Ms. Thrawn

Matt.F said:
Bla bla derpity derp

There we go.

Even if we count the prequels for fun . . . the impression I got from the original six films is that the Jedi viewed “bring balance to the Force” as “make sure the light side wins”. Whether or not that qualifies as balance is up in the air, but it at least makes sense inside the story. Luke helps turn Vader back into Anakin, who then kills the Emperor.

Then TLJ throws a monkey wrench by implying that the Force tries to balance itself between light and dark. Snoke could’ve just been sharing his weird opinion, but it goes too far in explaining Rey’s aptitude.

As far as the Force having a will? That could very well be but a superstition among Jedi and to a lesser extent Sith (who like to preach about destiny). There are ghosts living in the spiritual realm who have minds of their own, I guess. Maybe “will of the Force” is the majority vote of a ghost committee. 😛

Your interpretation of the awakening is nice and sound. I agree. 😃

But the Force had awoken by the time the boy summoned the broom. Didn’t you feel it?

Eff you, too! 😃

I can’t maintain a normal, healthy sleeping pattern to save my life.

DuracellEnergizer said:

Ms. Thrawn said:

Maybe someday Disney can buy Google and rule the world.

Then we’ll have finally arrived in the future of Alien.

Right on!

Maybe someday Disney can buy Google and rule the world.

The nighttime weather outside is finally feeling like spring.

“I am a fine musician”

My dad likes to Force open the automatic doors at grocery stores.

Ha ha ha! Surprised I didn’t dream about newspapers.

Creox said:

The informed and rational detractors of the film get washed up in the wave of hysteria you mention in your last sentence. That being said I find it puzzling why someone would spend so much time posting on a film they don’t like. I am talking to people like Dre who is obviously taking the time and feels passionately about his thoughts on the film. He makes good points but is unswayed so…why continue talking about it? IMO he feels (like many do in his position) that we will finally see the light and agree with him. Disney is not going to change their film.

DrDre said:

There are whole sections in this forum devoted to stuff many people don’t like: the Special Editions, and the PT. These films and versions have existed for decades, and people are still discussing them, more often than not in a negative light. So, why should I not be discussing TLJ after just three months?

Remember: the greatest teacher failure is, and in my view TLJ is a failure, and there’s a lot to learn from this particular failure in terms of my own appreciation of the Star Wars universe and works of fiction in general.

Now there would be an interesting exercise: create classifications of those who habitually criticize a story.

1. There are the types who are sharp, well informed in the subject matter of which they speak, and whose main motivation is typically the education of others.

2. Analysis is secondary to emotional venting for those fans of past installments who now feel personally offended by more recent developments.

3. These would be feral beasts who hunted children, had nature not granted them just enough brain tissue to post hateful comments on the internet.

Citizen Kane.

I kid you not. It was on TCM last night when I couldn’t sleep. Before that it was Casablanca, which I recorded and will watch later.

I’m subscribed to a ton of reviewers and critics on YouTube whose opinions tend to vary from one another on a lot of things. But the only name I can think of off the top of my head who gave TLJ a glowing review would be Movie Bob. Doug Walker gave it a mostly positive, if I remember right?

Other than that, my subscription updates and recommendations have been inundated with negative reviews since the movie came out. YouTube has a kind of cynical culture going to it anyway, but I’ve never seen the hate bandwagon toward a work of fiction reach “Look What This Cuh-raaazy SJW Feminist Did On Campus” levels until now. I’m pretty sure there’s what amounts to a zombie horde of angry fans waiting to rip Kathleen Kennedy and Rian Johnson to shreds at the first opportunity, if the comments on a lot of those videos are any hint.

TLJ is just OK in my opinion, and I don’t rush to its defense. That said, if you want to call the backlash against it a little bit ridiculous, then you might have something there.

A mask with an uncomfortable expression. Poster is overall great, IMO.

SilverWook said:

Had a dream last night Mark Hamill was hosting some sort of educational kids show. He would make his entrance (and exit) swinging on a rope.

Lol! Was he dressed goofy?

Thanks for responses, everyone.

It’s a little hard to bring anything new to the discussion that hasn’t been said by a lot of other critics, but . . .

Before TLJ released, I assumed the script was in really good hands. Rian Johnson wrote Ozymandias for Breaking Bad, one of the highest rated and most praised episodes of a series in television history. People were excited that Star Wars was finally in professional hands, and we wanted to see what he could do, especially in the darker middle chapter of a trilogy.

But yikes. The story defies act structure . . . not in a Tarantino way, but in an amateurish way. There are long minutes that are superfluous and should’ve been cut. There are multiple climaxes. The rising and falling tension are more like a weird roller coaster than a satisfying build up and send off.

Kylo, Rey, and Snoke’s confrontation interspersed with the space battle should’ve been the climax, in my opinion. If you wanted to pit Luke against Kylo in a duel, all they really needed was for Luke to lift his X-Wing out of the water and fly in to join the struggle. But instead the two armies touch down on a salt planet and engage in a final showdown that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if you stop and think about it.

Instead of feeling excited and anxious for the good guys to win, I was feeling impatient and rather confused in those last parts.

Anyway. That’s my big picture look at the movie.

Hyperbole. What I mean is that she didn’t have much of a reaction when looking over at Finn with an injured Rose.

Seemed like it was building up to it, tho.

It bothered me when Rey instantly accepted that Finn had picked up a new girl (Rose).