oof, they throw Cloud Atlas and Speed Racer into the "nothing else worth mentioning" category? I think both of those films rival The Matrix for actual quality, if not iconic status. I really dislike when people throw low or average RT score movies under the bus with no accounting for whether they have become cult films since, or whether the reaction was polarized or simply lukewarm.

Today thought Looper would make a good brother bonding movie. It did! Much smarter movie than I thought it would be and Rian Johnson is usually very hit or miss for me. I think with mid budget science fiction he has found his niche. I like The Brothers Bloom okay (I hated it at first, but liked it upon rewatch) but even that doesn't feel quite like his element. This is the real goods. People who say it doesn't make sense are nyerds.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
No rating. Had a few really good moments and it was pretty well directed and acted movie (at least considering the fact it's Star Wars) but I think overall I was pretty underwhelmed. I feel it suffered from some poor plot-lines and inconsistent or jumbled writing. I also found the ending very incomplete and frustrating. I know it's the 1st of a new trilogy but I was pissed off regardless. But then again I wasn't it the best of moods when I saw it and I went into it with a cynical or adult point of view (which is probably not the best frame of mind when watching Star Wars). I really wanted to go in there and be amazed. To feel like a kid again. But for the most part this wasn't the case at all. I think the hype and anticipation and my very high expectations made it virtually impossible to leave the movie completely satisfied. And any one who claims Force Awakens is the best of the franchise (and I've heard it a few times already)...well that utterly baffles me. Now even though I admit Episode 4-6 are not perfect nevertheless I acknowledge the possibility that my nostalgia, in part, may sway me to loving them more than they really deserve and I'll never be fully satisfied with any other Star Wars movie. Anyway, I'm sorry for my negativity. I know how jazzed people are to see it and there's a good chance you'll have a different experience than me.

Star Wars
What do the NFL and Star Wars have in common? They can make 15' last for an hour.
And, really, handing the detonator to Chewie wasn't like signing your death warrant? I defly knew then what the thing Ben needed help with. spoiler.
New evil guy is good/funny/most entertaining. Joss Whedon should get a crack at directing a star wars ep. And the voice of first order fascism now has a British accent. Most excellent. BB-8 best droid ever and he purrs like a tribble.

can't wait to see this shit omg i heard about the new Minion droid army and where Thor dramatically tosses Mjolnir aside and embraces the lightsaber as his new weapon, hype

Wow. I hope you're right. The Empire Strikes Back is a top ten favorite movie of mine.

then you should note that i don't really consider the original trilogy to be particularly great films and don't have the kind of love for them you do.

Okay, then. Expectations modified.

It's not as good as Empire, but better than Jedi IMO. Significantly better than the shit prequels, which isn't saying much. I think you will be pleased with the film. It loses some points for being unoriginal, but that's Abrams. It feels like a Star Wars film.

i really don't think we should expect any of the star wars sequel trilogy films to be very original.

Sure. But *spoiler warning* they could have at least done something besides another super weapon that destroys planets. *spoiler warning*

sure. but the visuals were so much more impressive this time round. *jj really knows how to blow up a planet*

Oh Jesus Christ no.

the only person who SHOULD get a crack at a star wars ep is brad bird.

Aside from his political views I like Bird a lot, he'd be a great fit for Star Wars stylistically but he wouldn't be a good fit ideologically, whether you want to admit it or not Star Wars has political undertones to it, it's about communities coming together to accomplish something they can't do alone, which clashes with the American individualism bullshit that is in every single one of Bird's movies.

I know it's gonna piss you off because you hate him, but team him up with Kasdan and I think Raimi would be perfect for Star Wars, he shares as much love for the source material that inspired Star Wars as Lucas did, I don't think Abrams even knows what inspired Star Wars honestly, that guy's pop culture vocabulary doesn't seem to go back any further than the 80s.

The decade in which 2/3rds of the original trilogy was released?