Merry Christmas. I can only think of Ralph McQuarrie and Yoda as Santa. Remember that postcard.
The Last one i watched was Daisy Ridley in an action movie The Cleaner. I didn’t finish It. It was kind of ridiculous like a Die Hard movie without Bruce Willis. I guess Martin Campbell is stuck making these really bad low rent movies now. Not exactly Goldeneye is it or Casino Royale.
I also watched the tv movie Farscape the peacekeeper wars. In two parts.
I have The Mask from Arrow and Lost in Space and TMNT trilogy should be here in a matter of days but I haven’t watched any of them yet.
I also mean to watch some of these Marvel and DC movies or even the new Jurassic World and I’ve never gotten around to it, you know its not a priority. I still have to watch the last Avatar never mind the newest one. I’ve barely digested the last Spider-Man movie, and they have another coming out. Another Avengers. The days of watching one or two new films a week. Its not the 1990s. I always look at what a month of streaming costs, the costs of physical media and the cost of film tickets and I groan.
My book and film and video game, tv show/anime/manga backlog is so vast I can’t have fear of missing out. I used to care to catch every new film. Now maybe by the time I get around to watching something, It is more appreciated and Its not 30 gd dollars to watch once. The caveat of course being boutique labels and their insane prices. The Criterion and Arrows. Pick a few films can’t afford them all.
Some old shows on free streaming. I think that 1990s Journey to the Center of the Earth. I can’t remember what else they had Star Trek maybe. Farscape. One show I was looking for the 1990s Adventures of Sinbad produced in Canada it was a show that competed with Hercules I couldn’t find that.
1990s was Sliders, Star Trek. and stuff like The New Adventures of Superman. Hercules and Xena. The shows were low rent by todays standards. There was no film quality visuals on a weekly show.
Vader’s first appearance as some above noted. The flyover of Leia’s blockade runner and his striding down the hall of the ship imposing as hell and threatening.
The Binary Sunset scene
The Throne Room with Leia in a white gown.
You said 3. I could find many moments.
You mean theatrically I didn’t see it in the theater. I saw it on a rental cassette I guess you call that VHS. 1984 Was it?
It was the first Star Wars I saw so I had no expectations at all. I grew up on the Muppets and Sesame Street so Yoda being a puppet did not phase me. I was young enough to suspend disbelief and to pretend he was real.
I just remember certain aspects like the Snow Walkers and Luke suspended upside down in the Wampa cave. Facing that Vision of Vader in the Cave that is Luke in the mask.
Luke trying to lift an X-wing with his mind. Knowing he could just barely float the lightsaber to him to escape the Wampa cave.
The Fade in of the Emperor hologram. The speech where the Emperor intones there is a great disturbance in the force, we have a new enemy, Luke Skywalker. The Son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi.
Then I finally saw Star Wars and oh yeah that is the dude who was a ghost in the Empire Strikes Back, Old Ben. He tells Luke about the force how he used to go by the name of Obi-Wan before Luke was born. Things didn’t really click until I saw return of the jedi in the theater and finally went back and rewatched the first film. Once all three films were on video there was a certain continuity if you will. Whether they were originally intended to be one piece, you had Mark Hamill age between each film and you watched Luke grow up.
Thomas Jane is Leonard Bones McCoy on Star Trek Strange New Worlds. The Punisher. You can’t make this stuff up.
The trailer for Nolan’s Odyssey not impressed. You can’t see a darn thing. they revealed nothing in it.
If I was to be asked point blank and to be blunt, it sucked.
If they remove all the mythological elements that would suck amongst all.
The Cyclops story, the story of the Sirens all of that is a huge part of the tale. Do you remove Calypso.
Yoda was testing Luke in TESB. His being a curmudgeon and strange character was an act. That whole ill tempered gnome thing, Luke was expecting a Jedi Master to not be a little Muppet. Judge me by my size do you, well you should not. For my ally is the force and a powerful ally it is.
The boy has no patience. Much anger in him like his father.
Yoda’s reluctance is in knowing Luke’s nature he is like Anakin. And He says he is too old to begin the training.
Luke is giving a stern warning about the dark side. It did consume his father.
All your life have you looked away, to the future to the horizon. Never your mind on where you were. What you were doing. Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things. You a reckless.
And Yoda was right Luke abandons his training, and rushes to face Darth Vader to save Han and Leia and saves no one. He has to be saved by Chewie, Leia and Lando. Vader toys with him like cat with a mouse in that duel on Bespin, Vader could have slain him at any moment. That was not a duel of equals not really, Vader held back. Luke was impelled by his rage and got his butt whooped. Lukes anger and hatred of Vader was based on lie told by Kenobi. Vader betrayed and murdered your father.
So Rey is not Luke in TESB and Luke is not Yoda. Though Disney wanted Kylo to be a wannabe Vader. And you get Imperial Walkers again.
Luke’s summon to the call to adventure in Star Wars 1977 was Leia’s message from Artoo. What was Rey’s I’m not even certain. Other than Beach Ball 8 having the map to Luke Skywalker. Which they act like was important or something, like Luke was on a search or something to help defeat Kylo and the first order. And he just went to the furthest away planet to die.
Luke’s throwing Anakin’s lightsaber over his shoulder and denying Artoos pleas with Leia’s old message is refusal of the call in the Last Jedi.
What do you think I’m going to do, face down the entire first order with a laser sword. Go Away.
The Force Awakens is very self-aware with Han even acting like Starkiller base is an even bigger death star. Well you know its one of the things I dislike about that film, why redo Star Wars from 1977. I mean I understand in tone wanting an adventure film like the original, instead of the prequel. But it came off as new coke. They tried to replicate the original recipe. They sometimes claim imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but I’m not sure I agree.
Even I was fooled I saw the film 3 times. It was a joyous and empty piece of film, popcorn cinema. It works on dopamine alone. Because you know that original 1977 film is Star Wars written large. That is Star Wars. Now it wouldn’t work, the sequel woke people up. They won’t fool people again.
We have 1990 TMNT restored from the negative the Golden Harvest movie. We have Lost in Space 1998 in 4K, we have Jim Carrey’s the Mask in 4K.
I hope the 50th anniversary of SW is not just a theatrical one time only thing.
Destruction of the legacy characters is at the top of my list. But I’d also place the reset of the Star Wars universe near the top too. Suddenly we know nothing of the Imperial Remnant or the New Republic, and all of sudden we have a first order and resistance, so Disney can be lazy and do rebels vs empire again. We are also lead to believe Luke Skywalker completely failed in rebuilding the Jedi order, and there are no Jedi left, except for Kylo on the Dark Side and Rey on the light. This makes no sense. Disney’s sense of what balance of the force is not George’s. It is not equal light and equal darkness. Darkness rises and light to meet it. Someone was a little too in love with Filoni Mortis.
Most of the issues I have with the trilogy are with the force awakens and the rise of skywalker. There a few only in the last jedi. JJ reset the universe back to where it was in the original film. and ended the trilogy in the same place as Return of the Jedi this is a failure.
I only accept Last Jedi as a standalone and not an extension or Sequel to Return of the Jedi and certainly not a part of a trilogy. But there are actual story beats within it, even if disagree with some of them. JJ did Star Wars greatest hits and tried to make fanfilms. Nostalgia pieces. Without taking any risks. Without any narrative heft, no worldbuilding. No exposition as to why our heroes fell and failed. You just have to accept they were replaced by new Disney heroes.
Titan Books also published a tenth anniversary book of under a hundred pages. 96 pages. In hardcover. Star Wars Insider celebrates ten years of the Force Awakens. It was published last month. On November the 11th.
I’m excited to see what Claudio Miranda has done cinematography wise. If for nothing else.
The one I dislike Is Darth Maul alive. I still think he died in the Phantom Menace. Though its hard to see how it could be as bad as Disney’s return of Sidous. Somehow Palpatine returned. I don’t know if I could even enjoy the novelty of it if I wasn’t familiar with Dark Empire and aware how bad an adaption of that comic the film was.
Luke to Rey a Jedi’s weapon deserves more respect. The entire film was a course correction of the Last Jedi. Luke lifts the ship out of the water. Rey learns she is a Sith by birth in her bloodline. Decides to reject her heritage and adopt the Skywalker/ Jedi lineage.
Is the Darth Maul idea of Lucas a Black Sun or a Crimson Dawn kind of thing.
I think the story should have been about Luke being a father. And the legacy of Vader. Of course, I’m not a screenwriter I don’t make those decisions.
Unlike the Old Republic trailers I don’t think the trailer for the new game was at all good or appealing. Fate of the Old Republic.
Jamie Benning Filmumentaries short on Return of the Jedi and the Chicken Walkers.
Gil Gerard. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. There has to be some people here who watched that show. Far Beyond the world I’ve known Far beyond my time.
Cold. Damn cold. Its 28 degrees outside. With the windchill it feels like 10 above.
It’s nice we got very little snow. Hopefully no Blizzard for Christmas.
I think the Blockbuster I used to go to became a Footlocker and then a Macy’s or maybe its in reverse of that. In think it’s abandoned now that building. And West Coast Video is Zumi’s Coffee shop if that is still there. And used to Woolworths before It was West Coast.
I don’t believe there are any video rental places left. I think even the redbox was removed at the grocery store. Not all that far from where Blockbuster used to be like at the very end near the Market Basket.
And I think Bestbuy and Target do no longer sell 4K, DVD/blu-ray in store only online. Walmart a store I don’t like to frequent all that much have almost nothing.
At best if you don’t mind a long drive there is Barnes and Noble who charge MSRP and retail. And they have a good selection of Criterion.
I do kind of miss the VHS craze and rental tapes and not really knowing what I was getting without knowing everything in advance of what we were renting. Renting based on a magazine or newpaper or even a tv review of a film. But like taking books out of the library from the sci fi or fantasy section site unseen not knowing the authors. You would get some surprises, and now you know everything about a film in advance due to the internet. You know all the spoilers. You get recommendations and you know every little nook and cranny.
Well Lucas said for decades that Luke and Leia were always meant to be twins and Vader was always intended to be Luke Skywalker’s father. Is that lying or mythologizing, it’s hard to say. He might have said it so often and so many times since Return of the Jedi wrapped production that he actually believes it.
Its a big turn from not caring about Vader in the Splinter of the Mind’s Eye story conference, to after The Empire Strikes Back rejiggering the entire Saga to be about his downfall and redemption, instead of Star Wars from the Adventures of Luke Skywalker.
I do know Lucas originally thought of Leia ending up with Luke, Luke is more devoted to her he said in the making of Star Wars, and he also said let her run off with the Wookiee at one point. In the Splinter conference. Does that sound like he thought Leia was of cosmic importance or Anakin’s daughter. Or how about wanting to kill Vader off.
The idea that he had all 6 episodes planned out from one big script is laughable.
Even the prequels as we have them have many discontinuities and retcons form the original films. and plot holes. And are not at all the prequels he was going to make or envisioned in the 1980s.
Reading that he saw Yoda as spiritual guru and Yoga master does not scream Lucas wanted a cartoon Yoda jumping around with a lightsaber. I do accept the view now Of his being ashamed of having been in and leading the Clone Wars. And why he thinks wars not make one great. Its the only way I can forgive those awful scenes in the prequels, if I make up a headcanon. Like I like the idea of Palpatine using a lightsaber as mockery of the Jedi religion and their traditions, but I also doubt Lucas ever intended him to have one at all.
Leia remembering her mom and her dying right after Leia was born makes no sense. Her mom should have survived into her early childhood on Alderaan. And where was the great starpilot or good friend, Anakin was none of those things in the prequel. He wasn’t a cunning warrior. The dude lost every lightsaber fight he ever was in, except the one where he murdered Dooku. Oh, I get people will say the Clone Wars cartoon the Filoni one, filled in some of these things. But you shouldn’t need outside media.
The Padme dying of a broken heart giving birth to the twins, as suited Vader is born on an operating table is powerful, but it broke the OT canon of Leia remembering her mom as a child. I only sort of can forgive it because it creates a poetic scene and has visual symmetry, but Lucas should have adhered to the OT. Like Vader creating Threepio may be interesting because he becomes more machine than man, but that was not originally Threepio’s backstory.
I do like the idea of Anakin being the author of his own pain and the iron mask of Vader being his prison or punishment, because he had a vision of the future and by trying to change Padme’s fate he ensured it. I like the idea of Palpatine being this very evil character, Anakin makes a devil’s bargain. I think the scene in the Opera house is fantastic. It might be the only mention of Midichlorians I don’t really mind, since Sidious could have been lying.
I do wonder if George’s sequels would have been better simply for acknowledging the prequels exist, and therefore a coherent work if you will. A prequel 2.0. Since he had no desire to redo the original trilogy. And Disney’s trilogy was rebels VS empire again. I’m not sure if I wanted to see Hayden as Anakin’s ghost, If that concept was a part of Lucas sequel. On one hand I think Hayden and Mark having a scene together would be cool. On the other hand Luke only knows Sebastian Shaw Anakin. So, I can see why Rian chose to use Yoda.
For me it would be the prequel doctrine on attachment I disagree with. Because Jedi had families and children in Star Wars lore before the prequels. Just like how the chosen one thing was made up and so was midichlorians.
To get the Jedi celibacy thing you have to go all the way back to discarded script drafts for the original film, the son of the suns prophecy for the chosen one thing. Midichlorians came from nowhere.
You hit the nail on the head the Fox acquisition in 2019 meant Disney owned the original 1977 film.
As to whether Lucas had a legal clause I thought he would do so to spite the fans. But there was never any evidence.
I thought they were going to do a Grey Jedi thing where she embraced the light and the dark. Just from watching The Last Jedi. But that is not what Lucas meant by balance of the force. It wasn’t Yin and Yang equal light and equal darkness, except maybe in Filoni’s mortis.
Balance meant Anakin killing Sidious. and ending the Sith menace. With his and his master’s death. Balance restored would be Luke restoring the Jedi, and Leia restoring the Republic as Chancellor.
I don’t see how it even would work out in George’s idea. Maul being the new Big bad that means the Sith and Empire threat remains. Maul ruling with Talon by his side the Imperial Remnant or criminal underworld whatever it was. Means the rule of two endured.
We don’t have any idea what Disney did with the negative or At least I don’t. I do know it was conformed to the 1997 edit. This news of new photochemical restoration. Did they revert the negative to its original state?
I guess I should not even ask the only people who would know is this mysterious Ali group.
The Casey Hudson whose new studio died to lack of funding and his game that was supposed to be everything we wanted from mass effect andromeda dead as well. Human origin is dead. And you aren’t wrong the end of Mass Effect 3 was a disaster. But he is lucky he isn’t associated with whatever BioWare became after he left. They’ve had a decade of failure. Dragon Age inquisition was their last hit. mass Effect Andromeda was a disaster, Anthem was an MMO dead on arrival. And the last nail in the coffin was Dragon Age the Veilgard. I would never trust them on a Mass Effect 4 specially after who recently purchased EA. Kotor and Mass Effect will remain a memory I cherish and Mass Effect Legendary edition was fantastic. Why didn’t they just remaster Kotor.
As for this studio making a new knights of the old republic game I have no idea about that, considering I hate MMO and never was a fan of anything but the first two Kotor games and never liked the old republic. I like single player story based games. I would have loved to have gotten Kotor 3.