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beccaelizabethJust watched a film, 'Supernova', with James Spader and Angela Bassett and Lou Diamond Philips and some other people. I've already deleted it. It was science fiction, but I didn't feel like it did much with it. Lots of sex and violence. I hope for more from the genre.
Also the whole thing depended on one simple bit of stupidity. And it was a stupid you could see coming. When the rescue ship rescues one human and one Weird SF Thing they put the Weird SF Thing in quarantine. They do not quarantine the human. And you can see, right then, this is one of those things that will let the whole rest of the plot happen. And it's *stupid*. They pick up a guy who's unconscious for no readily apparent reason, they put him in a cell that they have the capacity to quarantine, yet he walks out. Why? Well far as I can tell because it's easier for the writer. Yet it would be a really simple tweak to have him talk his way out, and it would add a lot. So it just struck me stupid.
I realised that SF viewers have one major bonus point over SF characters: we know we're watching SF. Even if they're in a space ship, characters don't know that. So we can know if someone is using an ID for a guy they resemble but are much younger than then, this being SF, they are in fact that guy. There was some misdirect, calling him his son, having already set up that one of the women on board wants children and the other woman can't have them. There's a whole children theme. So it's not completely the only possibility of obvious. It's just, you know, SF obvious. Especially when you see LDP has grey in his hair. Who has grey in their hair? Someone who is going to get youthed before the end of the movie.
At some point I realised I've watched too much SF for SF to be really much fun any more. I mean, if I figure it all out real early and then spend the rest of the movie wondering if they're going to throw in any twists, it gets less fun.
Two women in the film. Talk to each other. About a man. In the context of medicine, yes, so not completely fail, but still, that's it. I don't know though if I should count it as three women, with the female voiced computer as a third, but she makes a point of not being human so *shrugs*. ... though come to think it is possible the computer only talks to the other women about men. Huh.
Everyone's paired up. Het pairs. Even the computer. And the women, though they have medical jobs, don't do much very medical, or indeed useful. They have sex. They want babies. They have fear and get attacked by man they had sex with. The survivor gets a baby. Sort of a magic baby in fact. So it's like they tell us they're medical personnel, but the only thing they can think of to do with them is Be Women. It's a bit wearying. Especially since there's the woman who cheats on her man, and is killed, and the other woman who is running from her abusive addict boyfriend, who gets rescued by ... er, her ex-addict new boyfriend... which is just odd really. And then they make a baby. With SF magic. Despite it being the other female character who actually wanted to do that. It's like it's just assumed that this one wants a magic reward baby too.
Also the idea of wanting babies was introduced along with needing permission for babies, so you are left to wonder if magic baby is going to ... well, anyway, it's an uncomfortable thought to be left with.
So. Anyway. It wasn't exactly fascinating, and it wasn't exactly win. Blah.
Also the whole thing depended on one simple bit of stupidity. And it was a stupid you could see coming. When the rescue ship rescues one human and one Weird SF Thing they put the Weird SF Thing in quarantine. They do not quarantine the human. And you can see, right then, this is one of those things that will let the whole rest of the plot happen. And it's *stupid*. They pick up a guy who's unconscious for no readily apparent reason, they put him in a cell that they have the capacity to quarantine, yet he walks out. Why? Well far as I can tell because it's easier for the writer. Yet it would be a really simple tweak to have him talk his way out, and it would add a lot. So it just struck me stupid.
I realised that SF viewers have one major bonus point over SF characters: we know we're watching SF. Even if they're in a space ship, characters don't know that. So we can know if someone is using an ID for a guy they resemble but are much younger than then, this being SF, they are in fact that guy. There was some misdirect, calling him his son, having already set up that one of the women on board wants children and the other woman can't have them. There's a whole children theme. So it's not completely the only possibility of obvious. It's just, you know, SF obvious. Especially when you see LDP has grey in his hair. Who has grey in their hair? Someone who is going to get youthed before the end of the movie.
At some point I realised I've watched too much SF for SF to be really much fun any more. I mean, if I figure it all out real early and then spend the rest of the movie wondering if they're going to throw in any twists, it gets less fun.
Two women in the film. Talk to each other. About a man. In the context of medicine, yes, so not completely fail, but still, that's it. I don't know though if I should count it as three women, with the female voiced computer as a third, but she makes a point of not being human so *shrugs*. ... though come to think it is possible the computer only talks to the other women about men. Huh.
Everyone's paired up. Het pairs. Even the computer. And the women, though they have medical jobs, don't do much very medical, or indeed useful. They have sex. They want babies. They have fear and get attacked by man they had sex with. The survivor gets a baby. Sort of a magic baby in fact. So it's like they tell us they're medical personnel, but the only thing they can think of to do with them is Be Women. It's a bit wearying. Especially since there's the woman who cheats on her man, and is killed, and the other woman who is running from her abusive addict boyfriend, who gets rescued by ... er, her ex-addict new boyfriend... which is just odd really. And then they make a baby. With SF magic. Despite it being the other female character who actually wanted to do that. It's like it's just assumed that this one wants a magic reward baby too.
Also the idea of wanting babies was introduced along with needing permission for babies, so you are left to wonder if magic baby is going to ... well, anyway, it's an uncomfortable thought to be left with.
So. Anyway. It wasn't exactly fascinating, and it wasn't exactly win. Blah.