Squidgy-2

Mr. McGregor is especially tasty in this Star Wars installment. "Kewl" hairstyle, too (i.e., that sweet little braid), but it's so short for such beautiful hair.

As for the queen... in our household, a discussion of the logistics of "electing" a queen always turns into a rehashing of the famous scene from Monty Python's Holy Grail ("*We* didn't vote for you!") But I suppose some would say that queens WOULD be elected on a planet with a name like "Naboo" (wasn't "Naboo" a Hanna-Barbera character?)

Ah, well, the special effects were pretty nifty (the same reason that the plot-light Independence Day needed to be viewed on the big screen). I don't s'pose that, one of these sequels, the day will be saved by something *other* than a single lucky laser blast by a member of the Skywalker clan. (Cliche much?)

Sheer eye-candy... don't go to it expecting to see Laurence of Tatooine, 'cos you'd be sadly disappointed.

All that kept me from turning off the tape (rented - 50 cents and ~90 minutes I'll never get back) was the music... I would have done better to have simply trotted down to the local record shop and plunked down for the movie soundtrack. Or even simply for albums by Ms Newton-John & ELO, which will have the very best music from the movie. Okay, okay, the music kept me from turning off the movie... that, and the unfounded conviction (maintained until the credits rolled) that "It's got to get better than *this*!".

I do still like Bridget Fonda's version of this, but really enjoyed this original version much more - I liked that in this one, the guy is smart enough to figure out what she really is (although there are a lot of parallels between the two movies). The French version of her "death" (OD) was set up more sensibly than what was presented in the US version (death penalty)... but then, French movies seem to suffer when translated to an American version (e.g, 3 Men & a Baby). Perhaps the cultural barrier is as strong as the language barrier?

Anne Parillaud is definitely more exotic than Bridget Fonda at every part of the movie (I'd describe Ms Fonda's looks more as "interesting" - although in the very positive sense that she inherited her father's better features - than "pretty").

It is *crucial* to see a subtitled version (and even better to understand spoken French, to catch what was not translated in the subtitles... also a good exercise for language students); over-dubbed movies aren't worth it, and you lose what the casting director intended with the voices.