Off Topic Thread too point uh

mfceiling

awec wrote: »

Christmas shopping now complete. Dundrum surprisingly not too bad at the moment, no queues to get in or anything when I was leaving half an hour ago.

molloyjh wrote: »

Town is madness.

Pudsy33 wrote: »

On the way in now, uhoh.

Pffft...amateurs.

Wife did all the christmas shopping today for everyone....including herself....from me!!

"Do you like the earrings you bought me?"

"Yeah they're grand....i'll pay you for them later"

I will be nowhere next or near shops til about february. Unless it's the local Esso.

molloyjh

Ok so here are my thoughts on SW7 in no particular order.....

Great movie, but a great Star Wars movie I'm not so sure. Plot incredibly similar to A New Hope with dashes of Empire for weight and there's a very strong JJ Abrams Star Trek feel all through, obviously.

There was a lot of stuff I felt was treated very casually. We never really heard much about the Republic and they were destroyed (5 planets and billions of people) as a plot device. No real emotional weight was given to such a massive event. The destruction of Alderaan had more depth to it despite the storyline demanding you move on almost immediately. And Rey developed her force powers very, very quickly. No training and barely an indication that she was force sensitive and suddenly she's throwing around the Jedi Mind Trick like its no big thing.

Wasn't pushed on Domhnall Gleesons character. He seems far too young to be such a high ranking military leader and didn't have the gravitas of someone like Peter Cushing.

Han was always going to die really, certainly as soon as he stepped out to face Ben. We saw enough from the trailers to know he wasn't turned back to the light until at least after his saber fight with Finn. So the shock wasn't there. As a fan of the EU though the significance of the death scene wasn't lost on me. And maybe that's why it carried that bit more weight with me.

Boyega and Ridley were fantastic. Ridley especially.

The star fighter battle scenes really worked for me and I'd liked to have seen a small bit more of those. I don't think we saw enough of Isaac in that regard.

The Renn character seems really interesting. I hope they give him the depth he deserves in the next one. It would be criminal if he wasn't fleshed out properly.

If the Supreme Leader turns out to be a clone of the Emperor I won't be happy.

I think I need to go and see it again. Went in hyped and that always screws with how you perceive it first time out. But overall I'm kind of conflicted about it.

irishbucsfan

molloyjh wrote: »

Wasn't pushed on Domhnall Gleesons character. He seems far too young to be such a high ranking military leader and didn't have the gravitas of someone like Peter Cushing.

That's actually supposed to be the point with his character, according to the IMDB trivia page, which says: "J.J. Abrams always wanted General Hux to be played by a young actor. He wanted the character to have a sense of tragedy and the fact that he appears to be too young to be in charge of a murderous group added to that. According to Abrams, the character's name was created after he noticed an old, abandoned grave site with the name Hux engraved on the stone". I'm guessing we'll find out more in future.

Hagz

I'd agree with everything you say re Star Wars Molloy

Except I think Boyega's character is dreadful. It would be fine if he played a minor role, but I expect he's going to be a major character going forward. I just don't think his character fits in well with the universe. There's going to be a lot of "Aw Hell No" and "God Damn!" to look forward too. I guess it's connecting to the new generation.

I pretty much knew my favourite character going in was going to be Oscar Isaac's and I wasn't wrong. I hope he stays a central character.

I was very nervous when I saw that hologram villain (Snoke?). At first I thought Abrahms had lost the plot introducing an old giant as the villain, until the flicker put me at ease.

Pink Fairy

Xmas works night out, do I go to bed, or hang tough for a few hours as I'm in at 9

molloyjh

molloyjh wrote: »

Ok so here are my thoughts on SW7 in no particular order.....

Great movie, but a great Star Wars movie I'm not so sure. Plot incredibly similar to A New Hope with dashes of Empire for weight and there's a very strong JJ Abrams Star Trek feel all through, obviously.

There was a lot of stuff I felt was treated very casually. We never really heard much about the Republic and they were destroyed (5 planets and billions of people) as a plot device. No real emotional weight was given to such a massive event. The destruction of Alderaan had more depth to it despite the storyline demanding you move on almost immediately. And Rey developed her force powers very, very quickly. No training and barely an indication that she was force sensitive and suddenly she's throwing around the Jedi Mind Trick like its no big thing.

Wasn't pushed on Domhnall Gleesons character. He seems far too young to be such a high ranking military leader and didn't have the gravitas of someone like Peter Cushing.

Han was always going to die really, certainly as soon as he stepped out to face Ben. We saw enough from the trailers to know he wasn't turned back to the light until at least after his saber fight with Finn. So the shock wasn't there. As a fan of the EU though the significance of the death scene wasn't lost on me. And maybe that's why it carried that bit more weight with me.

Boyega and Ridley were fantastic. Ridley especially.

The star fighter battle scenes really worked for me and I'd liked to have seen a small bit more of those. I don't think we saw enough of Isaac in that regard.

The Renn character seems really interesting. I hope they give him the depth he deserves in the next one. It would be criminal if he wasn't fleshed out properly.

If the Supreme Leader turns out to be a clone of the Emperor I won't be happy.

I think I need to go and see it again. Went in hyped and that always screws with how you perceive it first time out. But overall I'm kind of conflicted about it.

Yeah that's more or less how I felt. Lot of contrived scenes to push along key character points without just carrying them along with the story like the original trilogy.

I actually thought there was more of a 4 and 6 vibe without really seeing much of Empire in there. Snoke is a terrible terrible name.

The end battle was fairly rushed and didn't have the same weight as the conclusions to 4 or 6. It went a bit flat in the last 30 minutes.

Han's writing was on the wall, but that scene was a bit flat also - I wasn't happy with the way they retired one of my favorite screen characters of all time.

On the Fin going Jedi bit, I got the impression that training she had had as a child came back into her mind when she had that realisation on the cliff edge when she was locking sabres with Ren. I also give her a bit of a pass as she is handy with a staff. The stormtrooper she turns is none other than Daniel Craig!

Overall though, the film was fun. Felt like a bit of a remake as opposed to a sequal and JJ was trying too hard and should have let the story flow a bit more. I expect the next film to spend a decent chunk of time in the past where we will discover Rey's background and Ren's turning.

Overall I'm happy, could have been a bit better but could have been a lot worse. I saw it in 3D IMAX and it looked insane. I'll likely see it again before it leaves theaters which is the first time since Indiana Jones and the last Crusade that I've seen the same movie in the cinema twice.

mfceiling

Pink Fairy wrote: »

Xmas works night out, do I go to bed, or hang tough for a few hours as I'm in at 9

Hang tough...Badge of honour right there. Being able to hang with the young folk. Being hip. Being cool. Getting home with the downies.

bilston

My take...

On Rey, yes she seemed to learn quickly but was it not inferred she had been in Luke's Jedi Academy? Perhaps she had had training but couldn't consciously remember it because she was so young at the time and it just sort of came back to her during her fight with Ren.

I personally loved the movie, but there were two negatives, the Starkiller seemed to be unnecessary upgrade on the Death Star and I didn't really like the middle "filling" with Han and the gangsters, although in saying that it maybe gave us an insight into what had happened to Han after Ben's turn to the dark side. It seems he reacted by going back to his old ways.

I really liked the chemistry between Rey and Finn and Poe Daemon seems like a character we'll see a bit more of.

I liked the nods to the Originals. There was one moment near the start where Rey is sitting eating her dinner or something when all of a sudden the camera gives a broader angle of the scene and you realise she is sitting on the wreckage of an Imperial Walker...nice touch...

I think it has set things up nicely for Ep 8, there is so much to be explored which is quite exciting. Who is Rey? The easy answer is Luke's daughter but that's almost too obvious, however if she is Luke's offspring, who is her mother?Has Finn got force powers? I suppose it's possible, but he seems more like the new Han. Why did Ben turn to the dark side? I get the impression he knows more about Rey that was let on. His reaction to the news that the droid (BB8) was with a girl suggests as much, plus who is Snoke? Where did he come from? Was he too part of Luke's Jedi Academy or was a devotee of Sidious or even as has been suggested could he be Darth Plaguesis? Maybe he was never actually dead, Palpatine himself said that Plaguesis had managed to learn how to cheat death!

One rumour I've read about the cast for Ep 8 is that Hayden Christensen is meant to be part of it. Presumably it would be a flashback or as a vision to either Luke or Ren. Not sure how I feel about that to be honest.

Anyway it was a good return to form for Star Wars and the anticipation for the next episode will be huge, plus we have Rogue One to keep us occupied next Christmas while we await the next trilogy movie!

bilston

bilston wrote: »

One rumour I've read about the cast for Ep 8 is that Hayden Christensen is meant to be part of it.

If he is in it, it should be playing himself at the start of the movie, just to apologies for his role in the prequels and to announce that from now on - they don't exist anymore. Poof. Never happened.

thomond2006

G'wan Cam Newton and Ted Ginn Jr!

thomond2006

Oh Buer, OBJ just dropped a banker for a long range TD.

thomond2006

thomond2006 wrote: »

Oh Buer, OBJ just dropped a banker for a long range TD.

And now he's turned into Delon Armitage, engaging in constant cheap shots! One was running into the back of the head of Josh Norman, scumbag behaviour. How he didn't get ejected for that I don't know!

Podge_irl

thomond2006 wrote: »

Oh Buer, OBJ just dropped a banker for a long range TD.

Not sure he'll need it to beat me

wp_rathead

RE Star Wars spoilers:

Really enjoyed it. Just little things like having the technology in Millennium Falcon being like in the originals. They also got the humor spot on - something that was lacking in those horrendous prequels

I was worried that Chewie was gonna die when showed him planting the bombs so I was almost relieved when it was Han that was killed of

I got fit of laughter when Han's son takes of his mask and shows his face and friend turned to me and said "bet he listens to My Chemical Romance"

One question: Why did R2D2 just decide to wake up at the end of the movie and not before when they showed the part of the map for the first time

Teferi

wp_rathead wrote: »

RE Star Wars spoilers:

One question: Why did R2D2 just decide to wake up at the end of the movie and not before when they showed the part of the map for the first time

Possible future spoiler/speculation so enter at your own risk...

C3PO says R2D2 is in shutdown mode since Luke left and he only turns on when Rey turns up which would lead me to speculate that Rey is Luke's daughter.

People in the thread have talked well about the film so I won't add any spoiler material but saw it last night and I really really enjoyed it. Really really got that Star Wars feel from it. Can't wait for the next one.

8 year bans for Blatter and Platini. You'd think that's it for Blatter and that Platini is so toxic now he won't be involved in football administration again.

swiwi_

Swiwi with one VERY happy daughter.

Autographed photo from Dan Carter in from Southbridge today

Cheers mate!

Edit: the best thing is we sent her card via "Southbridge", no actual address, but it obviously reached Dan OK...

Journeyman_1

swiwi_ wrote: »

Swiwi with one VERY happy daughter.

Autographed photo from Dan Carter in from Southbridge today

Cheers mate!

To quote the missus about DC:

He's far too pretty to be a rugby player

Is this the same kind of thing with your daughter, or is she small and just thinks he's cool?

swiwi_

Journeyman_1 wrote: »

Is this the same kind of thing with your daughter, or is she small and just thinks he's cool?

She's 10. Kind of in the age where she sort of just thinks he's cool, sort of has a wee crush.

She kind of went off him a bit when I said he was heading to France...and thought Richie looked handsome in his tux at the NZ rugby awards. Rather suspect Dan is flavour of the month again with this photo arriving, though.

Actually, the ladies at my work (in Switzerland) were all rather keen on Dan. Some things never change...

swiwi_

Actually, J_1, the daughter that cracks me up is the middle one. Burst into tears when I told her Ireland had been eliminated from the RWC. She's always going on about Cork too. Which is pretty much proof she was born there in my experience of natives of the Rebel county...

Podge_irl

Podge_irl wrote: »

Not sure he'll need it to beat me

Well that was unexpected.

thomond2006

Well my team was awesome! I got Cam Newton late in the draft too.

Podge_irl

thomond2006 wrote: »

Well my team was awesome! I got Cam Newton late in the draft too.

Looks like it's you and me so. Your team looks better...I'm slightly unsure how I went 13-1. While you may have Cam, I'm essentially the Panthers of this league.

thomond2006

Podge_irl wrote: »

Looks like it's you and me so. Your team looks better...I'm slightly unsure how I went 13-1. While you may have Cam, I'm essentially the Panthers of this league.

I've added some great free agents during the season: Barnidge, Watkins, Ted Ginn Jr and Baldwin.

What I find odd is why people draft running backs first when quarterbacks are generally the biggest points scorers.

Podge_irl

thomond2006 wrote: »

I've added some great free agents during the season: Barnidge, Watkins, Ted Ginn Jr and Baldwin.

What I find odd is why people draft running backs first when quarterbacks are generally the biggest points scorers.

There are more good quarterbacks then there are good running backs. I didn't even draft Bortles and he's the 5th best QB in fantasy. There is always value to be had in QBs, so pointless to waste early. In another league I have superstar WRs but utterly and completely **** RBs and it's killed me.

Ryan Fitzpatrick is a perfectly good QB for fantasy and still available for example. Best available RB at the moment is Isiah Crowell who you don't want to be relying on.

I haven't been as active as I should have been on the Free Agent front but you would always pick them up before me anyway. Also I dropped Watkins

TeoReid

Will Smiths movie Concussion is worth a look. some of the scenes with former players had me wondering whether we are going to hear any similar stories from about former rugby players in the future.

chupacabra

Happy Christmas lads. My posting rate has gone down the toilet of late but I still come here on a constant basis to read ye're shíte. Take care of yerselves and enjoy the Turkey.

Pink Fairy

Bah humbug

phog

Happy Christmas everyone.