Prometheus Spoiler

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May 8th, 2017 at 9:52:35 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Quote: Wizard
I thought he was in the Lord of the Rings.

Gollum and Golem

A golem is a popular figure of European Jewish folklore. Frankenstein was written at a time when golem stories were very popular. In fact, the downfall of Victor and the loss of all he holds dear can be predicted, according to Kabbalistic teachings.

Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel, The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings. Originally known as Sméagol, he was corrupted by the One Ring and later named Gollum after his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in his throat". In Appendix F of The Lord of the Rings, the name Sméagol is said to be a "translation" of the actual Middle-earth name Trahald (having to do with the idea of "burrowing", and rendered with a name based on Old English smygel of similar meaning).

Tolkien was a professor and was no doubt aware of Golem legends, and he may have deliberately mimicked the name, but Golems are the creation of an intelligent man.
May 11th, 2017 at 3:28:35 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Quote: Pacomartin
A golem is a popular figure of European Jewish folklore. Frankenstein was written at a time when golem stories were very popular.


Given there was a Golem in a Simpson's Halloween episode, I thought the reference would be familiar.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
May 13th, 2017 at 10:27:59 AM permalink
Nareed
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New trailer's out:

https://youtu.be/jxDZKGCyPaY

:)
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
May 14th, 2017 at 10:29:07 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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The studio was incredibly disappointed in performance of Hulk (production budget=$137 million) when the movie was released in 2003. They blamed the director, Ang Lee, and hired a new actor and a new director, revamped the story line with new writers and increased the production budget to $150 million for a reboot, five years later.

The rebooted film made even less money than the original film.
Domestic $134.8 million; International $55.4 million June 2008 The Incredible Hulk
Domestic $132.2 million; International $62.1 million June 2003 Hulk

I kind of liked "Prometheus" even though the story had a lot of loose ends. I was looking forward to seeing them worked out in future films. "Prometheus" did not lose money, it just wasn't the blockbuster they were hoping for. It looks like they are trying to change the tone for the sequel five years later. I hope they haven't screwed up everything by trying to recapture the success of the original films from 1979 and 1986.
May 18th, 2017 at 6:39:20 PM permalink
ams288
Member since: Apr 21, 2016
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Just saw Alien: Covenant. I'll keep this spoiler-free.

I liked it.

Story-wise, I think it is a satisfying follow up to Prometheus.

My one major problem with the movie is the fact that all the creature stuff is done with some pretty shoddy CGI. It just looked cheap to me, and took away from the suspense. Almost like watching a Syfy Channel movie at times.
“A straight man will not go for kids.” - AZDuffman
May 18th, 2017 at 8:05:00 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Quote: ams288
My one major problem with the movie is the fact that all the creature stuff is done with some pretty shoddy CGI. It just looked cheap to me, and took away from the suspense. Almost like watching a Syfy Channel movie at times.


That is a major problem.
May 19th, 2017 at 7:06:53 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
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Quote: Pacomartin
That is a major problem.


Of course. The monster is the whole point of the movie.

BTW, they were showing the first Terminator movie yesterday. At the ending sequence, when Arnold gets the organics blown off his frame, there are several takes of the skeletal Terminator, naturally. Many show it only partially, and the movement feels natural. In the few full shots, you can tell it's a stop-motion model. On the partial shots, they probably have a life-size model being moved by people just off-camera.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
May 20th, 2017 at 11:57:44 AM permalink
Wizard
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Finally saw the movie yesterday.

On the positive, the movie answers a lot of questions. It also sets up a possible new direction for the whole story that could span several movies.

Where to begin? I'll say that for any big fan of the Alien series, this movie is a worthy chapter. It deserves to rank on the low end of the franchise but I think most would rank it above Alien Resurrection at least.

My biggest complaint is that it felt spread too thin. I seemed like two movies that got crunched into one. What I was hoping to see, a continuation of the Prometheus story, was told in flashbacks and stories. However, that seemed to just be humoring the fans like me, but whoever was bankrolling the movie wanted more of a traditional Alien movie with lots of special effects. I would compare the tempo and feel of the movie to Terminator Genisys, which I hated. Lots of special effects between the crew and a very persistent alien. The one scene that I think could have been more dramatic, the fight between the two robots, fell a little flat.

However, I'll give the movie a second viewing and maybe I'll like it more the second time around. Or maybe not.

If anyone wants to discuss some of the details, feel free. I'll use spoiler tags to avoid revealing too much.
Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber
May 24th, 2017 at 8:57:48 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Wizard
What I was hoping to see, a continuation of the Prometheus story, was told in flashbacks and stories. However, that seemed to just be humoring the fans like me, but whoever was bankrolling the movie wanted more of a traditional Alien movie with lots of special effects.

I fear that they have killed the franchise.


Domestic ticket sales for for first 5 days are way down.
Prometheus (7,544,000 tickets day 5) a little less than half of total
Alien: Covenant (4,849,400 tickets day 5)

Perhaps the studio is hoping the simpler story will give the movie broader appeal worldwide. It's a disturbing trend if all big budget films are being produced for people who don't speak English as a first language.


Domestically, Prometheus recovered some of the ticket sales lost in the previous 25 years.
Est. Domestic Tickets- Date
31,452,100 Alien | 5/25/79
22,954,200 Aliens | 7/18/86
13,367,100 Alien 3 | 5/22/92
10,413,000 Alien Resurrection | 11/26/97
15,646,700 Prometheus | 6/8/12

12,927,900 Alien Vs. Predator | 8/13/04
5,923,500 Aliens Vs. Predator - Requiem | 12/25/07

Alien: Covenant is very unlikely to outsell Alien Resurrection

Alien is still one of the more successful R-rated films, having been outsold only 31 times in 37 years. One could argue that Alien is one of the most successful R-rated horror movies of all time (distantly behind "The Exorcist").
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