Some thoughts on the Star Wars DVD's

[Lexmark3200]

And I agree with the criticism that I think you're overstating the importance of her bare midriff. I don't think that was the essence of the movie, neither. Perhaps you're just a dirty old man, easily distracted by visible flesh? Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm a dirtier, older man.Um...yeah...they all look the same to me.

Don't flame me for the statement -- I say it with tongue firmly in cheek -- I can't believe I said Stallone -- one of them can act, the other can't.

I never said her midriff was the essence of the film; I was asking "is that what Star Wars should really be about?" And I am stating that her bare midriff and tight ab showings were completely unnecessary in that film; completely. It is to 100 percent cater to the younger generation that would watch the prequels and have watched the prequels; again, completely unnecessary. Im distrated by visible flesh? Well, who wouldnt be with that unnecessary flashing bout continuoulsy exploding in our faces? It was ridiculously unnecessary because, again, we are living in an MTV age of showing naked flesh everywhere. Toni Braxton didnt help by going to all those awards ceremonies with see through dresses on; I think thats what started it. Leaving nothing to the immagination.

Not gonna flame you on that Scarface issue, but.....Stallone and Pacino really dont "look alike"; I dont know if you are a diehard Scarface fan, as there are LEGIONS of them out there, but fans would never confuse these two guys' work.

[kexodusc]

Nope, I think Portman's a lovely looking woman...but she's not exactly your typical Holywood TNA material.
And quite honestly, a bloody back, bony rib, or chiseled ab, aren't exactly what I look for in a woman.
I like well rounded curves and little sign of skeletal structure. The whole anorexic, little-boyish holywood woman thing isn't really for me.

Now, maybe if she was wearing Leia's outfit from Jabba's barge in ROTJ we'd be talking...as it is, a rather plain white jumpsuit just ain't cutting it.

[Worf101]

You never saw "Wing Commander", eh worfster?

It wasn't pretending to be anything that it wasn't which was a movie spin-off of a computer game. For what it was, for all that it was, I didn't mind it. I didn't leave the theatre feeling insulted or raped the way I did after Episode I. I don't think I have to explain to anyone why I found Jar Jar Binks insulting to me as an African American. And before you all start screaming, I'm not some thin skinned relic from the 60's, I can laugh at myself and often do here and in print!!! All that summua***** needed was some chicken and watermelon hanging from his ears to complete the dirty deed.

As far as the rape was concerned.... I spent hours of time and much money taking myself and some kids from the local community center to see that tripe. I was robbed AND raped. Sigh...

Da Worfster

[eqm]

[QUOTE=kexodusc]
Same with Batman...I remember Batman as being the first huge corporate movie that sold goofy cups and toys at McDonald's etc...now I just hate it.QUOTE]

I had some pretty cool "Dukes of Hazzard" kid's meal boxes from hardee's (carl's jr.) back in the day....even had some stickers on the inside to decorate the plastic car/burger box.

[eqm]

Also, one thing about the Godfather trilogy, the picture quality on that DVD set has been a pretty controversial topic. I read that the recently released single-disc version of the first movie was done by a different mastering house and the look is different from the boxed set, which was done by Coppola's mastering facility.

Which one is supposed to look better? I was thinking about getting the 1st and 2nd as singles, w/o having to get the box set. Depending on what looks the best, however....

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I don't think I have to explain to anyone why I found Jar Jar Binks insulting to me as an African American. And before you all start screaming, I'm not some thin skinned relic from the 60's, I can laugh at myself and often do here and in print!!! All that summua***** needed was some chicken and watermelon hanging from his ears to complete the dirty deed.

As far as the rape was concerned.... I spent hours of time and much money taking myself and some kids from the local community center to see that tripe. I was robbed AND raped. Sigh...

Da Worfster

Chicken and watermelon hanging from his ears. Damn Worf, that is quite a visual. I know how you feel, the movie Atlantis portrayed the puerto rican girl as a hard core, hard personality, tomboy type girl. I just hated that. I have dated the hard core type, but they didn't have a hard personality, and they certainly weren't tomboyish.

Jeeze, none of the relics of the 60's I know are thinned skinned!!!

[Woochifer]

Which one is supposed to look better? I was thinking about getting the 1st and 2nd as singles, w/o having to get the box set. Depending on what looks the best, however....

Here's an article that came out last year in the NY Times about problems faced during DVD mastering. The Godfather was cited as an example of something that was getting redone after the first edition already went out.

http://www.unlv.edu/programs/filmarc.../bad_dvds.html

For months, I was reading rumors that the new version was supposed to fix the problems with the original DVD release, but I don't know for sure if this actually happened. I have not seen too many reviews of the single-disc Godfather DVD (the boxed set however was reviewed by every DVD site, and heavily debated), and I haven't seen anyone post any comparisons between the two versions. One review that I read speculated that the newer one used a higher bitrate, but they did not do an A/B comparison. According to that NY Times article, Lowry Digital was hired to do a new Godfather transfer, and they're the same company that just did the Star Wars trilogy, which IMO is a very well done set visually. Keep in mind that the original boxed set was done by American Zoetrope's mastering facility and approved by Coppola, so it might be more the look that he was looking for.

[Woochifer]

All that summua***** needed was some chicken and watermelon hanging from his ears to complete the dirty deed.
Da Worfster

Sheesh Worf! You got it all wrong! Jar Jar could only be complete with a king-sized blunt in his beak, dreadlocks sprouting from all his pods, voodoo dolls in his den, and offering up junk food and tokes from his bong pipe while bounding the galaxy stoned with the Jedi rastafarians!

Man oh man, Binks with chicken and watermelon ... that's about as ridiculous as greedy slanteyed space aliens wearing mandarin collars and speaking with "oriental" accents! Hmmm, I guess that was Episode I, wasn't it?

[dean_martin]

[QUOTE=eqm]

Same with Batman...I remember Batman as being the first huge corporate movie that sold goofy cups and toys at McDonald's etc...now I just hate it.QUOTE]

I had some pretty cool "Dukes of Hazzard" kid's meal boxes from hardee's (carl's jr.) back in the day....even had some stickers on the inside to decorate the plastic car/burger box.

Hey, what do you think of a Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson "Dukes of Hazzard"?

As for the Natalie Portman debate. I thought her acting was sooooo lifeless and boring in Eps I & II. I thought her acting was much better in "The Professional."

[Geoffcin]

NATALIE PORTMAN ISNT HOT? Man, I need to re-think this one....or perhaps YOU do...you dont think her character was unnecessary tits and ass in this film? You're kidding, right?

Portman doesn't even have a cleavage! I thought her performance was totally subdued. Even the infamous "rolling in the hay" sceen didn't have any passion in it. Her chemistry with Hayden Christian doesn't hold a candle to what Carrie Fischer & Harrison Ford had in the originals.

You want to see HOT; See Jennifer Garner in Daredevil. Probably the only thing worth watching the move for.

[Geoffcin]

Wow, so I'm not the only one...yeah, it wasn't necessarily better than the originals...but it sure beat alot of late 90's movies.
Why doesn't anybody gripe about Star Trek: Insurrection?
Now THAT was a let down (and I still kinda liked it).

About Insurrection. But Star Trek movies aren't the icons that Starwars movies are.

The real shift, and it's quite obvious after only a few minutes is that EP 1 & 2 are driven by, and really just vehicles for special effects. This is the same problem that I noticed recently with Sky Captain, and it DOESN'T Work! Lucas are you listening!? For all the FX in the originals the real driving force [pun?] was the characters. Ray guns and Death Stars are cool to use, and blow up, but unless you can care about the characters the movie's not going to "move" you. Even the best actors, when used as props for FX can;t help. For me it all comes down to screenwriting, and it's looking more and more like this is becoming a dying art, at least in most of the FX driven movies I've seen lately.

[Worf101]

Chicken and watermelon hanging from his ears. Damn Worf, that is quite a visual. I know how you feel, the movie Atlantis portrayed the puerto rican girl as a hard core, hard personality, tomboy type girl. I just hated that. I have dated the hard core type, but they didn't have a hard personality, and they certainly weren't tomboyish.

Jeeze, none of the relics of the 60's I know are thinned skinned!!!

Sigh, guess I'm just still a little miffed at this movie. Didn't mean to rant like that, even though it is my style. Hollywood's never been kind to us folks on the fringes. It's gotten better but it ain't there yet. We'll have to talk sometime about P.R. Sister's we've known over the years... Man I feel old. Now, put down Pogue's beer and behave....

Da Worfster

[Worf101]

Sheesh Worf! You got it all wrong! Jar Jar could only be complete with a king-sized blunt in his beak, dreadlocks sprouting from all his pods, voodoo dolls in his den, and offering up junk food and tokes from his bong pipe while bounding the galaxy stoned with the Jedi rastafarians!

Man oh man, Binks with chicken and watermelon ... that's about as ridiculous as greedy slanteyed space aliens wearing mandarin collars and speaking with "oriental" accents! Hmmm, I guess that was Episode I, wasn't it?

Man there was/is a LOT wrong with that movie. I remember now... yes. They sounded like bad imitations of a Chinese Launderer. I rest my case....

Da Worfster

[Lexmark3200]

Portman doesn't even have a cleavage! I thought her performance was totally subdued. Even the infamous "rolling in the hay" sceen didn't have any passion in it. Her chemistry with Hayden Christian doesn't hold a candle to what Carrie Fischer & Harrison Ford had in the originals.

You want to see HOT; See Jennifer Garner in Daredevil. Probably the only thing worth watching the move for.

Sure, she doesnt really have much in the breast department, Ill give you that....I just think she's a beautiful girl with a sexy body; and I'll give you Jennifer Gardner, but I must disagree regarding your comment about "the only thing worth watching the film for...." I loved Daredevil.

[Dusty Chalk]

I still disagree -- it's not fair to downplay Carrie Fischer's sex appeal as not a distraction, and play up Natalie Portman's bare midriff as distracting -- I don't think either was overly overt. I think the same criticism that could be thrust at me (that I over-reacted to minutiae) could be thrust at whoever thought Natalie Portman's bare midriff was distracting.

I'm not saying she's not attractive -- I just don't think they played it up as much as y'all are sayin'.

As for the Natalie Portman debate. I thought her acting was sooooo lifeless and boring in Eps I & II. I thought her acting was much better in "The Professional."

Everyone was bad in those movies -- it had no Direction. L, even Samuel L. Jackson couldn't breathe, he was so stifled (no, this is not from an interview, it is purely my reaction to his acting). Easily his worst role ever.

[recoveryone]

I just viewed ROTJ last nigt and my thoughts were the same on the transfer and sound, but to add my 2cents on the sex appeal. Fisher stole the show on that in that bare all outfit when she was jabba the hut little play toy part. From head to toe she was all that and a bags of chips. (mmmm licking my fingers)

[eqm]

[QUOTE=dean_martin]Hey, what do you think of a Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson "Dukes of Hazzard"?[QUOTE]

yeah...with Jerry Stiller as "Uncle Jesse", Charlize Theron as "Daisy", Burt "Turd Ferguson" Reynolds as "Rosco Pecotrain" (sp?), and Michael Clarke Duncan as "Boss Hogg".

That would be the best movie ever.

[dean_martin]

[QUOTE=eqm][QUOTE=dean_martin]Hey, what do you think of a Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson "Dukes of Hazzard"?

yeah...with Jerry Stiller as "Uncle Jesse", Charlize Theron as "Daisy", Burt "Turd Ferguson" Reynolds as "Rosco Pecotrain" (sp?), and Michael Clarke Duncan as "Boss Hogg".

That would be the best movie ever.

Hey EQ, I think we have something here. When and to whom are we going to pitch this?

[eqm]

Hey EQ, I think we have something here. When and to whom are we going to pitch this?

it's a star wars thread...so g. luca$ of course. "EVEN MORE CGI THAN THE ORIGINAL!" I just hope they bring in a cute child character who accidentally drives the car over a canyon and into the place where "them duke boys" are being held. We'll need to contact p-diddy to do redo the waylon jennings theme song.

[recoveryone]

I was watching ROTJ and I notice at the end that Darth Vader was younger looking in ghost form with long hair like Haden in the new EP2 & 3. Did anyone else catch that???

[dean_martin]

it's a star wars thread...so g. luca$ of course. "EVEN MORE CGI THAN THE ORIGINAL!" I just hope they bring in a cute child character who accidentally drives the car over a canyon and into the place where "them duke boys" are being held. We'll need to contact p-diddy to do redo the waylon jennings theme song.

Well, EQ, it looks like it's back to the drawing board for us. I just discovered that Warner Bros. has "The Dukes of Hazzard." They've casted Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville as them Duke boys and Jessica Simpson as Daisy. I think our casting ideas were better. I mean really, it's Starsky and Hutch in the sticks.

[eqm]

Well, EQ, it looks like it's back to the drawing board for us. I just discovered that Warner Bros. has "The Dukes of Hazzard." They've casted Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville as them Duke boys and Jessica Simpson as Daisy. I think our casting ideas were better. I mean really, it's Starsky and Hutch in the sticks.

maybe we can get that cast to do "A-Team" the movie?

[Geoffcin]

Sure, she doesnt really have much in the breast department, Ill give you that....I just think she's a beautiful girl with a sexy body; and I'll give you Jennifer Gardner, but I must disagree regarding your comment about "the only thing worth watching the film for...." I loved Daredevil.

She's easy on the eye, but for me it just doesn't reach "hot". Nor do I think that her sex appeal was overly used in the movie.

Daredevil was worth a shot, I haven't added it to my collection yet, but evetually it might wind up here. I don't think it was a "bad" movie. I should have said the BEST thing Daredevil has going for it is Jennifer Garner. I damn near fell outta my chair when she was in that dress!

[Woochifer]

Okay, now that I've confirmed that the music in the surround channels in the Star Wars DVD is indeed reversed, I think we should let THX know that their "certified" disc with a reversed surround audio track is an inexcusable lapse. If anyone wants to report the defect, THX's DVD problem reporting page is linked below.

http://www.thx.com/mod/products/dvdProbs.html

Also, this is no joke, THX's press release talks about the advanced QC that went into the Star Wars DVD set! Read this if you want a good laugh.

http://www.thx.com/news/20040923A.html

[eisforelectronic]

Speaking of "Wing Commander", just in case anyone was wondering why Panaka didn't make it from Phantom Menace to Attack of the Clones, it's because he died in Wing Commander, like Shaggy and Fred should have.

By the way, why were they loading torpedos by hand in Wing Commander? And why was there fire coming through the hatch behind them when they were fired?