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The Force Awakens: Official Review Thread - ** SPOILERS ** — Page 121

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luckydube56 said:

The Force Awakens is the funniest Star Wars film to date? That comment is funnier than anything in TFA.

Even if what you say were true, I have a feeling that Rogue One is going to easily bump off TFA on that front as well.

Maybe, that bit with the fake droid was hysterical. In general I hope Rouge One is better than TFA and that’s coming from a guy who really likes TFA.

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luckydube56 said:

The Force Awakens is the funniest Star Wars film to date? That comment is funnier than anything in TFA.

That was exactly my thought when I read his reply.

Lord Haseo said:
In general I hope Rouge One is better than TFA

I too hope Rouge One will not be a complete crap.

真実

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luckydube56 said:

People have fooled themselves into believing TFA belongs in the pantheon of the Original Trilogy. It doesnt. And as more films are added to the Star Wars galaxy, TFA will be bumped further and further down the list. It is mediocre. An expensive film executed cheaply based on a flimsy premise.

You’re right, I am now convinced TFA is no good. Brb, throwing my copy into my pile of leaves to burn.

Sillyness aside, I don’t think I’ve “fooled myself” at all. I’ve done such things with lesser movies before, but I realize their brokenness in a month or less (BvS). TFA is still a movie that I love. I cannot make myself think I like a movie simply because it services my fanhood for very long. TFA was a genuinely good film with lots of love and care put into it. So I must disagree, TFA does belong with the Original Trilogy.

.

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suspiciouscoffee said:

TFA is still a movie that I love.

We are not questioning your love. People have the right to love all sorts of crap. But crap is crap.

真実

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Am I the only one who was irked with the cinematography in the film? Certain shots felt very awkwardly framed and placed, and the use of ‘dutch angles’ and ‘whip pans’ was incredibly annoying. Nothing I saw on the screen felt reminiscent of the camera work done on OT nor the PT, which I believe shared mostly similar visual traits. It felt too “flashy”, as did most of the effects in the film. And to top it off, it was missing the hallmark wipes / dissolves from the original saga.

I still love the film, but certain elements about it really bug me…

“That said, there is nothing wrong with mocking prequel lovers and belittling their bad taste.” - Alderaan, 2017

MGGA (Make GOUT Great Again):
http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Return-of-the-GOUT-Preservation-and-Restoration/id/55707

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There’s one particularly telling example of the over-use of camera movement in Maz’s Castle. Rey approaches the lightsaber chest, and there are about 3 different shots each with different camera moves that establish the chest. There is no need for 3 ‘dramatic’ shots that convey what a single static shot will accomplish. In this way the cinematography distracts from the ‘real world’ aesthetic of the original film. Lucas was a fan of documentary filmmaking, and his minimalistic style of locking down shots on tripods did allow for a ‘fly on the wall’ feeling in certain scenes. This is something that TFA really lacks.

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

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I think modern movies in general make too many rapid cuts in quick succession, rather than letting the camera stay in one place or move around as needed. Quick cuts from shot to shot seem to have become a crutch to hold audiences’ attention in place of good writing or acting.

“That Darth Vader, man. Sure does love eating Jedi.”

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JawsTDS said:

Am I the only one who was irked with the cinematography in the film? Certain shots felt very awkwardly framed and placed, and the use of ‘dutch angles’ and ‘whip pans’ was incredibly annoying. Nothing I saw on the screen felt reminiscent of the camera work done on OT nor the PT, which I believe shared mostly similar visual traits. It felt too “flashy”, as did most of the effects in the film.

Fair enough. JJ has his own way of shooting things which I really appreciate but it is different from the OT.

And to top it off, it was missing the hallmark wipes / dissolves from the original saga.

This is, however, untrue.

ATMachine said:

I think modern movies in general make too many rapid cuts in quick succession, rather than letting the camera stay in one place or move around as needed. Quick cuts from shot to shot seem to have become a crutch to hold audiences’ attention in place of good writing or acting.

Your analysis of modern movies in general is true but TFA does not fit that bill. TFA actually has a LOT of shots that move around uncut and accomplish things that typical movies nowadays would do with multiple shots and cuts.

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DominicCobb said:

JawsTDS said:
And to top it off, it was missing the hallmark wipes / dissolves from the original saga.

This is, however, untrue.

I should’ve clarified. There are wipes / dissolves, but they’re of a much different type (i.e smoke dissolve from Finalizer to Jakku). It’s nice to see a new twist on that aspect, but you know… fans are never happy.

“That said, there is nothing wrong with mocking prequel lovers and belittling their bad taste.” - Alderaan, 2017

MGGA (Make GOUT Great Again):
http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Return-of-the-GOUT-Preservation-and-Restoration/id/55707

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JawsTDS said:

DominicCobb said:

JawsTDS said:
And to top it off, it was missing the hallmark wipes / dissolves from the original saga.

This is, however, untrue.

I should’ve clarified. There are wipes / dissolves, but they’re of a much different type (i.e smoke dissolve from Finalizer to Jakku). It’s nice to see a new twist on that aspect, but you know… fans are never happy.

Well the majority of the wipes are pretty similar to the OT: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/124610

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JawsTDS said:

DominicCobb said:

JawsTDS said:
And to top it off, it was missing the hallmark wipes / dissolves from the original saga.

This is, however, untrue.

I should’ve clarified. There are wipes / dissolves, but they’re of a much different type (i.e smoke dissolve from Finalizer to Jakku). It’s nice to see a new twist on that aspect, but you know… fans are never happy.

Personally, I thought the wipes in TFA were much less distracting than the PowerPoint slide transitions in ROTS.

“That Darth Vader, man. Sure does love eating Jedi.”

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I was uneasy about the cinematography while the trailers for TFA were coming out (particularly that whip-zoom on the Falcon entering the Star Destroyer wreck), but I’ve grown used to it and it doesn’t bother me at all any more. It’s certainly better than that god awful slow zoom thing that’s going on perpetually in the PT.

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joefavs said:

I was uneasy about the cinematography while the trailers for TFA were coming out (particularly that whip-zoom on the Falcon entering the Star Destroyer wreck), but I’ve grown used to it and it doesn’t bother me at all any more. It’s certainly better than that god awful slow zoom thing that’s going on perpetually in the PT.

Yeah, I hate the whip-zoom. But they pioneered that for Star Wars in the PT.

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

END OF LINE

(It hasn’t happened yet)

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Tyrphanax said:

joefavs said:

I was uneasy about the cinematography while the trailers for TFA were coming out (particularly that whip-zoom on the Falcon entering the Star Destroyer wreck), but I’ve grown used to it and it doesn’t bother me at all any more. It’s certainly better than that god awful slow zoom thing that’s going on perpetually in the PT.

Yeah, I hate the whip-zoom. But they pioneered that for Star Wars in the PT.

Technically there’s at least one of those in Empire.

And I think the one TFA snap-zoom actually works fairly well (as in there’s a point to it).

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DominicCobb said:

Tyrphanax said:

joefavs said:

I was uneasy about the cinematography while the trailers for TFA were coming out (particularly that whip-zoom on the Falcon entering the Star Destroyer wreck), but I’ve grown used to it and it doesn’t bother me at all any more. It’s certainly better than that god awful slow zoom thing that’s going on perpetually in the PT.

Yeah, I hate the whip-zoom. But they pioneered that for Star Wars in the PT.

Technically there’s at least one of those in Empire.

And I think the one TFA snap-zoom actually works fairly well (as in there’s a point to it).

Is there? I don’t remember it…

The TFA one is technically correct, I’ll give you that, but I still don’t like the technique.

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

END OF LINE

(It hasn’t happened yet)

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Tyrphanax said:

DominicCobb said:

Tyrphanax said:

joefavs said:

I was uneasy about the cinematography while the trailers for TFA were coming out (particularly that whip-zoom on the Falcon entering the Star Destroyer wreck), but I’ve grown used to it and it doesn’t bother me at all any more. It’s certainly better than that god awful slow zoom thing that’s going on perpetually in the PT.

Yeah, I hate the whip-zoom. But they pioneered that for Star Wars in the PT.

Technically there’s at least one of those in Empire.

And I think the one TFA snap-zoom actually works fairly well (as in there’s a point to it).

Is there? I don’t remember it…

At around the :31 second mark:
https://youtu.be/7FQNIoVLSdw?t=30s

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DominicCobb said:

Tyrphanax said:

DominicCobb said:

Tyrphanax said:

joefavs said:

I was uneasy about the cinematography while the trailers for TFA were coming out (particularly that whip-zoom on the Falcon entering the Star Destroyer wreck), but I’ve grown used to it and it doesn’t bother me at all any more. It’s certainly better than that god awful slow zoom thing that’s going on perpetually in the PT.

Yeah, I hate the whip-zoom. But they pioneered that for Star Wars in the PT.

Technically there’s at least one of those in Empire.

And I think the one TFA snap-zoom actually works fairly well (as in there’s a point to it).

Is there? I don’t remember it…

At around the :31 second mark:
https://youtu.be/7FQNIoVLSdw?t=30s

It’s funny, the second I opened that video I remembered it.

It’s still pretty bad, but it’s at least a short one. I think it’s telling that I don’t remember that one but the ones in Clones stick with me as just awful.

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

END OF LINE

(It hasn’t happened yet)

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I’m not a fan of the crash/whip/whatever-zoom either, it feels too pointed, videoish and “hey look at this guys!”. Although hypocritically I give Tarantino a pass on this as I feel it’s quite appropriate for his films…

Complete Star Wars Poster Collection

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SkyderHouseMafia said:

I’m not a fan of the crash/whip/whatever-zoom either, it feels too pointed, videoish and “hey look at this guys!”. Although hypocritically I give Tarantino a pass on this as I feel it’s quite appropriate for his films…

Tarantino does it for fun but usually the move is intended to give a sort of documentary look to the shot. So personally don’t think it feels all that out of place in the franchise (but I certainly think it is something that should be used minimally, if at all).

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http://www.agonybooth.com/star-wars-the-force-awakens-2015-a-failed-review-51100

Makes me reconsider my opinions on TFA. JJ Abrams is the one director who might be destroying the art of cinema more than anyone else, even more than Michael Bay or Zack Snyder. I haven’t seen TFA in over a year, and only once, and now I’m uncertain if it would even hold up a second time. What I’m afraid of now is that Disney is going to treat this franchise far worse than George Lucas ever could. We live in the era of assembly-line cinematic universes where everything is middle of the road, no stakes needed, getting by just enough on nostalgia alone for commercial exploitation. Has there been any original movie in the last 10-15 years that had an impact in the public consciousness? No, there aren’t: they’re based on comic books, Harry Potter, YA trilogies, or some preexisting IP. This is the absolute worst decade in the history of film simply because there are no popular films that are not derivative in some form or another. The OT is being diluted piece by piece; it was bad enough in the 80s but each subsequent decade has exponentially built upon the other. By 2020 there will be twice as many films in the SW franchise than there were a decade ago. And I’m betting that there is not going to be even one that can measure up to ANH or ESB. It’s not two out of seven anymore: soon it will be two out of two hundred.

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There’s no clickbait money in positive reviews though. 😉

Where were you in '77?

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frevious please stop basing your opinions on other people’s.