SPEAKER_0 [00:00:00]
Dramas, please.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:13]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:20]
This is life
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:22]
with a twist of lemon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:24]
So, John, I noticed you look a little different today.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:27]
Is it my wonderful
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:29]
long beard?
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:31]
I I noticed you've shaped it a little bit since the last time I saw you. Last week when we recorded.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:37]
Yeah. It looks like you're a little tighter in on the sides. I am. That is true. I was getting a little bushy.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:43]
And, it it would look to me as if the middle part is actually even.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:49]
Yes. I'm trying to make it a boxier shape rather than the round fitting my shape face shape. Kinda kinda Zach Brownie. Right? Sure.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:58]
I could never be as cool as Zach Brown because my fingers are too fat to play guitar. And
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:04]
then you've got a haircut, and you have what appears to be
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:08]
a brand new set of glasses.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:11]
I do.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:12]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:13]
finally, I've gotten rid of the scratch from the bike incident of 2018
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:18]
when a giant bug flew at my face. I swatted at it, and my glasses went flying on the bike trail at 60 miles per hour.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:27]
Well,
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:28]
these appear to be a little more
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:32]
stylish, I think is the word I wanna say. Stylish.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:36]
My sister-in-law said bookish, made me look bookish,
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:40]
which I looked up and it was an actual word.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:43]
I was thinking it's like
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:45]
so with the beard, you've got this almost
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:49]
thing going on.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:51]
Don't don't say that. My brother-in-law will never let me hear the end of it over Christmas.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:56]
Yeah. It's it's just a there's there's a hipster element here for sure.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:02]
Yep. So apparently, like, the round lenses
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:06]
are back in at least among the
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:09]
second
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:10]
gen millennials and
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:12]
gen z ers.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:14]
Is it second gen second wave millennials?
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:16]
Hold up. Hold up. Second gen millennials? What does that even mean? I think it's second wave millennials. I misspoke.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:22]
So there's basically two waves of millennials. There's like us who are old and actually remember when the Internet was new,
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:29]
and then there's like this latter half that just kinda hangs out before Gen z hits.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:36]
Okay. Well,
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:38]
learn something new every day, I guess.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:40]
Yeah. So, I mean, like, millennials, like, the old millennials are turning 40 now, aren't they? Don't remember when the exact cutoff is, but Alright. Dude, I can't keep track of that. All I know
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:52]
all I know is I don't live in my mother's basement.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:55]
True. And I and I have a a job and a family, so I don't I don't think I classify.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:00]
You're productive at work,
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:02]
and you aren't easily offended by things.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:05]
Both of those things are very debatable.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:09]
So anyhow, you you got these, glasses from Warby Parker, didn't you? I did. And man, was that an experience.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:16]
Good experience or bad experience, John?
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:18]
It was not as smooth as I would have liked it to be.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:22]
But I don't know that that Warby Parker's fault as much as it is all
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:26]
of the
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:28]
regulation around
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:30]
health care and all things related.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:32]
So, I mean, tell me what happened because I I have not heard this story at all. So,
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:38]
I guess it was Thanksgiving. You're the one who told me to look at Warby Parker and, like, take the vision check thing through their app. Yeah. So I first looked at that. I was pulling it up. I was in Kentucky,
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:48]
and then I said, oh, you gotta set up your laptop and something and be, like, 15 feet away from it. So I said, alright. I'll wait.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:54]
So then it was probably a couple weeks later that I did it at home, and it turns out that Warby Parker doesn't have
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:01]
I don't know if they he used the term registered, but registered
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:05]
optometrist in Iowa.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:07]
So I couldn't actually
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:09]
take the vision check through the app in Iowa.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:12]
Oh, interesting. So they have to they have to have optometrists
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:15]
on the books, so to speak,
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:17]
in the state that you taking it. Not that you live, that you're taking it. It's based on your device's
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:24]
geolocation.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:26]
So you might have actually gotten away with it in Kentucky?
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:29]
Correct.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:30]
Have no doubt that I would have.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:32]
Definitely would have gotten away with it in Indiana because we have a Yeah. You have a store there. Kentucky probably does too. Milwaukee does. So So that's ultimately what I did is I spoofed my phone's location so that I was in Milwaukee
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:45]
to take the
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:48]
to take the exam. That
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:50]
works. Okay. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:52]
but you were able to do the whole eye exam
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:55]
completely remotely.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:57]
Right? Correct.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:58]
I mean, that's pretty cool. That is very cool.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:01]
So, basically, yeah, you start by standing, like, 15 feet away from your computer. Computer's supposed to be above waist level, And, like, the phone app tells you exactly how far you need to be. So you hold it up to the screen, and it's got, a QR code sorta looking thing, and it tells you how far to back up. And then your phone acts basically as a controller. So instead of reading letters or whatever, it's basically like swiping in the direction that openings are in,
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:29]
in like these
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:30]
not completely closed circles.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:33]
That's fascinating. So then from that, they're able to write you a prescription.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:37]
Yeah. So this is interesting because so you have to provide
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:41]
a subscription as well.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:43]
It can be an expired subscription.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:47]
Prescription, John, not subscription.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:50]
What is that what I said? Yeah. You said subscription. Sorry. You I'm bumbling all prescription.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:56]
Alright. Are what are you drinking right now, John? I am drinking some Basil Hayden, but that's Okay. My only glass that I have left. I finished off the bottle, with less than a glass. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:07]
Alright. Continue, John. Tell tell me about your subscription.
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:13]
I canceled all my subscriptions and unsubscribed from everything in my email today. But my prescription,
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:19]
so, like
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:24]
so I guess that's where I started first.
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:26]
So because I couldn't take the exam in Iowa without,
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:30]
hacking the system,
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:32]
I started was like eyeglassesusa.com
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:36]
or something, and supposedly,
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:38]
they can take the prescription
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:40]
off of your current glasses,
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:43]
which was also a cool experience.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:45]
Wait. Wait. Wait. They
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:47]
they like, using just the glass, the the lens glass? Yeah. So this is another phone and computer app, which is really cool. So you basically hold your glasses up in between your phone and the computer,
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:59]
and then you, like, tilt them so that it can read what the prescription is. It was very cool.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:04]
Warby Parker didn't buy it as an official prescription,
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:08]
so I had to go through and take the exam.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:11]
Wow. That's fascinating. Okay. So I I guess you said they needed an old prescription in addition to So
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:18]
The new one? And I don't know enough about vision prescriptions,
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:21]
but there's something that they can't
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:24]
like, measure in the app.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:28]
I don't remember what the term was,
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:31]
but there's, like, this one piece that they aren't able to measure via via the app.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:37]
Okay.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:38]
So But that could be expired.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:40]
But then a real optometrist
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:42]
goes and reviews your test results
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:45]
and
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:45]
basically
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:46]
gives you this prescription.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:48]
And they make it very clear everywhere that this is not a,
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:55]
an alternate to a real in person eye exam because it doesn't track for eye health things and things like that. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:03]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:04]
So the when I did my last order,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:07]
I asked for a copy of the prescription when I left the optometrist.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:11]
And
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:12]
I just took a, you know, photo scan of it and sent it off to Warby Parker, and I was good to go.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:19]
It was a little bumpy because there were there was, I don't know, there's something about them
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:24]
registering properly in the system that was was,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:28]
not smooth. But, you know, I I mean, I think I had my glasses in like three weeks time from the from like the point I got my samples to the time that I ordered and
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:38]
had it, arrived. So to me, that was a nice experience. I also found, like, I was able to to find the frames I wanted.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:46]
They were reasonably priced,
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:49]
because I I don't know about, like, what your experiences at the Atomos should have been like, but the frames are always outrageously expensive in my experience. Yep. So They are. So that was the big reason why I want this, and this way, and I don't like interacting with people, so I interact online.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:05]
So do you have eye insurance at all? I do.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:09]
So was your eye insurance hooked up to Warby Parker or do you have to submit a claim? I have to submit a great old paper form completely. Oh.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:17]
Yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:19]
So so my vision insurance let me submit a claim through their web,
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:25]
through their website after I logged in,
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:27]
and,
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:28]
they processed it within a week, actually. Within a week, I had a reimbursement check.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:33]
Warby Parker was, like, an option, the drop down. So it just all kinda chugged along. It was it was actually that was a pretty good experience all around. Nice. So I got the samples. You basically choose five frames that they ship to you in a nice
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:46]
packaged box.
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:48]
You try them on. You hold on to them for five days. You ask your sister-in-law which ones you should go with. And she says, hey. Choose between these two.
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:57]
And then I went with ended up with these hipster round Steve Jobs ish glasses.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:03]
Well, good deal, John. I'm glad I'm glad that that whole experience worked out for you.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:08]
So did you happen to test those new lenses out
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:12]
at, any places where you might have to, like, soak in a lot of visual detail recently?
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:19]
I did not. They arrived after I saw Star Wars. Oh, alright. Well,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:24]
so I guess this is the segue. I guess, so real quick disclaimer. We're about to talk about Star Wars. Spoiler alert. If you haven't seen the movie, you probably should turn it off now. Liz. Liz, listen. If you if you're listening right now, Liz,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:36]
hang in there. We're gonna nerd out for a little bit, but next week, we're not gonna talk about this. So just bear with us. You don't need to unsubscribe this time. I think that Liz likes Star Wars. I don't know if she'll like a whole episode about it. And just for those who might be living under a rock, this is
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:52]
Star Wars, the rise of Skywalker,
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:55]
not any other Star Wars movie that we could be spoiling for you. But at this point, you have no excuse.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:01]
Yeah. So the final
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:03]
episode in the Skywalker saga, so they say.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:07]
I'm I'm not totally convinced, but let's let's go with that.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:11]
I've seen it twice. You've seen it once. Correct. What's what's your take, John? Like, how'd you feel about it? So what I keep telling everyone is that my take is that it was a necessary evil
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:22]
that was relatively satisfying.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:25]
Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:27]
I've simply said that I'm satisfied.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:29]
Some
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:30]
folks have interpreted that as,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:33]
like, not good. Some folks have interpreted that as it was it was good. And and so I'll I'll expand on that simply by saying,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:40]
if
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:41]
you have the faintest
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:43]
interest in Star Wars, you should absolutely go see it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:47]
Yes. There are so many ways this movie could have gone wrong and it did not.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:53]
Is it the best Star Wars movie? No. Is it in my top five? No.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:58]
But I'm satisfied. I am genuinely satisfied with how they managed to wrap this story up. And I'll even go so far as to say that I appreciate some of the things that they did to make amends
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:10]
after The Last Jedi
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:12]
and,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:13]
you know, just kinda build some bridges with fans.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:17]
Is this the best of the
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:20]
I guess, I'll call it the current trilogy?
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:22]
No. Okay.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:24]
I don't think so either, but I think it's close.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:27]
I I think The Force Awakens
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:30]
is,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:31]
all in all,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:33]
a better written movie.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:36]
And it is completely fair to criticize it for being a redo of A New Hope,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:42]
except that's different. It's very different. So Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:46]
But I I think that movie
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:49]
is just a it's just better done. It's better written. It has better character development. It has better depth.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:55]
And you're left away you're left walking away from that one wanting more.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:03]
The Last Jedi, you're left walking away with, oh my gosh, I hope they end this now.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:07]
And The Rise of Skywalker,
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:09]
I think you you walk away being satisfied. I don't need another episode.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:13]
You know? I'm I'm good. Yep.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:16]
I don't think I want another episode.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:19]
I it's it's not necessary. Right? Like, that's part of the satisfaction
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:23]
of this particular particular movie.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:26]
There are two things we gotta address. I I just I gotta get them off my chest. Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:31]
So the last episode we recorded, you said there would not be any porgs.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:35]
You were wrong.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:37]
I was only kind of wrong. Oh, you were totally wrong. There were porgs.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:41]
There were porgs in that movie. Was right. Seconds of screen time? It doesn't matter. No. No. No. Don't let's split hairs at the end of time.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:49]
There were porgs. I was right. Just just embrace But
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:52]
would you have called that Ewoks were around?
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:56]
You know, I I hadn't thought through it. I think if I had stopped and really, like, mold over the implications of seeing the Death Star, it would have been a natural conclusion. Right? Like, they're not gonna go to Endor and not see Ewoks. It's just not gonna happen.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:14]
So, you know, I but no. I I wasn't, walking and expecting that. I was expecting the porgs.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:19]
Whatever. Yeah. It's what it is. Mandalorian
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:22]
prerelease, we speculated a little bit that there might be a nugget that led into this. I think there was conclusively. It was that force healing that we see in the Mandalorian. I think they were setting that up
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:33]
for, like, pre established in his canon
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:36]
prior to
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:37]
the the events of The Rise of Skywalker.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:43]
I agree. Okay. That's something I it's interesting. I've seen a few people, including our friend Patty,
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:50]
have been a little frustrated, like, was pulled out of, you know, thin air for The Mandalorian.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:56]
That actually has a long, like, history in,
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:59]
you know, the
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:01]
stuff that was Star Wars material,
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:03]
it's now non canon
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:04]
before the Disney acquisition. So none of that really bothered me. True.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:09]
Yeah. And I mean, like, force healing is huge in the video game realm.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:13]
Yeah. Is that and I was I was trying to recall I feel like there's a reference in an Ahsoka book that is canon that alludes to the ability to like or maybe it's even Clone Wars. I have to go back and check this out. But using the force to, like, strengthen yourself to heal faster. So there's like an illusion to it, but this was much more explicit. And,
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:33]
you know, that's all they did with it, and that's fine. I think it was it was So wrong with it. This is something specifically
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:40]
for fans of the stan caliber.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:42]
I think that they could've used force healing
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:45]
in The Rise of Skywalker,
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:47]
and I wouldn't have cared. I wouldn't have thought twice about it. I I agree with you there. I agree with you. And,
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:53]
you know, the this movie
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:57]
has a lot of nods to folks that are deep in Star Wars. Yes. Maybe
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:04]
more so than the last two films. Sure.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:07]
I I like I listed a whole bunch of them in our notes, but I would
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:12]
point to
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:13]
that particular aspect. I would point to the Sith mysticism
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:17]
that's exposed, like, that's that's drawn on some old republic stuff as well as some,
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:23]
you know, rebels and Clone Wars material.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:26]
I think you've got some interesting cameos such as John Williams at as a bartender. Did
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:31]
you catch that? I didn't catch it the first time, but I went back and I looked at all the cameos. When when I saw it the first time, I like, man, that guy is really familiar and it's gonna bug me.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:42]
It wasn't till I got home that I I realized who it was. J. J. Abrams is the voice of D. O. Yep. That one I knew. Yeah. There's there's some good ones in there. I think, you know, there's also
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:52]
you had the voices of the Jedi, which is completely and totally a play to those that are deep in the Star Wars universe, because you've got,
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:59]
Freddie Prinze Jr, you've got the voice of Ahsoka, you've got a bunch of voices from both Clone Wars and,
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:06]
the original trilogy in there. So, you know, like, these things are not going to be caught by the average viewer, but they are gonna get noticed
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:16]
by folks like myself and others that really, I think, were agitated by The Last Jedi.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:22]
Yes. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:25]
And
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:26]
yeah. So especially the first act,
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:29]
I think there is a lot of effort,
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:32]
put into
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:33]
either
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:35]
undoing
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:36]
or apologizing
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:37]
for things that happened in The Last Jedi.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:40]
I think that's fair. Where do you say the first act ends?
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:44]
I don't know. I have to watch it against him.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:48]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:49]
there's
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:50]
I think the moment that I realized that they were truly trying to make amends for the sins of The Last Jedi
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:57]
was that scene when Rey is burning Kylo Ren's TIE fighter. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:03]
Because it was
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:05]
it was when she takes the lightsaber and throws it into the fire, like, she's going to destroy it. Right? Yep. And Luke catches it, and he says that's no way to treat a Jedi's weapon or or whatever the particular line is. And the irony there is that is exactly how The Last Jedi starts Yep. With him flippantly tossing the lightsaber away. And so I thought at that moment, you know what? That's that's JJ Abrams saying, we messed up. We messed up on the last one,
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:31]
and we're gonna do right by you. I I'll even go so far as to say, like, actually owning
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:36]
Rey's lineage, which is a major theme to this whole movie Right. Is
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:43]
kind of an apology to the way they wrote her off in the last one. Absolutely. I I don't buy
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:49]
any of the arguments that this Palpatine thing has existed
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:54]
beyond this script. Like, I don't I don't believe that this was a theme that they've been building up to. I think this is a fan theory that got
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:02]
a
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:03]
wild amount of attention prior to The Last Jedi.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:07]
Rian Johnson just pooped all over it. Yep. And and they made amends by,
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:13]
like, you know, really rolling with it. Yeah. So I don't know if this is true, but I heard somebody at work say that they actually brought in George Lucas for some story consulting for this. Have you heard anything about that?
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:26]
So I it's funny you you say this because I was actually doing a little googling. I haven't found anything conclusive.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:30]
Interestingly, if you rewind
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:33]
to the Star Wars acquisition by Disney, George Lucas wrote an outline for three movies
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:39]
Right. And handed them off, and then
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:42]
Disney didn't do anything with them. They started from scratch. And if you recall, Lucas did not like Force Awakens at all. He was very unhappy with it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:53]
The Last Jedi,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:54]
he described it as a beautifully made movie,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:58]
which was not I liked it or anything like that. Sure. Supposedly, he liked Rogue One.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:04]
But I think he's been he's been pretty critical. So I don't know where he lands
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:08]
with this.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:09]
I I think it'll probably take time. There was when in his contract,
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:13]
when he sold Star Wars, there was a no disparagement
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:16]
clause.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:17]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:18]
truth be told, it'll be like an, you know, an interview that'll come out after he's dead before we find out how he really felt about the franchise
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:25]
after he handed it off.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:28]
Yep.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:29]
So,
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:31]
yeah,
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:33]
where to next, Stan? Well, let me ask this. What what bothered you about this movie? I have a couple things that didn't sit well with me.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:41]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:42]
purely
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:43]
from a storytelling
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:45]
standpoint,
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:46]
everything felt rushed.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:50]
Except the the third act where they're in the Sith temple.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:54]
I feel like that was paced really well.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:57]
Yeah. Everything leading up to that. It was paced while it slowed down, though, significantly. And I think part of this it was a it was a two and a half hour movie, so it wasn't short.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:07]
Yep. Right? And I I think that's part of why it moved so fast. I mean, heck, out the gate,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:13]
you're you're already confronting Palpatine
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:16]
in the first, you know, scene or whatever that you've got going on there. So it was so immediate.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:24]
I I think that's a fair critique. I, you know,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:28]
Last Jedi
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:29]
started off fast, so there's some consistency there.
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:33]
Sure. And then the ship was gonna run out of gas.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:36]
Yeah. Was
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:37]
I'm gonna start, and then Kanto White.
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:42]
So that that is my storytelling critique. The movie is beautiful.
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:46]
Definitely lives up to a Star Wars name. I think it will age relatively well. I think it was done tastefully
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:52]
as far as science fiction graphics go.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:57]
The the
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:59]
thing that I think bugged me the most was Ben and Ray's kiss at the end.
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:04]
Yeah. I felt I would have put money on that.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:07]
I mean,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:09]
I guess.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:10]
It just was completely unnecessary,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:12]
and I don't think it actually contributed
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:15]
to either character at that point.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:18]
It just I don't know. Didn't sit well with me. I it was just something I could've done without.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:23]
We talked a little bit about what Finn was going to tell Rey,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:28]
which happened right before they sunk into the sand. And I told you that I was I was unsatisfied
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:32]
that they didn't
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:34]
actually
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:35]
answer the question. And there's been a lot of postulation as to what Finn was going to tell Rey. The predominant
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:41]
postulation has been that Finn loved Rey. I don't I don't think that's what he was gonna say.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:47]
I firmly believe that he was going to reveal the Rey that he was force sensitive. He could feel the force, sense the force. There's so many illusions. He finally actually owns up to it later on in the movie, and I think I think that's what he was gonna tell her.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:00]
I wish he had done it at some point. I feel like that was almost a loose end. That was a JJ Abrams style loose end. So Finn has wielded a lightsaber.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:10]
He did. And he did it with skill, and he
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:14]
gave Kylo Ren a run for his money. Now, he ultimately got injured really, really badly. Sure. But,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:21]
you know, this movie
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:23]
doesn't leave any ambiguity around Finn being force sensitive. It's pretty explicit all the way up to the point where he actually, like, tells Poe,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:31]
I, you know, I can feel it. Right? Yep.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:34]
And I I dig it. Like, I I am totally on board with that.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:40]
Another grip I had that, you know, there's a whole section about c three p o losing his memory,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:45]
and then he gets it back.
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:47]
Yeah. So I don't know if I agree with you on this one.
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:50]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:52]
c three p o is historically
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:56]
overly dramatic.
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:59]
Okay. Let's hear we go. So, like, this very much fits with his character.
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:05]
I I I understand where you're coming from, where it would have been a great,
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:09]
like,
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:10]
okay. C three p o is, like, the only character who has appeared in every movie now, M and R two.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:17]
Yeah. And and so I think I think for me, it was such a great line. What are you doing, three p o? Taking one last look at my friends. Yep. If that was the conclusion to his story, like, that would be a, you know, him sacrifice himself. I think that would have just been a great
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:32]
conclusion to it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:35]
I I actually I love Chewy. I had kinda mixed feelings that they didn't kill him off Right. When they had the chance to.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:42]
Yeah. Because I think, you know, I I really liked Rogue One. Rogue One was a nice
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:47]
conclusion to that story, and I think if and I told you this before,
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:51]
if this movie was to truly conclude the Skywalker saga, first and foremost, all of the Skywalkers
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:57]
have to die. Correct.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:59]
And they did. I was right about that. Yep. I do think it was a bit of a missed opportunity to part ways with some of the other older characters, in particular Chewy and three p o. Yeah. So,
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:11]
the Chewy scene,
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:13]
I bought it initially.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:15]
And then as time went on, there wasn't enough
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:19]
fanfare around it. So, like, when Obi Wan dies in a new hope,
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:24]
there's the big duel.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:26]
Then when Han Solo gets killed, There's all this fanfare around that.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:32]
It was anticlimactic in that regard. Yeah. Yeah. No. I'm I'm with you. I think if they were gonna kill him off, they needed to do a better job of it. I just again, I think it was a bit of a missed opportunity.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:41]
They should have probably just gone for it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:43]
You know, is what it is. But They wanna do more chewy movies.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:48]
Probably. Let's let's hope. Right? One one for the
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:51]
so in between
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:53]
the Return of the Jedi and Force Awakens, there's a book series that deals with the liberation of Kashyyyk. Yeah. That's a great story. So that would make a great movie. Nice. But
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:02]
I, you know,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:04]
I I was a little like, my gut twisted. Evelyn lost it. Like,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:11]
lost it in the theater. She thought Chewy was dead and
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:14]
was inconsolable.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:16]
So that was a the first time watching it, that was a really long
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:20]
period of time there before he he popped back. But Yep.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:24]
Speaking of Chewy,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:26]
he got his medal. He finally got
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:28]
his medal.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:29]
Did you pick up that that's what she was holding
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:32]
earlier on?
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:34]
No. Not earlier on. Not until she gives it to him. So I I was, like, you know, that thing looks familiar. I can't put my my finger on it. And there had been a scene from a trailer that did not make the movie that also included that medal. Yep. And, you know, I just wasn't sure where this is gonna go, but he finally gets his medal. Yep. And I think from a lot of people, that moment's gonna be lost on them, and that's okay. But that that was a really nice connection
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:59]
to A New Hope.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:01]
It was a nice, like, tie that binds the two.
SPEAKER_1 [00:27:04]
I I totally I dig that. I dig that big time. And he is also the last of the heroes there who's standing at the end. Yep. Pass from Leia to Chewy.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:14]
Yeah. Everyone else is gone. I, you know Yep. It I I digged it. So interesting cameo before I forget. I'm always looking for the ship, the ghost, which is from Rebels. Which I have not watched yet. Yeah. Oh, you're gonna love that show. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:28]
I saw it when there was the battle for Exegol or battle at Exegol. Yep. But then, and most importantly, I didn't catch this the first time, but on the second time,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:37]
the ghost comes to the planet at the end when they return. So the ghost survives
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:42]
the battle of Exegol. Nice.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:44]
Yeah. So I'm happy about that. I don't know what that means. I don't know where that's gonna go. Interestingly, Ahsoka Tano is in the voice of the Jedi, so she's dead.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:53]
But she's also a Jedi, which is kind of a big deal.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:55]
You know, again, like, there's just some depth here that I really appreciated.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:00]
Before we wrap this up, Jon, I think I think we should have our debate
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:05]
about
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:06]
whether or not Rey
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:07]
was ever tempted to go to the dark side.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:11]
I am in the camp that she was, and you, my friend,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:14]
I believe are not.
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:16]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:18]
I would say that she was tempted
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:21]
to go to the dark side. I don't think that I ever was convinced
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:26]
from a writing perspective
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:29]
or
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:30]
an acting perspective maybe
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:32]
that
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:34]
there was any
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:35]
possible chance where that would actually happen,
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:38]
where I think that I am
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:41]
looking back at the original trilogy with Luke.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:45]
Oh, you think Luke was convinced?
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:47]
I think that that there was a chance that Luke could have gone to the dark side that is believable.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:53]
Okay. Yeah. Because this is
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:56]
basically an echo
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:57]
of the face off between Luke
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:00]
and Palpatine in Return of the Jedi. Yep. So it's it's interesting. Right? Like, there's there's a lot of echoes of force in Force Awakens of A New Hope, there are a lot of echoes
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:09]
of Return of the Jedi
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:11]
in this one. And you even made a joke in one of our our text threads that Palpatine should have said, my fully operational battlefield.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:20]
This would have been awesome. Yeah. Well
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:22]
Missed opportunity.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:24]
But I I think I think there's so much anger
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:28]
revealed by Ray in this movie that we are led to believe
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:33]
that she was legitimately tempted to go to the dark side and was considering
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:37]
that.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:41]
And and I I think
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:43]
I don't know. I think that makes it more interesting. I think Ben
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:47]
is the thing that stops her from going to the dark side.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:51]
She and her what do call that? Call that a dyad or whatever. Damn. This bond they have in the force. I think it's his appearance on Exegol
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:59]
that turns the tide and prevents her from
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:03]
following her bloodline, you know, because he is he's literally pulling a Vader.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:09]
I don't so maybe I have to watch it again, but I didn't get any of that
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:15]
in a any sort of believable way.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:18]
So go watch it again and tell me when just watch her facial expression. There's a lot going on in Daisy Ridley's face through that scene. That's what has me leaning that way, and maybe I'm making it all up. I don't know. You know, it's possible. But that that was my sense, both the first time as as well as the second time that I watched it. Yeah. And,
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:36]
you know,
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:37]
who knows? We'll never know. Right? Nobody's gonna ever tell us he's So speaking
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:41]
of Kylo Ren, I thought that
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:44]
what's the actor's name?
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:46]
Adam Driver. Adam Driver did a wonderful job
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:50]
with some really lame material.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:53]
Yeah. His his writing was definitely not
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:57]
fantastic.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:58]
Yeah. And he is arguably
SPEAKER_1 [00:31:00]
the
SPEAKER_1 [00:31:02]
coolest character in this trilogy.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:05]
Oh, yeah. No doubt. No doubt.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:07]
They did the least amount with him in terms of depth Right. Especially comparing it back to Force Awakens.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:14]
I think they brutalized this character in the last Him
SPEAKER_1 [00:31:18]
and Finn both. Those were the two that I like.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:22]
Well, in in this they they definitely stepped back on both of those. Right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:26]
I I this is a fine way for him to end. I
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:30]
but I I agree with you, like, the the writing overall was not fantastic.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:34]
I was a little sad that they didn't give any more explanation to the knights of Ren. This was their opportunity.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:40]
They were front and center,
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:42]
and
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:43]
honestly, the most depth we got was him slaughtering them.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:47]
But
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:48]
one thing that struck me, and I thought about this I I haven't told you this yet. Force Awakens,
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:53]
when you watch it,
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:54]
it's a funny movie.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:56]
Like, there's there's some really well done humor in Force Awakens.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:01]
And with The Last Jedi, I think they tried too hard to be funny. Yeah. This was not a funny movie. The Rise of Skywalker was not humor like, didn't have humor really at all. There were some, like, random jokes, like when, you know, Adam Driver jumps out and hits the
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:18]
the chain before sliding down. He's like, oh, you know, like, it's supposed to be physical comedy. But Yeah. I remember It's really not. I laughed at a couple times,
SPEAKER_1 [00:32:26]
but I think I was the only one, and I think it was more like a ironic
SPEAKER_1 [00:32:31]
fan sort of throws that I was laughing at Yep. Rather than any
SPEAKER_1 [00:32:35]
straight Yeah. Written jokes.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:37]
I remember for at Force Awakens, the crowd busting out laughing many times,
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:42]
and just didn't happen. You know, Rogue One too, I think was a was a really funny
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:47]
movie despite how serious the overtones were. Yep.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:51]
And this movie didn't have that. I actually, in general, I think the crowd reaction from this movie in both of the times I saw it was kinda pathetic. You know? Yep. So mine was nothing, man.
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:02]
Yeah. That's what I'm saying. He was dead. Right? So did you have anybody cheer, like, at the Star Wars
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:10]
when it first appears before the crawl? There was there was a show in my thing that is the first Star Wars movie that I've seen on opening night that that has not happened. Yep. Both of my showings were like that. So was no applause after the movie.
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:23]
Yeah. Actually, true story. That didn't happen on mine either. I
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:27]
think even The Last Jedi had both of those things.
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:31]
It definitely had it at the beginning. I will not say that it had it at the end. I don't recall
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:36]
applause at the end
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:39]
for The Last Jedi.
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:41]
And maybe that's just the damage that The Last Jedi has done to this franchise.
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:45]
I I don't know. Yeah. It's it's kinda sad because the the crowd interactions
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:50]
of Star Wars have always been this, like, just really great,
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:55]
aspects to watching one of those movies on opening night. It's why I wanted to go on opening night. It's why I took my kids on opening night.
SPEAKER_1 [00:34:02]
So that that part was sad. I I was bummed by that. I mean, if you contrast this with earlier in the year when we went to go see Endgame,
SPEAKER_1 [00:34:11]
not Endgame. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. Like,
SPEAKER_1 [00:34:14]
it was just
SPEAKER_1 [00:34:16]
Night and day different. Yeah. Night and day different. People cheering with characters appearing and lines,
SPEAKER_1 [00:34:22]
and it was it was weird. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:24]
So, you know, it is what it is, that ship has sailed and I think people are gonna chew on this movie for a while.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:30]
And I I think
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:32]
my original
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:33]
summarization of I'm satisfied,
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:36]
I it describes where I'm at,
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:39]
you know, emotionally with this this movie and this franchise pretty well.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:44]
I'm not going to sit here and say, oh, that was a great movie. I'm not gonna sit here and say it was awful cause it was neither of those things. Right.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:50]
But it
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:52]
it wrapped this story up in a way
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:54]
that I'm satisfied. I don't I don't, like, I don't have a bunch of burning unanswered questions.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:59]
I think they fixed as much as they could, and it's time to move on. Yep. And and that's sad. Like, there's a there's a really sad element to
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:09]
this movie.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:11]
It just in concluding this really spectacular
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:14]
saga.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:15]
I hope that Disney will take a step back, take a bit of a breather,
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:20]
and figure out what it wants to do with Star Wars next that's not Skywalker,
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:25]
and come up with a really awesome plan. And I I think, I hope, it will not involve Rian Johnson.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:33]
And they will have some kind of continuity of writing. Because I I think, as I look back on this,
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:38]
changing the writers from movie to movie, changing the directors and producers from movie to movie,
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:44]
probably didn't help their cause, especially Mhmm.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:47]
They they had this they had this new, you know, new thing to Disney, right, that they were going to do. There was nothing
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:53]
there was nothing in the hopper at Lucasfilm when they bought it. They didn't have any movies in development. They didn't have any scripts in development.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:59]
George Lucas wrote the outlines for the three movies that he pitched to Disney
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:04]
after they started negotiations.
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:06]
So it wasn't like they were walking into
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:09]
a storyline that they were gonna flesh out. They just knew that it hadn't finished up yet, Right? Because there were still Skywalkers around.
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:16]
And I I think I think they
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:20]
did okay,
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:22]
but it it didn't live up to the rest of the franchise. Like, if you let's let's put it this way. Take a step back and let me ask you, if you had to rank the three trilogies,
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:30]
okay?
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:31]
So in sets of three, obviously,
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:33]
A New Hope through Return of the Jedi is number one. Yep.
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:36]
Do you put the final trilogy above the the prequel trilogy? I don't.
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:45]
Taking a trilogy as a whole? A trilogy as a whole.
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:49]
Yeah. I don't think I do either. Now if you take them as their parts,
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:54]
like,
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:55]
there are more towards the bottom from the original trilogy than there are from
SPEAKER_1 [00:37:01]
the last trilogy.
SPEAKER_1 [00:37:03]
I
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:04]
From the first trilogy and the last trilogy. I don't know. So we talked a little bit about this, and my ranking
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:10]
today would still be Empire,
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:13]
A New Hope,
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:15]
Rogue One,
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:16]
Return of the Jedi,
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:18]
Revenge of the Sith.
SPEAKER_1 [00:37:20]
Right. But then where do you put Attack of the Clones and Phantom Menace?
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:24]
I put Force Awakens,
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:25]
Attack of the Clones,
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:27]
Revenge Jedi, Phantom Menace. Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:37:30]
You put Attack of the Clones over Rise of Skywalker?
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I would. Yep. Interesting.
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So I've got Attack of the Clones, Phantom Menace, and Last Jedi as my final three. So here's
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Attack of the Clones has
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some really unnecessary
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love story stuff that goes on in the middle. But
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the the final act of Attack of the Clones
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is some of the most fantastic
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writing
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that happens
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in that prequel trilogy. Right? Like, it it's it's just a really awesome execution.
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You know, think about when Yoda shows up Yeah. With the clones. Right? There was definitely cheering when I saw that on opening night. Oh, yeah. You you know, and and so
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that part of that movie has such a strong ending.
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Yep. And it opens up a a huge chapter of content
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that they didn't deal with right away. Right? Does. So I think that part of the problem with Attack of the Clones is it also tries to do too much.
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You got That's fair. Dooku, you got General Grievous, you got
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all that. You got the kickoff of the clones, like, so Yeah. Exactly. And so, you know, they could have tried to resolve all that in that movie, but instead they made a show. Sure. And that show is fantastic. So Which I've also not watched. Yeah. You gotta watch it. That's that's just some good material.
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But my my point is I think that that makes that movie Trump
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Rise of Skywalker.
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Alright.
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So,
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you know, I
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I will reserve judgment
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until
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we get a little further out. I also didn't even include Solo in my rankings, which I probably
SPEAKER_1 [00:39:09]
I probably would put that above Rise of Skywalker too. So Solo, I put between Rise of Skywalker and Attack of the Clones.
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Oh, interesting. See, I think
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despite
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some
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poor acting,
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I think the story of Solo is better than the story of The Rise of Skywalker.
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That could be fair.
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Now, you know, time will tell. So again, but the Rise of Skywalker,
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that third act,
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is excellent.
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It is. It is it is absolutely excellent. I I don't disagree with you. But it's not without flaws. It's not without flaws that
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that that don't bother me. Right? Like, think You know think that's You don't like the kiss. The kiss ruins it for you, doesn't it, Stan? That loses two spots right there. It shifts
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the focus in a way that's just not palatable to me.
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You know,
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I I think I think that's that's probably
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that and, like, some of the unanswered questions around the Knights of Ren.
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There's, like,
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the the questions that are left open for a finale are very JJ Abrams esque,
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and I don't want that in Star Wars. Yep. I didn't I didn't have that in Return of the Jedi. Did you? No.
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No. See? I didn't even have that in Revenge of the Sith. Right. So Oh, Revenge of the Sith is kind of a different character.
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It it is. But think about the only thing that's left open
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at that movie is answered in the following trilogy. So they get to do that. Right? But
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they don't they just don't leave these unresolved
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loose ends. There there was an element of Lost in this one, and I think that's what bumps it down,
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you know, in my ranking. But thankfully,
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it was not so much like Lost that we will never go back and watch another Star Wars film. Oh, yeah. No.
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Don't mistake me. I this this one will be pre ordered on iTunes as soon as as soon as it's available.
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Alright. We're over. But, Stan,
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your three favorite parts of the movie.
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My three favorite parts of the movie. Okay.
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So the voices of the Jedi has to be
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my number one thing. Such a good scene.
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It it was. I loved what they did with Ewan McGregor
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and the first steps, final steps bit. Did you pick this up? Yeah. So I I didn't pick it up when I watched it, but when I was reading, I I read through some things about it. I I nearly lost my mind. So in Force Awakens, when we hear his voice, he's he's referring to Rey's first steps. And in this movie, he's referring to her her final steps. Yep. Yeah. And I was like, oh, man. Just the, like, the awesome depth there.
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That
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would be my number one. I think
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so number two
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well, you give me your number one while I think, John. Okay. So
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I I haven't thought about which order these would come in, but, definitely towards the top is when Palpatine
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force lightnings
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the entire
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fleet.
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Like, there is this sense of desperation there that's not anywhere else in the movie,
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and it shows the full power of the dark side.
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Yeah. You're almost convinced that he's gonna win. Yep. Palpatine is still Palpatine.
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So the
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my number two
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would be that scene where Kylo Ren's TIE fighter is burning.
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Yep. And it looks like Rey is just gonna give up. She's gonna lock herself up just like Luke. She's gonna destroy the lightsaber. I think Luke's presence there was fantastic
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and
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perfectly on point. I just think that that was all well done. That would be my number two.
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So my number two is actually going to be the final scene,
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the return to Tatooine.
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That was a good one. The return to the
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Skywalker
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water harvesting plant.
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And then she takes the Skywalker name at the end of that. Thought that was well done. Yes. That was well done.
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It even echoed the kind of force ghosts in the
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Return of the Jedi, and it was very tastefully done, I think. It did. My biggest gripe is that I think Kylo Ren's ghost should have been there, and it wasn't. I
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did really I didn't think of that. I did appreciate the sled, the sand sledding, because I was talking back to Fortunately, yeah. Yep. Yep. So my number three
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would have to be on the Death Star
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when Rey
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faces
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Sith Rey in a little lightsaber duel.
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There was a flash to Sith Rey earlier on in the movie. It happened so fast. And I caught it and I actually squealed the first time
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I saw it. And Sarah's like, you can't talk in the movie. But
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I I love that. I love that dichotomy.
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I love this whole like, that is the balance of the force taking place right there.
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So
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that that would be my number three.
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And now I'm gonna be on the spot to look for a number three because I didn't think it was far ahead.
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Hey, man. That's your question.
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I I'm gonna go with the
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so when Rey comes back to
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the
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rebel base,
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and her and Leia's hug,
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I think, was extremely well done. I think that overall,
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JJ Abrams did a relatively good job
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kinda circumventing the whole Leia thing.
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It wasn't perfect,
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but I think he did a good job with it. Yeah. No. I totally agree with you.
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The
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reuse of Force Awakened shots
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was well done. Some of it, think, was a little obvious at times. But again, you work with what you got, and I think it was a better choice than
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CGI ing her Sure. Into those.
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I will say as a as a number four, I'm going to
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point back to I'm gonna do this as a as a as a dyad,
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if you will.
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The scene where it shows Leia's training,
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and then Yeah. Rey receives
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Leia's lightsaber
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was so overdue
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and was another favorite of mine. Again, I'm looking at all of the pre canon
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Star Wars novels and some of the ways that they deal with Leia. I felt like the princess got her lightsaber.
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And
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if Star Wars had ended without that, I think that would have been a real misfire. So that that would have been my number for my honorable That was almost another
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reconciling of The Last Jedi when Oh, no. Toa starts using the force and, like, what?
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And then the why she
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gave it up is very Leia.
SPEAKER_0 [00:46:11]
Yeah. Exactly. And I think I think that's some of the beauty of the way they contrast this to The Last Jedi. Right? Because she
SPEAKER_0 [00:46:18]
uses the force in The Last Jedi in almost the most
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selfish
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way imaginable, right, to save her own skin. Nobody else survives there.
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And I I think that that was just inconsistent with her character, and that was the worst way to introduce Leia and the force to the canon.
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So, yeah, I'm with you. I thought I thought again,
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just well done. Deserved an honorable mention.
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Are you gonna go see this again in theaters? I believe I will. Missus Kolmeyer has not seen it yet, and I think she would like to. So Good deal. Good deal. Yeah. I I suspect twice is enough for me, and I'll just wait till I can buy it on iTunes.
SPEAKER_0 [00:46:56]
But, yeah, the across the board, the Lemon family,
SPEAKER_0 [00:46:59]
all approved. Kids loved it. Missus Lemon agreed with the I'm satisfied. Loved it, and there was no Death Star?
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Technically technically, there was.
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Lots of mini Death Stars instead of being a death planet now. No. No. No. The Death Star was in this movie, John. Yeah. Fair. Okay. It was it was just crashed on Endor.
SPEAKER_0 [00:47:21]
Yeah. No. They they loved it. I I did realize that I probably should have made them binge
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the movies before we got to it, but I it I I could not stomach the thought of having to watch the last Jedi.
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So
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Yeah.
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The last Jedi. So this movie,
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Rise of Skywalker, made me like The Last Jedi even less because I see what they could have done to
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tell a story that concluded with The Rise of Skywalker,
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introduced Palpatine, spent some time on Rage's training,
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stuff like that.
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And
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The Last Jedi also makes me like The Force Awakens less than I did when I originally saw it. Oh, interesting. So my take coming away from this
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was
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I I think they
SPEAKER_0 [00:48:10]
some of the fixing they did
SPEAKER_0 [00:48:12]
made The Last Jedi in hindsight
SPEAKER_0 [00:48:15]
less awful. That's the spectrum of awful. Right? So less awful is still awful.
SPEAKER_0 [00:48:24]
I there's there's just no way around it. Like, The Last Jedi ranks below Phantom Menace for me. There. I said Same here. Yep. Yeah. Alright. On that on that note, John, this episode will drop after Christmas. Correct?
SPEAKER_0 [00:48:36]
Correct.
SPEAKER_0 [00:48:37]
So Merry Christmas, everybody. I I haven't looked. Will we drop another episode before New Year's?
SPEAKER_1 [00:48:43]
No. This is the pre New Year's episode. The next one will come out on the second.
SPEAKER_0 [00:48:48]
So we should have done some Festivus.
SPEAKER_1 [00:48:51]
I I guess We are recording on Festivus.
SPEAKER_1 [00:48:54]
We aired our grievances about The Last Jedi
SPEAKER_1 [00:48:56]
and some of the things There we as a Skywalker.
SPEAKER_1 [00:48:59]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:49:00]
On that note, my friend, happy New Year, and we can talk about New Year's resolutions the next time we get together. And may the force be with you. And may the force be with you.