1,301 Reply by redxavier

(56 replies, posted in Episodes)

Haven't finished it yet but I thought I would post my one criticism of the Arroway character and how I read the priest scene.

Ultimately, Arroway's transformation into an atheist appears to be due to the death of her parents. Because the priest says it's all god's plan, it essentially blames this god for her loss and thus her subsequent rejection of belief appears to stem from a rejection of god.

I've often encountered theists who claim that atheists hate god and deny him. That she is in large part an atheist because she was orphaned by 'god's will' affirms this Christian attitude and even when the film does present her beliefs as being based on reason and logic, the audience is left remembering that the process started with 'god took away my parents'.

There's also that awful emotional argument from Palmer Joss - "Did you love your father? Prove it." She should have slapped him.

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1,302 Reply by redxavier

(2,061 replies, posted in Episodes)

Any Kurosawa movie is good. Hidden Fortress on the basis of its Star Wars influences (GL used it again for TPM) and Yojimbo for its influence on For a Few Dollars More (or is it Fistful of Dollars? I always get them muddled up) are the easy choices.

But I think Sanjuro has a lot to offer and High And Low is good too.

Continuing the classics theme, I'd suggest Spartacus - a Kubrick film like no other.

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1,303 Reply by redxavier

(301 replies, posted in Episodes)

I love you guys! And it's no longer platonic.

Wanna take a ride?

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1,304 Reply by redxavier

(2,061 replies, posted in Episodes)

It's more the manner in which it is done. It's like Shane and Jack Palance teaming up because the town is suddenly attacked by Indians seconds before they are about to draw on each other.

Or at least, that's the way I remember it. I should watch it again.

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1,305 Reply by redxavier

(36 replies, posted in Episodes)

I liked this one alot but found myself irrationally thinking I didn't following Cameron's oscar speech and the overwhelming hype.  I haven't seen this in a long, long time, possibly a decade now, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this commentary.

I'd attribute the success of the movie to its universal appeal, managing to get that teenage girl demographic didn't hurt either.

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1,306 Reply by redxavier

(2,061 replies, posted in Episodes)

You're right Trey, it's not magical, just improbable.

What stretches credibility for me is the deus ex machina of [SPOILERS] the gangsters joining forces with the FBI against the Nazis [END SPOILERS].

I do find the impossibly strong meathead henchman slightly magical, but I accept it on the basis of it being an aspect of this comic book world.

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1,307 Reply by redxavier

(2,061 replies, posted in Episodes)

I found 8mm to be deeply unsettling, but since so much time has passed since watching it, it could be that my memory of it is greater than it actually was.

I second Rocketeer, mainly because it's a film I only recently saw for the first time and would be interested to hear the arguments for it being a perfect movie (at the outset, I find the lead actor to be weak, a sort of poor man's Harrison Ford, and it has a double hocus pocus ending).

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1,308 Reply by redxavier

(54 replies, posted in Episodes)

To my mind, the rationale behind The One's powers is that he's a human with an imagination and self-awareness that allows him to affect his dreams beyond the usual superpowers of Morpheus and the others. But it's only inside the dream world in which these powers can be demonstrated because they aren't physical powers, only mental. I wouldn't say he can manipulate or control the machines themselves, only the world they have created.

It's mind over matter. That Neo had to essentially die to truly understand the connection between the real world and the Matrix only reinforces this.

We had the most realistic superhero possible, indeed, the only time when a human could ever fly and indeed, toy with the very fabric of existence. But only inside his head.

The sequels then sort of missed this point entirely. And instead of creating an interesting juxtaposition of invulnerable God in the Matrix and vulnerable mortal in the real world, they turned Neo into first Superman then real world telekinetic.

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1,309 Reply by redxavier

(122 replies, posted in Episodes)

Hansen wrote:

I always thought the line "There will be no one to stop us this time!" was a reference to the opening crawl where they say that Rebel spaceships have just won their first victory against the Empire.

But Vader is talking about getting the plans back. It was during the scroll battle that the plans were taken so it doesn't make sense for him to refer to that as being an example of a previous attempt to recover them.

I'm kinda surprised by the apparent ambiguity of the scene. Vader's pretty much standing on a bunch of dead guys who attempted to stop him, saying 'they're all dead, so how about you go do it yourself'.

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1,310 Reply by redxavier

(2,061 replies, posted in Episodes)

Funny you say that since Flash Gordon has an awesome soundtrack, courtesy of Queen.

"FLASH... A-AH... saviour of the universe!"

The film did poorly everywhere except the UK, now it's a little bit of a cult classic. You're right about the cast, it's pretty good and well rounded - though it's amusing that Sam Jones had to be dubbed. And like the Buck Rogers TV series it provided good material for fans to argue over who was hotter - Dale Arden or Princess Aura.

"Oh my god this girl's really turning me on."

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1,311 Reply by redxavier

(122 replies, posted in Episodes)

Well, not really, it might be a different galaxy but it's the same universe and therefore the same rules still apply. An interesting perspective though - after all, Luke is a human but not an earthling so evolution in this galaxy could have given humans the ability to use the force. And now I've just contradicted myself.

Regarding Darth's line about no-one stopping them. I think this is taken too literally. It's not that they have been stopped before, it's just that no-one will be there to even try to stop them. So, no opposition as opposed to a bunch of armed rebels.

That's how I read it, the Senate doesn't have much relevance here. It's not like the Senate have intervened to prevent them getting the plans before, the story implies that they are protesting Darth's methods and providing a semblance of immunity for Leia.


Edited to add:
It's not clear from the movie but I think Biggs and Wedge are quite far back from Luke in the trench. So they're covering Luke in the sense that no-one can get behind him without being shot by his wingmen (Biggs say that they'll hang back far enough to cover you). The problem is that the TIEs come behind the wingmen, and without extra support coming behind the TIEs they're toast. So they end up sacrificing themselves to buy time. Wedge just leaving is odd but Luke does tell him to get out of there.

Still, the concept of Luke being in charge of Biggs and Wedge has always been weird. Why is Luke effectively the second in command after Red Leader?

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1,312 Reply by redxavier

(2,061 replies, posted in Episodes)

How about... Masters of the Universe? Lots of practical special effects to discuss, the impact of He-man, the cheapness of the film's transplantion of He-man and his pals to what looks like the Back to the Future backlot, young Robert Duncan McNeil and Courtney Cox, the sexiness of Evil Lyn, Frank Langella's Skeletor.

Also, Flash Gordon would be good as well.
"Flash I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!"

Doesn't that Camembert smell so good?

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1,313 Reply by redxavier

(2,061 replies, posted in Episodes)

We talked about it in the Jedi Council thread but Sunshine and Moon would be great.

In no particular order of preference:

- Top Gun (perhaps discuss how the homoeroticism has been completely overblown? Sometimes a wingman is just a wingman)

- Predator (love to hear Trey's thoughts on the predator effects, the film's impact etc.)

- Contact (again! Can Brian talk about Sagan?)

- The 13th Warrior (I think one of the crew said they liked this? Occasionally inspired but flawed. Does McTiernan have a style?)

- Chronicles of Riddick (what went wrong if anything? Perhaps Pitch Black would have to be done before)

- Crimson Tide (Are the Scott brothers distinct?Which one is more consistent? Submarine cliches)

- Last Action Hero (a loving send-up of the action genre, misunderstood genius?)

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