this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2024
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[–] Geek_King 21 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I did not care for this movie. It was poorly written, tasteless, and had gratoiuois rib elbowing nostalgia references.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago (1 children)

gratoiuois rib elbowing nostalgia references

That's what killed it for me. Early on.I thought they'd be OK but they broke me and I, mentally, went "well you can fuck right off with this nonsense" and then they kept piling it on. It would have been bad in a cheap fan film and I have no idea what possessed them to do it.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I could've lived with the nostalgia baiting if they didn't write so many stupid RNG scenarios into the movie. Even the whole premise of a station coming out of nowhere, somehow somewhere flung out of orbit, somehow getting captured by their planet's orbit, just to then be on an intercept trajectory with the ring. But the whole movie adds more and more, like the ship magically sliding along the station, just to crash land in the hangar, which btw, why did they not land there, especially since they could've never fit the cryo pots through the weird little maintenance shaft they came through. Or how utterly nonsensical the no gravity acid shootout was. In a no gravity environment, stuff isn't just going to stop midair, or float in a circular pattern - it would've just splattered everywhere as soon as she started blasting them. It all felt just way too "cinema" for me. I can live with some unlikely but cool action scenarios but don't chain the whole movie up with them.

Not that everything was bad though. I loved the visuals (except for the bad deep fake later on), the world building they did on the planet (which usually falls flat in the movies), and the acting was also very good. I think they approached the whole AI vs. human consciousness & creation aspect quite a bit better than Prometheus & Covenant did (although Covenant upped Prometheus for me a little bit when it came out).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Even the whole premise of a station coming out of nowhere, somehow somewhere flung out of orbit, somehow getting captured by their planet’s orbit, just to then be on an intercept trajectory with the ring.

I was waiting for them to drop an exciting in-universe explanation for that and... I'm still waiting.

Things that "just happen" to move the story forward or up the peril are signs of bad writing. I'm still curious about the writing process - did the studio interfere and make them do all that or did they genuinely create exactly what they wanted to and hand it over to the studios who greenlit it without anyone along the way calling out the fact that it was terrible? I'm not sure which option I prefer.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

That'll be great for the 6 people still left on Earth who never upgraded to DVDs or BluRay.

Well, maybe not that great since this movie sucked.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

theres a niche group of tech enthusiasts who like this old shit.

my son recently jumped into 35mm film photography with the goal of pushing them into projection slides

people have crazy hobbies.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's the backswing from society forcing computers unto everyone just to live.
Also, film has a unique look, fun work-flow, and a dynamic range only expensive digital cameras can match.

Here's a photo from a $1 camera:

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

...on film that easily costs a buck per frame nowadays, Kodak actually raised prices last year because they can't keep up with demand. And that's not including developing it and making prints.

Don't get me wrong, analogue film is a great medium and the SRGB conversion you posted doesn't even begin to do it justice. But "it's cheaper" is in no way an argument for it.

Movies on analogue film are also a nice idea, a nice print of a nice movie for a reel-to-reel projector which are easy to build (use a white LED, please, no need even for electronics but power electronics but make it a LED) can have great quality and definitely do cinema history justice, but... VHS? Utterly atrocious quality. VHS had shoddy quality when it was new (much lower than broadcast) and it didn't get a single bit better.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

a buck per frame

I pay 12€ for 36, including development.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (2 children)

So vinyl I get. I even get cassette tape nostalgia to some degree.

But who, might I ask, has nostalgia for horrible quality video and audio and could actually want this?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I imagine it's because it is a larger piece of media than a Blu-ray so will look pretty on a shelf for completists.

[–] RizzRustbolt 2 points 2 months ago

That's what Laserdisc is for.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

This is simply novelty merch. Cassette Futurism was largely inspired by the first Alien movie in particular and Romulus is very much an attempt to go back to the roots of the first movie, hence all the analog equipment there. So this is just for die hard fans of the franchise and the design aesthetic it birthed.

[–] Etterra 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] NightShot 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

So I can watch it on my VCR ?

[–] hOrni 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Ash looked so bad. I don't understand, why they felt the need to make him look like Ian Holm instead of just casting a loving actor.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

I kinda liked the uncanny valley from it in this because it made him look more like an android

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Should have got Bruce Campbell obviously.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

I'd feel happier about this if VHS players were still being manufactured.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Just realized how much I missed the pleasant sound of loading a cassette.

[–] BeMoreCareful 2 points 2 months ago

Only top loading VHS players. Once we moved to front loaders the format was dead.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

When did people get nostalgic for the crappy analogue definition that was VHS? What's next betamax special editions?

[–] jaycifer 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

It’s probably the format they watched when they were younger, which would be a major contributor to nostalgia. I still keep a VHS player and my parents’ old copies of the pre-special edition Star Wars movies along with Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I remember programming the VCR when VHS was first a thing and I'm definitely not nostalgic for it. It was the best most people could afford at the time but it certainly wasn't good.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

pre-special edition Star Wars movies

The despecialised editions are the real director's cut fite me IRL.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Alien and the teenagers : I agree, a crappy movie need a crappy resolution.

[–] ekZepp 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] ekZepp 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Ok. I respect the two dislikes on my comment, but I honestly ask you: what sense does it make to release a movie in VHS format in 2024?

[–] NightShot 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I miss the old days so I get it and if it would be available in my region I'd buy it. Of the top of my head, VHS didn't have unskippable trailers and warnings - just fast forward to the movie. Everything new is isn't always better.

[–] ekZepp 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

what about a bluray or a dvd?

[–] NightShot 1 points 2 months ago

Yeah it was those I meant with the unskippable trailers and warnings. That really sucks with dvds and blurays. And I acctually like the tape format.