[Alien: Covenant | 5/19/2017 | Who needs mystery?]

All 3 of those are thematically aligned and benefit eachother and the whole narrative/plot of the movie. They basically work like a commentary on eachother that make eachother more coherent.Yeah we do. He is a supersticious old man with a God complex that see's himself as a God that is advancing mankind by terraforming other planets throughout the galaxy. But he sees David as his biggest achievement and creation because he is intellectually superior to humans in pretty much everyway way. Thats also why Vickers is jealous of David and doesn't like her father because she feels he is a delusional idiot that has disowned her for an Android.

I agree that this is what the movie implies but I wish it is further fleshed out, defined. I know this is difficult: Including the young arrogant Weyland in that TED talk would flesh out his arc a bit but how do you do that? The lone Engineer prologue is fantastic I wouldn't change that one bit (however I would gradually reveal the Engineer's face rather than the way he is introduced to the audience with a close-up shock cut "Bam!", watch that scene again, it is edited down from a longer scene).Then the movie cuts to a present day archaelogical dig sequence which is a waste of time because this is already implied in the Star Map briefing later in the ship. I prefer the movie starts off like the first ALIEN did, in a single timeline spanning a couple hours or so. I dislike the insertion of the dig sequence. If they are going to insert a short sequence I rather they put the arrogant young Weyland clip, or incorporate it as a company mission statement during the briefing as a kind of time capsule. Vickers could arrogantly introduce this to the crew as their Mission to Search For Divinity & Immortality. IMHO, the introduction of Weyland as a kindly grandfather searching for general spirituality (don't we all ask this question on daily basis?) lacks specificity and it doesn't pay off nicely in the end when he is "punished" for his transgression.

[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey OS Thread: OVER 1B WW!]

Again, it all depends on China

[Alien: Covenant | 5/19/2017 | Who needs mystery?]

The teaser released inDecember 2011 is a mini masterpiece of action, tension, and drama. The best since the INCEPTION teaser which coincidentally (?) shares a similar but now-overused Bwaaarrrm-Bwaaaarrm musical cue.

[Alien: Covenant | 5/19/2017 | Who needs mystery?]

Acting wasn't a problem at all in this movie, everything else was..

I am a very big and a very biased fan of the movie. I love the franchise, and I love that Ridley Scott touch in the movie. No doubt the plot needs more than a little rewrite but the story is ambitious, too ambitious to be in a single movie. If you notice, there are 3 stories running in the movie, all have similar themes & ideas:

Story #1: The main story which I feel is the strongest is a personal one. This is about innocence lost, personified by Shaw character. Believe in the benevolence of the "alien creators" but feel betrayed at the end.

Story #2: David story which I feel is no less intriguing but seldom explored by fans of the movie. David, a replicant introduced as "not human, never grow old etc" is a strange concept for the general audience. Those who are not a big fan of BLADE RUNNER and ALIEN franchise (with all the malfunctioning androids/replicants) would scratch their heads: who/what is this guy? David wants to be free of Weyland's control, feels kinship to the Engineers somehow, fascinated and admire them, the way Shaw does, only less spiritually. There is no accident in a movie filled with religious symbolism (pyramid, LV223 Bible reference, Christmas, procreation, genetic inheritance, star map, ancient drawings), the character who is the inheritor of sacred knowledge of alien creators is named after the Biblical King David. It is David who first decipher the writings on the wall (nice pun), it is David who activates the Orrery, it is David who awakens the Engineer (though this is a wrong move, seemingly), it is David who operates the vessel to reach "Paradise." But in the end another "believer betrayed" story.

Story#3: Weyland's quest for immortality. Feels like some cheap b-movie plot, and by far the weakest, come too late, and further muddy the whole narrative. The quiet scene with Vickers pleading for him not to seek the Engineer's blessing is dramatically loaded but it takes the movie into another territory (I bet this is Lindelof's LOST Daddy Issues plotting). It is better to show Weyland as arrogant egomaniac like he is in that TED talk clip (brilliantly acted by Guy Pearce) rather than a kindly grandfather so that the audience can get a "twist" at the end. Too much plotting. Not a believer, but his comeuppance feels strained. Even though he is monster who exploits his crew so that he can live on, we don't quite know who Weyland is as a character.

[i feel that those PROMETHEUS Virals should be released in theater spread over 2 weeks before the film opens. That would create a cool anticipation (what is this movie??), something fresh and different from a regular quick cut, boom-blam type of soundtrack that have audience groaning in unison: another one of these? Those Fox virals are brilliant marketing and they serve as an exposition for the movie. Why waste them on YouTube ? Warner Bros has a chance with PACIFIC RIM which can use the same Fox marketing strategy.]

Although all these narrative strands kinda tie into the whole Engineer/Xenomorph/Weyland Corporation mythology, some sharing similar theme about spirituality and stupidity & arrogance of Mankind, they are all better spread over into 3 movies instead of being crammed into what is supposed to be a minimalist space thriller ala the first ALIEN. I feel that there are lot of execs, producers, writers, and Ridley himself who tear each other apart for their own modern take on the legendary scfi movie. That's why the movie feels muddied and unsatisfying even though both the visuals and the ambitious concept (story) are just perfect for scfi fans like me.

[Weekend numbers thread (close between TH and DU 31.5-31 so far)]

No one cares about jack reacher? Can it make 100m?

Tom Cruise is in fine form in the movie, but the story a little too underwhelming (I was expecting the conspiracy story would go larger in scale), especially for a movie star as bankable as Cruise. This feels like an episode of THE MENTALIST with better fights (The scene where Tom takes down 5 barfight bullies is a lot of fun) and car chases. Like I said, this is a vacation movie for Tom Cruise before OBLIVION, ALL YOU NEED IS KILL, and MISSION 5.

[Wednesday Numbers (12/26)]

^{Pray for a more forgiving weather this weekend for HOBBITS to hold. LES MISERABLES would surely open huge in New York, LA and Chicago, with less business from the heartland. Where are those storm stricken areas in US?}

[Christmas Day Numbers | Les Miserables: 18.1M | DU: 15M | The Hobbit: 11.3M | PG: 6.5M]

Really? But there's so much sex and violence in it...

There is a depiction of a man climaxing on a woman , it's a brief scene but am surprised they put that in

[Avatar: The Way of Water | 16 DEC 2022 | Don't worry guys, critics like it]

RE: True LiesTake out all the slapstick comedy, the ugly racism, this movie is an excellent action movie, just not a James Cameron movie. THE ABYSS and AVATAR for their flaws, are both 100% pure James Cameron stuff.

[Weekend Estimates Hobbit 36.7 pg 33]

I don't know I feel that THE HOBBITS feel like a Summer movie with all the action, nasty goblins, and decapitation. Release it in May or June, it will do much better than the cold winter of Christmas/New Year when people prefer lighter fare.

[Monday Numbers (12/17)]

^{The HOBBITS will have to rely on International market to get to $1B++}

^{Can it do $800-$850 million ala PIRATES 4?}