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Reviews
Dream Theater: Live at Budokan (2004)
No doubt, an awesome concert
Yeah, as the user rating will show, this is quite an awesome concert. With a varied and extremely technical song list, Dream Theater handily performs their best live DVD show.
Petrucci on guitar is a sight to behold. His shredding is so precise you can see why he's one of the most proficient players today. Rudess on synth and piano is amazing. His unison riffs and passages with Petrucci are tight. Myung on bass is understated, but no less powerful. His calm and collected stage presence makes him all the more bad ass. LaBrie, now recovered from throat surgery performs his usual singing calishtenics strongly. And of course, Portnoy rips on drums and percussion. The guy seriously has four arms.
Show this to people who appreciate musicianship as well as those who demand the ultimate in technical prowess.
X2 (2003)
Darker, funnier, more violent and mature than the original.
When I first saw X-Men back in 2000, I thought it was pretty cool and I really enjoyed it. Over time, I felt that there was really nothing special about the first movie. It introduced the characters but hardly gave them anything to do. I really loathe the movies that now spend so much time (basically the entire movie) introducing the characters, because the filmmakers know there will be a sequel which enables them to let loose and really start up the action. If you look at older movies that have sequels, you can argue that the first movie in a series can stand up on its own. Examples of those movies are the original Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, Toy Story, The Godfather, Batman, Back to the Future, and The Terminator just to name a few. Lord of the Rings doesn't count because it was part of a trilogy no matter what and The Matrix seemed like it needed a sequel. However, The Matrix is different than the movies that I loathe simply because it was groundbreaking and it was thought provoking.
Anyway, back to X-Men 2: it was extremely awesome! I think because my expectations were a little lower because of the first movie, I didn't go in expecting great things, but I got great things! Hell, I'd pay six bucks just to watch the opening attack again. I have heard people saying that this is the Empire Strikes Back of the series and for the most part, I agree. (Nothing will ever be the complete equivalent to Empire.) This is a darker, funnier, more violent, more mature and more entertaining film than X-Men ever was.
I was glad to see Wolverine killing Stryker's men. There have been few movies since Batman and Batman Returns in which the superhero kills people. Blade of course wipes out tons of people, but I am refering to more mainstream superheros. In Wolverine's situation, do you just punch the guys with the guns out? No, you put them down, so they are no longer a threat. Ultimately, this darker X-Men movie gives the series a new and better edge towards a more adult crowd. The crowd which grew up reading the comics. The violence in this movie was, in my humble opinion, completely justified.
I have already seen this film twice within two days and I bet I'll see it again soon. I can't recommend this film enough. Even if you're not a fan of X-Men, this is good action cinema.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Somebody help George!
Like many of you who are Star Wars fans, I was eagerly anticipating Episode II and had hoped that it would be as good, if not better, than Episode I. The trailers looked awesome and the story line sounded great. Romance, action, suspense, thrills, lightsabers, Sam Jackson kickin' major butt! What's not to like about it. Well, I'll tell you. The action was plentiful, but contrived since it all looked animated. In fact, most of the movie was animated and it really gave the film a fake look. Even the best CGI in the world couldn't make this film look realistic. The romance seemed kind of silly and forced. This is a minor flaw because if those two love birds didn't get together, then the whole Star Wars thing wouldn't exist anyway. But, maybe George should have noticed how badly Hayden handled the romantic subplot and could have found somebody better. I will say Mr. Christensen could look pretty pissed off when he wanted to and I believed he could be the future Darth. I guess if he had better dialogue to work with, then the romance would have clicked. The suspense in the film diminished pretty close to the beginning of the film after I realized there really wasn't anyone I cared about in this movie. The thrilling parts of the movie were not really thrilling because I could not believe anything that anyone did. Why do Jedi's stop jumping high and flying in the later episodes? Oh, yeah, no CGI. The lightsaber battles in this film were simply a disapointment. Yeah, I know about Yoda and that was funny to watch, but much of the lightsaber battles in the film were camera closeups of the actors face's and I don't want to see actor's faces in a lightsaber battle, I want to see the fight. Darth Maul and Obi-Wan in Ep. I had a pretty good battle with stunts and acrobatics which this movie just lacked. Sam Jackson seemed wasted in this film as he was in Ep. I. At least he looked like he was having a good time, because I know I wasn't.
I think for the next installment to work, George needs someone else to write the screenplay and someone else to direct. I think those two criteria are why the originals were as good as they were. A different perspective but the same basic idea are important for a series' chance of creating and breaking new and fresh ground. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is lighten up on the CGI, write a screenplay that is fun and interesting and doesn't have an over abundance of cliches and give the direction responsibilities to someone else. The third Episode is supposed to be dark, so give it to a director who specializes in dark. No, Lynch is not the right choice, but check out Frank Darabont as a possible director. Please George, don't let a good thing like Star Wars go to waste.