Star Wars

I read a few reviews and they mostly just said that the movie isn't that good. I'm not sure if people who disliked the movie the first time around were expecting something different. I'm excited and hope to see the film though, mainly just because it's Star Wars on the big screen! But I'm in a similar position to Ringdrotten in that I think The Phantom Menace gets more flak than it deserves, though if I hadn't seen it when I was very young I'm sure I would have a more negative opinion of it.

It had Darth Maul who was simultaneously the best and worst thing Lucas did in the new films- the best because he was iconic looking, moved amazingly and had a superb Williams theme tune to go with him- worst because Lucas killed him when he should have kept him and built on him for the next two instead of that multi-limbed driod general abomination.

The Phantom Menace made over $40 million worldwide in its 3D opening weekend (split more or less evenly between the US and the rest of the world). That's not quite as good as The Lion King back in September but it's notably better than Beauty and the Beast this January. When all's said and done TPM will have crossed the billion-dollar mark and will be near or past $500 million in the US alone (which is an even rarer distinction than a billion worldwide). I suspect any doubts about the re-release of the rest of the Star Wars films have now been put to rest.

If films were real life this sort of thing would have to happen all the time in them!

RIP Ralph McQuarrie. THe concept artist who helped bring Star Wars to life. He was 82.
Heres his sketches for the Stormtroper design.

I remember reading various Star Wars art books when I was younger and being blown away by the painting and by how close some of them looked to the finished special effects. I was even more impressed when I realized how many of them were by a single person. His art will be remembered for a long time.

"I'm just a simple man, trying to make my way in the universe."

Jango Fett - Attack of the Clones, 2002

And I thought Star Wars had become too old and tired to still be funny.

So there's a new Star Wars game using Kinect, Microsoft's motion controller for Xbox that rips off the Wii.

And all I can say is...



...what the goddamn HELL?

It gets worse.




(Leia starts dancing at 1:30)

Lord help us all.

I can't believe what I have just seen. What.... the....

Eldorion wrote:So there's a new Star Wars game using Kinect, Microsoft's motion controller for Xbox that rips off the Wii.

Doesnt rip off the Wii, PS Move rips off Wii. Kinect is much better than either.

But, similar to most Wii and Move games, Kinect games also suck.

The new Star Wars 1313 looks interesting though



Still need to renew work on Battlefront 3 and/or Republic Commando 2/Imperial Commando

Red Letter Media.
That's all I'm going to say. If you haven't seen his reviews before, then viewer discretion is advised. He goes off on tangents to say the least.

So I was just on Box Office Mojo looking at the highest grossing films of all time. Anyone think it's interesting that The Phantom Menace is the highest grossing Star Wars film when it is generally regarded as the worst. (Although I have absolutely no problem with it)

Well, we should remember that The Phantom Menace had 16-22 years of ticket price inflation going for it compared to the original trilogy. But even if you take that into account it's still on par with The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which I don't really find surprising. The real test of most blockbusters is how well their sequels perform. TPM cashed in on over a decade of eager anticipation and remains the best-selling 2D movie since Titanic (i.e., if you adjust for inflation). It was relatively poorly received however and the sequels both suffered for it, though even when suffering, Star Wars movies still make a killing at the box office.

None of the sequels ever came close to the original movie in terms of ticket sales, however. They're all successful but the original is a transcendent hit of the highest order. That sort of box office event is much rarer.

Each film with its respective earnings and place on list of highest grossing movies.

#5 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace $474,544,677
#6 Star Wars $460,998,007
#16 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith $380,270,577
#34 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones $310,676,740
#36 Return of the Jedi $309,306,177
#48 The Empire Strikes Back $290,475,067

We must not forget that the original trilogy went back into theaters a couple times, and TPM had its most recent release in 3D.

And I threw in LOTR for fun

17 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $377,845,905
22 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $342,551,365
32 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring $315,544,750

Each film after adjusted for inflation
2 Star Wars $1,410,707,200
12 The Empire Strikes Back $777,590,600
15 Return of the Jedi $744,950,500
16 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace $715,276,800
59 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith $469,850,700
86 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones $423,470,300

LOTR
52 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $488,186,400
61 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $457,184,200
76 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring $434,010,300

Each film by # of tickets sold

2 Star Wars 178,119,600
12 The Empire Strikes Back 98,180,600
15 Return of the Jedi 94,059,400
16 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 90,312,700
59 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith 59,324,600
86 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones 53,468,500

LOTR
52 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 61,639,700
61 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 57,725,300
76 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 54,799,300

I find the equation sometimes made between box office = good dubious, not that anyone here is making that claim but figures like these are aften tauted as meaning that.

I payed to see LotR's and TPM and I hated them- just because you payed to go see it does not mean all the audience enjoys what it sees.

There's a new Star Wars animated series coming out from the creators of Robot Chicken (whose Star Wars parodies I actually did like, along with the Family Guy SW parodies) with the approval of George Lucas. It looks ... uh, I'll just let the trailer speak for itself.



Honestly I did want to like this, particularly since Robot Chicken can be funny, but it just looks pandering and dumb. The animated Star Wars parody shtick has been done to death by now, thanks. I might watch the first episode out of morbid curiosity but I have basically no hopes for it.

Trailers usually show you all the best bits- one has to hope thats not the case here.

My kinda Star Wars

Wow.

I think your hope has just been squashed, Petty.

You shouldn't make fun, Eldorion
I was being serious