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FEATURED THREADS for 12-17-22

 
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Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 11:04 am    Post subject: FEATURED THREADS for 12-17-22 Reply with quote



If you're not a member of All Sci-Fi, registration is easy. Just use the registration password, which is —

gort



Attention members! If you've forgotten your password, just email me at brucecook1@yahoo.com.
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”Space . . . still the final frontier . . . several decades later.”

Two Star Wars movies and a Jim Dandy one that I just love to death! Very Happy

In the very near future I think I’ll watch a triple feature of these three classics —which are set in the very far future!

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Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)



Let's face it, this movie was a lost cause.

That doesn't mean I don't like the film. It just means that practically everybody who went to see it was doomed to disappointment because of the truth behind old sayings like "Time waits for no man", and "You can't go back home".

Consider this: Star Wars: A New Hope captivated the world in 1977 by inspiring the young and young-at-heart with a brand new kind of movie that whisked them away to a distant Galaxy and a bold adventure.

Twenty-two years later, Lucas wanted desperately to do the same thing again. So did all the folks who love the first film. Unfortunately, the world had seen A New Hope twenty times over the last two decades, along with the two sequels and all the copy cats that had jumped on the bandwagon, so the Big Surprise aspect of A New Hope was lightning that just couldn't strike twice. Heck, even The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi suffered that fate to some degree!

The original audiences who loved the first movie had grown twenty-two years older, raised kids who were now the age they were in 1977, and contracted a bad case of "middle age" — that dreaded ailment that makes your waist swell up, your hair fall out, your eyesight fail, and your youthful optimism dwindle to a shadow of its former self.

Expecting The Phantom Menace to thrill the fans the way A New Hope did is like finding a pair of blue jeans you wore in high school and thinking they'll still fit. Sad

So, all things considered I think Phantom Menace worked a miracle by doing as well as it did. Naturally it got slammed savagely by some critics, razed a bit by others, and generally criticized for being a disappointment.

However, it did commit a couple of well-known blunders that make you wish good old George had a trusted friend and advisor who would slap the back of Mr. Lucas' head and say —

"Damn, George, are you really going to let that adorable little block 'a wood play Luke's famous father? Haven't you heard what the film crew is calling him? Mannequin Skywalker!"

Those of you who think Jake Lloyd did a passable job should compare his acting to that of Dakota Goyo from Real Steel. When it comes to acting, the Force is strong with that kid . . .

And then there's Jar Jar. Good God A'mighty. I always have to turn on the closed captioning just to understand the words he's saying — never mind what the dang things actually mean!

I don't object to his appearance, but I would like him a lot better if he was (a) smarter, and (b) more articulate.

And what's all this crap about teeny tiny thingies in the blood of Jedi knights that give them special abilities? What happened — were they bitten by a radioactive whomp rat or something? Shocked

However, I'm pleased to report that the article in Wikipedia put a new slant on the silly idea of the midi-chlorians.
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The introduction of midi-chlorians — microscopic organisms that mediate use of the Force — in the film has been controversial among fans. Some viewed it as a concept that negates the Force's spiritual quality, although the film still portrays the Force as a mysterious entity using the midi-chlorians to communicate with living beings.

Film historian Daniel Dinello says, "Anathema to Star Wars fanatics who thought they reduced the Force to a kind of viral infection, midi-chlorians provide a biological interface, the link between physical bodies and spiritual energy.

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Hmmm. So, the Force isn't created by the little whatchamacallits — the little whatchamacallits are created by the Force, It's sort of like the way the Force also created Anakin (with the help of Shmi Skywalker, the 2nd most famous "virgin birth" in history). Very Happy

Not bad.

Let's hope the upcoming Star Wars movie will have the benefit of a wise and trusted back-of-the-head slapper who won't let George stumble around thinking he can do no wrong this time.


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Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)



I've actually read reviews that criticized this magnificent movie, claiming it was a disappointment after "The Empire Strikes Back".

Balderdash! This movie gave me the same thrill I got from "A New Hope" (minus the — "Oh my God, I've never seen anything like THIS before!" — and you only get that one time per franchise, right?)

Wikipedia says this:
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Although a critical and commercial hit, grossing more than $475 million worldwide, Return of the Jedi has, in the decades that followed, been considered by many critics and fans to be a slightly lesser achievement than its predecessors, but is still overall considered superior to the prequels.
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For me, this one is kinda the best of the bunch out of all six. It has the full range of great cinematic moments.

It's got the humor —

Darth Vader: "The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am."

Han Solo: "Luke? A Jedi Knight? Jeez, I'm out of it for a little while and everybody gets delusions of grandeur!"

It's got the sentiment:

Luke: "I feel the good in you, Father. I will not fight you."

And it's got the nobility — like that amazing moment when Darth Vader rebels against the torture of his son and throws that cackling bastard right down into hell!

Okay, so the Ewoks suck, but even they have some terrific moments during the final battle when they rig up booby traps like "Swiss Family Robinson" and bring down a few Imperial walkers.

And then of course there's this . . .






Oh, sorry. Wrong picture. I meant to use this one. Wink





And of course, the special effects weren't too shabby either.





I saw this movie on opening day at Altanta's Lenox Square Theater with a packed house of Star Wars fans who would have sold a kidney to get the ticket price. Some of them had Han Solo action figures frozen in ice (in Tupperware to prevent leakage Laughing ), and they watched him melt while they waited in line a few hours for the feature to start.

I took my trusty Time Saving Device into the theater and recorded both the movie AND the audience's spirited reactions — whooping and hollering and generally having the time of their lives, all preserved in stereo on my little time machine.



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Yes, indeed, this is one fine movie . . . Very Happy
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Wing Commander (1999)



One of my favorite sci-fi films is this gorgeous combination of great special effects, good writing, fine acting, interesting characters, and rousing music. I heard it didn't do well at the box office because it wasn't enough like the video game.

(By the way, what's a video game? Oh, right! Like Pong. I'll have to try that sometime. Very Happy)

The design of the fighters is wonderfully retro -- they resemble WWII fighters (but not too much), and the big ships resemble battleships and carriers.

The fighters land and take off from a carrier-type flat top, not a long enclosed tube like in Battlestar Galactica.

The missiles are loaded like torpedoes before firing, so the combat scenes in space remind you of WWII sea battles.

The only weak aspect of the movie is the appearance of the seldom-seen aliens. They look like the cast of CATS on steroids.

The ending is a little weak, but once you've seen it and know it's a slight letdown, you won't be surprised the second time.

_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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