Saturday, June 30, 2012

NEWS ROUNDUP Ver. 12


NEWS ROUNDUP Ver. 12

CARRIE

     The first promo photos of the remake starring Chloe Grace Moretz in the title role and Julianne Moore as Carrie's mother Margaret White have been released. Now I'm not sure how the remake will play out, but if they try to make it PG-13 it just won't work. The movie is currently filming.

DEXTER

     It's official, the cable series on Showtime, Dexter, will end it's run in 2013.

HIGHLANDER

     The always in production hell remake/be-boot has found its Conner MacLeod and it appears to be, Ryan Reynolds? Hmm......not my first choice to play a Highland Scot. Yet supposedly Highlander has a new director attached to it as well now, and that being Juan Carlos Fresnadillo who directed 28 Weeks Later.

STARSHIP TROOPERS

     It looks like there is going to be a remake/re-boot of the Robert A. Heinlein's classic sci-fi novel as well. It is being produced by Tobe Jaffe, who is also producing the Total Recall remake. Jaffe in a recent interview has said that the movie will be more in line with the book than the ultra violent 90's version of the movie. So don't expect to see scenes like the above in the remake. The reason why the first one did so well was because of the over the top violence and the playful attitude the whole movie had.

RIDDICK

     And now second to last to finish off this week of news, here's a new picture of Vin Diesel from the now in post-production sequel that comes out next year. Can not wait for this one!

TOTAL RECALL
     And for the finale this week, the new trailer for Total Recall came out, and this one caught my attention quickly. And no it's not because of the three breasted hooker, but due to the fact that it might actually have more going for it than action and might get to the true heart of the original story.

Friday, June 29, 2012

DEDDOMAN WANDARANDO Episodes 5-8


DEDDOMAN WANDARANDO (DEADMAN WONDERLAND) (2011)
Episodes 5-8
JP
Directed by Koichiro Hatsumi

PLOT:
     After finding out that he was set up for the slaughter of his classmates, Ganta is forced to compete in a cruel experiments set up as fights for the entertainment of the rich.


REVIEW:
     Welcome back, those that read the review for Deddoman Wandarando for the first four episodes. I will admit that I wasn't sure what to expect when I first started watching this series, but I can say honestly I've been pleasantly surprised so far. Yes, some of the characters seem more one dimensional, but the main characters are pretty fleshed out which is hard to do within the set of time in the series so far.  With this next set of episodes the inner workings of Deadman Wonderland are more exposed and the cracks that are the character's personalities shine more brightly. Even though the series is more sci-fi than horror, it has horrific elements that adds to the tension that is building in each episode. Anyway let us continue on with the review for the series. And there will be spoilers from here on out in these last two reviews for the series.


CARRION FESTIVAL (CARNIVAL CORPSE):

     With barely any time to recover from their previous scuffle, Ganta and Crow are forced to fight one another in the true reason for Deadman Wonderland, the Carnival Corpse, which is an experiment gone extreme to view the different uses and forms of the Branches Of Sin. Crow easily gets the upper hand and punishes Ganta throughout the match. Ganta due to being un-used to using his power uses to much of his blood as projectiles and suffers anemia. Crow uses this to his advantage to go in for the kill only to walk away from the downed Ganta viewing him as almost nothing. It is at this point Ganta thinks of Shiro and finds resolve to continue and wins the match with a point blank range projectile surprising everyone that is watching. During the match Yo and Shiro are looking for a way back into G Block, Yo to search for a girl and Shiro to look for Ganta. In a scheme meant to distract the guards and get Shiro captured goes wrong as Shiro ends up killing all the guards after her, as it turns out Shiro also has the use of Branches Of Sin. It is in this episode we find out that Ganta though always complaining about his situation can easily think outside the box to find solutions. Yet when ever he thinks he gets ahead he finds out that for every action there is a reaction in response to what he does as he finds out after his match with Crow.


HUMMINGBIRD:

     Ganta after waking up after seeing the end results of his match with Crow, which is the Sore Loser Game, goes exploring and meets Minatsuki, another Deadman. Together they decide to try and escape only to be captured by G Block Guards who comment that Ganta is facing Minatsuki, who goes by Hummingbird, tomorrow in the next Carnival Corpse. Once in the ring Minatsuki's true personality comes out as she mercilessly berates Ganta for being weak and easily fooled. Right before Ganta can truly start fighting back, Yo shows up and we find out that Minatsuki is his sister he's been searching for the whole time he has been in Deadman Wonderland. Even though Minatsuki tries to play innocent to her brother, Yo tells her that she can stop acting and apologizes for not protecting her like he should have. This pushes Minatsuki over the edge into a rage and she takes Yo as a shield against Ganta. Ganta showing his ability to think around situations circumvents Minatsuki's shield and wins the match with a headbutt instead of using his ability. After the match with the crowd booing him for lack of bloodshed, Ganta flips off the audience telling them he won't kill anyone. This greatly amuses Tamaki and the true director of Deadman Wonderland who was watching the match with Shiro.


ORIGINAL SIN (WRETCHED EGG):

     The Director wakes up Shiro and tells her that it's time and the two start a battle using their Branches Of Sin. Shiro is the winner and comments on the melody that isn't there as she dons the redman outfit. Around this time Minatsuki is in the infirmary after her battle with Ganta talking to her brother Yo and Ganta as a earthquake happens. Ganta is struck by hurt in his chest as a earthquake hits, which sends a flood of forgotten memories from his childhood with Shiro. Ganta and Yo both rush to Minatsuki to keep her safe which  cracks her tough exterior a little even though she says it's useless as they can't protect her. At this both Ganta and Yo rush off to find some way to buy her freedom. Yo is confronted by Tamaki and lead Undertaker Genkaku, who then tries to attack Tamaki to no effect thanks to almost being killed by Genkaku. Ganta while trying to find someway to help Yo's sister is knocked out by another Deadman, Koshio Karako. Ganta wakes up in bar with Koshio and another Deadman, Kengamine "Owl" Nagi, watching over him to make sure he's alright. Both Owl and Koshio tell Ganta that they've been looking for someone like him when Genkaku busts in with Yo's limp body which he throws at the group. Ganta in a rage charges at Genkaku and tries using his Branches Of Sin on him to no effect, which takes the fight out of Ganta. Just as Genkaku is about to kill to Ganta, Shiro drops down from the ceiling and stops Genkaku destroying his weapon.


As you can tell, this is one of the most plot heavy episodes of the series so far as a lot happens in a short amount of time. The interesting thing about this is that even though it seems a lot to take in, it actually was set up very well where you don't get lost, unlike reading the above.

CHAINS OF FREEDOM (SCAR CHAIN):

     After being saved by Shiro from Genkaku, Ganta is introduced to Scar Chain, a group of Deadmen  plotting to break out and expose the corruption of Deadman Wonderland during inspection week, in which time Carnival Corpse is shut down. It is during this time Ganta learns that the Undertakers are also a group of prisoners who are the worst of the worst that could not be rehabilitated but are selected to be anti-Deadmen who have technology that makes Branches OF Sin powers revert back to normal blood. Unknown to them Warden Makina is also using this time to find proof of what is truly going on there as well as too many secrets are being kept from her. After Ganta gets upset after having his intentions questioned he leaves the Scar Chain, thanks to Rokudo Binjou who happens to be working with the Undertakers. After learning of Nagi's wife being killed on the order of Tamaki, Ganta joins the Scar Chain to get revenge against Tamaki and promises Shiro that they will ride a Ferris Wheel together once they have their freedom. The break out attempt begins but goes bad quickly once a security bot is sent out to capture the escaping Deadmen. Koshio decides to give the group time to escape and stays to fight off the bot and gives Ganta the computer chip with the information that will expose Deadman Wonderland and saying that she trusts Ganta with it. With this episode, the series sets up a lot of upcoming story lines and conflicts that are going to happen later on.


BEST DEATH:
     Yo's shower of body parts thank to Shiro.


BEST LINE:
     Shut the HELL up you shits! Like I'd kill anyone, dipshits!

FUN FACTS:
     Here's the lyrics of the opening song to Deddoman Wandarando.


One Reason by Fade

Slit the throat of reason and reality
Cut myself and scream for their insanity
Wake up to this nightmare that will never end
The main attraction of this twisted master plan
Trust nothing but pain to get me through the daze
Sleep with one eye open not to be their prey
Fist against my face they bring me to my knees
The pressure’s crushing down so hard
I can’t break free
When I can feel my skin crawl
When I’m about to crack
The hunger for revenge
gives me strength to stand
I will be your deadman
With nothing but this blood on my hands
Stuck in your “wonderland”
I just want to make you bleed like me
Everyday goes by without a second thought
Living in a perfect and controlled project
A puppet of their sick perversion’s appetite
Will I be trapped inside this hell until I die?
So what if no one cares
Enough to make a change
I give my bleeding heart out for one reason
I will be your deadman
With nothing but this blood on my hands
Stuck in your “wonderland”
I want to make you bleed just like me
So make me your deadman
With only poison in my veins
Stuck in your “wonderland”
Stagnated by the passivity
I’m gonna make you bleed like me

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

DEDDOMAN WANDARANDO Episodes 1-4



DEDDOMAN WANDARANDO (DEADMAN WONDERLAND) (2011)
 Episodes 1-4
JP
Directed by Koichiro Hatsumi

PLOT:
     After being setup for the slaughter of his class and the soul survivor of the massacre, Ganta, is sent to a privately run prison in which the inmates are the performers of a bloody circus of death for the fun of the masses.


REVIEW:
    It's been about a week plus since my last review, sorry about that to all that read this. So I had some time to think what I wanted to do next and I decided to review a complete series as the what's next for me. Those that have read what I've written know that I've done some reviews for anime titles before and this will be a good exorcise for later on this year when I review another full anime series as well. As for this set of reviews I decided to review the Japanese version of a series that is on air at the moment here in the U.S. That series is Deadman Wonderland as it is something different. Something more raw and savage. Each installment of the reviews for Deadman Wonderland will include four episodes as the whole series runs only twelve episodes. So without taking to much more of your time readers with my ramblings on to the review.


DEATHROW INMATE:

     As far as first episodes go, you have to grab the attention of the audience quickly to keep them involved in what they're trying to watch. In that regard Deadman Wonderland does that in spades as we're introduced to Igarashi Ganta with his friends at school talking about past times they have spent together and talking about a earthquake that destroyed Toyko ten years ago. It's at this point that a person wearing red armor and cape is seen floating outside the classroom window before the entire class is slaughtered in a matter of seconds by the smirking Red Man. Quickly Ganta is railroaded as being the cause of the slaughter and sent to the prison Deadman Wonderland with a death sentence. Once there Shiro, a mysterious albino girl is introduced and seemingly knows Shiro from when they were kids, though Ganta has no memory of this. At the end of the episode it is shown that Ganta has the same power that the red man does as it saves his and Shiro's life after an explosion goes off that was planted to kill Ganta. The first episode is fast moving without any pause except for when Shiro is introduced and snaps Ganta out of his depression. This one episode is one of the best first episodes I've seen in a long time due to that the character's emotions aren't hidden and no one person is seen as being flat or two dimensional but more rounded.


ANTIDOTE (CANDY):

      Unlike the first episode, this one is slow starting as the environment Ganta is forced to live in is explained as Deadman Wonderland is more than just a Circus, but is more of a small city unto itself. We are also introduced to Takami Yo, another prisoner that has quick hands and a thief explains the ins and outs to Ganta and that to live everyone has to eat a antidote called candy for the poison that is slowly killing all the prisoners due to the collars the inmates wear. But to get "candy" the have to earn cast credits to buy more, and to do so the inmates have to work and perform for the amusement for the general public as this is a circus the live in. It is here that Ganta, Shiro and Yo  decide to enter one of the more extreme amusements, Dog Race. Seeing that Ganta is involved with this race both the warden, Makina, and Tsunenaga Tamiki who is the real force behind Deadman Wonderland pay close attention to see what he does. The friendship that starts to form between Ganta and Shiro is the main focus of the episode as Ganta sees that Shiro is trying to protect him no matter the cost. Because of this Ganta finds the will to live no matter what.


G BLOCK:

     Tsunenaga Tamiki, puts Yo in charge of keeping tabs on Ganta, is forced to witness the return of the redman. It turns out the redman goes by the name Wretched Egg and is kept at Deadman Wonderland in a state of suspended animation most of the time. As in before, destruction follows Wretched Egg as multiple prisoners are killed, yet this time there are survivors. Wretched Egg seems to show up just to see what Ganta would do and to test him. This is also the second time Ganta uses his powers that seem to flow from his wounds. In the aftermath, Ganta wakes up in the infirmary with Shiro by his side. It is here that Ganta learns that Wretched Egg is kept in G Block which is separate from the rest of the prison. With a direction to finally go in, Ganta and Shiro go in search of G Block with Yo being dragged along due to his bad timing. It is at this time Warden Makina views footage of Ganta using his powers and orders him to brought to her no matter what. The interesting part of this episode is that we find out that there is more going on at Deadman Wonderland than what is shown on the surface and that those that think they are in charge find out just how little power they truly have. Ganta and Shiro's friendship is also shown to grow more as Ganta is shown to start caring more for Shiro and how he would truly be lost without her.


CROW CLAW:

     Finally finding G Block, Ganta is forced into a realizing that besides for him and Wretched Egg, there are others who have the same powers. The power is called Branches Of Sin and it depends on the users blood and each carrier of the virus has a different type. All this is explained to Ganta by Kiyomasa "Crow" Senji who calls Ganta "Woodpecker". Crow, also explains that people with these powers are referred to as Deadmen and that his fight with Ganta wasn't supposed to be until tomorrow yet doesn't mind that Ganta wants to fight today. Ganta at this point starts to learn how to use his powers and the cost of it. Before the fight can go on to long it is stopped by special forces that are kept at G Block. After waking up Ganta comes face to face with Tsunenaga Tamiki who explains that he was the one who got Ganta convicted of the slaughter of his class. Tamiki also explains that G Block is the true Deadman Wonderland which is fights between Branches Of Sin users called Carnival Corpse to the death or until one user cannot fight anymore. Tamiki also tells Ganta that he has his first fight the next day against Crow. Throughout this episode you see Ganta being beat down and broken because of what he finds out and the desperate situations he finds himself in all thanks to the sadistic nature of Tamiki, all for his enjoyment it seems.


BEST DEATH:
     Razor runway multiple amputation.


BEST LINE:
      It may be crazy to you, but that's only because reality is absurd.

FUN FACTS:
     Here's the lyrics to the song Shiro was singing when Ganta is first brought to Deadman Wonderland.

One mischievous little woodpecker
Today, poking your holes
Ruining the woods
The angry old forest god turned your beak into a poison knife
Poor little woodpecker
Your nesting holes are all tainted
Your food rife with toxins
If you touch your friends
They will all die
Oh, sad little woodpecker
Poisonous tears shining brightly
As they stream down you cheeks. 
     

Thursday, June 21, 2012

NEWS ROUNDUP Ver. 11


NEWS ROUNDUP Ver.11

DARK KNIGHT RISES

     With the film being a month out, a lot about the film is still unknown (which is a fact that I like), a new trailer has popped up for the movie and this one is more action oriented. I'm trying to keep my expectations down for this, but it's not working too well now.

MALEFICENT

     The first official still form the Angelina Jolie starring film is out, and I must say for a picture it looks good. Now lets see if the film is as good or better!

LORDS OF SALEM

     Say what you will about Rob Zombie's film output, I for one love what he does even though I've yet to see Halloween 2. Lords Of Salem is one movie I'm looking forward to see once it comes out as Zombie has his own style and doesn't care what people think about it.

BARBARELLA

     Drive director might just be bringing the sex icon to TVs sometime in the near future. Nicolas Winding Refn will be directing and producing the project if it ever gets off the ground. Now this is in fact one top of him trying to do a prequel to Maniac Cop. What people might not know is that Barbarella was based off the French comic by Jean Claude Forest.

JUDGE DREDD
     Even though it's being called Dredd 3D, it's Judge Dredd. And from the trailer that was released for it makes it look like this time we will get a true Dredd film. That means lots of brutal deaths. YAH!!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

NEWS ROUNDUP VER. 10


NEWS ROUNDUP VER. 10

PROMETHEUS
     With the film being out just over a week, it is still dividing fans. With news that the blu-ray release will have an extended cut of the film that adds over twenty minutes to the film on top of cut scenes as a special feature coming out in October, it should be interesting to see if the divide will grow. That's on top of something dealing with the something happening two days after the movie is released online. Also we have interesting final words from Ridley Scott from Prometheus: The Art of the Film book: "I thought Prometheus was so enjoyable - returning to the world of science fiction was so - I'm thinking about what the hell I night do for a Prometheus 2....."


V/H/S
     Another anthology film is coming soon with a interesting premise. The story is a group of robbers are hired to find and steal a rare found footage tape. Yet what they find is more than they expected as the crooks have to go through hundreds of old VHS tapes to each one weirder and more horrifying than the last to find the right one. The poster above was just released and it does catch the eye.


THE WALKING DEAD
     With the premiere of The Walking Dead season 3 coming up in October, new stills have been comingout from the set. With the word that The Governor is almost the same on screen as he is in the comic and the main set piece being the prison expect Rick and the survivors to have a even worse time than in the season two.


WORLD WAR Z
     For the last two news updates I've done, this movie has been mentioned. Now it looks like the reasoning behind the break down of the film is coming to light from crew members that worked on the set. The two main reasons they listed were a rush to go into production while nothing was really set and the break down of leadership on the set due to the director being out of his depth. With crew members replaced during production and cast members working on other productions how this film has a supposed great first hour I have no idea.


GHOSTBUSTERS 3
     It looks like Bill Murray hasn't quite giving up on the sequel yet as he is asking for another script for the film. I have to hand to Murray to stand his ground for the sequel to have a decent script and for it to mean something other than a paycheck. Hats off to you Mr. Murray!


TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
     In other good news, the Michael Bay produced reboot of the classic franchise is now on indefinite hold. Let's hope it stays that way.

JAPAN CUTS 2012

     The New York city held Asian film festival that runs from July 12th to the 28th has it's line up in place and it look like it's going to be amazing. The link below is to the official website.
JAPAN CUTS 2012

Friday, June 15, 2012

MONSTER BRAWL


MONSTER BRAWL (2011)
CA
Directed by Jesse T. Cook

CAST:
Dave Foley - Buzz Chambers
Art Hindle - Sasquatch Sid Tucker
Jimmy Hart - Himself

PLOT:
     Eight classic monsters fight to the death in a wrestling tournament set inside an abandoned cursed graveyard.


REVIEW:
     So here's a movie that I heard about last year. The title alone caught my attention as it could have been such a fun watch, watching monsters beat the hell out of each other. Who didn't really think about that when we were younger? Watching Dracula tear apart The Monster. Or even better seeing the Wolfman run circles around the Mummy. Sounds like fun, right?


     Oh if only Dave Foley could have been bothered to be a little more enthused to be in this. Yes, he's supposed to act the drunk, yet in this I actually think he might have been drinking for real, if not maybe he should have been. Foley could have made the film fun as he has above average comedic timing but in this you wouldn't be able to tell. Art Hindle on the other hand at least seems to be having what fun he can as the grizzled and surly old former wrestler who helps with the commentary during the matches. Hindle becomes even more fun once he gets bit by a zombie and still continues to comment on the preceedings as the virus he contracted takes hold over time. And well, needless to say the best actor in this is taken out before the end of the film. The rest of the cast is for the most part bland and uninspired. They couldn't even cut a decent promo which is essential for what the movie was going for. Well except for the mummy, but I think that had to do with the fact that he cut his promo in ancient Egyptian. I think.


     For a movie that is supposed to be based somewhat on professional wrestling this whole experience is just to put it simply, boring. The matches for the most part are slow moving and there really isn't much reasoning behind each match and pairing of combatants. The whole story was they were supposed to be fighting for a belt that says they are the best or most dangerous monster. Here's one of the plot holes that happens in the film. There are two weight classes in the film and after two matches the lighter weight class is forgotten all together. So in fact the whole film when it ends isn't even complete as there should have been at least one more match. Instead it shows the supposed winner being challenged by a zombified character played by Kevin Nash. Hmm...let me guess a possible sequel might be in the works. Though I really hope there isn't going to be one. Another plot point that just turned into completely nothing except for a bunch of hot air is that throughout half the movie we keep on hearing that the graveyard this whole exercise in keeping my attention is taken place at is cursed. Okay, something really interesting might happen with it. What do I get in return? A slight bit of on screen lighting and five zombies. Yep, that's it for the curse. Complete let down. The dialogue is inane and boring throughout the movie. I heard better dialogue from a 90 year old lady at a indy wrestling event I went to with three of my friends than what I heard watching this. One of the best part of the movie is the back stories for each of the creatures and monsters featured in the movie. While some were better than others at least each one was for the most part interesting and a little bit entertaining.


     The best part of Monster Brawl to me was the make-up effects. Every monster was done with in camera effects and practical effects for almost the whole movie. And what is even better is that the make-up effects get better as the movie goes on. Yet with that you can tell that the monster designs weren't quite complete when they started filming the movie as some of the monsters get better looking later on. The werewolf is a prime example of this. The look of the movie is above what I was expecting as it did have some very interesting locations, though these were only used for the back stories of the monsters with Swamp Gut's story is filmed like a documentary and is even filmed in an actual swamp. Yet with that plus it is wiped out with a camera ops who can't follow action to save their life. One of the wasted possibilities is the an actor who is the voice of God. Even worse was the lines he says when he speaks as everyone of them is a rip off of lines used in Mortal Kombat just a hundred percent more lame and stupid. Another hit against the movie is that it makes the monsters that we all grew up with and learned to love are made inept and stupid for the most part. I just have to say this as parting words of Monster Brawl. Save the 88 minutes you would have spent watching this and go and watch televised wrestling instead. At least with those you get to see surprisingly above average acting and a lot of the time very cool action for the most part.

BEST DEATH:
     Werewolf's open jaw examination.


BEST LINE:
     And Buzz, technically it's Frankenstein's Monster if you want to be a dick about it.

FUN FACTS:
     Chosen as the Opening Gala Film at the 2011 Toronto After Dark Film Festival.

     Monster  Brawl was filmed at Collingwood, Ontario.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

CONTEST 2

CONTEST 2

      In my own way of thanking everyone for reading my blog and for the blog hitting 30,000 hits I'm running another contest. This time the prize is:

One blu-ray copy of Near Dark

and

One think pack dvd copy of Aliens

     Now to win this you must answer three questions and they are

1. What one word is never mentioned in the film Near Dark?

2. What film had Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen in it?

3. What film had Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, and Jenette Goldstein in it?

Send answers to

     mouthofcontest@gmail.com

Make sure you have the heading Near Dark in the email
Make sure your name and address are in the body of the email with the answers to the questions
The contest will run for two weeks at which time I will randomly pick a email. If the email has the answers wrong I will then choose another email randomly until one with the correct answers are found.
By sending in your answers you are electronically signing that you are 18 years of age or older.
The contest is open to US and Canada only.
And last but not least, good luck to all

ghostwound

Sunday, June 10, 2012

PROMETHEUS


PROMETHEUS (2012)
US
Directed by Ridley Scott

CAST:
Noomi Rapace - Elizabeth Shaw
Michael Fassbender - David
Charlize Theron - Meredith Vickers

PLOT:
     A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.


REVIEW:
     I usually start my reviews with random thoughts and such, yet with this one I decided to put down a quote from H.P. Lovecraft instead as it says everything quite perfectly about the Alien franchise including this one,
    
"The true weird tale has something more than secret murder, bloody bones, or a sheeted form clanking chains according to rule. A certain atmosphere of breathless and unexplainable dread of outer, unknown forces must be present; and there must be a hint, expressed with a seriousness and portentousness becoming its subject, of that most terrible conception of the human brain -- a malign and particular suspension or defeat of those fixed laws of Nature which are our only safeguard against the assaults of chaos and the dæmons of unplumbed space."
― H. P. Lovecraft, 'Supernatural Horror in Literature'
      While everyone is saying how much the film is stolen by Michael Fassbender as David, I'll get to him in a second, Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw to me is the best actor in the film. Rapace's character will no doubt be compared to Ripley as both are strong female leads in a hopeless situation. The reason why I'm saying this is plain and simple the film is about her and the faith she has then loses. Rapace adds a softness to the character that all the other characters are lacking. This doesn't mean that she is the weakest character, in fact this adds a humanity to her that saves her life at one point in the movie.  Michael Fassbender's David is the quirkiest character in the film as we the viewers can tell that he is always thinking, or processing if you want, of the other characters and what makes them different and what motivates their actions. There is a childlike quality to David that Fassbender adds to the role that almost makes you feel betrayed after watching some of David's actions he takes against the crew. These actions aren't out of cruelty or revenge, but out of more curiosity and wonderment at what would happen and his questioning of his own role among humanity. Charlize Theron's Meredith Vickers was the one true question mark out of all the characters as she is mostly always seen standing away from everyone and tries to keep the entire crew at arms length. The reason for this is explained later on in the film and up until a certain point the viewers may think that Vickers is actually a second android next to David, though you find out that she is in fact human and a very weak one at that as she seems to lose composure whenever her authority is threatened or a order is disobeyed. Despite Vickers' icy exterior inside she is severely insecure and is trying to overcompensate for that fact.


     I will admit that before I saw Prometheus that I read a couple of reviews. One thing I've noticed about them is that they either loved the movie or hated it. So much so in fact that the two sides have broken down to name calling on some boards. And do not doubt that you will either love the movie or hate it as there really is no in-between when it comes to this. This has to do with that the fact that the movie asks you to think, which is almost a unheard of these days. It asks us to get the notion of God out of our heads and in it's place to put in a notion that takes hold throughout the film. What if we were made by another alien race. Would you be willing to have all that you hold true, that wall that we built, knocked down to truly know the truth. These are lofty questions that most everyone can understand and it is these questions that are the foundations of the story to Prometheus. On the flip side is the mythology aspect of Prometheus. The one where the Gods become pissed at the titan Prometheus and punish him for giving fire to the humans. For giving them knowledge. What is not widely known is that by giving humans knowledge, it is this knowledge that helped mankind stop their own destruction from the Gods.  The knowledge being sought in this is why did, as Elizabeth Shaw puts them, the Engineers create humans. For what purpose. Yet by the end of the film this question has changed to why are they, the Engineers, trying to destroy us. Did we overstep our bounds by learning and asking to much? While not all the answers are giving in the film some are answered. Another interesting story point that is brought up in the film is that the planet the crew find the Engineers on turns out to be a staging point, or to put it more simply, a military installation. The one bad aspect of this is that how they came to this conclusion or found out is not giving. This is more than likely from a cut scene that explains how they found out. This is the only real slight I found with the film. Ridley Scott set the film up this way for a reason and I can't thank him enough for making a film that is smart and doesn't take the idiot route that most do.


      Director Ridley Scott has done something that I thought really wasn't possible after so many years of bad movies that had the xenomorphs in them and that is to make the alien films mean something again, while creating something completely new with something that could be just as deadly and potentially more dangerous with the Engineers, or as they are more well known as the race that is the Space Jockeys. The film is beautifully shot with a even hand that doesn't pull away from a shot. When what action there is happens the camera doesn't pull away from it, try to hide or make the camera shake to make it seems like there is more going on than there really is. What we are seeing is what is happening, nothing more or less. Prometheus is more about the tension and the unknown. Most of what is happening cannot be explained, and that makes the film more powerful. As we are there as an observer only, not everything is explained and I think that is what makes most people hate the film. There are stand out scenes that are amazing to watch and see and I'm not going to go into those scenes as to go into it will ruin it. What I will say is that if you can watch it in 3D, do so. While a lot of the films that are using the format to make things pop out on the screen or for a quick jolt to the audience, Scott does something different. Scott uses the format to help the film and not for thrill, but to enhance what is shown and help add depth to what is being seen. The reason for this is that this is not a small movie, in fact Prometheus is a far reaching film that has ideas that pushes the audience and what is being seen has to match it as well. And the visuals do. What also helps with this is the use of as much in-camera effects as possible. Prometheus is a film that will with time become more accepted such as a lot of Ridley Scott's other works have become. But to me this film is a classic already as it pushes boundaries and ideas and isn't afraid to leave it up to the viewer to think for theirself.

BEST DEATH:
      Fifield's melting doom.


BEST LINE:
     You know what this place is? Hell.

FUN FACTS:
     Designer and artist H.R. Giger, who worked on the original design of the Xenomorph Alien, was brought in to assist in reverse-engineering the design of the Aliens in the film.

     Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski convinced Ridley Scott that it would be possible to shoot the film in 3D with the same ease and efficiency of typical filming. 3D company 3ality Technica provided some of the rigs and equipment to facilitate 3D filming, and trained the film's crew in their proper operation. Since 3D films need high lighting levels on set, the traditional dark shadowy atmosphere of the Alien films was added in post-production through grading processes, while the 3D equipment will be based on post Avatar technology. Supposedly the first quarter of the film was finished filming when the decision to film it in full 3D was agreed upon causing the shot scenes to be re-shot in 3D.

     During production Ridley Scott kept the use of computer-generated imagery as low as possible, using CGI mainly in space scenes; Scott recalled advice VFXpert Douglas Trumbull gave him on the set of Blade Runner: "If you can do it live, do it live", and also claimed that practical VFX was more cost-effective than digital VFX. And in my opinion look better as well.

     Ridley Scott and James Cameron both were working on a sequel to Alien franchise in 2002 together that would explore the engineered origin of the aliens in the film series, when both dropped out due to Fox's greenlighting of Alien Vs. Predator. Cameron was very vocal about the potential of the cross-over ruining both franchises and wanted nothing to do with Fox's influence on any Alien sequel do to it.

     According to Ridley Scott, the film's plot was inspired by Erich von Daniken's writings about ancient astronauts: "Both NASA and the Vatican agree that it is almost mathematically impossible that we can be where we are today, without there being a little help along the way. That's what we're looking at: we are talking about gods and engineers, engineers of space. Were the Aliens designed as a form of biological warfare, or biology that would go in and clean up a planet?"