It's official. Snowboarding is the coolest sport on the planet. Before you all leave swears on my comments section allow me to explain. Snowboarding is a heady mix of adrenaline and swagger, with riders achieving breathtaking speeds and ludicrous tricks and stunts. You just look so damn cool on a snowboard. It's the only sport where you can wear a fluorescent hoodie, baggy trousers, a ridiculous hat and over-sized goggles without people throwing rocks at you or convulsing with laughter. Skateboarders look stupid and childish. Snowboarders look like gods. The most basic of tricks can make an idiot look like an alpine king. It's every boy's dream to stick your middle finger up at common sense and throw yourself about on a carpet of snow. Snowboarding is the greatest of all adventures. It's the idea of cutting loose, throwing caution to the wind and chucking yourself about. Admit it lads. You're just dying to grab a board and tear up the slopes.
I was almost pleasantly surprised to hear that one of the biggest ways that internet pests spread viruses is through ecards. Apparently they hide the virus code in the HTML of the card. Unless you have a more than adequate knowledge of HTML you'll be clueless. What a beautifully simple plan. All it takes is someone kind soul to send their Aunty mabel a cute ecard for their special day. Dear Aunty is delighted until her computer crashes. So are her friends who she sent a copy to. Everybody's happy, especially the bored bloke who spawned the virus. It's so blissfully ironic. So kids next time you find a flashing purple crimbo card on the net think twice before you mail your pals. Unless, of course, you don't like them...
Classification: 12A
Directed by: George Lucas
Cast: Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, Kenny Baker, Ahmed Best, Anthony Daniels, James Earl Jones, Jay Laga'aia, Peter Mayhew, Jimmy Smits, Tux Akindoyeni, Dave Bowers, Mimi Daraphet, Paul Davies
Running time: 2 hrs. 26 min
At last. The Star Wars film we’ve all being waiting for. A genuine action-packed medley of adventure, atmosphere and adrenaline. This is the Revenge of the Sith.
The plot is so widely known you’d have to be an Outer Rim hermit not to have the slightest inkling of the storyline, but for the weak-minded I’ll provide a quick explanation. It is several years since the Attack of the Clones and the Clone Wars have ravaged the galaxy, conflict dividing the Republic like a lightsaber slash. The droid armies of the Separatist movement have a fearsome new leader in the hulking form of General Grievous a cyborg whose favourite past-time is the merciless hunting of Jedi. Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Christensen) have become renowned Generals and when Grievous attacks Coruscant, the Republic capital and kidnaps the Republic’s Supreme Chancellor they launch a daring rescue mission. Negotiating a breathtaking, and I mean breathtaking, space battle the Jedi break aboard Grievous’s ship and after a ferocious battle with the ship’s droid security they locate the Chancellor. Unfotunately they are attacked by Sith Lord Count Dooku the co-leader of the Separatists who almost immediately knocks out Kenobi. Enraged by his Master’s fall and driven on by the ‘helpless’ Palpatine, Anakin unleashes his anger on Dooku and disarms him, before, egged on by the Chancellor, beheading the Sith Lord in spectacular style. The Jedi are then captured but break free to wreak havoc on the ship’s bridge, forcing Grievous to make a hasty escape, leaving the Jedi to pilot the burning ship to the planet surface.
The relentless pace of the opening scene and the darkness of Anakin’s flirtation with the Dark side set the atmosphere for the rest of the film, with Palpatine’s subtle manipulation of Anakin’s emotions and eventual betrayal of the Jedi providing the real gristle of the piece.
But just what sets this movie apart from its prequels? Well for starters the acting is exceptional compared to the last two films, with strong performances from the entire cast particularly from Christensen who convincingly plays out Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side and McGregor who is brilliant as the helpless mentor who is powerless to prevent Anakin’s fall. Also Ian McDiarmid who is at once terrifying and manipulative and Frank Oz who does a sterling job of voicing Yoda.
There is John William’s superb score, which lends a sense of atmosphere, excitement and emotion to any of the scenes. There is the death defying stunts, the awesome battles and the incredible special effects. George Lucas makes full use of numerous camera angles and shots, and this really shows in the huge action sequences, where the spectacular effects and camera work provide real scope and intensity.
But the three things that give this Star Wars true magic are the dark tension of the story, the subtle depth of the plot and the sheer intensity that drives the film at break-neck pace to its conclusion. There is something about this film that appeals to the very soul of a true fan. It seems that after the last two flops, someone gave Lucas a sharp kick and told him to stuff the kids and make a real movie. The destruction of the Jedi is heart rending and Palpatine’s manipulation of Anakin eerily chilling, with the moment when Darth Vader first breathes the greatest feeling of nostalgia I have ever felt. Revenge of the Sith is gloriously dark, compelling stuff with the greatest of lightsaber battles, the biggest of space battles and the most gripping of plots with a truly worthy conclusion. Definitely the best Star Wars of them all and certainly a brilliant film in its own right. Magnificent. My Rating: 9.5/10
It's official. Snowboarding is the coolest sport on the planet. Before you all leave swears on my comments section allow me to explain.
Snowboarding is a heady mix of adrenaline and swagger, with riders achieving breathtaking speeds and ludicrous tricks and stunts. You just look so damn cool on a snowboard. It's the only sport where you can wear a fluorescent hoodie, baggy trousers, a ridiculous hat and over-sized goggles without people throwing rocks at you or convulsing with laughter. Skateboarders look stupid and childish. Snowboarders look like gods. The most basic of tricks can make an idiot look like an alpine king. It's every boy's dream to stick your middle finger up at common sense and throw yourself about on a carpet of snow. Snowboarding is the greatest of all adventures. It's the idea of cutting loose, throwing caution to the wind and chucking yourself about.
Admit it lads. You're just dying to grab a board and tear up the slopes.
