Rate the latest movie you've seen.

[aitm]

Hey, I am sorry, I don't mean to harangue anyone. I just see movies as entertainment not a lifestyle. On a different but somewhat related topic, I am banning  headphones, ear-buds and any amplified music from my job sites and expect some backlash. I see way too many people walking around construction sites unable to hear or not paying attention while they FB or sexsnap or whatever they want to do instead of work. This may be a difficult battle.

[stromboli]

Hey, I am sorry, I don't mean to harangue anyone. I just see movies as entertainment not a lifestyle. On a different but somewhat related topic, I am banning  headphones, ear-buds and any amplified music from my job sites and expect some backlash. I see way too many people walking around construction sites unable to hear or not paying attention while they FB or sexsnap or whatever they want to do instead of work. This may be a difficult battle.

You have my support. I worked construction when I was 14 (for my brother- it was legal) And I have some scars to prove it. Anything that makes the workplace safe is fine by me.

[Hydra009]

Just saw Star Wars Force Awakens.  8/10.  Very good.  Better than I expected.

[spoiler]I really liked this one.  I especially liked the new look of the Imperial Remnant First Order.  A little more black in the stormtrooper armor, things seem shinier and cleaner.  They seem more competent now, more hardcore, and less goofy.  You really get the sense that these guys are here to stomp some ass, not wrangle wampas.  And that speech to the assembled troops got a pretty emphatic Bellamy salute from me.  (What?  It was a very good speech!)  And I really liked that silver-plated stormtrooper despite the fact that she does practically nothing throughout the film.  She's the new Boba Fett, imho.

I like Red Mist Kylo Ren.  He's a Vader wannabe with some serious anger issues (those poor, poor computers).  He wants more than anything to be a badass villain, and he does look decently fearsome in his mask, but underneath it all he's very conflicted and actually sort of a small fry.  I alsolo saw the main spoiler coming a mile away.

There were a few things I didn't like.  The pacing felt rushed.  They do the running-for-our-lives thing from early on till pretty much the end.  I didn't really get much of a chance to breathe and really take in the setting.

Speaking of, very little is revealed about the geopolitical situation.  We know from the wreckage that the Imperials and the Rebels did a lot of fighting.  We know there's a Republic now, though its relative power is unknown, and given the devastating strike and General Organa's relatively small force, it's not particularly powerful.  The Empire has less sway now than it used to, but it still seems like it has a lot of its former power.  If anything, the Empire might actually be the dominant one now.

I really dislike how Rey (and others) seem awfully skilled at tasks they've never done before.  Fly a space freighter in combat?  No prob!  Fire a blaster?  Piece of cake!  Lightsaber duel a well-trained opponent?  Sure thing!  Blow up the shield generator?  I was assigned to sanitation duty, but sure, why not.

Also, the plot's structured a little too closely with a New Hope.  Imperials looking for a droid on a desert planet.  Imperials gunning down civilians.  Hero from humble beginnings on said desert planet meets old, wise teacher.  Desperate rebel assault on planet-destroying superweapon.  Definitely had a paint-by-numbers vibe.

And speaking of superweapons, the multi-planetkiller (I can't remember the name, so I'll just call it Black Sun).  I don't get how that works.  It's an installation (planet?) that sucks in a whole star somehow and then channels all that energy into an incredibly destructive energy volley.  Then what?  Moves on to the next one?  How?  Besides, it seems like it would be a lot easier to just build a dozen or so star destroyers and then just bombard rebel world after rebel world.  Rendering two star systems lifeless per volley (the target star system and the sucked-dry star system) seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face.  Presumably, the Empire wants to reoccupy these systems, not destroy them utterly.  The fact that they're going this route indicates desperation.

A couple more really petty things, but I feel like I should point them out.  1) I would've liked to have seen Y-wings with the X-wings.  I know the X-wings are the iconic rebel craft, but those are interceptors, not bombers.  2) Finn and Rey's outfits never change throughout the film.  Desert, forest, and icy forest - still wearing exactly the same thing.[/spoiler]

[Solomon Zorn]

The "problem" in my opinion, is many of you take movies far to seriously, really, you know the name of third hand characters and I don't even remember the names of the main. I watch movies for pure escapism, some of you seem to see alternate life in them. It's a movie.

I think discussing movies is no different than a classroom discussion of literature or mythology (well, maybe more like a book-club discussion). You have the superficial comments, as well as the deeper insights. Star Wars may not rank with Shakespeare in everyone's eyes, but many of us under 50 grew up with this series, and learned the names and concepts when we were kids. Then we've shared it with our own kids, who have embraced it enthusiastically. So it's fun to talk about the details with other fans. What works, and what doesn't. What moves you, and what is just silly. I don't need the internet for those discussions though, as my whole family are Star Wars fans.

[Hydra009]

I don't need the internet for those discussions though, as my whole family are Star Wars fans.

I feel you there.  My cousins are deeply into that stuff.  I'm talking reading all the books and walking to the movies in cosplay.  Sadly, Trekkism is only on my dad's side of the family.  Part of the reason I watched the new movie was just so I could talk about it with them on Christmas Eve.  Also, now I can browse Reddit without fear.  Well, as much fear.

[Shiranu]

I expand what I said... Blasters ( generally) shoot super heated gas particles ( like what is mined on Bespin).

[Solomon Zorn]

I feel you there.  My cousins are deeply into that stuff.  I'm talking reading all the books and walking to the movies in cosplay.  Sadly, Trekkism is only on my dad's side of the family.  Part of the reason I watched the new movie was just so I could talk about it with them on Christmas Eve.  Also, now I can browse Reddit without fear.  Well, as much fear.

I wouldn't call my dad a sci-fi fan, so much as just someone who enjoyed the genre. He introduced me to Star Trek as soon as I was old enough to watch TV. I probably watched the original series, on his lap, when it first aired in the 60's. Built all the Star Trek models and, in 5th grade, my teacher turned me on to the Starfleet Technical Manual. I initially didn't like the new Trek movie series (and I still think it was a stupid waste of the Planet Vulcan), but the second movie earned my attention. I hope the next Trek movie is as good as Into Darkness.

I was 11 when Star Wars came out, so it was a really big deal to me being an avid sci-fi book and movie lover. In fact I had the paperback movie-adaptation novel (the one with the Ralph McQuarrie cover) before I even heard of Star Wars the movie. I remember, on the back cover, it said,"Soon to be a major motion picture from 20th Century Fox." I started to read it but didn't get beyond the first chapter. 

[Solomon Zorn]

I expand what I said... Blasters ( generally) shoot super heated gas particles ( like what is mined on Bespin).

One thing I've noticed about blasters, is that they have yet to portray one running out of ammo.

[Hydra009]

One thing I've noticed about blasters, is that they have yet to portray one running out of ammo.

According to Wookiepedia, they can fire up to 500 times without needing to be reloaded.  But you're right, I've never seen one run out of ammo.  IIRC, they also rarely jam or malfunction, even if submerged in water or fall off a building.  That's some nice craftsmanship.

[Hydra009]

Built all the Star Trek models and, in 5th grade, my teacher turned me on to the Starfleet Technical Manual.

I loved the technical manual.  For all Trek's technobabble, they did a great job of selling viewers on the idea that this fantastic technology is possible if we just put in the time and energy to figure it out.

[Baruch]

Putting in a plug ... the Shakespeare does Star Wars series by Ian Doescher.

[SGOS]

Part of the reason I watched the new movie was just so I could talk about it with them on Christmas Eve.  Also, now I can browse Reddit without fear.  Well, as much fear.

LOL.  I do that too.  I always go to the movies that are hyped as blockbusters.  Sometimes it's because I hope to find that thrill that everyone else is excited about, often to my disappointment.  But, it's about trying to understand why a movie is considered important.  It may or may not be a  movie that is meaningful to me, but I can at least be part of future discussions.

[The Skeletal Atheist]

[spoiler] RIP Han Solo[/spoiler]

[Baruch]

If Harrison Ford can survive being blown up in a nuclear explosion by hiding in a lead lined refrigerator ... he can survive a little light saber hole and a long fall into the power shaft ;-)

[Hydra009]

Heads up to everyone reading this thread who hasn't seen the new Star Wars movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQTp8Ozj1JQ

We're keeping this about as hush-hush as the Family Guy episode where Brian dies.