I hope it is at least better than Prometheus...
April 11, 2013 12:21 PM Subscribe
Maaaaaaaaaan......
posted by Our Ship Of The Imagination! at 12:26 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by Our Ship Of The Imagination! at 12:26 PM on April 11, 2013
I thought Morgan Freeman was dead, or an anti-vaxxer, or had married Gandalf or joined the NRA or something.
posted by KokuRyu at 12:27 PM on April 11, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by KokuRyu at 12:27 PM on April 11, 2013 [7 favorites]
Is it too much to ask for someone to make a beautiful, tense, scary, funny, well-plotted, cerebral, action-packed, violent, original, creative, thoughtful, touching, bleak, devastating, critical, hard sci-fi film that withstands close scrutiny these days?
It is? Damn.
posted by ORthey at 12:30 PM on April 11, 2013 [19 favorites]
It is? Damn.
posted by ORthey at 12:30 PM on April 11, 2013 [19 favorites]
It's Waterworld meets The Island.
posted by phaedon at 12:31 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by phaedon at 12:31 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
KokuRyu, you're thinking of hooking up with his step-granddaughter, I think.
That's kind of disappointing (the reviews, not Freeman's personal life -- though...) but not surprising. The first time I saw the preview, I thought "Neat" but every time after that it's seemed progressively more and more boring. If a three minute preview starts to bore you after seeing it three times, then you've got problems.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:31 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
That's kind of disappointing (the reviews, not Freeman's personal life -- though...) but not surprising. The first time I saw the preview, I thought "Neat" but every time after that it's seemed progressively more and more boring. If a three minute preview starts to bore you after seeing it three times, then you've got problems.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:31 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Regarding the post title ... It's funny. I never go to the movie theater any more, but instead see stuff on Netflix a year or two later. I missed all the flame wars about Prometheus and managed to see it last week having no idea what it was about. Afterward I was like, "Wow ... that was the best sci-fi movie I've seen in like 10 years. I wonder why people didn't like it?" Great plot, acting, vision ... huh.
In contrast Tom Cruise is such a conspicuously bad actor that I can't image being able to overlook his presence. Not Keanu Reeves bad, but still kind of eye-rollingly bad.
posted by freecellwizard at 12:32 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
In contrast Tom Cruise is such a conspicuously bad actor that I can't image being able to overlook his presence. Not Keanu Reeves bad, but still kind of eye-rollingly bad.
posted by freecellwizard at 12:32 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
It's Waterworld meets The Island.
If only!
(They're both very underrated movies.)
posted by fairmettle at 12:32 PM on April 11, 2013 [6 favorites]
If only!
(They're both very underrated movies.)
posted by fairmettle at 12:32 PM on April 11, 2013 [6 favorites]
Boy, the new annotations feature certainly adds a lot to the experience, huh?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:33 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:33 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
Is it too much to ask for someone to make a beautiful, tense, scary, funny, well-plotted, cerebral, action-packed, violent, original, creative, thoughtful, touching, bleak, devastating, critical, hard sci-fi film that withstands close scrutiny these days?
Psssssssssssssst it was called "Looper."
actually I just saw Upstream Color last night and was blown away by it.
posted by nathancaswell at 12:33 PM on April 11, 2013 [42 favorites]
Psssssssssssssst it was called "Looper."
actually I just saw Upstream Color last night and was blown away by it.
posted by nathancaswell at 12:33 PM on April 11, 2013 [42 favorites]
I consider "spurring me to go somewhere other than Gawker" a positive influence on my life, so...yes?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:35 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:35 PM on April 11, 2013
I've had a bad feeling about this one for a while... fingers sill crossed for Elysium
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:38 PM on April 11, 2013 [8 favorites]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:38 PM on April 11, 2013 [8 favorites]
Since there's literally nothing to talk about as the movie hasn't been widely released yet (ie this post kind of sucks), I just want to say I really did not like the last installment of The Dark Knight. Too fucking big of a movie, just didn't give a shit. I'm hoping the next Nolan/Blomkamp project strikes a good balance between popcorn and cerebral.
posted by phaedon at 12:40 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by phaedon at 12:40 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
"...I missed all the flame wars about Prometheus and managed to see it last week having no idea what it was about. Afterward I was like, "Wow ... that was the best sci-fi movie I've seen in like 10 years. I wonder why people didn't like it?" Great plot, acting, vision ... huh."
There's something to be said for going into a movie with no expectations, or low expectations, like the io9 author mentions. At least then you're not disappointed, and sometimes the movie can be a pleasant surprise.
I'm still looking forward to Oblivion, though with diminished expectations. At least it's real science fiction, and not a sequel to something else.
posted by Kevin Street at 12:44 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
There's something to be said for going into a movie with no expectations, or low expectations, like the io9 author mentions. At least then you're not disappointed, and sometimes the movie can be a pleasant surprise.
I'm still looking forward to Oblivion, though with diminished expectations. At least it's real science fiction, and not a sequel to something else.
posted by Kevin Street at 12:44 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
The Dark Knight Rises was so ridiculously ambitious that I enjoyed it just for the sheer hubris of the whole enterprise, even when it stopped letting puny mortal logic have any sway over the plot.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:45 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:45 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
You shouldn't get to say, "Not every movie has to be Citizen Kane!" if you've never seen Citizen Kane. You especially shouldn't get to say that if you haven't seen Citizen Kane because it doesn't have robots or superheroes in it.
posted by Legomancer at 12:46 PM on April 11, 2013 [12 favorites]
posted by Legomancer at 12:46 PM on April 11, 2013 [12 favorites]
Is it too much to ask for someone to make a beautiful, tense, scary, funny, well-plotted, cerebral, action-packed, violent, original, creative, thoughtful, touching, bleak, devastating, critical, hard sci-fi film that withstands close scrutiny these days?
District 9, Children of Men except it's not original, Moon except that it's not actioney, Source Code, Looper..
When you look at film SF, what you're seeing now is a gorram golden age.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:47 PM on April 11, 2013 [17 favorites]
District 9, Children of Men except it's not original, Moon except that it's not actioney, Source Code, Looper..
When you look at film SF, what you're seeing now is a gorram golden age.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:47 PM on April 11, 2013 [17 favorites]
nathancaswell: "actually I just saw Upstream Color last night and was blown away by it."
Going to see it this weekend, can't wait. It's only playing here for four days in a tiny screening room mostly used to show student project films and Oblivion will be playing on a 100 giant screens around here but I guess that's how the movie business works.
posted by octothorpe at 12:47 PM on April 11, 2013
Going to see it this weekend, can't wait. It's only playing here for four days in a tiny screening room mostly used to show student project films and Oblivion will be playing on a 100 giant screens around here but I guess that's how the movie business works.
posted by octothorpe at 12:47 PM on April 11, 2013
I think this is a misrepresentation. I haven't seen it but it does have 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. That means it isn't awful.
posted by Justinian at 12:47 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Justinian at 12:47 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'M GONNA SAY IT: You might be able to locate the beginning of the current crop of reasonably serious, good SF with the Soderbergh Solaris.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:48 PM on April 11, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:48 PM on April 11, 2013 [7 favorites]
In other words, io9 cherry picked its reviews. Most of them are positive.
posted by Justinian at 12:50 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by Justinian at 12:50 PM on April 11, 2013
Boy, the new annotations feature certainly adds a lot to the experience, huh?
Dynamically displaying YouTube comments! Totally awesome!
posted by KokuRyu at 12:51 PM on April 11, 2013
Dynamically displaying YouTube comments! Totally awesome!
posted by KokuRyu at 12:51 PM on April 11, 2013
From the title, I had assumed that this was a remake of my favorite movie by Full Moon Entertainment.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:51 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:51 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
FWIW, it's got a 54 rating on Metacritic (though Metacritic's scores are problematic in all sorts of ways). Also, yeah, this post is pretty thin gruel
posted by whir at 12:52 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by whir at 12:52 PM on April 11, 2013
From the title, I had assumed that this was a remake of my favorite movie by Full Moon Entertainment.
Holy God, thank you for linking to that, because the page indicates that Oblivion is in a completely amazing user-created movie list.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 12:54 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
Holy God, thank you for linking to that, because the page indicates that Oblivion is in a completely amazing user-created movie list.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 12:54 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
You especially shouldn't get to say that if you haven't seen Citizen Kane because it doesn't have robots or superheroes in it.
Whoa, how about a spoiler alert?!?!? Before you spilled the beans, I had assumed that "Rosebud" was Charles Foster Kane's crime-fighting robot sidekick.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:55 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Whoa, how about a spoiler alert?!?!? Before you spilled the beans, I had assumed that "Rosebud" was Charles Foster Kane's crime-fighting robot sidekick.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:55 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
The Dark Knight Rises was so ridiculously ambitious that I enjoyed it just for the sheer hubris of the whole enterprise, even when it stopped letting puny mortal logic have any sway over the plot.
Like how the fuck does the worst underground prison the mind can imagine in the middle of the desert have cable. I'd love to have been there for that tech appointment.
posted by phaedon at 12:55 PM on April 11, 2013 [10 favorites]
Like how the fuck does the worst underground prison the mind can imagine in the middle of the desert have cable. I'd love to have been there for that tech appointment.
posted by phaedon at 12:55 PM on April 11, 2013 [10 favorites]
I thought Morgan Freeman was dead, or an anti-vaxxer, or had married Gandalf or joined the NRA or something.
Scientologist.
posted by Artw at 1:01 PM on April 11, 2013
Scientologist.
posted by Artw at 1:01 PM on April 11, 2013
Guh. How do these people not realize that repeatedly mentioning [POPULAR HIGH-CONCEPT FILM] in connection with "Oblivion" when its marketing and plot synopsis contain no hint of [POPULAR HIGH-CONCEPT FILM'S] famous high concept is a major fucking spoiler?
posted by eugenen at 1:01 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by eugenen at 1:01 PM on April 11, 2013
It used to be that I wouldn't give a darn about movie reviews, heck, I seldom even read them. Then my kid started making movies and the world started to revolve around some guy in Grand Rapids or Columbus or Tampa that hasn't seen the sunshine in ten years and was paid $25 by the local e/news to write reviews.
The first couple of movies I felt bad for the kid when a terrible review hit the media...but he (and I) learned that getting too tied up in those opinions took all the fun out of the business. Oh yeah, they still matter, but you can't focus on them, they would debilitate you and suck the life out of your creativity.
That said... I expect every, damn, one of you to go see "Man of Steel" and write something glowing about it on facebook, or your blog, or here, or on the wall in the hallway of your condo...
posted by HuronBob at 1:01 PM on April 11, 2013 [11 favorites]
The first couple of movies I felt bad for the kid when a terrible review hit the media...but he (and I) learned that getting too tied up in those opinions took all the fun out of the business. Oh yeah, they still matter, but you can't focus on them, they would debilitate you and suck the life out of your creativity.
That said... I expect every, damn, one of you to go see "Man of Steel" and write something glowing about it on facebook, or your blog, or here, or on the wall in the hallway of your condo...
posted by HuronBob at 1:01 PM on April 11, 2013 [11 favorites]
Pacific Rim better not suck.
posted by whuppy at 1:02 PM on April 11, 2013 [10 favorites]
posted by whuppy at 1:02 PM on April 11, 2013 [10 favorites]
It has GLaDOS in it. Thus it does not suck by definition.
posted by Justinian at 1:02 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 1:02 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
If Pacific Rim doesn't actually turn out to be Evangelion plus GLaDOS, well, I expect somebody to damn well make that movie.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:03 PM on April 11, 2013 [9 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:03 PM on April 11, 2013 [9 favorites]
Oh and speaking of Upstream Color, I just noticed Primer's finally available for streaming on Netflix.
posted by whuppy at 1:04 PM on April 11, 2013 [9 favorites]
posted by whuppy at 1:04 PM on April 11, 2013 [9 favorites]
What follows is an action-packed science-fiction flick with lofty philosophical ambitions. Unfortunately it’s also completely and utterly derivative, the story plundering the likes of 2001, The Matrix, Silent Running, Solaris, Planet of the Apes and Total Recall,
So what's the problem? I'm definitely seeing this now.
posted by SpacemanStix at 1:05 PM on April 11, 2013
So what's the problem? I'm definitely seeing this now.
posted by SpacemanStix at 1:05 PM on April 11, 2013
That's a lot of different movies to steal from. Are they all, like, mashed together?
posted by Justinian at 1:08 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by Justinian at 1:08 PM on April 11, 2013
I actually enjoyed Prometheus quite a bit.
And Avatar.
posted by Artw at 1:09 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
And Avatar.
posted by Artw at 1:09 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Surprise, surprise. There was not one word of dialogue in the trailers that wasn't an eye-rolling cliche.
posted by NorthernLite at 1:10 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by NorthernLite at 1:10 PM on April 11, 2013
That said... I expect every, damn, one of you to go see "Man of Steel" and write something glowing about it on facebook, or your blog, or here, or on the wall in the hallway of your condo...
NO MERCY FOR FALSE SUPERMAN MOVIE.
posted by Artw at 1:10 PM on April 11, 2013 [7 favorites]
NO MERCY FOR FALSE SUPERMAN MOVIE.
posted by Artw at 1:10 PM on April 11, 2013 [7 favorites]
That's a lot of different movies to steal from. Are they all, like, mashed together?
I heard they almost called it The Silent Solmatrix Total Monkey Planet 2013.
posted by SpacemanStix at 1:13 PM on April 11, 2013 [5 favorites]
I heard they almost called it The Silent Solmatrix Total Monkey Planet 2013.
posted by SpacemanStix at 1:13 PM on April 11, 2013 [5 favorites]
The Silent Solmatrix Total Monkey Planet 2013
Part Deux
posted by whuppy at 1:13 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Part Deux
posted by whuppy at 1:13 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I see every Superman movie! Even Quest For Peace. So yeah, definitely going to Man of Steel.
posted by Kevin Street at 1:14 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Kevin Street at 1:14 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
The fix Bruce's broken spine by hanging him from the ceiling for a while.
And punching it! If back surgery were accomplished by punching I would be in medical school right the hell now. Also, the Cops Under The Mountain were just nuts. But still entertaining!
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:16 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
And punching it! If back surgery were accomplished by punching I would be in medical school right the hell now. Also, the Cops Under The Mountain were just nuts. But still entertaining!
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:16 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
I just noticed Primer's finally available for streaming on Netflix.
Just read an interview with Shane Carruth about this... He basically said he finally released Primer on instant Netflix to test out how much revenue it generated so he could decide on a release strategy for Upstream Color.
Honestly, I really started thinking about it when Upstream was shot. What I really wanted was a metric: how do these things work? What’s the revenue from iTunes if you just put a title out there? What’s a Netflix life sentence, what’s that worth? All of these things. I wanted a test case. That was the motivation to get started on that.
posted by nathancaswell at 1:16 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Just read an interview with Shane Carruth about this... He basically said he finally released Primer on instant Netflix to test out how much revenue it generated so he could decide on a release strategy for Upstream Color.
Honestly, I really started thinking about it when Upstream was shot. What I really wanted was a metric: how do these things work? What’s the revenue from iTunes if you just put a title out there? What’s a Netflix life sentence, what’s that worth? All of these things. I wanted a test case. That was the motivation to get started on that.
posted by nathancaswell at 1:16 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
[And wait, wut - what does your obviously brilliant "kid" do in the talkies, HuronBob?]
posted by NorthernLite at 1:17 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by NorthernLite at 1:17 PM on April 11, 2013
[And wait, wut - what does your obviously brilliant "kid" do in the talkies, HuronBob?]
He's Zack Snyder's partner in Cruel and Unusual Films. Typically has a producer credit of some sort.
posted by HuronBob at 1:22 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
He's Zack Snyder's partner in Cruel and Unusual Films. Typically has a producer credit of some sort.
posted by HuronBob at 1:22 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Primer requires many, many rewatches with periods of rumination in-between. I'll be doing my part.
posted by whuppy at 1:28 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by whuppy at 1:28 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Frankly, I found Primer to be boring and not particularly believable. I don't get the hype. It seemed to me the only interesting approach gimmick was to handle the handwaving macguffin of how the device worked with "these guys are so boring, who cares."
posted by stenseng at 1:32 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by stenseng at 1:32 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
You find the idea of two guys inventing time travel in their garage unbelievable? Advice: don't watch Back to the Future.
posted by nathancaswell at 1:35 PM on April 11, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by nathancaswell at 1:35 PM on April 11, 2013 [6 favorites]
De gustibus and all that, stenseng, but I've been having a blast trying to figure Primer out.
posted by whuppy at 1:37 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by whuppy at 1:37 PM on April 11, 2013
You find the idea of two guys inventing time travel in their garage unbelievable? Advice: don't watch Back to the Future.
Hah. No, in the sense that with any big concept sci-fi movie, there's a threshold for willing suspension of disbelief that you have to be able to cross and say "ok, I'm going with your premise." In this case, I wasn't interested enough to get there.
posted by stenseng at 1:38 PM on April 11, 2013
I've reached a point in my life where I didn't know there was a Tom Cruise movie called Oblivion coming out, much less that it was some sort of contentious thing.
This isn't a "I don't own a TV" kind of poseur thing as much as me realizing that by jiminy, I really am getting old and out of touch.
I am aware of and super stoked for Pacific Rim, however.
posted by Shepherd at 1:44 PM on April 11, 2013
This isn't a "I don't own a TV" kind of poseur thing as much as me realizing that by jiminy, I really am getting old and out of touch.
I am aware of and super stoked for Pacific Rim, however.
posted by Shepherd at 1:44 PM on April 11, 2013
Yeah, Pacific Rim! And Elysium! Maybe we are in a SF golden age.
Not sure how it happened in an era where every movie is supposed to be a tentpole blockbuster, but there's suddenly quite a few genuinely interesting films out there.
posted by Kevin Street at 1:48 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Not sure how it happened in an era where every movie is supposed to be a tentpole blockbuster, but there's suddenly quite a few genuinely interesting films out there.
posted by Kevin Street at 1:48 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
You fuckers have completely jinxed Pacific Rim. I bet Lindelof is ghost-writing it.
posted by phaedon at 1:49 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by phaedon at 1:49 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
I've seen trailers for Oblivion but it seems kind of tailor-made to be an interesting premise tanked by this-must-be-a-blockbuster execution (and Tom Cruise). It's the sort of thing I'll read the Wikipedia summary for rather than actually watching, and I didn't realize there was any organic hype for it out there.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:50 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:50 PM on April 11, 2013
Are there still large numbers of people who think, "Yay! A new Tom Cruise movie!"?
I guess there must be.
But I'm right there with you, Shepherd. The first I heard of this movie was when I saw an ad for it maybe two days ago. I have reached the age where hundred-million-dollar science fiction motion pictures slide beneath my radar.
Oh well. It's fun wearing trousers up around my ampits, though. Surprisingly comfortable.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:50 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
I guess there must be.
But I'm right there with you, Shepherd. The first I heard of this movie was when I saw an ad for it maybe two days ago. I have reached the age where hundred-million-dollar science fiction motion pictures slide beneath my radar.
Oh well. It's fun wearing trousers up around my ampits, though. Surprisingly comfortable.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:50 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
When I hear Tom Cruise is in a new movie my first thought these days is "There's probably something better with Sam Rockwell that I could see instead."
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 1:54 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 1:54 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Tom Cruise has been in a few competent, if not amazing, sci-fi films. Minority Report and Vanilla Sky were decent. I'm expecting about the same level form Oblivion, and from that new Will Smith sci fi movie. (besides, Cruise and Smith actually believe in sci-fi, so it seems like they're appropriate choices)
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 1:55 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 1:55 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
>>> I thought Morgan Freeman was dead, or an anti-vaxxer, or had married Gandalf or joined the NRA or something.
>> KokuRyu, you're thinking of hooking up with his step-granddaughter, I think.
> Scientologist.
Ten seconds of googling would seem to suggest that both of those are wrong.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:57 PM on April 11, 2013
>> KokuRyu, you're thinking of hooking up with his step-granddaughter, I think.
> Scientologist.
Ten seconds of googling would seem to suggest that both of those are wrong.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:57 PM on April 11, 2013
my favoritest music/group on this earth, M83, did the score for the movie
I'll see it for that alone
posted by ninjew at 1:59 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'll see it for that alone
posted by ninjew at 1:59 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
my favoritest music/group on this earth, M83, did the score for the movie
You just know they wanted Com Truise.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:02 PM on April 11, 2013 [6 favorites]
You just know they wanted Com Truise.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:02 PM on April 11, 2013 [6 favorites]
whuppy: " Upstream Color"
Well, fuck.
Hadn't heard anything about that film, so I zip over to IMDB, tag External Reviews, and...
Shit. Ebert's dead, isn't he?
(I won't say he was the best of critics, but I knew EXACTLY where he stood in relation to where Samizdata stood. A lovely relationship to have with a critic. And it took this long to really sink in.)
posted by Samizdata at 2:05 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Well, fuck.
Hadn't heard anything about that film, so I zip over to IMDB, tag External Reviews, and...
Shit. Ebert's dead, isn't he?
(I won't say he was the best of critics, but I knew EXACTLY where he stood in relation to where Samizdata stood. A lovely relationship to have with a critic. And it took this long to really sink in.)
posted by Samizdata at 2:05 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'd seen the (media carpet-bombed into ubiquity) Oblivion trailer, and TBH this is about what I expected. I think it actually is sort of the Prometheus effect -- when a movie revolves around some mystery, the reveal is almost always (a) disappointing, (b) largely spoiled by the trailer, and (c) got the filmmakers so excited about their own brilliance that they forgot the rest of the movie.
I hadn't heard about Elysium, which looks like it avoids this trap by being relatively straightforward and non-gimmicky, and also looks freaking amazing -- I may have a hard time keeping my expectations in check for that one.
I'm torn between cautious optimism and flabbergastery at the excitement here for Pacific Rim. I mean, it's giant monster-battling robots -- if science fiction movies have taught me anything, it's that some things are apparently too awesome to make it to the screen without being destroyed.
posted by bjrubble at 2:07 PM on April 11, 2013
I hadn't heard about Elysium, which looks like it avoids this trap by being relatively straightforward and non-gimmicky, and also looks freaking amazing -- I may have a hard time keeping my expectations in check for that one.
I'm torn between cautious optimism and flabbergastery at the excitement here for Pacific Rim. I mean, it's giant monster-battling robots -- if science fiction movies have taught me anything, it's that some things are apparently too awesome to make it to the screen without being destroyed.
posted by bjrubble at 2:07 PM on April 11, 2013
I knew about the existence of Oblivion (but not its premise) because Tom Cruise was filming it somewhere else when Katie Holmes escaped the Scientological Panopticon. I won't go and see it because Tom Cruise is such a brainwashed cult shill and I do not wish to support him in his endeavours. It'd be like going to see the latest Charlie Manson Rom-Com.
Afterward I was like, "Wow ... that was the best sci-fi movie I've seen in like 10 years. I wonder why people didn't like it?" Great plot, acting, vision ... huh.
I would like a kilo of whatever you were on at the time sent to my room, stat!
posted by Sparx at 2:09 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Afterward I was like, "Wow ... that was the best sci-fi movie I've seen in like 10 years. I wonder why people didn't like it?" Great plot, acting, vision ... huh.
I would like a kilo of whatever you were on at the time sent to my room, stat!
posted by Sparx at 2:09 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
As I settle into old age (32) the process of shedding my internet-borne cynicism that came as a result of jumping into full internet addiction at the age of 14 has me doing some very interesting things. Things that I never would have dreamed of before in my younger, more curmudgeonly days. When you are young, you try to be old and important. So many precious hours of my young and beautiful years wasted in USENET flamewars and finding new and innovative ways to hate things I haven't seen or read more then a cursory synopsis of while simultaneously presenting myself as an expert on the matter. The folly of youth.
It is only now as my body and mind enter the slow decline into decay and entropy that I have learned the simple joy of taking in an evening of entertainment be it film, music, television, whathaveyou, and enjoying it on its own merits. Refusing to enter the Sisyphous trap of an online presence which for all intents and purposes only assume exists anymore to rob people of enjoyment.
Oblivion looks like it will be a nice way to spend a couple hours, and maybe present a surface level philosophical idea or two into a conversation you may have about it afterwords. The idea of science fiction as a means of framing new perspectives on profound, if heavy handed, philosophical and slash or spiritual concepts is something best left to books. Films rarely are able to marry the cerebral and the visceral aspects of golden age science fiction novels like Hyperion. And really, they shouldn't be expected to. A book is limited only by the readers imagination. Film, not so much.
Upstream Color though, yeah.. that pretty much nailed it. Just about the most perfect science fiction film in recent memory.
posted by mediocre at 2:09 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
It is only now as my body and mind enter the slow decline into decay and entropy that I have learned the simple joy of taking in an evening of entertainment be it film, music, television, whathaveyou, and enjoying it on its own merits. Refusing to enter the Sisyphous trap of an online presence which for all intents and purposes only assume exists anymore to rob people of enjoyment.
Oblivion looks like it will be a nice way to spend a couple hours, and maybe present a surface level philosophical idea or two into a conversation you may have about it afterwords. The idea of science fiction as a means of framing new perspectives on profound, if heavy handed, philosophical and slash or spiritual concepts is something best left to books. Films rarely are able to marry the cerebral and the visceral aspects of golden age science fiction novels like Hyperion. And really, they shouldn't be expected to. A book is limited only by the readers imagination. Film, not so much.
Upstream Color though, yeah.. that pretty much nailed it. Just about the most perfect science fiction film in recent memory.
posted by mediocre at 2:09 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
You fuckers have completely jinxed Pacific Rim.
I just hope it's close to those notes I found scrawled all over my walls in crayon that one morning.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:09 PM on April 11, 2013
I just hope it's close to those notes I found scrawled all over my walls in crayon that one morning.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:09 PM on April 11, 2013
Metafilter: "Rosebud" was Charles Foster Kane's crime-fighting robot sidekick.
posted by sammyo at 2:10 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by sammyo at 2:10 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I think the first Tom Cruise movie I saw was Mission: Impossible. I honestly didn't understand his appeal, and continued to not understand it until I watched A Few Good Men some years later. It turns out he was quite an engaging actor at that point! So I attribute his continuing status as a major movie star to people looking at him and seeing the Tom Cruise they remember from his earlier films. Kind of like what happened with Elizabeth Taylor, in other words.
posted by baf at 2:11 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by baf at 2:11 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Frankly, I found Primer to be boring and not particularly believable.
Whaddaya want, Primer with explosions? I thought it was a fascinating out-of-left-field independent approach that effectively infused its protagonists with sufficient ordinariness that they would be baffled, introspective, and ultimately solipsistically obsessed with their creation.
The way I see it, we're actually finally hitting a kind of stride where there are enough sf/f movies that aren't remakes or reboots that we can enjoy cool, individualistic viewpoints. Sure, some of them will bomb, and some of them will be boring, and some of them will ultimately just be retreads (e.g. Aliens > Mimic > Species), but with the sheer volume there's bound to be some gems.
Besides, even when you're looking at written sf, novels, short stories, etc., there is quite a bit of overlap -- "Oh, I see Smith is doing a first-contact story" -- and in the end it's the how that makes such exercises worthwhile. The worst thing you can do is assume ideas are unique; the second is that there is only one way to make an idea.
Are there still large numbers of people who think, "Yay! A new Tom Cruise movie!"?
You can't deny that what he does, he is very good at. He's the quintessential example of an actor with an extremely narrow range who is able to make that work time and time again. I was only marginally pleased with the first three MI films but then Brad Bird came along and made the best one yet. If it takes TC to get an sf concept film greenlighted, well, I'm at least half for that.
posted by dhartung at 2:12 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Whaddaya want, Primer with explosions? I thought it was a fascinating out-of-left-field independent approach that effectively infused its protagonists with sufficient ordinariness that they would be baffled, introspective, and ultimately solipsistically obsessed with their creation.
The way I see it, we're actually finally hitting a kind of stride where there are enough sf/f movies that aren't remakes or reboots that we can enjoy cool, individualistic viewpoints. Sure, some of them will bomb, and some of them will be boring, and some of them will ultimately just be retreads (e.g. Aliens > Mimic > Species), but with the sheer volume there's bound to be some gems.
Besides, even when you're looking at written sf, novels, short stories, etc., there is quite a bit of overlap -- "Oh, I see Smith is doing a first-contact story" -- and in the end it's the how that makes such exercises worthwhile. The worst thing you can do is assume ideas are unique; the second is that there is only one way to make an idea.
Are there still large numbers of people who think, "Yay! A new Tom Cruise movie!"?
You can't deny that what he does, he is very good at. He's the quintessential example of an actor with an extremely narrow range who is able to make that work time and time again. I was only marginally pleased with the first three MI films but then Brad Bird came along and made the best one yet. If it takes TC to get an sf concept film greenlighted, well, I'm at least half for that.
posted by dhartung at 2:12 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Rosebud: The Sidekick
Actually I can see this as a totally (what's the current cool term for cool) re-imagined graphic novel.
posted by sammyo at 2:13 PM on April 11, 2013
Actually I can see this as a totally (what's the current cool term for cool) re-imagined graphic novel.
posted by sammyo at 2:13 PM on April 11, 2013
Tom Cruise has been in a few competent, if not amazing, sci-fi films. Minority Report and Vanilla Sky were decent.
Don't forget War of the Worlds. Decent? Competent? Look, I think Tom Cruise is one of the best actors of our generation, if not the most successful. And don't forget he produces most of the movies he's in.
Mission Impossible, Collateral, Minority Report, Last Samurai, Eyes Wide Shut, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky, Interview with a Vampire, A Few Good Men, Days of Thunder, Rain Man, Color of Money, Top Gun, Risky Business, Tropic Thunder, Magnolia, Born on the Fourth of July.
I don't care what your approach to cinema is, that's a fucking epic list.
posted by phaedon at 2:17 PM on April 11, 2013 [9 favorites]
Don't forget War of the Worlds. Decent? Competent? Look, I think Tom Cruise is one of the best actors of our generation, if not the most successful. And don't forget he produces most of the movies he's in.
Mission Impossible, Collateral, Minority Report, Last Samurai, Eyes Wide Shut, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky, Interview with a Vampire, A Few Good Men, Days of Thunder, Rain Man, Color of Money, Top Gun, Risky Business, Tropic Thunder, Magnolia, Born on the Fourth of July.
I don't care what your approach to cinema is, that's a fucking epic list.
posted by phaedon at 2:17 PM on April 11, 2013 [9 favorites]
Just read an interview with Shane Carruth about this
Man. That was a great interview, and my respect for Carruth went up a few notches. Definitely read that; it's about a bunch of things more than his new movie. On Primer:
There’s a bunch of stuff, a lot of props and things that five years from now it might be nice to have, but at the time you don’t want to see them, you don’t want to know that they exist. You definitely don’t want to keep them safe. At some point it becomes the film.
I don’t even want to know what’s outside the edit anymore. I don’t want to accumulate that footage, because this is it now. This is the thing. No matter what experience we had making it or how we got to those answers, these are the answers. This is the thing.
posted by dhartung at 2:18 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Man. That was a great interview, and my respect for Carruth went up a few notches. Definitely read that; it's about a bunch of things more than his new movie. On Primer:
There’s a bunch of stuff, a lot of props and things that five years from now it might be nice to have, but at the time you don’t want to see them, you don’t want to know that they exist. You definitely don’t want to keep them safe. At some point it becomes the film.
I don’t even want to know what’s outside the edit anymore. I don’t want to accumulate that footage, because this is it now. This is the thing. No matter what experience we had making it or how we got to those answers, these are the answers. This is the thing.
posted by dhartung at 2:18 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
The trailer just screamed lame to me when the pod vehicle Tom fly's off in performs a twist flip that would cause Chuck Yeager to vomit. It's not so much an effect as a demonstration of matrix gimbal lock.
posted by sammyo at 2:21 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by sammyo at 2:21 PM on April 11, 2013
I thought Vanilla Sky (where the main character gets his face rearranged) is a great metaphor for a once youthful actor losing his looks. Of course, Cruise can go under the knife whenever he wants, and, like Arnold, it must be murder to see him with his shirt off.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:23 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by KokuRyu at 2:23 PM on April 11, 2013
Oh and speaking of Upstream Color, I just noticed Primer's finally available for streaming on Netflix.
You must mean "again" because I am sure that's where I first saw it many years ago
posted by phearlez at 2:28 PM on April 11, 2013
You must mean "again" because I am sure that's where I first saw it many years ago
posted by phearlez at 2:28 PM on April 11, 2013
It's probably to early to throw "Gravity" in the ring...
Or Interstellar, or Jupiter Ascending.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:29 PM on April 11, 2013
Or Interstellar, or Jupiter Ascending.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:29 PM on April 11, 2013
I have seen this flick. There's enough plot holes to fly a truck through. No wait, more like fly a giant Zardoz head through, because oddly enough, the plot was so goofy that that was what I was reminded of. It's very hard to watch Tom Cruise without seeing the role as a scientologist's wet dream. There's really nothing at all to like about his character, and the various revelations throughout the film just leave one scratching one's head more and more.
posted by Catblack at 2:30 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Catblack at 2:30 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Don't forget War of the Worlds. Decent? Competent?
I meant no disrespect to Mr. Cruise. By 'decent' and 'competent', I mean I would walk out of the theater having enjoyed myself and thinking my $10 was well spent. That's apparently surprisingly difficult to achieve for science fiction these days (a genre which I love), because Prometheus made me want to rip my face off. I expect I'll like Oblivion, and that it will be forgettable.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 2:42 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I meant no disrespect to Mr. Cruise. By 'decent' and 'competent', I mean I would walk out of the theater having enjoyed myself and thinking my $10 was well spent. That's apparently surprisingly difficult to achieve for science fiction these days (a genre which I love), because Prometheus made me want to rip my face off. I expect I'll like Oblivion, and that it will be forgettable.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 2:42 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I've never considered Tom Cruise to be a particularly good actor. He just always seems wooden and squinty to me. Am I missing something?
(Every time I see the ads for Oblivion I think "I would go see that if it starred anyone but Tom Cruise!")
posted by sarcasticah at 2:42 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
(Every time I see the ads for Oblivion I think "I would go see that if it starred anyone but Tom Cruise!")
posted by sarcasticah at 2:42 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
I always like Cruise in The Color of Money. I'm thinking maybe that kind of douchy blockhead that wears a shirt with his own name on it and does like faux karate with his $10k pool cue to werewolves of london is just like his natural state though.
posted by Ad hominem at 2:58 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Ad hominem at 2:58 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
Justinian: "That's a lot of different movies to steal from. Are they all, like, mashed together?"
I hope the bit stolen from Total Recall is when Tom Cruise tries to sneak through customs using a defective robotic lady suit.
"Twoooo Wheeeekks..."
posted by brundlefly at 3:19 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
I hope the bit stolen from Total Recall is when Tom Cruise tries to sneak through customs using a defective robotic lady suit.
"Twoooo Wheeeekks..."
posted by brundlefly at 3:19 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
For some reason, I was expecting an Elder Scrolls movie.
Last June, I passed by a Bank of America location in midtown Manhattan where the production team was filming a scene. Guardrails, lots of people milling around and gawking. A few cops.
(Me, noticing a crowd parked in front of a bank and cops nearby):Is this an Occupy Wall Street demonstration?
Assistant to the Assistant Director-ish dude: Nah, it's a movie.
Me: Oh, which one?
ADD dude: Oblivion.
Me: Based on the Elder Scrolls game?
ADD dude: Nah.
posted by Gordion Knott at 3:27 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Last June, I passed by a Bank of America location in midtown Manhattan where the production team was filming a scene. Guardrails, lots of people milling around and gawking. A few cops.
(Me, noticing a crowd parked in front of a bank and cops nearby):Is this an Occupy Wall Street demonstration?
Assistant to the Assistant Director-ish dude: Nah, it's a movie.
Me: Oh, which one?
ADD dude: Oblivion.
Me: Based on the Elder Scrolls game?
ADD dude: Nah.
posted by Gordion Knott at 3:27 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I still want to see it. It looks gorgeous and I'm happy we're getting this kind of big budget videogamey Sci-Fi. Elysium looks good too.
Dark Knight Rises was bloated and joyless. Dredd was much better.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 3:36 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
Dark Knight Rises was bloated and joyless. Dredd was much better.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 3:36 PM on April 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
No wait, more like fly a giant Zardoz head through
Mmmm...Zardoz.
Elysium does look promising. If you poke around the movie web site there's interesting back story stuff that is a good teaser for the film.
posted by CosmicRayCharles at 3:56 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Mmmm...Zardoz.
Elysium does look promising. If you poke around the movie web site there's interesting back story stuff that is a good teaser for the film.
posted by CosmicRayCharles at 3:56 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm expecting about the same level form Oblivion, and from that new Will Smith sci fi movie.
I have mildly higher hopes for Oblivion because, as pointed out above, Tom Cruise's choices have meant that Vanilla Sky and Minority Report have at least been workmanlike, whereas big-budget Will Smith movies moves more into the range of I, Robot and Independence Day. And despite at least a dozen exposures to the trailer for the flick, I have yet to see the director's name anywhere in the advertising. When the studio is passively trying to conceal this NOT because he is an unknown but (more likely) due to the potential for backlash, it probably does not bode well.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:27 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have mildly higher hopes for Oblivion because, as pointed out above, Tom Cruise's choices have meant that Vanilla Sky and Minority Report have at least been workmanlike, whereas big-budget Will Smith movies moves more into the range of I, Robot and Independence Day. And despite at least a dozen exposures to the trailer for the flick, I have yet to see the director's name anywhere in the advertising. When the studio is passively trying to conceal this NOT because he is an unknown but (more likely) due to the potential for backlash, it probably does not bode well.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:27 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I hate Tom Cruise. Everything about him irritates me, not the least of which was the mefi kerfuffle a few years back. But dammit if his movies aren't good, and dammit if many of them don't scratch that scifi itch. Even when they're not great, they are at least enjoyable. And some of them are great.I would argue that he's at least partially responsible for making other big budget scifi films possible.
So even if it's not great, I'll see it, because it will be enjoyable.
Also, didn't hate Prometheus, it just didn't belong in the aliens universe.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 4:33 PM on April 11, 2013
So even if it's not great, I'll see it, because it will be enjoyable.
Also, didn't hate Prometheus, it just didn't belong in the aliens universe.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 4:33 PM on April 11, 2013
nathancaswell: "Psssssssssssssst it was called "Looper.""
I was very underwhelmed by Looper. I mean, it's not bad or anything, but after all the hype, I was expecting something mindblowing, and it certainly wasn't that. When it ended, I thought "That was it"?
Also, its low budget shows a lot.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:47 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was very underwhelmed by Looper. I mean, it's not bad or anything, but after all the hype, I was expecting something mindblowing, and it certainly wasn't that. When it ended, I thought "That was it"?
Also, its low budget shows a lot.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:47 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Prometheus had a few problems that made it hard to really get into and enjoy. Tom Cruise makes solid films, so I'll probably check this out.
posted by P.o.B. at 5:07 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by P.o.B. at 5:07 PM on April 11, 2013
(Every time I see the ads for Oblivion I think "I would go see that if it starred anyone but Tom Cruise!")
Our basic response to the trailer was "Looks interesting, but Tom Cruise. Let's go see it if the reviews are good enough to overcome Tom Cruise." - so, probably not making the trip out for it now.
posted by Artw at 5:13 PM on April 11, 2013
Our basic response to the trailer was "Looks interesting, but Tom Cruise. Let's go see it if the reviews are good enough to overcome Tom Cruise." - so, probably not making the trip out for it now.
posted by Artw at 5:13 PM on April 11, 2013
what? wait...Morgan Freeman is alive? WTF?
Ah crap.
I mean, that's good. I'm glad. I like Freeman...he's a class act.
Anyhow, I just watch Prometheus last night. Somebody should have told it was a prequel. I feel so dirty now.
posted by mule98J at 5:29 PM on April 11, 2013
Ah crap.
I mean, that's good. I'm glad. I like Freeman...he's a class act.
Anyhow, I just watch Prometheus last night. Somebody should have told it was a prequel. I feel so dirty now.
posted by mule98J at 5:29 PM on April 11, 2013
I think of it as basically Mountains of Madness in space made with designs lifted from The Book of Alien.
posted by Artw at 5:31 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 5:31 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I haven't seen it but it does have 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. That means it isn't awful. ... In other words, io9 cherry picked its reviews. Most of them are positive.
Oh to be so innocent!
What's funny is that the first quote in io9's article: "the air gradually seeps out of the balloon that keeps this thinly populated tale aloft, leaving the ultimate impression of a nice try that falls somewhat short of the mark."—that's from a positive review according to rotten tomatoes.
posted by fleacircus at 5:31 PM on April 11, 2013
Oh to be so innocent!
What's funny is that the first quote in io9's article: "the air gradually seeps out of the balloon that keeps this thinly populated tale aloft, leaving the ultimate impression of a nice try that falls somewhat short of the mark."—that's from a positive review according to rotten tomatoes.
posted by fleacircus at 5:31 PM on April 11, 2013
80% on RT is the minimum bar to being deemed sitter-worthy in our house, barring exceptional circumstances.
posted by Artw at 5:34 PM on April 11, 2013
posted by Artw at 5:34 PM on April 11, 2013
I'm still going with shittiest Runequest session ever, trying to run a HeroQuest, complete with bad PCs ("Tell me about your scientist." "He's got cool hair and tattoos like I'm thinking techno troll slayer." "What's his Geology skill score?" "Huh?"), a GM controlled asshole NPC robot, random silly interactions with chaos, and, most of all, not having paid attention to the clues about what possibly to say to the revived Engineer then rolling a critical fumble on what you say anyway and the GM interprets that as him trying to kill everyone because fuck it, let's just wrap it up.
posted by fleacircus at 5:43 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by fleacircus at 5:43 PM on April 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Speaking of, the full documentary of Chariots of Gods is up on YouTube. Scott could've at least picked better source material.
posted by P.o.B. at 5:51 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by P.o.B. at 5:51 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I know Ebert has been dead for a few days, but I was reflexively hoping I could get to read Ebert's review of Prometheus. Still do, as a matter of fact. Not because I'd necessarily agree with his thoughts - I don't usually, actually - but just for the sheer pleasure of reading him.
Not relevant, I know. Just suddenly felt sad.
posted by the cydonian at 7:28 PM on April 11, 2013
Not relevant, I know. Just suddenly felt sad.
posted by the cydonian at 7:28 PM on April 11, 2013
Are there still large numbers of people who think, "Yay! A new Tom Cruise movie!"?
Whatever you think of his acting, the dude can run.
posted by straight at 8:07 PM on April 11, 2013
Whatever you think of his acting, the dude can run.
posted by straight at 8:07 PM on April 11, 2013
Whatever you think of his acting, the dude can run.
Salt was written with Tom Cruise in mind. The movie just screams Tom Cruise when they have a prolonged scene with Angelina Jolie escaping by foot. But I liked it, another was that movie really worked because it wasn't written for a woman, just a person, and gave a very different feel than most women based action films.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 9:35 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Salt was written with Tom Cruise in mind. The movie just screams Tom Cruise when they have a prolonged scene with Angelina Jolie escaping by foot. But I liked it, another was that movie really worked because it wasn't written for a woman, just a person, and gave a very different feel than most women based action films.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 9:35 PM on April 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
The reason you can't see the films you wish to see now is the future is not what you expect. The future is not Tom Cruise.
Imagine a railroad station with trains that only leave. They leave in one direction, and every time one leaves the station, that is the cue for another to depart. All going in one direction - all those trains. Now you have to understand: at some point those trains will be so close together that you can jump from one to another and travel somewhere else instead.
Your future is just one of those trains.
There is so much here to love. And yet I may never travel again by rail.
Please know in your hearts we meant no harm. You have no idea what it means when a train derails. You only think you do.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 9:52 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
Imagine a railroad station with trains that only leave. They leave in one direction, and every time one leaves the station, that is the cue for another to depart. All going in one direction - all those trains. Now you have to understand: at some point those trains will be so close together that you can jump from one to another and travel somewhere else instead.
Your future is just one of those trains.
There is so much here to love. And yet I may never travel again by rail.
Please know in your hearts we meant no harm. You have no idea what it means when a train derails. You only think you do.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 9:52 PM on April 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
Currently has a moderate 62% on Rottentomatoes. The unfortunate truth is that despite the desire to scream "WORST MOVIE EVER!" or "BEST MOVIE EVER!", movie quality seems to be a pretty tight bell-curve, with the vast majority huddled in a watchable-if-you-like-that-genre middle. Relatively few movies are very good or very bad.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 1:38 AM on April 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by TheophileEscargot at 1:38 AM on April 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
That time, when you're a young adult that can derive great pleasure from brilliant kids movies and brave adult (focussed) movies and find a new gem to admire on a seemingly endless basis, unencumbered by seeing the tropes rolled out again,
unavoidably sets you up for dissappointment as you age and leave the target demographic of the majority of filmmaking until you cling to the occassional masterpiece or pine nostalgically for the days when Star Wars... a soap opera with costumes... seemed like the Golden Age of cinema.
Holy run-on-sentence Val Kilmer.
posted by panaceanot at 3:33 AM on April 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
unavoidably sets you up for dissappointment as you age and leave the target demographic of the majority of filmmaking until you cling to the occassional masterpiece or pine nostalgically for the days when Star Wars... a soap opera with costumes... seemed like the Golden Age of cinema.
Holy run-on-sentence Val Kilmer.
posted by panaceanot at 3:33 AM on April 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
I just learned that Iain M. Banks, the only contemporary SF author I can take in large doses, will not be with us much longer. I would love to see a brilliant mess of a movie based on one of his novels.
posted by Mister_A at 5:42 AM on April 12, 2013
posted by Mister_A at 5:42 AM on April 12, 2013
Oh, absolutely! But which one would be best suited to film?
posted by Kevin Street at 8:42 AM on April 12, 2013
posted by Kevin Street at 8:42 AM on April 12, 2013
MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THIS MOVIE FOLLOW:
MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THIS MOVIE FOLLOW:
In this movie. The bad guys kill people with remote-controlled drones, steal the precious fluids from the earth with their massive industrial rigs. In the end it turns out that the main bad guy is a massive pyramid with an eye in the middle (it's upside down to make it slightly less obvious). The bad guys is defeated by suicide bombers quoting a poem that says
"And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods"
By god this movie isn't exactly subtle with it's subtext. Either the director-writer is blatant or in complete oblivion.
posted by Authorized User at 6:30 AM on April 14, 2013 [1 favorite]
MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THIS MOVIE FOLLOW:
In this movie. The bad guys kill people with remote-controlled drones, steal the precious fluids from the earth with their massive industrial rigs. In the end it turns out that the main bad guy is a massive pyramid with an eye in the middle (it's upside down to make it slightly less obvious). The bad guys is defeated by suicide bombers quoting a poem that says
"And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods"
By god this movie isn't exactly subtle with it's subtext. Either the director-writer is blatant or in complete oblivion.
posted by Authorized User at 6:30 AM on April 14, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, Olga Kurylenko is going to be bandy when the other 50+ Tom Cruises torn up.
Further also, worst sited solar panel and micro-wind turbine ever.
posted by biffa at 5:23 PM on April 14, 2013
Further also, worst sited solar panel and micro-wind turbine ever.
posted by biffa at 5:23 PM on April 14, 2013
How Director Joseph Kosinski Designed The Gorgeous Sky Tower In "Oblivion"
posted by homunculus at 5:30 PM on April 21, 2013
posted by homunculus at 5:30 PM on April 21, 2013
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posted by 2bucksplus at 12:24 PM on April 11, 2013 [15 favorites]