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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
 Posted - 03/19/2008 : 10:15:50 PM
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I remember Hyams saying he'd looked at the Arecibo telescope, and it was extremely dirty there (not trashy, dirty: a lot of wind brought sand and soil in, and it was nearly impossible to sweep it up for any length of time). He had some other locations in mind before deciding on the VLA.
I had no problems with the three Americans having a ten-month nap. I was saying that it would make sense for most of the Russians to be in hibernation as well, with just a skeleton crew flying the ship until they got to Jupiter.
One thing I wish the movie had kept in from the book was the character of Zenia (Yakunina in the movie). Zenia was characterized as being very young, a last-minute replacement who was in over her head. Also, if I remember right, she was painfully shy; her face had been badly burned in an accident, and she was very self-conscious of her appearance. She was probably the most sympathetic character in the book.
Personally, I thought the Leonov in the film was much, much better than what the book had. I'll take ugly and ungainly and functional to an oversized lump of Silly Putty. |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 03/19/2008 : 10:47:00 PM
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Huh, Arecibo has been filmed though and it looked good. Can't remember what though... a Bond movie, right? And did that Charlie Sheen flick The Arrival have a scene at Arecibo??
Not that Hyams made a bad decision; I thought VLA looked terrific in 2010.
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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Pip
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
333 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 7:24:14 PM
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Brad,
This is a very good review and thank you for taking the time to write and post it. I watched this movie a couple of years back because it had Helen Mirren in it and because I finally saw 2001 and didn't understand, and was pleasantly surprised.
2010is a movie that works for me in a way that 2001 does not. While I recognize that 2001 established a new set of rules so far as space movies go, I didn't understand what was going on. I realize that alot of people like to have an "experience" and to leave open-ended questions and to answer questions with questions and so on. I want things explained and for it to make sense. What was all that silly stuff at the end of 2001? Some people were wowed by it and seemed to like the feeling of awe. I thought it was weird and creepy and didn't tell the story.
I'm just one of those people that want to know things.
And because I like to know things (and because of Mirren) I watched 2010 because, for all of 2001 weirdness, I was hoping to get a little explanation. And the movie basically delivered.
It's interesting that you and I found the same things to be good and bad about the movie. For example:
Good: the space shots, with the ships silently floating through the void under the gaze of majestic Jupiter and his brood of moons.
Good: the ballooning sequence was very well done and I would amplifiy what you wrote by saying I liked the alternating sequence of people shots and spaceship shots. The people shots of shaky camera work, frightened people, and noise contrasted nicely with the picture of the ship silently flaming through the outer gases of Jupiter.
Good: Bob Balaban's relationship with HAL.
Bad: the whole America vs. Russia thing. Dated and hamfisted.
Bad: Lithgow's character. Needed to be developed more.
Pip
"These five fingers: individually they're nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold!" - Lucy Van Pelt |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 8:23:35 PM
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2001 operates on the level of music. No one says that Beethoven's 9th is disappointing because it doesn't make its narrative clear enough. Well, most don't, anyway. *g* Kubrick was trying to make a distinctly visual experience; a tone poem for the eyes. I really don't knock anyone that doesn't like it, it's a matter of taste and what you want from film. Again, this is why 2010 is arguably one of the worst sequels ever. It's a pretty good movie but it flies in the face of the movie it follows on a fundamental, philosophical level. It's like writing a sequel to the Mozart Requiem in the style of a modern pop song.
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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Pip
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
333 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 9:15:41 PM
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No offense to people who like 2001! It's a landmark work. It just doesn't fit the mold of someone like me who is firmly rooted in the sensible/mundane.
2010 is interesting. It's a mix of really good stuff and wince-inducing bad stuff. That's an interesting mix, to have a movie that has you enthralled one moment and then rolling your eyes the next. I don't watch too many space movies but other movies in that mold are Solaris and, to an extent, Event Horizon.
When they make 2061, they should have a ship go to Jupitar entirely crewed by clones of me. 2061: Pips in Space.
Pip |
Edited by - Pip on 03/23/2008 9:27:22 PM |
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 9:32:33 PM
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| I'd pay eight bucks to see that. |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 10:18:19 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Pip
No offense to people who like 2001!
Oh, likewise, no offense to people who don't *g* Oddly, I fit into your camp about 90% of the time. I tend to have short patience for ambiguous and/or pretentious art films. But there are a few I really love- Jodorowski films, for example, and Lynch's.
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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Ericb
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
648 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2008 : 12:09:41 PM
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Great review, makes me want to see the movie again (I saw it last in 1985).
I guess it's too obvious to point out but I'll point it out anyway, I assume that Kirbuk is an anagram of Kubrik.
"I reserve the right to look as well as be boring." - Robert Fripp |
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2008 : 12:49:45 PM
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| Yep, with the "c" removed. *g* In the novel, she was Tatiana Orlova; Orlov was her husband. |
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2010 (movies I like)
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