The training with ninja thing doesn't bother me at all, since that's pretty close to Batman's schtick (and the inspiration behind the current Robin's split-toed boots) and ninjitsu schools do still exist in Japan and elsewhere. I know there's at least one school within an hour of where I live, though I couldn't tell you how good it actually is.

I do hope we get at least some brief shots of him training in some other styles and other places as well, though.

Overall, I enjoyed the promo, though I do worry Bale's growly "Batman voice" might start to grate after awhile.

I do worry Bale's growly "Batman voice" might start to grate after awhile.

Hopefully they'll keep the Bat laconic. Or taciturn. Short-winded. Whatever.

I really want Bruce to say "I know kung fu" after a particularly arduous training session.

I really want Bruce to say "I know kung fu" after a particularly arduous training session.

If he did that and Liam's character smacked him on the back of the head, saying, "The hell you do," I would see the movie 17 times in the theater.

Heh--the news summary on the bottom of IMDB's main page has a lisping problem, in honor of "Sith"'s release.

Saw ROTS today. I had very high expectations based on the buzz. Easily the best of the prequel trilogy although I don't know if it's as good as it's being made out to be.

So, in all that reading through the last few days, with talk of RotS and the new Batman movie, this is what caught my attention:

One of Seattle's radio stations has been playing that Queens of the Stone Age song mixed with the SNL "more cowbell" sketch. Pretty funny. Well, the first 10 times, anyway.

Just for the record, that's not a cowbell being heard in that song. That's a wood block. Cowbells make more of a clangy sound, and wood blocks make that dull cloppy sound.

You can hear a cowbell in the theme song for King of the Hill, though.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is actually really good. No, seriously. I liked the first two prequels more than most people, but this one is definitely better. It's much more focused.

I realized that the prequels were telling a very different kind of story from the original trilogy. The original is a delightful space adventure centering around the battle between good and evil. These prequels are a less delightful space adventure centering around what good and evil actually are. There are themes at work here that maybe weren't as apparent in the first two prequels. This is the story of why Jedi are Jedi and why Sith are Sith. This is the story of who's right and who's wrong and who gets to decide.

I think Anakin's transformation into Vader is very, very interesting. I won't go into details, of course, because I don't do that sort of thing, but the Anakin/Palpatine scenes are the heart, dark as it is, of the film, and they don't disappoint. His turn to the Dark Side involves a lot of character traits we saw in Attack of the Clones, and I can't even remember if anything important happened in The Phantom Menace anymore. I can see how some seeds were planted in that first prequel, but so much seemed to be a distraction. The power struggle between the Jedi Council and the Senate, though, I think that's been in play since the beginning, and it finally pays off here.

I found the power struggle stuff fascinating in this installment, and people have of course wondered if it was some sort of statement on the Bush administration. These people forget that Lucas conceived this whole business in the seventies. The fact that it's disturbingly accurate is a testament to...humanity. Go us. We rule. At sucking.

Yes, there is some clunky dialogue and wooden acting. Yes, there is a groanworthy scene or two. Yes, Lucas can't seem to write a scene in which more than two people converse. But the flaws aren't enough to overshadow the fact that this is one of the deepest, most complex, and most psychologically fascinating Star Wars installments there is. If you were burned by the first two prequels, or you avoided them because others had been burned, I urge you to see this one anyway. It's a great little tale of a good Jedi gone bad, a good world gone haywire, good intentions gone all bajiggity.

P-C is me, only with much better words.

Also, sooper seekrit message to P-C: Are you in Ann Arbor? Cause I'm in Bowling Green, just across the border. :)

Sooper seekrit message to Aileann: Yes! I am! Come visit! Or something.