NP: The Martian

[John Bailey]

Seconding All is Lost. I have a penchant for castaway/solo films
(Gravity, 127 Hours, er, Cast Away) but the Redford number is a thing
apart. Almost entirely wordless but totally riveting.

On Tue, Nov 3, 2015 at 3:29 AM, Peter M. Fitzpatrick <petopoet at gmail.com> wrote:
> I tried to read the book when it first came out and could only get about 3/4
> through. All first person and not too thrilling a first person it is, being
> heavily weighted with Martian Survival Tactics 101 info-dumping pretty much
> throughout. I just couldn't discern a good plot progression or payoff beyond
> rescue blip end coming, so I moved on. I might watch the film on DVD, just
> to see how they tackled the boredom factor, which the book overwhelmed me
> with. (I do like science fiction).
>
> On Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 7:04 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> A really good film in a somewhat similar vein is "All is Lost."  Robert
>> Redford in a completely solo performance. If you haven't seen it, do.
>>
>> David Morris
>>
>>
>> On Monday, November 2, 2015, John Bailey <sundayjb at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I heard a review that described it as 'competence porn' and I kind of
>>> agree. It has no subplot, no subtext, almost no characterisation, the
>>> plot never moves beyond the first act, but it certainly delivers on
>>> the person-doing-their-job promise. Which seems to have proven
>>> incredibly satisfying for a lot of viewers and most critics.
>>>
>>> While I was watching it I was wondering if it's Scott's reply to the
>>> many, many haters of Prometheus. That film has absolutely no legs on
>>> the literal level but operates wonderfully if you want to dig into the
>>> symbolism of its cosmic body horror. The Martian is entirely literal
>>> and gives you nothing more. In my opinion. It's good that it's only
>>> one among several.
>>>
>>> On Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 2:46 PM, Charles Albert <cfalbert at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> > Can anyone explain why Ridley Scott didn't pull an Allen Smithee on
>>> > this bit
>>> > of dreck?
>>> >
>>> > love,
>>> > cfa
>>> -
>>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
>
>
-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l