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Tuesday, May 21, 2002.
Entry #154
Button had her babies this
weekend!
I discovered them quite
by accident. I was cleaning out their pen, hauling out their water
bottle, food dish, et cetera, and I grabbed their little plastic
igloo and lifted it up... and two little baby guinea pigs spilled
out!
I wish I had pictures of our babies, but this one is pretty
close. |
They're both boys, and
they both have the same coloring as their father Jersey - black
and white patches all over.
(I've recently been
made aware of the fact that Jersey cows are all brown in color,
and it's the Holsteins, in fact, that are black and white. Eh. Jersey
is still a much cooler name.)
The best thing about baby
guinea pigs is that they are born fully furred and teethed, with
their eyes open. So as soon as they dry off, they look just like
the adults in miniature.
So cute.
And Mama Button is doing
fine.
All right. As much as I
wanted to, I ended up not entirely disagreeing with Roger
Ebert on the matter of Star
Wars: Attack of the Clones.
I still think he's an idiot,
but that's another story.
High Points: The
action was astounding. The imagery. The fights. Yoda kicking ass
with a light saber. All of it had my jaw hanging.
I love the huge planetary
shots, the chase through the heights (and depths) of Coruscant,
and through the rocky rings of an alien world. The endless rain
of one planet, and the gorgeous spring vistas of another. I enjoyed
the plot. Chunks of it were a little silly or stilted, but overall
I could see the sweeping plans of the Emperor coming into play,
as he pit both sides of the rebellion against each other in an effort
to make himself the greatest power in the galaxy. I could see how
it was not just Anakin, but the entire galaxy being drawn inexorably
towards evil. An neat parallel, in fact.
It gave me shivers to see
Jar Jar Binks calling the vote that made the Chancellor the de facto
Emperor of the galaxy. Knowing the dark fate of his action nearly
justified his existence as a character, taking him from comic relief
to dark irony. Well, nearly anyway.
And Yoda coming to the
rescue, leading legions of what are obviously the predecessors of
the Empire's Stormtroopers? How's that for dark irony!
Low Points: As much
as I hate to say it, the acting was really weak. It was like each
person was reciting Shakespeare in front of their 10th grade English
class, with the words being sounded sonorously for their full impact
and resonance. There were only a couple moments where the actors
seemed to get out from under the heavy portents of the future, and
they actually spoke like normal people.
I couldn't see any possible
reason Amidala would fall for Anakin. It must be destiny, because
he sure didn't spending any time wooing her. Maybe she's just gullible.
I do see reasons for the
bad acting, and, sadly, there isn't anything that could be done
to improve it. Here's why:
- Blue screens. Rarely
did the actors play on a full set, and they only spoke to real
people half of the time. Can you image how hard it is to act out
a scene with someone who was not even there, in a room that didn't
exist?
- Actors like to expand
and grow into their characters. They like to take the material
and develop it with their own unique style, making it their own.
They couldn't do that here. Not only did some actors have to match
the style of their predecessors, but all of them also had a specific
thematic direction they had to take.
That second point is a
bigger deal than it looks. Hayden Christensen is the best example.
He has the starting point of Jake Lloyd's whiny Anakin to begin
with, and then he has to grow the character into someone with David
Prowse's ominous attitude and James Earl Jones' vocal mannerisms.
That's a nearly impossible task for any actor.
Imagine this as a parallel:
It would take a Michelangelo to create a work of art from a paint-by-numbers
set. All the pieces may be there and the skill may be sufficient,
but the lines tightly restrict any creativity that can be brought
to the final product. The artist could eschew the lines entirely,
but then it wouldn't fit in with the rest of the coloring book.
And while Hayden may be
a decent actor, and may have in him the potential to be great, he
just isn't there yet.
The same can be said for
the storyline. We know where it's going, so the movie is only a
matter of learning how it gets there. Sadly, that removes most of
the mystery, and I was surprised at how much I missed it.
Still. Overall I enjoyed
it, and had a great time. I'll probably see it again in the theatres,
and will most certainly buy it on DVD.
Which is all George Lucas
wants out of me anyway.
Here's a kicker. There's
a heavy snowfall warning for Calgary tonight, with a high of 0°C
tomorrow. The rest of the week will be 14 degrees or higher.
People don't believe me
when I tell them we have the weirdest weather patterns in the world.
I'm completely serious.
On Buffy: Tonight
is the two-part finale. Evil Willow is really evil! I can't believe
she actually skinned Warren! Ick! Ick ick ick!
On Angel: Well.
They certainly ended the season with a real trump card. Angel sealed
in an iron coffin on the bottom of the ocean. Cordelia ascending
to a 'higher plane'. Wesley sleeping with the enemy. Lorn and Gru
both leaving. Fred and Gunn left all alone holding the bag.
I think shows like Angel
and Buffy must change writers every year, and the guys on the way
out write themselves into a corner to screw their replacements.
Because I can't see how either show is going to get itself out of
where they left it.
 On
Survivor: Boy, I picked that one, didn't I? Well, no I didn't.
I was completely wrong on all counts, except for Pascal's physical
condition. (He passed out from dehydration and exhaustion just before
his first stint on the jury.)
Now it's over, and Vescepia
won. Well, I guess that's okay. Hope no one put any money on my
predictions.
At least Rosie gave each
of them a new Saturn. That's worth 39 days of starvation and bug
bites.
Next season: Thailand!
Cool.
One Year Ago Today:
I was still on hiatus, but in 1908, the first horror movie (Dr
Jekyll & Mr Hyde) premiered in Chicago.
Mom
Rating: 3 out of 5. I suspect that's the rating Mom will
give Episode II.
Previous: Happy
Clone Day!
Next: Frustrations
Take
me home, big fella
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