Films/DVD Asylum

Ridiculously banal. nt

67.160.130.12

tinear

In Reply to: RE: 'Prometheus' 2-D: Creeps not creatures . . .. posted by mr grits on June 08, 2012 at 14:31:10

d

Follow Ups:

RE: Ridiculously banal. nt - Daryl Zero 22:05:43 06/08/12 (8)
So have you seen it or are you just throwing stones at "epics"?
- Saw it, of course. Problems: Theron isn't the most emotive actress: who cares what happens to her? Noomi? Same - tinear 08:54:22 06/09/12 (5)
  thing. These aren't serious characterizations, they're 1-dimensional action figures.
  The overall problem was weak casting. Guy Pearce's elderly makeup didn't look real. His mannerisms weren't "right," either. A waste of a good actor. Rapace's boyfriend was so flimsy he seems like a special effect in himself. Who was that guy?
  They didn't appear to have enough emotion between them to even be friends: no establishing context.
  And that brings up a serious problem: No humor in this film, none! NO banter between the characters, nada. It takes itself WAY too seriously.
  The story? Purposefully (let's hope so, no one consciously write so unclearly) disconnected, vague, and pointless.
  For the Game Boy lovers: you'll simply adore this. Lots of explosions, FX, quick camera movements and LEGENDARY noise levels.
  The trailer of the next James Bond, otoh, looked very interesting.
  - You found the Problems...(spoilers) - mpathus 16:35:24 06/09/12 (0)
    ... but perhaps the film's conceptual open ended strengths will reveal themselves sometime, as well?
    Humor? "...my room in ten minutes." from one wound up Weyland isn't funny? The original "Alien" also had few banter chuckles. Maybe persons from the future have a much wryer sense of humor than we, and Scott lets us in on the joke by keeping his script sanitized of obligatory "cuteness".
    You are so right about the flaws, though the optimist in me seeks out the potential in the unsaid and not overtly revealed.
    "Prometheus" builds as much on classical mythologies as the ones speculative in nature. As such it is indeed incomplete to a degree.
    Remember the book 'Chariots of the Gods'?
    Ever ponder the place that the Nephilim (legendary giant/gods) play in human mythology?
    Were the "space jockeys" clones (they looked identical)? Who engineered THEM, and why was their mission to erase an experiment gone horribly wrong (humans introduced artificially upon the Earth)?
    That is what enchanted me in "Prometheus" (as much as "2001") - seeking the answers/truths to unknowable questions, or ones that have yet to be asked.
    That is the very best of "speculative fiction" (sci-fi) from my point of view - and in "Prometheus", all rendered in the most visually splendid immersive atmosphere laden movie experience to date (IMAX 3D).
    Well worth $16.50 to become an astronaut for a few hours, AND be able to return safely home - imo.
    
    Edits: 06/09/12 06/29/12
  - Theron is our greatest living actress and gave Ridley what he wanted . . . - mr grits 11:55:30 06/09/12 (3)
    remember Elba making the "are you a robot" comment and she agreed to sex to prove she wasn't? She was the daughter of the creator of Fassbinder's robot and not particularly crazy about daddy but herself with her obsession with self preservation.
    - 1 dimensional character, like the others. And Theron is not by any stretch the greatest. Not as long as at - tinear 16:12:52 06/09/12 (2)
      least 10 others are alive.
      Now, some also may say it's poor form to criticize a film in which a robot w/only vocal chords can go on speaking for hours, but I think it's a fair point. No lungs, no air to give power to vocalizations. And that's only one rip-off of a previous film.
      Here's the situation in a nutshell: this film had NO NO NO suspense. It was all action. But sic-fi isn't action, unless it's the Terminator series. Hell, Predator had more suspense than this and was, in its modest way, FAR more intelligent. A complicated story isn't anything to get excited about, any 8-year old kid can weave one. And it would make as much sense as this one did.
      Confusing the audience isn't difficult with a poorly written script. What makes this doubly irritating is that it PURPOSEFULLY was made so, to pass itself off as "intelligent" by making viewers feel it must be very smart if they cannot "get it."
      The creature at the end that resembles the creature at the beginning w/out a helmet... why does the octopus-like victor's spawn look like the muscle-guy at the beginning when he put on a helmet?
      See? Just dumb complexity to disguise a paucity of thought, a paucity of inventiveness.
      Who wrote this drivel?
      - Theron is the only actress in the world that actually becomes her character . . . . - mr grits 14:48:00 06/10/12 (1)
        
        In Reply to: RE: 1 dimensional character, like the others. And Theron is not by any stretch the greatest. Not as long as at posted by tinear on June 09, 2012 at 16:12:52
        
        She got an Oscar for proving that. Streep and few others can be "leading ladies" but Theron is "another person entirely". She is scary and condemned to playing strong character leads not herself reciting a script.
        
        Perhaps Ridley didn't want too much distraction from his story line....much the same as Kubrick's selection of O'Neal in "Barry Lyndon". Let the cattle be props as the audience expects humans to walk and talk.
        
        Agreed. She inhabits totally - a most disciplined actress. ~t - mpathus 00:05:59 06/14/12 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Theron is the only actress in the world that actually becomes her character . . . . posted by mr grits on June 10, 2012 at 14:48:00
        
        .
- Luke warm review in SF Chron. nt - oldmkvi 08:27:09 06/09/12 (1)
  /
  - From a couple friends whose opinions I trust too...N/T - musetap 20:49:44 06/09/12 (0)
    N/T
    
    So many dumb people with smart phones...
We know you are.....too bad you can't help it. * - mr grits 17:47:37 06/08/12 (2)
.
- You would have been the wittiest guy in my kindergarten class. - tinear 18:35:13 06/08/12 (1)
  Maybe.
  - I was voted "whitest guy" by co-workers in the early 80's.....I revel in it. * - mr grits 11:50:56 06/09/12 (0)
    .

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