Star Wars Lives!

[LHoffman]

@frimmel:

I was watching the trailer for the first time and they get to that long shot of the Falcon being chased by a TIE and I went, “Cue Firefly style crash zoom onto Falcon. TIE crashes. Wow did that just copy and paste that from Return of the Jedi?”

I thought the same thing. It is both an unimaginitive re-creation and another blatant show of fan service.

@frimmel:

The lightsaber crossguard is still dumb.

At this point it is just escalation that will not stop. It started with Darth Maul in Ep. 1 having a double bladed lightsaber… which was legitimately cool, useful and seemingly plausible. Thankfully Lucas didn’t take that further in creating new and different lightsabers. But I fear that is what we have happening now. There is a perceived need to up the ante and deliver something novel and never before seen… but for what purpose? To keep people’s interest? To be creative? To wow the audience with something ever more outrageous? You start to ruin the legacy and the future when you tamper with something simple that works.

@frimmel:

I also think the not-Tatooine desert planet being called Jakku is JJ thumbing his nose at fans again because it was going to be Tatooine.

I never considered that, but seems plausible. Although, I don’t know why he would feel the need to do so considering that anyone would have assumed that a desert planet in the trailers or in pictures from a set would be Tatooine. I don’t know why he would feel slighted about that speculation. He would have to expect it.

But again, copying the desert planet theme comes off as both hearkening back and retreading old ground because it worked before. If he would have just said it was Tatooine that would not be an issue.

[frimmel]

All I heard when I learned the name of totally not Tatooine (which I learned via the Battlefront info) was “Frak You.” Jakku/Frak You.

Spoilers?

So Jakku where they meet a force sensitive, spunky, and sassy farm girl longing to leave her boring moisture farm life for adventures amongst the stars. She spends her free time exploring the crashed SD and finds the copies of the long lost plans needed to put an end to the resurrected Empire’s long lost secret weapon. Han and Chewie on a mission themselves to find these plans are led to a cantina in the planet’s “wretched hive of scum and villainy” city where after learning the location Han must shoot first in self-defense because the contact intended to kill them all along.

He then heads off to collect the plans and gets rescued by our spunky heroine who wants the “walking carpet” to get our of her way so she do it better than the “old fossil.” But his handiwork has drawn attention and the bad guys show up and they have to fly into the engine cowling of a crashed space craft in order for the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy to outrun a TIE fighter.

[Gargantua]

I wouldn’t find her moisture farm so boring.

[General Veers]

I think you nailed it Frimmel, the trailer looks like a remake of A New Hope.

[LHoffman]

@Gargantua:

I wouldn’t find her moisture farm so boring.

:lol: :lol:

[CWO Marc]

Here’s something that looks sufficiently like an AT-ST scout walker that it may interest Star Wars fans:

http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/giant-robots-set-to-fight-after-u-s-company-issues-video-challenge-to-japanese-rival-1.2456864

It doesn’t actually walk, but in terms of design it’s at least a move in the right direction.  The paintball cannon armament is likewise less-than-formidable, but that would be an easy detail to upgrade.

[frimmel]

Looks like a I called it on the girl exploring the crashed Star Destroyer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE

[General Veers]

I just can’t believe we’re going to see a third iteration of the massive, planet destroying battlestation.

[LHoffman]

I really want to let loose on an anti-JJ Abrams rant right now… but I will keep cool. Everything I could say has been said before. And better by others.

I don’t know what I can stand less: the slathering, orgasmic fan-boy/girls who just think this is going to be the most awesome thing ever or the film itself.

[General Veers]

Also did not need to see a warp field effect for the Falcon in hyperspace, then again JJ used the hyperdrive effect for the Enterprise in Trek XI. So all this crap is blending together in one big JJ-verse. At least this doesn’t look as stilted as the prequels.

[LHoffman]

I would prefer stilted while respectful and true to form over whatever the heck this is… New, fresh, sleek and decidedly modern… Star Wars has never been that.

[aequitas-et-veritas]

In the end, we all going to see our bodies sitting in cinema and watching star wars e7.
Sighhhhhhhhhh. :-)

[LHoffman]

Not me man! I am holding strong.

I am one of the biggest LoTR fans you will find, but The Hobbit 1 bored me and made me afraid for the future, The Hobbit 2 pushed me into anger and despair.

Still haven’t seen The Hobbit Part 3.

I am well on the path to the dark side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFnFr-DOPf8

[frimmel]

@aequitas:

In the end, we all going to see our bodies sitting in cinema and watching star wars e7.
Sighhhhhhhhhh. :-)

I’ll buy a ticket to something else and sneak in but I won’t give them money for a porcelain hamburger.

[aequitas-et-veritas]

@LHoffman:

Not me man! I am holding strong.

I am one of the biggest LoTR fans you will find, but The Hobbit 1 bored me and made me afraid for the future, The Hobbit 2 pushed me into anger and despair.

Still haven’t seen The Hobbit Part 3.

I am well on the path to the dark side.

:lol: :lol: :-) :-) :-D :-D :-D

HA HA Ha Ha

[ABWorsham4]

@LHoffman:

Not me man! I am holding strong.

I am one of the biggest LoTR fans you will find, but The Hobbit 1 bored me and made me afraid for the future, The Hobbit 2 pushed me into anger and despair.

Still haven’t seen The Hobbit Part 3.

I am well on the path to the dark side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFnFr-DOPf8

Awesome stand, Hobbit movies were bad. Battle of Five Armies did not need to out do the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

[aequitas-et-veritas]

Hey ABWorsham, how are ya?
Haven’t seen you in while.

[LHoffman]

@ABWorsham:

Awesome stand, Hobbit movies were bad. Battle of Five Armies did not need to out do the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Truth. I was deeply disappointed in the Hobbit films to say the least.

I know some more-than-casual Tolkien fans who say to the effect of, “Hey lighten up!” or “Don’t be that guy.” But I will certainly be that guy in this situation. The Lord of the Rings remained true to the spirit of the book and made relatively minor alterations. From what I saw of The Hobbit 1 & 2, the source material was abused wherever it was seen fit to do so. What annoyed me perhaps more was just how fake and digital the entire films looked in comparison to LoTR.

[CWO Marc]

@LHoffman:

@ABWorsham:

Awesome stand, Hobbit movies were bad. Battle of Five Armies did not need to out do the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Truth. I was deeply disappointed in the Hobbit films to say the least.

I know some more-than-casual Tolkien fans who say to the effect of, “Hey lighten up!” or “Don’t be that guy.” But I will certainly be that guy in this situation. The Lord of the Rings remained true to the spirit of the book and made relatively minor alterations. From what I saw of The Hobbit 1 & 2, the source material was abused wherever it was seen fit to do so. What annoyed me perhaps more was just how fake and digital the entire films looked in comparison to LoTR.

I quite agree.  A friend of mine once said that Kubrick’s film Eyes Wide Shut was, in a strange sort of way, a true artistic triumph because it achieved the impossible: it made sex look boring.  My feeling about to the Hobbit trilogy is that it too was, in a strange sort of way, a true artistic triumph because it achieved the impossible: it made the original LOTR trilogy look realistic.  I loved the original three films, and I like the extended DVD edition even more, but to my great disappontment I found the Hobbit prequel to be a bloated monstrosity.

[LHoffman]

@CWO:

My feeling about to the Hobbit trilogy is that it too was, in a strange sort of way, a true artistic triumph because it achieved the impossible: it made the original LOTR trilogy look realistic.  I loved the original three films, and I like the extended DVD edition even more, but to my great disappontment I found the Hobbit prequel to be a bloated monstrosity.

Never thought about it that way, but it is definitely true. LoTR Extended Editions are probably the best home film experience ever made. The films themselves are superb and the attention to detail, quality and sheer volume of extra items is utterly unsurpassed.

There is 122 minutes of total (very good and substantial) extended and added footage in the film itself (that is like a whole extra freaking movie!) - which adds up to 683 minutes of total movie time, (4) Commentary tracks for the total length of the film including all principal actors (which is a massive number in these films), directors, producers, writers, artists and designers! - that alone is unheard of - plus you have the seemingly endless labyrinth of special feature documentaries which spend a great deal of time showcasing behind the scenes development, production, writing, history of the books and Tolkien, geography of filming locations, new and old filming techniques, costumes, weapons, set design, adaptation process, pre-visualization, editing, musical scoring, sound effects, theatrical premiers… the list just goes on and on. It is insane.  Plus, if you get the blu-ray extended versions you also get an extra 305 minutes of unique-footage documentary on all three films from Costa Botes.

For $50 on Amazon… this is a total steal. http://www.amazon.com/The-Lord-Rings-Fellowship-Extended/dp/B0026L7H20

Obviously, I cannot recommend this highly enough. All other great film experiences I compare to The Lord of the Rings and, unfortunately, each and every one is going to fall far, far short.