Prometheus: Movie Review OR "Of Greek Gods And Ridley Scott"

When Ridley Scott announced his return to the genre that was pretty much defined by him, SciFi fans world over were beyond delighted. After all, this is the man who gave us two of the most magnificent Science-Fiction masterpieces in the history of cinema, Alien and Blade Runner. And this excitement was further elevated exponentially with the prospect of the new project being a prequel of sorts to one (Alien) of those masterpieces. 

Named after the Greek god who stole fire from the other Gods and gave it to man to make him an equal, Prometheus the movie deals with mankind's quest to search for an answer to the question "Who created us and why?". Prometheus marks Scott's return to Science Fiction after almost three decades. But you couldn't tell that after watching the movie, for the celebrated director STILL knows how to make an engaging SciFi flick.

The thing about Scott's vision in his sci-fi movies is the level of authenticity he manages to showcase. His futuristic universe seems very believable and you start thinking "Gosh this could really happen!". In fact many elements used in Alien and Blade Runner, which were pure science fiction at the time are very much part of the real world today.

The build up to the release has been phenomenal. The promos for the flick started pouring in as early as December last year. Apart from the standard theatrical trailers, the marketing campaign featured many viral videos,a faux TED talk and even a fully functioning Weyland Industries website.However, one of the faults I found with the viral campaigning was that there was way too much information pertaining to the plot given away in the full length trailers. Or maybe I figured it out cause I'm just THAT smart!

In many ways Prometheus serves as a reboot/prequel to the original SciFi horror classic, Alien (NOT Aliens! That's a completely different flick albeit a worthy sequel directed by James Cameron). However you do not necessarily need to have watched the previous movie to understand what's going on (although you'll be glad that you did!) 

In terms of connections and eater eggs with relation to Scott's first foray into the SciFi genre, Alien, the avid fan will have a ball of time spotting them. Right from the title sequence to the Space Jockey, Scott has ensured that the plot of Prometheus is very much set in the same universe as Alien. But he is firm in his assertion that the movie does not directly tie-in into the 1979 classic. And this is quite evident after you've watched the movie and the climax sequences. This is a good thing, since it leaves room for potentially a new set of sequels further exploring the new perspective offered by this storyline. 

The suspense and thrill aspect of the movie are in the same league as the original Alien and one scene in particular is a stunning testament to the true brilliance of Scott as a director and Rapace as an actor. Nightmares are made of stuff like this! Although do not expect the same thrill-a-minute scenes like the other flicks. The shocks are in place at the correct junctures in the movie and are again kept relevant to the plot and seemingly underplayed in the trailers seen thus far.

The story raises many religious and deep philosophical quesitons while offering minimal answers. This, in my view, is a conscious effort by the film maker enabling the audience to formulate their own responses to the queries posed. Although the ones that are presented in the movie are gems in their own right. The conversation between Logan Marshall Green and Micheal Fassbender's characters, after their rather disappointing discovery, was one such revelation. When asked why did human's create androids such as himself, David (Fassbender) receives a rather callous and nonchalant response  from Holloway (Marshall-Green) - "We made you because we could!"

For someone who has always been intrigued at the possibility of an extra-terrestrial hand in the creation of life on earth, the basic premise of this movie appealed to me greatly. Although I was a little disappointed that the true intent or absolute origin of life was not theorized or even hypothesized to the fullest extent. But then like I mentioned, the director has left many questions open for audience interpretation. 

Prometheus offers die-hard fans of the Alien franchise a brand new perspective and a more thought-provoking origin story which stands alone on its own plot and back-story. And which has the possibility of spawning its own set of independent sequels which would make for great viewing. If you like good science-fiction and admire debating and understanding open endings and interpretations, then Prometheus will surely be a feast for your senses.

Here's the latest trailer for you to get all pepped up for the flick.

TED - Ideas Worth Spreading

Recently I came across a Website that really changed the way I look at my profession. For that matter, it really transformed my perception about the nature of different professions and how they are in fact related to one another, no matter how diverse. But before I go into the details of the website, a little background about what the web-site is promoting.

TED or technology Entertainment Design started as a conference, held in Long Beach, California way back in 1984, which brought together people from the fields of, well you guessed it, technology entertainment and design. At the face of it this combination seems odd. But this odd mix of people sharing their own stories about their work and their experiences snowballed and today the conference, which is an annual affair is sold out a year in advance, has speakers from many other backgrounds and has inspired millions.

The premise for the conference is simple. Innovators, leaders, experts from each field share their ideas. These 'stories' are aimed at not any specific audience or a privileged few, but at all of us, you, me, and everybody. At the core of TED is the belief that an idea can come anywhere at any time and from anyone. Also that idea can spread at the speed of light and has the potential to move mountains. The TED conference is a medium for those who wish to share their ideas with the world in an effort to improve society as a whole.

The TED philosophy -

• An idea can be created out of nothing except an inspired imagination.
• An idea weighs nothing.
• It can be transferred across the world at the speed of light for virtually zero cost.
• And yet an idea, when received by a prepared mind, can have extraordinary impact.
• It can reshape that mind's view of the world.
• It can dramatically alter the behavior of the mind's owner.
• It can cause the mind to pass on the idea to others.

Many of the ideas are in the form of stories or anecdotes. Speakers come from different walks of life. To give you an idea of the range of topics, here is a list of recent speakers at the TED conferences held in the last few years:

• Eve Ensler -Creator of the Vagina Monologues
• Peter Diamandis - Runs the X-Prize foundation
• Abhay Deol - Bollywood Actor/Producer
• Bill Clinton - Former US President
• Jane Goodall - Renowned anthropologist
• Nandan Nilekani - Founding member, Infosys
• Al Gore - Former US Vice President, Nobel Laurette
  
• Bono - Singer, Activist
• JJ Abrams - Hollywood Producer/Director
  

It is quite apparent that the spectrum of speakers at the TED conferences is pretty colossal. But these are just a few of the speakers that have contributed in the last two and a half decades of TED.And each speaker brings to the floor his or her unique story.

The beauty of TED lies in its simple format. Over a course of 4 days, 50 Speakers get a fixed time slot of 18 minutes each to share their stories. The stories range from the hilarious to the inspirational. But each story is enriching in its own way.

TED is now a global phenomenon, not restricted to the conferences at Long Beach, California. In fact, the latest TED conference is being held right here in India at the Mysore Campus of Infosys and is playing host to many national and international personalities.

This brings me to the website that I mentioned earlier. In an effort to ensure that the stories/ideas of the many speakers don't get lost in the annals of time, TED launched TED.com, a 'clearinghouse' of knowledge, where ordinary people like you and I can view the inspirational videos of the speakers from past TED conferences.

I am sure that most of you watch some of the many many inane (albeit funny) viral videos that are ubiquitous on the net. Every other day someone is posting a link to some funny or ''Awesome' video file on YouTube or the likes. While these videos are a great stress-buster, they're more likely to be forgotten or have little value-addition to our lives or to the society as a whole.

On the other hand watching a video of any of the speakers from past TED conferences on TED.com is an enriching experience. Not only does it introduce us to new stories of people from across the globe and across industries, but also provides a new perspective on many global and local issues. Do yourself a favor, watch at least one TED video in a day (it takes not more than 20 minutes). I guarantee, within a week, you will start looking at the world in a new light.

You can go to the TED website and start viewing these videos instantly. Or you could fill out a simple registration form and become part of the TED community. Advantages of being part of the Community include being able to interact with other TED community members, mark you favorite TED videos and themes, share your idea with others and much more.

To get a taste of what TED is all about, view the video below:



But why? Why go into all this trouble of getting people from disparate backgrounds to come and speak about random topics and experiences?
Well each experience, each story, each idea is random in isolation. But when you rise above the boundaries of individual backgrounds, these ideas are connected. Every idea is the result of someone's imagination. That someone may be limited in his or her thought process and may not see the impact or the reach of his/her idea. But when you throw your idea out their in the open, it starts taking a life of its own, it starts breathing, it grows and it germinates many more ideas. No matter how different our professional and personal backgrounds may be, we are still connected as a human race and hence so are our problems and as a consequence the solutions to those problems. The TED conference, in my view, is a wonderful testament to that notion and thus is great legacy that we can leave for future generations to carry on.

For further information on TED visit the following links
http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/5
http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/42