DominicCobb

Jay, I’m surprised you support this firing, considering what you’ve said in the past.

I’m going to see First Man.

CatBus said:

DominicCobb said:

CHEWBAKAspelledwrong said:

“Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play” implies there was something about the situation that one otherwise might enjoy. Thus, the only ones here that make sense are Fredo’s fishing (lol!) and Barb’s party. So good work CatBus!

If you want to get real pedantic, I’m not sure those work either - the question is posed to Mrs. Lincoln, not Abraham himself.

Not sure it’s that pedantic, since the reason you’re asking Mrs. Lincoln is because she’s alive to ask, making the question at least theoretically plausible. I actually considered asking someone other than Barb for that very reason, but it just wasn’t as funny.

And there were only two people in Fredo’s boat, and one of them thought the fishing trip went exactly as planned, so asking him would have been boring, so I ask the dead guy again.

I see you’re getting pedantic about my use of the word pedantic.

CHEWBAKAspelledwrong said:

“Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play” implies there was something about the situation that one otherwise might enjoy. Thus, the only ones here that make sense are Fredo’s fishing (lol!) and Barb’s party. So good work CatBus!

If you want to get real pedantic, I’m not sure those work either - the question is posed to Mrs. Lincoln, not Abraham himself.

snooker said:

https://youtu.be/gPQd1iPQuRE?t=85

It’s played constantly and it sounds so bored with itself.

I much prefer the music that plays during Dooku’s entrance in ROTS (though it was mixed so low it was practically nonexistent):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCLPAU_n2uA

Reminds me quite a bit of Williams’s music for Zod:
https://youtu.be/a7WjXqmR7yg?t=239

There’s a free edit idea.

snooker said:

I’m a woman?

Good for you man!

Seriously though I remember you saying something about that here awhile ago but I’m glad you seem to be more resolved about it now. Hope you’re happy.

snooker said:

Let’s give some love to the criminally underused Droids motif from Empire, and stick it into Episode I.

https://vimeo.com/294270402

Now this is the kind of content that I’m looking for.

Handman said:

What are your Blu-ray wishes (besides the OOT)? That is, other movies that have yet to make it to the format. I want Roman Holiday, Hud, and The Days of Wine and Roses, but I’m sure there are others. Paramount needs to get the ball rolling.

Gunga Din, apparently Dawn of the Dead too. Many others I’m sure.

DuracellEnergizer said:

DominicCobb said:

Venom (2018) - There was a moment in this movie about halfway through when I thought it might actually turn into something not half bad. Venom has invaded Tom Hardy and has made his presence and intentions fully known. What a cool and new idea, a superhero who was in direct conflict with his eccentrically sentient powers. But the relationship between Brock and Venom is given mere lip service at best. Motivations in this film are practically nonexistent across the board, so I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise to me that this dynamic was squandered and given a completely unearned resolution. Thankfully, Hardy’s frankly bizarre performance provides enough enjoyment to keep this whole affair from being a complete disaster. C

And how was the surgery, Mr. Lincoln?

Free Solo (2018) - A fascinating and thrilling portrait of a man who, for some reason, loves more than anything doing the most surreally dangerous and exhilarating ‘sport’ I’ve ever seen. I don’t think you ever truly crack the surface of understanding why he does what he does, but you probably come to understand it as best as anyone can. Lighter (and maybe slighter) than one might expect, but that fits well with the subject’s disposition. B

A Star Is Born (1937) - For the time, a surprisingly frank and cynical portrait of Hollywood. Pretty great, even if the constant time jumps make the narrative shaky and the last half seems to mostly forget about the female lead. The remarkably wide range of emotions make it stick. A-

A Star Is Born (1976) - Easily the least of the “franchise,” though not really bad by any means. There are so many changes here to the formula of the story, which is good, but many feel half baked. What results is a pretty hectic tale that mostly works, but not fully. B-

A Star Is Born (2018) - This does what any good remake should do, which is take a less successful film (the 1976 version), and rework its best elements into something great. Things are firing on all cylinders here, taking bits and pieces from each iteration of the classic tale to make a believable and poignant modern rendition. The biggest addition here is a significant effort to make the male lead much more sympathetic than in the prior tellings. I think this works pretty well, they’ve found a good way to fully flesh out the character and make his story truly tragic, without just making him a straight hero and completely erasing the sloppiness and prickliness that makes his character complex and compelling. The other big addition does not work as well. To solve the recurring problem of the female lead’s story fading into the background during her husband’s fall, they’ve given her a conflict of her own - between her own authentic voice and the artificial image that’s been created for her to ‘succeed.’ It’s a great idea that fits snugly with the rest of the thematic narrative, but there’s a glaring, almost fatal flaw to it - it has no resolution. A pretty major error, which is the only thing keeping this from being a runaway victory in my eyes (most everything else here is fantastic, and I can’t wait to see what Cooper directs next and what Lady Gaga stars in). An imperfect story, but one that still very much worth seeing. A-

What Price Hollywood? (1932) - The unofficial inspiration for the whole Star Is Born canon. It’s actually hard to argue that all of the changes made in 1937 weren’t for the betterment of the story. Still, this is a pretty solid film, with some occasional flashes of dazzlingly stylish filmmaking. B

The Invisible Man Returns (1940) - Disappointingly rudimentary follow up to one of the best of the Universal Monster films. Seems to be missing a whole chunk at the beginning of the film that’d make me care about any of these characters. Still, the invisible effects are absolutely delightful. C+

The Old Man & The Gun (2018) - A seemingly effortlessly charming 93 minutes. B+

The Mummy’s Hand (1940) - A sort of non-sequel that ditches the spooky mystery of its predecessor for a more adventurous vibe. The only issue being, there’s about 50 minutes of first act, which allows for only about 20 minutes of Mummy action, which is unforgivably little. C+

Venom (2018) - There was a moment in this movie about halfway through when I thought it might actually turn into something not half bad. Venom has invaded Tom Hardy and has made his presence and intentions fully known. What a cool and new idea, a superhero who was in direct conflict with his eccentrically sentient powers. But the relationship between Brock and Venom is given mere lip service at best. Motivations in this film are practically nonexistent across the board, so I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise to me that this dynamic was squandered and given a completely unearned resolution. Thankfully, Hardy’s frankly bizarre performance provides enough enjoyment to keep this whole affair from being a complete disaster. C

Everything Dom

(to the tune of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGhgx6okuHk)

snooker said:

I agree with almost everything Dom has ever said on this forum. This conversation isn’t an exception.

JEDIT: forgot a word oops

I disagree.

NeverarGreat said:

DominicCobb said:

NeverarGreat said:

He hasn’t even met her before she’s realized the truth of her parentage.

‘Dear child, you already know the truth. Whomever you’re waiting for on Jakku…they’re never coming back. The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead.’

So glad that this minor mystery that she, by her actions, made peace with in TFA is now her central character flaw.

Of course you cut out an important part of that dialogue

Maz: “They’re never coming back. But there’s someone who still could.”
Rey: “Luke”

Actually forgot that part, but it doesn’t really change the point.

It’s relevant insofar as it sets up that Rey has transferred her search for a parental figure from her actual parents to Luke (as Kylo points out).

As Kylo notes in TLJ
“You can’t stop needing them. It’s your greatest weakness. Looking for them everywhere - in Han Solo, now in Skywalker.”

Her flaw is not the mystery, nor simply coming to terms with the fact that they’re never coming back. It’s relying on them or someone else in that role to guide her. The fact that they’re nobody isn’t devastating to her because it means she’ll never see them again, it’s because it means she doesn’t have an easily understood preordained story to follow (like being a Skywalker would), she has to figure one out for herself.

I don’t think Rey waited her whole life for her parents to return simply so they could reveal ‘her place in all this’, but because she wanted a family.

Wanting a family with whom to belong isn’t a weakness, it’s a strength. Of course it’s typical Kylo to make that mistake, but it shows the limitation of using his reasoning on Rey’s character flaws. Rey might have gone to Luke’s island ostensibly for the Resistance and for his guidance, but her real reason was to find a genuine belonging that she has lacked her entire life. If Luke had been that kind, fatherly figure that she imagined, she wouldn’t have gone to Kylo as a last resort, to find some sort of decency that even Luke couldn’t muster for her.

Searching for belonging and a “place in all this” are two separate things. As I said in my post (perhaps not worded properly), “Her flaw is not [about] coming to terms with the fact that they’re never coming back.” The reasons she’s fixated on them in TFA and TLJ are different. In TFA she wants a family, and she finds one in the Resistance. In TLJ, after the Force has awakened in her, she’s wants to understand herself as a person with a purpose in the galaxy. She explicitly states as much when Luke asks her why she’s there. The idea of “searching for belonging” still exists in TLJ, but it’s on a more subconscious level for her (she thinks she’s overcome it but perhaps she hasn’t fully, which is understandable).

When Kylo instead dives further into nihilistic abandon, telling Rey that what she’s searching for is a preordained place in the story, it’s his warped interpretation of her journey. He’s trying to give her what she wants, to the best of his understanding. But she doesn’t care about all that, not really.

So if Kylo was lying and her parents really were super secret Jedi or Skywalkers or Kenobis or Palpatine’s granddaughter, it wouldn’t make any difference to her. The fact that they never came back is all the evidence she needed in TFA that they didn’t care, and that she’d need to move on. This scene needed to directly threaten Rey’s journey, but it is a big swing and a miss, in terms of challenging her.

When Vader was revealed to be Luke’s father, it struck at the heart of Luke’s journey to be a Jedi. He wanted to be a Jedi like his father, and he never dreamed that his father could be anything but good. It was a revelation engineered for the audience to be sure, but more importantly it was put in place to directly challenge Luke.

When Kylo reveals that Rey’s parents are nobodies, it is no revelation except maybe to the conspiracy-minded audience members. Rey already knows it, and more importantly has known since TFA that they’re never coming back. If Kylo had made some argument to Rey that Luke, Finn, Leia all cared about Rey because of her powers and that he alone cared about her as a person, that might have struck closer to her core journey. But instead Kylo clearly only cares about her for her power, whereas Finn cares about her regardless. It’s a simple choice for her to reject that sort of temptation, and she does so even before the end of the movie.

It was a scene by, for, and to the audience, not Rey.

As most fan theories would prove, there’s any number of reasons why Rey’s family might not have come back.

The scene’s possibly a revelation only for the audience, sure (debatable in terms of the stuff about them being dead, hard to say for sure where that’s coming from), but that doesn’t mean it holds no weight for Rey. It’s her admitting some hard truths that she’s seemingly repressed or lied to herself about for awhile. When the last time you saw your parents was when you’re ten, it’s probably pretty easy to think there’s potential for them to be someone far beyond what you knew them as.

NeverarGreat said:

He hasn’t even met her before she’s realized the truth of her parentage.

‘Dear child, you already know the truth. Whomever you’re waiting for on Jakku…they’re never coming back. The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead.’

So glad that this minor mystery that she, by her actions, made peace with in TFA is now her central character flaw.

Of course you cut out an important part of that dialogue

Maz: “They’re never coming back. But there’s someone who still could.”
Rey: “Luke”

As Kylo notes in TLJ
“You can’t stop needing them. It’s your greatest weakness. Looking for them everywhere - in Han Solo, now in Skywalker.”

Her flaw is not the mystery, nor simply coming to terms with the fact that they’re never coming back. It’s relying on them or someone else in that role to guide her. The fact that they’re nobody isn’t devastating to her because it means she’ll never see them again, it’s because it means she doesn’t have an easily understood preordained story to follow (like being a Skywalker would), she has to figure one out for herself.

I’m with Tobar here.

DuracellEnergizer said:

What, you guys don’t believe TCW Maul can be seemlessly incorporated into AOTC & ROTS?

Proof of concept:

Easy. Make it happen cowards.

DuracellEnergizer said:

The greatest year for movies is the one wherein you become a fan of the artform.

Tends to be the case. Because of course you could pick pretty much any year and make a decent argument for why it was the best.

I usually just say the 70s, but even then that’s not necessarily precisely how I feel.

Having watched the first episode, I think it’s decent. Nothing exceptionally pointing me in one direction or other on how I feel. The premise holds potential, but I’m not necessarily hooked by the characters right now.

I’m similarly mixed on the animation style. On the one hand, it often looks pretty cheap. But there are plenty of moments where I think the faux 2D style really works and I can’t help but think “hey, that’s cool.”

Ultimately, we’ll see where it goes. At the moment it feels markedly more kid oriented than the last two shows, but then again when Rebels started I thought the same thing, so who knows.

There’s pretty much no point to 8k.

Last song I listened to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpIf43m2ZQI

(same as everyone who just saw this movie)

For anyone with access to XD, it looks like the first three episodes are available to watch online.

Handman said:

The rights for it seem to be tied up. There was a Blu-ray at some point, but it’s long out of print and goes for exorbitant amounts of money. I believe the same person responsible for the sad release history of Martin is to blame for this one as well.

Don’t sell that DVD if you want to watch that movie.

Figures.

I won’t be selling my dvd anytime soon. Must admit I did get excited when I saw how much it’s going for on eBay. And my copy’s thus far unopened… Tempting, but I suppose not worth it.

Is Romero’s Dawn of the Dead completely out of print? I was thinking about selling my DVD for a blu-ray, but not only does it seem like there’s no blu-ray that matches the DVD, it doesn’t even seem like the blu-ray’s available?

NeverarGreat said:

So it still won’t explain anything about the New Republic. Cool. I’m not mad. Why would you think that?

You know I’ve been thinking about this, I think it’ll actually be pretty cool to get a piece of Star Wars media that, according to them, has nothing to do with Empire, Rebels, Resistance, Republic, etc. etc.

SilverWook said:

DominicCobb said:

Is that costume real or CGI?

If they’ve started shooting already, it’s amazing they kept a lid on it this long.

Looks pretty real to me. And I believe that production has only just begun, but even still there were apparently some leaked set photos recently, which will probably be a common issue for them because they’re shooting in California.

I’m personally somewhat surprised they didn’t say anything about the cast or at least even just who the lead is. Considering they’re shooting now, you’d think contracts or whatever would be a done deal and it’s only a matter of time before word gets out (well, maybe it already is, I’ve heard Pedro Pascal’s name thrown about).

snooker said:

Very excited for the Taika Waititi directed episode.

It’s a pretty exciting batch:
https://www.starwars.com/news/the-mandalorian-revealed

Taika, Filoni, and the series’s first two female directors (with Bryce keeping things in the Howard family).

Not to mention, if the word about Fraser is true, this is shaping to be a pretty cool show indeed.