Film Flam

[Placid Dingo]

Source Code was actually really cool. Same guy directed Moon, which is a fantastic piece of sci-fi.

Moon is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I'll have to check this out.

Yeah. Not as good as moon IMO but a really well executed idea.

[Cain]

Watching Killer Elite.

This has to be the second or third film Jason Statham has starred in which has to do with the more sordid aspects of modern British history.  The other one that comes to mind is the film he was in where MI6 sponsored a bank robbery in London.

Killer Elite deals with the aftermath of the SAS's actions in Oman.  For those who don't know, the SAS waged a covert war in Oman, putting down a major rebellion there.  Furthermore, Col. David Stirling, the founder of the SAS, was heavily involved in UK politics via his contacts in the regiment and the mercenaries he supplied abroad, tacitly approved by the British governments of the time.

In this, it is imagined that one of the Sheikhs who supported the rebellion but later went into exile, and whose sons were targeted by the SAS for death, wants revenge.  And so he hires a bunch of mercenaries and hitmen, including Jason Statham to do it.

And from there on in it is pretty much your standard action flick.  Still, it is nice to see this sort of thing being referenced, even if only in obscure documentaries and cinema.

[Cuddlefish]

Prometheus... What a mess... Discuss.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

On a 30's kick. Working through a bunch of Mae West flicks. I like Night After Night. Mob guys! 

[Faust]

Prometheus... What a mess... Discuss.

Good concept, a lot of cool stuff that is only implied but never made explicit.

*Alien at the start created the human race.
*2000 years ago we started evolving or some jesus shit and the aliens wanted to kill us.

But it also had
*Charliez being crushed by a giant donut which was retarded
and
*A disgusting self abortion scene that was just grotesque.

I don't think the alien franchise would have been as popular if RS had also made all the sequels.

[Xooxe]

*A disgusting self abortion scene that was just grotesque.

It looked like one of those cuddly toy grabber thingies you get at a funfair. Other I-laughed-too-loud-and-pissed-off-everyone-around-me moments included:

*A computer activated by a magical flute.
*An exploding head.
*Melodramatic human incineration.

[Don Coyote]

I could have gone my whole life without seeing that abortion scene.

[Faust]

*A disgusting self abortion scene that was just grotesque.

It looked like one of those cuddly toy grabber thingies you get at a funfair. Other I-laughed-too-loud-and-pissed-off-everyone-around-me moments included:

*A computer activated by a magical flute.
*An exploding head.
*Melodramatic human incineration.

I liked the flute, it wouldn't have to be magic to key a divice to a sound pattern. And the number of possible passwords with a flute is pretty reasonable.

[Xooxe]

It would take just one self indulgent jazz flutist to accidentally release the bioweapons.

[LMNO]

Ron Burgundy is the harbinger of the apocalypse?

[Cuddlefish]

It would take just one self indulgent jazz flutist to accidentally release the bioweapons.

But that said, I did like the flute, as well as the "searching for our creators who, BTW, actually want to kill us" theme. The imagery and sound were excellent, and I definitely got a sense of being on another world. My main problems were with some of the unbelievable dialogue and character actions/interactions, but mostly continuity things between Prometheus and the original Alien series. I think the movie would have benefited from disconnecting itself from the Alien films as much as possible, allowing them to spend more time constructing a more concrete plot focused on the "creators," as opposed to pigeon-holeing itself into being a convoluted tie-in to a classic sci-fi series. Plus there was the "magic black ooze" that happened to mysteriously fulfill multiple convenient functions. All sorts of unanswered questions, baiting you to see the sequel, which will likely not answer them. I still have a bad taste left from the writers strike, and maybe I'm being to critical, but they're going to have to work a bit harder to get me to go to the theater more regularly.

[Salty]

I recently watched Stranger Than Fiction. I normally find Will Farrell somewhere on a scale from meh to lol. But I really liked him in this one, I think it's his best and most funny role.

One thing that I especially enjoyed is that it was not a movie about a supernatural event "Man Is Story" story. At least, it did not depend or stagnate with that side of the story. I also enjoyed the photography throughout, very visually appealing. And the story was wonderful.

[LMNO]

Agreed.  And I really liked Emma Thompson.

[Placid Dingo]

Yeah, STF really got it right. Some of those comedic actors really get it right with the serious roles. Steve Carol in Little Miss Sunshine, Dan in Real Life is another good example.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I finally got copy of "On The Seventh Day: Bill Hicks At The Cult Compound". 

Dude went and hung around Waco as the shit was getting ready to hit the fan and made a doc.