Movies for hardcore sci-fi geeks

vici10

Quote by Ivan Seeking

Stalker sounds interesting! Thanks. It's in the queue.

ie. the 1979 Russian sci-fi film. I also saw a 1998, US-made, crime thriller, with the same name.

Stalker film by Tarkovsky has very little connection to an actual book "Roadside Picnic" by brothers Strugatsky. Strugatsky wrote that Tarkovsky asked them to rewrite the screenplay so many times that at the end the story had very little resemblance to original version. The main hero becomes very different too, adventurist in the original version and some kind of holy fool in the film.
Anyway, I highly recommend both the book and the film.

*DaveC426913*

Just watched Source Code last night.

*some spoilers*

Uh, how did the phone (which is all in his head) reach outside the capsule to look at the internet and make the phone calls/emails?

It's one thing to simulate a whole world in your mind, but that world is not going to have a data connection and an open port.

TheStatutoryApe

Quote by DaveC426913

Just watched Source Code last night.

*some spoilers*

Uh, how did the phone (which is all in his head) reach outside the capsule to look at the internet and make the phone calls/emails?

It's one thing to simulate a whole world in your mind, but that world is not going to have a data connection and an open port.

We actually had a thread on this the other week.
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=517650

*DaveC426913*

Quote by TheStatutoryApe

We actually had a thread on this the other week.
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=517650

Yeah. That thread stuck a bug in my brain, prompting me to watch the film last night (after checking Rotten Tomatoes...)

Ivan Seeking

Quote by Ivan Seeking

From the Scientific American links today

Learn to Forgive Yourself in a Parallel Universe

Let me be clear: Another Earth, opening July 22, is not a science-fiction film, despite its premise of the discovery of a planet just like our own.

...The speculative fiction in this film, which at this year's Sundance Film Festival won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize for the best film focusing on themes of science and technology and the Special Jury Prize for Dramatic Feature, might seem like something inspired by the multiverse theory. In fact, the movie was screened during the World Science Festival in June, where Columbia University physicist Brian Greene led a discussion about it one evening. But Cahill and Marling—both majored in economics at Georgetown University, and Marling was an analyst at Goldman Sachs—ha/d not even heard of Greene's bestseller on the multiverse theory, The Hidden Reality (Knopf, 2011), until after the movie was done.

Cahill actually came up with the concept after listening to audio books of Pulp Physics by astrophysicist Richard Berendzen, who now directs NASA’s Space Grant Consortium. Berendzen makes an appearance as the expert interviewed on local news to explain the "broken mirror theory" that decouples the inhabitants of both Earths and sets them on different destinies...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/bl...ara-2011-07-21

Has anyone else seen this yet?

It was slow and could have used a lot more editing, but all in all it was strange and enjoyable.

Ivan Seeking

We just fininshed watching Flash Forward. It only lasted one season but was pretty good for a TV series. Worth a watch.

This intriguing dramatic sci-fi series centers on a mysterious incident that causes all of mankind to black out for two minutes and 17 seconds, during which time the victims see premonitions about their future lives. Inspired by the award-winning novel of the same name by author Robert J. Sawyer, the series boasts a top-notch ensemble cast that includes Joseph Fiennes, Courtney B. Vance, John Cho and Sonya Walger.

- Netflix

John Cho is the new Sulu, in Star Trek rebooted.

GregJ

No one seems to have mentioned it, so I will.
Total Recall. One of my favorites of all time. Based very loosely off a Philip K. Dick short.

Although I can't believe that they are making a remake without Arnie...

***Edit: Also Saturn 3 was fun to watch.***

Borek

Quote by Ivan Seeking

Happy Accidents (2000)

A rare find and a gem

Agreed.

*DaveC426913*

Quote by GregJ

***Edit: Also Saturn 3 was fun to watch.***

Mmmm. Farrah....

Ivan Seeking

Last Night - 1998

What do you do when you have six hours to live? Last Night chronicles a small group of people whose lives intersect as a nameless apocalypse descends on them, which director Don McKellar handles with grace and solemn dignity....

A wonderful film similar in style and quality to The Man From Earth, I will just quote one review from Netflix that says it all with a bit more enthusiasm than I would claim.

If the parmount criterion for a five-star movie is that the viewer is riveted to the screen for the entire time, then this exceptional film surely qualifies. Technically, it's not perfect by any means, but it is haunting, poignant, shattering, spellbinding, enlightening, thought-provoking and heartbreakingly magical. As the end of the world grows near and the countdown reachs its conclusion, I defy you not to contemplate what you would be doing in the same circumstances. Don McKellar and Sandra Oh head a cast of fine actors who commit themselves to this film in extraordinary ways. I loved it!

- Netflix reviewer

Ivan Seeking

Another understated but absolutely charming, yet occasionally harsh film, The Bothersome Man - Norwegian, 2006

Mysteriously deposited in a perfectly serene but colorless city where every need is met, Andreas soon realizes that not even a new lover can change the sterile banality drowning him. Is this placid life a dream come true or an inescapable hell? Is the lovely music coming from a crack in the basement his ticket out? This provocative black comedy is directed by Jens Lien and stars Trond Fausa Aurvaag and Petronella Barker.

- Netflix

*ThomasT*

Recently saw John Carter. Really enjoyed it. Cgi special effects and cliche driven, but most entertaining. Also saw Battle L.A., Cowboys & Aliens, and Super 8 a while back. They're all worth watching, imo. I think Avatar's already been mentioned. I enjoyed it and John Carter about equally.

Looking forward to Prometheus and Battleship. Prometheus, by one of my favorite directors, Ridley Scott, looks from the trailers and clips to be maybe the best scifi film ever made. Of course I'm partial to hardware, heavy on the cgi, sort of scifi. Prometheus appears to have this as well as a most intriguing story line, and I think Scott is one of the better film storytellers.

I'm looking forward to spending some quality hours watching the upcoming blockbusters in the coolness, and on the big screen, of the local IMAX theatre.

karan4496

I recently watched 'Pi' which is sort of a mathematics-fiction film. It has an interesting premise and the film itself is quite psychological and dare I say, hypnotic in some parts.

ChiralWaltz

Quote by karan4496

I recently watched 'Pi' which is sort of a mathematics-fiction film. It has an interesting premise and the film itself is quite psychological and dare I say, hypnotic in some parts.

Darren Aronofsky is a great director.

I recently purchased Ghost in the Shell 2.0. The original director and writers from the 1st GITS redid the backgrounds and added some fun CGI. While some may complain about the upgrade, I thought it was rather refreshing. I think it is also available on Hulu, free to watch.

Bandersnatch

Quote by Ivan Seeking

Another understated but absolutely charming, yet occasionally harsh film, The Bothersome Man - Norwegian, 2006

I've just seen this one - It was fantastic! And it had the most hilariously gruesome suicide scene I've ever seen.

So as to make a somewhat more constructive input: has anyone here seen Rollerball? The 70s version, not the horrendous 2000-ish remake.
Corporate totalitarian regime rules the whole world using the "bread and circuses" approach. Rollerball is a sport that fills the role of "circuses" here. The story follows one player, who begins to realize the extent to which the society have given up it's liberties.
Can't say it's less fitting a commentary on a society now, than it was back then.

For a flick with an invented, brutal sport at it's centre, it feels very subdued and subtle.

Travis_King

I'm sure someone has said Primer, right?

What an awesome movie...

Edit: Haha, the first post...

godat55

godat_99@hotmail.com

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DaveC426913	Just watched Source Code last night. some spoilers Uh, how did the phone (which is all in his head) reach outside the capsule to look at the internet and make the phone calls/emails? It's one thing to simulate a whole world in your mind, but that world is not going to have a data connection and an open port.

GregJ	No one seems to have mentioned it, so I will. Total Recall. One of my favorites of all time. Based very loosely off a Philip K. Dick short. Although I can't believe that they are making a remake without Arnie... *Edit: Also Saturn 3 was fun to watch.*

karan4496	I recently watched 'Pi' which is sort of a mathematics-fiction film. It has an interesting premise and the film itself is quite psychological and dare I say, hypnotic in some parts.

Travis_King	I'm sure someone has said Primer, right? What an awesome movie... Edit: Haha, the first post...