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Reviews
Prometheus (2012)
Fascinatingly good, if only because I prepared for the worst...
So, I grew up with the Alien films. Granted I was an infant when Aliens (1986) came out, but the films really became a big part of my adolescence thanks to the action figures being marketed for kids - which could NOT have prepared me for the adult nature of the films, obviously.
That said, you'd think I'd be asking for 2 hours of my life back. I'm not. And there's much to be said for the negative items, I freely admit it. Seriously, I thought Scott was better than this, to have allowed certain absurdities to remain in the story/script. But I steeled myself - I read many reviews on this very IMDb page that didn't contain spoilers, and hyped myself down.
That being the case, I was happy with what I walked into. For any reviewers that may be applicable; Thanks. Oh, and sorry that someone didn't prepare you the same as you did for me. That'd be a bummer.
Having whittled out a large introduction for this review, I won't list everything to its finer detail. I will say, in earnest, that perhaps the most detrimental things to this film were certain characters: Yes, believe everyone when they say certain scientists were terribly absent of logic and self-preserving instinct. Not to mention one that would rather rouse up a fuss than do anything pertaining to his field of study. Even beyond certain silly characters, the entire cast didn't use much foresight for the realm of contaminants - my girlfriend made the point that the Alien (1979) cast were far more cautious, and they amounted to not much more than interstellar tow-truck drivers! See, many sci-fi films that require you to suspend disbelieve, require so because their science is a bit wacky. Here, you need to suspend your disbelieve that humans on an alien planet would dare behave so recklessly.
Other than that, there's little else to gripe about. Accepting that this film has (almost) entirely removed itself from the storyline of the Alien films, virtually all of the actual content was a delight for me. To have theorized for years that the Aliens were some sort of biotech weapon, and to see what these Engineers (formerly "Space Jockies") were actually tinkering around with at some point in time, was fantastic. The very gravity of the forces at play kept me tense throughout the movie, and you'll never lose sense of how great the scope is because of the sweeping visuals of space and landscapes.
If anything negative can be said about the visuals, it's that it might be a bit overstimulating.
Script, characters and doodads aside, the story leaves with something to be desired. Namely a sequel, which was perhaps highly purposeful for the filmmakers. Much remains to be seen and answered - much more so than before! And here's a fan of the original franchise that is very eager to see those questions get answered (or at least touched upon) in another movie.
Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004)
Vastly underrated for all the wrong reasons.
Among seeing some of the complaints involved, it truly makes me wonder how people actually look at the Silent Hill series. Most see them as games, simple as that. I somehow have the impression of interactive movies - a glorious story that we have the privilege to unravel ourselves through each installment. So what if the controls, combat and inventory are plunked down a peg? Are you really gonna let that ruin your perspective of a wonderfully styled new story in this respectable series?
First thing I really liked about the story - it's irrelevant. That's right, completely out of wing from the first three. Instead of following through the grand cultist prophecies that Silent Hill 3 so casually topped off, we have the story of an individual that was misled by this cult since a child. That right there is a sign that the Silent Hill stories are maturing; the ability to successfully elaborate on and illustrate a smaller slice of the same pie.
The next thing I enjoyed was the innovation involved. The series has a history of altogether gritty and grotesque imagery, not holding back at the least. Here you have a much slower progression into that messy environment, and rightfully so. This is a more personal story, that of Walter Sullivan, therefore we don't see the cult's signature gooey imagery until they are quite literally consuming the main character's home. Until then, it is a journey through this very personal story in the form of dreamscapes. Though misshapen to say the least, the environments aren't as alive and gritty as most would like it, but that's perhaps because it's all in the perspective of Walter, not the 'paradise' that previous cultists allowed to come alive. Through this droning and down-beat style, the player can truly learn the story of Walter and maybe even come to have sympathy for him.
And perhaps the biggest thing I loved about the story is how the story is told. Previous installments was by adventuring and word of mouth. The Room takes a very abstract story and presents it in an abstract way. Whether by reading the diary entries of a forgotten journalist or reading random scriptures off walls, you have a presentation based more on illustration than verbal storytelling. Not only that, but the pieces don't even come in chronological order, so you are left to stare and think on a certain detail until you find perhaps another five to put together in a sort of order and make sense out of it. This abstract storytelling seems frustrating, but given its relevance to the harsh and melancholy imagery it comes from, it only provides further suspense and motivation to learn more.
Overall, I find this to be a very refreshing title in the series. I don't rate it any higher or lower in comparison to the previous titles, as it's a completely different entity on its own. And even considering the grotesque nature that it shares with its predecessors - it's a beautiful entity, indeed.