Prometheus Review 2012

Ridley Scott cut the anticipation on June 1st releasing the eagerly awaited Prometheus to cinematic screens everywhere.

Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron lead a promising cast in this Sci-fi whirl-wind exploring once again, the genre that brought Ridley Scott's ego to light.

Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Green) spend their days exploring caves and landscapes seeking clues, leading to conspiracies, leading to self-belief of the numerous possibilities and unanswered questions behind mankind's creation. Their obsessive will for exploration pays off when they discover what they believe is the key direction to the life-form that walked before us. The loved up pair can't help but accept a thousand year old carving to be an open invitation to join whatever it may be they seek.

Prometheus is the holding vessel carrying a crew of numerous qualifications. The Journey through space is constructed by Shaw and Holloway, with both of them being the navigational system to the universe they are destined to arrive in. Idris Elba plays Janek, the captain of Prometheus. He represents a strong character, ever so careful as to why he, as well as others should risk their life believing in Shaw's ambitions.

Meredith (Theron) is on board for one reason only, to see the journey out safe while so obviously wanting nothing to do with the desires of both Holloway and Shaw. From what Meredith can see, this is a far-fetched idea and a pointless journey...how wrong she was about to be. Theron is once again the bitch in the movie. Sure why not? she plays it ever so sexy!.

The journey through one universe to the other leads Prometheus into a battle that could change history. Upon an amazing discovery through the ambitious Shaw and Holloway, their mysterious yet expected find leads the ship and crew into a fight not only for their own lives, but the lives of others.

Prometheus is a brilliant sci-fi movie as Michael Fassbender helps by leading the movie to the enjoyment it Deserves. Introducing his robotic character, David. He is constructed by Peter Weyland to have as much interaction and affiliation with a human, as one human would be to another. His hilarious, soulless body is well created to the point where the viewer believes in Fassbenders' desire to act. David is the back-Bone to the ship, as the crew appear unfastened to rest their lives in his hands. A darker side to Fassbenders' character is surprisingly exciting, giving Prometheus tense interactions both on and off the vessel.

Prometheus is as mysterious as the trailer makes it out to be. Ridley Scott does fantastic in returning to the concept of Aliens, but not "Alien". Just like his previous movies, without naming the obvious, Ridleys' way of creating likable characters is still smartly written with his latest work appearing highly nostalgic. The audience will realise the ship descending into the unknown and where you will once again find yourself rooting for certain characters to make it home. There are always individuals on board who you know are either too arrogant or unqualified to be on such a mission. Prometheus does well in offering the audience a general mix of personalities.

However, it does, like most movies with a great introduction reveals some loose ends with an explanation much needed if Ridley Scott was to return for a Prometheus sequel. The first 100 minutes or so are quite tense and does well in keeping the audience attention and anticipating a possible unforgettable climax. Prometheus will disappoint some fans on the basis of what I and most would believe to be a highly rushed ending to the movie. The production just seemed to run out of ideas in the last 20 minutes or so. Maybe that is the appropriate result and much deserved outcome for a film that got the wrong attention and anticipation and seemed to have manipulated fans awaiting its release ever since its first statement which claimed Prometheus to be a prequel to alien...

There is so much to be said about Ridleys' return, but so much the audience must answer for themselves. Prometheus is an all-round bloody good sci-fi movie. A concept not too original but fans of the Alien saga will enjoy without having to connect any apparent dots.

A prequel originally, but I believe Ridley Scott himself fails to agree. Prometheus is its own concept, with some convenient characters. A must see for all Sci-fi fans, leaving a positive result in a return to chilling torture in outer space that no other director would dare to challenge. Oh except for James Cameron. :)

My Top 5 movies of 2011

Well it is nearly that time a year again. The time when an over weighted, old pensioner with a white beard shows his strange love for kids by delivering them everything they ever wanted! People celebrate Christmas by getting drunk and fat as we make our way into the year that will be 2012. I have decided to celebrate this years movie releases by reflecting back on what I felt were most enjoyable.
It is fair to say most will not agree with me, although most I know have called 2011 a horrific year for movies. I fail to agree. It has been tough choosing on what I believe was a great year for our cinemas.
(In no particular order)

X -Men: first class: An extraordinary return to the X - Men series. A return that led us back in time if you like. 1962 was the birth of the first hybrid of mutants. Besides from the plot, which was brilliantly based around the brink of world war 3, the addition of James Mc Avoy as the young Charles and Eric Fassbender as Magneto turned out to be the back bone of the movie. We got an amazing insight into the friendship that once was, and how a clash of personalities led to Charles Xavier and Magneto creating the X-Men saga, as archenemies. The movie also gave us an exquisite insight into the characters of teenage mutants, such as storm, mystique, and Beast. My favourite addition to X-Men origins was Kevin Bacon, who plays a Sebastian Shaw. Sebastian was your typical bad guy. Who better could you have chosen to round of what turned out to be a fantastic movie!  

Rise of the planet of the Apes: Judging from the breathtaking release of the first official trailer, this was a movie that could have went horribly wrong...or surprisingly good. My verdict? was certainly better than good, Rise of the apes was an amazing creation of a saga that critics were waiting so eagerly to slate. Honestly I never did have much knowledge of the original trilogy. An to be honest again, they look terrible. My first introduction to planet of the apes was when Mark Wahlberg found himself unwanted by a bunch a angry apes back in 2001. I discovered even that version failed to get the best of reviews. I enjoyed it. I mean Tim Burton made the huge step up from what was clearly monkey clothes to full on costumes and make up. In fact, my opinion? he made the apes look ten times as real! So without going off subject, like I kind of did already, Rise of the Apes starred James Franco and John Lithgow and Andy Sekis (Caesar the Ape). A fantastic movie which gave us mind blowing CGI. It was brilliant and original to have the star of a movie be an Ape. We got a class insight into the mind of Caesar and the intelligence that comes with it after he learns of the experimental drug supplied by owner Will. The drug, intended to cure alzheimers', finds the hands of some mistreated apes, that leads to serious, yet entertaining consequences.

Crazy Stupid Love: Without being hugely convinced of Steve Carell's talent on screen? a movie that involved himself and Ryan Gosling was a genius creation. Cal, played by Carell is suddenly heartbroken after his wife (Julian Moore) confesses to cheating. Cal eventually gives himself no option but to leave the home, with the possibility of divorce. Obviously heart broken, he is discovered down in the dumps by Jacob (Gosling). Jacob is a hotshot. A ladies man who knows nothing other than playboy language and offers to teach Cal how to talk the talk, and the walk. The movies genius comedy arouses when it is clear Cal knows absolutely nothing about women after being married for a whopping 20 years. Crazy stupid love avoided full on slapstick comedy which made the movie ever more brilliant. It's touch of drama and every day incidents gave it that feel good factor, with some heartbreaking scenes. The comedy was never full on and succeeded in bringing out the true talents in Steve Carell. A cast of Kevin Bacon and Emma stone gave the movie a fantastic touch.

Warrior: A movie, based on the fasted growing sport we have today, MMA. Tom Hardy plays Tommy, the younger brother of Brendan played by Joel Edgerton.The two brothers, both struggling in different ways, see the light when an MMA tournament is advertised, offering the biggest purse in the history of the sport. The father, played by Nick Nolte arrives on the scene to discover both brothers have manged to avoid each other since Tommy's return from the army. Warrior just might be my favourite movie this year. This was a fantastic movie that blew previous fighting movies out of the water. The acting from Tom Hardy and Joel was amazing, not forgetting a brilliant performance from Nick Nolte. A movie based on broken family's, dream chances, and extraordinary events, makes Warrior a peach of a movie. The plot, besides from the obvious, feeds us with real in dept stories to the lives of the fortunate, and the not so. Director Gavin O' Connor made a wise decision in developing a fighting movie away from boxing. I believe with the UFC growing every year, it has finally taken over what once was the home of the great Muhammed Ali, that was boxing.

Drive: Every once in a while an actor comes along with great ambition and imagination, one who clearly has that wise choice of movie. He knows the trick to successful acting and wouldn't hesitate to spit in the face of someones idea of a poor movie. Ryan Gosling, possibly the greatest actor of our generation stars in Drive.  To be honest, Drive had as much a plot as Bambi did. That was the genius concept we were greeted with. Gosling plays a hired driver, taking on any kind of job ( illegal of course) an he is sure to get you outta there before the cops arrive. If not, " He is all yours". Driver (Gosling) is a quiet, tense character. His driving at night is a secondary job to his stuntman work during the day. Things do get nasty after the introduction to Nino (Ron Pearlman) and Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks), as well as the accidental involvement of Irene (Carey Mulligan). A strange movie that can't be described in words. The trailer on it's release was quality. It gave away a different movie that viewers initially intended to see. The violence came as a suprise but the viewer will leave afterwards relising it blended well with the tension in the storyline. Drive is accompanied by a nice 80's retro soundtrack that made it all the more enjoyable as we watched Driver do his work. Ryan Gosling is by far my favourite actor today, who starred in two of my favourite movies this year. Brilliant.

(I wanted to add a plus 1. The simple reason being the lack of great horror movies over the years made this one an instant classic I just couldn't avoid adding to my favourites of 2011)

Insidious: Insidious is a a gripping horror based around the family of a young boy who suddenly falls into a mysterious coma. Patrick Wilson plays the father Josh, and wife Renai is played by Rose Byrne. The young boy Dalton is led into the coma after exploring the attic of their new home only to find himself struck by what seems to be a paranormal demon. The terrifying story begins from there as a demon seems to stalk the boy seeking to capture him from the coma he lies in. Without saying too much on the events, this was, by far my favourite horror of the past few years. The last great horror that made me jump from my skin was "Drag me to hell", a remake by Sam Raimi. Those who love the old school style of the horror genre would adore that movie, released in 2009. Insidious was successful in touching off that old school, spine-tingling experience. Honestly? I was shook for a good two nights. The fact that I failed to stop thinking about Insidious clearly told me that this was a quality horror movie. The future of horror movies does not seem to hold anything like Insidious. My advice to you is see this, embrace it with enjoyment and chills as it will be a long time before anything will scare you like Insidious!