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Review: Star Wars DVD Trilogy - *Updated*

For those of your who do not know, I am a huge Star Wars fan. As such, I had to get the DVDs!

The first thing I must say is that the quality is unprecedented. If you didn't know already that these are 21+ year old movies, you wouldn't by watching the DVDs. To top that off, the Dolby 5.1 surround sound really adds to the experience.

Tos peak specifically about that, I love my surround sound system. It is a middle of the road Kenwood system that I bought on clearance about 2 years ago. It has pretty good clarity and sound quality, and explosions sound like they'r ein the same room with you due to the subwoofer. Star Wars of course takes every advantage of this. When the Death Star exploded, the bass nearly lifted me out of my chair!

For those of you who watched the George Lucas interviews at the beginning of the THX trilogy, you'll nkow that anytime you're watching from inside a fighter, that is a drawn overlay and has a level of transparency. Gone. They look more realistic than ever.

Laser blasted are much more clear, the light sabers are much more sword like than ever before. In fact, having only watched in 4:3 VHS before, I've never seen the actual laser blast when Han shoots Greedo in the Cantina at Mos Eisley. I have seen it now.

Now the bad stuff.

My first gripe is that the movies only include the special edition version of the movies. For what you pay for the box set, and for the amoount of space a dvd contains, I thought that was rather annoying.

Along with this, why not include 4:3 and 16.9 in one set, instead of making us choose? There is no doubt that with in the next few years, widescreen HDTVs will be cheap enough that any could afford them, why make people choose between the formats now. This is a gripe I have with most DVDs. Either release only in 16.9 or include both ont he DVD.

Last gripe, with the amount of unused space on the DVDs, why a seperate one altogether for bonus materials? Why not distribute them to the other DVDs so that you get episode specific bonus materials, instead of lumping htem altogether?

At any rate, I highly recommend the set. The quality is great, the artwork is beautiful, if you are or are not a star wars fan, you can't go wrong watching these.

*Updates*
Other things I've noticed: Luke's lightsaber in "A New Hope"now looks more likethe green one from "Return of the Jedi."

David Prowse is no longer Anakin Skywalker in the shot at the end of "Return of the Jedi" with the 3 ghosts." Hayden Christiansen is now in it. I'm not sure how thrilled I am with this fact.

Some of the dialogue between the Emperor and Vader has change in "The Empire Strikes Back" is new.

Ian McDirmand is the Emporer in all three episodes now, or at least it would appear so. Originall he was only in the latter 2.

If anyone has corrections or more updates please post them!

I also just watched part of ROTJ on my computer to take advantage of the high definition and the difference between it and any other new movie is nearly none.

Super Size Me Baby!

Wow, I watched Super Size Me and it's everything I expected and more. In case your wondering what I expected I'll tell you. Since our family left the grocery store and switched to the health food store (Wild Oats in case you care) it's opened my eyes. I didn't even know what organic was until that time. I also stopped eating all fast food. (except some subway cause they have kickin' veggie patties!) I fully understood before this movie how harmful and destructive the average American diet was. However the numbers were amazing, in just thirty days his cholesterol jumped up 60+ points! In addition to the damage it was doing to his liver. Quite Amazing indeed. I'd highly suggest you watch this movie, however it's not suitable for children so don't watch it on family night. :-)

SquarePusher Tour

Last night my bro Jason took me down to campus to catch the Squarepusher Tour. Having never heard of squarepusher but being a fan of Trance, D&B and other like forms of Techno I was happy to go. Squarepusher (aka. Tom Jenkinson) is touring the U.S. with Cassetteboy, DJ Jonny J, and human beatbox Kenny Muhammad The Human Orchestra.

To open the show DJ Jonny J had a standard issue dual turntable setup. He played a varitey of tech from House to Breakbeats and his transitions were quite good. He also provided the music in between the other acts.

Cassetteboy on the other hand was funny and entertaining for about 30 seconds of their fifteen to twenty minute show. To describe their show would require a XXX rating. It was crude, obnoxious, highly sexual and generally in poor taste. The ONLY good thing about their act was it ended.

Kenny Muhammad The Human Orchestra came on stage next and immediately stole the show. His ability to duplicate Drum & Bass Techno with just his voice was insane. He takes beatbox to not only the next level but multiple levels up. He put on a fantastic show and by himself was worth the price of admission. I could have done without the "it's a cultural revolution, know what I'm saying?" in between his songs but it's all part of the culture. I thought if someone could put him and Michael Winslow (aka. Larvell Jones from Police Academy) together they could produce some mad tunes. Kenny's speed and accuracy was amazing, the amount of control he has over his diaphragm and lungs was quite impressive

The last act of the night was squarepusher himself. Since all I knew about squarepusher was that it was drum & bass I was pleasantly surprised to find he expanded with some experimental breakbeats as well. I noticed early on he had a bass guitar on state next to his multiple laptops and mixing equipment.
One thing that was missing that I fully expected was any form of a keyboard.
That slight shock not withstanding his show was excellent, he started off with some spacial trance that evolved into breakbeats. His minimal light show was used effectively as the timing of the strobes, smoke and blinding flood lights worked well with the music.
About thirty minutes into the show he picked up the bass and this is where it all came together. He plugged the bass into one of the laptops and used it to alter how it sounded. He produced some amazing sounds off the bass and blended it very smoothly with the beats. The light show was blinding, literally. By the time we left I had a nice headache going from the floodlights that beat my pupils into submission. I had noticed through squinting eyes that some around me had come prepared, sunglasses.
This mad Englishman gave a fantastic show, it was good to see innovation in music when so much of the "popular" garbage being pushed today is about as innovative as the current Bush/Kerry mud throwing.

Bottom line, Don't miss this show. (however if you show up late and miss Cassetteboy your better off)

"The Passion of Christ" - My Review:

Sometimes, with a movie such as this, one realizes that there is sooo much to say that sometimes one bothers to say hardly anything at all except maybe for just a simple; "It was so cool" or "Wow! What an awesome movie". Granted, some people have been saying MUCH more than that about *this* particular film. Everything from; "It's very Biblically based and follows the scriptures." to the well known accusations of - "This a an "anti-semitic" film - portraying the Jews as the ones who killed Jesus".

We've *all* heard just about every comment (positive and negative) made about this film. There doesn't even seem to be any "middle ground" so to speak. It seems that either people hate it or they love it. That they seem to think either it's Biblically sound or that it lacks Biblical standing - and *some* of these comments have been made from people who have yet to even *see* the movie for themselves. Well, whether you like the film or not ( whether you've actually *seen* the film or not ) one thing IS for certain that I *think* we can all agree on. This film will be the topic of a lot of discussions and highly debated for quite some time.

Well, after seeing it for myself, I really wanted to write my thoughts down while they were still fresh in my mind. Unfortunately, like I said, there *is* so much to say (without giving away the style from which this movie was created) that I'm not even sure where to begin.

Personally, as a girl who was raised in a Christian home (accepting Christ myself when I was four years of age ) as well as receiving most of my childhood and some of my adolescent education from a Christian school, I was told the story of Jesus' death many times ( as most of us *have* been told to a degree at one time or another ). At one point, ( I believe it was my freshman year in high school ), I was taught along with my classmates more about the customs of Jesus' day and was also given a little insight to the details of His crucifixion as well as the details of the many sufferings He received leading *up* to the crucifixion itself. Of course, though, I was told these things in moderation based upon the age I was then and how much I could handle at that time.

Let's face it, *anytime* you read the Bible (or almost *any* book for that matter) you can always get *something* new from it depending on where you are in your life. The same goes for this movie. I believe (for me anyway) that this will be one of those films that - because it is directly from the Word - I will be able to watch it MANY times and still be able to get something new from it.

Was it Biblically sound...yes. Did Mel Gibson as an artist take certain "liberties" to drive home the message clearer....yes....However, it was still Biblically sound. Was it extremely violent....yes! Though none of the violence ( in my opinion ) was unnecessary for it showed not only what Jesus DID go through but it showed it in such a descriptive manner that each audience member couldn't help but to have just a little more insight to what Jesus AND the people around Him ( His accusers, His abusers, His disciples, His friends, His family ) went through themselves and what they may have been feeling.

Every expression of each character's face and body language was communicated so beautifully and in such a descriptive manner ( especially as the camera turned to "slow motion" mode ) that you could feel the emotion radiate through the screen - penetrating into each and every audience member. When the camera would pan in on Jesus face, you could plainly see His severe pain and agony. And in spite of it all - even at times when what may have even been a state of utter confusion ( just trying to piece together all of the events happening to Him ) and numbness of body and mind - all He felt for these people was love and forgiveness.

I will say this too....Mel Gibson successfully relayed the loving bond He had with all those around Him...His disciples, followers ( including Mary Magdalene )....and of course, His very own beloved mother....Mary. The whole film moved me beyond what words could begin to describe BUT it was the bond between mother and Son that proved to be *my* first true "breaking point". At one point, you could clearly see the look on Mary's face - feeling so helpless - as her Son was literally beyond her loving protective arms. Knowing that as He was being beaten and made to drag the streets *dragging* His own cross over His own body - that this was indeed the path He had to take - by Himself. Yeah, that was the point I truly broke.....sobbing uncontrollably. In the end, though, even as He hung on that cross - He looked at His mother and one of His disciples and said, "Woman behold thy son..." - then looking at His disciple He said..."Behold thy mother". Even on the cross He not only put others before Himself and forgave those who persecuted Him but He also knew how to look out for His mama :-) You gotta like that :-)

Oh, one last word. Those who say this film is "anti -semitic"? Well, as my sister told my *own* mother: "They don't have a leg to stand on.". Even though there *where* a lot of Jews who condemned Him to death, there where also those who reached out to help Him. My thoughts on anyone becoming "anti - semitic" after seeing this film is this.....if that's the way someone *leaves* the movie theater then that's the way they CAME to the theater and therefore they would just be using this film as an excuse to act out any emotion that has been festering in them from long before!

Zoids Fuzors Review

Well last Saturday Zoids Fuzors premiered on the Cartoon Network.
After watching the GF, CC and NC series the last few years this new series seems sub-par.
The show is built around R.D. the pilot of Liger Zero who is a bit to whiny for me. His voice reminds me of Harry Champ from the Zoids New Century Series.
Plus there was no explanation of how this kid got Liger Zero.
I guess I can say the animation is workable but the voice acting is poor.
The cowboy Gummy that R.D. runs into a few times looks like Jett from Cowboy Bebop and sounds like "fake" hollywood cowboy. His lines are very corney as well.
What really gets me about the voices and is they made it "American". I'd much rather see anime with english voice overs as most others are. This one simply disappoints in this department.

This series is based on R.D. seeking some legendary "Alpha Zoid" and the adventures of the Mach Storm group.
All Zoids now fight in a Battle League in arenas, no more fighting in the open. Ahh the good ol' days.
Some sites have said that R.D. and Sweet are brother and sister but this does not seem true. (at least thus far)
If they would make the lines that they give the voice actors more intelligent it would give this show a huge lift.

I'll attempt to list the characters that are covered in the first episode.

##Mach Storm Group ##

R.D. - Liger Zero's pilot

Sweet - Female who does not seem to be a pilot. Sweet is Very leena like. (her daughter maybe?)
Hop - Leader of the Mach Storm Group, also very Doctor Toros like.
Sigma - Male Zoid Pilot. I was not able to determine what zoid he pilots.
Helmet - Male Command Wolf Pilot (much like Brad's blue command wolf)
Amy - unknown who she is other than the Mach Storm group knows her well and Sweet can't stand her. (reminds me of Naomi Fluegel)

## Peace Keeping Bureau (aka. Police)##

Chow - Female Pilot of an Arosaurer
Dee - Male Pilot of a Gorhecks

Gummy - Male Pilot of a Gojulas Giga

## Savage Hand Group ##
Blake - Male Zoid Pilot of the Bezerk Fury
Sandra - Leader of Savage Hand
Burton - Male Zoid Pilot

Savage Nation a hit!

Savage Nation on msnbc is a hit. I am putting this on my must see list of shows each week. Check it out next Saturday 5pm EST / 2pm PST.

SavageNation Front Page

Retro-Review: John Cox - Sunny Day

John Cox's freshman release in 1996 on Questar/Mission Records was a breath of fresh air. Those of us who are quite fed up with "cookie cutter" music will enjoy this back to the basics of rock-n-roll cd.

John's voice reminds me of 7up, crisp and clean (no caffeine too!). The music is tight and the recording is clean. The cd won't blow your mind with wild guitar riffs and heart pounding double kicks. It will get your toe tapping and your head bobbing, unless your paralyzed.

Sunny Day the title track kicks things off with some heart felt lyrics and a nice driving beat. I can see John actually writing the lyrics, sitting with his acoustic on the front porch in the early evening ripping off some chords for the song. It's that kind of feel. What's really nice is the even during the short electric solo he does not loose sight of the songs acoustic guitar base.

I appreciated the fact he stays within his vocal range, too many singers kill a good song
by straining. I thought Anthony could have punched up the bass a bit more in 'A Little Change', all though it does not take away from the song, it wouldn't hurt.

Fans of Christianeese lyrics will be disappointed by John's meaningful and down to earth message as well.

If you enjoy well written lyrics and music, and a well balanced recording, this is a must have for your collection.

You can pick up this cd and John's other cd's at his website.