Exodus

To me in most cases with comic movies, good correlates with faithfulness to the source material balanced with grounded logic.

I'm torn between waiting to see how it plays out, and bitching about Kylo going from wanting to finish what Vader started to completely telling the past to fuck off.

Also, I hope Episode 9 actually feels like Star Wars this time.

I didn't like it. It just did not feel like Mass Effect to me. I ended up quitting frequently to play Star Wars Battlefront or take a nap.

Two episodes in. I'm slacking.

I think so too.

Every old school fan I know likes this more than TFA in one way or another.

To me it has that same feel Halo: Reach and Revenge of the Sith both had - you essentially know how it ends, and you know it's generally bleak for the heroes, but you get the feeling that they're going to get you invested and make you care in spite of that, and for that I applaud them.

...or just smart enough to fool the world into thinking I'm ineffective.

Seriously though I'm on an old browser. None of this new code ever works for vids, pics, etc.

Very badass. I don't know how to embed shit on here anymore or I would.

I saw it and I had a good time watching it. Obviously it was flawed, but jesus...what are some of these critics expecting when they go to see movies like this? The Departed? Godsakes.

Wally keeps saying this is some good shit. I usually trust his judgment, so I'm probably going to check it out.

I'd like to nominate Sony as the new holders of the "Best Bad Guy" title in this franchise.

This doesn't reach general Nightly caliber ridiculousness until we veer off topic with a succession of several pages worth of irrelevant quotes and responses that don't pertain to the original subject matter.

But we're currently headed in the right direction.

I'm ready to present my non-sexist checklist here.

- Aykroyd and Reitman had a script for a long time that didn't actually sound bad at all. Hadron collider @ Columbia University creates a new outlet for ghosts to reach us from, new team comprised of both young men and women has to join with the old team to stop the threat and the torch is passed...however, Sony didn't want to play ball for whatever reason. It was written in such a way by Aykroyd that Murray did or didn't have to be there, it could be done either way, so that holdup wasn't actually a holdup.

- Finally, after screwing up two chances at Spider-Man franchises, Sony decides "oh, maybe we can use this Ghostbuster IP." Thanks, now that Ramis has passed away. Good job.

- Long story short, Amy Pascal wants to do a certain type of movie but Ivan Reitman has creative control and thinks her take is poop. She somehow gets him out of the picture and gets Feig, who wouldn't do it if he couldn't do it his way (what is now showing in theaters), to direct it. From what I gather, he found the preexisting Ghostbusters canon unpalatable and was intimidated by Reitman interjecting his creative two cents.

- Through an apparently nasty process that the email hacks from a few years ago confirmed to include litigation threats against Bill Murray and NDA's for all parties involved, we got a nice little reboot with a bow wrapped around it that said NDA's prevented anyone from saying anything but good things about publicly. Aykroyd and Reitman did not want this, and again, the emails confirm it. Reitman was coached on his blessing and Aykroyd went from being on the warpath about the entire new concept to suddenly thinking it was great and it was better and unicorns and rainbows.

So it seems Sony/Feig/Pascal (now replaced by Rothman as the Sony chairman btw) really really really wanted this to happen, no matter how messy it had to get. That said, it would have to have been stellar and nothing less. However, that's not the impression I'm getting.

I was already disgusted by their handling of Spider-Man 3. Annoyed by their handling of a second Spidey franchise. So none of that stuff from the leaked emails about this movie surprises me, as it seems there is no length Sony won't stoop to or no arm they won't twist.

Only good thing they've done in my opinion is give Marvel Studios creative control over Spider-Man. Sounds to me like they should do the same thing with the Ghostbusters.

http://www.outerplaces.com/science-fiction/item/12750-first-look-at-the-costumes-and-character-descriptions-for-rogue-one-a-star-wars-story

Costume close-ups, character names and descriptions, and possible insight. Really cool stuff.

It may have to do with the uncertain future of Chris Bosh. It may be about going home. It may be about playing with Butler and Rondo.

...but holy hell, that backcourt duo of Wade/Rondo is not going to be lighting it up from three, that's for damn sure.

At least Wade leaving for Chicago makes sense because it's his home turf.

He sure wasn't willing to compromise a single dollar though.

What we may get is something in between.

Exactly what I was just saying.

I wouldn't mind Tank's idea at all, it sounds great. You almost have to have Jyn be the last spy standing and have her do something incredibly ballsy, clever, or downright defiant to get those plans where they need to be. I think overlapping the stories would be a cool way to cement the idea that it's the same universe.

Look at Episode III, that wasn't exactly a happy ending. Main hero isolates himself to protect the children of a dead mother and an evil father. That's bleak, but it's okay to be bleak when you know what comes next and you know it's good. Vader can go total asshat mode and be brutal about it. Every member of that team can die. Knowing their mission is a success and that the Empire is going to get theirs when all is said and done, because of these dead spies, makes their sad ending a nice investment. Might even sweeten the pot when you go and re-watch episode IV afterward.

Max Landis wants to see Vader execute Forest Whitaker's character for good measure. That might be doable, but I'd say he's more likely to die on the surface of whatever planet we see him on than out in space on an Imperial cruiser.

So generally, nobody cares if the end of Rogue One overlaps with the beginning of ANH as long as it's executed well? Or if new information comes to light that changes how certain events in ANH are percieved?

Doesn't sound like anyone is too concerned, which is good.

We know Vader is in it. We know they're testing the Death Star. We know the rebels are after the plans, and ultimately they get them.

It's a very similar situation to Revenge of the Sith - what follows the movie we're about to watch has been established, fates are sealed in most cases, outcomes are or should be easily predictable.

But the big question is the execution. I know generally people scoff at novels, but sometimes they add extra depth. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader added interesting details to the story that played out in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game. In a more interesting twist, the Darth Plagueis novel adds interesting twists and backstories to the timeline of The Phantom Menace that make you look at many important aspects of the movie differently than before...even if they aren't "canon" and they're "legends."

So does Rogue One sort of rewrite history as we know it? For instance, what if the spies ticket out of Imperial territory with the Death Star plans is to somehow insinuate the plans are already aboard the Tantive IV when they aren't - just to use the pursuing star destroyer and its subsequent docking of the rebel ship as a means to relay the plans into Leia's hands?

Would that go over generally well, or would it piss fans of the OT off for sort of rewriting the books and how what we originally saw was perceived? Could any similar scenario that reimagines established events without outright changing them go over well?

Even before the suspension, there was big talk of Vince getting bored with his push and considering nixing it. Before news of the suspension broke, it was hard to surmise if the rumors were true about his push or if this was simply Rollins getting back what he never lost and resuming his push. Then Dean cashed in and...well, so it wasn't about Rollins after all.

Ambrose endured getting depushed, not being chosen as the turncoat heel or the monster face, had possibly the best feud of 2014 with Rollins that summer, taking several clean losses, carrying Roman's WrestleMania feud with Triple H for him most of the way, and still managed to stay over. He deserves holding the title much more than Roman. There hasn't been a full-time face this over with the fans anywhere near the title since Daniel Bryan, so good for him. Sucks for Roman, but it's mostly managements fault.

- Snoke explained, not necessarily intertwined with any of the original six movies or the EU...but I won't complain if so

- An OT loction, but preferably not Tatooine...which leaves Endor, Yavin, or Dagobah. May have to settle for Yavin in Rogue 1 here, but Dagobah and Endor are possibilities in Episode VIII given their potential meaning to Luke, Rey, or Kylo

- A plot that doesn't somehow tie to a planet-sized super weapon - not because it bothers me, but because I don't want to hear any bitching from those that it would bother

- There's always a shot of a neat looking new alien species or location, and spoilers say it's going to be something HUGE and IMPORTANT...and then it's not. Never. Maybe this time, one of those theories turns out to be true.

- Maz explained a bit more, but not over-explained and overkilled

- Del Toro = Thrawn

As long as the bugged quests are fixed, I'm good. I mean shit, it's not my fault if I loot a chest 30 levels ahead of schedule.

Oh yeah...and I saw the movie. Everyone knows Apocalypse is my favorite Marvel villain.

They obviously only wrote this "body jumping" nonsense in to explain the crux of the movie with him wanting to jump into Xavier. The moment I saw pruny Apocalypse in the beginning, I wanted to kick Bryan Singer in the dick. He can materialize body transferring machines out of thin air. He can survive some weird suspended animation out in the open air beneath a pile of rocks and debris. So why can't he just materialize a neat blue sarcophagus to go into suspended animation in, and to regenerate his health and stuff? Why couldn't he speak in his angry voice 24/7, which sounded close to the animated series version? We get that he's from Egypt, so why did he have to have a little blue Egyptian rubber hat on?

Not surprised with what happened to him either, considering Bryan Singer clearly enjoys killing characters off. No Azazel in DOFP? Oh hey, lets kill him! Because clearly if somebody doesn't appear on screen in a follow up movie, they must not be alive anymore...right?

If Singer is behind things...yeah, that's about right. Nevermind the next movie was going to have Mystique and Nightcrawler in it, nevermind any cool potential subplots. Asshole.