Thunderdome 2015 » Printable Version of Topic » Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Forum: Movies, Television, Books (Does anyone still read?)
Topic: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
started by: Leisher

Posted by Leisher on Nov. 26 2014,07:47

Probably should have its own thread...

< Trailer debuts this weekend. >

Posted by Malcolm on Nov. 26 2014,08:00

Better than the working title, "It doesn't matter, we know you're paying to see it because it's not Lucas. No really, we could take a shit on the screen and you'd still give us cash."

Wouldn't fit on the posters.

Alternatively, it could have been The Force Ewok-ens, giving us the first Ewok Jedi. Or ...

... The Force A-Walkens.

Posted by Vince on Nov. 28 2014,10:17

Saw the trailer with a Star Wars fan coworker. We're both unimpressed. For all the faults of the prequels, when you saw the trailers there was a sense of magic to them. Queen what's-her-face had shots of the palace and swamps and you were intrigued to see these places. Even the pod races on Tatooine looked new and interesting. This all seems recycled at this point. Maybe the next trailer will spark something that makes it look worth seeing.

Posted by GORDON on Nov. 28 2014,10:38

(Vince @ Nov. 28 2014,13:17)

QUOTE

Here it is.

< http://youtu.be/erLk59H86ww >

Personally, liked it. Some very compelling imagery. The prequel trailers ended up showing the style over substance, hopefully, this is the opposite.

Posted by Vince on Nov. 28 2014,10:42

I guess that's my problem. At this point there's no evidence of either.

Posted by Leisher on Nov. 28 2014,11:12

I was underwhelmed as well.

Most of those shots could have been fan made stuff and they were badly out of context.

The Falcon was cool, and I liked the new lightsaber even though it made no sense.

Posted by Stranger on Nov. 28 2014,11:45

I couldn't tell much from the trailer. But I do like that it wasn't all done in CGI, much better in my opinion.

Posted by GORDON on Nov. 28 2014,12:04

I like the X-Wings skimming over the lake.

Posted by GORDON on Nov. 28 2014,12:54

I saw someone describe this trailer as, "You will either geek-enjoy it, or nerd-hate it."

Posted by Vince on Nov. 28 2014,13:31

I don't hate it. It just didn't generate any desire to view the film in me. I guess it was a trailer fail.

Posted by Leisher on Nov. 28 2014,13:59

(Vince @ Nov. 28 2014,16:31)

QUOTE

I don't hate it. It just didn't generate any desire to view the film in me. I guess it was a trailer fail.

Exactly.

No hate here either. I just don't think it was great.

I forgive them though because we're still a year away. I expect we'll get better trailers through the year.

Posted by TheCatt on Nov. 28 2014,13:59

Wait, stormtroopers are people?

Posted by thibodeaux on Nov. 28 2014,14:56

All I got to say is:

< yeaaaaaaaaaah >

Posted by TPRJones on Nov. 28 2014,21:35

It makes me want to see it. But then I loved what JJ did with Star Trek, so I think I sort of know what to expect. It'll rely a little to heavily on cool action sequences, but it'll have enough character and story to make it still be worthwhile. It will be something that the last three to come out failed miserably at: it'll be fun.

QUOTE

Wait, stormtroopers are people?

Yes. They weren't clones in the original trilogy, you know. After the clone wars they started recruiting regular people. By the time of the original trilogy, there would have been very few actual clones left in the ranks of the stormtroopers, if any. They'd be a bit old for it by then.

Besides, if they were still all clones, then being "a bit short for a stormtrooper" would have been way too much of a giveaway, don't you think?

Posted by TheCatt on Nov. 28 2014,22:35

As a kid I always thought the stormtroopers were robots/machines. Probably because as a kid, I also thought it said OIL on the back of their costume, and you never saw the people underneath.

Posted by Paul on Nov. 30 2014,07:19

< Star Wars: Episode VII Trailer - George Lucas' Special Edition >

Posted by GORDON on Nov. 30 2014,08:09

(Paul @ Nov. 30 2014,10:19)

QUOTE

< Star Wars: Episode VII Trailer - George Lucas' Special Edition >

I chuckled.

Not many people more disrespected than George Lucas, these days.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 01 2014,21:56

Posted by Troy on Dec. 03 2014,07:10

Fuck the haters, this is like Star Trek: Into Darkness with the same bad guy and same director right?

It's not going to suck. It will probably be awesome.

e: my wife and I came to this realization last night after letting the trailer bake for a week in our subconscious

e: timeframe is PAST Thrawn right? So no chance Cumberpatch will be blue as fuck?

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 03 2014,07:23

(Troy @ Dec. 03 2014,09:10)

QUOTE

There is no Thrawn.

Posted by Vince on Dec. 03 2014,07:50

(Troy @ Dec. 03 2014,09:10)

QUOTE

Fuck the haters, this is like Star Trek: Into Darkness with the same bad guy and same director right?

It's not going to suck. It will probably be awesome.

Eh... the Star Trek reboot was such a convoluted mess in the first movie that I've never watched the second. Horribly dumbed down to a simple action shoot-em-up. Which is fine if that's what you want.

One of the things I never understood was how Lucas was getting slammed on the trade treaty stuff in Ep. 1. It was clumsy in how it was put forward, but the economy is almost always at the center of government takeovers. As usual with Lucas, the vision was fine. The execution sucked.

My understanding is as far as Disney is concerned, the movies and I think the animated Clone Wars are canon, but all the books are not (any more).

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 03 2014,08:04

(Vince @ Dec. 03 2014,09:50)

QUOTE

Eh... the Star Trek reboot was such a convoluted mess in the first movie that I've never watched the second. Horribly dumbed down to a simple action shoot-em-up.

I strongly disagree with your premise. The Star Trek reboot is the most subtle subversion of an existing intellectual property that has ever been made. It's quite possibly entirely on accident, but if it is on purpose then it borders or remarkable genius. I explained in detail in a post in the #2 spoiler thread, < here >.

I doubt his Star Wars reboot will be quite so ingenuous (accidentally or on purpose), but it's bound to be good.

Posted by Vince on Dec. 03 2014,09:02

(TPRJones @ Dec. 03 2014,10:04)

QUOTE

I think it was both intentional and unintentional. I think this was a "I'm doing it my way, so screw you". For the life of me I can think of no creative reason to destroy Vulcan in that movie. I really think the only reason Abrams did that was so people wouldn't expect Vulcans in the reboot and he wouldn't be either confined by established canon (the time split would not erase thousands of years of their culture) or having to listen to the bitching from fans when he didn't stick to established canon. Plus he got to turn an interesting character (Spock) into a more human character rather than a more Vulcan character. On a ship full of humans, that came across to me more like someone who didn't want to have to work on developing (or in this case dealing with an existing) alien personality. Abrams made a lot of changes in the first movie which all seemed to point to his not wanting to let thinking get in the way of his creativity. Look at the way the crew ended up on the ship as her crew. Something a real military would have resolved at the first opportunity.

One thing I came to realize from Lost was that people invested a lot of time end energy and emotion into that series and Abrams ended up getting a lot of credit for being a lot smarter than he's evidenced himself to be. He's really good at dangling threads and pulling you in, but he doesn't seem to be able to weave the threads into anything meaningful.

In some ways he reminds me of Kubrick except not as good. I was amazed for years after having watched 2001 thinking that I was missing something. I always felt like all the pieces were there and Kubrick got me to the end and showed me the "reveal" and was like "ta-da!" and I'm feeling like I'm not smart enough to put the pieces together to get it. Abrams reminds me a lot of Kubrick in his style of presenting all these threads, but you get to the end and there's no reveal and most of the threads didn't mean anything or go anywhere.

Don't get me wrong, I like a little mystery in my stories. Everything doesn't have to be explained. But often Abrams seems to add stuff to a story because in the moment it's interesting but with no vision of the ending.

Sorry, I'm doing a streaming consciousness thing here... His stories seem to end abruptly and with little satisfaction to the story. He weaves a good first act. The second act is a decent vehicle for keeping interest for elements in the first act alive, and then by the third act he's looking for a way to wrap things up without ever having given it any thought while he was actually writing the first two acts.

I think someone can pick up an established property and do it their way and still be respectful of the original. I think this latest reboot of the Planet of The Apes is a great example. I think it takes a lot of work and a lot of love for the original to be able to pull that off. I don't think Abrams has that for Star Trek. We'll have to see about Star Wars, but from the first teaser, I don't feel any of the magic that made me want to see the Lucasarts films.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 03 2014,10:24

Oh, no, Abrams admitted from the start that he had never even watched Star Trek before he was asked to be director of the reboot. He said he was always a Star Wars nerd. Pissed off a lot of fans when he said that and it explains many of this alterations.

That's part of what I liked about it, though. Roddenberry's utopian future needed a good dismantling, as it's always been kind of dumb IMO.

Posted by Vince on Dec. 03 2014,10:35

(TPRJones @ Dec. 03 2014,12:24)

QUOTE

That's part of what I liked about it, though. Roddenberry's utopian future needed a good dismantling, as it's always been kind of dumb IMO.

I don't disagree with this part. Part of the reason I stopped watching TNG (though I didn't realize it at the time) was that Roddenberry wouldn't allow ANY friction or disagreement among the crew. That was part of what made the original so good. It was Bones at one end and Spock at the other and Kirk being the bridge sometimes leaning more one way, sometimes the other. The interaction of the different personalities was what made the series. That was the heart of it, I think.

Posted by Stranger on Dec. 11 2014,09:34

This seems appropriate.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 29 2014,14:27

A scene from the new movie...

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 21 2015,11:35

< Lucas > gives new Star Wars flick a ringing endorsement.

QUOTE

The [ideas] that I sold to Disney, they came up to the decision that they didn't really want to do those. So they made up their own. So it's not the ones that I originally wrote.

Posted by GORDON on Jan. 21 2015,12:05

And that means since Disney bought his horrible ideas, he can never let us know what they were.

Keep that in mind next time you think to bash Disney. They took one for the team.

Posted by TheCatt on Jan. 21 2015,12:07

(Malcolm @ Jan. 21 2015,14:35)

QUOTE

< Lucas > gives new Star Wars flick a ringing endorsement.

QUOTE

The [ideas] that I sold to Disney, they came up to the decision that they didn't really want to do those. So they made up their own. So it's not the ones that I originally wrote.

YES!

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 21 2015,12:10

QUOTE

Keep that in mind next time you think to bash Disney. They took one for the team.

We'll see what they do with the franchise. Can they make it worse than George? Probably not. Can they make it different but just as bad in a new way? Oh yeah. Everything Disney has distinct vibe emanating from it. It doesn't matter how many layers of "cool" you wrap it in, < it simply falls flat >.

Posted by Vince on Jan. 21 2015,16:24

(GORDON @ Jan. 21 2015,14:05)

QUOTE

And that means since Disney bought his horrible ideas, he can never let us know what they were.

Keep that in mind next time you think to bash Disney. They took one for the team.

Eh... Disney is fully capable of their very own horrible ideas. Go back and look at what they were doing with Toy Story before Steve Jobs threatened to pull the plug on it unless they returned full control back over to Pixar. They ended up shit canning half a movie's worth of recorded dialog before going back to the original story line. At one point Tom Hanks looked up from the mic during one recording session and said, "Okay, this Woody character is kind of a dick."

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 21 2015,16:42

QUOTE

They took one for the team.

Taking one for the team would've been buying it and handing it over to someone like < this > with few to no strings attached. They bought it for themselves to earn cash. I'm not deluding myself into thinking art or creativity has any place in the equation. It invites acquiescence to this

or this

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 16 2015,11:33

New teaser trailer. Very not bad.

Posted by TPRJones on Apr. 16 2015,12:26

That was clearly made by someone that understands more obscure movie-making concepts, like character and plot.

I am now officially excited.

Even old Han looks like it might work out.

Posted by thibodeaux on Apr. 16 2015,14:18

"Hey Charlie Brown, wanna kick this football?"

Posted by TPRJones on Apr. 16 2015,14:30

Yeah, I know.

But this time there's no Lucas involved. Right?

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 16 2015,14:40

As I've said from the beginning, there is absolutely nowhere for this franchise to go but up, and killing Lucas was the smartest move they could have made.

Posted by Vince on Apr. 17 2015,07:16

The distorted Darth Vader mask look a LOT like Arcane in hell in the Swamp Thing comics during the Moore stint back in the late 80's.

And I found it humorous that the x-wing scene over the water started looking more like the spoof from the first trailer "If Lucas had made SW7" trailer.

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 17 2015,07:30

I made that trashed Star Destroyer my wallpaper.

Posted by Vince on Apr. 17 2015,07:35

That was a cool shot.

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 17 2015,07:37

Lack of cratering and crushed ship suggests to me that it made a somewhat-controlled atmospheric entry.

I am imagining Master Jedi Luke Skywalker pulling it out of orbit with the fucking Force while the guys on the bridge are slamming it into full reverse saying fuck fuck fuck Fuck Fuck FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK

And the problem is, whatever reasoning there is for it in the movie wont be that awesome.

Posted by Troy on Apr. 17 2015,07:51

fappin'

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 17 2015,09:10

Right?

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 17 2015,09:32

Looks great.

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 17 2015,09:34

Disney stock value has gone up $2 Billion since the trailer was released.

< http://www.itv.com/news....trailer >

No pressure, JJ.

Posted by TheCatt on Apr. 18 2015,07:16

How I feel about this thread....

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 18 2015,08:38

You are.

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 19 2015,21:52

Not sure if this has been covered here, but < this might be a spoiler >.

You have to admit, it'd be the right move.

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 19 2015,22:08

And now he can also be like 75.

Posted by Troy on Apr. 20 2015,06:29

I remember reading the short stories where he lived, and like mentally communicated with the sarlacc, and I think the sarlacc digested most of his armor or something along those lines.

Posted by Malcolm on Apr. 20 2015,07:25

(Troy @ Apr. 20 2015,08:29)

QUOTE

I remember reading the short stories where he lived, and like mentally communicated with the sarlacc, and I think the sarlacc digested most of his armor or something along those lines.

It wasn't the sarlaac. It was some other dude the sarlaac had eaten aeons ago trying to fuck with Fett. Didn't end well for him.

Posted by Vince on Apr. 20 2015,07:27

(Leisher @ Apr. 19 2015,23:52)

QUOTE

Not sure if this has been covered here, but < this might be a spoiler >.

You have to admit, it'd be the right move.

That would be a hard sell. Not the bringing him back, because the fans like him... l but doing it in a way that doesn't make it look like a joke.

I think people are trying too hard to read stuff into things and find "clues" and generally overthinking stuff. They may be right, but I've given up on giving most movie makers that much credit.

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 20 2015,08:08

I think the spoiler is pretty obvious now, so I will openly discuss the possibility here.

Isn't he a clone or the original for the clones? Or is he the son of the guy...that sounds more familiar... Was that Lucas or Zahn canon? Point being, they could do a clone scenario to get him out. I hope they don't though as that'd be cheap and stupid.

I would prefer they do something like: He was in the Sarlaac pit, but as it keeps folks alive to slowly digest them, its fluids actually have some regenerative properties to them. So due to those fluids combined with his armor, he was able to stay alive. Meanwhile, the fluids' properties kept him from aging, like Han in the Carbonite. He eventually figured a way out and now is hell bent on getting revenge on Solo.

Posted by Vince on Apr. 20 2015,08:33

He was an unmodified clone of the original bounty hunter donor for the clone project. Janga Fett or something like that. Boba was unmodified so he would age normally (the clone soldiers grew up at an accelerated speed to be ready for battle) and was raised as Janga's son.

Posted by Malcolm on Apr. 20 2015,08:37

Bah, too much exposition.

"Holy shit, Fett, how'd you get out?"

"My hate kept me alive."

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 20 2015,09:20

QUOTE

Bah, too much exposition.

So credit Stephen King as a writer.

He's getting a solo film. No reason it can't be covered in that.

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 20 2015,09:59

I just linked < the trailer for Star Wars Battlefront >, a new game, and it looks awesome.

Pay close attention to around the 2:12 mark... It's relevant.

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 20 2015,12:33

That's the last second of the vid.

Posted by TPRJones on Apr. 21 2015,10:17

When I watch the trailer and see Han Solo I get that feeling like coming home after being away for a very long time, so long you had even forgotten what home was like.

I have 100% bought into the hype. I am ready for more Star Wars.

Posted by Malcolm on Apr. 21 2015,10:25

QUOTE

I am ready for more Star Wars.

You might be waiting until the Reagan defense plan gets picked up again.

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 21 2015,12:41

(GORDON @ Apr. 20 2015,15:33)

QUOTE

That's the last second of the vid.

I meant 1:47. Sorry.

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 22 2015,06:23

Let me know when you watch it again Gordon. It specifically addresses something you were talking about in the trailer for the new film.

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 22 2015,09:50

Well, it looks like the game will have lots of battles from the original trilogy, according to the trailer, so there's no problem with Boba Fett appearing. I mean seriously, if he is going to be back for the new movies, will he still be badass at the age of 80? Wasn't he a little older than Han Solo? Maybe the cloning process extended his lifespan because he had to take lots of drugs to make his cells better.

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 22 2015,11:22

You know when Boba Fett appears? That's when I told you to watch, but not to see Fett...

Keep looking. It's really quick.

Posted by GORDON on Apr. 22 2015,11:41

Ahhhh, back there.

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 22 2015,18:47

No clue on how it comes down though.

Posted by TPRJones on May 08 2015,07:07

< source >

Posted by Paul on May 09 2015,07:53

< Improved trailer >

Posted by Troy on May 09 2015,09:54

Funny

Posted by Malcolm on May 13 2015,11:42

Hey, old people:

Posted by GORDON on May 13 2015,12:48

So if there's no interest in trout, and no interest in snowspeeders, what the hell else is left?

Fortunately, my kid loves sci-fi even if Star Wars isn't his fave. I'm a good parent.

Posted by TPRJones on May 13 2015,13:38

(GORDON @ May 13 2015,14:48)

QUOTE

So if there's no interest in trout, and no interest in snowspeeders, what the hell else is left?

Probably things you are not equipped to understand nor value. Parents never are. It's the necessary corollary to the comic.

Posted by Vince on May 14 2015,13:33

I remember all the crap about Teletubbies and at the time I had a toddler stepdaughter. So me and her mother decided we should sit down and watch it and see what all the fuss was about.

After about 10 minutes I looked at the wife and said, "I don't think they're trying to make our kids gay. I think they're trying to make them stupid."

Posted by Troy on May 14 2015,14:10

I fucking love star wars AND fishing.

Posted by GORDON on May 14 2015,14:15

No kidding. I've heard the "your kid will never like the same stuff you do on principle" stuff before, and so far it's usually been wrong.

My dad liked rock music, I like rock music and still have some of the same albums he listened to on a thumb drive in my truck. I like scifi and gaming and nerd stuff, and my kid likes sci fi and gaming and nerd stuff.

I understand there can be a shift in the stylistic taste of things... compared to The Avengers, Star Wars Ep 4 actually is slower paced and a little more cerebral, relatively. SW broke the mold in 1977, but it is a little dated in 2015. I get that.

But not everybody hates their Dad and everything he stood for. It's unfortunate if one does, and a failure on his part.

Posted by Malcolm on May 14 2015,14:23

Some people are fueled by idolatry, others by contrarianism.

QUOTE

It's unfortunate if one does, and a failure on his part.

Bah. Bullshit. Some dads are assholes with nice kids, some asshole kids have nice dads.

Posted by GORDON on May 14 2015,14:56

A good Dad doesn't kill the puppy because it shit on the floor, he corrects the puppy. If the puppy grows up and still shits on the floor, then you kill it.

That's just good parenting.

Posted by Malcolm on May 14 2015,15:15

< Good parenting >.

Posted by Leisher on May 20 2015,10:37

< Lando? >

Posted by Malcolm on May 20 2015,10:38

On the plus side, looks like JJ wants Jar-Jar dead.

Posted by Malcolm on May 21 2015,10:28

< Daniel Craig cameo >.

Posted by GORDON on May 21 2015,19:36

What's the deal with Simon Pegg this week.

Posted by Leisher on May 22 2015,06:04

He's been pretty self destructive, hasn't he?

Posted by TPRJones on May 22 2015,12:04

He's not entirely wrong about the nature of the blockbuster movie. But I think he's off base on the geek = infantilism thing. We're just redefining the nature of entertainment for adults to be broader. All because you like things other than Reader's Digest and 60 Minutes doesn't mean you aren't a grown up.

Posted by GORDON on May 23 2015,08:29

He needs to do a better job of not making his fan base think he is being insulting to them.

Posted by Leisher on Jul. 10 2015,23:23

< Nice production video. >

Shows lots of characters, no plot details.

Posted by TPRJones on Jul. 11 2015,07:59

Hot damn.

It's nice to feel excited about Star Wars again.

Posted by Malcolm on Jul. 11 2015,19:17

< HAHAHAHAHAHAHA >.

QUOTE

During one of the most popular panel discussions here at Comic-Con 2015, a Friday event devoted to the upcoming film "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens," director J. J. Abrams fielded a question from fans regarding cast diversity in upcoming Star Wars films.

Posted by Leisher on Jul. 11 2015,22:01

< More stuff including the villains. >

Posted by Leisher on Jul. 15 2015,01:23

This was delivered yesterday for my youngest.

Best Build-a-Bear ever.

Posted by Leisher on Aug. 20 2015,09:58

< Drew Struzan says it's the best SW film ever. >

Posted by TheCatt on Aug. 20 2015,10:26

As someone who just watched Episode IV with his kids a week ago: That's not a high bar.

I mean the kid in me loved Star Wars, but the adult in me find the writing horrible. I have not recently re-watched Episode V, though. Maybe that one's the exception.

Posted by GORDON on Aug. 20 2015,10:55

I think JJ is a competent film maker, he just needs a script that works. He will still make Star Trek Into Darkness even with a weak script.

Posted by Malcolm on Aug. 20 2015,11:18

(Leisher @ Aug. 20 2015,11:58)

QUOTE

< Drew Struzan says it's the best SW film ever. >

I think Drew's smoking crack. Maybe JJ's got a quality film in there.

QUOTE

I think JJ is a competent film maker, he just needs a script that works. He will still make Star Trek Into Darkness even with a weak script.

I think he's overrated. Not Joss overrated, but somewhere on the same ruler.

Posted by GORDON on Aug. 20 2015,11:24

I said he is competent, not a genius.

Posted by TPRJones on Aug. 20 2015,15:52

(TheCatt @ Aug. 20 2015,12:26)

QUOTE

I mean the kid in me loved Star Wars, but the adult in me find the writing horrible.

For it's time it was still pretty damn good, even the iffy writing. The 70s was not a good time for film, on the whole.

Posted by TPRJones on Aug. 20 2015,15:54

(GORDON @ Aug. 20 2015,13:24)

QUOTE

I said he is competent, not a genius.

I think what he did with Star Trek was genius, but I'm almost certain he didn't do it on purpose. He lucked into some extraordinary storytelling there.

Posted by GORDON on Aug. 20 2015,15:57

(TPRJones @ Aug. 20 2015,18:54)

QUOTE

(GORDON @ Aug. 20 2015,13:24)

QUOTE

I said he is competent, not a genius.

I think what he did with Star Trek was genius, but I'm almost certain he didn't do it on purpose. He lucked into some extraordinary storytelling there.

As I said... when he gets a good script....

Posted by Leisher on Aug. 27 2015,11:05

< Opening weekend prediction is kinda sorta big. >

Posted by Malcolm on Aug. 31 2015,10:28

< More sexism over female storm trooper >.

Posted by GORDON on Aug. 31 2015,12:28

(Malcolm @ Aug. 31 2015,13:28)

QUOTE

< More sexism over female storm trooper >.

I like to think that someday these SJW comments will hit critical mass and we, as a society, will realize that they are what happens when insane or broken people get internet access, and they will then be ignored, accordingly.

Posted by TheCatt on Aug. 31 2015,12:44

I didn't see the SW comment as SJW?

Posted by GORDON on Aug. 31 2015,12:52

Holy shit maybe I should try reading.

Posted by TheCatt on Aug. 31 2015,12:53

(GORDON @ Aug. 31 2015,15:52)

QUOTE

Holy shit maybe I should try reading.

Worth a shot.

Posted by Leisher on Sep. 02 2015,21:23

< Star Wars: Aftermath >

Everything starts this Friday.

Posted by TheCatt on Sep. 04 2015,13:13

< Whine whine whine >

Posted by GORDON on Sep. 04 2015,13:25

(TheCatt @ Sep. 04 2015,16:13)

QUOTE

< Whine whine whine >

Thanks, Obama.

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 19 2015,19:07

New trailer is about to premier on ESPN during the MNF Halftime.

I like to imagine this was an intended shot at Gordon.

Update: It was awesome. Why don't they show Luke? What's he hiding under that hood?

Posted by GORDON on Oct. 19 2015,19:15

(Leisher @ Oct. 19 2015,22:07)

QUOTE

New trailer is about to premier on ESPN during the MNF Halftime.

I like to imagine this was an intended shot at Gordon.

They seem to really know their target demographic.

Posted by Malcolm on Oct. 19 2015,19:37

QUOTE

Update: It was awesome.

It was eh. I bet I could take 2 minutes of Ep I and work it into a comparable trailer.

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 20 2015,07:01

< Newest trailer. >

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 20 2015,09:51

< Troll starts a hashtag to boycott Star Wars because it's "anti-white". >

So, of course, racists on both sides come out of the woodwork to discuss it.

"Racists on both sides" means actual racists and all the racists who don't realize they're racists like the one who are lumping ALL white people in or linking this to Trump or Republicans. Etc.

QUOTE

And with all the fake wars being perpetuated by republicans in the past few months I wouldn't be suppressed if they started this one to.

QUOTE

"I could laugh at the obvious stupidity of the people behind this hashtag, but honestly it's just endemic of the bigger issue that we have with race in this country. If we were indeed post-racial then having a non-White lead in Star Wars (or any other movie) would just be business as usual. Instead we have a bunch of White people whose privilege is so threatened by this that they are equating it to "white genocide". The world we live in, folks."

Those are the FB posts that FB thinks are relevant enough to include in this "top news" story.

Posted by Malcolm on Oct. 20 2015,10:00

QUOTE

Jewish activist JJ Abrams is an anti-white nut.

The fuck? He might be anti-talented but I guess all the whities in "Lost" were window dressing. This reminds me of how pissed people were when Idris Elba played a Norse god ... sorry, let me rephrase: a god worshipped by white dudes, so he himself must be white.

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 20 2015,11:17

(Leisher @ Oct. 20 2015,09:01)

QUOTE

< Newest trailer. >

Whoa. That's ... now I KNOW they are going to do it right. In the time of the prequels the Jedi and the Force are powerful and known by those in power if not by everyone, in the time of the first movies the Jedi and the Force are barely known as some cooky old religion, and now in the time of the next movies they've passed into myth and legend.

Someone over there is actually paying attention to what they are doing here, not just making a spectacle.

Posted by GORDON on Oct. 20 2015,11:43

I read something a couple days ago saying the "star wars is racist" thing was meant to be a troll to see who would buy into it, like the "piss your pants for feminism" thing.

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 20 2015,12:07

QUOTE

Why don't they show Luke? What's he hiding under that hood?

Just saw this fan theory: Luke is Kylo Ren.

Obviously, this would take some swerving by JJ Abrams to work considering Adam Driver is playing Kylo Ren, but don't we need intentional swerving in this day and age? Don't we need a worked swerve to make "I am your father" happen in this internet era?

Personally, I think Luke's going to be an amalgam of Obi Wan and Yoda, but with ties to the light and dark side of the force.

Posted by Malcolm on Oct. 20 2015,12:10

QUOTE

Just saw this fan theory: Luke is Kylo Ren.

If that's true, then fuck this trilogy.

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 20 2015,12:25

I believe official canon is that Kylo Ren is a major fan boy of Vader. He has the helmet, and if you remember, Luke tossed it aside on the second Death Star. I hope we see a scene explaining how it left the Death Star and made its way to him.

Posted by Malcolm on Oct. 20 2015,12:38

QUOTE

I believe official canon is that Kylo Ren is a major fan boy of Vader.

It gives me shades of Jason building a shrine to his dead mom in Friday the 13th. It's hokey and the last vision we have of Vader isn't the towering, imposing bad-ass that lopped off Luke's hand. It's the emo, angsty, whiny little bitch who got played and racked up his high body count pulling a Jedi Sandy Hook.

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 20 2015,13:34

(Malcolm @ Oct. 20 2015,15:38)

QUOTE

I believe official canon is that Kylo Ren is a major fan boy of Vader.

I don't think it's hokey at all.

YOU saw the angsty Annie. Imperials didn't. The only weakness they would have seen is him being carried to an imperial shuttle before dying.

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 20 2015,13:40

(Leisher @ Oct. 20 2015,14:25)

QUOTE

He has the helmet, and if you remember, Luke tossed it aside on the second Death Star.

The mask was back on down on Endor for the funeral pyre. He picked it up on the way out to put it back on the body, I guess.

Posted by Malcolm on Oct. 20 2015,13:45

(TPRJones @ Oct. 20 2015,15:40)

QUOTE

(Leisher @ Oct. 20 2015,14:25)

QUOTE

He has the helmet, and if you remember, Luke tossed it aside on the second Death Star.

The mask was back on down on Endor for the funeral pyre. He picked it up on the way out to put it back on the body, I guess.

Yeah. For some reason, I can totally see the helmet going up but I didn't think about it until now.

QUOTE

YOU saw the angsty Annie.

Yeah, I since I'm the dude in the audience, the antagonist seems to be a dude that looks up to a child killing wanna be goth who was such a pussy that he couldn't beat his old teacher and had to be rebuilt as the six billion credit Sith before he started kicking ass. He may as well have the warped, charred remains of Dark Helmet's helmet.

Come the fuck on, give me a villain that doesn't need a martyr for inspiration. The Sith are supposed to be ultimate Darwinists, the student killing the master to assume power and all. I'm going to buy into them deifying someone that not only got dismembered by the light side, but got himself, the emperor, and the empire wiped out at once? I want a dude like this:

I want the Michael Myers Sith. Hell, while I'm at it, we'll give Darth Nihlius a sidekick in Darth Sion.

Posted by Malcolm on Oct. 20 2015,15:09

QUOTE

Just saw this fan theory: Luke is Kylo Ren.

Malcolm's theory: Luke trained Kylo Ren because it turns out balance is a bitch to achieve without some darkness. Proof? Where the fuck else does he get the mask? You think Luke just left that shit lying around? He grabs it before he leaves Endor, then some macguffin-ness happens, and he hands the mask and free lessons off to Kylo.

EDIT: Hah, I even have the macguffin-ness. Luke loses his mind after finally making it to Tosche Station and discovering they're not only out of power converters, but they never sold any to begin with.

Posted by GORDON on Oct. 20 2015,15:56

Wasn't Vader's mask and helmet specifically shown on Vader's head in the funeral pyre on Endor?

Also, there may not be an answer to this, since all books were wiped out of canon.... but how do peeps in the imperial remnant armies get paid? You have 10k star destroyers out there with like 20k people on each of them, and suddenly the payroll department on Coruscant just got shut down. So how do you keep 200,000,000 people... in the star destroyer fleet alone... from just walking off the job when their direct deposit doesn't hit? I guess "fear of death" is one answer, but I can't imagine that could be done permanently. On pirate ships you had 30 guys able to share the plunder of a captured ship.... what about 20k guys each on 10k ships?

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 20 2015,16:17

(GORDON @ Oct. 20 2015,17:56)

QUOTE

You have 10k star destroyers out there with like 20k people on each of them, and suddenly the payroll department on Coruscant just got shut down.

How so? Do you think the Emperor was personally signing everyone's paycheck?

The head is gone, but the bureaucracy will flounder on until someone either takes over, purposefully disassembles it, or it eventually collapses after years of power struggles at the top. Which is yet another reason Lucas' redo of the ending of Jedi was retarded. Coruscant wouldn't be universally celebrating like it's the overthrow of an evil dictator, they'd mostly be either scared about the uncertainty of what is going to happen next or just plain indifferent. Only those rebel terrorists and their little teddy bear savage buddies would be celebrating.

Posted by GORDON on Oct. 20 2015,17:00

Yeah, I think the emperor was signing checks, which is why I said payroll department.

The payroll money comes from an account, and I assume that all these planets just stopped paying their Galactic Empire Membership Fees. Banks aren't going to keep covering bad checks because they are nice. So where's the money coming from? Where are the million quartermasters buying all the beans from to feed these millions of soldiers, and what money is he using? I can see the broad strokes of the logistics it would take to run a navy of hundreds of millions of people.... and I can see how easy it would be to break the machine. I think the navy would need to focus all their attention on keeping remnants of its bureaucracy together just to keep the beans, bullets, band-aids, and axle grease for the star destroyers flowing on the regular. The government that was running the operation just collapsed.... I don't see why the entire imperial war machine didn't grind to a halt.

But then again, if only 10% of the Star Destroyer captains were charismatic and competent enough to keep their crews together, raiding planets and supply depots, I could see them eventually reforming... that would be a thousand star destroyers. That seems like a lot.

I hope they can figure out how to cover even some of this in the new movies... I find complex systems fascinating.

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 20 2015,17:10

QUOTE

The payroll money comes from an account, and I assume that all these planets just stopped paying their Galactic Empire Membership Fees.

That's a big assumption, and one that I think is probably incorrect. Keep in mind that only the rebels were strongly against the Empire. The rest of the populous - including local governments on most of the planets - were either supportive of or indifferent to the Empire. Sure the Emperor is evil, but it's not like he was a public figure with his posters all over the place and ruled openly. Most galactic citizens only know the Empire from their local governors and the occasional patrol of storm troopers, and they didn't all just disappear overnight. Hell, it's likely that most people below the rank of Admiral were only vaguely aware of who was actually in charge of everything, and many of them might have even assumed it was Vader. Sure those on the actual Death Stars knew the truth, but they all died. Twice.

It would really come down to how each governor and admiral handled the situation individually. Most probably wouldn't even tell the people they were in charge of that anything unusual had happened. Just another unfortunate and costly rebel attack that must be dealt with just like the last time. Most governors would still collect taxes, and as long as there are still star destroyers around they'll probably send them on to the Empire. Most admirals would probably keep right on following the orders from whatever fleet admiral was previously giving them orders. Some few will split away, but most will be pulled back in again. It will take years before things start to seriously fall apart.

If someone blew up Washington D.C. would you expect all the individual states to immediately declare themselves independent nations and stop all taxes to the feds?

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 20 2015,17:18

I must admit your version is more in line with the romantic adventure tone of the movies. Kill the main bad guy and now everyone can be happy. But I prefer something closer to reality.

Posted by Malcolm on Oct. 20 2015,17:56

Hmm. Luke trains Kylo after the alliance death squads kill a room full of imperial orphans during Operation Purge the Empire.

Posted by GORDON on Oct. 20 2015,18:02

(TPRJones @ Oct. 20 2015,20:10)

QUOTE

If someone blew up Washington D.C. would you expect all the individual states to immediately declare themselves independent nations and stop all taxes to the feds?

These days, I could see that. I can see a lot of individual challenges to the IRS. I could see quite a few states taking the opportunity to break away.

What do you think the overall impression of the empire blowing up Alderaan was? It was a pretty nice planet I heard.

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 20 2015,18:12

I think the general reaction in the core worlds was "meh". Some planets on the outer rim that were already close to revolution went for it. Rebel recruitment probably increased a bit all around. But on the whole it wasn't that big of a deal.

And that analogy about DC was probably not quite right. That'd be more like if the rebels blew up Coruscant. This was a major military installation that was blown up while the Emperor was there for a visit, but it's unlikely that the Emperor advertised his movements all that much. Someone on the inside with enough clout with the few admirals that know the Emperor is actually dead could probably just get a cloak, start talking with a croaking voice, and stand a reasonable chance of fooling most people into thinking the Emperor is still alive and in charge. After he was force-zapped into ugly town no one ever got much of a look under that hood, after all.

EDIT: I think the difference of opinion here comes from how much inertia we think there is in these systems. If we stipulate for the moment that word got around about the Empreror I suspect most people would still keep going to work as long as the paychecks kept coming. And that the paychecks would keep coming for a while since most people went in to work as usual. Of course it would eventually break down into chaos if no new strong leader emerged, but I think that would take some time.

But I don't think it would even come to that because why would the remaining leadership of the Empire let everyone know what had really happened at that secret military instillation? The rebels will tell everyone, sure, but unless you are already a rebel you probably think they're full of crap.

Posted by GORDON on Oct. 20 2015,18:24

The more you talk about the ambiguity of who run Bartertown, I see your point. But I am still wondering how it all works without money in the bank, and I can't see the rebels letting the banks keep paying on imperial accounts... assuming these banks are on Coruscant. I dunno.

Again, I hope the movie addresses this a little.

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 20 2015,18:31

Of course the real ambiguity here is that Lucas can't write a realistic political or economic situation to save his life.

Star Wars is a lot of fun, but it's hardly strong on details about that sort of thing.

Just look at Ep1: why in the world would a trade federation want to set up a secret blockade to stop trade? Supposedly it was something about Republic taxation, but what would that have to do with Naboo? It makes no sense.

I, too, hope we see some of this stuff in the new movies. But if we do it'll mostly be around the edges of the action, not shown center stage.

And what about the destruction of Endor due to all the Death Star debris deorbiting? Think that will get a mention?

Posted by TheCatt on Oct. 20 2015,18:36

(TPRJones @ Oct. 20 2015,21:31)

QUOTE

And what about the destruction of Endor due to all the Death Star debris deorbiting? Think that will get a mention?

Despite being 150km across, the Death Star exploded into tiny little fragments that all burned up in the atmosphere.

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 20 2015,18:43

So instead of bombardement, it just had it's ecology collapse after 2×10^14 metric tons of ash are added to the atmosphere. Same difference.

EDIT: Hmm, I wonder if they'll use that to slip a message about the dangers of climate change into the movie....

Posted by GORDON on Oct. 20 2015,18:54

(TPRJones @ Oct. 20 2015,21:43)

QUOTE

So instead of bombardement, it just had it's ecology collapse after 2×10^14 metric tons of ash are added to the atmosphere. Same difference.

Yep, The Endor Holocaust was mentioned in this thread.

< http://www.dtman.com/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=7;t=6293;st=20 >

Two closed accounts in that thread... one was an accidental duplicate of mine, and the other was the guy who was an abusive dick... Darhma?

Posted by GORDON on Oct. 20 2015,18:54

Also, it looks like it is snowing when the dude picks up Vader's burnt mask. Hello nuclear Winter on the forest moon.

Posted by GORDON on Oct. 20 2015,18:57

(TPRJones @ Oct. 20 2015,21:31)

QUOTE

I, too, hope we see some of this stuff in the new movies. But if we do it'll mostly be around the edges of the action, not shown center stage.

Yeah, they MUSTN'T put the bureaucracy center stage... but shining light in those shadowy corners could be a great seasoning for the sauce.

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 20 2015,18:59

omg ... I had completely forgotten about "An Exercise in Xenophysiology".

Posted by Malcolm on Oct. 20 2015,19:14

You might be able to find some emperor/Vader lookalikes, but eventually someone will notice the lack of force powers, then the big players start carving the empire up, not to mention the various alliance members reclaiming their own planets and systems. If you had more Sith to step up or maybe a thrawn, you've got a shot at keeping the empire together. But that shit would crumble and disintegrate within weeks of Anakin dethroning and defenestrating Palpatine. States that big have powerful and/or numerous competitors that would swoop in. Also, you think the alliance is going to stop its push? Or is it going to get more support now that they've crippled the imperial leadership?

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 21 2015,06:52

The Timothy Zahn books actually explained what happened in the power vacuum after the Emperor died.

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 21 2015,06:55

Doesn't count anymore, Disney made that all didn't happen.

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 21 2015,07:01

Yeah, I know. I was just pointing out that someone who could actually write did it.

Does anyone know if "Aftermath" tried to explain what happened? That's supposed to be the canon events between Return 6 and 7. It's too bad they hired an illiterate writer.

I really hope they bring Thrawn into the new canon. That guy was awesome.

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 22 2015,19:19

< Potential spoiler about Luke >

I say potential because this is a clip from the show Dinner for Five from 2005 that just happened to include Mark Hamill and JJ Abrams. Skip to 11:30 and watch Mark talk about where he thought Luke was going....

I truly hope they don't go this route because it'll take a serious stretch to explain it. I mean a seriously fucking huge leap of faith for me to believe the character changes in this way.

That being said, there is an enormous good he would fill. Of course, they'd be risking the ire of Star Wars fans everywhere. I don't think it'd be a popular move.

Posted by GORDON on Oct. 22 2015,19:20

Are Tuskan Raiders supposed to be humans, or what?

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 22 2015,19:35

30 years is a long time, I can see something like that being believable if they build into it properly. But it would take some very careful storytelling and character work to pull it off.

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 27 2015,16:40

< JJ confirms his absence is intentional. >

Posted by TPRJones on Oct. 27 2015,18:24

It's not like you can't find the image with a simple google image search. Once it's out there it won't go away.

Posted by Troy on Oct. 27 2015,19:46

< http://www.melty.com/star-wa....83.html >

Posted by Leisher on Oct. 28 2015,07:36

I think a Sith Luke Skywalker is too easy and would piss off the fans unless done absolutely perfectly.

I believe Luke is going to be an a mix of Yoda and the Emperor. He'll walk a path between the light and dark.

Posted by Malcolm on Nov. 03 2015,11:39

New theory: Kylo Ren is the incestuous product of a drunken Luke-Leia hookup after the party on Endor's moon.

Posted by Leisher on Nov. 10 2015,06:28

< Disney did a private showing for a terminally ill man. He died 5 days later. >

Posted by Leisher on Nov. 11 2015,17:18

Ranting from a bar stool...

Luke can't be a Sith. It would betray the original trilogy. Think about it. The trilogy was about his journey and making him the big bad would void that. Also, killing him off would be a cheap hit too. You can kill anyone else, but not Luke. Not the key ingredient to the original trilogy. It'd feel as cheap as the opening of Friday the 13th part 2 when Jason shoved the ice pick through the temple of the chick from the original.

Posted by TPRJones on Nov. 11 2015,17:24

Speculative response (any spoilers are due to accidental brilliance on my part and not inside information):

I think you could build a story that has Luke fulfilling the Obi Wan role and dying at the end as his mentor before him. But it would be a fine line to walk to avoid having it be a cheap copy of the first movie.

Come to think of it, the first of each trilogy of films included that element. It's practically a tradition.

Posted by Leisher on Nov. 19 2015,07:16

I watched the shit out of the trailers last night. I have more to speculate, so if you don't want possible spoilers, move on...

Speculation:
-Luke is Yoda, not Obi Wan.
-Rey and Kylo Ren are siblings and the kids of Han and Leia.
-Finn is a misdirection. Notice the constant images of him wielding the lightsaber? I think Rey is the Jedi. Not saying Finn can't be, but this is Rey's story.
-This really feels like a remake of A New Hope. I pray it isn't.
-Han dies.
-Chewie might die too. I hope not. (If someone sees this before me, please let me know this spoiler because I have a daughter who LOVES Chewie and I'm not sure if I'd take her. At the very least I'd prep her.)

That's all I've got for now.

Posted by Malcolm on Nov. 20 2015,10:35

Theory:
Kylo Ren is Greedo's long-lost son dedicated to hunting down the asshole that preemptively shot his dad and the rest of his murdering friends.

Also, < what it's like > to deal with someone who's insane.

Posted by TheCatt on Nov. 20 2015,11:26

Theory:
- I have no idea what you people are talking about.
- Apparently I should watch the trailers.

Posted by GORDON on Nov. 20 2015,12:16

Lucas is still whining that he hasn't been included in the new movies because they wanted to make good movies, this time.

And I am skipping trailers. Too spoilery any more.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 01 2015,07:22

Lucas won't shut the fuck up. < Now he's explaining why Han shot first. > Notice how he's trying to retcon it to say Han shot first all along, we just couldn't tell? They point out in the article that nobody but Lucas says the original script had Greedo shooting first.

As someone else on the FB points out: "So Indy can shot the swordsman without cause, but Han can't shoot Greedo who has a gun in Han's face and is telling him he's collecting a bounty on him?"

Another point: The hero of your movie can murder hundreds of thousands of people with a single shot from his X-Wing and that's ok, but Han can't shoot a bounty hunter before the bounty hunter shoots him? I mean, there HAD to be families on that Death Star.

To reaffirm that Lucas is full of shit, < I dug up this article about his first script. >

Han shot first.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 01 2015,08:15

Just for the record, I remember getting a lot of shit on this forum a decade ago when I was saying Lucas was insane.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 01 2015,08:35

I don't think he's insane. I think that's unfair.

I simply think he had kids come into his life that drove him WAY left or made him into a pansy, however you want to see it. I think they made him look at the world through a completely different, and very unrealistic, prism.

It's why Han shot after Greedo in the tweeked version. It's why the prequels had no soul or charm. It's why he filled the original trilogy with bright lights and shiny objects. He lost his edge.

I'm sure he'd argue that his kids are the best thing that ever happened to him, and he's probably right (ignoring that Star Wars probably lead to him getting those kids), but they also killed him as an artist. At least as an artist who could handle something like the Star Wars universe.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 01 2015,08:58

QUOTE

I don't think he's insane. I think that's unfair.

He expects the world of cinema to kowtow to him for a limited list of admittedly sizable film achievements. He's insane.

QUOTE

I simply think he had kids come into his life that drove him WAY left or made him into a pansy,

If having kids knocks that many IQ points and that much creativity off the average human brain, then this species wouldn't have survived.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 01 2015,09:10

I don't think he lost IQ points, although that is a proven thing.

I think it's more that he became a pussy. He saw things through his kids' eyes instead of his own. His world revolved around them.

He became that pathetic woman in the shitty marriage who bases her whole life on the well being, happiness, and success of her children to help justify her life.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 01 2015,09:17

(Leisher @ Dec. 01 2015,11:35)

QUOTE

I don't think it was kids, I think it was the fact he insulated himself from reality to the extent that he became his own god. If anyone ever disagreed with him, or claimed to have a better idea than god's, Lucas would fire that person and erase him from his personal universe. I think he went insane.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 01 2015,15:03

(Leisher @ Dec. 01 2015,12:10)

QUOTE

I don't think he lost IQ points, although that is a proven thing.

Uh, wut?

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 01 2015,15:22

The Onion had an article about that a long time ago.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 01 2015,16:13

It's a < myth >.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 01 2015,17:24

(TPRJones @ Dec. 01 2015,19:13)

QUOTE

It's a < myth >.

That's my memory as well.

But man, reading the article (and being childless at the time), it seemed so true.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 01 2015,17:28

(TheCatt @ Dec. 01 2015,20:24)

QUOTE

(TPRJones @ Dec. 01 2015,19:13)

QUOTE

It's a < myth >.

That's my memory as well.

But man, reading the article (and being childless at the time), it seemed so true.

I would say living with an infant has you walking around more like you have PTSD than... just being stupider.

Sleep deprivation is a serious drug.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 01 2015,18:18

(TPRJones @ Dec. 01 2015,18:13)

QUOTE

It's a < myth >.

A true myth, fuck that study, it's wrong.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 01 2015,18:20

I love how childless people think they have perfect knowledge of what it is like to be a parent, but will not accept that parents have perfect knowledge of what it was like to be childless.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 01 2015,18:46

I've never been a tiger or a penguin, but I've been to the zoo many times and I've watched a lot of Nat Geo. I think I got enough knowledge of what it's like to be them.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 01 2015,19:23

Chortle.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 01 2015,20:05

Well, if becoming a parent does cause some sort of mental problems then the last people to be able to comment on the experience would be parents. They're point of view has become suspect.

Like when the Futurama brain parasite victims talk about how nice it is to have a brain parasite.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 02 2015,04:54

But the entire idea is just some wish fulfillment on the part of the childless to convince themselves they are superior in some way. 99% of being a parent means there is some sleep deprivation early on, followed by being somewhat desensitized to chaos... a crying baby no longer drives you up the wall like you're Roderick Usher trying to have a bad steak at Longhorn Steakhouse at 5:30PM on a Sunday next to the megachurch. If anything, the childless haven't been through that, man... they just don't know... There isn't even a good hypothesis out there about why one would lose brain function at child birth. It's all just snark.

This thread is waaaay off track.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 02 2015,07:11

(TPRJones @ Dec. 01 2015,19:13)

QUOTE

It's a < myth >.

Unless that study talks about how new parents are stupider because of their lack of sleep and loss of focus, then it's not the one I was referencing.

A similar study was the classical music boosting your IQ ever so slightly and only for 5-15 minutes. I remember reading about that when I was a new parent because of how many kid's toys promote classical music and would make claims that it made them smarter.

QUOTE

But the entire idea is just some wish fulfillment on the part of the childless to convince themselves they are superior in some way.

This.

Having a kid is an experience that you cannot understand until you have a kid.

Can you grasp the concept? Of course and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous.

But understanding how it fucks with you mentally is something that has to be experienced.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 02 2015,09:03

I hear what you are saying, but I don't want to join your brain parasite cult no matter how happy you are now. No thanks.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 02 2015,09:13

I don't think anyone appreciated my Roderick Usher reference.

It used to be that a crying baby in a restaurant would jangle my nerves... now, when it eventually registers that I hear a crying baby, I think, "Ha, someone elses problem!" and tune it out. It's pretty sweet having that kind of resistance to annoyance.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 02 2015,11:08

QUOTE

But understanding how it fucks with you mentally is something that has to be experienced.

Wrapping one's head around mental fuck-upedness isn't that hard.

QUOTE

I don't think anyone appreciated my Roderick Usher reference.

Fortunately, that was on TV a couple months ago.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 02 2015,11:52

(Malcolm @ Dec. 02 2015,14:08)

QUOTE

Fortunately, that was on TV a couple months ago.

Drat. I read the story in the 9th grade and haven't seen the movie since then. I thought it was a good pull.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 05 2015,23:34

< http://www.cinemablend.com/m....97.html >

Apparently Lucas saw it and "really liked it".

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 06 2015,08:59

(Leisher @ Dec. 06 2015,01:34)

QUOTE

< http://www.cinemablend.com/m....97.html >

Apparently Lucas saw it and "really liked it".

Ominous.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 07 2015,06:08

Be careful what you read today about Harrison Ford. Apparently, he spilled some big spoiler last night during a chat with fans.

Posted by Troy on Dec. 09 2015,16:40

yeeaaaaahh!

We got tickets to the premier through wife's media contacts. It's not in the downtown theater we usually go to, but one out in the burbs. Might be a good thing, actually.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 09 2015,17:01

Waiting until after the new year. Fuck the crowds and fanbois.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 09 2015,17:22

If it is good enough, I predict a couple matinees while the kid is on christmas break from school.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 09 2015,17:42

I'll be there opening Friday.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 10 2015,06:07

< Harrison Ford explains his lines in the trailer might be taken out of context...hint, hint... >

Posted by Troy on Dec. 10 2015,08:54

I am not reading any of your goddamn spoiler links

e: with the understanding that you may have had parts of the movie already spoiled online already...

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 10 2015,09:14

Eh, Harry's just saying that a line he'd heard to speak during a couple seconds of one trailer doesn't mean what you might think it means. Nothing definitive.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 10 2015,09:18

(Troy @ Dec. 10 2015,11:54)

QUOTE

I am not reading any of your goddamn spoiler links

e: with the understanding that you may have had parts of the movie already spoiled online already...

People are already putting spoilers in banner ads again, around the internet.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 10 2015,09:20

(GORDON @ Dec. 10 2015,11:18)

QUOTE

(Troy @ Dec. 10 2015,11:54)

QUOTE

I am not reading any of your goddamn spoiler links

e: with the understanding that you may have had parts of the movie already spoiled online already...

People are already putting spoilers in banner ads again, around the internet.

Sweet.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 10 2015,09:29

Well, I have no banner ads...

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 10 2015,10:20

(TheCatt @ Dec. 10 2015,12:29)

QUOTE

Well, I have no banner ads...

Some sites have in-house ads created by the community for purposes of internal fundraising. These typically aren't on the adblocker lists unless you put them there.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 10 2015,11:35

If anyone sees it opening weekend, please IM me and let me know if Chewie dies or not. It's the only spoiler I need.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 10 2015,11:58

I am seeing it opening wkend. maybe bump this in a week if i forget.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 16 2015,07:00

With 122 reviews in, it's currently got < a 98% at Rotten Tomatoes. >

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 16 2015,10:29

Eh, I'm still not going in with high expectations. I still think it's a lot of "at least it's not Lucas" sentiment.

Posted by Troy on Dec. 17 2015,22:15

Liked it. Wasnt spoiled by anything.

The new guy that plays Finn is real good.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 18 2015,06:31

Reminder! If you've seen it, please PM me and let me know if Chewie dies.

One of my 6 year olds LOVES him and I'm not sure I want to take her if he dies.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 18 2015,07:15

I sent you a private message. Just reply back to it. Next time you get on, you should have a popup window telling you it's there.

But you'll read this after that, so...

Posted by Troy on Dec. 18 2015,07:52

Sorted with Leisher.

I'm sure everyone will have SOME issue with the movie - but it's a really good theater movie, and it's the first in a while that I want to see a movie in a theater twice.

All the new characters are the great. I wish it was a little longer and we had more of them.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 18 2015,14:13

It's awesome.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 18 2015,14:59

Seriously, this movie made me feel like a kid again.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 18 2015,15:16

(TheCatt @ Dec. 18 2015,16:59)

QUOTE

Seriously, this movie made me feel like a kid again.

That's not an experience I want repeated.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 18 2015,16:13

(Malcolm @ Dec. 18 2015,18:16)

QUOTE

(TheCatt @ Dec. 18 2015,16:59)

QUOTE

Seriously, this movie made me feel like a kid again.

That's not an experience I want repeated.

That explains a lot.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 19 2015,05:33

I'm looking forward to seeing a SW movie in a theater with my son.

I felt the same way when Star Trek rebooted... I hope this experience is at least as good as that one.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 19 2015,06:15

(GORDON @ Dec. 19 2015,08:33)

QUOTE

I'm looking forward to seeing a SW movie in a theater with my son.

I felt the same way when Star Trek rebooted... I hope this experience is at least as good as that one.

Keep your expectations low

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 19 2015,20:15

It had some minor annoyances or flaws, but overall I loved it.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 19 2015,21:21

As long as it's better than the prequels I'll be happy.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 19 2015,22:52

Then you will be happy.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 20 2015,14:23

Liked it but there are a lot of things that don't seem logical. I mentioned them in the spoiler thread. We'll see.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 20 2015,14:23

I think the only marketing poster this movie needed was, "Star Wars Episode VII: Not Directed by George Lucas."

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 21 2015,12:48

< Records destroyed > and < catt's buddy > explains everything that's wrong with it.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 21 2015,13:04

NdgT is still such a douche. All that shit was explained in the universe decades ago.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 21 2015,13:14

NdgT is a fucking idiot.
1) He's making a lot of assumptions about the sand on a planet he's never visited, and a robot he's never met.
2) Vacuum - It's a movie, dumb ass.
3) Under 12 parsecs: NgdT doesn't know why the distance would matter, so it assume it must be speed. But maybe there's something else special that allows this ship to travel shorter distances than others for the same run? Like an SUV that can go through a creek instead of a car driving around it.
4) Sun's energy: Clearly that's why they had that modulator thingy, dumb ass.

For a man who hasn't even discovered how to travel at lightspeed, he sure is full of himself.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 21 2015,14:25

QUOTE

Under 12 parsecs: NgdT doesn't know why the distance would matter, so it assume it must be speed. But maybe there's something else special that allows this ship to travel shorter distances than others for the same run? Like an SUV that can go through a creek instead of a car driving around it.

There is that possibility, like maybe the Falcon can pick its way through an asteroid field or something where other ships have to go around. There could be an entire spin-off film: Han and Chewie: the Kessel Run.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 21 2015,15:26

(Malcolm @ Dec. 21 2015,17:25)

QUOTE

Yeah, it's because of all the black holes. Normally you have to go way around, but Han in the Falcon is such a badass he picked his way through in under 12 parsecs.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 21 2015,15:29

I remember somewhere there's a thing about the Kessel Run being a smuggling route that swings past a black hole. The closer a ship can pass to the black hole the shorter the run. If so the boast may be more about durability and "inertial damping" (or whatever term they'd use to describe the ability to provide an artificial gravity field while shielding passengers from being smeared into paste during maneuvers) than speed.

EDIT: Yeah, like GORDON said.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 21 2015,15:42

In order to get out of a black hole, you need force (not "the"), period. The closer you are to the event horizon, the speedier you have to go to get out (since I don't know of any way to affect the mass of his ship). That's whipping past a single one, and Han was bragging about how he could outrun "Imperial cruisers" so I'll give it a "maybe."

On the flip side, maybe he's going through a cluster of them in which case it's like a ship navigating a field of whirlpools. If you're small enough and have the balls to slalom between them or ride the outskirts of one and use it to get through another ... then maybe.

In either scenario even if it's distance, the ultimate reason for the twelve parsecs being impressive is that it has to do with it taking less time to travel from point A to B in space. If you take it to be a measure of distance, then you leave open the possibility he inched his way past whatever obstacle there was over months of time while everyone else who took 13 parsecs just hyperspaced for another hour.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 21 2015,15:44

No matter who has the best explanation, NdgT can go fuck himself because... well just because fuck him.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 21 2015,15:47

(GORDON @ Dec. 21 2015,17:44)

QUOTE

No matter who has the best explanation, NdgT can go fuck himself because... well just because fuck him.

NdgT:physicists::CSI:crime scene investigators.

Posted by thibodeaux on Dec. 21 2015,17:43

< http://www.breitbart.com/tech....e-tyson >

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 21 2015,18:46

QUOTE

Here we are on Earth, the perfect habitat for humanity with a million random variables somehow ending up in our favour...

Yeah, we can also talk about some of the ones not in our favour. Furthermore, calling this planet "perfect" for us is bullshit. It suffices, at best, and that's only for a few billion years.

QUOTE

...the most Tyson can say is: “Every account of a higher power that I’ve seen described, of all religions that I’ve seen, include many statements with regard to the benevolence of that power. When I look at the universe and all the ways the universe wants to kill us, I find it hard to reconcile that with statements of beneficence.”

Well, the universe doesn't want anything, it just happens to be harsh and inhospitable, including a few spots in our own backyard which are uninhabitable without serious tech cheats. Maybe god likes obstacle courses. Kind of a bitch move, though, when the obstacles are lethal on occasion.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 21 2015,20:55

QUOTE

Here we are on Earth, the perfect habitat for humanity with a million random variables somehow ending up in our favour...

Change some of those variables and we'd have evolved to be different to fit that new environment and this alien version of humanity would have an alien version of NdGT tweeting:

QUOTE

Here we are on Earth, the perfect habitat for humanity with a million random variables somehow ending up in our favour...

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 22 2015,13:03

< I immediately > thought of y'all.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 22 2015,20:41

Seeing it the 24th.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 28 2015,12:07

Finally saw it.

Initial impression: in my list of favorite Star Wars movies, this is #2. I think. It might be #1. It's a close call.

I reserve the right to promote it to #1 depending on how certain things started here shake out in #8.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 28 2015,12:14

I liked it the first time when it was called "A New Hope."

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 28 2015,13:48

Yeah, but you hate all that is good in the world, Malcolm. It's part of your charm.

Posted by TheCatt on Dec. 28 2015,13:54

(TPRJones @ Dec. 28 2015,15:07)

QUOTE

That's about how I feel. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here without relying on the nostalgia bit.

But if you look at this as New Hope for a new generation, why not remake the prequels, too, right?

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 28 2015,14:04

(TheCatt @ Dec. 28 2015,15:54)

QUOTE

But if you look at this as New Hope for a new generation, why not remake the prequels, too, right?

Eh, sure. With those there's no way to make them worse, so why not?

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 28 2015,14:27

(TPRJones @ Dec. 28 2015,16:04)

QUOTE

(TheCatt @ Dec. 28 2015,15:54)

QUOTE

But if you look at this as New Hope for a new generation, why not remake the prequels, too, right?

Eh, sure. With those there's no way to make them worse, so why not?

You can make anything worse. I don't think Rob Schneider was in any of them.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 30 2015,20:34

< George Lucas sold Star Wars to "white slavers". >

I think we can officially call Lucas a bitter old man.

Posted by Malcolm on Dec. 30 2015,21:04

(Leisher @ Dec. 30 2015,22:34)

QUOTE

< George Lucas sold Star Wars to "white slavers". >

I think we can officially call Lucas a bitter old man.

Posted by TPRJones on Dec. 30 2015,21:05

Yeah, he's just pissed that Disney did what he couldn't anymore: make a good movie.

Posted by GORDON on Dec. 30 2015,21:06

QUOTE

“They looked at the stories, and they said, ‘We want to make something for the fans,’” Lucas said.

Buncha fucking white slaver assholes.

Posted by Leisher on Dec. 30 2015,21:19

Rumor has it Disney may release the original trilogy on Blu-Ray without Lucas' tampering. How pissed will he be then?

Posted by thibodeaux on Dec. 31 2015,15:36

(Leisher @ Dec. 31 2015,00:19)

QUOTE

Rumor has it Disney may release the original trilogy on Blu-Ray without Lucas' tampering. How pissed will he be then?

THAT would be a service to mankind.

Posted by GORDON on Jan. 02 2016,20:07

3rd viewing today... I'm all done now... a 5pm Saturday show was 90% full.

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 02 2016,20:08

Maybe he'll make a new movie next time.

Posted by Leisher on Jan. 04 2016,05:58

< Lucas apologizes for "white slavers" comment. >

Posted by Troy on Jan. 04 2016,06:15

SHUT UP LUCAS NOBODY CARES!!

How can a name that I still associate with one of my favorite games ever(Dark Forces) be such a humongous douchenozzle?

Seriously though, I woke up early on my birthday morning in 1995 and my parents had bought/installed Dark Forces and I got to play before I caught the bus. Shit was the bomb. Still remember the Lucas logo in gold sitting in my pajamas.

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 04 2016,07:26

X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max ... christ, that name carried weight for a few years.

Posted by Troy on Jan. 04 2016,08:19

Not sure which one I played first. Tie or Dark Forces.

Posted by Leisher on Jan. 04 2016,08:30

Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle bring back great memories. I look forward to the DotT remake coming soon.

Also loved the underrated Zak McKraken.

Posted by GORDON on Jan. 04 2016,08:54

(Troy @ Jan. 04 2016,11:19)

QUOTE

Not sure which one I played first. Tie or Dark Forces.

I played X-Wing when it was still the only one, and "Rebel Assault" before that, which was a railed shooter, and which featured the first new Star Wars footage filmed since Jedi. That was a big deal back then.

Posted by Leisher on Jan. 05 2016,08:55

< Will take Avatar's place in box office records today. >

Finally! Avatar being up so high was an embarrassment for this country.

Posted by GORDON on Jan. 05 2016,08:56

Nice. I had my fingers crossed.

Go go white slavers!

Posted by TheCatt on Jan. 05 2016,09:13

(Leisher @ Jan. 05 2016,11:55)

QUOTE

< Will take Avatar's place in box office records today. >

Finally! Avatar being up so high was an embarrassment for this country.

Still haven't seen it.

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 05 2016,18:45

(TheCatt @ Jan. 05 2016,11:13)

QUOTE

(Leisher @ Jan. 05 2016,11:55)

QUOTE

< Will take Avatar's place in box office records today. >

Finally! Avatar being up so high was an embarrassment for this country.

Still haven't seen it.

Same.

Posted by Leisher on Jan. 05 2016,20:13

Did you see Aliens?

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 05 2016,20:29

(Leisher @ Jan. 05 2016,22:13)

QUOTE

Did you see Aliens?

Does R Kelly like water games?

Posted by TheCatt on Jan. 06 2016,06:08

(Leisher @ Jan. 05 2016,23:13)

QUOTE

Did you see Aliens?

Does Malcolm enjoying thinking about R Kelly and water games?

Posted by Leisher on Jan. 06 2016,06:31

Ignoring Malcolm's love of water sports, Avatar stole a LOT of the plot elements from Aliens. (That was also a Cameron film.)

I'm pretty sure something was posted about this in the Avatar thread.

Posted by GORDON on Jan. 06 2016,07:39

Yeah I made a list of plot points, and challenged you to say if they were from one movie or the other. Answer: both.

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 11 2016,12:54

J.J. has publicly confirmed that the shiny aluminum trooper (Phasma) was inspired by the flying silver spheres from Phantasm. Nice.

Posted by Leisher on Jan. 12 2016,06:04

< There is a fucking change.org petition to have Lucas direct Episode IX. >

Fuck those people.

We should start a petition to have Tolkien direct the next Lord of the Rings movie. It'd be the same level of logic.

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 12 2016,07:38

If only you knew the power of the dark side.

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 20 2016,12:05

< Ep VIII > pushed back to December so they can rake in another two billion fucking dollars.

Posted by GORDON on Jan. 20 2016,12:08

Well that's bullshit.

Posted by TPRJones on Jan. 20 2016,12:10

Because the top level management have no idea why some movies succeed and others fail. This movie was more popular than the prequels, it must surely have been because of the winter release. If only the prequels had been released in the winter they could have succeeded, too!

Posted by TheCatt on Jan. 20 2016,14:45

(TPRJones @ Jan. 20 2016,15:10)

QUOTE

They kinda have a point.

Winter is a wasteland for popular movies. It's Oscar release season. Summer has a blockbuster wannabe every week.

That being said, the article did mention wanting to work on the movie more, so it's possible they don't have content they're excited about yet.

Posted by Leisher on Jan. 21 2016,06:16

Yeah, I have no anger over this move. If I had a blockbuster I'd avoid releasing it in the summer too.

James Cameron has made himself into one of the world's best filmmakers by releasing his movies during the "off season".

Avatar and Titanic have no business being so high up on the earnings lists, but they were released against no competition.

Posted by Leisher on Jan. 21 2016,17:19

< Undercover Boss - Kylo Ren >

Posted by thibodeaux on Jan. 22 2016,04:16

(Leisher @ Jan. 21 2016,20:19)

QUOTE

< Undercover Boss - Kylo Ren >

I watched that and found it not at all funny. I guess I'm officially a grumpy old man.

Posted by GORDON on Jan. 22 2016,04:47

(thibodeaux @ Jan. 22 2016,07:16)

QUOTE

(Leisher @ Jan. 21 2016,20:19)

QUOTE

< Undercover Boss - Kylo Ren >

I watched that and found it not at all funny. I guess I'm officially a grumpy old man.

It was cute.

The one time I laughed was the quick cut to the black stormtrooper, "Man he is a DICK" or however that line went.

Posted by Leisher on Jan. 24 2016,14:46

< Unintended sales due to Ep VII... >

Posted by GORDON on Jan. 24 2016,15:35

How do they gt away with calling it "Star Wars XXX'?"

Posted by Malcolm on Jan. 24 2016,16:53

(GORDON @ Jan. 24 2016,17:35)

QUOTE

How do they gt away with calling it "Star Wars XXX'?"

You can parody damn near anything.

Posted by Leisher on Jan. 28 2016,11:13

< The uncredited voices. >

Posted by Malcolm on Feb. 11 2016,10:26

< About Harrison Ford's leg >.

Posted by Leisher on Mar. 07 2016,07:14

< Luke is gay? >

Can we just enjoy a movie without a political statement? Please?

Posted by GORDON on Mar. 07 2016,07:47

(Leisher @ Mar. 07 2016,10:14)

QUOTE

< Luke is gay? >

Can we just enjoy a movie without a political statement? Please?

Also trangendered, I'm sure.

Posted by Malcolm on Mar. 10 2016,10:14

< Rey not fat enough >.

Posted by GORDON on Mar. 10 2016,10:32

(Malcolm @ Mar. 10 2016,13:14)

QUOTE

< Rey not fat enough >.

If those gross, fat bitches spent ten years in a desert environment doing parkour every day for food money on starvation-level rations, they would look like Rey, too.

Fat people are fine. Fat people with vocal opinions like this need to first go fuck themselves, then have a little fucking discipline and stop shoveling food in their faces.

Posted by Malcolm on Apr. 03 2016,11:02

< About those > stop-motion wrestler thingies. But I have to wonder how this writer could find the time to pen an article, what with J.J. Abrahms's cock firmly jammed down his throat.

QUOTE

In so many different ways, J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens tried to capture the tone and intent of the original Star Wars trilogy without blatantly copying exactly what was done in Star Wars: A New Hope.

Tried and failed.

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 05 2016,07:05

< Admiral Ackbar passes away. >

It was only a single line and he didn't even write it, but "It's a trap" is part of pop culture forever now.

Posted by Malcolm on Apr. 05 2016,10:06

(Leisher @ Apr. 05 2016,09:05)

QUOTE

< Admiral Ackbar passes away. >

It was only a single line and he didn't even write it, but "It's a trap" is part of pop culture forever now.

Holy fuck. Also reprised the voice for X-Wing flight sim game back in the 90s.

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 13 2016,12:17

< Some questions answered by the book. >

Obviously there are spoilers.

Posted by Leisher on Apr. 15 2016,10:12

< Obi Wan was supposed to survive. >

Posted by Malcolm on Apr. 15 2016,10:20

If George had gotten some hack instead of Alec, that might have happened.

QUOTE

Of course, another theory is that Sir Alec Guinness saw the potential for a sequel, and really didn't want to continue playing a major role in the franchise. It's no surprise that the legendary actor had problems with the role most folks would remember him from, so between better serving the story and keeping his actor happy, Lucas might have made a quick change, and inadvertently created history.