a90ab87e   
   Wow, this post was posted way back in 1999 and guess who's making the new Star   
   Wars now?   
      
   On Sunday, June 20, 1999 12:00:00 AM UTC-7, Gene Atkins wrote:   
   > I was there in the beginning, standing in line twenty years ago during the   
   > opening week at Gruman's Chinese Theater in L.A.. When that imperial   
   > cruiser blasted over my head for the first time, it was all that I could   
   > do to keep from peeing my pants. What a glorious moment, I'll treasure it   
   > forever.   
   >   
   > What I won't treasure is the two hours I spent hoping that that bat eared   
   > weenie Jar Jar Binks would get toasted by one of those beak nosed battle   
   > droids. The newest (oldest?) version of the Star Wars saga is the biggest   
   > and busiest pile of pre-school pablum ever to disgrace the big screen.   
   > George Lucas has become the filmaker version of one of those guys who's   
   > way to old to be hanging out at the nightclub chasing young girls. His   
   > movie is all dressed up in flashy clothing that doesn't quite fit right   
   > over it's bulging gut and sagging ass. It tries to act cool but ends up   
   > being at best a nagging bore and at worst a bumbling imbecile.   
   >   
   > Oh I can hear it now: I'm being to harsh, I expected too much. Damn   
   > straight I expected too much. I expected another polished stone from the   
   > man who created a cultural icon. I expected it to be at least as good as   
   > the worst of the original three, Return of the Jedi. What I didn't expect   
   > is to find was a tepid and cutsey testament to the art of computer   
   > animation. This wasn't a movie, it was bad two hour trailer for a bad   
   > movie. It would've been just as compelling if they'd used finger puppets   
   > or popsicle sticks considering how slack the story and dialog was.   
   >   
   > It looks like George Lucas has become stunningly complacent all these   
   > years. We worshipped, adored and begged him to make another one and after   
   > all this time it looks like he started to believe his own hype. I guess he   
   > figures he's got more movie in his little finger than all of Hollywood has   
   > put together, since it seems that's all the effort he managed to put into   
   > this one. Surrounded by "yes" men and adoring old fans who've grown up and   
   > gotten the chance to meet their maker, he didn't have anyone to question   
   > his credibility. The God of modern sci-fi cinema decided to speak and   
   > whatver fell from his tongue would surely be scraped up by the rabid fans,   
   > both new and old.   
   >   
   > Now I hear talk of fans trying to rally the troops for a fan day to put   
   > Star Wars E1 back into the box office high seat. I remember a time when   
   > you didn't have to, because the fans came in droves, over and over again.   
   > They came because they had tasted something special and wanted to have   
   > just one more bite or two, or seven, or over a hundred. They came because   
   > there was more than just a spectacle, there was real movie and an enduring   
   > adventure. Now all they get is a hollow tastless donut with extra   
   > sprinkles. Who wants to come back for that? It says something about the   
   > quality of the project when the fans have to goad their bretheren to show   
   > support. Get real.   
   >   
   > It's really okay if you like this movie and I don't. We all have a few   
   > guilty pleasures in our closet. Hey, I'll be the first to admit that I   
   > like a few Barry Manilow songs, but I won't get defensive when somebody   
   > blasts him. I like Barry for all the wrong reasons and that's the way it's   
   > supposed to be. All you little sweaty palmed newsgroup flame spewers need   
   > to realize that my criticism of the movie isn't the same as criticising   
   > you. Just keep telling yourself, it's only a movie...it's only a movie...   
   >   
   > Well, almost.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)