Re: Prometheus (2011)

[mrbasehart]

Well, I haven't liked anything Scott has done since Blade Runner, so I'm sure I won't even bother with this. I just find the whole playing around thing annoying.

Have you see his first feature, The Duellists? I really enjoy it - quite different from what he went on to do.

Never heard of it. Is it actually about dueling?

Yep.  It's based on a short story by Joseph Conrad about 2 military men in Napoleon's army who basically end up at war with each other over the course of their lives.  It's quite muted, has a couple of great, realistic, sword fights, and Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel are excellent in it.

[D.B. Barnes]

Alien/Prometheus trailer mash-up.

[ScottotD]

I think maybe the distancing Scott is doing is because it won't have 'Alien' aliens in it, just the Space Jockey.

[TeamRAD]

I think maybe the distancing Scott is doing is because it won't have 'Alien' aliens in it, just the Space Jockey.

I tend to believe the studio & Scott are distancing themselves from the brand b/c of how toxic it's become. It's really become a pile of shit.

There isn't any denying it's linked w/ the brand's mythos to some extent w/ the peek of the Space Jockey's cockpit. Once seeing that in the trailer, it's game on.

[Johnny Unusual]

Alien/Prometheus trailer mash-up.

Seems kind of unnecessary since the Prometheus trailer is already an echo of the Alien one.

I must say that I wasn't interested until I saw the trailer.  Looks interesting and I like the fact that it seems to be a prequel but only a light prequel.  In the sense of shared space and hopefully no to little xenomorphs.  Not that I don't like them, but the more they appear, the more diluted their presense.  Like Austin Powers (should have stayed with one Myers).

[Watchman]

I'll say this: after seeing the Prometheus teaser on the big screen, this is the most psyched I've gotten over a teaser since first seeing the Dragon Tattoo teaser 6 months ago. I've let my doubts slide a bit. (It was the only trailer that didn't give me a fucking headache, surely that counts for something.)

My main concerns were/are over the origins of the Space Jockey being over-explained. I don't want it to totally solve the puzzle. One of the enduring things about Alien, and a testament to its longevity, is that 30 years later we're still theorizing over the origins of the space jockey. I hope this film leaves enough of our imaginations in tact. I'll be disappointed if I find out the space jockey is explained as a fucking ancient astronaut or something. That's essentially what AvP did with the predators, but I don't take that film seriously anyway. All I ask is that this movie isn't reduced to a "History Channel Thanksgiving". 

[Russell]

My main concerns were/are over the origins of the Space Jockey being over-explained. I don't want it to totally solve the puzzle. One of the enduring things about Alien, and a testament to its longevity, is that 30 years later we're still theorizing over the origins of the space jockey. I hope this film leaves enough of our imaginations in tact. I'll be disappointed if I find out the space jockey is explained as a fucking ancient astronaut or something. That's essentially what AvP did with the predators, but I don't take that film seriously anyway. All I ask is that this movie isn't reduced to a "History Channel Thanksgiving".  

Sutter, you seem like the kind of person who loved 2001 but hated 2010... and that's fine with me, because I'm a lot like that too. While trying to explain cryptic clues might be interesting in a way, it also neuters all sense of mystery and atmosphere surrounding the events.

[Johnny Unusual]

Sutter, you seem like the kind of person who loved 2001 but hated 2010...

You mean there's an alternative?

[Russell]

Sutter, you seem like the kind of person who loved 2001 but hated 2010...

You mean there's an alternative?

You'd be surprised Johnny, strangely enough... Confused Matthew HATES 2001 but really likes 2010... hmm. He's kind of odd like that. Sometimes I understand him, sometimes not.

[ScottotD]

To me, the Jockey isn't the defining moment of Alien.  It's cool but it's not as though showing who he/they are will explain where the Alien came from

[Watchman]

To me, the Jockey isn't the defining moment of Alien.  It's cool but it's not as though showing who he/they are will explain where the Alien came from

Unless they show & explain the home planet the Space Jockey's exporting the Facehugger eggs from. I don't want this to be Ridley Scott's Space Truckers. (If anyone else has seen Space Truckers, I'll be amazed.)

Sutter, you seem like the kind of person who loved 2001 but hated 2010... and that's fine with me, because I'm a lot like that too. While trying to explain cryptic clues might be interesting in a way, it also neuters all sense of mystery and atmosphere surrounding the events.

I'll take that as a compliment.
Truthfully, I'm more "meh" about 2010. I don't think it should exist, I think Kubrick's approach is right & Arthur C Clarke is a stubborn old codger who needs to spell everything out, and I think Peter Hyams is the most mediocre director in Hollywood history (every film of his I've seen is neither good nor crap, they often have interesting plots terminated with extreme dullness [like Capricorn One, how could a moon-landing conspiracy movie be so dull & unengaging?]). However, I just don't think 2010 is worth getting angry about. I'd rather spend my allotted 2010 anger time rewatching 2001. Besides, the internet has plenty of people passionately arguing my issues with 2010 for me. Not like my criticism would bring anything new to the table (unless I tried to propose that this movie somehow ruined Roy Scheider's acting career; did he star in any big movies after 2010?). I'm content with being in the silent majority for this issue. In fact, I find it rather entertaining to see people defend 2010 & Peter Hyams. I can appreciate the underdogs, since I'm the underdog on a great many other issues.

I guess I don't like hating or defending things unless I'm doing it with a grain of salt. I'll defend Zardoz because you have to have a sense of humor to be a Zardoz fan & acknowledge its flaws in your overall appreciation (the haters aren't so open-minded when it comes to acknowledging its merits, it seems most people online can't accept any middle ground between Masterpiece & Garbage). Based solely on IMDB boards, Zardoz fans seem to be the most even-tempered people on Earth. Trolls don't fare well on the Zardoz board, we're not indignant enough to fall for their bait. We should win the "Don't Feed The Trolls Award".

[D.B. Barnes]

What's she lookin' at?

[Russell]

What's she lookin' at?

Wangs.

Jerry Wang?

[D.B. Barnes]

Nope. Penes. Schlongs. Dongs. Phalloi.  Cocks.  Tons of 'em.

First look at the Prometheus aliens:

Spoiler

Known as "gaebul" in Korean, these are a type of sea worm or slug. Sometimes it is translated into English as "sea penis" or "penis fish". They are served raw with just the outside and intestines stripped, still wriggling on the plate.

Bon appétit!

[Watchman]

Nope. Penes. Schlongs. Dongs. Phalloi.  Cocks.  Tons of 'em.

First look at the Prometheus aliens:

Spoiler

Known as "gaebul" in Korean, these are a type of sea worm or slug. Sometimes it is translated into English as "sea penis" or "penis fish". They are served raw with just the outside and intestines stripped, still wriggling on the plate.

Bon appétit!

I dare you to post this in The Dark Knight Rises thread, and come up with something clever about how this relates to Bane (I can't think of anything).