EyeShotFirst

Soundgarden was never a band I got deeply invested in, but I always appreciated the songs I’d hear on the radio, and I always considered Cornell to be one of the finest vocalists of all time. I guess now that I can’t see them, it’s time to become invested in the music. Same thing happened with Pantera. I always appreciated hearing their music, but took them for granted, until Dime died.

Anything I posted when I was still a teenager…which is sadly when I was the most active.

Might I suggest making this thread an overall discussion of the series, film, and now the continuation? Spoiler warned of course.

I was so happy to see the first 2 parts last night, and it’s like Lynch is still the same David Lynch I once called “too weird, and incoherent”, to a true master of film. Having just given the Northwest Passage edits a viewing for a good refresher, I’m so thrilled to see it’s still Twin Peaks. This time, it’s Lynch unrestrained. I’ll try not to say too much, but it was like a big family reunion. Though like most family reunions, we notice those who are either gone, or didn’t show up more than anything. I’m excited to see where the show will continue to move. Welcome back, Mr. Lynch.

1. Alien - probably the truest film in a franchise of movies.
2. Aliens - There’s a lot I love about the movie, but I think it set the tone for the schlock that would follow. I don’t know if I cared for them making Ripley a badass. While I like the character, I feel like the series relied on her too much. The original film was such a treat, because they felt like anybody you could meet on the street. I’ve worked with people the Nostromo crew. For once we had the equivalent of working class people in space. Harry Dean Stanton could’ve just walked out of a filling station. Tom Skerritt looked like he’d fit in hanging off a garbage truck. It was a new thing for a science fiction film.
3. Promethus - I don’t see what was so bad about the film. Sure, it wasn’t really as clever as it pretended to be, but it was masterfully crafted and still quite enjoyable.
4. Alien 3 - Meh, it had moments…A lot that sucked.
5. Alien VS. Predator - garbage film, but considering I was a teenaged boy when it came out, it was fun at the time.
6. Alien Ressurection - I haven’t seen it in 20 years, but I remember enjoying it enough. I remember liking the visuals.
7. AVP Requiem - Yeah, I saw it…I remember not liking it. I don’t remember much else beside the face raping.

Upon the completion of the Force Awakens cover, I decided to update the old covers I did. I used much higher quality poster art, and I think they are much improved because of it.

http://stephenreams.deviantart.com/art/Star-Wars-1992-VHS-style-cover-681413213
http://stephenreams.deviantart.com/art/Empire-Strikes-Back-1992-VHS-style-cover-681413557
http://stephenreams.deviantart.com/art/Return-of-the-Jedi-1992-VHS-style-cover-681413851

Chris Cornell

Fuck…I want this to be a hoax.

Most of my problems with Rogue One come from the fact that none of the characters have any kind of an arc, which resulted in me not caring about them. For a movie that you know how it’s going to end, you kind of want characters to care about and you hope for them to succeed. I also don’t think Leia or Darth Vader needed to be in the film, at least not in the way they were used. Tarkin should’ve just been another actor. Guy Henry looks and sounds enough like Peter Cushing to get away with a simple makeup job. I do appreciate that they tried, but human CGI will only contribute to dating a film after time passes.

There was a lot of neat things to look at, I’m not going to lie. It looked more like Star Wars than Force Awakens, but Awakens had better characters.

Logan

After years of bitching about there being too many Wolverine movies, I get another Wolverine movie, and it’s glorious. All I can say is, I was sick of the X-Men, but this film made me a fan again. I’d recommend it to people who’ve never even seen an X-Men movie. This movie was so good, it made me want to re-watch the series. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Anyone that has looked through a high powered telescope will note that nearly every massive object in our solar system seems to be round in shape. I just don’t see why conspiracy theorists would think we would be the special planet that is flat. You want to discuss bigfoot, mothman, and people of power doing ceremonies underneath an owl statue at Bohemian Grove, I’m with you. I just have never heard a single argument that would make me believe the earth is flat. Do any of these flat-earthers ever fly internationally? Do they think it’s weird that you leave the central USA to fly west to Europe and also fly east to go to Europe?

Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia! (1974)

This is one of the most divisive films I know of. It’s not like a Kubrick film were, even if someone doesn’t like the film, they still praise the craftsmanship. People either think this is a great film, or a violent piece of garbage. BMHAG isn’t a pretty film. The characters aren’t really that likable. Bennie, played by the immensely underrated Warren Oates, is a loser and while I don’t feel he’s evil, he’s not someone who always does the right thing. But, Warren did such an amazing job making him feel human. Oates is one of those actors I will watch, even if I know the movie will be bad, because I feel like he did so much, even if he had so little to work with. Sam Peckinpah and Monte Hellman both really gave him his best work. I appreciate that they saw what a great character actor he was and cast him accordingly.

Anyway, BMHAG!, like most of Peckinpah’s work, is an ugly portrait of humanity. Sam didn’t make films about heroic types. He doesn’t show the heroic sheriff that stops that bad rustlers. Instead he films those dirty rustlers, and gives you a glimpse into their soul. You’re given a chance to see their humanity. Sam wasn’t the first to do that with a bad character, but he was the first that did it in the way he did. He doesn’t give you the sad backstory of why they turned bad, but you get to empathize with them. The character of Bennie isn’t a villain, but he’s not a good guy either. I’d say more about the character, but the film must really be seen and judged by the viewer.

This is one of my favorite movies, and I’ll probably only grow to appreciate it.

I’m just going to leave this here…

http://stephenreams.deviantart.com/art/The-Force-Awakens-1992-VHS-style-cover-680128696?ga_submit_new=10%3A1494574954&ga_type=edit&ga_changes=1&ga_recent=1

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

I miss comedies like this. John Candy was in a league of his own, and we’ve not had anybody like him before or since. Sadly, the chemistry between Martin and Candy hasn’t been matched either. Dinner for Schmucks attempted this formula, and it fell flat. There was something about how Candy could irritate you, but continue to hold your empathy. Carell was unable to do that. John Hughes passing left a huge void, and I’ve yet to see it filled. The same can be said about Candy.

Saw the release date…

Man, wasn’t expecting that. Good news!

^Cool beans. I’d love to see a neat set made of those. I’m debating on it myself, but I’ve made enough Star Wars sets to work at Lucasfilm.

The Birth of the Blues - Frank Sinatra

Recorded in the early 50s when Frank was considered washed up. His producer said he couldn’t give his records away. It’s a taste of the sound he would adapt at Capitol for his comeback. This is where Frankie, the teen dream, became the singer for grownups.

TV’s Frink said:

EyeShotFirst said:

Hey there ESF!

Hola!

Username: Probably the dumbest username I could’ve come up with, but I’ve stuck with it. I don’t remember if I made it for here, or if I made it for Jedi Academy. I used to play that online quite a bit.

Avatar: One of my favorite scenes from anything. If you haven’t watched Cowboy Bebop, you are missing out.

Title: I can’t remember what it was when we had them.

Signature: A quote from our good pal George Lucas.

Here’s a neat trilogy poster set I found. Not as hi-res as I’d prefer for cover work, but noice.

^Everyone else gave their 2 cents…I thought this was uhmerica?

I feel like the movie I saw is not the same movie you guys saw. It was the best looking Star Wars film I’ve seen in years. It was shot masterfully, and was acted fairly well. But it was devoid of any substance. The prequels had more of a soul than this film. There was little to no character development. I can’t even tell you the names of the people I saw in the film. I’ve watched it twice now. Don’t get me started on Tarkin…I’m going to be having nightmares of that for years. I also think Darth Vader didn’t belong in a single frame of the film. It’s completely out of his character to swing his light-saber through the halls like a madman, only to be calm and collective in the first shots of A New Hope. Those are 2 completely different characters. Why also doesn’t he mention their escape? He just mentions that the plans were transmitted by spies. There’s none of the anger or urgency you see in the final frames of Rogue One. I don’t even think the stormtroopers would’ve fired a shot if the rebels weren’t waiting with their blasters ready.

For a film that was supposed to be the dark and gritty Star Wars film, it played things too safe, and didn’t allow the audience to become invested in the characters. Yeah, the Death Star is a big threat that needs to be stopped, but we know it’s going to be stopped in a much more interesting film, by characters we care about. The way to make the film have it’s own drama and it’s own voice is to make you care about the characters.

For me it’s

1. Majora’s Mask (15 years ago, I’d have said OOT as number 1, but Majora’s Mask just aged better, and I feel it was probably took the most risks. It gave the game a tone I’d like to see return to Zelda)
2. Ocarina of Time
3. Twilight Princess (GC) (Probably a touch safe. This was kind of a fan service video game, but nothing is wrong with that. Loved the look and the controls. Sadly, it’s not aged very well.)
4. The Legend of Zelda
5. Windwaker
6. The Adventure of Link
7. Skyward Sword (Would’ve probably been a great game, but the controls made me hate it. And it also felt really empty for being so big)

Those are the only ones I played for more than an hour. We didn’t have an SNES growing up so aside from getting to go over and play on friend’s super nintendos, I didn’t get as much exposure to those games as I’d have liked. We went from NES to N64.

Sougouk said:

I’ll have to check out The Founder.
I saw Singing In the Rain last week, since TCM was playing it. It was a good wholesome story, with lots of singing. It was quite funny with the classic comedic vaudeville charm.

Could it be a coincidence that A Clockwork Orange was the last film I watched.

DuracellEnergizer said:

EyeShotFirst said:

I wish someone would explain why it’s so popular for people to shit on Phil Collins…sure, his music has gotten pretty tame since the early 90s,

You answered your own question.

People talk like he never had a good song. Blatantly shitting on the guy.

I Don’t Care Anymore - Phil Collins

I wish someone would explain why it’s so popular for people to shit on Phil Collins…sure, his music has gotten pretty tame since the early 90s, but the guy was a monster performer, songwriter, and singer back in the day.