Prometheus: Just got back from an early Aus screening, won't spend a whole lot of time on it. It's good but not great, the main let down is in the script, which some have compared to Lindelof's Lost stylings (I've only seen some episodes of that). The amount of not only answers, but also questions, is a lot lower than promised. A bunch of good actors don't get much of a chance to do good acting, management of the characters' time onscreen is disjointed, and as a result, the characters' motivations are muddied to varying degrees. That being said there is still plenty to like, strong set-pieces, including one that made both me and the girlfriend really squirm: especially considering our son was born. The production design and art direction are brilliant (Scott apparently takes them over on each film he does), and there are some really fascinating ideas at play, especially the ones superfluous to the plot. The negative points I list have more to do with how ambitious the film is than bad filmmaking. Lastly, I'm a bit unclear how many of the Alien films this one includes as cannon (though obviously not the vs franchise). The GF and I are still discussing what relates to where...
Prometheus I have learned how to deal with these movies. If the movie is written by J.J. Abrams, or Damon Lindelof, or somebody who was very much connected with Lost, do NOT expect to get the answers you want. You'll get answers, just not the ones you want. It was a good movie. Visually stunning. Very fun to watch. But there wasn't anything that surprised me. If you've seen the previews, you can get the jist of the movie. The best way I can describe it is an attempt to mix the action/horror of the original "Alien" with the philosophical questions of "Blade Runner." About 3/4 of the way through, I realized I was supposed to be contemplating the big questions. I want to give it another watch, but I'm not sure if I'd spend the money on the theater ticket again. The 3D filming was awesome. I usually don't get tickets to a 3D showing, but I'm glad I did for this one - it wasn't gimmicky.
Am I the only one disappointed with the subtle 3D use in movies? When most of it is just giving depth to the room I barely notice it after a bit and it really doesn't add or subtract anything (except out of my wallet) to the movie experience. Sure you don't need the old school "put on your glasses now" moments, but you'd think talented film makers could use huge images hovering out of the screen in ways that could really enhance the emotion/tension/what ever of a given scene. Prometheus- I thought it was a really fun movie. It is a lot more modern actiony than either Alien or Aliens. I think too think the script was probably the weakest part. Kind of jittery and there are a few characters that needed to be fleshed out more, except the movie teetered on feeling too long as is. I think my favorite part was Michael Fassbender, his character was cool and left the most interesting questions unanswered. I think Charlize Therons character was the weakest link of the main characters. Some other fun characters and characterizations that do make this stand out above the standard action fair these days. Spoiler I think my biggest gripe was that the basic plot boiled down to, our genetic ancestors wanted to use the genetic ancestors of the aliens as weapons of destruction. Basically just repeating the basic plot of the first two movies. But why did they want to use them on us?!?!?!!??! Also, anyone else feel the whole Jesus sacrifice allegory coming from David and old Guy Pearce? Finally, doesn't the alien origin of mankind plot kind of feel played out?
I say this admitting that I've seen two movies in 3D - Tron: Legacy, and Prometheus. Both of which I loved. Every other instance where I've seen 3D was a preview. And the "Pirates of the Caribbean" preview was what I considered "gimmicky." Swords coming right at me. Fire coming right at me. The 3D shit that I like is the holographic maps in Prometheus. Shit floating around in front of me, not just attacking me. I don't need that cheesy shit.
I mean if "Pirates" had swords pointed at you as Ian McShane threatened poor Johnny Depp with some solid scene stealing lines (and a whore sucking his prick if this world were just and they weren't Disney films) I think it' be an awesome use of the technology.
I didn't really like Prometheus at all. Visually the movie was great, but the script and storyline were pretty bad. I was hoping Scott would have the balls to think big on this one.
Forget answers, my problem was that I don't think it asked enough questions. At times where I think it could have been more contemplative, Lindelof instead threw up cheap character turns at us. These red herrings and blind alleys keep us guessing to begin with, but they come at the expense of re-watch value. From my point of view, PROMETHEUS has superior plotting and maybe even characterisation to BLADE RUNNER, and yet BR is still be eminently rewatchable because it opens itself up to many more questions. Spoiler It was clever to have the "why make us" discussion echoed by David: "Why make me?" and the whole disappointing "because we could" response, I dug that. But then it was just kind of left there, essentially capping it off as an 'answer' rather than letting it lead into a subset of questions. I did have a bit of trouble fathoming David's reason for infecting Dr Holloway. I get that he has no moral qualms with doing evil things, but Charlie could have been infected in a number of ways, and there is only one small payoff plot-wise for having David do it in this manner, once again, at the expense of a clear motivation. Also I get the feeling Vickers was another android in an earlier incarnation of the script. Personally, if it had been more subtle, I think that would have proved more interesting. Two synthetics at cross purposes could have proved tense, while still retaining the 'sibling rivalry' aspect. Also, the next time my missus isn't in the mood, I'll ask her if she's a robot; Bam! Instant sex. Then there didn't seem to be any clue why the engineers wanted to destroy humans, it was just left at "they hate us." Apparently there's an explanation in an earlier version of the script, but again, I'm not interested in the answer, I just wished there as some discussion on the possibilies of why. And did anyone else notice the alarming similarities to the AvP backstory, if you sub out Predators with Engineers? It's not 1:1, but weird, considering Scott wanted to get away from franchise. In any case, I'm actually trying to step back from the 'fuck Lindelof, but Scott makes pretty pictures' bandwagon, even if I didn't like some of the writing, he's not without skill and it was all done at the behest of Ridley, who apparently was fascinated by Eric Von Frauden's Chariot of the Gods book. As for the 3D, put me down for preferring subtle use. In it's modern incarnation, it's still yet to mature (I believe in the coming years it will become glasses-free). As long as film distributors/exhibitors are any kind of smart they'll stop charging extra, and it will become just as normal as colour. It started out the same way, a big expensive "gimmicky" technology with Technicolor (replete with restrictive, bulky cameras), and then was streamlined and refined into the standard it is today. I kind of like that you can get used to it pretty quickly; most of us experience our vision in stereo and I don't recall ever thinking to myself "OMG DEPTH PERCEPTION!" I haven't seen any studies, but I'm willing to bet that use of stereo can engage the brain to a higher level than 2D vision does. Although Barry Sonnenfeld is both a proponent for post-conversion and using the gimmicky (positive space?) effects, likening it to his preferential use of wide lenses, especially in Raising Arizona.
Let me be another that says Prometheus was just really, really . . . okay. A lot of potential, the hinted at sequel could help, but ultimately too many instances of smart people doing dumb things and what I should be dubbed as "film science." I am very disappointed that this movie will keep us from seeing an At the Mountains of Madness from Guillermo del Toro.
I too am in the crowd that was very underwhelmed by Prometheus. The visuals were very good, but not worth the price of admission alone, and beyond that the movie was very mediocre. They don't develop any of the characters, save for the heroine, and the plot felt murky. Even the action didn't really deliver. There's a few scenes that are just ok, but nothing even approaching entertaining on the scale of say, The Avengers. To be fair it wasn't so terrible I felt the need to walk out of the theatre, but it wasn't far off either. Also, there were a few parts in the story that seemed lazily unexplained. For example: Spoiler Ok, maybe I missed something, which is likely since I was getting bored, but do they explain at all why David contaminated Charlie? I got the impression that the old guy told him too, but I don't remember them ever giving an explanation and it didn't really add up. Also, how could the alien and human DNA be an exact match? Yeah ok, so they're similar to us, they made us, but it shouldn't be an exact match or they would look like humans. Again, I might have missed something, but none of that seemed to make sense. Also, the alien who commits suicide in the beginning - what was that all about?
3D does nothing for me except give me a headache. By the time Avatar was over I felt like someone took a cranial saw to my forehead. No thanks.
I feel the same way everyone else does about Prometheus, great visuals, underwhelming story and plot. In response to the spoiler: Spoiler I think that the Alien who commits suicide in the beginning was him starting life on earth. Whenever his broken down DNA hits the water, it starts rebuilding itself, so I would assume that would be the start of life.
Prometheus Is was defiantly ok. For me it lost it’s way too many times to be a good Sci-Fi, good Sci-Fi to me has to be scientifically believable: Spoilers: Spoiler How did the tentacle grow to such a large size with no nutrition? Why did the biologist want to “chin tickle” the scary looking alien cobra, when a few hours ago he was being a massive pussy? Why did the security detail down guns when a PHD of some soft science or another tells you to “down killen tools”, how does “get fucked lady your not to boss of me” sound. Why did they take their fucking helmets off so early in the piece? Fucked if I would be. Why did blondy choose to run in a straight line when the spaceship was rolling in a clearly straight line rather than off to the side? This was a bit of a loony tunes moment. Why did the captain and his 2 first mates sacrifice themselves on such flimsy evidence? Surly if we have good space ships that can cross the inky blackness of space we would have good orbiting weapon systems, because that alien horse shoe wasn’t very well shielded or armoured. The list goes on but I’m making myself retrospectively like it less. 60/100
Obviously not mine, but these two reviews were pretty funny; 1. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=prometheus_nutshell" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net ... s_nutshell</a> (Maddox) 2.
That's My Boy I am not a fan of most of Adam Sandler's films but he has done a few funny ones, and I decided to see this one because it looked like it might be good. I was wrong. Almost every single joke in this movie was unfunny, some to the point where it made me cringe, especially the huge revelation that came about 15 minutes before the movie was over. I liked the concept, and I actually thought that Adam Sandler was decent, but the writing was horrendous. I did like the last 5 minutes of the movie a lot, but that's not nearly enough to save it. 62/100
That's My Boy Had some time to kill this morning and caught the 5 dollar showing of Sandler's new flick, all in all it was a great way to lose a few hours. Andy Samberg isn't a funny guy to me, he could have been given a chance to be funny but here he comes off as stiff and kind of phoning it in. Some decent cameos, I was waiting for Rob Schneider to make his obligatory appearance but he didn't show. Better than than his last few attempts, made me laugh out loud a few times, Sandler is always better in an R rated film. 5/10 EDIT: Fuck somebody beat me to it
If anyone hasn't seen this dudes reviews of the first three Star Wars movies. You are missing HOURs of hilarious entertainment.
Saw two new movies this week. The Intouchables. This is a French flick, and though I hate all things French, or with the capital letter 'F' followed by an 'r,' I actually liked this movie, while retaining my burning hatred of all that is French. That's no easy feat, mind you. On a serious note, this film grabs you right from the get go. The basic premise is an invalid, whom is quite wealthy, hires a slightly sketchy guy to be his caretaker. The plot is predictable, but the performances overcome the predictability. The amount of dynamism by the invalid, whom is restrained to facial expressions, is staggering. The give and play between the two main characters is fantastic, and the dialogue is really well thought out and executed. I felt really good about this movie, despite the formulaic plot. 75/100 Safety Not Guaranteed This was a very odd movie. I mean odd in a good way. The main characters are annoying, yet somehow slightly engaging. I'm not even really sure what the movie is about, as it meanders quite a bit. At points it's very slow, but the ending, in my opinion, made up for it. My wife disagreed and thought it was 'ok' at best. I was really intrigued by the movie, and would watch it a second time based on the ending, to see if the movie is consistent (a la Sixth Sense). Anything that has me thinking days after I see it is probably worth a watch. 65/100 - however, upon reviewing, I suspect this will go up.
Prometheus I feel like I'm just dragging out the obvious verdict here, but as everyone else has stated. The movie underwhelmed me, and I left feeling pretty disappointed. Not a bad film at all. I thought the opening scenes and credits were the beginning of something incredible but after that, the story just didn't stick with me like I thought it would. Great visuals, and production design but characters I just couldn't connect with.
I don't think it did, but I might just not remember it. Anyway, to piggy back on Village Idiot's review....I thought it was really good. To some extent, it's your basic pretty girl able to see through the weird unstable guy's...weirdness, and fall for him (and of course she's weird too). Hell, there is even a scene where he plays her a song (that's "not quite finished" etc...) and she just melts. But then, for some reasons I don't feel like getting into it's much more. It's subtle and sincere, and the acting ranges from pretty solid to really good. As was mentioned, the ending is kind of fantastic (though I wouldn't read too much into VI's wanting to see if the movie is "consistent") , and I left feeling all warm and fuzzy. One beef, which is more a personal annoyance: yet another movie using a vague aura of quantum mechanics when it could have at least portrayed Kenneth as being somewhat knowledgeable about the subject. 80/100