Serendipitously,the very first movie I ever saw. My Dad took me to an evening showing at the Old Mill Theatre in Mountain View (Don't look for it, it's condos now). At the wee young age of four, my ability to discern what is real and what is not hadn't yet cemented. Were these things onscreen really happening? That giant ship zooming above us sure seemed real. And when Darth Vader made his grand appearance, the composition of the shot made the film seem like an extension of the theatre itself. That evil black robot was in the theatre!!!! As with so many kids around the world, Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, and the droids automatically became my heroes. Unfortunately, all this excitements tuckered the hell out of me, and I fell asleep during the last half hour.

Favorite Moment: Cantina Scene. Death Star attack. Cantina Scene. Death Star attack. I choose the rebel assault on the Death Star - possibly the greatest editing job in moviedom.

Relatively speaking, watching Empire was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. Sitting in the dome shaped Century Theatre in San Jose (the largest movie house back in the day), I watched my heroes continually kicked in the ass by the bad guys. The final act was almost too much for a kindergardener to take. Threepio blown to bits! Han frozen in carbonite! Luke's hand a distant memory! All leading up to THAT moment... "I am your father." What?!!! I left the theatre feeling like someone had shot my dog. To continue the emotional roller coaster, my friend's Mom took us to Chuckie Cheese for the first time. We proceeded to spaz out. Oh, what a day.

Favorite Moment: Close race between Yoda's inspirational speech to an X-Wing raising deficient Luke and Luke and Vader igniting their lightsabers for the first time in the Bespin Carbon Freeze Chamber. Lightsabers win!

Hope of seeing the final installment in the trilogy began to fade when my parents informed me tickets might be hard to acquire in the first few days of Jedi's release. So it was to my huge surprise on opening day when they picked me up from my friend Jiffy's house baring the beautiful little slips of paper. Like the first movie, I saw it at Mountain View's Old Mill to a packed house. I was most relieved to see Han wouldn't forever be stuck as a popsicle. The whole movie seemed geared to make you feel good and wrap up all the loose threads of the trilogy. For a kid, having things come full circle is easy on a young mind, but Jedi's Disney-esque slant would be its downfall as I and the rest of my generation grew up and demanded the more darker tones of Empire. Still to this day, I always well up during the Battle of Endor when the Ewok realizes his buddy hasn't survived the laser blast from the Scout Walker.

Favorite Moment: Anything with Jabba rocks, but the final duel between Luke and Vader to the sound of cathedral like choirs in the Emperor's Throne Room is sheer poetry.