Subject:
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Re: Bicentennial Man (spoilers, and quite lengthy)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 30 Dec 1999 15:36:53 GMT
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Reply-To:
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lpieniazek@novera.comSPAMCAKE
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Viewed:
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977 times
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<FnInFv.CHL@lugnet.com> <FnItEp.D5q@lugnet.com>
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Asimov is "the master" not because he's the best of all SF writers,
(he's not) but because he was writing stuff that others were learning
from before many current writers were born... remember, some of his
first stuff was written during the Golden Age. Plus, he was prolific.
Very briefly in response, I'm not too surprised at the bad reviews. I
have not a lot of familiarity with those particular reviewers but I did
go try to find a review or two by one of the guys, and it confirmed my
initial reaction to the reviews. Those guys didn't get the point of the
movie. They liked fast paced, less cerebral stuff better.
Like I said initially, if you (the general you, not Dave, who has
already seen it) want to see it, go see it soon, I predict that it won't
be out long, 80% of the audience won't like it, because they won't get
it. You didn't, and you're no doubt brighter than the average movie goer
and more thoughtful to boot.
I tend to discount reviews by random reviewers. If I have read an number
of reviews by a particular reviewer I can use their review of a new
movie as a predictor of whether I will like the movie or not because I
know how to correlate (note that I didn't say I'd agree with the review,
just that I could use it as a predictor).
Now, granted, it is very possible that because I have such a deep
familiarity with the subject matter, having read all of Asimov's robot
stories, all of any number of other SF authors writings, and having a
particular fascination with the philosophical questions around self
aware computers, that I read something into the movie that wasn't
actually there. But I doubt it.
I'm also just generally a more sensitive, literate, and thoughtful guy
than the average (not to mention smarter and handsomer), too, which
might be a factor.
I think this movie will be a classic. Time will tell. Many other movies
now regarded as classics had horrid reviews. (and many movies with
horrid reviews sank without a trace..., so we're not talking about a
general rule here)
As to why I asked how old you were, it was to satisfy a pet theory of
mine that there IS a generational difference around subtlety of
experience, attention span, and ability to enjoy sedately paced work.
I'm 40.
The speed at which people lived when I was growing up was significantly
different than when you were. Further, what is wondrous and new for me
is taken for granted by some who are younger. I remember slide rules and
actually used them in class! I like living fast, really, and can't wait
to see the changes ahead, I plan to profit from them.
But to a certain extent, there is no arguing with taste. Readers should
take my opinion into account only insofar as it might be a predictor
(positive OR negatively correlated) of their reaction, and the same is
true for anyone else's opinion.
--
Larry Pieniazek larryp@novera.com http://my.voyager.net/lar
- - - Web Application Integration! http://www.novera.com
fund Lugnet(tm): http://www.ebates.com/ ref: lar, 1/2 $$ to lugnet.
NOTE: Soon to be lpieniazek@tsisoft.com :-)
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