Proof that the baby is real, and every bit as cute as the others!

One of the theories floating around about Lost, is that the ‘monster’ is actually millions upon millions of nanobots. There are several clues about it, not the least being the writers’ fondness for Michael Crichton’s stories. One of his stories -Prey – is about nanobots.

Interested, I checked it out from the Library Saturday morning. I finished it yesterday, and it makes me question the theory. But, who knows.

Anyhow… it was a fun book. Pretty typical of a Crichton story, but I like Crichton’s novels… so, I enjoyed it.

And, I learned that I have the ability to read a book pretty quickly… so long as I don’t really have to use my brain.

We also rented National Treasure this past weekend.

I thought it was fun, for what it was. Which is a frivolous, cotton candy, mystery-adventure. It was clean, had some funny parts, and a sort of interesting concept. I had fun watching it.

I really liked the music, too.

Okay… so here are some of my thoughts on Sith. I’m not holding anything back, so there may be some spoilers…

First, I liked it. I was by far the bets of the prequel trilogy. There were only a few specific scenes that made me laugh at how bad they were.

What I enjoyed most about the film was how there were so many throwbacks (or would that be forward?) to the original trilogy. How everything really started to look similar… the different clone trooper uniforms, the white insides of the Alderaanian ship, the young officer that looked too much like Tarkin that it wasn’t supposed to be him as a youngun’, the forerunners of the X-wings, Tie Fighters, Star Destroyers, and the Imperial shuttles that we see in Return of the Jedi, to list just a few. Throughout the movie, I kept leaning over to Megan and saying whatever I was reminded of… she didn’t know what I was talking about most of the time, and I didn’t take the time to explain because the movie kept going. It was probably pretty annoying, now that I think about it. Such a longsuffering wife. Except the Chewbacca thing. I thought that was kind of stupid.

As far as the story goes, I agree with Steven Greydanus, at decentfilms.com. Anakin just didn’t fall far enough. Throughout the prequels he seemed to be whiny and selfish and mopy. He wasn’t noble. He was heroic. He didn’t ever seem to be that great. He definitely had some Jedi skillz, but there seems to be a disconnect with the way Obi-wan describes him in episode iv. I think, perhaps, Lucas was trying to do too much forshadowing in the first two, and especially the second, to make it seem all that tragic.

One thing I appeciated in the films though, is the struggle that was evident in Anakin. It’s something we can all relate to. Our temptations are strong, and in the film I think it is clear to see how easy it is to actually deny them (even though, at the time, it often feels very hard). We’re watching Anakin, and just saying “Don’t do it… just don’t!”. And then he does it… like we all knew would. But I still didn’t want him to. It was like that all through the second and third prequel. But, that he pretty much always made the wrong decision, leads back to my point above, about how he was never presented as such a glowing good guy.

Another cool thing about the movie is the ‘providence’. Of course, there’s no god in the star wars universe, but films are metaphors of reality, and there is a God in reality. And He is sovereign… governing all His creatures and all their actions. But, how Obi-wan could have easily killed Anakin at the end there… but then he wouldn’t have killed the Emperor at RotJ. Sort of like Frodo not killing Gollum, and Gollum playing a necessary role at the end. I like how that plays out.

I’ve heard some criticism about Obi-wan’s line “Only the Sith deal in absolutes”. Of course, he isn’t right. His very statement is an absolute, and he isn’t a sith. So it’s a pretty stupid line, but I don’t think we christians should take it as some sort of attack. It is clear that the Palpatine… the epitomy of bad guys… was in favor of tolerance and pluralism, telling Anakin that he had to branch out, or whatever, and not be tied down to the one Jedi way of viewing things.

I didn’t like Darth Vader in his suit at the end. When he first spoke it was kind of cool, but then he broke out of the binders like Frankenstein, and started wailing and stuff. I didn’t like that… it just didn’t fit. Plus, it just looked funny… I think his head was too big for his body.

Anyhow… after watching RotS, I really want to go back and watch the original trilogy.

If what is so often said is true: that evolution is as sure as fact, and intelligent design is such a big joke and can’t possibly be taken seriously…

Then why try to buy out an ID showing at the Smithsonian?