TWICE IN THE SAME DAY. Only once before have I posted more than once in the same month, so this must be some kind of mistake. Here's why.

Movies. There are two that I have to talk about if I'm going to be able to allow myself to sleep tonight. The first of which is Team America: World Police, or Why Being Funny Is Unneccessary If You Have Marionettes. It attempts. Perhaps I'm not mentally sound, but I just don't find any actual humor in this. Commentary on American jingoism? Good for you. I agree that jingoism exists and is widespread, but having puppets drive this point into the heads of the viewers repeatedly with a sledgehammer through very, very thinly veiled satire is not my kind of funny. Satire, itself, is fine. I like satire. But not when it's so damned heavyhanded. Plus, and here I might be prejudiced, I don't like the marionettes. If you're attempting a goofy, over-the-top satire, just do it. Don't bother with gimmicks to carry the satire, have the script do that.

Perhaps I was expecting too much from this one.
HERE'S WHERE I CONTRADICT EVERYTHING I JUST SAID.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was fantastic. Everyone who tells you otherwise is lying. The special effects were remarkable, fight scenes were well done...the philisophical reasoning behind Anakin's turn to the dark side even meshed incredibly well with the original trilogy. People running around you saying "Don't see it, as everything George Lucas has done since is rubbish"? Ignore them. That kind of elitist mentality and adherence to movies that here's a surprise weren't that well done in the first place is ridiculous. But guuuuuys, the dialogue is bad. That's the most common complaint about the new trilogy. GUESS WHAT. "But I was going to go to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters" isn't dramatic gold. They've all got campy dialogue. They always have. Shut up with how much you hate Jar-Jar, block him out for the 5 seconds he's in the movie and enjoy the campy action flick. Can you draw philisophical implications from the movie? Of course. It's ripe with them, but you have to be able to shut up for thirty seconds about how much you can notice the CG to have the conversation about why the Jedi conceal the truth on several occasions while Palpatine never actually tells a technical lie and Dooku straight up informs Obi-Wan that the Sith are in charge (in AOTC). Until you can look past the corny romance dialogue (which...actually, this is where I make a parenthetical commentary on what I would have done...Padmé's part was completely shafted. She's taken from Queen at 14 in Ep I, to Senator-because-term-limits-are-on-the-queen's-office in Ep II to lonely and confused housewife that can't do anything but sit around her penthouse in Ep III. What was awesome about the character was her strength, and it's been all but amputated...Now, if you'll remember, I was saying something about ignoring the corniness) you'll never be able to actually enjoy it. Yes, it might not be as good as the first trilogy. Yes, the dialogue is corny. But good god man, just enjoy the movie.

Then, if you want to talk to me about how to rationalize the decision of the Council to hide their weakness of the Republic and how the Empire and the Alliance differ, call me.