The Movie Thread

[Tenorikuma]

Oh, if you want to see a unique scifi movie, check out Cube. It's a Canadian cult classic.

[Primarch]

Oh, if you want to see a unique scifi movie, check out Cube. It's a Canadian cult classic.

+1 vote for Cube.
Cube 2 and Cube 0 are ok, but the first one is by far the best.

[me_in_japan]

Ah, cube - definitely a good un. Seen it a couple times. First time I really liked it. Second time I was under the 'fluence of certain smokable herbage, and got really freaked out by it. Not something I'd recommend...

[Primarch]

Have you seen Dark City? Not a bad movie for an evening's entertainment.

[Spevna]

Have you seen Dark City? Not a bad movie for an evening's entertainment.

Good movie. And Jennifer Connely is a hotty.

[me_in_japan]

I quite enjoyed Dark City. I actually went to see it in the cinema when it was first released. Good movie, though, with good direction.

[Tenorikuma]

I've heard that if you go to Prometheus expecting an Alien franchise movie then you'll be sorely disappointed, but if you go expecting a run-of-the-mill SF movie to kill a couple of hours then you'll get what you expect.

I got neither. I wasn't expecting an Alien sequel (indeed, I thought the very notion was ridiculous), and a run-of-the-mill SF movie would have been excellent. What I actually got was a confusing two-hour mess that didn't do nearly as good a job of exploring the nature of faith and human origins as it thought it was.

So I finally went and saw Prometheus.

As I mull the film over in my mind, I'm becoming more and more convinced this is a near-masterpiece. I say "near" because the film feels like some of the side-plots and character development got cut out, and the pacing isn't perfect. However, I liked the story and I think I see where Scott was going with it, and I think it would benefit from a director's release with 30 minutes or so of additional footage and re-editing.

I understand why people who expected a satisfying, no-loose-ends origins story à la Mission to Mars will be disappointed, as will those who simply wanted a tightly plotted sci-fi thriller or a run-of-the-mill popcorn actioner. Prometheus has elements of all those genres, but is darker and grander, and is very deeply rooted in Greek mythology. If you know a few things about Zeus, Prometheus, the Titans and ancient creation stories, you see tantalizing themes and connections everywhere, and you can grasp much of what the larger picture is, including many of the big questions the film purposely leaves unanswered. Some other complaints I have read — that the film is too pseudo-scientific, or that it gives silly ideas like the "ancient alien" theory too much credence, have missed the point of the film, I think.

Most of the characters were well-acted but under-utilized. Michael Fassbender gave an Oscar performance as the android David, in my opinion, outshining the android characters in the first two Alien films (to say nothing of Winona Ryder) with his expressions and body language.

One aspect I think was handled poorly was the "faith" theme that popped up three or four times. These little scenes which included platitudes like "X is true because that's what I choose to believe" felt like a bone the writers were throwing to an American audience they knew would be mostly religious. Intellectually, it felt a little insulting and cowardly as an approach to addressing the big questions. It would have worked better if the theme was used simply to provide a window into the heroine's psyche. Still, it was a minor fly in the ointment.

If you're on the fence, I suggest seeing this soon before it's gone from theatres. (That mainly applies to those of us in Japan, I suppose.)

[ashmie]

Oh man Promithius is great. I really enjoyed and without giving too much away found it to be a very surprising and satisfying continuation on a theme. I totally missed the athenian qualities of the film but totally dug the Ridley scot direction and the script that gave blatent nods to his past works. There was something dark lurking in that film throughout. I think my favourite part of the film was during the credits when 80 percent of the movie theatre ran for the door leaving myself and maybe ten others spellbound and still glued to our seats. Always a sign of a good film and something like The Godfather and 2001 Space Odyssey that's going to grow in popularity over time. It wasn't minority report or matrix it was more than that.
There was a slight feeling of what the hell was that about from the audience which is always good. I agree the faith thing was a bit too close to the bone there but I'm glad they included it. I'm one of the few who believe science and faith can work together and don't believe leaving one behind in favour of the other so that worked well for me. Also some sensitive issues regarding abortion was very in your face for a female audience and a step too far perhaps. True cosmic horror but with a very real edge.
All in all I loved it and would recommend everyone see it at the cinema.
Could talk about that film a lot.
The set was quite nostalgic for any sci fi or Ridley Scott fan.
2 tentacles up for this one from me.

I'd like to add that I had no preconceptions for the film and had managed to avoid all hype and trailers and I think that is a big part of any movie going experience. The same for Blair witch and paranormal activity which I enjoyed a lot at the time because I had no hype.

Avengers is also good, and they improved the 3D lately.

[Tenorikuma]

Ash, glad I'm not the only one here who liked it.

[me_in_japan]

I had planned to go see Prometheus while I was in Scotland, but heard so many bad things about it (both online and from friends) that I went to see spiderman instead. Now, it so happened that spiderman turned out to be much better than I had expected (better than the previous ones, certainly.)

When I got back to Japan I ended up seeing Prometheus anyway, ad I have to agree with ash and ten that it's a far better movie than its been made out to be. I think there's a fair bit of ambiguity in it, which I suspect many people don't like. It's also certainly not Aliens:Zero, which again I think some people were expecting. Generally, though, I think it stood very well on its own merits, and the acting in particular was very good (Fassbender in particular.)

I do have one or two plot-hole type questions which I won't ask here for spoiler reasons, but if they aren't answered in a sequel (which I believe is on the cards) I'll be rather peeved.

Oh, and I went to see The Avengers yesterday. 10 outta 10 for this one. Great writing, great story, lovely effects that don't jar with the acting, and good acting, too. Very much recommended for anybody, but make sure you've seen Thor first, as it's pretty critical, plot-wise. Seeing Captain America first wouldnt hurt, either. Iron man 1&2, and Hulk aren't so critical, but worth watching anyway.