Watch, Watched, Watching: Watching Severance and working for Lumon

[hauberk]

3 hours ago, Maithanet said:

Rewatched Alien for the first time in ~15 years (although I watched it many times as a teenager).  It really stands up as an all-time great film.  The movie does an incredible job of making both the text (killer alien on a spaceship) and subtext (anti-capitalism) work seamlessly.  The Company (never mentioned on screen, but visible in a couple screenshots as Weyland-Yutani) is faceless, unfeeling and unrelentingly evil. 

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It knew that there was an alien signal on LB-462, it knew it could be dangerous and wanted to bring back a specimen, so it sent a small crew least able to defend itself.  It replaced the science officer with Ash "two days before" they shipped out.  Ash is actually an android programmed to do The Company's dirty work, who sets about sabotaging everything the crew did to try and survive. 

Ash let the expedition party back on the ship when strict quarantine rules say they cannot be allowed onboard.  Ash knew something was implanted in Cain when he woke up, but didn't tell anyone or help him (this is clear in Ian Holm's acting and the camera focusing on his nervous face).  Ash yelled at Parker not to kill the Alien when it pops out of Cain "DON'T TOUCH IT!!" because at that time it was small and vulnerable.  Ash rigs up some tracking devices which he says key on "micro changes in air density".  This is a lie, as Ripley realizes, because it tracks Jones the cat through a sealed door.  It never tracks the Alien at all, and presumably was rigged specifically not to work in the hope the crew either fails to find the Alien or gets killed looking for it.  He does not help Dallas protect himself in the air shaft (a plan that could have worked) and thus Dallas gets only useless information from him and Lambert until he is ambushed.  And finally once Ripley catches wind to what The Company is doing, he attempts to murder her (and presumably would have killed Lambert and Parker next). 

The overall takeaway is that the film is contrasting the distant, homicidal greed of The Company with the unseen terror of the Alien.  The Company sets plans in motion to kill the crew for profit from star systems away, we never learn any of those people's names and we never will.  In contrast the Alien is also hidden for virtually the entire movie, if I had to guess it's screen time is probably about a minute for the whole film.  But the combination of The Company and the Alien strips away the humanity (logical thinking, empathy, communication) from the entire crew.  The exception is Ripley, who maintains all these human traits and survives. 

This is a great film, with great acting.  Tom Skerritt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto are all great as supporting characters.  And of course Sigourney Weaver knocks it out of the park.  Ripley isn't quite the action hero superwoman she becomes in Aliens but she's still quite a badass and makes a lot of smart decisions under pressure. 

100% agree. 

[Maithanet]

I'm actually wondering if the Nostromo wasn't the first ship that The Company sent to investigate the alien craft.  The reason for that is

Spoiler

We know The Company had advance knowledge of the alien craft, because they replaced the Science Officer with Ash.  But how did they know the alien was dangerous?  Was Ash just a contingency, and there's a real possibility that the crew goes to the alien craft, finds nothing of interest, and leaves?  Or had some other ship been sent there and failed to return, cluing in the Company that there was something potentially dangerous (and valuable) there? 

Another thing that was interesting to me on the rewatch was Dallas as a character.  Tom Skerritt/Ridley Scott made some surprising choices with his character.  He seems like someone who used to be a go-getter, but somehow ended up as captain of a long haul freighter (not exactly a plum-job).  He is perpetually exhausted and irritable.  He defers to others in most circumstances and just retires to his chamber to listen to classical music.  When Cain dies he asks if anyone wants to say anything, and then when no one does he just blasts him out to space.  Just a brutal non-funeral for a crewmember, particularly one that they were joking with just a few hours ago.  Overall I wouldn't say Dallas is a bad man, or even makes any particularly stupid decisions, but he is a very poor leader in this situation.

[dbunting]

4 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

I'm actually wondering if the Nostromo wasn't the first ship that The Company sent to investigate the alien craft.  The reason for that is

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We know The Company had advance knowledge of the alien craft, because they replaced the Science Officer with Ash.  But how did they know the alien was dangerous?  Was Ash just a contingency, and there's a real possibility that the crew goes to the alien craft, finds nothing of interest, and leaves?  Or had some other ship been sent there and failed to return, cluing in the Company that there was something potentially dangerous (and valuable) there? 

Another thing that was interesting to me on the rewatch was Dallas as a character.  Tom Skerritt/Ridley Scott made some surprising choices with his character.  He seems like someone who used to be a go-getter, but somehow ended up as captain of a long haul freighter (not exactly a plum-job).  He is perpetually exhausted and irritable.  He defers to others in most circumstances and just retires to his chamber to listen to classical music.  When Cain dies he asks if anyone wants to say anything, and then when no one does he just blasts him out to space.  Just a brutal non-funeral for a crewmember, particularly one that they were joking with just a few hours ago.  Overall I wouldn't say Dallas is a bad man, or even makes any particularly stupid decisions, but he is a very poor leader in this situation.

Very clear case of being burned out.

[Ran]

Alien's depiction of the far future as a life of dangerous corporate drudgery, with its really industrial set and ship design, was as trend-setting as Blade Runner. Scott basically gave the world two of the absolutely  most important science fiction films of all time, just in term of impact on the genre that spread not just throughout cinema but into the literary world as well.

[Maithanet]

1 minute ago, Ran said:

Alien's depiction of the far future as a life of dangerous corporate drudgery, with its really industrial set and ship design, was as trend-setting as Blade Runner. Scott basically gave the world two of the absolutely  most important science fiction films of all time, just in term of impact on the genre that spread not just throughout cinema but into the literary world as well.

In both movies corporate power has expanded dramatically, although it isn't always discussed much in the film.  In Alien, the crew doesn't get money, they get paid in shares.  If the company has a bad couple of years while the crew is asleep in their pods, they could get a huge pay cut without even knowing it.  It just shows the power the company has over the rank and file.  Their contracts are written in such a way that they cannot refuse the additional mission to investigate an alien signal.  In spite of the fact that this crew is in no way trained or equipped to do this, and it is clearly dangerous (even aside from the actual alien encounter, just landing their old craft on LB-426 is dangerous and causes extensive damage). When Parker complains about this, Ash says that they will forfeit all shares if they do not go along with the company wishes.  They were diverted from their regular course and were described as "only halfway home", but still 10 months from Earth.  So we're talking about ~3-4 years away from your family, held by the company for continuing good behavior.  There are worse working situations on Earth today (slave ships peeling shrimp, migrant workers doing construction in Qatar, etc), but not a lot of them, and not for skilled, educated positions like ship captains and engineers. 

This is touched on in Aliens as well, where Company man Burke has free access to Ripley's medical records (WTF?!)

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

4 hours ago, Maithanet said:

In contrast the Alien is also hidden for virtually the entire movie, if I had to guess it's screen time is probably about a minute for the whole film.  

I've thought about this. Why is the alien absent for most of the film? I think the answer is the deleted scene and what it suggests for the original life cycle of the alien.

• It's "born", escapes and hides to mature.
• The mature alien goes hunting. It doesn't attempt to overpower the group, which it could do easily. It waits until one of them is isolated (Brett) and stalks/kills him.
• Then it disappears while we focus on the crew dealing with Bretts abduction. What's the Alien doing? Cocooning Brett. This seems to involve mutating Brett into an egg (according to the deleted scene). 
• It waits until a second crew member is isolated (Dallas) and grabs him. It disappears to cocoon Dallas while the crew has their own drama. 
• The alien now has two eggs: and heir and a spare. Now it goes after the crew. The attack on Parker and Lambert is the first time the creature risks being in the same room with two humans at once. It kills both of them and leaves their bodies. Because it doesn't need them.

Although I like that deleted scene, I think Ridley was right the first time. The movie works better without it.

30 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

Overall I wouldn't say Dallas is a bad man, or even makes any particularly stupid decisions, but he is a very poor leader in this situation.

A situation that is completely unprecedented in the universe of this film. And the most consequential decision is one he shares the blame for with Ash when he allows them on board. Ripley was right.

It might also go some way to explain the unsentimental nature of Kane's funeral. Dallas kind of fucked up and he knows it. 

Still one of my favorite films. I revisit it about once a year or so. 

[Maithanet]

17 minutes ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Although I like that deleted scene, I think Ridley was right the first time. The movie works better without it.

I agree.  But the movie is definitely long enough, and we don't need any more body horror than we already got. 

I read the Alan Dean Foster novelization and it was funny to come across the deleted scenes in there.  I have never actually seen them in the context of the film, just a few youtube clips.  Did they include other scenes of the crew talking?  I remember that the novelization had backstory that Lambert had slept with both Cain and Dallas, and Ripley asked her if she ever had sex with Ash, and she said "no, he didn't seem particularly interested."  Which I remember because I read this as a teenager and so any sex discussion is going to be interesting, but also because it seemed very WTF at the time, and it still does now.  There is no indication whatsoever that Lambert is sleeping with anybody, no particularly warm comments toward anyone.  I guess personality wise she does seem pretty close to Dallas in that they're both irritable all the time and hate their jobs. 

 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

1 minute ago, Maithanet said:

I agree.  But the movie is definitely long enough, and we don't need any more body horror than we already got. 

I read the Alan Dean Foster novelization and it was funny to come across the deleted scenes in there.  I have never actually seen them in the context of the film, just a few youtube clips.  Did they include other scenes of the crew talking?

Not really for time. The scene doesn't make the film overly long. But for pacing. That scene might work better if they put it right after the scene where she discovers Parker and Lamberts bodies; instead of before she tries to cancel the self destruct. 

The 2003 director's cut (which I saw in a theater) includes the restored egg morphing scene. It also features several alternate/extended takes on specific scenes. Some scenes are trimmed slightly for time. I can't recall if the scene where Ripley asks Lambert if she'd ever slept with Ash is in there but it rings a bell. I know I've seen it somewhere. 

There's a scene later in both cuts where Ripley has what looks like an obvious bruise on her cheek (just before her violent encounter with Ash). I think this has to do with Lambert slapping her outside of the medical bay in the director's cut. 

[Derfel Cadarn]

11 hours ago, Maithanet said:

In both movies corporate power has expanded dramatically, although it isn't always discussed much in the film.  In Alien, the crew doesn't get money, they get paid in shares.  If the company has a bad couple of years while the crew is asleep in their pods, they could get a huge pay cut without even knowing it.  It just shows the power the company has over the rank and file.  Their contracts are written in such a way that they cannot refuse the additional mission to investigate an alien signal.  In spite of the fact that this crew is in no way trained or equipped to do this, and it is clearly dangerous (even aside from the actual alien encounter, just landing their old craft on LB-426 is dangerous and causes extensive damage). When Parker complains about this, Ash says that they will forfeit all shares if they do not go along with the company wishes.  They were diverted from their regular course and were described as "only halfway home", but still 10 months from Earth.  So we're talking about ~3-4 years away from your family, held by the company for continuing good behavior.  There are worse working situations on Earth today (slave ships peeling shrimp, migrant workers doing construction in Qatar, etc), but not a lot of them, and not for skilled, educated positions like ship captains and engineers. 

This is touched on in Aliens as well, where Company man Burke has free access to Ripley's medical records (WTF?!)

When they talked about shares, I assumed it to mean shares of the cargo they’re hauling rather than actual shares in the company.

 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

Argylle

I thought it was pretty good. Not great but not bad either. Some interesting visuals. Some good comedic scenes though maybe not enough. Bruce Dallas Howard is great. ‘Could have used more Cavill and Sena though. 

I’m baffled by the critical reaction to it. Like I said, it’s not great but 33% on RT? That’s a bit crazy to me; especially considering the generosity some franchise films have been treated by the critical consensus recently. 

[Veltigar]

2 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

When they talked about shares, I assumed it to mean shares of the cargo they’re hauling rather than actual shares in the company.

 

Yes, that was also my reading, but perhaps the novelization says otherwise?

[Derfel Cadarn]

1 hour ago, Veltigar said:

Yes, that was also my reading, but perhaps the novelization says otherwise?

Would thr novelisation have any canonicity or was it just something dreamed up by the author

[Heartofice]

Pain Hustlers  - Emily Blunt in a Netflix movie about drug firms basically bribing doctors to prescribe Fentanyl to their patients.

I have a couple of thoughts.

1. Emily Blunt is actually a very good actress. This was a broad, not especially challenging movie, but she really can put quite a lot of subtlety into her performance, and the movie gives her a lot of opportunity to do a lot with a little. She is also very good looking when she wants to be.

2. The American healthcare system is literally insane. Having watched a few of these movies now about similar subjects, we always come out of it thinking it 'holy shit, glad we don't live there' 

[Maithanet]

7 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

When they talked about shares, I assumed it to mean shares of the cargo they’re hauling rather than actual shares in the company.

I have no idea.  I'm not sure it makes much of a difference though, as either way it is The Company deciding whether the employees have been sufficiently obedient to get any money at all for years of work.  I no longer own the novelisation, so I don't know if I got that notion from the book or not.  And I agree, that is probably just Alan Dean Foster's opinion rather than anything else.  Although the very concept of "canon" doesn't mean much with the Alien universe with the twisted timeline and crazy Predator tie-ins. 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

3 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Would thr novelisation have any canonicity or was it just something dreamed up by the author

 

5 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Yes, that was also my reading, but perhaps the novelization says otherwise?

In the novelization, they're hauling crude oil, not mineral ore. I think that's about it. What a space trucker is going to do with a mass of crude oil or mineral ore, I don't know. 

In the movie, Parkers starts the conversation about "shares" with, "Let's talk about the bonus situation." or something to that effect.  

"Shares" could mean company stock. It could also be a shorthand for some kind of profit sharing scheme. 

ETA: One thing's for sure, no collective bargaining and likely no union.  

Edited March 6 by Deadlines? What Deadlines?

[Corvinus85]

Finished Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The last 2 episodes really elevated the show and both leads gave excellent performances. The end scene had a bold open end.

[Relic]

22 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

Finished Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The last 2 episodes really elevated the show and both leads gave excellent performances. The end scene had a bold open end.

Was it bold, tho? Pretty convenient ending, allowing for all sorts of possible season 2 continuations, if there is a season 2. I found that ending pretty annoying, myself.

[Corvinus85]

Just now, Relic said:

Was it bold, tho? Pretty convenient ending, allowing for all sorts of possible season 2 continuations, if there is a season 2. I found that ending pretty annoying, myself.

I was slightly annoyed, too, but in case there won't be a season 2, it now becomes a matter of interpretation. 

[HexMachina]

I was feeling nostalgic and watched Return to Oz on a sick day. Horrifying to think this was one of my favourite films as a child.

[Ran]

Rewatched Die Hard, after listening to the Blank Check podcast with Kevin Smith as a guest discussing it. Really holds up in a lot of ways.

Watched the first season ofResident Alien, as I'm a big fan of Alan Tudyk and the first episode really hooked me. Linda Hamilton appearing as a guest was pretty awesome. That said, as the show went on it more and more heavily focused typical family sitcom melodrama in a way that made me wish it was a half-hour show so it could more tightly focus on Harry. Netflix here had only the first season, not sure when they will get more of it 

Finally, watched the Oscar-nominated documentary Bobi Wine: The People's President about popular Ugandan musician Bobi Wine (his stage name, his actual name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu) becoming a central figure in the political opposition to the rule of Yoweri Museveni, particularly when he had his party amend the constitution so he could run for a fifth term. The documentary features some pretty catchy Afrobeat political music from Bobi and compatriots like Nubian Li, but also shows the struggles they face. A lot of police brutality on display, and Wine himself would be imprisoned and even brutalized on more than one occasion, but he carries on.

I will say that the last section of the documentary seemed to have little new to say or show, so I feel like they missed the mark a little there. But I hope Bobi is right that one of the nations with the youngest populations in the world can effect political change and win freedom from corruption and despotism.

ETA: Also just finished Perfect Days, Wim Wenders' latest film. Sorry, @Darryk, another film I can promise is not for you. But it's a lovely, humanist, quiet film about a Japanese man who lives a very simple, quiet life -- he gets up, he goes to work (diligently cleaning public toilets in Tokyo), he listens to cassettes of music from the 60s and 70s (Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Van Morrison, Rolling Stones, and more), he takes photographs of trees and plants with an old black-and-white camera, he reads, he goes to sleep, and it starts over. Each night we get a  kaleidoscopic black-and-white montage of images, the fleeting remnants of dreams and memories hinting at other things. There's no twist, no real plot, no great reveal, and the film hangs most on the performance of Kōji Yakusho as Hirayama, the lead (some may remember him from his leading role in Shall We Dance?, which if you haven't seen it I highly recommend -- really lovely film!), and also I think on the cinematography from Franz Lustig which captures Tokyo vividly. There's a scene near the end, at night, where the bokeh turns all the distant lights into huge floating globes in background, and it's magical. 

Just a sweet, gentle film. Richard Brody, that old sourpuss, is constantly complaining that films don't explore things he wants to see explored, but it's Wenders' film, not his, and I think Wenders got across exactly what he wanted to get across. 

Also, the last scene, strangely, seem to be another entry in conversation with Call Me By Your Name and Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

 

Edited March 7 by Ran