[Closed] Recent Viewing Part III

Love Game of Thrones! I read the books first, and read a lot of character-heavy fantasy novels, so I wasn't put off by that, but I can see how it might be overwhelming! They're doing an excellent job with the adaptation.

Deadwood I wouldn't compare much to Lonesome Dove. I haven't seen LD in years, but I remember it being a fairly romanticised western. Deadwood is pretty raw and brutal...aiming for a more realistic portrayal (though really coming out the other side a bit). Really good stuff though, and far too short.

It's easier to keep track of everyone in season 1 than it is in season 2.

-Erik-

I think the characters are strong, well written, and very well acted. The issue I had with season 2 is that there's just too much to keep track of and the introductions of more characters doesn't help matters. There's far too many story lines going on at once to keep track of everything.

-Erik-

Yeah, it's definitely a genre thing. When I first started reading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, the friend that loaned them to me kept a flowchart to keep track of everything! That's one of the things that I appreciate about the Game of Thrones adaptation...it's absolutely true to the genre. Absolutely great if you love that sort of thing (and yeah, DreamTheater, definitely more focused on character and dialogue than action, though there are some great action scenes).

WAR HORSE

All I have to say is... the final hour of this film is pure gold. Classic Spielberg of pulling on the heartstrings and delivering one brilliant sequence after another. And the final scene is pure poetry, it didn't have any dialogue, and it didn't need it, a perfect ending, beautifully shot. I didn't love War Horse until the great battle scene, but once that was unleashed I loved every second of it. Williams' score worked very well and he absolutely nailed a couple of the most memorable scenes, this is one of the more melodically consistent scores he has done in a long time, and one that works on album just as good as in the film.

If there's one thing where I think they fouled the ball is in the language spoken by the various characters. Why is that all of the invading Germans can speak flawless english but with accents? It didn't feel realistic at all, it felt like a war film from the 60s.

8/10

The film is uneven, but when it's good, it's really good. Whenever he goes into Victor Fleming pastiche (like the ending you mention), it's brilliant.

PROMETHEUS

Ridley Scott returns to the sci-fi universe he helped create, and boy does he deliver. I was sucked into the adventure from the word go, thanks to some wonderful casting choices, a well developed narrative, a creepy atmosphere and gorgeous visual effects. Finally we get to see where the legendary Space Jockey comes from. And where we as a species could originate from. I thought this movie had the right mix of delivering philosophical ideas and good old sci-fi entertainment, the way I like it, full of mystery, building tension, and clashing characters. Prometheus may not be as dark or scary as Alien, but it does blend with the whole universe in a good way. Looks like a new series is born. Give the sequel to James Cameron, and I'm sure I'll go completely crazy if that happens. Well I can dream, right?

8/10

Glad you liked it, Gilles. It's rare to see positive reviews of the film in fan forums. For me, the film was a 9/10.

Two interesting prospectives on PROMETHEUS, one which has a fairly fair eye for the issues of execution:
http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/p … -questions
... and another which is more into the interesting mythological resonances that the execution doesn't quite kill:
http://cavalorn.livejournal.com/584135.html#cutid1
(Obviously there's a heap of spoilers, so please noone be an idiot and cry foul about it later.)

I think you in particular will come out going -- 'Why are people so hard on MISSION TO MARS again?'

Because he is sick and tired of boring remakes and crappy sequels disguised as reboots.

And so are we.

RV: Prometheus

First of, the film looks stunning.
I love the design. Every bit of it. The almost-retro SciFi type feel of the control panels and hardware. The outfits. The set pieces. The CGI. It's honestly very, very good. Absolutely beautiful to behold. Including pretty much the best use of 3D yet (yes, I include Avatar)

I also like the direction Scott took on this. I think this is the way to do it when playing on your own original invention and revisiting it decades later: you take the very basic premise....but basically make a sharp left-hand turn, leaving the original material as it was, and not trying to recreate what you know fans won't like and won't forgive you for (paying attention, Uncle Lucas?).

I also like the almost Ourobouros-like way the Prometheus premise twists and turns upon itself to deliver a thripple whammy: [spoiler]And it's not so much Prometheus as it is Frankenstein: what you create will ulimately destroy you. It's not about being punished by the Gods, but about being God, and see creation turn against you: the Engineers creating Man. Man creating artificial man. Artificial man 'creating' Alien.

This, I think, also explains the never-so-subtle suggestion of 2001 at the very beginning: it's about genesis, and the amount of guidance we hope for and expect, and the accountability for what we do...and the suggestion that at the end, none of these considerations matter a damn!
...but I grant I may be overthinking what may just have been a small inside joke.
[/spoiler]

What I thoroughly enjoyed was [spoiler]the turn-about of the Engineers.
No benevolent, all-knowing but inherently good race, they. No Sir! It's Star Trek through the looking glass!
Mean, vicious and violent with a penchant for biological warfare and genocide.
At very best, they don't care. At worst, they're downright evil.
Now THERE's something that I didn't expect![/spoiler]

What I didn't like is that the plot is ...well, to be honest: pointless.
[spoiler]The whole reason for going out there just makes no sense at all, storywise.
So the engineers somehow changed their opinions about man, so they left clues for man to come and find them...because the engineers wanted to go back....and destroy man.
Um.
OK.
Here's a strategic suggestion: How about then not leaving clues and just go back and burn the earth?
What was the whole damn point of leaving the clues in the first place?
As Tuco so rightly says in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: "if you gotta shoot, shoot. Don't talk."[/spoiler]

I'm hoping this will be satisfactorily explained in the two sequels I gather are planned, but then I seem to remember harbouring such hopes after Attack Of The Clones and The Matrix, so I'm not holding my breath.

I also have to agree with Franz' assessment: a lot of supposedly intelligent people are doing a lot of stupid things.
To propel the story, fine....but at the expense of character involvement and credibility. Which is a shame.
Other than David, the android, I really couldn't care less about any of the characters (although Charlize Theron in Ice Queen mode is....well....what can I say? I have a thing for that. :whip: )

And something really minor that nevertheless really bugged me: for all the 3D technology, for all the CGI wizardry, apparently we're STILL unable to create prosthetic make-up that can make a young man look old.
More embarassingly, there was no reason for Guy Pearce to spend the entire film in very poor make-up other then having been in the viral ad running up to the movie which was set 60 years earlier.
That's it!
That's the entire reason!
Because he was in the viral ad!
What a piss-poor decision!

Anyway, bit of a mixed bag all in all.

I did enjoy it.
The direction and pace were, I think, very good (and Scott certainly seems to understand how to film and present 3D).
But the back story and a lot of the in-story actions and decisions were flawed and unbelievable.

Streitenfeld's music was functional, I guess, but did not stand out.
I'd be interested in hearing it on CD to glean a better understanding of its direction and function.
In the film, I didn't feel it added much.

Film: 3.3 out of 5
Music: 3 out of 5

Sci-fi for me is something to not over-think every little bit of info thrown at me, just enjoying the fantastical, the mystery and visiting the otherworldly, which has been my mindset since I was a little kid. I'm a sci-fi buff, but not to the point I want everything explained, analysed so you can see the flaws and plot holes in a script.

And it is a spectacular film, visually speaking.

Jaws

One of my favourite films of all time, perfect in every way. I saw it projected at 4K on a massive screen and I noticed details I'd never seen before, this new restoration is a beauty! It just does not get any better than this!