Stuff I got for my birthday:

• P.O.D.’s new CD, Testify. This album is kicking my ass. It’s got to be P.O.D.’s best effort yet, at least as good as Satellite or Payable On Death. Matisyahu does some guest vocals on a couple of tracks. Awesome. Can you tell that I like this CD?

  If you are a P.O.D. fan, and you haven’t heard of Matisyahu before, you simply have to check out his song “King Without a Crown” (free MP3 download from Amazon.com).

• Fizzing Whizbees candy

• The Princess Bride DVD
• Tickets to a Gwinnett Gladiators hockey game
• An embroidered Gladiators sweatshirt

My thanks go out to my wonderful wife and the rest of my family for such cool gifts!

ShareThis

Verdict? It was great.

Some of the acting could have been better (in particular, except for Mace Windu’s big fight scene, I felt like Samuel L. Jackson was phoning in his performance), but the overall story was what I was hoping for. Without giving out any spoilers, there was lots of action, just enough politics, a tiny bit of romance, several incidents of dismemberment, and plenty of fear, anger, death, betrayal, and angst. Did I mention dismemberment? And a bit of painful disfigurement. That’s why this one is PG-13, you see.

Darth Sidious is sufficiently manipulative and evil. Yoda kicks a suitable amount of butt. Anakin is torn between loyalties to the Jedi, the Republic, and Padme. Obi-Wan is noble. The wookies are big and furry. The lava planet is hot (but at least it’s a dry heat). And we finally get to hear James Earl Jones again.

If you are a Star Wars fan and you don’t like this movie, you’re being too picky, and you need to relax. Have a beer. Or two.

ShareThis