Sponsor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Film Habit #20 - September 17, 2004 I can’t believe I made it to #20. Except for one or two weeks off I’ve even been on time. I think you all owe me a sundae, extra sprinkles.
It’s been a busy week at Cinema Blend and you’ve all been the benefactors. Look at the reviews! They’re everywhere! It isn’t over yet. We’ve got a tidal wave of movie reviewing goodness, both DVD and original theatrical flavor. Better still the Blend News Network seems to really be on its game this week, thanks almost entirely to Matt and no thanks at all to me. It’s a good time to be here and a hectic time for the hard working CB staff. I rewarded my hard working, “Magnum P.I.” (When will this DVD set END so I can review the damn thing? I’m starting to get sick of that smirky mustache Thomas) focused self with a break from 80’s television and a few songs from “The Killers”. I hate music and they’ve helped me figure out why: Most of it reeks like a Richard Roeper review. “The Killers” do not. Give them a go. Josh’s Choice  Star Wars comes out on DVD this Tuesday and while I’m watching from afar as Rafe handles the review duties on this one, I still feel like I have to say something about it. This is Star Wars after all, the real one, not the kiddied up stuff we’ve all been watching and hoping will get better. It’s the movie that changed filmmaking forever and even if you hate it well you’ve got to give it that. Star Wars isn’t just three flicks that used to top my best ever list, it’s three that top any list when you’re talking about important movies in film history.
Except they’re being erased from history, at least in their original form. The DVD being released changes some small, but rather important things and if you don’t know that by now then you haven’t been keeping up. I’m not going to help you. Most of the changes don’t bother me. The old Greedo shooting first is still there (basically) and while that sucks, well it sucked years ago when the movie was released as a Special Edition, no point in getting upset about it again. Besides, it’s a split second change. In fact most of the changes are split second changes and in the end don’t really amount to much. Yeah, it’s annoying to have Naboo and floppy bodied Gunguns bouncing about during the celebration scene at the end of Return of the Jedi. Yes, it’s pretty heinous to replace actors from the original movies with updated versions of them from the new, inferior Star Wars movies (no matter how hard you try to explain it George it just doesn’t make sense for Anakin to be young when he’s dead, Obi Wan got screwed). All of that I hate, I really do. But it isn’t enough to ruin the movies, the changes are tiny and some of the stuff they’ve done to it will even make your experience better, cleaning up the aged prints so the movie is crystal clear and pristine, man that’s the kind of great treatment you wish every old movie would get on DVD.  So you could buy it, you could watch it, you’ll probably even enjoy it. I know I would. But then that means Sebastion Shaw’s little moment at the end of Return of the Jedi is gone forever. It means that Greedo will always shoot first. It means that the original Star Wars movies from here on out will always be riddled with random shots of Gunguns in the background. I can live with that while I’m watching it, but I’m not sure I can live with that version of Star Wars being the only version left to history. Yet there it is, because Mr. Lucas has made it clear that he hates his original movies and will never release them untouched in any format viable to you or me. So I’m not buying them. I just can’t support that. What’s more Star Wars fans don’t have to, if only they’d hold off on buying. If no one bought it, or if even the first couple of weeks of sales were noticeably weak, he just might give you the originals. But the Jedi-faithful are weak. They’ll buy, Lucasfilm will make millions. Maybe we even still owe them money for all these years of Jedi-love. I’m not sure I can ever really repay that debt. Star Wars is part of what really made me love movies. George deserves his money, even if it’s made him totally out of touch with the story and world he helped create.
 But at the end of the day, at least I personally will feel good knowing I did the right thing even if the rest of Star Wars fandom is too weak kneed. I know I’m making the choice that’s right for me. Buy it or not, but remember when making your choice that you are choosing who will write history with your buying power. How do you want the original Star Wars trilogy to be remembered: As it really was, or as a megalomaniac billionaire more concerned with toy merchandising than storytelling wishes to rewrite it?
The talented folks on the CB Forum have been busy for months now battling to make themselves heard on the Star WarsDVD issue. Though some of them were a bit confused on the release date, if you haven’t made up your mind, to buy or not to buy, maybe they can help. Here’s a few examples of the massive CB Forum ad campaign from both sides of the Star Wars DVD fence.            
me to explain why you’re helping George Lucas rape Star Wars. What to Watch New movies come out each week. I don’t see all of them, but still feel qualified to tell you which movie you should watch. Feed your film habit from my picks. GIANT FREAKIN ROBOTS! Wimbledon looks to be another one of those formulaic rom-coms about old has-beens robbing the cradle of snaggle toothed young hotties. It’s only one of two such tales of old/young love this weekend, but since the other sports the name National Lampoon it is almost certainly the better of the two. You might even say it’s the lesser of two weevils. Luckily, you aren’t stuck just choosing between this and Gold Diggers. To me, Bernie Mac is the new Bill Cosby, having substituted Cosby’s love of sweaters for an obsession with silk shirts. While Mr. 3000 isn’t exactly his Leonard Part VI (The other five missions are classified so all they could show us was one of his crappier missions focused around ballet shoes and the riding of ostriches), it isn’t genius either. Bernie’s fine, the movie just drags so much it saps the life out of anything funny he might bring to it. There’s a fine joke about gay marriage between friends which I found myself over-quoting both on the CB Forum and in real life, but one great running gag does not a weekend worthy movie make. I am really interested in Head in the Clouds and am still kicking myself repeatedly in the groin (quite a feat I know) for missing my screening and handing it off to Tiffany for a review. Charlize Theron is back to being pretty, only she’s being pretty in a movie of potential substance, which is a nice little change. As a plus it also tackles a hefty amount of period piece bisexuality. Sadly, Head in the Clouds is only showing up in NYC and L.A. this weekend as part one of its limited release strategy, which means no chance to see it for me and for you. Hang on and catch it with me on October 1 when its limited release goes a little wider.  The only wide release peeling out into theaters that’s really worth a look is the nostalgia ridden Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, which coincidentally features GIANT FREAKIN ROBOTS! As you all know I take a strong stance on GIANT FREAK ROBOTS!, that stance being that they should be seen… at any cost. Oh and the movie isn’t half bad either. It’s not the second coming of geekus-christ and it’s getting overrated like crazy, especially by the same people who think Hellboy is the world’s greatest superhero movie, but its good nonetheless. That is of course, assuming you can get past the fact that it’s filmed like a Beth Littleford interview. Pay homage to GIANT FREAKIN ROBOTS!, shrink rays, and sexy women with eye-patches by spending your weekend with Sky Captain.
Hey! Do you like working for free? Are you over 18? Do you secretly wish you could live the wild and exciting life of Michael Brody? You’re in luck. CinemaBlend.com is looking for writers, specifically the type interested in slogging it out on DVD’s or those with a flair for internet news stories. If you think you can capture the signature Cinema Blend style as a DVD critic and/or BNN reporter send me an with a few samples and we’ll talk. |
     |
