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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

Oh yes. Most theaters didn’t "promote the promotion," while others simply never told people which showing had the free figures. By the time you add all the kids who simply opened up their Lukes, these were pretty rare beasts.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 03/22/2004 3:11 PM

im that guy who likes pizza chips….

Chestnuts roasted by Scourge @ 03/22/2004 4:06 PM

I see dead people, in the movies. And it’s not just the folk waiting in long lines either. One of the oddest things I saw in a theater was when "Grease" was having it’s revival, and I was with Little Brother and his wife. We stepped into the main lobby and lo and behold, on a giant banner stretching across the width of the wall, was the word GREASE, hanging above the concession stand. Made my day.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 03/22/2004 4:33 PM

Did anyone win anything from the other star wars promotion for episode 1? It was a game of sorts and since i was young and stupid and didn’t realize the full craptacularness of episode one I sent away for what i won. I got two episode one backpacks and two queen Amidala Hand held phones. The phones were a piece of crap obviously and the back pack broke in like a day. There probably sitting in a landfill in cleveland by now.

Chestnuts roasted by Ally @ 03/22/2004 5:02 PM

I remember when Grease was re-released in theaters. It was at the same time the movie "My Giant" was also in theaters. One of the local theaters had a fairly small marquee, yet they always tried to fit as many movie titles on there as possible. This meant the titles often appeared as one or two long titles. So when these two movies were showing at this theater, the marquee read "GREASE MY GIANT".

Chestnuts roasted by MG @ 03/22/2004 5:47 PM

I’ve actually been reading at TWOP since they were MBTV. Sigh… Back when ER was actually a decent show, and Freaks and Geeks had yet to debut and break my heart.

Mommatose, hee! I wonder if Dan K reads the recaps.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 03/22/2004 7:57 PM

wow im glad i read this after i sold that figure to my friend for 20 bucks…Thanks XE

Chestnuts roasted by not second @ 03/22/2004 8:10 PM

Ewok adventure was a helluva lot better than the Empire Strikes Back… yea, thats right.

Chestnuts roasted by BettieBoo @ 03/22/2004 8:28 PM

Am i the only one really amused at the "Dead Jedi Inside" on the envelope? hyuk hyuk

Chestnuts roasted by gurge @ 03/22/2004 8:31 PM

Yo Matt, I have a friend who claimed he had 2 of those clear Predator figures, and the funny thing is…. he was gonna bring it in for English class ((we had to bring in achildrens toy cuz were doing all sorts of crazy kids crap right now)) and he said "I couldnt find it" and I asked "Because it’s invisible?" and we both laughed. Yeah, I remember my friend when it first came out got one, I was so jealous not because I thought it was rare but because anything thats clear is cool as shit to me. Anyway great article keep that good times a comin, btw whens the Cobra Chia Plot gettin updated?

Chestnuts roasted by JigajigaJames @ 03/22/2004 9:24 PM

Oh yeah, about the Obi-Wan figure, you could display that on top of one of those lantern flashlights or some kinda lighted display, wouldnt that look a-a-awe-some? Get 4 or 5 like that and you could have a pretty nifty display that looks great at night, unlike Snake Eyes who just kinda disapaears and blends into the background.

Chestnuts roasted by James again @ 03/22/2004 9:26 PM

This reminds me…
I was in 6th grade when the movies were rereleased, and my teacher was obsessed with spelling bees. We had at least two a week. So anyway, we were nearing the end of one, and the word was "empire". I swear, at least six people got out on that one, which left it to me to win. Seriously, how could you not know how to spell "empire" when The Empire Strikes Back is out in theaters? Morons.

Chestnuts roasted by Rainbowfeet @ 03/22/2004 11:47 PM

as for the pizza potato chips… they’re still pretty raging here in Japan. I can’t really tell you why, as they don’t taste much like Pizza or Potatoes… PO-TA-TOES. Taters, Mash em up, stick em in a pot.

anyway, my only guess is that the Japanese have a fondness for weird pizza toppings (tuna fish and corn anyone?), which also includes various types of potato toppings.

actually, i have to admit i had a sweet potato pizza at Pizza Hut in Korea, and it was really fucking sweet… potatoes.

Chestnuts roasted by Chopstick Sensei @ 03/23/2004 4:57 AM

I personally liked the Star Wars Episode I cans of Pepsi. For some reason, Queen Amidala only showed up on Diet Pepsi cans…
I cannot count how many SW Pepsi bottles and cans I drank in the summer of 1999 and I didn’t even see the movie until it arrived on VHS along with Pokemon: The First Movie and Tarzan in the spring of 2000 (THAT brings back some memories during 8th Grade. A week after that I rented George of the Jungle -that I had never seen- because Thomas Haden Church was in it).

Chestnuts roasted by AngeFaitore @ 03/23/2004 6:09 AM

The Prequels sucked. Every True SW fan know’s this the original is King reguarding SW. But LOTR trilogy tops them both. As for the figure I see only one use for it and that’s to stick a small lightbulb into it and make the figure into a cool night light.

Are we going to see the G.I. Joe Part Five sometime Matt?

Chestnuts roasted by Rowan Steele @ 03/23/2004 9:07 AM

Soon, very soon. I’ll make it extra special for the wait.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 03/23/2004 9:08 AM

I too am a huge star wars fan. I like the prequels, but not as much as the originals. The characters are just too unemotional. I think the biggest problem is that GL is directing. Look back to the original movies, GL directed the first one and it has the same problem, while the second and third are much better.

GL is a great visionary and writer, but just needs to get out of the directors seat.

On another note, Matt with you bieng a big SW fan have you ever read any of the novels?

Chestnuts roasted by Beerstalker @ 03/23/2004 10:57 AM

I’ve read Shadows of the Empire, which I’m assuming is a good choice for SW fans who aren’t really into the novels. It’s basic, but it sticks with what most people would know and nicely fills in the time between ESB and ROTJ.

Other than that, not too much. Can’t remember the name of it, but I read one novel focusing around Fett, Dengar and some woman Dengar was involved with, plus all of the "Tales" books. (Jabba’s Palace, Mos Eisley, etc)

Unfortunately, the problem with the prequels goes way beyond misdirection. It’s really got nothing to do with the acting, either. It’s the writing. It’s just terribly written. Seriously — look up the script online, and count the number of lines you’d change. It’s pretty obvious that Lucas should’ve shared responsibility with more than just directing and whatnot — he simply wasn’t up to the task of creating these movies. It’s a playground for special effects with the story as a side thing.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 03/23/2004 11:03 AM

Yeah, Shadows of the Empire is a decent book, there are a lot better ones out there though.

I think the other novel your talking about is one out of the bounty hunter trilogy, it was a decent storyline but not all that great of writing from what I remember.

For a good starting point if your interested pick up The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn – Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. Really good reading I think.

Back to the movies I definitely agree about the lines too. I haven’t gotten around to reading the Attack of the Clones novel yet, but I know the Phantom Menace novel is actually a lot better than the movie in this regard.

I also agree that he seems to focus too much on the special effects instead of the story in the prequels. Thats why I felt bringing in another director would have helped. GL could have concentrated on his Special effects while someone else concentrated on making a story that flowed more easily, and getting the actors to put more feeling into their performance.

All this bieng said I still can’t wait for next May.

Chestnuts roasted by Beerstalker @ 03/23/2004 11:29 AM

No offense to all the female contingent, but the best thing about Episode II: Even More Whining was *ahem* Amidala’s nipples. Tight white shirt and chained up as well. Nice to know her daughter will follow in the whole bondage thing. Sad to think that before he was all thunder-wicked Cool and Evil, Vader was just as pissy as Luke. All Skywalker men need to be slapped around for a good 15-20 minutes.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 03/23/2004 11:43 AM

XE is a wonderful place. I’ve loved everything here since I first received the link from my friend years ago.

But, any praise more than faint for DAWN OF THE DEAD is going too far.

The original had pace, some depth, and characters that the audience got to know very well.

DAWN 04 is just noise and rapid cuts covering the Vivid Video approach to the story: all cum shots, no foreplay.

The characters are a joke – most closing in on STAR TREK ensign territory, just hanging around to be zombie food.

Who is the blonde chick?

When did the two younger characters become a couple?

Why didn’t anyone raise a voice when the African-American character walled himself off in the clothing store with his expecting… wife?

And much more…

All the praise I hear for the film is about the speed of the filmmaking and the gore. Well, it shouldn’t have called itself DAWN OF THE DEAD if it wanted to shit all over the original’s artistic sensibilities.

I’m sorry, but the new DAWN is a stinker.

Chestnuts roasted by Todd Leroy Cummings @ 03/23/2004 3:01 PM

They said it couldn’t happen here, they said it was a fool’s errand, they said close cover before striking. But they never figured that there was nothing better on TV. CheapJack Productions, a division of WTF Entertainment, presents a Oddsen N film…..
X-E Men: The Search For Killer Duck.
THRILL as Heeloyd asks directions from a giraffe! GASP as KingKlash takes a long walk off a short cake! CRINGE as Matt explains that his last name isn’t Capybara or Chupucabra! GLAZE as Gabbylicious uses her power of kawaii to get free popsicles for the group! SING ALONG as Starwenn and RainbowFeet lead one and all in a rousing chorus of Barnicle Bill The Sailor!
With a cast of a few people and their pets. Free Spirit of Photog figure to the first 1000000 people who can prove they’ve seen Mac and Me. X-E Men: The Search For Killer Duck, coming to a hallucination or drive-in synapse near you. (Not responsible for any socks stolen during the climactic Trajeal frozen fish tapdance scene.)

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 03/23/2004 4:14 PM

Outside of Shadow and the "Tales" books the only books that are worth reading for the casual fan, IMHO, are The Courtship of Princess Leia and the Han Solo trilogy. Most of the others are too far removed from the movies, or get pissed all over by the prequels. Whatever happened to Ben and Owen being brothers?!? I agree that the major problem w/ the new movies was the writing, both the plot and ESPECIALLY the dialog. The acting was top-notch (in most cases), tho I do agree that LOTR surpassed it in terms of both performances and effects. I realized how bad Episode II was when I went and watched an edited version on an IMAX screen, and it was still boring and crappy, and I noticed that the makeup artists only covered up Anakin’s mole for half of the movie. Perhaps the appearance of the dark mole is meant to symbolize his metamorphosis from innocent child to cranky future Sith. Or maybe somebody just needs to get fired.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 03/23/2004 9:46 PM

Dawn of the dead. Best movie ever. since the orginal. and since goodfellas.

Chestnuts roasted by naturekid @ 03/23/2004 11:20 PM

kingklash Hee! "He’s dancin’ w/ the fish sticks."

I feel as if I have nothing else to add here, since I haven’t seen the first two SW episodes (gasp! Do I have my X-E privelidges revoked now?), and the "three kids under five" thing makes it hard to find a babysitter to get out and watch a movie while still in theatres. It’s not like I could bring them – three little girls and a screen full of zombies. Although, DOTD is my kind of movie. I love a good scare. Even some of the cheesy ones can get me to keep my lights on at night, if the idea is good enough. Funnily enough, Mr. Trajeal isn’t much of a horror movie watcher. He’s actually been playing Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided. Anyone else?

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 03/24/2004 6:07 AM

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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.