I've just remembered one question I had that hasn't been asked yet. What was the purpose of the giant humanoid/engineer head in the chamber with all the jars (and as featured on the poster)?
Probably not important - all the characters in the movie ignore it too.
― Jeff W, Thursday, 7 June 2012 10:50 (twelve years ago) link
oh yeah and isn't there a blue glowing thing on a table? and i thought one of the crew looked at it all mysteriously and said "it's just another door" but i might have misheard.
― Jesu swept (ledge), Thursday, 7 June 2012 10:52 (twelve years ago) link
to confirm 'identical' dna - "we're them and they're us" (erm) - and inadvertent comedy special effect xp
he says it's another tomb
― DG, Thursday, 7 June 2012 10:55 (twelve years ago) link
oh sorry you mean the sculpture head - no fucking idea, presumably engineers just like the look of themselves
― DG, Thursday, 7 June 2012 10:57 (twelve years ago) link
xp ok that makes fractionally more sense.
― Jesu swept (ledge), Thursday, 7 June 2012 10:59 (twelve years ago) link
yeah they're pissed off there's nothing there apart from penis snake and richard fairbrass in a really bad mood
― DG, Thursday, 7 June 2012 11:01 (twelve years ago) link
ok so does this movie actually feature the alien from the movie alien, y/n
― thomp, Thursday, 7 June 2012 11:24 (twelve years ago) link
n
maybe its great grandad twice removed
in a tacked on scene at the end
― Jesu swept (ledge), Thursday, 7 June 2012 11:25 (twelve years ago) link
ehhhh i'll bet if there are sequels the crap alien at the end will be shown to be a mutant created by all the buggering about, or ignored entirely
something hunts the engineers, implants things in them and/or punches holes in their heads <- might be things in the proper alien films that do this iirc
― DG, Thursday, 7 June 2012 11:30 (twelve years ago) link
Who is punching holes in whose head now?
― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 7 June 2012 12:11 (twelve years ago) link
damon lindelof / the audience
― DG, Thursday, 7 June 2012 12:23 (twelve years ago) link
for giant head in Prometheus, see giant foot in Lost
― Number None, Thursday, 7 June 2012 12:29 (twelve years ago) link
I would recommend people to go see it EG cheap at the Prince Charles in 2D.
I would say the opposite (though it's definitely pricier)! See it at the BFI IMAX. It really does look amazing. I know all the people saying "it sucks but it looks great" is already tired, but it really is well put together - there's a really good mix of practical and CGI effects (where the CGI serves to support the practical stuff, rather than replace it); it's really well cut - you can actually follow the action in the busy scenes; some thought has gone into the 3D.
Don't get me wrong - this movie SUCKS, badly - but whereas so much of the big blockbuster stuff (not just Bay, but things like The Avengers, which is so overlit and flat and looks like a TV show) is so artless, it's kind of nice to see some big scale filmmaking. It's just unfortunately in the service of a really awful script.
I think there's probably a cut of this movie that could be made that removes all the tacked-on Lindeloftiness and results in a decent horror movie.
― Walter Galt, Thursday, 7 June 2012 13:35 (twelve years ago) link
2 dimensions of shite is enough for me
i don't think you can remove lindelof from the film - he is the production equivalent of the penis snake
― DG, Thursday, 7 June 2012 13:47 (twelve years ago) link
http://gifs.gifbin.com/1238674026_lost-smoke-monster.gif
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 7 June 2012 13:56 (twelve years ago) link
That was an animated smoke monster from "Lost."
srsly disappointed in the Ebert review. Suggested rewrite:
Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" is a magnificent malodorous science-fiction film, all the more intriguing insipid because it raises (IDIOTIC AND POINTLESS) questions about the origin of human life and doesn't have the (WIT TO PROVIDE ANY INTERESTING) answers
― Jesu swept (ledge), Thursday, 7 June 2012 14:09 (twelve years ago) link
really looking forward to the americans seeing this. we must have done about 300 posts at least slamming this crap - it'll be a bloodbath when they realise their god-king ebert is lying to them, it'll be like the end of the man who would be king
― DG, Thursday, 7 June 2012 14:13 (twelve years ago) link
i don't think you can remove lindelof from the film
Which is funny, because you can see so vividly where he was ADDED to it. It's got the most visible rewrite seams of anything maybe ever! All the daddy issues/cheeseball faith vs. science spirituality stuff (stop trying to push this theme in sci fi!!!!!!!)... etc. etc...
― Walter Galt, Thursday, 7 June 2012 14:29 (twelve years ago) link
Prepared to believe Scott had as much of a hand in that tawdry stuff, with his ridiculous Von Daniken namedropping.
― Jesu swept (ledge), Thursday, 7 June 2012 14:35 (twelve years ago) link
My friend has a theory that a lot of sci fi and fantasy stuff push these religious themes because it's a CYA movie designed strictly to appeal to a broader audience. I mean, even Harry Potter celebrates Christmas, though of course Christmas has no meaning in the story's context. If these stories are going to err on the side of "there is no God!" vs. "look, God!" it's pretty easy to guess which one will get the $250 mil bankroll.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 7 June 2012 14:40 (twelve years ago) link
enh - harry potter celebrates christmas because of a long history of HERE IS ALL THE FOOD scenes in british children's lit
doesn't 'life was seeded by space jockeys' err on the "there is no god" side of things
― thomp, Thursday, 7 June 2012 14:57 (twelve years ago) link
I'm also not that certain that the Harry Potter universe has strong views on the meaninglessness of Christmas!
― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:10 (twelve years ago) link
All that matters is that it is there. It deflects the heretical magical elements by underscoring that, hey, Harry is Christian! (Not that that really worked, but still, maybe it worked for some)
I haven't seen this Alien movie yet, but like Harry Potter, I imagine as long as religion is in the mix somehow, it sates some of the faithful.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:15 (twelve years ago) link
thank you all for saving me $10
― the late great, Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:25 (twelve years ago) link
Look, this film is flawed in many places, but it's great fun and great to look at and as long as you hang your anal coat up the door, there are japes to be had - okay?
My most grating problem was in the beginning scene where they find the cave paintings (on the Isle of Skye, lol), and the archaeologists are wearing clothes fresh for 2012 (Palestine scarves and that) even though it's supposed to be 2089.
― Scary Move 4 (dog latin), Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:29 (twelve years ago) link
Bad movies are their own animals. Often the films that actually bother me the most are the ones with potential that fall short for all sorts of reasons, and this sounds like one of them.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:32 (twelve years ago) link
there has to be a German word that describes the creeping nightmare sensation one gets upon reading phrases like "hang your anal coat up at the door"
― WHEY AHR MAH DREGUNS? (DJP), Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:33 (twelve years ago) link
Metaphernenttäuschungsangst
― thomp, Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:35 (twelve years ago) link
you don't really have to be "anal" to be exasperated at the 2 hour stream of inept dumbfuck idiocy that flies at u face
i say this as a veteran of ilx
― DG, Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:36 (twelve years ago) link
Palestine scarves are not exactly a new thing, mr latin.
― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:42 (twelve years ago) link
i know, but the whole get up... it's like they went to Millets, and I understand they're tipping on the brink of administration these days...
― Scary Move 4 (dog latin), Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:44 (twelve years ago) link
I honestly noticed the same thing in that scene, palestine scarves and down jackets, was disappointed the filmmakers weren't aware of ultra thin down-free fabric tech already on the horizon. Much better than those anal coats too I hear.
― Jesu swept (ledge), Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:47 (twelve years ago) link
at least we know in 2089 retro is still hip
― the late great, Thursday, 7 June 2012 16:40 (twelve years ago) link
are there no actors in hollywood sufficiently old to play an old man
― ༼◍ྀ ౪ ◍ི ༽ (cozen), Thursday, 7 June 2012 17:52 (twelve years ago) link
"It's hard sci-fi"
http://io9.com/5916601/is-prometheus-anti+science-screenwriter-damon-lindelof-responds
― DG, Thursday, 7 June 2012 18:20 (twelve years ago) link
I sort of always wondered, "Where did that thing come from? It's not really a practical organism if it needs a human to gestate. Was it invented by someone?"
damon lindelof bringing the hard science
― thomp, Thursday, 7 June 2012 18:39 (twelve years ago) link
i think the exact same cast should use the exact same sets and fx ppl and make a version of blindsight instead
― thomp, Thursday, 7 June 2012 18:41 (twelve years ago) link
"It's hard, sci-fi" / "It's hard-fi"
― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 7 June 2012 18:48 (twelve years ago) link
http://billtammeus.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834515f9b69e20115702b02bc970c-800wi
― the late great, Thursday, 7 June 2012 18:48 (twelve years ago) link
Ugh @ discussion about pink after that interview (xxxxpost)
― StanM, Thursday, 7 June 2012 18:49 (twelve years ago) link
WTF, xenomorph does not need a human to gestate. Any port in a storm, etc. (see dog alien in Alien 3).
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 7 June 2012 18:56 (twelve years ago) link
I'm most definitively pro-science, but I think that the movie advances the idea that, "Can the two live along side each other?"
Intelligent design lol
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 7 June 2012 18:58 (twelve years ago) link
i think it's safe to assume lindelof knows nothing about anything except how to pitch shaggy dog stories to bewildered old network / studio execs
― DG, Thursday, 7 June 2012 19:04 (twelve years ago) link
Exactly! Fucking idiot. THis is what I mean--people who don't GET the Alien films shouldn't be allowed to make them.
Fuck, why was I so enthusiastic? Of now 7 movies with Aliens in them, only 2 were genuinely great. I should have learned by now.
Also, really amazed at how much of the movie is in the trailer. I mean, almost the whole story is there.
― seven league bootie (James Morrison), Friday, 8 June 2012 00:04 (twelve years ago) link
Onion review is plenty negative for a B+. I guess the set design was enough to bump it up? But I mean:
The human element proves problematic, though, as the characters’ decisions are often foolish, even comically unbelievable. People in extreme situations often make poor choices, but Prometheus’ characters are routinely fundamentally incompetent in ways difficult to reconcile with their qualifications. Their disregard for common sense and their own safety tends to be distancing and frustrating, and lead to the feeling that they deserve what they get, much like the one-dimensional characters in slasher films who exist only to exhibit annoying behaviors, then get killed for viewers’ amusement.
Youch.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 8 June 2012 01:18 (twelve years ago) link
the review in this weeks stranger is surprisingly positive, taking the film's existential ponderings very seriously and attributing the few shortcomings it identifies to the studio rather than the director. i sometimes get the feeling that paul constant sees himself as an advocate for science-fiction in general though. he sometimes seems almost comically unwilling to find fault in anything associated with the genre.
― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Friday, 8 June 2012 01:49 (twelve years ago) link
eagerly awaiting Armond's review
― retro-shittified (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 8 June 2012 02:03 (twelve years ago) link
slasher films + existential ponderings = prometheus
― the late great, Friday, 8 June 2012 02:08 (twelve years ago) link
^ otm
― Millsner, Friday, 8 June 2012 03:03 (twelve years ago) link