tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post6787956855247857299..comments2024-03-12T12:38:23.542-04:00Comments on The Kind of Face You Hate: You’re Tired of Yourself and All of Your Creationsbill r.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-83210993034872040372012-06-20T00:09:33.354-04:002012-06-20T00:09:33.354-04:00"An 'intelligent design' agenda"..."An 'intelligent design' agenda".<br /><br />Wow. Seriously? I need to seek those out to believe it. So, on the politically-bent takes of PROMETHEUS, there is now the "PROMETHEUS is anti-religion" camp and the "PROMETHEUS is anti-evolution" camp. It's nice to know that topics can't be kicked around without there not being ANY agenda behind them whatsoever.<br /><br />So... basically, there are people out there who would equate PROMETHEUS to RELIGULOUS and EXPELLED.Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067136509248849744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-33032390149517169712012-06-19T16:01:45.092-04:002012-06-19T16:01:45.092-04:00Yeah, I forgot that whole aspect of Blade Runner, ...Yeah, I forgot that whole aspect of Blade Runner, it didn't interest me either, though I seem to recall liking the movie overall even better without the original voiceover.<br /><br />As for Prometheus, for one thing, the Engineer appeared a hell of lot more humanoid in shape and, especially, size, than I remember the original being. Plus I figure it's gonna be damn hard for any future sequels to avoid turning the Engineers into something resembling yet another hackneyed breed of cookie-cutter, weird-nosed spacy antagonists in the Star Trek mold. We'll see, I guess.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-21581414658435781612012-06-19T15:24:27.402-04:002012-06-19T15:24:27.402-04:00John:
I acknowledge -- though I suppose I didn...John:<br /><br />I acknowledge -- though I suppose I didn't in the review itself -- that bits of the film are a mess. But my overall impression was one of horror and fascination.<br /><br />And yes, the re-cut BLADE RUNNER lays on the idea that Deckard is a replicant pretty thick. I don't like that aspect of BLADE RUNNER, hence my preference for the theatrical cut, but the same them is all over PROMETHEUS and there I thought it was really interesting, and more relevant.<br /><br />I don't really see how PROMETHEUS demystifies much of anything. I mean, I guess, yeah, the Space Jockey in ALIEN, but we're left with a lot more questions, ones that I think are very appealingly mysterious. Besides that, as I say, I have no problem viewing PROMETHEUS as a stand-alone film.<br /><br />The hopeful question did clarify for me that I wasn't missing something, so I'm grateful for that, but otherwise it did seem out of place, I agree.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-46367445513867827092012-06-19T15:20:11.839-04:002012-06-19T15:20:11.839-04:00Anonymous:
Yes, that's what I imagine. Which...Anonymous:<br /><br />Yes, that's what I imagine. Which is sort of why I don't want a sequel, because obviously that wouldn't happen if they bothered to continue the story.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-65500033628884606982012-06-19T15:19:39.527-04:002012-06-19T15:19:39.527-04:00Fox:
"the number-crunching/slide rule review...Fox:<br /><br />"the number-crunching/slide rule reviewers"<br /><br />Oh that's just exactly what they are. Well put. I agree with everything you said, actually (a first?), and my disdain for the people you refer to has only deepened since I've seen some of them complain that PROMETHEUS has some kind of "intelligent design" agenda. Please...bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-27847648825469464422012-06-19T14:55:34.912-04:002012-06-19T14:55:34.912-04:00Okay, just saw Prometheus and liked it, and enjoye...Okay, just saw Prometheus and liked it, and enjoyed your review (though I think you give the film a bit more credit than it deserves, maybe). But right now I'm trying to remember what happened at the end of the re-cut Blade Runner. Something about whether Ford's character was actually a robot, was it?<br /><br />As to Prometheus, the overall impression I'm left with as of now is that is that, whatever Scott's original intentions, everything seemed to lead up to a conclusion that segues neatly into the beginning of the first Alien movie. And, really, a little <i>too</i> neatly, if you ask me, in the process diminishing some of the outlandish, mysterious, truly <i>alien</i> (in the rarest sense) quality of that movie's bizarre settings and visuals. It felt to me as if a major goal of the movie was to explain, and hence demystify that eerie, monstrous landscape in which the early action of Alien takes place, and, unfortunately, I think it succeeds a little too well there, intentionally or otherwise.<br /><br />Anyway, that's just one initial impression among many. You've got me interested in seeing it again at some point, though, although I think, yeah, among its flaws I'd say it the optimistic note sounded by the ending felt forced and kinda dopey, given the circumstances, as if the creators opted to throw logic and natural continuity to the wind to leave room for Further Adventures in...this bewilderingly bleak and brutal universe?<br /><br />And, hey, it's already got a sequel, doesn't it? Alien. I thought that was the whole point. Oh, man.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-15685084681470244362012-06-19T14:06:31.878-04:002012-06-19T14:06:31.878-04:00My suspicion is that if Elizabeth ever gets to ask...My suspicion is that if Elizabeth ever gets to ask her question to her makers, the answer will be her head ripped from her shoulders.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-18736653398067125462012-06-19T12:27:14.610-04:002012-06-19T12:27:14.610-04:00Good stuff.
I'm not as much of a fan of Prome...Good stuff.<br /><br />I'm not as much of a fan of Prometheus as you seem to be, but I think you get at something here than many of the number-crunching/slide rule reviewers are ignoring or missing: <br /><br />Taking on the questions of creation and existence and the purposes behind both can lead you down the road to an enormous pit of clusterfuck. Maybe neither science nor faith can provide the answers. Maybe it's a third much more inconceivable (or incomprehensible?) option. And that's frightening to minds who are convinced they've got it right.<br /><br />Also... I agree that many reviewers/fans are just too tied up in the prequel-ness (ie "how does this fit into the *Alien* legacy?") of Prometheus to let any other viewpoints creep in. Granted, I'm someone who could give a shit about some *Alien* legacy, but, really... who gives a shit?Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067136509248849744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-90587543637578158102012-06-18T22:27:29.552-04:002012-06-18T22:27:29.552-04:00Ah, I thought that might have been it. And no, I ...Ah, I thought that might have been it. And no, I wasn't expecting that either. Plus, boy, it looked great, didn't it? The effects of the, you know...the grappling things.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-58478002797180762342012-06-18T21:41:18.731-04:002012-06-18T21:41:18.731-04:00Sorry, I figured when the ship bit it that the mov...Sorry, I figured when the ship bit it that the movie was pretty much over. Didn't expect to see that much action afterward.Adam Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11968051066147134504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-90528646174370374042012-06-17T22:35:05.989-04:002012-06-17T22:35:05.989-04:00I'm confused. I feel like your last sentence ...I'm confused. I feel like your last sentence could apply to about three or four different scenes.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-91557330478721236792012-06-17T21:59:31.722-04:002012-06-17T21:59:31.722-04:00I'm kind of torn on the final scene: it's ...I'm kind of torn on the final scene: it's either an obligatory "OK, happy now?" or Scott throwing everyone's puzzles in the air who thought they had it all pieced together. In either case, the whole "here's squid in yer eye" angle is great that it even exists, I did not see it coming at all.Adam Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11968051066147134504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-78309694702182486672012-06-17T14:54:20.406-04:002012-06-17T14:54:20.406-04:00I have a problem with pretty much everything Ligot...I have a problem with pretty much everything Ligotti says outside of his fiction, but this is what PROMETHEUS made me think about.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-75024393427086716072012-06-17T12:37:07.841-04:002012-06-17T12:37:07.841-04:00The Ligotti quote annoys me a little, namely in th...The Ligotti quote annoys me a little, namely in the line:<br /><br /><i>In the world of nature, as an instance, nothing knows of its embroilment in a festival of massacres.</i><br /><br />I'm not sure whether it's only meant to be reflective of this Bahnsen's attitude, or of Ligotti's as well, but it smacks of presumption to say this poor, tortured "self-conscious Nothing" is the only one truly aware of the endless cruelty of earthly existence. It's entirely possible that the lesser orders are at least as aware of this as we are, but much less inclined (or simply lacking the necessary leisure) to mope about it.<br /><br />Anyway, carefully skimmed the review and it looks like a good one, but I'll have to come back to it after I finally get around to seeing this.Johnnoreply@blogger.com