Movies for hardcore sci-fi geeks

[Ivan Seeking]

Hey, I liked Moon and Solaris a lot also, which I would consider essentially soft scifi.

I thought Moon was good, and Solaris is one of my favorites.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I'm looking forward to Battle LA...

The real story
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=101158

 

[ThomasT]

The real story
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=101158

Thanks for the link.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Has anyone watched Life on Mars?

There was a British series

The worlds of science fiction and police drama collide in this gritty British series that stars John Simm as Sam Tyler, a 21st-century Manchester detective who wakes up in 1973 after a hit-and-run car accident knocks him unconscious. While Tyler contends with unethical colleagues and the corrupt culture of 1970s police work, he struggles to determine if he's insane, in a coma -- or if he's truly traveled back in time.

Netflix


and an American series.

In present-day New York City, cop Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara) is struck by a car and transported to 1973. But is Sam really lost in time, or is it an illusion resulting from his accident? As Sam tries to figure it all out, he attempts to continue his job with the N.Y.P.D. and discovers that police work has come a long way in 35 years. Michael Imperioli and Harvey Keitel co-star in this American version of the hit British show from David E. Kelley.

Netflix

It only ran for one season in the US but I was thinking about getting the British version. The first three [US] episodes have been intriguing but so far too subtle for me to get a sense of the direction of the series. Not sure if this is just another case of strange Lost-like clues that go nowhere, or if this is a case of truly creative writing. So far, it seems to be one or the other.

 

[DaveC426913]

Has anyone watched Life on Mars?

Yes. British and American. My wife couldn't get enough of them. So I saw them vicariously. They were good.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Cool. So far it has been intriguing.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I noticed another version of The Lathe of Heaven, with James Caan, made in 2002.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2190803225/

Also, there is a website dedicated to the new restoration of Fritz Lang's, Metropolis - with 25minutes of previously lost footage. The DVD is due for release November 16th.
http://www.kino.com/metropolis/

[PLAIN]http://www.kino.com/metropolis/gallery/gallery/34.jpg

 

[stevebd1]

I thought the following list compiled at IMDB would be of interest-

http://www.imdb.com/list/TweyHamu78M/"

While the first 10 are apparent, there are a few surprises in the rest of the list.

 

[khemist]

I thought the following list compiled at IMDB would be of interest-

http://www.imdb.com/list/TweyHamu78M/"

While the first 10 are apparent, there are a few surprises in the rest of the list.

Thanks for that link. Some of those movies look awesome.

 

[DaveC426913]

I thought the following list compiled at IMDB would be of interest-

http://www.imdb.com/list/TweyHamu78M/"

While the first 10 are apparent, there are a few surprises in the rest of the list.

Wow. A lot of surprises.

At some point the remakes will be in production while the originals are still in theatres...

 

[QuarkCharmer]

Am I the only one who thinks that Comic Book movies should not be grouped as Sci Fi?

 

[daveb]

My List:

Sunshine
Equilibrium
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (the BBC series)
Galaxy Quest (I still laugh at that one)
Doctor Who episodes: Blink, The Stolen Earth, The End of Time...oh heck, just about all the new stuff
Silent Running

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My List:

Sunshine
Equilibrium
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (the BBC series)
Galaxy Quest (I still laugh at that one)
Doctor Who episodes: Blink, The Stolen Earth, The End of Time...oh heck, just about all the new stuff
Silent Running

Great list! Not sure if I have seen Equilibrium though. I'll have to check on that one.

Be sure to check out Primer, and The Man from Earth.

 

[daveb]

I've seen The Man from Earth - amazing!

 

[DaveC426913]

Am I the only one who thinks that Comic Book movies should not be grouped as Sci Fi?

That is so nerd.

You probably get the same looks I get when I declare that Star Wars isn't Sci-Fi, it's Space Fantasy.

 

[theneedtoknow]

Try Cronocrimenes (Time Crimes), fun sci-fi flick

 

[QuarkCharmer]

That is so nerd.

You probably get the same looks I get when I declare that Star Wars isn't Sci-Fi, it's Space Fantasy.

Well lol, I'm not a big comic book, or comic book movie fan, but I like Space Fantasy then. I think there is some sort of line between Sci-fi that has roots in reality and that which does not. I can sort of see one day maybe sailing the galaxy and whatnot, but getting super powers from a spider bite? Come on now!

 

[drankin]

Great list! Not sure if I have seen Equilibrium though. I'll have to check on that one.

Be sure to check out Primer, and The Man from Earth.

Equilibrium, got to add it to your list!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Equilibrium, got to add it to your list!

Already in the queue.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Try Cronocrimenes (Time Crimes), fun sci-fi flick

Yes, a Spanish film, I liked it. A bit on the kinky side but fun.

There is a great Mexican Sci-Fi film called Sleep Dealer, that you might enjoy.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

If you liked Galaxy Quest and you love the truly horrible 1950s vintage, classic sci-fi horror films, like The Blob [which makes an appearance here], and esp It Came from Outer Space, then you will likely appreciate this tongue-in-cheek satire that plays to a range of 50s classics, Alien Trespass. Pick your favorite cliche and you'll find it here. Alien Trespass is done so badly, so well, that it works!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0TDh6WdeV4

 

[daveb]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, and though it isn't hard-core sci-fi, "Ink" is perhaps the most creatively imagintive and stunning movie seen in a long time.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, and though it isn't hard-core sci-fi, "Ink" is perhaps the most creatively imagintive and stunning movie seen in a long time.

Thanks. I keep passing that one at Netflix but will give it a look. They predict almost four of a five star rating for me.

Freaky Faron was interesting. Not great but its quirkiness kept my attention.

Last night I tried to watch Destination Mars.

 

[JesseC]

I thought the following list compiled at IMDB would be of interest-

http://www.imdb.com/list/TweyHamu78M/"

While the first 10 are apparent, there are a few surprises in the rest of the list.

Nice to see Neuromancer on that list, I think it is a fantastic book, let's hope it doesn't get screwed up in film form.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I noticed another version of The Lathe of Heaven, with James Caan, made in 2002.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2190803225/

What a heartbreaker. What they did was done well done but they killed the story by leaving most of it out! It was far better than the PBS production in a technical sense, but PBS made a much more interesting movie.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The Invasion - 2007

I hadn't heard of this and thought at first it was a cheesy B [budget] movie, but all in all it wasn't bad. I'm not generally fond of invader-virus movies and the like as they are usually terribly done. At least this was a serious, well-funded effort. Not great but watchable.

But I can watch Nicole Kidman all day no matter how good or bad the movie may be If I hadn't seen her in this I never would have taken a look.

 

[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—had 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/blog/post.cfm?id=learn-to-forgive-yourself-in-a-para-2011-07-21

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I just recently watched a movie called "Source Code". It's was fairly good if predictable. It's probably best to watch it cold (no explaining what it is about) but if you need a little something to get you interested I will give a brief explanation and anyone who does not want it should stop reading...
The movie is about an air force pilot being used in an experimental program utilizing technology to witness past events in order to investigate terrorist attacks.

 

[Thetom]

2081 is quite a good film. 'tis only 26 minuets long, based on one of Kurt Vonnegut's short stories.

You can even watch it on youtube...

Part 1:


Part 2:


It's a good sci-fi story, but it's the music in this film that really gets me.

Edit: hmm, embedding the vids didn't seem to work so I've just given you the links. Enjoy!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

2081 is quite a good film. 'tis only 26 minuets long, based on one of Kurt Vonnegut's short stories.

You can even watch it on youtube...

Part 1:


Part 2:


It's a good sci-fi story, but it's the music in this film that really gets me.

Edit: hmm, embedding the vids didn't seem to work so I've just given you the links. Enjoy!

Thanks, I enjoyed that.

We've been watching Kyle XY. Not great sci-fi by any means - more along the lines of the TV series, Roswell - but unique enough to capture our interest for a time.

I also spotted an interesting but short, six-show series hosted by Stephen Hawking, called "Masters of Science Fiction". Not sure about all of the authors yet but allegedly the stories are based on classic works. A couple of episodes were quite good.

Funny the notion of "hosted by Stephen Hawking". He's not really the person speaking, and I doubt he even programmed or wrote the dialogue himself. If that is true, what about it is Stephen Hawking?