Mini Movie Reviews 2 - The Reviewening

[Burnthem]

It could have been, just struck me as strange that with so many women on board Prometheus, including Vickers, that it wasn't set up for women. Also by 'dissappear' I mean for the remainder of the scene, not the whole film.

And I'm pretty sure Shaw didn't manage to incapcitate both of them in such a short amount of time. She's an ill and drugged scientist, not a soldier.

[Kiro]

Also by 'dissappear' I mean for the remainder of the scene, not the whole film.

Given that the next time we see them is attending to Weyland, I could imagine him saying something like 'we've got more important things to deal with'

On an unrelated note, does anyone else find using an iPhone/pad to write on here as difficult as I do? :-/

[Avian]

Yes, that didn't make much sense. It would have been funnier if the error message was something on the lines of "Cannot authorize an abortion until you've had a talk with a priest."

On an unrelated note, does anyone else find using an iPhone/pad to write on here as difficult as I do? :-/

Anything with brackets gets seriously fiddly. Currently on a laptop, which helps.

[Arnizipal]

Did you also notice that the crew came to take Shaw into surgery, she then fights them off and runs away, only to take herself to surgery.

She was in the research lab where they scanned/dissected the dead Engineer. The crew were going to take here to the cryo deck to freeze her for the voyage home because they didn't have a surgeon on board to take the parasite out of her.
Shaw fled to Vickers' private room where the automated medi-bay was located.

Neither of the crew she fights off attempt to follow her or raise any sort of alarm whatsoever, they just stop existing. The more I stop and analyse each scene the more this film comes across as poorly written and scripted. I have the suspicion that entire scene was simply to provide schlock value and to have a chestburster analogy. Also - Staples?! An incredibly advanced medical table like that and it sews you up with the kind of staples I see on a construction site.

Yeah, it was weird they didn't follow her or raise the alarm, especially since the operation took a while so they had time to regain their senses.
Maybe they needed to help Weyland wake up and get ready immediatly
The ship's medic (whom Shaw had knocked out) is with Weyland when Shaw returns.

As for the staples... Surgical staples are often used for closing up major incisions.
Nothing odd about that.

[ColShaw]

Drive

A strangely compelling movie about a stunt driver/getaway driver (Ryan Gosling) who develops a relationship with the woman next door, whose husband is in prison. When he gets out of prison, bad things start happening, and the Driver steps in to try to help her.

This movie is remarkably subdued, light on action, but that makes it more effective when it happens (there's a scene with a claw-hammer that made me cringe). Gosling is an impressive presence, even though he has very, very little dialogue.

Two other points:
1) The soundtrack is awesome.

2) If you suspect a stunt driver is out to get you, don't drive on a coastal highway after dark.

Verdict?

Watch

[Burnthem]

As for the staples... Surgical staples are often used for closing up major incisions.
Nothing odd about that.

Nothing odd about it these days, but surely Scott could have thought of something more advanced and fitting to the movie?

Colshaw - I love Drive, fantastic film.

[Kiro]

Nothing odd about it these days, but surely Scott could have thought of something more advanced and fitting to the movie?

He could have, but then, do we really want something that seems more advanced than the tech on display in Alien/s?

[Terminatorphoenix]

He could have, but then, do we really want something that seems more advanced than the tech on display in Alien/s?

Did they use holograms in Aliens?

[Burnthem]

He could have, but then, do we really want something that seems more advanced than the tech on display in Alien/s?

Prometheus is a state of the art exploration ship, the Nostromo was a tugboat and the Sulaco was a 'built by the lowest bidder' light military ship that was always destined for eventual commercial use. Even with Prometheus set decades before Alien/s, it's no surprise the tech is more advanced.

[Kiro]

Prometheus is a state of the art exploration ship, the Nostromo was a tugboat and the Sulaco was a 'built by the lowest bidder' light military ship that was always destined for eventual commercial use. Even with Prometheus set decades before Alien/s, it's no surprise the tech is more advanced.

Mmmmm, dunno. You risk running into the same problems 2009's Star Trek had in terms of CGI advancements over the course of time - I'm sure there are certain areas of technology in Prometheus that we wouldn't have seen in the Aliens saga, as there was no need for them to be on-screen. Couple of issues I'm thinking of; the firearms in Prometheus seem considerably more 'futuristic' than what we see in Aliens, yet the staples we see in Prometheus fit perfectly in with the mere bandaging of acid-splash wounds we see in Aliens (granted, it was battlefield medicine, but hey ho).

[Arnizipal]

Nothing odd about it these days, but surely Scott could have thought of something more advanced and fitting to the movie?

The unit was a prototype of which there were very few built.
It could be old tech by the movie's standards.

[The Dude]

Perhaps a detailed discussion of Prometheus could be taken to a dedicated thread, rather than clog this one up with long "spoiler response" conversations.

Especially as Prometheus doesn't open here until tomorrow

[Easy E]

Drive

A strangely compelling movie about a stunt driver/getaway driver (Ryan Gosling) who develops a relationship with the woman next door, whose husband is in prison. When he gets out of prison, bad things start happening, and the Driver steps in to try to help her.

Watch

I just watched this as well. Overall I though it was fine for what it was. Heavy on style, and not a lot else going on.

Three things that maybe you can help me with:
1. How did the Girl and Ryan actually fall in love, they never seemed to speak. or look at each other; or touch, or anything.
2. Why did he wear a mask to go after Nico?
3. How did the Driver survive the final exchange?

I like the fact that the "Other guy" in the triangle wasn't a D-bag.

Rent

[de Selby]

Eek, Drive spoilers?!

Going by the interview with NWR I watched on the DVD

1. How did the Girl and Ryan actually fall in love, they never seemed to speak. or look at each other; or touch, or anything.
A: It's an ideal platonic love at first sight kind of deal.

2. Why did he wear a mask to go after Nico?
A: Dunno, I presume for general avoidance of law enforcement purposes. Also because NWR had read about an actual case of a thief using a latex mask like that.

3. How did the Driver survive the final exchange?
A: Because he's a superhero, apparently.

I like Nicholas Winding Refn's films better when I don't listen to him talk about them.

[ColShaw]

I've got no answers, Easy E. Though I do think that characters like the Driver take the role of knights errant in the modern world, so his love affair is an example of "courtly love".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtly_love

It's an idealization, and it's having someone to be a champion for. What I suspect the Driver really wants is, as the closing-credits music says, to be "a real human being, and a real hero." And he loves her because she provides a chance for him to become that. I think that's more important than who she actually is.

This is all speculation; I have no idea what his "true" motivation is.

[Easy E]

Thanks guys.

I didn't listen closely to the lyrics of the music. I should really have known better, considering the masterful use of the "basketball game on the radio" earlier in the movie.

The "Love" angle makes sense.

[ColShaw]

Thanks guys.

I didn't listen closely to the lyrics of the music. I should really have known better, considering the masterful use of the "basketball game on the radio" earlier in the movie.

The "Love" angle makes sense.

Yeah, I thought the radio bit was truly inspired; you take something you think isn't important and then... it is.

[Hellebore]

Yeah, I thought the radio bit was truly inspired; you take something you think isn't important and then... it is.

Nice application of fridge brilliance. I didn't mind the movie. It had a similar vibe to The Professional/Leon, in its small cast, intimate portrayals and rather laid back style.

similar style of ending.

Hellebore

[Warlord Gnashgrod]

Just saw Prometheus, and I thought it was good. Though there was one thing I didn't understand.

Why did the Engineers/Space jockeys tell us how to find this planet, when it was one where they built biological weapons? I don't quite see the logic here. If they wanted to destoy us, wouldn't they have just brought their weapons here, instead of hoping we'd come to the weapons? I do like the idea posted earlier about different factions with the Engineers, and that one faction created us and another wants to destroy us. With this idea, may the star chart was made to warn us or to have us destroy the weapons on the planet by the 'creator' faction. I don't know. It is strange to tell us about this dangerous planet though, without at least a warning.

[Panzer MkIV]

Just saw Prometheus, and I thought it was good. Though there was one thing I didn't understand.

Why did the Engineers/Space jockeys tell us how to find this planet, when it was one where they built biological weapons? I don't quite see the logic here. If they wanted to destoy us, wouldn't they have just brought their weapons here, instead of hoping we'd come to the weapons? I do like the idea posted earlier about different factions with the Engineers, and that one faction created us and another wants to destroy us. With this idea, may the star chart was made to warn us or to have us destroy the weapons on the planet by the 'creator' faction. I don't know. It is strange to tell us about this dangerous planet though, without at least a warning.

The Engineers/Space jockeys didn't tell us where to find them: these maps were made by the ancient civilizations that saw them. The maps basically say: "Giant men/aliens/gods go to these stars in the night sky when they leave Earth."