tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633480297352890314.post2819844546457745936..comments2024-03-28T22:30:49.378-11:00Comments on Kinemalogue: You probably didn't recognize me because of the red armHunter Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10925220178171355473noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633480297352890314.post-71571337544059609522016-01-28T18:49:01.345-11:002016-01-28T18:49:01.345-11:00The original trilogy was, at one point, available ...The original trilogy was, at one point, available on VHS. I think my dad may in fact still have them around. I'm not sure if they're in the proper aspect ratio, etc., but they were definitely around in some form when I was a child, since that's how I first saw them, discounting the fact that my parents took me to see Jedi at a drive-in when I was one. (Needless to say, I don't remember that.) It's possible that the VHS tapes I saw as a small child were recorded off television, however.<br /><br />On DVD, they have not been released in a form earlier than the original Special Editions, which have the big Han/Greedo problem. The blu-rays, which I own, have awkwardly addressed the Han/Greedo problem, still feature the unnecessary scene with Jabba, and they introduced major, major issues into Jedi--and thereby contribute to the pernicious myth that Jedi is the bad one. In any event, the original versions (or something close) are currently only available via morally and legally gray channels. As an aside, it is positively baffling that Disney has failed to release the unaltered OT on blu-ray, given the marketfor it.<br /><br />The Star Wars EU is... definitely problematic, taken all in all, in part stemming from the fact that SW, while presenting itself as an expansive fictional universe, it kind of isn't. (It really only has the time for two major kind of stories: Jedis vs. Sith and smuggler shit, respectively. I'm sure there are novels that prove exceptions to this rule, but there aren't many. The point is, it's pretty huge, but it's no Star Trek.) Even so, if they don't do a cinematic version of Thrawn, that is the definition of leaving money on the table.<br /><br />I'm glad you like Kylo, Neil, because I do, even if he's probably not the perfect version of himself (like you, I have a problem with his tantrums, although it's more of a staging issue--Abrams treating them like a joke, rather than something legitimately terrifying given his obvious powers).<br /><br />All in all, it's definitely decent Star Wars product--even though a lot of stuff feels rushed, especially poor Rey, whom I like a lot--and there's a solid chance that when we look back on it in ten years, in the context of the next two installments in the trilogy, it'll look all the better.<br /><br />Or, if they don't exceed this first entry, we'll look back and lump it in with the prequels.<br /><br />And yeah, nostalgia's a bitch--as much as I'm 100% sure that the OT is more-or-less perfect, I can't escape the doubt that this impression might have a little something to do with watching them a hundred times between the ages of four and fifteen.Hunter Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10925220178171355473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633480297352890314.post-77351820973881823862016-01-28T18:14:59.628-11:002016-01-28T18:14:59.628-11:00I think it's hard to judge this movie. Becaus...I think it's hard to judge this movie. Because the original trilogy is pretty central to my youth, right up there with comic books and dreadnoughts, it's hard to be able to look at the movie dispassionately. At the same time, I'm very old now. I know what I liked: Every time Harrison Ford was on the screen, I was entertained. I was surprisingly sad at Han and Leia's estrangement. My wife loved BB-8. Every time Poe and Finn were on the screen together, it reminded me of Han and Luke and their adventures in first film and a half. Your review actually changed the way I thought about Kylo Ren. At first, his tantrums really threw me off and made me think of him as a bitch. But thinking about what you said about a callow villain... If the essence of the Dark Side is selfishness, his behavior is right in there, and probably more appropriate than Vader's calm, callous self-mastery or the Emperor's confidant masterminding. <br /><br />I also kind of mourn parts of the Expanded Universe, although only parts. Thrawn, Mara Jade, the Rogue Squadron pilots, they were all a lot of fun. Sure, the EU ended up going to some rather silly places, but there was some stuff in there that I enjoyed. <br /><br />BTW: Did they not release the theatrical original trilogy in the US? I hear that complaint a lot, but I have them sitting on my huge shelf of films, so I was wondering what's up?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633480297352890314.post-18310802982655395192015-12-23T18:35:08.308-11:002015-12-23T18:35:08.308-11:00Bless you, Brennan! But my Bothans have already g...Bless you, Brennan! But my Bothans have already gotten ahold of what I need.Hunter Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10925220178171355473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633480297352890314.post-31605468461875515322015-12-23T06:30:04.784-11:002015-12-23T06:30:04.784-11:00By the way, I may or may not be able to mail you D...By the way, I may or may not be able to mail you DVDs of the Despecialized original trilogy... I'll send you my email address via Facebook if you're interested.Brennanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15399713449347559869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633480297352890314.post-46413842856940128022015-12-21T06:28:13.535-11:002015-12-21T06:28:13.535-11:00It's less a case of specific shots (heck, mirr...It's less a case of specific shots (heck, mirroring the shots and editing structure of Star Wars more closely probably would have made it better). It's more the specific imagery, without taking into account angles, shot duration, etc. Take, for example, the chase into the exhaust of the wrecked Star Destroyer; it's transparently an excuse to dust off the far more awesome and narratively-important run into the infrastructure of the Death Star II. And this isn't good in and of itself, but it's even less good, given that Force Awakens' script mandated retelling the stories of both A New Hope *and* Empire Strikes Back all in in one sharply time-constrained package. There just wasn't time for this kind of plagiarizing nonsense, even if it was enjoyable on its own merits in the first place, which it wasn't.<br /><br />But you never know, it might grow on me--especially if the subsequent two episodes are better. (I mean, we're *all* looking forward to Daisy Ridley putting on high heels and yelling at men in Colin Trevorrow's Episode VIII, right?) Star Wars, after all, is a little more threadbare itself without the context of its better, meatier follow-ups.<br /><br />Still: I would also not be surprised if, in the next twelve months, there's a reappraisal and backlash to The Force Awakens. I don't think it'll be quite on the same scale as Phantom Menace--there's nothing to really sink your teeth into here the way you could with Jar-Jar and Watto, everybody's favorite racist CGI caricatures--but the mood around The Force Awakens seems awful familiar. That is, everyone really wants to love this movie, so they do, until they can't.<br /><br />But we'll see! Looking forward to finding out exactly what you made of it, too, B.Hunter Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10925220178171355473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4633480297352890314.post-40420874234706502052015-12-20T20:38:00.827-11:002015-12-20T20:38:00.827-11:00I almost completely agree with everything you'...I almost completely agree with everything you've said, though my overall numerical takeaway was a smidge higher than yours. Perhaps it helps that I haven't rewatched the original trilogy in a good while, and thus specific shots weren't floating around in my immediate memory.Brennanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15399713449347559869noreply@blogger.com