Star Wars Episode VII : Thu Dec 17, 2015 8:08 am  

It is superb!

Yesterday was a public holiday in South Africa, so we got the release early. I went to see the second showing in the cinema, (2 o'clock in the afternoon) thinking the earlier one would be full of extreme fans. It's a fantastic film, old style Star Wars, almost an episode IV tribute film.

I'll leave it there to avoid spoilers.

Re: Star Wars Episode VII : Mon Dec 21, 2015 8:54 pm  

Richie wrote:

It is superb!

Yesterday was a public holiday in South Africa, so we got the release early. I went to see the second showing in the cinema, (2 o'clock in the afternoon) thinking the earlier one would be full of extreme fans. It's a fantastic film, old style Star Wars, almost an episode IV tribute film.

I'll leave it there to avoid spoilers.

Grow up.

Re: Star Wars Episode VII : Thu Dec 24, 2015 10:47 pm  

Definitely better than the prequels. But inferior to the originals.

Liked all the new characters. Thought the old ones looked half dead. Had they not been tied up with Disney perhaps they might have taken a risk and cut back on the nostalgia. As things stand I think the script is pretty weak (very little makes any kind of sense). This is now the THIRD film out of seven in which the final act involves a certain plot device. How many times before someone finally twigs this is getting a bit repetitive?

Clearly the emotional crux of the movie was meant to mirror A New Hope. But it didn't hit me anywhere near as hard. Probably because the earlier actor (whilst in no way a fan of the series) never lost his sense of professionalism and love for the movie business. Which is more than can be said of you-know-who.

Oh - and no prizes for the most predictable reveal ever coming in episode 2 or 3.

A mixed bag. 6/10.

Re: Star Wars Episode VII : Mon Dec 28, 2015 11:50 am  

I saw it yesterday and having loved the originals during my formative years, I was hopeful that it would shake off the stain of the prequels, which were mostly awful; and it did.

That said, it is basically a remake of the 1977 original - a well made remake - but a remake nonetheless. It was a bit sad to see Ford huffing and puffing around as an aged Han Solo, and it would appear that Leia has been over-indulging on the lip fillers; but at least Chewbacca managed to retain his dignity.

My son enjoyed it way more than I did - I guess because he didn't grow up with the original film, and because he's not a cynical old git like me.

Re: Star Wars Episode VII : Tue Dec 29, 2015 8:54 pm  

Everybody is looking to create the next Marvel cash cow. Never mind the fact that Marvel is the cinematic equivalent of McDonalds - long on the promise of a delicious meal and short on achieving it.

The goal is to create a living, breathing fictional backdrop onto which endless narrative threads can be projected spread across multiple media platforms (cinema, television, gaming etc.) with Disney taking it's percentage out of each narrative thread.

With its rich and textured mythos initially created by Lucas and subsequently built upon by numerous authors and screenplay writers over the last three decades Star Wars was always the better bet for achieving this goal. Admittedly, Marvel has its own hefty canon - but there are certain limitations inherent to the comic-book genre which, IMO, make the task of creating an equally immersive stand-alone universe that much harder.

We live in surreal times whereupon history and fiction blur together and even exchange places. Leaving aside the thorny question of whether all history should be considered fiction - there exists today a great number of people who are better acquainted with the fictional details of Star Wars' history than actual human history.

Similarly, there are people who are more familiar with the flora, fauna and landscapes of Tolkien's Middle Earth than those surrounding them in "real life".

Where it all leads I'm not sure. With the arrival of emerging VR technologies such as Oculus Rift I think these fictional universes are going to become increasingly immersive and therefore increasingly tempting for folk to disappear into. Maybe the creators of the TV sci-fi comedy, Red Dwarf, had it right when it coined the phrase "Better Than Life". Although I wonder whether they figured Red Dwarf itself could spawn such a fictional reality?

Re: Star Wars Episode VII : Thu Dec 31, 2015 10:25 am  

Mugwump wrote:

Where it all leads I'm not sure. With the arrival of emerging VR technologies such as Oculus Rift I think these fictional universes are going to become increasingly immersive and therefore increasingly tempting for folk to disappear into.

Have a look at Elite - Dangerous; a fully formed, scientifically accurate model of the galaxy, with Oculus Rift support - making it 3d and fully immersive. Some people don't need much encouragement to become fully immersed in MMPORG's at is it - this appears to be taking it to a whole new level.

[Bullseye]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII : Thu Dec 31, 2015 2:26 pm  

Well I enjoyed it. It wasn’t as good as the hype suggested but it was miles better than the prequels.

Re: Star Wars Episode VII : Thu Dec 31, 2015 4:18 pm  

bren2k wrote:

...it was a bit sad to see Ford huffing and puffing around as an aged Han Solo, and it would appear that Leia has been over-indulging on the lip fillers;...

If you don't mind me saying, what's sad to me is your clear dissatisfaction with the use of older actors. Body-shaming is one of the most disagreeable aspects of social media but so many see fit to resort to it.

Harrison Ford is 73 ffs. Why can't Han Solo age? What is sad about him ageing? Are you ageist? Do you think older actors should be banned for not being sprightly?

Social media trolls had a right go at Carrie Fisher mostly claiming she had "not aged well". In her words:

“Please stop debating about whether or not I aged well,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, it hurts all three of my feelings. My body hasn’t aged as well as I have. Blow us.”

Fisher later added: “Youth and beauty are not accomplishments, they’re the temporary happy by-products of time and/or DNA. Don’t hold your breath for either.”

I have no clue if she uses lip fillers or not but neither do I care. It's her body and she can do what she wants. You are objectifying her body when it is nothing at all to do with you. Carrie Fisher is an amazing woman, she is an author, playwright, screenwriter and superb actress. Yet your only comment about her is your disparaging view of the appearance of her lips.

Re: Star Wars Episode VII : Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:10 pm  

No one objects to old actors solely because of their age. If they did they'd be equally dissatisfied with Alec Guinness and IIan McDiarmid from the original and prequel trilogies respectively. Since I've never heard any criticism of either I'm guessing people are actually unhappy with poor actors who are ALSO old. Harrison Ford has been stealing a living for the best part of two decades. He was terrible in the last Indiana Jones film not because he is old but rather he no longer seems to care.

Re: Star Wars Episode VII : Sat Jan 02, 2016 12:10 am  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

If you don't mind me saying, what's sad to me is your clear dissatisfaction with the use of older actors. Body-shaming is one of the most disagreeable aspects of social media but so many see fit to resort to it.

Harrison Ford is 73 ffs. Why can't Han Solo age? What is sad about him ageing? Are you ageist? Do you think older actors should be banned for not being sprightly?

Social media trolls had a right go at Carrie Fisher mostly claiming she had "not aged well". In her words:
I have no clue if she uses lip fillers or not but neither do I care. It's her body and she can do what she wants. You are objectifying her body when it is nothing at all to do with you. Carrie Fisher is an amazing woman, she is an author, playwright, screenwriter and superb actress. Yet your only comment about her is your disparaging view of the appearance of her lips.

I have to assume you're a bit tipsy, or one of those people who seeks to be offended on other people's behalf? Quite clearly, what I'm referring to is that it's sad to see the *characters* I loved as a kid looking old and worn out.

Nice try though - the outrage was at least articulate, if entirely without foundation.