TaylorStSox

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 5, 2018 -> 02:16 PM) Paul Haggis.....COME ON DOWN!! http://www.tmz.com/2018/01/05/paul-haggis-...uct-four-women/ The anti-Scientology spin is interesting. Reddit's probably having a field day with this one.

Am I the only person who has no idea what this thread's supposed to be about?

It's been years since I've seen Le Batard. He looks terrible.

Isn't that injury pretty much impossible if his knee didn't directly hit the box? Seems like the argument is a moot point based on the injury alone.

QUOTE (Tony @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 06:32 PM) Nope, I was simply commenting on how it was odd for a movie you hate, you seem to be spending more time on it than anyone else in this thread (you also have the most posts in this thread ) Well yeah, it's Star Wars. Duh.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 06:27 PM) I’m not mad at you for not liking the movie, I get it. I see your points and just disagree with some. I just feel like you are trying to convince me I don’t like it either. I'm just explaining why I think it's a trainwreck, just like people are explaining the opposite. I posted the RedLetterMedia review because their reviews of the prequels are pretty much the gold standard for Star Wars reviews. They liked it a lot more than I imagined. It's really not that negative, all things considered. I also think they're far more independent than most reviewers. When a movie sits at 93% from critics and 55% from the audience, something is amiss. I'd be willing to bet Disney bought some positive reviews and bullied positive reviews. It's not like people want to dislike the film. I liked TFA and absolutely loved Rogue One.

I watch every RedLetterMedia review. They're great. Their reviews of the prequels are legendary. Have we hit the point that people are getting mad at eachother for not liking Star Wars?

RedLetterMedia Review

QUOTE (Tony @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 01:36 PM) In ROTJ Luke gets shot by a nobody on the Sciff, and also gets tied up by a non-force user in Boba Fett. But keep being angry. Context. If it happened right after he killed Palpatine I would have found it odd as well.

I can't wait to watch Red Letter Media destroy this one. They're much better at articulating why dumb movies are dumb.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 12:08 PM) How is Ren one of the most powerful force users ever? He isnt even on par with Anakin after episode 2. That puts him way behind Yoda, Dooku, etc. I would say that Kylo right now is weaker than Obi Wan at the beginning of Episode 1. Kylo lost to Rey, who is completely untrained. Ren has raw power, but its no where close to any of the legendary force users. He simply looks much stronger because there are no other powerful force users to go up against. Most likely he is not even as powerful as Maul right now. He stopped a f***ing blaster bolt mid air and held it there for minutes the first time we saw him. Both Luke and Snoke said he's the most powerful force user they've seen. Yet he gets put in a headlock by an imperial guard. The movie is so dumb and inconsistent.

I'd watch an entire of movie of Luke training Rey and Snoke training Ren with a subplot involving the Resistance to give Poe and Finn something to do. Maybe we could learn something more about their characters instead of just rushing through everything. We'd learn more about Ren's motivations other than the surface angsty kid. We'd learn more about Snoke. We'd learn more about Luke, the force, Rey, etc. These movies used to be character driven. One of the things about Empire that made it so great was that it was character driven. We learn a lot more about the force. It leads up to an epic confrontation that Lukes loses and we loved it. Luke losing made sense and added to his character. He learned. He wasn't suddenly OP after little training. It's intersected by a subplot involving the Rebels and Empire that works, but doesn't distract from the main narrative.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 18, 2017 -> 02:59 PM) Jean Paul Satre's "No Exit" is an entire book about being in a room. If you think the Plot was a "slow speed chase", then maybe you are watching the movie too literally? Because my interpretation of the plot was the cracking of the old order of the Jedi/Sith and the rise of something different. Which is why the director tries to beat that idea over the viewers head in the scenes where Luke calls out the Jedi for their failing, in the scene where Luke fails as a master and in the scene where Yoda explains to Luke that failure is something to learn from. If you think that is bad plot, so be it. If you think its a dumb movie, you are completely entitled to your opinion. You're confusing plot and theme. They're different things. I was fine with the theme.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 18, 2017 -> 02:09 PM) I think that a lot of the problems people have with this movie is that it ultimately is moving away from black/white to grey. For example, the casino scene. The purpose (besides for the Rose/Finn story line which may impact Rey in the future) was to show that the people who sold weapons to the New Order, sold weapons to the Resistance. Personally I think the movie was fine. I think that if I was 5 I wouldnt have such a critical take on things like "Why was Snoke not developed", when in reality the Emperor had almost 0 backstory in 4-6. I think what the movie did best, was give actual moments where the viewer was not 100% sure what the outcome was going to be. And I think that the whole "First Order is stupid" is basically no different than the Empire. Snoke was the brains, the rest of them are just supposed to be idiot yes men. What has Hux done to show that he has any sort of leadership capabilities? Now that Snoke is gone, Kylo is the new supreme leader. He is basically a teenager with no real leadership experience. Either way I thought the movie was entertaining. I think that since some people have had 30+ ears to dissect every aspect of this world, that expectations were immensely high and that there was no way to get away with writing a pseudo Empire. So instead it gave us a different path, one where the apprentice turns on the master much earlier but isnt redeemed. One where the world is less black and white and more complicated. Right now you are looking at a final confrontation presumably of Kylo v Rey. I think this is leading to the idea that the force is beyond the path of the Jedi or the Sith. And that is what Rey represents, which is why her attunement to the force is different. There are a ton of well-made/good movies geared towards children. That's a terrible excuse to give a film. The movie isn't bad because it's "gray." It's not bad because Snoke dies, Luke dies, Rey's lineage is a red herring etc. It's bad because the plot sucks. The plot revolves around a 24 hour slow speed chase. Literally. Think about that. It's a dumb movie.

K2SO was funny because the dry humor fits since he's a robot. I have no problem with Poe making one liners, but as you guys mentioned, it's not funny when it ruins other characters and the phone bit isn't consistent with Star Wars.

Everyone should re-watch the first 10 minutes of TFA and the first 10 minutes of TLJ. In TFA the First Order was ruthless and menacing. Poe made a quip that worked. Kyle Ren displayed his power by stopping the blaster shot with the f***ing force. On the other hand, TJL ruined the immersion with the dumbass exchange. It made the first order look totally inept. I knew right from that first scene that "this wasn't going to go as I expected."

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 18, 2017 -> 10:02 AM) Part of what I hate about those movies is he is the worst actor of all time. Portman is a good actress and she was even worse. That's what happens when you're being directed by a guy with no direction.

Rogue One seems even better in retrospect. They should have kept the main characters to Jin, Cassian, Chirut and K2SO, but at least it had a coherent story and consistent tone. Edwards had a clear vision and stuck to it. Oh, and the comic relief actually worked and didn't ruin the immersion.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 16, 2017 -> 09:53 PM) The tone and humor were completely off. It’s like going from “dark/brooding” Bond/Bourne/Batman the last 10-15 years back to 60’s Sean Connery Bond. Too jarring. It started with the idiotic face off between Poe and Hux and went downhill from there. It wasn’t terrible, you had fan service in the appearances of Yoda and Luke’s melding with the force. The scenes with Like and Rey were fine, albeit predictable. It just wasn’t in the same class as the other four...with the last one really being a remake. Rogue One was good, so 2/3 isn’t bad. I guess compared to Lucas’ 0/3 in the middle. Somehow, they have to find a creative way to reboot the story and get audiences to care again. It needs a new director. There’s only so many ways to do good and evil before running out of steam. The story is lacking a character as complex/compelling as Vader, and Rey is a solid/earnest character but can’t hold up the whole series on her own unless there’s something we are still missing about her family background. Chewie without Han just reminds us of the loss of another charismatic character, and Finn/Poe can’t cover for that. How did this movie get a 93% RT rating across so many critics, that’s what is really hard to fathom. The other problem is the Disney side killed us with so many cute moments and Happy Meal toys. Maybe that works with the under 12 audience, idk. The bombers looked like they were leftovers from a bad episode of Stargate or Battlestar Gallactaca. I actually think Kylo is an excellent character, but they've hardly spent any time fleshing him out. I don't really know his motivations, but the emo thing is actually intriguing to me. It seems human and relatable. The problem is that he hasn't had enough screen time and he's been pretty one dimensional. He's like a little kid with the temper tantrums. I see where they're going with him, but it's been executed poorly.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Dec 16, 2017 -> 08:09 PM) So what you are saying is you don't like mainstream movies? Because guess what, the main character is basically never dying. Hell even in Nolan's Batman series no character anyone cared about died (Rachel doesn't count, no one cared about that). No, I like plenty of mainstream movies. I'm not a huge fan of comic book movies because most lack any substance. They're just spectacles no different than Transformers. I did like Winter Soldier because the human conflict was engaging. I enjoyed Thor Ragnorak because it knew what it was tonally, a comedy. Although, the scenes on Thor's home planet were ham-fisted and dragged the pace. I enjoyed Days of Future Past because The Sentinels were actually scary, it was creative as hell, there was real peril and Wolverine was humanized. GOTG 1 was good because it knew what it was and didn't take itself seriously. I felt the same way about Dead Pool. I can't be immersed in a movie like Civil War because, I mean, who really cares. Nobody is actually going to be hurt. There's no real danger. There's no tension. It's not like I ever actually believed any of them would hurt each other. Back to the original point I was trying to make is that the Jedi/Sith were cool when they were mysterious. You imagined these characters to be space samurai. After I see them in action, that mystery is gone. Tornado Yoda and Drill Palpatine ruin it for me. Comparing the OT to this stuff, and comic book movies, is like comparing Seven Samurai to a kung fu movie. Sometimes things are better left to the imagination. Less is more in good filmmaking.

QUOTE (Quin @ Dec 16, 2017 -> 06:28 PM) Ah, I was going with the OP comment. They're connected. There's no tension because there are no consequences. I never feared for Thor or Dr Strange. Thor is a God ffs. I don't even really count Civil War because it was just bad on a number of levels, imo.

QUOTE (Quin @ Dec 16, 2017 -> 12:47 PM) You must have missed Civil War, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, Ragnarok. Heroes pretty much got their asses handed to them in those films. Seriously? There wasn't a single consequence for any of their actions. Not a single character actually died on any of those movies. Not one.

Seems legit to me. The organization has the responsibility to ensure these things don't happen. It's not like his cleat got caught in the mud.

I slept on it. I hated it. It's just dumb. There's no sense of scale. Watching the Resistance battle the First Order feels like watching the Sox battle the Phillies for worst record. Sure there's a fight, but it's not all that compelling when everyone sucks at their job. Like, literally ever single character sucks at their job. Kylo sucks. Hux sucks. Snoke sucks. Phasma sucks. Comic relief is great. It gives the audience a quick break and can add to the character. Think John McClaine in Die Hard. The quips made him a better character and humanized him. Comic relief is bad when it's completely immersion breaking. How in the hell am I supposed to feel tension when Hux is completely emasculated on a comical level in the very first scene? Yeah, real threatening First Order. Who gives a f***? So Obi-Wan and Yoda fail and go into exile, but they do so with a purpose. Obi-Wan is protecting Luke and Yoda is learning more about the Force by communicating with Force Ghosts. They still have purpose. Meanwhile, Luke is just a quitter? They reduce him to the high school QB that loses the big game, blows out a knee and becomes the town drunk. Whatever, Rian Johnson. Ultimately, it was always better when there was mystery, when Obi-Wan was a space hermit with some powers that were intriguing, when Vader was an ominous and ruthless dog, when the Emperor was a menacing image, when the Force wasn't on full display. When they show us everything and everyone is OP, it's boring. It's why I can't get invested in Marvel movies. Although the X Men are great because there's sensible balance. Wolverine is OP. Well, actually Magneto owns Wolverine. So Magneto is OP? Well Professor X owns Magneto. And so and so on.

QUOTE (Tony @ Dec 15, 2017 -> 10:27 PM) It’s funny, when Finn was going to sacrifice himself against the huge gate buster, I actually got a little sad. But I really have no use for the character. Ugh, I’m actually kind of frustrated with the entire experience, because I just don’t know where I land on things. It’s not about picking the movie apart with small plot holes, it’s about how it fits into the entire saga, and I just don’t know how I feel. I don't dislike him as a character, but why did he even have to be in the movie? They could have brought him back for Ep 9 if he served a purpose. He should have never been a major character. He's just a tool to move the plot for Rey. That's it.