Slashdot Mirror


'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Negative Buzz Amplified By Russian Trolls, Study Finds (hollywoodreporter.com)

bestweasel writes: The Hollywood Reporter highlights an academic paper which finds that half of the criticism aimed at director Rian Johnson over Star Wars: The Last Jedi was politically motivated. From the report: [Researcher Morten Bay's paper] titled Weaponizing The Haters: The Last Jedi and the strategic politicization of pop culture through social media manipulation, examines the online response to the movie that has come to be considered controversial amongst the larger fanbase of the franchise. Bay suggests that reputation may not be earned, and instead "finds evidence of deliberate, organized political influence measures disguised as fan arguments." He continues, "The likely objective of these measures is increasing media coverage of the fandom conflict, thereby adding to and further propagating a narrative of widespread discord and dysfunction in American society. Persuading voters of this narrative remains a strategic goal for the U.S. alt-right movement, as well as the Russian Federation."

The paper analyzes in depth the negative online reaction, which is split into three different camps: those with a political agenda, trolls and what Bay calls "real fantagonists," which he defines as genuine Star Wars fans disappointed in the movie. His findings are fascinating; "Overall, 50.9% of those tweeting negatively [about the movie] was likely politically motivated or not even human," he writes, noting that only 21.9% of tweets analyzed about the movie had been negative in the first place. "A number of these users appear to be Russian trolls," Bay writes of the negative tweets. In response to a tweet announcing the release of the paper, Last Jedi director Rian Johnson shared the tweet, adding, "Looking forward to reading it, but what the top-line describes is consistent with my experience online."

447 comments

  1. Well on this ONE thing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I feel we should look the other way.

  2. Last jedi and russian trolls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    News flash, dinosaurs extinct due to russian trolls

  3. OH. I get it now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "Russian Trolls" is code for "Straight white men".

    Trump did collude with these people to win the election, and they were also upset to see one of their favorite childhood adventure epics reduced to leftist/feminist propaganda.

    1. Re:OH. I get it now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, the straight white men still have Jar Jar Binks. All is not lost for the straight white men that demand excellence in their movies.

    2. Re:OH. I get it now! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1, Funny

      "Russian Trolls" is code for "Straight white men".

      No, it's not code at all. Russian trolls happen to be all straight white men because gays are fucking killed in Russia. So gay or not, you better present to the world as a straight white man in Russia, or you're in deep shit.

      And if you're in Russia, where the average monthly income is $437, you better find some way to supplement your income, so yes, Russian trolls = straight white men.

      https://www.newyorker.com/cult...

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:OH. I get it now! by telek83 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This is cute... first off $437 is more then enough to live on, if you don't live in a hyper inflated country (Russia actually pays it's debts), Second gays aren't killed in Russia by the state, read the Russian laws, it doesn't say anywhere at all gays must be killed, it says it no where... so a group of people might be doing it... hows the KKK doing? Oh wait we won't go there...

      As far as I'm concerned, the cheap shots at Russia need to stop, we been on the look out for Russians since the 60's always with the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming, why doesn't the west be a grownup for once and stop blaming everything on everyone else? The West spends more money on war then on the walfare of its own citizens and for some reason when shit hits the fan, it's always the Russians.... seriously grow up, Starwars bombed because it was a shitty movie full of SJW bs, Hell even PETA got in on this movie. Here is a hint to all the clueless idiots out there... If you force your believes on everyone else their will be resistance, there always is, If I don't like something, do you really think I am going to pay money to see it? If I see something and I don't like it, do you really think I won't review it? You people need to open your eyes up and realize it's okay not to like something, its okay to disagree and have your own opinion. Stop attempting to ram SJW nonsense down everyones throat. Thats why people didn't like the movie, it wasn't because gravitys pull was the strongest that day, it wasn't the Russians, it wasn't the some magical event, the movie was shit, pure and simple.

      No Russian Trolls

    4. Re:OH. I get it now! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

      first off $437 is more then enough to live on, if you don't live in a hyper inflated country

      You don't know what you're talking about. The cost of a car is the same in Russia as it is in the US. The cost of clothing is actually about 27% more in Russia. Cigarettes are cheap, but rents are about the same, if you live in the kind of place you'd want to live and not the middle of nowhere. If you want to go to a movie in Russia, it's about $9.50 US. In the US, it's $10. Groceries are more expensive in Russia, and their shitty quality. It's been almost six years since I was there, but since then, wages have declined. A lot.

      The cost of living in Russia is only a bout 30% less than it is in the US, but the average income is 80% less. "Hyper inflation" has absolutely nothing to do with it.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    5. Re: OH. I get it now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Found the real Russian troll.

    6. Re:OH. I get it now! by Time_Ngler · · Score: 1

      Car? There's vodka!
      Rent? There's vodka!
      Movies? There's vodka!
      Clothes? There's vodka!
      Groceries? There's vodka!

      I'm not seeing your point here...

    7. Re:OH. I get it now! by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Cheap shots will not stop because revolutionary narrative needs its boogeymen. It cannot function without them.

      In case of soviets, it was people doing better than others. In case of nazis, it was jews and other inferiour ethnicities as well as mentally and physically ill. In case of modern progressives, it's Russian trolls and those in their states that serve the evil patriarchy.

      Definition being as wide as it is specifically serves the ability to make anyone an enemy as needed. Just like in the Soviet model.

    8. Re: OH. I get it now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Communist Russia, The Force uses you.

      To defeat that cum-guzzling daughter of a one-eyed billygoat known as Hilary Clinton.

      Remember, the only thing from Little Rock are steers snd queers, and I don't see no horns on that woman.

      Vote for Sharpton and I'll send you a bottle of the finest Russian Vod, I mean, freshly baked apple pie from Austin, Texas.

      Because that's where I'm from. Austin, ya'll. Not Russia. Oh no, Russia is a bad place and I would never be from there. Yeehawweeee.

      Don't mess with Texas ya'll.

    9. Re: OH. I get it now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you been living under a rock? Russia criminalized "the distribution of materials among minors in support of non-traditional sexual relationships" in 2013. This is a sweeping law that empowers the government to jail anyone who so much as suggests that it's OK to be gay.

      Russia has also set up concentration camps in Chechnya targeting gay and bisexual men. Over 100 men have been abducted since 2017 with an unknown number of them dead. The government reported disbelief, not because such an act would be horrific, but rather because such people would be killed by their own families.

      So yeah, while Russia may not have legalized the murder of gay people, the actions of its government and citizens make it among the most regressive countries on earth.

    10. Re: OH. I get it now! by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      You probably have visited Moscow and started extrapolating. That is a bad idea.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    11. Re:OH. I get it now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck you.

    12. Re: OH. I get it now! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      You probably have visited Moscow and started extrapolating. That is a bad idea.

      My visit has nothing to do with it. I'm quoting economic data, not recounting an anecdote. No extrapolation necessary.

      And it's been 15 years since I've been to Moscow. Six years ago (almost seven) it was St Petersburg and Chenoye (a beautiful seaside village on Lake Ladogo. My wife is from that part of the world and we visit Eastern Europe once or twice a year, often with side trips to Russia.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    13. Re:OH. I get it now! by GrumpySteen · · Score: 1

      The Last Jedi pulled in over $1.3 billion in revenue, which you think means it "bombed", but you're defending $437 as being more than enough to live on.

      Maybe you should try adding some of that "SJW nonsense" to your job. It seems to be a hell of a lot more profitable than whatever you're doing now.

    14. Re:OH. I get it now! by drewlake2000 · · Score: 1

      Sorry, late to the party... "gays are fucking killed in Russia" - have you seen Putin's new calender?

  4. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by AlwinBarni · · Score: 2

    Well, actually in this case it sounds fishy, what's the purpose - a training of new cadre?

  5. Last jedi and russian trolls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tell me your problem.
    And I will tell you the cause. ...

    Russian trolls, not just any, but russian.

  6. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I hate Star Wars. Star Wars can eat a bag of dicks. I am not a Russian, nor any other flavour of Slav.

  7. Politics? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Or your trash movie was...wait for it...really trash!

  8. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    It's in the summary.

    "propagating a narrative of widespread discord and dysfunction in American society"

    Do you have any issues with the paper itself or is it just bad, because the summary (you didn't read) sounds "fishy" to you?

  9. Yeah, must be the russians by mdhoover · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not the fact the movie was shit and just happened to piss all over one if the franchises most beloved characters, totally wasting any opportunity to use Luke Skywalker in any interesting capacity before unceremoniously killing him off.

    1. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Note it says amplified, not that there wasn't justifiable criticism.

    2. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The biggest problem is it violates a lot of the rules of drama. If you put a gun on the wall in the first act, it must be fired by the end of the second act. If it isn't why the hell is it there? This was like putting a gun on the wall in the first act and discovering its a painting at the beginning of the second act. The audience is left wondering now what? Everything in the first act was worthless. It fucks with people's expectations. I'm not saying we should always get what we expect, but if you're going to break the rules of drama you must do it carefully and thoughtfully. Last Jedi was utterly thoughtless in the way this was handled.

    3. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      I watched the original and loved it, and I also liked Last Jedi. It wasn't the crap that so many people claimed it was.

    4. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      By "amplified" it means the Russians saw the movie too, and they also posted about how shitty it was. Doesn't make them trolls.

    5. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by doom · · Score: 1, Insightful

      An excellent generic remark you could post about anything you want. If I were writing bots, the first thing I would do is collect a library of remarks like this.

    6. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by youngone · · Score: 3, Informative

      I have also seen both, and the Last Jedi will be the last Star Wars movie I ever pay to see, it was that bad.
      12 year old me in 1977, coming out of the theatre after seeing Star Wars would be shocked to hear it, but the whole thing just has no value any more.
      I was shocked at how poor the Last Jedi was, from the lazy, poorly structured plot, to the way it lifted entire scenes from the earlier movies, even using the same scene three times.
      Terrible.

    7. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Russian troll spotted

    8. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My wife fell asleep. The kids we went with to the movie got up and left about 3 times. For various reasons.

      That movie died in the editing room. It was about 30 mins too long.

      Honestly it was boring. With a tone that totally did not fit the overall story. The 'bombing run' with the rebel leader calling in and trolling the leader of the assault team. Kinda amusing but *totally* *missed* *the* *tone* of what the movie should be. Then turning one of the previous movies protagonist into little more than an oaf clown. Then the other protagonist was little more than a side thought. The 'cool guy' protagonist was basically dressed down and drummed out of any real work. Then killing off the main 'bad guy' way too early. Then making the whole rebel alliance look like total fools.

      totally wasting any opportunity to use Luke Skywalker in any interesting capacity before unceremoniously killing him off
      Amen.

      The whole story hit the ground with a thud.

      SW 7 I had to wait in lines to get into. SW 8 The theater was basically empty. Yep it was russian bots that screwed this movie up!

      Here is an idea Disney. Admit it. You fucked up star wars. Not exactly a tall order here. You were following in the footsteps of George Lucas who is an amazing director and producer. But a frankly lousy writer.

    9. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Jack9 · · Score: 1

      I had the exact same reaction. The people I joined to see the movie, expected a terrible movie and agreed they got it.

      This study says things like....

      > Approximately one in three negative fans express misogynist, anti-progressive, anti-social justice or conservative views.

      Since all the data is from specifically from a few Twitter accounts, this "academic paper" seems to be nothing more than an ironic troll.

      --

      Often wrong but never in doubt.
      I am Jack9.
      Everyone knows me.
    10. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It is trendy in entertainment to show ostensibly good people as failures and terrible people. I don't know why. But that is exactly what they did here: took a character that previously showed courage, loyalty, valor, and nobility, and turned him into a coward, abandoner, would-be murderor of his own family, and a quitter.

      The fact that his actions are completely inconsistent with his character as revealed in the previous movies doesn't matter a bit. The goal was to reveal him to be a terrible person. I will admit that I took it a bit personally, like an insult to me and my generation. YOUR heroes are really losers, and only OUR heroes are authentic.

      I don't care for this trend. Maybe I am too old-fashioned to get the current generation, but I like my heroes to show nobility under pressure and inspire me to do the same. Watching everybody turn out to be a failure and then sort of limp along is just a big let-down. Maybe the younger generation identifies with this. I dunno.

    11. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Black+Parrot · · Score: 2

      Not the fact the movie was shit and just happened to piss all over one if the franchises most beloved characters, totally wasting any opportunity to use Luke Skywalker in any interesting capacity before unceremoniously killing him off.

      You almost make me wish I'd seen it.

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    12. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not the fact the movie was shit and just happened to piss all over one if the franchises most beloved characters, totally wasting any opportunity to use Luke Skywalker in any interesting capacity before unceremoniously killing him off.

      Well, of course it was the Russians. The studio can't be responsible for making a shit film. Just like they can't be responsible for Bluray sales not exceeding every ridiculous projection. I mean obviously it was piracy, and we need even stronger legal protections to ensure our profits!

      /sarcasm

      If there is a lesson to be learned from Hollywood it's this: They honestly believe that if they make it, they are entitled to profits that they alone dictate. No society can support such a industry indefinitely, and should cast out said industry before the weight of broken economics crushes them.

    13. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by youngone · · Score: 1

      I didn't even look at the study.
      I didn't hate The Last Jedi because of women, or liberals, or racial minorities, but because, despite costing many, many millions of dollars to make, it was just cheap and shoddy.
      It killed one of the great memories of my childhood, but I suppose that's just part of life.
      I'll get over it.

    14. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Judging by the ticket sales and bluray sales I would say no.

    15. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, it was a horrible movie. However, I thought Solo was enjoyable (except for that annoying robot activist).

    16. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      The people I joined to see the movie, expected a terrible movie

      ... and you all saw it anyways. Get a life. And tell those "people" who you joined to get lives too, if you ever see them again and happen to recognize them.

      I'll tell you what, when I go out for entertainment, either me or somebody else I'm with is expecting to have a good time. That's the whole reason we're there. Maybe that's the part that was broken, and not anything about the movie?

    17. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's why there are cuddly SJWs and there are the "tough school" people, and a war between the two.

      We're from different universes.

    18. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How can it be a shit movie when it's got girls kicking men's ass, without even training for it?

    19. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Misagon · · Score: 1

      The study does not show that half of the criticism was false (as the summary suggests) but at what extent existing trolls used real fans' dislike of the movie as a weapon for reinforcing their own agenda.

      What that does show is that the Star Wars fan community is not composed of nearly as many alt-right anti-feminists as it appears. I find that reassuring.

      BTW. Myself, I did not even go and see the movie. The Force Awakens had already killed Star Wars for me ... and I used to be a huge fan.

      --
      "We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
    20. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shhhhh, comrade, they are onto us. It is time to talk about the evils of "trans-phobia" because that suddenly became a problem around 2016 and it happened completely organically without any manipulation or moral panic. If you want to ingratiate yourself to the non-deplorable Americans, you must talk about this 'trans-phobia' and 'homo-fear' and say that the Americwn women that make up 80% of consumer spending and 52% of the electorate are the target of a war against them by their government. Such atrocities against them have been purpetrated like, a police officer telling a woman 'Be careful because that is a dangerous neighborhood' instead if securing the neighborhood and ridding society of all bad people so as not to make the woman feel somehow responsible for her decisions.

      Victim-blaming, yes, we must talk about this victim-blaming and oh yes "Toxic Masculinity" is big too.

      You must learn to blend in more.

    21. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If only there wasn't so much victim maiming and toxic mass virginity this could be good movie, yes?

      - Carol in Massatusetts

    22. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here in town of Denver (where I am from and was born and raised), we used to drink vodka and watch the Star Wars movies and we much like them until that whore Hilary Clinton stole my brothers best milking goat and after that we could not longer afford to see movies or even have milk to drink. That's why I hate latest movie is full of toxic masturbinity which is I think very very bad.

      - Kate from Denver

    23. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The plot to blame everything on Russian trolls is the psyop by Russian trolls to make people be skeptical about Russian trolls paid for by *checks the current president* Donald Trump who is playing 4th Dimensional Chess against the Jewry.

    24. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They got up and left to go get high to try to be able to enjoy a shitty movie.

      --Highdude702(mods)

    25. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      It is trendy in entertainment to show ostensibly good people as failures and terrible people. I don't know why. But that is exactly what they did here: took a character that previously showed courage, loyalty, valor, and nobility, and turned him into a coward, abandoner, would-be murderor of his own family, and a quitter.

      The fact that his actions are completely inconsistent with his character as revealed in the previous movies doesn't matter a bit. The goal was to reveal him to be a terrible person. I will admit that I took it a bit personally, like an insult to me and my generation. YOUR heroes are really losers, and only OUR heroes are authentic.

      Look at it this way (I assume you are referring to Luke): He fought for years, saw friends die, mentors die, family die, and frankly was directly responsible for thousands if not millions of deaths (he did blow up the first Death Star after all). And after all of that, basically nothing changed. Wouldn't you be tired and jaded by then too?

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    26. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not a war, it's target practice. Why do they call them "social justice 'warriors'" when they're deathly afraid of confrontation? I mean, they cringe if you just look at them.

    27. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by houghi · · Score: 1

      Perhaps that is because you are not 12 year old you anymore.
      I was 30 when I saw it and I thought it was just an average movie. Not bad, but certainly not great.

      From all the series, I liked Rogue One the best, although just by a hair. I giess when you are older, you see things less innocent.

      So should I go of your lawn now, because you are just getting old. The quality did not change, you did.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    28. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Riceballsan · · Score: 1

      > Approximately one in three negative fans express misogynist, anti-progressive, anti-social justice or conservative views. also weird, isn't that pretty much par for the course with anonymous and semi-anonymous communication. One in 3 unhappy people in any subject from any time will likely say something either outright racist/sexist, certainly likely to say something "anti-progressive, or anti-social justice", as those terms are pretty broad, subjective etc..

    29. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      An excellent generic remark you could post about anything you want. If I were writing bots, the first thing I would do is collect a library of remarks like this.

    30. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I also heard that Russia was responsible for the Ghostbusters reboot flopping.

    31. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by youngone · · Score: 1

      I'm sure that's at least partly true, except I also thought Rogue One was pretty good.
      If you're going to be on my lawn would you mind grabbing the lawnmower? It shouldn't take more than half an hour.

    32. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by Can'tNot · · Score: 1

      Try watching Solo. Going into it I didn't relish the thought of a movie about young Han Solo, but I was pretty happy with the result. It's not quite as good as Rogue One, but heads and shoulders better than the remakes. I'm getting the impression that the side stories are the ones for the fans, while the remakes seem to appeal more to the... I'm not sure what to call them. Normals. Muggles.

    33. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This may be a surprise, but going to see a terrible movie can be a good time. Myself and some friends occasionally do "bad movie night" where we purposely find the worst movies we can find, get some beer, get a grill going and watch it. The movies are awful, many laughs are had, and a good time is enjoyed. Oh Robo-geisha, you were truly awful in the best way.

    34. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That movie died in the editing room. It was about 30 mins too long.

      I remember checking my watch 2/3 of the way through, realizing that they're nowhere close to ending, and thinking "Jesus, they're trying to stuff way too much movie into this film." It's like they were trying to make a real trilogy, but discarded episode 7, and episode 8 was the first TWO movies of the trilogy. Way too many plot threads.

      Rei was really good in the Last Jedi, but that character cannot carry the movie solo (snerk). There was a huge, huge plotline (that went nowhere) with Poe, Finn, and Rose, and it seems like the only purpose was to say "see, these are some of our main characters! I know this movie is REALLY about Rei and Kylo, but these guys are in this movie too! Don't forget about them! Let's have them do nothing substantial for an hour other than go through the same old 'rebel in a military setting' trope that is extremely tired."

      SW 7 I had to wait in lines to get into. SW 8 The theater was basically empty. Yep it was russian bots that screwed this movie up!

      It's both. It wasn't a great movie, but there was a ton of opposition that feels entirely political and mean-spirited. It was the exact same sort of discussions you'd hear about the 2016 election or about Trump today, but now that level of bullshit and hostile / truly aggrieved argument has penetrated that section of geek life. It's ugly, and it's ruined things far more than The Last Jedi did.

    35. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The people I joined to see the movie, expected a terrible movie

      ... and you all saw it anyways. Get a life. And tell those "people" who you joined to get lives too, if you ever see them again and happen to recognize them.

      I'll tell you what, when I go out for entertainment, either me or somebody else I'm with is expecting to have a good time. That's the whole reason we're there. Maybe that's the part that was broken, and not anything about the movie?

      Yes, we went and saw it, I had free tickets. But I'm done as well. If they are writing it for the younger audiences, then that says a lot about younger people. I prefer the old. If you were not around when there were still rational people on the planet I guess you don't know what you missed.

    36. Re:Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The actual study says less than 1% of the small sample of tweets sent to a single Twitter users were Russian bots.

      They didn't even amplify it. People run bots by copying in things others are saying. There is nothing to suggest this infinitesimal amount of criticism was the intended payload of the bots. This was likely just random fodder that got mixed in.

    37. Re: Yeah, must be the russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought Rogue One was fantastic. But Solo was a little too bland for me to either like or hate. It didn't offend me with stupidity -- yay! The guy cast as Han just doesn't even feel like a past Han. Rumors from the set were that the film shooting was difficult because Alden Ehrenreich turns out to be a pretty bad actor -- he needed emergency acting lessons, it caused delays.. it really feels like it. He gets out-performed by everyone around him, and when one of those people is Emelia Clarke, you have problems.

      I think of Solo as the movie you have to put with in order to get something fantastic: Donald Glover as Lando. If they make a Solo sequel, it should be about him, not Han.

  10. American public is fairly united in its views by iMadeGhostzilla · · Score: 2

    For an example just look at the hearing last week.

    Unless it's Russians all the way down.

    1. Re:American public is fairly united in its views by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have to wonder how much of the gamergate and similar feminist trolling is being amplified by Russian trolls. Obviously they want American men and women to hate one another so the men will import Russian brides.

    2. Re: American public is fairly united in its views by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "We are all surrounded by wugs "

    3. Re: American public is fairly united in its views by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Feminism *definitely* causes brain drain in the countries it afflicts. When your tell nerdy guys they are not wanted and not welcome a few hundred times a day - eventually they get the message.

      That's why I moved to Asia. And life has never been better.

    4. Re:American public is fairly united in its views by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If by united you mean completely polarized, then you're right!

      Republicans watching the hearing: let that poor persecuted man onto the Supreme Court so he can flip the court for next month's case that will let Trump pardon himself for state crimes.

      Democrats watching the same hearing: he's obviously unfit for the position, but can we also put him in prison for perjury?

    5. Re: American public is fairly united in its views by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes it is good to make boom boom with the hairless girls, no? I like taking trips down south to China where I can trade bottle of vodka to make my man weiner slippery.

      Lisa in Spokane

      P.S. Hilary Clinton hates black people

    6. Re:American public is fairly united in its views by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Russian trolls and Russian dolls are actually the same thing.

    7. Re:American public is fairly united in its views by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Russians: Where else can you get a group of white males to blame everything on?

  11. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Narcocide · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They're trying to polarize both like and dislike for the movie and then cause both camps to draw an assumption about the political affiliation of the other camp. They're doing this with every element of pop culture that people disagree on. Like the summary says, the overarching goal is primarily to foster the public perception of increased social dysfunction from within and without.

  12. Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by elrous0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not interested in Disney's fanfic anymore. Made the mistake of seeing The Force Awakens. The plot was just a fan-service rehash of the original Star Wars and Rey was an annoying Mary Sue. So I just stopped giving Disney my money after that. Didn't make a YouTube video bitching about it or anything. I just stopped buying their toys and seeing their movies. Problem solved.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Rey is overpowered, definitely, but I didn't really have a huge problem with that. Kylo Ren is way overpowered, too, and way too deserving of the title "Darth Emo", though he was better in The Last Jedi.

      That ridiculous Leia doing the Kryptonian sleep-flying back to the ship after getting explosively decompressed, modulo some blast damage from the weapons that tore the bridge apart... What were they thinking?

      The utter stupidity of *dropping* bombs *in space*... *were* they thinking? Seems unlikely.

      On the whole, I like the actors. But their performances were ill-served by the writing and directing. The whole thing was completely disjointed. It just felt sloppy, beyond the above stupidities. (None of which were the actors' fault.)

      "But.... Russians!!" is the last refuge of the compleat idiot.

    2. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by nyet · · Score: 1

      TFA was a masterpiece compared to the pile of trash that is TLJ.

    3. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just stopped buying their toys and seeing their movies.

      When you save money, you save with Putin!

    4. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I disagree. TFA had awful characters, bad action, bad scene logic, bad dialog, and no climax. It made the Prequels look good (at least they had climaxes).

      TLJ fixed all that. The action was pretty good. He fixed the characters (Rey no longer a Mary Sue, Finn now longer a coward, Kylo not an emo, and Poe is now a character). The plot made sense this time around. There was a climax and it was pretty good.

      Rian Johnson is a goddamned miracle worker. Or he's just competent compared to JJ Abrams' cinematic dumpster fires.

    5. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by mentil · · Score: 1

      The 'dropping bombs' thing made me think 'wait a minute', and then a few seconds later I realized they were just propelled out the bomb bay. Which is how I'd expect bombs to be deployed in space. I think people are unnerved because missiles/rockets/torpedoes are the normal method of explosive delivery in space, in sci-fi.

      --
      Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    6. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by youngone · · Score: 1

      See I would argue that TLJ had a whole bunch of climaxes, and the final climactic scene was both stolen wholesale from The Empire Strikes Back and also made absolutely no sense at all.
      After nearly 20 years of disappointment I will no longer be partaking in Star Wars, even though that makes me sad I have had enough.

    7. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      I've been referring to Kylo Ren as Douche Vader.

      And who the hell is this purple haired twat that just suddenly appeared in the story line as a main character with no backstory or anything? Since it seemed her only purpose was to bonzai the ship into the bad guys, they could have saved the cost of one actress and saved Ackbar for that. Since they were going to kill him off anyway, why not have him volunteer to go down as a most hero instead of an "Oops WTF" death?

      --
      This space unintentionally left blank.
    8. Re: Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Russians is a great narrative with the home release just around the corner.

      They tried using shaming to sale tickets, but that of course caught even more backlash. Maybe they meant Disney is run by Russian trolls?

      It is a fairly good back pedal and another attempt to recoup on that disaster.

    9. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    10. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Muh, feminism.

    11. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I keep thinking that all the small bombs going off would severely impact the other bombs that haven't reached the target yet, blowing them off course or detonating them prematurely being so tightly packed. It just seemed like a highly inefficient delivery system.

      And then there's the star destroyer re-design which is terrible, because all the turrets on top and bottom, can't shoot forward without other turrets getting in the way.

    12. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Weren't there TIE bombers bombing an asteroid in ESB?

    13. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Is Rey overpowered? I mean Luke is a farmer who over the course of a day or two becomes an ace fighter pilot and manages to infiltrate the Death Star and rescue a high value prisoner. In comparison Rey manages to crash the Falcon into the ground and shows constant doubt that Luke never had. Kylo is fairly dominant in their fight despite his injury, and isn't even trying to kill her.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    14. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Rey is overpowered, definitely, but I didn't really have a huge problem with that.

      No one has a problem with someone being overpowered. People have a problem with the character development which makes them magically solve problems without effort. It creates a story with zero intrigue and a character which is incredibly hollow.

      But their performances were ill-served by the writing and directing.

      This is the new Starwars in a nutshell. Characters driven by a plot that makes zero sense. Not just developmentally (Mary Sue Rei, or the Leia stupidity) but also who make decisions that make no sense (a small resistance leader withholding critical plan details from one of their most senior soldiers leading to a pointless mutany).

      "But.... Russians!!" is the last refuge of the compleat idiot.

      I have no reason to believe that Russian nerds liked the movie anymore than anyone else. Chances are that rather than make shitty youtube videos about how bad the movie is, they just activated their twitterbots.

    15. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by danbert8 · · Score: 2

      I lost it when they left the ship to go to Space Monte Carlo and do a side quest... Wait, you mean they can just fucking get on a ship and leave without the Discount Empire noticing? Why don't they all abandon the ship and go to Space Monte Carlo? Maybe find some legit parking so they don't get thrown in jail too. Hide out with the arms manufacturers seeing as how the Discount Empire is unlikely to attack the people that supply them.

      --
      Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
    16. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I mean Luke is a farmer who over the course of a day or two becomes an ace fighter pilot

      And? Being a farmer is a very good explanation.

      Farmers don't have the luxuries of the city, so they have to be pretty self sufficient, with kids having to learn to work and help out at a young age. And Tatooine is a much harsher place than places farmers usually reside IRL.

      In the movie itself, it is shown that Luke does help around the house, with Owen asking him to clean up the droids. Luke is also shown to know how to drive a speeder (to chase after R2D2). Later in the film he said he shot at womp rats too (with this friends, as to imply that knowing how to pilot and shoot isn't something exceptional to Luke)

      You have to remember the movie was written back in the 70s, by a man born in the 40s (so his childhood would be in the 50s and 60s). Childhood for most people back then is not as pampering as today.

      All this is before we learned (much much later) that Luke's the son of the Chosen One (who was also pretty OP in his day, but Anakin also had a rough upbringing being a slave to explain some of his OPness on top of being the Chosen One)

      So being "just" a farmer means a whole lot. Just like how Rey's physical prowess is quickly explained by showing her scavenging on her own on Jakku, another tough looking desert planet.

      Her being born poor and abandoned would explain why despite some of her engineering knowledge (picked up from all that scavenging) , she probably didn't have any piloting experiencing as getting access to a working vehicle is too expensive.

      What most people have a problem with is Rey's talent with Force powers. She reversed mind probed Kylo on their first meeting, and then pulled a Jedi Mind trick all on her own soon after (read: she was the princess Leia, and then she rescued herself, topping Luke in ep 4)

      Before Last Jedi people had hoped that this would be explained later, but they apparently burned that bridge in ep 8. Well, there's a small chance they could troll the audience again and provide an explanation, but that is, well, trolling the audience and would totally invite a lot of hate.

    17. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't see how Kylo Ren is really any different from the Ep 1-3 Jedi/Sith, other than stopping a blaster shot once. He had actual training from a young age that Luke didn't even have.

      Rey had NOTHING and could beat him? That is complete horseshit.

    18. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by kyjo · · Score: 0

      Rogue One was quite good. Completely different from TFA and TLJ, and generally geared towards more adult audiences. It has a slow start but the last 1/2 hour has some of the best scenes in all SW movies, and some original music too.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... Otherwise I agree with you, definitely not gonna wacth episode 9 after what they did in 7 and 8...

    19. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The utter stupidity of *dropping* bombs *in space*... *were* they thinking?

      Well, since this is Slashdot, here's the complicated science stuff:

      Star Wars spaceships have repulsorlift anti-gravity technology. They are not "in orbit", but stationary or slow-moving at a great height. (Nothing is automatically in orbit when it gets to orbital height; it has to be travelling sideways very quickly, to achieve orbit and zero-g.) Star Wars spaceships float above the surface in exactly the same way as Luke's landspeeder in ANH, Jabba's sail barge and skiffs in ROTJ, or the Star Destroyer above Jedha in R1, just much higher. They do not rely on either speed or orbit. They are also below the height of geostationary orbit, where things would automatically be travelling at orbital velocity, while stationary above a fixed point on a rotating planet. Hence, things can still fall down when leaving a spacecraft above a planet, rather than continuously falling sideways in orbital zero-g. Here endeth today's grade school physics lesson.

      TL;DR: Zero-g and floating bombs are not compulsory in space.

    20. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by ravenshrike · · Score: 1

      Because Admiral Ackbar would never be stupid enough not to tell his officers that they had a plan in the works. Instead he would tell Poe that they had a plan, but OpSec makes it need to know, and you don't need to know. So button the fuck up and wait. Instead she spends her time belittling him and telling him to shut up without ever mentioning that they have a plan. This, incidentally, is in the same speech how she knows plenty hotshots like him. If she actually did, she would know that not giving any reassurance at all to hotshot junior officers, even if you then proceed to break them of their superiority, is the absolute worst course of action to take.

    21. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most insighful and intelligent comment on the story. +500.

    22. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by toddestan · · Score: 1

      The TIE bombers from ESB are basically TIE fighters with a big gun that fires downwards instead of a gun that fires forward. Actually makes a lot of sense in the context of the Star Wars universe - it would be much easier to just fly over a capital ship while firing downwards than it is to fly towards it and strafe it with front firing weapons.

    23. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He didn't say anything at all about orbit, so your lecture is completely pointless. Get reading comprehension classes or something.

      Dropping bombs requires gravity to accelerate them and large immobile targets. None of those present in space. Bombs don't magically fall "down" because there is no "down". Attempt to hit maneuvering and firing space ship using those slow bombers is completely ridiculous idea.

    24. Re:Just do what I did: Don't go to see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You miss the point - there is gravity in space. In fact, being in orbit requires that you be in the gravity well of a body. You're just in free-fall.

      His argument is that they are not in orbit, but hovering stationary over the planet. Therefore things fall.

  13. Well, maybe they were fans too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1oAi0hoJ_28
    I donâ(TM)t know, COMPARED TO THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY, I do not need Russians to downgrade my review

  14. Re:wow Narcocide by Narcocide · · Score: 2

    Hey look guys, I found one!

  15. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is going to be hilarious if Russian trolling turns out to finally be the educational tool that Americans have needed for the last half century, for finally learning how to THINK.

  16. Russian Trolls by ArylAkamov · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is there anything we can't blame them for?

    1. Re:Russian Trolls by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Is there anything we can't blame them for?

      Yes, the stuff Jiiina does.

    2. Re:Russian Trolls by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      Is there anything we can't blame them for?

      If there is anything we can't blame them for, we'll just blame global warming instead.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    3. Re:Russian Trolls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Race riots and nuclear holocausts? Oh, wait..

    4. Re:Russian Trolls by Tom · · Score: 4, Funny

      Obesity ?

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    5. Re:Russian Trolls by novakyu · · Score: 1

      Climate change—we save that one for the Republicans.

    6. Re:Russian Trolls by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

      Is there anything we can't blame them for?

      Apparently not. They are all powerful.

      I for one welcome our Vodka-swilling overlords!

    7. Re:Russian Trolls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They are all white males, what a politically correct target to blame all our problems on! But why Star Wars? Marvel is bringing in more money.

  17. Russian Troll Campaign was obvious and poorly done by Jzanu · · Score: 0

    Star Wars is and always will be Star Wars, and every generation has to accept the changes brought by the next, and every generation has in reality. These Russian trolls distracted people with mindless hatred with no meaning or value. They tried at least. Now, they failed. Witness the scattered desperate please "please keep hating this thing with no point". Putin is bad at this stuff, and really he always has been bad at it. Intelligence I mean. He doesn't have any.

  18. Last straw, Putie! by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Messing with elections is one thing, but messing with Star Wars is going way too far.

    1. Re:Last straw, Putie! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tablizer - Russian Troll

    2. Re:Last straw, Putie! by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Crap, I've been outed.

  19. Is that a joke research paper? by FilmedInNoir · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "The paper concludes that while it is only a minority of Twitter accounts that tweet negatively about The Last Jedi..." Oh so everyone else's opinion is valid then. It was a crap movie.
    "more than half are bots, trolls/sock puppets or political activists using the debate to propagate political messages supporting..."
    Yeah I know, I've been flooded with posts of FeministComicNerd, GenderFluidMovieRanter, and MarySuePenisHater about how Last Jedi is the greatest movie ever and
    that Asian chick is important to the story and not at all to pander to Chinese audiences.

    --
    Sig. Sig. Sputnik
    1. Re:Is that a joke research paper? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1

      No, it's a Russian troll.

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    2. Re:Is that a joke research paper? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Black Parrot is Russian troll confirmed! Please delete his account.

    3. Re:Is that a joke research paper? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It's interesting that these Russian bot accounts originated a lot of the talking points that people bring up about TLJ. When you see someone making generic complaints without specifying particular aspects of the movie, like "they used the same scene 3 times" or "the writing was really bad" you will usually find that those ideas originated with Russian bots.

      That's the key difference between the bots and genuine critics/upset fans. They make complaints that are designed to go viral and which are almost impossible to argue with because they are too generic to refute.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:Is that a joke research paper? by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      I enjoyed the film and am happy to point out all the flaws. I like liking things apart and that only works if you're specific.

      WTF was with the magical hyperspace tracker with silly plot properties (only the front ship can use it). That felt jammed in. It would have all made much more sense if there was a mole in the rebellion (rose, anyone? ). Then the admiral's extreme reluctance to share anything would have been a better fit (though I didn't mind that).

      The space Monte Carlo (as someone here called it) was tonally inconsistent with the rest of the movie and was just generically rich bad people. Visually inconsistent style and boring character design. Smbc boring with a generic chase scene. Should have been cut entirely.

      I liked rose's entry then her character just fell apart and got annoying. And she almost got the last of the rebellion wiped out. She ended up whiny and wet after a good start.

      Why didn't a hyperspace battering ram happen before? Though it was so cool I don't really care.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    5. Re:Is that a joke research paper? by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      No one has ever complained about bad writing before Russians learned to use bots.

      I am extremely curious how you track ideas back to "Russian bots" in the first place. Although I have a hunch it mostly involves pulling bullshit out of your ass.

      The last Jedi was a bad movie. Russians didn't make it a bad movie. Bad writing and execution made it a bad movie. Morons turning its piss-poor reviews into a social issue is just sad. But hey, if you want to pretend you are fighting for progress by defending the interests of a giant, unethical corporation be my guest.

    6. Re:Is that a joke research paper? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Vietnamese actress was put in to pander to Chinese audiences? That's an interesting strategy...

      Also, BTW I thought she was really cute and funny and down-to-earth. One of my favorite parts of the movie.

    7. Re:Is that a joke research paper? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I suppose the explanation for things like the hyperspace tracker is that in Star Wars it's very soft sci-fi and they will happily invent a McGuffin if it suits the plot. I think it's interesting that a lot of people are bothered by stuff like that though, because the movie was really about the characters and their personal journeys.

      The Monte Carlo stuff was so that Finn could build some empathy for the rebel cause on his journey to becoming a rebel himself. He goes was trying to get away from the rebel fleet to save himself to declaring himself to be "rebel scum" to Phasma, and seeing how it's not just a fight against the Space Nazis but also a fight for all the oppressed citizens of the galaxy is key to that.

      Rose ultimately saving Finn from his heroic but mostly pointless suicide run completes his transition, and mirrors Poe's journey from magnificent bastard who goes for the glory and the big wins to someone who sees the bigger picture and importance of building the rebellion up as a movement.

      The hyperspace ramming manoeuvre can be explained as relying on having a very large battering ram, in this case the largest ship that the rebellion ever had. Considering that it didn't stop the First Order's pursuit in the end and relied on the tactical error of lining their ships up like that it's probably not something you want to use very often.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    8. Re:Is that a joke research paper? by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      I suppose the explanation for things like the hyperspace tracker is that in Star Wars it's very soft sci-fi and they will happily invent a McGuffin if it suits the plot. I think it's interesting that a lot of people are bothered by stuff like that though, because the movie was really about the characters and their personal journeys.

      I'm fine with macguffins, but it popped out of the middle of nowhere part way through the movie. It violated the Checkov's Gun principle. If it was there from the beginning then fine, it's the way it suddenly arrived and honestly didn't fit all that well with the plot up to that point.

      The Monte Carlo stuff was so that Finn could build some empathy for the rebel cause on his journey to becoming a rebel himself.

      Sure, but it was poorly done. It looked visually and felt like an afterthought. The visual thing to me was the mismatch. Stylistically it was somehow "off". Hard to define really. Plot wise it was a bolt on that could have been done in better ways. It was overall pretty cack-handed.

      Sure. But it was so cool I don't need an explanation. That whole moment in a packed cinema was like... woah. Rule of cool and all that.

      Overall thmbs up from me for the film. Great fun.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
  20. Not all is lost. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You don't mean "All is not lost"; you mean "Not all is lost".

    There is a huge difference.

    1. Re:Not all is lost. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pedantry failure.

      It's sad that you don't understand how idiomatic language works, because there is actually no difference in actual, real-life usage of those phrases. No matter how much you want them to mean different things, they don't.

  21. Also shitting on the other end of star wars eu... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (extended universe) lore by changing the entirety of the past 30+ years of fiction created after the original trilogy and respectfully skirting the areas Lucas had reserved for himself (notably the clone wars/anakin skywalker era and a variety of other less well documented areas I'm sure a licensed offer to better describe to us.)

    As a result basically everything produced in the past 30 years has been rendered uncanonical, creating the same sort of mess as the 'TOS Klingon' vs TNG Klingon fanatics of Trek background, only on the scale of the ENTIRE BACKSTORY. It's a schism on the level of the Eastern Orthodox vs Catholics.

  22. That's not all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's also credible evidence that Russian trolls have been preventing me from getting laid for the past couple years.

  23. The last Jedi didn't suck! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It was the Russian trolls the entire time! Now I can watch TLJ knowing that it was merely troll bias that ruined the movie and franchise.

  24. Russia wants us weak by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    But we are made of sterner stuff than that.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  25. It's really just one thing by rsilvergun · · Score: 5, Interesting

    they're trying to sow discord in American society in order to weaken us politically. That's it. Nothing else.

    And you know what? It's working. Not that we needed very much, given how Balkanized we are, but it's like a vial of blood in a shark pool...

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:It's really just one thing by Trogre · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, they are.

      Now, define "they".

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    2. Re:It's really just one thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your american society is a garbage mix of n1ggers, sand monkeys, shit monkeys, and other stupid monkeys you've been importing for the last 30 years.

      You n1ggers are divided and in discord by natural forces. Fuck you.

    3. Re:It's really just one thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do american people need russian trolls to sow discord in American society when the said society elected Trump about a year ago as its president ? Not sure the American society would be in better shape without these "trolls" anyway

    4. Re:It's really just one thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, its morons like you sowing discord in America. Russians have nothing to do with it. They can't possibly match your stupidity.

    5. Re:It's really just one thing by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      And you know what? It's working. Not that we needed very much, given how Balkanized we are

      Then why would Russia bother. The neo-McCarthyite hysteria wasn't around in the 90's, when Republicans were accusing Bill and Hill of being mass murdering drug lords, nor was it around after 2008 when Teabaggers lost their minds and accused Obama's parents of planting a fake birth announcement almost half a century prior because their son might have become president someday.

      Another disphit refrain is that Russia is behind Black Lives Matter activists taking issue with unaccountable violent cops. As if it was news to black Americans that they were living in a racist police state.

    6. Re:It's really just one thing by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 1

      I look at it kind of like...

      If it is Russians, influencing ridiculous things like this is a great way to weaken the response to "it was Russians". Sowing more and more doubt at any mention of them, so that when someone does have something credible, voters will be quick to call that credible person a liar, which will cause further divide.

      But, maybe it's not Russians.

    7. Re:It's really just one thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Russia was partially behind them. They made fake Facebook groups and promoted protests in their name. Since you're a fucking dipshit who gets his news from the MSM, you probably don't know about it. The funny thing is that you're still massively self righteous despite being ignorant.

    8. Re:It's really just one thing by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Again: that blacks are subject to a brutal police state was not news to them. You are repeating McCarthyite talking points straight out of smears made against MLK and other civil rights protesters in the 50's and 60's. So all that ranting about ignorant dipshits? Take it to your bathroom mirror.

  26. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by nyet · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hated it. And yes, I 'm a russian troll that traveled back in time 15 years to get this username.

  27. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by nyet · · Score: 5, Funny

    Red Letter Media: RED?! MUST BE RUSSIANS

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  28. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    I hated it. And yes, I 'm a russian troll that traveled back in time 15 years to get this username.

    Oh, so you're the one who outbid me when they auctioned off the nyet account in October of 2016.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  29. not a Russian Troll and by PerZon · · Score: 1

    I can confirm the movie was crap! I do not need any Troll or Russian bot network to tell me otherwise!! What kind of study was this anyways?! Did this study not study the actual movie and only study the reviews?! Sounds like the movie industry is trying to Troll us and tell people otherwise!!

    1. Re:not a Russian Troll and by Jack9 · · Score: 1

      This was not a study. This was an academic paper. Generally it means that it had references, structure, and was run through a casual spellcheck. Nothing more is assured.

      --

      Often wrong but never in doubt.
      I am Jack9.
      Everyone knows me.
  30. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Russians also manipulated the Rotten Tomatoes audience scores!

  31. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by nyet · · Score: 2

    4.49 rubles well spent, I assure you.

  32. Why? by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

    What possible benefit does Russia gain by spamming bad reviews for a movie?

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    1. Re: Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The official line is that Russians are just sowing discord whenever they can. Like that Russian dragon in the original My Little Pony series.

      So we all should unite, form into some neat columns and march into the movie theatres , just to show them. United we stand!

    2. Re:Why? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1

      What possible benefit does Russia gain by spamming bad reviews for a movie?

      Makes their people feel at home on Slashdot.

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  33. Apparently the Russians have taste by SensitiveMale · · Score: 4, Funny

    because that movie sucked ass.

  34. Maybe the Russians just agree - it sucked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The entire plot smelled like it was either written by, or sponsored by, an animal rights activist.
    The entire side trip to Space Vegas was pointless and a waste of time.
    I would almost rather re-watch episode II.

  35. Younger folks loved it by rsilvergun · · Score: 2, Informative

    Not being a movie maker I can't say why, but the younger folks at my job like it and the old timers who grew up with the 1st 3 movies hated it. That's the thing, it's mostly young folks going to see movies. So they make moves for them. Not us.

    As for Luke, as last Gen's hero he pretty much had to die. Same as Kenobi. I suppose a much, much better writer could have bridged the gaps, but that's a risky and Herculean task I can't blame Disney, or Ryan Johnson, for not trying.

    Oh, and if we could just get a decent Star Wars game that wasn't a platform for micro transactions all would be forgiven. I'll be you 2/3rds of the nerd rage is up to that.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Younger folks loved it by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      I'd kill an Ewok for a remake of the X-Wing and Tie-Fighter games.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    2. Re:Younger folks loved it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're an inspiration to us all!

    3. Re: Younger folks loved it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I pity your office.

    4. Re:Younger folks loved it by AbRASiON · · Score: 2

      Luke can die, like OB1 and Yoda, as the wise old sage, who has evolved to pure 'goodness' of the Jedi, just as he had become at the end of ROTJ.

      Luke was (about to) become a kind, old, wise Jedi. So re-visiting Luke in his old age, while cheesy and predictable, would've been best him being like those 2.

      Instead they messed with the old hero, also he's straight, white, male, so you know, fuck they better not make him wise / kind / thoughtful / good, hell no.

      The Last Jedi is dogshit.

      I stopped caring about Star Wars after Phantom, but this is just over the top.

    5. Re:Younger folks loved it by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It was a lot like how Empire was controversial when that came out. After the triumphant first film, with a classic coming of age hero story line, it really subverted expectations. The hero loses pretty badly, the smuggler pirate badass gets frozen in carbonite and now this new guy who started out by betraying him is flying his ship and wearing his clothes.

      As for Luke, he explains the problem himself in the movie. He says something like "what did you expect, I'd go out and fight the whole First Order with a laser sword?" If Luke came and solved all their problems it would have been a boring movie, maybe as bad as Yoda fighting the prequels. So they subverted it, Luke is having a crisis of faith as he realizes that the Jedi were flawed and not the solution, and then in the end decides for personal reasons to help the Rebels and his sister out by going and fighting the whole First Order with a laser sword.

      There is some nice symmetry there too. The first time he met Leia it was as a hologram. The last time he met Leia he was the projection.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    6. Re: Younger folks loved it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd kill a dozen Ewoks just for the lulz.

    7. Re:Younger folks loved it by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Your anti-straight-white-male theory is rather undermined by the fact that Finn and Poe also had their flaws exposed as part of their plots. The whole movie was about subverting expectations and letting go of the past. Not just past characters, but past solutions to problems.

      Take Poe. In the original trilogy his methods worked. Desperate all out attack against high value targets, heavy losses but big victories that eventually brought down the Empire. But it didn't last. The First Order rose out of the ashes, which if you read the books is because while the Emperor and the Death Star 2 were major assets the rebels didn't really cripple the rest of the Imperial Navy or fill the power vacuum.

      Poe has to learn to trust commanders and to look at the bigger picture, to plan for the long term.

      Finn similarly attempts a suicide attack near the end of the movie, but what good would it have really done in the end? The rebels were still cornered, still holding out hope for rescue by their allies that never came. He learns that not only are things worth fighting for (after initially trying to get away from the rebel fleet), but that grand suicide gestures aren't what matters. Saving your friends, actually the thing that bound everyone together in Empire and RotJ, and building the rebellion is how you win the war.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    8. Re:Younger folks loved it by radarjd · · Score: 1

      I grew up with the original trilogy. I'm not sure how to back this up without listing a bunch of ridiculous examples, but it's safe to say I'm a fan of the series.

      I really liked The Last Jedi. It's not perfect, but I enjoyed it. I understand how a lifetime can cause someone (Luke) to change his perspective from hopeful to embittered. I understand failing to meet the expectations of your youth.

      I liked Rose, and the adventure to Canto Bight.

      Do I count?

    9. Re:Younger folks loved it by Dusty101 · · Score: 1

      See, one of the biggest problems I had with TLJ is that the heroes all failed because of basic incompetence, which absolutely wasn't the case in TESB.

      In TESB, the heroes do make decisions that cost them, but they all do them for logical reasons, and do the best they can. For example, it could be argued that Luke leaving Dagobah before completing his training was an impetuous, reckless decision, but he knowingly made the choice in order to try to help his friends. Han took a chance and trusted Lando, because it was his least-worst option at the time. All of these were rational, considered choices that may or may not have turned out to be the right long-term course of action from the character's perspective, but they made sense and drove the narrative forward naturally.

      The TLJ simply doesn't operate in the same way at all. Holdo specifically opts to keep the people she's just been assigned command of (and who hence don't know her at all) utterly in the dark about her plans and motivations, and she apparently does this *just* to teach Poe a lesson about the chain of command? There's not even a fig-leaf line about increased security concerns about spies on-board or anything, I think. That makes no real sense at all. Poe, Finn and Rose all unilaterally decide to undertake a hare-brained scheme (against direct orders) involving hunting down some slicer they've never previously met who's supposedly the *only* person that can do what they want. Then they don't hire him anyway, and just replace with some random, shifty guy with whom they just so happened to get locked up? And their whole plan immediately falls apart anyway, because they can't even park their ship somewhere sensible? That's just absurd.

      From an established "in world" technology perspective, the whole slow fleet chase made no sense either, as did the weirdly-yet-conveniently-inconsistent abilities of Snoke. In essence, everyone in the film was a complete screw-up from their own perspectives, simply because the story the director wanted to tell required them to be: the whole thing was like a game of "Pass The Idiot Ball".

      Don't get me wrong: I thought the cinematography and special effects were spectacular. I'm willing to give the Holdo Maneuver a pass because although it potentially causes major problems with canon, it looked really cool. I actually also liked Kelly Marie Tran's onscreen presence a lot (which I'm fairly sure means that I'm not some fedora-wearing Russian bot). However, the direction, plotting and characterization were deeply, deeply flawed. Also, the director's unswerving determination to push his "Let it die, kill it if you have to" agenda for the future direction of "Star Wars" at the clear expense of narrative consistency with the preceding films was inexcusably clumsy. It was suddenly, painfully clear that there was no Grand Plan for the three films after all - something that's since been admitted by the filmmakers.

      FWIW, though, I've generally liked or loved all of the other Disney-era "Star Wars" films. TLJ was the first film of the whole series for which, when the house lights came up, I didn't actually even know what the filmmakers thought I was supposed to feel about it. That's not good. For comparison, my initial reaction to my first viewing of TESB was exactly the same as Luke's when first told about his father: the sense of the ground falling away beneath me as a great chasm. It was dramatic, and it was clear.

      TLJ is the only "Star Wars" film that I haven't already bought (and I own "Solo", FWIW).

      But hey: more power to you if you really liked TLJ. I don't want to take that away from you or anyone else. However, if it's the a foretaste of the long-term direction of "Star Wars", I'll probably mostly just politely be watching it from the sidelines.

    10. Re:Younger folks loved it by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I don't see it as incompetence so much as just accepting that the way things had been done to that point were not working. The Jedi Order was flawed and Yoda recognized that it needed to come to and end. That helped Luke overcome his sense of failure by understanding that it was as much a problem with the Jedi as with any mistakes he made, and take a leaf from Rey's book to just embrace the Force on a more personal level.

      I agree that Poe's story could have been done a little better, with Holdo's actions explained more clearly in particular. But it did set Poe up as a future leader, probably to take over from Leia now that he has learned that heroic victories at any cost are not the way to run a rebellion.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    11. Re:Younger folks loved it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      also he's straight, white, male, so you know, fuck they better not make him wise / kind / thoughtful

      Jesus Christ, that's one hell of a projection. The article is right, the movie wasn't fantastic, but a good chunk of the hate is entirely political.

  36. Re:wow Narcocide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How dare you assume we identify as "guys"

  37. Honest opinion vs Propaganda by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Have these people ever considered the negative reviews are people giving their honest, articulated opinions of movies that are what's true and it's actually the overly positive reviews with no critical thinking that are propaganda? I can find the good in bad in any movie, as anyone can, but for me to be considered a Russian troll, or someone manipulated by them, for not liking every time Hollywood puts out some generic piece of shit film is insulting.

    It's too bad there hasn't been "academic research" done to see who is paying for critics to leave positive reviews as if every movie is flawless.

    1. Re: Honest opinion vs Propaganda by astrofurter · · Score: 1

      "It's too bad there hasn't been "academic research" done to see who is paying for critics to leave positive reviews as if every movie is flawless."

      Anyone who did that study would have a very short career as an academic...

  38. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    >propagating a narrative of widespread drought in the Sahara
    So uh, yeah, we're still waiting to hear what the supposed purpose was.

  39. Right.... by sunking2 · · Score: 1

    Had nothing to do with Leia flying through space.

  40. I never got The Last Jedi freak out by skam240 · · Score: 4

    I really never got The Last Jedi freak out, Sure, there was the admiral with blue hair who for some unexplainable reason left her crew hopeless rather than tell them where they were going. And sure, in a civilization with sentient robots for some reason she needed to piloted a suicide attack against the chasing fleet. And sure, if that attack is so devastating why aren't there weapons that do that?

    In the end though, at least the movie wasn't a fucking carbon copy of one of the original trilogy movies. The second it came up they were going on a third fucking Death Star run in The Force Awakens (complete with: "another Death Star?", "No! It's bigger, see...") I have had no use for that movie. What a terrible ending.

    Rogue One is still easily the best of the new movies (that scene where the rebel fleet warps in right on top of those two star destroyers!? And a hammer head corvette doing its thing in action!?) but Last Jedi really wasn't that bad. Especially relative to just fucking copying a classic.

    --
    I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
    1. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by Leuf · · Score: 1

      I agree with you on preferring The Last Jedi over The Force Awakens. As far as light speed through the shields thing goes, it can be fanwanked into making some kind of sense. It only works if [technobabble]. If you can fanwank a measure of distance into a measure of time you can do that. I don't watch a Star Wars movie to worry about its adherence to the laws of physics or consistency in weaponry. Kamikaze attacks are the weapon of a group that has already lost but refuses to surrender. Rose stops Finn from doing another one because attacks that weaken your own side as much as it weakens the other side only at best prolong the inevitable defeat. It's as useful as Poe's attack earlier. The real resistance was Luke and Rey and passing the knowledge of the Force onto another generation, and their postponing the defeat only served to cost them Luke. Kamikaze attacks don't particularly make sense in a world with droids and auto pilot, but I can set that aside. I'd rather be thinking about things like that than obsessing over physics, and the movie did manage to get me thinking about that.

    2. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by radarskiy · · Score: 1

      "for some unexplainable reason left her crew hopeless rather than tell them where they were going"

      Not only is the reason explainable, it is demonstrated in the movie itself: the bridge crew is worried that the plan will leak off the ship so they limit the knowledge to those actively working on implementing it. They don't know if they have a mole or not, and they were never told about Rose's theory about how to track the hyper jumps so quickly.

      This worry is born out by the fact that once someone not actively working on implementing the plan finds out they immediately leak the plan off the ship.

    3. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by Only+Time+Will+Tell · · Score: 1

      I largely agree with you. I didn't hate The Last Jedi, but just thought it was OK. There were a few grimacing scenes like Leia returning to the ship and the casino planet scenes and forced love-relationship between Finn and Rose (which is too bad, I like both the actors). But overall, it was decent, and the light sabre battle in the throne room was quite good.

    4. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Holdo didn't tell Poe about the plan, but maybe she told the other senior staff. Remember he had just been demoted so was not privy to information he would previously have been told.

      The light speed attack probably only worked because of the mass of the ship that was used, the largest that the rebels possessed. It wouldn't make sense to sacrifice ships like that when there are other effective weapons. Also keep in mind that it wasn't even that effective - it damaged a lot of ships but it didn't stop the First Order pursuing.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by s4080326 · · Score: 1

      My head-cannon on the "Hyperspace Ram" which has zero basis in the movie but is the only way to make sense of it is that whatever device allowed the First Order to track via hyperspace also allowed them to be target-able from hyperspace. My main problem with the movie is 90% of it has no effect whatsoever on the actual plot.

    6. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the robots are sentient, that's your reason. R2 sacrificing itself would be as much a sacrifice as her doing it, since Star Wars to the best of my knowledge hasn't made backups and the implications thereof a thing in the way that, say, Schlock Mercenary has. R2 et al could be theoretically be rebuilt from critical disabling damage, but a play that irrecoverably destroys the body would be expected to be just as permanent a death as it would for an organic. Probably moreso, with force-ghosts in consideration.

    7. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by skam240 · · Score: 1

      "Holdo didn't tell Poe about the plan, but maybe she told the other senior staff. Remember he had just been demoted so was not privy to information he would previously have been told."

      What I remember is everyone being completely hopeless because they thought they were truly fucked.

      "The light speed attack probably only worked because of the mass of the ship that was used, the largest that the rebels possessed. It wouldn't make sense to sacrifice ships like that when there are other effective weapons. Also keep in mind that it wasn't even that effective - it damaged a lot of ships but it didn't stop the First Order pursuing."

      It was a massively devastating attack and in the movie it was clearly illustrated that it took out a ton of capital ships at the cost of one. Meanwhile they had literally been ditching warp capable ships for half the movie. Now don't get me wrong, it's not as if the original trilogy isn't without this shit either (let's put our near indestructible tanks on fucking stilts!) but at least AT-ATs have some real dramatic appeal.

      --
      I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
    8. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by skam240 · · Score: 1

      So all senior staff was left out? Sorry, this was just a crap way to build tension as, as viewers we all had access to senior staff's story. "Hey guess what!? You know that thing that every main character was seemingly worried about!? Well it's been planned for all along so don't worry about it anymore". What a crap device.

      Still tons better than just recreating a previous Star Wars movie though

      --
      I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
    9. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by radarskiy · · Score: 1

      "So all senior staff was left out? "

      The most senior person who didn't know was the freshly-demoted Poe himself. He was the fighter commander whose subordinates no longer had any fighters to pilot, so they were not immediately useful to the plan and had no need to know.

      The one sticking point is Lt. Connix. Did she not know the plan earlier despite being a junior bridge officer, or did she know but threw her lot in with the mutiny anyway? If she did already know, why didn't she tell Poe sooner?

    10. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > but Last Jedi really wasn't that bad. Especially relative to just fucking copying a classic.

      I'd rather they copy a classic than shit all over it!

    11. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by skam240 · · Score: 1

      "The one sticking point is Lt. Connix." ...and everyone else on the ship who as you have reminded me, mutinied. There was no spy sub plot in the movie and they're on frick'n military space ships in the voids of outer space.

      --
      I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
    12. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Poe disobeyed a direct order from Princess Leia, a freaking GENERAL.

      He should have been in the brig the second he got back aboard.

      No, I don't agree with Rian Johnson's depiction of Poe.

    13. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by skam240 · · Score: 1

      I liked the gambling planet (Star Wars worlds are always one dimensional)

      --
      I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
    14. Re:I never got The Last Jedi freak out by radarskiy · · Score: 1

      "everyone else on the ship who as you have reminded me, mutinied."

      Everyone else, except those who were mutinied against and those not involved in the mutiny either way.

      "There was no spy sub plot in the movie"
      The characters in the movie did not know they were in a movie with no spy sob-plot. More importantly they were in a movie with a leaker, and being on space ships doesn't stop leaks when you have radios.

  41. Movie criticism has been tainted by Octorian · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The main thing that really bothers me about The Last Jedi, is that all the hate and trolling has managed to pretty much taint any and all actual criticism of the movie. You're now no longer allowed to be critical of anything in the film, without being labeled a misogynist, part of the "toxic masculinity", or whatever the trigger words are these days. Heck, I've even heard that some characters were written in such a way that you'd automatically labeled "part of the problem" if you don't like them.

    Do I think the movie had issues? Of course I do. Are there characters I didn't like? Yes. Did I at least somewhat enjoy watching it? Also yes.

    But do I think it was a terrible pile of garbage that everyone involved should be ashamed of and harassed endlessly over? Absolutely not.

    But I now somehow feel awkward and uncomfortable actually expressing any criticism.

    1. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would you care if others labeled you as something?

      Do you have low self esteem? Do others who know you in person see you this way?

      Or is this some internet thing nobody really cares about except you and some bots?

      Because trying to get disembodied people on your "feed" to "like" you is foolish behavior.

    2. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by roc97007 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      > The main thing that really bothers me about The Last Jedi, is that all the hate and trolling has managed to pretty much taint any and all actual criticism of the movie.

      Hm. It's almost like that was the intention.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    3. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > The main thing that really bothers me about The Last Jedi, is that all the hate and trolling has managed to pretty much taint any and all actual criticism of the movie.

      Hm. It's almost like that was the intention.

      They learned it works to deflect at least some criticism from the genderswapped Ghostbusters.

      Some of the same people involved too. Must be a coincidence.

    4. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you want to criticize the movie do it. If you feel awkward criticizing it, that's on you. Your feeling are no ones fault but yours. Not the Russians, not the Trumpsters, not the SJWs, not the Feminists. Your the problem in that equation.

    5. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      That's the whole idea. Anything that goes opposite our ruling class is automatically *those dirty foreigners*. You'd think we'd have learned from McCarthyism, but nope.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    6. Re: Movie criticism has been tainted by astrofurter · · Score: 1

      "Why would you care if others labeled you as something?"

      'Tis the season for witch hunts and purges in Soviet America, comrade.

    7. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by vux984 · · Score: 1

      "But do I think it was a terrible pile of garbage that everyone involved should be ashamed of and harassed endlessly over? Absolutely not."

      The chase scene with the ships running out of fuel was ridulous. Like it had been cribbed from a WW2 naval script and nobody asked if it made an iota of sense in space. (And I'm not talking real physics, but it fails to fit even in Star Wars fictional physics.

      Then the highest ranking twit in the rebel alliance has to stay on board to steer the last ship because what they don't have any autopilot? or spare droids?

      Then they ram their pursuers with a jump to light speed undermining the the entire series to date? Wait... that works? Why didn't they use that before? Why didin't they throw a couple xwings into the big guns on death star 1 and 2 ? Or the super star destroyers? Or all the star destroyers in the imperial fleet? Would have cost them less than they lost in the trench run alone.

      It was a terrible pile of garbage that the producers should be ashamed of it.

      And that's just one plot thread... there was plenty else wrong with it.

    8. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah--the actors shouldn't be ashamed, but the writers definitely should be. (Obligatory "no one should be harassed.")

    9. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      When I started reading your comment I thought you meant the bogus copy/paste generic criticisms were ruining the genuine critical discussions of the movie.

      Same thing happened with Black Panther. Check the IMDB reviews, all variations on the same basic talking points which are mostly just nonsense, or so generic as to be impossible to actually discuss.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    10. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The chase scene with the ships running out of fuel was ridulous. Like it had been cribbed from a WW2 naval script and nobody asked if it made an iota of sense in space. (And I'm not talking real physics, but it fails to fit even in Star Wars fictional physics.

      In RL space, it's a contest of acceleration. If SW space, it may be speed or acceleration, they've never been clear. Fuel has been implied in the background of various scenes throughout the movies (fuel lines to the X-Wings in #4 as a simple example), but has never been an explicit point of discussion.

      Then the highest ranking twit in the rebel alliance has to stay on board to steer the last ship because what they don't have any autopilot? or spare droids?

      Well, she has already faced a (successful) mutiny over her treatment of everyone lower down in rank, so she did know she wouldn't be a capable leader after all that nonsense. Additionally, #4 shows that scanners can identify signs of life, so they might've needed a sacrifice to maintain the appearance of at least some crew onboard.

      Then they ram their pursuers with a jump to light speed undermining the the entire series to date? Wait... that works? Why didn't they use that before? Why didin't they throw a couple xwings into the big guns on death star 1 and 2 ? Or the super star destroyers? Or all the star destroyers in the imperial fleet? Would have cost them less than they lost in the trench run alone.

      From the olden games X-Wing and Tie-Fighter, resource balancing is a thing, and they took the idea from #4. So, if your target is maxing speed and shield to survive, and your ship is at roughly the same mobility, you need to max speed to keep up, and max weapons to threaten the target. This leads to shields on the chasing craft dropping to minimum safe levels, also known as "won't stop pistol fire". Mix that in with the ranking officer being an idiot, and you get a large ship that is completely unprepared for a smaller capital ship hitting it at something close to the speed of light (+-10%).

    11. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by GonzoPhysicist · · Score: 1

      Like it had been cribbed from a WW2 naval script and nobody asked if it made an iota of sense in space.

      I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case, the originals' dogfighting scenes were based off WWII movies. Were they trying to pull off a "Wrath of Khan" and missed the mark? Is there some WWII buff out there that's heard this story before?

      --
      horror vacui
    12. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 1

      I think what the Russian trolls want is for every poorly written movie to blame Russian trolls so that nobody will ever think it's Russian Trolls because so many people are crying wolf.

      Thanks Disney! I'm sure the Kremlin was trying to tear apart the country over your awful movie.

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
    13. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      > The main thing that really bothers me about The Last Jedi, is that all the hate and trolling has managed to pretty much taint any and all actual criticism of the movie.

      Hm. It's almost like that was the intention.

      They learned it works to deflect at least some criticism from the genderswapped Ghostbusters.

      Some of the same people involved too. Must be a coincidence.

      I think these particular techniques were first tried with that really terrible Fantastic Four remake, (if you didn't like it you were a racist) and perfected for the Ghostbusters remake (if you didn't like it, you were a misogynist).

      I suspect it made perfect sense to the suits. If you have a risky property, include something that most of us wouldn't care about one way or another (race swapping or gender swapping) and then "help along" the inevitable trolls who take violent issue with the swap. And then, if the sock puppets come to light, blame it on the Russians, I guess. As if Putin would care about some fantasy film.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    14. Re:Movie criticism has been tainted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Might work as a submarine story. Tracking seems to be important to the arc. Also being low on fuel in a pursuit sequence. Then the final kamikaze sequence and lifeboats.

      I can't think of any possible other alternative. Stealth fighters are usually very low on crew compliment, and thus there would not enough crew to abandon ship.

      Bombers or troop transports would be escaped using parachutes. Parachutes would be very visible in the day, but not likely to be visible during the night. A mid-air collision would be much more difficult to pull off, and would be unlikely to halt any pursuers.

      A battleship or aircraft carrier or other large vessel wouldn't likely be in a position to attempt an escape, and be surprised by being pursued. Though, it is possible that a larger vessel could attempt to flee before a battle was over, while the other members of the fleet attempted to buy the larger vessel time to escape. They could believe themselves to be beyond radar range, but may have been spotted on enemy satellite or aerial cameras. Most vessels would not have the same destructive capacity as a hyperspace acceleration.

      A nuclear powered submarine would fit most all criteria. Submerging and taking action to stealth the sub after a battle would give the sub the belief that they were undetectable. There would be quite a bit of shock to discover that their trail had been picked up. The sub, using passive sonar, would have been able to realize they were being tracked without it being obvious initially. Their enemy could have tracked them using "wake tracking" techniques and technology that did not signal the sub. That would also allow for lifeboats to escape largely undetected initially, because their pursuers would not have been looking for surface vessels. Once the lifeboats had been discovered, the sub would have engaged and possibly detonated its reactor at point blank range.

  42. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't hate Star Wars. In fact I enjoyed watching the film in a theater in 1977. That's where it ends for me, though. The sequels are mostly crap.

  43. I’m not Russian and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought is totally sucked. The Princess Leia in the vacuum of space flying while unconscious sealed it.

    Star Wars is dead to me.

  44. Discord & Dysfunction by mentil · · Score: 1

    The likely objective of these measures is increasing media coverage of the fandom conflict, thereby adding to and further propagating a narrative of widespread discord and dysfunction in American society. Persuading voters of this narrative remains a strategic goal for the U.S. alt-right movement

    Just curious why the alt-right movement would bother creating discord & dysfunction? I'd think every political movement would want to send a narrative of "things are broken, and only we can fix them" and there are always countless examples that already exist, so there's no reason to create new ones.

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re:Discord & Dysfunction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or maybe people just didn't like the movie and generally those that dislike something are the most vocal. No you are right, its a conspiracy, keep believing in it you clown.

  45. Sooooo bad... by Hairy1 · · Score: 1

    So the opening of TLJ has a serious tone, with the rebels escaping from the surface. A few minutes later a serious live or die attack on the dreadnought is turned into spaceballs. I honestly had to wonder whether I was in the right theater. Then the slow moving bombers drop bombs. No shields. And apparently the dreadnought attracts bombs. WTF?

    Basically the entire story is that the entire rebel fleet is reduced to about a dozen people and a single small ship. Oh, and the supreme leader is killed - so the whole buildup was pointless. As was the whole of the first movie which revolved around delivering Luke's lightsaber to him and bringing him out of exile.

    Oh, and the one part of the film that I thought might redeem it a little was destroyed; when Finn is prevented from sacrificing himself to save his friends, only to be sabotaged by some nutcase. If I were Finn I would have shot her myself there and then. And how did they get back? WTF?

    Rotten Tomatoes and the results of Solo tell the story. Russian bots can fake those.

    1. Re:Sooooo bad... by Daralantan · · Score: 1

      Basically the entire story is that the entire rebel fleet is reduced to about a dozen people and a single small ship.

      I remember wondering after the movie, what's the point of continuing the rebellion? It seemed like their main group is gone and no other group is out there willing to do anything. The Empire is still a million times stronger than them. There is no hope. But of course I'm sure the final movie will have Rey the Messiah do something to win everything.

      when Finn is prevented from sacrificing himself to save his friends, only to be sabotaged by some nutcase.

      I don't get this at all. Her character was seeming to be set up as the "strong independent woman who does The Right Thing. Yet in the ending of the movie she chooses to potentially sacrifice everyone's life to hopefully maybe escape with Finn somehow. Her whole intro in the movie was "How dare you save yourself and leave everyone to die" then she just does the same thing at the ending (or arguably worse, Finn was running away from a hopeless situation... she literally destroyed their one hope).

    2. Re:Sooooo bad... by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

      It's especially head-scratchy when the entire reason they're ON the planet is because one person, Holdo, demonstrated that sometimes it's good for one person to sacrifice themselves for the many.

      In other words, Rose was basically saying 'Holdo's an idiot.'

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
  46. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They're trying to polarize both like and dislike for the movie and then cause both camps to draw an assumption about the political affiliation of the other camp.

    It's not the Russian trolls doing that, it's Hollywood. Movies used to be about entertainment, but increasingly Hollywood view them as a way of delivering their political message.

    If Hollywood want to target their products at the left, that's fine, but they need to accepted there will be reduced sales and negative reviews from the right. To blame Russian trolls for the negativity and lower sales is to blame others for their own business failings.

    A tip for Hollywood - if you want to maximise sales stop excluding half of your potential audience.

  47. My Lying eyes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow, I guess my eyes were taken over by Russian bots to cause me to walk out greatly disappointed in the movie and wondering why I should ever pay to see a Star Wards movie in a theater again.

    Was it really a good movie, and the bots changed what I saw? Amazing

  48. Hollywood already pushes its own political agenda! by bob4u2c · · Score: 1

    We don't need trolls to do this, Hollywood has long been in the business of producing films to influence political opinion in the US. I guess if they push liberal agendas its ok (The First Purge, The Trump Prophecy, and Fahrenheit 11/9 are currently playing at the theater close to me) .

    But, personally my biggest complaints about the movie were just the shear number of times I was yelling at the screen for the characters to do the logical thing. You know, like tell the hot shot renegade and the whole crew you have a plan other than just sitting around. Or why didn't the empire just radio ahead and setup and ambush, you know like the police would do? Heck, why could the tie fighters engage the rebel fleet but the main ships couldn't get any more speed out, was Scotty on shore leave (sorry, mixing universes). The whole movie could be summed up as a very slow chase scene in space with explosions. I could go on but seriously who ever reviewed the script should not work in Hollywood again.

  49. Re: Also shitting on the other end of star wars eu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When somebody is accused of 'stirring up shit' it could be worthwhile to recognize that, yes, the stuff they stir is shit. Then carefully step out of the fandom and perhaps clean your boots.

  50. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by sexconker · · Score: 5, Insightful

    yeah, they present no actual evidence. This is literally the "Everyone I Disagree With Is A Russian Bot" mentality.

    The Last Judi sucked ass. The box office reflected that only a little bit, because everyone had to see it for themselves. It had far fewer people seeing it multiple times, however.

    The sales figures for the bluray (absolutely awful) reflect it.
    The sales figures for the toys (absolutely awful) reflect it
    The sales figures for Solo (absolutely awful) reflect it.
    The sales figures for the Solo bluray (absolutely awful) reflect it.

    If there's someone sewing discord in America it's people like Kathleen Kennedy and Rian Johnson. These shitlords actively attacked fans and customers. They continue to double down on alienating the people who give them money when it doesn't work. Oh, the movie did poorly because we didn't listen to the fans and their concerns? Time to call our fans racist, sexist, etc. Time to say "the Force is female" and literally say we don't need male fans. Time to insult people for not "getting" that the new animated show (at a 10PM time slot) is shallow, bland shit because it's for kids. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    Disney doesn't understand Star Wars. They got a freebie with The Force Awakens because people wanted new Star Wars. They got a crappy ripoff of the original with major plot holes (who the fuck is making this map and why does R2 have a missing piece of it and if you have a portion of some map/tracking data why not just start searching in in the blank areas?). Adam Driver is a bad actor. Emo Darth Vader is a terrible character. Daisy Ridley is a plank of wood. Rey isn't a terrible character, but that's only because she isn't even a character. She's a foil, at best. A fucking Milhouse.

    I won't see Episode IX in the theater. I'll wait for Redbox.

  51. Re:Russian Troll Campaign was obvious and poorly d by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and every generation has to accept the changes brought by the next

    Uhhh no we don't. We can just (mostly) not watch them, killing the franchise by denying Disney money.

    Also...Putin cares about fucking Star Wars? Are you kidding me? Every asshole who wants to distract from their own unpopularity has found a convenient scapegoat, but I'm blown away anyone takes it seriously.

  52. accompanied by the working of Satan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion(operation of wandering)(planet) so they will believe the lie.
    https://ipfs.io/ipns/QmRjnvwZFj8bWba3HHKo7pnLm5kep4nvQepMcM1eejzgsn

  53. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The first Star Wars was a novelty, so I'll give them that. The rest? Bleah. I do come from Polish/Russian stock though.

  54. Re:Also shitting on the other end of star wars eu. by sexconker · · Score: 1

    Everything Star Wars EU is shit. I don't care if some of it later "officially" became "canon". REAL fans don't even count the special edition edits as canon.

    Canon = The original cuts of the first 3 films (maybe including the "A New Hope" title), the Holiday Special, and the various PSAs of the time.

  55. The Russians by rsilvergun · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I thought it was pretty darn clear from TFS. I suppose our ruling class does it too now that you mention it.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re: The Russians by astrofurter · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "I suppose our ruling class does it too"

      Bing, bing, bing - we have a winner!

  56. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey creimer. In your video, you got some Elmer Fudd stuff going on. Be vewwy quiet. I'm hunting wabbit. Maybe AV club is not your forte. Try competitive eating instead.

  57. Re:Hollywood already pushes its own political agen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "..seriously who ever reviewed the script should not work in Hollywood again"
    you will be committing a crime by bullying a handicapped transgender n1gger minority that worked hard out its stupid ass on that script.

  58. Weaponizing the haters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is the article trying to be non-divisive, or is it just another effort at PR spin by/for Disney?

  59. Make a bad movie by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Generations of fans will review a bad movie and tell the world about their thoughts. In real time using social media.
    The real reviews by fans are shared and linked and show what the bad movie is all about.

    Reviews did not make the bad political movie script the way it was.

    What good reviews?
    1. Write a great script and listen to the fans who will be happy to support a movie they enjoy.
    Use the fan base. They really want to write good reviews and tell the world how much they liked a new movie.
    A bad script and bad movie will not get good reviews. Find better people with real skills to make a much better movie.
    2. Stay within what the fans want, expect and what the surrounding fiction supports.
    Got a lot of past movies, books, comics surrounding the movie? Make sure the new movie fits with what is expected, published and understood. The fans can recall it all and will tell the world about what was done wrong.
    3. Understand what has been published and what other movies had that audiences enjoyed.
    4. Don't add strange new political topics that don't fit with years of past plots.
    5. Understand who the movies is getting seen by. Dont add political topics that don't add to the story for that wider audience.

    Want to make a new political space movie? Do it as a totally new project and see how it sells and reviews.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    1. Re:Make a bad movie by loonycyborg · · Score: 1

      To make something great you first and foremost need to make something that you like yourself and enjoy doing it. There is no going around it. Even if you listen to fans only you can decide what to take to heart and what to ignore. You can't respect them all since they're contradictory. Any work of art is reflection of people who make it, so perhaps this fan reaction is due to many old fans not liking what they see in it. Since people who made original star wars trilogy and current incarnations are different there could be no other outcome. Label "Star Wars" just confused people leading to expectations that couldn't be fulfilled, yet another case of trademark self-infringement.

  60. They're not by rsilvergun · · Score: 1, Interesting

    the alt-right movement is just a bunch of guys who can't find good jobs and, as a result, women. It's not really a movement. It's what happens when you don't have enough decent paying work for men to have and raise families. Those men are being taken advantage of by what can only be called the American Aristocracy and a right wing propaganda machine. The goal is to talk them into supporting candidates who'll do the classic alt-right economics (trickle down economics, free trade, outsourcing, etc).

    So far it's working. Donald Trump, who's essentially the lead for the movement, has staffed his admin with the same Goldman Sachs folks Obama, Bush Jr and Clinton did. Trump now supports all the provisions of the TPP (but he doesn't support "the" TPP) and he's busy deregulating Wall Street while giving them massive tax cuts (another $3.5 Trillion just passed the House while we were distracted by his SCOTUS nominee's scandals).

    Bernie Sanders and Liz Warren are doing their best to reach out to them, but it's tough. There's a giant propaganda machine out to get them. Also the Dem's don't have Reagan's Eleventh Commandment so they eat their own (re: Al Franklin). Meanwhile the GOP is happy to give those angry guys any number of enemies to rail against (feminists, SJWs, basically "social" enemies that distract from economic issues). Not sure if Bernie & Liz are going to succeed, but they're definitely trying.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re: They're not by astrofurter · · Score: 2

      C'mon man - everyone knows the economic policies of the Demopublicans and the Republicrats are 99.9% identical.

      President Trump is an independent who ran as a Republicrat for expediency. He's obviously not a deep political philosopher or a hardcore economic reformer. But at least he's not openly, brazenly contemptuous of working people.

      The idea that voting Demopublican is somehow in the average Joe's best interests is quite silly, because it's so cryingly obviously false. Tepid half-socialists like Sanders and Warren are kept around for decorative purposes only. It's obvious they will never be allowed to shape public policy.

    2. Re:They're not by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1, Insightful

      the alt-right movement is just a bunch of guys who can't find good jobs and, as a result, women.

      I odn't think it's as strongly causal as that. They're obnoxious and entitled which makes it a problem to find partners or jobs. Getting a job wouldn't make them magically couple up.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    3. Re: They're not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      . Tepid half-socialists like Sanders and Warren are kept around for decorative purposes only. It's obvious they will never be allowed to shape public policy.

      Well, they'll find a surprise subscrption to Vladim Putin's army of battle whores under their bed if they do!

    4. Re:They're not by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      I take it your definition of "alt-right" just means "anyone who disagrees with my clear superiority"?

    5. Re:They're not by cyberchondriac · · Score: 0

      while we were distracted by his SCOTUS nominee's scandals

      What scandals?
      You mean the last minute, last resort, out-of-nowhere accusation of events supposedly taking place 36 years ago in high school, that has zero actual corroboration or facts, from a psychology professor who wrote a paper on artificial memories and hypnosis, interestingly enough?
      From an accuser whose own best friends and family won't corroborate or back her story?
      Who's too afraid to fly to testify, but flies around anyway, including New Zealand, one of the longest flights you can take from the US.
      An accuser who ignored their offer to come to her, and lied about getting that message; a delay tactic while they worked out her story and coaching.
      An accuser who has "indelibly etched" in her "hippocampus" just incredible amounts of second-by-second video replay-like detail and minutia via a seemingly eidetic memory of events 36 years ago, yet can't produce any memory of where, or when this all supposedly happened, not even a ballpark estimate; that is, no actual useful bit of information that could be used to verifiy or debunk these claims. Just her word. Convenient, that.
      Or do you want to go on about Swetnick, a nutcase who's had a restraining order filed against her, has lied about her education, lied about her employment, who has herself been sued for sexual misconduct by a coworker, who came up with a cockamamie story about him maybe spiking a punchbowl and absurdly, being part of a "rape gang" that terrorized women at roughly 10 parties; yet she continued to go to those parties, never warned anyone else, never went to police? Mmhm.. totally credible. Believe that if you want.
      The judge has a spotless reputation and career spanning decades, he's admired and respected by everyone he's worked with, including all the women, all of whom vouch for his character and professionalism. None of this fits. It's not his behavioral pattern.

      This is a political assassination, it what it is; but more to the point these are truly vile lies to levy against a political opponent for political gain. They don't care what they put this guy or his family through. He must not be nominated at any cost. "Anything it takes". Pretty much what they said. I'll take their word that they meant that. All they need to do is introduce enough doubt to scuttle the confirmation, they don't even have to prove anything, so smear tactics are ideal for getting this done, if you have no ethics or conscience.
      You think Trump is bad, but the dems have just sunk to the lowest level any political party has sunk to in this country in recent or not so recent memory. I predict they will pay for this next month.
      It's also ironic to see one point out a "right wing propaganda machine" when the mainstream media has just fully tipped it's hand as being totally complicit with democrats in this absurd smear campaign.
      What's the latest silly thing to have come out-? "He may or may not have thrown ice at me", and this runs as a big story. lol

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
  61. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I agree with sexconker.

    This is a blatant case of "Russian bot delusion".

    Twitter found less than 50 identifiable "Russian bot" accounts out of 200 million. And then it suspended a couple of million people for supposedly being "bots".

    That alone should tell you that the Russian bot thing is nothing but BS conspiracy theory.

  62. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I should have clarified to start.

    Being a "Russian bot" today is kind of like being a "literal Nazi" or a "racist".

    You're not one, but you disagree with the Left.

    Their attempts to label everyone they don't like under a few hateful labels gives away their agenda.

  63. Here are the actual numbers given in the study by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Analyzed were only tweets directed at Rian Johnson.

    Those 967 tweets were split into:
    - 761 positive or neutral tweets which were not further analyzed for political agendas or sock puppets or (Russian) trolls (78.7%)
    - 101 negative tweets of real users without "agenda" (10.4%)
    - 61 negative tweets of real users with "agenda", i.e. right-leaning content on their account (6.3%)
    - 17 trolls/sock puppets (1.75%)
    - 16 trolls/sock puppets, that appear to be Russian (1.65%)
    - 11 bots (1.1%)

    1. Re:Here are the actual numbers given in the study by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow .... so now having an agenda means "right-leaning content on their account" ?

  64. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Scarletdown · · Score: 2

    How could you have not liked the Holiday Special? Unthinkable! :p

    --
    This space unintentionally left blank.
  65. Not russian trolls, just russians and everyone els by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Funny that they would say it was "Russian trolls" that panned the movie. No It was everyone!! The movie sucked! Everyone hated it! Even the Russian trolls hated it too. Your research is stupid when you limited the scope to just "Russian Trolls"... So How much did Disney pay to have this research done to try and blame "The Russian troll".. Disney your movie sucked! and Rian Johnson and Kathleen Kennedy killed the franchise! Even my kids don't want to see anymore Star Wars movies!

  66. Russia finally found what it's good at by ugen · · Score: 1

    This century is when Russia finally found what it's good at. Or, more to the point, it knew all along - but the skill was not in demand until now. Only with the world fully interconnected the last piece of the puzzle fell into place.
    Russia has never been much for productive development. But ability to endlessly argue for the sake of an argument and troll is ingrained in the culture and the language. It was not of much use before when any information produced locally stayed local. Now that they have world-wide reach - things are looking up for them.
    The rest of the world will just have to learn to live with it, and to pay less attention to the professional trolling. I fear that may not be an easy task.

    1. Re: Russia finally found what it's good at by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you sure it is Russians you are talking about? Hasbaranicks were around from the very beginning of the internet.

    2. Re:Russia finally found what it's good at by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1

      To wit: When you don't have abs, pecs, or ceps, show your dick. If your dick is small, just moon them.

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    3. Re:Russia finally found what it's good at by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      ( Unstoppable force / immovable object ) * internet

      I'm not convinced we have to live with it. With regional internets on the rise, the future might just see them unplugged.

  67. Don't trust your lying eyes. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This Russian stuff is interesting. It's a thing that, if you acknowlege, marks you as someone with mental problems. If someone doesn't tell you you're crazy, you'll be self conscious about it anyway. You'll keep it to yourself.

    The goal here is to shatter all sense of community in the West, on all levels. Tech boards, music communities, art boards, fandoms, obscure fetish boards, no theater is unsuitable for feeding the fires of our cultural civil war. People are fighting their battles everywhere against everyone on everything. To agree to disagree is impossible if you're driven to anger over another's decision in art, politics, reading material, choice of bike, choice of phone, etc. You can be further driven to hate and fear if it's tied to the wider culture war: SJWs vs Skeptics. Feminists vs Men's Rights. Globalists vs Nationalists. Post Modern vs Modern. Labor vs Capital. Walkable Cities vs Freeway Sprawl. Healthy Food vs Junk Food. All, ad infinitum, forever.

    This is a legitimate tactic to inflame these existing tensions were ever they may be. The more rediculous it is the more it's harder to acknowledge. You're seeing it, but you can't believe it. So your ignore it... or you post your cringy thoughts anonymously.

    Rant over, that is all. No one will know that I'm crazy, but I will know I'm a coward.

    1. Re:Don't trust your lying eyes. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't presume that any one country has a monopoly on manipulation. Anybody can do it. Just remember when headlines and social media campaigns piss you off, other people are controlling you more than you're controlling them when writing that angry retort.

  68. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are we talking about Russian Trolls or Radical Feminists?

    Response to cold-war politicking in popular culture and the McCarthy-style hearing going on in Washington: "Let the past die."

  69. Test case by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1
    Go to Youtube.

    Search Last Jedi

    Apparently all the Russian Trolls have excellent English and live in America as American citizens.

    Look, if you agree with Disney's and Hollywood's political agenda of feminist superiority, fine. But I know a lot of what the Russkies have done, and the meme is even getting tired for me. What is interesting is the same old same old blame everything but the possibility that you made a politicized movie with a not so good story line that simply isn't enjoyable to watch.

    Especially since the people you now cater to don't go to your movies. Multiple times. And buy the critical profitable action figures and toys. I'm curious, did the Russian Trolls get China to pull "The last Jedi" out of theaters?

    But enough of the sorry state of Hollywood social Justice driven films.

    I've been Netflix watching the old "Star Trek Voyager"series, especially since I've become jaded lately. I for one reason or another never saw it when it was on it's run. And there isn't anything conservative about any Star Trek series. Female captain on a non-conservative Sci-Fi show. I should hate it, amirite?

    It was like a freaking breath of fresh air, even if not the best of the ST series. Janeway is a great Captain, managing to be the captain without being what today passes for feminism, which is a lot of whining, complaining and misandrism. She does this while still being a female, not an ersatz male. She reminded me of many of the female scientists I worked with. No one's fool, but not a jerk. That's the kind of strong woman I can get behind. And any politics is very gentle, hidden in the story line, and not whining in your face. Just enjoyable to watch.

    Now it is possible that Hollywood will continue their misandry with films that feel the need to replace mixed sex reboots with all female casts, and to make politicized movies espousing their hatred, but when you actively yell "Fuck You" at 49.2 percent of your possible viewers, well, hope they have very very deep pockets.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    1. Re:Test case by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Go to Youtube.
      Search Last Jedi

      Don't fall for that. There is usually more meta-outrage on YouTube than there was actual outrage in the first place. It's a huge money-maker, because people gleefully buy into the idea that the stupid SJWs were upset. Most of the videos are just copies of each other too, the plagiarism is ridiculous.

      Here's a study of the recent meta-outrage about the new Doom game: https://youtu.be/l63nY0AYebI

      And the same thing happened with Cuphead: https://youtu.be/_-P9_oUV9Gw

      The YouTube outrage industry vastly distorts how much actual upset something caused, which in the case of those two examples rounds out to zero. The Last Jedi just because another cash cow for anti-SJW channels.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    2. Re:Test case by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      Lol, that's right people. Don't trust your lying eyes and your lying brain. AmiMojo knows you are wrong.

      The outrage about the Last Jedi was not people not liking it- every popular big budget movie has people telling us why it sucked. It was blaming people for not liking it. Like it was somehow my fault it was a terrible movie. Because I was tricked by those horrible Russian twitter bots that I've never seen.

    3. Re:Test case by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't trust your lying eyes and your lying brain. AmiMojo knows you are wrong.

      It's AmiMojo. He frequently tells other people what they think.

      Which is funny, because he went out of his way to write a journal complaining that other people are telling him what he thinks

    4. Re:Test case by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Go to Youtube. Search Last Jedi

      Don't fall for that. There is usually more meta-outrage on YouTube than there was actual outrage in the first place.

      Kennedy and Johnson do not consider complaints as a gift (so few do these days)

      But they are gifts.

      We don't have to respond to criticisms by making demanded changes, indeed on my own projects, I often get diametrcically opposed demands, so someone gets left out. But I do thank each and every critic for their input. And if their input makes sense, I change it, and tell them I appreciate the good idea.

      This does not fly with some people Way back in Rogue one days, when asked about the perceived political correctness of having another female lead in what was historically a male dominated series - apparently forgetting that the Princess Leia was a lead, Kennedy apparently took it badly:

      "I have a responsibility to the company that I work with. I don’t feel that I have a responsibility to cater in some way. I would never just seize on saying, 'Well, this is a franchise that’s appealed primarily to men for many, many years, and therefore I owe men something.'"

      Okay, well, her answer didn't really answer the question, but it does show her focus. source https://screenrant.com/star-wa...

      Rian Johnson has apparently been "Expertly shutting down Fans" in this positive piece, which priases the rejection of the peopel who give you their money. http://www.digitalspy.com/movi... He also spent a fair amount of time mocking fans, and calling them manbabies.

      The point is that Lucasfilm and Disney apparently do not need people to go to the movies any more. If I responded to my sponsors when they had a criticism telling them I do not need to cater to them or mocking them - I would go broke.

      Disney and Kennedy et al, apparently do not need to profit, only to make films and throw shade at those who would dare to not march in lockstep with them

      And none of the cites come from FaceBook.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    5. Re:Test case by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1
      NO criticism is allowed, and even if you have to make shit up, like Daisey Ridly, who says that calling her Rey Character a "Mary Sue" character was sexist. And she demands that the term "Mary Sue be banned.http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/star-wars/news/a845936/star-wars-the-last-jedi-daisy-ridley-rey-mary-sue-criticism-sexist/

      But othere than the name, Mary Sue, the term has nothing to do with the hardware between a person's legs. Why, there are Marty Sues, and Gary Sues. The concept is the same always.

      A character for whom everything just happens. Wesley Crusher in Star Trek TNG is a perfect example. And like all of the "Sues" he was damn annoying.

      the message is crystal clear. Brittle, over sensitive prima donnas that simply cannot handle anything but effusive praise, and go nuts as they consider any criticism as a personal attack that must be whined about, and pull out pejorative terms they keep as bludgeons.

      Mz Ridley does not see the irony in calling her critics all sexist, while she goes nuts over her character being called a Mary Sue. I believe the old term is she can dish it out, but cannot take it.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    6. Re:Test case by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Well she has a point, Luke was much worse than Rey for being brilliant at everything instantly. There does appear to be a double standard there.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    7. Re:Test case by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      Do you like la-la land by choice or is this a cry for help? Do you really think being obviously dishonest will convince anyone of anything?

    8. Re:Test case by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Well she has a point, Luke was much worse than Rey for being brilliant at everything instantly. There does appear to be a double standard there.

      I seem to recall Luke having many problems while learning to be a Jedi. He was definitely not instantly brilliant.

      And it isn't much of a point when a person takes a name like Mary Sue, which stands for a particular thing, and turns it into something it isn't.

      Or perhaps, in illustration of my point,

      since you agree that calling Mz Ridley a Mary Sue is sexist.

      Then you claim that Mark Hamill's character is the exact definition of a Mary Sue character - Or Marty Sue to be more exact

      Then you claim that there is a double standard.

      So if a person claims the character Rey is a Mary Sue is an indication of sexism, What is the indication of a person who holds those beliefs, yet then goes on to claim that the Character of Luke Skywalker is a Marty Sue character? speaking of double standards.

      And why is genital hardware involved in a non sexual matter? The "Sues" are not sex specific. They are characters like STTNG's Wesley Crusher, who are an irritant in a story line. A wunderkind for whom everything is just so.

      The point is that there will be fan criticism for any movie. This is not because being critical means that you hate the movie. On the contrary, the fan criticism is based on loving the series. There was fan criticism of the mentally challenged JarJar Binks Character. There was fan criticism of the Ewoks taking down a modern technological fighting force with sticks and stones. There was criticism of the Empire's soldier's not being able to shoot straight.

      It does not mean that the Binks critics hate people who are mentally challenged. It doesn't mean people hate beavers or teddy bears. It doesn't mean that people hate bad shots in white plastic outfits.

      And trying to make a non-sex based criticism into one is showing some biases of their own.

      No, as noted before in post a long while back, the problem that arose isn't Russian bots, or those pesky white males who ruin everything, but Disney and Kennedy and Johnson choosing to belittle and mock the very people who are responsible for the money they take in. Have you ever seen a Star Wars fan's den? They spend a lot of money on their favorite series. They are passionate in discussing what they like or don't like. The go to the same movie several times. But they have been designated as the enemy by Disney et al.

      Complaints mean people are watching. Complaints mean that someone cared enough to make the complaint. And even if a producer of a film disagrees with the complaint, they should listen, and if a sensible complaint, take it as advisement.

      When the complaints stop, it doesn't mean you won the battle with your enemies H^H^H^H^H^H^ erm fans. It means your enemy stopped being interested.

      Enter Star Wars Solo.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    9. Re:Test case by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I can't even follow your line of thinking here. All I did was point out that Rey was deemed a Mary Sue despite having far fewer of the traits of a Mary Sue character than Luke, and Luke wasn't. Therefore she has a reasonable complaint about being treated differently, although we can debate how much that is due to sexism and how much due to other factors.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    10. Re:Test case by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      What do you think I'm being dishonest about? Liking La-La Land? I mean, it was fun... Songs not that memorable perhaps, but enjoyable enough at the time.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    11. Re:Test case by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't even follow your line of thinking here.

      His link of thinking seems like that of a rational person, interested in honest discussion. It's very telling if you can't follow it.

      All I did was point out

      No, you made claims. Claims which can be disputed. GP was responding to dispute them.

      Rey... having far fewer of the traits of a Mary Sue character than Luke

      That's a claim.

      Therefore she has a reasonable complaint about being treated differently

      This statement relies on the previous claim being true. But since that claim is yet to be proven, nobody has to accept your conclusion.

    12. Re:Test case by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I can't even follow your line of thinking here. All I did was point out that Rey was deemed a Mary Sue despite having far fewer of the traits of a Mary Sue character than Luke, and Luke wasn't. Therefore she has a reasonable complaint about being treated differently, although we can debate how much that is due to sexism and how much due to other factors.

      Sorry, allow me to be blunt. I dismiss your assessment that Luke is a Marty Sue. I dismiss anyone's suggestion that Calling Daisey Ridley's Rey character a Mary Sue is indicative of sexism. Marty Su or Mary Sue has nothing to do with sex.

      And since Mary Sue or Marty Sue is in no way based on sex other than the first name. Utilizing the term is in no way sexist, any more than drinking white milk or chocolate milk makes a person racist. Non sequitur. She said it was sexist - it was not. If someone said her character was impossible because women are stupid - that would be sexist. And if your assessment of Mark Hamill's character as a Marty Sue is your belief, why don't you tell him that. If you get a reply, it will probably be laughter, not bawling how unfair things are. Perhaps I need to simplfy it more?

      Marty Sue/MarySue - not referring to anyone's genitals.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    13. Re:Test case by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People are forgetting the defining characteristic of a "Mary Sue" character: it is the author writing him/herself into the story.

  70. The movie itself was political by renegadesx · · Score: 1

    And people are surprised there was a backlash on political grounds? That film was asking for trouble.

    --
    Make SELinux enforcing again!
  71. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by umdesch4 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I notice you didn't throw specific criticism at Rogue One. I agree with you that Disney doesn't understand Star Wars, but I liked Rogue One anyway. It almost felt like Disney accidentally made a good one.

  72. Canadian Troll here by Excelcia · · Score: 2

    Cue the flood of Russian trolls denying it in 3... 2... 1...

    In this case it's a Canadian troll denying it. The idea that Russians care about American reactions to a movie in order to spur discord fails the sniff test on a few counts.

    1) Americans are already tearing themselves apart quite handily on their own. The bi-party system is just fundamentally broken. What "your" party does is always ok, and what the other party does is demonized even when they are the same thing. The Republicans can block a democratic supreme court nominee by using control of the senate to block discussion on it, and for Republican supporters that is justified and the Democrats all cry fowl. The Democrats can demand an investigation into criminal allegations of a Republican nominee and the Republicans all cry fowl. If things continue like they are going, US elections will devolve into something like UK football match on a country-wide scale. There will be violence in the streets. At best.

    2) The Last Jedi was patently awful all on its own, Russian trolls weren't needed. JJ Abrams' movies and their follow-ons have done what JJ Abrams' have always done throughout the Star Trek and Star Wars movies he's done, which is take all the old story lines, toss them in a blender, hit frappe, and pour out regurgitated Sci Fi shakes with sprinkles of new FX on top. They really are Star Wars for millennials.

    Americans just take themselves waaayyyyy too seriously. Sure, a healthy ego is not necessarily a bad thing, but seriously.... listen to yourselves. "Russians are trolling our movie reviews in order to make us hate each other".

    1. Re: Canadian Troll here by reiterate · · Score: 1

      I dunno, I would imagine that to a Russian person Americans care more about Star Wars than... pretty much anything, so I think there's some merit to the idea of muddying its reception. I feel like anyone who has a strong opinion on the movie one way or another is either dumb, hasn't seen a lot of good movies, or is trying to avoid addressing other things that are more difficult to argue/talk about than a family sci fi movie. I definitely agree that Americans take themselves way too seriously, but I would add that it's mostly about pointless shit. I think that much of the mindless polarization in the US on important issues comes from just being too lazy and spoiled to actually draw our own conclusions. People like to get riled up, but more than anything they like consuming, and everything here revolves around that.

  73. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    truth is... you know just like everyone else how comical that article is and this is all you could come up with

  74. Bull and shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is the most ridiculous/hilarious thing I've read all day. The movie was crap. That's pretty much all there is to it. No amount of manufactured excuses will change that, Hollywood and Disney are both pathetic beyond belief.

  75. please tell me this is satire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    are russian trolls the new thanks obama?

  76. positive trolls ? by Tom · · Score: 1

    The likely objective of these measures is increasing media coverage of the fandom conflict, thereby adding to and further propagating a narrative of widespread discord and dysfunction in American society.

    So it was the trolls who argued that it was a good movie?

    Because I've yet to meet a person who thinks it is, so that clearly is not the majority opinion of the non-trolls (or at least the non-paid trolls).

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  77. Riiiiight by roc97007 · · Score: 1

    Obviously this is a nefarious plot to destroy American culture by taking down the Star Wars franchise. Will the country survive?? /sarcasm

    If Rocky and Bullwinkle returned to TV, this could be one of the story lines.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  78. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Tom · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Because our perception of social disfunction is caused by disagreement over a movie.

    And not, say, a broken healthcare system, a broken pension system, corrupt and stupid politicians, the church abusing small kids and then covering it up, the media actively, openly and much more aggressively reinforcing the split of society into camps, the economy being plundered by banks and the super-rich or everyone with a buck to make denying or opposing climate change.

    Or any of the other issues of the day that nobody, least those whose fucking job it is, taking care of.

    Sure, of all the real issues that divide and threaten society, a paid army of trolls picks movie reviews as their choice weapon to destabilise western society.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  79. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by sg_oneill · · Score: 5, Informative

    Twitter found less than 50 identifiable "Russian bot" accounts out of 200 million. And then it suspended a couple of million people for supposedly being "bots".

    Your missing 3 zeros there buddy.

    They said they found 30,000. Not 30. Between them they logged in 570,000 times , removed 220,000 'suspicious' applications that had generated over 2 billion tweets. (According to twitter)

    So...yeah, vet your sources man.

    --
    Excuse the Unicode crap in my posts. That's an apostrophe, and slashdot is busted.
  80. I hate to say it... by hyades1 · · Score: 1

    If the conclusions are accurate, and more than half of the negative comments belong to trolls, I have to say that in this case, the trolls have it right. The current incarnation of Disney seems utterly devoted to sucking all the joy, edginess and originality out of their movies to deliver serviceable but soulless flicks that are barely adequate as a Friday night time-waster on any half-decent home entertainment setup. But after a Friday night out at the theatre, you leave feeling ripped off. I can see some bean counter with a clipboard going down a list of proven focus group pleasers, ticking off each one: leap from high place to extended leg squat landing...check. Sardonic eyebrow raise...check. Heroic death of expensive old actor to clear the way for cheap young replacement hero...check.

    Anybody who has read my comments here know I'm far from conservative, but in this case the fans alleged to have a case of toxic masculinity (and the Russian trolls, apparently) have my complete support.

    This movie disappointed me. It had no imagination, no spark of originality, no sense whatsoever that the characters had any purpose but to march along their pre-defined paths to a pre-defined conclusion. I'd call them shallow and undeveloped, but that would be a gross insult to puddles and fetuses. And the ending was simply the place where our dollars get directed to the next movie by way of the merch store. It has never been more obvious that Disney regards us as nothing but wallets with legs, and anything that gets between them and the contents is extraneous and a waste of money.

    So yes, The Last Jedi sucked. It didn't suck because they made a girl the hero. It sucked because I am old enough to remember how I felt when I saw, on the biggest screen in Toronto, that Star Destroyer pursuing Princess Leia's little ship in the first minutes of the very first movie.

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    1. Re:I hate to say it... by jcr · · Score: 3, Insightful

      in this case, the trolls have it right.

      Hear, hear!

      I remember when I though Jar-jar was as bad as any SW character would ever get. Hell, I thought Disney would FIX things.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    2. Re:I hate to say it... by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      So did I.

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    3. Re:I hate to say it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I remember when I though Jar-jar was as bad as any SW character would ever get

      LOL, I tried watching the prequel trilogy with my wife once.

      We got to the point in the movie where Jar Jar shows up, and after about 5 minutes my wife said "is he in the whole rest of the movie?", and when I said yes, she said I was on my own to watch them.

      She doesn't have any skin in the game, because she's indifferent to Star Wars. But she took such a visceral dislike to Jar Jar that she refused to watch any more of the movie.

      Trust me, Jar Jar was pretty much rock bottom in terms of being about as bad as you get for a character in a Star Wars movie.

    4. Re:I hate to say it... by cmdr_klarg · · Score: 1

      If Disney's track record with Pixar and Marvel are any indication, they seem to have a "hands off" approach with the movie studios. So any blame for "bad" Star Wars movies are to stay with Lucasfilm.

      I enjoyed TLJ; wasn't the greatest movie I've ever watched, but I tend to be pretty forgiving of scifi as long as things don't get TOO unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, TLJ had some serious flaws, but nothing I couldn't ignore.

      --
      THE SOFTWARE, IT NO WORKY!!!
  81. LOL right, thats why Solo failed at the box office by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because of all the Russian trolls who didn't buy tickets.

    Please fuck off.

  82. "It makes sense when we say it." by bistromath007 · · Score: 0

    I remember being called an idiot, a lunatic, and a bigot when I saw politically-motivated media collusion take place against gamers. This is totally something only conservatives and Russians do.

    1. Re:"It makes sense when we say it." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hear you. Being a female misogynist ranked pretty high as one of the things I thought would never happen, ever. (Only mentioning it because the irony of it all is so ridiculous.)

  83. Meddled with Quebec elections by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Signs everywhere encouraging people to "boycott the bourgeois elections", these signs were put up and funded by the Russian communist party

  84. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by bistromath007 · · Score: 1

    I would never have any reason to assume that opinions about pop culture products signaled political affiliation if critical reactions to things didn't always begin with "here is what sexism and racism have to do with this product" and end with "here is what Russian trolls have to do with this product." The trolls don't need to exist at all for this division to take place. Both producers and critics have declared that All Art Is Political, therefore all art has an arbitrary political alignment based on who likes it and who hates the people that like it. This is completely their fault.

  85. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by jedidiah · · Score: 0

    You're just peddling more of the same deranged hysterics that are used to sell suckers like you ads.

    The whining over disappointing entertainment products is just a part of the whole package.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  86. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > They're trying to polarize both like and dislike for the movie and then cause both camps to draw an assumption about the political affiliation of the other camp. They're doing this with every element of pop culture that people disagree on. Like the summary says, the overarching goal is primarily to foster the public perception of increased social dysfunction from within and without.

    The liberals or Russians?

    Because every award ceremony has become a Progressive cause long before Twitter even existed as they work to build up their cultural capital and push anyone who doesn't agree with them out.

  87. $tar War$ by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 1

    Di$ney doesn't really give two shits about the quality as long as it brings in profits.

    The Last Jedi was so bad I didn't even bother to see Solo. Just done wasting money on it at this point.

    1. Re:$tar War$ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree. I saw that Solo got better reviews, but after Last Jedi I just was not interested in another Star Wars movie. I'm sure that lack of interest is shard, and has impacted the money made by Solo.

  88. Re:Russian Troll Campaign was obvious and poorly d by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    10/10 troll.

  89. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by rtb61 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You kind of missed the bit where Russians are on average more into science fiction than Americans and thus proportionally would have been more put off by crap science fiction but of course if you are Russian and you hate something, express your opinion online you are a troll and of course if you are Russian and you like something, express your opinion online you are a troll and if you are Russian and you are indifferent to something and express your opinion online you are a troll.

    To put it simply https://www.rbth.com/news/2015... and thus will use English language websites and they all are trolls, this is called rampant prejudice as is typical coming out of a very racist and prejudiced US, which is now also hugely sexually conflicted across multiple genders, I am going with Bunjil as my gender https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..., in preparation for more SJW bullshit coming out of the US, that or other ;D.

    American main stream media, please fuck off with your racism and prejudice, one thing I have noticed, it is funny in American media for white men to be raped in prison but not funny anywhere for women of any kind to be raped, why is that?!?

    --
    Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  90. PATHETIC: Everything is the Russian boogieman by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So now everything is the fault of the Russian boogieman. This claim is so pathetic, that who ever wrote it must be a pathetic loser.

    Seriously, Last Jedi was pure garbage. The movie didn't need any help achieving that consensus. It really was a complete garbage of a story.

  91. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Entertainment isn't a right. If you don't like it, don't watch it. If you don't like that those around you watch it, grow the fuck up.

  92. Check out authors twitter by melted · · Score: 1

    Plenty of left-leaning bots licking his "white cis male" balls for this "work". Facepalm.

  93. Can you give a Golden Razzie to a billion $ movie? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As a long time Star Wars (and Star Trek) fan, any effect by Russian Ai posters was not the cause of Last Jedi's negative press. The Last Jedi was the cause of it's own negative press. It was worse than the still-maligned Sw prequels. It was worse than ST Space Teens, etc. TLJ was more insulting, worse written, and destructive to the movie series as well. Alternately, Solo was a great movie that could stand on it's own merits, but was shunned as part of the fan's turning away from the mistake that the LJ movie was.

  94. Re:wow Narcocide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm pretty sure that was a single-letter substitution typo.

  95. They're in for a surprise. by dwywit · · Score: 1

    The so-called russian trolls and bots have had their fun, playing fast and loose with lofty western ideals such as democracy, fairness, honesty, etc, and undermining our precious freedoms.

    Now they've decided to fuck with the mouse. They should have sent someone to spend a few months embedded as cast or crew at a Disney resort or park, and learned just what happens to anyone tarnishing the image. They won't know what's hit them.

    --
    They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
  96. Not true by rsilvergun · · Score: 1, Interesting

    there is a small core of genuine populist Democrats. Bernie, Liz, Orcasio-Cortez and the "Justice" Democrats. Their defining feature is that they refuse all corporate donations (you can't serve two masters after all). Yeah, there's also a lot of Pelosi style "blue dogs" but even they've been forced towards populist ideas by an increasing number of primary challengers.

    I don't know any equivalent on the Republican side; e.g. a movement in their party to stop taking corporate cash. Dems also support Net Neutrality, Single Payer health care, the "New New Deal" (e.g. infrastructure spending and a jobs guarantee), free college, etc. There's solid policy there and not just more "Lets cut taxes and see what happens, and by the way no Medicare for anyone under 55".

    There _are_ differences between the parties. Substantial ones. And when it comes to a party that can potentially be bent to serve the will of the people the Dems are the best chance. For the reasons I stated above that's just objective fact.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re: Not true by astrofurter · · Score: 1

      My brother, I think you have only the best intentions. But you are terribly, terribly optimistic.

    2. Re:Not true by Chissblue · · Score: 1

      And yet Cortez wears 5,000 dollar suitpant designer outfits every day. Ask yourself who's funding that champagne socialist.

    3. Re:Not true by eaglesrule · · Score: 1

      And when it comes to a party that can potentially be bent to serve the will of the people the Dems are the best chance. For the reasons I stated above that's just objective fact.

      I prefer the "opposite is true" approach to evaluating statements made by someone with such obvious bias. The result in this case is: Super delegates, and a vivid recollection of what happened with Sanders.

    4. Re:Not true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      God, you fucking hack.

      "I have stupid fucking retard opinions, but I say the word FACT after my retarded dipshit fuckwad opinions therefore they're better than your dumb opinions."

      How the fuck did you get on this site in the first place? It's not for you intellectually bankrupt dipshits? You don't belong. I'd say go fuck yourself, but you probably consider that a great time.

  97. Really? This is news by ackkamoto · · Score: 0

    Ok people, so russians are just sitting around and trying to fuck with us by putting a negative review on one of the shittiest movies in the past 10 years? Even if russia wasn't involved the movie sucked, it was barely watchable.

  98. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hated it. And yes, I 'm a russian troll that traveled back in time 15 years to get this username.

    Next you'll be telling us that the Ghostbusters reboot was bad. We all know it was one of the best movies ever and all the negative feedback online was exclusively due to trolls like you.

  99. Go Russian Trolls! by Kagetsuki · · Score: 1

    Honestly, with all these trolls having such *based* opinion these "investigations" into their activities are just making me a fan of Russian trolls.

  100. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Aighearach · · Score: 1

    Shorter old neckbeard: "If I was gunna rob a bank, I'd do it differently than that, therefore that movie is impossible."

  101. Russian Trolls Made This Report by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yep... its true... no evidence, just believe me.

  102. Everyone who disagrees with me is a Russian troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nice setup there. "Cue the Russian trolls"

    The film was awful in a dozen levels. They have a ridiculous Mary Sue problem. The supporting characters are useless and uninteresting. The villain is an angry goth teenager. They shat all over Luke's character. The plot was horrendous. They abandoned canon. And Leia flew through space like Mary Poppins.

    Signing off from Moscow,
    Vladimir

  103. Yaknow 'Russians pooped in the hallway' = sarcasm? by Uberbah · · Score: 1

    ....yes? Oh, I was late for work the other morning - the Russians must have been involved. Justice League was a shitty movie - must have been the Russian's fault.

    Because reasons.

    Not that TLJ is an objectively shitty movie. The whole lightspeed ram that wrecks 40 years of continuity. Why build a Death Star when you can get a few junk freighters and use them as mass drivers against a planet? Why did the Alliance bother with those Death Star plans when a half dozen Kamikaze runs in quick succession could have disabled either of them? Why did Luke, who risked everything to save a mass murdering father he barely knew (and succeeded!!!!) decide to cut down his own nephew, who he's known his entire life, because he suspects the kid might be going to the dark side?

  104. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I came here to say exactly that. Well said.

    It's bad enough that Disney has chosen to die on the hill of political ideology, but we had to endure Leia flying through space in her gown as well.

    It was awful enough to destroy the entire franchise.

  105. Maybe if you were dropped on the head as a child by Uberbah · · Score: 1

    The main thing that really bothers me about The Last Jedi, is that all the hate and trolling has managed to pretty much taint any and all actual criticism of the movie.

    Riiight. In the same way that if you questioned Obama's drone strikes or bank bailouts, you were in the same camp as the people who questioned his birth certificate.

    Because reasons, because false dichotomies.

  106. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1, Funny

    A tip for Hollywood - if you want to maximise sales stop excluding half of your potential audience.

    There were a considerable number of films made for that other half, unfortunately though Leni Riefenstahl and Veit Harlan have both passed away since then.

  107. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Time_Ngler · · Score: 2

    This sounds like reverse plot harvesting. Someone from the future goes into the past and sells plots from reboot movies from the future to people in the past, ie. Ghostbusters Reboot, Star Trek Reboot, Mad Max Reboot, etc. The Hollywood writers and directors in the past then improved the plots, creating what we call the "original" versions of these movies. It makes more sense then the currently held narrative that the reboots were created after the "originals". After all, how could the revised version of a script be so bad compared to the version it was based on?

    So, by occum's razor, time travel must be possible.

  108. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    American main stream media, please fuck off with your racism and prejudice, one thing I have noticed, it is funny in American media for white men to be raped in prison but not funny anywhere for women of any kind to be raped, why is that?!?

    That's because it is statistical fact that white men rape the most of any other demographic. The US president has spent millions silencing the children he raped on the Lolita Express. And he's about to force another serial rapist onto the SCOTUS. It is funny because the rapist is getting raped.

    It's not funny when women get raped because that happens all too often, and in most cases, the rapist never gets punished (because they are white). So it's almost a sort of justice for white men to be raped in prison (particularly by black men).

  109. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is absolutely a right for people to be able to live in the open, share and engage in their own culture, have their own reasonable views, and not be subject to endless attack and negative characterizations because they don't follow SJW policy du jour.

  110. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by lgw · · Score: 2

    When the Five Year Plans failed, it was never because Communism was stupid, no, it was because of "wreckers" (or 40 consecutive "unexpectedly cold" winters).

    This is just the same tune with new lyrics. It's not because they were stupid, make drek and insulting fans directly, no it was because of "Russian trolls". Presumably when IX tanks it will be the unexpectedly cold winter.

    The dysfunction will continue until the companies implode.

    But no bad talk about Emo Darth Vader! Emo Darth Vader is best Disney Princess!

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  111. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative
  112. Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by Uberbah · · Score: 1

    And sure, in a civilization with sentient robots for some reason she needed to piloted a suicide attack against the chasing fleet. And sure, if that attack is so devastating why aren't there weapons that do that?

    Yeah, you hit one one of the prime reasons. Why bother building expensive X-Wings and training expensive X-Wing pilots when you could take any thousand year old personal shuttle that can make lightspeed, put a thousand year old droid in control, and use them to disable/destroy a Star Destroyer. Why didn't Alderaan's defensive fleet (they must have had something) all go Kamikaze on the Death Star within a minute of it dropping out of orbit. Why bother building a Death Star when you could load up some ancient freighters and use them as mass drivers to exterminate all life on a planet.

    And so on. This was a much more severe hurdle in the suspension of disbelieve than sound effects and aerial banking maneuvers ever were in space.

    but Last Jedi really wasn't that bad

    Indeed, it was much worse. Most of the primary characterizations were crap, like turning Finn into a coward after he defected from the First Order, knowing that was signing his own death warrant. But the real hairball of the movie was what they did to Luke Skywalker. They took a man who risked everything to save a mass murdering father he never knew - a risk that succeeded not just in saving his father but the rebellion itself - to one that would cut down his own nephew. Who he's known his entire life. Because he might be falling to the dark side.

    GTFOH, Rian Johnson.

    1. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by skam240 · · Score: 1

      "Yeah, you hit one one of the prime reasons. Why bother building expensive X-Wings and training expensive X-Wing pilots when you could take any thousand year old personal shuttle that can make lightspeed, put a thousand year old droid in control, and use them to disable/destroy a Star Destroyer. Why didn't Alderaan's defensive fleet (they must have had something) all go Kamikaze on the Death Star within a minute of it dropping out of orbit. Why bother building a Death Star when you could load up some ancient freighters and use them as mass drivers to exterminate all life on a planet."

      Yeah, so what I said.

      The Fin character was an established annoying coward since the first movie with all the attached dumb character motivations so hardly a surprise there.

      As for your Luke stuff and whatever ASRGRDAZASRG Rian Johnson means, I have no idea what you're going on about.

      --
      I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
    2. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, so what I said.

      Yeah, we got that when he said "Yeah, you hit one one of the prime reasons."
      He was agreeing with you. No need to pull the "I'ma let you finish, but my dick is bigger than yours" reply.

    3. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by Monster_user · · Score: 1

      The former Expanded Universe (Legends?) provided the Empire with a defense against such hyperspace kamikaze weapons, gravity well generators. The Empire had dedicated starships such as the Interdictor Class Star Destroyer.

    4. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And sure, in a civilization with sentient robots for some reason she needed to piloted a suicide attack against the chasing fleet. And sure, if that attack is so devastating why aren't there weapons that do that?

      Yeah, you hit one one of the prime reasons. Why bother building expensive X-Wings and training expensive X-Wing pilots when you could take any thousand year old personal shuttle that can make lightspeed, put a thousand year old droid in control, and use them to disable/destroy a Star Destroyer.

      Why did no one fly jumbo jets into a skyscraper until 2001-09-11? Using spaceships as weapons is a horrible waste of resources unless it's the only option available, so it might not even stand out as an option.

      something) all go Kamikaze on the Death Star within a minute of it dropping out of orbit.

      Now I know you're not a fan. Alderaan was a peaceful planet. They had no weapons.

      Why bother building a Death Star when you could load up some ancient freighters and use them as mass drivers to exterminate all life on a planet.

      The Star Destroyers could do that with turbo lasers, but the Death Star was intended to strike fear into the galactic populace. As we saw with Hoth, you can evacuate a planet under attack by even a fleet of ships, but if a DS hyperspaces in, you're screwed.

    5. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Why did no one fly jumbo jets into a skyscraper until 2001-09-11?

      Why you skipping the park about Kamikaze pilots? If a single Zero could disable or sink a battleship, instead of merely starting a deck fire, naval warfare would have an entirely different history.

      Using spaceships as weapons is a horrible waste of resources unless it's the only option available, so it might not even stand out as an option.

      Throwing away expensive X-Wings and X-Wing pilots (also previously mentioned) is a horrible waste of resources to take down Imperial cruisers when a hunk of lightspeed junk will do the same job.

      Alderaan was a peaceful planet. They had no weapons.

      Pedant fail: peaceful != unarmed. Jedi are peaceful. They are also armed. Given that pirates and warlords have been around for millennia, that the Clone Wars were still a recent event, and that Alderaan has been invaded before, there's no way they aren't going to at least have the equivalent of the Coast Guard in the system.

      The Star Destroyers could do that with turbo lasers

      Star Destroyers that can be shot down by enemy ships or planetary defenses. As opposed to any old ship flying from outside a solar system directly into a planet.

      but the Death Star was intended to strike fear into the galactic populace

      So what. The DS wasn't the first superweapon, and it wasn't the last. You know what else would strike fear into the hearts of a populace? A Hutt obliterating a continent with a lighspeed mass driver, and it would be such a shame if the rest of their nice planet met the same fate if they didn't pay one millllllllllllion dollars in extortion.

      But that hasn't happened. Because while there has been no shortage of shitty Star Wars plots and ideas, no one had a clusterfuck of this magnitude until Rian Johnson came along.

    6. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      First time I saw mention of an Interdictor was in Timothy Zhan's trilogy. If they'd written that into the movie, it it still would have been a pile of shit, but not a steaming pile:

      DJ (Benicio Del Toro) still runs out of time to disable the hyperspace tracking system, and still appears to betray what remains of the Republic to the imperials. On his way out of the ship with his money, he winks at Finn and says "stay safe, kid". Because he sabotaged the gravity well generator, which shuts off in time for Holdo's suicide run, which doesn't spoil 40 years of Star Wars space combat.

    7. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Yeah, so what I said.

      Yeah, so why I said "you hit on one of the main reasons". You just took understatement to 11, as hyperspace rams take four decades of Star Wars space combat, and throws it all in a dumpster fire.

      The Fin character was an established annoying coward since the first movie with all the attached dumb character motivations so hardly a surprise there.

      Established bullshit, by the fact that he defected, knowing full well what that would mean. If he was just a coward, he would have just "accidentally" injured himself for a medical discharge.

    8. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Jedi are peaceful

      Uh, no, they fucking aren't!

      Did you even SEE Attack of the Clones??

    9. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by skam240 · · Score: 1

      "Yeah, so why I said "you hit on one of the main reasons"."

      No, you weren't simply agreeing with me otherwise you wouldn't have been so wordy; there is literally no need for you to be so if all you're doing is agreeing. You took my point and elaborated on it to fuel your contrary point that the latest Star Wars was worse than what I was saying it was.

      "Established bullshit, by the fact that he defected, knowing full well what that would mean. If he was just a coward, he would have just "accidentally" injured himself for a medical discharge."

      Fin was an irrational bitch in the first movie and he was one in the second. I really don't care if you disagree with me because that's just how it was.

      --
      I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
    10. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      No, you weren't simply agreeing with me otherwise you wouldn't have been so wordy

      It was the

      Un.
      Dur.
      State.
      Ment.

      For the hard of reading, that one scene trashed four decades of established space combat; it's not nitpicking the hue of Laura Dern's hairdo.

      Fin was an irrational bitch in the first movie and he was one in the second.

      Oh yeah, SO irrational to say "hey my job is done here I'm out" a la Han Solo in the first movie. Only Han had his name on the shit list of one crime lord, not the whole Empire.

      I really don't care if you disagree with me because that's just how it was.

      Neat thing about facts is they don't give a shit whether or not dipshits believe in them. And it's a simple fact that someone who defects, knowing it means eventual almost-certain death, is not a coward.

    11. Re:Easy to get: lightspeed ram + Luke by skam240 · · Score: 1

      "For the hard of reading, that one scene trashed four decades of established space combat"

      Oh Jesus, Star Wars space combat (or even combat in general) is so massively unrealistic it's not that big of deal. If you think too hard about most combat oriented things in the original trilogy they fall apart pretty quickly (near invincible tanks on stilts? Most Imperial weaponry has a built in critical weakness? Just to barely scratch the surface). They're only great because of their cinematic appeal which is what the scene in question was trying to accomplish. I'm sure if they ever care to explain it they can use a similar after the fact explanation like they did when they tried to explain why Hahn uses a unit of distance with the clear implication it's a unit of time or speed when referring to the Kessel Run.

      "Oh yeah, SO irrational to say "hey my job is done here I'm out" a la Han Solo in the first movie. Only Han had his name on the shit list of one crime lord, not the whole Empire."

      That was not at all the extent of Fin acting cowardly. You need to re-watch the movie. Fin is a cowardly character, front to back.

      --
      I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
  113. Dodgy study masquerading as science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The study is just as trash as the movie. Anyone with a non-liberal political view in other tweets is a troll / political activist especially if they had made a positive tweet about Trump or, failing that, had been critical of liberal politics at any point. He also only counted tweets directed as the director rather than tweets regarding the movie itself - because in fairness if I was performing a study on tweets about #thelastjedi I would totally ignore these and instead do a study of tweets at @rianjohnson. Any account with positive feedback was considered non-political based on criteria no greater than "the accounts contained photos". So if a tweet was positive and appeared to be from a person it was deemed the tweeter was non-political regardless of their twitter activity.

    If the general sentiment was so overwhelmingly positive then Disney wouldn't be finding excuses to reduce the frequency of movies. The reality does not in any way match the findings of his trash study. But in social "science" departments facts don't matter, it's all about dem feelz.

  114. STOP THE MADNESS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck BeauHD and his stooopid articles for stooopids

  115. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Fuck you BeauHD; you're a pidgeon shit of an "editor". a disgrace.

  116. Proving that "Russian trolls" is generally a lie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given that every major corporation has more budget than Russia for this sort of thing (PR, marketing, etc), and the USA has ten times that, at least, I would not say that there are no Russian trolls. There definitely are Russian trolls. But no matter how effective they work, they are simply overrun by "OMGRussianTrolls” trolls.

    In the end, NOTHING in the media can be trusted. Where "the media" *especially* includes "news" aggregator sites and "social" networks. (As PR/advertisement is the most effective, if people believe it's just their buddies / in-group telling them.)

    Want the real deal? Go look at it yourself!
    Or at the very least, have a friend that you know *personally* and know you can trust, have a look at it.
    Where "it" always means the real physical event. Never ever anything recorded or written, unless it's about the act of writing/recording that.

    If you can't do that, then check your immediate surroundings for if it actually does have an effect on your actual reality. Because more often than not, it does not, *at all*.
    (E.g. if you're a small farmer, what do you care about the "economic crisis"? You don't even need to use dollars, or even money, at all. Inherited farm, solar electricity, own well, food right in front of the door, and a town nearby that is happy to exchange whatever you need for that food. ... And if it serves you, it's not like you could not *also* use the dollar. ... Taxes? Yes, and remember that if the dollar falls in worth, the taxes are gonna get *lower* for you. [As everyone's salary will fall, but your products' worth will stay the same. YOU will be one of the things that get more expensive.)

  117. Plot twist: WE are the Russians. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So Americans are all Russians without realizing it. Every single one.

    I always suspected that rednecks and those funny Russians on YouTube were the same thing. They like the same silly rural forms of entertainment, have the same hobbies, and live in the same shitholes... In a sane world, they'd be best friends.

  118. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by sosume · · Score: 1

    But it's too convenient to do away with any criticism on progressive politics with "How is Moscow today, Sergey?"

  119. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh look, it's the "everyone I disagree with is a nazi" argument. Is that really the best you can come up with?

  120. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rogue One had a few flaws but for a recent movie it was good, and for a Disney Star Wars, it was great.

  121. Do "Russian Troll Accounts" really exist? by 91degrees · · Score: 1

    I have a really hard time getting my head around how these troll accounts work.

    For reasons that have yet to be explained, someone - likely a government agency - has decided to put resources into making nerds hate something.

    These troll accounts are identifiable by - what exactly? Do they wear furry Russian hats? Is there an objective way of determining which are Russian Troll accounts and which are idiots on the internet? And how do they get followers in the first place? They can't influence anyone if they just follow each other, surely.

  122. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Tom · · Score: 1

    Funny how people without arguments still feel the need to post something, so they go and make it personal - against a person of whom they know two data points - an arbitrarily chosen name and a sequential number.

    Come on, try harder. If you want to attack a person, you should at least aim in the general direction of an actual person, not a string and an int.

    Even the trolls used to be better.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  123. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

    it is funny in American media for white men to be raped in prison but not funny anywhere for women of any kind to be raped, why is that?!?

    Because despite the howls of anguish from the usual suspects it appears we still do need to teach people that rape is bad. This is not something people seem to pick up nearly as readily as one might think.

    You can also see it in the comments here when some dude that people don't generally like might get sent to prison, there's distinct glee in the idea he might get raped.

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.
  124. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    damn foreigners! if only the Democrats could keep the damn foreigners (at least the ones not en-vogue) off of the Internet and out of our elections (some foreigners are welcome, though, just not Russians), this country could finally move on. Damn Russian Bolshevik Socialists should not have sny influence in this nation. If only we could do something about the GODDAMN FOREIGNERS! amirite fellow democrats?

  125. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh yeah,l forgot to sign my post.

    Love,
    Yuri the Russian who Hijacked the American election by calling Hilary Clinton a "Super-Slut that takes it in her big, fat butt" on Facebook.

  126. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Right, because there can be no bad science or someone looking for a buzz (i.e. blame the Russians on it and it will hit the news).
    I guess the author(s) now stand a better chance of getting a government grant or getting a (better) job in university.

  127. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by QuadEddie · · Score: 2

    White men should rape more than any demographic, because they are the majority demographic. However, do the math per population and you'll find that Mexicans rape the most followed closely by blacks per capita. In fact, blacks likely rape the same as mexicans because clearance rates for rape in majority black cities is below 20% while nationally the clearance rate is much higher. There's your lesson in stats for the day, but hey, don't let that get in the way of your outrage followed by that homo fantasy you ended with.

  128. Bots need to mimic humans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If a bot said it liked The Last Jedi it would be immediately spotted as a fake.

  129. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by bursch-X · · Score: 1

    Inconceivable!

    --
    There are two rules for success:
    1. Never tell everything you know.
  130. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    It had a negative buzz because it was shit. Poorly written nonsensical bollocks.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  131. The real trolls? by Evtim · · Score: 1

    OK, let’s see who the real trolls are.
    First and foremost, Disney/Hollywood themselves. Just like the banking crisis of 2009 does not make sense from economy point of view but makes perfect sense when viewed as a deliberate crime, TLJ makes no sense as a movie (since it breaks/ignores/shits on just about every rule of filmmaking/storytelling) but it makes perfect sense as a cultural subversion propaganda. They had a checklist of politically motivated issues they wanted to see in, and to hell with logic, reason, consistency, universe building, military strategy or basic common sense.

    Now, the first mistake they make is to assume that the classical archetypal story of the hero on a journey has anything to do with the “patriarchy”. Unless you extend the patriarchy all the way back to lobsters.

    So, in desire to demolish the oppressive (in their view) human mythology they offered new archetypes for the new millennium. Which they perfectly have the right to do. And we have the right to judge this new mythology and either accept it or reject it. Alas, Darth Kennedy does not offer viable alternative at all. Their version is: have pussy, will travel. That’s it. The female protagonists are perfect beings by inception, no needing hardship, training, education, struggle or any adversity whatsoever. Perfect.

  132. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    I notice you didn't throw specific criticism at Rogue One. I agree with you that Disney doesn't understand Star Wars, but I liked Rogue One anyway. It almost felt like Disney accidentally made a good one.

    Fuck off, Rogue One took a massive shit on Leia's legacy and made the opening of a new hope a joke. But like the other recent star wars films it looked and sounded the business while being very thin on substance.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  133. Re:The real trolls, part two by Evtim · · Score: 1

    /. does not allow me to post my full story which I prepared in word and checked many times for errors. I get the lameness filter detected.

    Then we have the baddies which are portrayed as angry, half-psychotic Nazis. Onlyone of the most dangerous things you can do is to dismiss the evil as lunatics and misattribute their evilness to fear and/or anger. Whereas the real Nazis were anything like that (disgust motherfuckers, not fear or anger). You don’t make them look like buffoons, because that diminishes the warning message to the viewer that such things should never occur again. And you never, ever portray them as incompetent, because real life evil men are always competent and intelligent. After all, if the real Nazis were so incompetent how come they almost conquered the world? Also, if the baddies are incompetent what is the challenge for the protagonists (none; that is why I repeat, it does not make sense as storytelling or a movie, only as propaganda)?

  134. Re:The real trolls, part three by Evtim · · Score: 1

    Then you have the sacrifice of consistency (ramming at light speed) simply to redeem admiral purple hair for her incredible stupidity and lack of viable strategy that left the rebels with a handful of people in one ship. But it was much more important to shame the men than to make sense or save lives. Utter desecration of Carry Fisher’s memory with that space Marry Poppins shite. Vile, deliberate, nasty, revolting assassination of the male’s archetypes – Solo and Skywalker. Nothing here is by accident. Nothing is “courageous filmmaking subverting audience’s expectations”.

    Then trolls number two are the media. Obviously, the axes were already grinded and ready to swing when the reactions started coming in. Critics lied to all of us out of fear, conformism or being paid; the people did not take that shit and voted the movie down; immediate reaction – RT is highjack by bots, trolls, armies of alt-right, Russiansblah, blah, blah. The press is trolling us ALL THE TIME.

    Trolls number three are the /. editors who would scour the net for click baits and present to our attention the opinions of absolute nobodies, if it guarantees an outrage that would rile us.

    You see, the original archetypal story of SW does not belong to the West; it belongs to all humanity (that was the intention of George, right, consulting Campbell and so on..). Therefore, the reactions of outrage from China, Russia, East Europe etc.. have nothing to do with anti-west sentiments. Instead what is obvious to non-westerners is that most of the political discourse as well as the media in the West is highjacked by the PC, SJW, neo-Marxists scum who’s trying to replace the archetypes that are older than humanity itself with their murderous, racists, sexist, bigoted “point of view”. So, the push back is not against westerners as a whole but against the above mentioned plague that threatens to destroy the fairest and most humane societies on earth (they have flows, of course, but show me someone better and someone who is constantly improving themselves, I’ll wait).

  135. Shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A shit is a shit, never mind how much you stir it.
    Russians or whoever talks about it, it was a bad joke.

  136. Re:Also shitting on the other end of star wars eu. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What about the Christmas album?

  137. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Soviet Russia Wars Star You!

  138. Disney made a shitty movie... by aleck7 · · Score: 1

    ... and alt-right and Russians are at fault. Sure. Maybe Disney needs several billions of compensation from the budget? Just in case.

  139. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    Rey isn't a terrible character

    Rei's biggest problem is her name. A more fitting name would be Mary. Mary Sue. Her character isn't terrible, but the plot of her character development is created by someone who must have missed the Writing 101 class titled "Don't Do This!"

  140. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's no statuate of limitations on rape.

  141. Women's roles have changed too much by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's what I liked about the "next generation" Star Trek series. Sometimes you don't even realize how awesome an individual woman is because she FITS with the ensemble. They don't need to stick out 100% of the time to be an essential part of the crew because they (as most strong women) are confident in themselves.

    This depiction of confidence has been lost in more recent years. It's been replaced by this strange NEED to stick out and be prominent above being part of a team, unable to work in the background for no fanfare and yet know you are doing something important. Also, you must make a woman the most important character, even so far as to have the other male characters admit that they are inadequate (which is rare in reality, why put yourself down when you're also part of the team?) See recent Doctor Who clips to see what I mean.

    It's like as women are being told they're this much more important in our culture, a kind of subconscious "imposter syndrome" is happening with the way female roles are written. I don't like it because the confidence feels shoehorned in, probably by people who have no idea what it feels like to be a confident person in the first place. So a lot of the failed movies and TV series and such are being written by people who are hoping that no one will notice they can't write truly confident women, only aggressors and sarcastic assholes, because that's the passive-aggressive way of getting power.

    There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but in all the female roles I disliked the most, they had the same weaknesses of character covered up with an asshole mask. (And yes, I mean to critique the roles, not the actresses themselves... sigh...)

    1. Re:Women's roles have changed too much by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      That's what I liked about the "next generation" Star Trek series. Sometimes you don't even realize how awesome an individual woman is because she FITS with the ensemble. They don't need to stick out 100% of the time to be an essential part of the crew because they (as most strong women) are confident in themselves.

      This depiction of confidence has been lost in more recent years.

      Very insightful. I think this points to something that is perhaps jarring about modern female Leads. More on that below.

      It's been replaced by this strange NEED to stick out and be prominent above being part of a team, unable to work in the background for no fanfare and yet know you are doing something important.

      And this would put a firm understanding on what I was originally saying was obnoxious about the modern female characters. While I wasjust thinking they were obnoxious, this concept nails it. They are insecure, and overcompensating for it. That only makes admiration alomst impossible.

      If we were to return to ST Voyager, Captain Janeway is faced with multiple dilemmas, such as half her crew being Maquis, her ship thrown to the other side of the galaxy, trying to return home with limited resources at base, and new dilemmas every day, many with no good answer. Yet here in the slightly goofy world of positron reflection matrixes and temporal scattering networks, you have a character that you grow to love as a character.

      This is similar to Sigourney Weaver's Ripley in the Alien series.

      But now in Star Wars, the Last Jedi, No one gives a damn about Rey, Vice Admiral Holdo, and Rose Tico is sort of a latter day JarJar Binks. They aren't empathetic characters, and they are pretty obnoxious to boot.

      Also, you must make a woman the most important character, even so far as to have the other male characters admit that they are inadequate (which is rare in reality, why put yourself down when you're also part of the team?)

      The other half of the equation. Rather than have an inferior character be inferior as part of the plot, they are inferior bacause they are male. This detracts from the story line.

      It's like as women are being told they're this much more important in our culture, a kind of subconscious "imposter syndrome" is happening with the way female roles are written. I don't like it because the confidence feels shoehorned in, probably by people who have no idea what it feels like to be a confident person in the first place.

      Exactly. This is beginning to sound a bit like an extension of the self esteem movement welded to narcissism for girls. And it simply does not work.

      So a lot of the failed movies and TV series and such are being written by people who are hoping that no one will notice they can't write truly confident women, only aggressors and sarcastic assholes, because that's the passive-aggressive way of getting power.

      There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but in all the female roles I disliked the most, they had the same weaknesses of character covered up with an asshole mask. (And yes, I mean to critique the roles, not the actresses themselves... sigh...)

      The way these roles are written, they look like some sort of mistaken concept of male leadership, a world in which being an asshole is somehow a core requirement, coupled with pointless aggression toward others, and always toward the male of the species.

      And they are failing. The message is being rejected. And yet the social justice warriors who have hollywood by the short hairs have a litany of excuses, always based on their declared arch-enemy, the White male.

      I will point out some of the incredible character flaws of some of these people As incredibly racist and sexist bigot Mindy Kaling says from The Wrap:

      “If I had to base my career on what white men wanted I would be very unsuccessful,

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  142. Ugh, watched some of it lately, I feel violated by rkordmaa · · Score: 1

    Was bored out of my mind on a long flight and figured, "how bad could it be?". Turns out, pretty damn awful, got through maybe half of it and then decided it's better to wallow in boredom than to suffer any more of that butchery of film history.

  143. Those Russians!!!1111 by Daralantan · · Score: 1

    Look at how they are destroying politics and culture by saying a movie is bad!

    I thought this was a joke when I saw the article earlier this morning. I can understand them saying "political motivation" due to the "how dare you do SJB crap" some people are saying about non white and also colorful hair characters.... But at the same time, most everyone that I know that saw the movie considers it between "awful" and "ok." At best it was an ok summer action popcorn movie not worth more than one watch.

    It is pretty great that part of their defense of the movie's bad ratings is: "Russia!"

  144. No, it was a bad movie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bad movie, cooked up by SJWs who want to push their agenda, trashing an existing franchise in the process. I mean, it is Disney's money to burn, but it is stupid.

    And no, I'm not a Russian troll bot or anything. Maybe some bots spammed something, who cares. It is still a bad movie and Disney clowns should feel bad.

  145. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lefties in the US are doing that all by themselves.

    Or are Russian twitter bots also attacking US senators around the capitol hill, or are they what they actually are - Soros-funded leftist agitators, trying to scare gutless politicians?

  146. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Daralantan · · Score: 1

    Disney accidentally made a good one.

    The funny thing is... the original ending supposedly was going to be happy, with everyone getting away alive and well. They decided to change it later on to the (better) more negative and hopeless ending.

  147. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Millennium · · Score: 0

    Well who peed in your borscht this morning, comrade?

    Yes, people are leaving the fanbase. Mostly it's because they're sick of the fanboy bullshit and the hell of it is, from studies like this, it seems that a lot of the bullshit isn't even real: it started with a few creepers being duped by Russian bots into thinking their positions had any validity in any context beyond themselves, then amplified to all hell and back. And now you've killed your own franchise, because nobody wants to be around that kind of petty toxicity. Congratulations.

  148. Conflict? by gay358 · · Score: 1

    I found this piece in the paper. Which one of these is true?:

    The literature suggests that Russian trolls primarily use mobile apps for Twitter posts, and thus auto-correct and word suggestion on smartphones disguise any poor English skills to an extent. ...
    They also find that Russian trolls âoeâ¦adopt different identities over time, i.e., they âoeresetâ their profile by deleting their previous tweets and changing their profile name/informationâ (Zannettou et al., 2018, p. 1) and prefer the Twitter web client over the mobile client.

  149. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They started the first emacs vs vi. war. Real programmers use ed, they said.

  150. Junk "Science" All Around by The+Cynical+Critic · · Score: 1

    Even if you don't count the pathetically small sample size the whole study falls apart as soon a you scrutinize it even a little bit.

    First of all only 20% of all the comments in their dataset were negative and of that 20% half was clearly identified as disappointed fans. Of the remaining 10% about 2/3 were dismissed as coming from "politically motivated" accounts and when you finally reduced it down to the "Russian trolls" they only made up about 1.6% of the total dataset. Worse yet, these trolls were "identified" trough things like generic user names, grammatical errors in their posts (as if everyone who saw the movie spoke perfect English) and no pictures (as if everybody on twitter who isn't a troll has one).

    If this and how widely it's been reported without as much as a glance towards the fundamentally flawed underpinnings tells us anything it's that the country is in the grip of another political hysteria much like the one whipped up by McCarthy's & Co in the 1940s and 50s.

    --
    "Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."
  151. Election interference is one thing, but this by sabbede · · Score: 1
    is going WAY too far!

    And yes, it does now mean that Star Wars is a matter of patriotism, and that not liking the movies approaches treason.

  152. Good Lord by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    And you guys used to mock us for seeing "Reds under our beds".

  153. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My Twitter account was banned as a suspected bot.

    I hardly used it, followed only a few people, and only tweeted 3 or 4 things. I never logged in from anywhere but my US based home internet.

    Their definition of "bot" is fucking retarded, and I suspect so are you.

  154. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Leftists are hypocritical and dishonest. News at 11.

  155. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Except that there literally is.

  156. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    aka CNN was causing strife and division years before the Russians found the internet.

  157. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, doesn't Stoklasa sound like a russian name?

  158. These are not the russian bots you are looking for by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Feminists, SJW, libertarians and their sycophants ruin everything.

  159. Is this a joke? It's obviously not true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What? The movie was terrible from a story standpoint AND as an addition to the franchise, which has been in turmoil

    The people involved in the starwars franchise openly hate "white men"

    You don't need Russia to tell you that's bad for business

    Sincerely,
    Not a Russian

  160. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Take everything you said and reverse it and you've got the truth.

    Nothing you said is true. Been around the scene since before the prequels...you're complete wrong about everything

    You're the troll here, and what you're saying is the lie

  161. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Was it you that did the record breaking magnetic field strength tests recently, and was missing a flux capacitor in your flux compensator?

  162. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's the point.

    Ppl didn't like it, and they don't seem to understand economics 101

    Anyone that says it was Russians is wrong, they're either in denial or they don't understand basic economics either

    The movie was objectively terrible, takea a cursory knowledge of story telling to see that. They all took a dump on their majority fanbase, that's objectively bad as well

    It's not rocket science, even the dimwits should be able to piece this together eventually

  163. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hillary has taught everyone to blame any criticism or outcomes they donâ(TM)t like as Russians Trolls.

  164. Craziest conspiracy theory Ive read in a long time by neo-mkrey · · Score: 1

    Or, using Occam's Razor -- The Last Jedi was a shit movie. My personal experience agrees with this also. I am not a bot (and I'm not just saying that because I am a bot, even if that is something a bot would say).

  165. And as further proof... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A joint NSA/FBI team was able to capture audio from one of the suspect IP addresses, in which a man's voice was clearly heard to say "Must kill moose and squirrel".

  166. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

    It's for the russian development of suicidal drones which will approach their targets and then jump to hyperspace.

    --
    SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  167. Russina trolls? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't think those were Russian trolls. I think the Russians didn't like the movie either. Neither did the AI bots that were posting about it.

  168. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't it just be easier to build a drone to open a hyperspace window at comicon?

    --
    SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  169. Unpossible. by argStyopa · · Score: 3, Funny

    We made it PRECISELY according to the committee-approved 'Star Wars action film' formula, how could it not be perfect?

    I mean:
    When the focus groups showed kids found it stultifying, we added cute little things that were optimized for cheap production according to our Vietnamese factories. They are perfectly designed by slave-labor engineers to be adorable.
    When the focus groups showed Asian viewers thought it was stupid, we bolted onto the story a pudgy Asian chick, hopefully snagging the 'all body images are positive' demo as well.
    We made the lead character a woman because powerful vaginas are super-trendy now.
    We added gay dudes because well duh, you have to have gay people in an adventure.
    We employed only faceless mediocrities, pretty much just like George Lucas did (except we did it so we could lock them into lifetime contracts of servitude).

    WE EVEN MADE THE BAD GUY A WHITE MAN. How could that possibly be wrong in 2018?

    We clearly hit all the IMPORTANT mechanics needed to make a perfect film; it had to be Russians that fucked this up.

    --
    -Styopa
    1. Re:Unpossible. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what sucks most of all is you can be 100% sure they will make another one using the same committee-approved formula.

  170. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And the accusation isn't rape even the 3rd nut case retracted that part of her lie

  171. Likely... by hiroshimarrow · · Score: 1

    Overall, 50.9% of those tweeting negatively [about the movie] was likely politically motivated or not even human...

    Or - I don't like that they didn't like the movie, so I'm going to blame bots an Russians just because and provide no proof, instead saying likely so I have an out when someone punks out that I did no research.

  172. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    97 % of scientists agree that russia is a nation. Are you doubting scientific consensus? Dont you know science is a democracy and therefore should be granted all credence when it agrees with ME?

  173. Or Russian Fans. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe they're Russian fans of Star Wars who also thought there were ridiculous elements to the movie?

  174. "Russian Trolls" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the new "Global Warming".

  175. Offsets shill reviews from production companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seems fair.

  176. If this is what it takes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the irrational fear of Russian trolls is what it takes to get Americans to **think for themselves again, then bring on the trolls!!

  177. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    The sales figures for the bluray (absolutely awful) reflect it.

    Um, it was the best selling Blu Ray of 2018 to September: http://screencrush.com/blu-ray...

    Note that the second most popular Blu Ray was Black Panther, another movie that vocal online critics claim is complete shit and a terrible, failing movie.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  178. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    Fuck off, Rogue One took a massive shit on Leia's legacy and made the opening of a new hope a joke.

    What the actual fuck? Can you please explain that one.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  179. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Um, it was the best selling Blu Ray of 2018 to September:

    It is terrible in comparison to The Force Awakens, which it is supposed to be a sequel for.

    Force Awakens sold almost as much blu-ray units in its FIRST WEEK as Last Jedi did so far.

    Note that the second most popular Blu Ray was Black Panther, another movie that vocal online critics claim is complete shit and a terrible, failing movie.

    What's there to note about that? They're different movies, with different people criticizing them for different things. Are you one of those anti-SJWs who think if they found one crazy "feminazi", then that must mean everyone to the left of Hitler is a leftist socialist communist globalist?

    But just to check, Black Panther stayed consistent with other other Marvel movie sales.

    The Last Jedi didn't get anywhere near as much sales as Force Awakens. For home market sales, it can't even make half of it.

  180. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by stealth_finger · · Score: 2

    Fuck off, Rogue One took a massive shit on Leia's legacy and made the opening of a new hope a joke.

    What the actual fuck? Can you please explain that one.

    Love to.

    Because Leia's main big thing was building the rebels death star understanding through the expanded universe. They first learn of it in the force unleashed (with the original starkiller whos family crest became the rebel alliance emblem) then over the course of years they built up their copy of the plans by multiple missions, raids and operations all orchestrated chiefly by Leia. The empire knew of the potential and didn't keep all the plans in one place, the people building the engines had the plans for that, the weapons only knew the weapons and so on. There was no one place or group that had the whole picture. Look up operation skyhook. Anyway, rogue one wiped all that out and just had the plans neatly handed over on a platter with relatively little fuss. Leia's contribution is now essentially a courier.

    As for the start of A New Hope the whole I'm a diplomat on a peaceful mission line should be followed by vader saying 'Bullshit! We just watched your little ship coming out of that big one that just attacked that base that we blew the fuck up'

    That's not to mention The Last Jedi making the whole thing fucking pointless because they should've just rammed a few x-wings at hyperspeed into it because that's now an established legit tactic, but that's a different rant.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  181. Saw Rogue One; yeah, no thank you. by cptnapalm · · Score: 1

    Was a lifelong SW fan. Saw the trailer for TFA and... I just didn't care. That was odd as I had continued to watch (and sometimes be frustrated with) the prequels and the Clone Wars series. TFA *looked* like Star Wars, but I just didn't care, so I never watched it.

    A friend highly recommended Rogue One, which I thought initially starred the girl from TFA since they look alike at a very casual glance. It seemed like mediocre generic scifi until about 2/3 through. Neither of the two primary characters seemed to have any personality; the only ones I thought were memorable were the blind guy and his warrior buddy. Those two were fun.

    The only distinct impression made by it was when the scrawny, powerless main character (I don't remember her name), bare fist punched out an armored Storm Trooper. That had me doubled over with laughter at how bad it was.

    This is the movie that's supposed to be the best of the new SW. So, no thank you.

  182. Different take from CNET by Walking+The+Walk · · Score: 1

    CNET's take is "No, half of The Last Jedi haters were not Russian trolls". They're position is that it's a lot more complicated: the sample set was only 1k tweets directed at Rian Johnson, and so missed all the others (eg: those to Mark Hamill, who has way more followers); the researcher manually "cleaned" the tweets, removing ones he didn't think applied; he decided himself what was a negative vs positive vs neutral, leaving it open to argument; and the media reporting is distorting the numbers and conclusions.

    --
    A recursive sig
    Can impart wisdom and truth
    Call proc signature()
  183. It's a CRAP! Study. Found 11 accounts. 4 Russian? by denzacar · · Score: 1

    The so called "study" is a study only in piggybacking on sensationalism and stirring up division.
    Author, one "Morten Bay, Ph.D., Research Fellow, Center for the Digital Future USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism" is himself, functionally, a troII.
    Whether he is also intentionally peddling and hyping fraudulent studies to increase his media exposure or is just a victim of his own incompetence... that's up to debate.
    But let's just say that he didn't pick a less popular franchise for his "study".

    Anyway...
    The Fraudulent Study found following...

    Examining 967 tweets (that's TWEETS - not accounts), made "between December 13, 2017 and July 20, 2018." on a platform where around 6000 tweets are made each second, "206 expressed a negative sentiment towards the film and its director, which is 21.9% or a little more than one in five fans."
    Out of those 206... "Using the Botometer mentioned in the Method section, 11 out of the of 206 accounts expressing negative sentiments were identified as bots."
    But that's not all!
    Our boy Morten also claims that through his spider senses he "identified 33 of the 206 negative accounts as troIIs and/or sock puppets."
    Out of those 33 trolls and socks...

    16 of these 33 troII/sock puppet accounts appear to be Russian trolls, or at least possess several of the Russian troII characteristics presented above.

    Anyway... author claims he looked through some 967 tweets aimed at Rian Johnson, over a period of 6 months, finding 11 tweets made by probable bots, and 16 he thinks may be Russian.
    Cause their language skills were poor, their names were generic and they had no profile photos.

    7 of the 16 had auto-generated handles consisting of a very common, English name followed by a series of seemingly random digits, and five of those seven had not uploaded a profile image, a combination which according to the studies mentioned above, is a typical characteristic of Russian troII accounts.

    Out of those 16, 4(?) were actually identified as Russian troIIs.
    @1popculturefan, @MarcoSo94862885, @VPalmera and @ThatNikkaGeeked.
    Also, there is another account retweeting @1popculturefan which is, maybe, also a Russian troll/sock.

    It doesn't help that the author keeps interchangeably referring to tweets as accounts.
    Or that there is no summary of tweets or accounts.
    Thus one can't tell if he's referring to some of the same accounts (or tweets) when he says that "6 of the 16 accounts have an extremely high retweet rate" and "9 accounts have been through the "resets"" while "4 accounts present themselves as a type of news source".
    Are those 6 among the 9? 4 among 6? Who knows!

    On a side note, TIL that using the word "troII" more than a certain number of times in the text activates Slashdot lameness filter.
    Luckily, bitches don't know about my upper case i.

    Oh, and the movie did suck.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
  184. In Soviet Russia by pincorrect · · Score: 1

    In Soviet Russia, Last Jedi pan YOU!

  185. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by ravenshrike · · Score: 1

    Adam Driver can act perfectly fine when he has a character whose motivations aren't completely moronic. He was fine in Logan Lucky.

  186. That movie sucked balls by BigChigger · · Score: 1

    I am not a russian troll and I approved this message.

  187. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, reiâ(TM)s biggest problem is poor news days for Tesla.

  188. That's not counting the 16 yr old jerks by whitroth · · Score: 1

    Who think their parents' lives are over, too (Oh! Carrie Fisher! Too Old!)

    And, having just seen Solo last month, I say it's a good story, and I suspect Lucas had his fingers in it... up to the elbows.

    And if you disagree with me, you're wrong, and you're not going to change my mind, because your *opinion* is bs except for you.

    1. Re:That's not counting the 16 yr old jerks by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      Who think their parents' lives are over, too (Oh! Carrie Fisher! Too Old!)

      Is dead "too old"? Dead for two years.

      Not to say she wasn't awesome. How many actresses have pulled off a whole series of action sequences while wearing a bikini with a skirt?

  189. Pepperidge Farm remembers. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Remember when "Troll" meant "asshats saying shit to get a rise out of you" instead of "astroturfing political shill"?

  190. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by eaglesrule · · Score: 1

    So...yeah, vet your sources man.

    Ok. Let's see what a programmer at Twitter has to say about the threshold for bot detection.

    In other words, Twitter still investigated itself. They are not a credible source either.

  191. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Sir_Eptishous · · Score: 1

    You know, it's interesting that my opinions of films don't get tainted by social media... because I don't use social media.

    I've noticed "from the outside" that people who are "clued into" what social media tells them they should think, by golly, they think it.
    And I'm not talking about either side of the political divide, but both sides.
    I've seen how paying attention to twitter, FB, etc does nothing but incite idiocy.
    My opinion of social media users goes lower by the day.

    I don't know if Kathleen Kennedy and Rian Johnson are sowing discord(FTFY). And I don't care.
    I don't pay attention to sales figures, for the box office or Blu-Ray, etc;

    Since I don't pay attention to social media, I had no fucking idea there was some kind of flame war about Last Jedi.

    I have been a SW fan since the first film. I can remember with fondness the SW doldrums of the late 80s-90s when we would watch all three films back to back on VHS.
    We had no idea that SW would continue and become the cultural La Brea tarpit that it has become.
    And yes, you can get the fuck off my lawn.

    I do know this:
    I had a feeling from the beginning that Disney would cheez the fuck out of SW, which they have, and that Lucas, for all his faults should have kept the rights and done the films he wanted to do.

    I knew that if Abrams had anything to do with it then it would really suck, and I won't get into the finer points here but I will say that Force Awakens is a much worse film than Last Jedi. Abrams is a curse to all sci-fi.

    But after all is said and done I still went to see the films and will see the next one. I realized that after the muppet show on Endor in Episode VI, the cheez had set in nice and thick, and my hopes were dashed. So I've been jaded about SW since, oh... 1983.

    So my(and probably many other SW fans who saw the original films in the theatre) opinion about SW now, after the prequels, the edits Lucas made, the social media wanking, etc, I just look at these movies as entertainment.

    --
    We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
  192. Russian Trolls should have made the movie by datalife · · Score: 1

    Really! Russian Trolls should have made the movie.
    It couldn't be worse.

    --
    There are only 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who don't.
  193. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I reversed everything he said but the truth eludes me: .snoitalutargnoC .yticixot yttep fo dnik taht dnuora eb ot stnaw ydobon esuaceb ,esihcnarf nwo ruoy dellik ev'uoy won dnA .kcab dna lleh lla ot deifilpma neht ,sevlesmeht dnoyeb txetnoc yna ni ytidilav yna dah snoitisop rieht gnikniht otni stob naissuR yb depud gnieb srepeerc wef a htiw detrats ti :laer neve t'nsi tihsllub eht fo tol a taht smees ti ,siht ekil seiduts morf ,si ti fo lleh eht dna tihsllub yobnaf eht fo kcis er'yeht esuaceb s'ti yltsoM .esabnaf eht gnivael era elpoep ,seY

    ?edarmoc ,gninrom siht thcsrob ruoy ni deep ohw lleW

  194. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

    And of course, John Wayne is long gone.

    --
    SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  195. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    through the expanded universe

    I stopped reading right there

  196. Re: Also shitting on the other end of star wars eu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    REAL fans...from Scotland?

  197. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by sexconker · · Score: 1

    I didn't like Rogue One. It wasn't bad, but it was completely unnecessary. I call it Star Wars Vietnam.

  198. Re:Hollywood already pushes its own political agen by eaglesrule · · Score: 1

    You're trying to rationalize a movie that involves space magic, and deflecting bolts of plasma energy with sword play.

    Put the plot in the context of being just a loose framework in order to tie visually stimulating CGI action scenes together within a reasonable amount of time, then it might begin to make more sense.

  199. The Dems already neutered the Super Delegates by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    it was a pretty major win and paves the way for the progressives. They can still screw us over on a second ballot, but those are so rare (last one was in the 70s) that it's not really a victory.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  200. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 1

    I was really hoping we could come together as a nation in shared pain and camaraderie over how awful The Last Jedi was. I mean, if you had a SECRET PLAN to solve everything by using FTL as a weapon -- that apparently nobody tried before -- the entire movie was just everyone going on misadventures because they didn't believe you had a SECRET PLAN. And the prior movie was reduced to Luke Skywalker throwing a light saber into the ocean.

    But no, now I can't blame the movie and bond with fellow Americans because of the damn Ruskies!

    --
    >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
  201. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 1

    I think you managed to insult everyone; SJW, Incels, Star Wars fans, the media, the government,... so very American. I have to say it seems unlikely with this level of outrage that you could be Russian. I figure you must be an unpaid American troll.

    --
    >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
  202. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by sexconker · · Score: 1

    Emo Darth Vader is best Disney Princess!

    To be a Disney Princess you have to:

    1 - Wear a dress.
    2 - Have an animal sidekick / companion.

  203. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by lgw · · Score: 1

    Ah, we're in non-geek holy war territory here. Disney was trying to have it both ways with that quote, but they had dropped the whole "animal sidekick" thing before Moana, with Frozen before that and IIRC Brave before that. He has the hair, the bad attitude, and the lack of parental supervision that are the core hallmarks of a Disney princess.

    Both Kylo and the alien from Alien are Disney princesses now. Bout time we had an emo/goff princess, too.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  204. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by sexconker · · Score: 1

    The sales figures for the bluray (absolutely awful) reflect it.

    Um, it was the best selling Blu Ray of 2018 to September: http://screencrush.com/blu-ray...

    Note that the second most popular Blu Ray was Black Panther, another movie that vocal online critics claim is complete shit and a terrible, failing movie.

    Why are you comparing it to other bluray releases in the same month? You need to compare it to The Force Awakens. Go ahead and try that, then get back to us.

    Black Panther wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. It had tons of flaws that I still can't figure out. The bad dude's entire mission and rant is COLONIALISM BAD! BLACKS SUPPRESSED!! Okay, a bit simplistic but certainly a valid motivation for a character. As social commentary it's more than heavy handed, it's pretty much breaking the fourth wall. And he has this plan that involves using these people to FIND Wakanda, yet he ends up killing them and just traipsing on over anyway, because he didn't need them at all to FIND it. Did I miss something? Not only do you need to know the location, you need to know how to get in. It's veiled. Was it just a magic helicopter that anyone can fly? Or was it his Wakandan blood? If so, why did he need those people at all? Why not just fucking go himself like he ended up doing anyway?

    The bad guy sees his shot at power and immediately turns into a colonizing tyrant hell bent on suppressing whites while still shouting about how bad it is. Was that supposed to be intentionally stupid and hypocritical? Is that the message? If so, nobody really addresses it. The best we get is some lame jokes about "another white boy for me to patch up" after some consternation about whether or not they should help the guy who saved what'sherface's life. Oh, and at the end there's a commitment from Wakanda to open up and share their technology with the world, but it comes with the smug superiority that only deus ex vibranium can provide.

    If Wakanda was so secretive and isolated, and actually physically hidden, why did they have western clothing and vehicles? How did they pay for them? Why was their king out and about in foreign countries wrecking up the place fending off assassination attempts? There's supposed to be a juxtaposition between Wakanda as seen by the outside world and the technologically advanced true Wakanda. But that true Wakanda and its King are all over the outside world, influencing and impacting things while crying about how they need to remain isolated to prevent being influenced or impacted. Not only is this hypocritical bullshit the same we see from the bad guy, but it makes no logical sense. Other people would see this and say "Hey. How come Wakanda has all this shit and why are they stirring shit up over here I thought they were an undeveloped, tribal country?" or "Where'd this guy get that car or learn to drive it? They're still actively refusing our offers of food, medicine, agricultural development, etc.".

    The biggest flaw, however, is vibranium. It's basically magic, but without being magic. This was more of a Harry Potter move than a super hero movie as far as the actual setting and basis. They don't attempt to explain or detail anything. Drinking up vibranium opium gives you super powers. Vibranium technology is magic and can do anything. You can disable vibranium with sound waves somehow. You may as well have Stan Lee come out and wave his hands while saying "GAMMA RADIATION" and "MUTANT POWERS" for 2 hours.

  205. For god sake read the study before talking. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If any of you had actually the mental capacity to read the study you would know its bullshit.
    Out of 1000 accounts 16 have been defined as bot and the definition they give is "pro trump, anti sjw".
    But of course you all just want puke your unfounded uneducated opinion into the internet because its about what you think and not about facts.
    Thats why social media these days is basically poison and nothing more than public masturbation.

  206. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by sexconker · · Score: 1

    Adam Driver can act perfectly fine when he has a character whose motivations aren't completely moronic. He was fine in Logan Lucky.

    The only other thing I remember him from is jacking off on camera in HBO's Girls.
    I couldn't even hate watch the last season of that show.

  207. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    According to the CDC 48% of rape victims are male (they call that "made to penetrate") by female perpetrator.

    That is, when you use the same standard of "forced to have sex while unable to consent" you use for female victims and apply it to male victims.

    Of course, if you apply a legal double standard where it's only rape when the perpetrator has a penis then yes, you get your biased statistics.

  208. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    through the expanded universe

    I stopped reading right there

    You might as well, disney deleted it all so they could retell the stories in the laziest way possible.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  209. So this is how liberty dies. by davey · · Score: 1

    What? Someone had to say it...

  210. Because without the blood by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    the Sharks won't turn on each other. It doesn't take much, but it does take _something_.

    Like 9/11. It barely had an impact on the US until we made it impact us by going nuts and invading several countries that didn't attack us or our allies. Those wars have wrecked our country for generations and made us hated on the national stage. Mission accomplished.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Because without the blood by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      the Sharks won't turn on each other. It doesn't take much, but it does take _something_.

      And all the sharks I just mentioned that were in the water with zero outside influence needed? Copy and paste: The neo-McCarthyite hysteria wasn't around in the 90's, when Republicans were accusing Bill and Hill of being mass murdering drug lords, nor was it around after 2008 when Teabaggers lost their minds and accused Obama's parents of planting a fake birth announcement almost half a century prior because their son might have become president someday.

      It's like westerners are reenacting that scene from Austin Powers, but instead of Dr. Evil coming up with crazy schemes, it's crazy schemes being blamed on Russia. Only for people in the room to point out said crazy scheme was already happening, without any foreign involvement whatsoever.

  211. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by roc97007 · · Score: 1

    the expanded universe isn't canon, but your points about Leia being more than just a courier, and that the beginning of the original film (I still can't bring myself to call it "a new hope", when I saw it, it was just "star wars") was invalidated by the end of Rogue One, are still valid. Moreover, this could have been fixed with a little work on the script, by replacing "death star plans" with "a key component of the death star plans" (say, the location of the vent) and a couple of additional scenes (ship-to-ship transfer at some remote location) at the end. As for fitting into the rest of the films, it was lazy writing.

    Nevertheless, Rogue One as a stand-alone film is one of the best of the star wars films released this century, despite the continuity screw-up, although I realize that's probably damning with faint praise.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  212. The study doesn't comment on the film quality by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    or why it didn't do gangbusters. It just made the point that the Russians were using it to try and drive another wedge between communities.

    Didn't you have that one kid who always tried to start shit between people in grade school? This is like that, except between nations. If America didn't have so many bombs and so much blood thirst it would be funny.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:The study doesn't comment on the film quality by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 1

      That's a good point.

      My considered opinion on that other issue where people are going on and on about "The Russians! The Russians!!" is that Putin didn't much care who won the election. He just wanted, whichever highly divisive person it was, that their supporters would not accept the results as legitimate. Trump was setting up doing it on his end, with the "The election is rigged!" comment. If Hillary had won, it would be Trump and the Trumpunists going on and on about "The Russians! The Russians!!" instead of the opposite.

      Either way, Putin gets what he wants.

  213. Huh? by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    Mark f'n Hamill criticized the movie. I think it's pretty safe to say bad things about it in the nerd community when you've got a Jedi Master on your side.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Huh? by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Mark f'n Hamill criticized the movie. I think it's pretty safe to say bad things about it in the nerd community when you've got a Jedi Master on your side.

      Good point. One would think so. Oddly enough, nobody called Hamill a nazi or a russian bot. Or a misogynist. (At least, as far as I know. I don't do twitter...)

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  214. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tom, narcocide has it right. If you're not part of the problem (ie a troll) you are now complicit in it (ie gullible).

    Take care out there.

  215. Of course they did by eaglesrule · · Score: 1

    When the next progressive darling cucks out to the establishment favorite, because reasons, I'll try to contain my surprise.

  216. Re: BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Last Jedi was terrible.

    The underlying plot device was âoeDonâ(TM)t be a hero, play it safe, donâ(TM)t question authority when they give you no reason to trust them or hope and youâ(TM)re pretty sure they are just waiting for everybody to die.â

    It was awful by any standard.

  217. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

    This is a blatant case of "Russian bot delusion".

    Ahhhh.. That's exactly what one would expect a Russian bot to say.... ;)

  218. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    Ah right, so you mean that it shit on the non-canon expanded universe stuff that the movies have specifically decided to leave behind because it would ruin all the surprises and most of it is complete BS anyway.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  219. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    So with the film canon then, why does Leia deserve her position and what has she done? A new hope is still canon by the way and there were different levels of stuff in the EU some was canon some was semi and some was not, it really depended on the source.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  220. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by mapkinase · · Score: 1

    You had me until this:

    > Adam Driver is a bad actor

    No. Adam Driver is not a bad actor. Star Wars is idiotic from the get go. It's an idiotic juvenile shitstory that got randomly selected to reach the level of positive feedback "cult" status that only needs shitty producers to invest.

    Every cinephile worth his salt would like to stay away from bullshit like Star Wars, Marvel Universe and other bullcrap lo-end sci-fi crap. And if they had to write critics of these it's only for money.

    The actor who fit perfectly into Paterson did it for money. You got shitty result because pearls do not come from shit.

    --
    I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
  221. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by mapkinase · · Score: 1

    It does not take much for people to argue. The problem is that people argue about crap like Star Wars.

    --
    I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
  222. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    That's an interesting question. She is a princess and the rebellion seems to recognize that to some extent. But she seems to be more of a politician around the time of ANH. She is there at the major battles but seemingly not in a command role, more of a civilian oversight kind of thing. Which makes sense, as the Empire is essentially a kind of military coup and the rebels stand for the rule of law.

    At some point between the end of RotJ and TFA she seems to have taken on a more active military role, or perhaps she was just landed with it because of her prior experience with superweapons and because by the time TLJ comes around there aren't many other people left.

    It's a shame that she wasn't more involved in the finale of A New Hope, but they actually removed some of the female pilots whose footage was then used in Rogue One. I won't speculate why, except to point out that through the whole of the first trilogy Leia was the only woman with any significant screen time or lines and they never really developed any of her force powers or role beyond the damsel/love interest. So really TLJ did more for her character than all the other movies combined.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  223. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Which makes sense, as the Empire is essentially a kind of military coup and the rebels stand for the rule of law.

    Other way around. The Empire is the rule of law.

    Remember in Ep 3, the Republic supported the switch to Empire with thunderous applause.

    Palpatine was the legal democratically elected Chancellor at the time of the Republic, and the Republic agreed to make him the Emperor as well (of course by that point, they have already voted to give Palpatine pretty much all the powers of an Emperor in all but name, the transition just made it official)

    The law made Palpatine Emperor. He had the mandate from the people to end the Clone Wars and restore order to the galaxy (clean up the swamp, Make the Galaxy Great Again, etc). He has the rule of law on his side. He is your Emperor. He gets to sit in the nice office on Coruscant while the rebels had to hide in caves like the terrorists they are.

    It was Senators like Leia who rebelled against the rule of law. Instead of petitioning the Emperor (who is the rule of law here), they secretly sided with the rebels. That's treason. So when they caught Leia red handed in Ep 4, the Emperor disbanded the Senate. He could do that because, again, he has rule of law on his side.

    This explains why Leia had such a small role in the original trilogy. The rebels were not the rule of law. They were terrorists with limited resources, so they have to take what they can get, included princess who probably only got to her position of power because of family connections (Bail Organa). Given they don't know if she knows what she's doing, they just regulated her to minor tasks (here Leia, you hold on to these death star plans while we do other jobs like oh I don't know getting our asses killed holding Vader off)

    It's only later when she proved herself (she sensed and saved Luke* in ep 5) they slowly gave her more responsibility (but given how shitty things are by the end of TLJ, she didn't do a very good job... feminists really shouldn't celebrate Leia here)

    *yes, the most important thing a woman did in that movie is to save a MAN (not unlike Rose in TLJ... her entire existence is basically to motivate a man - Finn - to man up). Otherwise she was basically there in Ep 5 to play on anime tropes for women (she kissed her brother and was tsundere with Han). We need more feminists to be outraged at both Leia and Rose.

  224. Trolls did not make TLJ bad by fox171171 · · Score: 1

    "Overall, 50.9% of those tweeting negatively [about the movie] was likely politically motivated or not even human,"

    So the movie was so bad that even non-humans hated it?

    Trolls or not, this movie was so bad on so many levels, and that is why I didn't like it. Not because of anything anyone anywhere said.

    I feel bad for all the people who worked so hard on it, and Rian Johnson just made so many crappy decisions, particularly almost the entire story.

  225. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    um.... there are more Asians than any other demographic. um... there are lots of Indians (dots not the feathers),

  226. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is no good reason - no GOOD reason - for Tarkin to destroy the base on Scarif. It's just bad writing.

  227. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by AlwinBarni · · Score: 1

    Agree, the whole article sounds bogus, like people have never argued about Star Wars vs Star Trek, Atari vs Commodore, Amiga vs PC, etc. Unless Russia has some kind of AI, which picks any topic automatically and trolls it just for the sake of doing so I'd say it's another "modern" style PR.

    With regard to new SW, a good movie for me is always about characters, story and created world integrity, it's all gone, at best they are infantile.

  228. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by AlwinBarni · · Score: 1

    With Ray's force development speed by the end of the third installment she will have resurrected everybody, recreated Alderaan, wiped out all the bad and made the galaxy a paradise, when asked "How'd you do it?", she will answer "I don't know".
    ;-)

  229. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    Ironically there won't be balance in the force unless she dies.

  230. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by sysrammer · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the link. I've followed Red Letter's SW releases with great interest. I've held off on the last two because I haven't seen them yet. But perhaps I'm not missing anything. After all, 1.4 billion people *can't* be wrong, can they?

    --
    His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
  231. Re:BRACE FOR IMPACT by AlwinBarni · · Score: 1

    They can write something, which does not make it true, to make something valid one has to provide some evidence. Are you telling me that disagreement about Star Wars is going to impact US society? Why would they spend resources on such a meaningless activity?