Alex Spindler
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2000
- Messages
- 3,971
1. The score - It's like they purposefully set out to find the most inappropriate score possible. It's like if Bernard Hermann reanimated body had been invaded by the spirits of a garage band that just covered nursery rhyme tunes.
2. The acting talent - I had guessed that Gary Sinise was still being brainwashed after his appearance in both Snake Eyes (which isn't nearly as bad as this) and Reindeer Games, but Don Cheadle knows better. Listening to him spout lines like "I was spared. Why? Why?" is cringe inducing. Similarly bad delivery from every single person in this production. I can only be thankful that the alien doesn't speak.
3. The directing - Why DePalma took this one on I will never know. At least SE had some unique elements to it for him to flex his directing muscle (most notably the single cut intro). This one had none of that. Was he attracted to the zero G sections? Was it the ending (shudder)? He does another single take in the beginning for no reason whatsoever, kind of like he couldn't think of anything better to do. I have to consider him to blame for many of the line reading problems.
4. Artificial Suspense Exhibit A - Two of the biggest elements in the movie are dangerous only because the characters are brick headed morons. First there is the killer tornado. In the face of a huge meteorological event the rocket scientists just stand there 10 meters away from it and are somehow surprised when they start dying. I mean, it take some kind of movie to make me long for the grounded nature of Twister. And they make the obvious point of Don Cheadle seeing the inherent danger that they were all facing and he comes off like an ape in the presence of shiny object.
5. Artificial Suspense Exhibit B - The cabin has been ruptured and is losing air. So I think I'm going to shut down WindowsME without bothering to get my helmet. It's not like the ship is suddenly going to regain pressure when he's shut it down. He's basically choosing to die for no reason. If he had just gone for his helmet he would have been able to accomplish the task. Instead he is left gasping for air trying to activate voice activated systems.
6. Realistic or not? Please Choose - They take all the effort to show zero G elements in this movie and then do retarded things like showing M&Ms rotating about an invisible axis. If they are going to work so hard to make it right, why not follow through? Why doesn't their computer detect a fuel pressure loss (something I would imagine would be critical).
7. What were the Martians thinking? So their planet has been torched. And they decide to move from their formerly green planet to some entirely new galaxy when they obviously could see the earth was capable of supporting their DNA. Maybe they have frequent flyer miles to accumulate.
8. So this is what we came here for? All of this effort to see a remarkably disappointing alien. I mean, this is just plain the least enjoyable conclusion I could have imagined. It boggles the mind that they thought anyone would find that acceptable.
Thanks. This has been therapeutic.
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Bombardment Society - Member
2. The acting talent - I had guessed that Gary Sinise was still being brainwashed after his appearance in both Snake Eyes (which isn't nearly as bad as this) and Reindeer Games, but Don Cheadle knows better. Listening to him spout lines like "I was spared. Why? Why?" is cringe inducing. Similarly bad delivery from every single person in this production. I can only be thankful that the alien doesn't speak.
3. The directing - Why DePalma took this one on I will never know. At least SE had some unique elements to it for him to flex his directing muscle (most notably the single cut intro). This one had none of that. Was he attracted to the zero G sections? Was it the ending (shudder)? He does another single take in the beginning for no reason whatsoever, kind of like he couldn't think of anything better to do. I have to consider him to blame for many of the line reading problems.
4. Artificial Suspense Exhibit A - Two of the biggest elements in the movie are dangerous only because the characters are brick headed morons. First there is the killer tornado. In the face of a huge meteorological event the rocket scientists just stand there 10 meters away from it and are somehow surprised when they start dying. I mean, it take some kind of movie to make me long for the grounded nature of Twister. And they make the obvious point of Don Cheadle seeing the inherent danger that they were all facing and he comes off like an ape in the presence of shiny object.
5. Artificial Suspense Exhibit B - The cabin has been ruptured and is losing air. So I think I'm going to shut down WindowsME without bothering to get my helmet. It's not like the ship is suddenly going to regain pressure when he's shut it down. He's basically choosing to die for no reason. If he had just gone for his helmet he would have been able to accomplish the task. Instead he is left gasping for air trying to activate voice activated systems.
6. Realistic or not? Please Choose - They take all the effort to show zero G elements in this movie and then do retarded things like showing M&Ms rotating about an invisible axis. If they are going to work so hard to make it right, why not follow through? Why doesn't their computer detect a fuel pressure loss (something I would imagine would be critical).
7. What were the Martians thinking? So their planet has been torched. And they decide to move from their formerly green planet to some entirely new galaxy when they obviously could see the earth was capable of supporting their DNA. Maybe they have frequent flyer miles to accumulate.
8. So this is what we came here for? All of this effort to see a remarkably disappointing alien. I mean, this is just plain the least enjoyable conclusion I could have imagined. It boggles the mind that they thought anyone would find that acceptable.
Thanks. This has been therapeutic.
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Bombardment Society - Member
