Prometheus

Nothing could possibly satisfy the fervent expectation that has built for this sorta-prequel to the genre-defining Alien, Ridley Scott’s return to science fiction for the first time in 30 years, but Prometheus comes close. Strikingly beautiful, expertly paced, vividly detailed and scary as hell, it holds you in its grip for its entirety and doesn’t let go. You’ll squeal, you’ll squirm and you’ll probably continue feeling a lingering sense of anxiety afterward. That’s how effective it is in its intensely suspenseful mood. But the further you get away from it, the more you may begin to notice some problems with the plot, both nagging holes and a narrative fuzziness. Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba and Logan Marshall-Green lead a crew of space explorers to a remote moon in the year 2093 hoping to find answers to the origin of mankind on Earth. But when they arrive at this gorgeously severe land, they (naturally) stumble upon secrets and perils they never could have imagined. Scott and writers Damon Lindelof (executive producer of Lost) and Jon Spaihts vaguely touch on the notions of creation vs Darwinism, but these philosophical debates never feel fleshed out fully. Still, the performances are excellent, especially from Michael Fassbender as a robot with the looks and impeccable manners of an adult but the innocence and dangerous curiosity of a child. R for sci-fi violence, including some intense images, and brief language. 123 minutes. — AP

Rating : ****

---

DVD reviews: New releases that have hit the stores

Young Adult (2011) ®

Recently-single, 37-year-old, young-adult fiction writer Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) has an epiphany, and makes a trip back home to a hick town in Minnesota — to get her former high-school sweetheart Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) back into her life. Doesn’t matter that he’s happily married to a nice girl, and has just become a father. Mavis, writing her last book in the young adult series, doggedly believes she and Buddy are meant to be. What follows is an education in growing up: from teeny bopper adolescence to adulthood. Yes, it’s never too late to grow up.

Duration: 94 minutes

Genre: Drama

What’s good: The unapologetic, bitter-sweet reality of being on the wrong-side-of-30, single-status lane

What’s bad: After Jason Reitman’s Up In The Air, your hopes are up in the air... and this one’s a bit of a let down

Cast: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt, Elizabeth Reaser

Rating: ***

---

Big Miracle (2012) (PG)

A small-town news reporter Adam Carlson (John Krasinski) discovers three California gray whales trapped in a hole in the ice of the Arctic Circle. What follows next is a heartwarming tale of Carlson and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore), an oil magnate and rival world superpowers, USA and Russia, joining hands to save the family of majestic gray whales all under the watchful eyes of the media and the world. Based on the real-life inspired novel Freeing the Whales by Thomas Rose.

Duration: 107 minutes

Genre: Family drama/ Romance

What’s good: Director Ken Kwapis juggles an ambitious number of characters and agendas — including those of a drilling-rights Big Oil magnate, a peacenik and the sensationalist reporters — and manages to not demonise any of them

What’s bad: Might make you cry

Cast: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, John Pingayak

Rating: ****