Forgot about that bit, which was silly to say the least.
Rocks coming to life and attacking people was handled much better in the Doctor Who story "The Stones of Blood" with Tom Baker.
Frankly, the idea of aggressive, vacuum-living lithoforms is still slightly more plausible than no-one in all of Florida catching a Saturn V launch (at night, to 'conceal' it).
I'd say well more plausible. While entertaining at times, what a silly film.
The 2nd one on the list is this, if the LK smashed into to CSM when it launched back into lunar orbit, how in heck did anyone get the film and video back to look at and post on the website mentioned in the beginning of the movie?
I expect that will be explained in the, box office permitting, sequel.
Joined: Sept 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 9 Location: Saipan, CNMI
Re: Apollo 18: There's a reason why we never went « Reply #92 on Oct 2, 2011, 3:00am »
APOLLO 18 Movie Review.
This is going to be a slightly different kind of movie review, because I watched this film differently than I watch most movies.
I have always been a fanatic about the American space program, especially the Apollo program since I can remember back, I guess I would say that would be about Age 4 or 5. The idea that man had walked on the Moon was in my conscience since that time around 1975 or so and the glory of Apollo was still in our nation’s consciousness in a big way. In grade school, I always went to the library and checked out every damned book on Apollo, Mercury and Gemini that I could find. In adulthood I tracked down every one of those books at used book shops and finally found them and read and re-read them all, as well as any new books to come out. I even bought and thoroughly watched every minute of footage from every mission that was available.
As a kid, I was geeked going to the opening of the Michigan Space Center to see the Apollo 9 Capsule and to meet Astronauts Jim McDivitt (Commander, Gemini 4 and Commander, Apollo 9) and Al Worden (Command Module Pilot, Apollo 15). Then later in live doubly geeked to meet and chat with Dick Gordon (Command Module Pilot, Apollo 12). People have ripped on me for being a space nut, but I didn’t mind. And I have had the pleasure to make pilgrimages to the resting places of many of the Apollo, Gemini and Mercury space craft along with a special trip to Kennedy Space Center. I even did my thesis on Dr. Wehrner Von Braun, so I guess what I am saying, is I have a little background knowledge here.
So, obviously, despite not being a big fan of either the “Found footage” and or Horror genres, I had to see Apollo 18…It looked like the film makers might have actually done their homework.
And for the most part, I would say that they did. They most likely used sets and props from the masterfully done HBO mini series “From the Earth to the Moon” for this film and the producers actually must have picked up a manual or two, because they got most of the hardware, suits, etc right. For example, they used the A-7LB suits that were used on the Apollo J missions for both CDR and LMP. The suit used in scenes where the CMP wore the suit, was incorrect though, He had on the version of the A-7L Command Module Pilot suit worn by Jim Lovell on Apollo 8, but that is a detail only a total space geek would notice…And that is all I really noticed.
Obviously the premise of the film is pretty much bullsh*t, Apollo 17 was the last mission. Hiding a Saturn V launch would be impossible and none were launched in 1974 as the film says. Still my disbelief was able to be suspended because they did a pretty damn good job melding the stock footage (which to only someone as obsessive about Apollo as I, would notice) with the film’s footage. I was sitting there in my seat thinking to myself, “Yeah, this shot is from the Apollo 15 mission” but then they actually made an effort to keep the movie’s footage to match the configuration of the Command and Lunar module consistent with the real footage footage. (There were two basic configurations for Apollo Missions that landed on the Moon. G Missions which were Apollos 11-14 and J Missions, Apollos 15-17) The J Mission Command Module had a special equipment Bay and the LEM had the Rover attached to the side.
In a film with a similar theme “Transoformers: Dark Side of the Moon” They made some real continuity mistakes with the Apollo Hardware, that I spotted immediately. “Apollo-18” did a fairly good job satisfying the nit-picker in me. And I liked seeing the interiors of the LEM and other aspects of Apollo filmed in ways that were not really shown before.
What I really liked was the use of the Soviet LK lander in the film. They did a good job depicting this piece of hardware.
The plot was somewhat predictable and the acting was as good as one could expect with the “Blair Witch” formula, but I thought that the cast did an adequate and somewhat believable job, Except at the end when the stranded and infected astronaut argued with his Earthly superiors about returning. The fact is, the Apollo Astronauts in real life would have understood and accepted (BEFORE EVEN GOING TO THE MOON) that if they were obviously infected with a “moon bug” that could threaten the human race, that they would be expendable and not able to be allowed to come home. That was one of the risks in going. So seeing the astronaut at the end begging and pleading was not something that would have been done. Not only that, but the Command Module Pilot in orbit would have not attempted to rescue his buddies.
In the climax of the film, Moon organisms (Which looked like rocks that turn into spiders and can infect and take over a person), had infected one of the Astronauts, (The mission Commander) by getting into his suit. Now it was not necessarily clear how this happened, but one of the rock samples taken on the first EVA was one of these organisms, that presumably climbed into the suit while the Astronauts were sleeping. Anyhow, so the guy is infected with an unknown disease. End of story no return would have been allowed. The return was stopped by the LEM being damaged, so the astronauts go for a Soviet lander they found (along with a dead cosmonaut) and the Astronaut (The LMP) who is not sick tries to take off, but not before the commander goes apesh*t.
So here is this poor guy stuck inside the Soviet LK lander and he finally gets it working. He gets mission control on the horn and is told b y the Dept. Secretary of Defense “DON’T COME BACK” and that his family will be told he died a hero… I just can’t picture Jim Lovell, Alan Shepard or Neil Armstrong screaming and begging like a punk to this kind of news. That is where this film loses it.
Anyhow, I liked it for the most part. Still, I think they should have made it a straight science fiction film instead of passing it off as real footage. Spending some time on explaining a little about the creatures and having some real character development would have helped the movie. Still it was not the worst way to spend a Saturday afternoon. And the Space Geek in me loved seeing the Apollo and Soviet hardware.
Joined: Sept 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 9 Location: Saipan, CNMI
Re: Apollo 18: There's a reason why we never went « Reply #93 on Oct 2, 2011, 3:03am »
One other note on the film "Apollo 18" I think the theme song should have been "Rock Lobster" By the B-52s.
Another note as well. The thing that bugs me about the film and the way it is presented...is that no doubtedly, there will be thousands of dunderheads running around thinking that this was real!
Joined: May 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 987 Location: Australia!
Re: Apollo 18: There's a reason why we never went « Reply #94 on Oct 2, 2011, 5:03am »
Thanks for the review - much appreciated. Slight correction: the G mission was the first lunar landing; Apollo 12 to 14 were H series missions. Even 15 was originally a H mission, but with the cancellation of Apollo 20 and 19 looking like also being cut, they scrubbed the original A15 mission and made it the first of the J series.
So it's worth seeing? I'm a big geek too; I often don't care about the plot but instead want to look at the footage they got!
Joined: Sept 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 9 Location: Saipan, CNMI
Re: Apollo 18: There's a reason why we never went « Reply #95 on Oct 2, 2011, 5:59am »
An Apollo Geek would like the film just for the hardware. And It wasn't really that bad acting and story wise, though again, it would have worked as a straight Sci Fi Horror movie (but I guess they wanted a gimick) It was not all that bad. Someone not interested in Apollo, might not care for it though.
Joined: Jun 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 1,183 Location: Dallas, Texas
Re: Apollo 18: There's a reason why we never went « Reply #96 on Oct 11, 2011, 10:23pm »
Is the mission called "secret" because it's existence was not publically known (which, for reasons already mentioned, is silly) or because it's an alternate history where the mission was known but the details had not previously been released?
I have no problem with the alternate-history conceit. Take "Cloverfield": Obviously the events depicted in that "found footage" did not actually occur. If they had, the news would have been 911 times a thousand (yes, 911,000!). The story of the characters caught-up in these events makes a [potentially] interesting story. Really, all fiction is alternate-history.
The "found footage" format is a tool for emotionally engaging the audience. It's in the same tradition as Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" broadcast, David L. Wolper's faux-footage documentaries (which featured grainy, hand-held black-and-white film of Robert E. Lee at his field headquarters), and the documentary/interview episodes of "M*A*S*H", "Babylon 5" and others.
So, having not seen the movie yet, I can pretend that there was an Apollo mission that did not return, but the details of what happened have been supressed and/or not known until this footage turned-up. Whatever...
Joined: Oct 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 17 Location: Wyoming
Re: Apollo 18: There's a reason why we never went « Reply #97 on Oct 28, 2011, 3:06pm »
It's supposed to be a secret mission that was not revealed to the general public for various reasons. The movie was decent for someone in to this topic, though it was rather boring in parts, due to its "found footage" set-up, and too dependent on shock footage of things jumping out at you and of mangled skeletons or what not, similar to a trolls Youtube video
There were several bits where you could easily see it was not filmed in 1/6 G.
Interesting. This ought to be useful somehow in our arguments with the deniers. A while ago Astrobrant2 did a wonderful piece on the many errors in "2001", devastating the deniers' mantra that Stanley Kubrick was hired to fake the Apollo footage because of his demonstrated talents.
But I'm not sure how.
Quote:
- Being able to power and launch the LK without so much as a checklist
Checklists? We don't need no stinkin' checklists!
From what I've seen lately the Russians don't seem to believe in checklists...
There were several bits where you could easily see it was not filmed in 1/6 G.
Interesting. This ought to be useful somehow in our arguments with the deniers. A while ago Astrobrant2 did a wonderful piece on the many errors in "2001", devastating the deniers' mantra that Stanley Kubrick was hired to fake the Apollo footage because of his demonstrated talents.
But I'm not sure how.
Well a logical person would note that 40 years after Apollo, even with multi-million dollar budgets, teams of experienced special effects crews, and the aid of CGI, Hollywood still can't replicate 1/6 gravity correctly and consistantly as was shown in the Apollo footage. Of course the illogical counter to this is that Hollywood is in on it and so refuse to use the same techniques that NASA did in their "fake" footage to perpetuate the myth that it can't be done.
It must be fun to lead a life completely unburdened by reality. -- JayUtah
"On two occasions, I have been asked, 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." -- Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
It's supposed to be a secret mission that was not revealed to the general public for various reasons.
And there's the first hurdle that my suspension of disbelief just can't quite get over. A secret launch of a Saturn V is just that little bit too absurd for me I'm afraid.
The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: They don't alter their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit their views." The Doctor, Doctor Who: The Face of Evil.
3. The idea of the USA surrendering the ultimate high ground to other nations certainly makes me uneasy. Ragging Americans is nearly a national sport here in Oz, but I'll go for America over China or Russia any day. The problem though is that if you want a national space program, you need to spend the money, and Congress doesn't seem to be able to organise itself to manage that.
The GDP of Russia isn't all that much higher than the GDP of Australia, and they've got more than six times as many mouths to feed. If they can afford a space programme, so can Australia. Call up your MP!
Re: Apollo 18: There's a reason why we never went « Reply #103 on Nov 1, 2011, 8:31pm »
In the novel 'Space' by James A. Michener, it includes an account of a fictional Apollo 18 as well. In this case it is to the far side of the moon and they use microsatellites in lunar orbit as communications relays. It also doesn't end well, unfortunately, but for very different, much more logical reasons.
Re: Apollo 18: There's a reason why we never went « Reply #104 on Nov 1, 2011, 10:00pm »
Interestingly enough, you don't actually need a fleet of satellites in lunar orbit to relay between the far side and the earth. You only need one relay satellite in a "halo" orbit around the earth-moon L2 point.
All the "L" (Lagrange) points are where the two bodies exert equal gravitational forces. The L2 point is on the line joining their centers of mass and on the far side of the smaller body from the larger one. That means it can't be seen from earth, which is why you use the halo orbit instead. With just a little extra fuel, you can have your spacecraft circle the L2 point in such a way that it's continuously visible to both earth and the lunar far side. As seen from earth, it appears to slowly circle the moon.
I think the use of L2 halo orbits for far side relays was first proposed in the late 1960s but I'm not sure.
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