Movies for hardcore sci-fi geeks

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The discussion highlights several notable independent science fiction films, with a particular focus on "Primer," a low-budget film that explores complex themes of time travel and causality. Despite its intricate plot, which some find confusing, it has garnered a cult following and critical acclaim, including the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Other films mentioned include "Metropolis," "Solaris," "Brazil," "The Man from Earth," and "A Scanner Darkly," with varying opinions on their narrative depth and adaptation quality. The conversation also touches on the merits of character-driven storytelling, as seen in "Firefly," and critiques the reliance on special effects in modern cinema, advocating for narratives that prioritize strong writing and conceptual originality. The participants express a preference for science fiction that adheres to realistic scientific principles, contrasting it with fantasy elements that can detract from the genre's integrity. Overall, the thread emphasizes the value of thoughtful storytelling in science fiction, regardless of budget or mainstream success.
  • #301
Ok, I just watched a trailer for you to refresh my memory. I would say it is likely worth it to get the HD version if they were really able to translate it into full quality HD.
 
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  • #302


Galteeth said:
What did people think of Southland Tales?

This was shown on Sky Movies in August last year and watched it as it was simply on the premiere channel, initially not making much time for it as it had received almost universal bad press. At the end of the movie I found myself seriously thinking what had been the critics problems. I went to the IMDB message boards for ST and discovered that the version that had been shown on UK sky premiere had been the Cannes cut, or something that closely resembled it. I have seen the opening to the theatrical version and the exposition (which I think Kelly was pressured to introduce) is almost instantly off putting. Maybe the version shown on UK Sky was the Cannes version with some further editing done, even with personnel taste aside, the version I saw was coherent and I find it hard to believe it would have been beguiled as was the initial showing in Cannes. Maybe the version shown on Sky UK could be classed as a directors cut.
 
  • #303
TheStatutoryApe said:
Ok, I just watched a trailer for you to refresh my memory. I would say it is likely worth it to get the HD version if they were really able to translate it into full quality HD.

Okay, thanks. I'll give it a few days and see if the Blu-Ray version becomes available.
 
  • #304
Ivan Seeking said:
Tesla as a character = Sci-Fi? :biggrin:

Tesla is also a character in the Sanctuary series. That's bordering on fantasy more than Sci-Fi, though. His character is a vampire with an obsession with electricity. :smile:
 
  • #305
We thought The Prestige was great! And yes, no doubt it qualifies as sci-fi - a very brief but pivotal few moments in the movie. At first I thought the hats and cats may be a ruse.

Did anyone notice who played Tesla?
David Bowie

I don't think I ever would have guessed.
 
  • #306
The Lost Room series from SciFi is OK. Apologies if it has been mentioned before.
 
  • #307
Ivan Seeking said:
We thought The Prestige was great! And yes, no doubt it qualifies as sci-fi - a very brief but pivotal few moments in the movie. At first I thought the hats and cats may be a ruse.

Did anyone notice who played Tesla?
David Bowie

I don't think I ever would have guessed.
I don't think I paid close enough attention to notice. I only remember thinking that he was not quite as I would expect him to be.

Its hard to explain why it is sci fi without giving anything away. I would say that it is a classic sci fi type plot though as opposed to most sci fi movies that are mostly action, special effects, and monsters.

turbo-1 said:
The Lost Room series from SciFi is OK. Apologies if it has been mentioned before.
Ivan and I were talking about it earlier in the thread. Definitely a pretty good mini series so mentioning it more is a good thing.



I started watching Lathe of Heaven but have not been able to get back to it. So far it is pretty good though the special effects are certainly bad lol. I noticed that it was based on a story by Ursula Le Guin. She is a good author from what books of hers I have read
 
  • #308
TheStatutoryApe said:
Ivan and I were talking about it earlier in the thread. Definitely a pretty good mini series so mentioning it more is a good thing.

Tsu and I both really enjoyed the Lost Room miniseries. Not good sci-fi but fun. [whoops, meant to quote Turbo]

I started watching Lathe of Heaven but have not been able to get back to it. So far it is pretty good though the special effects are certainly bad lol. I noticed that it was based on a story by Ursula Le Guin. She is a good author from what books of hers I have read

The second half of the movie gets pretty interesting.

Last night we started on the Defying Gravity series. So far it looks pretty good. I esp like the premise of a tour of the solar system. Not sure that makes sense or ever would, but a fun premise. Obviously there is a dark secret not yet revealed.
 
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  • #309
20 pages and no one has mentioned "The Man Who Fell to Earth" with David Bowie?
 
  • #310
dilletante said:
20 pages and no one has mentioned "The Man Who Fell to Earth" with David Bowie?

Good point! Even after mentioning Bowie it didn't occur to me. I haven't seen that since it first came out, in '76. Already queued up at Netflix. :biggrin: I do see piecewise viewing at youtube.

I must admit that after watching three episodes, Defying Gravity is getting interesting. FInally gave up on the Blu-Ray version of Dark City and have the standard def for this weekend. The problem with Netflix is that when a movie is temporarily unavailable, there is no way to get in line. You have to try to time a movie return with availability of the one you want. Am I missing something here, Netflix users? Is there some way to reserve a movie?
 
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  • #311
Ivan Seeking said:
FInally gave up on the Blu-Ray version of Dark City and have the standard def for this weekend. The problem with Netflix is that when a movie is temporarily unavailable, there is no way to get in line. You have to try to time a movie return with availability of the one you want. Am I missing something here, Netflix users? Is there some way to reserve a movie?

Not as far as I know. I cut down from the three movie plan to two and use the money I save to get a movie from RedBox once in a while. Some RedBox machines are stocking Blu-Ray now.

I'm kind of bummed about the new agreement between Netflix and Warner Bros that means there will be a 28 day delay before new releases show up on Netflix.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100106-710531.html"
 
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  • #312
Borek said:
Definitely watch District 9. I have just seen it and I can only recommend.

We started on that last night. Both District 9 and Dark City are too much for Tsu so I will have to finish them a little later. District 9 is funny! I like it. It is also fairly unique in the genre. Tsu didn't last long enough for me to get a good feel for Dark City yet, but I can say that kid is creeeeeepy!
 
  • #313
Ivan Seeking said:
Tsu didn't last long enough for me to get a good feel for Dark City yet, but I can say that kid is creeeeeepy!

I was wondering about Dark City perhaps being too dark. Does the HD look good? I'm considering buying it.
 
  • #314
TheStatutoryApe said:
I was wondering about Dark City perhaps being too dark. Does the HD look good? I'm considering buying it.

So far I'm fine with it, but Tsu has limits when it comes to Sci-Fi. It was clear that it was not a Tsu movie and I didn't get to watch enough to get a real feel for it yet.

The subtle and not so subtle comedy of District 9 kept her interest for a time.

I finally gave up on waiting for the Blu-Ray version of Dark City. It is still unavailable.
 
  • #315
TheStatutoryApe said:
I was wondering about Dark City perhaps being too dark. Does the HD look good? I'm considering buying it.

This review on the Blu-ray version is pretty good.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/263/darkcity.html"

They generally consider it a big upgrade over the DVD version.
 
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  • #317
Okay, District 9 gets a lot more serious in the second half. In many ways it is a serious movie from the start, but it has an overlay of tongue-in-cheek humor that worked well for us; somewhat reminiscent of Airplane. I'm not much of one for the CGI gun fights, so I would say there was too much of that, but it was good. What I found interesting was the focus on the human reaction to, and the world of, the prawns. There was a superficial level to the prawn as they were far too human. I don't think any realistic expectations for an insect-like species would lead us to Andy and Opei with scales, but a good bit of effort was made to explore one scenario within the range of expectations, for the human response to an alien presence on earth. As a frame for the story, District 9 explores the question, "How would it look on CNN?" That was fun.
 
  • #318
Wow... District 9 was nominated for four academy awards - one for best picture! The others are for best editing, best adaptation to a screen play, and best visual effects.
http://www.showbizgossips.com/academy-award-nominations-2010-who-are-the-academy-awards-2010-nominees/5430
 
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  • #319
Ivan Seeking said:
Wow... District 9 was nominated for four academy awards - one for best picture!
Good. So maybe Best Pic won't simply be handed directly to Avatar.
 
  • #320
Btw, I did like Dark City. Tsu didn't care for it so it took me forever to get back to it.
 
  • #321
Ivan Seeking said:
Btw, I did like Dark City. Tsu didn't care for it so it took me forever to get back to it.

It was... dark. :biggrin:
 
  • #322
However, surprise surprise surprise! Tsu likes the tv series, Roswell. :smile: I kept telling her that it wasn't as bad as it sounds. I saw that it became available for online viewing at Netflix, so we gave it a try.

One expects it to be really stupid, but it is actually a rather fun series; and not nearly as exotic or stupid as one would think. I think Frakes [commander Riker, from Star Trek TNG], who produced this, did a fantastic job of taking a seemingly absurd plot - teenage aliens living in Roswell - and making something downright respectable.

Granted, it is sci-fi fluff, but still, not bad for fluff.
 
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  • #323
We finally watched Avatar. Yawn! Pretty movie but completely predictable I knew how it was going to go within the first 15min. The kids said it was just a remake of Pocahontas. Perhaps so, but I have not watched that so I can't say for myself.
 
  • #324
Integral said:
We finally watched Avatar. Yawn! Pretty movie but completely predictable I knew how it was going to go within the first 15min. The kids said it was just a remake of Pocahontas. Perhaps so, but I have not watched that so I can't say for myself.
avatar-pocahontas1.jpg
 
  • #325
  • #326
Just watched this one. It was pretty good.

Moon
2009 R 97 minutes
As he nears the end of a lonely three-year stint on the moon base Sarang, astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) begins to hear and see strange things. It's not long before Sam suspects that his employer -- the conglomerate LUNAR -- has other plans for him. Featuring Kevin Spacey as the voice of a robot, this sci-fi thriller also stars Matt Berry and Kaya Scodelario. The film was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival.
- Netflix

Available for streaming

Tsu absolutely fell in love with the theme song from Roswell. We've been watching the entire series on Netflix, over the last few weeks. It really is well written. Some shows are heavy on the love drama - esp the first half of the second season - but others are excellent sci-fi. The acting is well above average all the way around; at times it too is excellent. With all of this, the unique concept, the depth of the characters, and the overlay of tongue-in-cheek humor, Roswell is in my top ten list of favorite tv sci-fi shows. My hat is off to Jonathon Frakes. Making a show like this work for a true, hard-sci-fi junky, like me, was quite a feat. It is still hard for me to believe that I really like this show!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlyGApATNGk
 
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  • #327
Tsu and I have started watching a made-for-HBO series, called Carnivale. So far it is pretty intriguing. Not hard sci-fi by any stretch, and worse yet, arguably it is fantasy, but it has captured our interest nonetheless. It is highly period driven and the writing has been above average [at a minimum]. The big question is whether the increasingly intertwined subplots will actually play out. We have only watched 6, one-hour episodes, so far.

It only ran for two seasons, so hard to say where it will go. It is also fair to say that, in contrast to the fantasy, Carnivale provides a brutally honest and rare view of life in the 30s. These are the anti-Waltons. :biggrin:

Carnivàle (pronounced /kɑrnɪˈvæl/[1]) is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes Christian theology with gnosticism and Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar. The show was filmed in Santa Clarita, California, and other Southern Californian locations...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnivàle

Speaking of the Waltons, I noticed that a very good episode of the Night Visions series, called "Quiet Please", was written by John-Boy [Earl Hamner]. He really has written some great short stories!
 
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  • #328
Canivale is amazing. It is also incredibly dark, I am wondering how well Tsu will fair as things progress.

From what I remember the end of the series mostly ties everything together, unfortunately it is open ended as if in anticipation of a new season.
 
  • #329
TheStatutoryApe said:
Canivale is amazing. It is also incredibly dark, I am wondering how well Tsu will fair as things progress.

From what I remember the end of the series mostly ties everything together, unfortunately it is open ended as if in anticipation of a new season.

We only have a few episodes left. :cry:

Tsu has really enjoyed it, as have I. It is easly in my top-ten list of tv series.

It does get pretty kinky at times!

Did you ever watch Jericho [not sure if we hit on this already]? It too was excellent.
 
  • #330
Ivan Seeking said:
It does get pretty kinky at times!

Did you ever watch Jericho [not sure if we hit on this already]? It too was excellent.
The first bad scene that came to my mind was the episode where the daughter in the burlesque show died. The other scene that jumps out now that I think of it was the tar and feathering. Something I saw so many times in slapstick like the Three Stooges that I never really thought of how horrible it really is.

I saw Jericho when looking for shows but have not watched it, I remember that the description gave me the impression that it would be rather cheesy. My friend decided to watch Lost and told me about how crazy it is so I decided to watch that next. I'll have to see about Jericho after that.
 
  • #331
TheStatutoryApe said:
The first bad scene that came to my mind was the episode where the daughter in the burlesque show died. The other scene that jumps out now that I think of it was the tar and feathering. Something I saw so many times in slapstick like the Three Stooges that I never really thought of how horrible it really is.

Hmmmm, the tar and feather scene must be near the very end of the series. We haven't seen that yet.

As for strange and kinky, Brother Justin and his sister are quite the pair. But the entire series is loaded with slightly disturbing sexual tension.

I thought it was funny that Ralph Waite showed up just after I started calling it the anti-Waltons. :biggrin:

I saw Jericho when looking for shows but have not watched it, I remember that the description gave me the impression that it would be rather cheesy. My friend decided to watch Lost and told me about how crazy it is so I decided to watch that next. I'll have to see about Jericho after that.

Like Carnivale, Jericho only lasted two seasons, but what they did was very good. They do make some mistakes, esp wrt technical issues, and there are a few scenes that are pretty silly, but, imo, they more than make up for it generally. Also, the series does have a conclusion, which is nice.
 
  • #332
From the Earth to the Moon. Silent, 10 min, and maybe the first ever.
 
  • #333
Ivan Seeking said:
Hmmmm, the tar and feather scene must be near the very end of the series. We haven't seen that yet.
Its been a while now so I do not really remember all that clearly. I tried to be oblique enough to not ruin it for any one, I hope I have not ruined anything for you.

Ivan said:
As for strange and kinky, Brother Justin and his sister are quite the pair. But the entire series is loaded with slightly disturbing sexual tension.
Yes, they were certainly unusual. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop on that one. In general, yes, I think it was one of the things I liked most about the series was that it held nothing back. "Gritty", "suggestive", "raw", ect only begin to describe it. For all of the surreal and fantasy elements it painted an undiluted version of life for "carnies" in that time period. Its just short of that purely shock value drama that you expect from HBO. And Nip Tuck goes on.
 
  • #334
TheStatutoryApe said:
Its been a while now so I do not really remember all that clearly. I tried to be oblique enough to not ruin it for any one, I hope I have not ruined anything for you.

We saw that one this evening. I never saw it coming; well, not until the last minute. :biggrin:

Yes, I never stopped to think that it was hot tar that they used!
 
  • #335


:cry::cry::cry: We watched the last episode of Canivale.

Clearly they left this wide open; with new management, and a lot of dead corn.

Danger said:
I will reference once again my all-time favourite: 'Charly'. The only SF movie in history to garner a best actor Oscar (for Cliff Robertson).

I was finally able to get it. We should have it today. Turns out that Tsu read the book on which the movie was based - Flowers for Algernon [1958].
 
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  • #336
Ivan Seeking said:
However, surprise surprise surprise! Tsu likes the tv series, Roswell. :smile: I kept telling her that it wasn't as bad as it sounds. I saw that it became available for online viewing at Netflix, so we gave it a try.

One expects it to be really stupid, but it is actually a rather fun series; and not nearly as exotic or stupid as one would think. I think Frakes [commander Riker, from Star Trek TNG], who produced this, did a fantastic job of taking a seemingly absurd plot - teenage aliens living in Roswell - and making something downright respectable.

Granted, it is sci-fi fluff, but still, not bad for fluff.



IMO, a lot of those series like Roswell always seemed to me like poor Buffy imitators.
 
  • #337
Galteeth said:
IMO, a lot of those series like Roswell always seemed to me like poor Buffy imitators.

Haha, Buffy was way too much for me. But I have to admit that it is probably in the same class <hangs head low in shame].

Charly was good. It tends to drag a bit, but the story is good.

The futuristic surgery involved sounds a lot like [a 1968 version of] stem cell treatment. Stem cells were first identified in the modern context in 1963, five years after the original book was authored - Flowers for Algernon. I wonder if the movie stole a bit from the then recent discovery.

Canadians Jim Till and Ernest McCulloch first published evidence of the existence of stem cells in the scientific journal Nature in 1963...
http://archives.cbc.ca/health/medical_research/clips/17182/
 
  • #338
Ivan Seeking said:
Haha, Buffy was way too much for me. But I have to admit that it is probably in the same class <hangs head low in shame].

Charly was good. It tends to drag a bit, but the story is good.

The futuristic surgery involved sounds a lot like [a 1968 version of] stem cell treatment. Stem cells were first identified in the modern context in 1963, five years after the original book was authored - Flowers for Algernon. I wonder if the movie stole a bit from the then recent discovery.http://archives.cbc.ca/health/medical_research/clips/17182/

I would recommend Buffy. if you can get over the fact that the early seasons, especially season one, are clearly aimed at teenagers, it's a good show.

Edit: To be fair, I was 13 when it first came on, but I enjoyed it just as much at 21 when I re-watched the series on DVD with my girlfriend.
 
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  • #339
We just finished watching a short series called Invasion, which was created and produced by Shaun Cassidy [brother of David Cassidy].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_(TV_series )

Not great, but not bad. It had a good number of bad moments, in fact, I'd say about 20% of the show was rather poorly executed, but there were enough creative ideas and intrigue to keep our attention - a respectable effort. Unfortunately, there are only 22 episodes with no conclusion to the story. Many questions remain unanswered. The core of the plot - the truth about the hybrids - was taking an interesting turn as the series ended. It's too bad they didn't get a chance to run with that for a time.
 
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  • #340
I don't recall who mentioned this one, but I also watched Donnie Darko and really liked it! What a strange movie - a big thumbs up for that one!

Writer-director Richard Kelly's trippy, mind-bending feature debut stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled Midwestern teenager plagued by incessant sleepwalking, family drama and visions of a menacing 6-foot-tall, doomsday-prophesizing rabbit. Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wyle also star in this dark and intriguing psychological fantasy that swiftly earned a cult following.
Netflix instant viewing

Drew Barrymore was also one of the producers.
 
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  • #341
Watching Outlander. Awesome movie
 
  • #342
Another series rather than a movie, and another one from Joss "Firefly, Buffy" Whedon: Dollhouse.

Proper classic science fiction where you bring in a single groundbreaking technology (in this case, the ability to treat the human brain as a re-writeable drive) and run with it. It looks at aspects of the technology, ethical questions, commercial applications, sociological effects and military applications, a real tour-de-force. It's also wickedly funny sometimes, some really good, clever writing. The alpha-geek, Topher Brink, is one of my favourite characters ever.
 
  • #343
The Geoff said:
Another series rather than a movie, and another one from Joss "Firefly, Buffy" Whedon: Dollhouse.

Proper classic science fiction where you bring in a single groundbreaking technology (in this case, the ability to treat the human brain as a re-writeable drive) and run with it. It looks at aspects of the technology, ethical questions, commercial applications, sociological effects and military applications, a real tour-de-force. It's also wickedly funny sometimes, some really good, clever writing. The alpha-geek, Topher Brink, is one of my favourite characters ever.

Thanks, I just added it to my instant-viewing queue, at Netflix.

With a sales pitch like that, I couldn't possibly ignore it! :biggrin:
 
  • #344
Warning about Dollhouse. The season two story lines are much more interesting as they start to peal back the layers at Rossum Corp. I spent a lot of season one thinking that this is a ridiculous amount of money and technology to provide rich guys with a "girlfriend experience".
 
  • #345
No series better than Battlestar Galactica.
 
  • #346
How would you act if you knew your entire life was being recorded through your own eyes, and your surviving friends and family could watch it after you die?

We haven't been doing much movie-watching lately, but the other night we watched The Final Cut, with Robin Williams. Excellent! A fascinating premise, Williams plays a "cutter" who edits the digitally-stored memories of a lifetime, of the deceased. Memories are stored by a chip implanted before birth. The "selected" story of the person's life is then played at the "Rememory" of that person, for family and friends. This plays against a backdrop of protests and challenges to the ethics and morality, and the effect on humanity, of recording entire lives. No secrets are possible. The cutter sees all. But his job is to present a pseudoreality for those who wish to forget the truth.

Also, I noticed that The Man from Earth [one of my top picks] can now be streamed from Netflix. Until recently it was only available on DVD.
 
  • #347
The thread seems to be mostly about limited release or presumably not well known, or at least not blockbuster, scifi. But I don't recall the OP making any restrictions. I'm a hardcore hard scifi 'realistic' in your face cgi geek. My ideal scifi movie would be hard scifi heavy on cgi with no romantic or moralistic subplot(s) and no extraneous drama. The following, not yet mentioned, movies all fall short for one or more reasons, but were nevertheless interesting/enjoyable for other reasons.

Aeon Flux
Terminator Salvation
Tron Legacy
Pandorum
Splice
Predators
GI Joe The Rise of Cobra
Alien Resurrection
Alien vs Predator
Alien vs Predator Requiem
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
Skyline
 
  • #348
I'll generally agree with all those except GI Joes. That was an awful awful movie. Skyline was pretty bad too.
 
  • #349
Greg Bernhardt said:
I'll generally agree with all those except GI Joes. That was an awful awful movie. Skyline was pretty bad too.
I didn't like any of them unequivocally. My take is also that Skyline was the worst of the bunch. Disappointing because it could have been really cool with a big budget.

GI Joe was sort of comicy, but still the cgi stuff was cool.

My ideal hard scifi movie would be something like two hours of stategy and tactics a la 'Mech Warriors' encountering an alien civilization on some far away planet 1000 years from now. No drama, just wall to wall fantastic cgi realizations of the starships, the landing ships, the weapons, the aliens and their terrain, infrastructure and weapons. Discussions, detailed presentations of the hardware, the living quarters on the ships, that sort of thing.

Or perhaps the aliens come here. And we knew about it hundreds of years in advance, and have developed fantastic weapons and built extensive infrastructures to deal with the impending invasion.

I'm looking forward to Battle LA and Cowboys & Aliens.
 
  • #350
Just watched The Man From Earth. What a cool movie! But not the sort of hard scifi that us hard scifi geeks like the best. Nevertheless, a great script delivered wonderfully. I was engaged from start to finish.
 

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