The Star Wars Condundrum

I have to preface this by saying I grew up a huge Star Wars nerd. I'm not embarrassed to admit it. It used to be my world. I played the video games and read the books and used to have all of these toys. If I could I would be a Jedi. I know I'm not alone in this - in fact I'm probably in some kind of a majority for young boys growing up in the 90s. I grew up a little bit (read: not too much) and don't watch Star Wars everyday like I did when I was seven, and I don't think about it everyday like I did when I was seven, but when people talk about it, I usually - quickly - transform back to the seven year old. I probably knew more about the Star Wars universe than I did about America's history. Again, I've grown up a little bit since then. Now I obsess over TV shows and sports.

Anyways, this isn't about my Star Wars knowledge - although I guess it fueled this conversation - but more about the series new place in movie/Hollywood/sci-fi lore now that the new movies have been out for over five years now.

I don't really know anyone that liked the "new trilogy" - because it was so radically different than the original. The acting was terrible, the special effects were too much, everything felt rushed. The only thing that people could say - as hardcore fans - was that they appreciated the story of Anakin becoming Vader. But I was thinking about it from a kid standpoint, like when I saw the originals when I was young, and what will they think? Because after all, it's always about the kids.

They can't possibly understand. The new three have all of these special effects and CGI and seem so bad ass, while the originals are so simple and just straight up look different (and by different I mean worse.) They can't understand why Yoda is moving around and kicking ass in the first three and then in the last three he can barely walk; why the clone troopers look so much cooler/effective/stronger/intelligent than the stormtroopers, any of it. It doesn't make any sense. Is my kid going to love Star Wars as much as I did? Or is s/he going to want to be a wizard of Harry Potter's world (ps the new movie sucked)? It's not up to me, but I'm just curious on what will be the future for the next generation of youth.

I almost think that it will change the legacy of the movies because they look so different. And the thing to blame I think is CGI - it gave Lucas too much freedom to do what he thought in his head. It's not a terrible idea to be constricted to the 80s special effects - which I really never thought were THAT bad. I've seen bits and pieces of all six movies on SpikeTV this long weekend, and I actually really liked the originals effects with space flying etc. I haven't seen the films for at least a year, so I realized some problems that I must have missed (like how come the lightsaber doesn't destroy everything it touches? Sometimes, it didn't. Puzzling) but I see now.

I'm not sure if I'm losing my childhood innocence/imagination but the original stories don't really make sense. It's almost like George Lucas made them up as he went along. The whole Vader being their father? Luke and Leia were into each other, and then they find out their twins? Building a second Death Star? All seems kind of crazy.

Either way, what's done is done. They had to make the prequels because people were clamoring for them. It would of been better if they made them about 20 years earlier, but that wasn't up to me.

I still really love the films. I can't say they're my favorite anymore - I think I lost my passion for films when I started watching good TV shows and our ADHD continues to cripple us so that we really are unable to sit and watch without multitasking or talking or doing something else that takes our attention away from whatever we were planning on doing.

The films are still classics. They continue to be a part of pop culture, as people reference and quote etc. about them. Everyone knows who Darth Vader is. They always will. It may not be on the tip of their tongues or something they think about ever, but they know.

To close, I wanted to put up my favorite image from the series - the twin sunset on Tatooine. It may or may not have been my background on my desktop for a while....

May The Force Be With You.

Time Travel Geek Speak

This post shows off my inner-nerd, and I don't care.

I'm not sure what's up with my time travel obsession lately. Maybe I've been thinking about Lost too much. I've also been watching Back To The Future - all of them - in the past few days. And Hot Tub Time Machine is constantly making me laugh. (ps I think it's going to be the biggest joke since Snakes On A Plane)

Okay, so over the past few days I've seen all three Back To The Future's, and although I LOVE each of them, I realized a continuity error. I don't know if anyone cares, so if you don't, stop reading.

At the beginning of Part Two, Doc, Marty, & Jennifer go into the future. Doc claims they have to change their kid's future.

SO HERE'S MY PROBLEM:

IF Marty and Jennifer were to travel from 1985 to 2015 in time, they wouldn't exist in 2015 because they would have disappeared from the timeline. The 2015 version of the McFly's would be gone. But they're not.

I know it's Hollywood and I also know time travel isn't real (although sometimes I really wish it was,) but it really annoyed me while I was watching it yesterday, and I thought I would share that with you.

Also funny side note, isn't it interesting how they portrayed 2015, but 2015, although 5 years away, isn't going to be ANYTHING like how they thought it would be.

THIS STUFF BLOWS MY MIND

Buying Movies is Becoming More and More Difficult

Over the summer, we had just purchased an HDTV and I was excited about the advancements of watching TV. Then I started getting into the idea of Blu-Ray. I had heard it, seen it, wasn't going to do it because I didn't have a Blu-Ray player and I wasn't looking forward to spending more money than I have to.

I'm not sure what exactly it was that changed me - but I wanted to get involved. I wanted a PS3 anyway because I wanted to play the MLB game, so getting Blu-Ray was an added benefit of getting a PS3. I was in luck because my friend was selling his for real cheap, so I got a PS3 and now I just needed the discs.

I got all of Lost (obviously,) True Blood, and Weeds on Blu-Ray, and the picture is awesome. The content is different - more interactive. The discs were only $5 more expensive than regular DVD, I figured it was worth the High-Def quality. It totally was.

Problem is, Blu-Ray isn't as portable as DVDs. By that I mean when traveling or not at home, I can watch DVDs on my computer. I can't do that with Blu-Ray. This really limits where I can watch them. Also I can't take them over to my friend's house unless they have a Blu-Ray player either. So it's frustrating.

Then there is the Digital Format problem. Anyone can download movies/shows from iTunes - but they are limited to watching them on their computers. It's restricting and frustrating. Sure I can watch it on my laptop or my iPod (which I find incredibly frustrating to watch on an iPod, even the Touch) but I can't watch it on my TV easily. Apple's got the Apple TV deal, but it's not very successful.

It leaves the average consumer in a quandary. Which copy do I buy? Do I want the best picture? Do I want portability? I'm not buying 7 different versions. What is anyone to do?

I really like what Disney is doing. Most of their movies are for sale in a "Combo Pack" which includes DVD, Blu-Ray, AND Digital Copy versions of the movie. FOR 5 DOLLARS MORE THAN A REGULAR DVD. WHAT A SMART IDEA.

I wish every company had that policy. Yet they don't. Instead they're greedy and want to milk us for whatever they can get out. I'm sure someone bought The Dark Knight in all three different ways. Avatar will be bought in 5. It's a rip off.

The future is definitely headed towards the Digital format. A huge database of your films in one storage location. You won't buy discs, you'll just download from the store. It's already happening. What's one to do with the movies you already have? There will need to be some way to convert it.

In the meantime, I'm really trying to not buy anything. I'm not giving anymore money to those greedy bastards.

Avatar Review

James Cameron is the biggest name in making blockbuster movies. The only other two names that even compete: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. I don't need to waste time talking about the history.

Avatar has been 13 years in the making. I remember hearing about it as a kid. When I first saw a trailer, I really didn't want to see it. It all seemed to be TOO much. I thought it would end up like a Jason Bay film - they always turn into massive CGI fests. I knew I would end up seeing it however - it's too big to miss and I have too much free time at home over break.

I saw it the previous day with a few of my buddies in "Real 3D." I couldn't tell you the difference between "Real 3D" and IMAX 3D and all this other variations in watching film. I didn't really see any 3D, and the glasses honestly hurt my eyes. I'm not sure I buy into the whole 3D gimmick, but it seems to be sweeping Hollywood by storm.

Anyways, the movie could only be described with one word: epic. While not as long as Titanic, it certainly was not short. The length is the only thing that bothered me about the movie. The technology to create this new world was unbelieveable and honestly breathtaking. Cameron created a beautiful universe that sci-fi geeks will definitely lose themselves in (especially if they make sequels - which are rumored.)

The story is just an adaptation of the time old classic Western movie, set in 2154. There wasn't much surprise as far as how the story played out. That doesn't mean it wasn't cool to witness. There was definitely alot of metaphors towards the current American wars and our policy towards getting oil, but it didn't spoil the movie. It can't be compared to any other movie, because its on a entirely different level of blockbuster that is just starting. I wouldn't say it was the best movie I've seen all year (still goes to Up In The Air,) but it was definitely an enjoyable film, if only shorter. I couldn't see any parts to cut out though, because all of the scenes were needed to complete the story. The "final battle" scenes were as huge as those seen on the third Lord of the Rings, just set in the future.

Overall, it exceeded my expectations and was absolutely amazing to watch, but not as good as Aquaman (Entourage joke, for those not in the know)