Back Seat Producers

In 1978 in Yemen, young Samir Horn sees his father killed in a car-bombing terrorist incident. Flash forward to now, and Samir is trafficking explosives to a terrorist organization. Devout in his Muslim faith, Samir proves to be a valuable asset to the terrorist cell that he’s trying to sell to and is soon brought into it’s inner circle. All the while, he remains a central figure to an FBI terror investigation, though it also appears there’s more to this man than meets the eye.

Traitor is a brilliant and thrilling little film from director Jeffrey Nachmanoff, who also wrote the film, from a story from himself and Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin) and it’s just a really cool film giving insight to the terrorist mind, and plays it fair all the way through. It’s extremely well paced with really good, if understated, performances all around.

Really the only thing I thought was wrong with the whole thing was just that the trailer for the film blows the major twist of the film- it’s still entertaining regardless and it’s a fun ride getting to where it’s going, but I can only imagine how much cooler this would’ve been if you’d not known the twist going in.

This movie has a real first rate cast- Don Cheadle again proves that he’s one of our very best actors working today with his role of Samir, he plays this in such a way that you’re never quite sure what he’ll do next. Guy Pearce plays the straight arrow FBI agent who’s on his tail, and it’s very sincere stuff that he’s dealing out here. They’re backed up with solid work from Neal McDonough (Pearce’s partner and one of my favorite character guys to watch today), Said Taghmaoui (as the terrorist who brings Samir into the organization) and Jeff Daniels, as another government official who has a man deep inside the organization.

I really give this one high marks for playing it fair, much like The Kingdom did an for not falling into the standard Hollywood cliche of “we’ve seen the enemy and the enemy is us” and also just for being a real top-notch spy/terrorist thriller. The fact that Steve Martin co-wrote the story just makes this even more impressive. Very cool movie, up there with the best I’ve seen this year, and of course highly recommended…

Laziness, because I just want to get this out… more later.

 

 BSP Episode 074: Swing Vote: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (153)

Don LaFontaine arguably one of the most recognizable voiceover talents in movies has died. He was 68.

LaFontaine, who also did voice-over work on countless radio and network television promotional spots and commercials, died Monday of complications after treatment for an illness at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his family said. The illness was not specified.

 LaFontaine had been doing trailer work since the 1960s. He was the voice of the 1974 ad campaign for “The Godfather Part II,” and he managed to turn a simple recitation of that classic film’s Oscar wins into a kind of sermon which echoed back to an earlier era when the Oscars deserved a voice full of gravitas, a time when movies and advertising had a different standard for quality and intensity.

Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, LaFontaine voiced trailers for all genres, but his gravely baritone, slightly scary, message-from-beyond kind-of delivery certainly lent itself best to horror, thrillers and sci-fi. Counting from one to 12 became a terrifying prospect with the ad for 1980’s original “Friday the 13th”. He added a chilling depth to the promos for 1984’s “The Terminator” and 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”; And he brought fear and dread to the trailer for “Fatal Attraction.” 

Of his work LaFontaine said “You have to bring a personal take on horror, love, drama, comedy, to make [a trailer] work.” He rose to the top of his profession because in three minutes or less audiences could grasp not only what a movie’s tone was supposed to be but also what LaFontaine brought to those three minutes. And he brought what we all do when we go to the movies: Anticipation and excitement for what happens when the house lights dim. In many ways LaFontaine made a better movie in three minutes than Hollywood typically makes in 2 hours.

LaFontaine is survived by his wife, Nita; daughters, Christine, Skye and Elyse; and a grandson.

Sources:

IMDB

LA Times

NY Daily News

In the near future, a mercenary based in Russia, Toorop, is contracted to make sure that he gets a mysterious young woman named Aurora from the ravages of a post-apocalyptic Eastern Europe to New York City. He picks the girl up at a Mongolian monastery where she’s accompanied by her guardian, Sister Rebekah. Now the three begin a dangerous cross continental trek to find out what is the true secret of Aurora’s origin.

Babylon A.D. comes to us from director Matthieu Kassovitz, who’s really impressed me in the past with movies like La Haine and The Crimson Rivers and more recently behind a less impressive movie like Gothika. Unfortunately, Babylon A. D. falls into the less impressive category.

It’s hard to fault director Kassovitz entirely for this due to some problems behind his control, the movie fell behind production schedule and was running significantly over-budget and due to that, 20th Century Fox basically took over control of the final cut of the film.

There’s some good ideas at work here, and a nice sense of atmosphere built into the film. But scenes don’t necessarily flow as they should, and some characterizations seem to take a 180 degree turn right between scenes (mostly around Vin Diesel’s character of Toorov). There’s also a little too much asking of this question “What’s going on?” by the character of Aurora played by Melanie Thierry which just seems to stop any flow whatsoever, as if to be there just to make sure the audience is up to speed, making the whole thing come off more as a dumbed down version of Children of Men more than anything else.

I could certainly forgive some of this if it’s final revelation of the origin of Aurora was done in some more interesting and involving way than through fast dialogue in two separate scenes one from Lambert Wilson, who plays her “father” and the other from Charlotte Rampling who plays the leader of a religious sect called the Neolites looking for religious validity. This explanation is just boring especially in light of some of the things that they have Aurora do during the film.

The cast is pretty good executing what’s there on-screen, in addition to the above-mentioned, Michelle Yeoh plays Sister Rebekah and Gerard Depardieu plays Gorsky, the man who contracts Toorov for the job. It’s just that the way it’s all “seamed” together it just never comes through that well.

There’s probably a really good movie somewhere to be found, and maybe that would’ve come about if Kassovitz had entire control and maybe it wouldn’t. So far, much like the similarly-themed Ultraviolet from director Kurt Wimmer (which also had it’s control wrested from it’s director), there doesn’t seem to be any sort of “director’s cut” planned at present. Not awful by any means (there’s good ideas here and some good set pieces), but in no way really good either, and it’s a shame because there is some good talent at work here.

The 65th annual Venice Film Festival opens on Wednesday with a screening of the Coen Brothers’ Burn After Reading. Stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt are expected to attend. The film, however, is not among the 21 films entered in the official competition. Also expected to attend the festival — and screenings of films they’ll be appearing in — are Kim Basinger, Charlize Theron, Mickey Rourke, Debra Winger, and French actress Juliette Binoche. The seven-member jury is headed by German filmmaker Wim Wenders.

According to IGN, “J.J. Abrams was in New York today to discuss his upcoming Fox TV series Fringe, but during the event the topic of his Star Trek reboot of course came up.” Unfortunately, Abrams dismissed rumors of any cameos from other original members of the Enterprise crew. “No, the only cast member from the original films is Nimoy,” he told the assembled press. The article also states that the film, which is in post-production right now for a summer 2009 release, is “evolving.” “We’re not done with it but we are working on it still. There have been cuts and, as everything goes, [it’s] an evolution. I’m hoping the final cut is a few weeks away. But we’re definitely circling.” Star Trek opens May 8, 2009.

Woody Harrelson has signed on to star in the horror comedy Zombieland, which Ruben Fleischer is directing for Columbia Pictures, says The Hollywood Reporter today. Written by the team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, Zombieland revolves around a mismatched pair of survivors who find friendship and redemption in a world overrun by zombies. Harrelson plays one of the men, a zombie fighter named Albuquerque. Gavin Polone and his Parish Films shingle are producing. Harrelson recently starred in Semi-Pro and is in production on Roland Emmerich’s 2012. He has the Will Smith starrer Seven Pounds in the can and wrapped Bunraku, a martial arts noir that mixes live action and animation.

According to Firstshowing.net another new comic adaptation is headed for the big screen - The Boys. First published by Wildstorm and later by Dynamite Entertainment. The book follows a CIA squad, known as “the boys”, whose job it is to keep watch over superheroes and eliminate them should they become a threat. Aeon Flux and The Tuxedo writers Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay have been brought on to write the adaptation of the comic, which will begin production under Neal H. Moritz. No director has been attached. This is one of many projects that Moritz has announced recently.

E! reports that Although Stargate: Atlantis wasn’t reupped for a sixth season but the Sci Fi Channel has announced plans to launch a second spinoff of the cult hit, titled Stargate: Universe. The new show will premiere early next year as a two-hour TV movie before sliding into its regular weekly time slot next summer. Stargate, which has been airing on the tube in one form or another since 1997, is the cable network’s longest-running franchise. After debuting on Showtime, SG-1 came over to Sci Fi following its fifth season. Based on the film, the TV version centered on a secret military team whose mission was to probe the uncharted stargates throughout the galaxy. It ended its 10-season run in 2006. Stargate: Atlantis, blasted off in 2004, continued that story as a team of explorers found their way into a new galaxy and encountered an enemy called the Wraiths. That show will wrap up with a two-hour movie this season. The Universe action will be set in deep space and follow a new team of scientists and military men who stumble upon an ancient unmanned spaceship. No word on casting but producers expect guest appearances from the SG-1 and Atlantis ranks.

Variety reports that after getting some unenthusiastic reviews Babylon A.D. helmer Mathieu Kassovitz is seeking to distance himself from the film, which opens Friday — even though the version reviewed was the director’s international version, and Fox is not releasing the film overseas. In an interview with AMCtv.com, Kassovitz called the sci-fi thriller “pure violence and stupidity,” with parts of the film resembling “a bad episode of ‘24.’ ” Sources close to the production, who likened Kassovitz to the mercurial Billy Walsh character on Entourage, called the AMC comments just the latest in a series of headaches involving Kassovitz.

According to Film Junk French filmmakers Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (Inside) were previously attached to direct the Hellraiser remake, but once they dropped out of that project, there were rumours that they had entered talks to do the Halloween sequel. It seems that this is now pretty much confirmed. The duo had this to say about the project: “It’s a proposition we couldn’t refuse… Our vision will be done with utmost respect, with a continuity of [Zombie’s] work but also a real evolution of the world he set in place.”

Sources:

Variety

Film Junk

E

FirstShowing.net

THR

In the year 2012, the United States economy has collapsed and the crime rate is now at an all time high. Prison populations are growing and now large corporations have assumed the running of these prisons and have decided to use them for televised gladiatorial combat as an opiate for the masses, and yet the people want more, and they get it with the formation of the Death Race. The Death Race on Terminal Island prison is dominated by the masked personality Frankenstein, a public favorite, who’s just looked like he’s met his end. Meanwhile, factory worker and former race driver, Jensen Ames has just been laid off, and framed for the murder of his wife (leaving his baby daughter without really knowing her parents), and sent to Terminal where he’s forced to become the new Frankenstein…

And that’s the basic premise of Death Race a re-imagining of the Roger Corman/Paul Bartel classic sci-fi/cheesefest/satire of the 70s, this time coming from director Paul W.S. Anderson, himself no stranger to genre movies.

Anderson gives us something that lacks in the satire of the original (though it has it’s moments) but makes up for it in it’s high-octane action. Let’s make no mistake here, this ain’t high art and neither does it aspire to be, it’s simply adrenaline charged fun first and foremost with dosages of liberalism thrown in. It’s very much a B-movie, though in a different vein than the original.

Anderson’s film has a great look to it and a lot of cool action, especially around the race itself. It is rated R and it’s reflected in it’s violence and language mostly though it never goes quite as far as it could or should (Nick Marshall’s Doomsday from earlier in the year is a better example of going further with this sort of thing).

My other issue is in it’s liberal simplification of some things- in the opening lines of set-up, they say something like “Large Corporation” where they could’ve just as well as said “Evil Large Corporation” considering the tone of the film, and they play with the idea of “love conquering all” as somewhat of an absolute, especially when talking about the idea of what sort of father a man like Jensen Ames could be when presented with the possibility of finding his daughter (and it has one of the great movie cliches in it- with Jensen and his pre-murdered wife still so in love that he’s ready to just throw her up on the kitchen counter and have his way with her).

These moments weren’t deal-breakers by any means, I mean this is still a fun time, but it might’ve been elevated further had it not taken such a simplified approach.

Anderson’s got some good talent at work here- the always solid-as-a-rock Jason Statham taking on the Jensen Ames/Frankenstein role, Ian McShane as Coach, the lead in Ames driving crew, Tyrese Gibson taking on the part of Machine Gun Joe, and Joan Allen doing a great job of scenery chewing as Warden Hennessey. All concerned here know exactly what kind of movie they’re making and they deliver the goods appropriately. And for the fans of the original, you’ve even got David Carradine as the voice of the first Frankenstein seen in this film.

All in all, it’s solid fun and a good diversion more than anything else. This probably won’t change anyone’s mind in how they want to view the original film as really this one and that one are two entirely different things, just with a couple of things in common. The original movie is without a doubt one of the classics in B-movie/drive-in/grindhouse entertainment and a lot of fun in it’s own right (though really, if we were to apply today’s brand of criticism to it, well it would fail on all counts as a movie and probably be just as derided as something like Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales) and this new version, it’s own beast, is it’s own brand of fun. I enjoyed it my own self, though I can’t necessarily say if others in today’s less forgiving audience would…

According to the Playlist Nicolas Cage has signed on to the lead in Matthew Vaughn’s (Stardust, Layer Cake) adaptation of the Mark Millar comic book Kick Ass. Also signed on are Aaron Johnson (The Illusionist, Baker Street Irregulars) and Lyndsy Fonseca (Heros, Desperate Housewives).

Kick Ass, originally written by Mike Millar and illustrated by the venerable John Romita Jr., centers on a high school outcast named Dave Lizewski, played by Johnson, who decides to become a superhero even though he has no athletic talent or ability. Complications arise when he runs into real bad-guys.

Fonseca will play Dave’s secret crush. Unfortunately for Dave she believes that he is gay. 

Cage will be playing an ex-cop obsessed with bringing down a drug kingpin. Cage’s teenage daughter, played by Chloe Moretz, is a trained assassin.

The film is being independently financed due to several studios having already passed on the project because of it’s very violent content.  

Kick Ass is scheduled to begin shooting in the fall.

Sources:

The Playlist.blogspot

THR

IMDB

Variety reports that Ben Affleck has signed on to the new Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-head, Office Space) vehicle Extract. 

Affleck, who turned 36 last week, will be playing an ambulance chasing attorney opposite Jason Bateman (Hancock, Juno) who will be playing a down on his luck flower extract factory owner. 

Also starring is Clifton Collins Jr ( NBC’s Fear Itself, JJ Abrams’ Star Trek) as an employee of Bateman’s character who loses a body part in a freak workplace accident, Mila Kunis, (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Max Payne) and Kristen Wiig (SNL). 

Affleck is also starring in the romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You and the crime thriller State of Play both for release in ‘09.

Sources:

Variety

E!

In this week’s episode, we discuss Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver.

Be sure to let us know if there are any movies we should add to the List o’ Movies.

And while we won’t announce this on the show for a few weeks, make sure you visit our page at Myxer.com.
www.myxer.com/backseat

We’ve got cell phone wall paper, ringtones, and you can join our fanlist and get text messages when we post new episodes, have breaking news, or drunk dial our fans after a night of partying at Adam’s house.

 

 BSP Episode 73: Taxi Driver: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (221)

The BBC reports that Twentieth Century Fox has applied to a Los Angeles court to block the release of Watchmen, based on the comic books written by Alan Moore. Fox, which says it bought film rights to the series in the 1980s, has been given the go-ahead to launch an injunction against rival Warner Bros. Fox said it “will be asking the court to enforce our copyright interests”. The movie has already been filmed and was due for release 6 March. Last week US District Court Judge Gary Feess said Fox could hold some of the rights to the material, even if it did not hold all rights. Fox spokesman Gregg Brilliant said it planned to stop the release of the movie and “any related Watchmen media that violate our copyright interests in that property”. His Warner Bros counterpart, Scott Rowe, said: “The judge did not opine at all on the merits, other than to conclude that Fox satisfied the pending requirements.”

The South Carolina state Senate has appointed a committee to review incentives designed to give South Carolina a much bigger role in the movie industry. The Film Incentives Study Committee met Aug. 19 with the state Commerce Department, the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department and officials from various state colleges to discuss efforts to help the industry at the state level.

According to Joystiq the big screen adaptation of Spy Hunter, the 16 bit arcade classic, has hit another speed bump. Director Paul Anderson (Alien V Predator) appears to have been taken off the pic by the studio. This is the second directorial change for the film, the first being the loss of John Woo.

/Film says that a Veronica Mars movie is still under discussion. They report that in an interview with EW series creator Rob Thomas said that he’s had “a few conversations” with Mars executive producer Joel Silver. Thomas says that he’s too busy right now, “But as soon as I have any free time, that’s my top priority.”

Sources:

BBC

SC.gov

Joystiq.com

Latino Review.com

/Film

MSN

Detroit News

In an effort to establish a new theatrical distribution model for independent filmmakers Dylan Marchetti has announced the formation of VARIANCE FILMS. The former THINKFilm director of distribution and marketing, says that Variance Films will allow lesser-known films to bridge the gap between self-distribution and traditional theatrical distribution.

 ”Variance Films will represent the best of the old thinking and the best of the new, adapting both to the reality of today’s marketplace,” said Founder and President Dylan Marchetti.  “While there is no shortage of independent films being made today, there are far too many noteworthy films that are struggling to find distribution and often winding up going straight-to-video.  Variance Films is designed to take these smaller films to theaters – tailoring each release to the specific film for the specific US markets, even when it doesn’t fit the standard theatrical NY/LA expansion model.  And we will have a strong acquisitions component, so we’ll soon be a staple at festivals and markets, chasing after films we believe in.” 

Variance’s first release, WALKING ON DEAD FISH, a co-release with Dutchmen Films, opens in New Orleans on September 5, 2008 with a regional expansion on September 19, 2008.  A documentary in the vein of “Hoop Dreams,” WALKING ON DEAD FISH, narrated and executive produced by Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, and directed by Franklin Martin, tells the story of the East St. John High School football team’s 2005 season.  The under-funded school 12 miles from New Orleans took in over 450 displaced students in the weeks after Katrina, and twenty of them joined the football team when the coach declared all positions were open (just one week before the season began). 

 Marchetti, who recently left THINKFilm after a successful stint working on films such as the acclaimed documentary “Nanking” and the drama “The Air I Breathe” with Brendan Fraser and Sarah Michelle Gellar, has been distributing films for several years and developed a reputation for finding smaller films with breakout potential.

WALKING ON DEAD FISH director Franklin Martin said, “Variance Films and Dylan Marchetti’s passion and commitment to the powerful message sent by WALKING ON DEAD FISH and the people of New Orleans, made my decision to walk away from traditional distribution easy.  Belief in making our country a better place through the medium of film; how rare.”

“WALKING ON DEAD FISH is a great example of the kind of movie that would slip through the cracks if released in a rote fashion,” Marchetti said.  ”It’s not a New York or Los Angeles kind of movie at first glance – it needs to get some momentum behind it, and we’re going to do that by opening it in ‘football country’ and slowly expanding it.  We want the buzz to drive us into the major markets, rather than the other way around.”

 Variance’s next release, Vince Di Meglio’s SMOTHER, is a dark comedy starring Diane Keaton, Dax Shepard, and Liv Tyler and will open in the top five markets on September 26, 2008, with a national expansion to follow.  Academy-Award Winner Diane Keaton plays Marilyn Cooper, an overbearing mother whose son Noah (Shepard) keeps her at arm’s length.  Already facing pressure from his wife Claire (Tyler) to have a baby, Noah loses his job and finds an unwelcome houseguest on his couch (Mike White, in a hilarious supporting role), and thinks things can’t get worse.  When Marilyn shows up crying (dressed in a pumpkin suit with her six dogs in tow) after a fight with her husband, and Claire quickly offers her the guest room, he’s proven quite wrong.  Slowly inching her way into every aspect of his life, the film follows the extended family as they tenuously find a middle ground.

Sources:

Variance Films Press Release

Variety

#1 Tropic Thunder from Paramount/Dreamworks debuts at #1 this weekend bringing in $26 million from 3319 theaters. Thunder cost $92 million to make.

#2 The Dark Knight from Warner Bros. takes the #2 spot this weekend bringing in $16.8 million for the weekend, thats down 35%, putting its total earnings at $471,493,000. The Dark Knight showed in 3590 theaters, down 435 and cost roughly $185 million.

#3 Star Wars: The Clone Wars from Warner Bros. debuts in the #3 spot this weekend bringing in $15.5 million from 3452 theaters. Clone Wars budget is unknown.

#4 Mirrors from Fox debuts at #4 bringing in $11.1 million from 2664 theaters. Mirrors budget is unknown.

#5 Pineapple Express from Sony debuts at #2 this weekend bringing in $22.4 million. Express showed in 3072 theaters and cost $27 million to make.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

#6 The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor: Weekend Gross: $8,609,000 down 47.8% / Theaters: 3363, down 415 / Gross: 86,649,000 / Budget: $145 million.

#7 Mamma Mia!: Weekend Gross: $6,498,000 down 20.8% / Theaters: 2771 down 423 / Gross: $116,415,000 / Budget: $52 million

#8 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Weekend Gross: $5,930,000, down 44.5% / Theaters: 2714, up 7 /  Gross: $32,147,000 / Budget: $27 million

#9 Step Brothers: Weekend Gross: $5,000,000 down 45.2% / Theaters: 2648 down 534 / Gross: $90,888,000 / Budget: $65 million

#10 Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Weekend Gross: $3,710,000 Debut Weekend / Theaters: 692 Debut Weekend / Gross:$3,710,000 / Budget: Unknown.

A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

In the midst of Episodes 2 and 3 of the Star Wars films and shown even further in Genndy Tartavoksy’s animated Clone Wars shorts from The Cartoon Network, there’s a period that allows for even further stories within the Clone Wars milieu itself, and that period is where the new CGI animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes place. In this theatrical release of the first five episodes, on Tatooine, Jabba The Hut’s son has been kidnapped as the Jedi Knights and the Republic are negotiating the use of trade routes owned by The Hut. Now the Jedi charge Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi with the task of finding Jabba’s son, while Anakin also has under his tutelage a new Padawan, a young 14-year old girl name Ahsoka Tano.

And right off the bat, I thought it was a lot of fun as well…

For myself, I like this look that it has, sort of a cross between Genndy Tartakovsy and Gerry Anderson, I think it has it’s own personality. The Star Wars franchise is strong enough that it can handle many different looks if need be, at least to me anyway.

The film is mostly wall-to-wall action, and there’s a lot of cool set pieces in the film, my own personal favorite being a fight handled vertically on a cliffside up to the local where Jabba’s son is being held captive.

And I like the interplay between both Anakin and his new brash Padawan, Ahsoka- almost seeming to me like she’s given to him as more of a test of his own skills more than anything else (and sort of almost setting a precedent of something that’s to come in the upcoming video game The Force Unleashed.

For the presentation of a side story apart from the six live action films, I think this style works and really wouldn’t mind seeing it done further, perhaps a side story involving the adventures of Luke, Han and Leia set between episodes 4 and 5 or even a prequel of sorts to episode 4, showing the early days of Han Solo could be pretty cool.

I figure if you’ve got the intense and irrational hate for the prequel films, you’ll probably have the same for Star Wars: The Clone Wars though honestly, and I’ve been on the record with this, I don’t get it, but then I’ve never looked at these as “religion” either. I’ve seen complaints going the way of this being a pointless exercise simply because we already know what’s going to happen with Anakin in Episode 6, and that’s just ridiculous- I mean why not see other stories with these characters that don’t necessarily involve the major things that happen in the live action films (one friend to me equated that idea with the notion that we shouldn’t see any more movies set in historical times, say World War II, then simply because we already know how that ends- I see it as why then read adventures of continuing comic characters if each one of those stories don’t represent a major life change for them.

I’ve seen complaints of the new character Ahsoka and how her brashness just turns them off, when again, I just don’t get it, as I even think Qui-Gon Jinn makes some reference of the same with Obi-Wan pre-The Phantom Menace and further, like I said above, this seems to me more a test of Anakin’s skills more than building a Jedi out of Ahsoka.

I’ve seen complaints about the animation and the look that just don’t make any sense, not really allowing for a different artistic interpretation that this series certainly can stand, but you listen to the complainers, and this look seems like it’s a complete slap in the face to them.

As it is with the prequel trilogy, there’s counters to every con argument for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I saw this with two other friends, one who’s pretty much of my same temperament with the series and another who’s a little more into the whole thing, and we call came out of it having a really good time and ready for more. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a good side story to the main films and just a whole lot of fun…