Movies for hardcore sci-fi geeks

[FireSky86]

Last night I watched 2010, which I hadn't seen in a very long time. In light of the news of late and AC Clarke's reputation for science and social prophesy, it was interesting to note that in 2010, the US and Russia [The Soviet] come to the brink of war over... Honduras.

Interesting. I have never seen 2010. Good to watch?

 

[FireSky86]

Great movie, no doubt. I've always been partial to the sequel, 'Aliens'.

I was sorely disappointed with the latest releases of the Alien versus Predator movies. I enjoy almost all sci-fi, and I wasn't expecting anything great from those films, and still I found them unbearably bad.

I'm ready for a turn to a more Hitchcock style cinema. I'm very tired of special effects driven stories. It's gotten to the point now that when I hear the word 'blockbuster' I immediately associate it with 'garbage'. The sci-fi genre has suffered much because of creative special effects and unimaginative plots lately.

Agreed. Have you tried looking at any of Terrence Malick's films? They're beautiful. He almost got his PhD in Philosophy but instead went into film. He was Rhodes Scholar and was about to finish his thesis on Martin Heidegger. He is, in my opinion, one of the last great directors living today.

 

[Huckleberry]

That's why I like Alien. You have no idea what is going on, but you know you have to run away. It doesn't happen on the screen - it happens in your head.

While I appreciate good special effects as much as the next guy, I have to agree. As I think Primer and The Man from Earth conclusively demonstrate, the best science fiction needs no special effects.

The effects in the Alien movie were pretty good, but it didn't rely on them for effect. Modern movies have a tendency to put the wagon in front of the horse in that regard. I like effects as much as the next guy, or super cool sci-fi geek girl, but I agree that fear and other responses happen in one's head. When a movie gets this right then effects can be a great addition to it. I'm at a point now where movies like Primer and The Man from Earth gain appeal just because they understand that.

Agreed. Have you tried looking at any of Terrence Malick's films? They're beautiful. He almost got his PhD in Philosophy but instead went into film. He was Rhodes Scholar and was about to finish his thesis on Martin Heidegger. He is, in my opinion, one of the last great directors living today.

I'm not familiar with Malick's films. I read a little about him and found he directed 'The Thin Red Line' which was a good movie. Some of his other popular works are 'Badlands' and 'Days of Heaven'. He sounds like he could be the type of director who's work I might enjoy, so I'll be sure to check those out. Not really sci-fi as far as I can tell, but thanks nonetheless. A good movie speaks for itself beyond its genre.

A post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie that I enjoyed was 'A Boy and His Dog' staring a young Don Johnson of all people. It's about a young man's journey through a dangerous wasteland as he searches for a mythical utopia that his talking dog told him of. Through his travels he seeks out women and food with the help of his dog. It's a bit raunchy at time, which never bothered me in the least, but might turn some people off from it.

'Six-String Samurai' is another post-apocalyptic movie with more of a comedic approach. Elvis has died and a mysterious Buddy Holly like figure has to reach Las Vegas to become the new King of Rock'n'Roll to return peace to the wasteland. He rescues a mute boy along the way that tags along behind him and becomes something of a motivation for the katana wielding musician. A Slash like villian (from Guns & Roses) pursues him.

'Screamers', based on a short story by Phip K. Dick, is a good movie. There is a rare element on a distant planet and the miners have been in a protracted war against their corporate employers. The planet has become an irradiated desert seeded with viscious, saw-bladed killing machines called Screamers. After years of being holed up in their base and several months without any conflict the miners receive a message asking them to negotiate a peace treaty. Throughout the movie they discover the truth of what has been happening as they fight to survive against the Screamers.

 

[Danger]

A post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie that I enjoyed was 'A Boy and His Dog' staring a young Don Johnson of all people. It's about a young man's journey through a dangerous wasteland as he searches for a mythical utopia that his talking dog told him of. Through his travels he seeks out women and food with the help of his dog. It's a bit raunchy at time, which never bothered me in the least, but might turn some people off from it.

I've never actually managed to see that, but the original Harlan Ellison story that it was based upon, entitled 'Blood Was a Rover' was awesome. I hope that it pops up in the video shop sometime.

 

[Danger]

Still can't edit without crashing, damn it. Anyhow, I forgot to mention that in the original story the dog didn't talk; it was telepathic. That's how it 'sniffed out' women for the hero and communicated with him.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

'Six-String Samurai' is another post-apocalyptic movie with more of a comedic approach. Elvis has died and a mysterious Buddy Holly like figure has to reach Las Vegas to become the new King of Rock'n'Roll to return peace to the wasteland. He rescues a mute boy along the way that tags along behind him and becomes something of a motivation for the katana wielding musician. A Slash like villian (from Guns & Roses) pursues him.

I've been meaning to watch this. Is it really very good at all?
I've seen the Red Elvises (from the soundtrack) play a live show. They're really fun if you ever get the chance to see them play. I think they are living in California now so they will probably mostly be playing around here.

 

[Huckleberry]

Still can't edit without crashing, damn it. Anyhow, I forgot to mention that in the original story the dog didn't talk; it was telepathic. That's how it 'sniffed out' women for the hero and communicated with him.

The dog is telepathic in the movie. It doesn't actually make sounds a dog wouldn't make. It speaks to the boy's mind. I don't remember it reading women's minds, but it was pretty intuitive. I've never read the story, but might have to check that out.

I've been meaning to watch this. Is it really very good at all?
I've seen the Red Elvises (from the soundtrack) play a live show. They're really fun if you ever get the chance to see them play. I think they are living in California now so they will probably mostly be playing around here.

I thought it was good. It's not a mainstream movie by any means, and honestly the plot is very simple. It's a fun movie and kinda funny, with sword fights and evil, underground mutants and cheesy one-liners with semi-real characters. If you're fond of a more cult-classic type sci-fi then you won't be disappointed. What it does, it does very well.

kinda reminds me of Kill Bill but cheesier and a different setting

 

[Ivan Seeking]

A post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie that I enjoyed was 'A Boy and His Dog' staring a young Don Johnson of all people. It's about a young man's journey through a dangerous wasteland as he searches for a mythical utopia that his talking dog told him of. Through his travels he seeks out women and food with the help of his dog. It's a bit raunchy at time, which never bothered me in the least, but might turn some people off from it.

Funny! We seem to like many of the same movies, but I thought that movie was one of the worst I have ever seen.

Maybe I was in a bad mood or something. However, now that you mention it, I do seem to recall that the psychic dog bit really didn't work for me. To me that is fantasy, not science fiction.

 

[fleem]

the psychic dog bit really didn't work for me. To me that is fantasy, not science fiction.

Agreed. For me, I can enjoy a fantasy, enjoy a sci fi, but have trouble enjoying a sci-fi with fantastic components. I think the reason is in (my) definitions of those different genre's:

A sci-fi story occurs in our universe and thus, by definition, obeys the laws we already know to a great extent (although I don't mind ignoring a little bad science for the sake of enjoying the show, especially when the plot isn't much based on that bad science or can, in my imagination, be easily replaced with good science). But a bad sci-fi goes way overboard in breaking the rules yet still makes the claim that it happens in our reality. It can get so bad that i can't enjoy it, and sometimes its because I get angry at the misinformation being given to the public--especially misinformation that affects public opinion.

A fantasy doesn't even happen in our reality and therefore is welcome to disobey anything we know about our reality.

But a story clearly set in our reality, but with blatantly bad science (like a psychic talking dog), is hard to take.

Now there are also some stories involving travel between our reality and a fantasy reality, and that's fine, too--as long as the bad science in our reality doesn't get too bad.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Agreed. For me, I can enjoy a fantasy, enjoy a sci fi, but have trouble enjoying a sci-fi with fantastic components.

Star Wars?

 

[fleem]

Star Wars?

Strangely I never liked Star Wars all that much. I felt it was a little too mainstream, predictable, space opera-ish. But the force doesn't bother me too much--I can suspend belief enough to enjoy the movies. I guess I'm talking more about movies with a tad of political propaganda in the form of bad science, like "Water World" or "The Day After Tomorrow". I admit they are fun to watch but BOY do they sway public opinion with bad science.

EDIT: Other examples are movies claiming various entities (like the govt) have technology that gives them a great deal of power (in surveillance/big brother sort of way), which trains people that defying the govt is futile or extremely dangerous, and the best policy is to submit.

 

[Borek]

Other examples are movies claiming various entities (like the govt) have technology that gives them a great deal of power

MiB

 

[Huckleberry]

Funny! We seem to like many of the same movies, but I thought that movie was one of the worst I have ever seen.

Maybe I was in a bad mood or something. However, now that you mention it, I do seem to recall that the psychic dog bit really didn't work for me. To me that is fantasy, not science fiction.

Yeah, a talking dog is more fantasy than science. In fact, for much of the movie I assumed that the dog was only talking to him in his own imagination and that it was just a normal dog. The lack of science in that movie isn't what makes it notable for me though. The psychology of the boy and his dog is what I found interesting. Really the only claim the movie has to the sci-fi genre is its setting, kind of like Mad Max.

I don't think the movie would have been any good at all if the boy couldn't communicate with his dog, and I don't think the story would have worked if the dog character was made into a human companion. For the sake of a good story I don't have any problem suspending disbelief for fantasy or bad science. I don't take those things personally, but the relationship between the boy and his dog is something I could personally connect with. In that respect I thought the move was successful and original. Hmm, perhaps only in that respect, but that's enough for me.

edit - It's incredibly difficult to come up with original ideas. When I see something that strikes me as an original concept I'm very impressed. I suppose I'm easily impressed.

The only time bad science bothers me in a movie is when it is made to look like something real. Not that I'm very aware of the difference, but a talking dog is clearly fantasy. I don't even think twice about it. If a movie like 2001 had bad science in it then it would never have been the masterpiece that it is. Both movies have decent plot, but the areas that they focus on are very different.

 

[Huckleberry]

MiB

Hehe, that movie has a talking dog too.

There is a movie releasing in theaters this summer called 'District 9'. It's about alien refugees stranded on our planet. It appears as though their civilization has been destroyed and they have no way to leave or no place to go. They are isolated from society and exploited by government and media. I think there is a lot of material here to work with, but I'm highly skeptical that it will be done properly. I worry that it will be overly dramatic and PC in its delivery, neglecting the potential for an original story in favor of making some kind of biased statement. I'm still curious and hopeful though, so I will be going to check it out when its available.

 

[Borek]

I thought a little bit about it - it doesn't matter (much) if the movie is SF or fantasy, or some mix - much more important thing is whether the world and its characteristic is internally consistent and consistent with the story.

 

[Huckleberry]

I thought a little bit about it - it doesn't matter (much) if the movie is SF or fantasy, or some mix - much more important thing is whether the world and its characteristic is internally consistent and consistent with the story.

Yeah, that's a much more concise version of what I was rambling on about. Thanks.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I like some fantasy [a little], but the problem is that much of fantasy is passed off as sci-fi. Movies like MIB are fun but definitely not good sci-fi.

 

[Dembadon]

Dune, anyone?

My wife still makes fun of me for owning this movie. The novel is much better than the movie, though.

 

[Huckleberry]

I've always had a thing for good movies that are difficult to categorize. If it adds public interest to the sci-fi genre then I'm all for it. The entire genre is little more than a niche itself.

I liked MiB, but didn't see how it differentiated itself from any other film. It was fun, and adds general interest to sci-fi.

There is a point to the argument that bad science in a film dilutes general knowledge of the subject. The opposite can also be claimed. Movies like Star Trek or Star Wars that have their fair share of bad science can do a lot to inspire scientific interest in individuals. It's my opinion that a few creative minds specialized in one area can achieve more than a small gain of general knowledge in an otherwise uninterested audience. At some point a movie just sells out to appeal to a wide audience, but if the movie has no public appeal then it fails and is forgotten. A movie needs to tell a successful story first, and be inoffensive to reality second. Ones that delicately balance both are real works of art that can inspire generations.

2001 was exceptional in its public appeal and accuracy. I think the time the movie was released has much to do with its lasting success. Movies like 'The Andromeda Strain' or 'Colossus: The Forbin Project' are similar, but never achieved the popularity of the former. Yet a movie that takes creative license with reality such as 'Planet of the Apes' also becomes very successful. All of them inspire interest in different areas of science.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

2001 was exceptional in its public appeal and accuracy. I think the time the movie was released has much to do with its lasting success. Movies like 'The Andromeda Strain' or 'Colossus: The Forbin Project' are similar, but never achieved the popularity of the former. Yet a movie that takes creative license with reality such as 'Planet of the Apes' also becomes very successful. All of them inspire interest in different areas of science.

Ironically, one of the main reasons for the popularity of 2001 is the mystical quality that comes across because people don't understand the underlying sci-fi. This was a direct result of some last minute editing that eliminated the opening scene - a panel discussion that included Carl Sagan -that essentially explained the movie.

While I do appreciate your point about sci-fi generating interest in [and even inspiring] real science, for those of us who like hard sci-fi, popularity is usually inversely proportional to quality. As I was saying earlier, if I want a good sci-fi movie, I go out of my way to find the ones that never made it at the box office. For example, I found Metropolis that way - a movie that I consider to be a true masterpiece and one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. When I first rented it, no one I knew had ever heard of it. Of course it was made in 1929, so that is actually kind of a bad example, but it was found hidden away on a shelf that doesn't get many visitors.

Thinking a bit more about what Borek said, I guess I do have to agree. If the movie is well written and insightful I will likely enjoy it. I guess the line between sci-fi and fantasy is somewhat arbitrary... Strictly speaking, when I think of fantasy, Harry Potter comes to mind as a definitive example.

Edit: Meant to mention that The Andromeda Strain is also one of my favorites.

 

[Huckleberry]

Dune, anyone?

My wife still makes fun of me for owning this movie. The novel is much better than the movie, though.

I have yet to read the books. I get the feeling that much of the intrigue is lost on the movie. What the movie did well was create a political atmosphere and still have characters that I can root for or despise. They have individual motivations and aren't just vehicles for a political story. Considering that the book was published in 1965 I think the setting was original. The idea of rare elements on remote, hostile planets has been done a few times since then. I've already mentioned 'Screamers' which is one such movie.

Herbert spent several years developing the background for the Dune world. It is almost as in depth as Tolkien's Middle-Earth. I can see why it has such a loyal fan base, though I never viewed it as anything more than a good, though somewhat lengthy movie. I'll have to read those huge books sometime.

 

[Huckleberry]

While I do appreciate your point about sci-fi generating interest in [and even inspiring] real science, for those of us who like hard sci-fi, popularity is usually inversely proportional to quality. As I was saying earlier, if I want a good sci-fi movie, I go out of my way to find the ones that never made it at the box office. For example, I found Metropolis that way - a movie that I consider to be a true masterpiece and one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. When I first rented it, no one I knew had ever heard of it. Of course it was made in 1929, so that is actually kind of a bad example, but it was found hidden away on a shelf that doesn't get many visitors.

Yeah, for people where the interest already exists it is often those hidden gems gathering dust on a forgotten shelf that are sought after most. A popular movie isn't always a quality movie, especially lately it seems to me. My post was most directed at the ability of a well written story to inspire scientific interest where none was before despite the bad science. A lot of popular movies these days have neither a good story or good science. They aren't good for much of anything.

I've never seen Metropolis. I can already see that this thread is going to give me plenty of things to do with all my spare time.

edit- I never understood the popularity of the Harry Potter series. I enjoy fantasy as much as sci-fi, but that one never interested me. It might not help that I saw the first movie in Spanish. I don't have any interest in seeing the other movies or reading the books.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I've never seen Metropolis. I can already see that this thread is going to give me plenty of things to do with all my spare time.

IMO, it is well worth finding a copy of the rerelease by Giorgio Moroder ~ 1985. He added a modern soundtrack [music that helps to tell the story] that was exceptionally well-suited for the movie. There was also some lost footage that he restored.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Gattaca

Flight of the Navigator

The Last Star Fighter

I'm trying to rack my brains for decent sci fi movies. Most of them just aren't that great.

 

[Huckleberry]

Gattaca

Flight of the Navigator

The Last Star Fighter

I'm trying to rack my brains for decent sci fi movies. Most of them just aren't that great.

'The Last Starfighter' was innovative with its implementation of CGI. I have this one on DVD. The old guy with his snakeoil salesman pitch is my favorite. It's the original video game movie (or maybe Tron takes that title) and reminds me of the times I used to beg my Mom to take me to the laundramat so I could dig between the machines with a coathanger to get quarters for the Galaga machine. It also costars Catherin Mary Stewart who I had a crush on back in the day. She also stars in 'Night of the Comet' which is similar to Romero's Living Dead series but with Valley girls. It's another genre I'm fond of. (zombie horror, not valley girls, though those oddly fitting 80's women's jeans are still something of a curiousity)

'Gattaca' is the first movie I can think of that involved its characters in a world where children's genetic code was selected by the parents. I can root for the underdog without being concerned about a political message.

'The Island'. The atmosphere is toxic and humanity lives and works inside isolated utopian communities. Sometimes they win a lottery and are sent away to retirement and a life of leisure. A few inhabitants want more from life and begin to discover the truth. This reminds me of an older movie. I want to say it stars Charlton Heston, but I can't find it in his filmography. When they escape their community they find the Earth isolated. Anyone know the name of it?

Other sci-fi movies with Heston 'The Omega Man' which was the precursor to the 'I am Legend' release with Will Smith. Heston also did 'Soylent Green'.

I mentioned 'Tron' earlier. Jeff Bridges stars in that and also stars in 'Starman' which is another movie directed by John Carpenter.

How about 'Enemy Mine' where Dennis Quaid plays a human pilot and Louis Gosset Jr. plays the alien? The races are at war with each other and the two pilots crash land on a remote planet and are forced to rely on each other for survival.

Here's one Danger might like, 'Cherry 2000'. A guys robotic girlfriend (Pamela Gidley) breaks down in an unfortunate lovemaking accident involving a dishwasher. The part necessary to repair her is no longer in production so he heads to the uncivilized wastes and hires Melanie Griffith to help him track down spare parts.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Sci Fi movies that I loved when I was a kid.

Batteries Not Included

Short Circuit

Explorers

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

How about 'Enemy Mine' where Dennis Quaid plays a human pilot and Louis Gosset Jr. plays the alien? The races are at war with each other and the two pilots crash land on a remote planet and are forced to rely on each other for survival.

That sounds really familiar but I don't quite remember it.

 

[Huckleberry]

Apparently I was wrong about 'Omega Man' being the inspiration for 'I am Legend'. The Richard Matheson novel 'I am Legend' was made into a movie 'The Last Man on Earth' staring Vincent Price, which released in 1964.

And the name of the movie I was looking for was 'Logan's Run' staring Michael York, not Charlton Heston, and released in 1976.

 

[Huckleberry]

That sounds really familiar but I don't quite remember it.

I could tell everyone the story, but it's better to watch the movie. It's pretty good.

Oh, I also am a fan of Explorers

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Slaughterhouse Five

The Quiet Earth