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mogy79
MemberOvomorphMar-14-2012 9:01 PMSo, against my better judgement, I recently went to see John Carter. I think the anticipation of Prometheus has given me a renewed appetite for SciFi... so I indulged this whim. My opinion is that the movie was intolerably reductive.... a grey, putty like mash-up of Star Wars, Star Gate, Avatar, and Disney's Pocahontas. And please don't mention the special effects as a redeeming quality... they were standard at best.
If you are like me you have been craving a smart, epic, creatively expansive science fiction genre movie for some time. I think the last one I saw and really liked was Moon, but I wouldn't call it epic.... or very original. Also, if you are like me, you too may have wanted to turn your back on the genre all together after horrendous Star Wars Trilogy prequels.
So my point of this post to share my experience of seeing (unexpectedly) the Prometheus trailer play to a fully packed theater of (I presume) scifi fans. I felt so excited when it began... I saw Ridley's crow logo appear and got goosebumps as I prepared to share the moment with a group rather than alone on YouTube. It brought back the memory of going to see Aliens with my Dad in the 80's... I was probably too young to see it, but I begged him incessantly to take me for weeks... all because the commercials I had been seeing on TV had infected me with fascination and curiosity... do you remember them? Well the audience reaction seemed lukewarm at best... actually more like oblivous. It was really ant-climatic for me personally. Are today's audiences going to be smart enough to appreciate this. I know I'm going to sound like a snob here, but don't you agree that the majority of pop culture consumers today are morons.
I'm not convinced, that even if this movie is a masterpiece that the masses have the capacity to digest it... and by masses I mean the ones who watch Jersey Shore, the Kardashians, and Dancing with the Stars... and the one's to my bewilderment (after showing no reaction to the Prometheus trailer) proceeded to cheer on John Carter in one the worst scifi films I've ever seen. I "they" now outnumber "us" I'm afraid... and that probably doesn't bode well for Prometheus.
48 Replies
Moonibal
MemberOvomorphMar-14-2012 11:34 PMIn defense of my generation I'd like to say that not all of us like Jersey Shore and the people who do only represent about half of us at best. The only problem I see with Prometheus is that besides the people who did see Alien vs Predator and only see that as what Alien is (and trust me there were a few people I knew who were like that a few years ago). Still yet there are a lot of people who don't know what Alien is. A lot of people don't know what a lot of older movies are for that matter.
craigamore
MemberOvomorphMar-14-2012 11:34 PMYou're in good company aintnoxeno...Cypher.....cheers my friends
Cinefan
MemberOvomorphMar-14-2012 11:48 PM@moonibal I still say the problem with getting the younger generation to watch what most of us consider a great movie is the fact that it is more than 30 years old. I was 10 back then and no way could my dad talk me into watching a movie from the 40's or 50's. It's just a hard sell to them. No disrespect moonibal.
Late
MemberOvomorphMar-14-2012 11:49 PMMogy - you get the gig.
Nothing worse than seeing our anticipation build, only to have silence from a theatre where cell phones, chatter, and mindless banter over previews some of us look forward to overcome our excitement. We get taken in that moment from a time where you had to STFU once the curtain drew back.
This is why I stopped going to flicks - tired of peeps running their faces and ruining the anticipation of the moment where we find ourselves psyched to see a teaser, and even more so - in this time where someone like Taylor Swift is considered a legitimate contribution to art - we stand aside and wonder WFT happened to us?
Consider the silence at that moment a blessing, yer ahead of the curve, and it'll make for a pleasing showcase for what we grew up with. The simpletons will go elsewhere, we get to celebrate what we enjoy. Not that we are better than anyone else, we just have things we dig that do the gig.
Cypher
Co-AdminMemberOvomorphMar-14-2012 11:55 PMI hope I get an empty (or near empty) theatre. It's Port Macquarie. I have high hopes for that :-P
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"Is it dead this time?" "I dunno, poke it with this stick and see."
Xenotron
MemberOvomorphMar-14-2012 11:56 PMI think the silence was more due to the Inception-like "THWAAAANNGG"s from the music in the trailer while people were trying to figure out what they were watching. Maybe part of it was trying to figure out the word the sticks were spelling before it was finished building the word. And then, when they finally see the title "Prometheus", they're probably thinking "Huh?"
I know if I didn't know anything about anything and I watched that trailer, it wouldn't tell me anything about the movie.
Actually, it would've probably reminded me of that one Dennis Quaid sci-fi movie from a few years back, "Pandorum" or something like that? I probably wouldn't have connected it to a 30 year old movie.
mogy79
MemberOvomorphMar-14-2012 11:56 PMI can see your point Moonibal... the Alien series (particularly the first film) is old now and is probably not in the scope of many younger (I'm figuring under 25 year old) people. I also don't think it's your generations fault the that you are bombarded with so much mind numbing garbage all the time... I guess it's difficult to avoid so much flashy distraction. Still, as a teenager I remember seeking out of the ordinary films (and other creative media)... for example I remember seeing 2001 which was way before my time... I don't think at 11 or 12 I really "got it", but I remember distinctly thinking "now this is special... this is not like most of the other stuff I've seen... I wan't more of like this"... that theme continued through my adolescence till today. I'd like to think that if I was going through adolescence now or in my early twenties or whatever, I'd still be eager to find something more substantial.
Cinefan
MemberOvomorphMar-14-2012 11:56 PM@late Sounds like you need to visit a Drafthouse theater. Look into it!
craigamore
MemberOvomorphMar-15-2012 12:01 AMI there with you mogy79.......let's hope a few souls amidst the adolescent masses have the patience to blossom in their viewing of 'Prometheus' in to the kind of person who's open to what they normally wouldn't be.
mogy79
MemberOvomorphMar-15-2012 12:04 AM... beer and movies sounds fine... although I'd hate to have to use the bathroom and miss a critical scene... this is probably going to be a film where something interesting is always about to happen
craigamore
MemberOvomorphMar-15-2012 12:11 AMI don't care if I have to pee......I will deal with the agony before I leave a film in progress....pet peeve of mine, that and being so late you're missing trailers......with 'Prometheus' I'll let my kidneys burst before leaving.............
Cinefan
MemberOvomorphMar-15-2012 12:16 AMHey, craigamore and mogy there is a website called www.runpee.com let's you know when you can take a pee break and not miss a critical part.
ShakeN'BakeColony
MemberOvomorphMar-15-2012 12:57 AMJohn Carter was great. Audiences seem to really dig it. Don't believe the fiction the media is trying to peddle about it. They just like being right about thier "predictions".
Anyway the teaser is fantastic, but yes I do have slight concern that general move-goers will be confused about what the movie is all the way up until rlease. We'll see I guess.
Cypher
Co-AdminMemberOvomorphMar-15-2012 1:10 AM@ShakeN'Bake, I'll go off what my brother told me. He knows what I likes and John Carter apparently wasn't it.
[url=http://www.robocopmovie.net/][img]http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/snorkelbottom/NewRoboBanner.jpg[/img][/url]
"Is it dead this time?" "I dunno, poke it with this stick and see."
Jim Jimmer
MemberOvomorphMar-15-2012 3:28 AMI wouldnt say that Fox hasnt done enough Marketing, there is still 86 days left till release (76 days for some). Maybe for 'hard core' sci-fi fans there hasnt been enough information given or more information that they would like, but I'm sure the Fox marketing execs know what they're doing..... (fingers crossed!)
esoteric
MemberOvomorphMar-15-2012 4:50 PMI completely agree. This movie is not for the masses. I found myself trying to explain to my girlfriend the plot, or what we know of it at least, and let's just say I had a lot of explaining to do and I'm sure it all sounded super nerdy to her. I doubt most of the masses will fully appreciate this film considering most have probably never even heard of a space jockey. Makes me worried about it's chances for a sequel, which I'm betting would be the true Alien origins movie.
brego
MemberOvomorphMar-20-2012 9:44 PMEver since Sci Fi began "most people" didnt apreciate it as a genre. I for one am glad and think that good sci fi makes you think about our lives and where we are going as a human race.
av3nger
MemberOvomorphMar-20-2012 11:55 PMI don't remember when I first saw Alien...I remember AVP was fun in theaters. Always was a big mystery with that big a$$ mofo in the cannon...hell it is in the trailer to Prometheus.
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