Lurker > Forceful_Dragon

I agree that the $50 price range is where it's at. I would probably only consider the top dollar stuff if I spent multiple hours on a bus or subway every day or something along those like. At that point it's a large enough part of your life to justify the extra cost.

foolm0r0n posted...

It was Disney's policy... No matter how 7 was written, it was going to happen. It could've been a Shark Tank parody where Han and Jabba judge various alien inventions, and the EU still would've been erased.

If there weren't so many other examples of of Abrams prioritizing creating a tantalizing mystery of actually having satisfying payoffs then I might agree. But it's hard to blame Disney entirely for something that follows the Abrams playbook so closely. Hell Abrams gave a TED Talk on how important it is to sprinkle mysteries into the narratives. He just doesn't know when to say when and it eventually comes at the cost of the overall story.

foolm0r0n posted...

but 7 didn't do that.

It absolutely did.

It didn't need to follow the EU to a T, but what we got instead was "everything is awful for everyone".

Leia is weary and old and STILL has to help lead a small militaristic faction because the entire damn Republic that she helped build won't do anything. She could have had NEW and interesting problems and plot points related to trying to keep The New Republic on track when it was being threatened by New Order zealots, but nope, she's living in dirty tents again because everything has to be the same.

Han is still restricted to smuggling and outlaw life. Nevermind that he grew to become a General and was a legitimate war hero who helped defeat the Empire? Nah, back to penny ante shit.

And Luke is nowhere to be found.

Obviously it's a movie and movies have to have plot points which usually means "problems" for it's characters. It's one thing to have problems and it's another for the scope of those problems to completely undermine all previous growth.

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But I won't force anyone else to agree with me, it's just how I feel.

Waluigi1 posted...

but the way Rian shit all over everything JJ tried to set up certainly didn't help anything

Was episode 8 supposed to be a 110 minute feel good training montage? Like maybe Johnson should have just backed away from the project when it was clear what direction it was going in, but I feel like he tried to fix it. And it certainly had it's own issues (pacing and irrelevant side plots being among them), but I'd still watch it again before the other two and would generally prefer to watch a Johnson project over an Abrams project given the option between them. I liked Poker Face and Looper and the two Benoit Blanc films.

Waluigi1 posted...

I'm sorry but I find this hilarious.

I think that Episode 7 painted the trilogy into a corner.

It some respects it tried to match Episode 4 beat for beat, but in many others it just took a steaming dump all over 4/5/6 by making what happened "back then" completely pointless.

The New Republic? Pointless. The remnants of the empire were both simultaneously a "small faction" that the New Republic didn't consider to be a threat, but also large enough to build a super duper death star. And large enough for Leia's new Resistance to still be outnumbered.

Han and Leia? Separated (why? They say it's because of what happened with Kylo, but then they pulled the bullshit Kylo redemption in 9 so the event that caused pain enough to separate them wasn't even permanent)

The Jedi? More or less nonexistent (again), and really no explanation given in 7 as to why that was the case.

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Episode 7 was just a parade of "the universe sucks again, and rather than really explain WHY we're just going to introduce a dozen different things and force the next guy to keep them spinning and/or provide answers to them that we haven't even figured out yet".

All Abrams knows how to do is introduce mysteries that may or may not ever get explained. It sometimes results in good/satisfying payoff, but he doesn't seem concerned with that, only the hook of the next mysterious thing. It ruined the sequel trilogy (imo) and I have a hard time blaming Johnson for trying to do something other than deal with the mysterious plot mines that Abrams had left for him.

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foolm0r0n posted...

I watched TFA 3 times when it came out and it was great every time. Haven't rewatched it since though.

The fact that it just tries to be A New Hope again means it's hard for it to be excessively terrible, but it's when I take a step back and see the impact it had on the universe that was established in 4/5/6 that it feels tragic.

It probably didn't help that I read a good chunk of the Extended Universe novels that came out in the decades between 6 and 7. And I knew that those weren't going to count anymore, which is fine. I knew 7 wasn't going to follow the same plots that appeared in my favorite books (Original Thrawn Trilogy would have been legit though), but did it have to ruin the futures of all the original characters?

When I saw TFA I enjoyed it on first watch, and have liked it less and less over time.
(Most notably I hate how they completely undermine basically everything that happened in the OT. Why make everything I grew up loving completely pointless?)

When I first saw TLJ it felt "pretty good", but I have come to appreciate it more over time.
(I legitimately think if Rian Johnson were in charge of the whole thing we'd have had a great trilogy. He was stuck trying right a ship that Abrams poked holes into)

When I first saw TROS I hated everything about it.
(In particular I hate that they redeemed Kylo. They finally had an opportunity to have a bad guy commit to being a bad guy and force the good guys to come to terms with the fact that not everyone can be saved or see eye to eye. lol nope!)

5 > 4 > 6 = 8 > 3 >>> 7 > 1 > 2 >>> 9

Is how I feel at the moment anyways. 8 and 3 are both the bright spots from their respective trilogies.

Giants vs Cardinals is taking place at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL tonight. It's the home of the Birmingham Barons where Mays played for a few years before getting signed to the MLB.

It was already scheduled to happen and they just recently remodeled the historic park, but the timing with Mays' passing makes it all the more poignant.

There is a great documentary on Max about him that y'all should check out if you haven't seen it yet. He was one of the all time greats

Congrats!

Legitimately one of my most listened to albums. Will give it a fresh listen this weekend and do this.

I don't understand why it's so difficult to be a Christian and realize that just because you believe some things doesn't mean the country you live in should also be based on those same things.

Especially if your country is supposedly a big proponent of 'religious freedoms' which should include all religions and not just your own as well as the freedom to embrace no religion.

I do remember being in high school and having opinions on how other people should live that I feel badly about in hindsight. But then I fucking grew up and realized that other people should not be beholden to my own religious values.

You want to live in a country that commits fully to the values of one single religion? Great, go buy/claim some land and FORM that control, but this one isn't supposed to be it.

The separation of church and state is empowered in the very first amendment, but everyone seems to think that their own religious based values should be exceptions.

Just die before late game

Google finds this:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/9/9a0877fa.jpg

Don't have time at the moment to vet those sources.

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Reports say a US and Israel combined force entered Gaza disguised as an aid truck

Massive if true. But yeah, substantiation of this is required.

Right, I genuinely wanted him to exceed my every expectation after he won.

But obviously he did not do that, an in fact was worse than I feared in many respects.