Prometheus (2012)

Swimming with questions that are yet to be answered, Prometheus is one of the most significant contributions to the sci-fi genre in recent years and a comeback for Ridley Scott into the genre that first led him to stardom.

In the year 2089, archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) find a cave mural in Scotland where the same star map that adorns many other ancient pieces of art in several ancient civilizations is featured. They think of it as an invitation to meet their creators and so are set on a journey to find them. In the year 2093, after over two years of travelling, they arrive on a moon called LV-223 which was the only one in the star map to contain the same kind of atmosphere as Earth. Exuberant and eager to finally meet their makers, the two scientists, along with a few others, set out to explore a structure they believe to house clues about the whereabouts of these humanoids or maybe even the humanoids themselves. Upon entering the structure, they set off trackers to create a map of the pathways and chambers that constitute the dome and are led to a sealed wall that houses something truly remarkable on the other side. They find the body of one of these humanoids and once David (Michael Fassbender), their android assistant, opens the door, they find the missing head that the door decapitated. They decide to take the head back to the spaceship, “Prometheus”, but not until they notice an array of strange-looking vases that seem to emit a layer of precipitation because of the change in atmospheric structure. The murals on the ceiling of the chamber also seem to change as a result of the team’s presence and Shaw insists that they leave the structure at once for fear of contamination. Meanwhile, David furtively packs one of these vases into his backpack to take it back on board the ship for further investigation. Because two members of the expedition got lost in the maze of tunnels of the dome, they are forced to spend the night because of a storm. They encounter a fatal blow that impacts the entire crew later on with Charlie being poisoned by the slime from one of the vases. It all starts spiralling down from there, and what they thought would be a peaceful reunion with their makers turns out to be a hostile trip to their supposed deaths. Will they be able to escape before all hope is lost, and what is really in the substance of those vases?

First of all, I just want to say that the movie is visually gorgeous with remarkably shot settings of mountains and rivers that are absolutely breathtaking. I was surprised to hear that all of the sets were actually built by hand instead of using a green screen to animate it. I don’t think there are many directors these days who are willing to keep their vision authentic and palpable but, all the sets including the ship and the chambers of the dome were epic in every proportion and were surprisingly tactile and wonderful especially brought out by the 3D format that the movie was originally shot in. Not only were the sets unfathomable to the senses but the characters were more so. My favorite character would have to be David played by the expertly rigid Michael Fassbender. When you have to play such a soulless character it is always a challenge to get it just right because the actors are just people and we have human emotions that need to be tamed in order to portray the right kind of mindset that a robot would have. But then again it is an infinite variety of paths which could be explored because we don’t fully know what it would be like to be a robot so it is most crucial to have the legendary direction of Ridley Scott to guide you in the role of such an enigmatic and unpredictable character. We all knew the potential of Noomi Rapace as an acclaimed actress due to her performance in the international “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” series and I think Scott made the right choice in casting her as the vehicle of this film. Her character displayed probably the most heart and kindness in a crew filled with stone cold intentions and just the need to fulfill their mission whereas she had a real purpose that tied in with her past and her search for answers for which she had questions when she was just a little girl. It was rather traumatic seeing her character suffer so much during the span of the film, but powerful in the sense that she still was willing to go further despite the cracks that adorn her soul. Another fantastic performance was shown by the ravishing Charlize Theron. Her character, Vickers, lurking in the shadows and being the puzzle that you try to solve without success was the cherry on the cake in this production. Although her screen presence could be seen as a minor influence in the plot, it was a triumphant moment in her career to play a character with so many layers although you get the feeling that she is a nuisance without a soul. Almost robotic in a sense.

The plot I thought was fascinating and compelling while viewing the film, but once you exit the theater, it starts to dawn on you that there are many plot holes or flaws that arise in the story. It may be a good reason to go back and watch it again and again, but there are so many points where you realize that you’re questioning the complexities of the characters’ actions and why a certain event happened and how did this happen in the first place. It all fits in with the occult theory of sci-fi and how we are bedazzled by the many unanswered questions of a story created with the future in mind. Thought-provoking and provocative in many ways, the pacing is what makes it go by so quickly, making us just appreciate the spectacle and the main message of the movie that probably prods at our mind every once in a while.

There are many strong pointers and messages which have been the spotlight of countless other films in recent years and one of them is a strong female protagonist who leads the way. The character Elizabeth Shaw is a perfect example of female fragility and vulnerability while still possessing a steadfast and decisive nature which emanates like a light source to every corner of the theater. A force to be reckoned with, she knows what is right and what is wrong, and is understanding of even those who are treated indifferently by others. I felt that the scene where she runs to get the c-section is her most powerful scene in the film; where she is looking out for herself despite all the precautions and inhibitions that the head of the crew have imposed upon her. It has an effective outreach to the American viewers because of the way abortions are seen by many in this country and that most women only get them because they fear for their life or their future because of some frightening instances that they have experienced in the past. It begs the question if you should actually look at the situation from the point of view of a person who is actually carrying a life-form inside of them, instead of judging them about potentially killing it when it could lead to a life of misery if not removed. Just to clear something up, a cell which grows inside a woman cannot be considered a life form with its own rights. Logically, it is the mother who should be looked out for and listened to instead of a hypothetical being which might be born one day. It can be argues that it was an alien and not a human being which she had in her stomach, but the parallels are in many ways obvious when it comes to what’s going on in this country.

Another particularly fascinating aspect of the story is of course humanity’s fascination with outer space and if we’re not alone in the Universe. We constantly strive to further our technological advancements in order to get closer to the truth, with some disputing that God is the ultimate deity who created us, while others stating that it was evolution which might have been influenced by creatures outside of our galaxy countless years ago. Fighting to prove who’s right, the battle has gotten out of hand countless times during this world’s history all because our egoistic, self-righteous nature to come out on top. And the movie does bring up the dispute of science against faith in the unproven presence of a God. But what some don’t understand is, whether it is a God or not that you believe in, we should be the writers of our own history and not leave fate to decide how our life will turn out. Yes, Christianity has taught us to be kind to others, but it has also been perverted to fit the agenda of those who run it. We must take charge of our own destiny while striving to move forward and claim the upper hand in knowledge and self-fulfillment. This also accentuates the title, “Prometheus”, and the legend of his crime against the gods for the good of mankind, which ties in with the development of the story and what you choose to learn from it.

There are too many other intricacies which will take a while to list and discuss, so I’ll leave you guys to figure it our for yourselves and take what you find meaningful from this film. Although this film is said to be a stand alone picture from the Alien series, I definitely think of it as a prequel when you think of the ending and the details scattered throughout. From the various theories about what the movie truly hold as its backbone, to the depth of the characters and their motivations, Prometheus is as tactile as the sets that were built to portray it and is worthy of the legacy which Ridley Scott has built from the ground up.

Young Adult (2011)

Young Adult brings to the screen an unconventional story of a woman who’s slowly growing older, but doesn’t want to grow up. Charlize Theron is absolutely splendid in her role as a cold-hearted, selfish and mentally unstable writer while Patton Oswalt really shines on his part, giving a performance that I thought was highly underestimated by most critics and viewers.

Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a writer who lives in the city of Minneapolis. Living all alone in her apartment with her dog Dolce, she struggles with writing one last installment of  a young adult book series that has been cancelled by the publisher, and is in need of some inspiration. One morning she receives an e-mail with a photo of her ex-boyfriend’s newborn baby. In a reckless fit, she decides to go back to her hometown in Mercury, Minnesota to get back what she had when she was a teenager and along the way, write her book according to what happened in her experiences with Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson). Upon arrival she takes on her mission head-on and doesn’t lose any time trying to hook up a date with him. At a local bar she meets one of her high school classmates, Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt) who remembers her from their school days while she has no recollection of him until she realizes he was the victim of a hate crime where he lost one of his legs and received severe damage to his lower body. She informs him of her wicked plan and he immediately warns her that she is completely out of her mind and should seek professional help. Stubborn as a mule, she doesn’t let up on her opportunity to finally be happy, but we start to question how soon will she realize her childish behavior and if she can ever change or avoid a public humiliation among her small-town peers.

After a three-year hiatus from acting, Charlize Theron chooses one of the most challenging roles in the 2011 film season to bring her back to acting glory. Managing to get back on top with an Oscar worthy performance of a character who is so deluded and out of this world while also being a complete opposite of what Charlize is like in real life, is definitely a daring feat to take on just as you get back from such a long break. But Charlize brings all the goods anyway, and doesn’t seem to reveal any rust at all playing a character with a such a layered and complex mindset. What makes Mavis so interesting to me is probably that she has priorities that are similar to a teenager’s, which makes it possible for her to write in the young adult genre yet completely destroy her personal life at the same time. What I don’t understand is how her series can get cancelled. I suppose that’s the price she pays for being so caught up in her past and not being able to grow up and face that what happened, happened, and that she should just move on. I wonder if people like her actually exist and how in the world did the writer Diablo Cody, come up with this concept?

Yet another comedy actor and comedian proves that they can also be great in dramatic roles, and Patton Oswalt gives an amazing performance as a crippled man who is kind in nature but hasn’t had a good deal of luck in life. The scenes between him and Theron were so intense and at moments he completely leveled with her if not passed her in the amount of emotion he gave. Just plain great acting and totally unexpected.

Apart from the acting, the story wasn’t really that exciting and at the end, it felt nothing but an introspective character study that seemed a little bit surreal as well as gloomy. We come all this way from a character that is obviously troubled and is willing to hurt anyone in order to be happy; want her to change so badly for her own good as well as for others’ sake, and eventually getting nothing in the end. She continues life in the same manner and has no regrets just because she still believes that she is better than all those who still live in Mercury. The camera work wasn’t so impressive either, but I do applaud the opening credits with the many different shots of a playing cassette. That is as good as it’s gonna get, but I suppose that was the essence they were going for. Simplicity in the overall shooting process, while having a character focused base that balanced the film and gave it a distinct flavor.

I advise you to see this just for the sake of seeing some great performances which are funny and witty as well as being hardcore dramatic, but you might feel downright bad after it comes to a close, making it the feel-bad film of 2011.