tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39974949614725827332024-02-18T23:30:12.415-06:00Saga of the StarsAaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-36229030412127819832017-12-23T06:15:00.003-06:002019-09-24T11:53:24.415-05:00We are what we grow beyondBeen awhile since I posted anything, eh? Haven't even written anything since The Force Awakens came out. Short update:<br />
-I liked The Force Awakens a lot<br />
-I liked Rogue One well enough<br />
-Rebels has been pretty good overall<br />
-I loved The Last Jedi<br />
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Now then, on to my actual post. Spoilers galore, obviously.<br />
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One of the things that ceaselessly impresses me about <i>The Last Jedi</i> is its deep focus on character. Every major character in the film, save for maybe Leia, has a notable arc.<br />
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Star Wars saga films are known for their arcs, of course, but they tend to be very surface-level, and nearly always focused on the idea of Light versus Dark. What's really powerful, though, and what makes the stories work even better, is when the characters get nuanced.<br />
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All of us grow and change as we mature; we all "arc." But most of us don't arc from hero to villain or vice versa. Real, human "arcs" involve us learning deeper truths about ourselves, the world, the universe, etc. Here's some examples of relatable, truthful character arcs:<br />
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-An egotistical boy is faced with failure and thus learns humility<br />
-A girl who has been hurt in the past learns to let go of pain in order to move forward in life<br />
-A man learns to let go of guilt over past mistakes<br />
-A woman takes charge of her identity by rejecting the labels others have placed upon her<br />
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If one of these more human arcs also functions as an arc between light and dark (or good and evil), great. But light and dark in and of themselves are rather abstract concepts. This is why Anakin Skywalker's arc in the Prequels doesn't feel true. Anakin is pulled to the dark side because... he just is. There are some implications of fear and pride, but they ultimately still don't build up enough to justify child murder in <i>Revenge of the Sith</i>.<br />
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Luke Skywalker, on the other hand, has the most notable arc in the first six films of the saga, not because he arcs between light and dark (because he doesn't), but because he has real, honest growth. In <i>A New Hope</i>, he goes from naive boy to courageous hero, and by the time of <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, he's grown a sense of confidence—not realizing that in many ways, he's as naive as he ever was. In the end of <i>Empire</i>, Luke discovers that the universe is much more complicated than he ever thought. He can't simply rush in and defeat Darth Vader, saving his friends and avenging his father, because Vader <i>is</i> his father. Furthermore, Luke is faced with the reality that simply having a strong connection to the Force isn't always an instant-win button, and he pays for his overconfidence with his hand. By the time of <i>Return of the Jedi</i>, Luke has been forced to reevaluate his life. Instead of playing at being warrior hero, Luke offers a hand of mercy to someone who doesn't deserve it. This compassion-based decision is both a new action Luke takes in <i>ROTJ</i> as well as something that's completely in line with who Luke is in the beginning of <i>A New Hope</i>: Luke Skywalker thinks with his heart. The difference between Luke in <i>ANH</i> and Luke in <i>ROTJ</i> is that Luke takes the lessons he's learned and uses them alongside his heart in order to discover a truth that everyone else missed: that although light and dark both exist, people are rarely that simple. People are people, and people are complicated.<br />
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So how does this work in <i>The Last Jedi</i>? How do characters arc? Let's go down the list.<br />
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<b>Finn:</b><br />
Finn wakes up in <i>The Last Jedi</i> apparently having been in a coma since his duel with Kylo Ren in the forest. As such, he hasn't changed one bit since then. In <i>The Force Awakens</i>, Finn ran from the First Order, seemingly caring only about his own life and the life of his crush, Rey. In fact, he lies to the Resistance in <i>TFA</i>, telling them that he can shut down Starkiller Base's shields, when in fact he only wants to save Rey and leave again. In <i>The Last Jedi</i>, he once again tries to leave the Resistance high and dry, just to save his own skin and Rey's. However, this begins to change once he meets Rose.<br />
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Rose is the personification of every quality that Finn lacks. Rose's sister has recently died fighting for the Resistance, and Rose understands the larger societal evils that the Resistance is fighting against. Finn apparently never saw anything outside of a First Order ship or base until the attack on the Jakku village, so he has no real context for why the Resistance are fighting aside from for their own survival. Furthermore, Finn's only real strong emotional connection at this point is Rey, who, throughout TFA, was also only out for her own survival—at least until she leaves to find Luke, which Finn wasn't there to witness. Finn's adventure with Rose is the first time he's ever spent a large amount of time with someone with a motivation larger than herself. He's friends with Poe, yes, but they don't actually spend much time together—and Poe has his own problems, which I'll get to in a minute. When Finn and Rose travel to Canto Bight, Finn begins to see the effect that war and corruption have on the peoples of the galaxy. War profiteers laugh and enjoy themselves while spending the money they made selling the very weapons that are currently killing the Resistance members in another part of the galaxy. Oh, and they own child slaves, too, if that wasn't enough. Finn's arc may also be influenced by the betrayal of DJ, who is literally nicknamed for his motto, "don't join," which could also be interpreted as "only side with yourself" and "don't believe in a cause."<br />
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Later on Crait, Finn finally decides that his life is worth sacrificing for the sake of others. Not just for someone he specifically cares about (these are the same people he tried to ditch earlier, after all), but for the cause; for what's right. But he still needs one more correction from Rose: it's not about destroying what you hate; it's about protecting what you love. Neat little thing: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGBCZOaajys">Rose's theme in the soundtrack</a> is basically a gentler, feminine version of Luke Skywalker's theme, AKA the Star Wars main title. Rose represents the heroic, uplifting spirit of Star Wars, and she's exactly what Finn needed.<br />
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To summarize:<br />
-Rose symbolizes the best of what Finn could be<br />
-DJ represents the worst of what Finn could be<br />
-Finn chooses to be more like Rose<br />
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<b>Rose:</b><br />
This one is short, because Rose doesn't really arc, per se. She does, however, learn an arc-type lesson. She lands on Canto Bight believing that the super-rich are intrinsically evil and deserving of scorn. She learns from DJ, however, that the weapons dealers may be more accurately morally-gray (at least from DJ's perspective), and that they sell weapons to the Rebellion and Resistance as well. It figures that the one flaw of Rose's character would be the one part of herself that's focused on hate.<br />
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<b>Poe:</b><br />
Poe's arc is pretty straightforward: Poe believes that he is the hero of the story; that he can jump in an X-Wing and destroy whatever he needs to in order to win the day, and that all the Resistance needs to do to win is fight harder. He's wrong, of course, and after finding out he's been a prideful idiot, he takes a step back (ironically a step forward?), learning how to be a leader rather than a hero.<br />
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<b>Ben / Kylo Ren:</b><br />
Kylo's arc is actually less internal and more external. He's being held back in his growth, both by Snoke and by himself.<br />
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Kylo Ren has been defined by his obsession with Darth Vader to an unhealthy degree. In <i>The Force Awakens</i>, Rey senses that this is a point of fear and inadequacy for Kylo. The helmet Kylo wears is a feeble attempt to imitate Darth Vader, and when Snoke makes Kylo take it off in the beginning of <i>TLJ</i>, Kylo's shell begins to crack, as he's metaphorically forced to become more defined by his own persona than by his grandfather's example.<br />
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Snoke believes that Ben is powerful, but ultimately controllable and predictable, and he tells Ben as much. Furthermore, we learn that Snoke has been purposely unbalancing Ben's mind, merely for the purposes of tempting Rey. Ben takes Snoke's manipulative telepathy, however, and turns it around, tricking Snoke instead. With Ben now free of Snoke, he's able to forge his own destiny and be his own man. This is a huge step up from the beaten-down wannabe that Kylo Ren was at the end of <i>TFA</i>; now Kylo Ren is the supreme leader of the First Order. In this sense, Kylo has actually gone further and accomplished more than Darth Vader ever did. Now he can actually pursue Anakin's dream of building a new Empire, no longer under another dark lord's shadow.<br />
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<b>Rey:</b><br />
Near the beginning of <i>The Last Jedi</i>, Luke asks Rey, "why are you here?"<br />
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Although Rey has decided to stop waiting for her family to return to Jakku, she doesn't necessarily have a path forward yet, and still thinks of the universe in simple black-and-white emotional terms. Still using a survivor's mindset, she continually refers to things in utilitarian terms. She gets angry with Luke for not teaching her the things she needs to know, or coming back with her to do what she thinks he needs to do. She reaches out to the Dark Side not out of anger or hate, but because she's looking for simple answers, not realizing that there are none to be had.<br />
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Furthermore, once she realizes the difference between the light side and the dark, she naively thinks that she can simply turn Ben back to the light as Luke did Anakin. She's learned the lesson that Luke learned in <i>Return of the Jedi</i>—that people are complicated—but she still lacks the full understanding of what that means, and she's still thinking in absolutes. When she teams up with Ben in the throne room, she assumes that because Ben turned against Snoke, it means he's on the side of good now—but she never considered the idea that Ben could simply be on his own side. And when Kylo Ren, as supreme leader, offers Rey the chance to join him, Rey knows that there's no way she can. Rey now understands on a personal level what Kylo Ren and the First Order stand for, and she has a reason for helping to build the new Rebellion at the end.<br />
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<b>Luke:</b><br />
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This is the big one. It's a little tricky, since a lot of Luke's arc happens off-screen in-between trilogies. But it begins from a place of deep, understandable guilt.<br />
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One of the defining moments in Star Wars is Luke coming across the burning Lars homestead. He sees his home and family in a smoldering ruin and immediately knows that he must fight the Empire to prevent this from happening ever again. In the flashbacks of <i>The Last Jedi</i>, Luke once again sees his home on fire, the people he cares for dead—and this time it's his fault.<br />
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Luke had one moment of doubt, one moment of considering evil—just as he did in <i>Return of the Jedi</i>, holding his saber over a defeated Darth Vader—and paid for it dearly. Luke's new Jedi order was destroyed and his nephew became a dark threat to the galaxy.... none of which would have happened if Luke had never tried in the first place. From a certain point of view, Luke has now caused the same evil he fought so hard to stop in the Original Trilogy. So, out of guilt and anguish, Luke stopped trying. Once again, Luke Skywalker thinks with his heart.<br />
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Yoda, however, tells Luke that he must learn from his failures, pass on that knowledge to others, and, essentially, forgive himself. Luke has always been compassionate and forgiving towards others, but forgiving oneself is often one of the hardest lessons to learn. Yoda's tells Luke, "we are what they grow beyond," referring to how masters are inevitably outgrown by their apprentices. When I first saw the movie, I misheard the line as "we are what we grow beyond," and I took it to mean that we are never truly done growing. We define ourselves by growing out of our failures, not by avoiding them or living in shame of them. Even though it's not the actual line, I feel as though it still works.<br />
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This is where nearly all of the arcs from every character thematically combine.<br />
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Luke says that it's time for the Jedi to end, and he's not entirely wrong. But what he discovers is that the Jedi actually need to be reborn, having learned from the mistakes of the past. Rey will take the lessons of Luke's successes and failures, as well as those of the original Jedi Order, and forge them into something new. Kylo Ren strikes down Snoke and stops worshipping the helmet of Vader in order to build his own new Empire. Poe and Finn are able to see their character flaws and move forward, ready to lead a new Rebellion.<br />
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At its heart, Star Wars has always been the story of "our" generation—whichever generation it may be at the time—looking backward at the sins of our parents' generation and asking the question: "what can we do better?" It's fitting that this is the first Star Wars film since the original to use the term "religion" to describe the Jedi. The word "religion" is taken from the Latin term <i>religare</i>, which means, roughly, "to bind together [that which has been broken]." Every religion is meant, in some way, to illustrate for its followers how best to live; how to make oneself or one's world better. Inevitably, many of those attempts fail, as people are imperfect. But rather than stay mired in guilt and pain, it's better to trust in hope and forgiveness, always moving forward.<br />
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Star Wars is entertainment, yes, but it's at its best when it's actually about something important. How many real-world lessons can we draw just from <i>The Last Jedi </i>alone? How many times can we look at our own actions and realize that we're as arrogant as Poe Dameron or as selfish as Finn? How many people have, like Rey, fooled themselves into blindly supporting a politician, only to realize too late that said politician is on no one's side but his own? Why do we, like Luke, so often fall into the trap of letting ourselves become defined by our failures, rather than learning from them?<br />
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This is why Star Wars is important: because it asks us to step into the cave of the Dark Side, holds a mirror up to our faces and challenges us to look inside. This is why so many people can point to Star Wars and say "this story changed my life." And it's the kind of storytelling we desperately need more of.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-45801042685589546462015-07-20T23:06:00.001-05:002015-07-20T23:06:07.570-05:00Episode VII: The 2nd Teaser, Celebration Anaheim, and Vanity FairIn April, Star Wars Celebration Anaheim took place. There we got our first real look at Episode VII, starting with the second teaser trailer.<br />
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WOW.<br />
It's funny. Much like the last teaser, this one doesn't really tell us all that much about what's happening. We just get little glimpses. It is a teaser after all, not a trailer. But those glimpses are so much more powerful and rich with detail than they were in that first teaser. But the biggest thing about the teaser isn't so much any specific detail, but the way that all the aspects of it build into one idea. I'll explain in a bit.<br />
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That voiceover. Hearing Luke's lines from Return of the Jedi again gave me all kinds of chills. Normally reused lines aren't my favorite thing in trailers, but this made it really work. Part of it has to do with the fact that it ties <i>The Force Awakens</i> back to the Original Trilogy in a way nothing else has yet, but there's also the fact that it seems to imply a lot about the movie's story. Luke is talking primarily about three things: the Force, family, and the idea of passing on that power to someone new. The lines sync up with the footage and highlight specific ideas:<br />
<i>"My father has it"</i> - We see Vader's burnt helmet, probably taken from the Endor funeral pyre. Who took it, and what significance does it have?<br />
<i>"I have it"</i> - A cloaked figure with a robotic hand reaches out for R2-D2; almost certainly Luke.<br />
<i>"My sister has it"</i> - A short alien figure passes the famous saber of Anakin Skywalker to a woman who we assume is Leia.<br />
<i>"You have that power, too"</i> - This is the big one. In ROTJ he was, of course, talking to Leia, but the way the line is removed from the rest of the exchange, it's different. The screen is black, as if Luke isn't speaking in regard to anyone specific. It feels like he's speaking to <i>us</i>. That whole idea—"you have that power, too"—is something that was hugely important to the Original Trilogy, with Luke essentially standing in for us, the audience. We were Luke in the OT; Ben Kenobi and Yoda weren't training Luke; they were training all of us. Symbolically, the trailer seems to hand over the reins of Star Wars to the people again. It's no longer going to be us staring into windows watching monks and politicians go about their idiotic business as in the prequels; this is a story made for <i>us</i>, here and now. I may be reading too deep into that, but it feels right.<br />
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There's a big theme in the teaser: relationships. Not only is Luke talking about his family, but all through the trailer we see people reaching out to one another in various ways:<br />
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And, of course, it ends with the epic nostalgia moment that is seeing Han Solo and Chewbacca reunited on the Millennium Falcon.<br />
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"We're home" is that last beat that sent us all into tears of joy. And it's not just a nostalgia trip, either. Han and Chewie's friendship was never the deepest, exactly, but it always felt real. Maybe like two best friends, maybe like a boy and his dog, but it was always one of the more authentic-feeling things in Star Wars. I've written on this blog before about how Star Wars needs to be a personal story in order for it to be great, and this feels like it's going to do that exactly.<br />
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Also there's a bunch of rad stormtroopers and spaceships.<br />
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One of them is chrome and has a cape. A CAPE. And her name is Captain Phasma. It's like photon mixed with plasma. It's a cool name.<br />
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A quick, light highlight reel from the opening panel where the teaser was first shown:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zydpi38qQRo" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Shortly after Celebration Anaheim, Vanity Fair revealed their epic photos taken on the sets of <i>The Force Awakens</i>.<br />
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Pretty cool stuff.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-22284440590524793772015-07-13T22:51:00.002-05:002015-07-13T22:51:36.065-05:00Episode VII: Title and TeaserOne aspect of the Episode VII production that I did comment on in a timely manner was the casting announcement—<a href="http://starsaga.blogspot.com/2014/04/star-wars-episode-vii-casting.html">which you can read here</a>—hence why I'm now skipping it and going straight to the title and teaser announcements.<br />
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Before we talk about <i>The Force Awakens</i>' title, let's quickly look back at all the previous movie titles. There are two things that I think are most important in a Star Wars title:<br />
1. It must be accurate to the movie - This should go without saying, really.<br />
2. It needs to be catchy and/or ear-pleasing. Something that feels nice to read and hear.<br />
3. It needs to be exciting. "Active" titles that use verbs or other words that imply action are good.<br />
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1977: <i>Star Wars</i> - A lot of people forget that <i>Episode IV: A New Hope</i> wasn't originally called that. It was <i>Star Wars</i>, plain and simple. Short, catchy, epic, and exciting.<br />
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1980: <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i> is epic. Arguably the best Star Wars movie title. It's exciting, active, and perfectly accurate to both the events and tone of the movie.<br />
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1981: When <i>Star Wars</i> was re-released in 81, it was subtitled <i>Episode IV: A New Hope.</i> <i>A New Hope</i> makes sense given the movie's story, but it's rather flat and boring. However, since it's only a subtitle and wasn't even used at the film's release, it kind of doesn't matter.<br />
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1983: <i>Return of the Jedi</i> isn't as powerful of a title as the originally-proposed <i>Revenge of the Jedi</i>, but it makes more sense. After all, it's not as though Luke or any other Jedi actually takes revenge at any point—unless we're counting Vader offing Palpatine at the end? In any case, <i>Return of the Jedi</i> sounds a little too close to the title of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>' 3rd-and-final book, <i>The Return of the King</i>, but it's still a pretty good title overall.<br />
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1999: <i>The Phantom Menace</i>. Honestly, it took me a long while to figure out just what the "phantom menace" was referring to. I suppose Darth Sidious's hologram does kind of look like a ghost, but only kinda. It's also not an active title. Rather than the "phantom" attacking or revenging or actually doing anything, he's... menacing? To be fair, that's a pretty accurate picture of what goes on in the movie, but in that case I think I'd rather have a title like "Attack of the Droid Army" or something that actually describes what action there actually is in the movie.<br />
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2002: <i>Attack of the Clones</i> is probably the silliest title, but it's definitely active. It was said by many that the single best part of the entire film was the Battle of Geonosis at the end, so maybe it's fitting that the movie takes its title from that.<br />
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2005: <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> is easily the best-fitting title. Not only does it perfectly describe what happens, but it also parallels <i>Return of the Jedi </i>and its original <i>Revenge</i> title. Any Star Wars fan worth their spice knew about the Return/Revenge dichotomy, and the <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> title was instantly embraced.<br />
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2015: <i>The Force Awakens</i>.<br />
It feels like it's halfway there. On one hand, it does have a verb—"awakens"—but as verbs go, "awakens" is about as soft as you can get. It's a bit gentle for what is supposed to be an epic action movie. <i>TFA</i> also uses "the Force," which is something that, oddly, no previous Star Wars film has done. It makes sense to reference the Force, so it's nice to have that in a title. On the other hand, we have zero point of reference at this point for what "the Force awakens" actually means. Was the Force asleep? Is it getting more powerful? Is it actually the Force that's waking, or are people in the Galaxy waking up to the Force? I'm left here with questions, but not in a good way. "Awakens" is just too soft a word to denote the primary action or arc of the story. Now, perhaps when the movie is out it'll all make sense. But for now, <i>The Force Awakens</i> is, for me, a title that works just fine, but doesn't exactly soar.<br />
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Now then, onto the first teaser trailer:<br />
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Well, "teaser" is certainly accurate. We barely see more than glimpses of anything. And here's the worst part: they're teases of things we've already seen, either through official press photos, video messages from JJ on the set, or leaks. Seriously, just about everything in the trailer short of the little ball droid and the crossguard saber were things we'd seen before. In fact, a lot of the teaser felt like a summary of the leaks so far: the stormtrooper helmets, the new X-Wing, the Millennium Falcon, the concept art of Daisy Ridley's character on her speeder, etc. However, since I haven't actually covered any of those leaks, I suppose I'll actually go ahead and give my thoughts on everything in the teaser.<br />
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John Boyega in a desert! And that's all we see. He's clearly in distress, but why? No idea.<br />
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A ball droid! Also in a desert! Also with no context. He looks good, at least.<br />
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Daisy Ridley riding a fudgesicle! I have no thoughts, really.<br />
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These new stormtrooper helmets are RAD. Seriously, they might be my favorite trooper helmets ever. Not even joking. The two shots of the troopers we see implies a heavy assault situation of some kind. I liked the intensity of it.<br />
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Oh yes. Here we go. X-Wings in flight. We have never seen X-Wings look this good before. It's a new design, but it's actually very close to the old Ralph McQuarrie concept art for the original X-Wing. And having them against the water like that shows just how fast they're going. It's really intense.<br />
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And here's a pilot guy. The Rebel pilots were my favorite part of the OT, so this makes me happy for no good reason.<br />
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And here we have the thing everybody was talking about: the crossguard/broadsword lightsaber. I like the crossguard. Star Wars has always been more fantasy than science fiction, so a medieval-style laser sword makes sense. Also, the blade looks "rough," almost like it's either a very old saber or one cobbled together without the usual expertise of a Jedi, which implies some interesting things about its origins and its wielder.<br />
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And here we have the Falcon. I'd say it's nice to see her, but for some reason this shot doesn't do a thing for me.<br />
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Last thing to mention: the voiceover. It's a dark, possibly non-human voice, referring to "an awakening," both of "the dark side and the light." So at least we know now that "The Force Awakens" is an appropriate title, probably. But we still don't know what the awakening means. Are there new Force-users popping up in the galaxy? What exactly is happening with the Force?<br />
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So, overall, what did I think of the teaser? Meh. Saber aside, it didn't reveal anything new to the hardcore fans who'd been following Episode VII news, and it "teased" mostly in ways that didn't create interest. The shots were so short and out of context that it really didn't do anything other than say "this is a movie that exists." Which we already knew. After watching the teaser, I think my interest for the movie actually went down, not up.<br />
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Bonus Round: Trading Cards!<br />
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After the reveal of the teaser, Lucasfilm released <a href="http://www.starwars.com/films/star-wars-the-force-awakens-digital-trading-cards">photos of fictional trading cards</a> for <i>The Force Awakens</i> meant to mimic the old trading cards for the OT films. This is where most of the new characters' names were revealed.<br />
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There's not really much to say about the names, other than the fact that BB-8 is about as perfect a name as anyone could have for that little guy.<br />
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Next up: the second teaser.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-4520747347282829352015-07-11T01:50:00.002-05:002015-07-13T17:01:28.090-05:00Episode VII: JJ AbramsSo it occurs to me that I haven't really been writing much at all about Episode VII, despite it coming out last this year. So, starting now, I'm going to hyperspace backward in time and cover all of the big moments in Episode VII news.<br />
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I already wrote about the Disney purchase and the announcement of the sequel films themselves, so you can read that <a href="http://starsaga.blogspot.com/2012/11/disney-vii-viii-ix.html">here.</a><br />
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First up: <a href="http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-is-being-kick-started-with-dynamite">J.J. Abrams' announcement as director.</a><br />
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JJ is an interesting filmmaker. On one hand, he's a genius that makes great stories. He's had a hand in creating lots of TV shows—Lost, Alias, Fringe, etc: fantastic stuff. He's also made some great movies: <i>Mission Impossible III</i>, <i>Star Trek</i>, <i>Super 8</i>, etc. On the flipside, he's got a bad reputation among some fans for essentially turning Star Trek, a highly cerebral science fiction franchise, into a dumb roller coaster ride. While I do definitely agree that the two Abrams Trek films are disappointments and only hurt Star Trek (particularly the second one, I don't particularly share the concerns about his involvement with Star Wars. Here's why:<br />
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It's been said more than once that Abrams only made <i>Star Trek</i> in order to help his friends, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, get their Star Trek movie made. He lent his storytelling ability to the project, yes, but he was largely there to pass forward Orci and Kurtzman's vision for Star Trek. Almost every single major fan complaint about the new Trek films is due to decisions made by Orci and Kurtzman, not Abrams. While Abrams is to blame for the "style" of the new Trek films, the real problems with those films were on a script level.<br />
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Also, JJ has said repeatedly that he didn't really understand Star Trek, and did the best with what he could. And that's not a crime; countless Trek directors didn't know what they were doing when they stepped into the captain's chair. If one thing is largely true about the Abrams Trek films, it's that they're never <i>lazy</i>. There are countless bad story decisions for sure, but the guiding hand behind the camera is never not <i>trying</i>. In any case, while JJ apparently didn't "get" Trek, he certainly seems to get Star Wars.<br />
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With <i>Super 8</i>, JJ showed that while he may not understand Star Trek's cerebral nature, he absolutely understands the Lucas/Spielberg filmmaking style of the 80s—which, of course, includes Star Wars. There's a throughline in all of Abrams' films: feeling. In Abrams films, what's happening in the story, no matter how trivial or how epic, always matters to the characters. <i>Mission Impossible III</i> was the first time in the M:I series that the characters actually cared about anything or were ever in <i>emotional</i> jeopardy rather than only physical. More than that, the cast actually had chemistry. They weren't just Hollywood characters running around in a generic spy plot; they were people that the audience cared about. <i>Star Trek</i>, for all its faults, carries that torch. Kirk and Spock have personal stakes in what happens. Perhaps that's part of the problem: Trek can't be objective and cerebral when its characters are dealing too much with emotion. But just because that style is a bad fit for Trek doesn't mean it's a bad fit for Wars. Quite the opposite, honestly.<br />
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George Lucas has said many, many things about Star Wars, but one thing seems relevant here: Star Wars is an emotional story, not a cerebral one. That isn't to say, of course, that Star Wars can't be intelligent or stimulate the audience on an intellectual level, merely that Star Wars is primarily meant to pull at the audience's heart and soul. It's the relationships between people that make the Star Wars original trilogy work so perfectly, and why the prequels often fell flat. Everything that matters in Star Wars matters because it matters to the characters. Luke joins the Rebellion not out of blind principle, but because the Empire made it personal by slaughtering his family. Han saves Luke in the Battle of Yavin because he's come to care for Luke as a friend. Luke throws aside his anger towards Vader out of unconditional love for his father. It's those personal connections that made Star Wars great, and what can make it great again.<br />
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Now, of course, you may be wondering: if JJ Abrams wasn't able to make <i>Star Trek</i> great despite making the story personal and emotional, how is Star Wars going to be any different?<br />
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"It's not what you say, it's how you say it."<br />
A writer tells a story; a director determines how that story is delivered. A script sets up the drama; a director makes you <i>feel</i> that story. If Episode VII's story is solid, JJ can knock it out of the park. Which leads me to my next point...<br />
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JJ is not the only one making the movie. Kathleen Kennedy, a producer who's worked with Lucas and Spielberg for decades, is the current president of Lucasfilm. From a creative standpoint, she effectively has George Lucas's old job: to oversee the story and guide it, even if not directly hands-on. Furthermore, Episode VII's script is largely written by Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i> and <i>Return of the Jedi</i>. It's not JJ Abrams alone making Episode VII: it's a dream team of incredibly talented people who are in the perfect position to make a great Star Wars movie.<br />
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So, yes, given everything I've seen of Abrams' work (all his movies and a good chunk of his TV career), I think he's a great choice to direct the next Star Wars movie. Last thought: in<i> Super 8</i>, we met a cast of children who were completely unimportant, aside from the fact that they were <i>people</i>, and at the end of the day, that's good enough. For all the talk about destiny and the Force, if there's one thing that made Luke Skywalker a great character, it was that he was essentially just a person. If Abrams can make us care about a group of annoying kids in the 80s, I can't wait to see what he does with the Skywalker legacy.<br />
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Next up: the movie's title and the first teaser trailer.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-35089359351463672572015-03-04T23:10:00.000-06:002015-03-04T23:13:29.781-06:00Rebels: "Spark of Rebellion"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So here we are, at the start of a new Star Wars TV series. This first episode (movie?), "Spark of Rebellion," isn't necessarily ground-breaking, but it kicks off Rebels with a pretty good start.<br />
<br />
"Spark of Rebellion" is lots of fun, and lays the groundwork well for the characters and story. That being said, that's almost all it does. It understandably spends a lot of time introducing all the characters and setting the tone for the show. It's a fun ride, but it does definitely feel like the "spark" for what's to come later.<br />
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The music is one big standout in this show. Whereas The Clone Wars<i> </i>almost never used the classic John Williams themes, Rebels uses them all over the place—some might say even too much. But then again, it's probably better to have recognizable, good Star Wars music than not, so I'm not complaining.<br />
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Ezra Bridger is an interesting protagonist. Most viewers of the Original Trilogy found themselves relating to the naive Luke, but more cynical viewers could relate well to the world-weary Han. In Rebels, Ezra acts like somewhat of a combination of the two: naive and good-hearted, but often also trickster-like and self-serving. And just like Han and Luke, he finds himself in a group of rebels fighting the Empire. Ezra is just barely on this side of likable, which is good. He's certainly off to a better start than Ahsoka was in the Clone Wars movie. It's curious that they're introducing not one but two Force-users (three? four?) into Rebels already, but we'll have to see how it plays out.<br />
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The rest of the characters don't get much chance to shine, aside from Kanan. And even he seems to be somewhat of a mystery. We basically learn that he's a former Jedi and... that's it. Kanan is the former Jedi-now-turned-freedom-fighter. Zeb is the gruff muscle guy. Hera is the pilot and moral center of the team. Sabine is the explosives expert with cool armor. Chopper is a mean astromech droid. It'll be cool to see how the crew develops, but for now, they're just kinda there.<br />
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There's even less to say about the villains. Agent Kallus is a competent but generic Imperial officer so far, and we don't even really meet the Inquisitor yet. Darth Vader shows up via hologram in the extended cut of the episode, which is somewhat unnecessary aside from one interesting detail: Vader says that the Emperor wants Force-sensitive children killed only if they can't be used as weapons. It was assumed before that the Empire wiped out all the Jedi indiscriminately, but the idea that the Empire was also using Force-sensitives as tools (like the Inquisitor himself?) is a whole new wrinkle. It's not that dissimilar to Mara Jade's role as the Emperor's Hand in the Expanded Universe, but this is the new canon.<br />
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Lastly, there's one other thing to mention: Obi-Wan Kenobi's holo-message. It's implied that this is the message Obi-Wan sent out during <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> to all remaining Jedi after Order 66. It's also the Clone Wars version of Obi-Wan, still played by James Arnold Taylor. This is the passing of the torch from The Clone Wars to Rebels, using <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> as a midpoint.<br />
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At the end of the day, "Spark of Rebellion" is a fun start, but it'll be great to actually get into the meat of the story later on.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">7/10</span></b><br />
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<b>Extras:</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.starwars.com/tv-shows/star-wars-rebels/spark-of-rebellion">"Spark of Rebellion" on StarWars.com</a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jXl7GtvG8t4" width="560"></iframe>Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-69997186317659357592015-03-04T21:42:00.001-06:002015-03-05T01:36:46.583-06:00Rebels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So it's been a while since I posted anything, huh?<br />
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Now that <i>Star Wars: Rebels</i> has finished its first season, I'm gonna go back and review every episode of it. I'll also put "extras" at the end of those posts, like StarWars.com's "Rebels Recon" series.<br />
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Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-73681578833562294272014-08-26T22:03:00.000-05:002014-08-26T22:03:12.904-05:00The Star Wars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The first draft of the Star Wars screenplay was famously different from the final film. J.W. Rinzler and Dark Horse Comics recently adapted that original screenplay as an eight-issue comic miniseries, <i>The Star Wars</i>. I read it yesterday; here are my thoughts.<br />
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First of all, it cannot be overstated just how different <i>The Star Wars</i> is from <i>Star Wars</i>. The plot barely even resembles the movie, and while many characters' names are similar, the actual characters themselves are completely different. Here's a quick list of some of the major differences:<br />
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-Versions of Luke, Anakin, and Leia are in the story, but they are all completely unrelated to one another.<br />
-Luke Skywalker is an older, gray-haired, battle-hardened war general.<br />
-Anakin Skywalker is Annikin Starkiller, a young hotheaded Jedi.<br />
-Leia is more spoiled and stuck-up than in the film, and she is princess of the planet Aquilae rather than Alderaan.<br />
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-The film character of Anakin/Darth Vader is actually four separate characters in <i>The Star Wars</i>:<br />
-Annikin Starkiller, the young Jedi<br />
-Darth Vader, the non-Jedi brutal war general<br />
-Prince Valorum, a Sith Lord<br />
-Kane Starkiller, Annikin's father, who is revealed to be more machine than man<br />
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-The Jedi and the Force are all very different<br />
-The Jedi-Bendu are actual knights, not spiritual monks. No philosophies of non-violence are ever mentioned.<br />
-The Knights of Sith, a rival sect of Jedi, are villains, but not pure evil as in the films.<br />
-The Force is always referred to as "the Force of others," and is never explained.<br />
-The Force is never said to have a light or dark side, and no morality is ever applied to it.<br />
-Jedi don't display any supernatural abilities other than being unusually good with swords.<br />
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-Planets<br />
-Coruscant is named Alderaan<br />
-The film versions of Alderaan and Tatooine seem to be combined into the desert planet Aquilae, which somewhat resembles Arrakis from <i>Dune</i>.<br />
-Yavin is the homeworld of the wookiees, and their story is near-exactly the same as the Ewoks' story in <i>Return of the Jedi</i>.<br />
-The Death Star is merely named the Space Fortress.<br />
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-Relationships<br />
-There are echoes of the Skywalker family relationships from the films. Kane Starkiller, whose more-machine-than-man body echoes Darth Vader's, has two children, his oldest son Annikin and his younger son, Deak. Leia has two younger siblings, a boy and a girl, who are twins.<br />
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-Leia and Annikin have a relationship very similar to the Han/Leia romance from the films, but with the added bonus of the romantic scenes from Luke's rescue of Leia in the Death Star.<br />
-Han and Chewbacca don't meet each other until late in the story. Also, Han is a green alien.<br />
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I could list more and more differences, but it would take entirely too long. Suffice it to say that while plenty of names are the same between versions, virtually nothing about the story or who the characters actually are is the same.<br />
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When I first began reading the story, I was completely engaged in it. It felt familiar, but a lot closer to <i>Flash Gordon</i> or <i>John Carter of Mars</i> than <i>Star Wars</i> ever was. It was... older; a bit more gritty. Less concerned with moral platitudes and more concerned with epic science fantasy war storytelling. As I read along, a thought crept into my head:<i> could this story actually end up being better than Star Wars? </i>After I finished the book, I mentally responded: <i>Pfff, no.</i><br />
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<i>The Star Wars</i> is fascinating reading, but it has no actual story, at least not one worth telling. Two movies' worth of plot is crammed into a single story, with endless amounts of action and adventure, but absolutely none of it means a blasted thing.<br />
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<i>Star Wars</i> is the story of Luke Skywalker: it means something because <i>he</i> means something to <i>us</i>. Watching him grow up over the course of three movies is powerful and relatable; it gives the entire saga meaning where it would otherwise be the tale of a bunch of random people no one cares about running around and blasting each other. And that's what <i>The Star Wars</i> is.<br />
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There are entirely too many important characters in <i>The Star Wars</i> (at least 21 by my count, over <i>Star Wars</i>' ten) and none of them grow or change in any way whatsoever. The only development of any kind is the fact that Annikin and Leia suddenly decide they're in love with one another—not too long after he punches her in the face. It's a whole thing. Additionally, the fact that the Force almost doesn't exist is a problem. Without the Force and its literalization of good and evil, the story loses a profound amount of meaning.<br />
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So yes, I'm very glad that <i>The Star Wars</i> was never made in its first draft form. Epic battles and a vast universe paint a wonderful canvas, but without the character and meaning to fill it out, it's an empty canvas.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-65909808640101568152014-05-19T13:51:00.000-05:002014-05-19T14:01:44.504-05:00Musings on the LightsaberI've spent a long, long time compiling knowledge about lightsabers—both in-universe lore and behind-the-scenes information about the lightsaber props themselves. I figured I'd share.<br />
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<b>Behind the Scenes</b><br />
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<b>1. Lightsaber props were made from random junk.</b><br />
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The original lightsaber (Luke/Anakin's in <i>Star Wars</i>) was an old press camera flash handle (a Graflex 3-Cell) with strips of black rubber T-track glued onto its sides to make "grips." Darth Vader's saber was made from a different flash handle (a Heiland MPP), but otherwise followed the same process. Ben Kenobi's saber was made from a shower faucet, a gear, a sink knob, a clamp from a flash handle, and the shell of a World War II British grenade. It wasn't until Luke's second lightsaber showed up in <i>Return of the Jedi</i> that a handcrafted, custom-machined lightsaber prop was first used.<br />
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<b>2. Saber props used to actually "glow."</b><br />
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The original "lit" lightsaber props actually had a rotating pole with reflective tape on the blade, so that when a light was shone through the camera lens, the light would bounce back, thus creating a shimmering effect. VFX technology had advanced by the time of <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, so this idea was completely thrown out in favor of simply painting over the film footage in post-production.<br />
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<b>In-Universe</b><br />
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<b>1. Lightsabers aren't actually made of light</b><br />
This "fact" is possibly not canon any longer due to the recent continuity changes, but it's been pretty well-established in the Expanded Universe thus far that lightsaber blades aren't "lasers;" they're tightly-wound loops of coiled plasma (the stuff stars are made out of) held in place by a magnetic field. So really, they're plasma chainsaws.<br />
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<b>2. Lightsaber blades are opaque</b><br />
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Saber blades apparently block energy, like force fields and blaster bolts. So it makes sense that they'd also block light. This is a screencap from The Clone Wars season 1, "Defenders of Peace:"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBe6kxW1N6STa1JxpNW0eGA0ocYQd3HhvrbAaMLy46A3W3zUQdDNRZ-kyLou-GVJKx5waouw4bOTv32DSkT0keX11WM_L28BwTo6C_Qg6NRr__shuk-OviowWAKAswNKpGe0TUFlkoVc/s1600/lightsabreshadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBe6kxW1N6STa1JxpNW0eGA0ocYQd3HhvrbAaMLy46A3W3zUQdDNRZ-kyLou-GVJKx5waouw4bOTv32DSkT0keX11WM_L28BwTo6C_Qg6NRr__shuk-OviowWAKAswNKpGe0TUFlkoVc/s1600/lightsabreshadow.jpg" height="170" width="400" /></a></div>
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Apparently whatever light is shining on Ahsoka is actually brighter than her lightsaber. As someone once put it, "it's like shining a flashlight on a glow stick." It'll still cast a shadow.</div>
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<b>3. Lightsabers aren't that bright</b></div>
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For some bizarre reason, lightsabers rarely cast light on other objects near them. Now, in the OT era, this makes sense, as special effects technology wouldn't necessarily allow for that. Or perhaps the science of saber blades is, in fact, much more complicated than we might think, and they really don't cast light on other objects somehow. But then we have scenes like this one from <i>Attack of the Clones</i>:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-vsDSfEyoU8XCUTpMS1quZgUcS75-KXdQxiP6zm57Kuuvwlksx4jsX-kcHmajqkr5T6py79_nmFTXdNmFN7vz1ILxeh8LNkc93NXD8mzrYo003qMrg86tsHap3h7TVQMmNFYl4Hr62rA/s1600/starwars2-movie-screencaps.com-15042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-vsDSfEyoU8XCUTpMS1quZgUcS75-KXdQxiP6zm57Kuuvwlksx4jsX-kcHmajqkr5T6py79_nmFTXdNmFN7vz1ILxeh8LNkc93NXD8mzrYo003qMrg86tsHap3h7TVQMmNFYl4Hr62rA/s1600/starwars2-movie-screencaps.com-15042.jpg" height="170" width="400" /></a></div>
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Clearly, lightsabers actually do illuminate their environment, just to a minor degree. So perhaps they're just not very bright? Maybe the white core of a saber is just an optical illusion of sorts, not actually something bright enough to be white. But <i>The Phantom Menace </i>seems to contradict that.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxgN0l3_B64tCSZd6Mcty69C45y8BCeIa-Fb127goinKv652O8vq86Rhz_XUDfxXeIL64yW8MMR6QHWFSqwmTP_7swN0SrQBfNyQIVMf0JzZWmfr8979Aa6VyjMKTGUEBm_dkIO02s50/s1600/TPM_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxgN0l3_B64tCSZd6Mcty69C45y8BCeIa-Fb127goinKv652O8vq86Rhz_XUDfxXeIL64yW8MMR6QHWFSqwmTP_7swN0SrQBfNyQIVMf0JzZWmfr8979Aa6VyjMKTGUEBm_dkIO02s50/s1600/TPM_1.jpg" /></a></div>
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Here we can see a close-up of Obi-Wan's blade, and (in a brilliant VFX move) it seems that the saber blade is behaving exactly as a white-bright light source does when a camera focuses close to it. In order to counteract the brightness of the blade, the overall exposure is turned down, causing the normally-white blade to appear solid blue. This is proof, of sorts, that lightsaber blades are, in fact, colored blades so bright that they appear white at the center. And they are REALLY bright...</div>
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Luke holds his saber up against the sky on Tatooine and it still appears white at the core. So if that's a real representation of the light level of a blade, that means it's brighter than the sky itself, possibly as bright as the sun. And yet it still doesn't actually cast light on other objects.</div>
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So yeah. The light levels of a saber blade don't make any sense. The only potential way to justify it is to say that the "camera" is picking up the lightsaber blade the same way cameras often pick up real-world replica lightsabers. Here's an old picture of me holding my Master Replicas Luke FX saber:</div>
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Spoilers: it's not actually that bright. At best, it's a solid light blue, but never white like that. The camera overadjusts for the low light and makes it look brighter. Of course, that wouldn't explain why lightsabers in the blinding twin-sun light of Tatooine look white, but oh well.<br />
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It seems like for the time being, this is one in-universe mystery that will go unsolved.<br />
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<b>4. Sabers move funny</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jbsxiVgv5Bx2jBcw1dLg46VimrlSG2tHiGJ2lt4KCii6dx0tlaBU5w4UJycp5sRgLHqLIzpdKj_ajkHBiPX7bJbNvG007fQBHmBPV-Ezmu9hgpmttqfjCFSJsyQMpGmGnA0E3u0vLXg/s1600/LukeVSVaderB.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jbsxiVgv5Bx2jBcw1dLg46VimrlSG2tHiGJ2lt4KCii6dx0tlaBU5w4UJycp5sRgLHqLIzpdKj_ajkHBiPX7bJbNvG007fQBHmBPV-Ezmu9hgpmttqfjCFSJsyQMpGmGnA0E3u0vLXg/s400/LukeVSVaderB.png" /></a></div>
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It's a common misconception among geeks that since lightsaber blades are "made of energy," they're weightless, thus when you swing a lightsaber, you're essentially only swinging the handle. That's only partially true, and a lot more complicated.<br />
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While plasma is essentially weightless, this doesn't mean that wielding a lightsaber is the same as holding the hilt. George Lucas himself was insistent during the filming of the original <i>Star Wars</i> that lightsabers were supposed to be incredibly heavy due to the incredible amount of energy coursing through them. However, as the OT films progressed and fights became faster, this idea was somewhat dropped. The "official" EU explanation for sabers having weight has been that the magnetic field created by a saber blade causes it to drag through space, essentially simulating mass where there is none.<br />
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Now, to be technical, there is a difference between "having mass" and "being heavy." Lightsaber blades do seem to have the inertial effect of mass, as Jedi seem to have to "work with" their blades as any swordsman would. Additionally, lightsabers do have some force of impact on things they hit. Battle droids not only are sliced in half by lightsaber blades, but also buckle under the force of the hit. When Yoda throws his lightsaber at a clone trooper in Revenge of the Sith, the saber "sticks" in the trooper's torso, like a thrown sword or knife.<br />
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However, saber wielders don't seem to react to their blades being ignited whatsoever. There's no kickback from the ignition, no sudden weight seems to be applied, no-nothing. It just flicks on as if it were always there, although once it's on, the "simulated mass" inertial effect seems to apply. So the blade itself isn't necessarily "heavy;" it just behaves like a sword when it's swung.<br />
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Random interesting note: In the Clone Wars season 1 episode, "Hostage Crisis," Padmé holds Anakin's lightsaber hilt and notes that it's heavy. This might be a reference to the behind-the-scenes "weight" aspect, although realistically speaking, the hilt would actually need some weight in order to provide adequate balance for the "mass" of the blade. Otherwise it'd handle like a baseball bat.<br />
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Of course, the "real" reason lightsabers seem to have mass is because the actual props used by the actors do, in fact, have mass, and there's no way to film around that and have it look real. But then again, lightsabers are intended to behave like swords anyway. Lucas himself was insistent upon that fact. So in the end, lightsabers are a bizarre intersection of myth, wonky science fiction, and real sword physics.<br />
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Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-52079109455648212322014-05-03T17:48:00.000-05:002014-05-19T13:52:02.882-05:00The Expanded Universe: A New Dawn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last week, <a href="http://starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page.html">Lucasfilm posted a news article detailing their plans for the future of the Star Wars Expanded Universe</a>. I've quoted it below, with the important bits bolded:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded Universe, or EU, of comics, novels, videogames, and more. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.</b> These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, with an exciting future filled with new cinematic installments of Star Wars, <b>all aspects of Star Wars storytelling moving forward will be connected.</b> Under Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's direction, <b>the company for the first time ever has formed a story group to oversee and coordinate all Star Wars creative development.</b><br />"We have an unprecedented slate of new Star Wars entertainment on the horizon," said Kennedy. "We're set to bring Star Wars back to the big screen, and continue the adventure through games, books, comics, and new formats that are just emerging. This future of interconnected storytelling will allow fans to explore this galaxy in deeper ways than ever before." </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, <b>Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe.</b> For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Demand for past tales of the Expanded Universe will keep them in print, presented under the new Legends banner.</b> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the screen, the first new canon to appear will be Star Wars Rebels. In print, the first new books to come from this creative collaboration include novels from Del Rey Books. First to be announced, John Jackson Miller is writing a novel that precedes the events of Star Wars Rebels and offers insight into a key character's backstory, with input directly from executive producers Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, and Greg Weisman. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And this is just the beginning of a creatively aligned program of Star Wars storytelling created by the collaboration of incredibly talented people united by their love of that galaxy far, far away....</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To s</span>ummarize:<br />
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-The Expanded Universe is effectively getting a refresh.<br />
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-The six live-action films and the 2008 Clone Wars TV series are now the only "past" stories considered to be absolute canon.<br />
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-Moving forward, ALL Star Wars stories, including films, TV series, novels, comics, video games, will ALL work together as one single canon.<br />
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-Future Star Wars stories can and will lift elements from past EU stories, bringing them forward into the new canon.<br />
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-Past EU stories will remain in print, now with the "Legends" banner to denote their separate-canon nature.<br />
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As someone who's read quite a few Star Wars novels, plenty of comics, and played nearly all the video games, I'm entirely cool with this. Yes, it definitively puts the "non-canon" label on the 35-year history of the EU, but that doesn't mean that the story "didn't happen"; it only means that future stories will be different. And that's fine. Honestly, I don't think I would want the Star Wars sequel films to be mere adaptations of old novels, or need to dodge and weave between hundreds of post-<i>Return of the Jedi </i>storylines in order to tell an original story.<br />
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One thing that's nice to see is how reverent Lucasfilm is being towards the EU even in spite of the new status of canon. They even put out a video that's essentially a montage of Lucasfilm employees gushing about the EU.<br />
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This "reset" or "reboot" of continuity is something that honestly needed to happen. George Lucas was never particularly willing to work with EU authors in the past, and as a result, the EU and film canon grew in different directions. Now that Post-ROTJ stories are being told in film, it's time to honestly re-evaluate what's best for the entire saga.<br />
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What I find most exciting about this announcement is the fact that from this point forward, every single Star Wars book is just as "real" as any Star Wars film. We can now read new Star Wars books and know for certain that what we're reading matters to the entire saga.<br />
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They've already announced the lineup of new novels coming out over the next couple of years:<br />
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The first book, <i>A New Dawn</i>, is a direct prequel to the upcoming TV series, <i>Star Wars: Rebels</i>. <i>Heir to the Jedi</i> is a Luke Skywalker story written in first-person and set between ANH and ESB. <i>Lords of the Sith </i>is a teamup story where the Emperor and Vader join forces. <i>Tarkin</i> is... about Tarkin, I guess.<br />
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I can't wait to read these new books. As a matter of fact, I completely plan on reading each and every Star Wars novel from now on. After all, if there's no gigantic backlog of books to go through (as there currently is with the past EU), why not start right now, at square one?<br />
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It's a very exciting time to be a Star Wars fan.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-3693987161806211862014-04-29T22:40:00.003-05:002014-05-19T13:57:59.891-05:00Star Wars Episode VII Casting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The cast for Star Wars Episode VII has been announced. From <a href="http://starwars.com/news/star-wars-episode-7-cast-announced.html">StarWars.com</a>:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Director J.J. Abrams says, "We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud."</blockquote>
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This is pretty monumental news. Returning are not only the original trio of Luke, Han, and Leia, but also Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. Aside from Lando Calrissian, this is the entire main surviving cast of Star Wars. After all these decades, this was something no one ever thought would actually happen.<br />
<br />
What's perhaps even better is the fact that in the official statement, the new cast members are mentioned first. This should be <i>their</i> trilogy: a new saga for a new generation.<br />
<br />
Amazing is the word I think best suits this news. Star Wars is really, truly back.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-55624822294369218342013-05-11T14:57:00.001-05:002013-05-11T14:57:44.249-05:00Only A Sith Deals In Absolutes<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of my absolute favorite podcasts is <a href="http://www.shotglassdigital.com/artist/rebelforceradio/">Rebel Force Radio</a>, hosted by Jason Swank and Jimmy Mac (former hosts of The ForceCast). If there's one thing I greatly dislike about the show, however, it's the hosts' (mostly Jason's) tendency to be very aggressive towards anyone who is not a diehard George Lucas follower or who dislikes the prequel films. More recently, they've gone after Patton Oswalt, who is famous in Star Wars fandom for two things:<br />
<br />
Firstly,<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDCjIjsZp_Y"> this is part of his stand-up routine</a> (caution, harsh language after 0:35).<br />
Secondly, he made this cameo on Parks and Recreation recently:<br />
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<br />
Since Oswalt has now become a minor Star Wars celebrity in response to this cameo, RFR decided to remind Star Wars fandom just how apparently-evil he is by labeling him "Patton 'frickin'' Oswalt," much as they did for Simon Pegg, who has repeatedly spoken out about his intense dislike for the prequel films. Essentially, RFR decided to get their fanbase riled up for a Dathomiri witch hunt. They asked their fans for opinions on whether or not Oswalt deserved the "frickin" title; this was my emailed response:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
Patton Oswalt does not deserve "frickin'" status.<br />
<br />
One of the things that has consistently confused and dismayed me about Star Wars fandom is its tendency to be at war with itself and with other fandoms. Yes, other fandoms can be hostile as well, but since Star Wars fandom is so large, it tends to be farther-reaching. There've been times where I actually pulled out of Star Wars fandom entirely simply because of all the internal conflict. (<a href="http://starsaga.blogspot.com/2009/08/expanded-universe-karentraversy.html">the "Karentraversy"</a>, the Prequel-haters, et cetera) It doesn't matter to me if you're a die-hard George Lucas follower or a Prequel-critic, I do not want to see my closest friends at war like that. It just makes Star Wars not fun anymore.<br />
<br />
How many times have you heard something completely offensive in a comedian's stand-up routine, but didn't let it bother you because you knew it was only meant for an innocent laugh? Why are we now holding Patton Oswalt to a different standard? Sometimes I think Star Wars fans sound as irrational as those groups that insist Harry Potter teaches children witchcraft and video games mold you into a serial murderer. CHILL OUT, PEOPLE. Hope the prequel-critics come around someday, but in the meantime don't make enemies of them. That's only going to make the conflict worse.<br />
<br />
And here's the thing: with all the conflict, we are completely missing the point of Star Wars. Let's think back to the endings of <i>Revenge of the Sith</i> and <i>Return of the Jedi</i>.<br />
<br />
<i>Anakin: "If you're not with me, you're my enemy!"<br />
Obi-Wan: "Only a Sith deals in absolutes."</i><br />
Is absolutist black-and-white thinking not precisely the sin that we fans commit when we label one another "Prequel-haters," "kooks," or "people who give Star Wars an F"? Should we not instead follow Luke's example?<br />
Luke chose not to strike down Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith though he was. Instead, he chose to throw aside his saber in an act of selfless love. Yes, it meant putting himself at risk, but it was the right thing to do.<br />
<br />
Don't strike down Simon Pegg, Patton Oswalt, or anyone else in anger. Instead, throw aside your lightsaber and invite them to join the light.<br />
<br />
May the Force be with you, always.<br />
-Aaron</blockquote>
Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-33461305231668242952013-02-20T00:31:00.001-06:002013-02-20T00:31:50.425-06:00It Needs to be PersonalThere've been some pretty incredible episodes recently on The Clone Wars. Many fans have noted that the recent Darth Maul/Mandalorian story arc, ending with the super-climactic "The Lawless," is perhaps the best story the show has done yet. With big things happening with Darth Maul, Palpatine, and the entire planet of Mandalore, there are huge implications for the saga as a whole. Many have also noted that the following episode, "Sabotage," featuring Ahsoka in a CSI-style murder mystery, felt lackluster by comparison. Personally, however, I disagree.<br />
<br />
For all the Mauldalorian arc's epicness, for all of its direct ties to the primary characters, and for all its major events, much of it felt too impersonal. Some of that is undoubtedly because the story is following villain characters that we're not supposed to relate to anyway. A lot of it, however, is probably due to the rapid-fire pacing of the episodes, which doesn't give the drama time to breathe.<br />
<br />
[spoilers for The Clone Wars season 5]<br />
<br />
In the span of two episodes, we have the Mandalorian government being overthrown, a civil war breaking out, an <i>A New Hope</i>-style rescue attempt, the deaths of three major characters, and Palpatine coming into physical conflict with Maul and Savage. That is entirely too much for two episodes to handle properly. If the arc added two or three more episodes, more could have been done better. What if one of the episodes focused entirely on Obi-Wan and his quest to save Satine? As it happened, he basically landed on Mandalore, watched Satine die, then left. He didn't appear to actually have any impact on the story whatsoever, and his scenes were almost running in parallel with—instead of intersecting—the main plot. It was a side story, essentially. I'd also like to have seen a Bo-Katan-centric episode, dealing with her struggles to unite the Mandalore-loyal warriors against the now-Maul-led Death Watch. Having her side of the story only seen in glimpses seems odd.<br />
<br />
Now, I do think the episodes were still extremely well-done. My gripe is that, in the end, after watching "The Lawless," I felt more like I'd watched an episode than experienced a story. It was hard to entirely get lost in the drama of it all when it was so obviously cut down to its bare bones and left at a cliffhanger. When I first saw "The Lawless," I didn't quite understand why it didn't impact me as much as I thought it should. However, after seeing "Sabotage," it's becoming clearer.<br />
<br />
"Sabotage" is paced properly and has epic-scale cinematography that perfectly mimics the films. Because of this, the stage is set better for the actual story. What's more important, however, is the way the episode deals with character. Ahsoka is given the spotlight, clearing most other characters out of the way. Instead of having Maul, Savage, Vizla, Palpatine, Satine, Obi-Wan, and Bo-Katan all fighting for center stage, Ahsoka is allowed to breathe, letting us follow her adventure and live through her in the story itself.<br />
<br />
This goes back to the central tenet of the Star Wars original trilogy: the story <i>must</i> be personal in order to be powerful. The prequel films lacked such a character as well as a cinematography crafted to support a character-based narrative. The sequel trilogy absolutely, completely needs a character-based story that feels personal in order to recapture what truly makes Star Wars special.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-86378494523600916382013-01-10T16:35:00.000-06:002013-01-10T16:35:09.381-06:00Star Wars #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Yesterday, Dark Horse Comics released the first issue in a new comic series titled merely <i>Star Wars</i>. The basic premise is, essentially, "what if today were 1977, and <i>Star Wars</i> had just been released?" Although it doesn't actually contradict previously-established Expanded Universe continuity (it most definitely is part of the EU), this new series doesn't directly deal with it or in any way rely on it either. It's something that anyone who's seen Episode IV can instantly pick up, read, and enjoy.<br />
<br />
It's absolutely brilliant. Brian Wood definitely "gets" the entire cast of characters as well as the Star Wars universe itself, easily weaving genuine-feeling character development into a story that's still based in high adventure and action, as any true Star Wars story should be. What's even better is that he takes the character of Princess Leia and actually makes her great. In the films, Leia does little onscreen other than bitch and whine whilst being either kidnapped or rescued by others; she takes very little proactive action herself. In Star Wars #1, we see her on the front lines with Luke and Wedge, leading a scout mission for the Rebellion. In that same moment, we also get a ton of great vocalized character depth from her that we never get from the films at all. Following that, there's a wonderfully-done action scene where Leia once again gets the spotlight, showing just how strong and decisive she can be in battle. For probably the first time, I really, <i>really</i> like Princess Leia.<br />
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<br />
While Leia is the primary focus of the story, she's not the only one who gets to shine. Luke, Han, Wedge, Mon Mothma, and especially Vader get their turns spotlight as well, each character acting as a fully developed person as well as being perfectly in line with their portrayal in the films. Fortunately, this feels very much in line with <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, where a heaping ton of focus is put on the characters as <i>characters</i>—and moreover, as people that you can care about.<br />
<br />
Carlos D'Anda's art helps a lot, too. It's extremely dynamic and vivid, with tons of great detail on the tech of Star Wars—lending it that "real-world" feel that makes the Original Trilogy so believable.<br />
On top of all that, the covers by Alex Ross are flat-out amazing, perfectly echoing the original trilogy's unforgettably-iconic posters.<br />
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<br />
Suffice it to say that if you're a Star Wars fan, you owe it to yourself to be reading this book.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-1327215953453802032012-11-18T19:13:00.001-06:002012-11-18T19:32:13.897-06:00Disney: VII, VIII, IX<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
So this post is pretty late in coming. Oh well.<br />
<br />
Part of the reason I didn't write about this earlier is that <a href="http://starsaga.blogspot.com/2010/10/more-movies.html">I'd already written about the possibility of a sequel trilogy a couple of years ago</a>. Also, to be honest, the reason this blog has had a total of two posts in a whole year (and none in the past nine months) is that I've been quickly losing interest in Star Wars.<br />
<br />
Something that's always struck me about Star Wars is how it was crafted as an amalgamation of hundreds or thousands of different stories from fantasy and mythology. So, in much the same way that George Lucas delved deep into various mythologies to find the universal qualities to make Star Wars, I decided it'd be cool to delve into other fantasy and sci-fi stories, in order to get a larger view of the genres. Unfortunately, doing so only illuminated for me the fact that Star Wars is severely lacking.<br />
<br />
Let's be honest: for as epic and wonderful as the Expanded Universe is, it's essentially a gigantic series of spin-off stories that gets trampled by the Star Wars films and TV series on a semi-regular basis. It's always been held back by Lucasfilm restrictions (the most they've been able to do is kill off Chewbacca; everyone else is in their elder years and somehow still alive despite decades of war), and rarely has it been truly worthy of the Star Wars name. <i>Knights of the Old Republic</i>, the Thrawn trilogy, and many other stories stand as notable examples to the contrary, but on the whole, the EU has suffered from simply being treated as a lesser aspect of the franchise.<br />
<br />
Similarly, <i>The Clone Wars</i>, which is basically as canonical as the films, is also merely a spin-off, not the "primary" story. No matter what happens in <i>The Clone Wars</i>, most of it won't matter because most of the characters are from the films and can't be changed from what we know them to be in AOTC and ROTS. The galaxy won't be forever changed by <i>The Clone Wars</i>; it's changed by the events of the films.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, in other franchises, the primary story is much better-handled. In the Stargate universe, each of the three Stargate TV series (and the three movies) are equally capable of changing the direction of the entire story. In the Halo universe, nearly every story—whether it be a game, novel, or comic—is just as important to the story as anything other. Huge, epic (and canonical) facets of the universe are told in different forms of media, yet they all interweave between one another. Finally, the Star Trek universe has over 700 hour-long episodes and full-length movies, not even <i>counting</i> any of its expanded universe fiction or the single-season animated series.<br />
<br />
To go from marathoning literally hundreds of episodes of Trek back to watching Star Wars is like learning to swim in a lake and then being dropped into a kiddie pool. Sometimes the six SW films are plenty deep enough. Certainly there's plenty of philosophical conversation to be had about them. But then (and perhaps more often) you hear Star Wars fans saying things like, "Oh, man! I just found something totally new about Star Wars! For one frame in the Special Edition VHS version of <i>A New Hope</i>, R2's red and blue light turns GREEN! Wow! I can't believe how deep and detailed these movies are! Thirty years later and I'm still discovering new things!"<br />
<br />
-_-<br />
<br />
I really can't describe how disheartening it is to see how shallow my fandom actually is. Yes, the Star Wars fan community is vibrant and wonderful. Wars fans are possibly the best fandom in existence, despite the angry sect of them that dominates internet message boards. Yes, <i>The Clone Wars</i> is great, for what it is. Yes, the EU is a very deep and endlessly detailed sub-universe. But as a whole, Star Wars needs a kick in its complacency.<br />
<br />
That is exactly what I think this Disney purchase—coupled with George's retirement and the hiring of Kathleen Kennedy as his replacement—will provide. The fact that we're getting the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy—THE Sequel Trilogy, straight from George's notes and outlines—with an entirely new director and writer is amazing.<br />
<br />
Currently over in The Clone Wars, there's a storyline going on that focuses on Jedi younglings learning to build their lightsabers. It's pretty fitting, as this news really has made a lot of older Star Wars fans feel like kids first discovering Star Wars again. What new galactic wonders will we see in the new trilogy? What will happen to the main characters from the OT? What new mysteries of the Force will we discover?<br />
<br />
Despite the dark times of recent days, since the Disney and Sequel Trilogy announcement, I've been proud to once again think of myself as a Star Wars fan.<br />
<br />
I'm excited enough that I'm actually going to go back and re-watch the entire Clone Wars series in chronological order, posting reviews for episodes that are missing on this blog. Should be fun.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-5589019159483287292012-02-10T23:18:00.001-06:002012-03-11T00:05:34.896-06:00The Phantom Menace in 3D<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I saw <i>The Phantom Menace</i> in 3D at midnight last night. I've got a bunch of thoughts, both on the 3D upgrade and the film itself.</div>
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<br /></div>
<b>The 3D</b><br />
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It must be said that the theater I was at unfortunately did not properly brighten the image, thus resulting in a terribly darkened image with the 3D glasses. It was absolutely horrible; I even took off the glasses at times because I couldn't stand the strain of trying to see the film. As if that wasn't enough, some of the 3D calibration was off. The depth effect seemed perfectly aligned at the center of the screen, but gradually got more distorted closer to the edges, as if there were some invisible lens over the whole thing. My thoughts here may be a little stilted because of this; I'll try to compensate by imagining what I saw brighter and less distorted.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
The opening of the film, with the new 3D-ized Lucasfilm logo and opening crawl, really showed off the 3D. It was a bit gimmicky, but it was cool. After that, however, the 3D barely existed. It felt like watching the film normally, just darker. Ever so often you'd notice some 3D depth, but not a lot. Really, only the podrace had any noticeable 3D effect, but that one scene was AMAZING.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Secretly, I've always thought that maybe I could pilot a podracer. I've done it before in video games; it's not too tough. But actually seeing the insane speed of that race in 3D, with every tiny rock flying at the audience at 600kph, squashed that fantasy forever. It is absolutely jaw-dropping. It's so amazing that it marginally gives Anakin some character depth, since you actually get a firsthand sense of how ridiculously fast his reflexes are.</div>
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My last note here isn't really a 3D note; just something else they changed: Yoda. Yoda is now no longer the weird-looking puppet from the theatrical and DVD versions of TPM; he is now a fully CG creature, exactly like in AOTC and ROTS. He looks much, much better. They even got in some of the stiffness and lack of fluidity that the ESB puppet had (like a real elderly person would have), which adds to the lifelike feel. It's very cool.<br />
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<div>
<b>The Film</b></div>
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<i>"I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee!"</i></div>
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You and me both, sister.</div>
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First off, I noticed one thing: there is entirely too much talking. Specifically, talking about things like trade disputes, the legality of blockades, and the formation of commissions. In a series called Star Wars, plot development, for the most part, should come through action, not incredibly dense dialogue. This kind of thing should have been reserved for the novelization of the film, not put into the movie itself. </div>
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There's another interesting problem with the narrative here: we never actually see the Naboo people suffer, as Sio Bibble claims they are, and we only get references to "camps," where Panaka claims that "everyone" has been sent. So... the Trade Federation literally rounded up the entire planet's human population and put them in camps? In, what, a couple of weeks? We don't even see much of the Naboo people at all until the parade finale. As far as we know until that point, the entire planet consists of the Queen, her advisors, and two dozen security officers and pilots. Heck, we see more Gungans than we do of the Naboo, and they're supposed to be a hidden, less-populous race. No wonder the Federation had no problem rounding up the Naboo people; there wasn't anyone left to capture anyway. This might sound like nitpicking, but it does become a serious problem for the story. If we don't see any of the people that are "suffering and dying," nothing's really at stake for the audience emotionally. We're left with more words than images; cheap talk and no action. Amidala's quote to the Senate unfortunately applies to the entire movie: political discussion, considering what's going on, is mostly irrelevant. Yes, Palpatine needed to be set up as the future Supreme Chancellor, but that didn't need the extreme amount of dense political dialogue that we were given. Seriously, even the opening crawl of the film spends more time talking about trade disputes than anything actually important or life-threatening. There's no mention of war, the Sith, or any real conflict at all; it's just boring text that seems lifted from a political textbook.</div>
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Another problem: no one aside from Anakin is really given any character spotlight. <i>A New Hope</i> was notable in that it took its time to really highlight and strongly establish the characters of Luke, Han, Leia, and Obi-Wan. They were all given memorable introductions, very strong character moments, and enough to do that they really mattered. Here, we don't get much of anything like that.<br />
Jar-Jar is more like one of the Three Stooges that just happens to exist in this story; he doesn't really grow or change, he just directs the main characters to where they can find the Gungans... twice. That's literally all he's good for; he doesn't do a single other notable thing in the story. In terms of narrative importance, he's just a glorified signpost that provides physical comedy.<br />
Amidala seems to be more of a device to forward the plot than a real character.<br />
Anakin is given the greatest importance in the plot, but he's not a perspective character; he's more like a powerful and mysterious object everyone else stares at and talks about. He's basically the Ark of the Covenant from <i>Raiders</i>.<br />
Obi-Wan doesn't have much to do; he's mostly just "there" until the last few scenes. Really, this is 90% Qui-Gon's movie.<br />
Speaking of Qui-Gon, he's actually given a decent amount of importance. He's the one that makes most of the choices, he's the one whose eyes we see the story through, and he's easily the best-developed and most realistic character here. If there's one character this movie does right, it's him.</div>
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I almost forgot about Darth Maul and Palpatine. In a way, they're sort of one character in this film: Palpatine is the brains, while Maul is the brute strength. Together, they actually work very well. If you look at Maul by himself, however, he's definitely a shallow character—and yet simultaneously the coolest character in the saga, second only to Boba Fett.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Out3bqC9B9IHU8Zjdpvw6C5upRO8yYb4ACD8izvvqYitpf2xffne0_54snvsyhp6n3Zn5aDAs_i8sd2U8IpVa3FAsooixvgZGsohTicZ1UZ0EiamWKoopFM26ooW9wa1XAd29ggXvzU/s1600/star_wars_episode_one_the_phantom_menace_ver7_xxlg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Out3bqC9B9IHU8Zjdpvw6C5upRO8yYb4ACD8izvvqYitpf2xffne0_54snvsyhp6n3Zn5aDAs_i8sd2U8IpVa3FAsooixvgZGsohTicZ1UZ0EiamWKoopFM26ooW9wa1XAd29ggXvzU/s640/star_wars_episode_one_the_phantom_menace_ver7_xxlg.jpg" width="414" /></a></div>
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It seems that the real meat of Episode I is in its spectacle: the action and the effects.</div>
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The effects are, on the whole, outstanding. Every spaceship looks absolutely, completely real. The podracers are almost shockingly perfect. The CG creatures are hit-and-miss. The underwater monsters look incredible, while the Gungans look really bad by modern standards. On DVD they actually looked decent, with all the film grain and whatnot, but in full theater-quality with 3D depth, their lack of adequate texturing and light reflection is really obvious. The Battle of Naboo, with the two CG armies, is a little odd in that it's basically a realistic-looking mechanical army fighting a cartoonish-looking organic army.</div>
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The action is honestly some of the best in the entire saga.</div>
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The opening action scene, where the Jedi plow through a squad of battle droids, is amazing. The effect used for Qui-Gon cutting into the door doesn't look like the usual CG "melted metal" effect; it really looks like an actual metal door is melting and burning up. I'd really like to see how they did that. One thing of note here too is that this is the first time that we really see lightsabers hitting enemies and cutting them. Sure, in the OT we'd see an occasional removed hand or arm, but only when it was important to the plot. Otherwise, we'd just see Luke swinging his saber at random guards on Jabba's skiff, but we'd never see the physical contact. Here we've got Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon slamming their way through battle droids, leaving carved, smoldering pieces in their wake. The fact that the droids are CG helps, too, since we can see the sabers cut through them in real-time. It's really a lot of fun to watch.</div>
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The intermittent stuff, with the Jedi doing random battling here and there, is fun enough, though not quite jaw-dropping.</div>
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The podrace, as mentioned twice before, is amazing. It's not just style and it's not just special effects; it's a very smartly-choreographed scene. What's really great here too is the fact that we actually get to see the 2nd lap of the podrace, which does not appear in the original theatrical cut of the film. It's been in every version since the DVD release, but still, this is the first time it's ever been seen on the big screen, and it contains some of the best moments of the race.</div>
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The final battle of the film is really four battles happening at once. The Gungans vs Droids battle is probably the worst, as there's no one we really care about there, and it's mostly played for comedy with Jar-Jar instead of drama like every other part of the ending. The fight for Theed Palace, with Amidala and Panaka leading a group of security officers towards the Viceroy, is generic Star Wars blaster action. It actually feels a bit fake, with the officers standing in the middle of the hallway sometimes and still not getting shot. When the suspension of disbelief is broken that badly, there's just no tension. The battle in space is excellent. Yes, it's mostly from little Anakin's perspective, but it really is a sight to behold. The sense of scale is done wonderfully here, and the sharp contrasts of the tiny yellow-and-chrome starfighters against the black of space—lasers and crackling blue torpedoes flying everywhere—are breathtaking. Anakin also has his miracle moment in this battle, which, considering his deep connection to the Force, is plausible and rather interesting. Finally, we have the best Star Wars action scene of all time: the three-way duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Darth Maul. Seeing this on the big screen for the first time since I was nine reminded me why I spent so many years of my childhood and teen years studying swordfighting and poring over lightsaber lore. It's the best-cheoreographed and most intricate duel, thanks no doubt to the absolutely incredible talents of Ray Park as Darth Maul. No other duel in Star Wars history is this good. This scene alone makes the entire movie worth watching.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/M-RPy4RRb7Y" width="500"></iframe><br />
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All in all, seeing TPM again was a nice trip back to childhood. I wish the theater I'd gone to had better quality, but hey... actually, no, it was horrible. I might go see it again at a better theater on Tuesday just so I can say that I actually saw the whole movie as I was supposed to. But anyway...<br />
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I can't say the 3D was beneficial at all, other than in the podrace scene. Everything else didn't need it. Still, though, getting to see <i>The Phantom Menace</i> on the big screen is definitely worth it, 3D or not.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNtjYLbsEaEPjdfBso0-X9Ssze54EHWXYYEyPIz0b84fDzIpFr6kizYnL7OnX1VStw8ib6CUCvuG7I6UeaoVzjsha3CxcTfxpUxMvmSQNIptjkQs5FlMlq_ybqeZh39qLGse0sBqK3V8/s1600/star_wars_episode_one_the_phantom_menace_ver8_xxlg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNtjYLbsEaEPjdfBso0-X9Ssze54EHWXYYEyPIz0b84fDzIpFr6kizYnL7OnX1VStw8ib6CUCvuG7I6UeaoVzjsha3CxcTfxpUxMvmSQNIptjkQs5FlMlq_ybqeZh39qLGse0sBqK3V8/s640/star_wars_episode_one_the_phantom_menace_ver8_xxlg.jpg" width="414" /></a></div>Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-32694032364591288902012-01-20T21:10:00.004-06:002012-11-23T17:04:31.744-06:00George Lucas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAUnK5Fwj_OZel40LIlMWnjjpUsSwhW1aVK4Aa8kAj9lSdzclyRYB_M__ddqDOdy7B8PqYMo7o9yA696XqDwfd5Rct-0psCxuCumM_oBvDZBcCJp8IT0ngTIWgGzPzIY7ZuwV8Gn0CPA/s1600/41591_8570557485_5801_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAUnK5Fwj_OZel40LIlMWnjjpUsSwhW1aVK4Aa8kAj9lSdzclyRYB_M__ddqDOdy7B8PqYMo7o9yA696XqDwfd5Rct-0psCxuCumM_oBvDZBcCJp8IT0ngTIWgGzPzIY7ZuwV8Gn0CPA/s1600/41591_8570557485_5801_n.jpg" /></a></div>
George Lucas is retiring.<br />
Depending on what side of the fence you're on, this is either somewhat sad news or cause for celebration.<br />
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Lucas is easily one of the most polarizing individuals in various circles. While everyone agrees that he's an <i>important</i> person in the history of filmmaking, many people also assume that he's some kind of terrible, egocentric, literally-evil hack writer that only does things for the money.<br />
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In 1996, just before the release of the Star Wars Special Edition films, Mark Altman—the at-the-time editior of <i>Sci-Fi Universe Magazine</i>—said <a href="http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/1996/12/1212">this</a> after a preview screening:<br />
<i>"For those who grew up on Star Wars - a really seminal film for a lot of us - it's kind of a shock to see it butchered. It's like watching your childhood being raped."</i><br />
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And thus began the "George Lucas raped my childhood" paraphrase/quote. It's been a huge internet meme and somewhat of a geek mantra. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVIHQAWheWM">There's even a song about it</a>.<br />
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There's also <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2246293215">a facebook group about it</a>. This is what's written in their "about" section:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">In 1977, George Lucas created the Star Wars Trilogy, an epic saga which would come to define a generation. Star Wars would play an integral role in the childhood of millions of children worldwide.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">But nearly 20 years later, the descent began. In 1997. The Star Wars trilogy: Special Edition butchered the original films fan hads grown to love. He made Greedo shoot first.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">1999 truly saw the beginning of the end for Star Wars. One word. Jar-Jar (or is that two?) How about two more? Jake. Loyd.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">It was all downhill from there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">No sets, no story, awful dialogue which no actor could salvage. But that's ok. Because George Lucas had computers. And money. And computers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">It was all downhill from there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I want my childhood back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Give me back a badass Han, Lak Sivrak, matte lines on my snowspeeders, and a band in jabba's Palace that doesn't look like a drag review.</span><br />
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Really? "Butchered?" Greedo shooting first "butchers" the movie for you? I'm not fond of it either, but how exactly does that "butcher" the entire movie? That entire scene takes literally one minute, and the change is around one second. And it butchers the movie?<br />
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"No sets, no story, awful dialogue... but that's ok. Because George Lucas had computers. And money." This seems to suggest the reason why people seem so intent on the idea that Lucas is such a terrible person: they assume that Lucas didn't care that he was making a bad movie, and was in it entirely for the money.<br />
Why couldn't he have simply made mistakes with the prequels, or merely had a difference of opinion? Why should we assume that he was being greedy?<br />
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<i>"Give me back a badass Han, Lak Sivrak, matte lines on my snowspeeders, and a band in jabba's Palace that doesn't look like a drag review."</i><br />
I actually had to look up who <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lak_Sivrak">Lak Sivrak</a> was. His name wasn't even mentioned in the movie, he has no speaking lines, and he gets less than a few seconds of screentime. He is literally just some guy in the background of the cantina scene. And this is the reason the Special Editions are so terrible?<br />
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<i>"...matte lines on my snowspeeders..."</i><br />
The matte lines around the snowspeeders were never supposed to be there; they were a limitation of the available special effects tech at the time. Look at these comparisons (top=old, bottom=updated):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2mgROPoFiDhBKhpedbeYFnOIaJITub9EvnmkS3WqrDsJehVD4b89vGuW4GWI2WmHSMJhS3lu4jHRbgF5qDqMGCXuFQnuVLFH_jXn4CwejoOqaU-x3YRgy1fGcmjUNxyJktoPEMFrqt6U/s1600/Comp-022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2mgROPoFiDhBKhpedbeYFnOIaJITub9EvnmkS3WqrDsJehVD4b89vGuW4GWI2WmHSMJhS3lu4jHRbgF5qDqMGCXuFQnuVLFH_jXn4CwejoOqaU-x3YRgy1fGcmjUNxyJktoPEMFrqt6U/s400/Comp-022.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilW1iQUsSpQk3ahUvTRy2psMEWEcmFSLVmJnqNYZe8YWMQkVJ-Nh0Rhdip3yhP3ek68zsjeoaCkAcNHFEQZ5ubOsvbhsb_pCr37np_SekqXjfq46j0n2dd3A6NrOEY2owhwvCbFT8St4I/s1600/Comp-076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilW1iQUsSpQk3ahUvTRy2psMEWEcmFSLVmJnqNYZe8YWMQkVJ-Nh0Rhdip3yhP3ek68zsjeoaCkAcNHFEQZ5ubOsvbhsb_pCr37np_SekqXjfq46j0n2dd3A6NrOEY2owhwvCbFT8St4I/s320/Comp-076.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagFeAArWVb77alYonAf9oNnUaq5babsjt1j6hSLrBuXTOIwc26MERcTLWrW2zuS-HqEBFAlZ-nLNcbxARXS7BxQmnhmYBzGhEfE8OcoPos_8MKcCaWeXbbbG-NC9MD2-FozVrtQrpl4M/s1600/Comp-077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagFeAArWVb77alYonAf9oNnUaq5babsjt1j6hSLrBuXTOIwc26MERcTLWrW2zuS-HqEBFAlZ-nLNcbxARXS7BxQmnhmYBzGhEfE8OcoPos_8MKcCaWeXbbbG-NC9MD2-FozVrtQrpl4M/s320/Comp-077.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In those last two comparisons, the snowspeeder is partially PASSING OVER the AT-AT's leg. And the "Lucas raped my childhood" people would prefer THAT one? That goes beyond what's objectively good or bad; that's just people complaining because something isn't the same way they remember it. Who cares that it's a far, far better version of the scene? Not them, apparently. Their childhood memories are far more important than anything else. And that's the real clincher. Take a look at the language used: "give <b>me</b> back a badass Han... matte lines on <b>my</b> snowspeeders..."<br />
Those people are treating Star Wars like something they own. Like it's their property somehow, and George Lucas is some kind of vandalistic intruder.<br />
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Take a look at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Complete-Episodes-Blu-ray/dp/B003ZSJ212/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327113160&sr=8-1">Amazon.com's listing for the Star Wars saga on Blu-ray</a>. The user reviews are completely skewed to the point where the average score is a mere 2.5 out of 5 stars, and most of the reviews are 1-out-of-5s.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEqdsySmgSrE4QU2USqG3UjOIze4Lx36HYICm6wVWVbtSvCLhIUN6AtQdfnXxe8dYLwR2UN6VViT5XBDptc2NpuI0-SjcdQPaX5BTevFqxO83a-jlcBxxbOAXWdTjzmF1UrpHHo-gXRs/s1600/screen-capture.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEqdsySmgSrE4QU2USqG3UjOIze4Lx36HYICm6wVWVbtSvCLhIUN6AtQdfnXxe8dYLwR2UN6VViT5XBDptc2NpuI0-SjcdQPaX5BTevFqxO83a-jlcBxxbOAXWdTjzmF1UrpHHo-gXRs/s1600/screen-capture.png" /></a></div>
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That's lower than <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_8?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv&field-keywords=twilight&sprefix=twilight%2Caps%2C169#/ref=sr_nr_p_n_format_browse-bi_1?rh=n%3A2625373011%2Ck%3Atwilight%2Cp_n_format_browse-bin%3A2650305011&bbn=2625373011&keywords=twilight&ie=UTF8&qid=1327113915&rnid=2650303011">all four of the Twilight movies.</a> Literally. Even the worst-reviewed Twilight film is a full star rating higher than the Wars saga.<br />
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Do people really hate Star Wars that much? Honestly? Look at the review scores. 1,062 people gave it a 1, but almost no one gave it a 2 or a 3. How does that work?<br />
No one who reviewed that Blu-ray set probably actually thinks that Star Wars is only worth 1 out of 5 stars; they're just venting their frustration.<br />
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<br />
In an interview with The New York Times, Lucas shed some light on various aspects of his relationship with Star Wars fanboys.<br />
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<i>“I think there are a lot more important things in the world” than feuds with fanboys, Lucas says with a kind of weary diffidence. But then he gets serious, even a little wounded. Lucas explains that his first major features — “THX 1138” and “American Graffiti” — were forcibly re-edited by the studios. Those were wrenching experiences he has compared to someone keying your car (he loves cars) or chopping a finger off one of your children (he has three and loves them too). Afterward, Lucas set out to gain financial independence so the final cut would forever be his. “If the movie doesn’t work,” he vowed, “it’s going to be my fault.”<br /><br />In the last decade and a half, Lucas has given “Star Wars” several “final” cuts. For the 1997 special edition, he made Greedo, a green-skinned alien, fire his blaster at Han Solo because Han’s murdering Greedo in cold blood — as the 1977 version had it — struck him as a violation of his own naïve style. For the new Blu-ray version of “Return of the Jedi,” Lucas added Darth Vader shouting, “Nooo!” as he seizes the evil emperor in the movie’s climactic scene. Lucas made the Ewoks blink. And so forth.<br /><br />When fanboys wailed, Lucas did not just hear the scream of young Jedi; he heard something like the voice of the studio. The dumb, uncomprehending voice in his Socratic dialogues — a voice telling him how to make a blockbuster. “On the Internet, all those same guys that are complaining I made a change are completely changing the movie,” Lucas says, referring to fans who, like the dreaded studios, have done their own forcible re-edits. “I’m saying: ‘Fine. <b>But my movie, with my name on it, that says I did it, needs to be the way I want it.’ ”</b><br /><br />Lucas seized control of his movies from the studios only to discover that the fanboys could still give him script notes. <b>“Why would I make any more,” Lucas says of the “Star Wars” movies, “when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?”</b></i><br />
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As it happens, I'm currently taking an English class focused entirely on studying the Harry Potter books in-depth. Yes, it is exactly as awesome as it sounds. At some point, the class discussion wandered towards Star Wars (being a related fantasy franchise), and one of my classmates said "I never watched Star Wars because I never understood why they did the whole movies-out-of-order thing." Another of my classmates immediately said "it's because George Lucas wanted more money, so he changed the story and said there was more before the first movie." I immediately countered with "No, he had the vague story for the whole saga before the first movie was released." The second classmate replied "Well, the thing is, I think George Lucas lies."<br />
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The conversation went on from there (and I think I technically ended up winning the debate), but that was a surprising example of just how deeply-embedded the Lucas-hate is in general society. For one reason or another, people just assume that Lucas is a bad person. And that hate apparently reaches Lucas, to the point where it became a large factor in his decision to stop making movies and retire.<br />
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I'm actually really pissed off at the internet and geek culture now. For all the arguments about George Lucas being some kind of satanic monster, the people making those arguments are the ones most deserving of all that vitriol. All the douchebags that whine and complain that Greedo shoots first can't even stop and realize that for every minor edit to the Star Wars saga, there's a huge contribution to filmmaking.<br />
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George Lucas created ILM, and revolutionized visual effects.<br />
He revolutionized and set the standard for sound in film with THX.<br />
Out of ILM spun Pixar, thus George Lucas is the godfather of modern CG animation in film.<br />
Digital film and film editing were completely revolutionized by Lucasfilm. If you've ever used Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, you have George Lucas to thank for that.<br />
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Biggest of all, George Lucas gave us an epic fantasy story wrapped in a science fiction package that tapped into the very heart and soul of humanity. If he hadn't created Star Wars in the first place, no one would have loved it enough to get pissed off at the fact that it's 1% different than it was when they watched as a kid.<br />
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So now the people obsessed with blaming Lucas for the raping of their childhood have their way. Their comments have actually hurt him, and he's retiring.<br />
Hey, people: go die in a fire.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-32055619249690946732011-11-01T01:41:00.001-05:002011-11-01T01:42:03.237-05:00Clone Wars CharactersIt occurs to me that The Clone Wars, now in its fourth season, has a rich cast of original characters that have really shined. I figured I'd run down my favorites.<br />
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From least-to-most-favorite.<br />
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<b>Pre Vizsla</b><br />
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Truth be told, I don't like this character that much. But the fact that he's a Mandalorian who wears the actual armor and does the kinds of things we'd expect from a Mandalorian gets him points.<br />
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<b>Cad Bane</b><br />
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He actually gets on my nerves a lot, what with his constantly repetitive plots. (Cad Bane goes somewhere to steal/kidnap something/someone and narrowly escapes Jedi capture. Rinse & repeat.) But at the same time, he's a credible non-Force user threat that evokes the gunslinging nature of the Original Trilogy.<br />
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<b>Asajj Ventress</b><br />
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Technically she was around before TCW (being in the previous Clone Wars animated series), but she's really been treated with respect here, mostly in the 3-part Nightsisters trilogy of Season 3. Her connection to the Dathomiri witches (previously only seen in the Expanded Universe) is very cool, and she's given a ton of focus as a developing character. It's also just great to see more dark Jedi than Dooku and Sidious, neither of whom are very cool.<br />
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<b>Savage Oppress</b><br />
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Dumb name; serious Sith apprentice. Savage might be a little shallow, but he's got a ton of potential, and his connection both to the Dathomiri and to Darth Maul are really great.<br />
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<b>Commander Wolffe</b><br />
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His no-nonsense attitude is entertaining and his cybernetic eye is really cool, but the real reason he's on this list is his awesome new Season 4 armor. Yeah, it's that awesome.<br />
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<b>Captain Rex</b><br />
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Rex is a character that hasn't gotten much to do in the show other than follow orders inside his cool custom-painted helmet, but in a few episodes (Season 2's "The Deserter" and Season 4's "Darkness on Umbara") Rex showed some real unique character, breaking from the static clone programming. It makes me wonder how Order 66 will play out with these new character developments. Will he resist the order? <i>Can</i> he? Can <i>any</i> clone? We'll just have to find out.<br />
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<b>Domino Squad</b><br />
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We've seen Domino Squad go all the way from training simulations to being on the frontlines of the war. We've seen two of them die tragically, one die heroically, two become ARC Troopers in the 501st Legion, and only one survive thus far. Like Rex, these heroes break from the norm. Fives in particular seems to be a bit of a rebel within the army, befitting of an ARC trooper.<br />
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<b>Plo Koon</b><br />
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So Plo Koon was already in every one of the prequel films. But he never spoke or did anything important other than apparently die, so I count him more as a Clone Wars character than anything else.<br />
He's a very, very OT-style character. He seems wiser than just about anyone else, and is skilled enough with a blade and a starfighter that he gets a billion cool points. I actually like the duo of Plo and Ahsoka better than the Ahsoka/Anakin pairing.<br />
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<b>Ahsoka</b><br />
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Ahsoka may be the most unlikely fan favorite ever. In spite of her rough start, she's grown into a mature, relatable, and amazing character. She's a perspective character, like Luke in the OT—a type of character sorely lacking in the prequels. She's the closest thing <i>The Clone Wars</i> has to a central character, and is much of the reason why the show has been as well-received by fans as it has been. Ahsoka is easily one of my top five favorite Star Wars characters.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-41588024730035580432011-10-14T22:32:00.001-05:002011-10-15T21:36:42.535-05:00Star Wars Fan Days IV<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past Saturday, I went to Star Wars Fan Days IV in Irving, TX. Fan Days is basically a miniature SW convention. It was pretty cool.<br />
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Here were my highlights:<br />
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Stepping out into the main room. Since I'd never been to a convention of any kind before, I was a little unprepared for just how awesome the sight of thousands of geek collectibles at bargain prices was. I didn't actually end up picking up anything (needed to save money for <i>Batman: Arkham City</i> coming out next week), but I was sorely tempted.<br />
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Getting to see The ForceCast do a live show. Because of the weird echoey acoustics in the room, I couldn't hear much and ended up leaving early, but it was still great to actually see the people that I'd been listening to on my iPod for about 4 years now.</div>
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Seeing movie-quality Boba and Jango Fett costumes in-person. Just so cool.</div>
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Seeing this little five-year-old Princess Leia nervous about meeting a real-life R2-D2. Oh, by the way, I MET AN ACTUAL R2 UNIT THAT MOVED AND SPUN ITS HEAD AND BLINKED ITS LIGHTS AND WHISTLED AND yeah it was pretty awesome.</div>
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The above is a photo of Timothy Zahn (right) and Aaron Allston (left) answering a question that I got to ask them at their Q&A panel. For those unaware, Timothy Zahn is pretty much the creator of the modern Star Wars Expanded Universe. He's known as the great writer by which all other Star Wars writers are judged. And I got to be in the same room with him and ask him a question. That is so cool.</div>
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My question was a bit of a softball ("what Star Wars films are you guys' favorites, and why?"), but it was purposely done to lead into my friend's follow-up question ("If you could go back and rewrite anything from any of the films, what would you change?"). Those questions sparked some really interesting answers and insights into Star Wars that I hadn't ever thought of before.</div>
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I saw an actual DeLorean in-person. It was from about 4 stories up (I forgot to go down and take a picture at ground-level), but still. I saw a DeLorean!</div>
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The Clone Wars cast panel. I got to see Steven Stanton (Tarkin), Catherine Taber (Padmé), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka), Meredith Salenger (Bariss Offee), and Tom Kane (Yoda, Admiral Yularen, the announcer) up on a stage. It was awesome.</div>
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Finally, I got Tom Kane's autograph. It was actually my first time getting anything signed by anyone. And it's just so cool! I kinda think that I'm gonna go around and "collect" these 8x10 signed photos; put 'em in an album.</div>
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So yeah. That was Fan Days. It was fun. Totally going again next year, with WAY more spending money in my pocket.</div>Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-67505761666729491692011-10-12T13:22:00.000-05:002012-11-23T17:04:31.747-06:00Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As much as I love Star Wars, there's one major aspect of it that's always bothered me. One thing that's never sat right; one thing that seems to not only not make sense within the Star Wars story itself, but to contradict the very truths of both mythology and reality.<br />
<br />
I'm talking about the highly negative view the Star Wars films have of romantic love. Let's look at every instance of it that we see in the Star Wars saga:<br />
<br />
Luke and Leia.<br />
Well, that turns out weird. <i>A New Hope</i> pushes the idea that Luke is the young hero who rescues the princess, complete with googly-eyes and romantic swings across Death Star chasms. While Leia never directly acknowledges that she has feelings for Luke, it seems pretty open. Even if it is just to stick it to Han Solo, she full-on kisses Luke in <i>The Empire Strikes Back.</i> And then she turns out to be his sister. What?!<br />
The only real justification for this sudden plot twist is the fact that Leia then becomes a familial connection for Luke, and thus an emotional weakness/strength in his final battle with Vader. Otherwise, the only reason seems to be that Jedi are simply not supposed to fall in love.<br />
<br />
Han and Leia.<br />
This is the only romantic connection that seems to work in the saga, but it's not taken to the end. We get the vague idea that Leia and Han are together at the end, but there's no sense that things will stay that way.<br />
<br />
Anakin and Padmé.<br />
This is, by far, the most closely-examined romantic relationship in the saga. Anakin is a possessive, selfish psycho. That's it. Interestingly, however, this is seemingly taken to be the example of why <i>all</i> Jedi cannot be romantically involved. As though every Jedi, no matter whom, will eventually fall to the Dark Side simply because of their fear of losing the one they cherish. This is very disturbing. It seems to imply that for Jedi, that fear of loss is far more powerful than any positive love ever could be.<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, aside from romantic relationships, there seem to be varying effects of platonic or familial love. As I said, Luke's brotherly love for Leia gives him the strength to defeat Vader, but is he truly motivated by compassion for Leia, or by anger against Vader for threatening her? It seems to be the latter, as Luke is only barely able to pull himself back from the Dark Side at this point.<br />
On the other hand, Vader's fatherly love for Luke is what drives him to make the right choice in the end, effectively redeeming himself and coming back to the Light Side.<br />
<br />
In 2002, George Lucas made <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1989505.stm">this comment</a>:<br />
<i>"Jedi Knights aren't celibate - the thing that is forbidden is attachments - and possessive relationships."</i><br />
<br />
So, basically, Jedi can have all the one-night stands they want, but if they become emotionally involved, it's all over? Jedi can have children—and, seemingly, the parent/child relationship is a very positive one for Jedi—but spouses just can't work? How is that?<br />
<br />
I don't often like to write about peoples' personal lives, especially people I don't know, but I think it's worth mentioning that much of the original trilogy films were edited and otherwise influenced by Marcia Lucas, George Lucas' former wife. They divorced the year Return of the Jedi was released, though Lucas adopted two children afterward. George has not remarried since.<br />
<br />
George's seeming rejection of romance and embracing of parental love seems to mirror what's seen in the Star Wars saga: romantic love brings about only pain and destruction, while parental love is the only power strong enough to heal those wounds.<br />
<br />
Although Star Wars is based on truths from a thousand different mythologies and quite a bit of real, honest truth, the saga's view on romance seems to be based more on Lucas's bad past experiences than on any reality.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-29662716464609205052011-05-04T23:06:00.000-05:002014-05-06T22:41:01.799-05:00The Saga on Blu-Ray<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMj81kI4CJY52NbXLeYW2zFs5Qs9LwgGVAuKvpwNcolpbx1g_L_DGHU-mGiKS6vFCHmn4wiQIDY4DcG06T6tyIGtBAjE7PYZvx1bAwwBS0X5Hq68qX2qw4d5TQmAIcKv_ItSaKUnj21Ok/s1600/bdsaga_bg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMj81kI4CJY52NbXLeYW2zFs5Qs9LwgGVAuKvpwNcolpbx1g_L_DGHU-mGiKS6vFCHmn4wiQIDY4DcG06T6tyIGtBAjE7PYZvx1bAwwBS0X5Hq68qX2qw4d5TQmAIcKv_ItSaKUnj21Ok/s400/bdsaga_bg.jpg" width="362" /></a></div><br />
So. The entire Star Wars film saga is coming to Blu-ray this Fall, and the details of its content were just announced today. You can check out the full details <a href="http://www.starwars.com/movies/saga/bluraymay4/index.html">here.</a><br />
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The basic gist of it is this:<br />
<br />
#1: The films will be the Special/DVD Editions, not the theatrical releases. This doesn't bother me so much, since we already have the theatricals on DVD, and Lucasfilm apparently never remastered the theatricals in HD, so a blu-ray release doesn't make sense. Still, though, it would have been nice.<br />
#2: We still don't know any of the details about new content from the films, other than <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18O-Rj2MP9Q">the one revealed deleted scene from Return of the Jedi.</a> Which is pretty lame. I wanna hear what else we'll see.<br />
#3: Most of the big stuff we're getting is in the form of documentaries (that are actually pretty long). A few of them seem really cool. For instance, an 84-minute doc on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501st_Legion">the 501st Legion</a>?! Awesome!<br />
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One semi-minor gripe I have with the box set, though: the box art.<br />
Now, the art for the individual trilogy sets (which I assume are inside the larger box's case) are amazing.<br />
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I love those. But the combined box set (pictured at top)? Eh. It's a great art piece, and it's true that the Tatooine horizon is one of the most iconic Star Wars images, but I don't really like the overall sandy look of it. It seems a little messy, like it needs to be more neutral somehow. It's distractingly abnormal.<br />
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Oh well. Still buying the thing when it comes out this Fall. Yay.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-4382644351111640032011-01-21T22:47:00.000-06:002011-01-21T22:47:44.561-06:00Prequel JudgmentSo I'm getting tired of people "looking down" on prequel fandom. I totally sympathize with peoples' concerns over the prequel films' faults, but it's just too much sometimes.<br />
<br />
It's not so much the judgment on the prequel films themselves; it's the judgment on the fans of the prequels. Sometimes I feel like my opinions are taken less seriously when I try to refer to anything prequel- or Clone Wars-related. It's just frustrating.Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-3622743663185491152010-10-25T22:02:00.004-05:002010-11-14T17:42:28.473-06:00More Movies?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfoqT6sf68r1qDW7P1sOXA7cbPQM0AD_TUcVLzfEhaTJ9LMgZ1L_9pcrBn1iiSJHMgVIT4L8Y2oBfRSKhFGbVah_D_U2mng7ztoPkvsxoaop2fa4aOSBknpBB2UvbDLKozem47Wmq6Zk/s1600/VII-XII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfoqT6sf68r1qDW7P1sOXA7cbPQM0AD_TUcVLzfEhaTJ9LMgZ1L_9pcrBn1iiSJHMgVIT4L8Y2oBfRSKhFGbVah_D_U2mng7ztoPkvsxoaop2fa4aOSBknpBB2UvbDLKozem47Wmq6Zk/s400/VII-XII.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: black;"></span>Wow. Been a while since I posted stuff here, huh?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10291:iesb-exclusive-the-line-starts-hereagain-new-star-wars-movies-planned&catid=41:news&Itemid=71">Okay, so IESB.net reported on Friday that there are "New Star Wars Movies Planned."</a> Rumors of new SW films are nothing new. George Lucas's original plan for the saga was to have the first six episodes follow the Skywalker family's saga, then start Episode VII with an elderly Luke passing the torch to a new generation of Jedi knights for episodes VII-XII. Yeah, that's right, the original plan was to have TWELVE films, not six. Lucas later changed his mind (probably because he got old), and claimed that he "never planned on more than six films," but that's all garbage because he already said otherwise in previously published interviews.<br />
What makes this particular rumor so compelling is that it's IESB.net, which is a highly reliable source.<br />
<br />
<i>"First, let me remind our readers of IESB's past scoops so anyone doubting the news will be aware. From Joss Whedon directing the Avengers, to the recent announcement of Disney's planned renegotiation of the Paramount Marvel deal, to the countless casting scoops, directing scoops, to our solid sources at Lucasfilm.</i><br />
<i>Confirmed IESB scoops specific to the Star Wars universe include the first announcement of the PG-13 rating of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, the first word of a live action Star Wars TV series as well as the Clone Wars animated series. Yes, all of these Lucasfilm scoops were all first reported here on IESB.<br />
<br />
...Can we expect Lucasfilm to confirm our story? Have they ever? Nope, I am sure that they will spin this or completly deny the story, but we will stand 100% behind our source." </i><br />
<br />
So, yeah. This seems pretty legitimate. It's far from a confirmation, but it's got a good chance of being true at the very least. Of course, <a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/10/new-star-wars-trilogy/">Lucasfilm denied everything</a>, but honestly, what else would they do?<br />
<br />
The report outlines the basic gist of the new films:<br />
<i>"Too early for story details but one thing that our source is certain about, they will not be prequels but instead sequels. It's not for certain if they will be the long awaited Episodes 7, 8 and 9 but could instead be Episodes 10, 11 and 12 or possibly even further out in the Star Wars timeline. And by giving space in the timeline, possibly even as far as 100 years or 1,000 years in the Star Wars universe future, Lucas avoids having to make these stories "fit in" with what the previous stories have told."</i><br />
<br />
So here's the thing:<br />
True or not, is making more films a good idea? I briefly had a texting-convo with my good buddy Robert about an hour ago on this very topic:<br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Aaron:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are some seriously strong rumors about a new Star Wars sequel trilogy.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Robert:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nooooooooooooo</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Aaron:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You *don't* want more films?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Robert:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">9 film marathon?? <i>(note: Robert is referring to the fact that we and other friends have an annual Star Wars 6-film 12-hour movie marathon tradition)</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Aaron:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They're not supposed to be Skywalker-focused, so they'll be a different storyline. Post-Return of the Jedi, I think. Might be episodes 7-12, as was originally planned in 1977. So... two marathons? Lucasfilm's denying the rumors, of course, but I'm not really believing them ATM.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Robert:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Post-jedi, like to destroy all of the EU? Jerks. Or maybe they adapt the X-wing series?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Aaron:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No telling. Though if the new movies are better than the EU (which is possibly), I'd accept it.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Robert:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mrragh. I am not happy with this, its likely to irrevocably destroy the new republic era of EU</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Aaron:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dude. Books>Films? Nuh-uh.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Robert:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have little faith that they will be anything but money mongering films</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Aaron:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's never been Lucasfilm's M.O. Even The Clone Wars is great.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Robert:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hahahahahahahahah nice sarcasm</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Aaron:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Totally not sarcastic there, buddy</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Robert:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The clone wars is great? Which one? And attack of the clones was great?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Aaron:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hang on. It's blog post time.</div><br />
So, yeah. There's a chance that if they do films in the era after Return of the Jedi, they'll eradicate some Expanded Universe material. A whole frakton of it.<br />
However, as much as that would suck, I do think that it'd be better to have more movies. I'd rather have a new trilogy and just go ahead with wiping out the post-Jedi EU. Then the EU can start over alongside and after the new movies.<br />
And hey, if the new films take place more than 125 years after ROTJ, there's no EU material to contradict anyway. So there might not even be anything to fuss about.<br />
<br />
Then there's the question of quality: can new Star Wars movies ever be good?<br />
Personally, I think anyone who's familiar with Star Wars stories such as <i>Knights of the Old Republic</i> (the game, not the comic), <i>Star Wars: Legacy</i>, and the Thrawn Trilogy of novels can say with absolute certainty that the Star Wars universe is definitely an extremely fertile ground for storytelling. The main complaint raised against this idea of new films is that the Prequels weren't necessarily amazing. They had a plethora of problems, and many fans feel that George Lucas is entirely to blame for them. Furthermore, there are some who believe that anytime GL does ANYTHING with Star Wars, he's only doing it for monetary gain and with absolutely no artistic integrity or respect for his own creation.<br />
I disagree.<br />
<br />
I stopped reviewing <i>The Clone Wars</i> TV series last year, not because it wasn't good, but rather because it had reached a standard of unwavering high quality that just didn't make for interesting criticism anymore. And guess who comes up with 80% of all the story ideas for <i>The Clone Wars</i>? George Lucas. He oversees, edits, and is in complete control of the series. Sure, the show might only exist because Lucasfilm needs to make money (because, other than ILM, what else do they have? Indiana Jones?), but is that a bad thing? If a product is good, what's wrong with selling it? Capitalism at its finest, I say. <i>(that one was for you, Robert.)</i><br />
<br />
Yeah, the Prequels aren't all that amazing. They've got brilliant epic special effects and a masterful galaxy-spanning story, but sometimes-terrible dialogue and vomit-worthy acting (mostly in episodes II and III).<br />
Here's an interesting idea that I've heard thrown around: perhaps Star Wars is better when George is still in control, but technically hands-off? That was the approach for <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i> and <i>Return of the Jedi</i> (in which GL was the Exec Producer, but not the on-set director), as well as the current setup for <i>The Clone Wars</i>.<br />
<br />
Here's a cool article from Wired.com on <a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/10/star-wars-trilogy/">"5 Reasons Lucas Should Film a New Star Wars Trilogy."</a> I agree with it for the most part.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">—</div><br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/10/star-wars-trilogy/"><span style="font-size: large;">5 Reasons Lucas Should Film a New Star Wars Trilogy</span></a><br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Heard the big sci-fi rumor? Messages boards went wild over the weekend based on an unsourced report that George Lucas might be making another <cite>Star Wars</cite> trilogy, timed to land after the planned 3-D re-release of the first six episodes.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Some fans swooned over the possibility while others — still seething over the second batch of <i>Star Wars</i> films and other gripes — spewed bile on the idea. While Lucasfilm <a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/10/new-star-wars-trilogy">predictably denied the rumor</a>, we think Lucas should reconsider.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Here’s our five cents, in the form of five reasons why the Skywalker Ranch hands should get cracking on another trilogy in a hyperspace nanosecond.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>5. It’s not a stretch.</b><br />
Lucasfilm has been building out the <cite>Star Wars</cite> cinema and toon universe ever since <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_phantom_menace">The Phantom Menace</a></cite> landed in 1999. The excellent <cite><a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/08/clone-war-third-season">Star Wars: The Clone Wars</a></cite> animated series is currently on its third season, heading for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Clone_Wars_%282008_TV_series%29#Episodes">66 episodes</a>, with more surely to come. Another <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_live-action_TV_series"><cite>Star Wars</cite> live-action TV series</a>, aiming to deliver a syndication-friendly 100 episodes, is up next. Just using those numbers alone, that’s more than 80 hours of <cite>Star Wars</cite> storytelling. What’s another six-plus hours of film? </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>4. The last trilogy wasn’t great.</b><br />
Lucasfilm’s second <i>Star Wars</i> trilogy simply didn’t meet the mammoth expectations created by the first one. Another cycle of three films, done well, might give fanboys some closure. Although the second trilogy finished strong with the dark and dystopian <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenge_of_the_sith">Revenge of the Sith</a></cite>, the movie just couldn’t wash away the stain of Jar Jar Binks or Anakin and Padme’s roll in the hay. Third time’s a charm!</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>3. It’s for a good cause.</b><br />
<a href="http://givingpledge.org/#george_lucas">George Lucas has pledged</a> a massive chunk of his prodigious estate to charity. Even haters have to admit that another three features would bring another three truckloads of cash to younglings worldwide. (If they won’t, maybe they should put half their money where their flapping gums are.)</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>2. <cite>Avatar</cite> needs the competition.</b><cite> </cite><br />
<cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_wars">Star Wars</a></cite> gave birth to next-gen sci-fi cinema in 1977, and lorded over it for decades until <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_%282009_film%29">James Cameron’s <cite>Avatar</cite></a> came along and pwned it last year. Now Cameron’s immersive 3-D experiment is the highest-grossing film of all time, as well as the benchmark for blockbuster sci-fi cinema’s new normal — and he’s got two sequels on the way. A new <cite>Star Wars</cite> trilogy raising the immersive 3-D stakes could bring the Oscar statues and street cred back to papa Lucas. That would perhaps please not just <cite>Star Wars</cite> loyalists, but also Academy voters who gave Cameron the gas face and hilariously awarded the Best Picture Oscar to his ex-wife’s underwhelming film <cite><a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/03/oscar-report-avatar-loses-to-the-hurt-locker/">The Hurt Locker</a></cite>.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>1. <cite>Star Wars</cite> purists need a diaper change.</b><br />
I saw <i>Star Wars</i> in the theater in 1977, just like a host of other fans around the world. But it’s exceedingly hard not to laugh when fandom loses its nut over the possibility of another film trilogy, or even the failed ambition of the last one. Lucas makes a busload of bank (for Skywalker Ranch <i>and</i> charity, remember) by making movies for every childhood, not just ours.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The fanboys and fangirls who are sad that Lucas might tread on their cherished memories of Han Solo’s hairy chest, or Luke Skywalker’s petulant whining about having to go to the <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tosche_Station">Tosche Station</a> to pick up some power converters, or whatever, need to step back into the timestream and grow up. Sure, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jar_Jar_Binks">Jar Jar Binks still sucks</a>, and that will probably never change. (Why do you think Lucas had him sell out the Senate by proposing to give Palpatine unitary executive power?). But Lucas doesn’t suck, nor has he sold out our sacred childhood fantasies. He’s the one that built them, and another trilogy will remind us all of that inescapable truth.</div><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Here's another thing.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Have any of you ever actually seen Star Wars in the theater? I've been lucky enough to have seen the prequels as well as Episode IV on the glorious big screen, and I have to say that no other film experience has ever topped that. Star Wars is truly an event that dominates and defines the moviegoing experience, and the chance to see something new from the Galaxy Far, Far Away on that screen is definitely worth allowing into our preciously-guarded Star Wars-loving hearts.</div></div>Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-23220057112408248232010-03-26T20:30:00.000-05:002012-11-23T18:16:38.206-06:00TCW - "Cat and Mouse"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrbe7wGM6M-yghylL4vuL_skt8V37OVzpjkC_iSdEo9oJtypObG4CMW4T9mVCOu26MoclpRYRBKQ2CHsCMq1KrW0Nj_Nb1SjI5K8SE0QwYUo3bDUYgAV7TgN516P6oyPLQ9RoHPAYNfs/s1600-h/cwlogo_new_small.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257598177031386066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrbe7wGM6M-yghylL4vuL_skt8V37OVzpjkC_iSdEo9oJtypObG4CMW4T9mVCOu26MoclpRYRBKQ2CHsCMq1KrW0Nj_Nb1SjI5K8SE0QwYUo3bDUYgAV7TgN516P6oyPLQ9RoHPAYNfs/s200/cwlogo_new_small.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
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"Cat and Mouse" is a fun episode, if not necessarily mind-blowing. At its core, it's a classic submarine warfare story, something that's no stranger to sci-fi and fantasy, having been highlighted in the Star Trek universe in some of its most famous stories (the TOS episode "Balance of Terror;" <i>Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan</i>'s Mutara Nebula sequence).<br />
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The character bits here are pretty minimal; it's the usual "Anakin acts somewhat irresponsibly but manages to make it work in the end" story. This is the first time Anakin has met Yularen, however, which is somewhat interesting.<br />
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This episode is set all the way at the beginning of the Clone Wars timeline, before the Clone Wars movie and "The Hidden Enemy." While this is certainly a good story, there was no reason to set it so early. Yularen and Anakin's first meeting certainly wasn't shown to be all that important. Why not set it in "current" time?<br />
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Random note: the cloaking effect used here is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrnuGT5KxnU#t=31m13s">straight out of <i>Star Wars: Rebel Assault II</i></a>, one of my absolute favorite games as a kid. That makes me happy.<br />
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This is a good episode. It's got smartly-done, if simple, tactical action, and serviceable character and plot density. It just didn't really wow me.<br />
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Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-73369125525535595882009-11-04T20:00:00.069-06:002012-11-23T18:17:19.220-06:00TCW - "Landing at Point Rain"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrbe7wGM6M-yghylL4vuL_skt8V37OVzpjkC_iSdEo9oJtypObG4CMW4T9mVCOu26MoclpRYRBKQ2CHsCMq1KrW0Nj_Nb1SjI5K8SE0QwYUo3bDUYgAV7TgN516P6oyPLQ9RoHPAYNfs/s1600-h/cwlogo_new_small.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257598177031386066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrbe7wGM6M-yghylL4vuL_skt8V37OVzpjkC_iSdEo9oJtypObG4CMW4T9mVCOu26MoclpRYRBKQ2CHsCMq1KrW0Nj_Nb1SjI5K8SE0QwYUo3bDUYgAV7TgN516P6oyPLQ9RoHPAYNfs/s200/cwlogo_new_small.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
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This may be the single best ground battle in the entire Star Wars saga.<br />
After the short few-minute setup scene, this entire episode is one gigantic, epic, and terrible war scene. Clones die right and left; gunfire and cannon blasts fly in all directions; even our Jedi heroes cannot emerge unscathed.<br />
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Each episode in this "Geonosis arc" has its own specific focus. This episode's focus is all-out war insanity.<br />
It draws some definite parallels to other war stories, notably D-day—which is fitting, considering Star Wars's heavy WWII connections.<br />
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More than any other battle in Star Wars' TV and movie history, this feels like a real <i>war</i>. The directorial style makes the viewer feel <i>there</i> with the characters in the middle of this conflict. As the battle goes worse and worse for the Republic heroes, their desperation becomes practically palpable.<br />
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Other notable details go a long way in helping with the overall feel. The clones, more than ever before, seem to act like real soldiers. They truly seem mortal now, rather than just token characters in an animated series. In this instance, it's actually surprising when a clone <i>doesn't</i> die, rather than when he does. Also, they use flamethrowers.<br />
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It's rather remarkable that this episode actually makes you fear for a few of the characters' lives. Obi-Wan in particular has a rather awesome moment where he prepares to make his last stand, despite his hopeless odds.<br />
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This is definitely one of the standout episodes of the entire series thus far. Without a doubt, it's the one with the most jaw-dropping eye candy. If you're looking for an episode to show friends (and get them hooked on the show), this is the episode to go to.<br />
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Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997494961472582733.post-14123754149526409372009-10-16T20:00:00.021-05:002011-04-21T09:25:31.073-05:00TCW - "Senate Spy"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrbe7wGM6M-yghylL4vuL_skt8V37OVzpjkC_iSdEo9oJtypObG4CMW4T9mVCOu26MoclpRYRBKQ2CHsCMq1KrW0Nj_Nb1SjI5K8SE0QwYUo3bDUYgAV7TgN516P6oyPLQ9RoHPAYNfs/s1600-h/cwlogo_new_small.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257598177031386066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrbe7wGM6M-yghylL4vuL_skt8V37OVzpjkC_iSdEo9oJtypObG4CMW4T9mVCOu26MoclpRYRBKQ2CHsCMq1KrW0Nj_Nb1SjI5K8SE0QwYUo3bDUYgAV7TgN516P6oyPLQ9RoHPAYNfs/s200/cwlogo_new_small.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is the first episode of The Clone Wars where not a single shot is fired, nor a lightsaber ignited. There's literally no action to speak of. Instead, it's a highly tense romantic drama.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Unfortunately, this change of pace doesn't pay off. In a series where we expect a certain level of fun and excitement, an episode like this needed to be flat-out amazing in order to seem like anything other than a boring waste of time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All in all, while this episode wasn't <i>terrible</i>, it was mostly a boring waste of time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqFmyFKbzKYsNIu_EY6MACdZo9AMB7Vd4nA7D8B-F89-F8hJaUMVuTCWLaNpBuIUHDmvOVIay4v4M9RTxyso5Zau6LXC0RbFtD1Thp2LyNp-IxvKP_7hxDqR3dtvm-nungzUrhKWJBI0/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqFmyFKbzKYsNIu_EY6MACdZo9AMB7Vd4nA7D8B-F89-F8hJaUMVuTCWLaNpBuIUHDmvOVIay4v4M9RTxyso5Zau6LXC0RbFtD1Thp2LyNp-IxvKP_7hxDqR3dtvm-nungzUrhKWJBI0/s320/2.png" width="320" /></a></div>Aaron Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07127938346431178387noreply@blogger.com0