MovieMan-112

Obviously a gigantic improvement over Episode I, Episode II "Attack of the Clones" is truly "the best star wars film in over 20 years"....even better than Episode VI but not as good as Episodes IV and V. This movie reminds viewers of EMPIRE (Anakin getting his arm cut off by the Count; the count getting away) where as Phantom Menace reminded viewers of JEDI (Jar Jar and his gunguns defeating evil just as the ewoks did in JEDI). While PHANTOM and JEDI were juvenile, CLONES is more satisfying in its action sequences (especially Yoda's battle near the end) and covers a lot of ground for Episode III. Ewoks (a bunch of annoying teddy bears) defeating storm-troopers???? Give me a break! Gunguns under the leadership of an annoying incompetent gungan named Jar Jar Binks defeating battle droids???? Give me a break!

Many fans are criticizing the acting....but who watches films like these for the acting? The acting here is the same as in any James Bond film or action-packed blockbuster. Movies like this are primarilly fun and CLONES delivers fun 100%. People should realize that if the prequels came out first (over 20 years ago), people would then only criticize the final episodes (especially when it came to special effects). So no matter what happens, people (die-hard fans or not) will forever complain and complain about what they didn't like or what should have happened instead, etc. Save your complaints!!! No star wars film is perfect!!! Just shut up, relax and enjoy this one. It's one of the best.

It seems the original trilogy got worse (Episode IV is my all-time favorite....I know....I'm not like everyone else who worships EMPIRE and I, like those who do worship EMPIRE, have my reasons why) and the prequel trilogy gets better (almost everyone agreeing that PHANTOM MENACE was the weakest in the series and that CLONES was a huge improvement). I, unlike most people, didn't hate Episode I and I think as the years go on (seeing that after 2005, no other movie phenomena will ever come close to this again...no matter how many imitators try to pull it off....YOU HEAR ME PETER JACKSON...MR. LORD OF THE RINGS???? YOUR TRILOGY WILL NEVER COMPARE!!!!!) people will appreciate it more than when it was first released (The original film is the perfect example). This will not happen until after the final episode is released and available, along with all of the other episodes, on vhs/dvd. Then die-hard fans will watch them all in order and see (as George Lucas has) that every episode has its place and none shall be hated.

This movie is just one big "uncensored" episode of the infamous tv show "The Gong Show" and for fans of the show, like myself, it's truly a memorable classic. When this movie was released 21 years ago, it was bashed by critics who called it "nothing more than a sleazy freak show" and that's probably the reason why it was never released on video. I think it's about time that somebody re-issues this hilarious tale of just how far a game show host will go to exploit and humiliate the guests on his show. Chuck "Chucky Baby" Barris plays himself in a much more mellow role than the one he played on the show (rumor has it that Barris was high on uppers during almost every broadcast...and it showed) as a man frustrated with the networks who want him to keep his syndicated show on a fine line between the insane and the obscene. This being too hard to do, Barris suffers a nervous breakdown which leads him into exile in a desert in Morocco where all his friends follow him and convince him to just "do what he wants to do" despite what the networks who broadcast his show say. This is accompanied by a catchy tune titled "Don't Get up For Me". Barris finally goes back to the states and does the show "his way", causing one network executive to literally faint during the broadcast. This movie was a perfect ending to The Gong Show itself, which went off the air a few months after the movie premiered. The uncensored collection of auditions and show performances in this movie are priceless. Some of the acts include a man portraying Jesus Christ on the cross singing the Dean Martin tune "Please Release Me, Let Me Go", The Unknown Comic's vulgar jokes, two siamese twins singing The Captain and Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together", Jaye P. Morgan flashing her breasts, a human flatulent machine, an upside down banjo player who is dropped onto the stage head-first, and a folk song about legalizing prostitution, just to name a few. The soundtrack is great and it should be released along with the movie itself. The problem with today's movies are that all of them, whether great or horrible, are released on video while many movies before 1990 were never released on video. It didn't matter if they were great or lousy. I hope to see a copy of this movie on the market within the next few years. My copy isn't that good because it's very very old and barely watchable. That's why we need this cult classic on video. See it if you can. If not, petition to see it by having MCA Universal release it on VHS and DVD. 21 years without it is enough. Get your act together Universal...it's about time.

Extremities, which runs 89 minutes, could have worked perfectly if the last 45 minutes were just like the first 44. The first half is very disturbing and realistic in its depiction of attackers and rapists. This half could even be seen as an after-school special showing teenagers that "Rape is no laughing matter!" Farrah Fawcett's character gets threatened, violated, beat up, raped, and humiliated. Her attacker is a married man with children who is a complete sadist in sexual dominance. He makes Farrah cook him some breakfast, touch his genitals, tell him "I love you" and "I want to make love to you" while beating her up in the process. This is where the movie really works. It shows the viewer that rape isn't always committed by a strange loner...it can be committed by anyone (Even a happily married man with children. I say "happily married" because in the beginning of the movie, you can hear the attacker's wife calling him to lunch. It is obvious that his wife, although never seen on screen, has made him a very nice and delicious lunch. You can tell by the tone of her voice). The first half also has us asking questions such as "Why would a man do this?" and that question has to be answered by the viewer's own opinion because the second half on Extremities falls completely apart. Farrah, with her beautiful strong feet, manages (in a completely impossible situation) to capture her attacker and reverse the role playing. She sprays his eyes with bug spray (which happens to be conveniently by her at the time) then ties and beats him up (yeah....whatever). The question above is never answered because instead of going into deep character studies, the last 45 minutes are close ups of Farrah's feet walking around her captor as her roomates look on wondering if she's really the crazier and more sadistic one. Excellent 51% of the way.