NeverarGreat

SilverWook said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

SilverWook said:

Well, we never got a non EU answer for that cave that really wasn't a cave on Dagobah, so J.J. will fit right in. ;)

Are you referring to that artificial-looking archway inside the cave? I don't think the EU's actually addressed that. Wookieepedia's article on the cave doesn't even bring it up.

 The EU still gave us more than the prequels did. There were fan theories for years about what happened in there to make it saturated in the Dark Side, and an expectation we would see it in the the PT. Yoda initially referred to it as a place, not a cave.

I wonder if there are blueprints for that set somewhere that could give clues?

My brother always thought that the artificial walls of the cave were meant to foreshadow the slanted walls of the passage where Luke and Vader fought later in the film. I agree that this is probably the extent of the thought that went into it, but in some of my prequel outlines the passageway opens up into a giant Sith catacomb. I would be disappointed if they ever explained that cave, much better for it to remain open to interpretation.

Alright, class has begun. Anyone else who arrives is officially late.

DuracellEnergizer said:

As I hate the whole PT-spawned notion that only certain genetic supermen get to have an afterlife, I hope Episode VII -- or any of the sequels, really -- clearly establishes that everyone -- be they Jedi or not, Force-sensitive or not -- gets to survive death as spirits in the Force.

This may be kind of terrible for Leia, as she is constantly barraged with the spirits of everyone who died on Alderaan. Everyone is constantly like "Remember to avenge me, princess" or "we're all counting on you." or God forbid: "Help us Leia, you're our only hope!"

She'd snap within the month.

Warbler said:

NeverarGreat said:

If you have a system which allows every person to vote for the candidate who is most representative of their values, it stands to reason that the person who is elected will (at least appear to) be an average Joe, appearing to conform to the middle of the bell curve in terms of policy opinions, personal taste, intelligence, and charm. These results are skewed when it comes to things like height and professionalism, which many voters favor in their leaders.

Consequently, many leaders are chameleons (figuratively, not literally), able to change their appearance and political opinions to appeal to the majority, and not offend vocal minorities, such as religious people who believe that weather is directly caused by the decisions of a personal deity.

Yeah, I made it work. ;)

 you are arguing against a system where we election our leaders.  If you have better way, please meantion it.   In any case, that is not an argument for staying home on election day.

I'm just pointing out that the system has flaws. I don't see a convincing argument for people to stay home on election day, nor do I think that going the the polls (at least for national elections) has any real effect on the outcome. People will rationalize their decision after the fact anyway, no need for me to induce a guilt trip. Yet I did mention that people do elect leaders who are different than themselves in certain aspects (hair, tallness 'presidentiality'), they just aren't useful aspects for a leader to have. If voters demanded that, instead of BS debates, each candidate undergo a series of ethical trials and tests of knowledge before casting their votes, we would probably have a far better system than the one we have now.

Star Wars Episode VIII: How to Remove a Star War8.

If you have a system which allows every person to vote for the candidate who is most representative of their values, it stands to reason that the person who is elected will (at least appear to) be an average Joe, appearing to conform to the middle of the bell curve in terms of policy opinions, personal taste, intelligence, and charm. These results are skewed when it comes to things like height and professionalism, which many voters favor in their leaders.

Consequently, many leaders are chameleons (figuratively, not literally), able to change their appearance and political opinions to appeal to the majority, and not offend vocal minorities, such as religious people who believe that weather is directly caused by the decisions of a personal deity.

Yeah, I made it work. ;)

Bingowings said:

I hope they don't have a roll call of company logos, Disney..Bad Robot...Lucasfilm etc.

Just kick in with

and put all that stuff in the end credits.

It's funny how we've grown so attached to the Lucasfilm logo and the Fox fanfare, when these elements are arguably against the spirit of the movie. Lucas fought to have the credits at the end of the film, a change that is now the norm for movies, yet the company logos remain at the beginning. It would totally be in keeping with Star Wars to cut right to the movie.

Also, it would be so awesome if the original font and blue color of that card would appear all gate-weavy and the movie was full of old-school miniature shots. Just like they went back to 1983 and continued the saga right where it left off, technology-wise. Puppets, real location shooting, grimy and sparsely populated scenes in god-knows-where corners of the galaxy, and everyone would leave the theater surprised that it's actually 2014.

Of course it's going to be a safe, sanitized Disney flick, but I can dream.

TheBoost said:

I got a lotta hope about the Next Generation. Look at merchandise. I was at Disneyland, and during the entire trips saw two pieces of PT merch. LEGO Star Wars shwag is almost totally OT. Angry Birds Star Wars merch is almost totally OT. Fisher Price Star Wars merch is heavily OT. In all of these cases I'll add "with the notable exeption of Darth Maul."

People complain that Maul should have been the villain throughout the PT, but if he was, Lucas would have totally mishandled him. "Killing" Maul in Episode 1 was the best thing that could have happened to the character.

My reading of the film is that Anakin may have been a famous pilot (best starpilot in the galaxy) but he lost much of his fame when he decided to join the conservative monastic order which was the Jedi. This is just speculation, but I figure that Obi-wan could very well have first noticed Anakin's Force sensitivity by simply watching him fly his ship.

As for the Force, I suspect that it may be terminology used only by Jedi and Sith, and other religious orders have other names for this mystical energy field. Heck, if I was part of the Sith order, I would come up with some other name for it than "The Dark Side of the Force". What a mouthful, as well as implying that it is evil! The Emperor could simply be using that language on Luke because that's what the Jedi call it, and using the Sith names for things would just get confusing.

DuracellEnergizer said:

Reaching Metiya, the near-human woman brings her sword down on him, cleaving him in twain.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXRb6nPcx10

;)

I'll admit that I haven't read through that much of this great undertaking, but your last paragraph seems remarkably violent, even for a post-ROTS Star Wars. I'm guessing you're gunning for the hard "R" with this.

Bingowings said:

APE ONE : Simple, beautiful, classic,

APE TWO : It’s like a black mirror

APE THREE: It looks like death

APE TWO : How much more black could this be? and the answer is ‘None. None...more black’  

APE THREE : This is something you put around your arm. You don’t put this on your fucking turntable.

 Is the dialogue from the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?

Just imagine attending the midnight screening of (hopefully) the first real Star Wars movie since 1983. Goosebumps.

This morning the site was down again.

This thread needs more jokes. Here's one I heard years ago...

The Bell Ringer Joke:

The bell ringer of the local church was getting on in years and, having perfected the art of ringing the church bell, wanted to find another who would ring it in precisely the same way after he himself had retired. So he sent out the word far and wide, and many people soon appeared at his door wishing to try their luck at winning this most estimable position. Although many tried, none could produce the desired tone. So with a heavy heart, he sent them all away.

One day, he heard a THUMP at the door, and upon opening it he saw before him an armless and legless man staring up at him. This man had heard that the bell ringer position was still open, and had come to try his luck. The old bell ringer reminded the eager applicant that the bell was at the top of the church tower, and that any bell ringer would need to climb many steps before reaching the top. In response, the quadriplegic hopped up the front steps into the house. Surprised and somewhat amused at the applicant's physical ability, the bell ringer told him that he could try for the job if he was able to climb the tower. So up the stairs the armless legless man hopped, and finally he made it to the top. The old bell ringer was astounded, yet he saw now that with no arms, the poor applicant would not be able to pull the rope which rung the bell. The man replied that he needed no arms, and upon gathering his strength, he bounced across the floor and threw himself face-first against the bell in a most painful-looking manner. Yet the bell ringer was amazed, for from the bell issued the most perfect and melodious sound he could have imagined. The armless legless man had the job on the spot, and he performed his duties well for many weeks.

One Sunday morning, however, the bell did not ring at the appointed time, and the pastor was horrified to discover the armless legless man lying on the ground in front of the bell tower. The retired bell ringer was summoned, and realized that the man must have misjudged his flying leap at the bell, careening out of the tower window instead of hitting his target. The deputy arrived and asked the retired bell ringer if he knew the name of the victim. The old bell ringer replied:

"I don't actually know...but his face rings a bell."

Hal 9000 said:

Tobar said:

The first one I ever encountered was Marka Ragnos in DFIV:JKIII:JOII:JA.

What the hell is that?

I'll take a shot and say that it's:

Dark Force 4: Jedi Knight 3: Jedi Order 2: Jedi Apprentice.

Please tell me that this is a joke.

Bingowings said:

Do Sith ghosts glow red?

I can just see the next set of OT revisions including a green Yoda ghost so that the characters match their prequel lightsabers. Of course, then Ghost Luke would be green and Windu would be fabulous.

Children of the Jedi

...

Put down your flamethrowers and let me clarify:

Mara Jade is uninteresting to me, and uninteresting as Luke's romantic interest. Callista makes a far better fit in my opinion, as she represents the old order of the Jedi; a Jedi from a more civilized age. Luke and Callista are both anachronisms, so of course they would be attracted to each other.

The ideas concerning mechanical beings and the Force, and in particular the character of Nichos are interesting to me. What makes a person, a person?

Triv Pothman is a cool character. I always wanted to see what the Stormtroopers would do when told that the Empire was no more. He takes it well.

The fact that Luke is relatable and human is nice to see. It has been suggested that this novel be called "Luke Passes Out", yet I think it's realistic that a hero like Luke would constantly be trying to live up to his own legend and failing. He failed throughout ESB after all.

I like that the Eye of Palpatine is not taken very seriously as a threat. Luke even realizes that destroying it would be the easy part, the difficult part being getting all of its innocent passengers to safety.

Speaking of that, I like the very Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy way in which different species are brought on board the Eye and brainwashed. It's farcical, but Star Wars should have its goofy bits.

I like the idea of Luke finding toys that the Jedi children used to play with. It's a nice touch and reminds me that the Jedi weren't always the creepy cult that Lucas made them in the Prequels. They had families and lived happy peaceful lives for the most part, like a life-affirming spiritual tradition should encourage.

I'm not such a big fan of much of the Belsavis storyline, as much of it feels like filler in order to involve the rest of our heroes in pointless busywork. But not every story needs to involve everyone.

So is the novel perfect? Absolutely not. But some parts really feel like Star Wars, and it exists along with many other Star Wars novels in the wonderful cocoon of the Pre-Preqels EU.

SilverWook said:

I think the visual disconnect results from trying to make him younger. It makes little sense for someone several centuries old to look significantly different over a mere thirty years. That, and they used silicone skin versus the latex skin of the original.

Or else they applied the same goofy rationale later used to justify "fixing" the "flaws" of the original Vader helmet design for ROTS.

I think there's just as much disconnect because they put Yoda in the cosmopolitan environment of Coruscant where he is clearly not at home. The CG Yoda makes this work a bit better actually, but Yoda should never have been an active part of the Clone Wars in the first place.

SilverWook said:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Life-Size-3-Ft-Yoda-Figure-Pepsi-Blockbuster-Contest-Prize-NIB-/191092882950?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7e05fe06

This doesn't look as bad as creepy puppet Yoda, yet it's an Episode One item.

Speak for yourself...

They probably just put the dog on a different colored floor and pulled the camera past it.

From an architectural standpoint, the barrel vault of the original exterior more closely matches the interior, at least for one of the vaults. However the second vault is unaccounted for, perhaps walled off in the interior.

The domed roof of the new house in no way approximates the ceiling of the interior.

http://youtu.be/gI8aSJBC9u0?t=4m24s

This is Dexter's real backstory for me.

The Wind Rises

I've seen most of Miyazaki's movies (though none in the theater), and this one doesn't take many chances. One of his most realistic and restrained efforts, The Wind Rises is nevertheless beautifully detailed and animated. If this is truly his last film, he will be ending his career on a high note.

8/10

I never looked that closely at it, and just thought that the rocks were in the foreground, with the house sitting on a sandy rise just beyond them. Now that I see that the house is sitting on the edge of a canyon, it makes less sense.