Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi

[The Laughing Fish]

FFS, I'm sorry I even asked.

[thecolorsblend]

The jousting contest between TDK and IceCatPrincessWoman is more interesting to me than anything I've heard about TLJ.

Heh, you two. Get a room or something, yeesh...

[The Dark Knight]

The jousting contest between TDK and IceCatPrincessWoman is more interesting to me than anything I've heard about TLJ.

Heh, you two. Get a room or something, yeesh...

Hey, IceCatPrincessWoman keeps trying to make reservations. And I keep saying no.

In other news, I've started my review/analysis of some movie called Jed's Last Eye. Ardent followers of the my gospel can rest assured it's going to be a good read - I have about 1687 words at the moment. Keep your eye out for it.

[The Joker]

I find the explanations for the negativity concerning TLJ to be quite amusing thus far.

The backlash is being framed as being the result of anything from muh Russia to even the alt-right. Which is hilariously desperate, but hey, keep swinging for the fences, Disney.

[The Laughing Fish]

Did anybody catch the news that TLJ got pulled from nearly all of Chinese theatres after it opened for only a couple of weeks? It bombed at the box office over there, despite its financial success worldwide.

After its hugely disappointing debut last weekend, China's movie exhibitors have taken the big, and possibly unprecedented decision to drop the Hollywood studio film Star Wars: The Last Jedi's showtimes by 92 percent, from its 34.5% percent share of the territory's total screenings last Friday to just 2.6 percent this Friday.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robcain/2018/01/11/7-days-into-its-release-chinese-theaters-abandon-the-last-jedi-dumping-92-of-its-screenings/#2016ef0c5cc0

[thecolorsblend]

Sour grapes? The guy walks through the numbers and they're not very pretty. The issue here is that the larger franchise's health is questionable. TLJ might've done okay but it doesn't exist in a vacuum. The big picture for Star Wars as a brand just isn't promising. The trajectory is downward.

The more things go on, the better Lucas looks. Disney isn't doing anything Lucas couldn't have done himself. But arguably he made a smart play by devoting his attention to TV projects and not oversaturating the marketplace with huge feature films. Even Star Wars under latter day Lucas leadership had a narrative focus: The Clone Wars.

Today, there is no narrative focus. We've got a sequel trilogy coming out and unrelated standalone films featuring non-sequel characters with stories that zigzag all over the timeline.

Frankly, I would've expected Disney of all companies to better understand how to exploit a franchise but it seems like their approach is throwing every possible thing out there and that's obviously not working so well for them.

[The Dark Knight]

I think you're right, colors. There's a real risk of burnout. The rapid fire release schedule can be a double edged sword. I liked TLJ but it's a fact a lot of people didn't. There isn't a lot of goodwill towards the franchise right now. I had a review for TLJ which is still sitting on my desktop, and I can't be bothered going back to it right now. Generally speaking, I feel like cinema has lost its magic. The content and the experience in general seems to have lost something and it's become too commercial. It's a business and not necessarily a passion. They have a release schedule and they pump them out - reboots, sequels, prequels, etc. It's a shame, but that's how the world feels to me right now. It's generic and unexciting. We're all awake to it.

[thecolorsblend]

I realize this next comparison is a bit unfair. But I compare the way Disney is going balls to the wall with Star Wars to how Tolkien's Legendarium is unfolding and it really is a world of difference.

There was a decent interval between the LOTR films and The Hobbit trilogy. Putting aside the value of The Hobbit, there wasn't a gigantic rush to make it happen. Now there's an Amazon show coming. But it's an LOTR prequel show of some kind. Nothing else is really on the horizon right now. And there may not be anything new for a while.

Now that the Tolkien estate has new management, it would be all too tempting to do rush jobs on Beren & Luthien, Quenta Silmarillion and all that rest. But it's not happening and there's no real indication that stuff is coming any time soon. I'm fuzzy about the need of even doing an LOTR prequel show, tbh. But that's the only thing on the horizon.

Star Wars was once a very special thing. It was THE franchise. The prequels diminished that but at this point I'm prepared to say that Disney has harmed Star Wars far more than Jar Jar ever did even on his worst day.

[The Laughing Fish]

Generally speaking, I feel like cinema has lost its magic.

I feel the same. Nowadays, I find film is becoming such a chore, whether it's watching on the big screen or at home.

The content and the experience in general seems to have lost something and it's become too commercial. It's a business and not necessarily a passion. They have a release schedule and they pump them out - reboots, sequels, prequels, etc. It's a shame, but that's how the world feels to me right now. It's generic and unexciting. We're all awake to it.

Yes, this is exactly the problem. All of these studios have lined up blockbuster after blockbuster to the point it's over-saturating the market. One of my criticisms of the MCU recently is releasing three films per year is overkill. It becomes less of an event and more a Happy Meal. And worse of all, films in general are becoming less creative and more formulaic. Do we really need a Han Solo movie? He's fine as he is in the original trilogy, I don't need to see his backstory and how met Chewie, Lando Calrissian and how he got the Millennium Falcon. Leave it alone.

Sometimes it's better to reduce the output before risking stagnation.

[The Dark Knight]

I agree. Harveywood is on its knees in more ways than one, and honestly, I don't care. I think they've just had their worst March on record, which shows this downward trend isn't abating.

I do like going to the movies but there's been nothing that's interested me in recent times, and most of the actors are losers. It's the likes of Jimmy Kimmel who can't help themselves and keep perpetuating this self-inflicted hurricane. However I do feel for the cinema chains around me who are struggling and reducing ticket prices these days, instead of raising them. They're the decent people who are caught in the crossfire. They've been let down by forces outside of their control. So I genuinely have sympathy for them.

It's probably not by intent, but the long breaks with the Bond franchise (three and four year gaps) will probably end up being a positive and not a negative, even though it frustrates the fan base. Same goes for Mission Impossible, I guess. It at least keeps people hungry, and the special aura is maintained. That aura had certainly been lost for me in terms of endless comic book films and reboots/remakes, CGI fests. After a while you become numb to it.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is an example. Back in the day I'd be jumping out of my skin at the thought of another JP film. But now? I can't muster the same level of enthusiasm, and I don't think it's because I'm now older. If something clicks with me I'm still the biggest geek in the room.

The trailer for the new JP film speaks for itself. An abundance of CGI and no sense of threat. The original film's dinosaurs still look better and the atmosphere is still better. They're just satisfying the need for a new sequel, and eventual trilogy, not that they genuinely have an interesting and bold new story to tell.