| Grex > Cinema > #68: Grex goes to the movies - The Summer Movies Review Item |  |
| response 233 of 323: | 
Sep 7 20:34 UTC 2004 |
Saw "Hero" over the weekend and really enjoyed it. I thought it was a beautiful story, and the visuals were just stunning. There was an incredible use of colors that I really enjoyed. It is very artsy, and the martial arts are more stylized than realistic. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung are just fabulous (okay, so is Jet Li and I think it's a shame Donnie Yen didn't have a bigger part). Zhang Ziyi did well with her part as well.
| response 234 of 323: |
Sep 7 20:46 UTC 2004 |
Its not a story. Its a freshmen level collage of bad camera tricks. Ever since Wizard of Oz and David Lee Roth's California Girls video, the Asians have tried to steal the use of color visuals. The movie had a weak plot. Any assassin on the planet would have killed the king the moment he had the opportunity. I wouldn't recommend the movie to anyone unless they're into doing hard drugs and thought "The Wall" by Pink Floyd had a good storyline. Here's a better movie http://www.adrenalineonline.com/images/newsreport.wmv
| response 235 of 323: |
Sep 7 21:42 UTC 2004 |
Yeah, those thieving Asians!
| response 236 of 323: |
Sep 7 21:44 UTC 2004 |
THEEVZ!
| response 237 of 323: |
Sep 8 03:35 UTC 2004 |
This response has been erased.
| response 238 of 323: |
Sep 8 16:38 UTC 2004 |
Anybody know how to transfer the audio when you do a avi2mpg?
| response 239 of 323: |
Sep 8 19:31 UTC 2004 |
re #234- we'll have to agree to disagree. Personally, I would explain his hesitation to kill the king as a curiosity... and I was going to more fully explain but I wouldn't want to give anything away to those that may still want to see it. Again, I liked it, and I adored the use of color. so :p
| response 240 of 323: |
Sep 8 22:52 UTC 2004 |
My friend Jason said he really enjoyed "Hero", and thought it was one of the best movies he's seen in a while, and the CGI wasn't overdone.
| response 241 of 323: |
Sep 8 23:06 UTC 2004 |
That wasn't CGI..it was XGA..maybe even VGA or monochrome.. ;)
| response 242 of 323: |
Sep 9 03:00 UTC 2004 |
In other movie news, later this month the first Star Wars trilogy comes to DVD! There is controversy however, because George Lucas can't resist tinkering with the films. At the end of "Return of the Jedi" for example, Lucas is said to have replaced the ghost image of Anakin Skywalker that we see at the end of the movie next to Yoda and Obi Wan. He has in its place inserted the updated image of Anakin, which is actor Hayden Christensen as he appears in the upcoming Episode III- Revenge of the Sith (out next year) Lucas has also made other additions and modifications. I guess it makes sense in terms of continuity. The problem some Star Wars fans have is that the upcoming DVD box set will only have these updated editions (spiffed up versions of the "special editions" reissued a few years ago) and not the original films as they were initially released.
| response 243 of 323: |
Sep 9 03:36 UTC 2004 |
Lucas has also updated the image of Emperor Palpatine in "Jedi" so he is played by the actor who plays him in the new trilogy, and has inserted the character of Naboo into the final celebration scene in Jedi just to show he survives the whole saga
| response 244 of 323: |
Sep 9 11:38 UTC 2004 |
Lucas also added a scene to the Mos Eisley bar where Luke orders a futuristic-looking can of Pepsi.
| response 245 of 323: |
Sep 9 11:43 UTC 2004 |
Sounds typical of Lucas, these days. Talking of Pepsi, if one particular episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is anything to go by, Hollywood's idea of "vendor-neutral" or "advertising free" leaves a lot to be desired. Will Smith's characters cousin was holding a "COLA" can in her hand; trouble was, above the COLA sign was a blue semicircle with a sort of wavy outline, and above it a red one with a wavy outline. The rest of the can was red. I WONDER who that reminds me of.
| response 246 of 323: |
Sep 9 11:51 UTC 2004 |
s/above it/below it/ s/was red/was red white and blue/
| response 247 of 323: |
Sep 9 14:02 UTC 2004 |
Am I just confused here? I thought Naboo was a people- not one character. Am I missing something?
| response 248 of 323: |
Sep 9 15:27 UTC 2004 |
Speaking of Star Wars, this chick I know named something or other is in September's Seventeen magazine where she talks about empowering women with her role as the Queen.
| response 249 of 323: |
Sep 9 16:43 UTC 2004 |
I thought the Emperor/Palpatine was played by the same actor, just that in the orginal orginal trilogy, they had to make him look old. for the latest set, no problem.
| response 250 of 323: |
Sep 9 16:52 UTC 2004 |
As distasteful as Lucas' modified DVD releases are to the hard-core fans they're a brilliant marketing decision. Ten years from now he can release a super-special edition of the original, unaltered films, and cash in at the expense of the rabid fanboy set yet AGAIN.
| response 251 of 323: |
Sep 9 17:26 UTC 2004 |
I think he needs more ewoks and other disturbing toys in his re-makes.
| response 252 of 323: |
Sep 10 14:35 UTC 2004 |
re #249- he was- I remember hearing that too, that the actor was aged in the '6th' movie, but that given how long it took to getting around to making 1-3 he was finally the right age.\ I think Richard has a few details off.
| response 253 of 323: |
Sep 10 16:36 UTC 2004 |
I still think Palpatine is Anikin's Dad.
| response 254 of 323: |
Sep 10 16:44 UTC 2004 |
NO! That's IMPOSSIBLE!!!
| response 255 of 323: |
Sep 10 18:00 UTC 2004 |
Search your feelings, you KNOW this to be true!
| response 256 of 323: |
Sep 11 05:33 UTC 2004 |
no no, we have already established that anakin skywalker was immaculately conceieved, his mother explained in episode I that he had no father. Star Wars is a religious parable and Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker is a Jesus Saviour figure, fighting the eternal conflict between good and evil
| response 257 of 323: |
Sep 11 06:12 UTC 2004 |
Okay here's what I think happens. It is clear that Star Wars is a religious parable, and that Anakin/Darth Vader is a Jesus figure, a Saviour caught in the middle of the ultimate struggle of good vs. evil. his destiny is the confrontation at the end of Episode VI where he kills the Emperor. It is also clear that Emperor Palpatine is Satan. So Anakin is Jesus, and Emperor Palpatine is Satan, that means that Anakin's father is God. Thio since we know from Episode I that Anakin was a product of immaculate conception. Consider too one big thing that has yet to be explained and I assume will be in Episode III. Which is that when the other Jedi die, their bodies vanish, as if they are divine, as if they are Gods. Obi Wan dies in Episode IV, and Yoda dies in Episode VI, and both of their bodies vanish. But when Anakin/Vader dies in Episode VI, his body DOES NOT disappear. Luke has to cremate his body. What is implied here? That Anakin is human, the other Jedis are not. The other Jedi Knights are a race of Gods. Consider then the possibility that the Jedis, this race of Gods, have been wallowing in their own perfection, and some of them, led by Emperor Palpatine, have turned to the Dark Side. The head God, the God of Gods, then realizes that the Dark Side is so powerful that in order to defeat it, the Gods NEED the humans. The Gods, the Jedis, need to JOIN with the humans. So he decides to divinely impregnate a good human woman, and have his only begotten son, to be the Saviour, the great merging of the humans and the Gods. This is Anakin Skywalker. However the merging of the humans and the Gods, as played out in the life of Anakin, does not go smoothly. Anakin's destiny is to be a God, but his yearning is to be human. He realizes that God is his father, and when his true love is taken away from him, he blames God and turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. Thus it ends up the responsibility of Anakin's son, Luke, to turn his father back to the good side, to help his father gain control of his soul. All of which leads to the big question-- if Emperor Palpatine is Satan, and Anakin is Jesus, then who is Anakin's father? Which is to say, who is God, the head God, the God of Gods? The one who has given his only begotten son, and let him be human, to save the human race? Pure conjecture here, but I think we are going to find out that Anakin's father, God Himself, has been with us all along. That it will turn out to be Obi Wan Kenobi. Think about it, Obi Wan has been there all along, and goes out of his way to protect Anakin, and we know that it is Obi Wan that he ultimately turns against and has his climactic battle in Episode III where he loses and becomes Darth Vader. I suggest that the catalyst for this final confrontation happening, is that Emperor Palpatine revealing to Anakin that Obi Wan is not who appears to be, but is in fact God, or the head Jedi or whatever. That God took the form of Obi Wan Kenobi when Anakin was born and kept his true identity a secret, but that the Emperor using his evil ways found out. Think about it. This is why Anakin will blame Obi Wan for the death of his wife, and will turn on him. This is also why Obi Wan Kenobi is still there in Episode IV, on Tattoine, quietly protecting Luke as he grows up. This is why it is Obi Wan appearing intermittently throughout episode V and VI giving heavenly guidance to Luke. Obi Wan only ACTS inferior to Yoda, because we aren't supposed to know who He is. This would also give deeper meaning to the final shot in Episode VI, where we see Anakin, having been saved, at the side of Obi Wan Kenobi. He has fulfilled his destiny as a human being and is now taking his place at the right hand of God. Anakin, and his son Luke, have helped the human race learn to control its own destiny, and overcome the pompous, arrogant race of Jedi Gods. Its kind of Wagnerian actually. But then again, maybe Lucas has a better idea :)