Basher Sanctuary Episode 4: A New Forum

Bravo, Binary! Kill Muffet!

Here you go, CJ - http://battlestargalacticagame.com/

Yes to the XBox.

 

Thanks Hud me Bud It looks like fun indeed, i've been playing Star Wars Battlefronts (Lucasarts, the only way to go to get some decency out of Star Wars) i'll be looking to get Battlestar Galactica before X-mas so I can down some Cylon!

By the way, (never thought i'd say this but..) Boomer and Starbuck are both hot and they're mine. Thank you!

 

The Arwen/aragorn romance is for me the least successful aspect of LOTR, but still light years beyond the PT 'romance' .
In fact the description of 'courtly love' is far more apt to arwen/aragorn than Jerky boy/Ms. Wooden , it has grace and a sense of the eternal where as anakin is just grumpy 'I want, I want!' and padme is : blank expression, blank expression followed suddenly by "I love you truly deeply madly truly."

The other great thing about the new BG is a great sense of mystery, the cylons are always playing mind games, it's not just chasing and shooting. The issues of faith and philosophy are always present.
Olmos is terrific, he's more stoic than Clint Eastwood!
And the new Boomer is sooooo cute.

My fave episode is the one where Baltar denies the existence of No.6 and she disappears and his life turns to crap, it then becomes a matter of faith on his part. But of course it's a complete reversal on the usual 'test of faith' story. brilliant stuff.

g

 

By the way, (never thought i'd say this but..) Boomer and Starbuck are both hot and they're mine. Thank you!

well you can have starbuck, but you'll have to fight me for Boomer.
Then again .. for anyone who's seen the show , we might not have to fight over her. Won't spoil it for those who haven't .

g

 

Forget Boomer and Starbuck - give me No. 6! Blonde, hot, meaningless and dangerous affairs

The game has been out for a while, so you should get a good discount. I picked up mine unopened for about 20$ at a local shop. One of the best bangs for my bucks I've ever had in gaming. I wrote this review in the Sanctuary some many moons ago, I'll repost:

I'm finally broke down and got the Battlestar Galactica video game (to go with my DVD box set). I procrastinated a year as I had read horrid reviews based on the games' difficulty and the first mission alone. Finally, it saw for only $19.99 PS2 and I thought - give me the theme song, a few Cylons and a Viper no matter how hard to fly and I'll be happy.

MAN! To hades with online reviews. This game rocks balls. The Viper is harder to fly than say the Jedi Starfighter (which really is child's play) but a lot less difficult than the fighter jet simulations.

The music is incredible with the classic theme songs and some brilliant new composition, the graphics are by far the best looking space fighter console game I've ever seen, and it is tremendously fun.

The story is TREMENDOUS. Quite honestly, it is freakin better than AotC (not hard, I know) - but the characters all speak to you in mission, and the cut scenes are top quality with a very good plot. To drive home that BG feel, you can hear the Cylons speaking over open com channels in game making bold claims like "No organic flesh will be spared." SWEET! You play as Adama (Apollo's father) as a rookie pilot and then progress.

I'm on Level 6 now and just getting mutilated but it is a blast. It is tough. But once you get going, it is the kind of game you could play on and off forever and never get bored.

I will give you this warning. The first mission is a baptism by fire. This is not a game for the weak. You will utilize pretty much everything to get through it, and it averages around 20 minutes. Just stick to your guns, and don't get frustrated if you've made it 19 minutes to die. Try and try again. Do what they say, and use all the weapons and targeting systems -

Once you make it through the first mission, the next ones are much much more shorter (5-7 minutes) and you'll be well trained enough to start kickin Cylon tail and really enjoying the game. The second level catches you in between a Base Star and an ambushed Battlestar - WOW - capital ship warfare has never been this cool!

(note to reader: According to certain gu****es, Hudnall is 'all about hyperbole' - which I am - especially when bashing Lucas or praising something I love like this game; so take this review with a grain of salt.)

 

Man - I couldn't disagree more. Almost all of the tension in the theatrical version was a carry-over from the previous films, Saruman's foreboding gives the necessary weight and tension within ROTK itself - and sets the stage for the events that unfold.

What's to like about the Saruman scene, aside from making it more like the book? Even then, it pales to what the book was. There is no "voice of Saruman". He just appears on the balcony and starts to ramble on. When Gandalf says "your staff is broken" he sounds bored. I agree with what Jackson said about that scene. It should have been cut from the TE.

 

There's no point to having the "voice of Saruman" if the Scouring of the Shire doesn't come into play, that extra ending would have killed the whole series as it did the end of the books. I understand what Tolkien was getting at when he wrote it but it muddens the end flow of the narrative and labours the overall tale with yet another adventure after the greatest adventure of all. The Sauruman scene is great, it should have been used at the end of TTT as it was intended but it works best when you watch all three EE back to back, infact everything works better when you have the events freshly following from one film to another. This really was a epic tale delivered in chapters that work best if you have the 12 hours to spare in order to capture the experience. I made a conscious decision to do that with my first sitting of ROTK EE and i'm glad I did.

Honestly Stryphie, I think that scene rocks, the camera shots are dynamic, Theooderns speech is effective again, his barter for clemancy, defiance, betrayal and eventual fall is all breathtaking theatrics, a stake through the heart is perfectly apt considering Lee's Dracula past and the slow dissapearance into the water a nice effect to show nature claiming back what he tried to ravish. The breaking of the staff is another great effect, when you watch all three movies back to back the staffs highlight a great balance in power, once Saruman gained Gandalfs in FOTR he overpowered him easlily, Gandalf the white however with his new staff proved his superiority by exorcising Theodern with it in that unforgettable scene. That's to me is the clanger because Saruman realises then that he has be usurped by Gandalf becoming what he should have been, the breaking of the staff when they are face to face in the death scene is the final fall from grace, almost like tearing the stripes off a disgraced military officer. It was done with panache, i loved the ease of how Gandalf executed it, but it also served as a precursor to his feared meeting with the Witchking where the same is done to him. That i thought was a great way to set up what could have been a great confrontation but as in the book, it is defused almost immeadiately and one of the few thing I didn't like so much. I would have prefered to see Gandalf getting his butt kicked a little before the Witchking buggered off, but we can't have everything.

 

Right, enough about LOTR.

Lets get back to criticising Lucas!

 

I love Hero as well. Best Chinese movie ever made.

You do know the reason why all the fights are fantasy influenced don't you?

(for the record, I dislike Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon... because it literally has EVERY cliche and plot device of a HK swordplay movie ever!)

 

Hudnall: Forget Boomer and Starbuck - give me No. 6! grin Blonde, hot, meaningless and dangerous affairs devil

And staying true to the original series, I will see your No.6, and raise the stakes with Athena! There's a great scene included on the DVD version of the pilot, which most definitely did not air when broadcast featuring Athena changing out of a skin-tight, skin-colored outfit & Starbuck walking in on her. Beyond the completely gratuitous nature of this scene, the cast commentary of Hatch, Benedict, & Jefferson is an absolute riot to listen to.

And Sheba & Serena were nothing to sneeze at, either. Cassiopeia, on the other hand- lets just say not my type.

Hatch has written quite a few novels written as sequels to the original Galactica series. I haven't read any of these yet, but many reviewers have had fairly good things to say about them, beyond being a little too Apollo-centric.

 

Serena Athena

Honestly Stryphie, I think that scene rocks, the camera shots are dynamic, Theooderns speech is effective again, his barter for clemancy, defiance, betrayal and eventual fall is all breathtaking theatrics, a stake through the heart is perfectly apt considering Lee's Dracula past and the slow dissapearance into the water a nice effect to show nature claiming back what he tried to ravish. The breaking of the staff is another great effect, when you watch all three movies back to back the staffs highlight a great balance in power, once Saruman gained Gandalfs in FOTR he overpowered him easlily, Gandalf the white however with his new staff proved his superiority by exorcising Theoden with it in that unforgettable scene.

Well said. Christopher Lee could recite Norse love poems and I'd be content. But more to the story, I thought the ROTK theatrical version lacked a great deal of dramatic weight - a sense of impending doom, so to speak. The whole thing just went through the motions of the "good guy wins." This scene sets the tone within ROTK that our heroes are still in great peril, and the fight has only really just begun. Sauron is formally challenging Aragorn's right to the throne through Saruman, and taunting the heroes as to just how hopeless Frodo's quest is. Saruman introduces the Seeing Stone as a player in the battle against evil - and Gandalf finally solidifies himself as the White Wizard, the righteous ruler of Isengard.

Perhaps it is just me, but I didn't think the ROTK theatrical was worthy of 11 Oscars. The other films were more worthy, but ROTK by itself wasn't a 'great' film. A good film - but not great. The Return of the King Extended Edition flushes out all the characters and their respective journeys the way it should be: Aragorn, Eowyn, Pippen, Merry, Saruman and on down the list. This version is truly worthy of the crown - and one of the greatest works ever put to film.


---

oh yeah - bashing.

One clear difference between the LOTR Trilogy and PT.

LOTR: Elvish, the most beautiful language ever known

PT: Neimoidian, bad Asian accents reminiscent of Jerry Lewis 50's stereotypes

 

I agree - while ROTK was great, it wasn't worthy of that many Oscars (if you consider an Oscar award to be valuable, this is certainly worthy of debate). But it was more a coronation (ha ha) of the fact that the entire saga of LOTR films kicked arse and was Grade A from start to finish. The Oscars were like the applause at the end of a three act play, more significant and sustained than that at the earlier curtains, and encompassing the entire play.

And it is with such closure on our minds that we savor the remaining days of 2004. For those of you still looking for that perfect gift for loved or hated ones this Holiday season, I offer the traditional ~~~~LSHB'S Holiday Shopping Round-up~~~~. That's right! At various times throughout the year we here at Hair Bun Toys & Industrial Solvents, Co. have attempted to apprise you, the reader, of the many value items stocking your local shelves. Things certainly do reach a fever pitch come Christmas, though, so kick back and enjoy the otherworldly selection of stocking stuffers and account drainers we have here today.

Item #1: Massive Vader - This incredibly huge 14 inch statue of Lord Vader is a steal at a mere $200, approximately what a laborer in China earns in an entire year. As the caption holds, all thoughts will be on Vader come May 2005, and how better to commemorate that than with a statue of cool Vader, namely the one that doesn't appear in any of the PT films. Comes with interchangeable "PT Mittens" to better menace Luke.

Item #2: Jar Jar Binks Balm - No, it's not a soul patch to cover the gaping wound in your psyche from Jar Jar Binks. It's lip balm! Now all that time spent under the mistletoe ducking your creepy cousin won't leave its typical residue of chapped and cracked lips. Slather on some mystery gunk and pretend you're instead making out with the sexiest CGI creation this side of Gollum.

Item #3: Empty Pepsi Cans - With a street value of approximately 5 cents per can, these pre-drunk Pepsi Cans form a collection of heads from the movie that you love so much. Be a complete retard and pay a 1750% markup for a bunch of advertisements! It's Christmas!

Item #4: Random Character Generator Output - Protected by a phalanx of elite attorneys, the Random Character Generator at the Lucas Ranch only occasionally disgorges character packs as exciting as this one!. Now you too can own multiple copies of Orn Free Tea, Massiff, and Endo Rebel Soldier for a mere $74.95. Use your imagination to create even more exciting characters, like Horkali, Ow90kaol-01290, and Bob the Underchampion of Doriow IV! Remember: all such characters generated are the sole property of LucasFilm Ltd.

Item #5: Lightsaber Noise Obi-Wan - A gift that sells itself. this oddly bloated Obi-Wan can use its ape-like appendages to engage in crudely articulated fighting action! What happens if you insanely square him off against his Jango Fett counterpart? Why, you get the exact fight they have in AOTC! How do you think Lucas "filmed" it?

Item #6: Council-Time Yoda - We all know Yoda and his hilarious CGI-powered antics. But sometimes it's not spazz-fight time, and that's when Yoda is at his most exciting. this unbelievable action figure lets you play exciting Jedi Council meetings to your heart's content. Employ Yoda's amazing Jedi Sitting Action to place him in his chair to consider important discussions! Stand him up occasionally to let him m

 

I dunno, after watching the way it was made and how much more effort went into making every department of that film including the sheer impossible tasks they managed to out perform themselves on sheer will power and huge sacrifices, i feel they deserve every oscar they got and then some. In terms of it being the best film of the year, yeah that too, they set out to make a conclusion to a series and they made one hell of a conclusion with the most heartleft end sequence i've ever seen. Regardless of the moans about the length etc or the obvious missing points, the film was magnificent and so entertaining it went off the scale. I can't think of another film that artistically looked better in conception as well as being as entertaining as ROTK. I'm happy that for one the best film winner was also the most poular film of the year at the Box Office, that isn't always the case but in tis case it felt right. Besides, these films were all kinda made together so it seemed apt too present the crew with their Oscars for all their efforts not only on ROTK but on the entire production of the series, it's something no crew anywheere in the world ever attempted before or succeeded in doing so it would seem even more wrong to pass them by that year. Efforts as great as theirs deserve to be noticed.

I remember Athena in BG, she was cute, but that show is like pantomine in comparison to the new series, the new BG has the dramatical content of E.R and NYPD Blue, it's sex scenes are rauncy as hell, it's not a show to sit down with the kiddies and watch. The old show I could watch with a bunch of pre-schoolers!

 

>>>Christopher Lee could recite Norse love poems and I'd be content<<<<

Geez, I guess this means you like the third act of Clones.

There're no actors for me that will make me like a bad film, but there are a few character actors (Robert Duvall, for one, maybe Gene Hackman) that can keep me entertained while they're on screen, no matter how bad the film is. Lee's definitely not one of them, though. I really love Horror Of Dracula and everything, but I don't get the fanboy mystique that's been hanging over Lee these last few years. He didn't bring anything overpowing to SW or LOTR, as far as I can tell. The praise for McKellan I can see, however (although that's bit overworked too).

 

I have been watching the EE's back-to-back this week, Ceejay, so I have been putting them in the proper context. And I did/do know the significants of the staff. But Gandalf sounds bored and Saruman sounds scattered like he's talking out of his arse. Theoden's speech was OK. It worked for me but didn't save the scene.

I didn't geta chance to watch disc two last night like I hoped, but I will tonight. Maybe it is better. ROTK is an awesome movie, but I'm thinking so far it didn't need an EE.

 

Cute list, LSHB, but you forgot some Lego sets!

Didn't need an EE! WHAT!!!??? While ROTK TE rocked, I'm looking forward to seeing the EE, even if I have to buy it for myself.

 

Have to agree with Cee Jay. ROTK deserved everything it got. The passion, dedication and creative integrity behind the movie set a new standard in modern film making. It beat out the movies in every category it won...and I saw most of the competing films.

Watching the EE extras makes my skin tingle. They had life altering experiences and their friendship comes across on screen.

 

Oh Stryphie mate, gandalf doesn't sound bored, he's just finished battleing the Urak hai, the battle is over, Saruman is defeated, he's composed now, no need to sound like he's going back into action. I'll be honest, if you didn't like disc one then you'll probably hate disc two more. I for one think that's where the few flaws in the film are more prominant but for me they barely overshadow the greatness of the EE, ROTK definately needed it i far as i'm concerned, there's to many nicely expanded sequences and scenes that flesh it out better. Whatever you do though pal, watch that 4th DVD and see what these guys gave of themselves to finish this film, it's too awesome of going above and beyond the call of duty and then some! It definately changed the way i see the film now and it may shed ROTK EE a new light for you too.

 

I'll second Ceejay's comments on ROTK- the EE is well worth its price for disc #4 alone. Beyond film, beyond GL's inadequacies- this was professionalism, class, and dedication at its finest. GL has shown nowadays that he will always take the path of least resistance, constantly looking to cut corners. Not only did PJ refuse to cut corners, he built new roads if need be. And therein underscores the difference between the PT & LOTR: the PT are movies. New movies come and go every week. LOTR is an epic. Epics are embraced by audiences for decades on.

Having said that, I do feel there are somewhat minor flaws in the editing, particularly in the Saruman scene. Then again, I've seen the theatrical edition dozens of times, thus these things probably tend to stand out a bit more. But I don't think its anything that hurts the flow of the movie, and make for an enjoyable addition.

I must say though, with the decreased traffic 'round these parts, and Stryphe ROTK:EE bashing, this place is beginning to feel like a bizarro Basher's Sanctuary. What's next, Ree Yees bashing A Song of Ice & Fire?

 

I'm not sure to laugh or cry about his bit of news, but I was looking over some DVD sales numbers for this year, and I was shocked to see that the SW Trilogy came in at number...(guesses, anyone?)...eleven. That's right, the (not quite) OT is languishing behind such titles as Brother Bear and Cheaper by the Dozen. It isn't even in the top ten. Unreal. You can check out the updated Yearly and weekly figures here:

http://tinyurl.com/5b629

Of course, it did rank as the fourth largest gross cash producing DVD of the year, hauling in $213 million, but still, on a unit sold basis, for what a lot of people were describing as the most anticipated release ever, it is shocking to see it rank so low.

What is even more shocking is that in 2001, the TPM DVD ranked fourth, and in 2002, AOTC was number 5. Can this be right? What a sad state of affairs, when the PT discs do better (comparatively) than the OT. Like I said, I'm not sure how to interpret this information...yeesh.

 

Of course that mediocre-selling box set isn't the OT. I'd like to think that enough people figured that out and didn't buy it for that reason, but I'd be lying to myself.

I suspect the real answer is that the PT and the SEs have killed people's interest in SW as a whole. It certainly has dampened my interest in... well, anything Star Wars. There's better stuff out there, and it makes me a little sad to say that

 

Thanks for the cool site, Neimodian!

>>>What a sad state of affairs, when the PT discs do better (comparatively) than the OT. Like I said, I'm not sure how to interpret this information...yeesh.<<<

Well, don't be TOO downhearted. The OT discs on sale right now are 1) a boxed set 2) with a high price point 3) of altered versions 4) of movies that are twenty plus years old 5) that have been available all that time and have probably been owned by everybody at least once or twice in one format or another, and that 6) are seeing a downturn in their popularity thanks to newer, less than perfect sequels.

Of all those reasons, I actually think the fact that they're altered versions of the OT would actually rank probably last as a factor with the general public. The other five points are weightier and more immediate. We are, after all, a pop culture with a very short attention span.

For me, this news is not too much of a downer. The fact is, my favorite twenty or thirty DVDs wouldn't register on that site at all.

 

I didn't get a chance to watch disc two last night like I hoped, but I will tonight. Maybe it is better. ROTK is an awesome movie, but I'm thinking so far it didn't need an EE.

I finished up my second viewing of the EE last night, and IMO, it is a massive improvement. But again, I wasn't head-over-heels in love with the Theatrical Cut.

the EE is well worth its price for disc #4 alone. Beyond film, beyond GL's inadequacies- this was professionalism, class, and dedication at its finest.

Bravo!

Geez, I guess this means you like the third act of Clones.

heh Well, R12, I guiltily admit that the Dooku-Obi scene is one of my favorite shimmers in the rough.

after watching the way it was made and how much more effort went into making every department of that film including the sheer impossible tasks they managed to out perform themselves on sheer will power and huge sacrifices, i feel they deserve every oscar they got and then some.

Yes - but for the whoooole body of work, not just that one film. ROTK Theatrical, in and of itself, is the weakest of the three, IMO.

Yoda is at his most exciting. This unbelievable action figure lets you play exciting Jedi Council meetings to your heart's content. Employ Yoda's amazing Jedi Sitting Action to place him in his chair to consider important discussions! Stand him up occasionally to let him make important points or keep his legs from going to sleep!

LOL

 

For me, this news is not too much of a downer. The fact is, my favorite twenty or thirty DVDs wouldn't register on that site at all.

True, true...most of what I really love to watch is nowhere near the top of box-office or DVD sales charts (although I do love a decent slice of the "bigger" movies as well). I think you pretty much covered the bases on why it isn't selling like a top-five item as I had guessed it would. And I can't say I'm too broken up by it either, since I do get some twisted satisfaction seeing the revised OT slip a bit in the sales department. Still, who in the blazes is buying Brother Bear? And Cheaper by the Dozen? I guess if you wanted to see those movies you could rent 'em, but to really purchase them? To watch over and over again? Man, who was it that said you can never go broke underestimating the taste of people?

 

Oh Well, it's that time again, ROTK EE to view but this time with Cast Commentary (Always the funniest because of the Hobbits)