Summer Movies - it's hollywood season

[JayKeeley]

Unlike the majority of people, I enjoyed II quite a bit and to a lesser extent, I.

Analogy:

Unlike the majority of people, I enjoyed 'drinking mongrel dog piss' quite a bit and to a lesser extent, 'rabid camel vomit'.

III should be better. Somewhere around 'toilet water' I'd imagine.

 

[SonOfNun]

Honestly, you think the originals are THAT MUCH better than the new stuff? I think people are a little jaded and expected too much. They aren't that bad when you don't expect to have Han Solo around whupping ass. Wait until Episode III pwns you and you'll come crawling back.

 

[JayKeeley]

Honestly, you think the originals are THAT MUCH better than the new stuff?

Only by about a billion %. Although episode II had some redeeming qualities, episode I was an absolute abomination. There is nothing that would ever make me want to see that tripe ever again (and that's even if Jar Jar Binks or munchkin Annakin weren't in it).

 

[NAD]

Honestly, you think the originals are THAT MUCH better than the new stuff?

YES. Dude, come on. I will say that Episode II was a good movie that I enjoyed, but Episode I was one of the biggest pieces of shit ever laid to celluloid. Terrible in every possible way. I almost started a thread a few hours ago, asking if anyone thought Episode III could possibly be the best Star Wars movie. That would rule.

 

[jimbobhickville]

@J: Star Wars ARE kid's movies. Kids have always been the target audience. That's why the PG-13 rating is such a huge deal.

As far as the prequels go, they definitely haven't been as good with dialogue as the old ones, and the lack of a wise-cracking Han Solo hasn't helped them, but besides that they've really been no worse than the originals. People have this skewed perception of the originals because they saw them as kids and grew up with them. If you watched them for the first time now, you'd realize the gap isn't as wide as it is in your head. Anyway, Episode III is getting really good reviews thus far, and knowing pretty much everything that's gonna happen, I can safely say I'm going to love it.

 

[Henrik Main]

Hmmm....didn't seem like there was much need for correction there, but ok.

It's a band

 

[lizard]

Steve Martin = the absolute suckage (almost as bad as Robin Williams).

you are wise, henrik. Steve Martin outlived his usefulness years ago, and Robin Williams and his "look at me, I'm a hyperactive maniac" has gotten so old it's not funny.

Kingdom of Heaven I will see, but probably on DVD.

 

[Dark One]

It's a band

Haha. I figured there was more to that statement.

 

[Dark One]

but Episode I was one of the biggest pieces of shit ever laid to celluloid. Terrible in every possible way.

Most of the Episode I bashing is completely warranted with the following exceptions:

- The lightsaber duel between Obi-Wann, Qui-Gonn and Darth Maul (lack of blood notwithstanding).
- The always fantastic John Williams score (if that even counts)

Terrible movie. 6 years later and I STILL can't understand what Lucas was thinking with Jar Jar Binks and casting a child that can't act to play Anakin. Quite possibly two of the worst all time mistakes in giant budget movies. Those two were so undeniably annoying it was impossible to enjoy what little substantive plot there actually was.

I will say that Episode II was a good movie that I enjoyed

Episode II definitely had many stronger moments. Among them:

- Anakin's massacre of the sand people village

- The battle and subsequent spacechase between Obi-Wann and Jango Fett

- The opening where the annoying Queen "decoy" gets killed off

- The Camino/Clone Army Creation sequences had a an eerie atmosphere to them.

- The final Jedi Battle

However, a few major annoyances that can't be ignored about Episode II:

- The unequivical tripe that they tried to pass off as a major romance between Anakin and Padame. They had absolutely ZERO onscreen romantic chemistry, especially with Anakin crying like a baby the entire movie. It was so ridiculously bad, that when all of a sudden Padame decided at the end, "Oh wait a minute, I know I acted like I was disinterested the whole movie, but now I love you with all my heart", I can't see how ANYONE would've been remotely moved. It was such a major plot theme and they botched it so completely, yet was also forced down our throats the entire time.

- Anakin's acting in general, which I've heard is better in Episode III. We'll have to wait and see on that one.

- The continued annoying, supposedly "evil" "Roger, Roger" droid army. C'mon, those robots should be menacing and sinister looking. Instead they're simply bumbling, worthless, harmless looking pieces of galactic garbage. The stormtroopers were A BILLION times cooler than these CGI rejects.

Other than those major complaints from me, Episode II was pretty darn cool.

I know it's extremely hard to believe (and who could blame you?) but Episode III really does look like it will redeem the series.

 

[JayKeeley]

- The lightsaber duel between Obi-Wann, Qui-Gonn and Darth Maul (lack of blood notwithstanding).

Yes. Can't think of anything else.

- The always fantastic John Williams score (if that even counts)

No, that's stretching it. As good as John Williams is, he cannot make crap smell like roses.

Terrible movie. 6 years later and I STILL can't understand what Lucas was thinking with Jar Jar Binks and casting a child that can't act to play Anakin. Quite possibly two of the worst all time mistakes in giant budget movies. Those two were so undeniably annoying it was impossible to enjoy what little substantive plot there actually was.

That's exactly right, although to me it's so self evident, I'm even surprised it needs highlighting.

My perception of new SW is not skewed based on when I saw the originals. I can pick out plenty of flaws from the originals -- especially at RotJ when it became very kid oriented: Ewoks, the muppet show in Jabba's castle, etc.

But Episode I was just bad, bad, bad in its own right. Ugh.

Episode II definitely had many stronger moments. Among them:

- Anakin's massacre of the sand people village

This was a cop out scene. You see him unleash his light sabre, and it cuts away! WTF?

- The battle and subsequent spacechase between Obi-Wann and Jango Fett

- The opening where the annoying Queen "decoy" gets killed off

- The Camino/Clone Army Creation sequences had a an eerie atmosphere to them.

- The final Jedi Battle

Yeah, I suppose, but it's still all pretty lame. The final battle looked like a Saturday morning cartoon. Christopher Lee fighting Yoda was just laughable. I mean, here you have aging Yoda and his walking stick, the next minute he's the Tasmanian Devil.

However, a few major annoyances that can't be ignored about Episode II:

- The unequivical tripe that they tried to pass off as a major romance between Anakin and Padame. They had absolutely ZERO onscreen romantic chemistry, especially with Anakin crying like a baby the entire movie. It was so ridiculously bad, that when all of a sudden Padame decided at the end, "Oh wait a minute, I know I acted like I was disinterested the whole movie, but now I love you with all my heart", I can't see how ANYONE would've been remotely moved. It was such a major plot theme and they botched it so completely, yet was also forced down our throats the entire time.

- Anakin's acting in general, which I've heard is better in Episode III. We'll have to wait and see on that one.

- The continued annoying, supposedly "evil" "Roger, Roger" droid army. C'mon, those robots should be menacing and sinister looking. Instead they're simply bumbling, worthless, harmless looking pieces of galactic garbage. The stormtroopers were A BILLION times cooler than these CGI rejects.

Other than those major complaints from me, Episode II was pretty darn cool.

I know it's extremely hard to believe (and who could blame you?) but Episode III really does look like it will redeem the series.

How about those stupid bug aliens with wings?

How about the fact that so much CGI was used, it made it look overly colourful and gay. Everything was so bright orange, if you think about it.

The worst part is the blue screen acting, and this applies to episode I & II. What you've got is actors acting in an empty studio, and then everything getting added to the scene on a computer 6 months later. And when they interact with a CGI figure, their line of vision doesn't even match. You can see Obi Wan talking to that diner chef and he's talking to his forehead.

Oh, just forget it. You really have to be scraping the barrell to find redeeming qualities to those 2 films, even if II was better than I. In its own right, it was still a pile of crap.

I know all the SW films are aimed at kids, but the originals were also adult oriented, whereas these prequels are fucking Disney flicks by comparison.

Episode III will be better only because it can't get worse. I hear Rick McCallum saying that they have 23000 CGI FX or whatever it is, like it's a good thing?

For fucks sake, I want to see Mos Eisely on Tantooine like it was a remote desert, not a storming metropolis. Sci Fi films should be gritty and dark. That's why episode IV and V were the best two, especially Empire. It's like the Ridley Scott view of Sci Fi films, seeing as Alien and Blade Runner captured that darkened vibe so perfectly.

 

[Henrik Main]

you are wise, henrik. Steve Martin outlived his usefulness years ago, and Robin Williams and his "look at me, I'm a hyperactive maniac" has gotten so old it's not funny.

Cool, you're possibly only the third or fourth person I've ever had the pleasure to meet who dislikes both of those. Issit just me, or has Robin Williams only played ONE role in his entire life? The unorthodox, "funny" father/teacher/male role model who always find alternate and more child-friendly ways of doing stuff?

 

[NAD]

He's done some different roles, like in 1 Hour Photo, What Dreams May Come, and that one old movie where he keeps getting chased by a jouster. Robin Williams stand up is better than his acting though.

 

[lizard]

Cool, you're possibly only the third or fourth person I've ever had the pleasure to meet who dislikes both of those. Issit just me, or has Robin Williams only played ONE role in his entire life? The unorthodox, "funny" father/teacher/male role model who always find alternate and more child-friendly ways of doing stuff?

and the scary thing, Robin Williams has symbolically begat Jim Carey, who is hilarious in small doses but over the course of time, the hyper rubber-face routine gets t i r e s o m e

 

[Dark One]

This was a cop out scene. You see him unleash his light sabre, and it cuts away! WTF?

Right. I would've like to have seen an extended version of that scene for sure, but I guess I was going for atmosphere here, and that scene, however brief, had it.

Yeah, I suppose, but it's still all pretty lame. The final battle looked like a Saturday morning cartoon. Christopher Lee fighting Yoda was just laughable. I mean, here you have aging Yoda and his walking stick, the next minute he's the Tasmanian Devil.

I guess I should've clarified things a bit and stated that I was referring to the parts before the Clone Army and Yoda arrive. The parts where it was just the Jedi fighting and finally becoming overwhelmed were very cool. Mace decapitating Jango Fett with a young Boba Fett holding Jango's head? Good stuff there.

The confrontations between Yoda and Dooku, not to mention Obi-Wann, Anakin and Dooku flat out sucked because they were simply too short. Dooku also made Obi-Wann and Anakin look extremely weak by beating them so quickly.

How about those stupid bug aliens with wings?

Eh, I thought they were ok. Compared to the robots they were certainly an upgrade.

How about the fact that so much CGI was used, it made it look overly colourful and gay. Everything was so bright orange, if you think about it.

Totally agreed here. Too much CGI at the expense of authenticity. I mean, I'll take the main bridge of a Super Star Destroyer any day over fake looking bubble bombs and orange factories.

The worst part is the blue screen acting, and this applies to episode I & II. What you've got is actors acting in an empty studio, and then everything getting added to the scene on a computer 6 months later. And when they interact with a CGI figure, their line of vision doesn't even match. You can see Obi Wan talking to that diner chef and he's talking to his forehead.

Agreed, and I liked the diner chef. Too much CGI is a bad thing. I mean, don't throw it in just because you can. The monsters in Mos Eisley back in 1977 gave that whole scene depth and character.

Oh, just forget it. You really have to be scraping the barrell to find redeeming qualities to those 2 films, even if II was better than I. In its own right, it was still a pile of crap.

Disagree, obviously, but I wouldn't put it in Episodes IV and V category either.

As far as I'm concerned, Episodes V and IV are far and away the best, followed (distantly) by II, III and then I.

Episode III will be better only because it can't get worse. I hear Rick McCallum saying that they have 23000 CGI FX or whatever it is, like it's a good thing?

If used correctly, I believe it can be.

For fucks sake, I want to see Mos Eisely on Tantooine like it was a remote desert, not a storming metropolis. Sci Fi films should be gritty and dark. That's why episode IV and V were the best two, especially Empire. It's like the Ridley Scott view of Sci Fi films, seeing as Alien and Blade Runner captured that darkened vibe so perfectly.

Absolutely agreed, not to mention that those movies had characters that really made you care about them through flat out good chemistry.

 

[Henrik Main]

and the scary thing, Robin Williams has symbolically begat Jim Carey, who is hilarious in small doses but over the course of time, the hyper rubber-face routine gets t i r e s o m e

Word to that. Ace Ventura ! & 2, Dumb And Dumber and The Mask kick ass, though. I actually liked Liar, Liar too, but loathed Cable Guy.

 

[spaffe]

Word to that. Ace Ventura ! & 2, Dumb And Dumber and The Mask kick ass, though. I actually liked Liar, Liar too, but loathed Cable Guy.

What's wrong with Cable Guy? :| I found (parts of ) it and his misfit character kind of moving

 

[Bruni]

Well so far, Episode III is the best reviewed movie that has come out this year...

 

[Henrik Main]

What's wrong with Cable Guy? :| I found (parts of ) it and his misfit character kind of moving

I was maybe too young and immature when I watched it, but I only liked two scenes in it (the scene where Jim Carrey puts on a mask made out of meat or something, and the post-intercourse conversation between Carrey and that other bloke, where Carrey reveals that the girl that other bloke slept with was in fact a hooker he had hired.)

 

[spaffe]

I was maybe too young and immature when I watched it, but I only liked two scenes in it (the scene where Jim Carrey puts on a mask made out of meat or something, and the post-intercourse conversation between Carrey and that other bloke, where Carrey reveals that the girl that other bloke slept with was in fact a hooker he had hired.)

Hehe yeah those were funny parts, but I think it had more than just comedy to offer

Jim Carry can actually act really well, I think he did a very good job in Man on the Moon and especially in Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which was one of the best movies of last year

 

[J.]

I thought Truman Show was Carrey's best performance. I was very surprised when that movie came out. Great movie.