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Obi-Wan & Dawn of the Deadddd.

Here's a pretty quick one about "The Spirit of Obi-Wan," a mail-away exclusive from Hasbro and Frito Lay to tie in with the special edition theatrical release of the Star Wars trilogy in the late 90s. I mentioned the figure in that UGO feature a month or so ago, and realized that it meant enough to me for a full tribute. Or in this case, a small one.

By the way, we caught "Dawn of the Dead" last night. No complaints here whatsoever. The main gripes I'm reading deal with the lack of "social commentary" seen in the original, as if that's the real reason people have championed the first flick for all these years. Yeah, it's nice that the movie was clever and all, but come on. It was all about the characters, and while prototypical at times, the new flick delivers with a cast you'll actually feel something for. The zombies are cool, but the film is more about "waiting to die" and scrambling for hope in a hopeless situation rather than an all-out zombie action fest. And yet, when it's time for the monsters to shine, we aren't let down. The film has the requisite gross-out shots and loads of gore, and I'm impressed that they pulled the trigger on some extremely un-PC bits here and there. I'd expand on what I mean, but you know...spoilers and all that. I've been waiting to see a horror movie that's satisfied enough in being just that without trying to be "something better than a horror movie," a poorly structured way of saying it I know, but that's what I wanted and that's what I got. Recommended, and don't wait for the DVD -- it's definitely the kind of movie that's worth seeing in a crowd.

Posted by Matt on 03/21/2004. E-mail me!



Discussion Thread: 94 comments

Hey Texas Chainsaw remake was awesome! Don’t knock it. Oh yeah – wasn’t mumra from thundercats a mail away? the version before he hulked up? Also – I agree about the han stormtrooper mail away – i got it from fruit loops…it was great.

Chestnuts roasted by Jay Amabile @ 03/22/2004 2:22 AM

First my sister gets the random desire to watch all three original Star Wars on the big screen tv all day today, then the Simpson’s is all about The Phantom Menace, now this. My life is full of coincidences.

Spongebob Squarepants, HBO programming and agressive self-promotion: Like I mentioned a few days back, I got to go to L.A. to meet a bunch of the cast members of Carnivale, including the gigantic Clancy Brown. I wrote all about it and posted pics http://www.livejournal.com/users/squee4242/31497.html">here if anyone is interested in seeing pictures of me dwarfed next to the guy who does the voice of Mr. Krabs.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 03/22/2004 3:44 AM

Whoa, more coinkydinkies. I just realized the entry in http://www.livejournal.com/users/squee4242/">my LiveJournal that is right before the one I just linked is totally about X-E. Spooooooooooooky.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 03/22/2004 3:59 AM

That? Spooky? I’ll give you spooky!

Just a few days ago I was at a used bookstore that doubled as a "junk pile full of toys" store, and in quite the ironic fashion (well, ironic NOW…) I stumbled upon THEE mesmerizngly blue Ben Kenobi figure! Honestly, I thought it was worth more than the two dollar price tag, but still, for whatever reason I didn’t pick it up. I think it’s because they had a plush Ewok doll for an even seven bucks, and I wanted to save the extra two on cleaning the various stains the previous owner kindly left behind on the oversized gerbil.

I now wish I bought that figure. Something about owning an Obi Won toy that could actually be describe as the color "mouthwash."

Damn!

Chestnuts roasted by Bobby... @ 03/22/2004 6:48 AM

I was so happy the day possessed all of the dead Jedi. Anakin was my final purchase and he joined Obi and Yoda to do my bidding.

Chestnuts roasted by Stilewalker @ 03/22/2004 7:31 AM

I know I’m probably alone in my thoughts, but I thought Empire Strikes Back was the worst movie in the series (except for the Cloud City and the battle at Hoth) there was just not enough in the middle. Darth Vadar getting his head chopped off while a 3 foot lizard groped Luke’s back just wasn’t enough for me. The sexual tension between Princess Leah and Han Solo was unbearable. i just wanted to shout to them to just get laid so you can stop arguing every freakin second of the day. i’m not sure why the 3rd won’t be remembered as the best of all time…prolly cause of the stupid Ewoks. 4 foot hamsters that carry guns just don’t cut it anymore.

let’s take a poll! if episodes 1&2 and soon to be 3 had come out in the 70′s, (w/ the special effects they had back then) do you think Star Wars would be as poplular as it is today?

Chestnuts roasted by ANdrew @ 03/22/2004 8:41 AM

Hey Matt, how’d you make all that Dagoban snow? It looks like you spent ages crunching ice with a Snoopy Snow Cone maker…?

Chestnuts roasted by Photoboy @ 03/22/2004 8:44 AM

Okay, my first Blog…here goes…..
Regarding the figure: Had it, loved it, got rid of it, still kicking myself.
Regarding the prequels: They sucked.
Come to think of it, so did the TCM remake. In fact, barring LOTR, I haven’t been impressed with a new movie since…..uuhhhh….hang on….

Chestnuts roasted by Darc_humor @ 03/22/2004 10:05 AM

Ahah! I loved Big Fish!
yeah, that was it.

Please don’t hurt me.

Chestnuts roasted by Darc_humor @ 03/22/2004 10:06 AM

squee, you lucky dog! I read about that Carnivale screening and I was dying to go. Unfortunately, I live on the wrong coast, so there was no way. Wow, Nick Stahl actually looks pretty good w/ no mud caked onto his face. I didn’t even recognize Clea. So, no news on Jonesy returning? I’ll be so sad if he doesn’t make it. He’s my Carnivale eye candy. So, if Sofie makes it out, will she be pregnant? I can’t wait until next January. Do you read the recaps at Televisionwithoutpity.com?

Uh, topic. Obi-wan. Pizza. Uh, Scope. Crackhouse. Yeah.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 03/22/2004 10:07 AM

I was going to retire from XE, but it’s just too difficult.

This Star Wars article popped up at the right time. Two days ago I bought a 1977 stuffed Chewbacca. I wuv Chewy so. Along with a Jar Jar, Amidala, and some other foo’ figure.

That envelope is addressed to a crackhouse, which ties in to Matt’s own joke that he has a druggies hair cut (it was in that haunted house article I think). Maybe Matt’s next adventure should be to get a hair cut, or grow hair, or get a house, or get a house with a trendy hair style. I dunno…regret is setting in for breaking my "No mo’ XE pact". Moo.

Chestnuts roasted by Kennef @ 03/22/2004 10:13 AM

I remember being interested enough in this offer to wish I had the figure without, you know, sending away for it. I’m not sure why. It think it has something to do with me being lazy as hell.

But my interest was definitely piqued. I mean, maybe it’s just me, but I doubt it: when I was a kid (as opposed to the terribly mature 21 I am now… anyway), I was a sucker for toys that lit up, could glow in the dark, had alternate color schemes, or were transparent. I actually don’t think that’s changed much.

Case in point: I sometimes stare in fascination at my neato clear Gameboy games.

I am become pathetic.

Chestnuts roasted by Night_Trekker @ 03/22/2004 11:01 AM

trajeal- I’m all about those recaps at TWOP. Carnivale is what first brought me there. Now its a staple of my internet life.

Chestnuts roasted by allicat @ 03/22/2004 11:03 AM

Mouthwash, mmmmmmmmmmmmmminty.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 03/22/2004 11:36 AM

I remember my friend and I tried to collect all of those new action figures when the movies were coming out again. We must have been 15 or 16. The problem was that he wanted to collect all the rare versions of figures so we would end up spending up to 50 dollars on Darth Maul with a long lightsaber or Luke with a different hat.

But we did get the spirit of obi-wan. Oh yes.

Chestnuts roasted by Brett_weir @ 03/22/2004 12:05 PM

Thumbs up for Dawn of The Dead and Obi Wan.
Good zombie movies are hard to come by these days in the mainstream, and let’s face it, finding a big budget movie featuring relevant social commentary now-a-days is like finding a needle in a hay stack.

Chestnuts roasted by BaronVonHotPants @ 03/22/2004 12:15 PM

I do read the recaps on TWOP. I wonder how many people found them because of Carnivale? Actually, when I met Diane S. who plays Apollonia, I totally blanked on both her real and character names, and all I could remember was ‘Mommatose’. Re: the pregnancy, Dan K. said that he can’t believe that people would think Sofie is so unlucky as to get laid one time and end up pregnant. So not a yes, but not a no either.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 03/22/2004 1:44 PM

What’s Star Wars?

Chestnuts roasted by Jarek Thimblebee @ 03/22/2004 2:06 PM

great review! laughed out loud at that coo ca racha part. :)

is it just me? or did anyone else hate non posable figures

Chestnuts roasted by Freud Savage @ 03/22/2004 2:08 PM

For the person who asked:

That’s real snow. The Spirit of Obi-Wan took advantage of what had better be the last snowstorm I see this season, or else.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 03/22/2004 2:10 PM

Obi looks like he’s wearing glasses…

Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben …..

hilarious!

Chestnuts roasted by mwqofh @ 03/22/2004 2:21 PM

Is the Spirit of Obi-Wan anything like the Spirit of Christmas? No worries Kennef, the pact was evil anyways, so breaking it was the right thing to do. Now, if I could just quit going to FARK just to find articles that skeeve me out, then go back again and again…. But, like the old movie poster says, If your skin doesn’t crawl, then it’s on too tight.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 03/22/2004 2:39 PM

Oh yes, I still have mine. But I thumbed my nose at the hoarding boom, and opened Mr. Kenobi. That gesture means nothing now, since he’s readily available. The craze over this figure was caused by an exclusive Han Solo in Stormtooper gear figure being offered by Corn Pops a year before. Many people passed on Han, and kicked themselves in the ass when he turned out to be worth some cash. So the Spirit of Obi-Wan must’ve looked like a second chance to John Q. Pimplyscalper

Chestnuts roasted by Dude McGuy @ 03/22/2004 2:51 PM

My favorite exclusive from this era? "SE Luke." The one given away at the RotJ re-release. I managed to snag two — somebody traded me for one of ‘em, and I’m not kidding on the return bounty: well over a hundred packaged figures from various line shoved in three gigantic boxes, plus 60 bucks. People were insane.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 03/22/2004 2:53 PM

You were luck to get him Matt. I think every theater got 100 of those. I think atleast half of each theater’s supply, was "lost". Either the manager, or some disgruntled snack jockey decided to swipe almost all of them from our local Edward’s.

Chestnuts roasted by Dude McGuy @ 03/22/2004 3:07 PM

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This entry was posted on Sunday, March 21st, 2004 at 8:47 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.