Friday, April 20, 2018

Lost looks great

Lost in Space, that is.  On Netflix.  Watched the second episode yesterday.  Was better than the first.

I heard some critics talking about it on Radio National yesterday.   It's being taken that seriously.  It seems everyone likes Parker Posey as the female incarnation of Dr Smith.  (I'm not so sure, yet.)  Much discussion about how Maureen is now the smart spouse instead of being the Housekeeper in Chief, as her character was in 1966.   John Robinson seems a bit of a resentful "you need to respect me more"  meathead so far.  Yet Mum's not perfect - their two girls are the smart kids easily selected to leave Earth, while poor old Will only got on board by his Mum's (easy as pie) computer hacking.   Yet I would still say that Will (played by a likeable boy actor) and his now somewhat creepy Robot are still at the emotional heart of the show.  

Nevertheless, I get the feeling the show must be being despised by 4Chan and alt.righters due to the modern girl power aspect.  (At least the gender reversal of Doctor Smith makes sense in that it balances out any suggestion that all women are smarter and more sensible than men.) 

All of this is prelude to making my key point - I'm loving the production design.   The Jupiter 2 is just like the perfect update of the old TV version.  (I realised last night that I love spaceships in a flying saucer design.   I fondly remember a toy spaceship of generic, Jupiter 2-ish design given to me as a birthday or Christmas present in the late 1960's.  I kind of wish I still had it.  I guess other people like saucer designs too, given the fondness people have for the Millennium Falcon.  Perhaps there is a Jungian explanation to be contemplated.)  The new chariot is a pretty cool update too, although I had to laugh when what's-her-name last night (one of the girls, I forget who is who) used a corded radio microphone.  Maybe it was done as a deliberate reminder of the 1960's looks?  

12 comments:

TimT said...

Saw Ready Player One today. I think I might have enjoyed it more than you!

Spielberg is a basically sound director with the occasional habit of getting too sentimental/going off the rails. But he held it together in this film, I reckon. If credibility was strained in the latter parts, as you point out, it doesn't break because the story line basically holds together. I also liked how it touches on deeper ethical/philosophical themes (how the competitiveness and violence in humans can be unleashed in ugly ways) without being too blunt about them. Spielberg has developed subtlety with age. I like that.

Steve said...

Well, I'm pleased that you enjoyed it.

Not so pleased with the "Spielberg is a basically sound director" !

You need to be locked in a room with me for 15 hours while I pause at various points of his 5 greatest movies and explain why what you just saw was so brilliant.

not trampis said...

please a female Dr Smith. Can it get any worse

TimT said...

I'm not exactly sure what you mean Steve! Are you taking offence because Spielberg is more than just 'sound', he's 'brilliant'? Or not?

What are your Spielberg five greatest?

I'd give -
War of the Worlds
Raiders of the Lost Ark (there are high points in the other movies but this one set the template)
Duel
Close Encounters
ET

In no particular order.
I'm afraid I haven't seen enough of Spielberg's non-SF movies. I must watch Schindler's List sometime.

Steve said...

"Are you taking offence because Spielberg is more than just 'sound', he's 'brilliant'? "

Yes!

My top five:

ET
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Close Encounters
Schindler's List
War of the Worlds

We're not so far apart in our choices, it seems.

not trampis said...

quite easily his best film was Duel

John said...

The Basic premise of Lost in Space is copied from another Sci-Fi movie where groups of humans are sent out into the cosmos to find habitable planets. The emphasis on girl power is OK but is also just as unbalanced as when men were the big players. The male is constantly stuffing up, the only good thing he does is drive them to safety, while the women and children are beacons of logic and compassion.

The plot pace is glacial.
Looking for magnesium in snow covered mountains is ridiculous.
A lush temperate forest next to a wall of ice is ridiculous.

It isn't science fiction it is a fantasy.

TimT said...

I think 'Crystal Skull' had much to recommend it.

Steve said...

Yes, it's a case of you and I against the world when it comes to Crystal Skull, Tim.

The next grouping of 5 for me would probably be

1941
Minority Report
Lincoln
Duel
Jaws

All good to great films.

Steve said...

John, well yes, it's probably barely more scientifically authentic than the original TV show. Perhaps best thought of as something like Star Wars, where the silly science doesn't really matter, it's more character driven.
Even as 8 year old I knew that all the guest aliens speaking English was something you just had to go with for the sake of easy narrative. Who knows, the silly science might kill my enjoyment of it eventually, but I can tolerate that aspect for now.

John said...

Steve I have neither family or children and LiS is clearly aimed at that demographic. Nonetheless that lack of attention to details as I mentioned above is strange and detracts from the series. Spielberg typically doesn't make those mistakes. Perhaps that is not his fault but rather the script writers.

not trampis said...

I forgot about Lincoln