Akwat Kbrana

cain spaans said:

Akwat Kbrana said:

Is it done yet?

no not yet

How about now?

Is it done yet?

You guys can get your hopes up if you want. Personally, I've been burned three times too many, and so would prefer to go into this with the lowest of possible expectations.

The last three Star Wars movies sucked, and the one before that was mediocre.

Ryan McAvoy said:

December 2015 would very nicely fill The Hobbit shaped void left from christmas 2014. The Xmas after LOTR:ROTK sucked ass, this time we'll have something even better to look forward too the year after!

Even better? Surely you just.

("Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it...")

Live and Let Die. Man, I'd forgotten how dumb this movie is. Maybe not quite on the level same level as Diamonds are Forever and Moonraker, but pretty darn close.

The visual style wasn't the only thing about Angel describable as "over the top."

In the original, as Anakin and Dooku are squaring off, there's some really awkward dialogue. Something like, "My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count." "Good! Twice the pride, double the fall."

I recommend replacing with Monkey Island insults: "You fight like a dairy farmer." "How appropriate; you fight like a cow!" (Link)

Yeah! It could keep going in the background during the entire lighsaber fight.

When did you first realize that Courtship of Princess Leia was going to be irredeemably bad?

For me, it was the revelation that Han is really a king, and C-3p0's musical number celebrating the fact. (For those who haven't read the book: I swear I am not making this up.)

Intercut the ski chase scene(s) from On Her Majesty's Secret Service with the Hoth battle.

An episode from any soap opera would also work well for the opera scene. The tackiness of the viewing material would contrast nicely with the grandeur of the opera hall.

He doesn't have it anymore because he shaved it off.

IMO, the following are absolute tripe:

Truce at Bakura, The Courtship of Princess Leia, Tatooine Ghost [<-- Oh dear Lord, this one was awful; worst Star Wars book I've ever read], The Crystal Star.

However, Zahn's books are, for the most part, excellent--especially the Heir to the Empire trilogy. (I found Survivor's Quest and Outbound Flight a little lackluster compared with his other books, but they're still palatable.) Also, the Rogue Squadron and Wraith Squadron books are superb. I recommend all of them extremely highly, as well as I, Jedi. There are eleven total, counting I, Jedi, but I haven't yet read the most recent one (Mercy Kill), so I can't comment on it.

The Jedi Academy Trilogy are sort of in a category all their own. On the one hand, they are quite important insofar as the EU metanarrative is concerned. On the other hand, even though the overall storyline is pretty solid, they're remarkably poorly-written (though not as infuriatingly bad as the four afore-mentioned shite-biscuits). Maybe give them a try, but don't feel bad if you give up halfway through.

And DuracellEnergizer, you are remembering incorrectly; Luke does indeed disguise his face through the force in Crystal Star.

^I'm with them. Funny concept, but too jarring.

C3PS said:

I can't stand it. I find it generally shallow and obnoxious. It is "nerd" culture as perceived by and mocked by non nerds. It's laughing at these types, not with them. It makes me cringe seeing the quantity of Big Bang Theory merchandise on sites like thinkgeek.com.

Sheldon and Leonard are akin to the Mr. Yunioshi and Black Sambo cultural stereotypes. Much like Yunioshi and Sambo, they are endearing characters that people love, but are also exaggerated and disparaging representations of that stereotype.

I agree with your analysis completely. And yet, for the most part, I still enjoy watching the show because I find it entertaining and amusing. Sort of a guilty pleasure, I suppose.

Warb said:

I find the fact that you would compare Sheldon and Leonard to Yunioshi and Sambo to be offensive.     Sheldon and Leonard are no where near as offensive to nerds has Yunioshi and Sambo are to Asians and African Americans.   Its not even close.

So, you're offended because you find the one comparison more offensive than the other? No offense, dude, but I think you get offended way too easily!

SilverWook said:

doubleofive said:

Oh jeez, the mushroom joke! Is he just going to speak like Cliegg Lars?

Cliegg ought to be still hanging around the farm muttering to himself. (Having become that crazy relative everyone mentally tunes out.) He could even float past when Luke is surveying the carnage later on. ;)

Alternately, it would be really fun to see Maul's speeder bike float by during this "solemn" scene, with the radio still blaring...

How could you possibly think excluding Wesley is a bad thing?

TV's Frink said:

Having said that, I'd definitely watch Dead Puppy Trek.

Dead puppies aren't much fun.

Ryan McAvoy said:

Does anybody actually care about getting untouched versions of the PT?

Not interested in the least. I suppose on principle I support LFE making the theatrical cuts available, but it's sort of a moot point as far as I'm concerned, since I will never again spend a single solitary cent on those piles of drek, be they in any form or format.

DuracellEnergizer said:

 

Fang Zei said:

There wasn't much (any?) overlap of vehicle designs between the OT and PT. Sure, they foreshadowed the OT vehicles in the designs of the PT, but we never blatantly saw an X-Wing or TIE fighter flying around.

That's because the PT was dumbfuck bullshit made by a creatively-bankrupt revisionist asshat. Departing as far as possible from its stillborn tropes is a definate must.

+1

Yeah, good point. I'm not sure how they got away with that one. Maybe the reasoning is that, if anyone were to press the issue, they could argue that they're not referring specifically to the character in The Silmarillion, but just using the term generically since "Ungoliant" is simply "dark spider" in Sindarin.

(Yeah, seems like a stretch to me, too...)

^Yes!

^That's correct.

News on the Hobbit Extended Edition front:

*US & UK Release Date will be October 22 for digital download, and November 5 for DVD and BluRay sets.

*This cut is extended by thirteen minutes of additional footage.

*Bonus features are set to run about 9 hours, and include the following:

 * The Filmmakers' Commentary - Director/writer/producer Peter Jackson and writer/co-producer Philippa Boyens provide their perspective and stories on creating the first film.


* New Zealand: Home of Middle-Earth - From Matamata to Queenstown, travel with Peter Jackson and his team across the stunning locations of New Zealand, transformed by the filmmakers into Middle-Earth.


* The Appendices Part 7: A Long-Expected Journey - A 14-part chronological history of the filming of An Unexpected Journey, covering pre-production in the various departments of the film in the months leading up to the start of principal photography, the boot camp training for the main cast, and the work done on set chronologically through the three shooting blocks and in the world of its digital effects. Chapters include:

        -The Journey Back to Middle-Earth
        -Riddles in the Dark: Gollum's Cave
        -An Unexpected Party: Bag End
        -Roast Mutton: Trollshaws Forest
        -Bastion of the Greenwood: Rhosgobel
        -A Short Rest: Rivendell and London
        -Over Hill: The Misty Mountains
        -Under Hill: Goblin Town
        -Out of the Frying Pan: The Forest Ledge
        -Return to Hobbiton: The Shire
        -The Epic of Scene 88: Strath Taieri
        -The Battle of Moria: Azanulbizar
        -Edge of the Wilderland: Pick-ups and the Carrock
        -Home Is Behind, the World Is Ahead

* The Appendices Part 8: Return to Middle-Earth - Another selection of documentaries and featurettes await, further detailing the development, design and production of An Unexpected Journey:

* The Company of Thorin - Explores the characters and backgrounds of the five families of dwarves and the company of actors chosen to play Thorin's company on the Quest of the Lonely Mountain. Chapters include:

            -Assembling the Dwarves
            -Thorin, Fili & Kili
            -Balin & Dwalin
            -Oin & Gloin
            -Dori, Nori & Ori
            -Bifur, Bofur & Bombur

* Mr. Baggins: The 14th Member - A revealing look at the film's charismatic and talented lead actor, Martin Freeman.


* Durin's Folk: Creating the Dwarves - Reveals the journey and process of designing, conceptualizing and physically realizing the dwarves in The Hobbit.


* The Peoples and Denizens of Middle-Earth - Focuses on the realization of new characters and creatures encountered in the first film, from casting to characterization to physical and digital design. Chapters include:

            -The Stone Trolls
            -Radagast the Brown
            -Goblins
            -Azog the Defiler

* Realms of the Third Age: From Bag End to Goblin Town - Follows the creation of the Middle-Earth locations from conceptual design to set and prop building to fully digital realities. Realms explored include:

            -Hobbiton
            -Rhosgobel
            -The Misty Mountains
            -Goblin Town

* The Songs of The Hobbit - A look at the realization of Tolkien's songs in An Unexpected Journey.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, the bonus material sounds very pleasing and I'm sure PJ et al will do/have done a good job on extended the cut. On the other hand...only 13 minutes? Seems pretty skimpy compared to the LOTR extended editions, which all had 30+ minutes of additional footage. I suppose overall I'm eager for this release, but it just seems a lot cheaper than the LOTR counterparts. Substantially less additional footage, only one audio commentary track (IMO, the cast commentary, which will not be present on this release, was one of the most entertaining features on the LOTR EEs), and the box art is extremely unremarkable:

Links to a couple of news articles, including a preview of one of the extended scenes:

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/the-hobbit--an-unexpected-journey-deleted-scene--exclusive--065952595.html

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=11784

Thoughts?