Important Sci-fi Movies

[MisterSwig]

What are some important/favorite sci-fi films from the last couple decades? I discuss this topic with Lev on our YT channel.

Our top picks that we discuss in depth are:

*The Matrix - It revolutionized the style of sci-fi films with its "bullet time" cinematography and serious tone. The degree of drama reached a philosophical level that concerned matters related more to mankind's relation to machines than to his nonexistent experience with deep space travel and aliens on other planets.

*Ex Machina - a superior character study of three individuals isolated in a testing facility. It considers the deep questions of consciousness and motivations and purpose, from both a human and an android perspective.

*Arrival - a movie about first contact with aliens who come to earth for an unknown purpose. It incorporates unusual notions of time and language, which are cleverly integrated into the plot and character development. The film relies on determinism to explain events, which I think is a negative, but I like its thought-provoking, introspective aesthetic and attempt to apply the scientific method to a close encounter of the third kind.

*Looper - normally I don't like time travel movies, but this one stood out for me due to its mind-blowing story structure and appeal to free will. The characters are not bound to a predetermined fate, and the plot doesn't get bogged down by trying to explain the science of time travel. There's a time machine, it works, move on! Indeed the film isn't really about time travel, it's about breaking free from bad choices and consequences and realizing what's right.

*Inception - a wild, psychological film about sharing dreams and trying to sort out fantasy from reality. This is a well-made film that explores the nature of concepts themselves, as the plot involves trying to implant an idea into someone's subconscious.

[Peter]

I am not necessarily talking about quality, true science, or anything I want to argue about, but here are some Scifi movies that made me cringe, laugh, be astounded, but above all . . . I enjoyed them! Peter   

“Contact,” starring Jodie Foster. Some mysticism but very likeable. I may have watched this in the theatre and three or more times on TV.

“Jurassic Park.” “Most of the “Star Wars.” “Back to the Future.” “2001 A Space Odyssey.”  “Blade Runner.” “The Terminator.” “Alien” and “Aliens.” “Artificial Intelligence” with Haley Joel Osment directed by Stephen Spielberg.

Starship Troopers.” “The Fifth Element.” “Men in Black.” “Independence Day.” “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” “Avatar.” “Predator.” “Planet of the Apes.” “Mad Max.” “The Martian.” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” “E.T.” “War of the Worlds,” starring Tom Cruise. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” with Michael Rennie.

[Brant Gaede]

Forbidden Planet

--Brant

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Peter,

I'm glad you posted in this thread. I meant to post a reply back in December when Mister Swig started it.

I think I've seen all of the films mentioned in this thread except Arrival and Looper.

So here is my contribution off the top of my head.

Screenwriting and production-wise, the first two Terminator movies were fantastic for me. Both were essentially an evil thing chasing an average person thriller where the average person discovers an inner heroism they didn't know they had. In the second one, I guess you could say the average robot, too.  I like this kind of story. And with self-learning AI happening all around us now, throw in time travel and we might be headed that way.

Another Arnie sci-fi movie I liked a lot was Total Recall. In fact, many sci-fi movies made from Philip K. Dick stories have turned out to be blockbuster classics. Including Blade Runner. (Too bad Arnie became such a mewling political pussy in real life. It gives me a bad taste to think about this and kinda spoils his movies for me.)

There is form of sci-fi I am fond of: when mythical elements get mixed in. The first Star Wars TV series was that way. I don't know about the later incarnations of Star Wars because I was in Brazil when they happened and I didn't resonate with what I saw enough to seek it out. In this vein of mixing myth with sci-fi (and TV series), I really, really, really liked Lost. I went through the entire series with my family several years ago and we were hooked. I thought I was an instant JJ Abrams fan, but when I tried to get into Fringe, I just couldn't resonate with it.

There are the Marvel and DC Superhero movies. They can be considered sci-fi. But I lost interest in them. Sean (my stepson) lives and breathes them. But between the formula writing and, during the last few years, the grafting on of leftie SJW shit they pollute the scripts with, I just can't get into them. 

Here is a gem: the Homecoming series. I wrote about it before:

On 10/20/2020 at 5:09 AM, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

Actually, storytelling-wise, I saw Homecoming recently and it was one of the most interesting series I ever watched. (Only half-hour episodes, too.) Not the first season (with Julia Roberts), which was based on a narrative podcast and good, but the second. This second season was a palindrome with a most satisfying ending, but you have to see the first season for it to make proper sense. There was even a bit of SJW shit in it and I didn't mind since they did it right and showed it, but kept it out of the real story.

I am going to watch both seasons again. The writers of that series really know how to set up plot twists.

The only real complaint I have is they did some artsy-fartsy thing at the end of each episode and lingered on a background scene for several minutes where nothing happens. Like a road at night and a car sporadically passes by. Things like that. They really did that.

It's supposed to be profound, I guess, since amnesia is involved in the theme. But it came off to me as a bullshit way to tell the story. (In other words, it's great to use symbols, but don't make symbolism itself the story.) Happily, once that ending nothingburger starts, you can simple turn it off and go to the next episode. 

This can be considered sci-fi because of the fruit that causes selective amnesia. I nudged Kat into watching it and she enjoyed it a lot (it was my second time). Thank God they got rid of most of the lingering stuff at the end of each episode that I complained about.

After studying story in depth, I noticed that one of the things Rand didn't write about much in her descriptions and teaching of literature was the concept of comeuppance or poetic justice. Yet her own stories are full of this. I will have a lot to say about it when I finally get into story hacking for real. But for now, the end of the second season of Homecoming is one of the most satisfying endings comeuppance-wise I have seen to date.

Normally, a good comeuppance means the bad guy understands, right before he bites the big one, how impotent his evil is and how it will not protect him from his imminent doom. If we can see him panicking or groveling or begging, all the better. Just killing or otherwise destroying the bad guy is not good enough for a real satisfying audience experience. The bad guy has to be made aware of how worthless he is and how futile his choices have been. Then he gets it. Aaaahhh...

 

In Homecoming, that part only happened a little in the comeuppance, but the screenwriters still included some. I had the feeling this was added and not part of the initial conception since they fudged a bit to include it. But I'm glad they did. It paved the way for a real satisfying emotional experience. The concept behind the rest of the comeuppance was almost enough to give me that "Aaaahhh..." feeling by itself. With the awareness of one of the bad guys right before, it was so much better. I don't want to spoil this, but I can't resist saying that there is a parallel with what Rand did in AS.

I hope Mister Swig sees this some day. Late, but not forgotten...

 

Michael

[Peter]

"Lost." I should have mentioned that brilliant TV program. I would watch the entire series again.

[ThatGuy]

On 1/29/2021 at 5:54 PM, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

There are the Marvel and DC Superhero movies. They can be considered sci-fi. But I lost interest in them. Sean (my stepson) lives and breathes them. But between the formula writing and, during the last few years, the grafting on of leftie SJW shit they pollute the scripts with, I just can't get into them. 

If you haven't seen it, and would be willing to give a Marvel movie another shot, can I recommend 2014's CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER? It's a little outside the formula of the other movies (though still connected). It's more of an espionage/political thriller, and a little bit of a throwback to the 70's/80's movies like that (even has Robert Redford to add to the flavor). But even more than that, it's pretty relevant to the election/deep state swamp chaos we just saw with the courts, military, etc. (Spoiler alert: the climax was a wee-bit prophetic.) And oddly enough, despite Chris Evans being a rabid anti-Trumper, the deep state in this one is the enemy.

[MisterSwig]

On 1/29/2021 at 1:05 PM, Peter said:

“Contact,” starring Jodie Foster.

Great movie. I distinctly recall being impressed by the serious tone of Contact. I guess I had been watching too many silly alien films at the time.

The rest of your list is full of winners, except I didn't like Starship Troopers because I was expecting an adaptation of the novel, but instead I got a complete farce.

On 1/29/2021 at 2:54 PM, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

the first two Terminator movies were fantastic for me.

Terminator would have been in our top five but we decided to restrict the list to more recent films.

On 1/29/2021 at 2:54 PM, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

Another Arnie sci-fi movie I liked a lot was Total Recall. In fact, many sci-fi movies made from Philip K. Dick stories have turned out to be blockbuster classics. Including Blade Runner.

I liked those too. Blade Runner 2049 is in my top ten of more recent sci-fi. It's just about as good as the first one. And speaking of Philip K. Dick, have you seen Man in the High Castle? It's a really good adaptation.

On 1/29/2021 at 2:54 PM, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

In this vein of mixing myth with sci-fi (and TV series), I really, really, really liked Lost.

I got hooked on that show but hated the ending. So here's your chance to convince me that it makes a lick of sense.

On 1/29/2021 at 2:54 PM, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

Here is a gem: the Homecoming series.

Haven't seen that one. Thanks for the recommendation. Sometimes I enjoy that artsy-fartsy stuff if it's sufficiently thought-provoking. And I'm a sucker for comeuppance flicks, though usually it takes the form of a great revenge thriller.

[Peter]

30 minutes ago, MisterSwig said:

I distinctly recall being impressed by the serious tone of Contact.

I have gotten flack for this before but "Contact" is my favorite movie of all time just as Star Trek TNG is my favorite TV show of all time. I remember someone criticizing my choice of "Contact" by asking, "You do know she's a lesbian in real life, don't you?"

[MisterSwig]

15 hours ago, Peter said:

I have gotten flack for this before but "Contact" is my favorite movie of all time

It impressed me so much at the time that I bought and read the book, which was also very good.

[Peter]

3 hours ago, MisterSwig said:

It impressed me so much at the time that I bought and read the book, which was also very good.

I read the Carl Sagan book before I viewed astronomer Dr. Ellie Arroway in the movie. I wish I had reversed that process, like you, and saw the movie first because my brain starts looking for differences in the movie. I would prefer to be "in the moment" when I am in a movie theatre. I think I regretfully, did the same with "Jaws."  

[Peter]

My name is Hugh. I always liked that episode. Peter From Mashable: It's important to understand that the Collective functions as a hivemind. They grow their ranks by assimilating the various beings they encounter throughout the galaxy, and the process strips the assimilated of their individuality. Becoming part of the Collective means you're constantly linked with a vast network of fellow Borg.

We quickly learn that Picard's very sensible security measure had an unintended side effect: The Borg captive, cut off from the Collective for the first time, started to experience a feeling akin to loneliness. The dawning realization that Borg are capable of emotion and free thought is a surprise to Dr. Crusher and Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge, who gives him the name "Hugh."

As the episode unfolds, Hugh's increasingly human behavior wins over more of the crew, eventually including Picard himself. This growing sense of affection for the captive Borg ultimately comes to disrupt a plan that would've used him to carry a virus back home that would've wiped out the Collective once and for all.

Instead, Hugh is simply treated for his injuries and returned to the site of the crash, where he's eventually collected by his fellow Borg. It's clear his time aboard the Enterprise had an impact, but it's a full season before we find out just how much.

[Peter]

I was just watching Kurt as a kid in the original Lost in Space from the late 1960’s. Kurt Russell from Wikipedia: Russell is a libertarian. In 1996, he was quoted in the Toronto Sun saying: "I was brought up as a Republican, but when I realized that at the end of the day there wasn't much difference between a Democrat and Republican, I became a libertarian." In 2020, however, he stated that celebrities should keep their political opinions to themselves, believing that it negatively impacts their work.

[Peter]

This is S.R. Hadden to Ellie. We are not alone.

“Contact”: Astronomer Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) has long been interested in contact with faraway lands, a love fostered in her childhood by her father, Ted Arroway (David Morse), who dies when she was nine-years-old, leaving her an orphan. Her current work with SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is based on that love and is in part an homage to her father. Ever since funding from the National Science Foundation (N.S.F.) was pulled from the project, which was referred to as "more science fiction than science" by some, including her N.S.F. superior David Drumlin (Tom Skerritt), Ellie and her rogue scientist colleagues have looked for funding from where ever they could get it to continue their work. When Ellie and her colleagues hear chatter originating from the vicinity of the star Vega, Ellie feels vindicated. But that vindication is short lived when others, including politicians, the military, religious leaders, and rival scientists, such as Drumlin, try to take over her work. After the mysterious messages from space are decoded by her anonymous millionaire donor, S.R. Hadden (Sir John Hurt), the project takes on a whole new dimension, which strengthens for Ellie the quest for answers.

What We Learned From the Webb Telescope’s First Images The New York Times - Yesterday 5:23 PMNASA on Tuesday released five images from the early work of the James Webb Space Telescope. The pictures highlighted the great potential of the telescope to plumb the secrets of deep space. Below are some of the things we have learned so far. The telescope works really, really well. NASA’s experience with the Hubble Space Telescope sending back blurry images showed that advanced scientific instruments sometimes did not work as intended. Astronauts made multiple trips to the Hubble to repair it, but no such fixes were possible for the Webb, which is much farther from Earth than any human has traveled . . . .

[tmj]

So if we focus on a spot in the 'universe' that we have determined would take light or any signal 13 billion years to traverse , what are we 'not 'seeing ? 13 billion +1 day ?

We can't/don't see what happened 'there' 500 millions ago ? 

[Strictlylogical]

37 minutes ago, tmj said:

So if we focus on a spot in the 'universe' that we have determined would take light or any signal 13 billion years to traverse , what are we 'not 'seeing ? 13 billion +1 day ?

We can't/don't see what happened 'there' 500 millions ago ? 

It's more about magnification, frequency, and intensity but still "focus" is a nice general term.   

Individual "spots" do not correspond to "time"

Imagine, we "get" all the radiation that arrives in a "patch", and in that patch is light from all the different distances and from as far back in time (light has a finite speed) as is in there.  The frequencies shift towards the lower end of the spectrum during the journey so "focusing" involves frequency.  Also similar sized objects are similar no matter where (when) we find them... e.g. a galaxy 8 billion light years away which was the same size as a galaxy 4 billion light years away will appear much smaller... so to see it properly requires more magnification.  There is also reduction in intensity of radiation we receive (energy is spreading out in all directions)... so area of collection (and exposure time) are  important.

So we will only see those objects as far away (as far back in time) as we can "resolve" them, in frequency, focus, and intensity... the rest will be tiny bits of unresolved dark fuzz, possibly in lower frequencies, but its still all there, whether we "see" it or not.

[Peter]

We watched “Leave the World Behind” on Netflix tonight starring Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke, and I highly recommend it. It is quite riveting and I suggest watching it early in the evening. Peter 

From Wikipedia: Leave the World Behind is a 2023 American apocalyptic psychological thriller film written and directed by Sam Esmail. It is based on the 2020 novel by Rumaan Alam. The film stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, and Kevin Bacon as they attempt to make sense of the sequential rapid breakdown in phones, television, and other regularly used technology which points to a potential cataclysm.

Leave the World Behind had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on October 25, 2023. It was released in select theaters on November 22, 2023, before its streaming release by Netflix on December 8, 2023. It received positive reviews from critics.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

1 hour ago, Peter said:

We watched “Leave the World Behind” on Netflix tonight starring Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke, and I highly recommend it.

Peter,

Will do.

That looks interesting and timely, what with AI arising for real.

 

I rarely talk about this, but I often take your suggestions in entertainment.

I have a big one I am dying to tell you about. But I will do that only when the time is right.

It's time to give a hint right now, time to tell you that this exists, but not time for the full reveal.

I ain't giving out any spoilers..

 

Michael