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Friends In Your Head | Forums → Posts by fireproof78
Engaging with Prequel defenders is the film equivalent to having a scientific debate with creationists...
As a creationist I resent that 
ETA: speaking of controversial opinions, and to avoid derailing this thread, please feel free to PM how much I'm wrong.
Regan wrote:Speak for yourself. You fertile bastard. *Pushes up glasses on nose*.
No kids here, intend to keep it that way.
You know, medical science has discovered where kids come from and how to prevent it
Also, we have a new Star War film to bash. Let's focus on that 
Nicely done!
My controversial opinion is that Plinkett's SW reviews hardly contain any valid arguments at all, and the general opinion that they represent is as much of a cult as the worst fanboyism to be found on TFN.
For some interesting reason, opinions got "radicalized" since '99-'05, and the reasonable viewpoint represented by the balanced, mixed critical reviews from that time was pushed into the background - certainly in the whole area of internet critics and online debates.
However, I'm not sure how much interest there still is in that topic compared to 3-4 years ago, so I just thought I'd throw it out there...
This was a long standing topic on theforce.net boards for a while. Some found it to be entertaining, others found it to be rather irritating. Personally, I don't see as the worst of fandom but it certainly does not favors to arguing against the actual problems of the PT.
Same thing with most of other Plinkett reviews. They are hyperbole to the point of irritation. So, I can agree with you that that reasonable reviews have been pushed to back because of it.
Wow, seeing it side by side makes it work fairly well. And watching the fight with Finn broken down that way definitely shows that Kylo, despite his injury, was enjoying taking it to Finn over betraying the First Order.
As for Finn's turn, I personally found it very interesting, from a character point of view. Speaking to the psychology, there are many soldiers, doctors, and other professionals who demonstrate outstanding classroom skills, knowledge and proficiency and absolutely crumble in the face of the real thing.
I will agree on the pacing of the film though. I think that is a lot more of Abrams' style than anything else, though I see it more and more in line with contemporary film making style. There are so many moments that I wish would just be given a few more beats for the emotions to come through.
It's like watching an explosion develop.
I like it!
Could have been worse...could have been something from Bieber
Thank you, Teague. Here I was just thinking I needed more Friends in my Head and this is great 
I don't necessarily want to see it, so much as it feels like a dangling thread of detail that was missed. I don't want more political speak, but it just feels like the goal of the OT was just glossed over in its destruction.
Hopefully it will be discussed further in Ep. 8.
fireproof78 wrote:What about Nero? One of my favorite Trek villains. Joking, I know the issues with him, but as is Red's point, I don't mind it because I like the movie and am invested in the characters.
And that brings one up one of my biggest issues with TFA is the fact that the Republic capital gets destroyed with little comment, save for from Finn. It's Alderaan all over again, except multiple worlds this time. Why destroy the Republic at all if it's going to be a nonissue.
This is where an Attack of the Clones-length film would actually have been warranted. TFA is paced quickly enough that an additional five or ten minutes wouldn't hurt it much if at all, and the confirmed deleted scenes which feature Leia and her aide talking in detail about the political situation between the Republic and the Resistance (the aide was going to the capital in order to request aid against the First Order) would've gone a long way toward shoring up the world-building questions as well as the impact of the big boom.
Indeed. I saw a video, somewhere on YouTube, discussing items that were cut from the film. The major piece is Leia's aide, who is shown near the impact of the Starkiller beam. I guess Abrams avoided the political controversy by excising it altogether. But, by doing so, it really cheapens that scene, and really gives us no insight in to what the New Republic is all about. That, to me, is the biggest missed opportunity.
I understand that they are trying to show the little guy against the big guy, a'la the original SW, but it pretty much ignores a large part of the political game, and wipes out an entire faction without comment. That really feels like a plot hole that feels hard to ignore.
What about Nero? One of my favorite Trek villains. Joking, I know the issues with him, but as is Red's point, I don't mind it because I like the movie and am invested in the characters.
And that brings one up one of my biggest issues with TFA is the fact that the Republic capital gets destroyed with little comment, save for from Finn. It's Alderaan all over again, except multiple worlds this time. Why destroy the Republic at all if it's going to be a nonissue.
fireproof78 wrote:Also, you guys going to comment on the Indy 5 news?
"Bollocks."
There you have it.
"This has been the Shortended Edition..."
See, for me, I loved the opening part, and right up until Han shows up, then it is hit and miss. Maz's palace was pretty cool, and I liked Maz a lot, but Han's subplot that gets them there doesn't totally work for me. Han's death is tragic, but then I really get carried in to the struggle between Rey, Finn and Kylo, as well as the dog fight. The dog fight is more a matter of an action piece that kind of sucks me in, but the duel just keeps drawing me back.
The ending certainly is frustrating for me, possibly because it means I have to wait to find out the answers to the questions.
I need to catch up (downloads).
Also, you guys going to comment on the Indy 5 news?
Writhyn wrote:I don't remember her mentioning being a pilot. I eat my words.
As for ROTJ........................yeah it's not great for several reasons, but for me the emotional resonance in the Emperor's Throne Room scenes carries the entire damn film. If that part of the 3rd act had sucked, yeah I'd have the same problem with it as I have with TFA for the same reason.
If the end battle hadn't been a copy or had been subverted in some way, I would happily overlook all its flaws.I suppose it just comes down to one's reaction to the forest duel, then. For whatever reason it didn't work for you, for a lot of us it worked like gangbusters in the same way that the Throne Room does. I am curious though, what about that portion of the climax isn't satisfying for you?
Seconded. Most of the contrivances listed either didn't bother me (head canon filling in the gaps. Haven't read the novels-yet) or are on par with anything else in the OT.
The forest duel, that part is kind of sticking out to me. I personally enjoyed it very much and it had a very raw energy to it that I would expect from amateur fighters. The Starkiller base fight was, well, derivative, but entertaining enough.
Darth Praxus wrote:Okay, I think you're exaggerating. The forest duel was tense as all hell, plot contrivance has *always* been a part of Star Wars, the final sequence may go on a bit long for some people's taste but it's not completely absurd.
...
I think people, myself included, like to venerate the OT as a perfect shiny thing that can never be touched, but it's not the Holy Grail of film.
I disagree about the forest scene, but that's probably just taste. Plot contrivance has been a part of Star Wars, but TFA's contrivance was prequel level (like c3po being built by anakin) stuff. But granted, I am exaggerating the badness of the final sequence.
Most important, I said tfa was very star warsy, but a bad movie. The originals were good movies with issues, the prequels were not star warsy AND bad movies. Ultimately, it's not an objective statement.
See, I don't see the contrivance as bad as PT level. I agree with Darth Praxus in that contrivance has always been a part of Star Wars, and TFA borrowed heavily from the plot points of the original.
I'm curious to here what contrivances you see as being PT level bad. I don't necessarily think TFA is the best ever, but it was incredibly entertaining and I love characters. Also, the forest fight was very tense, and one of my favorite sequences.
fireproof78 wrote:First of all, how does his OP not warrant one like? He's still alive-we should "like" that
Also, that sounds really crazy. Glad to hear you're doing ok, and that you are still kicking.
I guess the term 'like' is not synonymous with sympathy. it feels wrong to 'like' it when someone tells you bad news.
Although a thumbs-down symbol is not the right response either. A 'hang in there' or 'sympathy' or 'take as many with you as you can' button would be better.On the Facebook page when Dorkman's family posted news of a setback in recovery, it seemed weird (to me anyway) that the (what sounded like) bad news generates dozens of 'likes'. But I know that they all mean well, it's just a weird way (to us oldies not used to this fandangled interweb thing the younglings are on) of expressing it.
Oh, I find it weird too. But, it seems socially appropriate now to do so, at least to me. I guess it's just a means of showing support, even if the terminology doesn't quite fit.
In such spirit of support, I present a Get Well Soon picture that we all can appreciate:
I just want to be able to rewatch the lightsaber duel again and again
As for retailer exclusives, it is so gimmicky to me as to be annoying. It's one of the few times that I appreciate the Internet and people taking the opportunity to share those BTS pieces. Otherwise, I really don't need four copies of TFA or any other film, for that matter.
First of all, how does his OP not warrant one like? He's still alive-we should "like" that 
Also, that sounds really crazy. Glad to hear you're doing ok, and that you are still kicking.
Has anyone bothered to see "Gods of Egypt?" I love me some good Egyptian mythological world building (thank you Stargate) but I don't know if I can sit through that. It sounds like a crazy project.
The drunk ones were generally my least favorite. So I guess the ones for the prequels can be kinda annoying. I also just want to make counter arguments all the time when I listen to those.
The drunk ones kind of depended on the film for me. The prequels definitely had some moments of counterargumenet, but that happens on many of the films (I can think of Chronicles of Riddick as a quick example) which, of course, led to great discussion on this forum.
Tomahawk wrote:If it's any consolation, I never watched Star Trek as a kid. I haven't seen a single episode of TOS, and DS9, Enterprise and TNG episodes were caught on TV during matiné hours, simply because it was on. I never watched any of the films, and in general, didn't care much for Star Trek in any way, shape or form.
That being said, I quite enjoyed the reboot. And I didn't have a problem with Into Darkness either.
So I guess, from a fairly neutral standpoint, the new films aren't bad, and that may or may not have been the idea behind them.
The Abramsverse movies are much easier to swallow if we forget that they're supposed to be a part of the pre-existing Star Trek franchise. They require a suspension of disbelief on par with the Marvel movies (and even if we give them that, there are some other fridge logic issues).
The ending of ST '09 exemplifies the difference between the old ST and the new one.
SPOILERThings like promoting a cadet to captain simply didn't happen in pre-reboot Star Trek. Wesley Crusher, a teenager who saved the ship many times, was only promoted to "acting ensign" and still had to take the Academy entrance exam. Twice. Kirk's promotion at the end of the 2009 movie was clearly a nod to Joseph Campbell and the way things work in Star Wars. I know the franchise needed to be revitalized somehow and giving it a "Hero's Journey" feel was a pretty safe way to do it, but apparently that meant throwing away any sense of reality. An organization like Starfleet simply can't work this way. STID tries to fix that by demoting Kirk... and then promotes another inexperienced youngster (Chekov) to chief engineer.Hopefully the new TV show will avoid this.
See, I have the opposite reaction to knowing all the back history of TOS made me enjoy the Abrams films more. I like seeing all the possibilities, even if there were some odd moments and choices in the films. I think STID squandered some opportunities but I think it was enjoyable as well.
That said, I think that Mr. Fuller could bring a lot to the show, regardless of what timeline is picked for the setting.
There was a cool contest over at CG+ that ended a little while ago called "Star Wars Reimagined". This is by far my favorite.
I'm quoting this picture because it looks fantastic.
I'm with BDA on this one-I would watch this movie until the VHS wore out
For Space Nerds, the science of Star Wars Ep7 is scrutinized....
Whelp...there went my evening (reads)
*coughs* Phantom menace *coughs*I mean, Hi Teague
There are very few that I avoid for reasons other than I'm not familiar with the film. If I had more time, there are several films I would watch, then immediately rewatch with the commentary.
That said, here's a quick, off the top, list:
-Chronicles of Riddick-this is a guilty pleasure movie, and one that I start arguing as they are talking. So, that distracts from any insight.
-Fifth Element-I have to echo what someone else said that this one really didn't feel as deep as it could have been.
That's the two off the top. Now, if you'll excuse me I need to redownload a bunch of episodes to reacquaint myself.
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