nonsense about Jabba the Hutt's baby and kidnapping and what not. In a movie theater this would have been disappointing, at home on DVD it's not bad. On celluloid it would suck to see the start of a tv series on screen without any enhanced graphics or events to make it special as a stand alone item. So good thing I saw it at home.
This movie was a lead in to Cartoon Network's series of half hour weekly episodes. The series is very good, it fleshes out the Star Wars Republic era and many times surpasses the quality of the prequel films in terms of story. At its peak, the Star Wars tv series picks up the zippy sense of fun the original trilogy had. The storm troopers aren't misfiring dolts even (makes me wonder what happened to that gene pool by the time you get to Luke Skywalker's time) My opinion hasn't changed much from the last time I reviewed it, the series is worthwhile and in the words of young Anakin and his friend, pretty "Wizard".
Branded alongside the DVD and TV series is a video game for the Wii, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Lightsaber Duels. The chance to swing a light saber with a Wii remote is mighty tempting. After playing this a bit, Lightsaber Duels is pretty good. There is some matching with the remote motion to give you a little Jedi juice, though it falls a little short for me. You're limited to five remote direction movement and have to memorize complex move patterns to do combo attacks (never a favorite video game feature of mine. After a year of playing Mortal Kombat I only got down one finishing move half way, where Scorpion eats the opponent's head). I was hoping for omnidirectional control of the saber since the Wii seemed to be up to it control wise. Despite these set backs, I still find playing the game enjoyable even as I flail crazily to try to trigger half the movements I'm supposed to while playing. The Force is with me.
The Clone Wars series is a decent, respectable extension of the Star Wars brand. It's not perfect and maybe it gets a little good will from the prequel trilogy's low standards. Still, on episodes like the hostage crisis at the senate or the prison break of a trade group informant the show brings back the excitement lacking from a lot of the product. And that makes it worthwhile.
The end of 2008 creeps even closer, time to close the year out. Here's my five favorite TV shows and Movies of the past twelve months.
TV Shows
5. The Big Bang Theory
In it's second season, I found the Geekamania even more appealing as more focus fell upon supernerd Sheldon. Sheldon's anal retentive ways, cold logic and lack of understanding about human beings is like Mr. Spock in Star Trek IV minus the innocence. While Big Bang Theory won't be confused with great television, it's a fun time passer.
4. WWE Raw
How could I not pick the grappler's premier program? Wrestling still lacks the excitement of the 90's Attitude era though it has levelled off into a consistent spree of choke holds and jumps. And it's interesting to see people who were mid carders when I started to follow wrestling now get the Top Belts (the high flying mic fearing Hardy Boyz are both Champions now). Best of all, Chris Jericho dominated with his egotistical gimmick and rightfully was named Superstar of the Year.
3. The Clone Wars
The idea of a CGI cartoon Star Wars didn't appeal to me initially and poor reviews of the movie didn't help. But I gave the Cartoon Network series a chance and was rewarded with something better than 90% of the junk in those prequel movies. Better acting and tighter stories makes The Clone Wars light years ahead of any Phantom Menace. It's not amazing or at the level of the Original Trilogy, but at least you can watch The Clone Wars without shaking your head at how much what you're seeing sucks.
2. Family Guy
Lots of Animation Domination here, The Griffin clan is still my favorite comedy on TV. However, for the second straight season new episodes were hard to come by after the first four episodes. And with all those spin offs it seems like the jokes are getting spread thin. I really can't stand that I can see two new episodes of American Dad for every one Family Guy. The proposed Cleveland spin off means even fewer jokes to go around, I'm still a fan but a little disappointed. Disappointed didn't mean I stopped loving the crude and insane antics of Peter Griffin and gang, so they'll still rate high with me.
1. Chuck
The human dork computer rolled into the second season and caught fire. This year saw deeper characterizations while maintaining its tone of lovable farce. While too many episodes took place at the main set (the Best Buy knockoff Buy More), Chuck's canny use of spy head game madness, sexual tension (between Chuck and protector spy Sarah) and all out doofiness (an entire episode revolved around a secret code if you defeated Missile Command) made for a weekly hour of entertainment fun.
Movies
5. There Will Be Blood
"I...drink...your...milkshake!" With that phrase, Daniel Day Lewis put the crown jewel on yet another dazzling performance. This time as a paranoid oil Barron, Lewis amazes in this epic meditation on greed and corruption. The story of a thoroughly unlikeable but completely relatable person writ large, There Will Be Blood is a textbook on how to make a good movie.
4. Quantum of Solace
Daniel Craig's second outing as 007 had good and bad points, action excitement and more insight on the soul of James Bond versus well intentioned yet overly stylized direction. Sort of reminiscent of Licence To Kill and The Man With The Golden Gun in tone, Craig expanded on his gritty Bond. I'm sure once it's on DVD I'll watch it 50 more times and get even more out of it. For now, Quantum of Solace is an interesting, deeper yet intermittently exciting addition to the 007 canon.
3. Iron Man
Shellhead locked and loaded with a stand out popcorn flick. Robert Downey Jr brought in an offhand sense of humor while maintaining enough gravitas to sell the drama. Backed by a cast of Academy Award winners and nominees, director Jon Favreau delivers the goods. Like Iron Man himself, the film is part man part machine and designed for maximum impact. Though it didn't answer the one question I've had about Iron Man through the years: how smart is it to place weaponry built into your palm? You go to scratch your head and boom! No more head.
2. Wall - E
Pixar continues to create groundbreaking CGI, though this time out it was less about the actual graphics than the content. The first half hour was almost silent which is asking a lot of a kids audience. But it worked, it worked because Wall-E is well made by creating lovable characters that appealed to both children and adults. Sly social commentary about pollution and sloth also gets worked in nicely. A kids movie that has an artistic edge is tough to pull off. Wall-E makes it work.
1. The Dark Knight
The greatest Superhero movie ever made, The Dark Knight hits all its marks. Adrenalin pumping action, characters that stand out yet are true to the comic roots, brilliant direction and art direction, first class acting performances...the list goes on and on. While there certainly will be a Batman 3, The Dark Knight is so good it's actually worth stopping the series now. You just can't beat perfection. Plus, we all get to do that low gravelly "Batman" voice for fun. Talk like you're taking a big dump that's stuck and say "I'm Batman". Guaranteed hours of entertainment! Okay, maybe I need to find higher forms of entertainment.
And that wraps up the high points of 2008 for me. All right 2009, bring it on!
Anakin Skywalker and his High School Musical ready padawan apprentice take on your TV set in The Clone Wars.
While doing more channel surfing, I stumbled across the new Star Wars animated tv series The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network (Fridays at 8pm). Although I skipped the theatrical Clone Wars animated movie, I thought for free I'll check the new Star Wars series out. And all I can say is, there is something to be said for lowered expectations.
That's not necessarily bad, it actually works in Star Wars favor this time. On the big movie screen, there is an expectation that you are seeing a singular event. It has to be something distinct and of some quality because at the very least you probably paid money to see it. With Star Wars movies in particular, that expectation built on the first two films (Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back) is extremely high. As a viewer, you want to feel the same thrills of blowing up the Death Star or lengthy lightsaber fights in the sequels as you did in the originals because otherwise what's the point? Since returning to the Star Wars brand in 1999, creator George Lucas failed to meet those heady heights repeatedly with the exception of Revenge of the Sith which got within striking distance of greatness (and then Amidala died of a broken heart. Couldn't she of died of a damaged larynx? Was that soooo much of a stretch?). With television, that expectation isn't quite as high. If what you're watching is better than reruns of Wings, you're halfway there.
Also, the switch from film to tv works to Luca's artistic advantage as well. The visuals don't have to be as mind blowing because it's on a smaller scale. In that category, Luca's team actually comes up with some pretty good stuff with the ships flying and fighting coming off very well. They actually exceed a lot of other TV shows in this category in my book. The computer animated people are just OK, their movements are a bit stiff and it feels a lot like the Starship Troopers computer animated tv series a few years back. So visually The Clone Wars is acceptable, though if this is what they did for the movie I'm glad I'm waiting 'til video.
But what ultimately hurt the prequel trilogy was mostly the storytelling ...you know, 80% of what makes a movie watchable. And here, The Clone Wars has both The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones beat. The action and plotlines are more thought out, providing more detail in the Star Wars universe. The characters interact better and are more believable than their live action counterparts. Even the hidden romance between Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amadala works here, no hold-me-like-you-did-at-the-lake-at-Naboo here. And the voice actors have more chemistry than Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman ever did. While the tone is decidedly tweenish in terms of characterizations (all characters act like they're 12) the first two prequels were like this too, but somehow seeing animated people do it works where real actors failed.
After watching two and a half episodes, I can say The Clone Wars tv series is a worthwhile thing to catch if you're a fan (and there are millions of people who are). It's not the greatest thing ever yet it does elevate the quality of the Attack of the Clones movie by at least continuing that storyline in more detail (the war after, that is). I find it interesting that Luca's vision is more fully realized here than in those prequels, for better or worse. Every once in a while during these episodes, I get a twinge of that old "Holy Crap it's Star Wars!" feeling that was missing from the adventures of Jar Jar Binks. At this point in time, I think much of the general public probably feels they've drunk enough of George Luca's Kool Aid but for me Republic Credits will do fine. Roger Roger.
