Star Wars Ep. VII Megathread: The Force Awakens (1 Viewer)

[SamT]

At least some of STAR WARS: EPISODE VII is being shot in IMAX!!

https://twitter.com/bad_robot/status/486628757780721664/photo/1

 

[SilverWook]

Regarding Kevin Smith doing a testimonial here, Disney isn't stupid. They know the brand is totally fine as is -- there's a billion kids who were in grade school when the Prequels were hitting and like them just fine and watch the cartoons and all that, and that's more than enough to keep making money.

But if they pull off giving the neckbeards who're still marathoning that fucking Red Letter Media gripefest on a weekly basis the "Return of Star Wars" emotion-rush they were "denied" in '99, they've now basically got favorable coverage and goodwill for the duration.

Jeez. Way to go and stereotype fans who didn't think the prequels were the greatest thing since sliced bread.

And I recall Smith praising the prequels, especially Episode III, so I don't know what to make of what he says now. But hey, he got a free tour of the set, so I envy him.

 

[SilverWook]

Double post. Whoops!

 

[SilverWook]

At least some of STAR WARS: EPISODE VII is being shot in IMAX!!

https://twitter.com/bad_robot/status/486628757780721664/photo/1

What a desolate place this is...

 

[DanH1972]

Regarding Kevin Smith doing a testimonial here, Disney isn't stupid. They know the brand is totally fine as-is -- there's a billion kids who were in grade school when the Prequels were hitting and like them just fine and watch the cartoons and all that, and that's more than enough to keep making money.

But if they pull off giving the neckbeards who're still marathoning that fucking Red Letter Media gripefest on a weekly basis the "Return of Star Wars" emotion-rush they were "denied" in '99, they've now basically got favorable coverage and goodwill for the duration.

There are also a billion kids who have no f--king clue what a good movie is either.

The "griping" that you call it is pretty legit. Lucas did the fans a huge disservice. Hopefully, these new films make up for lost time.

Now all we need are the original, unadulterated films from 1977, 1980, and 1983 fully restored at 4k and released into the wild.

 

[TravisR]

I assume that many of the people who have spent the last 15 years complaining about the prequels are excited for the new movies simply because it will give them new bad things to say about the prequels. I predict many Episode VII reviews that will boil down to "It was terrible but it was still better than the prequels" or "It was even worse than the prequels! And it's scientifically proven that the prequels were the worst movies ever made!"

 

[DanH1972]

I assume that many of the people who have spent the last 15 years complaining about the prequels are excited for the new movies simply because it will give them new bad things to say about the prequels. I predict many Episode VII reviews that will boil down to "It was terrible but it was still better than the prequels" or "It was even worse than the prequels! And it's scientifically proven that they were the worst movies ever made!"

Well, I do have some hope since Lawrence Kasdan is writing the screenplay for at least the first installment in the new series. You do know what cinema classics he wrote, don't you?

 

[TravisR]

You do know what cinema classics he wrote, don't you?

Dreamcatcher

 

[DanH1972]

Dreamcatcher

There are always turkeys in every portfolio for every Raiders of the Lost Ark and Empire Strikes Back and Silverado and Grand Canyon written.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Nostalgia is a weird thing. I seem to recall in 2008 that most critics gave very high review scores to Indiana Jones and the Whatever. I don't mean positive reviews...I mean raves.I hope the new Star Wars film is sincerely good. I hope the subsequent films are sincerely good as well, both the standalones and those sequenced from the OT. It won't change how I feel about the PT, or frankly how I feel about the SW universe as a whole, either way.As I saw the posts about Harry Potter today, and I think about IJ4 (or do I mean IJBore??) and Episode 7, and Die Hard 4.0, and The Expendables, and Disney making a live-action Dumbo...I recall how I moved around a lot when I was young, and I strongly imprinted on a few of the places I lived that really resonated at certain times in my life. When I visit them again, though, it is never the same. It can never be the same. Because fortunately, I'm not the same, and neither is anyone there. Which is why I want to go new places more now than before.I love the characters from the OT. Love them. But I'm happy to try and love new characters as well. More than happy. New characters probably offer more story opportunities. Star Wars is special in that you can keep the universe and play with genres, new characters, and new stories. I get the 7/8/9 decision. 4 billion is a large chunk of change.But man, let's go somewhere new. It is hard to be excited about Luke and Leia and even Han. Not because they couldn't be involved in a great new story...I hope for that. But more than likely (based on evidence elsewhere - including the IJ4 and imitators mentioned above), old characters tend to get caught in a do loop of callbacks and reheated stories.You can't go home again. I wish we weren't culturally obsessed with trying.

 

[Edwin-S]

Dreamcatcher

They filmed part of that in my area.

 

[SamT]

Did you notice a guy is standing next to the IMAX camera? The camera is so small!

 

[joshEH]

There are also a billion kids who have no f--king clue what a good movie is either.

The "griping" that you call it is pretty legit. Lucas did the fans a huge disservice. Hopefully, these new films make up for lost time.

...I guess I'm one of those (37-year-old) kids, then.

(Also, Lucas doing or not doing the fans a "huge disservice" is purely subjective, and strictly in the eye of the beholder, of course.)

 

[DanH1972]

...I guess I'm one of those (37-year-old) kids, then.

(Also, Lucas doing or not doing the fans a huge "disservice" is purely subjective, and strictly in the eye of the beholder, of course.)

This 40+ year old kid took a few very good film history and film appreciation courses in college (almost like classic literature courses). They opened my eyes to a world of quality films I wouldn't otherwise have watched or known about... not just in terms of story and acting, but lighting, editing, composition, etc. That's why Spielberg's Jaws is a masterpiece of summer entertainment (the first blockbuster) and Transformers is just noise and the Star Wars prequels were lousy.

Classes like that can help you and other movie goers become more discerning audience members. They really should be required classes in school.

Want to watch a fascinating movie tonight? Check out Criterion's Blu-ray of Wim Wender's Wings of Desire. Saw that poetic German Expressionist film from the late 80's all the way back in high school in Humanities and it had a lasting impression on me. Now, that's a good film and I snagged it as soon as it came out on DVD (and then Blu-ray). Two other great foreign films: Fritz Lang's M (with a young Peter Lorre - also on Criterion Blu-ray) and The Lives of Others. A fairly recent award-winning Japanese film to also check out: Departures

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

This 40+ year old kid took a few very good film history and film appreciation courses in college (almost like classic literature courses). They opened my eyes to a world of quality films I wouldn't otherwise have watched or known about... not just in terms of story and acting, but lighting, editing, composition, etc. That's why Spielberg's Jaws is a masterpiece of summer entertainment (the first blockbuster) and Transformers is just noise and the Star Wars prequels were lousy.

Classes like that can help you and other movie goers become more discerning audience members. They really should be required classes in school.

Want to watch a fascinating movie tonight? Check out Criterion's Blu-ray of Wim Wender's Wings of Desire. Saw that poetic German Expressionist film from the late 80's all the way back in high school in Humanities and it had a lasting impression on me. Now, that's a good film and I snagged it as soon as it came out on DVD (and then Blu-ray). Two other great foreign films: Fritz Lang's M (with a young Peter Lorre - also on Criterion Blu-ray) and The Lives of Others. A fairly recent award-winning Japanese film to also check out: Departures

While I understand where you are trying to come from, let me say that I studied film in college, was exposed to numerous classics that wowed and enlightened me, and I have reviewed a good many important films for HTF (Persona, The General, Jules et Jim, etc.) - that doesn't stop me from having fun with movies like Transformers.

Sure, it would be good for more people to become familiar with the important films of the 20th century - but people watch different movies for different reasons and that doesn't make a fan of, for example, the Transformers movies film-illiterate, necessarily...nor a fan of Fritz Lang's M movie literate, necessarily.

 

[Tino]

Quote:"Classes like that can help you and other movie goers become more discerning audience members. They really should be required classes in school."That's hilarious. We need to take classes to help us become more discerning. Wow. Thanks but I'm confident that I know what kind of films I like. Even if you don't like them. You probably didn't mean it but that sounds very condescending. To each his own right?

 

[DanH1972]

Quote:"Classes like that can help you and other movie goers become more discerning audience members. They really should be required classes in school."That's hilarious. We need to take classes to help us become more discerning. Wow. Thanks but I'm confident that I know what kind of films I like. Even if you don't like them. You probably didn't mean it but that sounds very condescending. To each his own right?

It's a great way to learn about film theory and the art surrounding it... besides watching films you may not even know existed from all parts of the world. How do you know as a teenager what you like or do not like if you have no exposure to films besides modern popcorn stuff at your average local cinemaplex??

It's called expanding one's horizons.

 

[FoxyMulder]

I enjoy all types of cinema, from classics dating back to the twenties to modern wham bang action flicks, i have seen Wings Of Desire, M, The Lives of Others and many more, i enjoy 3D films, i enjoy black and white films, i enjoy colour films, i enjoy silent films, i dislike when someone assumes that if you like Transformers that you cannot equally enjoy 8½, of course you can.

As a teenager you watch what is on at the cinema, you check out your Netflix account and if film interests you enough then you seek out other types of movie and visit forums like this and learn more about film, i see little point in forcing it down anyone's throat, let them find out if they wish and if they do not wish then that is fine too, it's their choice to expand their horizons or not.

A thought has just occurred to me, i have a great idea how we can make all this work, let's make them sit and we will force them to watch all these movies, you know like Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange, they will LEARN to enjoy Fellini.

 

[Tino]

It's a great way to learn about film theory and the art surrounding it... besides watching films you may not even know existed from all parts of the world. How do you know as a teenager what you like or do not like if you have no exposure to films besides modern popcorn stuff at your average local cinemaplex?? It's called expanding one's horizons.

Really?? Thanks. Never would have thought of that on my own. Anyway, I still contend that the film will be delayed to summer 2016 no matter how much Disney says differently. It just seems like they are rushing.

 

[Tino]

Yes Malcolm, I agree. We must FORCE people to like films. Especially ones that WE like.