226 Reply by Writhyn

(46 replies, posted in Off Topic)

bullet3 wrote:

Who gives a shit about any of these characters?

I did. I thought it was a good mix: a lifelong rebel who's questioning his actions perpetrated for "the cause;" a woman who hates Imperials for breaking her family and can't join the rebels because her father is supposedly one of the baddest Imps out there; a blind wannabe force-user who keeps trying to convince himself the Force is with him; the blind guy's friend who feels bad for him and doesn't yet believe; the imperial pilot with a conscience who we see go through the desperate process of defection; the old radical who cares about people but can't let go of his violent ways; a far-too-honest droid who just wants to shoot something; a villain who wants credit for building a superweapon even though everyone knows he just used Galen Erso...

Sure, maybe a couple of them could've been fleshed out more, but I felt like I understood where each person was coming from. It's subjective, sure, but the building blocks were on the screen.

bullet3 wrote:

Why is their mission so poorly defined, to where the movie feels like nothing is happening for 90 minutes. Then they stage this big battle sequence, with mostly anonymous good guys and bad guys you don't give a damn about.

Ok, I get not liking a movie, but this is definitely not true. They articulate their mission like 8 times throughout the film: first they need to find Sal and use Jyn to get him to share info, then they need to find Galen Erso. Jyn wants to get him away from the Imps, and Andor was ordered to kill him.
After this their mission is literally the premise of the entire Star Wars mythos: get the damn Death Star plans. The battle at the end involved plenty of good characters and plenty of grunt soldiers, and lots of space fights all aimed at getting the shield down so the plans could be transferred.

bullet3 wrote:

Between Force Awakens being forgettable and this being out and out terrible, I feel everyone owes Lucas an apology.

I'm with you on TFA being forgettable.

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227 Reply by Writhyn

(46 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Alex wrote:

See, but that character felt so wasted to me. It was a great opportunity to explore the post-Jedi world, but like so many things in this movie (and in so many others) it felt like a great idea on paper that was shoehorned into the script because one executive couldn't let it go. I feel that keeping all references to the Force (except for Vader) away from this movie, but showing the soldiers lamenting the fact that a Jedi would be mighty useful, would be far more effective and cleaner.

I see how that could be a good way to do it, but it made sense to me: the old temple was being plundered for crystals, and the other guardian monks were probably killed over time. The troops left this guy alone because he was blind and they underestimated him. He's the pathetic remnant of a bunch of wannabe force-devotees who ends up getting his moment in the end. Maybe that's "wasted" but for me it's fine if a character just gets a moment. And his counterpart, who feels bad for him and sticks around, ends up believing in the end. That's enough of a theme for me: the guy who believes in the force despite everything ends up convincing his friend to believe too. Hope, man. It's everywhere wink

Alex wrote:

given how awesome it was to see a planet getting destroyed from the perspective of someone who's on said planet, I think that the tension would've still been extremely high.

That would, indeed, have been pretty cool. BUT (having just watched it) it's explicitly said in Star Wars '77 that Alderaan was the first real test of the Death Star. Alderaan is the first planet it destroyed. If Rogue One messed with that, it would be weird. That's a necessary constraint of the story. I'm impressed they got around that by firing the Star at a low power. And it made for some damn good visuals.

Alex wrote:

Instead, we get a comparatively lethargic sequence where they get the plans off and still have time to kiss each other (can no movie be without a love story anymore? Especially between those two--they had zero chemistry the whole movie).

I don't remember them kissing, in fact I thought they didn't and was pretty happy. They were both about to die and had come to care for each other in incredibly stressful situations. I don't grudge them a hug, especially since the test at Jedha showed it takes a bit of time for the explosions to propagate across the miles of terrain.

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228 Reply by Writhyn

(46 replies, posted in Off Topic)

After the first scene with Tarkin, I settled in for it. I think my problem with cgi faces in these movies is something Boter said: it's a tad too...smooth. Like people's faces have tiny herky-jerky tics when we talk. It's not even something you could point at and say "That's it!" but we can tell when it's not there. There were moments it worked better than others, but in this movie full of CGI that didn't scream "I'm CGI!" (everything about the space battles) I'll forgive it.

The fanservice in this movie didn't bug me because it was either A) Super brief (although yeah, R2 and 3PO should have been on the Tantive) or B) relevant to the action (of course Red and Gold leaders would be there). They didn't allout copy Star Wars '77 like TFA felt. It could have been left out, but at least it didn't undermine the climax because we knew how it was going to play out.

Rogue One also felt way less "OMG LOOK AT THAT" in its pacing. Scenes played out nicely.

I was looking forward to seeing Donnie Yen kick ass, and it was really cool to see the Force-aided Kung-Fu, especially after TFA so badly wasted the guys from The Raid.

The blockade runner sequence was awesome. Watching those guys crash into the destroyer and then pushing it into the other and THEN the gate was amazing, and I really liked the unexpected solution to the problem. Instead of "Hey let's find the Gate's weak spot and hit it with a torpedo" it was "LET'S SMASH TWO FREAKING STAR DESTROYERS INTO THE WHOLE DAMN THING!" It was wonderful.

I do agree that Vader's first scene was a bit weird, and unnecessary. It would have been much better if his appearance at the battle was the first time we saw him. And seeing him wreak havoc was so cool.

Finally, I can't tell you how happy it made me that everyone died at the end. I mean, it was sad. But as a story that's EXACTLY what needed to happen, and it was great. Poignant.

I liked this movie. I liked it a lot. And it made me so excited to watch Star Wars '77 again, which I'm now signing off to do.

TL;DR I think Edwards' Star Wars is less frenetic than Abrams', and though it had cheese, I felt it was no more cheesy than the original installments had. I approve.

PS One thing they didn't do that disappointed me was show the Death Star coming out of hyperspace. They even had a line 'Something massive coming out of hyperspace' and then cut to it already there. I would love to see that monster just BOOMING into sight. Oh well. And speaking of the Death Star, it was cool to see it dialed down and the secondary destruction cause by the planet's mantle breaking through like a megavolcano. Awesome.

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229 Reply by Writhyn

(2,068 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I'm with you. By the end of the movie, I was thinking:
"These would be some pretty badass action figures." and
"Wait, what?"

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230 Reply by Writhyn

(346 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I haven't been able to yet, but it looks like my jam. I'll check it out before too long.

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231 Reply by Writhyn

(114 replies, posted in Creations)

I like it.

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232 Reply by Writhyn

(248 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I think Avatar just won the "appropriate picture post" award for 2016

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233 Reply by Writhyn

(670 replies, posted in Creations)

I can't.....what.......what?.........uh........

*initializing shutdown*

...

...

*reboot sequence*

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234 Topic by Writhyn

(1 replies, posted in Creations)

So my favorite hoodie (best christmas gift from my wife ever) is three years old, and it's starting to wear a bit thin. This is what it looks like new: https://cdn1.thehunt.com/app/public/system/note_images/168664/original/5238ab743f7437158b27dcfa13155a77.jpg


I've decided to see if I can get a new one made, since they don't really sell them anymore (I need one that's a darker fabric, too. Dirt and dust, blahblah).

Here's my design so far: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wfCPlCPbLoFZoTW-Nw_SGqAcDst-LNUKxEUIoArSuMrfLi9PUqMrcp5MKZ0_Wg9GKZJh1CegLxE8WNizJDkk27aOUyOhIqZHOBJh2i7Lg7tfcvUuynpNusZjnkt3jbiFZ3nGgx-RJ3IOZG6nen3rZM3cbkgayqlO7fCSgCbFsdQjotKYkwqnHt3wN0_F5sETbkM5YhyJXNgIQEWwS_K1J9hhj8y_a3VdyCPdfj9N8nxFD-F91i8A579-AmQcy0nypMs0Ec5lge6llmXLcOq6wTrjty9LBmZ75X7ROZgy0T9nDBH_tjmdLifBAciGVdhq2oIp82XrwHaaS9ghzYirRqnLZY8qNeyGYtUlZuR6h81nfadhnVvqMf4XcOtAlGk2UkaWXVPVyOTCCiS1ofVE1_1VYwnLw4wfncez_vscjuGtmZn2SkPF1Kl2lrJh5-aCbKo-Wcr02Dlu_6bBYFQmDAMZVaTPfRIKAljg_lPy9zZ0JX9dQAWyQe0Mn3PF0bOq1LNXa87wd25OYUsEnEbE1YDNLqpyWWru37ulyyEkd7kIySR4B8A6CXh_O3a3Vr_B_bQUSiTWsAlxs6NbtKPvOoLfY8hUFw0ocErUIO1YldEAqHil=s889-no

Here's the link if you can't see it: https://goo.gl/photos/Ncu1LEYPWtNeoMvK9

As you see, I've adjusted it a bit. The M is bigger, and the eye is looking down (cause big monster), and I'm toying with the idea of a pithy quote or sort of motto at the bottom.
I like the "XXXXXXXXXL" joke on the original, but i'm just trying stuff out.
Thoughts, anyone? Suggestions?

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235 Reply by Writhyn

(21 replies, posted in Episodes)

Kyle wrote:

It's goddamn indisputable.

I don't think that means what you think it means...

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236 Reply by Writhyn

(18 replies, posted in Off Topic)

no
And I've never noticed there was color in USB ports

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237 Reply by Writhyn

(4 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Teague wrote:

it might be less futuristic than you're hoping for.

No problem! I'm looking for the tech part. Doesn't need to be inherently futuristic.

Thanks, I'll check these out.

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238 Reply by Writhyn

(4 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Anyone have any resources for deep-sea diving operations like drilling? I figure that would play well into my overall vibe, too.

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239 Topic by Writhyn

(4 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Alright, buds. I'm rapidly approaching the end of the last episode of the Hyacinth sci-fi draft. Editing is next. So here's the deal:

I need book, documentary, article, and/or movie recommendations for things related to the technicalities of working in space. Doesn't matter if you haven't read my script. I just need sources for space technology and procedure so I can bathe my brain in it.

During editing, I will find the balance between audience-legibility and technical jargon, but I'd like to have SOME idea of what such jargon might be and sound like, without being a total idiot.

So how bout it? I've seen Apollo 13 and such, read stuff here and there. But hit me with whatever you know is a decent source of approachable info.
GO!

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240 Reply by Writhyn

(13 replies, posted in Creations)

I want this poster. My coworker wants this poster. President Obama wants this poster.

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241 Reply by Writhyn

(13 replies, posted in Creations)

Saniss, I whipped up a kinda-grungy mockup of the BG for the INEVITABLE Astrogator vs Croconaut poster: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B34wSs … sp=sharing

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242 Reply by Writhyn

(30 replies, posted in Creations)

That is gorgeous!

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243 Reply by Writhyn

(2,068 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I'm sure there was some dramatisation smile I appreciated they calmed down and showed respect when it became clear what went down.


Went down. Heh.

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244 Reply by Writhyn

(2,068 replies, posted in Off Topic)

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS9yR6SXAsICEMPTSdGkb57DJ62JsTg6S5fdQvnPngAhBD7AuYv

Great movie. Teague having gotten me interested in ATC stuff, it was cool to see this. Would've liked a little bit more of the technical stuff, but that's probably just me. The human side was the focus, and it was well done.

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245 Reply by Writhyn

(2,068 replies, posted in Off Topic)

My wife and I are going to see Sully tonight. We'll see how that goes.

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246 Reply by Writhyn

(10 replies, posted in Creations)

That's some cool photography, there!

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247 Reply by Writhyn

(71 replies, posted in Creations)

I'm still not sure who's voicing Eric Temple (the recording from the beginning and a brief speaking part at the end).

my email is writhyn@gmail.com

If you want, get in touch with me and we'll see if that would be a good fit.

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248 Reply by Writhyn

(71 replies, posted in Creations)

Lol I'm currently thinking of casting him as Dreadnought

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249 Reply by Writhyn

(71 replies, posted in Creations)

Thanks! I'm still working, so I'll give you plenty of heads-up before the time comes.

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250 Reply by Writhyn

(71 replies, posted in Creations)

Yeah makes sense. We'll figure it out when it comes time to record. I'm shooting for having the script ready by thanksgiving.

And I'll have to figure out how Teague wants to do it (if he's still in).

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