OK, I have a question for those who have seen HHGTTG multiple times: See, I've been listening to the radio show of it, and I think that almost all of the guide entries are nearly word for word the same. Is this correct?

Almost, yes. Most of the edits are omissions rather than rewrites.

The one rewritten line that always throws me is in the section on Vogon poetry, the Guide/narrator says "The very worst poetry of all is that of Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Sussex, luckily, it was destroyed when the Earth was," when in the book, the line is, "...Sussex, which perished along with its creator in the destruction of the planet Earth." It's just a slightly more elegant, more British tone, and the rewritten line (clearly rewritten at the last minute because the original was just barely too long for the scene it needed to fit into) is just terribly jarring, since it's so different from what my brain wants to hear.

I just got back from Revenge of the Sith, and it was actually GOOD! It really felt like Star Wars again. There are still many, many moments of cringeworthiness, but there are also many moments of "Yes, this is how it should be." It was far from perfect, but it was eminently satisfying.

It's an emotional rollercoaster, though, for someone who dearly wants to love this universe, because I kept being pulled back and forth between being completely swept away, and then rudely reminded that this was still a prequel with all the crappiness that implies. (Example: the title, opening music, and "A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" came up, and my cynicism melted helplessly away. Then the crawl started....and I read it...and it came rushing back. This happened approximately every two minutes. The entire film is nothing but great mythic moments of true Star-Warsness interspersed with moments of utter drivel.)

Your review is exactly what I'm afraid of. I'm glad to hear it's better than Eps 1 and 2, but it doesn't sound enough better. I'm determined to not see it.

I'm gonna see it. I'll be rooting for the Dark Side.

See, I find myself rooting for whatever side Anakin's not. Because Hayden Christenson or however-the-hell-you-spell-it? Makes my teeth grate. Also Jake Lloyd. Shoulda died in that stupid machine thing.

See, I find myself rooting for whatever side Anakin's not. Because Hayden Christenson or however-the-hell-you-spell-it? Makes my teeth grate.

The latest spin from the Ranch is that Anakin was SUPPOSED to be petulantly annoying. Given what I've heard about HC in other movies (from Jessica, among others), I'm almost willing to believe it was deliberate. Almost.

I am glad to hear it's the best of the three, though. I seem to have a mental block with the Star Wars prequels - when I was actually watching them, I rather enjoyed them a lot, and even the annoying parts just rolled off me. In both cases, though, once I got out of the theater the disgust and WTFs set in like a heavy cloud burst, and turned into an active loathing. I saw each once, which is fine.

He's fantastic (although again v annoying) in shattered glass

t happy in her dreamland of "Little Ani was cute as a button" and "Jar-Jar didn't bother me all that much"

Time Magazine has Darth Vader on the cover. After Ann Coulter, it seems almost wholesome. And the fanboy squeeing in the article was wonderful. "We've Seen It!" is the taunting headline on the cover. I think it's neat.

I really enjoyed the Premiere article on Star Wars, although Lucas continues to creep me out with his Newspeak-vibe. And yeah, I'm excited about Episode III, as much as my cynical heart would like not to be.

The latest spin from the Ranch is that Anakin was SUPPOSED to be petulantly annoying. Given what I've heard about HC in other movies (from Jessica, among others), I'm almost willing to believe it was deliberate. Almost.

I don't believe it was deliberate, but I do believe it was Lucas' fault and not Hayden's.

And he is better in this one. Not 100%, but he's better. There's less whining.