Variety.com - Reviews - Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith

Entertaining from start to finish and even enthralling at times, “Sith” has some acting worth writing home about, specifically McDiarmid’s dominant turn as the mastermind of the evil empire. McGregor remains a steady presence, and both Portman and Christensen have loosened up since “Clones” to acceptable, if hardly inspired, levels. Expressiveness of the digitally animated Yoda, voiced as always by Frank OzFrank Oz, is amazing.

Double Flee A: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Douglas Adams’s grave is smokin’. I can smell the burning peat from here. He is rolling in his grave, spinning, trying to exceed the speed of light in order to turn back the clock and undo this heinous misdeed. Unfortunately, fantastical things like this are imaginations, only.

They slight Adams with a screenwriting credit when an aficionado knows there’s no way.

The View Askewniverse - Kevin Smith geeks out on ‘Sith’

“Revenge of the Sith” is, quite simply, fucking awesome. This is the “Star Wars” prequel the haters have been bitching for since “Menace” came out, and if they don’t cop to that when they finally see it, they’re lying. As dark as “Empire” was, this movie goes a thousand times darker - from the triggering of Order 66 (which has all the Shock Troopers turning on the Jedi Knights they’ve been fighting beside throughout the Clone Wars and gunning them down), to the jaw-dropping Anakin/Obi Wan fight on Mustafar (where - after cutting his legs and arm off, Ben leaves Skywalker burning alive on the shores of a lava river, with Anakin spitting venomous sentiments at his departing mentor), this flick is so satisfyingly tragic, you’ll think you’re watching “Othello” or “Hamlet”.

This is Pop!: Review roundup: “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

If Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy proved that mythology-heavy, intricate fantasy can be successfully translated on screen, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” ignores such attempts at fidelity. Though Adams (who died in 2001 while working on the screenplay) shares a writing credit with Karey Kirkpatrick, this version of “Hitchhiker,” is less a twin to his five cult novels (or the original BBC radio series) than a second cousin. A very entertaining, slightly batty second cousin.

After reading this I was sick to my tummy.
Long film review part 1

This review is based on a substantially complete version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy shown to a small group of journalists in London on 31st March 2005, to which I was invited by Buena Vista International and Digital Outlook. The generosity of these companies in paying for my travel to this screening is gratefully acknowledged. The opinions expressed here are the personal critical opinions of myself, author and journalist MJ Simpson. This review is based on a single viewing of the film; if any factual details have been misremembered, I am happy to amend those portions of the text. Because of its great length, this review has been split into four parts:

Folks are all atwitter over NBC’s new bend on the pervasive CSI-esque crime drama, Medium staring Patricia Arquette. And I suppose I can understand; even the slightest breeze of fresh air for viewers stifling under the reality glutted television schedule, is cause for rejoicing. But come on! The writing is trite, the acting (overall) is forced, and the plot (at least the first episode) was…well it wasn’t—it didn’t exist—it was a non-plot.

I went into the show with a fervent desire to enjoy the show. The premise was intriguing, the teasers looked good, and well, Patricia Arquette has a nice rack. But she lost me, I mean she left me slack-jawed, flat on my ass in the dust, when she gave the "I’m just a girl who wants to be a lawyer…" speech. I could just picture a breathy Marilyn Monroe giving a similar speech. In fact, the entire scene in which she gives her personal ad speech is wrong…just plain wrong. The mentor character was clumsily introduced, and I was left with more questions as to how Arquette got the part than answers about the motivation of her character.

Alice Dubois (Arquette), and husband Joe (Jake Weber) seem oddly at ease with her affiliation with the dead. I was confused about exactly where in the history of the couple her power was discovered. At times she seems an old hand at the prognosticator game, and at others she seems like a fish out of water. The coup de grâce came in the scene when he explains to the Texas Ranger that she had pulled the winning clue out of her ass. If I was that Ranger I would have shot her right there–shot her with something big and loud.

The utterly incongruous temper tantrum pitched by the utterly incongruous Alice, telling her seemingly long-suffering husband to shut up, left me wondering what the hell he did to deserve such treatment, and who the hell you have to blow to get a descent television series on NBC.

I know I haven’t seen the movie yet, I know it is wrong to judge a book by its cover–err, a movie by its poster–but come on. I have several problems with the idea of this movie; cast, premise, and franchise.

The problem with the cast is that it reads like one of those ensemble things made back in the ’70’s; you know, The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, and the Circus of the Stars. My problem with the cast is not that I dislike any of them, quite the contrary, it is a dream cast (especially that Katie Holmes, mmmm Katie Holmes). There in lies the problem; whenever a dream cast is assembled it is done to cover some major flaw–I call it the Airport ‘XX syndrome.

Is the fire, which all the star-powered smoke belies, the premise of the movie–could be. I mean, and listen close here you Hollywood types who may stumble across this site, it has been done. Ok? It has been done. Asked and answered. Move on! George Lucas is responsible for creating and destroying the prequel, and no matter how hard you try the bar has been set so low that you are gonna get dirty when you try and limbo under it.

To top it all off, the Batman franchise has been soiled. I thought that after Vile Kilmer and Jim Carrey defecated on film, ate it, and then regurgitated it onto the big screen that the franchise was dead–I was wrong. I was dead sure that George Gooney and Chris O’mygodIcan’tact had heart-punched it (my favorite line is: "Wholey rusted metal Batman!" it’s funny because it was metal and it was…ahh neve mind.)–again I was wrong. But I will bet the farm that if the producers decide to rename the film, Batman Croaks, they won’t be far wrong.

I just noticed that the new Bewitched web site is up and I have to tell you I am as anxious as a hamster at the Gere household. First, she has fantastic legs, but damnit she can’t twitch her nose. It looks like she is swishing mouthwash around in there.

I am afraid that this movie is going to turn out to be The Stepford Wives with a broomstick, but that isn’t the only reason I am scared. The thing is that it is so damned hard to duplicate the magic that was Bewitched the television series. After Agnes Moorehead and Paul Lynde, Will Ferrell and Shirley MacLaine are going to be a big fat let down.