The problem with Intelligent Design "theory" is that it's not really a theory.
There's no description of the process, as there is with evolution. There's no observable current phenomena which can illustrate that process, as there is with evolution. There's no specific evidence that such a thing even happens, as there is with evolution.
At best, you could call Intelligent Design a "conjecture" or perhaps a "hunch."
Also, regarding evolutionary notions of the Descent of Man: It's not really enough to say "there are many flaws"... certainly not in this crowd. Kindly point a few of them out.
Personally, I don't think either theory runs afoul of Hebrew/Christian concepts of God. After all, the scriptures don't say: "And The Lord made light." The say: "And The Lord said, 'let there be light.'" It almost makes it sound like the creation of the universe was pretty much the tacit act of allowing it to come into existance.
Meh. There are a lot of funny movies out there. "Office Space" probably being the funniest of the last ten years of so.
If you are going to make a movie called "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", you damn well better at least capture the spirit of the original work.
It would have been nice if the movie could have slowed down to explain why a space traveller should keep his towel handy, rather then just make it seem like a strange fettish of Ford's, and later justify its presence by using it as a sort of weapon.
(IIRC, the point of keeping a towel handy, among other things, is that it creates the impression that it makes it easier to borrow things like soap or a comb, because if you travel with a towel, you are obviously the sort of person who takes care of himself, but simply finds himself short a personal hygiene item or two.)
I think casting an American as Zaphod was the obvious choice. His blunt way of speaking and reckless behavior was obviously inspired at least slightly by friends of DNA on this side of the pond. He was had funny moments.
I also thought they made Trillian a much more interesting character than in the radio play or the TV series. She also got the funniest new line in the entire film.
I probably will not buy the DVD of this well-intentioned train-wreck of a movie, but I'm glad I saw it once, and I probably would give a sequel a fair chance.
I completely agree about Marvin. The look was very marketing-friendly (as Marvin is supposed to be), while Alan Rickman's realization of the personality was one of the high-points of the film.
I completely disagree about Mos Def. He's a good actor, especially for adventure films, but he was possible the worst choice on the face of the Earth to play Ford Prefect. Simply dreadful.
I also thought Simon Jones was even better as the Magrathean security sentry than he was as Arthur all those years ago. One of the few really hilarious moments in the movie.
When I think of all the good jokes they cut, and all the scenes which felt rushed, that they made those unwise edits to make room for us to hear that idiotic song at the beginning and end of the film, I find myself in Marvin's camp.
"So-LONG-so-LONG-so-LONG and thanks... for all the fiiiiiiish!"
For a cult-hit adaptation like H2G2, you can pretty much count on a legion of fanboys overwhelming the ratings with perfect tens, so any average rating under 9.0 should be considered a complete disaster. A total flop. To think otherwise indicates that you don't look at IMDB ratings very often.
Personally, I agree that the movie failed to be very funny, which is the second-worst thing that could have happened. (The worst being that it completely shit on the legacy... it was a faithful adaptation. The only problem was that it felt like it was going through the motions, and usually too quickly. There was simply no comedic timing at all, and it killed a lot of otherwise good jokes, including some of the new material.)
Actually, there's been a treatment of this episode (3) written since about the time episode 6 came out.
So, what you're saying is you agree with me. He had nothing ready for the prequels when he was writing Star Wars, and didn't even have a rough draft until Jedi was coming out.
It's not a bad thing. It's a good thing. Most of the revisions Lucas made along the way while creating these films were for the better.
I'm just saying that the conceit that the entire saga was planned out in detail as we saw it is utter bullshit. The movies he made look very little like the original storyboards and scripts he came up with in the planning phase of Star Wars.
The difference being that every last frame of the entire Lord of the Rings series was a joy to witness, while "Attack of the Clones" is a memory I would gladly pay to have surgically removed from my brain, "Eternal Sunshine" style, as long as they gave me a card or something to warn me not to go out and see it again.
Don't give me that "if you were there" shit, kid. I'm probably older than you.
Lucas himself admitted that the brother-sister thing was a contrivance that he had not thought of until he found himself needing a plot point in the climax of Jedi, and he was wise enough to make all foreshadowing in Empire vague enough that he could apply it to almost anything. End of story.
As for my reaction at the time, it's the same now as it was then: I mostly loved Empire, but thought Luke's whole vision-quest thing in the swamp dragged the middle of the film down a little too much, and should have been trimmed down.
Sitting through "Attack of the Clones" was like watching that scene for another hour and a half. Boring as hell.
That was Luke using his power to reach out to a person he loved... until Lucas later decided that she was his sister.
Luke was not a Jedi when he started hearing dead Obi-Wan's voice at the end of Star Wars, so there's no reason to think that Leia had some special ability to hear Luke. She heard him because she was the one he called.
Well, Lucas is famous for revising the history of his films, but he did claim that "Epidose IV" was a tag that he wanted there all along, even if it was going to only ever be one movie, in order to evoke the feeling of Saturday matinee serials. He claims the studio insisted it would confuse audiences.
Personally, I find it a little hard to believe that, after violating Director's Guild rules by not opening with production and director credits, he would cave on something like this, but it's possible. He did, however, start telling people long before even releasing Empire that it was Star Wars was supposed to be considered Episode 4 of a much longer saga. (9 or 12, depending on when he was asked... Although it now looks like he intends to stop at six.)
He doesn't say "another Skywalker" until his deathbed confession in Return of the Jedi.
As to the dumbass AC who thinks he's trumping me with this "straight from the horse's mouth" BS. Where do you think I got my info about when he wrote the brother-sister connection? Lucas talked about it in interviews. He said it was added as a means for Vader to enrage Luke at the climax of the movie, and he didn't come up with it until he was working on that scene.
Lucas knew what stories he wanted to tell when he first wrote Star Wars...
Bullshit.
He's been making it up as he goes along from the beginning. For example: Leah being Luke's sister was an idea which came to him when he was 2/3 done writing "Return of the Jedi." He needed something to piss off Luke enough to tempt him with The Dark Side during his duel with Vader, and making Leah his sister (and having Vader threaten to go after her) seemed to him like the perfect way to get there, so the cryptic "there is another" line from "Empire" becomes a line about Luke's sister.
Even Star Wars itself was revised several times during the storyboard phase. He certainly did not think at the time he would ever go back and make the prequels. He just wanted to start with an episode 4 so it would have the feel of the old Flash Gordon serials he grew up on.
No, that would be "Hitchhiker's Guide 2 the Galaxy" which would be totally gay unless you are text-messaging about the movie with your Japanese girlfriend... or you just happen to be Prince. Even then: slightly gay.
Perfect example of how dark shit gets: remember the Younglings - the kid Jedis in training from "Clones"?
No. No, I don't remember the kid Jedis from "Clones."
Probably because I only saw it once, hated it, and paid little thought to remembering the events I saw.
If I gotta see "Attack of the Clones" again to know what the fuck is going on in "Revenge of the Sith", then count me out. It can't possibly be worth it.
The thing is, "IBM clones" from Compaq and Ollivetti were never the cheapest computers on the market until companies like Commodore, Timex, and Tandy were driven out of it.
All this talk about how "Windows allowed the PC to become a cheap commodity, therefore making computers ubiquitous" is a total revision of history.
The truth is, Windows rode the IBM monopoly on business computing and superceded it. If Microsoft did not become the provider of the "ubiquitous" platform, somebody else would have. Microsoft just happened to win the race. End of story.
It has also been my experience that professional musicians, especially singers or those who perform on non-electronic instruments, are far less fussy about audio fidelity than the typical hi-fi enthusiast. As long as they don't hear obvious artifacts (tape hiss, record pops, etc) added to the sound, they are happy. Things like out-of-phase ride cymbals or a harsh-sounding midrange go by without notice.
I believe there are two reasons for this:
1. Looking through a dirty window bothers you less when you are intimately familiar with what you are looking at, because your mind tends to fill in the gaps for you. Since an orchestra conductor knows better than most people exactly what a violin sounds like, their mind is more likely to correctly fill in the gaps made by a poor recording, so it sounds more like a live violin to him than it does to you and I.
2. Live instruments are loud, and most rehearsal rooms are not set up properly for handling them. A typical 30-year old professional musician probably has the hearing of a 55-year old, and it only gets worse from there. I know of many musicains and music teachers who had to retire at a fairly young age because they were either going deaf or developing painful tinitis.
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The problem with Intelligent Design "theory" is that it's not really a theory.
There's no description of the process, as there is with evolution. There's no observable current phenomena which can illustrate that process, as there is with evolution. There's no specific evidence that such a thing even happens, as there is with evolution.
At best, you could call Intelligent Design a "conjecture" or perhaps a "hunch."
Also, regarding evolutionary notions of the Descent of Man: It's not really enough to say "there are many flaws"... certainly not in this crowd. Kindly point a few of them out.
Personally, I don't think either theory runs afoul of Hebrew/Christian concepts of God. After all, the scriptures don't say: "And The Lord made light." The say: "And The Lord said, 'let there be light.'" It almost makes it sound like the creation of the universe was pretty much the tacit act of allowing it to come into existance.
Meh. There are a lot of funny movies out there. "Office Space" probably being the funniest of the last ten years of so.
If you are going to make a movie called "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", you damn well better at least capture the spirit of the original work.
It would have been nice if the movie could have slowed down to explain why a space traveller should keep his towel handy, rather then just make it seem like a strange fettish of Ford's, and later justify its presence by using it as a sort of weapon.
(IIRC, the point of keeping a towel handy, among other things, is that it creates the impression that it makes it easier to borrow things like soap or a comb, because if you travel with a towel, you are obviously the sort of person who takes care of himself, but simply finds himself short a personal hygiene item or two.)
I think casting an American as Zaphod was the obvious choice. His blunt way of speaking and reckless behavior was obviously inspired at least slightly by friends of DNA on this side of the pond. He was had funny moments.
I also thought they made Trillian a much more interesting character than in the radio play or the TV series. She also got the funniest new line in the entire film.
I probably will not buy the DVD of this well-intentioned train-wreck of a movie, but I'm glad I saw it once, and I probably would give a sequel a fair chance.
I completely agree about Marvin. The look was very marketing-friendly (as Marvin is supposed to be), while Alan Rickman's realization of the personality was one of the high-points of the film.
I completely disagree about Mos Def. He's a good actor, especially for adventure films, but he was possible the worst choice on the face of the Earth to play Ford Prefect. Simply dreadful.
I also thought Simon Jones was even better as the Magrathean security sentry than he was as Arthur all those years ago. One of the few really hilarious moments in the movie.
When I think of all the good jokes they cut, and all the scenes which felt rushed, that they made those unwise edits to make room for us to hear that idiotic song at the beginning and end of the film, I find myself in Marvin's camp.
"So-LONG-so-LONG-so-LONG and thanks... for all the fiiiiiiish!"
Dear God I'm so depressed.
You're kidding, right?
For a cult-hit adaptation like H2G2, you can pretty much count on a legion of fanboys overwhelming the ratings with perfect tens, so any average rating under 9.0 should be considered a complete disaster. A total flop. To think otherwise indicates that you don't look at IMDB ratings very often.
Personally, I agree that the movie failed to be very funny, which is the second-worst thing that could have happened. (The worst being that it completely shit on the legacy... it was a faithful adaptation. The only problem was that it felt like it was going through the motions, and usually too quickly. There was simply no comedic timing at all, and it killed a lot of otherwise good jokes, including some of the new material.)
I think Microsoft is in trouble, and they are desparately seeking ways to stay in business for a decade more while their competitors eat their lunch.
Yes, but does Netcraft confirm it?
Actually, there's been a treatment of this episode (3) written since about the time episode 6 came out.
So, what you're saying is you agree with me. He had nothing ready for the prequels when he was writing Star Wars, and didn't even have a rough draft until Jedi was coming out.
It's not a bad thing. It's a good thing. Most of the revisions Lucas made along the way while creating these films were for the better.
I'm just saying that the conceit that the entire saga was planned out in detail as we saw it is utter bullshit. The movies he made look very little like the original storyboards and scripts he came up with in the planning phase of Star Wars.
The difference being that every last frame of the entire Lord of the Rings series was a joy to witness, while "Attack of the Clones" is a memory I would gladly pay to have surgically removed from my brain, "Eternal Sunshine" style, as long as they gave me a card or something to warn me not to go out and see it again.
I don't think it is anymore, but Lucas was banned from the Director's Guild over that very issue at the time.
Don't give me that "if you were there" shit, kid. I'm probably older than you.
Lucas himself admitted that the brother-sister thing was a contrivance that he had not thought of until he found himself needing a plot point in the climax of Jedi, and he was wise enough to make all foreshadowing in Empire vague enough that he could apply it to almost anything. End of story.
As for my reaction at the time, it's the same now as it was then: I mostly loved Empire, but thought Luke's whole vision-quest thing in the swamp dragged the middle of the film down a little too much, and should have been trimmed down.
Sitting through "Attack of the Clones" was like watching that scene for another hour and a half. Boring as hell.
Nope.
That was Luke using his power to reach out to a person he loved... until Lucas later decided that she was his sister.
Luke was not a Jedi when he started hearing dead Obi-Wan's voice at the end of Star Wars, so there's no reason to think that Leia had some special ability to hear Luke. She heard him because she was the one he called.
Well, Lucas is famous for revising the history of his films, but he did claim that "Epidose IV" was a tag that he wanted there all along, even if it was going to only ever be one movie, in order to evoke the feeling of Saturday matinee serials. He claims the studio insisted it would confuse audiences.
Personally, I find it a little hard to believe that, after violating Director's Guild rules by not opening with production and director credits, he would cave on something like this, but it's possible. He did, however, start telling people long before even releasing Empire that it was Star Wars was supposed to be considered Episode 4 of a much longer saga. (9 or 12, depending on when he was asked... Although it now looks like he intends to stop at six.)
Actually, there are hints in Empire that he was at least considering something like it.
I could simply scoff and say "you're just seeing images in the clouds", but instead I'm going to throw the gauntlet down.
Name one. Just one.
(Besides the one I already mentioned, which actually was not hinting at a family relationship at all.)
I haven't seen it yet myself, but I'm told that Clone Wars is actually more entertaining than Lucas's actual episodes I and II.
He doesn't say "another Skywalker" until his deathbed confession in Return of the Jedi.
As to the dumbass AC who thinks he's trumping me with this "straight from the horse's mouth" BS. Where do you think I got my info about when he wrote the brother-sister connection? Lucas talked about it in interviews. He said it was added as a means for Vader to enrage Luke at the climax of the movie, and he didn't come up with it until he was working on that scene.
Is he someone who'se opinion we trust.
Well, he did make Mallrats.
He also made Ben Affleck a star.
And he's a fan of The Time. The Time, for fuck's sake.
So while Clerks was great and all, this would not be the first time he's exhibited really bad taste.
Lucas knew what stories he wanted to tell when he first wrote Star Wars...
Bullshit.
He's been making it up as he goes along from the beginning. For example: Leah being Luke's sister was an idea which came to him when he was 2/3 done writing "Return of the Jedi." He needed something to piss off Luke enough to tempt him with The Dark Side during his duel with Vader, and making Leah his sister (and having Vader threaten to go after her) seemed to him like the perfect way to get there, so the cryptic "there is another" line from "Empire" becomes a line about Luke's sister.
Even Star Wars itself was revised several times during the storyboard phase. He certainly did not think at the time he would ever go back and make the prequels. He just wanted to start with an episode 4 so it would have the feel of the old Flash Gordon serials he grew up on.
Another spoiler:
Anakin Force-chokes Padme to death before his lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan.
Yeah, but it was an accidental death. They were engaging in "breath play" at the time.
HG2G = Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
No, that would be "Hitchhiker's Guide 2 the Galaxy" which would be totally gay unless you are text-messaging about the movie with your Japanese girlfriend... or you just happen to be Prince. Even then: slightly gay.
It's H2G2, as a few others have illustrated.
I started reading it, but stopped here:
Perfect example of how dark shit gets: remember the Younglings - the kid Jedis in training from "Clones"?
No. No, I don't remember the kid Jedis from "Clones."
Probably because I only saw it once, hated it, and paid little thought to remembering the events I saw.
If I gotta see "Attack of the Clones" again to know what the fuck is going on in "Revenge of the Sith", then count me out. It can't possibly be worth it.
The thing is, "IBM clones" from Compaq and Ollivetti were never the cheapest computers on the market until companies like Commodore, Timex, and Tandy were driven out of it.
All this talk about how "Windows allowed the PC to become a cheap commodity, therefore making computers ubiquitous" is a total revision of history.
The truth is, Windows rode the IBM monopoly on business computing and superceded it. If Microsoft did not become the provider of the "ubiquitous" platform, somebody else would have. Microsoft just happened to win the race. End of story.
I hate MS as much as the next guy, but only a real idiot would call XP "Win95 with a makeover" and actually mean it.
Be honest and fair. XP is really NT 3.51 with a makeover, and you know it.
It has also been my experience that professional musicians, especially singers or those who perform on non-electronic instruments, are far less fussy about audio fidelity than the typical hi-fi enthusiast. As long as they don't hear obvious artifacts (tape hiss, record pops, etc) added to the sound, they are happy. Things like out-of-phase ride cymbals or a harsh-sounding midrange go by without notice.
I believe there are two reasons for this:
1. Looking through a dirty window bothers you less when you are intimately familiar with what you are looking at, because your mind tends to fill in the gaps for you. Since an orchestra conductor knows better than most people exactly what a violin sounds like, their mind is more likely to correctly fill in the gaps made by a poor recording, so it sounds more like a live violin to him than it does to you and I.
2. Live instruments are loud, and most rehearsal rooms are not set up properly for handling them. A typical 30-year old professional musician probably has the hearing of a 55-year old, and it only gets worse from there. I know of many musicains and music teachers who had to retire at a fairly young age because they were either going deaf or developing painful tinitis.