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Jay

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22-Feb-2003
Last activity
29-Jun-2025
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2,437

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Post
#108599
Topic
ROTS: I'm gonna get my fur kicked for this
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/108599/action/topic#108599
Time
I find the Ewok battle sequences from ROTJ horrifying.

The Ewoks rolled all those tree trunks up a hill so they could prop them up and roll them into the AT-ST?

The Ewoks hoisted two tree trunks into the trees, tied them up, and fate allowed an AT-ST to walk right between them so they could smash it?

A bunch of furry teddy bears with slings took out an army of storm troopers with blasters and AT-STs? I don't care how lousy the storm troopers' aim is. It's just absurd.

I endure the first two hours of ROTJ so I can watch the last 20 minutes. If I weren't such a completist, I'd skip past everything else.
Post
#107524
Topic
My review of Episode III (minor, minor spoilers)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/107524/action/topic#107524
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
I still don't get why people don't like the idea of the Force creating Anakin. Yoda even says that it's a component of life, yet for some reason, it's now allowed to create a life? *shakes head*


Lucas was bludgeoning the audience over the head when he had Palpatine tell Anakin that the dark side allows its masters to manipulate midichlorians in order to create life. The first thing I thought of when he said that was Anakin's virgin birth. If Lucas only meant to address the plot point of preventing Padme's death, he only needed to stress the capability of the dark side to prevent death and prolong life, not create it.

I watched ANH and ESB last night on laserdisc (THX "faces" editions). There are so many lines of dialog that contradict the prequels in subtle ways, I have a hard time taking Lucas' storytelling seriously. I share the same lack of faith in the so-called "canon" of the films. Either Lucas hates the OT so much that he didn't even bother to watch it before writing the prequel scripts, or the Jedi are such manipulative, self-serving liars that their whole way of life is bullshit heaped on top of more bullshit.

I find it telling that the "rebellious" Jedi whom the council held down due to his defiance was the first to achieve enlightenment and maintain consciousness after his death. To paraphrase Obi-Wan, "If you just did what you were told, you'd be on the Council." Maybe Qui-Gonn didn't give two shits about being on the Council. Perhaps he cared more about the Force and the Jedi way of life than he did about attaining power.

No offense to the Catholics on the board, but I look at the Jedi Order as a mirror of the Vatican: founded on good intentions, but seething with so much arrogance based on their own self-righteous view of the universe that they no longer enforce the ideals they claim to represent. The Jedi are a political faction on par with modern day Bible thumpers, and they play the political game as well as any of the politicians they detest--except for Palpatine, of course, who schools everyone in the art of politics and manipulation.

I have also long thought and totally agree with the idea that the prophecy of bringing balance to the force meant the eventual destruction of the Jedi order and the two vs. two scenario (Yoda/Ben vs. Palpatine/Vader). In the minds of the Jedi, bringing balance meant the destruction of the Sith, which is what made them so arrogant. That's not balance, and an objective observer would not see it as such. Again, Lucas bashed us over the head when he had Yoda mention the possibility that the prophecy may have been misread.

When Yoda and Obi-Wan admitted failure, I realized the prequels are just as much about the fall of the Jedi Order as they are about the fall of Anakin, and that gives them more meaning than I previously believed they possessed.

Thankfully, my ability to ignore plot holes and inconsistencies over a 40-year arc is strong. I don't take this as seriously as some fans, but it's fun to debate.
Post
#106516
Topic
My review of Episode III (minor, minor spoilers)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/106516/action/topic#106516
Time
Not bad. Not bad at all.

Dialogue was much better overall than Ep. II. Not a lot of cringe-inducing moments.

Acting was more natural also, particularly from McGregor. I think the actors realized this time that they weren't going to be directed all that well, and if they wanted decent performances, it was up to them. McDiarmid was a bit over the top on occasion as the Emperor, but still creepy with that occasional Emperor smirk he had in ROTJ.

General Grievous is stupid. Lame non-villain. All filler, no meat. That's all I'll say about that.

Hearing Vader breathe through the mask the first time was cool. Hearing him talk wasn't. His dialogue was dull and wimpy, as if James Earl Jones channeled Christensen. Jones' voice, Hayden's attitude. It's not the powerful Vader we know from the OT. ROTS still isn't enough to convince me that Christensen's Anakin was capable of becoming Vader in any way except for his weakness against the dark side. And he turns SO fast when the time comes.

I think the best thing about ROTS is that it demonstrates there are gray areas in the Force; it's not as simple as light side/dark side. You'll see high-ranking Jedi performing questionable actions in the name of the greater good. You'll hear some characters question the motives of the Jedi, and it makes sense. You'll know that arrogance runs rampant on all sides. The deepest hurt is when two of our most beloved Jedi both admit failure.

From a technical standpoint, it's a superb production. The presentation I saw was film-based, but even still, it's obvious that the HD cams Lucas used this time around are a marked step forward compared to AOTC. Very film-like. The CG is also quite good. Much more detail than AOTC, giving objects a more organic quality. I still prefer the puppet yoda from ESB to the CG version though.

The best of the PT, and better than ROTJ I think. Definitely worth seeing.
Post
#105133
Topic
Blu-Ray & HD-DVD development
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/105133/action/topic#105133
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: Windexed
Although I'm going to take a wait-and-see approach to the next generation of dvd's, I really hope the unification happens. I have some questions though:

-How much of an improvement will it be over current top-tier transfers, like LOTR, SW PT, Matrix, ect?

-How will older films (with scratches and faded/grainy film) look? Can they really take something 25 years old and make it look better?


True HD sources shown on large HD-compatible displays (say, 50" and larger) make DVD look like a joke. Much finer detail and better color accuracy. I have many native 720p and 1080p clips stored on my PC that I play on my projector when I'm in the mood to have my jaw hit the floor. Going back to DVD afterwards is tough. And my projector is only 720p.

Film as a medium has far more resolution than even HD (including 1080p). Old films that have been properly restored will look spectacular. Grain will be more apparent, but that's what it looks like in the theater, so I won't complain about seeing it at home.

Quote
Originally posted by: Darth Chaltab
I don't see how any medium could improve the quality of the images any better than those on the SW DVDs. Like the changes, hate them, or neutral, you can't deny the quality is pretty much flawless.


The Star Wars DVDs are limited to 480 lines of resolution, just like every other DVD. When you more than double that (1080p), the difference is remarkable.

The "flawless" quality of these discs is also debatable. From a technical standpoint, the transfers themselves are very well done, but the rushed restoration job on the source itself leaves us with a halfass presentation.
Post
#104001
Topic
Wow- Now THAT'S a Home Theater!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/104001/action/topic#104001
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: ricarleite
I bet these projectors are the best money can buy... Do they provide a better image than a hi-res TV set?


The best digital projectors on the market are 3-chip DLPs and LCOS models. They're in the $20K to $30K range. The 12S4 is a 1-chip DLP.

Without getting into too much detail, 3-chip DLPs have a DMD chip for each of the primary colors (red/green/blue). A 1-chip DLP has one DMD and a color wheel with colored segments. The wheel spins very fast in front of the chip and fools the eye into thinking it's seeing a full-color image, when in fact it's seeing a series of red/green/blue images at a very high frequency. 1-chip DLPs are cheaper to produce, but there are image quality compromises due to the single chip design.

The technology in these projectors is the same stuff used in DLP-based projection TVs. The image quality should theoretically be the same, but a lot of it comes down to image processing, which each manufacturer implements differently. Some are definitely better than others.

There's no technical reason for a projector to cost more than a projection TV. In fact, a projector should be cheaper because it requires fewer materials and costs much less to ship from the country of origin. It's the status of front projection that keeps the prices high.
Post
#103901
Topic
Wow- Now THAT'S a Home Theater!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/103901/action/topic#103901
Time
This was posted on AVS Forum a year or so ago. He's a member there I think.

About half of respondents thought it was beautiful, while the other half thought it was gaudy. I was in the latter group (though I didn't express my sentiments publicly).

I've always had a more utilitarian design sense though. I prefer a home theater to be more about the film than the room. Dark walls and furniture, no framed posters on the walls (these reflect light, taking focus away from the film and washing out the image), etc. That sky blue ceiling he has is just about the worst thing you can do in a home theater from an image quality standpoint.

To each his own.

I envy his financial strength and his means to build such a viewing environment. I hope to achieve the same someday.
Post
#102294
Topic
Girl Problem
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/102294/action/topic#102294
Time
The best advice I ever received about women is this:

All girls are geeks. That's why we didn't hang out with them in grade school.

Take it from someone who, like Bossk, passed up a lot of female company because he was too stupid to read the signs: she's interested.

Ask her to have coffee with you. It's that easy.

Don't take advice on what to say. You don't want to craft your speech to make her interested. Be yourself, and if she's not interested, she was never meant to be.

Good luck my son.
Post
#101710
Topic
What would you like to see in a scifi/fantasy web site? The time has come for a change...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/101710/action/topic#101710
Time
I'm still here.

Finding the time to work on the site has been difficult. I can't even estimate a timeframe for its completion.

I'd like to get a final roll call from those who plan to contribute. My greatest fear at this point is the attention span of volunteers. If I break my back rebuilding this site from the ground up and all my writers get bored in six months and take off, I'll be pretty pissed.

I need an accurate, honest appraisal of:

1) What you WILL contribute (not what you PLAN to contribute)
2) How often you WILL contribute (not how often you'd LIKE TO contribute)

Not to talk down to you guys or assume the worst. I just don't have a lot of free time these days. If I build the site and the content disappears a few months down the line, I'll have to pull the plug. And that will be it.
Post
#98830
Topic
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, OT.COM !!!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/98830/action/topic#98830
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: Bossk
He locked your thread at 5:20 a.m. on the first day of this site's existence? What the hell were you guys doing up that early?!?!


Bill Hunt's eagerness to announce the site prematurely resulted in several late nights for me right before the launch date.

If memory serves, I called in sick the day the site launched because I didn't go to bed until 8 a.m. or so.