tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post8096440569447567523..comments2023-11-05T06:37:16.480-05:00Comments on Nilbog's Storybook Land: The Force Awakens: First ImpressionsThe Nilboghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03902509798047158212noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-54207536944555255932018-05-08T19:41:15.915-04:002018-05-08T19:41:15.915-04:00You're if anything too kind to this film-I fel...You're if anything too kind to this film-I felt deeply insulted. David Prushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08104560902599373673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-61662088958519063932016-01-24T23:21:52.576-05:002016-01-24T23:21:52.576-05:00"A "homage" to the past is not art&..."A "homage" to the past is not art"<br /><br />That's a limiting statement there. If well-executed and with actual purpose to the homaging, I don't see a reason why it *can't* be art.<br /><br />To pull from another long-running science fiction franchise, Doctor Who every now and then indulges in episodes (usually anniversaries) that aim in part to be a loving homage of the past history of the show. Now, if that's all it is, yeah, then it's dull and unengaging and we get snoozefests like "The Five Doctors". If there's a point to it, though, and we're using the past to say something about the future, then the episode actually becomes engaging and we get something more akin to "Day of the Doctor".<br /><br />Now, we can beg to differ here, but at least to me Force Awakens felt like it was doing more of the latter than the former.T. Hartwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13602995118108914316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-15496301345589194232016-01-24T23:06:08.000-05:002016-01-24T23:06:08.000-05:00As a nearly 50 year-old, I'm touched by the ho...<i>As a nearly 50 year-old, I'm touched by the homage to the past, the fan-service they are trying to accomplish (and did), but presenting some new heroes for the kids to love too. </i><br /><br /><br />I simply wanted the Saga to continue. I didn't want a "homage" to the past. A "homage" to the past is not art. It's cashing in on sentimentality. <br /><br />I didn't want a Force sensitive character like Rey who is able to achieve certain abilities - Jedi Mind trick, lightsaber skills - with no training whatsoever, because she is supposed to be "strong with Force". That is ridiculous. Equally ridiculous is that aside from handling a blaster rifle, the Finn character seemed unable to be competent at other skills.<br /><br />But the most ridiculous aspect of this film is that the plot bore TOO MANY similarities to "A New Hope". Too many for me to have any respect to J.J. Abrams as a filmmaker.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-53146482331717918492016-01-24T23:05:25.662-05:002016-01-24T23:05:25.662-05:00As a nearly 50 year-old, I'm touched by the ho...<i>As a nearly 50 year-old, I'm touched by the homage to the past, the fan-service they are trying to accomplish (and did), but presenting some new heroes for the kids to love too. </i><br /><br /><br />I simply wanted the Saga to continue. I didn't want a "homage" to the past. A "homage" to the past is not art. It's cashing in on sentimentality. <br /><br />I didn't want a Force sensitive character like Rey who is able to achieve certain abilities - Jedi Mind trick, lightsaber skills - with no training whatsoever, because she is supposed to be "strong with Force". That is ridiculous. Equally ridiculous is that aside from handling a blaster rifle, the Finn character seemed unable to be competent at other skills.<br /><br />But the most ridiculous aspect of this film is that the plot bore TOO MANY similarities to "A New Hope". Too many for me to have any respect to J.J. Abrams as a filmmaker.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-26960025011672369432016-01-24T18:00:06.197-05:002016-01-24T18:00:06.197-05:00I had to add a second part as I was too wordy....
...I had to add a second part as I was too wordy....<br /><br />The effects felt typical. I was not too impressed nor let down either way. There is a TON of CG as noted by the FX reel released recently. Abrams stated in one interview there would be 'thousands' of CG shots. The amount of practical effects versus computer effects didn't seem all that different in the end. Certain small things were practical effects (the self-rising bread being one). Funny, the water bird didn't bug me. As a whole, this movie let me get immersed into the setting without failing any more than the previous movies.<br /><br />The editing was an artifact of Abrams presence. We need to give him a break and let his presence be known as Kershner and Marquand were. The editing was quick and one could say 'busy', but it didn't hurt me. I'm still surprised that this movie feels sooo fast at 2 hours 15 minutes. I'm not bored.<br /><br />I'd like you guys to know, this is the most I've thought of this film. I've seen it 10 times, and I'm not bored or offended in any way. As a nearly 50 year-old, I'm touched by the homage to the past, the fan-service they are trying to accomplish (and did), but presenting some new heroes for the kids to love too. Though this is an Abrams movie, it was heavily massaged by the story group I'm sure and the overlords at Disney. A critical perception of this movie would be to call it a 'safe' production, taking few risks. There are some, but very calculated by the corporate masters. But how nostalgic do you make it before it becomes a parody of itself? How 'new' or 'modern' do you make it before losing the older audience and fans? How 'cute' do you make it to get the toy crowd and kids interested? I think Lucasfilm had to make a lot of tough decisions to satisfy everyone, from Disney corp to Disney stockholders, to old-school fans, kids, new grownup fans, critics and film folks. Overall I think it did a great job. I'm glad to have it as part of the Saga and can't wait for 8 and 9.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12615073257585931365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-12164278827930359772016-01-24T17:59:24.567-05:002016-01-24T17:59:24.567-05:00I loved your review of the film. As a lifelong fan...I loved your review of the film. As a lifelong fan, I feel too close to the Saga to give a fair review. For my part, I loved the movie greatly. My only point of contention is Luke is only in the last 90 seconds or so of the film, and I say this only because I'm creating that costume for our performance group.<br /><br /> I felt the political situation was not clearly stated, with the assumption everyone would read the other material leading to TFA. But that material hasn't explained the Hosnian system nor the ultimate fate of Coruscant, which hasn't been mentioned at all.<br /><br />The diversity in this film is much better I think than the rest of the Saga. Yes, we have some women and diverse folks in the previous films, with the Prequels being better than the OT, with TFA being a step better. They are each representative of the eras they were made in. With a young woman as the "Luke" character, a young black man as a Stormtrooper, and a latino as the ace pilot ("best in the Resistance"), I was very pleased.<br /><br />Everyone's performances were very good in my mind. I felt affection for each character. Rey gave me the Skywalker vibe, and certainly was a natural as a pilot and nacent Force-user. (Is she the Awakening we heard of?) What's interesting is she was written as ambiguously as a Solo or Skywalker. She could go either way, or ::gasp:: be someone entirely new. Finn was cool. He had a list of skills, given his training as a trooper (and sanitation?). His fear of the First Order is genuine, from his immersion in it. His sudden fear in the opening battle makes sense, as his 'programming' may not have worked as designed. I like his earnestness and respect of his new comrades. Poe reminded me of the ace character from "The Flying Tigers" with John Wayne. What I really liked was his portrayal and dialogue delivery felt 1940s to me. Kylo Ren was a very interesting character. Using Ben as his name was cool. Funny thing was my visualization of Jacen Solo was this guy in TFA. Also some of the timbre of Kylo's voice reminded me greatly of Hayden Christensen. Snoke gave me nothing for the moment, other than his existence. I am curious to learn more. As you said, the classic heroes return was brilliant. When Han stood in the Falcon cockpit again, it was Home again. Leia was beautiful. Luke, without a word, owned the final scenes. Maz Kanata was delightful.<br /><br />BB-8 gave me the puppy-like presence. He was more energetic than R2 perhaps, but I also hoped that BB-8 would have a different energy than R2, which I think he did in the end. R2 and 3PO were cool. R2 felt natural to me. 3PO ironically felt a caricature of himself, with Anthony Daniels over-playing himself a bit. I wished they were in the movie more, as the Saga was supposed to be told through their eyes (here is where the prequels needed more of those two....).<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12615073257585931365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-58148597438972565682016-01-21T04:42:14.762-05:002016-01-21T04:42:14.762-05:00I disagree with the Mary Sue criticism I've se...I disagree with the Mary Sue criticism I've seen bandied about a lot--for starters, Rey isn't an author insert (which I know isn't readily treated as part of the definition but was a crucial part of the point of "Trekkie's Tale"), and the narrative doesn't warp around her to make her perfect at everything. She does fail at times (gets captured by Kylo and all), it takes a little while for Han to warm to her, etc. It's true that she's a very capable character and has very *few* apparent flaws in comparison to someone like Luke or Anakin, but the way I kinda see her character is that she functions less as the 'everyman' like Luke was, and more of a wish-fulfillment character along the lines of Batman or James Bond--which is a kind of character that really doesn't exist much for women, and I think is an important thing to have.<br /><br />And I def wouldn't call Finn incompetent--he's shown to be rather resourcefull when he's breaking Poe out and when he's returning to Starkiller base. He's constantly scared and nervous about things, but that feeds into his character and the incessant fear drilled into him as a First Order trooper. He's essentially a broken soldier suffering from some heavy anxiety, trying to mask it with bravado and posturing (which of course Rey and Han see right through). I actually think his weaknesses displayed in the film make him a much richer character--not an 'incompetent boob' at all, IMO.T. Hartwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13602995118108914316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-89590521194868167502016-01-21T01:12:15.452-05:002016-01-21T01:12:15.452-05:00And part of this isn't so much diversity, but ...<i>And part of this isn't so much diversity, but inclusion. Previously, women and minority characters in the Star Wars universe have always existed as the supporting characters to the white male leads. Even when they're written well, they've never been the main focus. Force Awakens changes that on both fronts (Finn & Rey are arguably co-leads here), and I do feel that's worth applauding.</i><br /><br /><br />I applaud that the movie was able to have a white woman and a black man as the two leads. However, I didn't like how they were handled. Rey struck me as too much of a Mary Sue. She seemed to have little or no flaws. And they allowed her to be able to accomplish certain things - Jedi Mind Trick and use of lightsaber duel - because she was strong with the Force. Which is a bit lame in my book. <br /><br />Speaking of lame . . . why was Finn portrayed as a near incompetent boob? I liked the guy. He was complex and John Boyega gave a great performance. But he seemed to be borderline incompetent in nearly everything he did. They made Rey look like a goddess in compare to him . . . and I did not like that. Not one bit.Liz's Journalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13443856425679339434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-3236051265673659812016-01-21T01:11:11.830-05:002016-01-21T01:11:11.830-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Liz's Journalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13443856425679339434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-79793897964802221082016-01-20T14:25:33.188-05:002016-01-20T14:25:33.188-05:00And nothing changes the fact that the original She...And nothing changes the fact that the original Sherlock Holmes stories were first and foremost Arthur Conan Doyle's, or the Oz books were first and foremost L. Frank Baum's. And yet each of those properties outlasted their creators and spawned works that are as much or even more influential than the originals. I mean, you'd be hardpressed to suggest the 1939 MGM film is somehow "lesser" than the original books. Star Wars was Lucas's, but it's being passed to other creators now (something he was championing even before Disney's involvement). We can continue to debate whether those subsequent contributions are good or bad, but I just don't think we should be debating whether they are "true" Star Wars or not.T. Hartwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13602995118108914316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-90499493974536218162016-01-20T12:20:00.182-05:002016-01-20T12:20:00.182-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Marčekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13622769843313874800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-47427031401120016282016-01-20T12:18:30.246-05:002016-01-20T12:18:30.246-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Marčekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13622769843313874800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-41388470176217262132016-01-20T12:17:23.351-05:002016-01-20T12:17:23.351-05:00And nothing of that changes the fact that Episodes...And nothing of that changes the fact that Episodes I-VI are first and foremost Lucas´s films.Marčekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13622769843313874800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-17568705110477151132016-01-20T12:14:19.688-05:002016-01-20T12:14:19.688-05:00And nothing of that changes the fact that Episodes...And nothing of that changes the fact that Episodes I-VI are first and foremost Lucas´s films.Marčekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13622769843313874800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-32950696092052767472016-01-18T16:53:30.416-05:002016-01-18T16:53:30.416-05:00Sing isn't even a speaking role in the films, ...Sing isn't even a speaking role in the films, and narratively, yeah, Wessel is essentially a female Boba Fett. She doesn't have a character within AOTC other than being "the woman Jango hires to kill Padme" (and this is someone who loves the idea of her character). And again, it's very hard to read any kind of intentional "the society starts oppressing women" now out of the films--you have to go way into redemptive readings for that, and there's just not a lot of textual evidence for it within the films themselves. Women are pushed to the side in Star Wars because the films are just intrinsically patriarchal in their narrative stylings. We can still have good characters and moments within that, but the core of the films before TFA are very, very male-driven.<br /><br />And really? I don't remember any mainstream calls for diversity until TFA was announced. I read the occasional feminist critique of Return of the Jedi, but aside from that basically nothing because there wasn't a wide venue to be incorporating that kind of diversity.<br /><br />And yes, I agree, we shouldn't "have to" resurrect old franchises, but I just don't see why doing that and increasing diversity is a bad thing. Creating new franchises with female or minority leads is important--even though I don't watch them, I'm sure that's why stuff like Hunger Games or Divergent is noteworthy. But it's also important to take previously-considered "boy's stuff" like Star Wars and Ghostbusters and inject something new into them and removing the straight-white-male focus (the reality, of course, is that female fans have existed for these properties in droves since its inception--it's just that the properties themselves do seem to resolutely act as boy's franchises first and foremost, so it's nice to try and change that).T. Hartwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13602995118108914316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-32470418196052441122016-01-18T13:04:19.787-05:002016-01-18T13:04:19.787-05:00The women characters are not counterparts to men. ...The women characters are not counterparts to men. Aurra Sing and Zam Wessel are not just female versions of Boba Fett. And the point is, when a society becomes oppressive, women are the first to suffer, even if that society doesn't target women first and foremost. And this "diversity argument" was directed at Star Wars even when no movies were on the horizon. I liked Mad Max: Fury Road for its feminist themes but it also had a new story and new characters and you didn't have to watch the previous Mad Max films to understand it. My point is we shouldn't have to resurrect tired franchises (another Ghostbusters? Really?) to inject diversity into them, we should make something new that happens to have a diverse cast. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-39010738401943812562016-01-17T16:54:35.103-05:002016-01-17T16:54:35.103-05:00Yeah, I agree. I can't believe I glanced over ...Yeah, I agree. I can't believe I glanced over that at first. My fault.<br /><br />BB-8 doesn't deserve that kind of talk any more than Jar Jar does. I can think of only one character in the history of fiction that deserves anywhere near that kind of talk, and even then it's a bit much.<br /><br />I don't want to see that kind of talk again about anyone.The Nilboghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902509798047158212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-46220060394484691502016-01-17T14:42:02.698-05:002016-01-17T14:42:02.698-05:00"I almost wish that someone - a Sith Lord - o..."I almost wish that someone - a Sith Lord - or Snoke himself, would smash him against a wall in the next movie"<br /><br />Jeeeeeeezus. That seems harsh.T. Hartwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13602995118108914316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-45870341868735772172016-01-17T01:43:07.806-05:002016-01-17T01:43:07.806-05:00Well, it's applied to Star Wars because Star W...Well, it's applied to Star Wars because Star Wars happens to be in the public eye right now. Same with Marvel. And, I mean, making new movies with diverse casts is kinda what they're doing with Star Wars--it's not like we're re-editing in women and minorities in the older films. It's simply going "hey, these films have the opportunity to be more progressive, so let's go ahead and take that opportunity". It's what they're doing with Ghostbusters, it's what they did with Mad Max, etc. And I'm not sure how this isn't a good thing--yeah, it's not the only solution, and it's good to make new franchises with diverse casts as well, but this is part of healing the inequity in current Hollywood.<br /><br />And it's hard to make that read of Episode III, especially with how male-centric the narrative necessarily is. I also wouldn't call the prior two films 'egalitarian' just because they pass the Bechdel Test--narratively the female characters still exist as counterparts to the men, and really only Padme has a consistent sense of interiority to her. Women also aren't specifically shown to be oppressed during the original trilogy, so it's hard to argue that as an intentional arc throughout the films--certainly it's not a textual one.T. Hartwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13602995118108914316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-82856976389916292852016-01-17T01:24:17.662-05:002016-01-17T01:24:17.662-05:00I always felt that the reason the women folk didn&...I always felt that the reason the women folk didn't live past episode 3 was because the message the film was giving us was that women are always the first to suffer in totalitarian societies. That's why the first two prequels pass the Bechdel test because the characters are living in a more egalitarian society.<br />Frankly as a biracial woman I find the whole "WE MUST HAVE DIVERSITY IN STAR WARS!" argument to be annoying. No one does this to any other franchise (except Marvel), why single out SW? Instead of slapping more diverse characters onto SW, make new movies with diverse casts - but make sure you have a good story first and foremost.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-15065228974189936522016-01-16T19:37:17.093-05:002016-01-16T19:37:17.093-05:00Lord of the Rings was Tolkein alone, though. Star ...Lord of the Rings was Tolkein alone, though. Star Wars is and always has been a franchise encompassing tens upon hundreds of creators--with Lucas up to this point as the head and the primary vision, to be sure, and this isn't to take that away from him, but to argue it as Lucas alone does a disservice to their contributions. I mean, just from a writing perspective it seems wrong to discount Kasdan or Hales, or the several people who helped polish the original film (or the rumored polish jobs on Revenge).<br /><br />The TV comparisons weren't accidental--I do think you could argue the behind-the-scenes process of the films as analogous to a television production, with Lucas as the showrunner carrying out his vision among many other creatives and collaborators. Now he's left the showrunner's chair, and I think it's fair to let someone else take the reigns.<br /><br />(even if we were to go the novel route, though, we could also bring up Sherlock Holmes or Oz, both of which far outlasted Doyle and Baum, and I think that's unequivocally a good thing)T. Hartwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13602995118108914316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-58261503601574658532016-01-16T19:02:45.939-05:002016-01-16T19:02:45.939-05:00Because Star Wars is a completely different animal...Because Star Wars is a completely different animal. TV shows in general are built to a different form.<br /><br />Lucas is to Star Wars what Tolkien is to Lord of the Rings.<br /><br />And yes, you have the adaptations, but those are still reverent of Tolkien and trying to honor him, and only his son working on old writings makes new stories.<br /><br />What Lucas accomplished WAS something bigger and betterThe Nilboghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902509798047158212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-5494237376887159822016-01-16T19:02:38.148-05:002016-01-16T19:02:38.148-05:00Because Star Wars is a completely different animal...Because Star Wars is a completely different animal. TV shows in general are built to a different form.<br /><br />Lucas is to Star Wars what Tolkien is to Lord of the Rings.<br /><br />And yes, you have the adaptations, but those are still reverent of Tolkien and trying to honor him, and only his son working on old writings makes new stories.<br /><br />What Lucas accomplished WAS something bigger and betterThe Nilboghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902509798047158212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-4870833806504156812016-01-16T18:54:35.953-05:002016-01-16T18:54:35.953-05:00I'm not sure if I'm making myself clear--t...I'm not sure if I'm making myself clear--the issue is this distinction between what you deem "true Star Wars" and spin-offs and EU and all that. By making that distinction, we're intrinsically judging one thing to be above the other--that the Lucas films are the top-tier Star Wars, and everything else is lesser. That's certainly what the old approach to canon was, and that feels like what you're doing here by implying TFA to not be "true" Star Wars.<br /><br />And again, to me that's gatekeeping. That's saying only certain people have the rights to these stories, and if anyone else wants in, they have to be delegated to inherently 'lesser' stories. And why can't Star Wars be cultural? Why can't this be a thing passed on from generation to generation that lives and grows and changes with that? Other franchises get to do that--Doctor Who got to live past Sydney Newman and Verity Lambert, and Star Trek got to live past Gene Roddenberry. Why can't Star Wars do the same?T. Hartwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13602995118108914316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543195171933661664.post-19205383728424420542016-01-16T17:55:12.441-05:002016-01-16T17:55:12.441-05:00Can't tell wether that makes BB a better or wo...Can't tell wether that makes BB a better or worse judge of character.The Nilboghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902509798047158212noreply@blogger.com