Jump to content

auxien

Knob Twiddlers
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    11,162

  • Joined

  • Days Won

    42

 Content Type 

Everything posted by auxien

  1. auxien
    yeah, he definitely twisted what was to fit what he wanted it to be now. but it's not surprising to me....the first thing i thought when this prequel was announced a couple years ago or whatever was 'how the hell are they gonna have characters that are 20 foot tall elephant looking motherfuckers be truly characters and not just weird looking awkward aliens?' because that WOULD have been a serious issue to deal with, had he followed the space jockey from the original. just in making a movie watchable with characters so oddly non-human and strangely sized/proportioned...we would've ended up with some Thaarks or whatever from John Carter; pure CG, impossible to communicate with (until you drink a magic potion!) and kind of silly. wait, that's kinda what happened anyway. damn it. i just watched the original clip and it's pretty clear that it's a basic ribcage that is exploded outward, not anything resembling a 'suit.' creative license was definitely taken. but screw it, i enjoyed Prometheus despite its faults. still a good movie. i could go on about 'what if _______ had been different' all day.
  2. auxien
    yeah, i read that last night and forgot to put a link up here. it was definitely an interesting read. i'd love to buy a copy of that book that keeps getting referenced, but i'm sure it's expensive and i never will. probably just drool over it next time i'm in a Barnes & Noble.
  3. auxien
    to lighten the mood in here a little, an iPhone convo between Shaw and an Engineer. i mean, they'd totally have iPhones, they're super advanced, duh. http://enchantedmitten.blogspot.com/2003/12/reading-previous-entries-in-this-series.html
  4. auxien
    yeah i saw that linked somewhere and read it last night. has some pretty level-headed interpretations and connections in it. unfortunately it doesn't 'answer' much, it just analyzes. but it's a pretty good analysis.
  5. auxien
    i'm probably gonna see it twice Zaphod, so don't worry. i'll count one of those as if you went to see it!
  6. auxien
    Criticizing advertising always counts because the inherent structure of advertising/trailers does a disservice to the film unless its purely new content, like those viral videos which were cool. Just because Scott had control over the edit of the trailer doesn't mean he could have not made one. Unless you think trailers enrich the film somehow, I don't see how my point of view on this is controversial. After ones sees the film, whatever opinion you have is valid, but one has to question how our culture of advertising negatively affects the experience... seems there is a trade off to ensure profitability. i agree that with most sequels and the like, advertising by giving away the plot does a disservice to the film. the viral videos were cool, that would've been all i needed to see before the film and i'd have been guaranteed a seat in the theater. but most viewers aren't you me and the other million Alien franchise fans...at least some portion has to be newcomers. Scott knows that and the studio knows that. hence, the bombardment the week or two before release of 'normal' advertisements. of course it's not cool. i don't remember the last time i went and saw a movie based SOLELY on tv ads. seriously, cannot remember. but i'm not Joe Schmoe. they didn't have to try for your dollar or mine or any other franchise-fan....all they had to say was Ridley Scott is making a Prequel to the Alien Movies...we gave him 200 Million Dollars to do it, this is the release date. they could've sent me a text saying just that and i'd have enjoyed the film just as much, if not more. but that's not why they advertise the fuck out of it with plot points and pretty shots and loud BVVVRRRUMMMPPPSSS in the trailers. that's just how movies out of Hollywood are advertised. i try not to complain anymore because it does no fucking good dude. none at all. just watch the movie and enjoy it for what it is.
  7. auxien
    Whatever emotional investment you have in watching films, remember that when it's all said and done, we're all just assholes and sheep when we queue up. The producers have the last laugh. I fail to see how compson can criticize advertising but leave Lindelof et al. out of the line of fire. i agree with the first part here; there's nothing we can do to change the movies at all once they're released....unless George Lucas is on this thread. he can change his movies at will, apparently, years after the fact. director's cuts and such are interesting different takes, but the most of us are just consumers. just get on the ride and enjoy it or get off. the criticizing of advertising for this movie doesn't much count, because Scott's own company did a large part (if not all) of the advertising. it's not like Scott handed over a gorgeous diamond and the big bad studio shit on it until it was worthless....Scott is part of the big bad studio here. like Lindelof said in that interview he did on The Verge, this movie is all Scott. he directed the writing in large part, and of course directing, producing, etc. he's to praise or to blame here, mostly.
  8. auxien
    pacing was a little jumpy. that's exactly the kind of mistake Scott shouldn't make. it wasn't terrible, but i noticed it. characterization was the biggest problem with this film. everyone knows it (all the positive and negative reviews i've read all call it out) so i don't know what the hell Scott was thinking in not recognizing it and fixing it. the fact that it made it to the final cut like this makes me think it may have been an editing room concession for the sake of time...but Scott should've known better. if it was writing though, it wouldn't surprise me. Lindeloff doesn't usually strike me as the best writer, particularly with making me care about his characters. 1. the mission briefing thing is sorta just part of the Alien franchise...not that it makes more sense because of that, but anyone familiar with the other films kind of expects those 'we're just doing this for the money/because it's our job' characters. it's kind of commentary on the future of exploration i think, but it's most likely rooted in just bad writing throughout the Alien universe. 2. they got lost. who knows why they tried playing with the cobra-alien. stupidity that was rampant among all these 'scientists' i'd say. 3. the only thing i can say to this is 'dude, it's a movie.' ...you kind of have to expect that sort of shit. it's a modern Hollywood film. 4. the experimentation and conclusion to get a crew member to ingest the goo was most likely done by David off-screen. which is dumb, because if so it could've been alluded to in a literally 10 second shot. i'm of the camp that doesn't think David has true emotions. he does ask Holloway specifically 'what would you do to find the answers' or whatever, to which Holloway says 'anything' and that was the sign-off that David seemed to need. in the other Alien films the androids are said to have a program built in that does not allow them to harm or by means of secondary actions allow to be harmed any human being....so either David was pre-that command, or he had some rudimentary form of it and that's why he needed 'permission' from Holloway for the likely-deadly infection. 5. yeah, that part is all a bit silly. the shit is starting to hit the fan right around that time, but someone should've noticed something and been after Shaw. maybe David was misdirecting them all off-screen in order to allow Cuddles to be born in the interim, not thinking Shaw could self-abort the creature. 6. i don't think they knew about the alien abortion. Vickers never went back to her quarters, i'm guessing. otherwise she definitely would've noticed the blood and huge growing alien squid. i think since they were obviously all idiots about everything from the beginning, we're supposed to suspend our disbelief about them caring about protocol except when it matters to the film-makers (e.g.; when Vickers torches that pussy-ass geologist). 7. see my response to #3. 8. like you said i think that's more a thematic question than a plot hole. the rage the Engineer expresses towards humans after David first speaks to him implies to me that David may have really said some bad shit to the Engineer, but that's just my personal idea. how he found her though? i have a hypothesis that David told him. or maybe the Engineer could sense life-forms like that? who knows. i liked the movie, despite the flaws. wish Scott had done some things differently, but what can ya do? i'll enjoy watching it again, for sure.
  9. auxien
    You got that right! Not in the same league by a long shot! It's not trying to be Alien though. It's a sci-fi flick set in the same universe. I doubt it will be as important 30 years from now as Alien still is, but I'm honestly not sure there's ANY movie released these days that will have the impact of something released before the 90's. when there was an explosion of films pouring out of Hollywood. but that's a whole other discussion. It's much more about ..... what the hell is it about!? It's pure Lindelof Lost style cock teasing! Questions answered with questions & more questions. Nothing makes much sense. You have to interpret the story however you see fit. So you leave the cinema totally perplexed & wondering what the hell it was all about. There is zero satisfaction from this film beyond the breathtaking visuals. Characters are dull, weak & then dead. The story is all over the place & it can't make it's mind up if it wants to be an Alien prequel or a complete new movie. In the end it's neither. It's a friggin mess of epic proportions. Most disappointed with a film I think I've ever been! It's like Phantom Menace/Lucas syndrome all over again. Except this is worse because this is Ridley Scott with his third film in a genre he really did define with Alien & Blade Runner. there's definitely some Lindelof cock-teasing going on. i enjoyed about 1/4 of Lost, i personally think a lot of it was shit television. there's a LOT of stuff that makes sense. there's a LOT of story that is shown in this movie. there's also a lot that wasn't revealed, which is fine by me. the (what we now know is an) Engineer in Alien was never explained, never touched on in all the sequels. huge bit of information that is left unanswered. how the hell was there a face-hugger that impregnated an animal AND Ripley in the events before Alien 3? who knows, it's one of the many mysteries left unanswered, and is most likely unanswerable. they're just horror/sci-fi flicks man...they're enjoyable, and whatever needs to happen to keep the story going happens. whatever the director or writer wants to happen will happen. Prometheus is just a fun decently done movie that is a vehicle for the story, unfortunately. the characters fell to the wayside, and there's nothing we can do. it's done, the movie is still good despite it, in my opinion. i think a lot of what the reviewer (and you, it seems) has problems with are preconceived notions. it doesn't have to be an Alien prequel or an entirely new movie; it can be both. i think it succeeded in that regard. there's an entirely new feel and storyline and atmosphere, and it overlaps with the Alien universe. and in my opinion it works. sucks you didn't like it, but i don't work for Fox or Scott, so i don't really care. that 'review' was shit though. that's my point. reviewer went in biased and walked out unhappy. going into a movie like that with preconceived notions will guarantee disappointment. unfortunately, the film was flawed despite my going in with an open mind, but that's okay. nothing's perfect, i still enjoyed a lot of the movie.
  10. auxien
    dude, it's not bad. it's not Alien. not in the least. tone and characters and story are just entirely different....comparing the two isn't relevant. AvP was a monster beat-em-up, with a thrown together story to set up the fighting, we all know that. Prometheus is much more about revelations and origins and intellectual/psychological things that happens to be drenched in blood and monsters. emotions are few and far between. there are flaws but it's not bad. just go in as open-minded as possible.
  11. auxien
    your agreement with the review isn't my target here, but the review itself. so don't take it personal when i say the reviewer was full of shit. snarky 'it's not alien....it's not what i loved. it's different. it's not alien.' shit he pulls and begins flooding the paragraphs with is sad and pathetic. he sounds like an 11 year old boy. a dumb childish one. it's not alien by any stretch of the imagination. i can see now why Scott and everyone he had his hooks in went out of their way to make it clear to the millions of fans of the original Alien and/or its sequels that it is not the same movie and don't go in expecting it. you'll be disappointed, as this reviewer obviously was. the film had plenty of flaws (some of which he points out and i agree with) but at the end of the day, the review just came across as whiny and childish, and that's sad. boo that review/reviewer/points off to that site for publishing it.
  12. auxien
    the last 15ish pages of this thread have been exactly this. no clue why i'm still reading it, honestly.
  13. auxien
    I already tried this. A couple times. Didn't help. Although kryLon isn't as terrible as I first thought. Not very good but not terrible. There are bits in here I get stuck in my head but never any whole tracks, and actually I find more of these bits in Move of Ten than Oversteps. try putting it down indefinitely. i've done that with albums (AE even...Incunabula, Anti EP, LP5); not listened for 6 months, a year, whatever. and when you think to one day out of the blue, give it another shot. you may never love it, and that's fine. but it doesn't hurt to try an album again once every year. you're not missing out on an Oversteps party or anything...speaking of, how long is this thread gonna be pinned here? til a new album gets announced? i don't love LP5 like i did when it first came out, probably never will. but i can appreciate it and enjoy it again now. i really didn't care for Incunabula at all for a year or two after i first purchased it (about 4 years ago i'd guess) and finally started enjoying it this year. just set Oversteps down for now, who knows what may change. no loss if not!
  14. auxien
    yeah, i'm a pretty big X-Files fan too...and i agree that the end kind of fizzled out. certainly wasn't as revelatory and epic as the finale of Lost; Carter or Manners said in one of the commentaries that the reveal in season 6 (i think?) was kind of like an ending in a way...and i agree. there was that reveal of truth they'd been digging for for years, then another 3 and a half seasons of that not being enough truth? just odd, and not very interesting.... the last two seasons of X-Files are good in places, like plenty of other seasons, but i really think they should've taken it even farther away from the conspiracies presented and partially resolved with Mulder/Scully. those two characters ran their course (Skinner as well) and should've been abandoned and a whole other perspective taken with Doggett and Reyes. but the series is very over, doubt there'll even be another movie at this point. let's just hope there's more interesting sci-fi television to get produced in the coming years that takes influence from the good aspects of X-Files, Lost, TNG, and all the other shows/movies of the genre. there's so much room for exploration and stories, yet sci-fi is dwindling on TV. doesn't make sense to me.
  15. auxien
    kind of my thoughts as well. he's got conviction, at least. and his ego can't be TOO inflated to have those kind of discussions about Lost. i generally disliked the show...it had it's moments, but overall it was just over the top. whatever though, he's got skills with making things tie in and remain interesting. Prometheus should be good no matter what. like Lindelof says, this is Ridley Scott's project. i don't think he'd ruin this.
  16. auxien
    i actually like Coors, for the record. but that commercial is ridiculous. also, this interview is interesting. an hour with Damon Lindelof about Prometheus, Lost, and a little about Avengers/other shit. http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/21/3034664/damon-lindelof-extended-interview-On-The-Verge-episode-006
  17. auxien
    http://youtu.be/5mKh5AzGhKs
  18. auxien
    fixt
  19. auxien
    the crashing alien ship set piece has been in at least one of the trailers, and i wanna say almost all of them since maybe even the very first 'full' trailer. not double checking, but it's been seen. i kind of like the poster...it's definitely an 'artist interpretation of' the movie, not a specific scene. more akin to if it were novelized, that would be the cover; very reminiscent of sci-fi novel covers, "old school" as BCM says. if anything i'd say they should've made it more stylized and have more of that retro kitschy feel even. i dunno if it's Scott or someone else attached to the project, but there's a LOT of fun being had in the marketing for this movie. it's staggering how much, really. i'm not sure i've seen any sci-fi movie promoted with this much vigor and in interesting ways.
  20. auxien

    Now Reading

    auxien replied to a topic in General Banter

    i read The White People the other night after hearing a few raves about it. definitely good, has some awesome moments in it. don't be mistaken, Hill of Dreams meanders...the meandering becomes more more interesting eventually though. not sure what the end of the novel will bring however. heard a lot of good about The Great God Pan. definitely on the list for the next from Machen. i enjoy his writing thus far.
  21. auxien

    Now Reading

    auxien replied to a topic in General Banter

    Arthur Machen's "The Hill of Dreams" which was at some point called by the much better title "The Garden of Avallaunius." it's a nice semi-autobiographical novel that occurs mostly in the narrator's head as he struggles to write, but is mostly lost in fantasies from childhood and whatnot. overall it has a few parts that kind of trudge along, but what novel doesn't? the second half is really picking up, got about another 16% according to my Kindle.
  22. auxien
    i used to regularly lurk t.d.n. as well, and post occasionally; much like i do here. how many of us fuckers are here that were also on t.d.n? watmm/tdn sub forum request? okay not really. but shit, there's a few apparently. i can't even remember what name i used back then on there. it's been so many years.
  23. auxien
    to clarify, i still enjoy Aliens. i just enjoy it less every time i watch it. that David clip is very strange though. i'm honestly curious if Scott himself directed these clips. i thought the Weyland one was a little heavy-handed, and this David one is over the top. maybe he's just having fun with it, and with trying this sort of thing out as marketing/promotion? who knows.
  24. auxien
    Happy now you little babby? I still wouldn't call it a traditional prequel. It's related and happens in the same universe, but not a direct prequel to Alien. As far as it looks, they are not on LV-426 for this movie. Scott confirmed it's set elsewhere. LV-233 to be exact. i'm quite confused about this, because the trailer clearly shows the Space Jockey ship in a similar positioning and such. but i guess said ship could have many others like it (same class ship the Space Jockeys created) scattered throughout the galaxy for whatever reasons...which have a penchant for being left on small planetoids. who knows. i think the big reveals that Prometheus is assumed to have will explain this a little better. but maybe not, Scott may want to leave something to do for Prometheus 2.
  25. auxien
    1 was great when it was good, but had its flaws. 2 is aging badly; it's too juvenile. 3 is an homage to the great aspects of 1 that a talented young director pieced together amidst a bad situation. i took a dump earlier that was better than 4...wasn't near as shiny or colorful though; i'll admit that. but seriously, this should be an R movie and Scott knows it and most likely shot it like one, and will trim in the editing room for his director's cut and then a theatrical release that will be free of a few cuss words, intense deaths and maybe a splatter or two of blood. you can hear it under his breath in those quotes from the previous page of this thread; he knows he has to deliver a film that will get PG13 so that him and the studio can make their money back and something of a profit. it's a business and he admits it...he's obviously frustrated by it, but fighting and releasing an R cut will do nothing except guarantee there will be no Prometheus 2/future Scott-directed big budget gambles. this film will be good, it's just a matter of how good and in what ways; the ways it may be good may also not satisfy fans of the Alien franchise. we'll see soon.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.