Buzz Aldrin punches out Moon Conspiracy theorist (1 Viewer)

[Lew Crippen]

OK, I'm donning my flame-retardant spacesuit now, so feel free to flame away....

Not at all Stephanie, though I somewhat disagree. And I like your one phrase summary of Outland. You do have Sean Connery in the Gary Cooper role. And he is fully as capable as Coop in being the hero; but, for me Outland never really manages to get to the heart of the problem.

High Noon for all its faults did a much better job of addressing the moral issues around the townspeople and the sheriff than does Outland

Outland is full of in-your-face cinematography, while High Noon is either subtle or staid, depending on your bent. And High Noon has that great, classic score by Dimitri Tiomkin. I don’t think that there is a supporting actor in Outland that comes close to Lloyd Bridges.

So on balance, is Outland an improvement on High Noon? For me, no and clearly no.

This does not mean that I did not enjoy the film when I watched it, but Hyams’ inability to bring anything new or original to his remake or to address the moral questions, either differently or more profoundly than did High Noon, make me question why do this again.

The original was not a perfect film, although it tried to seriously address serious issues. I never care for remakes of serious films that are more trivial.

Have to side with Jack on this one.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I’m not sure how I sidetracked this thread from Buzz to Coop. Sorry, I’ll revert to comments on the absurdity of Sibrel. If more need be said.

 

[Stephanie T.]

Unfortunately, I only have a faint and fragmented recollection of High Noon, so I'll just defend Outland with my six-shooter half empty, as it were.
Connery makes a desperate appeal to a crowd of jaded miners and hookers at the bar, and although everyone stares at him, they're unable to look him in the eye, if you know what I mean. He says something along the lines of, "You know what's going down here... You know what's likely to happen... I could really use your help." Even his wife had burned out on him previously and left him behind (I'm glad he forgives her and prepares to rejoin his family at the end). Hey, it worked for me.
No recall of Lloyd B. at all, but Frances Sternhagen was terrific as Connery's physician ally. Her character has an arc of its own, as she progresses from being a somewhat unmotivated, disillusioned physician whose duties consist mainly of administering penicillin to treat VD, to identifying the mystery synthetic drug ravaging the mining colony. Not bad for someone who isn't a medical all-star! More highlights: Steven Berkoff, Peter Boyle.
And none other than Jerry Goldsmith scored Outland, using some of the same musical tricks he had used in Alien. Again, no complaints.
And let's face it, any Sean Connery movie with a space angle that doesn't stick the venerable Scot in a gigantic diaper [cough"Zardoz"cough] will compare well on that minimal basis, at least.
Not to knock the classic western, but given the choice between a controlled "Coop" and an exploding greenhouse, between men in chaps and men in spacesuits, the first time around I'd have to choose the (for me) largely-forgotten western. But for the second time, who knows?

 

[Stephanie T.]

Buzz Aldrin -- Bart Sibrel -- Peter Hyams, hack -- Outland, decent flick -- Gary Cooper
I.e., from the sublime to the ridiculous and back to the sublime in five steps! (with apologies to Napoleon)

 

[Steve Christou]

Gary Cooper was also in Vera Cruz, a classic fifties western, directed by Robert Aldrich, anyone see it? The film also starred Burt Lancaster as a smiling gunslinger, worth seeking out.
Okay we now return you to our main subject "Jack Briggs punches out Capricorn One director".

 

[Jack Briggs]

• Outland: Taking another film's concept and presenting it, in the hack's words, as "High Noon in space." People do not "explode" in a vacuum. The radiation field around Jupiter is lethal to life. People are shown outside the mining installation on a Jovian moon floating is if they are in a weightless environment—yet they're on the surface of a Jovian satellite. Plot holes big enough to drive an International Harvester through. Continuity issues. In short, "vintage" Hyams the Hack.

• Why does that man keep trying to make an SF film? If only he were to hire a graduate student in physics as an intern. Good science is no more expensive to put into an alleged "science fiction" film than bad science. If only his Director's Guild card could be revoked. If only a Congressional act could prevent this man from making movies.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Jack, don't hold back, tell us how you really feel
2010 is still 10x the film 2001 is

 

[Dick]

Sibrel is doing what so many other narcissistic (but incredibly insecure) nobodys try to do, which is to get their fifteen minutes of fame by whatever means are at their disposal and by hurting anyone necessary. I suggest that Jack's earlier comment is the key to this: Adrin's fame will continue and Sibrel will be forgotten. The way to even the score with this moron is to forget him right now - as we speak. That will do him more harm than all the punches and kicks and reverse slander in the world. Unfortunately, Sibrel is not stupid and knows the media are salivating over this story (no child kidnappings this week) and are going to pay him all kinds of attention. I despise this idiot, but the media truly perpetuate such behavior by giving him profusely more air time and column space than is absolutely necessary to simply report the events. Shame on you all.

 

[Josh Lowe]

now all he'll be famous for is having been decked by a 72 year old man.

 

[Carlo_M]

now all he'll be famous for is having been decked by a 72 year old man

 

[Chris PC]

If I'm not mistaken can't people with the proper kind of telescope actually see the stuff left on the Moon?

Maybe we should go to the moon ourselves. Who's up for it? I'll build the spaceship to reach the FAR side of the moon I'll bet you we could fashion our home theatre gear into some good navigation equipment, perhaps amassing enough lasers from optical players with broken transports, and with enough lasers, we could laser beam to the moon.
OK, jk, but really, wouldn't it be neat if they were to visit the moon again? I think it'd be cool, but expensive to do again.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Oh, we'll return to the Moon. The Chinese might beat us to it. Or private enterprise will pave the way. My money says humans will be walking—and living—on the Moon again within fifty years.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Well, Jack brings up a good point. Given how our current administration feels about China, I'm sure if they announced they were going to the moon they'd be piecing together a Saturn 5 within 6 months

 

[Lance Nichols]

Not to hijack the thread too much, but I have been keeping my ear out on the rumored Chinese attempt to put a man on the moon. I hope to hell that it is real. I still want to be alive and kicking when we get off our duffs and saddle up the wagons again.

The Moon is where we should be heading, not trying to turn the remnants of a billion dollar scientific outpost into a tourist hotel. (I do support space tourism as an initiative that needs to grow though. In the long run commercial interest will need to sustain manned space occupation.)

If China is up to the challenge, and they seem to be, based on the limited data they have been releasing, and their Conservative testing, I hope the US's current administrations intense dislike of China gets them to re-enter the race.

PS, has anyone heared about the findings on the "third moon" Terra seemed to have picked up? It is a Saturn third stage booster! Odds are 1-5 it will impact the moon next year.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Lance, no! URLs?

 

[Danny R]

I'll build the spaceship to reach the FAR side of the moon

Remember folks, there is a 10 million dollar prize for the first private space vehicle capable of getting into orbit twice and landing safely each time while carrying three people.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Actually, Danny, the rules of the X-Prize Competition are that the "homemade" spacecraft achieve two suborbital flights at an altitude of 60 nautical miles within a two-week turnaround period. The vehicles must have a crew manifest of at least one pilot and two passengers.

Meanwhile, the Chinese are expected to launch a manned Shenzhou mission within the next two years (possibly Shenzhou 6 or Shenzhou 7). (The Shenzhou spacecraft is essentially an update of the Soviet/Russian Soyuz spacecraft designed by Sergei Korolyev.)

 

[Rob Lutter]

Jez, just because someone has a differing opinion (which I don't believe by the way) [rant]DOESN'T[/rant] mean that he should be punched in the face!
Mr. Aldrin lost his temper and should have never hit the man. Jez, ya don't see me going up to senators and yelling "I DON'T AGREE WITH YOUR BILL!" then slugging them, do ya?
It is pretty funny that he go beat up by a 70+ year old man though

 

[Jack Briggs]

Rob: Sibrel got in Dr. Aldrin's face and made a public spectacle of himself. And this is not the first time he has done so. NASA had to physically eject Sibrel away from an awards ceremony in honor of Alfred M. Worden (CSM pilot, Apollo 15), William A. Anders (CSM pilot, Apollo 8), and John W. Young (Mission Commander STS-9, STS-1, Apollo 16, and Gemini 10; CSM pilot, Apollo 10; pilot, Gemini 3).

Sibrel has a history of this sort of thing. I don't blame Dr. Aldrin one bit for what he did.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Too bad Buzz didn't have an animal femur to clobber that guy with! Jack would have gone nuts!