harrychen

I finally got to see it, here in Hong Kong. I was really getting tired of Cruise's love life and antics being discussed in every other magazine and newspaper, so I wasn't really expecting too much from Spielberg's latest. I didn't care much for The Terminal and I didn't enjoy Minority Report too much either. I think that because this particular story is already well-known (it's been around for over a century, right?), people were interested to see what the story would look like this time with a star director, the so-called world's biggest movie star and a big budget. Now we know. I found it much, much, much better than ID4 (I really, really hated ID4) and Signs, the two movies it's gonna be compared to. I didn't like the design of the aliens (too close to ID4) and I know that the conclusion is not exactly explained. What really cause the tripods to malfunction or the aliens to lose control? I understood it but I think most people not familiar with the story/movie will not. The movie does sort of end abruptly. I also disliked the fate of one of the supporting characters, especially at the end. The tripods were good (I understand Doug Chiang of Episode I had a hand designing them), and the visual effects were good (it was Oscar-winnig Dennis Muren, of course) too. I also noticed that the field covered in red weed was very badly lit, obviously a soundstage. Then there were the plot holes. The TV newscasts are used to explain what's going on, but when they reached the wife's home, they don't turn on the TV to see what's happening? Gimme a break. I also liked that the movie had no shots of world famous landmarks being blown up, and that it concentrated only on Cruise and his family. As expected, Kaminski's signature shots were all over the place, which is not a good thing. There's this shot where the camera seems to be circling the van, and it's all over the place. That was cool, making me wonder how they did it. Overall, good but not great, but I'm recommending it to my friends who might not like it and haven't seen it yet. Kept me entertained. Did I mention how much I hated the design of the aliens?

There are Easter eggs in Episode III, according to the SW official site. Unfortunately, you can't freeze-frame them just yet. For those ready to see it a second time or third or whatever, check out this: http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/bts/pr...0526/index.html Lucasfilm has made a list of things to look out for in the movie. I especially like the kitchen sink. Harry Chen Hong Kong

Last but not least, thanks, John Williams, for the excellent music! You're the best!

Had to be said. Thanks to George Lucas, for igniting our imaginations and letting us share in the world he and master craftsmen, artists and designers created for us. Like myriad others, it was after seeing Star Wars back in late 1977, that my life changed. Thanks for a life-changing experience. That's what non-SW-fans don't get: SW is an experience. People will do most anything to celebrate it. It's been less than spectacular in the past decade, but now that it's over, we know what will stay with us and what will be nothing more than decoration. Thanks for ILM, and THX, and Pixar and Avid, and all the magic. (Not that he's reading this!) Please don't screw up Indy 4!

While we're on questioning where's the logic of only two Sith? Well, as shown by the "much too easy" deaths of the Jedi knights that went to arrest Palpatine, including Mace Windu, it's kind of clear that them Jedi were not all powerful. If Sith are like Jedi, except evil, then a bullet/blast/thermal detonator/nuke in the right place would wipe them out in one second. Or is it absolutely necessary to use lightsaber and the Force when confronting the Sith? "No blasters allowed. That's cheating." Or can Sidious stop a nuke from blasting him to Sith-Hell? Necessary for Lucas' storyline, but ultimately, a bit silly. Man, I AM analyzing this way too much!

True, soundtracks are a small part of Sony Music, but we're talking Sony Classical. Sell more, earn more. Kind of logical, even sales guys with MBAs would get it...

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but most of the stormtroopers lined up to welcome the Emperor in ROTJ were part of matte painting. In any case, when you compare the prequels to the OT, you realize immediately that 1) the characters were better twenty-odd years ago, they had charisma and personality, and 2) there were fewer visual effects. The new movies are just too busy visually. Where do your eyes/attention focus on when there's so much going on? It's overload and overkill. Sometime cool, like the Naboo spaceships and Coruscant; sometimes not, like the Gungans, the Geonosian insects and the parrot-headed iguana Boga thing. I know Ben Burtt is a genius but what's the deal with the boga's squawking noises? Annoying! BTW, did Dennis Muren quit ILM? He didn't work on this movie. If he hasn't retired, what's he doing these days? Anybody know?

After AOTC came out, there were letter writing campaigns directed to Sony, asking that they release an Ultimate Edition of the Episode II soundtrack, but that obviously didn't sway the powers that be at Sony Classical. Personally, I don't understand why they don't do it. There's demand. If they sell extended soundtracks over the internet, they'd know how many would want them (by the number of pre-orders), so they don't need to press millions. They can charge more. Make them Limited Editions. Fans will pay, don't you think? Why don't the Indiana Jones soundtracks get the royal treatment too? After all, there are dozens of crap soundtracks out there, discs that will be sold at half price six months later... Makes me wonder if another label would release them? Fans should unite and do something. Don't really want to wait fifteen years for them!

Anyone wanting to watch these movies on VCD MPEG format with subtitles burned on them are morons. The bootleg that appeared online on opening day had timecode running through the upper third of the movie and was ripped off from a VHS copy. I don't know if they've traced it to the source, the FBI, I mean. I wouldn't wanna watch it like that. I know of non-SW-fans who have seen ROTS without ever having seen the other five films, and some even dozed through the boring bits, but at least they paid to see the real thing. How difficult can it be to trace the sources of bootleggers? New movies are sent in DVD and VHS format to companies that do subtitles and dubbing/versioning. That's how movies are ripped off. Dozens of countries have piracy problems, and there are many where movies are 99% of the time seen not in cinemas. The ironic thing is that in some of these countries, there is no way to purchase legit DVDs so the only choice is pirated.

On opening day, I stayed, with only one other guy. Second time, only my wife and I remained, so we left halfway through, oh well... I do stay through most end credits unless there's others with me. What do you expect, English language credits in a city where most people don't speak the language? It's much better than a few years ago, when they'd switch off the projector during the credits, now they can't do that if there's still people in the auditorium... I'll stay when I see it a third time, soon.

Only the Grievous action figure, the small one, and weeks before the movie opened. I stopped buying toys when they stopped making the MicroMachines, which were all the spaceships and vehicles in very small scale. I don't mind having miniature spaceships that I can put on a desktop, but not the action figures... Instead, I get the art-of and making-of books and the music CDs and DVDs, of course. Would you pay primo dollars for the replicas? Like lightsabers that cost an arm and a couple of legs, pun intended... No. A working R2D2 would be nice though...