Word: craftsmanship
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...Lucas extravagant ideas were right: Star Wars is a kids movie. This is not supposed to be an insult. It is not childish or poorly made, terms which could easily be leveled at hundreds of adults' movies. In fact, it's rather mature given its subject matter, and the craftsmanship is impeccable. But the elements of the story itself--a princess in distress, evil villains bent on galactic domination, space bandits and virtuous knights--these are the elements of legends and fairy tales. They are the elements of childhood...
True feminist points, though, might go to Otherwise Engaged, which, while no paragon of craftsmanship, takes on the subject of female commitment fear, not a topic feverishly discussed in McCall's. The novel deconstructs a year in the life of Eve, a successful ad executive, as she prepares to marry at 36. She has dated her beau for four years. All along she has thought happiness would come in a ring box, but once Eve gets her gem, all she can do is panic over the foreverness of it all--aren't all married people miserable? It is comforting...
...means of exquisite decoration, was underwritten by the Japanese convention of giving gifts--as tribute, tokens of loyalty, signs of gratitude. The gift was a much more important social symbol in Japan than in the West, and the circulation of luxury objects fostered a level of design and craftsmanship that was, by modern Western standards, almost unimaginably high...
What doesn't work so well is the storytelling, traditionally a hallmark of Disney-style cartoon craftsmanship. The film lacks creative exuberance, any side pockets of joy. All those evangelists and rabbis who were consulted during the picture's gestation must have weighed like a rock on the filmmakers' impulse to soar. Artistic care gives way to religious caution, and the picture sometimes looks starched, stodgy. Except for the When You Believe anthem, Stephen Schwartz's tunes mostly bring not buoyancy but ballast to the proceedings. While Jeff Goldblum is good as a fretful Aaron, the rest of an exemplary...
...Boston cabbie, is strolling down the loggia of the Doges Palace, Venice's famous landmark. Across the way he can see the city's other famous sites--the Clock Tower and the Campanile, the Bridge of Sighs and the Ca D'Oro. He stops to marvel at the craftsmanship of a carved quatrefoil atop one arch. A chiseled demon leers down at him. The 65-year-old Adelson mirrors the expression as he waves his arms at the surroundings. "You feel you're standing in the middle of St. Mark's Square, don't you?" he exclaims...