Lack of appetite

hi,

i dont know about you, but for me theres a downside to my interest in herps/animals, their ecology etc.

its KILLED my hunger for, and enjoyment of, Sci-Fi films that feature animals.

unless theyre spectacularly realistic and plausible (as i see it), i cant watch them now.

i just pick them apart.

if an animal doesnt behave the way id expect it to or if indeed, anything involving animals goes against what ive read or seen/believe, then i completely lose interest in the film.

i used to love Science Fiction when i was more ignorant.


EG

the other day i watched PRIMEVAL.

a group of carnivorous and ravenous, 15 foot tall, prehistoric birds with massive pointed bills were attacking someone at point blank range. out in the open. yet the handsome actor escaped without a cut. his perfectly-gelled coiffure intact.

i just thought "yeah right. just one rapid, heavy blow from a weapon like that wouldve ripped your skull usunder. easy as cracking a nut. you sustained multiple blows. you were surrounded- you would not have been able to escape mate"

instead, i would have hoped to have seen a quick kill and dismemberment followed by much gorging and finally some squabbling over the entrails by those at the bottom of the hierarchy.

a major blood-soaked maiming followed by a feeble crawling to a refugium to die at the VERY least.

its not that im blood-thirsty. honest! i just cant enjoy it unless the creatures actions (and the subsequent consequencies) mirror my expectations.

"thats what would have happened" i think, unimaginatively.

i cant suspend belief (in films) where animals are concerned. not nowadays.
it has to be realistic or dont bother.   


2nd EG;

i used to LOVE the ALIEN series of films.
but the alien creatures ecology seems so implausible now. i cant take it seriously and be thrilled by the film anymore.

ok, so it IS an extraterrestrial so some imagination is owed but it also has many Earth animal traits that i can relate to like egg-laying/social behaviour etc.

that fuels my disbelief.

when i try to watch Alien films now i just think....

heres an animal that can not only breathe OUR atmosphere but other planets too, has the teeth of an Earth predator, yet although it makes kills readily, it never eats a morsel of its prey in 6 films and, despite being a skinny critter with no obvious reserves grows at such a prodigious rate (on NO food) that it attains 20 times its (John Hurt surprise) birthsize in a day etc etc

HIGHLY unlikely i scoff.
i cant help it but i never used to be like that.
before i got learnt.

its all ruined!

science (unlike say, religion) always provides proof.
thats the problem!

am i alone or does anyone else suffer from this affliction?

regards, ben

i can still suspend belief in other films - so hopefully its not just a sign of ageing!    

Edited by ben rigsby

Ben, Alien was real wasn't it??? 

Alien is still my all time favourite film, Predator a close second.

My problem is with aircraft in war films, sat today watching the Battle of Midway (Hubby's choice) one clip shows a Douglas Dauntless diving on the flat tops... next shot it's an F4U Corsair, then it's a Dauntless again... the F4U didn't even exist until after the Battle of Midway (Nor did Hellcats which keep appearing in the movie), it drives me nuts and most of the Japanese plane clips are of American built T6 Harvards from Tora!Tora!Tora! painted to look like Japanese planes... OK perhaps you are right the more we know about the subject the harder it is to enjoy a film particularly if one is an aeroplane anorak. The Battle of Britain would have been a great movie if it hadn't of been ruined by late model Spitfires which came later in history and the BF109s all being ex-Spanish airforce planes with Merlin engines instead of the real BF109E Emils of the time with a completely different nose profile..

I can though totally believe in the creature from Aliens weird ecology because it's alien you see, plus I'm a huge fan of all HR Giger's work so it's dead easy for me to believe somewhere that creature exists, just hope I never find one under a tin. I personally think spiders are harder to believe in with their hemocyanin blood.... but that might just be due to my arachnophobia and the fact whenever I see them they run at me..

I've got to be honest that I suffered a bit with Alien Resurrection because of the genetic recreation bit... two animals, Ripley and the Alien she carried to her death wouldn't have had mixed genetics as is suggested in the film, each would have had discrete genetics so no need to recreate Ripley to recreate the aliens... but heck it's still a good movie and not so bad a plot seeing as they killed her off at the end of Alien 3 and had to find some way to bring her back. I think she's even better as half alien

Yep Ben I guess my herp conservation is an odd mix with
my need to burn Avgas at any given opportunity and anorak
like knowledge of planes. Little aeroplanes are the best!
I've been doing a tailwheel conversion in a Piper Super
Cub of late. The thing is seriously scary when it's on
the ground, handles like a shopping trolley, it took me
two hours of instructor help just to be able to keep it
straight enough to take off, the landings are about 10
times worse and still 'work in progress' I guess I'll get
it one day. It's a real delight once in the air though
and satisfies my historic need when it comes to planes.
It's a huge challenge after flying things like PA-28s
which one can pretty much 'drive' rather than 'fly' but
the whole Cub experience is very addictive.

Alien vs Predator... oh no don't remind me! I watched it
by mistake when a friend who knew I loved the original
films said I must watch it... I thought it was just awful
as was Predator 2.

Aliens/Alien 3/ and Alien Resurrection all manage to
stand up as good films though to me in their own right.
None quite like the original for shear horror but all
give something of their own.

I still remember the first time I watched Alien and was
transported in my mind right into the film. Doesn't
happen often but Predator did it to me, as did
Deliverance the first time I watched it. I always look
for that in films, damn shame when planes are involved
though and they get some minor detail wrong like putting
a Mk 24 Spitfire in the Battle of Britain and it spoils
the whole film for me.

i see the connection youre making Gemma. you mention Alien, Predator and Deliverance (GREAT film!) in the same breath. all 3 explore our deep-rooted fear of being stalked. in Deliverance of course, first its the rednecks and then the Sheriff doing the stalking. conversely, jon voights character is unfit for the role-reversal even when a golden opportunity lands in his lap; he cannot bring himself to shoot the deer.
that was a neat idea.

the male rape scene ("squeal like a piggy boy! weeee! weeeee!") is probably one of the most infamous in any film.

horrible- but you cant stop watching can you! its vicarious thrill mode in extremis

hats off to your birding skills suz. i wouldnt have a clue. sorry your film enjoyment is ruined too. im less interested in birds. me being an impatient type.
that said, even I couldnt help noticing laughing kookaburras calling in many a Tarzan film.
not even the right CONTINENT.


regards, ben

Edited by ben rigsby

LOL Steve, yep I guess the day job is a great spoiler for war films!

You know Ben I had never made the connection but your dead right all my three top films have the stalking element, never even realised it. I think all have one major shock scene too where you can't quite believe what you are seeing. Alien, well it has to be the baby alien bursting its way out of John Hurt, Deliverance the rape scene, Predator, I think the skinned bodies is just so unexpected followed by Blain's graphic death. So it's interesting what does it for me in a film. I guess  another thing that links the films is the character development, each film has one very strong character but includes more vulnerable characters, some surving, some not. Also interesting that Predator and  Deliverance have the leading role played by a main stream actor who never quite made a film that was the same again, yet their performance was one of the best of their career in my opinion.

I've just thought of another link, each has a 'single set' through most of the film, you get stuck in one reality with the characters and pulled along for the ride.




Edited by GemmaJF