Star Wars

[Carol the Dabbler]

15 hours ago, T.o.b.y said:

she's obviously not too keen on the Palpatine legacy and she probably sees herself more as Luke and / or Leia's spiritual daughter and Kylo's Force sister.

Yeah, that's roughly what I thought (though I did get more of a romantic feeling between her and Kylo/Ben).  She'd been Luke's protege and also Leia's (in different ways), so that they were really the closest thing to a family she'd had since she was a little girl.

15 hours ago, T.o.b.y said:

I don't quite understand your second question, are you referring to the yellow lightsaber? 

I have no idea.  She buried two lightsabers in the sand, and then she pulled out another object that looked to be about the same size and shape, but with different details -- looked like it might have had a wooden handle, which is why I said it looked old-fashioned.  By that time, I had kinda lost count of the lightsabers, so I have no idea whether/where I'd seen it before.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Happy Star Wars Day to one and all -- May the Fourth be with you!!!  

[besleybean]

And to you.

[Caya]

(source: https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/gd957a/we_are_all_equal_under_the_force/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf )

May the Fourth be with you, too!

eta: Just remembered this (and yes, that's a real game):

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

At irregular intervals along our highways, usually attached to overpasses above the road, there are signs that can be electronically altered from a central location.  There's one between here and Indianapolis that's recently been reading something like this:

ESSENTIAL TRAVEL ONLY
STAY AT HOME
SLOW DOWN
 

But today it read:

MAY THE FOURTH
BE WITH YOU
SLOW DOWN YOU MUST

.

[Artemis]

 

[sittything]

On 2/7/2020 at 11:38 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Yeah, that's roughly what I thought (though I did get more of a romantic feeling between her and Kylo/Ben).  She'd been Luke's protege and also Leia's (in different ways), so that they were really the closest thing to a family she'd had since she was a little girl.

I never thought I'd ship something, have them kiss on screen, and have people question whether or not it was romantic, but here we are.  😆

ETA:  As far as TROS, I hated it.  I personally don't get how the moral of the story of the Skywalker Saga is 1) they're all dead in the end;  and 2) it took a Palpatine to defeat Palpatine. The Skywalkers were cursed.  It was just a very depressing ending for me, overall.  If I wasn't already hooked on Mando, I'm not sure I'd watch anything Star Wars again.

[Carol the Dabbler]

7 hours ago, sittything said:

As far as TROS, I hated it.

I was just about to say I hadn't seen that one, because the title was only vaguely familiar.  Then I looked it up and found it was the third prequel movie.  Didn't see those in the theater, but did (attempt to) watch them on DVD.  Think I fell asleep a few times.  From what you say, that may have been just as well.

 

[sittything]

1 hour ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

I was just about to say I hadn't seen that one, because the title was only vaguely familiar.  Then I looked it up and found it was the third prequel movie.  Didn't see those in the theater, but did (attempt to) watch them on DVD.  Think I fell asleep a few times.  From what you say, that may have been just as well.

 

Oh sorry for the confusion.  I was abbreviating for The Rise of Skywalker.  Not Revenge of the Sith.  

[besleybean]

The problem with abbreviations!

I went away shaking my head, trying to work it out and wishing my daughter was here, as she is the ultimate SW buff!

[Carol the Dabbler]

11 hours ago, sittything said:

Oh sorry for the confusion.  I was abbreviating for The Rise of Skywalker.  Not Revenge of the Sith.  

Oh.  I assumed you were referring to the post just before yours.  OK then, back to your original post:

20 hours ago, sittything said:

As far as TROS, I hated it.  I personally don't get how the moral of the story of the Skywalker Saga is 1) they're all dead in the end;  and 2) it took a Palpatine to defeat Palpatine. The Skywalkers were cursed.

I've only seen it twice (theater and DVD), and it's been a while, but I didn't get that impression at all!

1) Well, yeah, but that happens to all mortals.  Luke hadn't died in the usual sense anyhow, he had transformed.  And near as I recall the details, both Ben and Leia volunteered their lives to strengthen Rey, so at the end when she told the woman that her name was Skywalker, she was kinda speaking for them as well.

2) Again, that's true in a very literal sense.  But Rey rejected both the name and the man.  And she defeated him with the combined strength of the Skywalkers.  So I'd say the Skywalkers clearly won the final round.

Or am I misremembering?

[sittything]

1 hour ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

Oh.  I assumed you were referring to the post just before yours.  OK then, back to your original post:

I've only seen it twice (theater and DVD), and it's been a while, but I didn't get that impression at all!

1) Well, yeah, but that happens to all mortals.  Luke hadn't died in the usual sense anyhow, he had transformed.  And near as I recall the details, both Ben and Leia volunteered their lives to strengthen Rey, so at the end when she told the woman that her name was Skywalker, she was kinda speaking for them as well.

2) Again, that's true in a very literal sense.  But Rey rejected both the name and the man.  And she defeated him with the combined strength of the Skywalkers.  So I'd say the Skywalkers clearly won the final round.

Or am I misremembering?

You're not misremembering.  I just hate both decisions for multiple reasons.  I was trying to figure out how I might explain my reasons, but I'm not sure how to do so in a reasonable length post, and I'm unsure of my ability to keep my emotions in check right now.  I probably shouldn't have even addressed it at a superficial level;  I just tend to jump at any chance to declare my hatred for this film. lol   Mostly because it left me pretty devastated in December.

ETA:  Sorry if this is a non-answer for now.  I just don't want to give an emotionally charged brain dump, when I think it deserves a more well thought out reply.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I must say it certainly isn't the Star Wars wrap-up that I really wanted, but there are enough things I do like (e.g., Han Solo's brief appearance) that I don't hate it either.  That probably sums up my opinion of most movies that I've bothered to watch lately.  Most movies made in the past few decades aren't even close to my idea of a good (or even watchable) movie.

2 hours ago, sittything said:

... it left me pretty devastated in December.

As the end credits rolled for the second Hobbit movie, I was literally sobbing for the movie that it could have been (but mostly wasn't).  So I get what you're saying.

 

[J.P.]

It was a bit of funny feeling as I left the cinema after VII and IX. Because it definitely felt right. But the story… there was hardly any.

[sittything]

4 hours ago, J.P. said:

It was a bit of funny feeling as I left the cinema after VII and IX. Because it definitely felt right. But the story… there was hardly any.

Did you not care for VIII, b/c that's my fav Star Wars movie of all time?  😆

[Caya]

Like, seriously?  Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to invalidate your opinion or anything like that, I'm just astonished how differently two people can experience the same thing. Because VIII, to me, was so awful that I decided I was done with Star Wars.

[sittything]

1 hour ago, Caya said:

Like, seriously?  Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to invalidate your opinion or anything like that, I'm just astonished how differently two people can experience the same thing. Because VIII, to me, was so awful that I decided I was done with Star Wars.

To each their own I guess.  I wasn't a big Star Wars person prior to VIII.  It's what sucked me in.  Maybe I'm a Rian Johnson fan.  I did enjoy Knives Out.  lol

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, sittything said:

I wasn't a big Star Wars person prior to VIII.  It's what sucked me in.

That's probably why your reactions were different from those of some other people.  I wouldn't classify myself as a huge SW fan, certainly not in the sense that I'm a Star Trek fan, but I saw the original (i.e., middle) trilogy when each of those movies were first in the theaters, and enjoyed them, so they're what I judge the other episodes by.

 

[sittything]

1 hour ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

That's probably why your reactions were different from those of some other people.  I wouldn't classify myself as a huge SW fan, certainly not in the sense that I'm a Star Trek fan, but I saw the original (i.e., middle) trilogy when each of those movies were first in the theaters, and enjoyed them, so they're what I judge the other episodes by.

 

I saw the original movies as a kid, although I was really young (it was prior to kindergarten), and the prequels in my 20s, but never really got hooked.  I'm also admittedly a huge fan of Kylo Ren/Ben Solo.  He's my favorite Star Wars character sooo I get I'm odd man out, overall.  I also really enjoyed The Mandalorian, and I'm looking forward to season 2 of that. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, sittything said:

I'm also admittedly a huge fan of Kylo Ren/Ben Solo.  He's my favorite Star Wars character sooo I get I'm odd man out, overall.

You're not the only fan of Ben Solo here!  I will admit to having judged him a tiny bit harshly for killing his father (who was my favorite character), but he redeemed himself very nicely in the end.

Actually, I didn't much like Han Solo at first, but by the second movie (i.e., #5) he started to grow on me.  Like father, like son, I guess.

1 hour ago, sittything said:

I saw the original movies as a kid, although I was really young (it was prior to kindergarten),

That would make a difference, I'm sure.  I was old enough that the characters were more or less my age.

 

[J.P.]

  

On 6/29/2020 at 2:51 PM, J.P. said:

It was a bit of funny feeling as I left the cinema after VII and IX. Because it definitely felt right. But the story… there was hardly any.

Oops, I actually meant VIII and IX.

It surely is an age thing too. I was about 10 when I saw IV in the cinema.
And honestly, the sentiment I have for the "old" 3 movies is the memory of the feelings they caused back then. It's definitely not about the merch or fandom as we didn't have much of it, but it was something that stayed with you. Watching now though, I see them as quite cheesy, so I don't rewatch them any more. The memory is nicer.
I would NEVER voluntarily rewatch IV-VI, the only good things about it were the costumes.

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, J.P. said:

the sentiment I have for the "old" 3 movies is the memory of the feelings they caused back then. [....] Watching now though, I see them as quite cheesy

That's an age thing too, I think.  The original trilogy was intentionally cheesy (in other words, camp), as a sort of hommage to the old Saturday matinee movie serials (which were later shown on television).  If you were born too late to remember those, then you missed the joke.

 

[J.P.]

Oh, then I surely missed the joke.

[Carol the Dabbler]

  

8 hours ago, J.P. said:

Oh, then I surely missed the joke.

 

There were several very explicit nods to the old serials.  For example, referring to the movies by "episode" number.  And that scroll at the beginning ("Long ago in a galaxy far, far away....") to "remind" us where we are in the story.

But if you'd never seen (or perhaps even heard of) the old serials, you'd have no way of knowing that those details meant anything.  By the time I came along, movie theaters were no longer showing kiddie serials, but Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers were sometimes shown on American television, plus one fellow in the local science-fiction club had 8 mm copies of some truly dreadful other serials that he showed us.

So the serials were a historical phenomenon, and may have been a strictly-American thing as well, come to think of it.  I have no idea whether they were *ever* shown outside the US.

I mentioned a few posts ago that I hadn't really cared for Han Solo in the first movie (i.e., "#4"), mostly because he seemed such a two-dimensional character (which I assume is part of what you meant by "cheesy").  But then it occurred to me that he was *supposed* to be that way (as a nod to the old serials), so I lightened up.  Plus starting with the second or third movie, I noticed some hints that there was a more complex character hidden beneath the cardboard.  It just now occurred to me    that they gradually made everyone less of a cliche, so that in the final trilogy they were basically real people.

 

[sittything]

4 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

 

I mentioned a few posts ago that I hadn't really cared for Han Solo in the first movie (i.e., "#4"), mostly because he seemed such a two-dimensional character (which I assume is part of what you meant by "cheesy").  But then it occurred to me that he was *supposed* to be that way (as a nod to the old serials), so I lightened up.  Plus starting with the second or third movie, I noticed some hints that there was a more complex character hidden beneath the cardboard.  It just now occurred to me    that they gradually made everyone less of a cliche, so that in the final trilogy they were basically real people.

 

I think that's originally why I never got into Star Wars initially, that cheesy/camp factor. I also, like you said, thought the characters in the OG trilogy felt flat or two-dimensional, so it was really hard for me to feel invested in them. The prequels seemed awkward and stilted when I originally saw them, although I did feel for Anakin as a character, and his character definitely felt a little more fleshed out than those in the OG. What got me hooked was that in the sequels everyone felt more real to me; the characters felt more fleshed out. By caring about Rey and moreso Kylo/Ben, I began to care more about the OG and prequel characters because they were a part of Kylo/Ben's story/history.  So I guess that was when my interest in the overall universe, and the Skywalker family more specifically, really took off. 

Han is by far my favorite of the OG trio, and my heart broke into a million pieces in IX when we really got to see the ways in which Han and Ben were alike. I've also really enjoyed Anakin, Obi Wan, and Ahsoka in The Clone Wars.  Clone Wars Anakin is > prequels Anakin. I started watching that series for more background info since some of The Clone Wars characters will be making their way to season 2 of The Mandalorian.