#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 But the Prequels do not tell a good story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,338 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Oh come off it. It wasn't like that during fairytales, but I don't understand why adults would be encouraged not to be inquisitive. Why do I need to know Leia is a princess? Why not? If you're going to tell your audience she's a princess, why not explain it properly? Really, if I tell you that there is a civil war going on, that A has taken control of the state and that B are rebelling', are you unconditionally going to support B just because you assume A has to be bad? I just don't like superficial oppositions. You were right about Vader, but you also have to admit that the OT never spares a thought for the fact that maybe not all the rebels are bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Because it's not a history book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 It's sad that the EU is no more. Bollemanneke would have loved that shit. All the different levels of canon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 They're still fun yarns and readily available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 ...for the moment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 They're in second hand shops too.Oh and I enjoyed Heir to the Empire more than The Force Awakens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,338 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I've heard the fairytale argument before and I accept that the OT is a fairytale. BUT, if the preqeuls suddenly delve deeper into everyone's past, how am I supposed to react to that? You essentially end up with in-depth storytelling in the beginning and then suddenly a fairy-tale you have to accept as it is, which doesn't make sense because it's supposed to be one story. The princess story matters to me because they mention she is a princess. If I tell you that my country is under siege from The Yellow Folk, aren't you even going to wonder who they are or what they're doing here? In a fairytae, this wouldn't matter, but Star Wars is watched by adults too and it's not such a childish concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,338 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Okay, I understand your point, though I don't agree with the part about not having to expllain everything, but I'll agree to disagree there. I can see why people didn't like the prequels. I found them more engaging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I don't mind added complexity in the prequels. But make it interesting! God i was so bored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 So should Peter Jackson direct a Star Wars film? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 bollemanneke 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brónach 1,301 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 There could have been a nice prequel trilogy somewhere in some good writer's hands. Including the deviations in tone into other non-fairytale stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Wait a minute. Bollemannake, are you actually concluding that Leia Organa is a princess only because her mother, Padme/Amidala, was a queen in the Prequel Trilogy? This conclusion is flawed for major reasons. First of all, Leia never knows her birth mother, who literally dies of sadness shortly after giving birth to two beautiful children. Sadness caused by an immature, poorly developed husband's wrath. These children could have benefitted from a strong mother's love. Secondly, Leia is raised by a Senator of Alderaan and his wife. Is the senator's wife a queen or princess herself? We don't know, we never meet her, so why would a senator's daughter be a princess? This doesn't make sense. Leia cannot be told of her lineage because she works so openly in the Imperial Senate around the Emperor and Vader and other Imperial goons in the time leading up to her capture aboard the Rebel Blockade Runner. She doesn't know she's the royal daughter of a Naboo queen because that would be on file in her public dossier, and Darth Vader would recognize that queen as his dead wife, connect the dots, and know this uptight brat is his daughter. "If Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat... This is the reason [she] remain safely anonymous."QED. bollemanneke 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Nice one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 So should Peter Jackson direct a Star Wars film? He already sorta did with his LOTR trilogy. LOTR is to Star Wars what The Elder Scrolls are to Fallout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Ah, right, you don't play video games. In fact, neither do I, but I live on planet Earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I am a Vulcan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,338 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Woj, you destroyed my evening. I still prefer the prequels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Woj, you destroyed my evening.We aim to please!The Queen/Princess stuff in this saga has actually never really made sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brónach 1,301 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Secondly, Leia is raised by a Senator of Alderaan and his wife. Is the senator's wife a queen or princess herself? We don't know, we never meet her, so why would a senator's daughter be a princess? This doesn't make sense.The Republic is a conferation where the power resides in the planets themselves. This can be understood as each planet having its own internal organization and the resulting ruler(s), either kings, or whatever order ruled a specific planet, would attend the Senate as a senator. That's maybe why Queen Amidala (in Naboo) is a Senator in the Senate. Senator Organa or his wife are probably royal in Alderaan, and why Senator Organa is a Senator in the first place, so the princess ended up adopted by another queen, I suppose.The system might suck in several ways, yes, and that's why fucking wars and ultimately Empire.If both of those things were the point, Lucas is a shit writer, because nobody understands or cares about what's going on, even if they're the type to enjoy Game of Thrones simultaneously.Any interesting points in the prequels are treated lightly enough so as to not matter. From politics to friendship between characters to any mystical stuff to everything. It's annoying. It's chaotic narration without life to it. In Star Wars we see a threat because a planet gets blown up in the blink of an eye. In The Phantom Menace there's supposedly a threat because there's a threat somewhere because. It's like that, but with everything, including the politics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 You're perfectly free to assume that Jimmy Smits' Alderaanian wife (she gets mere seconds screen time) is a queen of the planet since he's the Senator. That's natural and suggests why Leia is a princess. I don't know if she knows she's adopted, that might be the key link. But it's a big assumption you have to make in the final five minutes of a film series that took six hours to tell most of a story. We shouldn't have to make that assumption. The prequels fail. Or put another way. Leia was the daughter of a Queen so she is royalty. Luke is the son of a Queen but he's not a Prince. So rule out the Queen of Naboo commonality. Leia is adopted by a senator so she becomes royalty.... OK.... Luke is raised as the nephew of farmers so he's a common man. If Ben gives Leia to the Lars instead, Luke is the Prince and Leia becomes the warrior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightscape94 965 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 She looks like a matchstick figure, just like Keira. I also don't like the way she runs or moves. I'm not a fan of Keira or Keira lookalikes. My only hope is that the non-episode Star Wars movies will be better in that regard as well.The main character's figure and motor skills will be just as abhorrent in all other movies in this franchise. Quintus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bollemanneke 3,338 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Happy feet. (Result of an early Christmas party with young nephews and nieces.) Gorgeous score by John Powell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Harmy's Return of the Jedi. Her re-education is now complete. Tomorrow we can go see TFA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Breathmask 555 Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 The Republic is a conferation where the power resides in the planets themselves. This can be understood as each planet having its own internal organization and the resulting ruler(s), either kings, or whatever order ruled a specific planet, would attend the Senate as a senator. That's maybe why Queen Amidala (in Naboo) is a Senator in the Senate.Nope. When Amidala was Queen, Palpatine was the Senator from Naboo. When Amidala was a Senator, a new Queen had been elected (apparently, Queens are elected on Naboo - oh, well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 She looks like a matchstick figure, just like Keira. I also don't like the way she runs or moves. I'm not a fan of Keira or Keira lookalikes. My only hope is that the non-episode Star Wars movies will be better in that regard as well. The main character's figure and motor skills will be just as abhorrent in all other movies in this franchise.They need to give her a boob job and have her learn how to move like a slut. I just can't take her seriously till they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt C 452 Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Rise of the GuardiansOkay, this isn't like other DreamWorks Animation films -- well, aside from casting well-known names as the lead characters (none of them really call attention to themselves though). David Ramsey does a nice job handling the lighter and darker aspects of the film, and it's refreshingly devoid of bodily jokes or pop culture references. It brings its message across more charmingly and less heavy-handed than The Polar Express, and Alexandre Desplat's score complements the visuals nicely.Rather an underrated film, I feel. However, the marketing did not do the film any favors at ALL. DWA should've marketed this like Pixar have done for their films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,300 Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Did you like Desplat's score? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brónach 1,301 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 The Republic is a conferation where the power resides in the planets themselves. This can be understood as each planet having its own internal organization and the resulting ruler(s), either kings, or whatever order ruled a specific planet, would attend the Senate as a senator. That's maybe why Queen Amidala (in Naboo) is a Senator in the Senate.Nope. When Amidala was Queen, Palpatine was the Senator from Naboo. When Amidala was a Senator, a new Queen had been elected (apparently, Queens are elected on Naboo - oh, well).Ah, hell. Nevermind. I haven't seen those movies in a while. Then I suppose I don't get it. Maybe they choose who to send but that doesn't have to be the head of the state of the planet. Like, you send a puppet senator or something.If that's the case, then makes you wonder why making Padme an "elected Queen" at all. It's simpler if she isn't called that. Then Leia would simply be a princess because of who adopted her (and you would have to elaborate on that instead of skipping the whole issue and placing by force all the characters in their Star Wars starting positions even if it doesn't make sense).Lucas had extremely weird narrative priorities when writing the prequels. Almost all of TPM is pointless to the overarching story to start with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 10,000 BC Oddly entertaining, even with its overt ripoffs of Stargate imagery. I loved the Mammoths and the Saber Tooth Tiger, as fake as they looked. Kloser's score was boring and invisible until the end credits, where he finally unleashes some fun, loud musical nonsense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 It was so unfunnily bad, I had to switch if off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Admittedly it wore on my patience a lot, but when the pyramid battle begins with the mammoth stampede, it finally gets good. But the female lead's magical resurrection was just ridiculous in a film that couldn't afford to be more absurd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I recorded Frantic from TV. I haven't seen the movie since it was in theatres. Ford has weird hair in this one Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 10,000 BC is one of the worst films I've ever seen in a theater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 I hate how the movie has these horribly obvious green screen shots sandwiched between amazing location shots of people walking on mountains and countrysides. Fucking lazy moviemaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 1 hour ago, Koray Savas said: 10,000 BC is one of the worst films I've ever seen in a theater. You went to see it in a theatre? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Back when I worked at one. A friend and I went for a laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Everest: Not bad but forgettable. During the movie I was thinking that Jason Clarke (on your right in the pic) would actually be perfect for playing a captain of a cargo ship in the Alien universe. I would believe him. Don't expect too much of Jake Gyllenhaal because he only has a small part. 6/10 You think it's digital (which it is) but you often saw that light in the movie when they were on top of the world. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Flowers in the Attic, 1987 Sure kept me guessing. Kristy Swanson ironically looked even better with her pixie 'do after Nurse Ratchet lopped it off to punish her. Ironic only because it made her look sexier when it wasn't supposed to. Was there supposed to be some incest theme in this that got axed at the 11th hour? And Christopher Young's score, while creepy, ain't worth the $200+ it commands on eBay. EAT THE COOKIE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Breathmask 555 Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 Child's Play This was actually a lot of fun. I had no idea what to expect. I thought it was going to be a standard slasher (scantily clad female victims hunted by a knife-wielding maniac - a doll in this case), but it had very different main characters than I expected. There's actually only three deaths in the entire film. So the movie seems like it's trying to be more than a standard slasher. But here's the thing: the whole thing is completely fucking ridiculous. And it works as something completely cheesy because of that, but it works as nothing else. It's a ridiculous film, which makes it fun, but there's no way to take it seriously. A fun film though. And at just 93 minutes, it breezes by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I just watched Gremlins. Such a sardonic Christmas film. Yet it is full of heart and it holds up to this very day. Jerry was a genius. Koray Savas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace This is a film I have not watched since 2002. In my memory it was a bad film, but the best of the Prequels. It felt more like Star Wars. The good. The special effects for it's time are astonishing. Some of the creature designs may have dated, but the space stuff looks fabulous. Not just for a 1999 film, even today. ILM really worked on this and it shows! The production design and costumes etc are also very good. I enjoyed the renaissance look of Naboo, which is completely unlike anything we have seen in the OT (something the new film doest do) And Coruscant is impressive. Also the costume design is noteworthy. Both Queen Amidala and Darth Maul have a strong Japanese influence. Straight out of Kabuki theatre. Distinctive and interesting. The highly choreographed light saber battles! Man those are cool! Months of training really pays off. The OT duels did not come close too looking as acrobatic, and vicseral. The music. It's excellent! John Williams must have known the bar was set very high. And he delivered! Other then that.. Oh my fucking God! Seriously. The past week 1,5 week Ive been super optimistic about Star Wars. I enjoyed my rewatch of the OT. and I really liked The Force Awakens, which I have seen twice, and the new score is fantastic. In my memory The Phantom Menace was the best of the Prequels. Oh my fucking God! The technical stuff is outstanding. and some of the cast do decent work. Liam Neeson is an actor of great charisma and is solid to watch even though the script, story and direction give him nothing. Same for Ewan. Same for McDiarmid... But Nathalie Portman is an excellent actress who makes no impression at all. Jake Loyd...he was young, utterly blameless, but terrible. Samuel L. Jackson. A fantastically charismatic actor who's been in many films where he coasts on his persona is completely and utterly dull here. Solid character actors in supporting roles who make no impression whatsoever. The problem is twofold. The conception and execution. And for both George Lucas is responsible The dialogue is on the whole terrible. Convoluted. Lacking in humor, lacking in drama. The story has a whiff of interest in it. But its a story thats very badly told. It's hugely ambitious. but utterly bogged down in senseless details. The direction is even worse. Many times things we see on screen are repeated in dialogue. So if the droidika's are visually seen to have a force field, there is a line of dialogue from Obi-Wan telling us they have a force field. This happens throughout the movie. We are shown things and told about them in senseless dialogue. Even worse. Things that could simply be shown to us are explained. The result is that the film has really poor pacing. The story tells about an invasion, oppression, people dying. But there is no sense of urgency at all. No sense of drama, no sense that anything is at stake. The Tatooine scenes seem to last forever. If Lucas knows he's going to tell a story about the fall of the Jedi, the seduction of Anakin to the Dark Side, the destruction of the Republic, why the hell does he spend so much time on a podrace which is completely inconsequential to the overall story. It possibly gets even worse once they get to Coruscant. scenes of impressive effects, but endless exposition. About politics, about a prophecy, tedious scenes of underdeveloped characters reciting hard to recite dialogue in an uninteresting way. Only Neeson and McDiarmid survive in any way through this drudgery. The final act. The three pronged action scene on Naboo. Again for the saga it is very inconsequential what happens here. The impressively rendered space battle is ruined because it focused on a kid. The Amidala part is confusing, which leaves only the Jedi/Sith battle. Darth Maul has almost no lines. But is a very cool villain. The music, the choreography, the scenic background really is epic, and for a few moments The Phantom menace actually works. After that, more exposition, nothing left to the imagination of the viewer. Limping to the finale. George Lucas has great ideas. And there is a sort of epic sweep to the story of the Prequels that would be fascinating is it was well told. But sadly both as a screenwriter as a director George Lucas is simply awfull The Phantom Menace lacks pace and urgency on the one hand, yet dialogue is spoken quickly, without any concept of dramatic intonation or pacing. So it's a film that is both too long yet moves to quick. It's fascination with politics and diplomacy is tedious and stale. Yet it has the sense of humour that could only satisfy a 5 year old. How can you have a film with complex political situations about trade negotiations and a blockade...and a Gungang numbing his tongue, plus added fart jokes? Who exactly is this film aiming for? So in my mind this was the best of the three. It might still actually be. I dont know. I'm not sure I want to find out. Today I figured if TPM want too bad I would check out the other. But I really don't know. Part of it was the look. Yes the effects are accomplished. But everything is so sterile. Utterly so. Surgically clean and sterile without any kind of sense that these are real locations where people live, wear real clothes, breathe, eat. The Original Trilogy brilliantly used the worn out, well used look. I can understand that in The Galactic Republic things look cleaner. But even Tatooine looked completely artificial. Any idea that this was a remote community with people struggling to meek out a living in harsh circumstances was gone. The razor-sharp definition of the cinematography, coupled by the pristine, ultra clear effects and the pristine costumes and production design just kill the magic. John Williams should get a statue for his core. Because in this uninspiring, dreary, immature mess he manages to find some heart and soul. Yet even he struggles.I cannot blame him though. The Force Awakens is a flawed film from in many way. But it gave him play to work with emotionally. The Phantom Menace gives him almost nothing. Williams was left to work based on a bunch of ideas, concepts that might have made for a good movie if it was handled with some competence. His score is excellent. And his hard work was rewarded by his efforts being cut up and pasted in such a random fashion! There are many big budget films that are bad. But most of them at least have the veneer of competence on some level. With the exception of the music, production design, effects, and 3 or 4 of the performances, this has none. It is truly an appalling waste of time and resources. 1/2 out of **** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Breathmask 555 Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 Wait until you see Attack of the Clones. It's hands down one of the worst big budget movies I've seen. It's devoid of life in all departments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Should I? I recently watched the 4 Transformers films and as bloated and overbearing as those are.... Do I dare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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