Star Wars

If you haven't seen Star Wars Episode III yet, I'm going to spoil a scene, so please move on and skip this post.

There is little good to speak of in the jar-jar trilogy of Star Wars, Episodes I, II, and III.  But there is a small gem in Episode III where a real tale is told: Palpatine convinces Anakin that the Jedi are evil.

The scene is set against a bizarre water-opera with flying fish and suspended spheres of water.  Anakin walks in amongst Palpatine's friends, who are curtly commanded to leave.  Then Palpatine starts to sweet talk the young Jedi with conspiracy theories of a Jedi Council power-grab.

Then it gets more interesting.  Palpatine asks Anakin, "did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise?  Darth Plagueis is a dark lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force... to create life."

And in a few moments you understand how the young Jedi, seeped in petulance, could embrace the dark side.  He is convinced that he can control the forces of life and protect his family.  Anakin doesn't set out to do evil, he begins to believe that what he is doing is right.

Ian McDiarmid does a wonderful job acting the part of Palpatine.  He narrates just as I would expect from a Sith, he comes out swinging from the moment he says, "leave us."  The tense music, the Cirque du Soleil flying fish, and the creepy senator all add up to a classic scene buried in an otherwise dull movie.

Then you can fast forward to the fight scenes.

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I took my last final today, so I'm setting up my plans for the break.  I enjoy racing games, but there is nothing left to do on the ones I own, so I'm exploring other options.  An acquaintance from school suggests PC racing, because the games are supposed to be more realistic.  I'd like to give them a shot, so I'm setting up Boot Camp again to install Windows on an Apple computer.

The last time I installed Boot Camp was right around the time it came out, something like 2005.  I uninstalled it about a year later – I never used it and it wasn't satisfying.  Maybe this time will be more interesting.

I'm also looking to read Goodkind's latest trash novel, Confessor.  I have a love-hate relationship with Goodkind, I love to hate him.  But just as with Windows, I keep coming back for more.

As a final note to tie my sub-posts together, George RR Martin is a superb author who fills his books with scenes that are more satisfying than the gems you'll find in Star Wars.

GRRM : Goodkind :: Mac : XP

The circle is complete.