Star Wars : The Clone Wars S01E01, S01E02

Star Wars : The Clone Wars, the movie received mixed reviews. Apparently it was never initially designed as a movie, but instead as several episodes. Watching the first two episodes of the series proper it's clear that the twenty minute short episodes are a much better format. For a start it means that the plots career along at top speed, with lots of action and fighting. In many ways this is similar to the original hand-drawn series, but just with CGI instead. The main difference appears to be the small amount extra time which allows something other than full on fighting. For example in both of the first episodes the Jedi Masters take pains to explain to their clone troopers that they are not expendable cannon fodder.

Presumably some kind of arc will materialise within the series, but the first two episodes could be watched in an order and are completely independent. One episode, Ambush, focuses on Yoda and his fighting abilities (he's very hard) and the other, Rising Malevolence, on a rescue mission by Anakin and Ahsoka.

What the CGI is extremely good at visualising are the spaceships. Greivous's massive flagship looks, well, massive and menacing. And the Republic gunships still roar past and look like fighting machines.

Adults may get annoyed at the Battle Droids, who talk to each other in (rather feeble) comedy sketches, but this is a programmer for kids, and I wouldn't like generalize and guess what they think.

Overall, I enjoyed them: bitesize, action filled chunks of Star Wars.

David Tennant Leaves Doctor Who

David Tennant is to leave Doctor Who after next years (2009) specials.

Here's David talking about it and here's the transcript.

The BBC site has more information

"When Doctor Who returns in 2010 it won't be with me," he said."

Now don't make me cry," he added. "I love this part, and I love this show so much that if I don't take a deep breath and move on now I never will, and you'll be wheeling me out of the Tardis in my bath chair.

"'I'll miss it'

It's up to Russell T Davies to write the regeneration story, and at the moment Tennant has no idea about it.

I watched a movie this week end

the movie was The Last Starfighter


Alex Rogan lives in a trailer court where his mother is manager and everyone is like a big extended family. He beats the Starfighter Video Game to the applause of everyone in the court and later that day finds he has been turned down for a student loan for college. Depressed, he meets Centauri, who introduces himself as a person from the company that made the Game, before Alex really knows what is going on he is on the ride of his life in a "car" flying thru space. Chosen to take the skills he showed on the video game into real combat to protect the galaxy from an invasion. Alex gets as far as the Starfighter base before he really realized that he was conscripted and requests to be taken back home. When he gets back home, he finds a Zan-Do-Zan (Alien Bounty Hunter) is stalking him. Unable to go home and live, Alex returns to the Starfighter base to find all the pilots have been killed and he is the galaxy's only chance to be saved from invasion. To defeat the invaders, who are paying the Bounty on him, He must be victorious

Tron movie sequel in the works

Good news for Tron fans. According to the Hollywood Reporter, commercial director Joseph Kosinski is in final negotiations to direct a sequel to the 1982 cult movie classic. Steven Lisberger, who co-wrote and directed the original film, has signed on as a producer.

Kosinski, who last month signed on to the remake of “Logan’s Run” for Warner Brothers, will oversee the visual development of the project and have input on the script, which is being written by “Lost” scribes Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Story details are being kept secret.

In case you didn’t see the original film or have forgotten the plot (after all it’s 25 years-old now), Tron was about a computer programmer who gets sucked into a virtual world and forced to fight in his own video games. In 1982, the special effects used in Tron were groundbreaking. It was the first movie to use computer generated images (CGI) in conjunction with live action. Sources also say that visual effects personnel, for many of whom Tron was an inspiration to enter the business, are already are jockeying to work on the film.
Good news for Tron fans. According to the Hollywood Reporter, commercial director Joseph Kosinski is in final negotiations to direct a sequel to the 1982 cult movie classic. Steven Lisberger, who co-wrote and directed the original film, has signed on as a producer.

Short Film: The Black Hole

Scifi Movie Project log 1 of 2 (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure)

Despite the success of such films as "Speed" and "The Matrix" trilogy, to a lot of people, Keanu Reeves will ALWAYS be Ted, the taller, darker half of the Bill & Ted duo. And it would seem that Ted, of all Reeves many characters, is possibly the only one where he really seemed to have put himself into the role and felt like a natural.One of the great dopey dude slacker classics, the title characters Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (the Keanu Reeves ) are a pair of aspiring musicians, the Wild Stallions, who are in danger of being both separated if Ted can't pull up a good enough grade (which = military school) and flunking history class in general. But since they are destined to be "the 2 Great Ones" who's music will unite the Earth and even alien races together in universal harmony, the most excellent dude Rufus (George Carlin) shows up and gives them a time traveling phone booth to help them pass their history class by bringing back real historical figures like Billy the Kid, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon, Joan of Ark and what not. Now all they have to do is keep them from getting separated and jailed before they have to pass history! Along the way, Bill & Ted also fall in love with two sexy virgin princesses from the medieval circa.Yeah it's not great cinema, but it's a fun romp of slacker dude madness thanks to the energy and enthusiasm of Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves as the title characters.

Scifi Movie Project log 1 of 2 (BackTo The Future)

This film was great . The director and screen writer mixes science fiction, humor, and action perfectly. A big component of the script is time line theory which drives the story. Marty has many problems to fix, and finds out more than anyone wants to know about their parents. Michael J Fox and Christopher Loyd were excellently casted. Marty and Doc what a chemistry. With the film series one see the many dualities with time travel, that become a constant with the movie and the idea that you change something in the past it might dramatically change the future. The town clock, being awoke in a strange place, and letters. Keep this in mind when watching the 2 other sequels. The theory that time repeats itself is evident. What a time machine, the Delorian adds to this movie.