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Reviews
A Different World (1987)
Memories
After being a Black college student during the Different World years (1987 - 1992), catching these shows on Nick at Night nowadays, brings back great memories.
I remember wearing a pair of Dawayne Wayne flip-up glasses to class (even though I didn't need glasses).
I remember nit-pickin the authenticity of the shows fraternity scenes both before and after I pledged myself.
It's hysterical to see episodes from the first season and how dry they are compared to the 4th and 5th seasons. Marissa Tomei is one of my favorite modern actresses, and an Oscar winner to boot, but she was totally miscast in the season 1 episodes.
As far as the redirection of the show, after Season 1, I think Cos realized that kids weren't interested in seeing his college experiences from the early 60s, and wisely decided to turn over the reins to Debbie Allen, who modernized the series to include issues that probably would've been considered too controversial or ethnic just 5 years earlier.
Who could forget the Hate Crime/Homecoming issue that inventively looked at stereotypes and ethnic violence from both perspectives? How about the amount of fine extras in the classroom and Pit scenes? Based on just the guest musical appearances on the show, I think Different World set the standard for any show of it's era or since. Digital Underground, Envogue, Stevie Wonder, Boys II Men, Tupac, it was a Who's Who of R&B and Hip Hop from the Late 80s early 90s.
The greatest strength of the show was that it portrayed the Black college community as diverse individuals and not caricatures. There were rich kids (Witley/Ron), kids emerging of poverty (Nina), and working class kids(Kim/Dawayne), all making up an interesting mural of African-American college experiences.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Shake yourselves people
I am a lifelong Star Wars fan (the first movie came out when I was 9) and I understand all true fans have very high expectations for this series, but come on people!!!! THey're Just Movies!!! I have read post after post on this site that has lambasted George Lucas for everything from meglomaniacal control of the movie's script to his gratuitous use of too much CGI.
First things first, I like all true Star Wars fans have many ideas about what should and shouldn't happen in to the characters in the Star Wars Universe, but the realist in all of us should realize that while we can all sit back and play Monday morning quarterback with the plot of ROTS, this is a luxury George Lusas does not have. He had one shot to develop a storyline that could adequately detail Anakin Skywalker's fall from grace. While all the amateur screenwriters who saw the movie are picking and poking at the plot lines and complaining about how the movie wasn't paced correctly, they need to realize that a two hour film basically allows the director 70 pages of dialogue to play with to convey the plot to the audience. This being the case, Lucas may have wanted to show a more gradual progression of Anakin to Vadar but time wouldn't permit. Like most fans who have posted comments on this page I think he missed opportunities to more gradually detail Anakin's conversion in the first two movies, but once again this is idle conjecture.
Secondly, in regard to the look of ROTS. While I am a big fan of the first trilogy, I took a look at all three when I purchased the DVD release recently, and I realized they didn't age very well. The breathtaking special effects that wowed us in 1977 don't translate very well to the Computer Generated savy audience of 2005. Lucas and ILM have done amazing work on the look of the 2nd trilogy and shouldn't be condemned for making the movie look too good.
All in all the movie is a well crafted, if not great, close to the Star Wars series. Everyone who has yet to see it should go to see it. It may not be the Space Opera Opus that some hardcore fans were waiting for but all in all it is a good time at the cinema......and remember.....it's just a movie.