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Rogue_Leader

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  1. I was also at the concert last night. I know, I know long time no show. Suffice it to say I've been REALLY busy lately and haven't had much of a chance to post here or anywhere or do much of anything. Been working my new chemist job and its REALLY time consuming. Anyway, the show last night was stunning, I was particularly enthralled because not only did I finally get to see the Maestro himself John Williams perform in person but I also got to see Speilberg and Scorcese there as well. I honestly had no idea the other two legendary filmakers were even planning to show up. The first part of the show was compelling but not engrossing. I am not a big fan of Bernard Hermann's work. I recognise his immense talent as a composer and acknowledge his profound contrubutions to the medium of film music, but I have just never been as captivated by his music as some other composers. The 2nd half for me was a real treat. I especially loved the segment where Speilberg showed that clip from Indy 3 without the music first and described all the little cues and how Williams so perfectly taillored his music to practically every single shot. The pinnacle of the show for me was (OF COURSE) finally getting to here John do his mythic SW theme. Now I can die in peace. I was kind of aggravated during his other encores he did some other trivial pieces like West Side Story and such that seemed totally malapropos to the event and his music. I was clamoring for Superman or Jurassic Park but to no avail, but alas the mere moments of seeing John work his magic in person was more than enough. To tell you the truth even more than 24 hours later I am still overhwhlemed and find myself totally nonplussed. Nearly speechless after all of these years to have finally been graced by the prescence of the master himself. Anyway, that is all for now. I'll be back later. Good to see the familar faces are still around. BTW I tried to see if I could spot any of you guys from your pictures I've seen previously on this forum. No such luck ...... EXCEPT for a guy I saw across the auditorium that I could have friggin sworn was Neil.
  2. Very simple: We know the plot is not waterproof tight. It's not perfect. So what? Why think those holes through endlessly and spoil the fun? What's the point? The point is those are MAJOR plot holes that when taken in the context of the series make absolutely no sense. The point is with the prequels Lucas coulgiven some exlanation as to why Luke and Leia were left that way. I always though that the reason Luke and Leia were left in a non-Jedi environment was due to accident. In other words it was not planned that way, but somehow Luke and Leia became seperated from not only each other but also Yoda and Ben and it was only later that fate stepped in and reunited them.
  3. And that's where he failed as a mentor. Everything wasn't good enough for Obi. He didn't want to fail his mission. Anakin was always wrong and Obi Wan was always superior. He commented Anakin on every little detail. It was enough to drive any man to the dark side. This would've never happened if Qui-Gon was anakin's master because he was a strong and loving father figure for him. Sorry dude but that explanation does not work. Obi-Wan was both a loving father figure and a caring friend in the same way Qui-Gonn would have been. OH and I didn't feel that Obi-Wan was on Anakin's case all the time. He corrected his sometimes but it was not that excessive. Not to mention he also made sure to reassure Anakin and always show his faith in him. It was the other Jedi around Obi-Wan who failed Anakin. Sorry "dude", but I guess you don't get it. Theirs was always a competitive relationship. More competing friends than a warm father and son relationship. Have you not seen these movies, "dude"? Anakin was kept on a short leash at all times. He always critiqued him every step of the way. Amazing you've missed all that (AOTC is filled with it). That's why Anakin ran in the arms of the friendly Palpatine, who did the opposite of Obi, he complimented him, boosting his confidence instead of undermining it. No, "dude", my explanation is the only one that makes sense. Like you said, Obi Wan was perfect, it's not an easy thing to grow up with someone who wants everything to be perfect. Sorry but I never caught any of this competing friends deal you are talking about. I beg to differ.
  4. And that's where he failed as a mentor. Everything wasn't good enough for Obi. He didn't want to fail his mission. Anakin was always wrong and Obi Wan was always superior. He commented Anakin on every little detail. It was enough to drive any man to the dark side. This would've never happened if Qui-Gon was anakin's master because he was a strong and loving father figure for him. Sorry dude but that explanation does not work. Obi-Wan was both a loving father figure and a caring friend in the same way Qui-Gonn would have been. OH and I didn't feel that Obi-Wan was on Anakin's case all the time. He corrected his sometimes but it was not that excessive. Not to mention he also made sure to reassure Anakin and always show his faith in him. It was the other Jedi around Obi-Wan who failed Anakin. -Rogue LEader who is still waiting to see if anyone can explain his "plot holes".
  5. Well since "fresh" at rottentomatoes.com implies a 3 star movie which is essentially a "good" movie that I liked. Then I would rate it "fresh".
  6. Yes but only because I had relatively low expectations. I expected a fairly good film that would serve as entertainment that I could enjoy. I certainly was not expecting a SW caliber film.
  7. Well I have had a few days now to analyze the movie. Overall I still like the film. I still think the movie is MUCH better than the first two and this one is actually enjoyable to watch. I dont really consider it TRUE Star Wars like I do the OT, but it at least can earn the right to carry the name since it does no harm to the series' overall. However, over the past few days I've realized there are some serious issues here. OH and no its not what you think. I am not going to bitch about the bad acting, dialogue and directing. Those while still flawed were still alot better here. My main complaints with this film is STORY-WISE. Like I said previously this film rushed WAY too damn much. It had to do in one movie what it SHOULD have done in 3 but couldn't because Lucas wasted the fist two movies with mostly inconsequential stuff. The first movie was pretty much utterly pointless. I always felt the SW PRequels should have been handled like this: Episode 1: Anakin and Obi-Wan meet and over the course of the film they develop a strong relationship while Anakin pursues a romance with Padme. I know what you are thinking but I always felt Anakin should NOT have been just a friggin child in Episode 1. Obi-Wan told Luke in A New Hope "When I met your father he was already a great starfighter pilot". Ummmmmmm no he wasn't! He a a whiny little brat. Episode 2: This movie should focus on the downfall of the OBi-Wan master/student relationship. At the end of it Anakin makes the full commitment to go to the Dark Side and become Vader. This is how it should've been done. A entire movie devoted SOLELY to telling the story of Anakin's turn to darkness. In Episode 3 Abakin is telling Obi-Wan goodbye and like 20 minutes later he is a Sith Lord. WTF IS THAT ABOUT? Not to mention he makes his decision to turn in like 5 seconds. Oni minute hes helping the Jedi stop Palpy the next he is destroying them. COME ON! Here his turn to the dark side would be FAR more slower, believeable and methodical. Episode 3: This episode deals with the annilhation of the Jedi, the confrontation between Obi-Wan and Anakin and his transformation into the Vader from the OT and the formation of the Empire. Essentially the current episode 3 tried to do this but Anakin didnt become Vader until like 2/3 of the way through. This movie allows FAR more time to properly develop all the points that needed to be in the finale. A structure like this would have lead to a much more stronger and more powerfully emotional storyline. Sadly Lucas decided to dick around for the first two films. Another problem I have with these films is the character of Obi-Wan. I hate how he was handled throughout this storyline. He was never around for ANY of Anakin's fall. He never wtinessed or knew of Anakin's killing the Sand People. He never knew of Anakin killing the unarmed Dooku. He never was there to witness Anakin's final turn toward the monster he would become. Obi-Wan was always conveniently "out of the picture" so to speak. I always wanted to have to witness Obi-Wan FULLY BEAR WITNESS to Anakin's downfall. I wanted him to have to watch in pain as he watched his beloved student and friend slowly slip away from him BUT WE NEVER GOT TO SEE THIS! Obi wasn't even aware Anakin was even turning to the dark side until he FULL commited to it for crying out loud. That is just wrong. I wasnted Obi-Wan to have to handle the pain of not being able to stop his student from going down the "dark path". The feeling of being a powerful Jedi Master but being powerless to stop his own student from being tempted towards evil. I also wanted Obi-Wan to have to deal ith the pain of Anakin's turn after he had witnessed it. The guilt of realising it was him who insisted on training this guy who was now a mass-murderer. The sorrow of realizing his own flaws may have contributed to Anakin's downfall. This brings me to my next point. I hated how bloody "perfect" Obi-Wan was. He was too good for his own good. At the end of ROTS Obi says "I failed you Anakin". No you didn;t Obi! That is the problem. I always felt that Obi should have had noticable character flaws. Perhaps arrogance and overt self-pride. Things that would rub off on Anakin when he became powerful. Traits that Ben would later have to understand were part of the reason he lost Anakin. Ben lamented in ROTJ "I thought I could train Yoda as well as he had instructed me". However, Ben did a FLAWLESS job training Anakin. He showed alot more compassion for Anakin than any of the other "good guys" did. I also felt that Yoda's ambivalence towards Anakin should have been shown as a clear mistake on his part that directly lead to Anakin abandoning the Jedi. Thats another thing. I REALLY hate the Jedi in these Prequels. They are a bunch of dogmatic, self-righteous holier than thou ASSHOLES. They think they are like the Forces gift to the world. They talk about how arrogant Anakin is. I'm like have you guys taken a good look at yourselves? I actually felt a damn good sense of satisfaction when they all died. I even applauded. Wasn't the only one too. These guys were of no help to friggin anyone and they spent more time discussing crap than dealing with problems. When I imagind the Jedi in the pre-prequel days I imagined a bunch of Luke Skywalker types. Guys who got out there and kicked ass and got the job done. I could never figure out why Ben and Yoda sat around and did jack shit while the Rebels were out there fighting for the cause. Now I understand. These guys are a bunch of pussys whp just talk about how they need to protect people but dont do a damn thing until the problem comes right to their doorstep. You almost cant blame Anakin for turning to the dark side. With a bunch of masters like these who the hell would want to be a Jedi? Palpatine sounded like a better friend than Obi-Wan to Anakin at times and unlike Obi Palpy is there when you need him. Hes not off on some damn mission. Then there is the issue of the massive plot holes this series brings up. Beyond the many already discussed I have a few which I feel are REALLY pressing and have been created by the PRequels themselves because they relate to the continuity of the OT to the PRequels. They are: 1) Why do Obi-Wan and Yoda send Leia off to live with Bail Organa and Luke off to live with uncle Owen? That makes no sense. ITS VERY OBVIOUS that Yoda and Obi-Wan intended to use these kids as weapons to fight against the Sith. As a matter of fact there is even a line in ROTS that was cut from the final film where Obi-Wan says to Yoda "Do you think the Skywalker children will br strong enough to defeat Vader and the Emperor?". So if they planned to use these two kids as the "new Jedi". Why the friggin hell didn't they keep them and raise them in secret as Jedi? Wouldn't they have been the better idea? I mean why the FRIGGIN HELL would you send Luke the potential "greatest Jedi ever" to live as a bloody farm boy for the first 17 years or so until he is "too old to begin the training". If Jedi training needs to be done from such a extremely young age why not just keep them and train both of them from birth? In ROTJ Yoda complained about Luke facing Vader before he was ready. He should have been like "Ummmmm dumbass that is your fault for letting me work on a bloody farm for my whole damn childhood when I could've been learing how to be a kick ass Jedi warrior!". While Luke and Leia were letting their force powers go to wasted Ben and Yoda were sitting around doing absolutely nothing. They never even really bothered to help. They could've assisted Luke in defeating the Sith. Instead thy just decided to retire and let someone else handle the problem they started. SOME FRIGGIN JEDI! 2) Why was only Luke trained? Why didn't they train Leia too? She clearly had the power to command the force too. Why the friggin hell would you only train Luke and then send him off to face the Sith by himself? What so he can have no backup? Thats 2 on 1 odds. Not very bloody good. With Leia on his side it would have been even. 3) if Luke had to be sent off why the hell would you lsend him to live with his uncle Owen on Tatooine? I mean they are trying to keep these kids hidden from Vader. So they decide to sent him to live with Anakin's relatives on the planet he came from? OH yeah ........ that REALLY makes sense. Send him to live with his relatives. Vader will never think to look there. Not only do they send him to live with the extended Skywalker family. They dont EVEN FRIGGIN CHANGE HIS LAST NAME FOR GODS SAKES! How the hell are you gonna keep the kid a secret like this? That is just utterly moronic. 4) How the hell come Obi-Wan didn't know about Leia in ESB? In ESB Ben states "That boy is our last hope" and Yoda is like "no there is another". Yoda should have been like "Ummmmm Ben have you developed alzheimer's or something? There is still Luke's sister you idiot!". Its like Ben totally forgot about Luke's sibling. When I first saw the OT I thought Ben never knew about Leia and only Yoda did and Yoda later told him. However the Prequels CLEARLY display that Ben knew about both children. HELL he delivered them for crying out loud. So how come Ben forgot about Leia? The only explanation is maybe Ben thought Leia was killed in the explosion of Alderaan. I dont think he was Leia clearly before he died or maybe he did. Anyway regardless it doesn't matter. Even if Ben had thought she died on Alderaan he would've known by ESB that she was still alive because he had become an omni-present ghost who could know all and see all. Plus even if Ben still had though Leia was dead Yoda would not have said "No there is another". He would have said "No his sister is still alive". Ssaying "No! There is another" implies Ben never knew of Leia, which he CLEARLY did. I dunno. Would anyone care to take a crack at those plot holes. Because they are pretty damn severe.
  8. OH yeah and I also have a few other complaints about the film storyline-wise: 1) Anakins turn to the dark side: TOTALLY NOT REALISTIC AND POORLY DONE! It was worse than Anakin's turn back to the light side in ROTJ. I mean one minute hes telling Mace all about Palpys plans trying to help the Jedi out and then 5 minutes later hes killing Jedi Younglings? WTF!?!?! I mean he became all upset after Mace died saying "what have I done". Ummmmmm dude you didn't kill him. He seemed to be all upset about killing Mace but then 5 seconds later he swears his eternal allegiance to evil? Ummmmmmmmmm OK. I am sorry the problem with this deal is that the two films wasted precious time that should've been spent covering Anakin's turn to the dark side. Here it just feels like BAM one minute you're a good natured Jedi and then BAM you're an evil Sith Lord and then BAM in an instant your back to being your good old Jedi self in ROTJ. I hate the way this series covers changes in morality. 2) What was the deal with Palpatine losing to Mace? I thought Mace was less powerful than Yoda. Yet somehow Mace managed to beat Palpy and Palpy managed to beat Yoda. WTF was that about? I thought maybe Palpy was just pretending to lose to coax Anakin into attacking Mace, but that doesn't seem to work. Mace even managed to reflect his force lightning and I doubt Palpster would've left him do that. Mace managed to reflect the Force lightning but Yoda could not? WTF is that about? How did Palpy beat Yoda when Yoda is supposedly more powerful than Mace? MAkes no sense.
  9. Anyway, the main problems I had with the movies were: 1) The battles in the movie never built to anything. I mean there was alot of moments in the movie where you thought you were gonna get to watch a kick ass battle scene and then the movie just pulled away.This kept friggin happening and it pissed me off. 2) The acting. Although here it was improved over the previous two. I guess the actor actually had some real drama to work with this time. 3) The dialogue: Although like with the acting it eas better here as well. Primarily because Lucas kept the dialogue very basic and never tried to get to fancy. 4) The movie had to friggin cover so much ground in so little time because of all the time wasted in the first two movies where they could've developed the storyline. Oh yeah and for a more minor bonus annoyance: Franken-Vader! You all know what I'm talking about! That horrible scene where Vader breaks out of the shackles and moves all ridiculous going "Noooooooo!". What should've been a emotional climax made me want to break out into laughter. I was expecting Palpatine to say "ITS ALLIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!! ITS ALLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!" and lighting bolts coming down. That was just pathetically done. Like first two prequels bad. Fortunately thank God it was the exception to the rule.
  10. Face it, what you said is a try to covers your true sentiment. You liked it Which is enough for me Luke, ETA 4 hours, 45 minutes... Yes I liked it. I think the original statement made that perfectly obvious.
  11. Yeah it wasnt so much a victory of skill as it was a victory of wits. OF course he was aided by the fact that Anakin was a dumb ass and jumped right into him.
  12. I saw it. Did the film redeem the prequels? No! However, it didnt drag the name of the series down into the mud like the last two. For once George delivered a good Prequel film. As good as the originals? Nope! However, this film actually FELT Star Wars. Which is enough for me.
  13. Considering the serious lack of truly great composers out there I would not bet on that. All you need is another director to use a Goldsmith piece as a temp track and realize its better than the actual score.
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