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Even The Posters For ‘Prometheus’ Are Spoiler-Heavy Now

Travis Woods — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:05:11 +0000

Until very recently, part of the fun of Prometheus’ ad campaign was just how ambiguous the marketing was for Ridley Scott’s semi-prequel to his 1979 classic, Alien. Was it a true prequel? Would it connect directly to the beginnings of Alien? And so on. And then, unfortunately, came the spoilers. In April, we received a three-minute trailer of pure spoilage, followed by a featurette with even more information. Gone were the intriguing puzzles and air of mystery that made Prometheus so anticipated in the first place. And now, even the poster campaign is spoiling the fun (and the plot).

We know that the film deals at least in part with the crescent-shaped spaceship helmed by the Space Jockey that was seen during the original Alien. Recent clips have even shown the Space Jockey attacking members of the Prometheus crew. Now, thanks to an international poster, we get to see the Space Jockey’s ship, well, exploding above the crew. Which seems to be, oh gosh, I don’t know, kind of a significant plot point to drop in the middle of a wildly photoshopped worldwide poster. But hey, that’s just me.

Hopefully, this action-oriented one-sheet will draw in moviegoers more attracted to things going boom than they are to quietly creepy and ambiguous sci-fi puzzle boxes; that said, it’s sad to see the air of mystery and ambiguity dissipate from Prometheus. It’s still one of our most anticipated films of 2012’s summer; we just wish it was a little less forthcoming with the details.

What do you think of Prometheus’ ad campaign?

Source: ComingSoon

Ridley Scott Talks ‘Prometheus’ Plot, Mysterious ‘Blade Runner’ Sequel

Travis Woods — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:13:15 +0000

After leaving sci-fi behind 30 years ago with Blade Runner, Ridley Scott is returning to the genre with his highly anticipated Prometheus. The film, which takes place in the same fictional universe as his film Alien (or, as Scott puts it, “once you start into the evolution of the story, it moves so far away from Alien that there’s only the mere DNA of the original in Prometheus”), is set for a June 8 release and, as such, Scott is beginning to hit the interview circuit; along the way, he’s dropping such nuggets as Prometheus’ plot elements, as well as big news about the Blade Runner sequel finally moving forward.

In a recent interview The Daily Beast, Scott opened up about Prometheus’ mysterious origins, and what drove him to film a sequel to one of his most indelible works, stating “I came back to a very simple question that haunted me that appears in the first Alien, and no one answered in subsequent Alien films: who was the ”Space Jockey”—the big guy in the seat?” Scott went on to say that the origin of the Space Jockey is “a really interesting story,” and that when he began Prometheus, he wasn’t sure if it would be a prequel or a sequel.

Perhaps even more interesting than the origins of Prometheus, however, was Scott’s talk of the long-rumored Blade Runner sequel, about which he would only say the following:

Funny enough, I started my first meetings on the Blade Runner sequel last week. We have a very good take on it. And we’ll definitely be featuring a female protagonist.

You can read the full interview with Scott here.

Will you be seeing Prometheus?

Yet Another ‘Prometheus’ Viral Ad Features Noomi Rapace Begging For Help Concerning Humanity’s Past

Travis Woods — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:23:31 +0000

While Prometheus is still one of our most anticipated films of the summer, Ridley Scott’s “it is but it isn’t” prequel to his 1979 classic, Alien, has been laying it on a little thick with the marketing lately. One of the primary appeals of Prometheus thus far has been its sense of creepy mystery; unfortunately, a great deal of the increasing number of ads have been spoiler-heavy, dissipating that sense of mystery. The newest viral ad, however, manages to be fascinating, creepy, and highly ambiguous. Check it out below.

The newest viral clip (called Quiet Eye, part of an ad campaign between Fox and Verizon) is cut from the same cloth as the disturbing android infomercial we viewed last month. In it, Noomi Rapace’s Dr. Elizabeth Shaw sends a quietly desperate message to Guy Pearce’s Peter Weyland, imploring him to help fund her research into humanity’s origins. It ties into what we know of the film—Weyland’s company funds an expedition to the same distant planet featured in the original Alien, upon which some version of all hell breaks loose.

It’s a nicely ambiguous clip, which manages to display the firm strength and resolve of Rapace’s character, while at the same time adding some nuance to what we know of the plot, but without spoiling the film for us. Nice job, Fox.

Prometheus will premiere on June 8.

What do you think of the clip?

Source: /Film

17 New ‘Prometheus’ Pictures Feature Alien World, Haunted Crew

Travis Woods — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:00:10 +0000

It seems like every day there’s been a new bit of media released to promote The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man, or Prometheus as the Big Summer Film of 2012. Today, it’s once again Prometheus’ turn, with Entertainment Weekly releasing 17—count ‘em, 17!—new photos from the filming of Prometheus. The shots feature character portraits, behind the scenes shooting, alien landscapes, spacesuits, and repeated shots of a haunted and haggard crew.

Check out the 17 new Prometheus shots after the jump!

While the plot remains a tightly-kept mystery, what is known about the film is that it takes place several years prior to the events of Ridley Scott’s original Alien film, and takes place on the same planet featured in that movie. Not much else is know, except the crew of a vessel called Prometheus discover a threat connected to humanity’s origins that also threatens to bring about our doom… at least, that’s what we could suss out from the spoiler-ish trailer.

Looks like we’ll just have to wait until the film’s June 8 release date to be sure. Prometheus stars Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Idis Elbra and Guy Pearce, and was directed by Ridley Scott.

Which is your favorite shot?

Source: /Film

Latest ‘Prometheus’ Featurette Talks Aliens (Not ‘Alien’)

Damon Houx — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:24:25 +0000

Prometheus may be R rated, but it’s gunning to be one of the big event films of the summer, and the advertising and viral videos are now hitting the frequency of Avengers material. Perhaps it’s a winning strategy. The latest from the Prometheus cast and crew concerns extra terrestrials. An interesting word choice for the (not?) prequel to Alien. Check out the featurette below.

This is definitely not spoiling too much (for those concerned about that), and it doesn’t offer too much new footage, but it does show some of what’s going to be the problem for the crew of the Prometheus. There is something on the planet that either attacks or takes over host bodies. But how this all plays out is still unknown, or how the creatures once fossilized in Alien interact with the humans.

When Fox accepted the R rating, it suggested that this would not be compromised, and with the R rating, one wonders if they’ve decided to add things back in they may have cut when they were angling for a PG-13. One hopes. Though Ridley Scott‘s last couple of movies have been a mixed bag (Robin Hood was pretty bad), we’re still partial to his director’s cut of Kingdom of Heaven, and he still seems to ‘have it.’ So we’re anxiously awaiting June 8, when the film hits theaters.

Where is Prometheus on your want to see list?

‘Prometheus’ Has Killed Any Chance For ‘At The Mountains Of Madness,’ Says Guillermo Del Toro

Travis Woods — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:39:48 +0000

After 2008’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army, director Guillermo Del Toro’s next project was set to be the ambitious cinematic adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, a 1936 novella about human scientists discovering evidence of ancient alien civilizations visiting Earth. Unfortunately, Universal cancelled the project, citing budgetary problems, and Del Toro moved on to the monster movie Pacific Rim, in which giant robots battle giant monsters in the future (yes, really). Recently, though, Del Toro made comments indicating that Prometheus’ nearly identical plot put the kibosh on Mountains.

Del Toro recent took to the message board of Del Toro Films to let fans know they can pretty much forget about an At the Mountains of Madness adaptation, thanks to Ridley Scott’s upcoming Alien prequel, Prometheus, in which a group of astronauts in the future encounter an ancient alien civilization with links to humanity’s origins (and our downfall, if the trailers are to be believed):

I have been interviewed about this lately and wanted to post my two cents about this:

Prometheus started filming a while ago – right at the time we were in preproduction on PACIFIC RIM. The title itself gave me pause – knowing that ALIEN was heavily influenced by Lovecraft and his novella.

This time, decades later with the budget and place Ridley Scott occupied, I assumed the greek metaphor alluded at the creation aspects of the HPL book. I believe I am right and if so, as a fan, I am delighted to see a new RS science fiction film, but this will probably mark a long pause – if not the demise – of ATMOM.

The sad part is – I have been pursuing ATMOM for over a decade now – and, well, after Hellboy II two projects I dearly loved were not brought to fruition for me.

Del Toro at least sounds as if he’s made some kind of peace with his dream project being bumped from Universal’s slate so that Ridley Scott could film Prometheus; however, it’s still an unfortunate turn of events, as the director’s style—a marriage of weird fiction and fantasy genres—would have been perfect for At the Mountains of Madness.

Del Toro went on to state that he is “loving” and “grateful” for his blessings, among which he counts the opportunity to make Pacific Rim. As for the similarities between Prometheus and At the Mountains of Madness, he simply said, “Same premise. Scenes that would be almost identical… Both movies seem to share identical set pieces and the exact same BIG REVELATION (twist) at the end. I won’t spoil it.”

What do you think of the Prometheus news?

Source: Coming Soon

New ‘Prometheus’ Trailer Features Three Minutes Of Heavy Spoilers

Travis Woods — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:10:29 +0000

Welcome to the exact moment when Ridley Scott’s upcoming Prometheus ceased to be the ambiguous sci-fi mystery of the summer, and revealed just about every possible plot spoiler pertaining to its Alien prequel-dom that it seemingly possibly could. Thanks to a just-released international trailer, we now have three full minutes that basically lay out Prometheus’ entire plot—don’t want to know about Charlize Theron’s character? Not curious who has an alien inside of them? A warning, then: view this at your own risk.

For the last time: spoilers ahead!

The trailer basically lays bare many of the plot details that have been debated by fans of the Alien series in the weeks and months leading up to Prometheus’ release. Yes, it now appears that Theron’s corporate heavy will be a villain, just like Paul Reiser’s character in Aliens. Yes, Noomi Rapace is a badass of Sigourney Weaver levels. And yep, that’s Rapace screaming “GET IT OUT OF ME! GET IT OUT OF ME!” repeatedly. And yep, there’s heavy talk of some kind of alien force heading back to hit the Earth.

Just about the only thing not revealed in the trailer is whether or not Michael Fassbender’s mysteriously emotional android character will be a friend, or will go the way of Ash in the original Alien. And while this trailer is certainly, well, cool, it’s more than a little disappointing to see most of Prometheus’ cards all laid out on the table like this—part of the primary appeal to the film, thus far, has been its sense of foreboding mystery.

Final verdict: it’s still one of our most anticipated films of 2012, but some of the excitement over Prometheus has now been lose thanks to the overly vigorous marketing.

Prometheus opens on June 8, and stars Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and Guy Pearce.

What did you think of the new trailer?

Source: Empire

New ‘Prometheus’ Viral Ad Features Michael Fassbender’s Android Infomercial

Travis Woods — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:38:37 +0000

Ridley Scott’s Prometheus is currently running neck and neck (or space helmet and bat-cowl, if you like) with The Dark Knight Rises for the title of Most Mysterious Action Film of Summer 2012. More and more plot elements, both leaked and featured in the excellently spooky trailer, indicate that Prometheus is a full-on prequel to Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror classic, Alien…and a newly released Prometheus viral ad posing as an android infomercial, only serves to strengthen the connection to the original Alien.

In the pseudo infomercial advertising the benefits of androids—specifically, the “David” model portrayed by Michael Fassbender in Prometheus—we learn that the androids of Prometheus’ future have been created by the Weyland Corporation. For those of you who don’t obsess over such things, the Weyland Corp is one half of the fictional (and evil) Weyland-Yutani megacorporation behind the most of the human misdeeds in Alien and Aliens.

In another callback to the original Alien, David notes that he is capable of actions that most humans would be uncomfortable with, including dangerous or unethical acts, which seems like a definite nod to Ash, the deranged android from the original film; further, the fact that David begins to cry when he states he is incapable of human emotion doesn’t exactly speak well of the artificial man’s stability.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until June 8^th to find out if any of these connections hold water. Until then, we must stay strong, and use the internet for the one thing it was designed for: ceaseless, unfounded speculation about movies that will be released in the next 6-8 weeks.

What do you think of the Prometheus android ad?

Source: Coming Soon

WonderCon 2012: Ridley Scott Premieres New IMAX Trailer For ‘Prometheus’

Travis Woods — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 19:21:17 +0000

There are any number of reasons to want to be at the WonderCon in Anaheim this weekend: the bevy of comic book writers and artists in attendance, the sneak peeks at new TV shows (like this one for The Secret Circle), hobnobbing with fellow pop culture nerds, you name it. That said, there is one reason above all others—to view the IMAX trailer for Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. Well, now you can skip the long haul to Orange County, because we have the trailer below. And it is spectacular—check it out.

While the teaser only provided near-subliminal snippets, the full trailer features a bevy of stellar SFX, action, minor plot reveals, and sweaty, horrified tension. There’s even a shot of a “Space Jockey” creature from the first Alien film. Dig it:

While Scott has been ambiguous as to how this film connects with the Alien franchise that he launched in 1979 (it’s been variously stated that this is a sequel, a prequel, a loose “reimagining,” to be being wholly unrelated to the Alien franchise), the shot of the Jockey indicates that we’re at least in the same universe as the original Alien. Now we just have to wait until June 8^th to see the film in IMAX 3D before we know how solid the connection is between Ridley’s sci-fi classic and his newest mind-bender.

What did you think of the trailer?

Source: Cinema Blend

Top 10 Robots in Movies

Travis Woods — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:00:31 +0000

Robots! Despite cinema telling us over and over that once we build them, they’ll become our mechanized overlords, hell-bent on wiping out humanity — we can’t shake them. It’d still be really cool to have them around to do the dishes, our homework, vacuum, and pay our bills now and again. Right? Our fascination with robots have long been a subject of film, and here at ScreenCrave, we’ve decided to put together a list of our 10 favorite machines. From murderously insane cyborgs, to robotic friends, to well…more murderously insane cyborgs, it’s a grouping of our favorite humanoid creatures.

Note to nitpickers: Before you complain about certain absences, please note that Hal 9000 is a computer, not a robot; Data is primarily a TV show character; and the Transformers…well, those movies are terrible. They won’t be on here.

Check out our list below… (Warning, movie spoilers ahead!)

10. Ash (Alien, 1979)

It takes an amazing and threatening performance to be memorable in an Alien film, when you’re not playing an alien. That’s exactly what Ian Holm did in the science fiction classic. He created a character who at first seems like an ineffectual snob that later reveals himself as a murderous android! He was determined to sacrifice his human crew members in order to bring a dangerous alien species to Earth for study. Aside from his psycho methods, he also bleeds a milky white goo, and that’s just spooky.

9. WALL-E (WALL-E, 2008)

This is a robot that’s designed to make your eyes wet, forcing you to shout there’s just something wrong with your contact lens. WALL-E is the star of the 2008 Pixar animated film of the same name. He’s a garbage disposal robot left behind on an abandoned and uninhabitable future Earth. Within the 98 minute feature, we discover that WALL-E’s developed sentience, a heart of gold (no, not literally), falls in love with another robot, and pretty much saves humanity. Not bad for a guy whose look rips off the bot from Short Circuit.

8. Robocop (Robocop – Robocop 3, 1987 – 1993)

OK, it’s a cop who was killed, then had his face and memories grafted to robot body that stomps around, taking a bite out of Detroit crime. He also finds time to wipe out the greedy corporate overlords who created him. Do I really need to say anything else to justify Robocop’s placement on this list?

7. T-1000 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991)

The T-1000 is a cold killing machine sent from the future to murder a boy. The year’s 1991, and the kid will grow up to become the leader a resistance against the machines. Therefore, the T-1000 would have made it onto this list by that fact alone. Director James Cameron came up with the idea of a machine comprised solely of liquid metal (meaning it’s a big pile of shiny goo that can replicate anyone/anything it touches) and made it totally believable. However, it’s Robert Patrick’s hyper-precise, blankly menacing performance that truly makes this robot memorable.

6. The Iron Giant (The Iron Giant, 1999)

A 50 foot metal eating robot, the Iron Giant is without doubt the greatest animated robot of all time. A tribute to the metal machines of Cold War-era cinema, the Iron Giant is a walking destroyer of words, who with the help of a young boy’s friendship and some Superman comics, learns the value of heroism over destruction.

5. Robby the Robot (Forbidden Plant, 1956)

Remember Shakespeare’s The Tempest? It’s about a deposed Duke/magician who lives on a deserted island with his daughter, a monster, and an angelic spirit. Now imagine that story being retold as a 1950s sci-fi film, set on a distant planet, and Ariel the spirit is now Robby the Robot. Seriously. Guided by Asimov’s Three Law’s of Robotics (don’t injure a human through action/inaction, obey all human orders that don’t lead to human harm, and protect its own existence as long as humans are not harmed), Robby has appeared in numerous sci-fi films and TV shows, remaining one of the most strangely memorable bots in pop culture.

4. Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951)

As a 7” tall robot sent by aliens to wipe out humanity (if we don’t start behaving ourselves), Gort may be the most instantly recognizable of all “classic” film robots. Also gals, he is the reason sci-fi nerds will whisper “Klaatu barada nikto” to you and hope that it has an effect.

3. Roy Batty (Blade Runner, 1982)

One of the most powerful, intelligent and dangerous replicants (androids built to serve humanity) in the future of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is Roy Batty. He rebels against his human masters after he discovers his built in life span of only a few years. Wholly sentient, he returns to Los Angeles to find the man who created him and demand, simply, more time. When he discovers that he cannot extend his life, he elects to “revel in his own time.” And that’s when the madness really begins.

2. The Terminator (The Terminator – Terminator: Salvation, 1984 – 2009)

Built by SkyNet, a self-aware missile defense system of the future convinced that the destruction of humanity is the way to go, The Terminator is a mass-produced cyborg designed for one thing: killing us. In the first Terminator film, one model is sent back in time to kill Sarah Conner, whose son John, will one day lead a resistance against the machines. Portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator is a brutal killer, who’ll stop at nothing to find and kill its target. However, in the first sequel, a Terminator model is reprogrammed by John in the future, and sent back to save him as a child. Now programmed to protect and learn, the Terminator not only rescues John, but over the course of a few days, learns the value of human life. (And then two more sequels showed up that sucked. The less said of those, the better).

1. R2-D2 (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, 1977 – 2005)

Come on, how could R2 not be number one? Somehow managing to talk to everyone in the Star Wars franchise by saying “bee boo baah buuh beee booo bee” or screaming “whaaaaaaaaaa!” whenever something goes wrong, R2 somehow manages not be annoying; rather, in the increasingly ridiculous films, it eventually becomes one of the most likeable, and surrounded by wooden performances — human characters in the entire franchise.

What are your favorite cinematic robots?

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Top Five Worst Horror Sequels

Damon Houx — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:00:36 +0000

With the release of Scream 4, this weekend we will surely see some debate about what are the best and worst Scream sequels. In the scheme of things, Scream only has four movies, which in a horror franchise is small potatoes – if a horror film works it usually gets a numbers of sequels and nowadays reboots (and sometimes sequels or prequels to those). For those that think this is something new, just look at the old Universal monster movies. They were made until the well ran dry and then they appeared with Abbot and Costello. But what’s the worst of the more recent sequel-crazy horror films? Take a look…

#5

The Franchise: Friday the 13th

Series Total: 11 Films, including one reboot

The Worst:

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Why:

Though the Friday the 13th series was fairly basic in terms of plotting – in that what normally happened was that teens would smoke pot, have sex, and get killed – the films can be satisfying in a low-rent sort of way. And though previous films could disappoint by being edited mercilessly by the MPAA, or have terrible acting (actually most did), or go too supernatural, the thing that makes Jason Takes Manhattan worse than Jason Goes to Hell (the closest competitor) is that the title promises an awesome movie. Jason Vorhees, wandering around the streets of New York, perhaps going into a 42nd street grind house that would play one of his films, that sounds like a kick ass flick. Instead, the film spends more than half its time not in Manhattan (on a boat), and when Jason does hit the big city, it’s mostly Vancouver, Canada substituting for the Big Apple. Like Bart Simpson and friends sneaking in to see Naked Lunch, this was a terrible mislead. Make no mistake, Jason Goes to Hell is pretty bad, but it was done a couple years after the fact and by a different studio. It’s bad but not disappointingly so.

#4

The Franchise: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Series Total: 6 Films, including a remake and a prequel to the remake.

The Worst:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)

Why:

The first two Chainsaw movies were made by Tobe Hooper. The first is an indisputable masterpiece that had influence over both Stanley Kubrick and Ridley Scott. The second film is a fascinating mess of a movie that is charming but was in theaters less than two months after principle photography was completed. The third film was chopped to bits by the MPAA, and the fourth film was basically a remake of the first (but with Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey). The remake lacked the brilliance of the first and yet managed to be effective just the same. The reason why the sequel to the remake is the worst of the lot is because it’s a prequel. Not only is going through the motions (which pretty much all but the first two were), it has the unenviable task of not having a satisfying ending. And at the end of the day, who wants their monsters explained to them? The reason why the demented cannibalistic hillbillies in the first couple films are terrifying isn’t because of the economic crises that may have led them to dine on human flesh. What’s scary about them is precisely that we know nothing about them. The problem is that this film does a horrible job of mythologizing. It’s insulting that it wants to tell us how Leatherface came to be Leatherface, but then when he finally does pick up a chainsaw, it’s just sorta there. Woo-wee.

#3

The Franchise: Nightmare on Elm St.

Series Total: 8 Films, including a remake.

The Worst:

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

Why:

Arguably the remake is the worst film of the lot, but it isn’t exactly a sequel. The problem with Nightmare 4 is that by this point the filmmakers and cast had embraced the fact that Robert Englund’s Freddy Kruger – with his over-exposure at that point – was no longer scary. So instead of making a horror film, in the fourth film Freddy shows up like a comedian to deliver bon-mots before he kills the secondary cast members. Though the next two films were not much better, this was the straw that broke Freddy’s back and turned him into James Bond (by director Renny Harlin’s own admission), and then turned each kill and their make-up effects into the only reason to watch the film. This is doubly disappointing because the second film is interesting (if terribly flawed), while the third film got the series back on track (and may be on par with the first in terms of quality). The fourth film may have been the only direction left to go, but down is not that much fun to watch.

#2

The Franchise: Halloween

Series Total: 10 Films, including a remake, and a sequel to the remake.

The Worst:

Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

Why:

Most of the big 1980′s slasher icons were spared the Scream treatment. This is partly because they had worn out their welcome, and/or were seen as old hat. But Scream did lead to Halloween H20 (probably because Miramax owned the franchise), which brought back Jamie Lee Curtis as a mother trying to protect her son from the loosed Michael Myers. The film was played serious, but more than winked at its predecessors and the genre itself, and for the most part (at least at the time) was harmless fun. The follow-up became more invested in modern times, with Busta Rhymes acting as a TV show producer trying to create an internet reality show that leads to Blair Witch ripping-off. Though it’s hard to argue the fifth or sixth film are much better, they do not feature a character using karate on Michael Myers and living to see the next day. It also killed off Laurie Strode in the pre-credit sequence. F this movie.

#1

The Franchise: Alien

Series Total: 4 Films, and one upcoming sort of prequel

The Worst:

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Why:

Other than Friday the 13th (which peaked with its fourth or sixth entry), every film on this list starts with the best film of the franchise, and like those other three, Alien is the sort of film that not only terrified audiences, but inspired film makers and inspired others to want to be filmmakers. As we will be seeing this weekend, with a lot of fourth films in four-film series there’s an audience who think the worst is the third film, and those who see a progressive downhill slide. But where the third film in the Alien franchise is inarguably flawed, David Fincher brought a singular vision to the material that was somehwat undone by having a bunch of same-y looking bald guys running around sewer tunnels in the third act. But his vision of despair is a complete thought. The problem with the fourth film is that between Joss Wheadon’s script and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s direction, the film wants to be anything but a horror film, even if it runs through the motions of the Ten Little Indians-style killing off of supporting cast. The most horrific thing about the movie is saved for the final act, when there’s a half-human, half-alien creature that strikes a note of terror more in being a mutant bastard. Whatever the film wants to be is totally at odds with the whole, and while it tries to deliver more familiar notes than Alien 3, in doing so it becomes the least interesting of the lot. Like Scream 4, or which ever “return to form” sequel you can think of, the apology tour ends up needing an apology tour of its own.

Note:

To be fair, there’s other horror franchises, from the Night of the Living Dead films, to Chucky, to Saw to Paranormal Activity that could easily make this list. As for the Saw films, the author must note he’s only seen the first. Some things…

Noomi Rapace Cast in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, Will Contain ‘Alien’ Elements

Krystal Clark — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 23:39:01 +0000

Over the past year we’ve been wondering when Ridley Scott and 20th Century Fox would finally announce the lead for his Alien prequel Prometheus. Well, the wait is finally over! The director and the studio have confirmed that Swedish actress Noomi Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) has landed the lead in the film, which is loosely based on the Alien mythology.

What started off as a straight prequel evolved into something more according to Scott, who came up with the idea for Prometheus. He and Damon Lindelof eventually transformed his first premise into something “more original.” The story will go into a different direction, but will still contain some Alien elements that will be familiar to fans. No plot details have been revealed as of yet but Scott did have this to say about his latest venture:

“While Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn’t be more pleased to have found the singular tale I’d been searching for, and finally return to this genre that’s so close to my heart.”

After months of casting rumors, Rapace will star as the lead character Elizabeth Shaw. She’s currently the first and only person signed on for the film. Fox is on the look out to fill the rest of the roles, specifically the other female lead (Vickers), which Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron are reportedly circling.

We’re relieved that they’re going in this direction. A prequel would have been a heavy burden to carry and we’re not sure if they would have been able to pull it off. There’s nothing wrong with little hints of Alien here and there, but another sequel, prequel, or spin-off would have been overkill. Smart move.

Prometheus is scheduled to hit theaters on March 9th, 2012.

What do you think of the Rapace as the star of the new film? Is she the right choice?

Source: Deadline

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Top 10 Robots in Movies

10. Ash (Alien, 1979)

9. WALL-E (WALL-E, 2008)

8. Robocop (Robocop – Robocop 3, 1987 – 1993)

7. T-1000 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991)

6. The Iron Giant (The Iron Giant, 1999)

5. Robby the Robot (Forbidden Plant, 1956)

4. Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951)

3. Roy Batty (Blade Runner, 1982)

2. The Terminator (The Terminator – Terminator: Salvation, 1984 – 2009)

1. R2-D2 (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, 1977 – 2005)

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#5

The Franchise: Friday the 13th

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Why:

#4

The Franchise: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Worst:

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#3

The Franchise: Nightmare on Elm St.

The Worst:

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The Franchise: Halloween

The Worst:

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The Franchise: Alien

The Worst:

Why:

Note:

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