6.23.2005

Hot Hot Heat (and ham sandwiches)

I’m at work typing this, killing time while there are no customers around. The air is so hot and humid out today; I expected to be busier than I am. I suppose people aren’t sick of the heat yet, so they’re out enjoying it. All I know is I’m jetting out of here at 5, and throwing the AC on high. Air conditioning is a friend of mine.

Like I said before, the folks came up to the northwoods this past weekend. They went on the Sprecher brewery tour, which I’ll have to do sometime, and then we went out with Kelsey for dinner at Saz’s. A good time was had by all. Kelsey’s housesitting for the Brunos up in Whitefolks Bay, so there was some driving involved, but no complaints here. I enjoy the driving.

Sunday I met the parents in Sussex for the British car show they came up to compete in. It was great to see so many different kinds of cars, and have a walking encyclopedia like Dad to let me know what was what. Miss Elizabeth, the car, won first place in the Spitfire class, which was great, even if we did have to wait until every other class was announced to find that out. Afterwards, we went out for custard at Oscar’s, and then they hit the ol’ dusty trail. But we’ll hook up again soon, at the White Sox game in July, and then when I have vacation, also in July. I’m fiending for some Chicken-N-Spice, so Joliet is my vacation destination. Plus, maybe I can clean up some of the junk I have stored in the basement, or start work on the camcorder-to-DVD project, if I get a video decoder by then. Depends on when bonuses come.

I get to go to 7 Mile Fair again this weekend. Oh joy. I don’t really mind too much, but it’s just so boring. And I don’t speak Spanish. And there’s no power in our booth, so I can’t bring my laptop. Well, I could, but it would only work for two hours or so. I would love to have a power hookup, so I could play movies all day, and attract people to the booth, but power costs extra, so no go. I guess I should just be happy that I’m inside. I’ll be more than halfway to Highway 158, so that means some sweet White Castle action for me one of those nights. I also have a dolly lined up for this trip, so I won’t have to worry about driving on the grounds. I’ll just park in the vendor lot, and wheel my stuff over to the building. Much easier that way.

I’m also in the midst of working 7 days in a row. There have been so many requests off from people at work that I’m beginning to wonder if we need another GSR. I know we need one come fall anyway, so I might as well get on that now. And I might have to work 4th of July, which I requested off about 4 months ago. Will might be able to close, in which case I’d be ok, but I’m gonna be hella pissed off if I have to miss Ben Folds at Summerfest. That’s the only day I want to go! Grrrrr..

I still haven’t been able to catch Batman Begins on the IMAX in Lincolnshire. Scheduling issues abound, but maybe next week Tuesday or Wednesday. Land of the Dead is a sure thing Friday night, as I cannot miss a Romero zombie movie. War of the Worlds then opens next week, which I’ll surely go see, in spite of Tom Cruise’s wacky antics. There was a poll in Entertainment Weekly that said most people are less likely to see the movie now than they were before the Cruise-Holmes publicity blitz. I think that’s kind of silly. If a movie looks good, go see it. Don’t let the personal actions of one of the actors affect what could be a very entertaining movie.

Or, conversely, in the words of fictional film critic Jay Sherman, “If the movie stinks, just don’t go.”

(Or as his also fictional father would say, “If the movie stinks, do-si-do.”)

This would apply to Herbie: Fully Loaded and Bewitched, the latter of which looks to be beyond the saving grace of Will Ferrell. Especially because it looks like he’s playing the straight man, which is insane casting. Ferrell needs to play the idiot, or the oddball. Not the Ben Stiller-schlub-slash-loser. Get it straight, Hollywood.

Was that too harsh? I can never tell…

Anyway, I will leave you with some words of wisdom, passed down to me from a Nepalese wise man:

Lindsay Lohan needs to eat a ham sandwich. Several, in fact.

Madagascar, and more...

So I went to go see Madagascar at Mayfair last week, mostly because I’m a sucker for CGI. I’ll go see anything, including the super-awful Polar Express, as long as its computer animated. I’m just so interested in the process, that even if the movie is terrible, I can at least enjoy the animation. This is the same reason I love Miyazaki’s films, like Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away, because they often don’t make sense, but they’re beautiful to watch.

But Madagascar is such a cookie-cutter imitation of better films that I may have to rethink my movie going habits.

It’s not that there’s anything terribly bad about the movie. Its fun enough, and it’s better than Shark Tale at least. Basically, a group of zoo animals from NYC, in attempting to help a friend, end up stranded on the island of Madagascar, off the coast of Africa. Their attempts to blend into their new “wild” surroundings create the kind of fish-out-of-water situation previously seen in, oh, I don’t know, just about every movie ever. Will they be rescued, or will they grow to love their new home?

I don’t care.

Seriously. I was never once emotionally involved in this flick, and not just because it’s a kid’s movie. Madagascar seemed like just a string of gags held together, tenuously, by an afterthought of a plot. I can see the DreamWorks production meeting going like this:

“Ok, so our focus group found out that kids like zoo animals, and dancing
lemurs. But not dancing lemurs in the zoo. So how can we get those
two together?”

“How about we send the zoo animals to the
wild?”

“Brilliant! Get Ali G on the phone!”

That’s the whole meeting. Madagascar was greenlit from there. I know that the movie business exists to make money, but the downfall of quality children’s movies in the past 5 years has been dramatic. I know I am a Pixar junkie, but I have yet to see a non-Pixar CGI kid’s film that seemed interested in making the story compelling. You hear that Lasseter? Now give me a job.

More and more these movies have been about making kids want to go, and convincing the parents that they’ll enjoy it too. While I understand this, from a marketing perspective, what ever happened to making kids movies for kids? I mean, there are jokes in Madagascar that no kid would ever get, including references to American Beauty, the original Planet of the Apes, and one exceptionally obscure nod to the Twilight Zone episode, “To Serve Man.” These are thrown into the script, in what I guess is an attempt to convince the parents that they’re enjoying themselves, but I just found myself distracted and annoyed.

And yes, Pixar does this too, but they also understand the art of subtlety. Gags are thrown into Madagascar in such a slapdash, ham-fisted way that they are distracting from the story, while Finding Nemo or Monsters, Inc. reserve such jokes for the background, thus both enhancing the main story and enriching the experience for older viewers. All the Pixar movies stand up after multiple viewings, and you’ll probably catch something new each time, while these other movies seem to slap you in the face and say “HEY! THIS IS FUNNY!”

I know it’s kinda pointless to criticize a kid’s movie. Kids probably love Madagascar, just as they loved Shark Tale, Ice Age, Shrek 2, etc. The problem, though, is that eventually there will be a backlash against these manic, goofy CGI movies, and a demand will return for traditional animated features. And where will they be? Nowhere, since Disney shut down all their 2-D animation studios, except for direct-to-video sequels. So I hope Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki’s studio (which unfortunately has a first-look distribution deal with Disney), is able to capitalize on this, and expand from arthouse releases to huge ones.

Another thing, and then I’ll shut up. Voice casting in these animated features has become ridiculous. I read an article with brilliant voice actor Billy West, of Ren & Stimpy and Futurama fame, where he complains about big names getting all the parts in animation these days. And he’s right. The studios (again, not Pixar) are convinced that if they can put some star names on the marquee, that audiences will flock in to hear them. Madagascar boasts Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Cedric the Entertainer, none of which made much of an effort to get into character. They played themselves. Same with Will Smith, Renee Zellweger and Angelina Jolie in Shark Tale. Or Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Sinbad. Did anybody really go see that movie to hear the voice of Brad Pitt?

Occasionally the stars will deliver, such as David Schwimmer in Madagascar, Mike Myers in Shrek, or Billy Crystal/John Goodman in Monsters, Inc. But for the most part, the most successful casting in animated films, or any film for that matter, is when the best actor is cast, not the biggest name.

Look at The Incredibles, for example. The main cast is Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, Sarah Vowell and Samuel L. Jackson. Only Jackson would be considered a Hollywood “star”, and Frozone is a secondary character in the movie. The rest of the cast was chosen for their talent, and their suitability to the role, instead of their name power. And god knows if Pixar and Disney wanted an all-star cast, they have the money and the power to cast whomever they wanted. They could’ve had Vin Diesel as Elastigirl and gotten away with it.

I guess I’m just getting too old to enjoy these new kids movies without overanalyzing them. I can still go back and watch the movies from my childhood, like Labyrinth and Transformers: The Movie, but these newfangled flicks are just too much for a child of the 80s like me. Here’s hoping they don’t screw up the proposed He-Man and Transformers movies. You hear me, Bay? I will destroy you!!

Sorry, got off on a tangent there. Madagascar gets a C- for unoriginality.

6.20.2005

picture pages, picture pages...

I went to a car show with the folks today for Father's Day. Very fun. I'll post more later, but for now, click here for the pictures from the show. Word.

6.19.2005


Mystery Jedi Number One!!

6.17.2005

PostSecret


This is an example from this beautiful blogger site I happened upon. Folks send in handmade postcards, anonymously, with their deepest secrets on them. The cards are hilarious, heartbreaking and courageous. And I wish I had come up with the idea first...

I'll probably be sending something in, but you won't know, since it's a secret.

Probably not safe for work, depending on how relaxed your work environment is.

Click here to go there now. Enjoy.

Bale-A-Thon, Part 2

So, onto Batman Begins. Remember that picture from the last post, with rail-thin Christian Bale? Well, check this one out:

That's what Christian Bale really looks like. And that's for the ladies out there.

So aside from transforming from an insomniac ghoul into everyone's favorite non-super-powered superhero, what else did I like about Batman Begins?

EVERYTHING!

I really can't think of a better way to bring the Dark Knight to the screen. Free of the campy tone of the Schumacher films (and, to a lesser extent, the Burton films), Christopher Nolan was able to create Bruce Wayne/Batman as a real person, with logical motivations and an explanation for everything. Wondering where the mask came from? Or the Batmobile? Or even why he's got gauntlets? Questions answered.

That's the best part about Begins. Everything makes sense. None of this Daredevil crap (by which I mean the idea that a blind guy made his own custom, leather, superhero costume.) Nolan goes out of his way to not insult the audience's intelligence, to his credit.

Well, maybe the best part is seeing these characters, that I am emotionally attached to, brought to life. While I said in my Sin City review that is was the most faithful comic adaptation yet, I must now amend that. Visually, I stand by that. But as far as character goes, Begins beats it by a nose. Gary Oldman, who I have a huge non-gay man-crush on, as Jim Gordon is 100 percent exactly how I would picture the comic book character if he were real. Pat Hingle as Gordon in the old Batman films was your stereotypical random police guy. But Oldman brings the frustration and resignation I always saw in the comics into the movie.

Dear Warner Brothers, please bust out some Killing Joke nonsense in the next flick, and put Oldman through that insanity. I would follow Gary Oldman around like the Dead if they did that. I would be an Oldhead. And instead of tie-dye and Patchouli, I would have the Fifth Element haircut, and would demand that Harrison Ford throw me out of a plane.

Same goes for Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow. Murphy exudes the cool confidence of a supergenius, and while my initial concern was his ability to be terrifying, Nolan took care of that. That's all I'll say here.

I can see some rabid fanboys out there dissecting this movie, and complaining about plot continuities and character origins, but I don't see the need to complain. The creative team behind this movie obviously has a deep affection for the character, and nothing seemed out of place, to me anyway. Ra's Al Ghul, in the film, really has nothing to do with Ra's Al Ghul, the comic book character, but I think that's okay. It's not like they screwed up a top-tier Bat-villain. They already did that, three times, in Batman and Robin.

I also don't know if Joe Moviegoer is going to dig it as much as I did. It starts off pretty slow, as it is a true origin story, and he doesn't become Batman until about an hour in. This film doesn't have the popcorn-flick non-stop intensity of Spider-Man 2 or the X-Men movies. It's essentially a film masquerading as a movie. Nolan is an auteur, brought in to provide some credibility to a franchise that had been torn to shreds by well-noted archvillain Joel Schumacher.

And Nolan succeeds. Boy, does he ever.

I'm really tired right now, and I don't want to give a whole lot away, so I'll shut up. But see this movie. See it on the big screen. Batman Begins gets an A for frickin' awesome.

Swipe this after seeing the movie>>>>>But what's with Scarecrow's exit? That kinda sucked. Oh well.<<<<<

Bale-A-Thon, Part 1

This is part one of a double dose of your friend and mine, Mr. Christian Bale.

First up, Bale's recent DVD release, The Machinist.

I had really wanted to catch this movie in theaters, but it only played at the Oriental around here, and I don't often get motivated enough to drive all the way over there. Interestingly enough, though, I will drive to Illinois to see Episode III. Go figure. While you might not be immediately aware of the title, this film did get a lot of publicity for Bale's physical transformation for the role of Trevor Reznik. He dropped about 63 pounds, from 183 to 120, and wanted to go down to 100, but was stopped by the film's producers. He rationed himself to one apple and one can of tuna per day.

And the result is a haunting metamorphosis unrivalled by any actor I can recall.

It's scary. This is the same guy who dominated as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, and cooly overthrew the government in Equilibrium? It doesn't seem possible.

Stunts do not a good film make, though, and luckily The Machinist is not a one-trick pony. It's a haunting thriller, worthy of such a commitment from an actor. It's also one of the scariest movies I've seen since The Ring.

Bale stars as Reznik, a factory worker plagued by insomnia who may or may not be going insane. Reznik begins to interact with Ivan, a fellow worker who seems to be everything Reznik is not. Distracted by Ivan, Trevor causes a horrific industrial accident, only to find out that there is no "Ivan" on the payroll. And so begins a downward spiral of guilt and revenge, delusions and flashbacks, blackouts and murder. Is Ivan real? Or is Trevor's lack of sleep finally loosening his grip on reality?

Head to your local Hollywood Video and find out!

Seriously, though, I haven't been this impressed with a thriller in a long time. Too often they rely on star power and cliches to pull in the audience, but The Machinist went the other direction. When Bale is the biggest star, pre-Batman Begins, and the director is given free reign to create the environment, you can take what could have been Godsend or Forgotten, and instead create a film that succeeds on every level.

Bale's performance in nuanced beyond the shock value of his weight loss. Trevor's mind gradually becomes as ghostly and emaciated as his body, and Bale's descent throughout the film reflects that. He's not an actor with massive range, but this character is about as far as you can get from Bateman in American Psycho. He is a fragile, tortured shell of a man, and Bale wanders through the film in a trance-like state, replacing sleep with waking dreams. And when he is startled out of his complacency, he becomes a buzzsaw of energy, demanding answers and willing to sacrifice everything to get them. I'm not saying he deserved an Oscar nomination, but I bet if DeNiro had played this role, he would have gotten one.

Bale is supported by Jennifer Jason Leigh as a friendly prostitute, John Sharian as Ivan, and B-movie favorite Michael Ironside as Miller, the man Reznik maims. Sharian is especially memorable, infecting the screen with sleaze. His is the kind of performance that makes you want to wash your hands after seeing the movie.

Which is to say spectacular.

I also find interesting the fact that writer Scott Kosar is only credited with the Texas Chainsaw and Amityville Horror remakes, and director Brad Anderson with such direct-to-video schlock as Session 9 and Happy Accidents. That these two came together to make such a great film as The Machinist should serve as an inspiration to all the Joel Schumachers and Pitofs of the world. Just mix the right elements together, and truly believe in what you're making, and you too might turn out something worthwhile. Maybe. Pitof, you might just have to take up knitting or something. Sorry.

Is the movie flawed? Sure. It gets pretty complicated in explaining its concept, which I can't get into here without giving away the movie. It also borrows liberally from this movie. Which is ok, I guess, but I can't help but think that Kosar saw that movie, and then thought he would write it as a horror/thriller/mystery. Oh well.

So was The Machinist everything I expected? Yes, and that's a good thing. I'd put it right up there with other "dark" films like The Crow and Seven. It's that good. Do yourself a favor, and skip Meet the Fockers, Ocean's 12 or Be Cool, and pick this one up. You'll thank me later, just as I'd better receive a written thank you for this B+.

And yes, I'm using plus and minus now. Five ratings are just not enough. Sorry. I might switch over to 1-10 instead, since I think both the plus/minus and star systems are flawed. We'll see.

6.12.2005

Hey everybody, this guys a great big phony!

So Peter playing an acoustic "Rock Lobster" on tonight's Family Guy? Brilliant.

And then the Olsen twins pulling a dragon's skull out of its head through its nose on Robot Chicken? Hilarious.

Who says summer is the downtime for television? Plus Reno 911 and 30 Days start this week, so my DVR will be working overtime.

I know I should be out enjoying the beautiful summer weather, but ehhhhh... not so much. It's been so humid that I've been running the AC just to keep the apartment dry. It's like when you get out of the shower and you can't get dry. Humidity is teh suck.

Worky worky worky. I closed Friday and Saturday, and we had our meeting about movie trading after close Saturday night. So I got basically 3 hours of sleep, which meant I kinda stumbled home after work today and promptly slept through the improv show I was supposed to go to. So now I feel bad, but not as bad as I would have felt if I had fallen asleep there. I moved the wall today, with two full bays for Hitch, since I'm going to Glendale to help Brad with his wall. It's kinda weird, since Jim wants me to go, but I'm really not sure Brad wants my help. Oh well. I'll just shut up and do my job.

And I got yelled at by Jim for accusing somebody of stealing. I know he took something, but I can't prove it, so Hollywood wants me to shut up and let him in the store to rent or possibly steal some more. Again, I guess I'll have to just do what they tell me. If it was my store, though, no way would I even let him in the door. Sigh.

Batman Begins comes out this week, though, so all's well that ends well. That is sure to make me happy. It's looking less and less likely that I'll catch Cinderella Man, but Madagascar is still a priority. And I crossed High Tension off the list since it's been butchered with editing and dubbing to make it more marketable to Joe America. I want my French-Slasher-Horror flicks uncut, gosh darn it!

I also now have 50 dollars of trade in credit, with more to come. Now I just need to find something to buy at the ol HV.

Rats off to ya!

6.11.2005

ATH Quote of the Day

"Cowlishaw, buy or sell Lucky Charms being magically delicious."
-Tony "Stat Boy" Reali

6.09.2005

This is not an Episode III Review

So I can't get myself motivated to write a "review" of Episode III. I don't know why, except maybe I don't want to overanalyze it. I just want to remain blissfully ignorant, and accept that Sith is about as good as Lucas gets nowadays. So I'm going to post some random thoughts about the film, and that's all you're gonna get. SPOILERS obviously follow.

  • I love that Lucas (kinda) explained why certain Jedi disappear and some don't. That has bugged me since Episode I.
  • Ian McDiarmid is my hero. Palpatine was the most dynamic character in the entire prequel trilogy, although his "Emporer" makeup kinda sucked. I just didn't buy it as real.
  • While the story is supposed to be about Anakin's descent into the Dark Side, it's also about Padme's journey from fiercely independent queen/senator into weepy little girly-girl. Seriously. Natalie Portman deserves better than the crap lines she got in this movie.
  • Hayden Christensen improved from Clones, but that was also because he had more to work with in terms of conflict.
  • Ewan screaming at the end? Easily the most emotional impact of any of of the prequels. Easily.
  • I loved that the film ended with Owen and Beru holding Luke and looking out into the twin suns. Loved that. The shot of Luke in A New Hope doing the same thing is probably my single favorite image from the original trilogy, so Lucas got something right there.
  • Darth Vader. Started off cool, with Anakin writhing in pain while being remade by robots, and the POV shot of the mask going on was hella cool. But...
  • NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Sucked. Totally took me out of the movie, and almost made me laugh. It would have been better, and made more sense, to just have him fall to his knees and hang his head. Defeated. It would explain why he continues to serve Palpy, and would be an out-of-character reaction, which is what the situation needed.
  • Also sucked? Yoda's "Not if anything to say about it I have." line. Sucked.
  • I still think Vader should have rebuilt himself. Otherwise why build up the plotline about him being good at fixing things? Imagine him on that table, with one robot arm left, beating away any help, and using the Force to use the tools himself to slowly rebuild his body, in isolation. That'd be way cool.
  • Chewbacca? Cool, but unnecessary.
  • Is Palpatine Anakin's "father"? Did he manipulate the Mitichlorians to create life in Shmi? I'm sure we'll find out eventually.
  • After seeing all three prequels, I do think they could have been organized better. More on this later.
  • Finally, Anakin killing all those Padawans? Awesome. That's how you turn a hero into a villain.

I thought it was the best of the prequels, easily. Not as good as any of the originals, but close to Jedi. It had action, adventure, surprises, and Darth f'n Vader. What else could I ask for?

Last night I had the strangest dream...

where everything was exactly how it seemed.

No really, I had some crazy ass dreams last night. I could have had something to do with the fact that my recent sleep deprivation knocked me out at 8 pm, and I slept until around 11 or so this morning. Or the fact that heat is supposed to have something to do with dreams, and it has been pretty warm around here recently.

So I don't remember all of it, but bits and pieces. For example...

I was in somebody's office, like a professional location, with some random person, and we were talking about the MTV Movie Awards, specifically Andy Richter as Lindsay Lohan's father at last year's show.

"Ah, Andy Richter," I said. "Where has he gone?"

And the mysterious person I'm with just nods in agreement.

"His show was great. Not his last one (meaning "Quintuplets") but his old one (meaning "Andy Richter controls the Universe")."

"Yeah, "Quintuplets" sucked." said Random Person.

And we both just kinda glanced over at the corner of the room, where Andy Richter was sitting, apparently, and gave him a disapproving look. And he just lowered his head like a dog being yelled at for peeing on the rug.

And that was it.

And then I dreamt that I was in Paris, with a large group of people, like I was on the choir trip, but not necessarily those same people. And I kinda wandered off by myself, and onto the subway, but it was an elevated train, like in Prague, when Wyatt and I went to find the Sony Store. And I rode for a while, on my way to an unknown destination, until I realized I was on the wrong train. So I hopped off, then ran across the tracks at the station, and got back on the train going the other way. I then struck up a conversation with some French woman.

"This is my first time in Frahhnce," I said, with a stupid French accent.

"I see. Where are you trying to go?" she said.

"I don't know...." then I trailed off and that's all I remember.

I gotta lay off that peyote.

6.04.2005


Dave, Kelsey and I as we drive down to Schaumburg to see Episode III digital style. Picture taken by Tim.

Myself and Jet exclaiming our joy for the mighty inflatable palm tree during our "Hawaiian Days/Let's Not Wear Our Uniforms Weekend".

I'm efficient!

Not really. Got home from work tonight around Midnight, and checked e-mail, played some Battlefront, etc. Now it's 3:20 am, and I have to get up early so Tim can come film at the apartment for William Steel 3: Redemption. (<--Click this. It's awesome.)

I updated my profile, so you can all find out about my favorite movies, music and whatnot.

I'll put a couple more pictures up tonight, too.

I strongly dislike Bruce Hornsby, and/or The Range.

Again, working all this weekend, so I have no time to see Cinderella Man, Madagascar or Episode III until Tuesday. I have to do my part to put Episode III in the top ten grossers of all time. Here's hoping. (fingers crossed)

That's it. Boring, I know. More in the morning.

6.03.2005

An open letter to J.J. Abrams

June 3, 2005

J. J. Abrams
c/o ABC, Inc.
500 S. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-4551

Dear Mr. Abrams,

You are such a jerk. Oh my God. I hate you so much right now.

Keep up the good work.


Sincerely,


Brent W. Jensen


P.S. I mean, come on! Seriously! I have to wait until September. You heartless bastard.

This is the line, circa 4 pm. Notice my extension cord in the foreground, powering my laptop from the Explorer, for hours or Clone Wars fun.

Random people having lightsaber fights. This went on all day. Notice the guy on the left, with the mask and all. He must have been interviewed 4 times by network news, even though his outfit has NOTHING to do with the movie. Idiot.

Ep3Ep3Ep3

Soooo... Star Wars mania has consumed me. I read about it online, and I go see it, and I talk about it at work with Tim, or away from work with Brian. I seriously need to get a life. Or I need Batman to come out. I guess I'm just enjoying the hype while I can, as I think it's fair to say that Star Wars will never be as popular as it is now. There aren't any more movies coming out, unless the rumored Knights of the Old Republic flick is made, which won't interest the mainstream as much as Ep3. So my posts today will be re: Star Wars, and if you don't like it, too bad. Nyah nyah.

So Mom mentioned that I'm nothing like Emperor Palpatine, as my Star Wars personality test stated. I do have absolute control over the Hollywood, though, and I can shoot Force Lightning from my fingers. No wait, that's not true. Anyway, I think I'll start being more like my good friend Sidious, and I'll wear a black cloak at all times, and sit on the counter in a throne.

And when a guest gets mad about their late fees, I'll just start rattling off Emperor quotes, por ejemplo: "I can feel your anger. It gives you focus." and "Give in to you hate. Strike me down!"
Or my favorite, in full-on sarcastic mode "Oh, I'm afraid your late fees will be quite operational..."

And then, at some point, Jessie will throw me down a bottomless pit on our space station/ultimate weapon.

Sounds like fun, no?

What else? I've been playing Battlefront again, which is crazy fun online, but in single player the computer is a cheating bastard. Especially when they always apply their Jedi planetary bonus to have Vader come layeth the smacketh down on my candy ass. Still fun, though.

I have resisted the temptation to go crazy and buy a ton of useless Star Wars merch, though. I bought a Mace Windu lightsaber, which really isn't a Mace Windu lightsaber at all, but that's it. I mean, it's cool and all, but it's obvious from the picture on the package that the saber Mace uses isn't what's inside. Oh well. It's purple, and I personally engraved BMF on the hilt, for all those in the know.

I'm going to post up some pics from the Episode III midnight show, and the captions will explain what's going on. I'll also post my review today or tomorrow. Yes, I know the movie came out 2 weeks ago. I really wanted to see it several times before I made up my mind, though. So watch for that. I work all this weekend, but I'll get some time to work on it somewhere in there.

So, umm, yeah. Live long and prosper.