DSL's Movie/TV Reviews and Discussion

[Dr. Strangelove]

It's funny watching the Prequels knowing where they left off and then watching Obi-Wan in Star Wars '77 describe Anakin as a "good friend". It's like, dude, all you two ever did in the prequels was bicker and the last time you saw him you cut off his legs and let him melt in a volcano. Kids watching the movies in chronological order for the first time have to be a might confused

[Hannibal]

Wait, is Strangelove defending the JJ Abrams stuff?

He and Froot defend literally anything modern as being better than anything from 30-40 years ago. What JJ Abrams makes is high quality stuff but people like you and me can't recognize it, because we are curmudgeons who do nothing but watch Fox News. Also, what came 30-40 years ago wasn't that good to begin with, but you and I have our nostalgia goggles on, so we overrate everything from when we were children. Extolling the virtues of modern Disney cinema is how Froot and DSL assert their intellectual superiority over you.

Comparing the bad acting in the original trilogy to the bad acting in the DIsney trilogy is a perfect example of this. You're supposed to discount how terrible Daisy Ridley is because Mark Hamil was never that great to begin with. Granted, I don't remember Mark Hamil bulging his eyes out of his head trying to act excited or scared as if he were an 8 year old child actor, but I'm sure he did it in there somewhere.

One more note on the prequel trilogy vs. the Disney trilogy -- the prequel trilogy was thought of very fondly on release. People forget this. It was only after 15 years or so of reflection that most people concluded that they are bad movies. If you, like me, thought of Episode III as a bad movie on release, you were also thought of as a curmudgeon. Those movies got standing ovations in theaters. Literally. The Disney trilogy got nothing of the sort. Ep VII is only a little over six years old and it has not had time to age. VII, VIII, and IX are all going to age very poorly, as is basically anything mass-produced in this era, which has tattooed itself with shitty humor and woke writing unique to <current year>. You can find videos of people literally booing the ending of Ep IX.

[froot loops]

That's correct.

[froot loops]

To be clear, I like the first two Star Wars movies over all the other ones, but there is a cornucopia of bad acting in the first one.

[Cody_Russell]

I actually agree with Froot that The Last Jedi (TLJ) is the sequel film that is likable. Yes, I know. Controversial opinion.
TLJ has it's faults and issues, but overall is my favorite of the three because it tried to do something different from a narrative perspective. It took the Star Wars movie formula and flipped it. I'm not all butt-hurt about the direction Rian Johnson took with Luke by knocking him of his mighty Mary-Sue horse. People CAN change over time. It's also the best from a technical point of view IMO. Cinematography, sound, etc.
I mean, Rian Johnson directed the greatest TV episode ("Breaking Bad", Ozymandia) ever. Among several other quality movies. What has JJ Abrams done that is comparable? Not much outside of season 1 of LOST.

The Rise of Skywalker ... I left the movie theater pissed off. First time that's ever happened in my life. Didn't like it at all.
The Force Awakens ... Awesome on first viewing, but then you realize they just copied Episode 4 and it didn't hold up over time.

[Hannibal]

I like Rian Johnson's stuff other than TLJ. He was just a terrible choice to do a Star Wars movie. That is Kathleen Kennedy’s fault for not having a creative vision for the trilogy. I agree he has a good resume, unlike JJ. Knives Out is brilliant. One of only a tiny handful of legitimately great movies that I have seen in the cinema in the past five years.

JJ made a living producing empty mystery boxes. He was only thought of fondly when he was able to keep the con going. When he had to deliver an actual ending, he did a faceplant, because he is an extremely shitty writer.

[froot loops]

I thought Knives Out was good but I'm not sure but is better than a standard Midsomer Murders episode (a Tom Barnaby one). People really flocked to it because the detective genre is another dead movie genre. There is a decent size audience out there for the whodunit movie but not enough to make 500 million at the box office globally.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I assure you, it did not take 15 years for people to realize Jar Jar Binks and lots of other things from Phantom Menace sucked ass. Lucas clearly thought Jar Jar was going to be his new trilogy's wacky comic relief and then basically wrote him out of the series amid tons of negative fan reaction. Just like he dropped the idea of midichlorians.

[Tom W]

Carrie Fisher had a great career but she is stiff in that movie.

Sorry, but geeklust over one role doesn't make a "great career". Her appearance in the Disney trilogy, even before she died, was laughably painful.

[froot loops]

When I was referring to her career I was kind of including her role as the script doctor of Hollywood. But she was in movies for 40 years, that's nothing to sneeze at.

[Hannibal]

I went and saw Ep I in theaters twice. It got a standing ovation both times that I saw it. Ditto for Episode III. People were comparing Episode III favorably to the original trilogy when it came out. I have always thought that Episodes II and III are poop, but there are still some high points in them.

Eps VII-IX were met with a stone silence when I saw them. Nary a chuckle or a gasp, except for a little bit of laughter the one time that BB-8 uses a cigarette lighter as a "thumbs up" and Han Solo saying to Finn "that's not how the force works". What I'm trying to say is that Episodes VII and IX are already starting off at a much worse point than Episodes I-III in terms of their public perception in their day. You have had more time to think of Episodes I-III because they are older, and that has given you more time to think of the plot holes. The shittily written and acted Disney trilogy has nothing good in it (other than Adam Driver, who probably still does the worst work of his career in the films). I wouldn't completely write off the possibility that Disney themselves will flush the trilogy down the toilet and take a mulligan in 5-10 years time.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Anyhoo, since we're on the subject, one of the most revealing behind-the-scenes documentaries came out with the original Phantom Menace's release on DVD. Not sure if that's still included in newer physical media sets or not. Watching it really makes you aware of how bad it is for an "acclaimed" director to have nothing but fawning lickspittles all around them.

[Cody_Russell]

Jar Jar isn't that bad for anyone that saw The Phantom Menace at a young age. Lucas wanted a Goofy-like character in the Star Wars universe for whatever reason. Appeal to toddler and kids crowd.
I think my impression of the Prequels would be A LOT different seeing the movies at age 30, 40 (whatever) compared to age 10. The nostalgia difference.

Impressions of a movie can feel different depending on age. Like for example, I saw "The Karate Kid" (1984) for the first time yesterday because I want to watch the Cobra Kai TV series. I wish I saw The Karate Kid at age 12 or as a teen instead ... still, good movie!

[froot loops]

I saw no standing ovations for any of the three prequels. But nobody was throwing stuff at the screen either. At the end of Revenge of the Sith when he becomes Darth Vader is top notch comedy.

[Hannibal]

Jar Jar isn't that bad for anyone that saw The Phantom Menace at a young age. Lucas wanted a Goofy-like character in the Star Wars universe for whatever reason. Appeal to toddler and kids crowd.
I think my impression of the Prequels would be A LOT different seeing the movies at age 30, 40 (whatever) compared to age 10. The nostalgia difference.

Impressions of a movie can feel different depending on age. Like for example, I saw "The Karate Kid" (1984) for the first time yesterday because I want to watch the Cobra Kai TV series. I wish I saw The Karate Kid at age 12 or as a teen instead ... still, good movie!

I actually liked Episode I more seeing it the first time as an adult than either of my kids seeing it for the first time as kids. For what it's worth, I think that the "it's just for kids" excuse is a lousy one for anything other than actual children's programming.