THIS IS TOR NOT GLOR

Writing this while waiting for the little star wars clip to load.

... Ok, watched it. That was really cute! I watched episode 3 last night and found myself enjoying immensely, apart from having to confer with Cat about who was evil and who was who and gagging at the incredibly 'romantic' romance scenes. 'It's because I'm so in love.' 'No, I'm so in love' 'You mean love has blinded you?' Urgh...

I disagree with all the bad reviews it got. I was with Ewan McGregor when he fought the cool robot-with-heart thing, and cheered very loudly when said thing exploded. Every scene was laden with dramatic irony! Along with the audience (most of whom were my friends. It was a late, late show) I shouted, no! don't turn to the dark side! during the anakin-turning-into-darth-vader scene. For people indifferent to the star wars phenomenon (like myself), who possess only a passing knowledge of the plot, this was pure pathos-filled entertainment, a good old fashioned celebration of the human condition. Just what films are meant to be. None of this pretentious bullshit about cute guys who go around shagging random models at photo shoots.

Now I have to go and watch the whole thing again. The last time I watched it was (I think) when I was small, during CNY in my grandmother's house in toa payoh, on tv. Glor, when was the last time we watched any of the Star Wars movies? I only remember the ewoks well because that was the point when our aunties/uncles at our grandma's house would point and the screen and say, 'see! cute bears!' And I'd be like, 'ya, so what?'

Pre-movie dinner conversation at our house:

Chris: I only remember the last scene in the last movie (episode 6) where the bears came out after the evil guy died.
Everyone else: We have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
Me: Err, do you mean the ewoks?
Cat: What are ewoks? I don't remember.
Florian: No, they weren't ewoks. Ewoks weren't in the last movie.
Marc: Or were they wookies?
Cat: What are wookies?
Me: You know, the big furry furry things that go woarghorgh!

Hmm, I don't think the humour translates very well onto the page. Obviously we are all not star wars fans. It's very pleasant to find out interesting facts like how anakin really does turn out to be the chosen one! Facts everyone else knows but I didn't, and now that I've watched the movie, I can easily find out what happens next without knowing it from before! Haha! And what's more, I can easily talk about what happens in the end to people who haven't watched the movie and not be a spoiler, because they all know what happens anyway! Haha!

I must be a very sad and deprived person.

Surreal walking the deserted streets, through leicester square and covent garden market after the show. We all got free posters and v-zhing v-zhinged them around, squawking excitedly about our favourite parts of the film. Somehow, we were part of the scenery, along with the little piles of homeless people in the doorways, drunken yobs chanting 'Li-ver-pull, li-ver-pool, li-ver-pool!', and all the denizens of night-time central london. We were the cut-price late-night ticket student gang walking to chinatown to have supper, having come from dinner before the show. There's a melancholy beauty to be found in places which are alive and bustling with tourists during the day that shows itself at night, in the dark, alone, that has the quality of truth. We sat on the cobblestone road (carefully avoiding the patches of vomit of course) continued to v-zhing, v-zhing, and just breathed in the silence (punctuated by occasional screaming and crying of course). Simple pleasures.

...

Did you know that in the books, episode 7-9, Luke is somehow lured by the ghost of sidious and turns to the dark side too? (noooo! so sad!) but in the end, is converted back to the non-dark side by his son? I'm never gonna read those books cos that sounds like they ran out of ideas.

Oh! Don't watch hitch-hiker's. I hated the beginning, the title song, the end, the characters (I know we all have to PC now but have you ever imagined Ford Prefect as black? I mean, it's one thing to be inclusive and another to be totally un-true to the character in the book) I know Adams helped to write the screenplay but I'm sure he'd be turning over in his grave at some of the liberties taken. The ending! Oh! The ending! (The humanity! No-- I'm not going to say that. It's rather, oh! The non-humanity) Ok, you won't understand that unless you know the book and watched the film, and I won't tell you why I think it's completely missed the point in case you still want to watch it. Please don't.

I mean, I laughed. It was funny. But it was only funny because the lines were funny, and the lines are funny because the book is funny. The only good thing about the movie is the dialogue and narration. And of course the story. But not the end! And for some strange reason the makers totally missed out on some of the classic scenes in the book-- like they ignored the fact that the reason for the Heart of Gold's shut-down during the Vogon attack was Arthur's request for a cup of tea! Oh, I shan't go on, this is starting to sound pedantic.

The more difficult my work is, the less refined my entertainment tastes become. But all I'm asking for is a minimum level of clever/interesting plot, decent dialogue and really cool flinging people around via the force and lightsabres that go 'v-zhing, v-zhing!' OK. *shrug*

Everytime I think of the word wookie, I think of Khayce. woarghorgh!