Prometheus, in three short paragraphs
#1
Posted 16 June 2012 - 09:44 AM
Who is Ridley Scott? What does Ridley Scott know of the future, or of the origin of humanity? Ridley Scott has never been to the future, and surely he has little more idea what will happen in the future than the key grip or makeup artists in this insipid film. Nor does Scott have a PhD in biology. The notions he presents regarding evolution are sheer fantasy. Who is Ridley Scott to challenge the likes of Charles Darwin? Ridley Scott has no more knowledge of evolutionary biology than the actors pretending to be scientists in his film. Like Quentin Tarantino attempting to make a film about a war he never fought in, this lack of verisimilitude makes it impossible to take the film seriously.
Ridley Scott has made some considerable number of inane films of little note such as Alien and Bladerunner, and yet somehow got lucky with the classic police drama Black Rain, starring the immortal Andy Garcia. As they plebian saying goes, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Or, as Albertans might put it, the sun shines on every dog's ass sometimes. Whatever the metaphor, it is clear that Scott's success with Black Rain was a fluke. And yet Hollywood studios continue to give him money to make nonsensical fare such as Gladiator and Blackhawk Down. It is clear that Hollywood executives are imbeciles who have no business sense. It is clear that they have been blinded by the admittedly spectacular Black Rain, and Ridley Scott has coasted on that success for over two decades.
The film uses CGI and 3d technology, which is a gimmick whose time has come and gone, another failed novelty that tries to get people to come to the theatres. 3d is no substitute for good actors or creative stories. Who in Hollywood can tell a story with the arch of an eyebrow as Vivian Leigh once could? Certainly not Noomi Rapace. What good is 3d technology when there is no story worth telling? Give me Black Rain any day.
The film typifies Hollywood desperation. They have hired a hack director whose only success was over 20 years ago. He hired a Swede pretending to be English, a white woman pretending to be African, a man pretending to be a robot, high-school dropouts pretending to be scientists. They have put them in a fictional future. They have dishonestly named the film after Greek myth, yet there are no Greeks, ancient or modern, to be found. They have surrounded it all with 3D in the hope that it will keep viewers from noticing the dishonesty of this exercise. IMO, viewers will not be fooled.
The meaning of life is not a question for hack directors and 3D and CGI and fake scientists and Swedish actresses pretending to be English. Viewers will find this to be a hollow experience. Someday, Hollywood will realize that these questions are best left to French actors sitting on a couch in a crappy Paris apartment. With subtitles. Le cinema verite, c'est magnifique.
---
Could Prometheus have been made in Saudi Arabia, by Muslims? IMV, no. They have no grasp of sarcasm. As well, they're idiots who can barely operate cell-phones, let alone digital 3-d film equipment. It would be proposterous. It bears mentioning that Scott's future contains Christians, but no Muslims. Here, Scott gets it right. Or, as an Albertan might say, the sun shines on every dog's ass sometimes.
-k
#2
Posted 16 June 2012 - 09:45 AM
"History I believe furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free and civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as their religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose."
Thomas Jefferson
#3
Posted 16 June 2012 - 12:14 PM
#4
Posted 16 June 2012 - 07:03 PM
#5
Posted 16 June 2012 - 07:26 PM
THIS IS A MESSAGE BOARD!
I love Bladerunner
Me too
Ummm....That's not 3 paragraphs...
The people involved will know what this was about. The rest will just need to take my word for it that this is satire.
-k
#6
Posted 16 June 2012 - 08:14 PM
edit: To those that skipped the OP. There's no spoilers.
Edited by cybercoma, 17 June 2012 - 07:33 AM.
"History I believe furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free and civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as their religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose."
Thomas Jefferson
#7
Posted 16 June 2012 - 10:14 PM
#8
Posted 17 June 2012 - 08:53 AM
I almost walked out of this film when I realized that it had nothing to do with Greek mythology, but having told my parole officer I would remain at the theatre for two hours, I had little choice but to remain and catalog the film's many flaws. This film is a fraud, a charade. It is pretending to be something it is not. The lies are many. Noomi Rapace is Swedish, but they have given her an English name in this film. Michael Fassbender pretends to be a robot that is pretending to be human. If they simply had Fassbender be human, the nonsensical robot aspect of the story could have been dropped. Charlize Theron is allegedly South African, yet she is as white as snow. She is a Hollywood liberal pretending to be a corporate executive. The film is set on a world light years away, yet the film was produced entirely on earth. None of the alien creatures in the film have ever been found. Such is the dishonesty of Hollywood.
Kimmy is apparently now channeling Oleg. She will be eating dinner one day and Oleg will tear free from her stomach and launch himself into the internet, immortal so long as he stays away from rocket blasts to the face.
Edited by Argus, 17 June 2012 - 04:00 PM.
#9
Posted 17 June 2012 - 09:09 AM
"History I believe furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free and civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as their religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose."
Thomas Jefferson
#10
Posted 17 June 2012 - 11:56 AM
Kimmy is apparently now channeling Oleg. She will be eating dinner one day and Oleg will tear free from her stomach adn launch himself into the internet, immortal so long as he stays away from rocket blasts to the face.
Oleg. Wow, the similarities are eerie!
I love Black Rain though. Michael Douglas kicking some ass. Prometheus was quite good though, I saw it for the second time last night and I think it will age well.
Welcome truth custom-made, come in and have some lemonade
Reality will re-adjust while we evade...
#11
Posted 17 June 2012 - 04:51 PM
Kimmy is apparently now channeling Oleg.
Actually, I'm pretty sure she was intentionally channeling someone else.
#12
Posted 17 June 2012 - 08:33 PM
Welcome truth custom-made, come in and have some lemonade
Reality will re-adjust while we evade...
#13
Posted 18 June 2012 - 03:25 PM
Si vous pouvez lire ceci, vous êtes un libéral.
#14
Posted 19 June 2012 - 11:16 AM
But even aside from my love of it, it's very sharp observational satire. Kimmy is plainly not an "Asian."
--Bill Graham, Former Canadian Foreign Minister, 2007
#15
Posted 20 June 2012 - 03:37 AM
In case you're scratching your head about this thread, start here and it might make more sense.
Yes, and in fact it summons an older trend by a specific poster. To really get what's going on here, one needs to read a fascinating and mildly infuriating discussion about Inglourious Basterds, quite some time ago.
--Bill Graham, Former Canadian Foreign Minister, 2007










