`PHANTOM' CAPTURES CROWDS WITH DAZZLE.Byline: Marla Matzer Daily News Staff Writer It's gotten mixed reviews from the press, but ``Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace'' is a hit with those who count: paying customers. Nearly everyone who offered comments or was overheard talking about the movie Wednesday after early screenings at Valley theaters was strongly upbeat about the picture, and said they'd recommend it. Even John Larotonda, a 27-year-old auto parts Auto parts are components of automobiles. They mainly are, in alphabetic order (only car specific articles or articles with car section):
Other workers were lucky enough to have bosses who were ``Star Wars'' fans and willing to let the machine pick up calls for a few hours Wednesday morning. ``We left a message that we were in a staff meeting,'' said Hilton Block, 40, of West Hills. The travel firm promotions executive pronounced the movie ``better than the original. . . . I think if the original three movies hadn't come out (and people didn't have inflated expectations), everybody would be completely blown away.'' Block's co-worker, Brad Kahn of Van Nuys, also gave the film an enthusiastic thumbs up. ``I had heard that visually it was exciting, but that the plot let you down,'' said Kahn, 48, a marketing vice president for the travel firm. ``But I thought the plot was just enough. . . . It set everything up and left me eager to see the next two. The pod pod, in botany pod or legume, dehiscent fruit of a member of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). At maturity the pod splits along its two seams and releases the enclosed seeds. race was absolutely brilliant.'' Some Wednesday morning patrons liked it so much they were already on their second viewing. ``You have to see it again to catch a lot of things,'' explained Joe Menendez, 29, outside the General Cinemas Sherman Oaks. He'd been at the theater for the 12:01 a.m. showing, and returned for the 11 a.m. show. ``When I first saw it, a lot of people were yelling yell v. yelled, yell·ing, yells v.intr. To cry out loudly, as in pain, fright, surprise, or enthusiasm. v.tr. To utter or express with a loud cry. See Synonyms at shout. n. and screaming,'' said the Studio City native, who works in the Spanish-language television business. ``You missed what they were saying. Plus, you just want to see it again because it's such a great movie.'' Though a majority of fans who lined up weeks in advance for tickets were young men, the audiences Wednesday were quite diverse. Women seemed to like the movie just as much as men. ``I saw (the original) `Star Wars,' and I wasn't too thrilled,'' admitted Sherrie Dresser, 24, in front of the Winnetka 20. ``But I saw this one and said, Hey! It was really good. ``It definitely exceeded my expectations.'' Dresser, a buyer from Granada Hills, was joined by the several other people from her small sales office, including Gabi Breard, 36, of Winnetka. Breard stressed that the movie had something for everyone. ``First it was sci-fi and cool, then it was fun, then it was touching. It had everything going. You got excited, you got scared . . . it was just fun,'' Breard said. At the General Cinemas Sherman Oaks, Pilar Pilar strong-minded female leader of a group of guerrillas in the Spanish Civil War. [Am. Lit.: Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls] See : Female Power Pilar Chavando agreed with that assessment. ``It has a human side, story and action. It fires you up, but it also gives you warmth,'' said the part-time Internet entrepreneur An Internet Entrepreneur is a person that engages in business on the internet and helps to shape the future of business on the internet by being an innovator. One who is able to recognize opportunity and administer resources to take advantage of the opportunities. and mother of three. While some were won over, others like Jason Walker Jason Walker is a male vocalist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania known for his soulful diva-like vocals. He scored a #1 track on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 2004 with "Foolish Mind Games" and in 2005 with "Set It Free. of Venice went in completely psyched for the movie. Walker, a 23-year-old actor and student at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , came in costume as Darth Maul Darth Maul is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He was introduced in . Biography As portrayed in the Expanded Universe novel , Maul was kidnapped by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious in infancy, he was once a Jedi at young age but was kidnapped by , the new film's villain VILLAIN., An epithet used to cast contempt and contumely on the person to whom it is applied. 2. To call a man a villain in a letter written to a third person, will entitle him to an action without proof of special damages. 1 Bos. & Pull. 331. . ``It took me two hours to do my makeup makeup In the performing arts, material used by actors for cosmetic purposes and to help create the characters they play. Not needed in Greek and Roman theatre because of the use of masks, makeup was used in the religious plays of medieval Europe, in which the angels' faces . I got up at 4 a.m.,'' Walker admitted. Though he's obviously a fan, ``I didn't go into it with really high expectations, because of all of the hype hype 1 Slang n. 1. Excessive publicity and the ensuing commotion: the hype surrounding the murder trial. 2. . I went in with a clear, open mind, and I loved it. The story was intense and I loved the special effects special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. .'' And, of course, the kids loved it . . . even though, or maybe especially because, it was on a school day. Mark Ambord took daughters Caitlin and Paige out of school for the day because ``some things are that important,'' he said with a laugh. ``I thought it was really neat. It was a lot better than I expected,'' said Caitlin, 12. ``The first movie just opens up with these characters that we know nothing about, where this one explains what their history is.'' Seven-year-old Paige also judged the movie a hit, and picked out the scene that seems to be the favorite of critics everywhere. ``I liked the scene where the boy got into the ship and was flying all around,'' Paige said. FEELING THE FORCE With its estimated $42 million opening, ``Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace'' shattered shat·ter v. shat·tered, shat·ter·ing, shat·ters v.tr. 1. To cause to break or burst suddenly into pieces, as with a violent blow. 2. a. the one-day domestic box office record held by ``The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Day of Day of Movie release week date Daily gross 1. ``Phantom Menace'' First day Wed. 5/19/99 $42.0 million x 2. ``The Lost World'' Third day Sun. 5/25/97 $26.1 million 3. ``The Lost World'' Second day Sat. 5/24/97 $24.4 million 4. ``The Lost World'' First day Fri. 5/23/97 $21.6 million 5. ``Men In Black'' Fourth day Sat. 7/5/97 $20.2 million 6. ``Batman Forever'' First day Fri. 6/16/95 $20.0 million x - Estimated Source: Exhibitor Relations Co. Daily News CAPTION(S): 5 photos, chart PHOTO (1 -- color) Trent Olsen, left, Michael Quiroz, Kenny Brashear and David Guttman took the school day off to see ``The Phantom Menace MENACE. A threat; a declaration of an intention to cause evil to happen to another. 2. When menaces to do an injury to another have been made, the party making them may, in general, be held to bail to keep the peace; and, when followed by any inconvenience or .'' Tom Mendoza Tom Mendoza joined Network Appliance, Inc. in 1994 and has served as its President since 2000. Mr. Mendoza has more than 31 years as a high technology executive and has served in an advisory capacity on the board of directors of Netscreen (acquired by Juniper), Rhapsody (acquired by (2 -- color) LAROTONDA (3 -- color) DRESSER (4 -- color) BLOCK (5 -- color) no caption (scene from film) Chart: Feeling the force (see text) |
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