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Post by Scott on Jan 23, 2017 21:19:29 GMT -5
Episode 8 title was revealed yesterday.
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Post by geneweigel on Jan 23, 2017 23:19:09 GMT -5
I was kind of thinking it was some kind of reveal but later I saw someone mention its in the opening crawl of FORCE AWAKENS:
All I know is that I had better see a Yoda ghost or it'll break continuity.
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Post by GRWelsh on Jan 24, 2017 9:19:29 GMT -5
Episode VIII: "Talks like Yoda, Luke does"
Maybe not, but I'm sure we'll hear "There is no try" at least once.
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Post by GRWelsh on Dec 20, 2017 9:14:09 GMT -5
Okay, I saw this and it had a few great moments, but I didn't think it was a great movie. A few great moments don't make a movie great. It had pacing issues, a sub plot that slowed the movie down and seemed useless, awkward humor that didn't feel "Star Wars" at all (felt like they were trying to be "Guardians of the Galaxy"), some character decisions I didn't agree with, lots of plot convenience and stuff that didn't make any sense. In short, I can see why there is a huge discrepancy between critic reactions and audience reactions (93% versus 55%). You know what? It is time for my "Star Wars" fandom to end. It just doesn't feel like my "Star Wars" anymore, and I can't shake this feeling that I'm watching fan fiction that I simply disagree with.
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Post by geneweigel on Dec 20, 2017 10:09:48 GMT -5
That bad, huh?
Sorry, I had to throw something STAR WARS out there.
I want to see it to review ASAP but I might have to put it off.
I can't believe the Alien series has eclipsed Star Wars in my mind. That is weird.
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Post by GRWelsh on Dec 20, 2017 12:12:23 GMT -5
Don't get me wrong. I didn't hate it. It is more like ambivalence realizing I just don't love this anymore. It feels like reading fan fiction by someone who has a different take on the Star Wars Universe, that I'm just not into. "Oh, is that how you see Luke? I don't see him that way." In this case, the only thing that makes the other person 'right' is that they had enough money to buy the intellectual property. But it still doesn't feel 'right' to me.
To be fair, I should say I felt that way at times watching the prequels, also, even though Lucas himself wrote them.
"Midichlorians?!? That's not how the Force works!"
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foster1941
Warlock
Duke of California, Earl of Los Angeles, Knight Bachelor
Posts: 475
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Post by foster1941 on Dec 20, 2017 13:13:54 GMT -5
I saw it on Sunday and didn't like it. I gave it a C- in my movie journal, and in retrospect that was probably too generous. It was really long for no good reason - the diversionary subplot in the middle was truly pointless, in that it ultimately had no effect on either the A or B plots and just wasted ~30 minutes of our time, stretching the running time out from a reasonable 2 hours to a wearying 2.5 (the longest running-time of any Star Wars movie to date - though a couple of the comparably-boring prequels come close). I also didn't like the story developments, the new characters, or the tonally-awkward humor ("Guardians of the Galaxy"-esque is a good way to describe it). I kind of understand what they're trying to go for with Kylo Ren but I don't think they're pulling it off - either because Adam Driver isn't a very good actor, or was miscast, or the role was just badly-conceived. I don't find him menacing, or sexy, or at all compelling or interesting. A lot of people don't like the movie's depiction of Luke Skywalker but I actually didn't mind that - for me his scenes made sense and were the best (only good) part of the movie.
I really enjoyed Rogue One last year and felt that between it and The Force Awakens that the franchise was back on solid footing so I went into this with high hopes that were badly dashed. I'm still guardedly looking forward to next year's Young Han Solo movie, because he's my favorite character and I know that screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan understands him (though whether the new actor can effectively fill Harrison Ford's shoes is yet to be seen), but am honestly not excited at all about Episode IX. I'm sure I'll see it, just like I did the second and third prequels, but not with any excitement or enthusiasm :/
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Post by geneweigel on Dec 20, 2017 14:04:07 GMT -5
Yeah, we grew with the original and it later became all about the cult of Lucas who was a demagogue disguised as a genius all those years. The Alec Guinness interview post-Star Wars in 1977 where he says George let him fix the dialogue is telling. Focus on that when considering the myth of Lucas "writing the novel" which we later found out was based on a working screenplay already with doctored Obi-wan/Force by Guinness. I can't say that Guinness would have approved of the prequels.
In the prequels, what about the shadow of Jim Henson through Frank Oz? Its like Henson's ideal progressive puppetry legacy is almost completely ignored with the Yoda mystique getting flushed with a shoddy puppet in a bad setting. That is the heart of whats wrong with the prequels right there. It was as if Yoda was at 7 ELEVEN behind the counter. We can imagine that but why should we have had to? They should have continued his whole nature frog thing. Another is the Boba/Clone/Stormtrooper merge thing too big, too weird and too simplified.
All that said about the prequels, in the sequels where was the equivalent "Alec Guinness" figure in Episode 7? I thought Van Sydow was going to step up to the plate as some kind of mystique builder instead we got ST:TNG's Guinan 2.0. CGI bad idea. I think Ford carried the movie but his (altered?) character was not a good focus. The PC feel of the last two SW films is worse than the prequels because I'm seeing kids suffer finding a relatable toy to fixate on. The jedi girl, Stormtrooper dropout and pilot guy toys are just not cool. The toys look like doofusses. Lando was cool. Wedge was not cool. You don't make a movie about General Madine, Wedge and Mon Mothma. Thats the feeling that I'm getting.
Overall, I want to see the new one regardless.
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Post by GRWelsh on Dec 22, 2017 13:20:21 GMT -5
They really did waste Von Sydow. I think the whole theme of the new Star Wars is "missed opportunities." They aren't terrible movies, but there are some no-brainers they've completely missed. Like why not have Luke, Leia and Han on screen together one last time, since you had all three actors coming back for Ep VII? Now that opportunity is missed forever since Han is dead, and Carrie Fisher is dead in real life. Ep VIII is slightly better in that regard, but only slightly. There are mysteries that were raised in Ep VII that just get brushed aside in Ep VIII. Why invest any thought into these movies, if they're going to do that? It no longer feels like an artistic vision, it now feels like product that is flashy but not well thought out. There were some ideas in Ep VIII that I did like, but that didn't seem fully developed or consistent with everything else. And the way Ep VIII ends, it makes me wonder -- where do they go from here? The villains don't feel that menacing anymore. Instead of a big build up to the villains seeming stronger than ever in EP IX, they now seem weaker than ever.
EPISODE IX: I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS FRANCHISE!
One other thought about the humor in the new Star Wars movies -- it often works at the time, but at the cost of undermining the sense of menace they're trying to establish. Like in Ep VII when Han said about the Starkiller Base, "Oh you can always blow those up!" it got a laugh from everyone in the theater, including from me, but it does make the villains seem like buffoons (remember in Ep IV it was "Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!" because Luke did the nearly-impossible). Or when Poe was trolling Hux in the new movie... Or Hux pretty much in every scene throughout the new movie -- we get to laugh at his expense! But also at the expense of the sense of danger the First Order is supposed to represent.
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Post by Scott on Dec 29, 2017 22:25:01 GMT -5
I saw it today. I really liked it. There are a few things that I hated right away, and more might pop up the longer I think about it, but my initial impression is mostly positive.
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