NP: The Martian

[Monte Davis]

All is Lost also reminded me of the less hallucinatory solo sailing
passages in  Robert Stone's Outerbridge Reach.

On Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 5:50 PM, John Bailey <sundayjb at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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
>
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