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Dug

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Join date
24-May-2006
Last activity
12-Feb-2008
Posts
73

Post History

Post
#320078
Topic
Crystall Skull has GL's fingerprints all over it
Time
I did enjoy the movie, but there are a lot of questions, or more like, there are things missing. Why would it take 13 skeletons to create 1 skeleton? Shouldn't the other "aliens" be the rest of the parts of the alien, i.e., nervous system, muscles, intestines? It's just weird to me.

Now the other question is the alien they found at Roswell...wouldn't he turn into 13 skeletons and then they have to put him "back together" and he reforms, and...it's all kind of strange.
Post
#318941
Topic
Indiana Jones IV
Time
I just got back from seeing it, and I enjoyed it very much. It was fun, action-filled and light-hearted. I think it's a good addition to the Indy Jones franchise. I actually put it right after Raiders in favorites. Altho, must agree on the over-CGI'ed ending. The saucer part doesn't bother me, but the part before that was a little much. I would like to have seen that handled a little better, but I'm sure Lucas was behind all that.

Good to see Marion, but would've liked to see her do more, but then this is a movie about Indy, not Marion, so I'm happy enough. I was a little worried about Shia, but he nailed, he fit perfectly.

Yes, would go to see it again.
Post
#316201
Topic
opinions - how the release of the original to theatres was different than the new three films.
Time
My obsession with the original Star Wars started when my parents took the family to see a movie. Whatever movie it was doesn't matter. What mattered was that there was this poster. This poster of a young boy/warrior lofting a blazing sword over his head, a dead-head-like visage floating in the background and two robots unlike anything I'd ever seen before, and finally a sultry princess at the boy's feet in a flowing, gossamer gown. How that poster fueled my imagination until until my friends talked about it, hyped it, which only caused my imagination to explode!

I did not get to see Star Wars for another YEAR, because I lived on a farm (like LUKE!) and it was hard to get away. Finally, the day came, and I was about to burst from excitement. You'd think after all the hype and build-up, that I'd actually be let down, but I wasn't, it was all and more than what I expected! After that, even though a year had gone by, my friends STILL talked about it, and it was fresh and new still to them after I saw it and could actually contribute to conversation.

I saw ESB under different circumstances (altho, it was still almost a year later before I saw it after its premiere!), and didn't catch the Vader-is-your-father storyline. It was all rather bizarre. When video became more available, and then I got to see it from start to finish and was blown away even though it was only a 24 inch television (big at that time!).

I was eager to see ROTJ, so much so that I bought the comic adaption and read it before seeing the film. To say the least I was confused and a little disappointed. It didn't feel like Star Wars to me anymore. Still, people talked about it, and there was a rejuvenated interest in Star Wars during the early 90's, especially with the talk of Lucas doing the prequels.

To cut to the chase, I was disappointed in TPM, and thought Lucas really botched it. However, in hindsight, I think it is the technically better of the prequels, and actually the only one that seems to have a sense of fun about it. JarJar still sucks. Sorry, no even time can change my mind on that one. I went to see the rest of them out of courtesy to my other Star Wars friends who were more excited than I was to see them. They still know where I stand, a couple have come around to my point of view now that the hype and craziness is over. Anyway, in retrospect, I'd have to say there really was no way Lucas could ever top the first three films.
Post
#304368
Topic
I am Legend
Time
Ditto on the CGI and hyperventilating... you would use crappy effects for one little thing that really has zero bearing on the story, and just simply an "effect" for effects sake. Camera tricks can easily accomplish the "hyperventilating" if you want to, i.e., speed up the film, and with good editing and cuts, you can accomplish this very well. I don't think it was worth the bad cgi for basically nothing.
Post
#304006
Topic
Indecision2008 Name Your Canidate
Time
Interestingly, Huckabee has sympathized with the social needs of illegal immigrants. He advocated prenatal care for pregnant immigrants and proposed a scholarship program for illegals that graduate from Arkansas high schools.

Um...those illegals shouldn't be there in the first place. Shouldn't he get them out of the state rather than give them incentive to stay. Right there just proves that actions speak louder than words. If he's sincere about border security and no-amnesty, he shouldn't have allowed this. Sounds cruel, yes, but actions aren't matching the words.

I reviewed all the associated tapes and interviews involving this deal. I am willing to give the Governor the benefit of the doubt that he did not outright "lie" as the left wing bloggers would have you believe. I think he flubbed it by saying the wrong thing, to his credit he did correct it in a press release.

Okay, that's fine. I can forgive him for a flub in his speeches, but this says to me, especially if liberal bloggers are pushing this lie about him, then they're setting him up for the 'big fall.'

Any illegal students who wished to participate in the scholarship application process had to submit their application for citizenship. Having these students continue to their education would have enabled them to become “tax-payers” for the state rather than "tax-takers."

This still reads like a benefit given to an illegal who still in this country! Where is the hardline of "hey, get out, you're illegal." This still reads like an incentive to sneak into this country and partake in our system. Dang it, at what point do we actually punish them for actually breaking the law and flouting our sovereignty?

Yes, they do bring the Carter Presidency to mind, I agree, we need to make him aware of how ignorant they are.


Huckabee is being compared to Carter quite often, which is another reason I don't want him. Carter is the epitome of a failed administration and policies.

Oh, and I'd like to add he's completely clueless on public education.


How so?


He's too supportive of it. Didn't he pass a law that put a lot more restrictions on homeschooling than during Clinton's term as governor? Things I read about him seems to want to grow and expand the public school system. The schools have so much money it's just staggering! Yes, Bush is doing the same kind of things, and I'm unhappy with that as well. Stop growing the school systems! They don't need as much money as people think they do.

Yes, they do bring the Carter Presidency to mind, I agree, we need to make him aware of how ignorant they are.


Isn't it a little late to give Huckabee a primer on Foreign affairs? Shouldn't he have known this already? I don't want a president who is confused about who is an enemy and who is an ally. (Or maybe they do know this--and that would scare me more).


Right now I'm going to trust my gut instincts on Huckabee and not support him. Being a Christian, you'd think I'd be more supportive of him, but I just don't. I support Thompson, but like you say, wish he'd show more energy, more enthusiasm, but he has the right criteria for me to be a viable candidate. I really do wish people would consider Duncan Hunter. He hits all the marks.
Post
#303982
Topic
Indecision2008 Name Your Canidate
Time
Okay, I may have exaggerated, but let's start with this:

He's pro-amnesty.

First off, there was a bill in the senate for Arkansas that would have required proof of citizenship for voting and required state agencies to report cases of suspected illegal immigrants. Huckabee shot it down.

Huckabee also proposed a bill that would offer state funded scholarships and state benefits to illegal aliens.

Huckabee also supported the McCain-Kennedy Senate bill to give amnesty to illegals. Claims God supports the bill (...uuhh, okay). Made public statements that those who oppose the bill are "racist" and "bigoted."


Huckabee wants to grant clemency to repeated DWI offenders, and it has been hinted at that significant campaign contributions may have influenced this decision.

Huckabee has proposed tax hikes and then lied saying he didn't.

And then there's this whole thing about releasing a rapist which I haven't read up on yet.

And Huckabee's latest criticism of Bush sounds like eeevery other Democrat in the last seven years.

And then his foreign policies which sound just like the faux pas Obama made ("Invade Pakistan, reach out to Iran")--WTH!!

Oh, and I'd like to add he's completely clueless on public education.

I knew there was something wrong with him, and I was right, especially when the media has dropped Giuliani like a hot potato and getting behind Huckabee. Something is very, very wrong. The media WANTS to have Huckabee as the Republican candidate so he's not any kind of threat against Hildebeast or Obama.
Post
#303960
Topic
I am Legend
Time
I agree, Will Smith really proves his acting chops here (as if he didn't in Pursuit of Happiness), I really bought his devastated, lonely character and the world he lives in.

As for the CGI effects, I was very disappointed. What did CGI offer that good makeup and stuntwires couldn't? I think a slightly slower monster would have been more effective instead these superspeed zombies. If they had been real actors, it would have worked better. Hollywood really has to get over this CGI fascination and get back to some roots.
Post
#303856
Topic
Indecision2008 Name Your Canidate
Time
Yes, there were dark times in Christian history, but they pale to what the Muslims have wrought. Even if the Islamics were to wipe out every other religion (or lack thereof--remember that, atheists) and converted them over to Islam, their horror and terror would still continue on their own subjects!! Is that a religion of peace?

There is justification for war in the bible. Basically it says it would be completely irresponsible to allow someone to destroy you and your religion. Therefore it says self-defense, guard and protect. I, as a Christian, don't want all of the Islamics wiped out---never---I want to protect my beliefs and prevent them from taking away my religious right. America protects those rights (so far), and therefore, I support the stance on the WOT.
Post
#303720
Topic
Indecision2008 Name Your Canidate
Time
Uh... dug, haven't you heard? Islam is a religion of peace!


Oh, that's right, I totally forgot! And I like some of their 'peaceful' demonstrations, too. Stoning a young woman for just going out on a date with a guy of a SLIGHTLY different variation in the islam religion, threatening to kill a school teacher who just asked the KIDS what name they wanted to give their teddy bear, raping a woman who was with another man who wasn't her husband--and even anally raping the guy who was with her---and then have her whipped for daring to entice any of these men into these actions. Declaring global war against anyone who is even slightly different in the views of your own religion. Yep... a religion of peace. I forgot.

Back on topic again...I'm supporting Thompson right now, though. He's a good guy. If I can't raise interest in Duncan Hunter at my caucus, I'll definitely vote for Thompson.
Post
#303694
Topic
Indecision2008 Name Your Canidate
Time
AndyK: Oh, come on - Bush-supporting conservatives are far more guilty of jingoism than liberals. "Bush lied, people died" might be a slogan, but it has a lot more back-story and support for it than when the Bush administration says that Bin Laden "hates freedom." Bin Laden doesn't hate freedom; he hates that America has arguably persecuted his people. There is a big difference between often-repeated statements that are encapsulating an idea versus oversimplifying/distorting an idea.

Hahaha! and I, of course I disagree profusely....Bin Laden DOES hate freedom... you need to check out his religion at some point...it is the definition and embodiment of slavery and oppression. I think the "back-story" there is far more supportable than general rabid anti-Bush derangement (which is oversimplified/unquantified/distorted behavior).

Ron Paul


I don't like him either that he wants to withdrawal before the job is done. I don't mind that he wants a small government, many other Republicans want one as well, so he's not the only one on that. I don't support his position on illegal immigration. Sure, Ron is for less spending, but then the military will take a beating like it did during the Clinton years. We'll be right back to another 9/11 in a term or two.
Post
#303666
Topic
Indecision2008 Name Your Canidate
Time
You know what I find amusing is that all of these zombie movies are about the conservative right and how they're blindly following their mantra, and how the heroes in the story are the "independents" the "free thinkers" when it's quite the opposite. When I see pictures of libs marching in protest, they look like the zombies. Dull expressions, lifeless, moaning and repeating the same things over ("Bush lied, People died...*braaaains...I need braaains...*"), and they LOOK like the undead.

You may have written that yourself, sean, but like C3PX said, it is repeated ad nauseum throughout liberal forums. You think you're original in your thought, but you're like everyone else.

And, back to the choice of candidacy, are others familiar with Duncan Hunter?
Post
#303634
Topic
Indecision2008 Name Your Canidate
Time
but Thompson has had a poor showing since he announced his candidacy and Romney strikes me as dishonest....

Thompson only gets a "poor showing" because the biased media doesn't want him exposed to voters. He is more in line what conservatives want, so they push non-conservatives like Huckabee and Paul at us.

Otherwise, I have a general rule of thumb in regards to candidates, especially conservative candidates, if the mainstream media tells me who they think the best Republic candidate is, then I should not vote for that person. So far they've pushed for Guiliani, and when people weren't biting, they pushed for Ron Paul, and now they're pushing for Huckabee.

Romney's religion doesn't bother me, but he does appear slick as oil and his flip-flopping to pander to the conservative base does not set well with me.

Personally, I would like to see Duncan Hunter get more attention. He's a true conservative, true pro-American. Everything I read about him I like. He even has a vested interest in the Iraq War, his son.

Better to have a lunatic that doesn't want to kill anyone for oil, take away your rights, torture prisoners (we imprisoned Japanese for water boarding in WW2), give people the right to marry, not reduce carbon emissions, Oh yeah and lie about reports on Iran. Bush is a murderer. Rudy won't be any better. Lunatics that want peace are better than Nazis that want war. And about Cheney I think Keith Olberman says it best "An unapologetic warmonger who has long been seeing a world visible only to himself". I can't see any mentally-stable person with a positive image of bush. I just want to see the way he tries to "Wags the dog" out of this one.


Groovy, just copy and paste that from the Democratic Underground?
Post
#301305
Topic
How did you envision the prequels?
Time
Really, thats all we knew. The only additional specifics is in relation to the Clone War--not Mandolorians but "Imperial Shocktroopers." These were super-troopers of a distant origin, of which Boba Fett was a part of, who fought a war called the Clone War, which the Jedi were involved in, but were defeated by the Jedi.


Here's exactly from the novelisation: "[Boba Fett] was dressed in a weapon-covered, armored spacesuit, the kind worn by a group of evil warriors defeated by the Jedi Knights during the Clone Wars."

I don't care for the John Flynn story treatment. He's also the one to start the whole Obi-Wan = OB1 tripe. *Gasp!* He's a clone! I never liked the idea of cloning Jedi as a story element.
Post
#299571
Topic
When did the Jedi become monks?
Time
I have never cared for the "monk" Jedi aspect. I would prefer the more "knight" look Lucas had considered in early development, even wearing a form of "space armor" ala Flash Gordon-like. What became so embarrassing for the PT is that suddenly every @$#%^ing Jedi is wearing Tatooine garb!! Nothing infuriated me more than that. I blame the stupid EU for that, making every Jedi dress like that. The EU should just be outright ignored!
Post
#299292
Topic
Another PT "what if"...
Time
I've gone through this in my head a thousand-thousand times on how to "fix" Star Wars. Unfortunately, it involves changing ROTS, too. Leia wouldn't be Luke's sister. Luke wouldn't be the son of Skywalker (actually he'd be...yup, the son of Darth Vader...a name, not a title. Yup, Vader actually did kill Anakin Skywalker), and THEN episodes 1-3 would fall nicely into place.

In my prequels, there would be no Yoda at all (in order to preserve Yoda's appearance in ESB), he would just mysteriously vanishing, leaving behind a vague message that he wasn't physically strong enough to fight the coming Sith; and thereby justifying Obi-Wan's decision to take on Anakin's training himself.

Obi-Wan would be a little older--not a young Jedi Knight, or even a padawaan. Right off the bat, he'd have a student...Darth Vader before he finds Anakin.

Mandalores will be the main enemy, but the Sith would have an integral part in their battles, aiding them, using them for their own ends. There could still be battledroids and destroyer droids, used by the Mandalores since they're short on manpower and depend on technology to make up for their lack of living soldiers, which then gives us the impetus for their invasion on Alderaan (that's right, I said Alderaan, not Naboo), which has ancient, but banned, cloning technology.

Palpatine would be placed into power within the first Episode; or even Chancellor/President already! (and he wouldn't be from Alderaan, an entirely other planet, an innocuous planet, he would appear as if he was the puppet, he was being used by other senators, but in fact, was using them in his greater scheme. He would keep Jedi away from the senatorial proceedings, even claiming that their Jedi mind tricks would influence senators).

As for the Jedi, the Force is not with them. No new Jedi potentials have emerged in the last decade or so (in fact, Vader would be the last known Jedi-in-training). So, the Jedi are desperate to fill their dwindling ranks (which are slowly being picked off by Sith and other enemies of the Knights). So, finding Anakin is a big deal!

Post
#282101
Topic
Most Liberal and Conservative movies
Time
You know what other movies that involved president characters which bug the **** out of me, and my wife likes these films, too...the first one, "American President" with Michael Douglas. I just want to throw things at the TV when it's on. Supposedly this "right wing president" suddenly sees the error of his way and he feels its his duty to "find every American a job!" Ugh! And the other is "Dave." Of course, it was semi-subtle way to get the public to associate these characters with Clinton. I guess since Clinton couldn't actually have a real presidential legacy, he had to have it fictionally created.
Post
#282099
Topic
Anyone else totally disregard Leia being Luke's sister?
Time
Well, Obi-Wan still would have lied, since he claimed Vader murdered his father...UNLESS...

No, not if Vader and Anakin are two separate people, and Vader actually did killed Anakin.

Oh, wait, maybe I see your confusion...

Vader and some unnamed woman (perhaps a Sith Lady who was part of the 'seduction' to the dark side) have Luke as their child.

Anakin and Lady Skywalker have Leia.

Lady Skywalker, to protect Leia from the Emperor switches the children to throw Vader off the track, so he'd end up killing his own child while Leia is safe and sound with Bail.

Obi-Wan, of course, would not be aware of this, he'd actually believe that Luke was indeed the son of Skywalker. Yoda, of course, would know of the deception, or the Force would guide his thoughts to this conclusion.
Post
#281399
Topic
Anyone else totally disregard Leia being Luke's sister?
Time
I wish the sibling thing hadn't happened at all, and I wish the "point of view" thing hadn't happened at all. There was an easy way to "fix" this, if you will... and that was simply to make Luke the son of Darth Vader, i.e., the Darth Vader as a name and person (not a title) and there was an Anakin, too, and he really was killed by Darth Vader. We can still carry many of the same themes as before. Luke senses good in his father, he feels he can turn him back. Leia could still be the child of Skywalker, and she could still be used as Vader's threat to turn him, etc., ("If you will not turn, then perhaps she will"). It still works. All they had to do was make these two little changes, and everything would have been just fine. No P.O.V. No lying Obi-Wan. I would appreciate the OT tremendously more.
Post
#279030
Topic
Tax refunds...
Time
I did receive a tax refund, which went to pay off some old bills, but IMHO, I don't think we should be getting back tax refunds. I think there should be a flat tax and that's it. I don't like this "redistribution of wealth"---even if it benefited me, but if my taxes were cut, I'd get that money anyway, so what's the point?