For the first entry, let's look at "Prometheus," which, although I'm not expecting it to be great, I'll be seeing this weekend. Now, a word about the trailers that have been playing incessantly on TV and radio for the past few weeks. They are terrible. I understand that Ridley Scott and the studio are very concerned with keeping pretty much every last detail of the movie secret to avoid spoilers, but I'd rather have a silent trailer, or one with just music, than to hear, over and over, the one line they have chosen to use in all of the marketing because it doesn't give anything away. I really don't like when trailers rely heavily on one line of dialogue--it 's lazy, obnoxious, and starts to annoy me so much that even if I want to see it, I get a little bitter and count it against the film. I think during the movie, when it gets to the the line "Prometheus, are you seeing this?" the audience should simultaneously take a shot. Or shotgun a beer. We've earned it.
So if the marketing is so bad, and I don't even think the movie will be all that good, why am I seeing it? Three reasons--the director, association with the Alien movies, and the cast.
Ridley Scott always gets a pass from me. Sure, he has made some awful-looking films (I haven't seen the Russell Crowe "Robin Hood" from a few years ago, largely due to a similarly bad marketing campaign, a cast that did nothing for me, terrible reviews, and the fact that it just seemed boring, and while I can't call it awful without having actually seen it, it sure didn't look very good.) In any case, overall he has a solid directing resume, and is pretty reliable as it goes, despite the fact that I don't care for the direction he gave the actor playing Lucius in "Gladiator." ("There, there, there, there...I got you!") Mostly, he has my eternal respect for directing, back-to-back, two of my favorite movies of all time: "Blade Runner" and "Alien." The man created Future Noir. Now, each of those really deserves a post of their own on how important they were in influencing not just to science fiction to cinema, but all cinema, television, and video games, so I won't go too far in to detail on that here, but suffice it say that those two movies go a long way in earning Ridley Scott the benefit of the doubt, especially when it comes to a sci-fi film. 
"Alien" is incredible. It is, in my opinion, a perfect movie. There isn't one change that I can think of that would make it better. I don't care if you don't like science fiction, it's just a good movie, so if you have never seen it, watch it. It's so tense, it's so well-acted, it's just one of the best movies ever made. The sequel, "Aliens", has a completely different scale (big-budget blockbuster-more special effects and explosions...and Bill Paxton!) and tone, which is not surprising since it was directed not by Scott but by James Cameron. It's a solid action movie, and it's incredibly re-watchable. It never gets old. The third film, "Alien3", has it's problems, (poor David Fincher almost quit movies after the awful experience he had directing it) and it almost feels like it doesn't totally belong in the same series, but Sigourney Weaver and Charles Dance are really good in it. I won't discuss the abomination that is the fourth film"Alien: Resurrection." It's enough to make you never want to hear the word "alien" again in your life. It's actually why I can't let myself get my hopes for "Prometheus" being too good. Adding Winona Ryder to anything made after 1990 is not usually a good idea. (Don't believe me? Try watching "The Age of Innocence," "The Crucible," "Little Women," or "Mr. Deeds.")Still, over the past few years we've been watching the Alien movies quite a bit, most recently to make sure my cousin had seen at least the first two. We had gotten the new collectors set with all of the bonus features, and watching the documentaries and extras developed a stronger appreciation for all of the movies. When I heard that Ridley Scott was making this movie, I was excited, and that excitement waned a bit as he went back and forth between saying it was an "Alien" prequel, to saying it had nothing to do with it at all, to "well it's kind of related but not really directly but it is yes." However, as more and more of the cast was announced, I was pretty much set on seeing it.
- Charlize Theron is a good actress, and has my love forever for her outstanding work as an MR F.
- Sean Harris is a complete and total badass as the henchman/ assassin/ Cesare's BFF on "The Borgias."
- Rafe Spall was in in both "Shaun of the Dead" AND "Hot Fuzz" so I automatically like him based on that alone.
- Michael Fassbender was great in "Inglorious Basterds," and despite his ever-changing accent, was decent in "X-Men." (Plus, he had a bit part in "Band of Brothers," and anyone from that series gets bonus points with me. Except Jimmy Fallon.)
- Guy Pearce can do no wrong and is fantastic in everything, from working it as a drag queen showgirl in "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" (Watch this movie--Hugo Weaving is his fellow drag performer and it is amazing) to his more intense roles in "L.A. Confidential," "Momento," and dramatic roles in "Mildred Pierce" and "The King's Speech."
- Patrick Wilson, in addition to playing my second-favorite character, Nite-Owl, in "Watchmen," is a beautiful, beautiful man with a beautiful body, and even though "Little Children" was dark and depressing, it's still worth watching just to keep seeing him get naked. Yes.
- And Idris Elba, oh Idris. The incomparably gorgeous Idris Elba makes Patrick Wilson looks like a leper who was run over by an 18-wheeler. The man is perfection. He even has an accent. He sounds like he's from London! Sigh. He's just so...ahem. Back to his filmography: he is a talented and diverse actor who is so good at disappearing into a role that some people don't even realize he's the same actor they've seen before, from his roles on "The Wire," and "The Office," to "The Losers," "Thor," "28 Weeks Later," and of course the so-bad-it's-hilarious-and-therefore-worth-watching-at-least-once Beyonce suspense movie, "Obsessed."
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