Excited for Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe. Going to watch it tonight after dinner.
I decided to watch some old American movies to remind myself that America isn’t all bad.
Jezebel (1938) - The first 2/3 was quite engaging, but the last 1/3 became really silly with the thinly-written sisterhood and poorly-executed redemption arc. Bette Davis was great as always though.
All That Heaven Allows (1955) - A masculine and sensitive gardener (fuck me Rock Hudson) + a sweet widow who’s not that old + a beautiful Connecticut town + genius cinematography = Hallmark on steroids. I was very happy.
Giant (1956) - Surprised by how much I liked it, and it didn’t feel nearly as long as it was (200 minutes). Sure it’s still very much of its time but there’s a lot of heart to it, and parts of it were unexpectedly very modern. Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson (swoon) had fantastic chemistry and were just adorable together, and the cinematography was gorgeous. I do wish the children were more fleshed out, though, and I know he’s hugely popular but I really didn’t care for James Dean’s character after he became rich. He was fantastic in the first half but became a caricature in the second.
1 Like
Beavis and Butt-Head didn’t disappoint. It was exactly what you’d expect it to be.
So I saw the first Star Wars movie (I think it’s called A New Hope?) for the first time ever and I … don’t get it. The dialogue was beyond awful, the charaters were completely emotionless and wooden (the protagonist’s families and friends were all killed and a planet was shattered into pieces and everyone merely acted mildly surprised? K hunny …), the fight scene was like two grandpas waving mosquito swatters, the weird creatures looked like poorly made Halloween costumes, and the plot basically relied on the villains being visually and mentally impaired. I guess it’s popular because people miss their childhood/teen years?
I will say that this is a pretty shot, though.
When I got to here I was like oh maybe this will live up to some of its hype, but well it didn’t. I am honestly baffled that there are literally billions of mega fans for this franchise in every corner of the world. Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings I get, but this? Maybe I am too gay or something.
I doubt that. I was 13 when it came out. It was a great story, not just good guy bad guy stuff. It was confusing, the old man dying and disappearing at the end. It was the classic hero’s journey a la Joseph Campbell. Sci-fi in the 1970s was shite. This was cool and fun, robots and laser guns, lightsabers and magic and Wookies.
But, the Empire Strikes back was the best by far, imo. I saw that like 13 times in the theater. It ran for more then a year. I can’t recall anything like that until ET came out.
Also, and this is hard if not impossible for anyone under 30 to truly appreciate, the technology wasn’t there. It’s because of Star Wars that we got Blade Runner, yaknow.
2 Likes
Give Empire a shot and if nothing clicks there, pack it in.
1 Like
Empire is more gay. 
1 Like
Apparently Alec Guinness thought so too, calling it “fairy-tale rubbish” (yes, he spoke (a little) more kindly whan the checks started coming in).
And, of course, Luke Skywalker having a blg romantic crush on Princess Leia and her planting a romantic incestual kiss on him before Lucas decided Hans Solo was a better fit, and changed Luke into her brother in subsequent films.
Special effects and costuming were actually pretty good for the time- it’s like complaining about the Wizard of Oz because the Emerald City looked hokey.
Never heard any comments, positive or negative, on the gay situation in Star Wars.
Didn’t particlarly like the first one when I saw it in 1977, The Empire Strikes Back was good, the Revenge of the Jedi was an exercise in fluffy-doll marketing, and The Phantom Menace was so bad it killed off any spark of interest I may have had in the series, and whatever fragments I hace seen since confirmed my opinion.
Same for Harry Potter. LotR I loved the book and had read it so many times I kept complaing all through the movie “hey, that’s not right”.
I am not very invested but I guess I will check it out at some point.
The technology was totally there in Blade Runner though. They were only a few years apart. I am not 100% sold on Blade Runner either (sci-fi is just not my thing) but it’s much better crafted, shot, and written than Star Wars.
Alien’s technology was also totally on point and that’s also a 70s film.
I guess that was the sin of the pioneer but my biggest problem is actually the choreography. The lightsaber duel was sooooooo bad.
1 Like
Sorry everybody didn’t emote enough for you, hun. 
1 Like
Just found out that a new hope wasn’t released in Taiwan until the 90’s. That would explain a lot since it would be quite outdated by then. In 1977 it was the pioneer for special effects. It wasn’t popular for the lightsaber, but for the ships, space combat, and the detail put into the world. All the costumes and effects were handcrafted with incredible detail put into them. (I saw it in the 90’s, but I was a child and my father’s enthusiasm played a huge role in my own enjoyment when I was a kid watching it for the first time)
Like others have said, the second movie was an incredible step forward in this regard and will likely remain as the absolute best star wars films.
Although the writing is pretty awful (in my opinion) and most of the CGI is pretty awful too, the second and third prequel movies do have some really impressive choreography.
1 Like
That’s what took me out the most. Even I was shocked when the planet was bombed into pieces and Carrie Fisher was like “No! Anyway…”. Mark Hamill was even worse. He was more sad (and by more sad I mean he did mourn for him for about 10 seconds without shredding a tear) for the Alec Guinness character whom he barely knew than for his uncle and aunt who raised him and were burned alive?
If that’s not bad writing and poor characterisation Idk what is.
Yeah, he’s just not a very good actor. Still isn’t even today.
The point is, someone in 2022 that doesn’t like sci fi can’t understand all the hype 
It’s implied that Luke and Ben knew each other prior to Ben rescuing him from the sand people. Luke recognized Ben on sight and acted as if the two had already been familiar with each other.
He even says “obi wan? I wonder if he means old Ben Kenobi” which would imply a long history
Try to watch Dune (1984) , and than you will appreciate A New Hope better 
2 Likes
Haha yeah I guess. I don’t like romance genre and I’m not sure even the greatest romance movie of all time would change my mind.
Yeah I forgot about that, but he still would’ve been closer to his uncle and aunt whom he lived with, but when he saw their skeletons he didn’t seem to care much at all.
Alien is a 1979 sci-fi movie and it’s good. I don’t like sci-fi but I can still appreciate a good one if it’s well-made.
Luke- Oh man! , Now what? Ok better I leave quick to let them rest in peace, bye!
Part of it could be the quest for vengeance acting as displacement for grief. Since Ben was a big part of this quest, his death would be more impactful. Not saying the script couldn’t have improved this aspect more though. It definitely could have been more fleshed out