[----]

Mark., on 10 February 2018 - 04:54 AM, said:

When watching the scene of crashing the ship into the other one I wondered "why sacrifice her life when a droid could have piloted the ship instead".

Or the Autopilot ... oh, wait, they don't use autopilots since they are still embaressed that they didn't think of crushing autopiloted ships from hyperspace into the death stars.

[MusicallyInspired]

Interesting alternate take on the TFA ending. Imagine this and then a two-year wait lol.

https://streamable.com/98lqi

[Forge]

[----]

Not an Episode ... but a spoiler free review for it:

Solo is exactly what I expected from it. Nothing more. Also, nothing less. But it could have been more.
And one short scene was really meh (it had nothing to do with the story, fortunately).

EDIT:
The dubbed German version had the same voice actor as the old Han which helped a little to convince me that this is actually Han.

[MusicallyInspired]

This is the first Star Wars movie I haven't wanted to see opening night. I was actually surprised. I had originally planned on it but...with everything going on with Star Wars right now, and the fact that I never wanted an Adventures of Young Han Solo movie, it just wasn't pressing for me. Also I've been battling with my thoughts on TLJ ever since I saw it. I don't like the divisiveness it's created.

Ugh.

[----]

I do my Star Wars marathon every X-Mas* in the following order and this is where Solo will fit in:

Episode IV
Episode V
Solo (a solid but harmless movie that ticks every checkbox but doesn't deliver anything special)
Episode I
Episode II
Episode III
Episode VI
Episode VII
Episode VIII (thank god that there is still another movie after that in my running order)
Rogue One


*) I soon need a longer X-Mas.

[----]

My friend/girlfriend* moved to my house this weekend and she found the following in her cellar:

The VHS box of the original Star Wars trilogy - Special Edition (you know, the first special editions with only a very few changes)

But she also found the VHS box of the original trilogy with the theatrical releases and no changes at all.

Oh, happy times.


*) we have no idea ... let's say that "it's complicated"

[MusicallyInspired]

The original VHS Special Edition set had the worst of the changes. Han definitely didn't shoot first and Jabba looks like something from Backyardigans.

Is the theatrical set the old one with the old posters or the newer 90s release with the faces? Actually, if you're not in NA it would probably be the other set of covers with the badly painted (IMO) images.

[HulkNukem]

MusicallyInspired, on 14 March 2018 - 07:37 PM, said:

Interesting alternate take on the TFA ending. Imagine this and then a two-year wait lol.

https://streamable.com/98lqi

Is it bad I was hoping it would show her walk all that way and when the camera finally cuts to Luke it's just him milking that cow thing and then drinking it, roll credits?

To be honest, I actually like the alternate ending you shared. Would've made it even more impactful, like holy shit, Luke doesn't even care about the lightsaber? What could that mean? And then of course it would lead into Last Jedi and it would've just been eh

[NightFright]

fuegerstef, on 23 May 2018 - 11:47 PM, said:

[...]
EDIT:
The dubbed German version had the same voice actor as the old Han which helped a little to convince me that this is actually Han.

How did they pull that off? I think the voice actor for the character is quite old now. Can't imagine that would still fit like it did in the original trilogy. Or did they use digital tricks to make the voice sound younger or something?

[----]

NightFright, on 29 May 2018 - 04:06 AM, said:

How did they pull that off? I think the voice actor for the character is quite old now. Can't imagine that would still fit like it did in the original trilogy. Or did they use digital tricks to make the voice sound younger or something?

I think they smoothed his voice digitally.

A friend of mine (who is a voice actor) saw it and jokingly said "He (Hans voice actor) ate a lot of chalk beforehand"

(In the German version of Grimm's failry tales the wolf eats chalk to soften his voice. I think it is honey in the international version).

[Danukem]

Maybe, but for some people voices don't change much with age. He might be one of the lucky ones. My father, for example, sounds exactly like he did 40 years ago -- it helps if you don't smoke.

[MusicallyInspired]

I recently finally finished Star Wars Rebels' final season. It was really quite good. Best season of the series. Especially after season 3 which promised a lot but had mostly filler episodes about nothing important that weren't really very engaging. Season 4 is quite different and has real focus. What a great finish. It's still not as great as what The Clone Wars became (granted, it had 6 seasons to improve), but it had come a long way from its first season.

Sometimes I wish Dave Filoni was in charge of Star Wars.

[----]

MusicallyInspired, on 30 May 2018 - 05:22 AM, said:

Sometimes I wish Dave Filoni was in charge of Star Wars.

Too bad I cannot upvote your post several times.

[Forge]

the second film in the star wars universe to have box office issues, there must be a reason beyond saturation....

[MusicallyInspired]

Can't help but notice Kathleen Kennedy hasn't been in the spotlight as the face of Star Wars/LucasFilm in a while now...

[Danukem]

We shouldn't let Disney off the hook by giving credence to the idea that fans are staying away because of a political slant. The fact is, the two most recent films are just not very good films, period. TLJ made big bank largely on reputation, but don't let the box office fool you -- a lot of us didn't care much for that film. A lot of people are boycotting Solo because we don't have any confidence that Disney can produce good films in the franchise, regardless of politics. If they believe this is primarily about politics then there is no hope of them doing much better. First, because people who feel a need to inject politics into their art are incorrigible and can't help themselves. Second, if they believe it's about politics, then they are blind to the more fundamental flaws in the films.

[Forge]

Solo: A story of a self-made under-aged fembot and her pansexual person-of-color lover. Oh, and Star Wars.

[----]

MusicallyInspired, on 03 June 2018 - 05:33 PM, said:

Can't help but notice Kathleen Kennedy hasn't been in the spotlight as the face of Star Wars/LucasFilm in a while now...

This was actually thlast thing I heard/read of her in a broader public:


If you hadn't seen it before: That image is not faked but taken from the offical Star Wars Twitter account.

Trooper Dan, on 03 June 2018 - 05:48 PM, said:

We shouldn't let Disney off the hook by giving credence to the idea that fans are staying away because of a political slant. The fact is, the two most recent films are just not very good films, period. TLJ made big bank largely on reputation, but don't let the box office fool you -- a lot of us didn't care much for that film. A lot of people are boycotting Solo because we don't have any confidence that Disney can produce good films in the franchise, regardless of politics. If they believe this is primarily about politics then there is no hope of them doing much better. First, because people who feel a need to inject politics into their art are incorrigible and can't help themselves. Second, if they believe it's about politics, then they are blind to the more fundamental flaws in the films.

I agree. The last two films weren't really good.

The question if "white men are poison for the box office?" came from one article in Forbes, IIRC. And that is complete bullshit, IMHO, as two weeks before that the white male Deadpool was very successful at the box office. And there is no problem with a strong female lead. Look at Rogue One which (again IMHO) is a great Star Wars movie (except for the slow first third). Even without the connection to Episode IV, the second half of Rogue One is Star Wars at it's finest (and it made a billion worldwide). But the reason that it was great was not because Jyn Erso was female, but because it was what made (and should still make) Star Wars great: awesome space and ground battles, high stakes, humor between the characters, etc ... neither Solo nor TLJ had this.

On a side note: I think that Kathleen Kennedy has no idea what Star Wars is about and what people like about and expect from it. The most cringeworthy scene in Solo was how he got his name. It was so awfully bad. But ... that scene was shown to her in a demo reel ... and from that she decided to make the Solo movie.

[NightFright]

Corrected that movie title a bit.

[MusicallyInspired]

Yeah, all those articles saying that Solo did badly because audiences are sick of white male leads and want more women is retarded.

And Kennedy is not a Star Wars fan in the least. Easily the worst person to put in charge of Star Wars and Lucasflim. She hasn't got a clue. Phasma was only hamfisted into TFA because she saw the concept art and said "We have to put this in the movie!" She probably insisted she be female too.....which is fine, but considering how she's been handling Star Wars so far, was probably a factor she requested.

[----]

Also Kennedy selecting Rian Johnson was a huge mistake.

He took all characters in TFA that showed promise of becoming interesting* and made them boring and not developing at all.

Well, two characters had evolved and changed during EP VIII: Snoke and Luke went from being alive to being dead.


*) I am not talking about the lacking background of Rey's parents, but that she is a stale character in VIII.


And compare the space chase of EP V with VIII. One was exciting and had Leia and Han develop a relationship and all that. The second had two fleets flying a straight line in empty space.

Now let's also compare the battle on the snow ... err ... salt-planets: No words needed, I think.

And yes, Bespin was far cooler and more interesting than that Harry Potter-planet with some space horses being freed.



And ... there were a few parts in the prequel trilogy that were actually good:

There were visually interesting ship desings and visually interesting alien worlds.

But Kennedy goes like this: "Wait, people didn't like the prequels. So, no interesting ship designs. Keeping the old designs and making them bigger is enough. Oh, and no alien worlds, please. Only a desert planet, a snow planet (but make it salt) and some forests. Those were in the originals. That's all the people want".

[Merlijn]

Trooper Dan, on 03 June 2018 - 05:48 PM, said:

We shouldn't let Disney off the hook by giving credence to the idea that fans are staying away because of a political slant. The fact is, the two most recent films are just not very good films, period. TLJ made big bank largely on reputation, but don't let the box office fool you -- a lot of us didn't care much for that film. A lot of people are boycotting Solo because we don't have any confidence that Disney can produce good films in the franchise, regardless of politics. If they believe this is primarily about politics then there is no hope of them doing much better. First, because people who feel a need to inject politics into their art are incorrigible and can't help themselves. Second, if they believe it's about politics, then they are blind to the more fundamental flaws in the films.

Solo isn't that bad though, I think it mostly suffers from the TLJ backlash (kinda how Justice League suffered from the bad reception of Batman v. Superman, even though it was an improvement).

But I agree that the overall quality of the new SW movies is lacking.
Take away the nostalgia and The Force Awakens really isn't that good either..

I'm mostly disappointed by the sequel trilogy so far, to be honest it feels rushed and poorly planned out.
Especially when compared to the MCU.

[MusicallyInspired]

The rumour mill is churning. I won't miss her if this is true.

Kathleen Kennedy may be leaving Lucasfilm and Star Wars (by September)

[NightFright]

Hopefully it's enough to save Episode 9. Provided it's true. The anger of the mob about her work may have proven to be too powerful for her to stay after all.

[----]

Oh, if only it was true ... Dave Filoni next would be even better.

[MusicallyInspired]

While I'd love Filoni to run the creative side, I don't think he's qualified to run LucasFilm either. He doesn't have that kind of resume. Maybe if someone else handled the business side and he was free to take the reigns creatively.

[Mark]

Trooper Dan, on 03 June 2018 - 05:48 PM, said:

... A lot of people are boycotting Solo because we don't have any confidence that Disney can produce good films in the franchise...

I'm not sure about that. It would take an earth shattering event to keep the fanboys away from a SW movie. They will go to see it regardless of reviews. I believe they don't have the willpower to stay home. I would say some, not a lot are passing on it to make a point.

[MusicallyInspired]

Explain the immense absence of viewers in the seats for Solo, then. I didn't go. It's the first one since TFA that I didn't take my family to go see opening night. Just not interested in the least. I had started buying the Blurays too. I have yet to get Ep8....not sure if I will now.

[Danukem]

Mark., on 07 June 2018 - 07:59 AM, said:

I'm not sure about that. It would take an earth shattering event to keep the fanboys away from a SW movie. They will go to see it regardless of reviews.

I was accused of being a fanboy myself for some of my criticisms of Last Jedi. And here I am, not seeing Solo. And not interested in episode 9 at the moment.