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*Lights Lower*

*THX Intro*

*Queue Fox Fanfare*

*Queue Star Wars Main Theme*

Tonight I had the privilege of experiencing "Star Wars: In Concert" and I can happily say unequivocally that it lived up to and exceeded every piece of hype and praise that I'd seen up to this point. For those who aren't familiar with the show it takes the entire Star Wars Saga, all six movies, and the unparalleled score by John Williams and presents them in a concert fashion, complete with a full orchestra, massive HD screen, lasers, pyrotechnics, and none other than Anthony Daniels (C3PO) as the narrator. Really though who else but Anthony Daniels to narrate the show? After all C3PO essentially plays the role of narrator throughout all six movies. The orchestra is synced with montages from all six of the movies and presents snapshots into the main themes of the movie such as the love story, the rise of the Empire, the triumph of the Rebels, etc. I have to say that experiencing the saga through these snapshots in the brief span of two hours is a new and powerful way to experience it.

The the visceral experience and sensation is unique in itself. As the show started it was a bit disoriented you are so conditioned to watching movies and the soundtrack just being something that we take for granted, but here was the full orchestra playing it live right in front of me.  I've always been a fan of all John Williams work, one of the earliest CDs I can remember having (literally I think we got it when we purchased our first CD player) is a compilation CD of John Williams with the Star Wars themes, the Raiders March, Jaws, etc.  I've always felt like the music is such a hugely important part of the Star Wars Saga and it wouldn't be what it is without the sweeping and grand marches and the emotional love interludes. Many have said that the music is like another cast member and I certainly find that to be true it is integral to the experience, they are linked in symbiosis, the story wouldn't be what it is without the great score and the grand story inspires the grand score.  I guess it is because of this that the idea of a Star Wars concert experience seemed like a no brainer to me while apparently G.L. himself was initially less than convinced. There's no doubt that the format, stage setup and presentation of the show truly fit the grand and sweeping nature of the Star Wars Saga as a whole. From the lasers, to pyrotechnics during the Mustafar sequence it is in everyway befitting one of the greatest stories ever told.

I found myself thinking lots of things during the experience but one of the things that struck me is what a great time it must be to be growing up Star Wars.  You have all six movies, the Clone Wars TV series, this concert. I had to laugh thinking about how when I was the age of some of the young kids around me my experience of Star Wars was watching it at least once a week on a grainy VHS copy that had been recorded from a TV broadcast. That was it! And yet Star Wars even today is something I've never never stopped connecting with at a deeply rooted level. It is perhaps because of that that I can say gladly that the one superlative that describes the show best for me was moving.

As a long time fan it was something all together new and quite powerful to me to see and hear prequel clips cut together with original trilogy clips and music.  There are countless examples of this that make me actually gasp at times. One example rises above the others and I'm not ashamed to admit I choked up pretty good during the scene from Episode IV when Obi-Wan gives Luke his father's light saber.  They're playing the music from Episode IV and you see the video from Episode IV but when Obi-Wan explains to Luke that it was his father's light saber and he wanted him to have it the video cuts in a flashback clip of Anakin as a young Jedi Knight battling on Geonosis. This is exactly what I hoped for from this show and it delivered, in instances to numerous to recount. The closing montage of the show set to "Throne Room/End Credits" (my favorite piece of music in all the movies) is full of moments like this we see a young Luke wielding his light saber and we cut to a young Obi-Wan. I recall another sequence where some concept art is show on Luke and Leia that I'd never scene before but it is immediately obvious that it is a direct inspiration for some of the costume design of Anakin and Padme.  A finale example, is a a scene from the "Return of the Jedi" funeral pyre and we cut between the pyre and flashbacks to Anakin's life as a heroic Jedi. To me that is what really makes the prequels (and now the new TV series is doing the same for the prequels) so valuable they allow you to reinterpret moments you took for granted with added context through a different prism. Like I said this is a really new and powerful was to experience things and for me it delivered in spectacular fashion.

The bottom line is that whether you've only seen one of the movies once or you're a tad more hardcore like myself there's nothing else that compares Star Wars and there's nothing like experiencing Star Wars this way. While it wouldn't nearly the same I do hope that we might get a DVD release of the concert at some point if only to capture the video sequences, etc. I await it eagerly for it. 

Perhaps the highest compliment that can be paid to "Star Wars: In Concert" is those famous words of a Sith Lord a long time ago far, far away..."The force is strong with this one."

So last night I went to see the new "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" movie with a couple of friends. I have to say that it was pretty much everything I hoped it would be and what I seem to be looking for in movies these days.  My m.o. for going to see a movie in the theater these days is usually that I want it to be a "spectacle" something worth seeing on a big screen.  It's also perhaps worth noting that this is a movie quite literally made for me it's not a kids movie it's a movie for my genreation who remembers being kids and playing with G.I. Joes or Transformers, etc. much like all these remakes are and so far I'm just as happy to spend my hard earned money on seeing the movies as I was on buying the toys...hey sue me what can I say.

G.I. Joe delivered from futuristic weapon technology, to underwater dog fights, to smokin' red heads, blondes and brunettes, and lots and lots of things blowing up it was basically non-stop action and COMPLETELY over the top action that thankfully didn't take itself to seriously.  Then there is the whole Paris sequence I imagine the French are psyched for this movie and the comparisons to "Team America World Police" here are from what I saw quite apprapo.

Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay the movie is that it didn't take it self to seriously.  At least in my opinion I thought it struck a pretty perfect balance between being campy and being updated and interesting in terms of today's world and technology.  Don't get me wrong we're not winning awards for dialouge and plot here but if you think that's what this movie is suppose to be about then it isn't the movie for you. 

Lastly I'll just say that there are plenty of easter eggs for fans of the original toys and super campy cartoon series as well as a few references to other movies like Star Wars to name just one.  All in all if you were a fan of the original or you just like to see LOTS of things blowing up, cool effects and battle tech then this movie will not disappoint.

No where have I ever found a more eloquent or better delivered description of how the experiment of America is supposed to work than Aaron Sorkin (West Wing) and Michael Douglas' President Andrew Shepherd from the movie "The American President."  If you have never seen the whole movie I implore you to watch it in its entirety (I'm sure it's on Netflix) but at the very least especially today please watch the speech below and consider the powerful words as you celebrate today in your own way.

And just for fun Bill Pulman's speech from the movie "Independence Day".