Star Wars is a Saturday Matinee Samurai Space Opera.
Agree 100%
Which is what Abrams delivered. Yay!
Sorry I'm not giving you that. Samurai Space Opera should give you a new story each week, not just copy last week's show.
Ep7 failed because it offered nothing new or interesting.
He made one good bottle of wine. The other two good bottles were made mostly by someone else.
The other ONE good bottle of wine, and one half good bottle mixed with half a bottle of Fraggle Rock.
I just watched RoTJ just now. The Jabba and Ewok scenes take up half the movie, and they are stupid.
Disney has to recoup the 4 billion for the rights to the franchise alone, never mind the cost of making the high end movies, they had to go safe.
I'm actually wondering if they could've gone the other way. Imagine making a low budget Star War movie, but making 2 or 3 a year. Save the marketing budget, this shit sells itself, and there is enough material in the Star Wars Universe to produce dozens of movies.
If they get the formula right, they will sell more tickets overall than one big borefest every couple of years.
... and crazy fast plot that they completely missed the opportunity to develop his character.
It's the stark difference between new and old movies, the pace in old movies is slower, and there's more silent moments where you try and get into the character's head. These days it's all quick and catchy dialog, and flashes and bangs you're force-fed constant information rather than discovering that information for yourself.
An example is in ESB, when the Vader's various Admirals get promoted or fail at their task. Not much is said or acted, a subtle expression on the face says so much more.
In fairness, we didn't know anything worthwhile about Luke's history at the end of IV either except that his father's name was Anakin and that he and Kenobi knew each other.
But neither was there an implication that there's some ironic twist that you have to pony up to two more movies to find out. Ep4 worked as a standalone movie, but Ep7 felt like it was a 2 hour long trailer for Ep8 & 9
I made no comment about it being good or bad (which is subjective).
However, looking at sales, and mostcritics, it's not a failure. Though again that's subjective.
Disney spent $4Bil on this, it's not too hard to believe that some of those reviews have come under the influence of the Disney marketing budget.
I'm willing to believe that this movie had some smarts that I completely missed, but so far everything I've seen and read says that this is a turkey. And after the hype curve fades, time will reveal more honest opinions.
The puppetry that gave the series one of its most memorable characters had nothing to do with George, neither did Empire's script, or Lucasfilm's special effects, or Ford, Fisher and Hamill's acting.
I just re-watched the trilogy, it seems that the puppetry got more stupid as the movies went on. There was only a brief showing in ep4, a little bit more (Yoda) in ep5, but ep6 could've been the Muppet Show. Watching the 3 movies in a row 30+ years on, RoTJ seems out of place with its stupid puppets (and Ewoks).
In other words, when a work of art becomes too popular it is in danger of becoming a mere franchise.
Only if its creator sells his soul.
Do you think Led Zeppelin would ever sell their name and rights to X-Factor so the next manufactured boy-band can use it to make easy money? This is exactly the same.
Yeah that's it that was what was bugging me about him. Poe gets dropped down in front of Kylo and starts wisecracking, zero fear what so ever.
Ren comes across like Christensen, a whingey whiny teenager rather than an evil intimidating overlord. It's simply impossible to buy into him being a villain and more like a spoilt brat that needs to be spanked. This is now 4 movies in a row with lame villains...
Sure, they did try (well, sort of) to develop most of the individual new characters, but really - why would any of the new characters give a flying frig about each other?
This movie suffered from the same problem as the prequels, too much trying to tie into the original trilogy and not enough telling their own story.
eg Why the hell, 30 years on, are Stormtroopers and TIE fighters still the same (mostly)? Wouldn't this First Order want to separate itself from the bad results of the previous Empire and come up with new kit?
No mod points, but you've summed it up brilliantly.
Nothing in the movie made me want to stay (apart from the fact I paid for a ticket so I may as well see it through). There were no interesting good guys, and no interesting bad guys, just a bunch of characters doing things that all seemed rehashed and worn out.
Oh thanks for reminding me of that turd. It was shit like that the movie simply didn't need, as if Lucas simply tried to cram in as many ideas as possible, regardless of impact.
In general Samuel L Jackson could read the ingredients of a breakfast cereal and make it sound cool,
He sounds cool from a 20th century street talking tough guy sort of way. But there is no place for that type of character in a futuristic space universe (even if it was set "a long time ago...").
I think it was less the acting and more the poor casting. Christensen was about the worst choice for Annakin as you could get.
You have to ask *who* those users are. They're second wave. 40 year olds, Indians are a big one. But teenaged Americans? They're moving elsewhere now that their parents have discovered Facebook. Kik, Snapchat, IRC, etc.
Based on my teenage kids' experience, they're moving to Instagram and Whatsapp, which are also owned by Facebook.
How so? Not sure how it works where you are, but every job I've had (and I had dozens) I've gotten via applying through job websites (and before that news papers). I send off a brief cover letter with a copy of my resume, and they either choose to call me in for an interview or not, and after that I either get offered a job or I don't. No Social Network required (either online or offline).
I should also mention that I am sometimes a hiring manager, so use this exact same method myself when on the other side of the desk.
Yep, and there's that whole whole "engagement" concept that is now baked into games to keep you clicking. A little work, a little reward, but then it goes into times cycles, contingent rewards, goal-teasing, etc etc etc. Zinga hired teams of psychologists to make their games (in their own words) "as addicting as possible". And it's worked.
Well it works in some cases, but not others.
I used to play games all the time, but now the whole style of trying to fleece you at every opportunity has turned me off. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
When I pull the trigger, I want it to go bang, period. I don't want to see a "LOW BATTERY" warning or a find out a circuit is fried when I need it most.
Out of interest, in the last 30 years when did you need it most?
OK, I'll bite. What asset backs the US national debt?
Anything owned by the US people.
Based on a standard business valuation, you'd be looking at least 10:1 P/E ratio (General Motors which is tanking is currently 11:1). US GDP is about 17T, meaning a value of 170T for the USA nation.
I just did a quick Google and there's 130M private dwellings in the US with a median value of just under $200k. So that's $25T right there, and that's without digging into corporate assets.
Debt is about 18T, so I don't see too many reasons to panic just yet (these are obviously rough numbers but should be enough to demonstrate that it's not as bad as it looks on the surface)
Out of interest, what do you think the debt should be?
Nobody fixes nobody phones. They get thrown away when they are broken. Seriously. They are not even designed to be repairable.
Ok you can stop right there, since you clearly have no idea what you are talking about.
I have three (three!) mobile phone repair shops in my local shopping centre alone. None of them existed 10 years ago, and all of them have been expanding recently.
Sure, there are some very few exceptions to this, but not enough to matter or give your argument any validity.
Google "iphone repair" and see how you go. Prepare to be shocked...
He does indeed mention that Jakku was his first battle. He also mentions he worked sanitation. Also that he was taken as a baby.
So, I hypothesize that what happened is that, during his training and indoctrination phase, he worked sanitation. Think cleaning out the head in Full Metal Jacket, or even marines being put on honey-dipper detail.
So yeah, it actually makes perfect sense. During early education and training, Finn worked sanitation detail in that area.
Sorry but that doesn't work for me. That may be how it works in the 21st century earth military, but Imperial Stormtroopers are in a high tech universe where robots can perform complex surgery, there is simply no need to have a human be a soldier and a janitor like in our world. In this universe, all your soldiers are a pure fighting force, which has been implied in every movie up until now. In fact, thinking back to every scene from the previous 6 films that involved some sort of menial task, it was always done by a robot or lower class alien, never a Stormtrooper.
Same goes for the flame thrower scene. It was completely out of whack for a futuristic invasion force to have to resort to such clumsy old fashioned weaponry.
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Star Wars is a Saturday Matinee Samurai Space Opera.
Agree 100%
Which is what Abrams delivered. Yay!
Sorry I'm not giving you that. Samurai Space Opera should give you a new story each week, not just copy last week's show.
Ep7 failed because it offered nothing new or interesting.
He made one good bottle of wine. The other two good bottles were made mostly by someone else.
The other ONE good bottle of wine, and one half good bottle mixed with half a bottle of Fraggle Rock.
I just watched RoTJ just now. The Jabba and Ewok scenes take up half the movie, and they are stupid.
and given the current ratings and reviews it would seem the vast majority of people are very happy with what we got.
A weak mind is easily led. Don't for once think that the "current reviews" haven't been influenced by Disney's marketing budget.
Disney has to recoup the 4 billion for the rights to the franchise alone, never mind the cost of making the high end movies, they had to go safe.
I'm actually wondering if they could've gone the other way. Imagine making a low budget Star War movie, but making 2 or 3 a year. Save the marketing budget, this shit sells itself, and there is enough material in the Star Wars Universe to produce dozens of movies.
If they get the formula right, they will sell more tickets overall than one big borefest every couple of years.
And if they did that then everyone would have bitched about how it wasn't Star Wars. And they would have been right.
Crap. Go to a book shop and take a look at all the Star Wars universe material that is Star Wars without simply rehashing Ep4.
... and crazy fast plot that they completely missed the opportunity to develop his character.
It's the stark difference between new and old movies, the pace in old movies is slower, and there's more silent moments where you try and get into the character's head. These days it's all quick and catchy dialog, and flashes and bangs you're force-fed constant information rather than discovering that information for yourself.
An example is in ESB, when the Vader's various Admirals get promoted or fail at their task. Not much is said or acted, a subtle expression on the face says so much more.
In fairness, we didn't know anything worthwhile about Luke's history at the end of IV either except that his father's name was Anakin and that he and Kenobi knew each other.
But neither was there an implication that there's some ironic twist that you have to pony up to two more movies to find out. Ep4 worked as a standalone movie, but Ep7 felt like it was a 2 hour long trailer for Ep8 & 9
I made no comment about it being good or bad (which is subjective). However, looking at sales, and most critics, it's not a failure. Though again that's subjective.
Disney spent $4Bil on this, it's not too hard to believe that some of those reviews have come under the influence of the Disney marketing budget.
I'm willing to believe that this movie had some smarts that I completely missed, but so far everything I've seen and read says that this is a turkey. And after the hype curve fades, time will reveal more honest opinions.
In contrast, The Force Awakens has resurrected Star Wars. It's simple, mindless fun, but that's what it always was, and we liked it.
Except it wasn't fun, and no-one I know liked it.
I can only assume the Jedis at Disney marketing are in full effect, and weak minds are easily led...
The puppetry that gave the series one of its most memorable characters had nothing to do with George, neither did Empire's script, or Lucasfilm's special effects, or Ford, Fisher and Hamill's acting.
I just re-watched the trilogy, it seems that the puppetry got more stupid as the movies went on. There was only a brief showing in ep4, a little bit more (Yoda) in ep5, but ep6 could've been the Muppet Show. Watching the 3 movies in a row 30+ years on, RoTJ seems out of place with its stupid puppets (and Ewoks).
In other words, when a work of art becomes too popular it is in danger of becoming a mere franchise.
Only if its creator sells his soul.
Do you think Led Zeppelin would ever sell their name and rights to X-Factor so the next manufactured boy-band can use it to make easy money? This is exactly the same.
Like most people that think that they are badasses, he wasn't.
That was the point, and clearly it was successfully made.
Vader was a badass, and the Star Wars Franchise has never been the same since he left.
Yeah that's it that was what was bugging me about him. Poe gets dropped down in front of Kylo and starts wisecracking, zero fear what so ever.
Ren comes across like Christensen, a whingey whiny teenager rather than an evil intimidating overlord. It's simply impossible to buy into him being a villain and more like a spoilt brat that needs to be spanked. This is now 4 movies in a row with lame villains...
Sure, they did try (well, sort of) to develop most of the individual new characters, but really - why would any of the new characters give a flying frig about each other?
This movie suffered from the same problem as the prequels, too much trying to tie into the original trilogy and not enough telling their own story.
eg Why the hell, 30 years on, are Stormtroopers and TIE fighters still the same (mostly)? Wouldn't this First Order want to separate itself from the bad results of the previous Empire and come up with new kit?
No mod points, but you've summed it up brilliantly.
Nothing in the movie made me want to stay (apart from the fact I paid for a ticket so I may as well see it through). There were no interesting good guys, and no interesting bad guys, just a bunch of characters doing things that all seemed rehashed and worn out.
I fucking built C-3PO!!!
Oh thanks for reminding me of that turd. It was shit like that the movie simply didn't need, as if Lucas simply tried to cram in as many ideas as possible, regardless of impact.
In general Samuel L Jackson could read the ingredients of a breakfast cereal and make it sound cool,
He sounds cool from a 20th century street talking tough guy sort of way. But there is no place for that type of character in a futuristic space universe (even if it was set "a long time ago...").
I think it was less the acting and more the poor casting. Christensen was about the worst choice for Annakin as you could get.
Meanwhile Disney couldn't be happier that he's talking smack about the new film - heck I might even go see it after hearing this.
Don't do it, it is crap.
There's simply nothing new in it. Every concept and scene is simply a rehash of Ep4, along with some really big plot holes...
You have to ask *who* those users are. They're second wave. 40 year olds, Indians are a big one. But teenaged Americans? They're moving elsewhere now that their parents have discovered Facebook. Kik, Snapchat, IRC, etc.
Based on my teenage kids' experience, they're moving to Instagram and Whatsapp, which are also owned by Facebook.
Getting a job is hard without social networking,
How so? Not sure how it works where you are, but every job I've had (and I had dozens) I've gotten via applying through job websites (and before that news papers). I send off a brief cover letter with a copy of my resume, and they either choose to call me in for an interview or not, and after that I either get offered a job or I don't. No Social Network required (either online or offline).
I should also mention that I am sometimes a hiring manager, so use this exact same method myself when on the other side of the desk.
Yep, and there's that whole whole "engagement" concept that is now baked into games to keep you clicking. A little work, a little reward, but then it goes into times cycles, contingent rewards, goal-teasing, etc etc etc. Zinga hired teams of psychologists to make their games (in their own words) "as addicting as possible". And it's worked.
Well it works in some cases, but not others.
I used to play games all the time, but now the whole style of trying to fleece you at every opportunity has turned me off. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
When I pull the trigger, I want it to go bang, period. I don't want to see a "LOW BATTERY" warning or a find out a circuit is fried when I need it most.
Out of interest, in the last 30 years when did you need it most?
OK, I'll bite. What asset backs the US national debt?
Anything owned by the US people.
Based on a standard business valuation, you'd be looking at least 10:1 P/E ratio (General Motors which is tanking is currently 11:1). US GDP is about 17T, meaning a value of 170T for the USA nation.
I just did a quick Google and there's 130M private dwellings in the US with a median value of just under $200k. So that's $25T right there, and that's without digging into corporate assets.
Debt is about 18T, so I don't see too many reasons to panic just yet (these are obviously rough numbers but should be enough to demonstrate that it's not as bad as it looks on the surface)
Out of interest, what do you think the debt should be?
Nobody fixes nobody phones. They get thrown away when they are broken. Seriously. They are not even designed to be repairable.
Ok you can stop right there, since you clearly have no idea what you are talking about.
I have three (three!) mobile phone repair shops in my local shopping centre alone. None of them existed 10 years ago, and all of them have been expanding recently.
Sure, there are some very few exceptions to this, but not enough to matter or give your argument any validity.
Google "iphone repair" and see how you go. Prepare to be shocked...
I saw the movie again last night, actually.
He does indeed mention that Jakku was his first battle. He also mentions he worked sanitation. Also that he was taken as a baby.
So, I hypothesize that what happened is that, during his training and indoctrination phase, he worked sanitation. Think cleaning out the head in Full Metal Jacket, or even marines being put on honey-dipper detail.
So yeah, it actually makes perfect sense. During early education and training, Finn worked sanitation detail in that area.
Sorry but that doesn't work for me. That may be how it works in the 21st century earth military, but Imperial Stormtroopers are in a high tech universe where robots can perform complex surgery, there is simply no need to have a human be a soldier and a janitor like in our world. In this universe, all your soldiers are a pure fighting force, which has been implied in every movie up until now. In fact, thinking back to every scene from the previous 6 films that involved some sort of menial task, it was always done by a robot or lower class alien, never a Stormtrooper.
Same goes for the flame thrower scene. It was completely out of whack for a futuristic invasion force to have to resort to such clumsy old fashioned weaponry.