What was the last movie you watched?

[Edward J Grug III]

You really don't find it incredibly obtrusive in the Star Trek movie? I noticed it immediately.  It's like driving at night while the other lane has their brights on.

Yeah, I don't - I agree with with Pak.

[Edward J Grug III]

Well I've only ever seen Star Trek and Super 8, but I don't really have any interest in seeing most of the other shit he's done.  I dread what will happen with Star Wars.

I am prepared to put a million dollars on 'nothing worse than anything that has already happened to Star Wars.'

[Kete]

I like JJ.  I like the mystery box.  I love his ability to have those small character moments in big movies.

The lens flares and the blue/orange stuff is annoying, but not enough to ruin the movie for me.

[Darth Geek]

The lens flares and the blue/orange stuff is annoying, but not enough to ruin the movie for me.

Yeah, that's my stance too. I love Super 8 in particular, and while I wish he wouldn't do the lensflare thing, I find it less annoying than shakycam and other crap that other directors do.

[Quantum Vagina]

I like JJ.  I like the mystery box.  I love his ability to have those small character moments in big movies.

My problem with the Mystery Box is that it always, always, ALWAYS is the lamest thing it could possibly be, but since he makes such a big deal about keeping the secret, people speculate WAY cooler things than it actually turns out to be. Into Darkness, for example. Not only did he draw a comparison that every new Star Trek movie should AVOID, I was hoping it'd be something a little more interesting, but no, it's just boring and lame and shoe-horned in.

As for the Super 8 discussion, I wasn't impressed at ALL. The train scene was kinda good, yeah, but overall, the movie was boring. It also annoys me how he was trying to make something personal to him, and spent an hour forty telling me how damn good ET was. JJ, I already KNEW how good ET was. I was hoping you'd tell me something about who you are as a man, and a director. As it is, there's no substance to his movies, and I think that's probably why I never remember things from them. I have no idea, when watching an Abrams movie, what drives that man creatively. If I wasn't told it was an Abrams movie, I probably wouldn't be able to tell, where I could easily point out something made by someone like Del Toro or Peter Jackson.

I personally think that Star Wars, as bloody and beaten as it is, deserves better than JJ. I'd almost prefer it if it was another Lucas debacle. Yeah, they weren't great, but at least they're MEMORABLE, and they were bad in interesting ways. Star Wars needs a creative mind to take it in a new direction, and as far as I'm concerned, JJ Abrams is NOT the man for that job.

[Nunyerbiz]

That's all fine and good... but jesus... the guy has only directed like four movies...  three of them were basically franchise action flicks and one was a collaboration with / homage to Spielberg. I don't think he's necessarily aiming for 1941 Orson Welles territory.

The lens flare is annoying, didn't crop up much in Super 8... but I personally thought it was noticeable and distracting in my theater viewing of his first Trek. Still liked the movie overall, just don't understand what the flare brought to the table.

As far as Star Wars... I'm completely indifferent about it anyways... But he won't do worse than the Lucas prequels. He'll likely have passable dialog / scripts and can likely get emotion from actors in front of green screens. Two things Lucas didn't / couldn't produce. The Lucas prequels are only memorable for being astonishingly dull... and quite frankly... I'd prefer forgettable mediocrity over a repeat of that.

[Quantum Vagina]

That's all fine and good... but jesus... the guy has only directed like four movies...  three of them were basically franchise action flicks and one was a collaboration with / homage to Spielberg.

That's another reason I think he shouldn't be allowed near Star Wars.

[Edward J Grug III]

That's all fine and good... but jesus... the guy has only directed like four movies...  three of them were basically franchise action flicks and one was a collaboration with / homage to Spielberg.

That's another reason I think he shouldn't be allowed near Star Wars.

Because he's directed franchise movies? Or because he collaborated with Spielberg?

[Quantum Vagina]

That's all fine and good... but jesus... the guy has only directed like four movies...  three of them were basically franchise action flicks and one was a collaboration with / homage to Spielberg.

That's another reason I think he shouldn't be allowed near Star Wars.

Because he's directed franchise movies? Or because he collaborated with Spielberg?

The five movies thing, and the fact that they're all just ok.

[Edward J Grug III]

That's all fine and good... but jesus... the guy has only directed like four movies...  three of them were basically franchise action flicks and one was a collaboration with / homage to Spielberg.

That's another reason I think he shouldn't be allowed near Star Wars.

Because he's directed franchise movies? Or because he collaborated with Spielberg?

The five movies thing, and the fact that they're all just ok.

How many movies do you need to be able to direct before you're allowed to direct a Star Wars?

(And they are all better than OK in my opinion)

[Quantum Vagina]

That's all fine and good... but jesus... the guy has only directed like four movies...  three of them were basically franchise action flicks and one was a collaboration with / homage to Spielberg.

That's another reason I think he shouldn't be allowed near Star Wars.

Because he's directed franchise movies? Or because he collaborated with Spielberg?

The five movies thing, and the fact that they're all just ok.

How many movies do you need to be able to direct before you're allowed to direct a Star Wars?

(And they are all better than OK in my opinion)

See, I think you should have something solid under your belt, or movies with substance to be allowed to direct something like Star Wars. I just Abrams to prove he's got the creative chops to direct something like that, and I don't think that he's done that. Honestly? I think we're going to get a movie that looks and feels superficially like the earlier ones, that everyone but the most diehard fans will forget about 2 hours after they've watched it. And while that's not BAD, by any stretch of the imagination, Star Wars deserves better. I want a Star Wars that will stick. It's been what, 13 years, and we're STILL talking about Phantom Menace. I don't care if it's good or bad, I just want Star Wars to be taken in a new direction. Look what happened with Star Trek. When he was asked to come up with a new idea for the series to go in, the BEST he and his team could come up with was to steal the plot of Top Gun. And then Into Darkness.

How about we give it to someone who has a vision they want to put on the screen? There's young directors slaving away in the music video and commercial hells who'd KILL for a chance to direct something like this. Give me something new, and interesting, and exciting, not something I'll forget. I know I keep saying that, but I think that's what my biggest problem with Abrams' work has been up to this point: it's left absolutely NO impression on me. A movie in the Star Wars series will make billions of dollars on the name alone; give it to somebody who might do something exciting with it.

[Pak-Man]

Lucas only really had a couple movies under his belt when he made the originals.

It seems to me that everyone who hated Abram's Star Trek thought that he made it too much like Star Wars. Stands to reason that he'll be good at making Star Wars, then. Unless he makes it more like Star Trek, in which case I say we start switching scripts on him. :^)

[Edward J Grug III]

Abrams is going to be the director with the second most movies under his belt before helming a Star Wars film, only behind Irvin Kershner.

[Quantum Vagina]

Abrams is going to be the director with the second most movies under his belt before helming a Star Wars film, only behind Irvin Kershner.

Quantity's not the issue, in my opinion. Quality is.

[Nunyerbiz]

I think the new SW film will live and die based on the script much more than the director.