The Martian (move from 2015)

[Jason]

I was reminded of this movie having just seen it listed on Amazon's Prime Video. It's from 2015. It has an all-star cast featuring Matt Damon, Kate Mara, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig among others and is directed by Ridley Scott. It's based on a novel by Andy Weir. It's an enjoyable and gripping watch and, unlike a lot of science fiction movies, it's actually consistent with science. IMDB sums it up this way:

An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume [sic] him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.

He has to stay alive for four years to await a rescue mission with only enough food for 50 days on a planet where nothing can grow. And worse yet, NASA thinks he's dead and he has no way of reaching them. Damon expresses the predicament he's in when he says, "In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option, I'm gonna have to science the sh*t out of this." And that he does.

Check it out!

[fox]

I watched it twice from AppleTV. It is an excellent movie, and Matt Damon does his usual great job of acting as the stranded astronaut. It has a lot of elements of believability. There is a political irony in the story that I won't mention so as not to spoil it for others. I'm tempted to watch it again in light of what we now know about Mars from the rovers.

[buster]

" It is an excellent movie, and Matt Damon does his usual great job of acting as the stranded astronaut."

He was good. Read the book and watched the movie, but I couldn't help thinking, 'If he has one more problem to solve I'm going to shut this off and get a beer.' A bit like watching my plumber solve problems under my kitchen sink. Sort of interesting.

Similarily, Pillars of the Earth was an extremely popular novel, but I despaired often that the writer was putting another catastrophe in the way of completion.

My own life seems to be a series of problems to be fixed, either my body, my house or my car. Think I prefer something like Princess Bride. I can step out of my problems.

[ssfc72]

Yes, seen it a couple of times. A good movie.

[Jason]

Now you have me curious, Fox, as I try to remember to what you're referring. I might have to watch it again!

[Jason]

Why not just get a beer can come back? Or some wine. Things always look better with wine, I seem to recall you saying, Buster.

[buster]

Read this thread again and I think I understand more clearly that there are two types of story readers and watchers. Some like to see how the human mind comes to grips with the external world and how the people or individual not only survive but prevail. A science fiction story is often mostly about the new or unusual environment.

Some of us however see the environment only as a necessary plot device to help create the important changes - internal changes in the characters' minds, or relationships, or their new understanding. If the main characters are not in some way transformed during the story, then it seems less significant.

Either preference is OK, but I prefer the second.

[Jason]

Comments after this had gone off-topic so I split them into a new thread here.