So, how was Episode III?

As usual, it was good if you see it for plain old entertainment purposes. If you wanted great dialog, acting, plot, etc. take a pass. Much as been said about a few lines that supposedly take digs at our sitting Pres. If I were George Lucas, I'd be ashamed if that was the best I could do. I mean, "only Siths talk in absolutes" is also an absolute statement--thus disproving itself! Sheesh. Pot, meet Kettle. Of course, my favorite oddity was the fight in the middle of a giant river of molten rock and neither hero or villain even sweats. Georgie boy has obviously never actually been close to a real lava flow, or he would have at least sprayed a little water on their faces for effect. Still, it was worth the admission, especially compared to some of the other crud Hollywood has been pawning off on us recently.
On the other hand, just the previous evening I had been to see a Japanamation show called "Steamboy" which was just as scientifically unlikely, but much more richly populated with complex characters and just as visually complex. And like Star Wars, it utilized the good vs. evil motif. The main things missing from Steamboy were the hype and merchandising--and that I am more than happy to do without. The really nice thing about going to see Steamboy, was the venue. In our little town (50,000) we have a guy, Paul Turner, that really loves cinema. He is the local film equivalent of Glenn Reynolds A few years ago, he built his own theater in order to show the kind of films he wanted to see. Just last month, he opened an additional four-plex (again built by himself and friends) downtown. So in Corvallis, we now have five screens for showing international, art, offbeat, etc. films. Oh yeah, you can bring your own food too.
Interestingly enough, since this post started out with Star Wars, Paul's new theater is called "The Darkside."

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