Science Fiction Films

[jazzy_dave]

Well folks i am on my travels but only in the local area. It is a sunny warmish day and the forecast for the following day is good too. So i shall be making the most of it, although at the moment i am in Faversham library. I have just been to Past Sentence to sell some books in which i received six pounds for and transferred some money that i had residing in my Pay Pal account across to my bank.

Thank goodness i have another pay day tomorrow.

Last night i watched that science fiction film Elysium. Not bad, but as usual with some of these modern crop of sci-fi films it is too long on the combat action and too short on the drama or philosophical action. There isn't the gravitas that something like The Martian Chronicles or 2001 A Space Odyssey held. Of recent years and i guess i am going back twenty years, maybe more,  the best science e fiction films are the director's cut of Blade Runner (based on Philip K Dick's "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep" ), Minority Report (also based on a Dick short story), Inception, Cloud Atlas, and or course the most recent Star Trek films. There are others but i do not want to bore you with a long list.

So folks, what are your favourite science fiction films, and if you can , give the reason why. All comments accepted.



 

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i love "moon" for its mixture of the seriously creepy and the seriously mundane :)

last i heard it was available entirely on youtube?

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

"Moon" doesn't get enough love. I saw it on Netflix and liked it a lot. Good character drama, given it's essentially a one man show plus a (non-psychotic) computer.

[ba1126.livejournal.com]

Lost Skeleton of Cadavra!! It's a GREAT spoof on every low budget 50's science fiction movie, with a evil talking skull that controls minds, a couple of aliens who are trying to learn about Earth and imitate the 'natives', a beautiful 'slinky' girl, "Animalia", who can change into a panther, an earnest scientist with his test tubes and his not-so-bright' wife, etc. The creators are doing a fundraiser on FB to make a sequel!!

[hotclaws.livejournal.com]

I love the Aliens films.Forbidden Planet it a classic and still stands up well.I liked the first War of the Worlds too,it was pretty close to the book.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Forbidden Planet is one of my all time faves. The Tempest in space and a wonderful soundtrack too.

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

That's a good question. I am not a big sci fi movie fan.
Off the top of me head I would say Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Simple because I think Khan was a GREAT villian. lol...
Hugs, Jon

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Plus lots of misquoted Shakespeare lol

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

LOL.........

[quirkytizzy.livejournal.com]

I agree that too much science fiction is suffering from the "more combat = more excitement" thing that's saturating everything about - well, at least American - media today.

Though my favorite science fiction cinematic story is actually a video game - the Mass Effect series. Roughly 80 hours of a beautifully constructed, rich world with dozens of species and diplomatic negotiations throughout it all. And the combat makes SENSE.

The focus is on the story, and character development. That's what I want out of science fiction.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

OHh, these are good films. I found Minority Report chilling, because it CAN be true...O_o

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Many of the Philip K Dick stories have a similar chilly and could be true feel to them.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Favourite sci fi film?

'Silent Running' by the length of several streets because it is the one that all others of more recent origin steal their ideas from.

And that ending makes me cry, every time.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Totally forgot about that one. Huey and Dewey were so sweet, and the ecological message was so spot on.

[symian.livejournal.com]

I like so many from the dawn of time until now that I can't really list them or tell you why. I will say that When World's Collide and Forbidden Planet are two of my favorites. Silent Running I enjoy too, along with more modern fare like Lifeform (Mathilda May being nude in it doesn't hurt it at all!), and Alien and Aliens, Predator, Close Encounters, Star Wars series, The Matrix series, Terminator series, Harry Potter series, Blade Runner, 2001, Dr. Strangelove, Batman Begins, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I completely love Groundhog Day.

I'd better stop here. I'll be typing all the rest of the day otherwise. *chuckle* I used to be movie buff so... there you go.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Love the list but not all of them could be called science fiction, some are fantasy movies, such as Harry Porter, which i also enjoy.

[symian.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know. I got carried away. *grins*

[danaewinters.livejournal.com]

I tend to go a little on the cheesy side, so I'd say Logan's Run was a favorite. I've yet to be disappointed by a film based on Philip K. Dick's work, though. Liked the Matrix and Blade Runner for sure...Close Encounters, Soylent Green, Planet of the Apes (the original), Little Shop of Horrors (original AND musical remake, for entirely different reasons), the first two Alien/Aliens films, and the like.

[itsjustc.livejournal.com]

Logan's Run was brilliant!

[swordznsorcery.livejournal.com]

Have you seen "Dark City"? That's probably my favourite sci-fi film. It's a terrific piece of very stylish noir from the nineties, starring Rufus Sewell and Richard O'Brien amongst others. One of those films that the studio could not resist meddling with, leading to a ridiculously spoilery prelude being added, that fortunately was dispensed with for the most recent DVD release.

My favourite sci-fi is mostly small screen, I suppose. "Babylon 5" probably takes the crown. I'm rather fond of a slightly daft eighties movie called "Slipstream", which stars Bob Peck as an android. It's not good, exactly. More one good film and one bad one accidentally bolted together. Peck puts in a very good performance though, as you'd expect. Then there's "Donnie Darko" of course, but I'm not sure if that's sci-fi exactly. Similarly "Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow". The former is pleasingly dark, the latter a great fun attempt to bring a comic strip to life.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Some recent-ish ones (since 2000) I really like and which don't get enough love:

Moon (even before I realised the director is David Bowie's kid)

Upstream Color and Primer, two really clever movies about how typical sci-fi ideas like time travel and body surfing would work out in a low-key drama style

The American Astronaut - like Firefly: The Musical

Timecrimes - Spanish time travel movie that ends up juggling about 5 different timelines and does it well

Another Earth and Sound of My Voice - two movies by writer/actress Brit Marling, who if there's any justice should have a really nice career of clever movies ahead of her

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

I was looking forward to Upstream Color for months, knowing it was from the same guy a Primer - and ye gods and little fishes, did he deliver. =:D Absolutely poetic - if anything, it reminded me of what Tarkovsky might now produce (ah, Stalker, Solaris..).

Timecrimes definitely doesn't get enough love. I'm very fond of multi-layered yarns, especially involving time travel, so that appealed without any difficulty.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

The 2003 film Cypher is a very underrated Dickian identity drama.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I absolutely adore The Man Who Fell to Earth. It's beautiful and sad, and unlike any other film I know.

[kabuldur.livejournal.com]

My most favourite sci fi movies and series would have to be Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars, Dr Who and Dune. Oh, and looking through your replies, I also liked Close Encounters and ET, too. I had to watch The Matrix and Blade Runner for uni; they were okay.

[itsjustc.livejournal.com]

I love hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!

[kabuldur.livejournal.com]

:)

Even the TV series wasn't worse than the book!

[itsjustc.livejournal.com]

I love the post-apocalyptic side of sci-fi.

So I love things like Dune, Mad max, Logan's run etc.