Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Season 3

It got off to a slow start, but by its midpoint, it became clear that the third season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars had found its groove, thanks to digging deeper into the Star Wars mythology, and delivering some truly epic story lines.

Savage Opress

Undoubtedly the series’ best season to-date, Season 3 gave us the excellent “Savage Opress” story arc, where we learned that Asajj Ventress was one of the Night Sisters of Dathomir, and were introduced to another deadly member of Darth Maul’s bloodline. Then there was the fascinating “Mortis” trilogy, where Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka faced their respective destinies and learned more about the nature of the Force. There’s the big “prison break” story arc that introduced Anakin to his future ally Tarkin for the first time. And the season ended with the triumphant “Trandoshan Hunters” arc, where Ahsoka and some Padawan pals must find a way to escape from a deadly group of aliens who are hunting them for sport — and get a helping hand from Chewbacca. Season 3 also brought about the debut of Quinlan Vos, a popular Jedi character from the Star Wars novels; the Clone Wars debut of Baron Papanoida, George Lucas’ briefly-glimpsed character from Revenge of the Sith; and the return of assassin Aurra Sing.

Asajj Ventress

Many of these three-episode story arcs, when watched at once, work quite well as mini movies. Of course, it wasn’t all a total KO. The obligatory Jar-Jar Binks episode wreaked as usual, and the less that’s said about Ziro the Hutt, the better. There’s some clone-centric eps that fare better at getting us to care about the clones than earlier series episodes. And the first half of the season gets bogged down in too much tiresome politics, with Padme constantly trying to broker peace among warring factions. But no matter. The Savage Opress and Mortis stories kicked the entire series into overdrive with the awesome fight scenes, mythology-rich storytelling, and incredible visuals that fans have been begging for since the show debuted.

Anakin Skywalker on Mortis

Part of the fun of The Clone Wars is in knowing that the show’s producers get to play in the enormous Star Wars sandbox, and zero-in on secondary characters and stories that otherwise would never be used at all. So it’s still fun to see what bits and pieces from the movies they might choose to bring to light (such as the Papanoida character’s episode), or what brand new ideas they might import into the Star Wars universe (Season 2′s “Zillo Beast” is a perfect example of this; it’s essentially “Godzilla on Coruscant”). It’s also worth noting that Season 3 saw a boost in the show’s technical achievements, with a grander scale than it was capable of before. The show also debuted new, more detailed character models for Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka that have softer edges and subtle changes that bring them closer to their Revenge of the Sith appearances (except for Ahsoka, of course, who we assume won’t survive the TV show since she’s not in the movies).

Chewbacca

The number of special features is pared way down from past Blu-ray releases; I remember there was a feature for every single episode in the first season’s set, whereas this set has only a handful. The Blu-ray menus are bare-bones as well, with the same image of “angry Anakin” that’s on the cover art standing in for every menu (earlier discs had clips from the series running on a loop). But these are small quibbles. The bonuses that are there are genuinely interesting — particularly the Savage Opress and Asage Ventress stuff, which we learn was smartly written by George Lucas’ daughter, Katie — though the cheeky “non-feature” for the Mortis story line is nothing but a tease about the questions it raised. The producers seem to have tied their own hands with this one, as they promise that there’s more to come about the issues raised for our characters on Mortis, but there’s no way to talk about these episodes without spoiling what’s to come. I still would have liked to have seen some insights into the visual designs of this world and the Family that lived there, and maybe some insights straight from George Lucas about the nature of the Force; the one thing we do learn is that Lucas pulled some of his original notes about what the Force is and how it works out of mothballs to use for these episodes, so some additional context and background from Lucas himself would have been cool.

In the end, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Season 3 collection is short on extras but long on storytelling, and for that reason alone, it’s the series’ first collection that I’m deeming a must-own for anyone who calls themselves a Star Wars fan.

The BT Tower in London, England was transformed for one night only last week into a giant, 581-foot-high lightsaber. But why?

Why would Lucasfilm go to the expense of mounting over sixty 4.5kw at the top of a famous London skyscraper — a building that, admittedly, already looks like the handle of a lightsaber? To celebrate the release of the Star Wars saga on Blu-ray, of course. The giant lightsaber itself was blue in color, hence it had a “blue ray” (get it?). The beam shone over 600 meters into the night sky, and was reportedly visible from all over London. The best part of all: the whole thing was controlled by an iPad from the roof of an adjacent building.

The lightsaber was activated last Thursday night, the 15th of September, at 8:30 PM by C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels. Darth Vader and a legion of Stormtroopers were on hand for the event, of course. Check out Vader “holding” the giant lightsaber in the photo below, and then head over to the Flickr account of Eddie Lawrence for some terrific high-res shots of the BT Tower on this special night. (One of his shots is below.)

Darth Vader and the BT Tower Lightsaber

BT Tower Lightsaber in London (photo by Eddie Lawrence)

You’d think George had learned his lesson after all the changes he made to the Star Wars Trilogy’s “Special Editions,” and then again with the DVD releases. But it seems that Lucas still wasn’t satisfied, and had to go and change some small-but-significant things for the upcoming Blu-ray releases.

I should preface this by pointing out that several dozen or even hundred tiny tweaks have been made that will actually enhance your Original Trilogy viewing experience. These are mostly audio/video fixes, such as extensive color correction, removing matte lines, fixing problematic audio issues, and that sort of thing. The nitpickers will find these changes most welcome, because it looks like every last glitch has been meticulously and carefully addressed. They’ve even fixed whatever few technical issues the Prequel Trilogy had.

If Lucas had stopped there, I think we’d all be pretty happy. But of course he did not.

We’ll start with the least offensive changes and work our way down to “George Lucas has defecated on my immaculate geekhood.”

The first one, I don’t think most people will have a problem with: that godawful Yoda puppet from The Phantom Menace has been replaced with the CGI Yoda used in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Check it out:

Big improvement, right? Next, for utterly unfathomable reasons, George felt the need to make the Ewoks’ eyes blink. So blinking lids have been CGI-ed in to Return of the Jedi.

Seriously, George. What the nerfherder? Okay, now we’re getting to the weird stuff. Remember the scene in Star Wars (aka, A New Hope) where Obi-Wan makes his first appearance by scaring off the Jawas with a Krayt Dragon call? That sound he made has been replaced with a bizarre new one:

No idea what that’s all about. Alright, brace yourself, my geeky friend. This is the big one. The climactic scene of Return of the Jedi — and in fact, the entire saga, since the whole shebang is Anakin Skywalker’s story — comes when the Emperor is electrocuting Luke Skywalker, while Vader looks on. Inside, he’s feeling horribly conflicted, because he wants to obey his master, but his son is dying. Finally, at the last moment, he grabs Palpatine and throws him to his death, absorbing all of that Force lightning and saving the life of his son. In the Blu-ray version of Jedi, Vader croaks out a moaned “No…” while watching his son suffer, and then belts out a big “NOOOOOOOOO!!!” as he intervenes. See for yourself:

And before you cry “fan-made fakery,” the New York Times has confirmed these changes as legitimate. (And for all we know, there could be even more. These are just the changes that have been leaked so far.)

Ready…

Set…

Backlash!

[Image source]

George Lucas just keeps milking his cash cow (to death), and we just keep drinking his milk(shake). I love mixed metaphors.

Anyhow, Lucasfilm today announced that the entire Star Wars saga will arrive on high-definition Blu-ray on September 12th all over the world, except for North America, which will be getting it on September 16th. And there’s more than 40 hours of bonus features. Here’s the breakdown.

As Noemi pointed out a few hours ago, today is “May the Fourth,” aka Star Wars Day. Lucasfilm used this auspicious date to announce the full list of features for the Blu-ray releases of Star Wars, revealing pretty much everything but pricing, including the lovely, original box art.

The saga is being presented in full 1080p high-definition video, and 6.1 DTS Surround Sound audio. You can choose to buy the complete saga, or just collections of the classic trilogy or the prequel trilogy. The special features include tons of content newly dug-up from the Lucasfilm archives and never before seen by the public. They include:

• Cast & Crew commentaries for all 6 films, including brand new commentaries compiled from archival interviews with the cast and crew (nifty!)
• One Blu-ray disc is devoted entirely to archival material for the prequels, including the deleted and extended scenes from the DVDs, concept art, cast & crew interviews, a fly-through of the Lucasfilm Archives, and more. Another Blu-ray disc contains the same materials for the original trilogy.
• An additional disc 8 documentaries — some new, some old — which range from 26 minutes up to 91 minutes in length. There’s the original “Making of Star Wars” from 1977; “The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX,” from 1980, about the effects used in the first two films; “Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi,” from 1983, which chronicles the film’s production and techniques used to create creatures like Jabba the Hutt; 1977′s “Anatomy of a Dewback,” a look into the making of the Special Editions; 2007′s “Star Wars Tech,” which originally aired on the History Channel; “Star Warriors,” a 2007 docu about the saga’s costumed fans; “A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later,” a 2010 retrospective starring George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan, and John Williams; and 2011′s”Star Wars Spoofs,” a collection of satire clips from TV shows and Internet videos.

Lucasfilm will be showing off some of these special features at Comic-Con International in San Diego this year.

I hope you’re ready to shell out more money to George Lucas.

Announced today at CES in Las Vegas — by Darth Vader himself, no less — the Star Wars saga on Blu-ray is arriving this September in three flavors: the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, and the complete saga. The first two will run you $70 retail, while the complete saga, which comprises a total of nine discs — six for the movies, three for more than 30 hours of extras — will be sold for $140. Amazon.com already has all three sets available for pre-order at discounted prices of $44.99 and $89.99, respectively.

Of course, Lucasfilm is quick to point out that the Blu-ray editions are all being made to show off the best possible audio and video. The special extra features include some brand-new, never before seen stuff like deleted scenes, an exploration of the Star Wars archives at Lucasfilm, and more.

So… will you be able to resist the power of the Force this time? Or will you shell out more money to once again own the latest edition of Star Wars?

The historic, real-life tale of Spartacus is not new to Hollywood. But neither history nor Hollywood have ever seen anything quite like Starz’ Spartacus: Blood & Sand. It is something wholly new, using bits of other well-known formulas in creative and clever new ways that adds up to something far greater than the sum of its parts. At times stubbornly beholden to history, and at others wildly veering from it, Spartacus nonetheless introduces us to the familiar slave who eventually rose to lead an incredible rebellion against the Roman Empire.

If you felt a planet-sized disturbance in the Force today… Relax. ForeverGeek is here for you.

This afternoon at Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, George Lucas appeared on stage with Original Trilogy stars Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher to announce that the Star Wars saga is coming to Blu-ray. At an unspecified date next Fall (that’s 2011), you’ll be able to buy the six movies in the most comprehensive set ever.

To make buying the same movies again for the tenth time easier to swallow, Lucasfilm is sweetening the pot by adding “never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives” to the already extensive documentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, retrospectives, and more. And of course, Blu-ray will deliver all six films in the best possible visual and audio presentation available in current technology. Until those inevitable 3D versions come along, anyway.

Personally, I’d like to see a truly comprehensive Blu-ray set that includes the infamous Christmas Special and all other minutia from the history of the saga and its impact on pop culture. That would be a must-have.

The rumors were true.

Hulu has finally released an app for the iPad — but there’s a catch. Well, two catches, actually.

First, you have to have an invite to access the thing. You can download and “tour” the app without an invite, but you can’t watch anything, so what’s the point, right? Second, this ain’t your daddy’s Hulu. This is Hulu Plus (aka “Hulu+”), a new version that you pay to access.

Yes, you read that right: everybody’s favorite free Internet video player is becoming a service you have to pay to access — at least, to access its best features. Such as using it on the iPad. Or, on PlayStation 3 “soon,” on Xbox Live “in 2011,” Internet-connected televisions from Samsung, Vizio, and Sony, and connected Blu-ray players. Right now, the app works on PC, Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

For Hulu Plus, you’ll pay $9.99 a month. At first blush, that might seem steep, but consider this. You’re probably already paying anywhere from $20-$50+ for cable or satellite TV (a price that doesn’t even include premium subscription channels like HBO and Showtime). With almost 50 popular modern TV shows already available to watch on Hulu — including The Simpsons, Law & Order SVU, Glee, Lost, Psych, The Office, Friday Night Lights, Bones, and loads more — not to mention the vast archives of shows from yesteryear like The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Arrested Development, and Quantum Leap… Hulu is trying its darnedest to position Hulu Plus as a cable replacement. There are movies available, too, though nothing terribly current.

On the plus side, your single $9.99/mo. account can be accessed across multiple devices. On the downside, even with paying your monthly fee, you still have to sit through Hulu’s “limited commercials.”

What do you think? Are you ready to cancel your cable or DirecTV in favor of on-demand video from the Internet?

The Hulu Plus service begins in earnest sometime in July.

We already know that a number of consumer electronics companies and broadcasters are pushing full steam ahead with plans to launch hardware and programming in 3D, and now Sony and CBS have partnered to open up a 3D Consumer Research Centre.

Located in the CBS Television City research facility at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, it’s designed to be “a dedicated resource devoted to studying 3D in all its forms”. That’s according to Sony Electronics’ executive VP and CMO, Mike Fasulo.

Created in two zones, one section will focus on 3D theatrical entertainment while the other concentrates on 3D home entertainment.

Visitors will be able to see the latest 3D cinema releases coming up, as well as explore the latest hardware such as HDTVs, PS3 and 3D Blu-ray and learning about new launches such as ESPN 3D.

Obviously, you’d expect the facility to be highly Sony focused, though there’s also support from RealD, a company providing advanced 3D filters and eyewear.

One of the first movies I ever saw that pushed me down the road to geekdom was the original Clash of the Titans movie. I was pretty young when the movie first came out, but it was played so often on the TV that I must’ve watched it 100 times before I turned 10. The at-the-time amazing special effects and Greek hero storyline sucked me in and made me a believer.

The movie featured a lot of big names for the time, including Laurence Olivier. This is the movie that made Harry Hamlin a household name, and through the 80s, he was a pretty big star. Now, not so much. But hey, give the guy a break, there have been bigger Hollywood losers than him.

The big deal with this story though was the special effects. Ray Harryhausen was the stop-motion expert who turned the film into reality, and made those fight scenes with the giant monsters look so realistic. Sure, they were no Star Wars, but they were no Star Trek, either. Put this movie in my top 5 Sci-Fi with old-school FX, along with Flash Gordon.

Well come Tuesday, it’s available on Blu-Ray for the first time. I’m not quite sure how well stop-motion will translate in pixel-perfect clarity, but I, for one, will be adding it to my collection for sure.

It was bound to happen.

With Sony now enjoying the fact that blu-ray won the format wars and with the sales of the Playstation 3 and the PSP beginning to plateau, it was a natural progression for the company to find ways help synergize all of its products to help one another.

So it comes as no surprise that Sony has announced that it will be exploiting the large capacity of Blu-ray discs to produce hybrid content BDs that contain not only a movie but also a game version of the said movie. We all know that movies are increasingly being licensed for game versions (just don’t expect a Revolutionary Road game), and selling both on one disc is a stroke of genius in my opinion.

Although Sony said that the exact details on how the whole thing will be implemented is still being worked on, I think the company has taken a great step. With the Playstation 3′s sales plateauing, this is a great marketing strategy to entice people to buy it given that the PS3 is still the cheapest full-featured BD player in the market. There are even plans to follow the current practice today of putting a digital copy of the movie on the disc, which means that the movie can be copied to a Playstation Portable, which could also increase the sales of Sony’s handheld console.

In what can only be called another example of its power, China has launched its own High Definition standard, HD NVD, thus escaping any licensing fees.

The HD NVD standard has been realized with support from exclusively Chinese companies and the Chinese Government. Technically HD NVD will offer discs up to 12GB and still make use of the more classic red lasers. Because red lasers, known from CD players and DVD players, are used manufacturing will be possible in existing factories thus reducing production costs massively.

Biggest problem with this new standard will be the movie studios. Will they allow their content to be released on this platform in China? Then again, they might as well collaborate with the Chinese Government because otherwise they will find their products on the black market. But are they _that_ smart already?

Via Numerama (French).

But it looks like this is just another unfounded rumor, especially in light of the fact that online distribution is the direction that the Xbox 360 wants to take. Until I see an actual BD add-on on display I’ll most likely believe these future add-ons as just hokum.

Siren: Blood Curse

Whilst Siren: Blood Curse has hit the Playstation store to good reviews, some have complained that it can take up rather a lot of space on your PS3 hard drive.  It looks as though to install the full 12 episodes will require having a huge 40GB free – rather a lot, especially if you’ve only got the smaller capacity model.

This goes some way to explaining why Sony has decided to re-release the game – this time on their proprietary Blu-ray format.  This will allow all 12 episodes to be kept on one single disc, along with bonus features including new missions etc.

At the moment, the PSN version costs around $38, so how much the disc release will be remains to be seen.  Siren: Blood Curse is a stealth-based survival horror game that puts players in control an American TV crew who are investigating the mystery of Hanuda – a village where human sacrifices are said to have taken place.

The game is definitely worth a look, especially with the added content that will arrive on the disc.  I can certainly recommend it as one of the best games on the PS3 – it’s just a shame that it isn’t a longer game as the pace and controls are tighter than previous iterations.