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Film Discussion

 Post subject: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 12:46 am 
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As a bit of Saturday night frivolity, I thought it might be fun to find out which films people like! For tonight's fun I thought I would ask: what's your top five all time favourite sci-fi films?

1) Star Wars - This had to be my number one as it probably is the film I watched most in my life, particularly in my childhood. I can't tell you how many times I've seen it, but it's a lot! Some prefer Empire, but for me the original is he best. It's much more fun than Jedi and better still it's a complete story. Probably my favourite ever cinema experience was when Jedi was released and I went with my uncle to see the full trilogy. Note to George Lucas, this is a vote for the proper film, not the one with the big green turd that was CGI Jabba and Greedo shooting first.
2) Alien - I know most people prefer Aliens because there is a lot more action, but for me the original is the best. It's beautifully shot and the cast are excellent, and for me that chestburster scene has never been topped in any of the many sequels or spin offs.
3) Blade Runner - After Alien, Ridley Scott came up with another sci-fi classic. Have you ever seen a sci-fi classic that featured a futureworld that was so believable? If this was the most influential sci-fi pics of all time this would always be number one, it's unbelievable just how many sci-fi flicks since "look like Blade Runner"... but never as good. Throw in a bit of Rutger Hauer genius in portraying Roy Batty as childlike (he was only 4 years old after all) and you've got a real classic.
4) Aliens - Not as good as the original but much more fun. I spent a lot of time during adolescene watching and quoting this film. Hudson's demise cracks me up every time, as does seeing the illusion of half Bishop being ruined when Lance Henrikson reaches too far out of the hole to catch Newt. Don't look for it, you'll only see it forever more!
5) Dredd - controversial choice this one. What's that I hear you say, no Matrix, no Empire Strikes Back, no 2001: A Space Odessy, no Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone? Well, no. What you have to understand is that I was a massive 2000AD fan - those familiar with the comic may recognise my Avatar as being Middenface McNulty from the Strontium Dog strip - and that after the travesty that was the "AAAAH AM DE LAAARRGGGHHH!" Stallone Judge Dredd, I was completely delighted to see the film get the character of Dredd so right. It missed some of the satire and humour of the strips but it was still excellent. And in this day in age of every film having to be a 12 (PG-13 for my friends across the pond) certificate for commercial reasons, it was great to see a proper adult film with oodles of ultra-violence! Had this film not been made, I reckon Robocop may have been here, the best Judge Dredd film not to feature Judge Dredd.

What's your favourites?

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 4:43 am 
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With Alien and Blade Runner you could spend an entire semester discussing filmmaking (and have).

I actually enjoyed the new dredd but have to say that I loved the look of the Stalone one as they better nailed the actual look of stuff (and come on, is there anything cooler than an ABC Warrior? I think not :) ). However dredd does not take off his helmet,period. >:( Karl got that one right

I'm hearing nothing but good stuff about Gravity right now and looking forward to seeing it.

I will admit though that my SciFi has taken a decidedly cerebral slant in the last 10 years and I'd say Primer has to be in of my all time favorites.

oh and PS: Wrath of Khan > Star Wars

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 11:39 am 
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OOOH! I love This game! ;)

My number one choice is a little controversial:

David Lynch's DUNE.
I absolutely love this film. A lot of people have complained over the years that all the politics and the talking and the royalty and the plot and blah blah blah was removed from the books and what we got was a dumb down version. Well, I love it even more for this. I love the book- don't get me wrong. But when I watch sci-FI I want an escape from reality for a couple of hours and watching 2 hours of political chit chat is not that! That's called watching the news or newsnight or any of the other rubbish they stick on terrestrial tv after 6pm.

Dune is fantastic. Far too much fantasy and sci-fi go the route of Modern day with sci-fi/fantasy elements added to it, which allows for a larger mainstream audience as people 'can relate' too it more. Dune does this with out needing to add any 'modern day' elements (like LotR does)
Replace oil for spice, Fremen for middle easterns, the Empire for America- Now Dune is easy to relate too! ( I wanted to say harkonnens were the french- But I deemed that might be a little racist! ;D )

It has a scale that is almost believable- The Spacecraft look like they could hold an army, the buildings look like they could house an imperial army, the Worms look like they really are large enough to be a threat! Scale is important in sci-fi. Everything needs to be bigger then what is modern. Something I find that GW 40k and things like star trek some times get really wrong.

The SFX are old enough to look dated by today's standards but at the same time I dont think that matters, it helps with the look and feel of the film. They are simple enough to have a great look but with out them ever looking too dated.

The guild are creepy as hell in the films- especially at the start.

I love how casual he made the starting narrative with Princess Irulan, how she casually forgets to tell you something and pops back on to remind you! Not only did it provide some humor with out coming out of the setting, but also helped immersion- It made it feel like she really was talking to you!

Alicia Witt as Alia- Just how creepy a child did he find! :o
Patrick Stewart- 'nuff said.

The battles are fantastic- When the Atreides are attacked it really feels like the base is alive and panicking in and enclosed space.

The music- Brian Eno is bloody fantastic any way, but I love some of the pieces he did for this film.

Bloopers- Just like the original star wars storm trooper hitting his head was left in, theres a part where a guild member trips over his robe! All good sci fi need ones good blooper! Though I hadnt seen the Lance Henriksen one before- now I wont be able to not look for it! (who is an amazing actor. I'm just starting to watch the Millennium box set I picked up- He is fantastic and it such a dark show!)

WOW! I could go on, No one round these parts likes sci-fi So I get carried away when I can get away with it!


I loved primer- Though watching it on a Sunday morning with a hangover may have been the wrong way to enjoy it!
I too love the original Dredd film. The new one had so much promise but was let down by being so hum-drum run of the mill. The original one got a lot wrong- WHY IS HE KISSING ANDERSON! :gah
But also got a lot of things right- The angel gang, the ABC warrior, The look of the walls and the cursed earth. The new one will make a good start to a series of movies, if they then do some of the more epic story lines from the good old days. This one felt like one of the comics one week strips dragged out over 2 hours. Mega city one felt really small and like it was in the early days- It be nice to see 3 or 4 movies now, and have it become more and more sci- fi and crowded as the season goes on! But I'm not holding my breath as sci-fi doesn't seem very popular, other then main stream summer blockbusters that they churn out year after year- simple enough for the masses to consume, not clever enough to make any one think.

The first Lexx Film is a firm favorite of mine. Late one night back many many many years ago, I was having a very bad time in life. I got home very late from a night out, and was emotionally ruined and decided to watch TV instead. The channel I left it on came on and there was my first introduction to Lexx.

In the desert some half naked chick was being arrested but was telling the cops she was a 'love slave from out of space'. Then the end credits kicked in and the music started up! I was hooked! I was amazed how something so cheesy and yet so sexy had made on tv! I went out the next day and brought the first box set, and watched the first film. The cast was the original and not the one I had been introduced to but it was even better! Cheesy soft core pornish sci fi, with some really really stupid moments in between some really really dark and nasty ones! I'm not normally a fan of comedy sci fi (read dwarf is great, but other than that most of it is just awful!) But this has just enough seriousness in between that you can ignore the really really awful moments!

It was nice to see serenity in film. Up to that point I had loved anything Joss whedon had his name on- and it was great to get one more episode of firefly, even if they did ruin any chance of it coming back!

Alien and Aliens will always get me excited. I first watched them at about 8 or 9 years old one a sleep over for my school mates birthday. We stayed at his dads and his dad was like "here watch these two films, I'm off to bed with my new, but half my age, girl friend" (we were far too young to know what that was about, of course ;) )
Are minds were blown- and I remember the school teachers were quite furious as everything that came out of our mouths for the next year was quotes from the films! We were making comics of it during art lessons, we were reenacting it in drama lessons, hell we would have asking to make mock ups of it during science lessons if it hadn't gotten to the point we were dragged out of lessons to the head master and told to stop being in to movies we were far to young to have seen!

There has been some fantastic stories from the Aliens universe, the dark horse comics, the earth war books, the stuff that's swimming about in my imagination, and yet they choose to make Prometheus... :nooo
I wanted to like it, It just made no sense what so ever, and felt so forced. Pointless!

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 12:03 pm 
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Nice selection there Bisler! I love all the classic sci-fi blockbusters of the past but my top 5 will be a bit different.

1. Fifth Element
If I was stuck on a desert Island with 1 movie this would be it.

2. Dredd
Same reasons you've given, has been the only film since Avatar where 3D actually added some immersion. I also agree with Jimmy about Stallone's effort but that film had a budget behind it.

3. The Matrix
Ok the sequels weren't for everyone but the original was awesome.

4. Moon
I could say a lot about this movie but I'm on my phone so I'll just say you should see it if you haven't already.

5. Demolition Man
Cheesy, but I love it!

Sure there are better films out there but given the choice these are the 5 that I'd pick. :)


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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 2:44 pm 
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I tried not to rise to the bait about Dredd, but after a while I just couldn't contain myself.

So far as Stallone's Jimp Dredd is concerned it was perfect for the first 5 mins. I went to see it in the cinema and I was genuinely enthralled to see the city I knew from the comics brought to life. But as soon as that codpiece (no, not a euphemism for Sylvester Stallone although he is a massive walloper) turned up on screen the film was utter muck.

**Spoiler alert overload for anyone who hasn't wasted 2 hours of their life on this abomination.**

I expected the helmet to come off some of the time but for it to stay off after a single scene was outrageous and missed the point of Dredd completely; he is the faceless embodiment of the law. And then there was that crap catchprase "aah noo you'd say dat"... And I agree with Rex, kissing Hershey was simply disgraceful. Yeah, it was nice to see Hammerstein on screen but I wasn't too bothered about it, he belongs in an ABC Warriors film, not Judge Dredd. The Angel Gang were another nice nod to the comics but I never understood why they were suddenly cannibals. The fact that Dredd slaughtered the lot of them inside a few minutes served only to annoy me more - as was the slaughter of the Council of Five which I seem to recall included some future Chief Judges. It's one thing to let fans know you are aware of the source material, it's another thing to nod toward that and then wipe your arse all over it.

But possibly the thing that drove me mad more than anything was Rob Schnieder, the "comic" relief. I could rant for paragraphs about how hatefully abysmal he was, but I think I'll just quote Mr White from Reservoir Dogs and say "p*ss on this f***ing turd!" I simply can't put it any better than that.

Anyway, that's all I'm willing to say about Jimp Dredd. While they didn't have the budget, the recent Dredd film ticked a lot of boxes and was spot on with the character and for that I'm grateful!

I agree that Gravity looks good and I am looking forward to seeing that.

I was never a fan, but think I'll have to watch Dune again after that impassioned post from Rex! Agree about Prometheus, I hoped it would be a return to form for Ridley Scott but no matter how good the Fassbender was, it turned out to be a massive disappointment.

I like your choices as well there Captain, though if I was going to throw a few more cheesy titles into my list, I have to say Starship Troopers and Total Recall would have to be in there. Can't beat a bit of Verhoeven! :)

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 4:01 pm 
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The Bissler wrote:
"... And I agree with Rex, kissing Hershey was simply disgraceful.


Yes, that's who I meant! I said Anderson because I have just been looking online to find a trade back of one of my favorite Anderson stories and had her name staring at me when I typed it! I'm a dope! ::)

I watched starship troopers again the other day. It still bloody fantastic, One movie I did actually bother to see in the cinema.

One I forgot to add to my list: Event horizon. Grim dark in an adult form. Love it!


The newest Dredd film will be so much better once a sequel is announced- Its a good appetite wetter but Needs one of Dredd's epic stories to really, really make a film franchise outshine the rest of the crud! I'd very very much like to see Spikes Harvey in the next film. I'd drop huge dollars to see the Cursed earth story line in film!

I always thought Dredd would make a very good late night TV show (along with Sinister Dexter) When the dredd stories got a bit boring or they needed a filler episode they could drop in any number of alternative stories to keep the season fresh and exciting. Each season could be one of the mega story lines.

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:03 pm 
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I completely agree about a Dredd series. I've long thought an HBO version would be fantastic. The real beauty of a Dredd series is that you could have completely different stories. Ones that are humourous, traditional cop stories, horror stories, gangster stories, pretty much name whichever genre of storytelling you can think of and you could apply it to a Dredd series.

Anyway, what's everyone else's favourite sci-fi films?! ;D

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:24 pm 
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OMG Dune, YES!!

Honestly no one has surpassed the unique sense universe building on film ever. The green dress uniforms of the Atredies ala 19th century Europe during The Great Game, the industrial nightmare of Gedi Prime (and those green walls under blue fluorescent lights is PURE genius from a cinematography perspective). The baroque styling found everywhere are amazing. From glowglobes to the great gates found on the Guild Highliners. These look like the possessions and holdings of the great families and powers that rule the universe in place where technology is so relatively advanced from our perspective that gold plating a spaceship isn't even a second thought if that's your fancy.

The use of practical effects are ingenious as well. The scene where House atradies lands in their new fiefdom and the honor guard greets them at the airfield, surrounded by their spacefleet. The use of the models (upwards of 3meters each) and the forced perspective of the set on the other side of the lot holds up to this day. In most places the sandworms feel giant and not puppets. And shooting location was perfect as well.

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:37 pm 
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I can't believe no one has mentioned the best thing about Dune: Sting in a winged nappy like some sort of ginger Christ from the future.

Does life get any better? I think not.


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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 7:07 pm 
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I thought about mentioning it. But then I remembered how I cry every time 'message in a bottle' comes on the radio because I all I see in my mind is those pants....! :'(

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 9:27 pm 
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I just realised that Jimmy said "Wrath of Khan > Star Wars". Clearly this was a typo. If it wasn't, all I have to say is "Ziiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmm!!" :P

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 9:31 pm 
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HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

I counter with this:
midiclorians have forever tainted all of Star Wars at this point.

at least ST: ID had the sense to be in a separate continuity :P

Though of course I have a theory about SW v WoK which is about whether you have aviation vs naval backgrounds in your family. WoK was fundamentally Horacio Hornblower in Space. :D

I suddenly feel the need to make peace between the universes and feel we all can agree with the sentiments from Tripod in their song, King Kong
edit: stupid board tags no workie with youtube time indexes :{[]

full vid=>


and cutting to the chase=>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZKc574LnBM&t=4m18s

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Last edited by jimmyzimms on Sun Oct 06, 2013 9:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 9:43 pm 
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The Bissler wrote:
I can't believe no one has mentioned the best thing about Dune: Sting in a winged nappy like some sort of ginger Christ from the future.

Does life get any better? I think not.


It would be David Bowie as Goblin King, but the jury is still out on this one.

Image

On a more serious note, I gave this some considerable thinking (5 minutes, which is a lot in Internet time) and wrote the following list:

1) Alien

Every time I watch it, I am more and more baffled with how ageless this movie is. I have seen movies from 2012 that looks sillier in its decor and setting. As for the movie, it is one of the few movies I have seen that provokes real fear in people. Did it involve space ships and aliens as well? It's a given.

2) Blade Runner

It seems I have a thing for Ridley Scott, but what I said about Alien goes for Blade Runner as well. Blade Runner is the reason why I expect it to rain constantly in an urban sci-fi setting.

3) 2001

I love it how science-fiction in the 70's and 80's was much more psychological than visual. It is a claustrophobic master piece.

4) Aliens

Not psychological, but so full of one-liners it feels like the entire80's packed into one action movie, of course featuring aliens and space ships and colonies. Again, it's a given.

5) Twelve Monkeys

I love the aesthetic vision of Terry Gilliam, and I was just about to put Brazil in this spot, but Twelve Monkeys is a fantastic take on the time-travel theme with stunning visuals and even Bruce Willis delivers in this one.

Five movies was hard, I had to reject my entire childhood in order to leave Star Wars out, but honourable mentions also goes to Planet of the Apes (the 1968 version of course, psychadelic music and sound effects goes a long way), Brazil (anyone who has worked in today's bureaucracy know that despite the myth of the paper-less office, Gilliam's vision is far closer to the truth) and last but not least Predator (like Aliens, but in the jungle). Other movies that are not exactly science-fiction, but futuristic in theme that I rank highly are A Clockwork Orange and V for Vendetta.

/Fredmans


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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 9:57 pm 
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Hopefully I can ask this without hijacking too much or being accused to heresy, but there are a number of sci-fi classics that really don't appeal to me (blade runner, alien, space odyssey among them). So, what makes blade runner so great? educate me!

I find blade runner slow and dull. Sure it has atmosphere, it's just not enough. I founnd the book more interesting, though I am less keen on the ending. Think i've seen it three times now (not sure which cuts) and i've just ended up getting more bored by it each time!

edit: on a more positive note, i really enjoy Terry Gilliam's films, especially Brazil and Baron Münchhausen.

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 Post subject: Re: Film Discussion
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 10:00 pm 
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jimmyzimms wrote:
I counter with this:
midiclorians have forever tainted all of Star Wars at this point.

at least ST: ID had the sense to be in a separate continuity :P


Because the original was so bad that it was better to set up a new continuity that was Star Trek: if a Star Wars fan made it (ie with lots of explosions and none of that diplomacy crap).

This makes Star Trek look good.



In this video, the Star Destroyer nonsense flatters your pitiful Federation but the conclusion is correct.


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