Monsters

I just watched Monsters. The film four intro was most impressed with the low low budget and how he did the FX on his laptop. I was most impressed that the FX were really not the point, they served the story well, and were just one element in a well realised world.

I nearly didn't watch it through. By my usual standards it's a total fail. Woman dies before the credits. Bechdel fail at 'two named women', though to be fair there's only two named characters. The two Americans get names, all the others don't. Plus the intermittent use of subtitles to translate the Spanish frequently puts them at incomprehensible distance. I thought it was odd, but then I realised we're in the point of view of the guy, who has very little Spanish, so it makes sense to have some but not much translated. The woman speaks Spanish, but that's pretty much all we learn about her. We also learn about her fiance and her dad, and that her dad is rich. We never learn why she's in the country or why she isn't saving her own self.

The plot hinged early on them being complete bloody idiots, so again, I nearly turned it off. It should have ended much, much sooner but she gave someone else her passport and he got drunk and robbed. How stupid is she? So she's stupid, has no motivation, is relying on this guy she only just met because her dad sent him, does everything he says even when she thinks he's being stupid (and he usually is), and gives him her passport. I disliked the character very much. It's a total rescue the princess.

Only, slight twists involved. ( Read more... )

So there's feminism fail, big surprise. But there's science fiction win. There's a world sketched in that's grubby and poor and full of scavenged machinery, but not Mad Max, just one notch up on now. There's aliens arriving in a crashed space ship but not Aliens style. And it has something to say about the USA.

I'm not planning to watch it again, but it was pretty interesting the once.

Trapped

So, I have to take library books back. I should in theory take them back to Norwich because they asked this time. But I had decided to take them back to Dereham because it's quicker. Only now I'm sitting here at half past three and hey, wow, I do not appear to have taken library books back. If I don't get them there before 5 it's fines time.

... still not moving.

... on the plus side, still breathing, so that's nice.

So I had plot bunny for my random not Stargate Atlantis with the serial numbers filed off world.

They arrive at the alien city and find increasingly scary variations on Keep Out. Deciding this is promising some idiot fails to Keep Out. And then the whole city goes dark. And none of the the transport circles work. And there's a forcefield up to stop them getting away, so strong it turned day into night. They so screwed.
( Read more... )

That's at least a season of plot right there. And I haven't started exploring the planet of the pretty biotechnicians, let alone any other planets.



At some point I should probably do some writing.



Of course it also gives me plenty of theme stuff to do, because being locked in with/by one's monsters is all about dealing with their issues.


*stares at own front door*
*sighs*
*is leaving any minute now...*