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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Lit Apropos of Nothing - ACKBAR IN CAPITALS - The Lit Forum Social Thread, v2.0.15

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Master_Keralys, Jan 1, 2009.

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  1. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    The phone version of MI2 doesn't have iMUSE. That's a deal breaker for me.

    Most of the time I'm on the phone, it's either a text-based game or a book. Batteries die quickly when you play games (of course, the Internet kills batteries too).

    I don't disagree about convenience, though if I know in advance I'll be traveling or having down time, I'll bring a dedicated device like a kindle (or my 3DS in theory, though I've never played anywhere but home).


    Missa ab iPhona mea est.
     
  2. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    So I just watched Star Trek for the first time, my first Abrams movie, and oh my god you guys the ST is so guaranteed to blow. Completely incoherent story, terrible direction, just an amateur hour blockbuster. How are they letting this guy at the Star Wars franchise? You make a couple mediocre blockbusters and that's enough to get freaking Star Wars put in your hands? What's next, spinoffs by McG?
     
  3. Cynical_Ben

    Cynical_Ben Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2013
    Isn't Abrams-based wrist-slitting normally reserved for the Disney Wars thread? Or the ST forums? ;)

    In seriousness, though, Abrams has said that he has no idea what Star Trek (the franchise) is about. It's one of the main reasons he had no hand in the script whatsoever, unlike a lot of his other films. So he just made whatever the studio would be happy with, threw some lens flares on it and called it good. Not sure if that's encouraging or not, but still.

    Also, apropos of nothing, I just saw these get posted on Twitter: Rebels t-shirts with some of the propaganda posters we've seen before on them. I don't think Jello would ever dress this casually, but at least they exist.
     
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  4. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Sep 29, 2005
    Yeah, but the movie was just hilariously bad. So much so that I actually now want to go out and see the rest of his movies, just to see if he's consistently this bad at directing. Before, I hadn't seen any, so I was just like, "Oh, he's a guy who makes action/sci-fi movies with a middle-of-the-road reputation but he had commercial success rebooting Star Trek and making it more Star Warsy!" And now I finally watched it, and I guess he's a guy who makes terrible action/sci-fi movies? And so I sort of gave up hope the ST would be any good and it's more of a funny personal observation than anything worth noting in the E7 thread so I shared it here.
     
  5. The Loyal Imperial

    The Loyal Imperial Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2007
    He's involved with Person of Interest, so he must have at least some good taste.
     
  6. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    JJ also gave us Fringe.

    Community tonight. Not going to watch it yet. Waiting til next week's episode airs to see if the show jumps the shark or manages a save.
    I need to remember to watch Elementary. I keep forgetting it is on thursdays.
     
  7. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Wes, if Jeff and Annie elope you'll be the first person I tell.
     
  8. _Catherine_

    _Catherine_ Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 2007
    The directing in Abrams Trek is mostly fine, imo, the problem is almost 100% the script, especially in the second one. Not like Abrams is an auteur or anything (lol) but his movies generally look and sound nice, they're well-lit, he tends to get good performances out of his actors, and you can usually tell what's going on in his action scenes. Everything I hated about both of those movies was due to the screenplay. Somehow Orci and Kurtzman have become Hollywood's go-to writers for major summer blockbuster action schlock, despite (or maybe because of) being two of the worst major screenwriters in the industry.
     
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  9. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Aside from the weirdly angled shots he's so fond of... I'm not the biggest fan of new Trek. But then I'm not the biggest fan of old Trek either, the TOS movies excepted (because they were awesome). My more hardcore Trekkie fans hate the new films because they basically make the characters into caricatures that look and sound like what people who don't know Trek might've heard about them. Wonder if that's how I'll feel about the ST... depends on his writing.

    Have we seen his writing? Did he write Super 8 or just direct it?


    Ben the Cynic: maybe it's my phone, but the link to those shirts didn't work for me...


    Missa ab iPhona mea est.
     
  10. The Loyal Imperial

    The Loyal Imperial Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Nov 19, 2007
    He did, yes. It's the only recent thing he's been solely credited as the writer for, to my knowledge.
     
  11. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004

    And the only good parts of that movies are stolen from better 80es movies, the JJA part is clearly when a strange CGI blop jumps out of a bush and everyone starts shooting at random. :rolleyes:
     
  12. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Yeah, I actually really enjoyed the beginning... when it was just about some dorks trying to make a movie. Then it got really dumb.


    Missa ab iPhona mea est.
     
  13. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Not being much of a Trek fan, I enjoyed the two Abrams movies are mindless sci-fi nonsense, but I definitely don't think he was giving them his all. Whatever one thinks of Super 8, I think that's a better gauge for how he'll approach SW--in that he's got actual reverence for it.
     
  14. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    I think I'd take Jeff/Pelton over yet more Jeff/Britta at this point.

    On the positive side, Maria Hill is coming back to Agents of Shield!
     
  15. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Except now she's working for Stark.
     
  16. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004

    Lets just hope that does not go down the comic road there.
     
  17. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Abrams is a mixed bag for me. Super 8 was overrated, not bad but not great either. And holy lens flares, Batman. I got a headache watching it.

    I enjoyed Alias, hated Lost, couldn't get into Revolution. I also couldn't get into Mission Impossible but thoroughly enjoyed Armageddon.

    Fringe is in my Netflix queue but I haven't tried it yet.

    I don't have high hopes for the ST. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
     
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  18. Zeta1127

    Zeta1127 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    I am pretty much indifferent to Abrams. I believe I watched Alias and liked it, I couldn't get into Lost or Revolution, Fringe was entertaining in the beginning but it ended up getting too weird for my taste, and I love Person of Interest. I didn't hate Star Trek, but I couldn't stand it as a Trek film. I am a fan of Mission Impossible and Armageddon. I have no option on Super 8, because I haven't seen it.
     
  19. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
  20. Cynical_Ben

    Cynical_Ben Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2013
    GrandAdmiralJello, the link works fine for me. It might just be your phone. Here are the thumbnails:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  21. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    All the shows with his name on them are just shows with his name on them. POI is Jonathan Nolan's baby.

    The atrocious script is the main problem, yes, but the shakycam/lens flare/Dutch angle obsession makes the film look ridiculous. And a director who doesn't insist on an at least marginally sensible script worries me.

    Mostly I'm just a little shocked that this seems to be the movie that made JJ Abrams the guy. This movie is no basis for making him the guy.
     
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  22. The Loyal Imperial

    The Loyal Imperial Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Nov 19, 2007
    Just wait until you see the sequel!
     
  23. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009
    Oh god. Into Darkness is terribad. Like, I could stand Star Trek 09 just as a mindless action film. But by Jove, Into Darkness is awful. And that's before you get into the 9-11 Truther subtext. It's just terrible plot thrown in to string along mindless action scenes. More quality work went into the plot of The Expendables.
     
  24. The Loyal Imperial

    The Loyal Imperial Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2007
    No, no, that's too good a film, you need to compare it to something closer to its own level. Like...G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
     
  25. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009
    Clash of the Titans, perhaps.
     
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