STAR WARS : Episode VIII December 15, 2017 4 4

[jsilverjanet]

And the horrible plot twist of the Mandarin (which I though was dumb)

[rjrjr]

Just now, jsilverjanet said:

Heck it’s as bad as Iron Man 3

Now that's bad! 

[jsilverjanet]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a film about letting go of the past — about letting it die, and even killing it if you have to, as one character puts it. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the movie in many ways tears down and refutes the entrenched wisdom of the Star Wars franchise.

[jsilverjanet]

In response to a fan asking whether he thought it was a good thing The Last Jedi has been so polarizing among audiences, Johnson wrote in a tweet, “The goal is never to divide or make people upset, but I do think the conversations that are happening were going to have to happen at some point if sw is going to grow, move forward, and stay vital.”

[jsilverjanet]

In the very first scene, there’s a joke. It really landed at the premiere. But humor is always a risk. Why did you take it?

Johnson: Oh good, whoo-hoo. That was something that was really, really important to me. That’s part of what I enjoy in movies. It’s part of what I enjoy in Star Wars. I think about Han and Leia and Luke wisecracking their way through the Death Star. The movies always had that sense of humor. Especially coming into the middle chapter, it has a stigma of always being darker. I knew it was going to get darker in some spots just because of what we had to do. It was really important to me, to, at the very outset, make a bold statement of, we’re going to have fun here also. Relax, you can laugh with it also, this isn’t just going to be a dirge. . . . That was the one thing I was most nervous about last night because we never tested these movies. This was the first time I’ve watched it with a crowd bigger than 10 or 15 people. The one thing that you can never know until you put it in front of a big crowd of strangers is if the jokes play or not. So I was very relieved when we got the laughs. Oh, that very first scene. That was really the one that was just, I was holding my girlfriend’s hand very tightly when that came up. Then I relaxed when the audience got it and started rolling with it. It’s so important to me because that sets the tone and the expectation that, oh, O.K. there are going to be laughs in this movie.

[Rip]

2 hours ago, ComicConnoisseur said:

Poe will be the big star in the end over those two,plus Rey is quitting the series after the next one.

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/daisy-ridley-star-wars-no-more-after-episode-9-1202627235/

 

When “Star Wars: Episode IX” hits theaters in 2019, star Daisy Ridley expects it to be the third and final time she portrays her character Rey.

“I am really, really excited to do the third thing and round it out, because ultimately, what I was signing on to was three films,” she told Rolling Stone. “So in my head, it’s three films. I think it will feel like the right time to round it out.”

 

Rey may be back for more films. We really don't know. Although I happen to like Poe, so I wouldn't mind seeing more of a focus on him

https://www.cbr.com/daisy-ridley-not-quitting-star-wars/

To me, Star Wars is in threes. [Episodes] IV, V, VI; I, II, III; VII, VIII, IX,” Ridley continued. “So, for me, that’s what I was signing on to; VII, VIII, outside-affiliatelinksnotallowed So that’s really what I was answering. And I think, for now — I’m not saying forever. Obviously, Rey will always be Rey… and obviously I don’t know what happens in Episode IX, or even if I’m in it. But for now I think it would be — To me, IX was always the end of this chapter. So, it’s not me going ‘I don’t want to.’ It’s just that’s what I always pictured.”

RELATED: Star Wars: 15 Force Awakens Plot Holes That The Last Jedi Can Fix

 

Ridley’s statement doesn’t necessarily reveal whether Rey will appear in more Star Wars films after Episode IX. The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is slated to direct a new trilogy, so there’s a chance that those films will explore some aspect of Rey’s past or future. However, right now that is currently unknown. As Johnson’s trilogy will set to step away from the Skywalker family, Rey’s parentage — which will be revealed in The Last Jedi — may play a role in whether or not she’ll appear in the future.

[jsilverjanet]

On the new trilogy

Since you will be working with new characters and, as you say, a blank canvas, what is it that will make it a Star Warsmovie?

Johnson: That’s really exciting, isn’t it? That question? For me, I go back and I think about when I was a kid in Colorado, in my backyard, and I look up, thinking about Luke staring at the two suns. I would look up in Colorado—one horizon is always mountains. I remember looking at the mountains and thinking about what adventures are going on in those mountains. It sounds very cheesy when I say it, but I really do just tag back into that feeling of the possibility of adventure that Star Wars gave me. . . . As opposed to design or any number of any other things . . . the thing I’m really focusing on is, how did it make me feel when I was a kid?

[Larryw7]

3 hours ago, ComicConnoisseur said:

Poe will be the big star in the end over those two,plus Rey is quitting the series after the next one.

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/daisy-ridley-star-wars-no-more-after-episode-9-1202627235/

 

When “Star Wars: Episode IX” hits theaters in 2019, star Daisy Ridley expects it to be the third and final time she portrays her character Rey.

“I am really, really excited to do the third thing and round it out, because ultimately, what I was signing on to was three films,” she told Rolling Stone. “So in my head, it’s three films. I think it will feel like the right time to round it out.”

 

If Poe is the new star, the franchise is definitely doomed. He's the least interesting of all of the new characters, and a force user needs to be in the leading role. 

[Larryw7]

3 hours ago, rjrjr said:

This is precisely why it is important for Disney to kill off the main 3 original characters.  The story for those 3 characters has been told.  Disney wants to move forward even if it means losing a few old fans who just want the original 3 heroes.  I'm sure they will pick up more fans than they lose with the recent trilogy.  They did with the prequels, despite all the belly aching about those movies.  Someone is buying all the toys and merchandise and it isn't just old fans.

Running the franchise in the ground would be them just telling stories about the original 3 heroes, ala Star Trek.  I don't want to see geriatric versions of Han, Leia, and Luke movie after movie.  The actors are too old and the Star Trek crew looked silly in the end.  (Scotty knocking himself out by hitting his head on his own ship. )

Luke I can see sticking around, but that is now moot.  I liked the sendoff.  And I'm positive we will see him as a Force ghost.

They don't need to run the franchise into the ground. They can end it (or at least put it on hiatus for awhile) as has been done in the past. What will turn this series into Star Trek are endless spinoffs, TV shows etc. And when that happens,  what was once a cinematic event will be ordinary and nothing special. 

[CAHokie]

Ok, serious question for those that liked the movie. Did you guys really enjoy him tossing the lightsaber like that after being such a meaningful moment the movie before? Star Wars has had humor like he said, but I don’t remember it being that type of humor  I feel it was poor choice and set the tone.

[Larryw7]

4 minutes ago, CAHokie said:

Ok, serious question for those that liked the movie. Did you guys really enjoy him tossing the lightsaber like that after being such a meaningful moment the movie before? Star Wars has had humor like he said, but I don’t remember it being that type of humor  I feel it was poor choice and set the tone.

Not really.  It ruined the ending of TFA.

[jsilverjanet]

The writer/director definition of Star Wars seems to be more Star Trek (adventure) than Star Wars (the force) 

 

[comix4fun]

1 hour ago, jsilverjanet said:

In the very first scene, there’s a joke. It really landed at the premiere. But humor is always a risk. Why did you take it?

Johnson: Oh good, whoo-hoo. That was something that was really, really important to me. That’s part of what I enjoy in movies. It’s part of what I enjoy in Star Wars. I think about Han and Leia and Luke wisecracking their way through the Death Star. The movies always had that sense of humor. Especially coming into the middle chapter, it has a stigma of always being darker. I knew it was going to get darker in some spots just because of what we had to do. It was really important to me, to, at the very outset, make a bold statement of, we’re going to have fun here also. Relax, you can laugh with it also, this isn’t just going to be a dirge. . . . That was the one thing I was most nervous about last night because we never tested these movies. This was the first time I’ve watched it with a crowd bigger than 10 or 15 people. The one thing that you can never know until you put it in front of a big crowd of strangers is if the jokes play or not. So I was very relieved when we got the laughs. Oh, that very first scene. That was really the one that was just, I was holding my girlfriend’s hand very tightly when that came up. Then I relaxed when the audience got it and started rolling with it. It’s so important to me because that sets the tone and the expectation that, oh, O.K. there are going to be laughs in this movie.

He has no concept of the difference between "ball-busting" in the establishment of character's personalities for the audience and prat-fall, dumb-joke, dramatic-scene-wrecking attempts at comedy. 

But he's right in one regard....the movies all had THAT sense of humor. The good kind. The well placed kind. The post tense scene, diffusing kind. The humor tailored specifically to the character as a way of letting the audience get to know that character. The cocky flyboy, the brash independent princess/rebel leader, the far from home and immature farm boy. The wisecracks, the humor, the lighter moments weren't simply there for their own sake, they served a narrative purpose. 

Johnson just shoehorned all manner of bad jokes, puns, prat falls, prop comedy and foisted it onto characters that was completely OUT of character for them....especially the normally humorless imperial characters. 

I believe Carrie Fisher expressed this feeling the best in another one of her memorable roles:

"everyone thinks they have good taste and a sense of humor, but they couldn't possibly all have good taste and a sense of humor..."

 

Edited January 1, 2018 by comix4fun

[Azkaban]

4 hours ago, Bosco685 said:

This is a 'thing' now??

'Star Wars: The Last Jedi': John Mayer Takes "Kylo Ren Challenge" by Posing Shirtless in High-Waisted Pants

 

 this tells you all you need to know about this movie, what a freaking joke

[rjrjr]

9 hours ago, CAHokie said:

Ok, serious question for those that liked the movie. Did you guys really enjoy him tossing the lightsaber like that after being such a meaningful moment the movie before? Star Wars has had humor like he said, but I don’t remember it being that type of humor  I feel it was poor choice and set the tone.

I didn't like that part.  But I didn't let it ruin the movie for me.

[NewEnglandGothic]

What strikes me a bizarre in this thread is how some folks keep claiming “The Force Awakens” is a rip-off off “Star Wars,” by regurgitating its plot about 38 years later. But, no one (that I saw) has even mentioned how much stuff George Lucas “borrowed” from Akira Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress” from 1958 for “Star Wars” in the first place. I just saw the Criterion of this one about a month ago and was blown away how good it was and I am a Star Wars fan, that will probably look at the original in a different light now as (gasp) a rehash of that movie’s prime elements (two peasants who became droids, the scene wipes, the samurai/Jedi, the princess, etc.)

[Foley]

This may be a stupid question, so apologies in advance. Are force ghosts a Jedi only phenomenon of has a Sith lord ever become one (with the exception of Vader after he was redeemed)?

I know it's never happened in the films, but I am not familiar with other canonical, or non-canon media for that matter.

[chrisco37]

3 hours ago, rjrjr said:

I didn't like that part.  But I didn't let it ruin the movie for me.

Same.  Of course I would’ve preferred him to turn the saber on and say “your training begins now” or something along those lines.  

Instead, they made him a tired, cynical old man.  And, ultimately, that ended up working for me.

[Grendel72]

28 minutes ago, Foley said:

This may be a stupid question, so apologies in advance. Are force ghosts a Jedi only phenomenon of has a Sith lord ever become one (with the exception of Vader after he was redeemed)?

I know it's never happened in the films, but I am not familiar with other canonical, or non-canon media for that matter.

If canon,  then no . Think it's said that the sith are unable to achieve oneness in the force to become a force ghost. However in the expanded universe (EU) which is non canon there are several examples such as marka ragnos appearing as a force ghost. Of course that can be debated as we can argue as to what constitutes as a force ghost. But Marka Ragnos appearance to influence the election  of Naga sadow in the EU appears to be more than just as an apparition. Darth Bane did appear to Yoda in star wars rebels which is  canon but this was merely a ruse played by a priestess so it wouldn't count. 

[miraclemet]

Saw it for the second time Saturday. 

Checking multiple theaters here in the DC suburbs of Maryland most theaters were 75-90% pre-sold.Theaters still doing 2 to 4 screens of TLJ. 

Second viewing let me enjoy small items like little facial expressions and small comments in the movie,made for an enhancement on second viewing.

Over I still really enjoyed this movie as a hardcore Star Wars fan. Saw ANH and ESB back in '80 at 5 years old. The Force Awakens made me feel like a kid again, but The Last Jedi made me feel like an adult who had grown up in the Star Wars universe. 

Thoughts on the characterization of Old Luke. Last time we saw him he was a 20 something year old hero who had never failed. Blow up the death star? Sure. Redeem your father so he can join the force? Sure. Take out an AT-AT with your bare hands? Yep. Rescue your friend from Java? Got it. You are on a roll. You think sure I can start up a Jedi Academy, what could go wrong?

Then it goes wrong. Luke has failed for the first time, and in a way that hits close to home (his nephew turning to the dark side), and how does he react. He runs. You can say "oh thats not in character?" but how do we know? We haven't see this character respond to such direct failure, and he wouldn't be the first "hero" to run when it gets tough.

But the hero comes back. Trains one more Jedi. And uses his skill to save the day, at his own sacrifice. I think it was a fitting end, and a more interesting arc for Luke.

I liked: 90% of the humor, porgs, the hyperspace maneuver, Poe getting shot by Leia, every second of the throne room fight, force chatting, and Lukes final battle.

The parts that didn't work for me were...

1. Laura Den. Had trouble not thinking of her as Laura Den when ever she was on screen. Don't know if the character needed more fleshing out at the start or what.

2. The casino plot line. I liked everything accomplished as a result of this arc,but thought the casino arc to acomplish it was a bit long and  bit heavy handed. I liked what it did (showed a side beyond the Order and the Rebels, gave a chance to flesh out Rose, introduce some moral ambiguity in the galaxy).

3. The scene where Leia saves herself with the force. I liked her using the force. I liked her saving herself. I just thought the way it was shot was too "magical" too fantastical (especially for it beings first time we really see Leia use the force, outside of the occasional "I felt it" force moments). Maybe if something had been shown in TFA so this didn't feel like such a leap, or if it was shot differently...

I liked a ton in this movie. Poe's journey from flyby to leader. Rose. Rey. The big moment with Rey saving the Rebels. Kylo being one of the best big franchise villains in the last 20 years, angry, conflicted, dynamic, broken, I love watching him cause I never know which way he will swing at a given moment. I loved little moments between Commander D'Arcy and Lt Connix. 

I'll see it again