1929 replies to this topic

[Stefancos]

Thinking about this today, I can honestly say I'd rather watch Event Horizon

Event Horizon is underrated. Its falls apart in the end, but it has some really creepy parts. And it looks great.

[Quint]

Both it and AvP are big guilty pleasures/beer movies for me. They weren't at first, especially the latter, but I've come to appreciate them for the hugely entertaining shite they are. Death Race 2000 is another ace movie in the the same vein.

But I still can't work out whether or not the director is aware of his niche.

[Alexcremers]

Thinking about this today, I can honestly say I'd rather watch Event Horizon

Event Horizon is underrated. Its falls apart in the end, but it has some really creepy parts. And it looks great.

Great old school sets and optical SFX but terrible, primitive CGI.

I'd rather watch a Michael Bay film or some other shit.

?


Reviews are pretty positive. 33 reviews: 82%

[Stefancos]

Great old school sets and optical SFX but terrible, primitive CGI.

Havent seen the film in ages. just remember it gave me a knot in my stomach. Sam Neil is very creepy.

[Alexcremers]

Havent seen the film in ages. just remember it gave me a knot in my stomach. Sam Neil is very creepy.

I should warn you, the DVD from Paramount looks like a joke. Completely out of focus. Perhaps the UK edition looks better.

[Quint]

Sam Neil was having a laugh. The other actors, not so much. Which is great!

[BloodBoal]

Saw the film yesterday. I was pretty disappointed, even if i didn't have any particular expectations (apart from expecting that the film would be good).

As it's been said already, the visual are pretty damn good. There are some beautiful shots at the beginning of the film and the digital FX are among the best I've seen in recent years (except for

Spoiler

the C-section scene

, where it looked so fake I wondered why they didn't use practical FX instead. It would have been cheaper, and it would have looked way better. Bah!)

The characters are pretty bland for the most part (apart from David and Shaw). I don't think I remember the name of any of them, apart from the two I just mentioned, and Theron's character (well, and Weyland too).

Spoiler

Oh, and I don't even get what was the point of having Weyland character in the film, for like five seconds before killing him. And there was no real conflict between him and the other characters anyway. Everybody acts like they're not surprised to see him. Was Shaw the only person not aware he was on board? And why didn't they develop is relation with his daughter a bit?

The biggest problem of the film is that it's pretty uneventful. There is no real big sequence that you'll remember when the film ends. The first part is quite good though, when it's about exploring the planet and all that stuff. But when the film reaches the second part (when things are suppose to turn into horror), that's when it starts falling apart... I'm tired of seeing always the same kind of scene in all movies when the characters

Spoiler

first see an alien, and they're all like : "Oh, look, he's so cute! Come here, kitty, kitty, kitty! AHHHHHHHHHH! HE'S GOT MY HAND!!! GET IT OFF ME!!! GET IT OFF ME!!!" Why are the characters so fucking stupid? Would you act like that if you saw a creature you had never seen before, and in a place where there are a lot of corpses?. NO!!!

So, please, script writers, wisen up your characters a bit!

Another problem, as it's been mentioned by Croc, is the fact that the characters explain everything to us.

Spoiler

It was so obvious in the scene where Janek talks to Shaw about the planet being some sort of a military facility where things got wrong that the dialogue felt forced.

I wish they would have let us figure that out by ourselves...

Oh, and there are two moments that made the film feel really cheap, I couldn't even believe it was part of a Ridley Scott film:

Spoiler

- The scene where Charlie Holloway is contaminated, and he's like: "Come on, burn me, burn me!" while walking toward Vickers. I know the scene was supposed to be powerful, but it really felt flat on its face, firstly because that character was not even developped, so we didn't care about him, but also because the scene was poorly executed.
- The scene with zombie Fifield. What the fuck was that?

All in all, while I can't say I really enjoyed the film, I wouldn't say it's a bad film. It just left me a bit cold. I don't feel anything about it. No joy, no anger, just... a neutral sensation.

I'm pretty sure Cremers won't like it. Or he'll have mixed feelings at best.

P.S.: A small anecdote: I though Charlie Holloway was played by Tom Hardy, but I found out it wasn't him. That Logan Marshall-Green dude looks a lot like him!

[Quint]

BloodBoal, I resisted the urge to post spoilers (because some people have a tendency to look at them anyway), but yes, I was dying to mention THAT Fifield scene the other day after seeing it.

BY FAR the worst moment of the movie, it was offensively bad, and just so embarrassing - he's jumping off the walls, really Ridley? Ghastly direction and writing, it was bottom of the barrel stuff.

And that feeling of cold you have - leave it a day or so and the realisation of how abysmally awful the movie is will set in.

A year from now Prometheus will have faded into obscurity. You can quote me on that.

[Thor]

Wow. Just wow.

I know I'm wired almost the exact opposite way as most people here when it comes to...well, most topics, it seems. But I'm really surprised to see all the negative comments. I thought at least there would be more balance.

This is the most beautiful science fiction film I've seen in many, many years (except maybe AVATAR, but that was more in fantasy territory) and just pure ART. Classic Scott. It's not perfect, though. There are a couple of things that prevent it from being an 'instant classic', but on a scale from 1-6 where 6 is the best, it's a clear 5+ in my book.

I'll be watching it again shortly, and can't wait to delve further into the details -- whether the visceral experience or the more cerebral (the mythological themes).

[Quint]

Thor, you are as reliable as clockwork.

If you hadn't of loved this movie the sun would not have risen in the sky this morning

Glad you liked it old boy, but I do take issue with your "Classic Scott" statement. WTF are you smoking?! Seriously, you're demeaning Alien and Blade Runner with such a wild and reckless claim!

[publicist]

Thor has this sweet norwegian gullibility when it comes to Hollywood schlock.

Seriously, although the movie is over 2 months away in Germany, i'm happy to see it now for myself. I can't believe i doesn't manage to fly on a higher plane than SNOW WHITE, which i saw yesterday. And even that had entertaining parts, so...

[Thor]

Thor, you are as reliable as clockwork.

If you hadn't of loved this movie, the sun would not have risen in the sky this morning

Glad you liked it old boy, but I do take issue with your "Classic Scott" statement. WTF are you smoking?! Seriously, you're demeaning Alien and Blade Runner with such a wild and reckless claim!

I often find it fascinating how we're all born as humanbeings into this world, but can have so radically different perspectives and tastes in things.

I do think it's classic Scott in many different departments. A strong auteur film. Also, I'm not one to immediately reach for the ALIEN comparisons. That's just unfair for a whole variety of reasons. It takes place in the same unvierse, but it's a whole new film with a whole new aesthetic. If you had expected ALIEN 2 or more of the same, I can see why you were disappointed.

[Quint]

Seriously, although the movie is over 2 months away in Germany, i'm happy to see it now for myself. I can't believe i doesn't manage to fly on a higher plane than SNOW WHITE, which i saw yesterday. And even that had entertaining parts, so...

Clarify, are you saying you have somehow seen it? I'm not quite sure.

Thor, you are as reliable as clockwork.

If you hadn't of loved this movie, the sun would not have risen in the sky this morning

Glad you liked it old boy, but I do take issue with your "Classic Scott" statement. WTF are you smoking?! Seriously, you're demeaning Alien and Blade Runner with such a wild and reckless claim!

I often find it fascinating how we're all born as humanbeings into this world, but can have so radically different perspectives and tastes in things.

I know I'm wired almost the exact opposite way as most people here when it comes to...well, most topics, it seems.

Indeed!

Also, I'm not one to immediately reach for the ALIEN comparisons. That's just unfair for a whole variety of reasons. It takes place in the same unvierse, but it's a whole new film with a whole new aesthetic. If you had expected ALIEN 2 or more of the same, I can see why you were disappointed.

You misunderstood me: I did not compare it to Alien in the way you think I did. I would never compare the content of Prometheus to that of Alien; these are two very, very different films. No, I was merely alluding to quality when I brought up Alien AND Blade Runner. It was direct response to your "classic Scott" statement, which I thought was obvious.

[Alexcremers]

I often find it fascinating how we're all born as humanbeings into this world, but can have so radically different perspectives and tastes in things.

That's all very relative. I still have to read the first comment that says "Finally, for the first time Scott understands how to make a decent science fiction movie". Other than that, the critics and audiences over at Rotten Tomatoes are mostly positive, especially the audience, I must say.

The thing that really alarms me are the bits of dialog that I heard. Unlike Scott's previous SF films, there seems to be a lot of clichés and needless exposition. I'm so glad Hampton Fancher is currently writing the script for BR 2 and not Lindelof. I only pray that David Peoples will do the rewrite again.

Alex

[Stefancos]

The few clips I have seen with dialogue makes me think of Mission To Mars. Not a good thing.

[Quint]

At least Mission to Mars has some kitsch value.

[Stefancos]

And a cheesy Morricone score.

[Quint]

Yeah, cheesy and god awful, bless him!

[Sandor]

Yeah, cheesy and god awful, bless him!

It ruined his career in Hollywood forever...

[Stefancos]

Not according to him.

[Quint]

He couldn't give a shit I'd bet.

[Stefancos]

Hollywood was not paying him as much as he was getting in Europe, and he did not get a lot of respect.

[Sandor]

Hollywood was not paying him as much as he was getting in Europe, and he did not get a lot of respect.

Yeah, using that organ to underscore a dramatic scene and getting laughs from the audience because of it didn't really help him gain the respect he was after. But still; Morricone is BY FAR my favorite composer besides Williams and I think MTM has some awesome moments. Not the organ part though...

[Thor]

You misunderstood me: I did not compare it to Alien in the way you think I did. I would never compare the content of Prometheus to that of Alien; these are two very, very different films. No, I was merely alluding to quality when I brought up Alien AND Blade Runner. It was direct response to your "classic Scott" statement, which I thought was obvious.

Well, I meant 'classic Scott' in the sense that it plays to his strengths; he's able to put his trademark auteurisms all over it. 'Classic' in the sense you think of is hard to discern so shortly after the premiere. We'll see in a few years. I think there are a couple of elements that prevent it from becoming an 'instant classic' (which sometimes happens), but who knows how it's perceived in 35 years?

[Quint]

An, I see. I'd have exchanged "classic" with "vintage", but yeah; I'd still disagree: I just don't recognise the vintage Scott style much in this movie at all.

[Stefancos]

Yeah, using that organ to underscore a dramatic scene and getting laughs from the audience because of it didn't really help him gain the respect he was after. But still; Morricone is BY FAR my favorite composer besides Williams and I think MTM has some awesome moments. Not the organ part though...

I think I got that info from a documentary that pre-dated Mission to Mars

[Quint]

At the end of the day, De Palma could've asked him to jettison the organ.

[Sandor]

At the end of the day, De Palma could've asked him to jettison the organ.

He should have. MTM is not a bad score. It's the organ that's REALLY out of place and is the one thing people remember about it. Nobody ever mentions great tracks like 'Where?'.

I saw the film in London back in the day at a packed Odeon theatre and the moment that organ reared its ugly head a substantial part of the audience bursted out in laughter. The only time I ever witnessed people reacting in such a way to a score...

[Thor]

An, I see. I'd have exchanged "classic" with "vintage", but yeah; I'd still disagree: I just don't recognise the vintage Scott style much in this movie at all.

Flickering lights. Rain, dust and other particles swirling through the air. A strong, female protagonist. Beautiful vista shots. Backlit, foggy atmosphere. Long lenses. A philosophical undercurrent (especially the theme of mortality). And so on and so forth. Personally, I found it all in PROMETHEUS.

What made it even better for me is that despite these philosophical undercurrents, the narrative managed to be totally engrossing and focussed. This isn't always the case with his films, but he hit a homerun here (disregarding some elements towards the end, which may or may not be 'holes' in terms of the universe, depending on how you see it -- I'm not going to give any spoilers here).

[Quint]

Flickering lights. Rain, dust and other particles swirling through the air. A strong, female protagonist. Beautiful vista shots. Backlit, foggy atmosphere. Long lenses. A philosophical undercurrent (especially the theme of mortality). And so on and so forth. Personally, I found it all in PROMETHEUS.

But for me none of them were done with any conviction. It felt empty. Aside from the genuinely beautiful opening vista shots (and music), there was nothing here which suggested visual and thematic depth - it was all face-value, glossy sheen stuff. And even the aforementioned opener seems far less standout when you consider that the BBC produces the same calibre of photography every year with its natural history documentaries.

[Thor]

But for me none of them were done with any conviction. It felt empty. Aside from the genuinely beautiful opening vista shots (and music), there was nothing here which suggested visual and thematic depth - it was all face-value, glossy sheen stuff. And even the aforementioned opener seems far less standout when you consider that the BBC produces the same calibre of photography every year with its natural history documentaries.

Well, that's your right.

Personally, I found details (subtle and not-so-subtle) throughout the duration of the film that made me go "wow, typical Scott!". I hope to explore them even further in my second viewing.

[BloodBoal]

The thing is the movie has a lot of interesting ideas thrown here and there, but they're never fully developped. You've got a character going "What if..." followed by an interesting question, but then we move on to something else entirely different and we never get back to that question. Shame!

I do believe that an extended cut could improve the film. Add it about 20-30 minutes around the middle part, with mostly character development, and also toward the end (which, I forgot to mention, really felt rushed), and you could end up with a more-than-decent film.

I often find it fascinating how we're all born as humanbeings into this world, but can have so radically different perspectives and tastes in things.

Spoiler

Blame it on the Engineers!

[crocodile]

Reviews are pretty positive. 33 reviews: 82%

F*ck reviews! Revenge of the Sith had 80%.

The problem, Alex is not that it's a badly crafted film. But the script is so weak and embrassing that it fails to generate anything but boredom. Scott can still do it, but he needs a damn good writer.

Karol

[Stefancos]

The script for Alien is nothing special.

[Quint]

I remember Empire giving AotC 5 stars. They never lived it down.

Didn't Kingdom of the Crystal Skull get quite a few positive reviews as well?

It's just a hype and expectation thing - something even the journos aren't immune to. Myself? Well I was one of those who thought The Phantom Menace was "amazing" when I first saw it.

The script for Alien is nothing special.

No, but it's supremely economical. And compared to Prometheus, it IS special.

[Chaac]

The script for Alien is nothing special.

Wrong.

[crocodile]

The script for Alien is nothing special.

No, but it isn't embarassing either. It's dry, every-day feel to it creates a sense of realism. In Prometheus every character is a philosopher and talking about meaning of life and plot points. Reeeeaaaally clunky stuff.

And Quint, KOTCS had 77%.

Karol

[Quint]

Karol is right.

[Chaac]

The Alien script has some awesome parts, without them the film would have nowhere the impact it has.

[Quint]

In Prometheus you can see they were trying for that 'kitchen sink normality' which the Alien script has. But it feels forced instead of natural. It feels contrived.

The Alien script is in fact a very good one, because it is always believable.