Prometheus - Integral Post-Metaphysical Spirituality2024-03-29T15:55:44Zhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/forum/topics/prometheus?commentId=5301756%3AComment%3A42220&feed=yes&xn_auth=noPrometheus was visually stunn…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2012-06-25:5301756:Comment:422402012-06-25T06:10:57.601ZJosephhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/JosephFarley
<p>Prometheus was visually stunning but had plot holes big enough to drive a planetary land rover through. Major disappointments: 1) Our supposed creators looked like the albino bastard children of the incredible Hulk. Identical DNA? Please. 2) I really wanted to see the elephant faced creature that was the dead starship pilot in the original Alien. 3) Charlise Theron really didn't have much to work with as the corporate ice queen. She had a much better role & performance in Snow White…</p>
<p>Prometheus was visually stunning but had plot holes big enough to drive a planetary land rover through. Major disappointments: 1) Our supposed creators looked like the albino bastard children of the incredible Hulk. Identical DNA? Please. 2) I really wanted to see the elephant faced creature that was the dead starship pilot in the original Alien. 3) Charlise Theron really didn't have much to work with as the corporate ice queen. She had a much better role & performance in Snow White & the Huntsman. 4) The creature variants were weird, seemingly random mutations & not that scary. I almost shit my pants while watching the first Alien. 5) I didn't buy the ending at all. 6) Ultimately, I think the flawed Alien 3 & Alien Resurrection were better movies than Prometheus.</p>
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<p>I did think the planetary landscape & pyramid structures were visually well done. Noomi Rapace & Michael Fassbender gave excellent performances.</p> Ah, no wonder I didn't recogn…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2012-06-20:5301756:Comment:421262012-06-20T15:35:57.249ZEdward theurj Bergehttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/theurj
<p>Ah, no wonder I didn't recognize Noomi Rapace. She starred in the Swedish version of TGWDT, not the American version, which starred Rooney Mara.</p>
<p>Ah, no wonder I didn't recognize Noomi Rapace. She starred in the Swedish version of TGWDT, not the American version, which starred Rooney Mara.</p> A lot of these comments seem…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2012-06-20:5301756:Comment:421252012-06-20T15:32:30.710ZLayman Pascalhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/LaymanPascal
<p>A lot of these comments seem strange to me since I never thought of Scott as a "big questions" director. He's always been a high-action, almost purely visual director who just happened to be associated with some good scripts from time to time. It would never have occurred to me to expect that questions were going to be answered in this film. I suspect those who feel something was missing might do well to pay less attention to the so-called plot and more attention to the visual-tactile…</p>
<p>A lot of these comments seem strange to me since I never thought of Scott as a "big questions" director. He's always been a high-action, almost purely visual director who just happened to be associated with some good scripts from time to time. It would never have occurred to me to expect that questions were going to be answered in this film. I suspect those who feel something was missing might do well to pay less attention to the so-called plot and more attention to the visual-tactile language and style that is clearly the director's primary interest.</p>
<p>Also it is in no sense a "plot hole" that the android knew enough of the Maker's tech to access their history and understand their motives better in relation to humans -- given that it is well-established throughout the film that David does not reveal much of what he knows and that his allegiance is progressively oriented away from human satisfaction and toward unknown personal motives of his own. </p>
<p>My only real complaint with the film is that the ending was a bit "easy". As Hitchcock said, "Always make the audience suffer as much as possible". I could have happily suffered a little more in the last ten minutes.</p>
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<p><br/> <cite>theurj said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/forum/topics/prometheus?xg_source=activity&id=5301756%3ATopic%3A42215&page=2#5301756Comment42311"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Plot hole: The android David (Fassbender) learned enough of the creator's tech to access their database and at least some of their history (the holograms), even learning to pilot their ships. It would seem he could also access more of their history, like creating humanity and why it was defective and needed eradication.</p>
<p>That said, I do appreciate leaving things open without tidy resolution, perhaps just a bit more tightly plotted. <a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120606/REVIEWS/120609989" target="_blank">Ebert</a> gives it his highest rating, 4 stars. He informed me that the anthropologist in question, Elizabeth, is Noomi Rapace from <em>The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo</em>. I didn't recognize her all healthy and well-fed.</p>
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</blockquote> Yes, it was reviews like that…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2012-06-20:5301756:Comment:422262012-06-20T15:09:59.325ZBalderhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/BruceAlderman
<p>Yes, it was reviews like that one (or my father's: "Save your money. Disappointing and not worth the price of a movie ticket") that had greatly lowered my expectations and inclined me not to see it. </p>
<p>Yes, it was reviews like that one (or my father's: "Save your money. Disappointing and not worth the price of a movie ticket") that had greatly lowered my expectations and inclined me not to see it. </p> Here's Howard Fineman's revie…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2012-06-20:5301756:Comment:421242012-06-20T14:23:19.145ZEdward theurj Bergehttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/theurj
<p>Here's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-fineman/prometheus-bound-and-gagged_b_1610536.html" target="_blank">Howard Fineman's review</a>. A few juicy clips:</p>
<p>"What the hell happened to Ridley Scott?... Watching the movie, I decided that Scott himself must have been taken over by one of his alien creatures: a slimy one with the brains and breath of a greedy Hollywood schlockmeister whose only interest was in making a killing, selling popcorn and setting up a…</p>
<p>Here's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-fineman/prometheus-bound-and-gagged_b_1610536.html" target="_blank">Howard Fineman's review</a>. A few juicy clips:</p>
<p>"What the hell happened to Ridley Scott?... Watching the movie, I decided that Scott himself must have been taken over by one of his alien creatures: a slimy one with the brains and breath of a greedy Hollywood schlockmeister whose only interest was in making a killing, selling popcorn and setting up a sequel.</p>
<p>"Yes...there were nods to Scottian 'Big Questions'.... This time, it was, 'Where do we come from?' But the level of the discussion -- verbal and visual -- was so lazily and blandly presented as to be quickly lost as Scott resorted to livening things up with his old <em>Alien</em> shtick of snot-smeared tentacles bursting from bodies and inserting themselves into space helmets and bodily orifices. You quickly forget about, and never get an answer to, the question. It's not about 'Where do we come from?' but 'How do we get the fuck out of here!?'"</p> Plot hole: The android David…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2012-06-20:5301756:Comment:423112012-06-20T00:39:19.217ZEdward theurj Bergehttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/theurj
<p>Plot hole: The android David (Fassbender) learned enough of the creator's tech to access their database and at least some of their history (the holograms), even learning to pilot their ships. It would seem he could also access more of their history, like creating humanity and why it was defective and needed eradication.</p>
<p>That said, I do appreciate leaving things open without tidy resolution, perhaps just a bit more tightly plotted.…</p>
<p>Plot hole: The android David (Fassbender) learned enough of the creator's tech to access their database and at least some of their history (the holograms), even learning to pilot their ships. It would seem he could also access more of their history, like creating humanity and why it was defective and needed eradication.</p>
<p>That said, I do appreciate leaving things open without tidy resolution, perhaps just a bit more tightly plotted. <a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120606/REVIEWS/120609989" target="_blank">Ebert</a> gives it his highest rating, 4 stars. He informed me that the anthropologist in question, Elizabeth, is Noomi Rapace from <em>The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo</em>. I didn't recognize her all healthy and well-fed.</p> Yeah, I saw it last week. It…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2012-06-19:5301756:Comment:420162012-06-19T22:58:34.622ZLayman Pascalhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/LaymanPascal
<p>Yeah, I saw it last week. It was much more of what a movie should be than are most things I see in the theatre. Fassbender was terrific with his creepy Lawrence of Arabia quips and classical ambiguous droid sensibility. The directing was strong, peppered with visual metaphors and pleasing technological effects. </p>
<p>Some of the philosophical commentary was weak but I was not disappointed by its "revelations" in the same sense that Theurj was. </p>
<p>It seemed to me that the extreme…</p>
<p>Yeah, I saw it last week. It was much more of what a movie should be than are most things I see in the theatre. Fassbender was terrific with his creepy Lawrence of Arabia quips and classical ambiguous droid sensibility. The directing was strong, peppered with visual metaphors and pleasing technological effects. </p>
<p>Some of the philosophical commentary was weak but I was not disappointed by its "revelations" in the same sense that Theurj was. </p>
<p>It seemed to me that the extreme "non-answer" of our supra-humanoid Makers provided the appropriate incommensurability between humans and gods. The ancient Greeks would have understood this perfectly -- the sheer inhumanity, inexplicableness, and failure to explain themselves is part of the intrinsic style of deities if they are to be more than just adolescent cartoons. We should always feel a little ripped off by God.</p> I was going to mention Ursula…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2012-06-19:5301756:Comment:422202012-06-19T06:01:40.075ZBalderhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/BruceAlderman
<p>I was going to mention Ursula K. LeGuin's works, Mary -- and, in fact, had been skimming her website earlier this evening, to see what she is up to these days. </p>
<p><br/>I read <em>Childhood's End</em> so long ago, I remember virtually nothing about it. It was one of those books on my dad's nightstand that caught my attention and inspired me to read it -- along with his Stephen King books. I don't recall the plot, though.</p>
<p>I was going to mention Ursula K. LeGuin's works, Mary -- and, in fact, had been skimming her website earlier this evening, to see what she is up to these days. </p>
<p><br/>I read <em>Childhood's End</em> so long ago, I remember virtually nothing about it. It was one of those books on my dad's nightstand that caught my attention and inspired me to read it -- along with his Stephen King books. I don't recall the plot, though.</p> Doug -- Re: Childhood's End,…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2012-06-19:5301756:Comment:421192012-06-19T04:30:19.536ZMary W.http://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/MaryW
<p>Doug -- Re: <em>Childhood's End</em>, which is also one of my favorite sci-fi novels --</p>
<p>Did you ever watch any of the "V" TV series? First version came out in the 80s, then a remake appeared in 2009 & lasted 2 seasons before it was cancelled. While it's not really a rendition of Clarke's novel, it was a kind of "theme and variations" on a couple of its chapters. The "overlord" reptilian aliens disguise themselves in human flesh and have sinister intentions. The 2009 series -- at…</p>
<p>Doug -- Re: <em>Childhood's End</em>, which is also one of my favorite sci-fi novels --</p>
<p>Did you ever watch any of the "V" TV series? First version came out in the 80s, then a remake appeared in 2009 & lasted 2 seasons before it was cancelled. While it's not really a rendition of Clarke's novel, it was a kind of "theme and variations" on a couple of its chapters. The "overlord" reptilian aliens disguise themselves in human flesh and have sinister intentions. The 2009 series -- at least the first season (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhtkV5622Yo" target="_blank">here's a trailer</a>) was actually pretty good (although it was also an obvious, and somewhat unfair & paranoid, imo, criticism of the Obama administration, particularly "Obamacare"). Second season went downhill. </p>
<p>So, yeah -- I too am awaiting a full-on movie version of <em>Childhood's End</em>.</p>
<p>I would love to see movie versions of Ursula LeGuin's works -- eg, <em>The Left Hand of Darknes</em>s and <em>The Dispossessed</em>. There are a couple of versions of <em>The Lathe of Heaven</em> --both are decent, but I think there's someone out there who could it better ....</p> Sci Fi and fantasy movies I'd…tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2012-06-19:5301756:Comment:420142012-06-19T00:54:02.284ZBalderhttp://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/BruceAlderman
<p>Sci Fi and fantasy movies I'd like to see made:<br/><br/>Rendezvous with Rama<br/><br/>Ringworld<br/><br/>Stranger in a Strange Land<br/><br/>The Martian Chronicles (a better version)<br/><br/>The Riddle Master of Hed<br/><br/>The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever<br/><br/>Journey to Ixtlan<br/><br/>(Others I'll think of soon -- it has been years since I read this stuff!)</p>
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<p>Sci Fi and fantasy movies I'd like to see made:<br/><br/>Rendezvous with Rama<br/><br/>Ringworld<br/><br/>Stranger in a Strange Land<br/><br/>The Martian Chronicles (a better version)<br/><br/>The Riddle Master of Hed<br/><br/>The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever<br/><br/>Journey to Ixtlan<br/><br/>(Others I'll think of soon -- it has been years since I read this stuff!)</p>
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