0
riddler

How long must I wait for another good Sci-Fi movie?

Recommended Posts

Quote

Good movies vs. great movies. A great Sci-Fi movie has:

1. At least two different planets (Matrix counts, because Machine World and Zion are different enough)
2. Really cool spaceships (Matrix barely makes it with hovercrafts and squids)
3. Religious undertones that make me question atheism.
4. Love stories are minimized, because they make me feel uncomfortable with my emotions.



Your definition is good . . . for you . . . but not widely held.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

......
Dune - great book(s), nonsensical, confusing movie. .......



Which movie? I thought the one with Kyle MacLachlan & Sting pretty closely followed Herbert's story. Also, the imagery actually looked "familiar" after having read the books many years before seeing the flick. One problem with seeing the movie after reading the book is how much of the details are you subconsciously inserting and how confusing can such an intricately created universe be to someone who has not read the book. Same thing for the Ring trilogy. I thought those movies were very well done for the length of the movies. As for "Dune", I love the visions of the future as seen from the late 19th C through the art deco period up into the 40's. (Yeah, I know "Dune" was published in the 60's but it has that machine-age 1930's "feel")

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

You had me... right up to Solaris.


But otherwise, FUCK! Fifth Element! One of my all-time favs! Never leaves my Netflix queue. How could I forsake thee?

Bladerunner was also noteworthy.

Terminator was great.

Twelve Monkeys was quite wacked out.

Elvisio "even Clooney fans thought it was wretched" Rodriguez



Go watch it a couple more times.... eventually it will come to you.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Battlefield Earth has aliens, ships, and the aliens have to have come from somewhere.



You could even say that it has religious themes - I was surprised how close Scientology matched LRH's "fictional" book.

But yeah, one of the funniest parts is when they talk about disintegrating people, and the ray-gun just made them fall over.
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

One problem with seeing the movie after reading the book is how much of the details are you subconsciously inserting and how confusing can such an intricately created universe be to someone who has not read the book.



Yeah, if you listen to the directors and producers, they admit the biggest problem was fitting a 1,000 page book into a two-hour movie. It's difficult to understand all the context without reading the book first.

Not enough space-ship time, although the folding-space concept was interesting.

Edit - I'm speaking of the original film and the first book. The remake doesn't even qualify as a film, IMO, much less good Sci-Fi.
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

Maybe 18 days . . . maybe a lot longer.



Previews look great, but James Cameron writing and directing? That raises some serious red-flags with me.



Cameron's box office history would say otherwise;

Terminator
Aliens
Titanic

Odds are pretty good he knows how to both write and direct better than you or I will ever hope to have a chance to.

Although the story seems fairly predictable, I'll hold off judgement until I watch it with my own eyes.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote



Aliens - very awesome, I have it on DVD, but Newt isn't all that appealing



I thought Newt was fine, as kids in movies go. She even has some iconic lines - and with the extended edition where you learn about how Ripley's own daughter has grown old and died while she was in hibernation, it gives their relationship a lot more meaning. Compare her to infamous movie wreckers like, say, the Ewoks, or (shudder) Jar Jar Binks, and she starts to look pretty harmless. Lay off Newt, everybody! :P


Quote


Children Of Men - loved this movie



After I posted the IMDB link, I went back and looked at some of the comments. I was amazed by how many people actually despised it! Some of the remarks were valid, but a lot of it seemed to be bitching about how everything wasn't fully explained. For me that was part of the appeal.

One of the few movies I like enough to break my own rule and buy on Blu-Ray to replace my DVD copy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

How could you leave off Battlefield Earth?? Now THAT was a Great Sci-Fi Movie.:D:D:D


Sad that Enders Game has been put on hold yet again. I would also love to see Heinlein's later Books brought to film. Something with Lazarus Long. Time enough for Love, to Sail beyond the sunset, The cat who walks through walls or Number of the Beast.

John Steakleys Armour would also possibly be a great Film and easier to adapt than Enders Game. But after what Carpenter did to Steakleys other Book (Vampire$) I am not so sure how good Armour would really be.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

honestly (and i might get flamed here), it seems to me that the best sci fi stories lately aren't coming from movies, but from the biggest entertainment medium out there, video games.

There have been some truly amazing sci fi games.

Most of them don't really have romance (except some optional things).

Going back a bit, try Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (which is closer to true "Star Wars" than anything George Lucas has made in this decade...)

Newer, there's Mass Effect, Bioshock, Dead Space, and a few others.

It just seems like moviemakers are slowly letting game developers take over Sci Fi, which in my opinion is fine. Besides, the line between "movie director" and "game developer" is blurring, anyway. the rest of the industry is recognizing the legitimacy of games as a storytelling and even artistic medium. I just played a game (it was fantasy, more than sci fi though) that featured a voice cast of about 7 star trek actors (from various series), Tim Curry, and a few other big names. Gaming is BIG SHIT now...



Have you seen that they're releasing a game that follows on from Avatar that uses the same objects to create the world in game as they did for the movie?
Cameron says it'll be great for people that enjoy the film and want to investigate the world in their own way.
Should be cool.

Loved the Mass Effect story. Looking forward to the 2nd part.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

I was all jazzed up for aliens, not demons!



Is there a difference?


when it comes to that movie, absolutely! Aliens do not equal a person's worst fear manifested into some physical form.

Unless their worse fear were an alien....:S but that never happened! :)
I'm like a chocolate covered pretzel...I might be kind of melty but dang, I'm exquisite!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

Quote

I was all jazzed up for aliens, not demons!


Is there a difference?

when it comes to that movie, absolutely! Aliens do not equal a person's worst fear manifested into some physical form.
Unless their worse fear were an alien....:S but that never happened! :)


You're missing the point. Both serve the exact same function of being the monster that's out to kill you. It doesn't matter if it's zombies, demons or aliens.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we just got our assed kicked. Game over man. Game over!"

The function of all of them is exactly the same.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

Quote

Quote

I was all jazzed up for aliens, not demons!


Is there a difference?

when it comes to that movie, absolutely! Aliens do not equal a person's worst fear manifested into some physical form.
Unless their worse fear were an alien....:S but that never happened! :)


You're missing the point. Both serve the exact same function of being the monster that's out to kill you. It doesn't matter if it's zombies, demons or aliens.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we just got our assed kicked. Game over man. Game over!"

The function of all of them is exactly the same.


okay, agreed. :)
At least with aliens, there is still a mystery in how they look or act. Demons from hell are usually potrayed in the same way in movies. Evil and Angry.
I'm like a chocolate covered pretzel...I might be kind of melty but dang, I'm exquisite!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

I thought the new Star Trek movie was great and is set to have many sequels.
I also thought while you have to pick out some real bad movies there are some really good movies from the original cast & the next generation cast of Star Trek movies too



That one with the whales was a real stinker. They must have just said, "Let's make one about environmental moralism."
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

At least with aliens, there is still a mystery in how they look or act. Demons from hell are usually potrayed in the same way in movies. Evil and Angry.



If you were a primitive, knew nothing about space or the existence of other worlds, but did have mythology based in gods, angels and demons and a violent alien showed up, isn't it possible that you'd describe the alien as a demon?

Aren't all gods, angels or demons just aliens depending on how they behave and the technological sophistication of the person making that judgement?
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

At least with aliens, there is still a mystery in how they look or act. Demons from hell are usually potrayed in the same way in movies. Evil and Angry.



If you were a primitive, knew nothing about space or the existence of other worlds, but did have mythology based in gods, angels and demons and a violent alien showed up, isn't it possible that you'd describe the alien as a demon?

Aren't all gods, angels or demons just aliens depending on how they behave and the technological sophistication of the person making that judgement?


true again! But I'm thinking in terms of pure pop culture. Which, as we all know, is often times far from deep thinking! :)
I'm like a chocolate covered pretzel...I might be kind of melty but dang, I'm exquisite!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

Quote

Quote

I was all jazzed up for aliens, not demons!


Is there a difference?

when it comes to that movie, absolutely! Aliens do not equal a person's worst fear manifested into some physical form.
Unless their worse fear were an alien....:S but that never happened! :)


You're missing the point. Both serve the exact same function of being the monster that's out to kill you. It doesn't matter if it's zombies, demons or aliens.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we just got our assed kicked. Game over man. Game over!"

The function of all of them is exactly the same.


Event Horizon wasn't a SciFi movie. It was a Horror movie.
Remster

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

Quote

Quote

Quote

I was all jazzed up for aliens, not demons!


Is there a difference?

when it comes to that movie, absolutely! Aliens do not equal a person's worst fear manifested into some physical form.
Unless their worse fear were an alien....:S but that never happened! :)


You're missing the point. Both serve the exact same function of being the monster that's out to kill you. It doesn't matter if it's zombies, demons or aliens.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we just got our assed kicked. Game over man. Game over!"

The function of all of them is exactly the same.


Event Horizon wasn't a SciFi movie. It was a Horror movie.


but it was previewed, at least the short tv spots, like a sci-fi film! hence the let down. :(
I'm like a chocolate covered pretzel...I might be kind of melty but dang, I'm exquisite!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

The Matrix, where Trinity kisses Neo back to life under a slo-mo shower of sparks.



Did you really think this was a redeeming scene in The Matrix? She said "it was you", but what I heard was "you had me at Hello". Blech - I distinctly remember sticking my finger down my throat to plug the bile coming up during that scene.
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Compare her to infamous movie wreckers like, say, the Ewoks, or (shudder) Jar Jar Binks, and she starts to look pretty harmless.



Touche - this is a good argument. I'll take Newt over Jar-jar any day of the week. But Darth Maul cancels out Jar-jar - he was too cool.

Edit to add - and Jar-jar was actually the second most popular character of Episode 1. The kids liked him, so he got good ratings.
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0