Maybe an issue, maybe not, there’s no indication that the FO is after Luke. All the theatrical crawls cue us in to what we are about to see, whereas in this case it might take a bit to figure out what the FO is doing there at all.
Perhaps if you wanted to start your film with Rey meeting Luke, you could have not put it at the end of your last film.
But that’s none of my business.
Two different "you"s there. One JJ, one Rian. Rey finding Luke was the conclusion of the story JJ was telling. Rey meeting Luke just happens to be the beginning of the story Rian is telling. Just because it’s never been done before in a SW doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be.
Wait… is this something that’s not a rehash? Surely that can’t be the case.
Jesus Christ, get a new joke already.
Ironic
I’m not much of a soundtrack guy at all, so I really have no opinion on any them…but it’s interesting to hear you guys discuss how good TFA is after hearing months of how bad or boring it is.
That what happens when you listen to the soundtrack outside of the film.
I’m trying to imagine certain members here watching a movie outside of their brains.
Like a Vegan Shark that is most inconceivable. What is however are people not liking the soundtrack based on how it was presented in the film and to that I agree. The best example is “Snoke” which is a pretty good song but is reduced to mere background noise in the film.
Honestly it’s kinda background noise on the soundtrack too (probably the only track I regularly skip). I think the film used it exactly how it should have been.
By barely being able to hear it at all? Even though it’s more ambient than most songs on the soundtrack you can still hear the chanting clearly which you can’t when watching the film. And the 2nd part of the song is even less audible.
The mix is just fine considering it’s ambient nature, I do think you should just barely be able to hear it.
If the volume was a little higher (even by a smidget) it would be perfect
The second part, with the strings, is in the second Snoke scene so if you’re looking for it in his first scene you won’t find it.
You’re right about that and you can definitely hear it in the second scene but again it’s more or less background noise. The chanting I kind understand but we should have been able to hear the strings a little more. I don’t recall other SW soundtracks burying melodies such as that one in the mixing.
I wouldn’t really call that a melody though.
(not to mention the innumerable instances of SW films that omit whole sections of cues whole cloth)
I’m not much of a soundtrack guy at all, so I really have no opinion on any them…but it’s interesting to hear you guys discuss how good TFA is after hearing months of how bad or boring it is.
That what happens when you listen to the soundtrack outside of the film.
I’m trying to imagine certain members here watching a movie outside of their brains.
Like a Vegan Shark that is most inconceivable. What is however are people not liking the soundtrack based on how it was presented in the film and to that I agree. The best example is “Snoke” which is a pretty good song but is reduced to mere background noise in the film.
Honestly it’s kinda background noise on the soundtrack too (probably the only track I regularly skip). I think the film used it exactly how it should have been.
By barely being able to hear it at all? Even though it’s more ambient than most songs on the soundtrack you can still hear the chanting clearly which you can’t when watching the film. And the 2nd part of the song is even less audible.
The mix is just fine considering it’s ambient nature, I do think you should just barely be able to hear it. The second part, with the strings, is in the second Snoke scene so if you’re looking for it in his first scene you won’t find it.
I’m not much of a soundtrack guy at all, so I really have no opinion on any them…but it’s interesting to hear you guys discuss how good TFA is after hearing months of how bad or boring it is.
That what happens when you listen to the soundtrack outside of the film.
I’m trying to imagine certain members here watching a movie outside of their brains.
Like a Vegan Shark that is most inconceivable. What is however are people not liking the soundtrack based on how it was presented in the film and to that I agree. The best example is “Snoke” which is a pretty good song but is reduced to mere background noise in the film.
Honestly it’s kinda background noise on the soundtrack too (probably the only track I regularly skip). I think the film used it exactly how it should have been.
I don’t know if I think so much about others reactions so much during, but to me it is very much more a shared experience when you go with others. Going by yourself, in contrast, feels a lot more personal and intimate.
The reason I went alone is because I was super exciting, having found a second run theater, and as far as I could tell the best thing they were playing was Pete’s Dragon. None of my friends in town seemed to have any interest, but I had heard it was good so I went. And a very good film to see alone too, because it really is quite personal (and quite good!).
Nope. You can thank my pothead parents who never had steady jobs and my utter lack of close friends growing up for that.
I can’t even fathom this. I’ve been to the movies more times than I can count (and I have tried). Nowadays I go even more often, last year I think I went on average about 3 or 4 times a month (I’m crazy I know - though that really is an average, I went only once in August but 14 times in November, including stretch where I saw seven movies on seven consecutive days - I’m crazy, I know). If you go to the right places and see the right films, there’s honestly nothing quite as magical as seeing a film on the big screen. As someone who’s seen a fuckton at home and in theaters, there’s really no comparison.
Not saying you’d feel the same way, but you’ve got to try it.
Going to the movies alone is one of the best things ever.
Would you believe that I never went to the movies alone until once a couple months ago? Not that I specifically avoided it, I just never felt compelled to go all by myself, or ever had much reason. I can say, full heartedly, that I agree. I definitely plan on going alone again, there is a whole other dimension that goes with it.
I really appreciate how John Williams just took on a whole new sound for the film, while still obviously working in the same general parameters. It’s definitely SW, but it sounds very different from any of the previous scores.
And of course there’s some of his best leitmotivic work in years (which is showcased in possibly one of his all-time best end credit suites).
Yeah, I’ve come to appreciate the new scores the more I listen to them on shuffle with the OT scores.
Oxygen turned me onto the end credit suite for Revenge of the Sith. Wow. That is just an incredible farewell to the franchise from him (considering at the time that was the last movie). It’s so incredible.
The ROTS end credit has always been a favorite track of mine to listen to (easily has more plays than any other 13 minute track by a mile) - there’s just so much classic music there, and put together quite magnificently. I will say, if I have to put my critical hat on, the majority of is just recycled from SW, and of course in many ways it’s meant as a suite for the whole saga (which, with hindsight, dampens its effect) so I’ve always found it hard to rate amongst the others. As an original composition, the best (only?) thing it has to offer is a pretty fantastic rendition of the Force theme (ROTS is nothing if not filled with great Force theme variations).
In my mind, SW will always be the best end credit suite because of a whole host of reasons. It is the shortest and the simplest, but there is a beauty in simplicity, and we must not forget that for SW, truly the whole thing was a suite (including the initial Rebel fanfare/main title/rolling thunder medley that is reprised in all the suites).
Empire is certainly up there with it’s delightful, bouncy play on Yoda’s theme (music edit be damned, though the transition into Yoda’s theme is maybe the best transition into new themes there is) and for having the best ending to perhaps any score ever(?).
ROTJ, TPM, and AOTC are pretty straightforward (with AOTC as usual being the biggest offender with only ONE new theme in the suite, at least ROTJ and TPM had a couple). Though still obviously all fantastic pieces (this is JW we’re talking about).
TFA though… damn. First you get one of the best Rey’s theme renditions there is in the whole score, then you get a whole serving of Kylo Ren (two themes and one ambiguously Ren/FO motif), which then segues into the action (Finn? Falcon?) motif, DURING which Poe’s theme comes out of nowhere, and from there we jump into the March of the Resistance in full force, and then we segue back into Rey’s theme which plays masterfully alongside the Force theme and then finally resolves with a beautiful, twinkling rendition of the main title. Jesus what a piece.
If we’re going on a pure numbers game, SW has a medley of three themes/motifs, ESB three (not counting holdover material), ROTJ two (ditto), TPM two (three if you count the Imperial March), AOTC one (two, again if you count blink and you miss it Imperial March), ROTS two I guess(? or three? don’t know how to evaluate this with regards to holdover material… side note, would you believe though that this is the first suite to feature the Force theme? how is that possible?), TFA has SEVEN (and that’s IF you count all the Ren/FO stuff just once). I’d call that impressive.
SW Oxygen is pretty good. Just starting to get into it - binged a bunch on a long plane ride a couple days ago. I’m mostly mad though that I wasn’t listening along at the time because there’ve been a few instances where I wanted to send them feedback on nearly four year old episodes.
Ugh, Barron Trump should not be a target.
http://www.lifezette.com/popzette/snl-writer-bullies-donald-trumps-son/
(I even used a site I dislike to show how fair I am :p)
Already posted about it.
http://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1037522
I’m having a hard time forming a strong position on either side, probably because I actually thought the joke was funny. On one hand, Barron Trump is only like 10, and he may(?) be on the autism spectrum. On the other hand, he’s the son of the most powerful man in the world. I suppose it all comes down to whether making fun of Barron is “punching up” or “punching down”, or whether or not you subscribe to the “punching up/down” idea at all.
My big problem is with the people calling for her to be fired, it reeks of hypocrisy. All these anti-PC right-wingers immediately flip the script because it’s someone they like being joked about.
I mean yeah, pretty much. In my mind, it is a funny joke, but clearly not really one to say in public. It’s obviously pretty crass, but the outrage is remarkably ridiculous. She shouldn’t have tweeted it, sure, but who is this supposed to be offending? I certainly hope Barron doesn’t know about this, but who’s to say if Barron has twitter access or would even care. Most jokes harshed on by the PC police are ones that are furthering harmful stereotypes in one way or another. Besides somewhat making light of school shootings, there’s not much to truly be offended by. It really just exposes the PC complainers for the frauds they are.
What about Donald fucking Trump? He’s on record saying plenty of heinous shit and he gets a hosting gig at SNL and then later the presidency. But a comedy writer tweets a joke and gets fired for it.
Oh, and anyone who says “AH-nee-may” is hereby sentenced to…well…
being someone who says “AH-nee-may”.
Solid
Episodes like these are why I’m glad never to have gone to the movies.
Oh fuck, you’ve NEVER gone??
I’m just wondering if Frink has some pop song from four years ago in there that isn’t relevant anymore.
looks at the calendar
I see at least 52 times that song is relevant every single year.
In Frink’s defense (though that song is now actually six years irrelevant), its a running gag so it’s okay. (was just referring to the traditional ending song, as Frink mentioned)
I really appreciate how John Williams just took on a whole new sound for the film, while still obviously working in the same general parameters. It’s definitely SW, but it sounds very different from any of the previous scores.
And of course there’s some of his best leitmotivic work in years (which is showcased in possibly one of his all-time best end credit suites).
DominicCobb said:
… Think of the galaxy as if it were more like hundreds of years ago in some ways. …You mean something like “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”?
😃
Exactly! Everyone thinks of Star Wars as futuristic, but it’s not, necessarily.
Daisy Ridley did day that she didn’t think Rey was a Jedi…Perhaps Luke trains her to become something different and she eventually starts a new Order of Force Wielders. That would be pretty ballsy imo
Keep in mind Luke isn’t a Jedi until ROTJ, so you may just be reading too far into it, but I certainly think this is possible. Would be an interesting direction.
Continuing a tradition
It’s a good title (if predictable, remember that one guy who guessed TFA? Lot more than one this time). My only problem with it is that it has the same noun as ROTJ so confusion will begin when referring to the films by just the noun.
TLJ. Nice.
Devil’s advocate: it’s a silly sign, but it’s also supposed to be a joke. And, like most jokes, there’s some truth behind the intent. Which is to say, obviously women have far more rights than guns (don’t think anyone doesn’t literally think that), what they’re trying to say is that they wish protecting women’s rights were as important to politicians as protecting “gun’s rights” (preventing gun control).
*sigh*
look immediately above the review.
True, it is a big part of the story, but we need to see how her arc in Episode 8 plays out to know how much importance is placed on a weapon. Perhaps she is embracing the Dark Side in her fight with Kylo Ren, so she’s going down an Anakin Skywalker path. In this case the importance of the lightsaber in this scene is justified.
Well, that’s an interesting way to look at it, and I’d be curious to see if they explore that at all. But I tend to believe the importance that is placed on it (in the film in general and that scene specifically) has more to do with what it means for Rey (the call to the Force) and less to do with its history (and dark side usage).
Apologies for pulling us off topic a bit.
I will say that voice acting would have totally fit a cheesy animated SW adaptation. I’d watch the shit out of that. But it’s tough with the radio drama because so much of it is left up to the imagination so obviously a lot of the memories of the film is getting in the way (and radio acting is a lot different than film acting).
There’s probably an argument to be made that the worst casting decisions were Hamill and Daniels. If not for them, it would have been a totally different experience and possibly much easier to reconcile.
Just read the review again.
Here’s my ideal version of that scene without the pilot celebrations. It’s music only at this point, but I’ve also removed the lightsaber pickup shot because it feels like a prequelism.
https://vimeo.com/200626043
password: musicOoh, nice I appreciate trying to preserve that utterly splendid musical cue (though I can’t abide the removal of that lightsaber pickup, nor the calling it a “prequelism”).
Thanks!
I guess my main problem with the saber shot is that it detracts from the almost equally brief shot of Finn beforehand, implying equivalent importance. This rubs me the wrong way, since Finn is (and should be) much more important to the viewer than a mere weapon.
Is it a mere weapon though? The rest of the film seems to suggest otherwise, both literally (through its pronounced connection to the Force) and symbolically (through its meaning for Rey’s character arc).
I’d say equivalent importance is justified. The lightsaber represents Rey’s call to the Force. Finn (and the others) represents the friends and family she never had. She starts the film alone and with squandered potential, and by the end, she turns that around. In that moment, we see what has become of her: her priority is saving Finn, but she’s not leaving behind the Force. She says after the vision that “she’s never touching that thing again.” Obviously the big moment of her finally touching it again is when she summons it to face Ren. But symbolically, showing her make sure to grab it before she leaves emphasizes the new direction she’s taken.
I now realize how few of you have listened to the radio drama…
I am sad now.
I have, for the first film. I enjoyed it, other than the bland voice acting for Han and Obi-Wan and the downright terrible voice acting for Vader.
Yeah it takes a bit to get used to. Can’t stand Han, guy sounds like a total loser trying to sound cool.
Yeah that was a good one.
