Journey to the Force Awakens Pt 4

Episode VII: The Undiscovered Country

I require a few caveats to this entry before we move on. First, I just wanted to be done with the Star Wars arc because I've been sitting on these for over a month and I know that you all want to hear what I have to say. Second, there's an appendage to this entry that I wrote today that you'll understand better once you read it.

Before: Obviously, I haven’t seen this movie yet and I’ve tried really hard to not spoil anything beforehand so that when I present you with an assessment, my thoughts can be without blemish and my opinions objective. All of my friends have praised it and that’s well and fine. I do have a lot of misgivings about this movie though. Foremost among these concerns is the director. I have not watched many Abrams films that I have actually enjoyed by the end. Actually, the only one that I liked most was his 2009 Star Trek film and I even feel that that movie would have been infinitely better had it not had the Star Trek name attached to it. Plain and simple, I don’t think JJ Abrams is a very good director and I am dismayed that he keeps getting so many high profile directing gigs. The man understands nothing about solid basic storytelling techniques. With him, it’s all throw backs and forced ‘mystery’ driven by shallow, soulless spectacle. It makes me a little queasy just thinking about it, but as evidence, just watch Star Trek Into Darkness. At this point, I’m hoping to eat this entire paragraph. But, I’m not holding my breath....

After: Why is this movie making so much money?! It wasn’t necessarily a disaster, it just wasn’t a $1.8B film, in my mind. I would liken it to Armageddon in terms of box office scale. It was good enough to warrant some buzz, but I think it’s only made so much thus far because of nostalgia. If there had been another Star Wars film released in the last decade, I think this movie would have tanked. The story was disjointed and confusing. The plot didn’t flow well and actually felt forced at most turns. The characters were flat and completely uninteresting and at the end of the day, it was basically a shameless remake of Ep. IV.

Now, I know I’m being kind of harsh, but I promise there’s rationale and objectivity being used here, just hear me out. I had the rose colored glasses towards the beginning of the movie. They were smudged somewhat by the lack of Fox Fanfare at the beginning. See, I’ve been brainwashed into reacting positively whenever that bit of music plays at the beginning of a Star Wars film. It’s my cue that something exciting, and/or entertaining was about to happen. But, no fanfare… Boo… However, there was some decent story and mystery happening during the Jakku sequence so I could give it a pass, I suppose. Then Han Solo enters the scene. Now this should have been amazing, but the presence of the original characters actually distracted me somewhat. Also, there’s not a well established POV character. Most films, you can get away with two, maybe three if your film is four hours long, but in two hours, you need a clear cut point of view character to help the audience get invested in the story and to help them process what’s being presented. I didn’t see any of that going on here.

There were some flashy action sequences, a vision that I guess was supposed to exposition some plot and some other stuff. Honestly, I could have stayed on board if everything had continued the way it was, but the last act killed it for me. As soon as those X-Wings started literally flying down a Death Star trench, it was over. My suspension of disbelief lifted and I saw everything as it was. A droid getting lost on a desert planet carrying information that would prove vital to defeating the Empire. Said droid happening across a hapless protagonist. A group of scrappy rebels struggling to beat back an insidious Empire. Said rebels about to be destroyed by a massive weapon of mass destruction. All of this culminating in a seemingly futile effort to destroy this WMD before its wrath is unleashed on the rebel base. This of course is made possible by a harrowing run down a trench/through a tunnel where the core is destroyed. Sounding familiar yet?

See, JJ doesn’t do original stories these days. He takes beloved stories from days gone by and puts his inept stamp all over them. If I sound like I’m seething, it’s because I am. I think the most disappointing aspect of this movie is that they had a chance to move on to something completely new and unexplored and yet, they decided to rehash the same exact story that we’ve already seen in the ‘previous’ trilogy (OT). Some have said that it was the movie that needed to be made following what most consider to be the disaster of the prequels, but at least Lucas could craft an entertaining and original story. He made some horrible decisions, but pound for pound, he still gets it better than JJ.

Kylo Ren is just a nerdier and whinier version of Anakin (A feat I never considered possible) that I don’t even find remotely intimidating, probably because he looks like the love child of Napoleon Dynamite and Tim Burton. We see him literally throwing temper tantrums! The head honcho hologram guy had penis issues and he doesn’t seem nearly as conniving as Palpatine. Fin could have been an interesting character, but he got relegated to plucky comic relief. Rey was about the most interesting character of the bunch, but even she is just cut from swatches of the Anakin and Luke cloths. Here’s a question, during the final duel between Kylo and Rey, why did he give her a full 90 SECONDS to realize that she could use the force and to decide she wouldn’t turn to the dark side before pushing her off the cliff. There are fumbles and then there are fumbles. There was even a scene where JJ LITERALLY compares his balls to Lucas'. Real classy, JJ...

I’m not going to waste anymore time spewing hate in the direction of this film. I’m glad that JJ only got one. I think he should be ashamed at the weakness inherent in his entry. I’m hopeful that the directors of the other films are able to salvage what’s left. But final verdict, it was fine through the first two thirds of the film. Then the wheels really came off the wagon and the last third just became a totally incoherent and nonsensical mess.

*Appendage: Okey-dokey. I hadn't re-read that entry until just before posting. I still stand by most of the things that were said. Specifically, After a second watching, I found that I enjoyed it a little more than when I watched it the first time. The difference, I watched it in a very clinical fashion the first time through. It's what I do. It's why you can trust my opinions. They're clinical and without emotional blemish. But, this really is a film that requires that you put some emotion behind it. If you do, it's a more entertaining watch. Not a strength, and not a weakness, per se, but just what it is. I did feel more connected to Rey as I watched it the second time. I was, surprisingly enough, able to choke down the 'Death Star' run a little bit better this time. I still contend that it's a pretty weak film, especially by comparison to the other entries in the franchise, but it was a decent start to what will hopefully be a good trilogy of films and that's all it had to do, literally, the bare minimum that it had to do. It may never be a classic as a stand alone, but here's hoping that it will add something that will elevate this trilogy near the status of their predecessors.

Journey to the Force Awakens Pt. 3

Smooth Sailing, or, the Time I Watched the OT

Episode IV: The End of the Honeymoon?

Before: I was a little leery going into the Original Trilogy, but only this time. See, usually when I watch these films, I was the Despecialized Editions (Thank you Harmy!) 

Which I enjoy tremendously!

However, for empirical purposes, I decided to watch the official DVD versions instead since most fans would be watching these versions. As you’ll recall, I saw Empire in theaters when the Special Editions came out and I don’t remember there being too many changes or additions to that one so I was spared there. I do remember not minding the others when I did finally watch them, but that was a while ago and I was naive. However, I was attempting to stay open minded and I remember the OT being enjoyable in the past so I didn’t have many concerns going into this viewing.

After: That was a truly enlightening watch! There was a lot of stigma surrounding this film in my mind and a lot of that was dispelled. I recalled the added material being ghastly, but actually, most of it fit pretty well. Only the creatures in Mos Eisley rubbed me the wrong way (I’m including Jabba in that statement). I had forgotten that this film is kind of dark, but yeah, it’s kind of dark (the charred remains of Luke’s family told me so and they would never lie to me). I also noticed that there’s an air of mystery throughout this film and that the tension builds all the way up to the destruction of the Death Star. The humor hit well with me, which is tough to do these days. I was really surprised at how much lore is presented in the first half hour of the film. The entire prequel trilogy was laid out during that initial meeting between Luke and Obi-Wan. Oh, they included a little piece of Star Trek in this film! When Alderaan and the Death Star are destroyed there was a pressure wave added to make the explosions feel more robust. Those were borrowed from Star Trek IV. It’s called the Praxis effect. You can look it up, if you want. Go ahead… I can wait…

I never really doubted that I would enjoy this movie. I was just surprised by how much I did after I put aside my disdain. I still feel that having Greedo shoot first robbed Han Solo of some rich character development, but it was a fun experience and it left me looking forward to the next film.

Episode V: The Dark One

Before: I recall this film having the least amount of alterations for the Special Edition. I also recall it being really dark and I remember always being amused by the final shot with the medical frigate. In all, I firmly say that I’ve always enjoyed this one so let’s see how it holds up.

After: I think this one might just have usurped Ep. VI as my favorite in the series. Having somewhat of an affinity for film, there are a lot of technical aspects that I appreciate. I love the set design. There’s an interesting juxtaposition between ‘good guy’ sets and ‘bad guy’ sets where good guy sets are brighter and bad guy sets are darker with more reflective surfaces. There’s a lot of well executed character development and some great character moments.

The tone was different in this film. It took me a while to pinpoint it, but I felt genuinely worried as I watched this film. The lack of definitive resolution at the end left me on edge, which really speaks to the crew’s ability to build and maintain the tension throughout the film. The Special stuff was really well woven into the original material. I didn’t even notice until I went to IMDb that the actor portraying Palpatine had changed. I did notice that all of the main characters operated more like a family in this film as opposed to the last and I liked that. The prequels lacked this dynamic between characters and it left me wondering if Anakin may have developed differently had those types of relationships existed in his universe..

All of the elements that I enjoyed in my youth are there and they hit beautifully. Vader is a bad ass, Yoda is a fountain of wisdom, and the galaxy reveals her secrets is a wisely executed fashion. I could tell that every aspect of this movie was carried out carefully and deliberately and the film exceeds expectations because of that. It set the foundations for the conclusion well and left me yearning to see how it all ends! Well played, Lucas. Well played…

Episode VI: The ‘Stunning’ Conclusion?

Before: I saw Jedi first out of all the films and before the SE had been released. I don’t believe that I ever watched the SE version until I got them on DVD and I only ever watched that version a couple of times. As I recall, most of the changes made to this film occurred towards the end of the movie. Most of my gripes are probably not dissimilar to those of most people. I didn’t like that they swapped Hayden Christensen in for the old guy at the end. I thought that was inconsiderate towards that actor who worked very hard in the role. I also didn’t like the new Ewok celebration music. I felt like a final victory over the Empire deserved more pomp and circumstance and the new music just lacked the enthusiasm, plus, I really liked the original song. I do usually marvel at how many elements were being juggled throughout the film and how well that was being done. Being as I’ve had a fairly enjoyable time thus far, it should stand to reason that the good times will continue to roll.

After: I’m going to leave a disclaimer right here: I had to stop watching this movie part way through and come back a day later, after I had had a chance to calm down. What did I just watch?! It’s obvious that this was a totally different animal than the rest of the films, including the prequels. It bends over backwards to be kid friendly most of the time, but then we’re hypersexualizing Leia (A fine decision, by the way). But the tone just kept flip flopping back and forth between two completely opposite tones and it left me somewhat confused. I’m not sure if there was some kind of blow back following Empire that caused this, or perhaps, as I’ve heard before, Lucas was just looking for easy ways to make more money off of licensing, but the first act of the film is very confused as to the nature of its own existence. I had forgotten about the Jedi Rocks number that was added, but it’s probably the most egregious musical composition ever to be committed to paper. That’s why I had to stop part way. My mind couldn’t believe the atrocities that it was witnessing. The piece does nothing for the plot, it does nothing for the tone and if anything, all it does ruin my suspension of disbelief because it breaks up all of the action that had been taking place in an obtuse and unnatural way. Oh, and the tune is indelible once you get it in your head!

The structure of the plot seems different to me than with the rest of the movies, excepting, perhaps, Ep. II. The bulk of the films start from a point and unfold slowly towards a climax, building tension as they do. This film puts all of the cards on the table at the very beginning and then takes a nap. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, just that it’s very different from the storytelling decisions that were made previously, or since in the case of the prequels. To the contrary, the story on the whole unfolds in an enjoyable and satisfying way. I like the internal struggle that Vader and Luke endure during the plot to seduce Luke to the Dark Side. It was truly rewarding to see Anakin’s redemption in this movie as well. I did actually feel like that was the payoff of the entire series, which I can only hope Lucas had planned. Going back to my ‘before’ thoughts on the ending, I didn’t mind the new celebration music quite as much this time around. Also, I didn’t mind that Hayden Christensen swapped in for the old dude. It actually occurred to me that if he had been truly redeemed, then it would only make sense that after he went to ‘heaven’, he should appear as he did when he was really happy.

There was a lot to like about this movie, even if it does seem a bit weak when held up next to Empire. I can’t say that I love the series yet, but I can honestly say that I don’t hate them anymore. That’s saying a lot considering all the time and effort that I’ve spent hating them over the years. I can only hope that Ep. VII continues the trend...

Journey to the Force Awakens Part 2

An Uphill Battle, or, The Time I Watched the Prequels

Since we got off to a rather slow start, SURPRISE, double post!

Episode I: The Journey Begins

Before: What could I possibly say about this film that hasn’t already been said a billion times? The world has had 17 years to spew hatred and disdain at this film. I personally, hadn’t watched the film in its actual entirety since about 2000 thanks to the guys that made the Phantom Edit. I may have mentioned indifference as a teen earlier, but for me, as for a lot of people, the film just didn’t age particularly well.

After: The intention of the experiment was to get real time reactions as I watched and thus, I took copious notes as I watch this movie for the first time in about 15 years, or so. I’m usually the first to acknowledge errors in my way and although Episode I wasn’t a great film, I did find that I didn’t hate it nearly as much as I remember. The pacing was slow, but I’ve learned to appreciate that in my older years, especially after having tried to read Tolkien. I noticed some loose World War II parallels between the Trade Federation and the Naboo that I appreciated. The pod race sequence, although pretty useless to the plot, was kind of exciting to watch. I also noticed a few pearls of wisdom thrown in there for good measure, which was nice.

There were, of course, flaws in the movie. I thought the Viceroy’s accent was way too Asian and that he kind looked like Rita Repulsa from the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers when his mouth moved. Jar Jar ripped off at least two groan worthy 90’s catch phrases, “Exsqueeze me,” and “How rude.” And everyone knows that the trigger for weapons is always on the control yoke! However, I was able to overlook the faults in the interest of objectivity. I even realized that Jar Jar as a plot device kind of works and is even kind of crucial, despite the fact that he really doesn’t work as a character. He’s still not nearly as bad as I remember though. At this point, I had high hopes that my romance with Star Wars could be rekindled, but I knew that the greatest challenge lay immediately in front of me. Could my upward motion survive Episode II?

Episode II: The Potential Romance Killer

Before: I mentioned previously the emotionally scarring experience of watching Episode II so many times in such a short period of time so naturally, the greatest of my ire is geared toward this film in particular. I remembered this film plodding along at a snail’s pace and having some over-the-top cheese moments. And who could possibly forget all of the whining that Hayden Christensen does in this film! I was not looking forward to this viewing, but in the interest of objectivity, I tried to turn my hatred off and give it a good honest go.

After: There were a lot more notes involved in watching this film than with Episode I. It was definitely a great bit more difficult to find positive things in this movies that in the previous film, too. It plodded along just as slowly as I remember and Hayden Christensen whined a lot. Jar Jar was just as annoying during his screen time and the romance still felt half baked. However, removed from the mindset of outright loathing, I realized a few key things about this movie that had escaped me in the past.

First, the plodding felt much more deliberately done this time around than in viewings past. Lucas really took his time developing this part of the story. Perhaps he overdid things just a bit, but at least it didn’t drag on for the sake of it. Christensen’s whining seemed a lot more premeditated and focused. He did an excellent job portraying emotional conflict and arrogance than I originally gave him credit for. I was especially surprised by the dictatorship/democracy scene with Padme. He did a really good job helping me feel the uncertainty of his two diametrically opposed points of view. I could tell that his heart was in the right place, but that he lacked the wisdom to see the prudence in free will and choice. I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles that I saw the man shed real tears… TWICE! I can’t cry on cue so bravo!

The romance still felt kind of forced, but once I was able to get my head around Anakin, I could see why it was that way. He was a guy with no social experience outside of his Jedi master and a few people he knew as a slave trying to exist in the fancy sophisticated world of Padme and politics. He was having a series of Icarus moments so of course it would feel awkward!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the plodding I enjoyed. I found myself really engrossed in the mystery and the build up surrounding the assassination attempt on Padme. Indeed, the ensuing mystery over the clone army was really engaging. However, it did kind of reach a point where that was resolved and I found that I started to progressively lose interest after that.

Speaking of gripes, let’s jump in, shall we? I feel like my complaints about this film are better defined than they were, even though they deal with broad strokes things. The main plot and story seem to be driven by the story. Besides the Anakin/Padme relationship subplot, I just didn’t feel like there was an adequate lense provided through which I could watch the film. I feel like films really need a strong POV character to provide the audience commentary and substance, and to give them something to invest in as they watch. This movie missed that. Point in case, the final battle suffered from this arrangement. It was gargantuan in scale and there was a lot of action taking place, but we were bouncing between characters perspectives so much that we only got the gloss over. It felt like receiving sitreps instead of an exciting film that I could invest in. This could easily have been fixed if more was shown of the characters in the fray as opposed to off doing other things. There was less Jar Jar in this film, but the tradeoff was that we got more C3PO. Some of his one liners were actually worse than anything that comes out of Jar Jar’s mouth during the trilogy.

It wasn’t entirely unenjoyable, but due to poor delivery, I felt kind of lukewarm during the experience by comparison to Episode I. Still, I didn’t feel an overwhelming desire to end my own life as slowly and brutally as possible, so that’s something. But at this point, I was really hoping that Episode III could turn things around.

Episode III: The Story Regurgitation

Before: Everyone has always said that this is the best film of the prequel trilogy. Far be it from me to disagree, but, hello, contrarian over here. I’ve always felt that there was too much story going on during this movie. I think the entire trilogy would have been better if Lucas had taken some of Ep. II out and replaced it with some of what was going on with Ep. III. That way the story has a little time to breathe in an organic way without throwing too much at the audience too quickly. That being said, I tend to tolerate this one the best. My only major complaints about this film are that Vader sounds like a woose at the end and Padme breaks my heart by going down a path that I cannot follow, but maybe time has eased those complaints a little.

After: I really enjoyed the ride I got from this movie! I officially retract some of the things I said previously. There was a lot of story being delivered, but it all played out very smoothly. I can see where the threads that were laid in the previous films we used to tie things up in this one. The whole experience was really intense. With only a few exceptions, the acting was top notch and unlike EP. II, the focus was, once again, on the characters, which really helped me get into things. In fact, it was done well enough that I think I’m willing to describe the experience as enjoyable. I thought that the visual effects were slick. I liked that the design aesthetic was moved towards that of the original trilogy. It was dark! I think it might be the darkest film in the entire series and I liked that.

I didn’t have many complaints coming out of this viewing. Padme still delivered the line that broke my heart and she couldn’t even muster any tears while doing it. Mace Windu’s death was super cheesy and over acted. But I really can’t think of anything else to complain about. I feel like my appreciation for Star Wars is growing at this point and I can be okay with this. Besides, we’re headed into the beloved Original Trilogy so it should be smooth sailing from here, right?

Journey to the Force Awakens Part 1

Journey to “The Force Awakens”, or “How I Tried to Love Star Wars”

As of this writing, it’s been about two months since “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opened in US theaters. Since that time, I’ve watched with passing interest as it broke several domestic box office records. I emphasize this fact because as yet, the movie still sits about $1B short of becoming the current highest grossing movie of all time. That fact hasn’t stopped people from raving about it and as such, I had to go on a media blackout in order to preserve myself from seeing spoilers before I actually saw the film, a herculean task to say the least. The reason for the forced media fast is that I tend to be pretty critical when it comes to film and I didn’t want any preconceived bias when I finally did watch this movie. I wanted to have an open mind my first viewing so that I could bring you as pure a review of things as possible.

The start of this project came when I realized an interesting position that I had inadvertently placed myself in. Not seeing the movie opening night and not partaking in spoiler infested media beforehand, I figured I had a chance to conduct a self-contained social experiment using myself as the test subject. You see, I grew up a Trekkie. I’ve never been a huge Star Wars fan and in fact, I’ve spent most of the previous decade disliking any Star Wars that wasn’t the original unaltered trilogy. This all stems from the fact that I stumbled on to Star Trek when I was only three years old, but I was maybe 10 when I first remembered watching a Star Wars film. And then the first one I saw was “Return of the Jedi” so I missed out on that huge reveal about Luke Skywalker’s parentage. It was spoiled for me right off the bat. I think that series of exposure robbed me of a chance to really form a connection with Lucas’ narrative the way it was intended to be made. And, Star Wars isn’t the first film franchise that I think of when I try to recall science fiction that really challenges me on an intellectual level. Not saying that’s a bad thing, it’s just what I look for in entertainment.

I did start to flirt with Star Wars fandom when I was in my early teens. I remember the hype as people braced themselves for the triumphant return of the original trilogy to the big screen via the Special Edition event. I even attended a museum exhibit at the Smithsonian that year. My grandmother took me to “Empire” when the special edition of that was released. I remember having a good time and that there was a packed house that show. I didn’t get a chance to see any of the other films when they were released theatrically, but about two years later, Star Wars found its way back into my face.

I was 16 when Episode 1 came out in 1999. I was enjoying high school, sort of, and trying desperately to escape that world through friends and such. One such friend worked at the local movie theater and could get free tickets for friends so when someone would inevitably suggest that we go see Episode 1, we would since it was free. In fact, I never paid a dime to see in theaters and I saw it four times. Being young and naive, I found the film entertaining enough. I didn’t try to read too much into it and so I didn’t have much chance to decide that I didn’t like it. The only complaint I had at the time was that there was too much usage of CGI. When 2002 rolled around, I was preparing to serve a two year church mission, but it was released early enough in the year that my high school buddies and I went to go see it as one last hurrah before I left. I didn’t find most of the movie very exciting, but I generously gave it an indifferent shrug and determined to move on with my life.

That attitude came to an abrupt halt while I was serving my church mission. See, missionaries in my church are not supposed to proselyte on New Year’s Eve or Day. As such, my mission leader put together a list of approved movies that all the missionaries could watch that night. I bet you can’t guess which film made that list… Now, that would have been fine except that one of the missionaries serving in an area close to mine hurt his ankle really badly about a week before the new year. In order to keep the work moving, my companion and his companion joined forces and worked both areas while I babysat this guy. As it turned out, he was a huge fan of Star Wars and so he wanted to watch Episode 2 while he was recovering. This turned into us watching the movie at least a half dozen times in three day, probably more. We’d finish the movie and he’d start it again. It was well known amongst the missionaries that served where I did that I was a huge Trekkie and part of me wonders if this guy did it just to spite me, but it worked and those hugely indifferent rose colored glasses were shattered then. I only wished they had done me the dignity of shattering my retinas as well.

This experience sparked a disdain that lasted over a decade. Warning: prolonged exposure to “Attack of the Clones” could lead to permanent Star Wars fandom damage. I still collected a few trinkets here and there, but I wasn’t willing to give it nearly as much quarter in my heart as I had previously. The deluge of hate spewing forth from the Internet didn’t help as that only fed the fire with methodical and thought provoking arguments about why I shouldn’t like Star Wars anymore, at least from my jaded perspective. Thus, it was with a slight feeling of dismay that I got a call from one of the aforementioned high school buddies inviting me to see “Revenge of the Sith” for old times sake in 2005. I attended reluctantly and found that while I didn’t hate the film, it had failed to resonate with me. But 2005 had more in store for me. That was the year that my mother, bless her heart, had decided that what I really needed for Christmas were both Star Wars trilogies on DVD. It was as if Lucas was adding gasoline to my hatred pyre when I saw that he had replaced the old guy with Hayden Christensen at the end of “Jedi”. The one film that I was even moderately fond of and he had ruined it with his prequel ways!

It was at this point that I more or less swore off Star Wars. I owned the DVDs and so I would watch a few of them, occasionally, but never with excitement, only mild tolerance. Then the winds of change began to blow and Lucas sold his company to Disney, who immediately announced a new trilogy. This could mean a fresh start, but the new film had two things working against it. One, I’m a stubborn contrarian for no other reason than I don’t want to feel like a sheeple. When I started getting persecuted by friends telling me that I must add my financial and cultural blandness to their own, I reflexively shut them all out. Two, as I’ve already admitted, I’m a huge Trekkie so I can get my fix any time from the myriad episodes and movies that exist within that universe. All this equated to a man who was, “reserving judgement until I can actually see the film for myself”. But I also didn’t want a huge mob in the theater with me so I had to wait until everyone else got it out of their collective system.

Now in my own defense, I would love to love Star Wars the way some people do. I appreciate the intricacies of multi-franchise fandom and wish to embrace the diversity that accompanies that. Star Wars has just failed to impress me to the point that that has happened. Ergo, the experiment was to see if watching all seven movies with as open a mind as I could muster could change my perspective somewhat and clue me into the thing that everyone I know tells me I’m missing. By the way, not liking Star Wars is NOT a mental disease! I checked! What will follow over the next few days is a log of my experiences watching the films in order and as they are commercially available. Believe me, I know that there are cheats and workarounds for sparing oneself some of the more reprehensible moments in the films, but I’m attempting to be scientific. Therefore, I need a baseline… I’ve formatted each entry with a section of before thoughts and thoughts that I had watching the films for this experiment.