Sunday, January 31, 2016

Janet Hubert goes after Will Smith and his wife

Janet Hubert goes after Will Smith and his wife
After watching Tommy talk about her, I re-watched the Hubert video. Look, I've carried on a bitter feud on companies and people for years and I can see this in this bitter response. She's partly right about Will Smith and Jada, but this response is coming from nearly 30 years of feeling wronged by Will Smith. Trust me, this type of behavior destroys you and I am working on my bitterness.
 Since I generally can't trust the Smith family due to their strange tries to certain cults including Scientology, I always view anything they have to say with a grain of salt. Janet is right that the Oscars are not that important to the overall movement, yet Smith is taking up this cause. However, Janet is coming from pure bitterness. 
Side Note:  Did you know Janet played  Aunt Denise in GTA5?  I didn't know that. 

Friday, January 29, 2016

Chis Chan: get the hint

This is my favorite Chris Chan photo. I am sure the smell coming off of him is a cross between burnt corn chips and underarms.
This summed up Chris' love life pretty well. Look, even I got these looks from women at a younger age, but I tended to notice it and NOT take pictures with them. You don't take photos with a person that is repulsed with you. This young lady was his friend and she looked at him like this.
It should also be noted that he embarrassed her by drawing a sex comic book scene with her (not really, but he said it was her). She rightfully disowned him and stopped to talking to him, because that's how Chris treats his real friends too.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Test theme song

Test theme song
As I stated before, I've been listening to a WWF/WWE podcast on the Attitude Era and they mentioned the kickass theme song for the wrestler Test. I always liked his theme song back in the day, and I would bopped in my head. The song still holds up today.
I read in the comments that Test passed away. From what I can gather, he had some serious drug problems, which lead to his death. There are a lot of Attitude Era guys dead today. Anyway...
This is why I love the WWF Attitude, all the cool theme/intro songs. Part of your thing was having the kickass intro music. 

Deadpool in love

Deadpool in love
Wow, I actually had to rewind the part where she says, “Will you stick it in my...” Did you catch that? Wow, Fox, you let that slip in, (pun intended).
And, she's right. Where was he hiding that ring?
And, Deadpool, you jumped the gun and you should have let her finish her question.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Homeless Man-Junk

Homeless Man-Junk
Warning, this link is not safe for work or humanity as a whole.
This is why you don't get into it with homeless people. You might get dirty-man-junk in your face, and that's not fun for anyone.
-What started confrontation?: There are times when homeless people will enter places and start shit with people for no good reason at all. Was this one of those times.
-How does showing your wiener help your cause? Protection?
-So, the homeless man shows off his beanbag and frank, you follow him off the subway. That's usually a sign NOT to follow him, because you're probably going to get more junk-in-the-front. Did you want to see more? 
When someone shows their undercarriage, that's usually the time to end the argument.

Random Stuff

Random Stuff
~Zack Galifianakis didn't like doing the Hangover sequels: I always get a kick out Zack speaking the truth. He's been in some shit movies. I wasn't the biggest fan of either two Hangover sequels and he clearly did them for the money. He regrets doing to them and I love the honesty. I need to listen that podcast.
~Mizzou Professor Click is charged with a Class C assault: Look, I don't agree with her touchy feelily movement or her strong-arm tactics, but charging her with assault is a bit much. It is a bit of an overreaction on the law's part. And, trust me she is annoying and pushy, but that doesn't break the law. If this is assault, it is the softest assault ever. Just drop this shit already nothing happened and no one was hurt. Come on, dude, stop acting butthurt.
~Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Chris Stuckmann recalls/reviews this videogame movie. I was bored with the first movie and probably wouldn't see it today. However, I did like the second movie. I can still watch the first movie though.
~Fox is eating up all the press over Trump skipping the GOP debate: This was the stumbling Fox wanted out of Trump and they're loving it. I also like that Trump is scared of Megan Kelly to the point of not wanting to face her. Really, Trump? I have to give Fox props for not backing down against Trump's bullshit.


Monday, January 25, 2016

Rideshare driver's car attacked

This is a nightmare.
While I've never seen anyone this violent, I do see some crazy things at night being a rideshare guy. You will see people try to get into rideshare cars just like this woman that aren't even her requested car. That what this woman tried to do here. I had a super-high woman jump into my car as I was trying to drop someone off as if I were a taxi. She hoped in nearly running over the other rider and thought I worked as a taxi. I had to tell her to get out in a kindly manner. I just had another woman so messed up that I had to try to wake her up five times when we got to her place.
Yes, this woman got into this man's car and started to destroy it from the inside. He was really professional about it. Though, the shove back was a bit much and could have turned out really bad for him. If she would have broken anything when she fell, he would have gone to jail instead. BTW, it is illegal to hope into a rideshire car without the proper ping.
The best and sad part about this story is she IS a doctor.
From Fox 13.com, ((A fourth-year neurology resident in Florida has reportedly been suspended after video surfaced that appears to show her physically and verbally assaulting an Uber driver before trashing his car and throwing his possessions out into the street. ))
I honestly would fire her though. Suspend her, but don't fire her. Force her into AA or anger management meetings. Trust me when I say people act completely different when their drunk from when they're clean. I just can't believe she's acting like a drunk sorority girl. 
She wasn't arrested because the driver didn't press charges.  I would have done the same thing.  

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts

~Glenn Beck endorses Trump: I certainly hope this gives Cruz the bump he needs, because I can't stand Trump. I am not a fan of Cruz, but I'd really hate to see an racist=raving fool in the WH. Also, Trump got an endorsement from everyone's clown Sarah Palin. I can't see myself voting for Cruz, but it is time for the GOP to end this clown show with Trump and focus on their issues. Keep in mind I hate Sanders and Clinton too, but I would be forced to side with Clinton because Sanders is too far left. Plus, she is a stronger person and would fight bullies like ISIS and others while still making peace with Cuba and Iran.
~Clint Eastwood: Okay, I partly agree with him and I hated American Sniper BTW, Most people don't win Oscars, but some of the protesters on the black side are correct. While I don't think there should be a protest, the issue does need to be discussed. There is a snubbing against minority actors, but not on the scale some on the far left are tying to push. Eastwood is more of a old fart than anything else. And, throwing out a hashtag doesn't cut it. 
~Chelsea Handler says Bieber is the worst: He was the worst interview because he tried to get his stroke on with Chelsea. He kept flirting with her. I just think he's a major prick and still can't understand his appeal to young girls. He's done so many shitty things even using the dreaded N-Word. 
 ~XFL: Remember that shit? I was listening to a podcast about the WWE Attitude Era. They go into the downward spiral of the XFL. It is funny that NBC dropped the show and it sort of tanked. Vince threw the XFL into the trash by trying to make the XFL into WWF with tits and ass with cameras in the cheerleaders locker room. 
You made it a point to NOT make it a WWF brand, but went for the Attitude Era skits. Why? Most people forget about this major mistake in sports and one of Vince's biggest failures.
Yep this is lowest thing ever in sport history.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

That AT&T girl is HOT



I usually hate commercials, but damn I am in love with that AT&T woman in those store ads. She's like the hotter version of Flo from Progressive. I mean is really pretty. So, I looked up AT&T lady in ads and her name popped up. Milana Vayntrub is her name and she is a comedian just like the woman that plays Flo.
I really liked those Christmas ATT ads with those old school characters. She's even hot as a clay model. Damn, girl. (Whatas mesa sayin)
While I am a T-Mobile dude, I'm willing to switch if she'd take me out to dinner (Yes, I am progressive because I believe women should also pay for dinner too. Plus, I am broke.)

Friday, January 22, 2016

Amy Schumer, please say it isn't so

Amy Schumer, please say it isn't so
This might get taken down, but take check it out.
Three female comedians came out and accused Amy of stealing jokes. I really like (Now, the sex jokes are pretty generic and I've heard all of those before and most comedians do them.) Schumer really is using modified jokes from a generic form, but some are saying she is completely ripping off jokes. I'm still torn about this. 
From Newser.com, ((But, the same day, she also went on Jenny McCarthy's Sirius show and said that "underground, this has been being said for a while," that many other comedians have thanked her for bringing it into the spotlight, and that she wants Schumer (who shou ))
I was also a bit upset over the Amy attacking a teen reviewer over a silly sexual joke that she is KNOWN for these type of jokes. That's why I like Amy because she is offensive and politically incorrect and proud of it. Why would she take offense?
Side Note: Some of the women accusing Amy of stealing jokes have since backed down and deleted tweets. 
 

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Best funny deaths by Cracked

Best funny deaths by Cracked
Cracked won't let you embed the video so click on the link below.
Steven Seagal in Executive Decision: Yes, his death scene is pretty funny and I was shocked that he died. I wanted a Kurt Russell movie with Steve Seagal, but I ended up just getting 20 minutes of Seagal mugging and then getting flipped out of a plane. I kind of laugh at that scene, but it is a horrible death.

The Rock=Rocket Man: This is one of the worst pun inducing scenes in the entire movie, and it feels like Cage made this shit up himself. He then uses the rocket on Tony Todd to kill him. Don't kill Commander Kurn. Oh, and the Rocket didn't instantly kill Todd's character, and it wasn't the fall. It was the “random” spike that did him in instead. Damn.
Ratts Tyerell in Star Wars EP2: Yes, this is very dark even the kid friendly nature of Ep1. This racer has his entire famliy watching the pod-race and he totally bites it smacking into a rock in a cave. And, his family gets to watch it on the jumbo screen. That's pretty dark. And, yes, he dies from what I read in the Canon wiki. Keep in mind most of the other racers merely lost their pods and not their lives. (Maybe the Sand People ripped apart the guy that got shot down though) That's pretty dark, George.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Accidental Love (AKA Nailed)

Accidental Love (AKA Nailed)
This movie has a lot of negative history. Back in 2008, David O Russell pushed for a healthcare “comedy” and started making a movie called Nailed that was based on a book(Al Gore's daughter Kristin Gore ). The backers of the movie sort of stopped paying for the movie and not paying people fir their work. over the years this movie was being filmed, a bunch of stoppages on the way. In 2010, after many halts in production, David walked away from the project with only a few days to finish. Yet, the movie was still incomplete. Plus, you had an actor quit the movie during filming over a story element (James Caan ). This movie looked doomed from the start.
And, the movie was shelved. However ,someone decided to dust this mess off in 2014 and super-glued the parts together. Russell didn't return for this cobbled together cut and removed his name from the movie. The fake name Stephen Greene was used for the renamed movie Accidental Love instead of Nailed.
This movie is bad, and I don't think the movie would have worked with Russell at the helm too. It is very silly. 
 -Tracy Morgan (AKA Tracy Jordan): Why is he in the movie? I like Tracy, but looks rather bored and seems to have stumbled in from 30 Rock to this movie set. He really doesn't have anything to do with the movie.
-Most of of it is NOT funny: It wants to be this biting comedy about healthcare, but it is not really funny. I'm not sure what tone they were going with either. It ll over the place. With some proper editing, maybe they could have found it, but not in its current state.
-Very Raw Movie: This means that scenes carry on far too long. Sometimes, characters will speak off screen without a shot to show their location to the character they're talking to and ruining a joke in the end. The movie is in bad shape indeed.
-Healthcare Comedy?: Since this movie was conceived in 2008-ish, there was a lot of talk about universal healthcare. This movie would have fit into that time period. So, it is annoying that goal of this character is to force a vote on healthcare reform, and we have a bit of that already with Obamacare today. Obamacare sort of makes this movie moot during 2015 that is the time of release. Yet, the GOP wants to resend Obamacare today, so maybe this movie could be a factor again...or maybe not.
-Jessica Biel : She has never looked fitter or hot as she does here. She is a very attreative woman. And, I think she can be a fine actress, but she is straining a bit in this movie. I believe it might be Russell's direction making her look bad. And, I like many of Russell's movies. 

Sunday, January 17, 2016

George Lucas is a Sith?

Come on George we know why you really said those things. Your ego can't take the fact people liked Force Awakens more than your beloved prequels. There is a huge amount of jealousy. At first he gave muted responses, but then he started talking about how the fans will love the movie, but it was not the movie he'd make.
He started making these little comments that really made it seem like sour grapes. 
"Back in my day, hey, get off my franchise!."
 From Indie Wire, (("They wanted to do a retro movie. I don't like that. Every movie I work very hard to make them completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships, make it new," he said. ))
Yep, we saw your new movies and they were the prequels. Okay, Revenge of the Sith was pretty good. They didn't connect with the fans. This is where I disagree with Lucas. EP7 really isn't a retro movie as it is more of a movie with modern storytelling elements mixed in with tributes to the EP 4. Plus, the movie focused in on the characters and making them people we want to cheer for.
People forget that George has a huge resentment toward the fans for not fully embracing the prequels. Despite his effects to change the originals to “fit” the prequels and his efforts to push the prequels' merchandise on us, we didn't bite. And, I think the final straw was the fact no one bothered to see Episode I in 3D. He told us that we'd see the other movies in 3D if we watched Episode I and no one did.
So, then he came out with some snippy statements stating that people don't have to worry about him making anymore Star Wars movies...right before selling his franchise to Disney for almost 5 Billion. 
From Movie Web, (("I sold them to the white slavers that takes these things, and [laughs]..." Read more at: https://tr.im/77QWd))
I really don't have a huge problem with the”White Slavers” comment, but all statements about the new movie just rub me the wrong. For a guy that is extremely left leaning, why would he use such a comment to relate to Disney? It is a company that has gone out of its way to be diverse in all its  products.
This is a man that regrets selling his franchise, but I think it is because everyone has embraced the new direction the franchise has gone (including the really good SW Rebels). And, they're doing it without him. He feels abandoned. The best thing that Disney did was ignore Lucas's story suggestions and make the movie they wanted to make with the new/old creative team (IE like the Marvel movie model).
He apologized. From The Root, (("I rarely go out with statements to clarify my feelings but I feel it is important to make it clear that I am thrilled that Disney has the franchise and is moving it in such exciting directions in film, television and the parks," Lucas said in a statement put out Thursday.  )) 
 

Friday, January 15, 2016

Snoke Theme and the Opera House theme

Snoke Theme and the Opera House theme
 
Wow, I am really shocked there is a connection between Ep 3 and The Force Awakens. I've heard a lot of theroies about the origines of Snoke, the main bad guy leader. However, a lot of people think he's Darth Plaqueis in hiding. The score is very similar to the Snoke theme in Force Awakens. 
Here's the track comparison.  It is very uncanny how similar they are.  

Keep in mind that SW does this all the time. Ankin's theme has Vader's theme hidden in it.  
And, Palpatine strongly implies that he betrayed Plagueis himself. Palpatine probably thought he killed Plagueis and then moved on to build his Empire. Plagueis brought himself back to life and went into hiding. When the Empire fell, Plagueis changed his name and rebuilt the Empire into the more militant First Order.
Plus, it looks like Snoke has been disfigured by a weapon of sort.
I kind of hope they go in that direction.
Side Note: Palpatine also looks at Skywalker when he says, “create life” thus implying that he or Plagueis created Skywalker.
Now, there is another theory...
Side Note II: I did an image search for Snoke Google suggested “Snooki Weight Loss”. Thank you, Google. Maybe there is a connection between Snooki and Snoke. They're both evil and command a bunch of crazy people. (yes, I went there. I kid.)

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Mad Max: Fury Road (Part 2 of 2)


Mad Max is marketed as the hero of the movie, but he really isn't the main guy. He is literally just along for the ride. This story is post Thunder Dome (I believe) and he really isn't in the mood to save people. Tom Hardy doesn't really speak much in the movie and I like that about him. The silent hero is a bit of throwback to those 70s action movies where the main guy isn't too keen to get involved. But, he turns out become a hero.
Hardy fills in the role that Gibson used to play nicely. Again, the role doesn't require him to speak that much, but Gibson was the same way. I can't choose who was better in the role of Mad Max, but I can say Hardy is good. I like Hardy better as a person though.
Charlize Theron is the main hero in the movie and the one that has a character arc. Theron is simply great as the woman that decides to become a hero after working for these cult members for so long. She has had enough and embarks on this strange rescue mission. Theron has never been more kickass. While I heard Theron and Hardy didn't get along on set, they're chemistry is very good. She is the reason to watch this movie. This is how you write a female action hero.
Feminist controversy: I don't know where all this came from and I just stayed out of this discussion/shouting match. For one, I didn't give a shit either way. However, feminists and MRAs took sides on what the message was behind this movie. I couldn't really care, it was a kickass chase movie to me. And, the overall moral of the has more to do with people letting go of their pain and rebuilding their lives. Sorry, MRA and SJWs, let it go. That's why we keep seeing the flashbacks to his famil dying. Now, the movie has very anti-cult stance. Clearly, this group of bad guys are part of this cult that has a masked leader that everyone treats as a god.
The movie is actually a direct sequel to the other movie, and it is not a remake. And, I have to commend Miller for recasting the lead role instead of remaking/rebooting the series. Heck, he could have had Mel Gibson as the Max character and pushed the timeline ahead like 20 years. It would have worked with an older Mad Max, but Gibson is too toxic and would have hurt the movie. Plus, Gibson is a prick. Recasting and keeping the universe is a better choice/ I like this movie exist in the same universe as Road Warrior and Thunder Dome.
With good characters and kickass action scenes, Mad Max: Fury Road is an extremely fun movie. The acting and editing are also good and make it stand out from Thunder Dome. And, even the ending is surprisingly upbeat for a Mad Max movie. Mad Max: Fury Road is a crazy sequel with some great action scenes and tightly edited chases. This is a fun action movie.
Grade: B+

Alan Rickman RIP

Alan Rickman RIP 
 From CNN, ((Alan Rickman, the British actor with the unforgettable voice who played the brooding Professor Severus Snape in the "Harry Potter" films as well as "Die Hard" villain Hans Gruber, died Thursday after a short battle with cancer, according to his representatives at Independent Talent Group. ))
Damn, these things really do happen in three. It also comes as a total shock that he had cancer. He was the character actor with a of class and one of the best bad guys in one of my favorite 80s movies.
He brought class to Dogma and really seem to handle humor very well. Plus, he brought his A-game to it. Rickman also kicked total ass in one of my favorites Die Hard. His interactions with Bruce Willis is the reason to rewatch Die Hard again. I love his last shot of him dropping down to his, death and it is priceless.
Most people will remember him as Snape in the Harry Potter series. They clearly cast him to have people believe he was a bad guy, but he turned out to be looking out for Harry Potter.
Oh, and let's not forget his hammy yet entertaining role in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He as the best thing about that movie, despite it not holding up that well. And, his take on Nimoy in Galaxy Quest is really worth noting too. I love the contempt his character has for his Spock-like role. 

 

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Mad Max: Fury Road (Part 1 of 2)

Mad Max: Fury Road



What the f' did I just watch? For the most part, you're watching a massive car chase for an entire movie. Plus, I really enjoyed the movie a lot. Just sit back and marvel at the zany nature of the movie. And, you'll be shocked the directions they go with the material. It is one big, bloody, fast-moving chase movie. I had a huge smile on my face when I watched this movie for about 80% of the time.

George Miller is the king of Mad Max and he's been doing these movies since the first one. While it is set in the same universe and timeline as the other ones, it feels like this one is on crank or something. It is Mad Max with a Fast and Furious flavor to it. Miller is at the top of his game with his directing and editing. And, I love the use of take frames out of certain scenes to give it a strange look, plus speeding up things here and there.

The movie is comprised of two super long chase scenes with a second act between them. The second act sets up the direction the characters want to go after that. While the second act is a bit of a drag, it is a nice to see the movie take some time to breath. I can see some people having a problem with that.

You will witness people getting crushed and rolled over by semi trucks and cars. The automobile carnage is extreme and I am amazed they got away with what they showed on screen. There is one scene even I was squeamish with that involved a woman and a couple of knives. They went there and even more.

The main villains are a cross between Scientology and death metal band. The henchmen are bald and wear this white paint. Plus, they're willing to kill themselves and paint this strange silver on their lips. It is never fully explained how this cult works, but they are frightening. And, I really like the main head of this cult too. He might be the best villain out of the Mad Max movies. 
 Then there is guitar guy. Why is he in the movie? I am not sure, but he's there whenever we see the horde of bad guys chasing our heroes. He's surrounded by huge speakers and shoots flames out of his guitar. He serves no purpose other than to be cool and random. I loved this character.
The editing is fast and neat. The movie is tight and doesn't take time to explain thing in the first and third acts. The stunts are a good mixture of practical and CGI. The CGI sandstorm scene is amazing. I never thought I'd see cars get lifted up and destroyed with such beauty. Take that Twister. Yet, the car crashes are huge and seem real. I have no idea how they got away with this sheer scope under 150 million. Miller did it though. 

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

David Bowie RIP

David Bowie RIP
From CNN.com, ((Bowie died Sunday after an 18-month battle with cancer, his publicist Steve Martin told CNN. "David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer," said a statement posted on his official social media accounts. "While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief." ))
I had now idea he had passed or he was sick until I checked my wiki app on my phone. He was on the front page. He was only 69 years old. While I knew about his early work, but I remember his later work as being interesting to me.
For pop cultural sake, I have to bring up Labyrinth because you can't mention Bowie without this movie. It is such a strange choice for a villain, but it works in a silly manner. And, yes his pants and bulge should receive a credit in the movie. I also remembered that he was married to the stunning woman Iman, the shapeshifter in Star Trek VI, and stayed married to her until his death. That is shocking because famous people don't stayed married for long.
Of course there was a long running gag on Venture Brothers about David Bowie being a super villain, or at least a shapeshifter liking to look like Bowie. I loved those moments on the show. “The guy from Labyrinth?”
I loved his later songs.
Bowie's son is a film director/producer named Duncan Jones. He directed one of my favorite movie named Moon. And, I loved Source Code, plus he's doing the Warcraft movie. I had no idea he was Bowie's son.

Side note: Was Goldust from the WWF a reference/tribute to Ziggy Stardust?  




Saturday, January 09, 2016

Justin Bieber mistreats some ruins

Justin Bieber mistreats some ruins
He's on my naughty list this year. He's starting this year off being another douche bag.
From NDTV.com, (("He and his mates pulled his pants down and insulted our staff at the site," he added. Visitors are warned not to climb on some of the ruins, which were built in the 13th century, because they could be unstable. Security officials asked them to stand down but Justin reportedly yelled at them. Police officials were called but Justin left before they could intervene. ))
Basically, the area he defaced was the Tulum site which was where the Mayans ruled over for a long time. This means the area is more important than anything Justin has created. And, Justin and his goons climbed on some ruins and behaved like asshole at an old/historical Mexican site.
Bieber is like a second rate DC Comics super villain. Justin is the worst. He thinks everything is his own playground and he can get away with this behavior. I'd loved to see the Mexican government fine him.

Friday, January 08, 2016

If Sega was honest with us back in 1999...

If Sega was honest with us back in 1999...
Yes, I had a Dreamcast back in the day and I loved it. However, I kept waiting for Sega to release some good RPGs on it, and they never did. And, it seems Sega of Japan never fully backed the system,whereas Sega of America abandoned the Saturn. The Dreamcast was always domed and when Sony and Microsoft announced their consoles. That's the truth of the matter sadly.

And, Microsoft sort of worked with Sega to get their console up and running and used a version of Windows as their OS. Then, MS went on to make their console and lift the rug from right under them. I'd love to see that memo that went around when they fully planned on dumping the Dreamcast and go software.
And, anyone else remember that Bernie Stolar was fired right before the release of the DC?  History sort of repeated itself with the Xbox One.  Check out some reading on Bernie's firing.  Now, Bernie says that "Golf Incident" had nothing to do with his firing, but many sources have claimed otherwise.  And, I had heard that SOJ was pissed.  
And, there were games being planned for the console when the switch happened too.  That sucks.  
I ended up giving my Dreancast to my brother when he moved to CA.


Side Note: Sonic Adventure: While buggy, was one of their best games. However, RE was pretty good too. How do you go from SA to Sonic Boom?   
Side Note: Remember when Sony tried to copy their memory cards with their own pocketstation? 



Lance Armstrong

Man, I still think Armstrong is a prick, but I give him credit for showing up on a podcast and revealing things. I still have a huge problem with Armstrong going after everyone that claimed he was juicing with lawsuits. He sued anyone that attacked him and that makes it worst, because he went after them like they were enemies of Scientology.
In the interview, he mentions that famous Nike commercial where he claims he did it on his own. He regrets making the ad and I find that amusing. BTW, he doesn't ride bikes anymore. He runs a lot.

“That was ill-advised.”  Really? 
His deal with the post office is one of the lawsuits still pending, because it was a government company, so it is a big deal.  

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Part 3 of 3)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Part 3 of 3)

Star Wars was always a big thing to me growing up. I still have fond memories watching Episode IV way back in the day on VHS. And, I remember seeing Return of the Jedi in the theater. So, seeing this movie being released was a big deal. Plus, this would be the first movie to not have the influence from George Lucas. Lucas made the prequels for himself, whereas this feels like a Star Wars movie for the fans, and not just neck-bearded ones either. But, you're going to get more out of it than a causal fan.
Given the 30 plus years have passed, things in this universe have changed.
First off, the First Order is clearly a stand in for Nazis, but there are hints of ISIS with the way they recruit their personnel. They kidnap kids and brainwash them. There is one scene that is clearly a callback to the Nazi speeches with the army standing around listening to a speaker. This actor in the scene invokes Hitler in his mannerism. It is a chilling scene because it shows that the First Order is a militant off-shoot of the Empire.
I like how the movie shows us how dangerous this new threat is. Plus, the ruling body seems to be the Supreme Leader Snoke, a person we now nothing about We know that he is in tune with the dark side of the force, but nothing else. We will see more about this guy in later movies.
Remember, we knew almost nothing about the Emperor until the prequels.
Despite being more militant than the earlier bad guys, the new enemy does have similarities to the Empire. They still use storm-troopers with a slightly different design. And, I love the updated streamlined appearance of the iconic design. (Plus, there are female storm-troopers.) Like the Empire, they use TIE fighters and star destroyers. I like they didn't change these things within the 30+ year jump ahead. However, I like how clean the First Order's bases and ships looked compared to the Resistance.
The Resistance isn't as fully explained as the First Order. I actually had to do some research online in order clear up some confusion. The Resistance is very similar to the Rebel Alliance, but there is another government called the New Republic. The New Republic is a separate body from the Resistance. They're allies in this movie, but not the same thing.
That was one of the weaker parts about the story. It seemed the writers wanted to shy away from the prequels so much that they removed a lot of the political back history. This had to do with a lot people complaining about there being too much history in the prequels.
There is another problem with the movie.
The super weapon is sort of an after-thought I felt. The super weapon isn't the central thrust of of two acts of the movie, but it is plopped in the third act. While I liked the actual use of the Starkiller, it is never fully explained how it operates. And, I felt it needed to be fleshed out. And, that's kind of a shame, because the Starkiller is a total badass weapon. And, I won't give away what the Starkiller does, but it is pretty cool. I just wanted more. From what I heard, there was about 50 minutes cut from the movie. So, some of the issues could have been solved in the those said minutes. I going to do some research into this. However, it does feel like the super weapon was a new addition to the script late in the game. It doesn't feel as organic as the other plot points.
With a new creative force, we get to see some new designs that still fit into the Star Wars universe. The creature and aliens are pretty much new and it gives us something we haven't seen before. Plus, we also get to see relics from the old battles during the civil war (not the clone wars). These relics are buried in the sand with a bunch of scavengers picking apart anything worth finding.
ILM did an outstanding job with the special effects and they work on so many levels. Every space battle and chase scene looks amazing, but not crowded like the prequels' scenes. The ships look sleeker and bigger and the actions scenes are bigger, but not overdone. ILM and JJ show restraint in the same manner as the Star Trek movies, It also seems there aren't as many green screen shots and the ones that are used aren't noticeable. While Lucas relied heavily on the green screen, JJ does lean on real locations and sets enhanced by ILM's special effects.
Like the prequels, he does use CGI characters, but they appear more realistic than Jar-Jar and some of the other CGI characters. I like the character of Maz Kanata and she is a CGI character. Maz is restrained, but she has an interesting look that you don't see in real life. There are a few creatures here and there that are CGI creations as well and they're really cool looking. This is how you use CGI.
John Williams' score fits the movie, plus there is a sense of energy and newness. Surprisingly, the score has a lot of new themes and doesn't rely on the old themes. The Empire theme only makes one appearance in the movie, which surprised me. I thought Williams would have made the First Order a re-used version of the Empire theme. However, even the First Order theme is brand new. Rey's theme is a nice entry to the SW catalog of SW themes. They do use some of the older themes but sparingly.
Despite some plot problems, The Force Awakens is a fun and entertaining movie with lots of great moments. There are new characters that are very interesting and the acting is top-notch. The editing is good as always with a J.J. Abrams . Abrams shows he has a love of the material by using the best people to make his vision of the franchise. This is a fitting tribute to the original trilogy and I love this movie. It feels like a new Star Wars movie.

Grade: A-