movie review: clone wars (spoiler-free)

Imagine you’ve just suffered through the worst possible three-course dinner; the salad was soggy, the appetizer cold and the main course was a dry, burnt, flavorless steak. As you force yourself to finish chewing that last bit of gristle (after all, you were hungry), you happily put the fork down, toss your napkin on the plate and just thank god that it’s finally over. You look forward to spending the rest of the night at home, snuggling up with a nice, smooth, pink bottle of Peptol Bismol. Suddenly the host reappears with yet another covered tray and proudly proclaims, “dessert!” You slump back in your chair, prepared for the worst. The cover is lifted up and what do you see? Twinkies! You happily pick up one of the spongy, yellow treats and scarf it down with glee, savoring every bite and thrilled as can be that it wasn’t yet another failed attempt by the host to reach beyond his means. And, ladies and gentlemen, that’s the best way I can describe Clone Wars – a much welcome Twinkie.

clone wars: premiere photos

Sunday was the red-carpet premiere of the new Star Wars animated “movie,” Clone Wars (I put movie in quotes because it was not originally intended to be released as a film – it’s essentially the three-part opening of the animated TV series with some patching to serve as a feature).  Much of the cast and production personnel were on hand (including the Great One himself (no, not Ben Burtt)!  I’ll be posting a review in the next few days (hint: I liked it more than the prequels), but, in the meantime, feel free to peruse my cavalcade of exclusive photos…

two guys drinking at a bar (galactica style)

Mike Nichols, superstar editor who achieved fame by re-editing Star Wars Episodes I and II as the “Phantom Editor,” has just released the latest installment in his series of shorts Two Guys Drinking At A Bar.  He’s gotten a lot of mail from fans who have complained that the credits of his shows are often longer than the actual content, so he made this new episode as a response.  I love this guy!  Read on for more clips and info about the series…

really classic Star Wars

The folks over at Worth 1000 (as in “a picture is worth 1000 words) recently had a Photoshop contest based on this member observation: I went to an art gallery the other day. The artworks were all right, I guess, but you know what they were missing? Wookiees. There wasn’t one Wookiee in sight. Also no Jedis, no Storm Troopers … in fact none of the artworks had any Star Wars elements at all!  And so a call to arms was made to insert Star Wars elements into famous works of art…