"PROMETHEUS" - A TRIP TO OUR FUTURE AND PAST

I bet you had begun to wonder where this one had got to. After reviewing the entire “alien” series with semi-religious fervour, it would be downright odd of me to have skipped Prometheus. Well, I hadn’t. I just hadn’t got round to it yet. Well, that and a million other things in my life, but that’s the topic of another blog post all together. I seriously need lessons or something in planning my life but anyway. The point of this particular post is that I have got round to Prometheus. I have watched it. I desperately need to talk about it.

Ok, so as you know this is the “prequel” to the whole series we have all ranted on about all these years. This is the story of “how it all began” in more senses than one. Allow me to explain.

“How did it all begin” is the precise two archaeologists in 2093 claim to be able to answer. The answer lies in a planet system far, far away from Earth, and this connection seems to go back thousands and thousands of years. The only way of finding out the rest of the story is, however, to check out this planet system. Of course, the mission, founded by “the company” takes off and at the far end of the universe, mysteries and secrets begin to get uncovered? So who are the “alien”s? How did they become what they are? What started that entire story anyway? And possibly,  the origins of life on earth… Our friends – and indeed, we ourselves-   will discover the answer to all these questions and more. But the thing is, in discovering these, they will inadvertently unleash unthinkable terror on the planet… Think Pandora’s box, only bigger… Much bigger…

Ok, so there’s no surprises about the storyline and the way it all goes, right? And as you can guess, yup, aliens, chases scenes, some horrendous and messy deaths (that caught me completely by surprise as far as timing goes by the way) all the classics, all there. The only thing I will “tut tut” a bit about is the slight reliance on jump-scares. It’s a cheap scare to be honest; I much prefer a steady build-up of terror. But then again, if they are particularly well-done, I can forgive them. And they were particularly well-done, especially since I was watching it in the middle of the night. I nearly jumped out of my skin. And it isn’t like the film is completely devoid of atmosphere, quite the reverse, but Scott chooses to use the tool in a completely different way.

And the origins? Well, you get an answer as far as that is concerned. But, ok, there are two different ways of looking at this. My boyfriend complains that the explanation is too vague, and that basically, a film that claims to “explain” something should have a bit more meat on its bones as far as explanations go, which is a fair point. Another fair point is that the explanation, well, it’s nothing we couldn’t actually piece together ourselves. And the details of the explanation have very much been substituted by an impending sense of doom – understandable as we know what’s coming next. I agree with these points but I reckon it’s just a different way of doing it. I mean, it’s a typical horror trope, some things are much better left to the imagination as far as being terrifying is concerned – not least because everyone will imagine what is more terrible for them and be EVEN MORE scared if you get what I mean.  So yes, this is very much a showcase of amazing special effects and slick camera-work. And, incidentally a prequel to the Alien franchise. I mean, I have got to add one point, the film very obviously has religion as its center-piece (oh come on, you knew that. I mean, they are looking for how life on earth began for God's sake, the connection is staring you in the face waiting to be made). And as we all know, religion is one of those topics that... You know. It's a sensitive issue. However, the question to ask is, does it entertain? Does it go down well when you kick back of an evening with that extra helping of ice-cream you really shouldn’t be eating? YES. So go ahead, watch it. You know you want to. 

REMEMBERING A CLASSIC : "ALIEN"

Ok, I know. Yet another classic. But again, it’s the first time I’ve watched it myself! So I guess, I just guess there might be a few more out there like me who missed this one. Hence I will now just scribble it down. Just in case you thought, you know “Oh another silly old sci-fi movie. Naah, I’ll pass”. NOT the right attitude. At all. Well I mean, yes it is a sci-fi film. We’re pretty much in agreement there. But it isn’t “any old” sci-fi”. It’s a bl**dy good sci-fi / adventure film. And if you’re any kind of film buff you would be a fool to miss out on, if only because it is such a good example of its kind. The Nostromo is a mining ship back from an average duty shipping ore back to planet earth from a distant planet. They are well on the way home when the ship’s main computer changes their course and re-charts it to a seemingly deserted planet from which a mysterious, indecipherable signal seems to be being transmitted. The duty of the crew is to investigate any further life forms. From the moment the crew get to the abandoned buildings on the planet, something isn’t quite right. And although, when they get back to the ship, they are fully aware of the fact that they have returned with “something”, it will take a while to realise what a dangerous “something” they are dealing with. In the limited space of the ship, the danger grows and in the middle of outer space there is simply nowhere to run… Now, in my view Alien is an interesting mix of a thriller a sci-fi and a horror film. I have to wag my finger a tiny bit at Ridley Scott at this point, if only because he seems, in my opinion, rather overly reliant on jump-scares. And I mean they are well done, but still. Too much is too much, and to my mind it gives the impression of not knowing what else to do. But Scott lets the tension build up really well. Another thing, credit where it’s due, is that he has obviously let his imagination run wild. And he has done an excellent job of the whole sci-fi side of things; considering the film is not one of the newest around (I was just reading in one of my text books in fact that a lot of the Nostromo was built largely out of old souped-up airplane parts hehe). I mean, it’s not life changing by a long shot. It’s the classic story of the monster roaming an enclosed space where our characters are trapped and get “picked off” one by one. (Oh come on, that was NOT a spoiler. Besides, I haven’t ruined ANY of the actual surprises). It’s good fun basically. Watch it. You’re in for a nail-biting time if nothing else!

A RAMBLE IN FOREIGN LANDS : "LEGEND"

This is NOT a film I would have expected from Ridley Scott. On many levels. On one hand it is an old school fantasy with all the visual effects – or lack thereof – pertaining to its era. But to be fair, technology was a tad limited and frankly he made up for the lack of special effects, computers and whatnot in his later films. Secondly, it is a fantasy, as it’s a fairy story. Literally. Yes, Scott later made a bit more of a name for himself in the genre of historical epics but hey. A man can change his mind. No, it’s just that when I picked this one up in the library and it actually said “directed by Ridley Scott” on it, I kinda took a double take. But it had Tim Curry in it. On a smaller and slightly less important note, there was a very young Tom Cruise in it. What, I asked myself, could be the harm? I was write to gamble, as it turned out. This, boys and girls, is a “proper” good one. For this particular Legend we are transported to a magical land. A land of gnomes and fauns, of mystical forest dwellers and beautiful princesses. In this land, there is one particular princess of the name of Lilly whose beauty and goodness is known far and wide. Many would like to wed her but her heart belongs to only one person and that is Jack (Tom Cruise – and I can’t help but feel that he was rather unimaginatively named for this one but hey ho…). Now Jack is a forest dweller. But this doesn’t stop the fact that he responds completely to Lilly’s feelings. Their happiness is almost complete when suddenly, a well-meant error plunges their entire existence into jeopardy. Jack must pit himself against Darkness (Tim Curry – almost unrecognizable under the makeup but the voice gives him away)or the rule of evil will be supreme and dawn will never come again. The film has many good sides. The great imagination used in writing the story is one of them. We revel in the new world created and there are a lot of original characters to sympathize with and get excited with. There is one small problem though. If you are somehow unfamiliar with fantasy as a genre, don’t make this the first film you watch. I have seen A LOT of fantasy in my day so I know the basic “rules” of the game but the one problem I found with Legend was the utter lack of backstory. Characters and events erupt out of nowhere, willy nilly with no more than the absolute minimum of explanation required. It can get just a tad discombobulating. But once you suspend your disbelief utterly and completely and resign yourself to the fact that you will have to actually get through the film with the bare minimum of exposition required, it is fun. Tom Cruise suits his role perfectly even though he is from time to time a tad wooden (but then again that’s how I always think he is so possibly someone who usually likes him a lot would love him? I’m not sure). Tim Curry makes an absolutely terrifying Darkness and the most is made of his wonderful voice by not showing him full on right until the end thus revving up the suspense and getting us to concentrate on “the voice” (sigh). Like I said, this one has the odd shortcoming here and there. But then again, which of us don’t? Thoroughly enjoyable.

TIME TO HIT THE ROAD WITH STYLE: "THELMA AND LOUISE"

Well, as you guys know by now, I am not a major fan of going through the big classics here on this blog. I mean, especially if we’re talking about “those” films, you know, that we all agree are unequivocally brilliant. But still, I do get back to this category from time to time. Because well, you never know, I saw a lot of the “big” classics quite late in life, maybe you’re in the same boat. Maybe you just never got round to it. Better late than never and all that jazz. So here, for your delectation is Thelma and Louise. The road movie of road movies. At the very beginning of the story, Thelma and Louise could just as well have gone absolutely nowhere. Thelma (Geena Davis) is a stay-at home wife with a rather horrible husband who harasses her and probably cheats on her. Louise, her friend, (Susan Sarandon) works as a waitress in a diner, has a long-term boyfriend but is a more independent spirit than Thelma. All the two women want is to have a girl’s weekend at a cabin they have borrowed from a friend of Louise. And things would have gone a lot smoother if Thelma had actually found the courage to ask her husband – not that he would have agreed. The end result is that when the two women drive off, Thelma has left a note taped to the microwave and they are both feeling in a very “giddy” mood, up for having some fun. The trouble is – without giving too much away – that the fun turns nasty pretty quickly and their holiday risks turning into a nightmare. They have to look deep within themselves and find unplumbed depths to both themselves and their friendship if they can ever hope to turn things around. Ok, to be fair, the director Ridley Scott is known for a rather different kind of film. You know, he is the man of epic adventures; he brought us “raaaah” moments like in Gladiator or serious, though-provoking sci-fi with Blade Runner. This is also, in a sense, an epic adventure but on a completely different scale. I was flipping through the interview the director has in the leaflet of my version of the film and Scott points out that rarely are the scripts he works on so “character based”. It is true actually. Usually Scott’s characters are, in one way or another, part of the bigger whole. True, they may be standing up to it or something but I mean, take Russell Crowe in Gladiator – the “model” soldier, standing up to the Roman Empire. Or Robin Hood – the model archer standing up to a corrupt monarch. I am not implying that all Scott’s films are the same by the way – though some do argue this - but, case in point, Thelma and Louise is different. I mean, there is the action / western in there. Really. There are shootouts, car chases all that kinda thing, the ones who have watched it know what I mean. But there is character based comedy as well. Both Sarandon and Davis are SO brilliant. I mean I have to say, the characters are a bit “type” y – there are ALWAYS two very different characters on the road movie, they are very disparate and a lot of the time one is very down to earth and organized and one is a little more scaty and “funny” – as are Thelma and Louise. But as the film progresses we see them both change and develop. And since both actresses are brilliant we see it happen realistically. We get to know them, we get to understand their backstories, why exactly they were / became this way. And the depth of character works very well for the messages the film gives about women and their situation back in the day - and we can discuss how much it has improved. But that is the topic of a whole new paper all together. In short, Scott uses some familiar tropes to make a fun and very watchable movie that also gives us some serious stuff to think about buried not to deep in the film. A definite must watch I’d say.

A TOUCH OF HISTORY AND ROMANCE : "KINGDOM OF HEAVEN"

I heard a lot of bad stuff about this film. The criticism ranged from the political messaging to the lack of originality. I had next to no expectations from it when I had to watch it for course purposes. I have to admit some of the criticism is true for some things but I did still enjoy it, hence I thought it only fair to write it up. Let me try and explain what I mean. Balian (Orlando Bloom – yum!) is a poor blacksmith that has grown up a bastard in a small village. He isn’t very well liked (it is the 12th century after all) and his life has grown even darker after the suicide of his beloved wife following the death of their child. Into his dark world comes a piece of good fortune Balian never expected. A rich baron comes along and reveals that he is Balian’s father. He lives in Jerusalem after the crusades and he is in a position to offer Balian a brand new life in Jerusalem, the chance to start again from scratch, with wealth and power. The problem is, however that this new world Balian is brought into is governed largely by intrigue, greed and the lust for war. Balian only aims to find forgiveness for himself and his wife (whose suicide, it is believed in those days, means she wonders around hell, headless). But will his will to do the right thing by those he is responsible for and for himself prevail over the forces around him? Ok, so you can see the whole pattern coming out already, right. It starts off kinda like Cinderella actually now I come to think of it. Our beautiful and unfortunate hero is delivered from his cruel fate by what is, for all intents and purposes a fairy godmother. Then, the moral side of the story begins. Will Balian be tempted by his position and new found wealth or will he stick to his morals and principals? You can well imagine what the answer is. The film does take an interesting tack though. It is, in my opinion, a bit of a commentary on the wars being fought in the name of religion, the wars that have in fact been fought all through history. Balian is not particularly religious, in fact it is never openly said but implied that he has lost his faith if he ever had faith in the first place. And yet, he is the truly good person in the film, the hero if you will, which I found a tad surprising. It is true that Ridley Scott puts a rather “perfect” ending on the film and Balian ends up being a little too good and moral to be believed, his one major flaw being his lack of faith (which is not even really portrayed or demonized as a flaw come to think of it). The film is good fun though, contains some good emotional moments and made for a good evening’s entertainment all in all. Just don’t expect it to rock your world…