Disney (and others) at the Box Office - Current State of Affairs

[CinematicFusion]

What about Yoda’s self-exile?

Yoda’s self-exile to Dagobah after the fall of the Jedi Order wasn’t an act of quitting. Rather, it was a strategic retreat for survival and to preserve the Jedi teachings. His exile represented a time for reflection and understanding of the Jedi’s failures, which ultimately played a crucial role in guiding Luke Skywalker. Yoda’s actions were more about waiting for the right moment to help rekindle the Jedi legacy, rather than giving up on the Jedi Order or the Force.

 

[erasure fan1]

As I recall it, Yoda seemed very reluctant when Luke found him and had to be convinced to come out of retirement.

Not at first. It was Yoda who found Luke. He was testing him. He wasn't reluctant because he didn't want to help, he was reluctant because of how Luke reacted to everything. Yoda had the knowledge of Leia being an option to train as well, so it didn't have to be Luke who he trained.

He didn't need to be convinced to come out of retirement, because he was never retired. He did have to be convinced to train Luke, but that wasn't because he didn't want to help. Again, Yoda and Obi-wan went into hiding to fight another day. It wasn't to run away and never be heard from again and end the Jedi lineage. In my opinion, the two situations are fundamentally different.

 

[CinematicFusion]

As I recall it, Yoda seemed very reluctant when Luke found him and had to be convinced to come out of retirement.

Yoda’s initial reluctance to train Luke in “The Empire Strikes Back” is multifaceted. Firstly, it’s a test of Luke’s character and patience, important qualities for a Jedi. Secondly, Yoda is cautious due to Luke’s similarities to Anakin Skywalker, especially his impatience and potential for fear and anger, traits that led Anakin to the dark side. Yoda’s experience with Anakin’s fall makes him wary of repeating the same mistake, hence his initial hesitation to take on Luke as his apprentice.

Yoda was convinced to train Luke due to a combination of factors. Luke’s determination and commitment to learning the ways of the Force impressed Yoda. Additionally, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s spirit advocated for Luke’s training, emphasizing his potential and the hope he represented for the future of the Jedi. Yoda, recognizing the urgent need for a new Jedi to confront the growing threat of the Empire and the Sith, ultimately agreed to train Luke, seeing the possibility of success where he initially saw risk.

If Yoda and Obi-Wan had quit like Luke in “The Last Jedi,” the implications for the Star Wars narrative would have been profound. Without their guidance, Luke Skywalker might not have become a Jedi, leaving the galaxy without a new hope against the Sith and the Empire. The crucial mentorship they provided was essential in shaping Luke’s path and, through him, the fate of the galaxy. Their commitment, even in exile, was vital for the eventual downfall of the Empire and the Sith.

 

[Casper Gutman]

No one cares about the terrible movie about the haunted pool? LOL. It sounds so ridiculous that I absolutely have to see it.

Night Swim | Rotten Tomatoes

Based on the acclaimed 2014 short film by Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire, the film stars Wyatt Russell (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as Ray Waller, a former major league baseball player forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, who moves into a new home with his concerned...

www.rottentomatoes.com

Cheap horror. It will probably make a buck.

 

[celluloid]

Cheap horror. It will probably make a buck.

Blumhouse has certainly made more than bucks most of the time. Strong horror brand.

 

[LittleBuford]

Not at first. It was Yoda who found Luke. He was testing him. He wasn't reluctant because he didn't want to help, he was reluctant because of how Luke reacted to everything. Yoda had the knowledge of Leia being an option to train as well, so it didn't have to be Luke who he trained.

He didn't need to be convinced to come out of retirement, because he was never retired. He did have to be convinced to train Luke, but that wasn't because he didn't want to help. Again, Yoda and Obi-wan went into hiding to fight another day. It wasn't to run away and never be heard from again and end the Jedi lineage. In my opinion, the two situations are fundamentally different.

Yoda’s initial reluctance to train Luke in “The Empire Strikes Back” is multifaceted. Firstly, it’s a test of Luke’s character and patience, important qualities for a Jedi. Secondly, Yoda is cautious due to Luke’s similarities to Anakin Skywalker, especially his impatience and potential for fear and anger, traits that led Anakin to the dark side. Yoda’s experience with Anakin’s fall makes him wary of repeating the same mistake, hence his initial hesitation to take on Luke as his apprentice.

Yoda was convinced to train Luke due to a combination of factors. Luke’s determination and commitment to learning the ways of the Force impressed Yoda. Additionally, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s spirit advocated for Luke’s training, emphasizing his potential and the hope he represented for the future of the Jedi. Yoda, recognizing the urgent need for a new Jedi to confront the growing threat of the Empire and the Sith, ultimately agreed to train Luke, seeing the possibility of success where he initially saw risk.

If Yoda and Obi-Wan had quit like Luke in “The Last Jedi,” the implications for the Star Wars narrative would have been profound. Without their guidance, Luke Skywalker might not have become a Jedi, leaving the galaxy without a new hope against the Sith and the Empire. The crucial mentorship they provided was essential in shaping Luke’s path and, through him, the fate of the galaxy. Their commitment, even in exile, was vital for the eventual downfall of the Empire and the Sith.

I think this all makes sense once you know the padding of the narrative that’s taken place since the original trilogy. But when I first watched The Empire Strikes Back, having not seen the prequels, I saw nothing to suggest that Yoda had strategically retreated to Degobah in order to bide his time. Indeed (and to undermine my own earlier comparison), it wasn’t even clear to me that he’d fled there. He just came across as a grumpy retired master who had long resided in the swamp and was annoyed at having to take on a new student (a bit like Phil in Hercules).

 

[Tha Realest]

But continuing to gloat about box office results at this point is getting extremely tired.

peep the thread you’re in. Go to another thread.

 

[TP2000]

The Golden Globes are on Sunday night. Poor Things is widely expected to clean up in multiple categories. Then come the Oscar nominations. It is expected to pick up plenty. Box office will increase. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. You are allowed to be wrong. Again.

Quoting this for posterity. I can't wait!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

his decision to isolate himself and initially refuse to help the Resistance contradicts his previously established character traits of hope, courage, and commitment to helping others

Stuff happens. Things happen in life that change idealistic kids into realistic, sometimes troubled adults. That’s real. I’d say he went through plenty to justify that state, and to not want to risk further and possibly bigger failures.

It’s important to respect those who feel let down by this portrayal

You say respect, I say correct - both in substance and in perspective.

A continued arc in “The Last Jedi,” showing him grappling with the complexities of his relationship with Vader and striving to save Ben Solo, would have offered a rich narrative, full of conflict and growth

Nope. That would have been appropriate in a timeline closer to that of The Mandalorian. That’s already happened by the time he’s an old hermit. Blame Lucas and possibly Ford for not doing it when he had the chance.

I’m concerned about people who can’t handle storylines in fiction. How do they handle real life? Heroes are still people and will disappoint. That’s a solid life lesson.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

That one's a head-scratcher for me.

I know it's true. I've seen them for new releases from some prominent artists but I don't get why.

Vinyl I can understand. You can take care of those and make them last, the covers lend themselves to display but cassettes have so many points of physical and mechanical failure and their packaging is not really designed to be attractive in that sense and their quality, while nowhere near eight-track is anything but archival, either.

I really don't get it.

Do you have any insights on why they've become more popular?

Yep, the reason overlaps with vinyl: collectors.

Something like 40% of new vinyl sold today is purchased by people who don’t have a turntable.

 

[MrPromey]

Yep, the reason overlaps with vinyl: collectors.

Something like 40% of new vinyl sold today is purchased by people who don’t have a turntable.

I'm sure that's good business for you but it (that practice in general) annoys the heck out of me.

These people seem a whole lot more like prospectors than collectors and for stuff that may be limited run or hard to get your hands on for whatever reason, seeing some of it treated like Van Gogh's Sunflowers is frustrating.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

To clarify re: TV sitcom Dads: they’re sitcoms. Of course they’ll be the butt of some jokes.

However, their non-adult children respected them.

I’m sure you can find contradictory examples, but there was a sea change.

 

[TP2000]

Yep, the reason overlaps with vinyl: collectors.

Something like 40% of new vinyl sold today is purchased by people who don’t have a turntable.

This baffles me. I have a lovely little Sony Hi-Fi setup in my family room with a new Sony turntable and receiver and speakers I bought last year. It has Bluetooth to hook it into the kitchen speaker setup when I'm cooking, and in to the living and dining rooms when I'm entertaining. I have many of the records I bought in the 60's, 70's and 80's, plus some newer ones, and a bunch of fabulous old records I grabbed from relatives homes when they started passing away in the 70's and 80's.

But you are telling me that the kids today are buying records again but they have no turntable to play them on?!? How? Why?

What on earth do they do with them? Just display them, and then play the iTunes version of that same record? I'm baffled.

 

[_caleb]

Determining whether a post was written by AI or a human is challenging without additional context. The content seems well-structured and focused on Star Wars analysis, which could be written by either a knowledgeable human or a well-trained language model.

 

[LittleBuford]

Determining whether a post was written by AI or a human is challenging without additional context. The content seems well-structured and focused on Star Wars analysis, which could be written by either a knowledgeable human or a well-trained language model.

What are you referring to?

 

[_caleb]

What are you referring to?

This is the response ChatGPT generates when I plug in some of the posts in this thread and ask whether they were written by a human or AI.

 

[LittleBuford]

This is the response ChatGPT generates when I plug in some of the posts in this thread and ask whether they were written by a human or AI.

But which posts do you suspect, and why?

ETA: It’s scary how convincingly human that ChatGPT response sounds.

 

[Ghost93]

The Golden Globes are on Sunday night. Poor Things is widely expected to clean up in multiple categories. Then come the Oscar nominations. It is expected to pick up plenty. Box office will increase. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. You are allowed to be wrong. Again.

I thought Poor Things was a great movie, but it's not going to be making blockbuster-levels amount of money. It's a very weird and extremely sexual movie, which will make the movie more polarizing for general audiences. I think cinephiles will generally love it, but it may be too much for the average moviegoer. And that's okay. It's not a bad thing for niche films to exist. But it won't reverse Disney's fortunes.

I will say, I think it's the best performance of Emma Stone's career.

 

[TP2000]

This is the response ChatGPT generates when I plug in some of the posts in this thread and ask whether they were written by a human or AI.

Who among us is creating posts that could be written by AI? I'd love to know!

 

[_caleb]

But which posts do you suspect, and why?

ETA: It’s scary how convincingly human that ChatGPT response sounds.

I work with AI, so when someone posts in complete sentences with no grammar or spelling errors, correct syntax, and no discernible dialect, it calls my attention as possibly being a chatbot.

For example, I just asked:

“Why were Star Wars fans so upset by the depiction of Luke Skywalker in the Last Jedi?”

Response:

“The portrayal of Luke Skywalker in "The Last Jedi" sparked mixed reactions among Star Wars fans. Some were upset because they felt the character's depiction differed from their expectations and the established heroics of Luke in the original trilogy. The film presented Luke as a conflicted, disillusioned hermit, which deviated from the more optimistic and heroic image fans had of him.

Additionally, the decision to have Luke contemplate killing his nephew, Ben Solo, due to a fear of his potential darkness, contradicted the traditional Jedi values. Fans found this departure from Luke's character arc disheartening, as they anticipated a more conventional hero's journey.

Overall, the variance in character development, combined with unexpected choices, led to a polarized response among fans, with some embracing the fresh take on the character and others feeling it diverged too much from their expectations.”