Rate The Last Movie You Watched - Page 773

Duplicate Post, Sorry

I think my biggest problem with Prometheus was just how all over the place it was. The reason the original Alien film works so well is largely, in my opinion, due to its tight structure and its presentation and evolution of the xenomorph. Prometheus, on the other hand, seems like it tried to do too much in too limited of a space. The worst offense for me was the sheer number of alien creatures that were crammed in. In Alien you get a pretty clear idea of the threat's life cycle--in Prometheus I had no idea what was going on whenever an 'alien' was on screen. Combined with the murky or just flat out weak character motivations this almost killed the movie for me. I came away liking it for other reasons though--I thought it was a fantastic looking film, with some really inspired 'set' designs, for one thing. I also genuinely thought that Fassbender did a superb job, given the material he was working with. And I loved the body-horror moments. Stuff like that really grips me--even if it seems a bit over the top (like Rapace surgically removing the squid thingie from her guts). This was enough for me to mostly overlook the film's other problems (like that terrible shock-ending lol)--that said, I'd prefer to not see any sequels to this. As a lovely but messy one-off I think it works. Can't imagine that stretching it out any further will improve things though.

That and I'm getting really sick of sequels. And prequels. And sequels to prequels. Etc.

"The Dust Bowl" [9.5/10]: Ken Burns is simply a genius. "The Dust Bowl" is another Ken Burns masterpiece. The way he relates an epic historical tale by telling the story of the individual person is amazing. Amazing images and engaging, sometimes emotional stories is an effective technique for telling stories that everyone should care about and learn from...

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Originally Posted by Redcarmoose 

 

Prometheus in many ways asks more questions than it answers.

The answers are deliberately edited out of the theatrical release. Call it an error of judgment if you want, but this is what contributes to the mystery. If you've watched the deleted scenes, they answer a lot of the questions.

Also, if you've gone through the original script (it was leaked online a few days ago), it has a better, more realistic reasoning behind the first scene, and the reason why the mission was financed is more logical. But it succumbs to the classic alien storyline, hence the changes introduced in the new script.

You can criticize the movie, but I still think not many pay as much attention to imagery and detail as Ridley Scott. It might have it faults, but it was a beautiful movie to watch.

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Originally Posted by oqvist 

They did have a more complete script that made more sense. For whatever reason they started to hack it though. To much for my taste. Not only that there is questions a lot of the actions are not explained and don´t make sense. Which is why it´s still being discussed I imagine. Ultimate troll movie. I was hoping for a DC but from what I been told there is not much more material then what they released as extra. And which should be discarded pretty much from what I been told. I will see Christmas though. Amazon had some black friday so I got the bluray 3D version together with some others.

 

Much Science Fiction has had that simple cheese factor. If you try and watch the first Buck Rogers Serials or even the early 1950s stuff. There has always been a pretty long leash allowed for what-ever reason.

The first Alien was really very cheesy on so many levels. It was not noted at the time due to the over-the-top effects, the heart beat soundtrack. The movie was really the first the general public had been exposed to the H.R. Giger aesthetic other than Brain Salad Surgery. If you take away the acting, the effects/gore and the sets all we have is a ton of cheep sleazy Sci-Fi.

Even if Prometheus was an intact, air-tight script at first, just the fact that it became what it ultimately became in the end and was still loved by many, is a testament to how vulnerable we are as viewers of Sci-Fi. Did 2001 Space Odyssey make complete sense? Did Solaris #1 make any sense? It is the un-noticed questions at times that give it appeal. 

I'm OK with it being a riddle and will enjoy it on it's own terms. I rated it super high as one of the best of the year. Again though take away the music and sets/effects, I don't know where it would stand.

In many ways and on many levels Ridley Scott is much like H. R. Giger as stuff really doesn't make perfect sense but affects on a subliminal level. H.R. Giger has been the one single visionary of the last two generations to give us a unique, romantic view of the future. No one else has even come close.

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Originally Posted by DLeeWebb 

"The Dust Bowl" [9.5/10]: Ken Burns is simply a genius. "The Dust Bowl" is another Ken Burns masterpiece. The way he relates an epic historical tale by telling the story of the individual person is amazing. Amazing images and engaging, sometimes emotional stories is an effective technique for telling stories that everyone should care about and learn from...

I would give "The Dust Bowl" 8/10.  I am forever comparing his work with "The Civil War" 9.5/10.  Both were well done, but the immense scope and vision of "The Civil War"  is almost without comparison,  perhaps the best made for TV documentary of all time.  "The Dust Bowl" excelled in visual imagery.  The scope of the dust storms on live footage was scary and impressive.  "The Dust Bowl" told a coherent and cohesive tale of what happens to the environment when it is exploited without an understanding that there are consequences for reckless behavior.   

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Originally Posted by Planar_head 

Le Ballon rouge / The Red Balloon: 9/10
An impressive film about a child with a red balloon. Any more would be giving it away; it's best to watch it.
It is sublime and riveting storytelling.

Saw it in 1969. I still totally remember it.

That's just the thing--I'm pretty sure most of the 'mystery' in Prometheus is not intentional. The mysteries that preoccupied me the most were more due to poor scripting than they were anything else. Sure, it does tackle some grand mysteries, like the relationship between man and man's creator. Questions like those are questions worth tackling. Wondering about the blatant character inconsistencies is not. The 'stargate' sequence in 2001, on the other hand, is obviously a sequence born of purpose, rather than one born of accident.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redcarmoose 

 

Even if Prometheus was an intact, air-tight script at first, just the fact that it became what it ultimately became in the end and was still loved by many, is a testament to how vulnerable we are as viewers of Sci-Fi. Did 2001 Space Odyssey make complete sense? Did Solaris #1 make any sense? It is the un-noticed questions at times that give it appeal. 

 

Hope you're being sarcastic. After all, Ebert was half a star away from giving Star Wars Episode III a perfect rating. And Anaconda. And 2012. Lol. 

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Originally Posted by grokit 


From Roger Ebert's 100% positive review in the Chicago Sun Times:

Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" is a magnificent science-fiction film, all the more intriguing because it raises questions about the origin of human life and doesn't have the answers.
It wouldn't receive a perfect rating from such a pre-eminent reviewer if it was full of poor scripting and character inconsistencies.
rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120606/REVIEWS/120609989

Frankenweenie 7/10

Tim Burtons 3rd animation full-length, released for Halloween. Probably 'just' scary enough for children - maybe a bit much for under 10s. Has enough adult elements to keep us entertained - with references to many older movies in the horror genre. Sad, funny, scary moments abound. Black 'n' white probably doesn't attract that many of the younger generation. And, to be honest, with its $40million budget I would have preferred a live action movie instead of animation - but I guess that wouldn't have got a PG rating.

Loved this movie. Best thing Burton's done since... Probably Big Fish. @.@

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Originally Posted by Cloth Ears 

Frankenweenie 7/10

 

Tim Burtons 3rd animation full-length, released for Halloween. Probably 'just' scary enough for children - maybe a bit much for under 10s. Has enough adult elements to keep us entertained - with references to many older movies in the horror genre. Sad, funny, scary moments abound. Black 'n' white probably doesn't attract that many of the younger generation. And, to be honest, with its $40million budget I would have preferred a live action movie instead of animation - but I guess that wouldn't have got a PG rating.