I kind of want to say nothing, but not in the same way as many of the above. There are a few games, films, tv, music whatever that I really like, yet I'll quite happily point out load of stupid things in them. Some people ask why I carry on with things I hate, but the thing is I don't hate them, I just decided that there is enough going for it despite the flaws for me to still enjoy it. So a lot of the things I love it's because I have analysed them, found a lot of flaws and said "Screw it, I still love it".
2. Light speed jumps require you to not go through heavy mass objects. Therefore plotting a course requires you to go point-to-point in straight lines avoiding stars, planets and black holes. Being crazy enough to plot those points closer than anyone relatively sane would do cuts down on the length of your trip, as measured in parsecs.
Wait a second, are you saying you actually read that Han Solo book and you know what I'm talking about? Because if so, that is awesome!
Sadly, I try to explain those very points the way you did, but they always just roll their eyes and say I'm trying too hard or it's not in the movie.
Actually, I can to that conclusion solely from watching the movies. Since Han talks about doing a space run in parsecs, a unit of distance, and chides Luke about the hazards of light speed jumps at another point, it just made perfect sense to me.
Sadly, the only Star Wars novels I've read are Stackpole's X-Wing novels, the novelizations of the original trilogy, Tyers' The Truce at Bakura and a couple of the "Tales From" short-story collections. A mere drop in the ocean of Star Wars written lore.
EDIT: As for the explanations of these things "not being in the movie" and such, I just go to my final position on the matter:
That which looks really damn cool in a movie requires no explanation, because coolness is its own justification.
I don't know honestly, I've always subscribed to the "what you hate you should criticize, what you love you should criticize double" pattern of thought, hence why I'm able to be a massive Metal Gear fan and cite Duke Nukem 3D as my favorite first person shooter ever, whilst simultaneously criticizing the dodgy aspects of Hideo Kojima's writing and the slightly problematic theming prevalent in Duke's games.
The only thing that immediately comes to mind would be something like DOOM, which to me is supposed to be about fun, ultra-violent, indulgence and any real analysis above "MONSTAHZ! SHOOT THA MONSTAHZ! SHOOT AAAAAAAAAALLLL THA MONSTAHZ!" would just be counter-productive.
The Who's album, Tommy. It's a brilliant album, but the story... WTF?!
Before Tommy was even born, the Royal Flying Corps mistakenly declared the wartime death of his father, leaving Tommy's presumably "widowed" mother to give birth to and raise a child on her own. Quite unexpectedly, the dad returns home several years later and finds his wife in the throes of passion with another man - and why not? After all, she thought she was a widow. Enraged, the father kills his wife's lover while little Tommy, unnoticed by his parents, looked on. After a feverishly panicked lecture from his mom and dad about how he should handle what he just saw, the traumatized Tommy descends into a permanent hypnotic state: he's still conscious, but now mysteriously deaf, dumb, and blind.
The song that sets up the premise, 1921, is truly amazing, with Tommy's contradictory thoughts sung underneath the parents' words, and nearly buried by them in the final mix. But in the blink of an eye, those thoughts fall right in line with his parents' demands:
You didn't hear it (I heard it)
You didn't see it (I saw it)
You never heard it, not a word of it (I heard it, every word of it)
You won't say nothing to no-one (I won't say nothing to no-one) (Together):
Never tell a soul what you know is the truth
(Never tell a soul what I know is the truth)
(Seems logical so far? Well, THAT is where the "makes sense" part of the story ends...)
Tommy no longer moves and is also unresponsive to physical stimuli, precipitating abuse from other kids, torture from his sadistic cousin Kevin, and molestation at the hands of his uncle Ernie, a sexual predator and pedophile. All that time, Tommy's parents searched for a cure, a search that included a visit to a gypsy queen who does nothing but pump Tommy full of LSD.
This is the point in the story that Tommy gains celebrity status as a pinball champion after beating the reigning king of the machines. Everyone is blown away by the deaf, dumb, and blind kid who came out on top.
(The story behind this bizarre addition to Tommy was that Pete Townshend played a preliminary cut of the album to a music critic, who observed that the album didn't have a strong single that could get radio airplay. Townshend also agreed with the assessment that the entirety of Tommy was "too heavy" and needed a lighthearted track. He immediately went off and wrote the song Pinball Wizard. Strange as the song is, it's one of the few tracks on the album that's often recognizable to non-Who fans.)
Tommy's parents continue searching for a cure for his unexplained affliction. Doctors' tests conclude that Tommy really can see and hear, but they have no clue why he remains in a semi-vegetative state. Both the doctors and his parents notice that Tommy spends an awful lot of time looking at his reflection in a mirror, all but confirming the doctors' conclusions about his intact perceptual faculties. One day, fed up with Tommy's seemingly stubborn unwillingness to address the world as a normal person, his dad smashes the mirror. In that instant, Tommy wakes up.
The world is astonished to learn that Tommy, the pinball wizard, is now fully functional. He embarks on inspirational tours to tell his fans about his story, and they begin to worship him as a living messiah. They flock to touch his hair and his clothing in the misguided notion that he possesses some sort of healing power.
Whether he's suffering from a delusional belief in his own deification, or from a malicious intent to hoodwink people as a false guru, Tommy opens a camp so that the masses can come to him for "healing" and spiritual enlightenment. This is where the album concludes, though on a rather sinister note suggesting that Tommy (or at least the camp's staff - including his uncle Ernie, the sexual predator) abuses his disciples in most unsavory ways while they're subjected to the camp's mandatory sensory deprivation. The disciples stage a violent revolt, the outcome of which remains vague as the final track fades out.
I do so love this album, but no way in hell am I going to try analyzing it. It is what is, and that's good enough for me.
------------------
Oh, and I heavily edited this post after remembering that the album implies that it was dad who survived the altercation at the beginning. It was Ken Russel's 1975 film adaptation that turned the mom's lover into Tommy's stepfather, then had the stepfather kill Tommy's dad. Big oops!
I don't analyze the movie either. It is what it is, and it's pretty bad.
Not really. The more I love something the more I analyze it. I find that way, if it (be it a game, TV show or film) contains some minor plot holes or unexplained random things I can fill in the gaps with my own imagination, canon or not.
I suppose there are things that I like that I don't analyze (like dance), but I think the reason I don't analyze those things is because I don't know enough about the subject to do so.
I'm also part of the "nope, I mostly analyze anything and everything" crowd.
In fact I tend to analyze the things I enjoy (or make me angry) the most.
It drives my father nuts. He often wonders why I just can't just enjoy the movie, but that is how I enjoy my movies.
It doesn't help that I'm an analytical person in general.
There shouldn't be any sound in space. Why are the ships banking? The whole Kessel Run thing (which was explained as best as possible in a book). Lightsabers don't work like that. Why are they using those stupid long-leg assault craft? The entire ship goes down because the bridge gets destroyed? Why is there a trench leading right there?
Shut. Up. I don't care. I get it, you feel smart picking it apart, but I don't want to hear it. It drives me nuts when someone has to tear away the suspension of disbelief so completely. I want no part of that. You want to know why the Super Star Destroyer went down like that? Because it was awesome!
I feel you there mang. Star Wars is still my favourite series of all time (prequels notwithstanding).
With Star Wars "plot holes" that just because something is unexplained, it doesn't necessarily mean it is a plot hole.
These were my answers to those silly nitpicks, using only the films as source material.
With the whole parsec thing (I read the explanation of the parsec/kessel run thing once on wookiepedia and it was clever but unnecessary), I just assume Han was talking shit to try and impress what he thought a couple of uneducated local yokels.
Sound in space? Just a film convention for the wow factor. I'm sure that the humans weren't speaking English either but it was translated for our benefit in the same way that a foreign film would be for us.
The trench leading to the exhaust port? I'm not sure it lead there, wasn't it just somewhere on the surface and they had to maneuver down the trench until the computer could find it and lock on?
Lightsabers not "working like that"? Screw that, they've obviously found a way with their technology to do it, just like they found a way to make lightspeed travel possible.
The super star destroyer going down? Well there must have been something crucial to its operation in that area.
Long legged assault craft? Maybe wheels don't do so well crossing rocky ass mountains and uneven terrain. You're not going to be able to drive up a freakin mountain with creeks, jutted out rocks, and slippery ice in a typical jeep or tank. There are actually robots being built to mimic that technology right now.
I pick it apart, but only to fill in the gaps that don't make sense to idiots with no imagination. Unless plot holes are contradictory in a blatant, obvious, and inexplicable way, then they aren't plot holes, just minor unanswered questions.
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It is what is, and that's good enough for me.