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Posted by Rick Cohen (Member # 6140) on 12-17-2015, 01:41 PM:
 
Spoiler-Free Review!

It was very good. I will going out on a limb here and predict that Star Wars will be the number one movie at the box office this weekend.
 
Posted by Mike Schulz (Member # 4297) on 12-17-2015, 02:05 PM:
 
My ranking of all of the Star Wars movies:

1 - The Empire Strikes Back
2 - A New Hope
3 - The Force Awakens
4 - Return of the Jedi
 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-17-2015, 03:37 PM:
 
I watched the first hour last night and then did bookwork while the last hour played. Suffice to say there are some pretty good surprises, and BB-8 is a hoot. I'm waiting to watch the last half until this weekend with some friends. But so far, very impressed - they did well. I just hope it doesn't have a silly cliffhanger ending.
 
Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 12-17-2015, 04:01 PM:
 
From what I read, it does have a Cliff hanger ending but I have no problem with that.

-Claude
 
Posted by Gavin Lewarne (Member # 5397) on 12-17-2015, 09:13 PM:
 
Its not really a cliff hanger ending. As you watch the film, the ending is precisely what you expect it to be
 
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-17-2015, 09:26 PM:
 
Anyone else find an amusing point to be made with this post? [Wink]

quote: Mike Schulz
My ranking of all of the Star Wars movies:

1 - The Empire Strikes Back
2 - A New Hope
3 - The Force Awakens
4 - Return of the Jedi

 
Posted by Matt Russell (Member # 8989) on 12-17-2015, 11:23 PM:
 
Just got back from seeing it but I'll do a quick review. [Razz] It's certainly better than the prequels. The performances are outstanding, specially Harrison Ford and Daisy Ridley. Action is great and story is fun, and Kylo Ren was very powerful, both in action and emotion, as a villain. Flaws are not enough focus on backstory for certain characters, and the ending was not very surprising. Some characters had very limited screen time (people who have seen it will know). Overall, the film was a welcomed return to form for Star Wars and I can't wait to see how the future of the Star Wars universe expands on it.
Film: 3 and a half out of 4 stars
Presentation: 3 out of 4 stars (saw it in Cinemark XD, and will get around to seeing it in IMAX, but the screen looked dirty and was noticeable during any bright scene, but the sound was terrific and audience was energetic so it was a very enjoyable experience, and no crying babies!)
 
Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 12-18-2015, 12:41 AM:
 
(No Spoilers) I liked it a lot and I'm eager to see it again. It's a worth follow-up to Return of the Jedi and a great hand-off to a new generation.

Rey is great. Poe and Finn are cool. Really liked Kylo Ren's backstory. Liked his tantrums. Liked the basement visions. Lots of exciting action. Saber fight is great fun, though Cloud City is still tops. Excited to see where they take things with VIII.

The movie had a lot of backstory - a lot of stuff happened since RotJ, which is great. Prequels had almost zero sense of what came before.

I would have liked a stronger sense of how the First Order came to be and what they were all about. They were sorta just there. But this might be addressed in future films, especially if they do more with Caesar. I did like how the First Order was vicious and threatening.

Another plus - I only noticed two minor callbacks to the prequels, dialog references to the "Sith" and "clonetroopers."

I had a real tough time with Brienne of Tarth doing what she did at gunpoint. It was not believable unless there is more to her than we are led to believe. And there *were* hints that there may be more to her. She has been confirmed for VIII, so fingers crossed.

Biggest gripes:
- Disappointed by the music. None of the new stuff was very memorable.
- A few lines of dialog here and there were a hair too campy for my taste.
- At least one plot point felt too coincidental.

While it wasn't as good as Star Wars or Empire, I'd have to say that all in all, it's a better movie than Return of the Jedi, the weakest Star Wars movie, BUT it was never as emotionally engaging as the last act of RotJ.

Harkins Northfield Cine Capri - Terrific Presentation
 
Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 12-18-2015, 12:15 PM:
 
I really enjoyed The Force Awakens. The visuals were amazing, and I thought the new characters were great - especially Rey. Although the story did have many similarities to A New Hope, I didn't feel like it was a retread. In many ways this movie felt like a respectful homage to the original trilogy, while also setting it up to stand alone with the movies still to come.
 
Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 12-18-2015, 12:40 PM:
 
quote: Geoff Jones
Prequels had almost zero sense of what came before.
Did you seriously just say that?
 
Posted by Rick Cohen (Member # 6140) on 12-18-2015, 01:19 PM:
 
What's a "prequel?"
 
Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 12-18-2015, 01:30 PM:
 
That was my impression. I had very little sense of what lead up to The Phantom Menace.

Where did Obi-Wan come from? Where did Darth Maul come from? Why was the Trade Federation blockading Naboo? How did Palpatine and Amidala rise to their positions?

The few hints provided were pretty vague ("Do not defy the council, Master, not again.") Huh? What's that about?

Oh, there was something about Jar-Jar being banished by his people for being clumsy.

But maybe I missed something? Admittedly, it's been a long time. I'm trying to forget them.
 
Posted by Gavin Lewarne (Member # 5397) on 12-18-2015, 02:57 PM:
 
Well, the thing is, there is a whole galaxy, and galactic history of stuff before Phantom menace - where would they start?
 
Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 12-18-2015, 06:56 PM:
 
quote: Gavin Lewarne
Well, the thing is, there is a whole galaxy, and galactic history of stuff before Phantom menace - where would they start?
Star Wars had a whole galaxy and galactic history of stuff before it, but it found some places to start:
All of those details could have been left out and the narrative still would have worked, but those details brought the story to life and motivated the characters.
Again, where did Maul come from? Qui-Gon? How did Obi-Wan become a Padawan?How did the Jedi council get formed? What was the background of the Trade Federation's dispute with Naboo? My view is that the prequels were lacking in backstory.

But (happily) I felt that The Force Awakens established interesting hints of events that occurred over the past 30 years.
 
Posted by Tom Hayes (Member # 3932) on 12-18-2015, 10:11 PM:
 
I saw this at 11:00am in theatre 10 of the Arclight in Hollywood.

Something was wrong with the presentation - faces and bodies were too wide. I think they may have used the wrong lens or had some settings incorrectly entered.

Anyway, loved the film. I don't feel its as derivative as some are making out.
 
Posted by Matt Russell (Member # 8989) on 12-19-2015, 03:04 AM:
 
quote: Tom Hayes
Something was wrong with the presentation - faces and bodies were too wide. I think they may have used the wrong lens or had some settings incorrectly entered.
Arclight hasn't really had the best experience with Star Wars so far. [Roll Eyes]
I went to see it again earlier at an Arclight in Chicago and the masking was off throughout the entire film. Do Arclight employees know how to set up a scope movie?! [Mad]
I'd give that presentation 2 out of 4 stars
 
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-19-2015, 11:38 PM:
 
I saw this movie. I really liked it for the most part. I agree about the music not having as much presence as other movies. Hell, the prequels had a better score.

I do take issue with some of the editing, though. When Princess Leia is talking in one scene, there's a jarring jump cut to a closer shot of her. I imagine this is because she had a hard time completing even a single sentence at a time but a good editor would have hid that jarring cut. Also there were no soft wipes that I recall at all, giving the movie a much different feeling. A good editor would have kept those. They're synonymous with Star Wars. JJ's editor can't edit for shit. They could fix these editing oddities with a downloadable patch upgrading the movie to version 7.1.
 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-20-2015, 12:40 AM:
 
I have only watched the first 57 minutes so far but I remember seeing several soft wipes, including a pattern or two that I don't recall from any of the earlier movies.
 
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-20-2015, 12:54 AM:
 
Really? I don't recall seeing any. Oh well, a reason to give it another watch!
 
Posted by Matt Russell (Member # 8989) on 12-20-2015, 02:32 AM:
 
Mike's right, I noticed them especially when there was a scene cutting to Kylo Ren/First Order.
 
Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 12-20-2015, 10:49 AM:
 
quote: Joe Redifer
I agree about the music not having as much presence as other movies. Hell, the prequels had a better score.
Maybe John Williams at 83 is losing some of his skill?

Anyway, I thought the movie was easily the best Star Wars movie since Empire Strikes Back. It was a perfect mix of nostalgia with new characters. They managed to come up with a viable way to keep the Dark Side/Light Side battle going.

It felt shorter than it was which is a rare feat in movies since tent poles became over 2 hours as standard. Harrison Ford was great.

Joe, there were definitely several soft wipes.

I saw it in Atmos. I don't know that the Atmos mix really added all that much to the experience. There were some cool surround effects in the "hallway/vision scene" but I'd have to see it again in non-Atmos to know how different it was. Maybe the sound mix didn't stand out on its own because I was actually engaged in the movie.

5 out of 5 stars from me.

My ranking of Star Wars movies would be:

1. Empire Strikes Back
2a. A New Hope
2b. The Force Awakens
4. Return of the Jedi
5. Whatever the final prequel was called
6. Whatever the second prequel was called
7. The first prequel
 
Posted by Richard P. May (Member # 3598) on 12-20-2015, 03:55 PM:
 
Generally pictures of this type aren't my thing, but I was thoroughly entertained thru all of its 2 1/4 hours. It didn't matter much to me if I could keep all the characters straight or not.
As to the music, I have always, and still do, think this is one of the best scores ever written, ranking close to such as Korngold's "Adventures of Robin Hood". No matter how many times seen and heard, the opening of the main title is thrilling.
I saw this at the Academy's Goldwyn Theater, with exemplary presentation. About 700 people at the Sunday 10:30am family screening. I could say that everybody was completely quiet, but even if they weren't one couldn't hear anything over the movie's sound. Not overbearingly loud, but just a lot of sound. After the show, I thought maybe the sound system deserved a lunch break.
 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-20-2015, 09:04 PM:
 
I enjoyed the movie immensely, and would agree with most people that deserves a place somewhere within the original 3 movies. I tend to like "Return of the Jedi" more than a lot of people, and I would say this one is just as good as that but not quite as good as "A New Hope" or "Empire Strikes Back."

I felt like a few of the older characters were shoehorned in and didn't have too much to do --- especially C3PO and R2-D2. Figured R2 and BB-8 would somehow become buddies in this movie, but that didn't happen. Maybe it will in the next one.

The new cast is uniformly good and Harrison Ford was great.

I liked the music (as I do with all the Star Wars movies) but I did notice that the bad guy didn't seem to have a memorable "theme" the way Darth Vader did. Or at least I didn't notice one.

The SFX were great and not a lot of overly-obvious CGI (outside of the creatures, of course). I thought the sound mix was really good. I was surprised they didn't figure out a way to shove Yoda in there somewhere.

Better not say any more or I'll be in spoiler territory. Really good movie though, not a letdown at all. 4.5 stars from me.
 
Posted by James Wyrembelski (Member # 9037) on 12-20-2015, 09:38 PM:
 
Im in the "meh" category. Im one of the few that liked all 6 episodes more than this one. Call me crazy but I liked the back story of 1-3 even with some flaws and poor acting. And 4-6 had some pretty good thrills, music and some of the most memorable moments. 1-3 could have been great if they had just toned down some of the over-the-top characters (yes, you Jar Jar) and strengthened some of the acting (a different cast for sure) and didn't do some of the crazy, absurd scenes. Ben and Anakin fighting over lava on top of floating droids?? mmmmk...whatever..
 
Posted by Tom Hayes (Member # 3932) on 12-25-2015, 12:46 AM:
 
quote:
Arclight hasn't really had the best experience with Star Wars so far. [Roll Eyes]
I went to see it again earlier at an Arclight in Chicago and the masking was off throughout the entire film. Do Arclight employees know how to set up a scope movie?! [Mad]
I'd give that presentation 2 out of 4 stars
I saw it at "The Lot" in La Jolla, CA and the masking was off too.

I've only seen 3 films at the theatre this year and it's this kind of screw up that makes *me* not to want to go to the theatre.

So I've seen it twice, yet I've never seen the people in a normal aspect ratio AND the top and bottom of the film yet.

Arclight denies of knowing about any problems - The Lot *chose* to play it with the wrong masking - I can only assume so people didn't ask why the sides of the screen had some blank space.
 
Posted by Steve Wilson (Member # 2411) on 12-25-2015, 07:28 PM:
 
The Best Star bar none on this set was Harrison Ford! His character made the movie as far as I am concerned. But it also appears that he will not be back? Rae was great too. As has been said, the old characters were given but very little to do with the exception of Ford. Hopefully they will get used more in the future. The final moment of Luke was not much as I was expecting far more.
 
Posted by Matt Russell (Member # 8989) on 12-25-2015, 08:53 PM:
 
quote: Steve Wilson
the old characters were given but very little to do with the exception of Ford.
Chewie was in basically every scene that Han (Ford) was in.
 
Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 12-25-2015, 08:56 PM:
 
CINEMA: AMC Council Bluffs, Council Bluffs, IA
AUDITORIUM: 11
PRESENTATION: AMC Recline-O-Vision Digital
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Dim bulb...sitting next to me. Also dark picture.
RATING: Two and one half stars (out of four)

THE PLOT: The last Jedi hasn't updated his Facebook status in weeks. Wackiness ensues.

In order to get this right in my book, it had to look like Star Wars and it had to be a crap ton of fun. And this looks like Star Wars...perhaps a little too much so. They set this thirty years in the future and both sides are still flying the same fighters? Are we all still driving Chevettes? Sure, they've improved on the Death Star, but even that has basically the same vulnerability.

As for the fun level, success here too...for awhile. Once the whole poorly written family mellow drama kicks in (a tribute to the prequels?), there's very little about this that's fun anymore.

The development of the new characters was great save for the lead villain, Darth Drive-In Speaker. He didn't really work for me at all.
 
Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 12-25-2015, 10:33 PM:
 
("Mellow Drama" should read Melodrama, but I can't edit that anymore.)
 
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-26-2015, 02:29 PM:
 
Pretty much ditto to what Sam says. To me, it was a rehash of Star Wars and Empire's story but with new names and some tributes to the old cast. Heck there seems to be a tribute to Space Balls in there!

It isn't a bad movie and there is plenty of action. I'm curious where they take us with the new lead characters as the introduction to them was hit/miss. I'm more than a little bothered at the near "instant" knowledge they have at using the Jedi weapon...something it took Luke and two masters a bit of time to teach.

The best new character was BB-8 (droid) and had the right mix of screen time/comedy.

It is worth watching but if this was the first ever Star Wars, I'm not convinced it would have turned into the franchise it has become. Mind you, the original was not perfect (Luke was more than a bit annoying at times) but it was fun with the right mix of effects, campy, comedy and serious...just a real jem...especially when one considers what came before it in the SCI-FI world. My personal favorite remains The Empire Strikes Back.

One last thing...was it me or did the opening crawl seem sped up (both in tempo of music and how fast the crawl was)...as if they knew the movie was running long and had to shave some seconds here and there.

I saw/heard the 7.1 mix and it was a decent job though nothing truly inspired but all of the channels were used effectively.

2 out of 4 stars for me.
 
Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 12-27-2015, 10:06 PM:
 
I don't get the praise over this - it was pretty average, it felt like the typical triptych script writing where a whole bunch of questions are raised to be answered over the course of two other movies ... "oh brother" ... Disney is going to milk this for all it's worth.
 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-28-2015, 12:52 PM:
 
I don't get why you don't get it. It's a well-made Star Wars movie. People have been wishing for a well-made Star Wars movie ever since 1983, so there's a lot of pent-up demand.

Of COURSE Disney is going to milk it for all its worth. If you spent that kind of money on something, wouldn't you?

I am just glad that it's a well-made movie. The vast majority of people are really liking it -- we've had one guy who lives 65 miles away come back to see it 4 times (and says he'll be back at least twice more).

Just think, it could have been a Michael Bay shaky-cam fest, or a George Lucas political-blathering fest. Instead it sets up future stories but still stands on its own and is a crowd pleaser. What's not to like?

I do fear, however that Disney will go overboard with spinoffs and such. I think they would have better luck if they followed the James Bond model, with just one movie every 3 or 4 years. It won't be long before we're going to start hearing "Star Wars again??!"

quote: Steve Guttag
I'm more than a little bothered at the near "instant" knowledge they have at using the Jedi weapon...something it took Luke and two masters a bit of time to teach.
That bugged me a little. In the case of Rey I figured it was because she already "had the Force" but didn't really realize it, so her talents with the light saber sort of came naturally.

Finn -- I can't think of an explanation for him. Maybe there will be one in a future movie?
 
Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 12-28-2015, 02:36 PM:
 
quote: Steve Guttag
I'm more than a little bothered at the near "instant" knowledge they have at using the Jedi weapon...something it took Luke and two masters a bit of time to teach.
I don't think you need to be a Jedi master to use a lightsaber. A Jedi master will be an expert in fighting with it.

Rey was already good at fighting with a stick so the lightsaber is a stick on steroids.

Finn was a trained stormtrooper. Even though they normally use blasters, I'd imagine that some kind of sword fight training would be given to them?

I really don't get the people that don't get this movie. What do people want. The 1977 Star Wars wasn't academy award material. It was a fun, sci-fi adventure movie with a mystical power plot thrown in.

This one was the same (only paced better than Episode 4 IMO). If you wanted to tie in the original characters and introduce new ones, the story had to be done something like this.

There had to be some reason for Han Solo and Princess Leia to be involved and care otherwise there would be no reason for them to be in the movie.
 
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-28-2015, 03:55 PM:
 
They did more than merely pick up a light saber and with their first use, going up against an accomplished person...it is more than far-fetched.
 
Posted by Mike Schulz (Member # 4297) on 12-28-2015, 04:34 PM:
 
I've made this same criticism many times already on different Star Wars forums and I'm still not convinced that she could have won the fight against Kylo Ren at the end of the movie and probably could have even killed him if she wanted to (it did seem like she spared his life).

What do we know about Kylo Ren? He is a trained force-user and skilled with a lightsaber and very strong with other force abilities. He is the designated leader of "The Knights of Ren" who were responsible for destroying all of Luke's Jedi apprentices at his training academy. He is definitely not a scrub albeit not quite a Jedi Master or Sith Lord caliber yet either.

What do we know about Rey? She is skilled in melee combat as witnessed early on Jakku when she took down 2 male assailants trying to steal BB-8. She also is an experienced pilot (how she was able to fly the Millennium Falcon as good as Han and Chewie is a conversation for another day). She doesn't even know she is a force-user until she picks up Luke's lightsaber in Maz's palace. From her vision/flashback sequence, we can hear Obi-wan saying "Rey these are your first steps", and then of course Maz telling her that the lightsaber and the force was calling to her. Next thing we know, we see her easily resisting Kylo's mindgrab (or whatever-the-hell you want to call that) twice. She then uses the mind-trick on the stormtrooper (played by Daniel Craig) to free herself from capture. She is also able to stealth around Starkiller base like Obi-wan did in A New Hope. After the scene that we all expected but still felt like a punch in the gut happened, we are found outside in the snow with her, Finn, and Kylo Ren.

Now I will concede that Kylo Ren was visibly injured before this fight started as Chewie put a blaster shot into his thigh and he was visibly bleeding onto the snow a bit. However, he seemed to not be hindered much by it and very easily destroyed Finn with little effort (who, mind you not a force-user, but was very well trained in combat). All of a sudden we see Rey force-pull the lightsaber passed Kylo Ren and then proceed to own his ass in a duel. I still LOVED this scene and I loved the movie but come on, if Luke had to fight Vader at the end of A New Hope before he had any training, Vader would have easily destroyed him probably even before he got his saber ignited. I know Kylo Ren is no Vader (yet) but still, in my opinion, he should have realistically kicked Rey's butt in that fight.

I do look forward to Episode 8 and 9 though. I can't wait to see what goes down after Rey gets some proper Jedi training with Luke and then also what becomes of Kylo Ren after Snoke finishes his training. It's gonna be amazing!

---- on a unrelated note, who does everyone think Rey is? Luke's daughter? Kylo's sister that Leia protected from Snoke? Or my personal favorite theory, Rey Kenobi.
 
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-28-2015, 04:57 PM:
 
Luke Fighting Vader in Episode 4 is not a good comparison to Rey fighting Kylo in this episode. Kylo is much weaker than Vader was and Rey is much stronger than Luke was. Very important! Luke hadn't done shit with the force yet in Episode 4. His first use of the force was to time the button press to fire the shot on the Death Star. Rey has obviously been using the force for awhile.
 
Posted by Mike Schulz (Member # 4297) on 12-28-2015, 05:42 PM:
 
quote: Joe Redifer
Rey has obviously been using the force for awhile.
Are you just assuming this or was it implied somewhere in the movie I didn't catch? It seems like the first time she discovered she had force abilities was when she touched Luke's lightsaber at Maz's palace and had the vision.

Also, I explained that Kylo Ren isn't as powerful as Vader but he isn't a scrub either, unless you assume that all of Luke's trained apprentices that he killed were all noobs?

In A New Hope, Luke was shown quickly learning the ways of the force but he wouldn't have been ready to fight *any* Sith until he trained with Yoda, and yet we see Rey not only going toe-to-toe with a trained dark force user, but kicking his butt in the first time she ever used a lightsaber. I dunno. I went along with it because it was awesome but couldn't help to think about it later.
 
Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 12-28-2015, 05:52 PM:
 
quote: Lyle Romer
Finn was a trained stormtrooper. Even though they normally use blasters, I'd imagine that some kind of sword fight training would be given to them?
I thought that the Stormtrooper who went up against Finn using the melee weapon established the fact that Stormtroopers were trained in fighting with melee weapons.

quote: Joe Redifer
His first use of the force was to time the button press to fire the shot on the Death Star.
Unless you count deflecting two blasts while wearing a helmet with the blast shield down. Or maybe you call it "luck."
 
Posted by Aron Toplitsky (Member # 6950) on 12-31-2015, 02:07 AM:
 
****This may contain a spoiler or two....

A solid film and I agree with others on this thread, it’s better than any of the prequels. I am quite fascinated by the Kylo Ren story and hope to see more of it fleshed out in the next two films. I was quite impressed by all the younger actors, although I’m not sure how I feel about Domhnall Gleeson’s role. It felt a little over the top and borderline comical. I liked him a lot more in Ex Machina. That is a much different film of course. I liked the score but didn’t love it. Sorry to say, but I thought Phantom Menace had a better score. And now for both of my technical experiences….

First time was at UNIVERSAL CITYWALK Los Angeles in IMAX 3D with Laser Projection. I’ve seen laser projection before but not in 3D. Boy do I wish they would just do away with 3D and present these films in 2D laser. When the 2D trailers played, I was amazed at how the image was so pristine on a large real (not Liemax) IMAX screen. For projectors to display an image of that quality on such a large screen is quite an achievement! Then the 3D trailers played and it just didn’t quite deliver the sharpness and beautiful color as the 2D trailers. The 3D for the movie was good and probably one of the better 3D IMAX experiences, although not really needed. Now when the IMAX sequence came, that’s when the 3D really shined and looked damn amazing! I thought the sound mix was quite good but honestly I expected much better. There were moments when the bass was pretty powerful during hyper space travel and the firing of the Starkiller Base weapon, but overall I felt the film could have been more aggressive with the low frequency effects and surrounds.

My second time was at the TCL CHINESE THEATER SIX screen #1, 2D showing with Dolby Atmos. Clearly the IMAX experience was much more engaging and preferred both sonically and visually, but once again, I was disappointed with the sound mix. There have been other films I’ve seen on this screen such as Mad Max, which blow away The Force Awakens’ mix. I just expected much more from a Star Wars film in the sound department. Perhaps they didn’t want to scare the hell out of the kids?

Despite not being in love with 3D, I say the IMAX Laser experience is the way to go. I hope to catch Force Awakens on a 2D Dolby Cinema screen next week.
 
Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 12-31-2015, 04:25 PM:
 
I love watching people digest themselves over how a storyline is followed. It's kind of like listening to explanations of how characters can die/be killed off in a soap opera, yet return several times over.

Its fiction!... and pretty well-done. The customers love it and it makes the registers ring with the kind of Christmas bells I really like to hear. It'll make for a bunch of anticipated sequels, like "Pirates" and "Potter".

'Nuff for me! [Smile]
 
Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-31-2015, 11:36 PM:
 
Cinema: Carmike Patriot Cinemas 13
Screen: 7, IMAX branded house
Format: Dual 2K 3D
Presentation Problems: Don't tilt your head in IMAX 3D. Two big speakers in the rear corners of the room does not equate to surround sound in a commercial movie theater.

Rating: 3 stars out of 4

I watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens during opening weekend with my father and girlfriend. Just didn't bother to post my idea of a review until now. On a basic level, especially for those not familiar with Star Wars, this is a pretty decent movie. It's not great. It's not something I'm going to find "groundbreaking" 30 years from now. But it's big and entertaining. The movie touches a lot of the bullet points I'm sure Disney Inc. required based on feedback from its many marketing focus groups.

I'm thankful that I didn't see anything in this movie which immediately pissed me off due instances of baffling bullshit-ed-ness, unlike previous J.J. Abrams efforts. Perhaps the bosses at Disney told him to stick with the "template" for many of the movie's features. For instance, Abrams stuck with the iconic opening and closing titles design rather than assaulting us with candy colored, disco-themed, Rainbow-brite™ planets, nebulas and constellations. Sorry, but his fucking Star Trek movies reeked of game show garish-ness. At least that didn't creep too much into this installment of the Star Wars saga.

That's not to say there aren't problems, but let's get to the good stuff first.

Hey! No miti-clorines pool chemicals! None of that embarrassing, nerdy, stupid bullshit. The Force is not about some pool cleaning chemicals mysteriously found in some kid's blood. Or, God forbid, a very lame-ass attempt at some Christ-like virgin birth ploy. Yeah, I'm calling you out, Phantom Menace. The Force was so much better when it wasn't being explained down into some trivial parasitic infection. It seemed bigger and more impressive in the first movies when it was this everywhere all the time thing that made everything living or not possible. From that standpoint anyone who knew their stuff could learn how to harness The Force to their will. That's great audience relating material. Hey kids! You too can be a Jedi Master! But then George Lucas had to get bit by that "THE ONE" trope via The Matrix and other stories similar to it (Dark City). No kids. You're not the one. You weren't born with enough pool chemicals in your blood to make rocks float in the air. You are not special. Your best chick in high school does not want to wear your sweater.

The Force Awakens is more centered on characters and their motivations rather than plot points no one understands or cares about. That's a big plus. The previous prequels were at times too mired in geeky minutia and not attentive enough to making the story relatable enough to the audience.

I liked the Rey, Finn and Poe characters enough. They seemed a little on the politically correct side. Weren't all the storm troopers supposed to be clones (of Boba Fett)? Why didn't Finn look & talk like that guy from New Zealand? This generation's "Luke Skywalker" has to be a girl. Because that will get more ladies paying for movie tickets if a girl is the hero. And Oscar Isaac? That olive-complected dude can play Mexicans, Arabs, etc. He doesn't look like the typical white guy, like Luke Skywalker.

Overall the story moved pretty well without getting too bogged down into "let's explain some technical stuff no one cares about for 20 minutes" shit. There's a few scenes where dialog functions at delivering exposition, but it's not as blatant as what one sees in a Michael Bay movie.

I did have this nagging feeling the movie felt more like the Greatest Hits of Star Wars rather than an entirely new movie. Some people don't think the movie is derivative, but I can counter that with lots of specific points where it literally riffs off Episode IV alone, never mind the other previous movies. I kind of groaned a little at improved Death Star thingie or "STARKILLER." Even though they made it a lot bigger and capable of blowing up several planets at the same time it's still the same old idea. The movie had a shocking death in it, just like with Obi Wan in the very first Star Wars movie.

Snoke? Uh, is he playing at Wizard of Oz much? Snoke is a goofy damned name for a big hologram guy that's probably a tiny, powerless little person not nearly as smart and cunning as Tyrion Lannister. I immediately thought of Snuke -as in the South Park Snuke. The Snuke was a nuclear weapon implanted in Hillary Clinton's vagina, or a nuke in her snizz, hence the "snuke" term. Yeah, Disney. You guys didn't catch that one.

Biggest drawback of the movie for me: Rey becoming a Jedi master in no time at all. Implausible as hell. She goes from not knowing anything about The Force™ to kicking a Darth wannabe's almost Sith Lord ass. Fuckin' Kylo Ren could stop a laser blast in mid air! I didn't even see Darth Vader do that trick. And this newbie chick is going to beat a bad guy that can do that? C'mon man.

At Sam, I thought Kylo Ren's voice was actually pretty cool and entertaining. I'm going to fart around with some voice tracks in Adobe Audition now. Play time!

Even though we watched the movie in IMAX!!!! 3D™ we didn't see any aspect ratio changes to tell the difference between scenes shot with IMAX film cameras versus 35mm, an Arri Alexa or my fucking smart phone I misplaced a few months ago. I guess I'll have to see if I can't drag my girlfriend down to Fort Worth and see it there in 15/70mm to see the difference -if we get around to it before they remove the print.

Sound quality in this movie was okay, at least from the screen. Good bass thump from the sound system. Terrible surround coverage though. I'd like to see this again in Dolby Atmos to see how 50 surround speakers works versus just 2 big ones in the corners.

Seriously, if IMAX can't afford to put laser projectors in all its theaters it absolutely must upgrade the SHIT QUALITY surround. Get that damned 12-track sound system into all IMAX-branded theaters across the board. It's absolutely idiotic to make that a laser exclusive.

quote: Joe Redifer
I saw this movie. I really liked it for the most part. I agree about the music not having as much presence as other movies. Hell, the prequels had a better score.
The light saber fight between Darth Maul, Obi Wan and Qui-Gon was one of the best parts of The Phantom Menace; the scoring music in that sequence (also used in the end titles) was memorable. Overall The Phantom Menace had a really good score. It's too bad some other parts of the movie sucked (the kid's horrible acting, Jar Jar).
 
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-01-2016, 01:48 PM:
 
quote: Geoff Jones
quote: Joe Redifer
His first use of the force was to time the button press to fire the shot on the Death Star.
Unless you count deflecting two blasts while wearing a helmet with the blast shield down. Or maybe you call it "luck."
True dat. More like using the force to guide his swings. Not like slamming the door down from a remote location.
 
Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 01-01-2016, 02:16 PM:
 
quote: Bobby Henderson
Biggest drawback of the movie for me: Rey becoming a Jedi master in no time at all. Implausible as hell. She goes from not knowing anything about The Force™ to kicking a Darth wannabe's almost Sith Lord ass. Fuckin' Kylo Ren could stop a laser blast in mid air! I didn't even see Darth Vader do that trick. And this newbie chick is going to beat a bad guy that can do that?
If I remember (from my viewing a whole 2 weeks ago), wasn't Kylo Ren injured prior to the fight with Rey? I remember him grabbing his side a lot. If he was, it explains how she had a chance. If he was injured by her (I honestly don't remember) then it could have been a lucky hit.

Bobby,

I'm surprised you didn't go see this in Dolby Cinema at one of the 3 AMC's in Texas that has it. I was hoping you did because I would have liked to read your opinion of the picture quality.
 
Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 7758) on 01-01-2016, 09:57 PM:
 
CINEMA: AMC Universal City, Los Angeles
AUDITORIUM: 19, Imax
PRESENTATION: new laser projector in 3D (no 2D shows available), also with 6 new ceiling speakers added to the sound system
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: picture (software) and glasses quality were sub-par to the high quality of the projection
RATING: three stars (out of four), a great ride and great in Imax size

THE PLOT: The Dark Side didn't just roll over and play dead. Light-saber whacks ensue.

There are few things I can add to the discussion of the plot and quality of the movie, and much I can say about the state of presentation. It's a satisfying experience in its own right while setting up Episode 8 quite nicely, and is comfortably reminiscent of the originals with just enough originality. And way, way more chases and explosions. Or did it just seem that way due to the huge screen?

For this release AMC Universal installed laser projection and a half-dozen ceiling speakers, but the slightly strident main speakers, and silver screen (with topside brightness drop, mounting "dots" and a mark in the lower portion of the center) are unchanged.

The best way I can describe laser projection is the best visual dynamic range I've ever seen... outside of film. And outside of IB Tech on its best day, you've possibly not even seen this. It's so good I would've rather seen a 2D show, due to the obvious degradation that the glasses bring. The blacks are pitch black, and AMC Universal has the room pitch black, so the on-screen contrast ratio is better than almost anything I've ever seen. All but about 5 minutes of the movie is 1.85:1, centered (the neck would've appreciated it slightly lowered); the unmasked remainder of the screen was very difficult to perceive from the adjacent black walls. A definite win there. Brightness was truly wonderful but probably not more in foot-lamberts than the Vista Theater (Los Feliz) is punching through 35mm film. Color is superb. The pixel grid is much, much harder to perceive than in 2K, and if it weren't a 3D show it would've been next to impossible to pick out. Obvious only in exceptionally bright objects in the bottom quarter/center of the image.

That's the plus side. Here are the negatives.

- 15+ minutes of previews not specifically shot for Imax can be quite a pounding. They all want to smack you down with noise, too. Tasteless. The worst was the 3D trailer for Captain America Civil War, an absolute piece of unwatchable, overprocessed cinematic garbage. Watch it on your smart phone, that's where it will look tasteful.
- The glasses used are Dolby 3D. I like Imax, and I like Dolby 3D. I do not like them together, however! The field of view is inadequate for the screen (we were on row 6 of 13). Not only are the sides cut off a little, but the edges of the glasses are not linear either, resulting in additional image loss. Even worse is that the light from the screen reflecting off of our pearly-white faces then reflects off the silvery interior side of the lenses and lightly fogs the picture. True Imax 3D glasses, the classic polarized variety, are much larger and don't exhibit these problems. Other members of my party found this highly annoying, so it's not just me!
- 2K presentation. The greatest disappointment with this technological marvel is how bad 2K looks. We saw "Interstellar" at this location in 15/70. The difference is exasperating. Sure, with both that movie and this, what's most essential to the story is the size, not the clarity. The size works for "Force Awakens," it does help. However, "Interstellar" was an experience my family and I will never forget in part due to the clarity, cleanliness, and sheer beauty of the images. Everything was at least a little fuzzy (and grainy). There were only a couple of shots, ironically both of spaceship models in space, that had outstanding clarity. Not even the brief, disappointingly-brief sequence shot in 15/70 was clearer. Actually, out of the entire morning, the only thing we saw having crispness and cleanliness was the "Imax" "1,000 screens" + countdown trailer, which was obviously 4K. That's it. (What a shame that the majority of Imax customers patronizing those 1,000 screens haven't seen true 15/70-filmed Imax. Night and day.)
- Not only was "The Force Awakens" not crisp, it was also "dirty." Laser presentation creates a new quality problem: the contrast ratio is so vast that every image imperfection is exaggerated, especially noise and grain. For this show, there was never a time when I felt like the image looked "clean." Even the shadows of bright scenes had dancing noise. Deep, rich colors were worse... gorgeous colors that don't sit still. So not only are we dealing with a paltry 2K workflow, but the bit depth is completely inadequate as well. This utter lack of sharpness, and pervasive image noise, demotivates me to seek out future Imax presentations. I've seen the future, and the future is dirty and fuzzy. I can get "big and loud" other ways.
- Until the projector warmed up, about 30 minutes in, there was a magenta shadow under bright objects.
- This laser projection adds a sparkly texture to the pixel-level detail of the image.

So how do you rate a presentation like this? It's so good, but the source material so inadequate, I feel it's a quality bust.

By the way, are the laser chips DLP-powered? DLP was credited in the Imax welcome trailer.
 
Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 01-01-2016, 10:22 PM:
 
quote: Bill Brandenstein
By the way, are the laser chips DLP-powered? DLP was credited in the Imax welcome trailer
I believe that all IMAX and Dolby Cinema projectors are DLP light engines.
 
Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-02-2016, 12:37 AM:
 
quote: Lyle Romer
I'm surprised you didn't go see this in Dolby Cinema at one of the 3 AMC's in Texas that has it. I was hoping you did because I would have liked to read your opinion of the picture quality.
The nearest Dolby Cinema @ AMC Prime to me is the one at the Village on the Parkway 9 in Dallas. They're not playing the new Star Wars movie there because LOOK Cinemas is playing it. LOOK is only a couple of blocks East on Beltline Road from the AMC location.

The Houston area has two Dolby Cinema/Prime screens, but I'm not going to drive clear down to Houston just to watch Star Wars. My girlfriend and I were talking about visiting Dallas sometime during January; we might check out Star Wars in 15/70mm at the IMAX dome theater in Fort Worth.

quote: Lyle Romer
If I remember (from my viewing a whole 2 weeks ago), wasn't Kylo Ren injured prior to the fight with Rey? I remember him grabbing his side a lot. If he was, it explains how she had a chance. If he was injured by her (I honestly don't remember) then it could have been a lucky hit.
Earlier in the movie, before Kylo Ren was injured, Rey beat Kylo in a mind reading battle. He was trying to get in her head, but she got into his head instead. That thing reminded me of Scanners. We just didn't get to see anyone's head explode.
 
Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 01-02-2016, 05:31 PM:
 
Yes, I know I'm late to the party. It has been more than two weeks since release and it seems I'm among the last few in the galaxy to get along and see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The truth is, I'm not a rabid Star Wars fan. I find the original trilogy......the first three movies......oh bugger it, "Episodes Iv, V and VI"......to be not life changing events but rather mildly enjoyable romps of which The Empire Strikes Back is easily the best simply because it was the one George Lucas had the least to do with.

The franchise is almost universally regarded as having lost it's way with Lucas' prequels (um, Episodes I, II and III) but the truth is the series began running off the rails from the moment Lucas re-branded the first installment of Star Wars "Episode IV". This set in motion two decades of Lucas dicking with his baby, subjecting his movies to so much plastic surgery as to transform them into some kind of CGI-laden Frankenstein's monster. From simple beginnings Lucas had begun complicating Star Wars to its detriment.

A look at internet blogger and Star Wars fan, Harmy's, meticulously (but unofficial) reconstructions of the "despecialised" editions of Star Wars reveals the extent to which Lucas damaged his own property. It also reveals the extent to which fans have been pining for Star Wars to return to the form which they know and love.

With Disney acquiring the rights to Star Wars, the chance was there for the franchise to be put right and with director J. J. Abrams on board, who had already steered the ailing Star Trek franchise back on course, the formula seemed right.

And it is right. It turns out that Abrams and Disney were just what Star Wars needed. What Disney and Abrams have delivered is a fun, fast paced film which heavily references....or, if you must, downright plagiarises.....sequences from the first three films. Rehash or homage? Well that depends on whether you enjoy the new film as whole. I liked it a lot so I'm calling it a homage. It's all part and parcel of pulling the franchise back onto familiar rails and this feels like pulling up a favourite warm, comfy blanket.

The film looks the goods too. Unlike The Phantom Menace and its fellow impostors, The Force Awakens feels like a Star Wars movie from the lighting, to the sets, to the costuming, to the hokey scene wipes and.....[gasp].....real locations! Yes, it's amazing what can be done with actual locations rather than all that CG tosh.

Disney continues to revel in it's modern girl-power shtick. The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Frozen and now Rey - not the kind of gal who'll tolerate a fella taking her by the hand and leading her out of danger - she's in control of her own destiny. It's a empowering message and Disney plays it with a steady hand.

The new young cast carry the film well but, let's face it, Harrison Ford carried Star Wars.....I beg your pardon, Episode IV.....and he continues to carry it now. But Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) are competent and will no doubt grow into their roles as Ford departs the series.

The Force Awakens is a promising start to a new era. The force is strong with this one. (Sorry.)

8 out of 10
 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-04-2016, 08:54 PM:
 
A couple more Star Wars thoughts:

The use of so much non-CGI elements in this movie makes most of the upcoming action movies featured in the trailers (especially Captain America) look overly fake by comparison. Some of the upcoming movies, that are supposed to be live-action, look even more like overblown cartoons than they did before. Seeing a movie with mostly real sets and props really amplifies that. Moviemakers really need to dial back on CGI, I think.

Here's a couple of questions that I have been asked and couldn't answer. Maybe some really big fan might have an answer: If the Millenium Falcon "hasn't flown in years" and is sitting there covered by tarps, etc. how can it be completely ready to go and fueled up, with lights on, when they race into it? (I think that scene would have been better if Rey had instead said something like "That ship is older than I am!" to indicate the ship was just scavenged; this would infer that it hasn't just been sitting there for years but has been flown, maybe a lot.)

One other thing: When Rey refuses to sell BB-8 to the junk dealer, he talks into a radio: "Follow the girl and get that droid." Why did he want BB-8 and who was he talking to? Is he part of the First Order? Kylo Ren had JUST found out that the map they were looking for was in BB-8 so how did the junk dealer know? Or was he just really wanting the droid for some other reason?

We've settled into a nice comfortable groove now with a few dozen people a night. We've had one guy attend the movie 5 times. I still wish we didn't have to do the 4th week but at least it's a movie everyone's liking.
 
Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 01-05-2016, 08:00 PM:
 
saw the movie again this morning - but this time in 3D and Dolby Atmos - the latter didn't really wow, it felt and sounded like a valiant attempt but nothing that special. The 3D ranged from good to excellent, but overall didn't feel like it was that necessary to enjoy it as such.
 
Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 7758) on 01-05-2016, 08:35 PM:
 
Mike, you can see my opinion of the Captain America trailer above. Less CGI and processing certainly seems pleasing to the eye, may make movies less ephemeral.
 
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-05-2016, 09:59 PM:
 
Mike: Who knows exactly how long the Millennium Falcon was sitting there. Probably not as long as Rey has been there. Maybe it senses as people come on board and lights up. We have technology like that NOW ON EARTH! It's not like a regular car on Earth where it needs to be driven every once in a while to work. They have space lubricant in there and other space stuff to keep it working.

Maybe the junk guy wanted the droid just because he thought it was cool. Like when you go to Lionel Playword to get the latest Lionel train for your train set. You see something really cool that you weren't expecting to see. You WANT it bad. So you send assassins after the one person who bought it before you. Or maybe the Neo-Empire sent out a space-e-mail offering many space dollars for the retrieval of said droid. He had just read his e-mail before she wandered up and it was fresh on his space-mind. Or maybe he just wanted to eat it.
 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-05-2016, 11:46 PM:
 
Oh thank you, it all makes sense now!
 
Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 01-06-2016, 06:39 AM:
 
Regal atlantic IMAX

Solid fun movie. A return to the classic aesthetics which I preferred to the prequel look. Though, they probably went retro a little too much, As a result, there was really no fight scene that wowed us. It would have been nice to see a new space fight that wows the new generation almost as the original one did for us in our 40s.

Saw it in IMAX 3D only because I wanted to be guaranteed a bright screen.

Harrison Ford was the best part of the movie. I too was disappointed they gave Rey so many Jedi type abilities so fast. But my biggest gripe with the plot is:
SPOILER START******************
The way they end the Solo arc. Seriously, in the very first sequel to the trilogy?We got two more freaking movies. I don't want to see him come back as a damn ghost or a vision. We got enough of that crap in the Star Wars movies. They should have timed it for the 2nd movie. At least, have Luke and Han Solo meet once. Another issue I had was they needed to have more time for Chewbacca grieving for Solo instead of the momentary rage he had. At least, have him go berserk on the bad guys for a couple more minutes. This is a character we have known for 3 movies prior to this one. It just seemed a little too rushed after the final Solo scene.
SPOILER END******************

Music was ordinary. But at least, it was no intrusive. Missed the 20th century FoX fanfare followed by the Lucasfilm music seque though the Lucasfilm banner is there. Disney fanfare is not quite the same.
 
Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 01-06-2016, 07:59 AM:
 
Pravin - actually, if you believe what imdb is stating, one other character who met his demise is also appearing in Episode VIII - it makes out that prior scenes to The Force Awakens will be revealed.
 
Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 01-06-2016, 01:41 PM:
 
INDIRECT SPOILER:
And who the hell is Billy Dee going to hang with in one of the future movies?
 
Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 01-06-2016, 02:32 PM:
 
quote:
They had a Disney fanfare with the castle? When I saw it, it began with the Lucasfilm logo in silence and went straight to the theme and Star Wars logo.

 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-06-2016, 03:01 PM:
 
quote:


But my biggest gripe with the plot is:

The way they end the
Spoiler Alert - Click to Toggle
Harrison Ford actually wanted to be killed off in "Return of the Jedi." So maybe
Spoiler Alert - Click to Toggle

 
Posted by Matt Russell (Member # 8989) on 01-06-2016, 04:29 PM:
 
quote: Pravin Ratnam
Disney fanfare is not quite the same.
There is no Disney fanfare whatsoever on the film, even at the end it just says "distributed through Walt Disney Pictures..." Lucasfilms is the only logo on this movie, at least for the beginning.
 
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-06-2016, 11:20 PM:
 
He wanted to be killed off in The Empire Strikes Back. Maybe he just always wants to be killed off because he hates sequels? I dunno.
 
Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 01-07-2016, 05:20 AM:
 
You are correct , Lyle. There was no Disney fanfare. I was a little sloppy in the wording. My thought process was actually , sooner or later, my guess is they are going to add that and it would be hard to look at. The silent fanfare for Lucasfilm was a departure as it is.
 
Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 01-07-2016, 08:11 AM:
 
quote: Joe Redifer
He wanted to be killed off in The Empire Strikes Back. Maybe he just always wants to be killed off because he hates sequels? I dunno.
Maybe he hated being directed by George Lucas?
 
Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 01-17-2016, 06:34 PM:
 
Saw it for the second time this morning at the best cinema in the world while on a weekend trip to Seattle. 4th row. Flawless presentation.

I enjoyed it more than the first time (one month ago). It's not perfect, but it's fun. Pulling the saber out of the snow is a great moment.
 




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