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Show EDITOR: RANA LEHR 344-2543 THE DAILY HERALD. VALUE SPEAK > > JOSEPH WALKER King of Crabgrass schooled by a pro andhislil’ Hussy TWENTIETH CENTURY FON Mike. myson-in-law-to-be, is a Stars: Anakin Skywalker Lloyd) is astute and Jake lawncareprofessional. Hehas built a beyondhis years and giveslittle thriving business out of making hint of his ultimate destiny Above, the resolve of Naboo's young Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) is put to the test by an invasion of her peaceful planet that embroils her in intergalactic lawns . well, thrive. I, on the other hand, ama complete amateur in the yard. I never met a lawn I couldn't defoliate. | am King Crabgi Lordofthe Dandelions, photosynthesis in reverse. It isn’t for lack of effort on mypart. | mow the lawn regularly. I water it politics. Below, droids preprare for battle carefully. Every oncein a whileI sprinkle it with weed and feed. But for somereason, I seem to end up doing more harm than good despite my best botanical intentions. Take the edge trimming, for exam- ple. In myview, there is nothing like a well-trimmedlawn. Andthat’s exactly what we have: nothing like a well-trimmedlawn OH,I GETout there with the weed-whacker,and I trim the edges with all my heart and soul. May that’s the problem: I’mjust too passionate about it. I trim with such fer- vor that I usuallyendupgiving my lawnthe agricultural equivalent of a bowl cut. Mikeloves to tease me about my edge-trimming. Heclaimshebrings his new employees byfor a close-up look at what can happen when a weed-whackergets in the wrong hands. During the last round of good- .on natured ribbing, I reminded him that talk is cheap. “If you think you can makethis lawn look anybetter,” I said, “show me.” Sothe other day, he did. He pulled up to our housewith atruck-full of equipment. He waszipping back and forth across our lawn on a brand new, state-of-the-art mowing machinewith the word “Hussy”written on the back =e ia aaa (I had heard himspeakaffectionately ofhis cute,little “Hussy,” but I thought hewasreferring to my daughter). Within 20 minutes the entire lawn was mowed andedged. OK, so maybe hecompleted the task about five times faster thanI can do it. He should befaster; he’s a pro, It's the quality of the work that matters, and the quality of Mike's workis definitely not equal to mine. Not evenclose. The quality ofhis workis so far superior to mine. By ERIC D. SNIDER The Phantom Menace”rep- resents everything Hollywood has forgotten tumes, are classy and high- ed himwiththeperfect opportunity to gloat. After all, he won. He was clearly better in every respect. He had defeated his future father-in-law on his own turf, so to speak, and had therefore earnedtheright to talk smack. But hedidn’t. He just packed up his Hussy, graciously accepted my thanks and went home, leaving me feeling awfully good — about my lawn and about my daughter’s future. Mike taught me something that day, andit didn’t have anything to do with high-tech lawn mowers or weed- By ERIC D. SNIDER The Daily Herald quality, bearing the mark of a filmmaker who hasa clear vision and who demands professionalism. Thereis no wanton violence, nearlyall the casualties are robots who neither bleed nor scream, noris there a single swear word or any hint of sex. So it’s clean and safe to take the kids. So what? Lots of movies are like that. True, and that’s thebrilliance of the “Star Wars” films: They have several lay- ‘Star Wars: EpisodeI The Phantom Menace” great for the family and almost as good as its prede- It’s young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) and Jedi Apprentice ObiWan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) about a near deadly encounter as droid R2-D2 looks on Finally, onthethirdlayer, gray area. It almost seems like a kid could have come weseethat for all their technical superiority and up with these ideas himself. But onthenext layer, we realize how deceptively sim- fine craftsmanship,the “Star Wars” filmsreallyare verysimpleafterall. When youboil them down, they arebasically just “good vs. ple that first layer was. The movies maybe simple andinnocent, but they're not simple-mindedor dumb. evil”stories, the simplest Theyhave the marks of a ers, enjoyable for a variety Youcan win without intimidation. Youcanbe right without belittling. of reasons, both deep and operatic plots andingenious, shallow. well-paced storytelling. someone's face. ON THE SURFACE,all four movies are for kids. The howdirector George Lucas funnyaliens, cool gadgets look simple. He wants the power. and neat spaceships are the sort of things children love. Thereare heroes to cheer and bad guys to boo, with no main attraction to be the fun and excitement, not his Whatdo “The Phantom Menace” andother “Star Andyoucanbe a professional without putting down the amateurs. Joseph Walker is a nationally syndicated columnist wholives in American Fork a treat for the eyes and a pick-me-upfor the The good: Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), left, tells whackers. It had to do with dignity, grace and cl You canbethe best without being in ntom Menace’ earns about good filmmaking. a thick green carpet ’s extraordinary work present- op its place among ‘Stars’ “Star Wars: Episode I — side my sidewalk. even, and theedges are beautifully fo The Daily Herald It has memorable characters, an engaging story and a powerful theme. Production values, from the musical score to the cos- MY LAWN is now smooth and manicured, a: > a4 themeanywriter has ever conceived grownupwith twisting, IT IS PRECISELYthat simplicity that makes them Part of the geniusis in work andthat gives them their mythical, magical manages to make thefilms considerable talent as a See FORCE, C2 filmmakerandstoryteller, e soul. Like the three “Star Wars" films beforeit, it has afeeling ofchild-like won der andfantasy, groundedin a strong senseof right and wrong, that makes for a fantastic cinematic experience. But enough film-critic talk. “The Phantom Menace” is freakin’ awesome. Director/writer George Lucas has not gone out on too many limbshere. He knowsthat with the well deservedsuccess of his first three “Star Wars” films (actually parts IV, V and VI in the story), there's no rea- son to changestarships midstream, Whichisn’t to say “The Phantom Menace”(rated PG for actionviolence) is just a re-hashof stuff we've already seen, becauseit’s not. There are familiar ideas andscenarios light-saber wackyalien crea ete. but to say Lu is merely stealing from himself would be to disregard all the imagina tion andsheercreativity that are apparent in this film AS WEJOIN the story, the Galactic Republic is on the verge of war with the greedy Trade Federation, whichis about to invade the small planet of Naboo. ‘Two Jedi Knights — Qui-G Jinn (Liam Neeson) : Obi-WanKenobi (Ewan McGtegor) — aresent to negotiate with the Federation, but whenthat fails, they head down to Naboo to warn young Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman). After meeting thebuffoonish Jar-Jar (Ahmed Best), the three get the queen and headfor the planet of Coruscant, where the Republic Senate can hopefully do something about the Federation. See PHANTOM, C2 |