Just Realized…

So, first of all, I want to say thank you to the L. Palmer Chronicles for picking my post as her favorite!  Looks like she had a lot to choose from, so the fact that she chose mine as #1 for a high five just makes me thrilled.    (Check out my mention at: http://lpalmerchronicles.com/2013/02/25/and-the-high-five-goes-to/)  If anyone stumbles here from her blog, welcome!  I hope you follow for more Star Wars goodness, but even if you don’t, it’s not hard to re-find me on Google.

If you haven’t checked out L. Palmer’s blog, I suggest you do.  It’s a fun mix of a geeky outlook on everyday life.  She used to be under the blog “Good. Wholesome. Fun.” but has transferred to this new blog to match what she is trying to encapsulate in her posts.  Check her out if you ever have the chance!  www.lpalmerchronicles.com.  She really knows how to bring bloggers together 🙂

I had a realization yesterday that kind of makes me embarrassed.  For all the wonderful Star Wars rambling on this blog, I have never actually told you guys the order of my favorite Star Wars movies.  I can just see Yoda from AOTC saying, “How embarrassing,” and shaking his head at me, just like I was Obi-Wan who lost a planet.

So without further ado, cue the Star Wars theme, and let’s go into the order of my favs:

1. Empire Strikes Back.  Sorry to be like the majority of the world, but it’s so awesome.  Most people like it because of how dark it is and how our heroes get screwed in the end.  Why do I like it?  Mostly because of the Battle of Hoth.  No matter how many times I watch this movie, I love the Battle of Hoth.  It grips me and, yes, my palms still get sweaty though I know every line and exactly what will happen next.  I love Cloud City because of the perfection Lucas portrayed in making it look like a place that I want to vacation to.  When Lando betrays Han, Leia, and Chewie to the Empire…it still breaks my heart a little bit each time.  And finally, I think Mark Hamill does a superb job when he finds out that Vader is his father.  That “No!  That’s impossible!” creates a sinking feeling in my stomach as I try to put myself in Luke’s shoes.
2. Return of the Jedi.  There’s a lot to love about this movie.  Our heroes come back full force (in Han’s case – literally), the Empire is defeated, and Vader/Anakin turns back to the light side thanks to his son.  Though a small scene, I loved when Luke and Leia hopped on the speeder bike to chase down the scout troopers (it was also my favorite level in an arcade game so that could be why I love it).  And Leia in a Slave Bikini costume?  Who saw that coming?
3. The Phantom Menace.  Argue with me if you want, this is one of my favorites due to sentimental reasons.  It drew me back into the Star Wars universe with such a Force pull and created the girl I am today.  Also – Qui-Gon Jinn.  One of my favorite characters other than Luke.  Oh!  And who could forget the AWESOME lightsaber battle at the end of the movie?  Darth Maul is so frightening and the battle is so quick and fast.  Mmhmmm.  I’m hoping the new trilogy will have similar battles.
4. A New Hope.  Yes, yes, I know – I rated it below TPM.  I can already hear the cries of outrage.  However, often times this movie really is tied with TPM and depends on my mood that day.  The greatest thing about ANH is that I get something new from it each time I watch it.  I also try to put myself in the position of where I was watching it for the first time and there was so much to try to detangle that I had to watch this movie over and over again.  Like when Darth Vader says, “I sense something.  A presence I haven’t felt since…” and he just walks away.  Wait!  What?  Come back!  Since when or what?  Finish that sentence!  I also loved the casualty of Greedo and the way that Han is so flippant about it.  Does that make me weird?  He just tosses Wuher the coin and says “Sorry about the mess.”  Whoa!  Is killing people in this universe so lightly taken?  Mind blown!  Honestly, the greatest thing about this movie is that it takes characters and situations that are relatable and puts it out into a universe that we’ve never seen before, but we still can GET the entire thing.
5. Revenge of the Sith.  It’s a shame this movie is so low on the list because it makes it seem like I don’t like this movie.  Not true.  I thought ROTS was pretty good and a lot of people argue it’s the best of the prequel trilogy.  It’s just that the other 4 movies are better in my opinion.  Order 66 is haunting and saddening as you realize that the clones, who were friends with the Jedi, so quickly turn on them.  When Anakin goes through the Temple killing everyone, you realize what a massacre the Jedi killings were…and done by one person: the one who was supposed to bring balance to the Force.  Even Yoda has to go into hiding, but the most heart wrenching part of the whole movie is when Obi-Wan yells at Anakin, “You were my brother, Anakin!  I loved you.”  Ewan McGregor brought his finest acting chops to that one line and I remember tears were in my eyes when I saw that in the theaters.
6. Attack of the Clones.  Now, I don’t really like insulting Star Wars but UGH.  I cannot stand the dialogue in this movie.  It’s so difficult for me to watch this movie because I struggle through it.  Yeah, sure, I like the Jango Fett scenes but the romance between Anakin and Padmé is nauseating.  When I saw this movie for the 3^rd time in theaters, I brought my younger brother who was 9 at that time.  Every time Anakin and Padmé kissed, my brother would say really loudly, “Eew, no!  Not more kissing!”  At the time, it was embarrassing, but it kind of summed up the love scenes in this movie.  Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for a chick flick if the mood strikes and I don’t mind kissing scenes.  I do mind when there is no chemistry between the actors and the dialogue is like listening to someone saw wood.  The plot was also kind of boring with only a few interesting parts: Anakin finding his mother and going on a killing spree, the discovery of the clones, and…um….I can’t think of anything more.

 

Ok, that’s a list of my favorites.  I’m still so surprised that I haven’t listed these before!  Wow.  Anyone want to list your order of favorites?  No need to say why, though I’d be mighty interested to know!