So, one thing does stick out to me. In part 3 of Shadow's Journey, they discuss how C3PO was used for comic relief. Particularly, when C3PO steps in after Hand and Leia kiss and interrupts it, and Leia leaves.

I guess in the original script C3PO doesn't interrupt. That would have made the scene feel.. much more awkward. But, particularly, this always stood out to me how the OT uses humor as a ]tool to foil the character arcs. C3PO's high-strung attitude draws out the "couply" feel of Han and Leia, where they go from being antagonistic to growing tired of C3PO together. That scene in particular stood out as the best example of that character development.

The ST and PT on the other hand use humor far more as empty jokes which do nothing to advance any sort of character or plot whatsoever.

I rewatched TFA a bit recently, and wow does that film have problems, too. It should get more hate relative to TLJ, in my opinion.

So much of the plot just doesn't make sense unless you have a bunch of metanarrative understanding. A prime example: when Maz gives Finn the lightsaber, he holds it triumphantly and the music swells. But he's never seen a lightsaber before and should have no idea what it is.. so the moment makes no sense. And this is defining of TFA: why does Rey go to seek out Luke? There's no narrative reason. Seriously, nothing is ever said about it. If you didn't know Star Wars at all, it would be at least a little confusing. It only makes sense because that's the weight of expectation: Rey is "the young Jedi character", so she does "the young Jedi thing". What carries the plot is that we expect this, not because the plot actually makes any sense.

TLJ is messy in large part due to TFA setting these things up terribly. Also Hux's speech is bad and cringey. Like holy ****, can't you guys write convincing dialogue?

Meanwhile, I rewatched A New Hope, and wow, just like TLJ/ESB, with ANH/TFA you see a stark contrast. Everything in ANH makes more sense, scenes are paced better, the characters are more engaging and human.

Also, random, but:



His weapon is super obviously a German MG34. I looked it up and apparently they are real MG34s, modified and painted black. Kind of an expensive prop, don't you think George? The visual allusion is stark, I suppose.

These seem to me to be perfectly fair criticisms, Reid. I don't know if I necessarily agree that Bell's cowardice is as crucial a point as you'd say it is; that he's faced with an evil that he's unable to properly comprehend (and that Moss can't comprehend either, though of course he responds very differently) is the main point, to me, and I think it comes through okay without the additional development that got cut from the film version. McCarthy's protagonists are almost always up against some awful, inevitable fate or force of nature, and Bell's bewilderment in the face of it would be relatable even if you knew even less about his background.

What I really love about No Country, though, is how thoroughly it succeeds in turning McCarthy's prose into real, live imagery. You can't ever really put an image onscreen that's as starkly beautiful as his writing (and this is the real reason you can't ever make a movie of Blood Meridian) but I'll be goddamned if the Coens and Roger Deakins didn't get close.

Regular E-11 Stormtrooper rifles were made from Sterling submachine guns, Han's DL-44 was made from a Mauser... Most of the weapons were just modified German guns.

It was probably a damaged weapon, an altered weapon, or one used for training or ceremonial purposes. Often, especially with older or collectable military arms, one is able to buy examples that have been welded and/or cut to prevent their use but otherwise look normal. They are commonly seen in museums and other displays - such as movies and television.

I can see that. There's definitely some kind of parallel between Chigurh/The Judge and Moss/The Kid, with Chigurh almost being supernatural. The story in the film does seem to work, too.



This is absolutely true. Much of the opening scenes are shot for shot how they're described in the book. The film does a stellar job of capturing what McCarthy intended, and this is where the film shines. The coen brothers are amazing.

Yeah, I caught that too when looking it up. Pretty impressive, actually. It makes them look more "real" than the CG guns battle droids have in TPM and on.



This is true.. I suppose they were not fully functioning pieces. It still just makes me edgy when people destroy history like that. I guess, since these MGs were mass produced, it's not a big deal.

Also apparently display pieces are really cheap..? Like I saw a listing for a display MG34 for $1k, which is dirt cheap.. I'd buy one right now if offered and scare off any woman from entering my room.

Apologies for this long-ass post:

So I think I figured out one specific thing I can point to which serves as the perfect razor to say why the OT holds water so much longer than the prequels or sequels: simply, every single scene in the OT moves a character forward in some way. Like no joke, each scene we learn something new about a character, or see them change in some way, or reveals new depths to an established trait which we wouldn't expect.

Seriously, play by play the scenes of ANH and what we learn about the characters, starting from when Luke cleans C3PO and R2D2:

Cleaning C3PO and R2D2: We learn Luke has a fascination with flying. We learn he's not satisfied with his life and wants a life of adventure. We learn he's more personable with droids than the society around him, which establishes his kind nature. We learn of his passion for the Rebellion vs. the Empire and his curiosity about the battles. We learn Luke is thirsty. We learn a tad later that R2D2 is capable of deception. We learn C3PO is subservient.

Meal with Owen and Beru: We learn Luke has curiosity about his father. We learn Luke is trying to get out and join his friends. We learn that Luke's father has some kind of past that people don't feel prudent to share.

Searching for R2D3: We learn Luke understands responsibility but is naive. He then gets up early to look for R2D2, showing again his sense of responsibility and duty.

Sand People: We learn Luke is self-confident but also foolish, getting himself into more than he can handle. This reinforces his desire for adventure and excitement, but is contrasted with his naivety.

Obi-Wan enters: We learn that Obi-Wan has wisdom about how to navigate a rough land, and is established as a mysterious dogooder. We learn Obi-Wan has been using a different name, and we are reaffirmed about his wisdom in dealing with sand people.

Obi-Wan's house: We learn Luke has been lied to and believes the lies. We learn of Luke's interest in wars of the past. We learn of Luke's curiosity about his father again. We learn of Obi-Wan's commitment to Leia, and see Luke's apprehension towards leaving. Despite wanting adventure, he hasn't committed yet to the idea of leaving.

Seeing the dead Jawas: We see Obi-Wan's wisdom of the Empire, and Luke naively rushes home. Is finally radicalized towards leaving.

Stopped by stormtroopers: Obi-Wan reveals his power level, Luke has his first experience seeing what he didn't know was possible.

Cantina: We learn Obi-Wan can negotiate, can handle himself in sketchy places, and we see how little Luke understands the underworld. We are introduced to Han, who we learn is a good negotiator. We learn Obi-Wan is self assured of the value of his presence to the Rebellion. We learn that Han is dangerous and indebted.

I can hardly even contain how much characterization and exposition together are completed in these scenes. It's really good. It's just amazing how packed every scene is with expounding information about who these people are, how they interact, how they handle themselves, what motivates them.

Compare that to TFA:

After Finn crash lands: ?? We learn that Finn is a bit upset that Poe just died. We also learn the desert is hot. We learn Finn will drink from gross water if thirsty enough.

Rey fights two dudes: we learn that Rey can fight and Finn is willing to intervene in street fights. We learn that Rey will attack people for having a jacket similar to one her droid says his owner has (?). We learn two things about Finn: that he's willing to intervene in street fights, but is a coward and runs away from street fights (?????????). We learn that Rey beats up thieves (?????????). We learn that Rey kinda cares about the Resistance. We also learn Finn is full of **** and a liar.

Oh wait.. none of this really says much about the characters. All we really learn is that Rey has interest in the Resistance and Luke Skywalker, and that Finn's a liar.

Running from stormtroopers: we learn that Finn wants to do the lead male thing and Rey wants to do the independent woman thing.

Millennium Falcon: Being honest, nothing. It's just a long scene where the characters have no meaningful interaction and don't say or do anything relevant. It's just pointless action.

After escaping: Rey keeps being independent and Finn keeps lying. We learn Rey is impatient and yells under pressure. We learn that Finn is romantically interested in Rey and Rey is autistic.

Hiding on the Millennium Falcon: again nothing really. They just say what they're doing but we learn nothing.

Han appears: We learn Rey has heard legends about Han Solo. I guess that's characterizing, sort of. Among a bunch of pointless nostalgia lines. Han's happy memories of the MF reflect the audience's, so it's not characterizing him so much as it's mildly breaking the fourth wall. We also learn Han Solo doesn't give a **** about some dumb kids.

Rathtars: This scene is stupid ****ing long and, again, we learn nothing about any of the characters. It's just pointless action.

These two list of scenes I picked are about the same into each film and the same overall length. It's like, the sequels do attempt some characterization, but overall it's very little and sparse. Han Solo takes over and when he appears, they just stop altogether trying to build up those characters. It's absolutely horrendous. Most of the scenes are characters just saying things which reflect no internal state or tell us anything about who they are. It's weak, boring writing. If you're like me and waste your time obsessing about these things, try comparing how each scene builds characters and I bet you'll find the better scenes of the sequels are the character building ones, whereas the OT is just character building 100% of the time so it's never bad.

Tell that to kanjiklub

Ugh, I wish youtube would just be for cat videos.

Boohoo. If your movies won some Oscars that is something you can take credit for. If Lucas really wanted an Oscar he could make a documentary about Jake Lloyd's life after Phantom Menace.

i mean, that video is basically today's equivalent of cat videos... what do you mean?

edit: re: Brian

I use YouTube for conference recordings, construction stuff, power tool reviews. Can’t have that stuff without the idiots subsidizing it.

All of the above.

What's weird is, I have never seen porn on YouTube.

Have I been wrong about human nature all along?

I just posted cat porn

Rookie. Here's a little protip for you: type 'porn' into the youtube search bar.

ENJOY, NERD.

It doesn't satisfy the delicate palette of the sophisticated midget porn aficionado.

Jedikirby sent me some photos you might like

sexy roblox girls in bikini (legit hacks working July 2017)

As demonstrated you've just been wrong about YouTube.

pls do not insult the one time a scottish guy was allowed to use a scottish accent in star wars thx

Still haven't seen any actual youtube penovaginal intercourse.

i mean anh had an irish guy who was cut, is that close enough?

no.

fack

Does Sex on the MRI scan and ultrasonograph count?

you haven't been trying hard enough... plenty of 70s porno with a plot that gets uploaded

Can we not do this here?

yeah, take it over to the trump thread

The Hunt for Red October is one of the best movies ever made.

It is a movie-ass movie, yeah.

I hadn't really watched the whole thing, so I'm watching it now. Will also watch Das Boot. I need to get caught up on my submarine films, real high priority.

Don't forget the incredible Matthew Mechanighey vehicle "U-571" my dude.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/02/star-wars-the-last-jedi-rian-johnson-abuse-politically-motivated-russian-trolls

What the actual **** lol

People dont really dislike things, it's all the Russians

Is it really hard for people to accept that Americans are really as bigoted and stupid as they seem?

You're either a Russian or a misogynist and racist bigot if you didn't like TLJ. Probably both, you pig!

I mean, that's why I don't like it.

Luke should have shot first.

TLJ had 60% the box office haul that TFA did, despite significant tailwinds. People didn’t like it. Given the abnormally aggressive theatre agreements, Disney even knew people weren’t going to like it. They rigged the theatres to make their box office numbers look better.

Normal, non-monster people didn’t like it. For normal, non-monster reasons.

Russian/Chinese bots and trolls ****ing with reviews isn’t a new thing though. Half sounds about right, even for Steam indie games.