info
Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
The Matian movie
44 views
Skip to first unread message
jeanet...@gmail.com
Oct 8, 2015, 7:33:23 PM10/8/15
to
I recommended the book here quite a while ago. Saw the movie last night. They did a good job with the book but not as detailed. Probably some things are not realistic, but RAH fans will enjoy both the book and the movie.
Jeanette
Jeanette
djinn
Oct 10, 2015, 7:15:41 AM10/10/15
to
Thanks
Rhino
Oct 31, 2015, 4:19:56 PM10/31/15
to
On 2015-10-08 7:33 PM, jeanet...@gmail.com wrote:
> I recommended the book here quite a while ago. Saw the movie last night. They did a good job with the book but not as detailed.
> Probably some things are not realistic, but RAH fans will enjoy both the book and the movie.
>
I strongly concur with your recommendation. I read the book last week
> I recommended the book here quite a while ago. Saw the movie last night. They did a good job with the book but not as detailed.
> Probably some things are not realistic, but RAH fans will enjoy both the book and the movie.
>
and then saw the movie. The movie left out some major scenes, especially
the storm, and changed the ethnicity of some of the characters (Indian
Venkat Kapoor became half-black, half-Indian Vincent Kapoor and
Korean-American Mindy Park became white) but was otherwise pretty
faithful to the book.
Mind you, I *did* prefer the book. The director really toned down
Watney's spunk (and cursing) and omitted too much of his internal
dialogue for my tastes. Watney's "can do" spirit was much stronger - and
therefore more Heinleinesque - in the book.
As for the realism, author Andy Weir's Wikipedia page implies that Weir
consulted a lot of NASA people to be sure that the accuracy was there.
Of course, most writers and filmmakers take liberties with accuracy to
advance the plot so I can't be sure Weir didn't do likewise.
--
Rhino
Puppet_Sock
Nov 2, 2015, 9:49:38 AM11/2/15
to
What I found myself wondering was kind of sideways to things. Spoiler space first.
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
I saw the movie and have not read the book. So this is
all me moaning about the movie.
Example: Near the end of the movie our hero is stripping
down his launch vehicle so as to get the maximum speed
he needs. He is tossing everything that he does not need
to get to orbit and make the rendezvous he needs to make.
Including a 400 kg nose cone. Um... Ok, let's think on that
a moment. He does not need this nose cone. Why is it there
in the first place? He manages to get to orbit, with the
ship going a butt load faster than original design because
it is a butt load lighter. And he does this with a tarp
over the nose of the ship instead of this nose cone. Who
designed this launcher to have this nose cone? And why?
Beyond the KLUNK factor when it hits the ground, that is.
And why is this nose cone easily removable? Is there a
scenario where replacing this nose cone in a hurry is
worth the extra nuts, bolts, and bolt holes?
Example: Maybe I missed it. But why are there live potatoes
on a mission to Mars? And if there are potatoes, why not
other crops?
Example: He's got ketchup. How much ketchup? Why didn't he
ration that as carefully as the other food products? A big
part of digestion is getting saliva to flow. Especially for
starchy stuff. And his Earth colleagues would certainly have
told him that. But he makes a point of how long it has been
since he ran out of ketchup. There are scenes where he is
basically scooping ketchup into the bowl like he intends
to shave with it or something.
Example: Ok, he has a blow-out of his farming volume. And
he can fix it with duct tape and plastic sheeting. And his
soil is there but supposedly dead. Well possibly. But he
has months to go yet. It was unclear why he could not start
the farm again. Were all his potatoes in that one volume?
A guy on a planet with extremely low air pressure is going
to know better than to put all his essential stuff in one
pressure volume. No? And surely he can get the bacteria for
the new farm the same place he got the previous batch.
Which was literally out of his butt.
Example: I hope this is just movie silly. But he fixes a
blown out pressure volume with duct tape and plastic sheet.
Let's see here. Suppose he only has the oxygen, and very
little nitrogen. That's only about 3 pounds per square
inch. So supposing that this plastic sheet can take the
load. That's some pretty good plastic sheet. And they should
have got the tape company to pay for a product placement.
It's about 3 yards high. So my (admittedly hasty) arithmetic
says about 10 tons of force. If he has full Earth atmo in
there it's considerably higher.
But in the movie, this plastic sheet is flapping in the
storm outside. I'm doubting it.
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
. spoiler space, I'm not going to be careful at all .
I saw the movie and have not read the book. So this is
all me moaning about the movie.
Example: Near the end of the movie our hero is stripping
down his launch vehicle so as to get the maximum speed
he needs. He is tossing everything that he does not need
to get to orbit and make the rendezvous he needs to make.
Including a 400 kg nose cone. Um... Ok, let's think on that
a moment. He does not need this nose cone. Why is it there
in the first place? He manages to get to orbit, with the
ship going a butt load faster than original design because
it is a butt load lighter. And he does this with a tarp
over the nose of the ship instead of this nose cone. Who
designed this launcher to have this nose cone? And why?
Beyond the KLUNK factor when it hits the ground, that is.
And why is this nose cone easily removable? Is there a
scenario where replacing this nose cone in a hurry is
worth the extra nuts, bolts, and bolt holes?
Example: Maybe I missed it. But why are there live potatoes
on a mission to Mars? And if there are potatoes, why not
other crops?
Example: He's got ketchup. How much ketchup? Why didn't he
ration that as carefully as the other food products? A big
part of digestion is getting saliva to flow. Especially for
starchy stuff. And his Earth colleagues would certainly have
told him that. But he makes a point of how long it has been
since he ran out of ketchup. There are scenes where he is
basically scooping ketchup into the bowl like he intends
to shave with it or something.
Example: Ok, he has a blow-out of his farming volume. And
he can fix it with duct tape and plastic sheeting. And his
soil is there but supposedly dead. Well possibly. But he
has months to go yet. It was unclear why he could not start
the farm again. Were all his potatoes in that one volume?
A guy on a planet with extremely low air pressure is going
to know better than to put all his essential stuff in one
pressure volume. No? And surely he can get the bacteria for
the new farm the same place he got the previous batch.
Which was literally out of his butt.
Example: I hope this is just movie silly. But he fixes a
blown out pressure volume with duct tape and plastic sheet.
Let's see here. Suppose he only has the oxygen, and very
little nitrogen. That's only about 3 pounds per square
inch. So supposing that this plastic sheet can take the
load. That's some pretty good plastic sheet. And they should
have got the tape company to pay for a product placement.
It's about 3 yards high. So my (admittedly hasty) arithmetic
says about 10 tons of force. If he has full Earth atmo in
there it's considerably higher.
But in the movie, this plastic sheet is flapping in the
storm outside. I'm doubting it.
lal_truckee
Nov 2, 2015, 10:52:36 AM11/2/15
to
On 11/2/15 6:49 AM, Puppet_Sock wrote:
> I'm doubting it.
It's better than "Robinson Crusoe on Mars."
Except I saw "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" at a drive-in theater with a
young woman of substantial pneumatic chest endowment. Which makes
"Robinson Crusoe on Mars" the clear winner among Martian cast-aways movies.
> I'm doubting it.
It's better than "Robinson Crusoe on Mars."
Except I saw "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" at a drive-in theater with a
young woman of substantial pneumatic chest endowment. Which makes
"Robinson Crusoe on Mars" the clear winner among Martian cast-aways movies.
Michael Black
Nov 2, 2015, 11:35:59 AM11/2/15
to
moon, but the supply rocket (which was going to take them home) crashed,
and the rest reads like a diary of Shackleton's expedition where they get
stuck in the ice.
Except, they magically find all they need from the moon. The right
minerals to make solar power, so they have more power to do other things.
They are able to refine it into those things. Then when the food runs
out, they end up with synthetic food. It's a wonderful story. And
finally another rocket arrives to save them, when they were so close to
death (because the synthetic food was lacking some vital component).
Michael
MajorOz
Nov 2, 2015, 12:57:27 PM11/2/15
to
But, wasn't Campbell considered to be one of the most vigorous practitioners of deus ex machina ?
jeanet...@gmail.com
Nov 4, 2015, 6:57:24 PM11/4/15
to
I suggest you read the book--some of the questions you have are explained more fully there.
Jeanette--red faced because of spelling error
Jeanette--red faced because of spelling error
jeanet...@gmail.com
Nov 4, 2015, 9:20:15 PM11/4/15
to
On Wednesday, November 4, 2015 at 3:57:24 PM UTC-8, jeanet...@gmail.com wrote:
> I suggest you read the book--some of the questions you have are explained more fully there.
>
> Jeanette--red faced because of spelling error
My comment about reading the book was aimed at Puppet_Sock--or for anyone who hasn't read it, it has more detail than the movie.
> I suggest you read the book--some of the questions you have are explained more fully there.
>
> Jeanette--red faced because of spelling error
I thought my post would go under his post and I was trying to avoid the spoilers. Obviously, it doesn't work that way.
Jeanette
0 new messages