Pandorum

[Skitch]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ar5AVvw1R4


Dead Space the movie? Holy shit this looks creepy.

[megladon8]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ar5AVvw1R4


Dead Space the movie? Holy shit this looks creepy.



The minute "From the writers of the Resident Evil films" entered the screen, I lost all hope.

[Skitch]

The minute "From the writers of the Resident Evil films" entered the screen, I lost all hope.

But...but...Dennis Quaid! In SPACE!

[megladon8]

But...but...Dennis Quaid! In SPACE!


Dennis Quaid in anything is worrisome :lol:

[Skitch]

Dennis Quaid in anything is worrisome :lol:


SSSSPPPAAAACCCEEEE!!!!!


:lol:

[megladon8]

SSSSPPPAAAACCCEEEE!!!!!


:lol:


I've often thought that today's movies should go back to that '50s trend of having everything either take place in, or somehow come from space...and, of course, have some big-voiced narrator yell it out in the trailer.

"This spring, prepare for Canniballistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers...from SSSPPPPPAAAAAACCCEEEE!"

"Only one man will decide the fate of our country, in Swing Vote...from SSSSSSPPPPPPPAAAAAACCCCEEEE!"

[Skitch]

I've often thought that today's movies should go back to that '50s trend of having everything either take place in, or somehow come from space...and, of course, have some big-voiced narrator yell it out in the trailer.

"This spring, prepare for Canniballistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers...from SSSPPPPPAAAAAACCCEEEE!"

"Only one man will decide the fate of our country, in Swing Vote...from SSSSSSPPPPPPPAAAAAACCCCEEEE!"


Me too, sir, me too.


Dennis Quaid explores the human body in InnerSSSSSPPPPPAAAAAACCCCCEEEE !!!

[Dukefrukem]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ar5AVvw1R4


Dead Space the movie? Holy shit this looks creepy.

Wow those suits at the beginning look exactly like Dead Space.

[KK2.0]

the first person cameras help with the whole 'dead space' vibe

i'm not having high hopes but i would love if this is actually good, at least better than Event Horizon.

[Acapelli]

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/05/28/full-trailer-for-sci-fi-thriller-pandorum/

looks pretty great

[megladon8]

I'm still really discouraged by the "From the producers of Resident Evil" part.

[[ETM]]

Snazzy but heavily derivative...

[Dukefrukem]

this comes out tomorrow. I think i'm gonna see this over Surrogates

[Spun Lepton]

"Still waiting for that Aliens remake?"

Pandorum!!!

[Dukefrukem]

who else saw it?

input now so we can team up against Raiders.

[soitgoes...]

who else saw it?

input now so we can team up against Raiders.I did! Too bad for you I fall much closer to Raiders than you. Still, it was better than wretched or whatever similar word was given to describe it.

[Dukefrukem]

I did! Too bad for you I fall much closer to Raiders than you. Still, it was better than wretched or whatever similar word was given to describe it.

I have a huge soft-spot for "wakeing up" mystery films -movies that try to unravel "what the hell happened?". It borrows from other movies and reminded a lot of Dead Space, the Thing and Pitch Black with monsters from the Decent. As I said in the FDT, I want to see more Ben Foster.

[Skitch]

Sorry Duke, I missed your thoughts in FDT. Where do you stand on it?

I saw it theater, thought it was an acceptable flick, main complaints were its story got real squirrley here and there, and some of those shots were too damn dark. I stumbled across a really cheap blu ray copy later, and that took care of the 'too dark' scenes.

[Dukefrukem]

Sorry Duke, I missed your thoughts in FDT. Where do you stand on it?

I saw it theater, thought it was an acceptable flick, main complaints were its story got real squirrley here and there, and some of those shots were too damn dark. I stumbled across a really cheap blu ray copy later, and that took care of the 'too dark' scenes.

Well I gave it a 74, so my initial post may have seemed like I was praising it to high heaven, but I really enjoyed the ending and some of the mystery from the get go. It surprised me as a whole. I'll definitely be watching it again.

[Skitch]

Well I gave it a 74, so my initial post may have seemed like I was praising it to high heaven, but I really enjoyed the ending and some of the mystery from the get go. It surprised me as a whole. I'll definitely be watching it again.

Well sorry to ruin your credability, but I guess we see eye to eye on this one (at least score wise, think we differ a bit on the pros and cons). ;)

[Dukefrukem]

Well sorry to ruin your credability, but I guess we see eye to eye on this one (at least score wise, think we differ a bit on the pros and cons). ;)

You didn't like the ending?

[Raiders]

"Waking up" sci-fi films are fine, but the film has to have a clear perspective or at least some semblence of clarity of where it is going and what the characters are seeking. This film is ridiculously all over the place. The entire story is fairly non-sensical and perhaps with multiple rewatches and some outside research some of the blanks could be filled in but I'm pretty sure there are still wide gaps of information that aren't even bothered with and I'm even more certain the film does a horrible job conveying any of it. For instance, answer me this with what is given in the film: what exactly is pandorum? Is it essentially a traumatic stress disorder brought about by deep space exploration? Maybe, but the twist at the end is absolute silliness, suggesting that either someone never recoveres from it or that the character with pandorum is simply evil? Did a switch go on and he remembered that he is supposed to be the villain? It's just dumb as can be with no real relevance to any of it.

Furthermore, and I hate giving props to Paul W.S. Anderson, but compare this labyrinthine ship to something like the Event Horizon. Anderson does a pretty good job there laying out the interiors and giving us a sense of spatial relationship (in the climactic shit-hitting-the-fan section, I can follow all the characters and understand the tension involved), whereas in Alvart's case he doesn't even seem to care about the layout of the ship despite having Foster's trek be the main plotline. It is confusing and it doesn't help that he simply shrouds most of it in darkness, feigning to create atmosphere--true atmosphere would be created by an understanding of the character's surroundings--but merely turning down the lighting as if by some chance that may make it scarier.

Lest we forget the hilarious mutated creatures, which given the length of time they have been on the ship, appear to be immortal or can procreate, neither seems likely. Their look makes no sense (is that a mohawk?) and I suppose we can ignore that in an enclosed system that sort of mutation doesn't even make sense, but they are too ridiculous to really be very scary. A transformation like Gollum's is poetically indicative of his obsession and obedience to the ring, or even in The Descent, the creatures are implied to be a form of evolution and adapting to their surroundings. But here, it is pretty much a director trying to make something obscene and scary and I didn't buy it.

If I am to give the film a compliment it is that the first few minutes of Foster's "awakening" are handled well and with an emphasis on the physicality and the routine of his awakening, very instinctual. I also found a few of the images (the jettisoning of the passengers in the story relayed by Peyton and the creature orgy) to be well managed by Alvart. But honestly, it is a dumb film that makes little sense, has very little sense of atmosphere or surroundings and leaves nothing whatsoever to chew on afterward.

[D_Davis]

Event Horizon is pretty terrific film, although it does kind of turn into Hellraiser in Space. But that's cool. Definitely Anderson's best, by a mile.

[megladon8]

Event Horizon is pretty terrific film, although it does kind of turn into Hellraiser in Space. But that's cool. Definitely Anderson's best, by a mile.


Agreed. I don't think I'd go so far as to call it "pretty terrific", but it's Anderson's best, and is genuinely frightening.

Also had some wonderful imagery.

[Dukefrukem]

To your points Raiders;

1. What is Padorum? "Is it essentially a traumatic stress disorder brought about by deep space exploration?" Yes: "Its symptoms and effects include severe paranoia, vivid hallucinations, and homicidal tendencies" Does it go away? No? Why would it? The only reason Payton wasn't affected by it is because he was still waking up from the stasis sleep, which includes memory loss. It wasn't until later did he start to feel the affects (again).

2. Yes the design of the characters are ridiculous and you even suggest to ignore them, which I did. 1000 years would not bring on that kind of evolution but they DID mention that crew members were subjected to Genetic augmentations prior to the mission for quick adaptation to Tanis (the planet similar to Earth) but the drug had instead adapted them to the ship... which turned them into the cannibalistic monsters. Far fetched? Maybe. Fun? Absolutely.

Edit.

Yes Event Horizon is a better film. IT also had a bigger budget. And I think giving the audience a better sense of the ship in Event Horizon is the result of that. The design in Pandorum does feel confusing.

[Skitch]

You didn't like the ending?

I really liked the ending. Its the unravelling of the backstory I'm still pretty unsure about. Still, the bluray looks and sounds terriffic, even if the movie could be better.

[Skitch]

Event Horizon is pretty terrific film, although it does kind of turn into Hellraiser in Space. But that's cool. Definitely Anderson's best, by a mile.

Completely agree.

[Raiders]

1. What is Padorum? "Is it essentially a traumatic stress disorder brought about by deep space exploration?" Yes: "Its symptoms and effects include severe paranoia, vivid hallucinations, and homicidal tendencies"

I'm aware what Wikipedia said, but considering it is the film's namesake, that's pretty much any serious stress disorder, including PTSD and the film really doesn't define it any further. My point is, the whole project feels very thinly thought out.


Does it go away? No? Why would it?

I don't know. I don't even know what it is.


The only reason Payton wasn't affected by it is because he was still waking up from the stasis sleep, which includes memory loss. It wasn't until later did he start to feel the affects (again).

You're assuming. He appears to me to be hallucinating before he turns evil, which also seems to happen in practically an instant. So you're saying he remembered he is supposed to be crazy and evil? That's even more laughable.


Far fetched? Maybe. Fun? Absolutely.

Yeah, we'll just agree to disagree on that.

[Dukefrukem]

You're assuming. He appears to me to be hallucinating before he turns evil, which also seems to happen in practically an instant. So you're saying he remembered he is supposed to be crazy and evil? That's even more laughable.


I don't think it's a memory thing, but I do believe he was dazed coming out of the sleep chamber and I think it's something that develops and grows over time. Me bringing up the memory loss would be the reason why they don't realize it when they awake.

[bac0n]

FWIW, I agree with most of Raider's points on the dumbness of the film, but I enjoyed it, cuz when I watched it, I was in mood for a dumb film I didn't have to think about too much.

I did find that little mutant kid toward the end pretty damned creepy-looking, tho.

[Scar]

Oh hey, its available on instant watch....

[Rowland]

Here, I"ll share my thoughts from a few months back:

Pandorum (Alvart, 2009) **½

Nakedly derivative as fuck (Sunshine meets The Descent meets Fight Club meets Resident Evil etc. etc.), but surprisingly intense, with its unconventionally dark lighting schemes (reminding of the Doom adaptation, only competent), lack of jokey-ness, and willingness to immerse the viewer in the disorientation of its protagonists' amnesia and deliberate unfolding of plot detail. Alvart's direction however can be overtly disorientating, failing to maintain a coherent geography during action heavy scenes, especially during two separate sequences that inadvertently led me to believe a character was killed who wasn't, which resulted in much rewinding frustration, but he effectively sustains the film's unnerving tone and steady pacing. There are some fun twists scattered about as well, which reveal the film as not exactly smart, but certainly clever in its limited but resourceful way, so long as you don't think too hard about how it all coheres. Its inevitable future as a late-night cable mainstay should find it a receptive audience, as it may not be particularly proficient in any respect, but as far as artless schlock is concerned, it's certainly a more passable affair than its overly derisive critical reception would suggest.

[Skitch]

Well said Rowland. That was a very reasonable collection of thoughts. If there's one thing I loathe, its violent overreaction.

[Raiders]

willingness to immerse the viewer in the disorientation of its protagonists' amnesia and deliberate unfolding of plot detail.

But the plot never really coheres into any sensical thing, so doesn't that defeat the purpose?

[Rowland]

But the plot never really coheres into any sensical thing, so doesn't that defeat the purpose?I don't remember the details very well, but I thought its basic outline made enough sense to not distract from the experience, which was more about thick atmosphere and the gradually unfolding nature of the ship, its mission, the monsters, and the context behind it all, most of which required leaps of logic to be sure. You're correct that it doesn't leave anything to chew on; repeat viewings probably wouldn't be kind.