I really love watching movies. Things really got out of control when I worked as a manager for a 17-screen movie complex on the West coast a few years back. Imagine getting all the first-run films the moment they were released and getting to screen them all by yourself before they opened...

Now, it seems like I always have a DVD running in a window on my computer's desktop while I work. I know, I know... but I just can't get enough.

Recent favorites are: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, and The Sum of all Fears.

This summer I got asked quite a bit what I thought of the new Star Wars film. Most of my friends know what I do for a living (Digital Art and Imaging) and that I was a huge fan (like many) when it first came to theaters in the '70's.

For the record, I am glad that I've kept up with the Star Wars epics but, I think I see the trend of them appealing more toward teenagers. Plus, in spite of my obvious love of digital art, the graphics are good but the films are losing "something" by having actors act against a blue screen. Not to mention that everything starts to look a little "too" digital. There's a lot to be said about real sets and real actors. I feel as if the image is becoming a little "thin" and I catch myself wishing to just see an awkward shadow, a blur, or something solid... I "feel" the lack of physicality in the newer films.

It can be difficult to specifically name the elements that add up to my feeling this way. When you view the images onscreen you have to admit it looks fine. It looks real in most cases. But maybe that's it... if we don't really know what an alien with wings looks like how do we know if the image of one onscreen is realistic or not?

However, scences such as Obi-Wan confronting Jango Fett on the landing pad in the rain were full of ambience. The wind, the rain, the subdued colors, all led to a very good use of digital wizardry.

Obviously I have mixed feelings. We'll see where this all goes. I am sad to see the beginning of the end for epic films though... gone are the days of Ben Hur I fear.