Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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snips from the TOH! review:
[...]It seems Sir Ridley wouldn’t dream of re-entering the realms of science fiction, even with something as seemingly clear-cut as an "Alien" prequel, unless he could hurl everything plus the kitchen-sink into the mix, including primordial ponderings, body horror, mythological mash-ups and cool space gadgetry, while finally answering the question that has been plaguing "Alien" lovers for 30 years: who is that masked space jockey and how did he come to be where the crew of the Nostromo could stumble upon him? Lofty aspirations, although perhaps Scott should have put stronger minds on the script or steered their efforts more rigorously: Damon Lindelof and Jon Spaihts seek to plumb depths within a multiplex framework but leave their hodge-podge of ideas splashing in a shallow pool as the film diverts into a conventional furrow of death and evisceration.

[...]For the sake of blockbuster cinema that’s more than plastic spectacle, you really root for Prometheus to fire on all cylinders. The fact that it doesn’t, and settles for being watchable entertainment without ever scaling the spine-tingling heights of Scott’s previous sci-fi forays, is frustrating. But there are more ideas and intricacies in a few frames of Scott’s film than the entire oeuvre of Michael Bay, and in a landscape in which originality is vanishing quicker than the human crew of the Prometheus, that can only be applauded.
hm. pretty disappointing as we now have several reviews essentially saying the same thing. sigh. guess we'll find out.

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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Maybe at this late stage of the game it's too much to ask a prequel to a decades-old franchise to reinvent the wheel. I guess I'm still heartened by its R rating that we'll get a pretty good party out of it. But I won't go in expecting much more than that.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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this raises a lot of good points: link to shitty site
Next Friday, Prometheus opens, and it promises to be this summer's big sci-fi film. The ad campaign has been incredibly effective, and the movie features a great cast, including Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender. But one of the movie's other main selling points is precisely the reason I'm worried about it. Prometheus is directed by Ridley Scott.
click the link for way more. but i have to say - i like legend.

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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TC wrote:i like legend.
Still haven't gotten around to enduring that one. Same with The Duellists, 1492 or A Good Year.

The thing with Scott is he's kind of a big-budget Woody Allen: a new project appears about every other year. And like with Woody, there are quality-control issues. You wish both guys would be a bit more choosy and maybe work on only a few productions rather than crank out new offerings as though they were Happy Meals.

The article is on target regarding what's wrong with stuff like Matchstick Men, American Gangster and Kingdom of Heaven. (I still can't wrap my head around the conventional wisdom that the extended cut of Kingdom of Heaven actually IMPROVES the experience. Its problems couldn't possibly be lessened by making the damned thing longer.)

That being said, Body of Lies is a perfectly serviceable thriller whose only real failing is it more resembles a movie by Tony Scott, not Ridley. Hannibal is a perhaps appropriately schlocky sequel, though only worth sitting through once. Gladiator and Black Hawk Down are, of course, impressive technical achievements that nonetheless point up Scott's inability to weed out tin-eared dialogue as well as his weakness for sentimentality.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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He's a visual storyteller who lucked into some very good gigs early on IMHO. He's not a writer. He's as good as the script he's handed, and he's probably the beneficiary of really good casts more than a good actor's director. That said O-dot, check out the Duelists, it's a gorgeous movie, entertaining, some great set pieces. 1492, pretty but long, ultimately meh. I'll never watch A Good Year, not because I have anything against it, I just have absolutely nothing for it.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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TC wrote:this raises a lot of good points: link to shitty site
Next Friday, Prometheus opens, and it promises to be this summer's big sci-fi film. The ad campaign has been incredibly effective, and the movie features a great cast, including Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender. But one of the movie's other main selling points is precisely the reason I'm worried about it. Prometheus is directed by Ridley Scott.
click the link for way more. but i have to say - i like legend.
This piece encompasses my thoughts on Scott almost perfectly. And Legend, while pretty and with cool villain production design, has almost no story. Good evidence that the guy is beholden to whatever script he's handed.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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no story? the last unicorns, humans contaminating their purity, darkness stealing the horn to bring about eternal winter and, um, darkness, humans and elves and fairies banding together to attempt to wrest the horn from the hands of darkness... not sure i agree with "no story". but let's say it's true, that it has no story - wouldn't that be the opposite argument for scott? that he was able to make a good film with a turd script?

i can't really argue for or against his recent output or body of work in general, as i'm finding out i have seen very little of it. what i've seen: alien, blade runner, legend, black rain, gladiator, hannibal. looking at his CV and going by what i have heard about all the other movies, i'd say it's accurate that he has sustained his career based on early reputation more than anything else. good for him. does he still have it in him to make something good/memorable/legendary? we shall see soon, as he seems determined to touch every part of his early success before he retires, what with this (alien) and his blade runner sequel/prequel/whatever it will be.

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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I'll admit it's been 20 years since I watched Legend so I'm hardly qualified to break it down, just remember being very underwhelmed by a lot of it, a lot of washy hazy shots and some jokey stuff that wasn't very funny.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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So I saw this on opening day, anyone else? Of course a little tough to talk about with the uninitiated without diving into spoilers, but I'll try. Broad rating is somewhere around 2 1/2 Xenomorphs out of 4.3, or something. I don't think it's too spoilerish to say we're seeing Ridley and screenwriters trying to execute their own 2001 filtered through the dark prism of the Alien universe. They are trying to take old DNA and launch a fresh series, somewhat problematic considering we know where the timeline ends up more or less but still plenty of depths to be plunged given the direction they end up going. And on paper, the ideas are intriguing. They're not doing another haunted house on a spaceship movie for sure, but they are definitely following a mission in trouble. They are indeed blowing wide open where the Xenomorphs started, and it's pretty big, but they're not completely explaining where they come from or what their purpose is, and in that there are some ripe sci fi ideas and ambiguities. Yet we're certainly familiar with the setup and eventual outcome, and we're comparing it with what we know, and it can't be helped if you're going to revisit a franchise with highs, lows, and ridiculous spinoffs. In other words, there is plenty of history to bring to this exercise, and there are both triumphs and failures. Some great, widespread references to its own sci-fi DNA, before and after the original, to look for throughout. Anyway, I'll leave it for further discussion when a few more of you have seen the source material.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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Still nobody? Turns out I had the rare opportunity to see something twice and caught it again this weekend, continues to be flawed but an interesting addition to the sci-fi cannon.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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Alexhead wrote:Still nobody?
We're a bit busy with a 1-month-old these days, so this'll probably have to wait until the DVD is out. ;)
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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O-dot wrote:
Alexhead wrote:Still nobody?
We're a bit busy with a 1-month-old these days, so this'll probably have to wait until the DVD is out. ;)
I've got three kids--no excuses! ;) Get some rest man...at some point soon... :D
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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TC wrote:have to wait until next weekend, not taking the 10-yo to this one.
probably a good call. My 15 year old brothers both really liked it.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Prometheus [Ridley Scott]

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TC wrote:congrats to odot & the mrs! hey, remember sleep? it was awesome, wasn't it?
So was that lack of existential dread and responsibility!
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."