# What's your favourite Sci-Fi movie?



## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

These movie postings have been going well. So here's another.

*What's your favourite Sci-Fi movie? Or movies?*

I'm usually a sucker for this genre but nothing springs to mind as an all-time favourite so I'm looking forward to suggestions. _Star Trek First Contact_ was pretty good and _Start Trek Nemesis_ looks promising.

Speaking of which, there's a movie just called _Nemesis_ that was enjoyable - even though its sequels were pointless and made no sense. Also _ A.I._ was interesting and intellectual but ass-numbingly long.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

I may be a bit boring, but anything 'Star Wars'. I have and will continue to watch these movies over and over again. Speaking of which, how long can George Lucas hold out on releasing the first three movies on DVD (or 'Indiana Jones', for that matter)?

I don't know if this counts, but 'Final Destination' was highly under rated in my opinion. Good news though, a sequel will be released in 2003 (mind you so will 'Seriously Dude, Where's My Car?').


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

I gotta go with *Blade Runner* as my favorite.

Honorable mentions to:
*Mars Attacks*
*The Day the Earth Stood Still*
*The Matrix*
*Spaceship Troopers*


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## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

Blade Runner - my first LaserDisc
Alien - saw it when first released
The Matrix - still watch it at least twice a year

... in that order.

LOVE Sci-Fi!!!


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## Alesh (Dec 10, 2001)

Some of my favourites (In no particular order):

Macross Plus (Anime, and very amazing)
Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea (Anime, little known, but very, very awesome movie, one of my all time favourites)
A.I.
Gattaca
Metropolis (also Anime, also great)
Star Wars (I had to put it in...)
The Matrix
Vanilla Sky (Yes, its classified as Sci Fi!)


For fun factor I will also include:

Starship Troopers
Terminator
Aliens


A note about Blade Runner. I watched it fairly recently, all I have to say is... huh?


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## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

I'd have to say Matrix, but most Sci-Fi movies aren't bad, like Star Wars, Star Trek and that entire mini genre. You can't beat Sci-Fi.


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## james_squared (May 3, 2002)

Hello,

Here's my favourites:

Star Wars
Matrix
Soylent Green
Men in Black
Omega Man
The Terminator
2001: A Space Odyssey
War of the Worlds
5th Element

Honourable Mentions:

Star Trek (some, not all)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Tron
Mimic
Tank Girl
The Ice Pirates
E.T.

James


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## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

Trivia question:

Seeing as there seem to be so many *Matrix* fans here (myself included), does anyone know the name of the book that many of the concepts are based on? _Hint:_The author is French (surprise, surprise!) and Neo keeps those secret disks of is in a hollowed out copy of this book.

Quick take out your tapes and DVDs and hit pause.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

Man, this thread could get looooooong!

Too many great films to pick just one favourite, but some include:

- Blade Runner (amazing)
- Alien
- Dark Star (a wicked comedy sci-fi)

On the TV side... 

- loved "Space:1999". The "eagle" was a great design!
- Quantum Leap (also nice to see Bakula back on TV with "Enterprise")

...too many to list...

M


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## VertiGoGo (Aug 21, 2001)

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Minority Report
Matrix
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (Yoda fight scene)
Tron (man I hope they do a new version)
Superman II (Just love those 3 super-villains)


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## coyote (Jul 7, 2002)

Can't name just one, but here are some favourites.

12 Monkeys
Alien and Aliens
The Road Warrior
Terminator and Terminator 2
Blade Runner
The Fifth Element
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzia Across the Eighth Dimension


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## Mac Fellow (Jul 5, 2001)

Q. C. Critic: "...does anyone know the name of the book that many of the concepts are based on? Hint:The author is French"

A. Jean Baudrillard's "Simulacra and Simulation".

Why not buy a copy of Simulacra and Simulation via ehMart and support ehMac today 
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0472065211/701-0394342-4174755


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## Mac Fellow (Jul 5, 2001)

My favourite sci-fi films:

Alien/Aliens
Blade Runner 
2001: A Space Odyssey  
12 Monkeys
A Clockwork Orange
The Matrix  

And ... if I can't sleep and end up on the couch flipping TV channels in the middle of the night, I'll usually forfeit the rest of the night's sleep for any of the following sci-fi 'gems'...

Death Race 2000
Heavy Metal
Zardoz
The Fly
Logan's Run
Barbarella 
The Man Who Fell To Earth
The Abyss
Terminator II
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Naked Lunch
Westworld
Dr. Strangelove


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## james_squared (May 3, 2002)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Death Race 2000<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hello,

I had forgotten all about that movie. Now, that's a classic performance by Sly! Probably his best work.

James


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## icemakk (May 12, 2000)

In no particular order
Star Wars
Matrix
Soylent Green
Men in Black
Rollerball (the original with James Cann)
The Terminator (both)
2001: A Space Odyssey
Total Recall
5th Element
All the Planet of the apes movies.
Tron....it is funny today with all the old computer lingo and images.


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## icemakk (May 12, 2000)

I forgot to put 
K-Pax on my list.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

I think we had a thread like this going a few months back, didn't we?

Here's my favorites, also in no particular order:

Matrix
Aliens
Alien
Event Horizon
2001:A Space Odyssy
The Quiet Earth
Road Warrior
Highlander
Abyss
Predator
Outland

That's all that I can think of right now. Sci-Fi has to be my favorite genre and I have been watching it ever since the sixties. Oh...I forgot to mention one of my all-time faves:

The Day The Earth Stood Still.

I also enjoy almost all of The Star Trek movies (First contact is the best of them IMHO)

Say....did someone mention "ZARDOZ" here? Most people, including Sean Connery (its primary star) think that it was one of the great turkeys of all time. 

I sort of liked it, but then I remember seeing it at the drive-in (it went straight to the drive-ins and never really was in general release) and I recall watching it with a particularly well-endowed lady and a large bottle of rum. 

It was a good evening, well spent. Movie content notwithstanding.


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## icemakk (May 12, 2000)

Put "Predator" on my list too.
And who could forget "Westworld"???!!
I also like "The thing" the original and the remake...hell, I like almost all Sci-fi I am starting to realize.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Yo tambien! The sci-fi rack is the first place I go when I visit the video store. I would rather watch so-so science fiction than a good melodrama or comedy. Well, maybe not a REALLY GOOD comedy, but there are so few of those.

Just thought of another one:

I kind of liked "Red Planet". Sure beat the heck out of "Mission to Mars" at any rate.


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## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mac Fellow:
*Why not buy a copy of Simulacra and Simulation via ehMart and support ehMac today 
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0472065211/701-0394342-4174755*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mac Fellow I would buy the book to support ehMac but I already own it. However, my edition is only called Simulations. From my understanding of the book, both titles are probably just 2 obvious variations for the same work.

Anyway, I forgot my favourite Sci-Fi / Comedy series: *Red Dwarf*.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

I am a confessed SciFi nut. I would list the SciFi that I like here, but it would probably take to long to list pretty much every SciFi movie, or at least concept that I have ever seen.

So I will list some of the ones that most people either don't like or don't think of that I find very very cool.

*Total Recall*, a great concept and a good story coupled with great effects. Well, they may not look that great by todays standards, but you have to understand that this was one of, if not the last big budget movie to use all models and stop motion for special effects. This one was originally penned by Phillip K. Dick, it was a short story called "We'll Remember it for you, wholesale". I got the chance to read it a couple years back, I recommend it.

Just a side note that Phillip K Dick wrote the stories behind such other popular SciFi movies as Blade Runner (Do androids dream of electric sheep?) and Minority Report (Minority Report), as well as some poorly executed films (The Imposter starring Gary Sinease springs to mind).

*Robocop*, how can anyone not like Robocop? I love the film format, using the news reports to fill the story and Paul Verhovens Directing style really brought this movie to life. Pity about Robocop 2 and 3 though. They pretty much sucked.

*Spaceballs* anyone?

*Star Trek*, more specifically Star trek 2, Star Trek 6, and Star Trek First Contact, and I can guarantee that I am going to love Star Trek Nemesis because I found the script online and it is freaking awesome!!!! Although I dont know how they are going to work any TNG movies after this one........

I love 2 because it ties in with one of my favorite episodes of the Original Series "Space Seed" in which Kirk and company find Khan in space. I loved 6 because it was a great story for the cast, and on top of that it was a great ending for them. Personally, I think that there was no reason for generations to be so focused on passing the buck to the TNG cast, I thought that 6 was a good enough ending. 
First Contact is great, with a great supporting cast and a great story, and a much needed apology for Generations if you ask me....

*The Terminator*, I have always loved this film. James Cameron came up with a great concept and follwed up with a phenominal movie, and a sequel, and soon to be a threequel. "I'll be bach" indeed".

Beyond movies though, one of my favorite pieces of SciFi is *Babylon 5*, while it never gained the popularity of Star Trek, I have always held this show in the highest regard. Nothing was perfect, in fact most things were far from it. People had problems, the station had budget problems. Not only that, but the entire five year story arc of the show was set down at the beginning. The whole series was one big connected entity. J. Michael Strazynski did a fantastic job putting this show together after 4 or 5 long years of trying to find a company to distribute it (Warner Brothers finally picked it up for them, and it went on the air in 1993). It was also the first TV show to use CGI on a huge scale (something that ST didn;t really do until recently).
The first season just came out on DVD, and hopefully the rest sill come out sooner than later!

--PB


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## adagio (Aug 23, 2002)

I love Sci-Fi. It's always my first choice in movie viewing.

2001: A Space Odyssey
Matrix
Total Recall
Blade Runner
Star Wars
Logans Run
Road Warrior
etc...


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## Alesh (Dec 10, 2001)

I forgot to mention Ghost in the Shell and Cube.

Ghost in the Shell is an awesome anime movie. The premise is that in the future humans have enhanced artificial limbs and brians etc. The story is about a hacker who hacks into people and changes their memories to get them to do stuff for him and about a half robot cyborg secret agent trying to find this guy and stop him.

Cube is an amazing movie where a group of random people are basically thrown into a maze of rooms and try to get out.


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## Chris (Feb 8, 2001)

I like most of the flicks mentioned. I am a huge Star Trek fan and the first "date" my now wife and I went on was to see the original Star Wars at the Somerset Theatre in Ottawa when we were in first year university. And don't forget Alien.

Perhaps its my age, but, to me, my favourite movie of all time is 2001 A Space Odyssey. The incredible juxtaposition of images and music and the whole "first contact" theme still resonates with me.

BTW, is anyone out there watching that new TV series "Firefly"? We really enjoy it in my house. There's good writing, interesting characters, and, (mirabile dictu!) the external space sequences are soundless!  This show has great potential.









Of course, having said that, some twit will probably cancel it next week!


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

This is getting to be a rather interesting thread, and it may be time to move into why we like these particular movies. Or why we don't.

I do _not_ think that Total Recall was a very good sci-fi flick. One of the things that make a good sci-fi movie is the basic believeability factor. You watch it and say to yourself that "hey....that _could_ happen"

This believeability quotient relies upon not insulting the sci-fi movie fans, who are often science buffs as well. If, like Star Trek, the whole thing is happening in the distant future and in a distant region of space, then the rules are open for the writers. It's a clean slate. If, however, the action takes place on a planet that we know something about and the writers totally violate what we know about this place....then the whole thing falls apart IMHO.

You wouldn't expect to see astronauts walking around on the "surface" of a gas giant like Jupiter....or having a nice picnic lunch by a stream on Mercury or Venus, would you?

So why then, did the writers of Total Recall insist that "Mars has no atmosphere"? Mars most definitely DOES have an atmosphere....just not one that we can breathe. If it had "no atmosphere" then it would also have a black sky and be pockmarked by massive amounts of craters, like the Moon (which does not have an atmosphere). 

And why the heck would a settlement built on a planet with no atmosphere (to burn up all of the meteors) be totally constructed of glass panels??

Apparently not shatterproof ones, either. Remember when it all shattered at the end? Get real. I also think that the scene showing Arnie and Co. exposed to zero atmosphere with their eyes bugging out of their heads was both silly and insulting. If that were to actually happen then they would resemble a watermelon that had been hit by a cannon within a second or so of exposure to total vacuum.

We won't even get into how long it would take to suddenly transform a planet the size of Mars into a breatheable nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere....something which took place in a few seconds at the end of the movie. Chances are you'd have massive tornadoes and sudden weather events that would make an F5 look like a light breeze....even if you tried to accomplish all this in a few short months, let alone a few seconds.

In short, a weak movie that squandered its considerable budget and talent pool for the sake of some "gee whiz!" scenes ( like the hokey "spectacular" ending, or Arnie pulling that device out of his nose with all the bone crunching sounds) and a big budget movie that was propelled by the Hollywood hype machine for about thirty days or so. It then died, and now gathers dust on the shelves of the few video stores that still have a copy. I know this, because I worked in one of those video stores when it came out and, like Batman et al, it just quit going out after the hype machine was turned off. Other movies that had never been hyped and that had much smaller budgets kept on renting steadily for _years_. Because they were GOOD.

Some movies are true classics. Others are really worth a watch, despite their flaws. Total Recall, IMHO, does not fall into either of these categories.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

As a follow-up to my above reply, I would like to agree with Alesh about "The Cube".

A wierd and offbeat film and one that certainly deserves a watch. Some flaws and a not particularly pleasant ending actually don't detract from this film at all. It draws you in and makes you think. 

It sort of reminds me of something that Rod Serling might have written. An unsung, and largely unknown jewel IMHO.

Say....wasn't it also made in Canada? Another reason to have a look at it!


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## coyote (Jul 7, 2002)

I'm positive Cube was a Canadian film. I liked it, thought the opening scene was quite memorable. Overall, a pretty eerie film.


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

Alesh, you mention Metropolis. Did you ever see the original? (1927, Silent).

In my humble opinion, Fritz Lang (the director) is one of the greatest of all time.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CubaMark:
*On the TV side... 

- loved "Space:1999". The "eagle" was a great design!
*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was addicted to that show when it first aired. Remember the woman who morphed into any animal. Or the episode with the graveyard of ships and the monster that sucked in humans and spit out a skeleton (gave me nightmares). I agree the eagle was an excellent design with it's shape and modular design.

I am also a fan of Babylon 5.

As for movies, I'd say:
The Fifth Element
The Matrix
The Abyss
A few of the Star Trek movies
A few of the Alien films


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## Alesh (Dec 10, 2001)

gordguide, I have not seen the original Metropolis, I have no idea what its about. The one I mentioned is animated, and very recently released, 2000 or 2001 or so. Its about a girl who discovers she is actually a robot, and is destined to rule a city state called Metropolis. At the end, of course, she decides to wipe out the human race. Is that anything at all what the original version was about?


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## Strongblade (Jul 9, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Alesh:
*gordguide, I have not seen the original Metropolis, I have no idea what its about. The one I mentioned is animated, and very recently released, 2000 or 2001 or so. Its about a girl who discovers she is actually a robot, and is destined to rule a city state called Metropolis. At the end, of course, she decides to wipe out the human race. Is that anything at all what the original version was about?*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The Anime version is a retelling of sorts, but they took it in much different directions.

The Fritz Lang one is considered the one of the first Sci-Fi movies ever and was silent. There was a revival in the mid-'80s where a new soundtrack was added to the restored original. Both versions are available on VHS. I believe the original is also available on DVD.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

In response to Macnutt, SciFi is about imagining new worlds and new places, or impossible futures or very possible futures.

Is 1984 good SciFi? At the time it was made it was one of the best in the opinion of many, of course by the time I got to read 1984 it was already the late 80s and it all seemed kind of dumb. But the story was good. What about Brave New World (of which there was a just a movie made on the American SciFi channel that was not to shabby). At the time "We can remember it for you wholesale" was written (late 1960's) the story seemed as feasable as 1984 did when it was written.

Either way you look at it, SciFi is fiction, as in not real, as in it's primary goal is entertainment. Total Recall is an entertaining movie, if you are willing to suspend your disbelief for the two hours you need to.

And what about then ending? So what if it was a little cheesy, I don't know if I can count how many episodes of Original Star Trek were cheesy. 

Star Trek may be up the scale somewhat from the likes of Total Recall in terms of value, but that is because while the primary goal of the show was still entertainment they used it to bring social issues to light, whereas Total Recall is pure escapist entertainment.

You have Event Horizon on your list, do you really believe that one day we will build an interstellar engine for a space ship that will fold space time and inadvertantly throw said ship into a parallel dimension of hell, give the ship a malevolent intelligence and then drop it back into our solar system for it to kill us all?

Not that I didn't like it, in fact I liked Event Horizon a lot, but it doesn't seem any more believeable than Total Recall to me.

In any case, it is all about entertainment, believeability is a nice bonus but not always necessary.

--PB

(PS, I don't remember them saying that the planet had no atmosphere, just that it had no breathable atmostphere.)

(PPS, It won a special achievment acadamy award for special effects, not somethine that happens very often).


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

Oh yeah, *The Fifth Element*. One of Luc Besson's best offerings to date, and a wild good time.

--PB


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by macnutt:
*PosterBoy....watch the movie again. They state several times that "Mars has no atmosphere". Okay, I can suspend reality and believe that this is a parallel universe where Mars actually HAS no atmosphere....but why is the sky red instead of jet black? And why the HECK would any thinking species build an outpost on a planet with no atmosphere out of breakable glass? Nothing to slow up space debris before it slams into that glass at Mach ten. Good luck even getting the thing built before something blew all of the windows out. And the walls. And the roof.

In the early days of sci-fi they didn't know any better and neither did the viewer, so everyone had an excuse for screwing up the basic science. Total Recall had no such excuse, and the audience dried up a short time after it came out. They were going for the cheap thrill with Arnie as a big star. It didn't work for most of us.
*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think what I was trying to convey before was that I think you are taking it way to seriously. It's an action movie not a dissertation on the effects instantaneously supplying a barren planet with a breathable atmosphere. if you wanted you could probably go into detail as to what effect melting the core of the planet would have on the outer layers as well.
And as to the excuse, the story was written back when there was an excuse, so why njot let it slide? Why not just kick back and forget that mars has no atmosphere for 2 hours? Suspension of disbelief. That is what they are aiming at, whether you are watching Total Recall, Event Horizon or *Men in Black* (which probably deserves a post all to itself, being a fantastically funnny flick and accompanied by one of Danny Elfmans better scores).

Really, are any of these three movies believable?

--PB


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## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

Excellent suggestions everyone! I agree that the Canadian film *Cube* is a . . .

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by macnutt:
* wierd and offbeat film*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

However, I'd spell weird the correct way. Just keepin' you on your toes MacNutt.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Wow! Good catch CC! I always have had trouble with i before e.

Posterboy...not to belabour a point (but I will anyway) okay...Mars has no atmosphere. So let's build all of our new outpost buildings on that airless planet out of _glass_!! DUH!! How long do you suppose an all-glass building would last on the moon? Seen all of those craters?? They're making new ones every day too!

Weak movie that died an early and well-deserved death after the hype-machine was shut off. 

My final word on this high-priced turkey.

BTW (my video guide book lists it as a turkey as well)


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

Alesh:
Metropolis (1927)
"... It is the future, and humans are divided into two groups: the thinkers, who make plans (but don't know how anything works), and the workers, who achieve goals (but don't have the vision). Completely separate, neither group is complete, but together they make a whole. One man from the "thinkers" dares visit the underground where the workers toil, and is astonished by what he sees... "

The above plot summary is from the Internet Movie Database

Its an Orwellian tale of a future society, with rigid class distinctions. No suprise that Fritz Lang made this movie (along with what I believe is his masterpiece "M") in Germany before he moved to the US during the rise of Nazism in the 1930's.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by macnutt:
*
Posterboy...not to belabour a point (but I will anyway) okay...Mars has no atmosphere. *<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ummm, I can't remember the movie 100%, but in real life Mars does have an atmosphere, just a fairly thin one I believe.

I found this on the net:
Earth Venus Mars
N2 0.79 3 4 x 10-4
O2 0.20 < 0.002 4 x 10-5
Ar 0.01 small 2 x 10-4
CO2 0.0003 86 0.015
H2O ~ 0.02 ~ 0.01 ~10-5

Total 1.00 90 0.015

--------------------------
H2O 3 km 30 cm small
liquid 
+ vapor

(the editor seemed to have gotten rid of the spaces, the table is here http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/Mars/atmosphere.html 

So the sky would not be black. 

I think in the movie they were trying to follow this.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

PosterBoy....watch the movie again. They state several times that "Mars has no atmosphere". Okay, I can suspend reality and believe that this is a parallel universe where Mars actually HAS no atmosphere....but why is the sky red instead of jet black? And why the HECK would any thinking species build an outpost on a planet with no atmosphere out of breakable glass? Nothing to slow up space debris before it slams into that glass at Mach ten. Good luck even getting the thing built before something blew all of the windows out. And the walls. And the roof.

In the early days of sci-fi they didn't know any better and neither did the viewer, so everyone had an excuse for screwing up the basic science. Total Recall had no such excuse, and the audience dried up a short time after it came out. They were going for the cheap thrill with Arnie as a big star. It didn't work for most of us.


On to "Metropolis". I should have mentioned this one...it's a true classic! The 1980's version was restored by Italian composer Giorgio Moroder and he even added a sound track by some of the more popular artists of the day. It's DEFINITELY worth the watch! The special effects are pretty darn good for 1927....especially the robot effects. You can see where George Lucas got the idea for C3PO! The original was something like four hours long, but American theatre owners cut it down to just over an hour when they got hold of it. A lot of the footage was lost over the years. Moroder found about two hours worth...much of it not seen since the original release. Some of it was even hand-colored. Frame by frame. 

This movie, and it's director Fritz Lang, are way ahead of their time. Check it out if you can find it.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Check back a few posts....the point I was making was that Mars _does_ have an atmosphere....a fact that was well known to astronomers decades before the book was written or the movie made. The _movie_ said "Mars has no atmosphere" and that's when my bullsh*t detector started ringing.


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## Strongblade (Jul 9, 2001)

Just to throw a monkey into the wrench on the _Total Recall_ movie, but there are a few parts in it that make it sound like it may all be "a dream state".

So whereas Total Recall had glaring plot-holes, It could be attributed to the fact none of it was real.

All the key elements are shown during Arnie's processing for the 'Recall' service.

However, if he wasn't dreaming, and the whole thing was 'real'... Someone should shoot the writer for coming up with what essentially has been dubbed the "WaffleIron of the Gods".


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by macnutt:
*Wow! Good catch CC! I always have had trouble with i before e.

Posterboy...not to belabour a point (but I will anyway) okay...Mars has no atmosphere. So let's build all of our new outpost buildings on that airless planet out of glass!! DUH!! How long do you suppose an all-glass building would last on the moon? Seen all of those craters?? They're making new ones every day too!

Weak movie that died an early and well-deserved death after the hype-machine was shut off. 

My final word on this high-priced turkey.

BTW (my video guide book lists it as a turkey as well) *<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


After a few minutes of looking into it:

Total Recall
RELEASE DATE: June 1st, 1990 (USA)
BUDGET: $65 million (USA)
BOX OFFICE OPENING: $25.5 million (USA)
BOX OFFICE RESULT: $119.4 million (USA)
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $261.4 million

Yeah, I guess that isn't so good huh? Not to mention 11 years of rentals and purchases.

So what if it is a turkey? The whole point of a movie like Total Recall is the entertainment value not how well it conforms to the logiistics of building a mining station on a barren planet, atmosphere or not.

And a good point brought up there by StrongBlade about the whole "is it a dream or is it real?" question that pretty much drives the whole film.

On another note, who's to say that they dont have deflectors? Just because they dont talk about it doesn't mean they dont have them. Who's to say they dont have a whole bunch of planetary defenses?

Again, the point is that it is science fiction, not science fact.

--PB


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

As long as you liked it PosterBoy, then I am OK about it. 

The advertising budget (estimated at 60+ million) wasn't factored into your financial statement and "11 years of rentals", according to some of the people I've talked to in the vid biz, wouldn't amount to much more than chump change. It's just not a very popular movie. Sorry.

Interesting thoughts by StrongBlade. A "dream sequence" (like amnesia in the soap operas) is a cheap fix for some bad plotwork but, who knows? Perhaps someday when CGI has matured to the point where they can seamlessly add new scenes to an older flick, a crew will go back in and fix some of the bigger plot holes and make a watchable movie out of it. Adding a twist at the end to indicate that the whole thing was a dream _might_ just breathe new life into this big-budget stinker....who knows?

This really IS my last post on Total Recall.

Now....can we go on to discuss one of the better sci-fi classics that we have named here? Who else has seen "The Cube" How about "The Quiet Earth". Anybody like "Pitch Black"? Which of the ALIEN series did you like best? Why? Which one did you like the least?

Speak up. I'm interested in hearing your replies. Perhaps some of the other ehMac citizens are as well.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by macnutt:
*Which of the ALIEN series did you like best? Why? Which one did you like the least?
*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Alien, without a doubt, is the best of the Alien(s) movies. Two was good too, butin an entirely different way. Three was bit on the B side of things and four was good if you like bleeding from your eyes.
Alien, without a doubt.

--PB

ps. While I do own the special edition DVD of Total Recall, it is by no means my favorite movie as some people may be guessing here. It is most decidedly a B movie, just with a great big budget. I was more stressing over the point that it is just a freaking movie, for entertainment purposes only.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Alien was an excellent ground-breaking movie! Anyone want to name all of the quickie ripoffs it inspired? There were several. It was probably the movie that put Ridley Scott on Hollywoods radar screen. After that tour de force (on a fairly low budget, by the way) he started to really get the good gigs!

PS- does anyone know what Sigourney Weaver was paid for her work in ALIEN? It was, I believe, her first role.

Having said all of that, I must admit that ALIENS (number Two) is my favorite of the bunch. I just think that the action is way more compelling and it is a very well crafted movie. The "Special Edition" with an extra twenty or so minutes of footage is the best!

I also like the last two of the series. I hated the third installment when it first came out....but after watching it several times I have come to appreciate it a lot more. The Fourth one (ALIEN Ressurection) is actually quite good as well. The beginning is especially dark and and very well done IMHO. I am not so happy about the final creature effects. Just didn't cut it in my mind.....but having Winona Ryder on board pretty much made up for that.









I think that they purposely left the whole thing open for yet one more installment. Imagine a cloned Ripley with Alien DNA arriving on an Earth that is 150+ years later than the one she sort of remembers from her earlier life? Could be very cool, if it's done right. Apparently Sigourney hasn't ruled out another shot at playing Ripley, either. 

Wonder what she'll charge for it this time? 

I'm looking forward to this almost as much as Star Trek:Nemesis and the next Matrix!


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## coyote (Jul 7, 2002)

Cube was a good movie, especially being done on the limited budget, but I wouldn't say it's one of my favourites. I haven't see Pitch Black since it came to theaters. I remember thinking the opening credit sequence being really cool, a great crash landing on the planet and some cool direction. I'll have to see it again.

As for the Alien movies, as someone else stated, the first two were great, but for completely different reasons. I think I enjoyed the second more because of the action sequences. The second and third were disappointing, but the first two are a tough act to follow. David Fincher did some good directing in Alien 3 and I'm sure it opened doors for him.


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## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

My favourite ALIEN movies have to be #2 for the action and suspense and the concept. The concept being, we're going in their guns blazing and kill them. 

The first one was sorta stupid... hey we found this ship and we're gonna take a look, ohhh look at these egg-shaped things, aren't they cute,... wait let me get a closer look. Ooops. Let's bring the infected guy now back to the ship. Of course the Alien ALWAYS gets back to the ship... but that's forgivable, just don't intentionally bring it back. But I still liked the first one.

Didn't care for the 3rd.

The 4th was great, because here we have Ripley who is part human and part Alien. Who's side is she on. She has a few neat features like the acid blood. And as someone mentioned, Wynonna.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Good comments on the Alien series! I concur, the second is the one I reach for when I have nothing to do for a couple of hours and need a sci-fi break. The first was great, and I really like Ridley Scott's directing.....but I thought that the interior of the cargo ship was a little out of character. Lots of water dripping from the cielings and big pools of it on the decks. Great if you want to add visual atmosphere to a dark movie but somewhat unlikely on a space vessel, where water would be crucial and very tightly controlled. Perhaps when the writer said "Starship" Ridley heard "Steamship". He even had a "black gang" who worked down in the engine room, much like on an older ocean going cargo ship.

Anyone else have any comments on "Pitch Black"? I rather liked it, and the special effects were pretty awesome IMHO. I believe it was Vin Diesel's first big role. How about "The Red Planet"? Anyone have any comments about that one?


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## Alesh (Dec 10, 2001)

I was pleasantly surprised with Pitch Black. I really liked it, and Vin Diesel was really cool in it.

Red Planet was a good movie, I really like Val Kilmer he's a cool actor. I liked the idea that was presented by the old guy on the ship. "You never know, you might pick up a rock and it could have 'Made by God' written on it."

It wasn't a great movie, but worth watching. Another movie that was interesting was Supernova. It wasn't great but quite interesting.

Mission to Mars was cool too. It had a very Aurthur C. Clarke feel to it. I think that this movie would have been better suited as a book though.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Very astute Alesh. Pretty much my sentiments exactly on all of the above mentioned movies. I had forgotten Supernova....but I kind of liked that one too.Mission to Mars could have been much better IMHO. Supposedly, Tim Robbins had himself written out of the story part way through when he found out how it was being put together. He figured it wouldn't exactly be a bright spot in his career so he got a dramatic exit specially written for him.Don't know if that rumor is true...but I can certainly see his point.

Can anyone think of any other good sci-fi flicks that we have omitted from our lists so far? Any other comments on the ones we have listed?


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## coyote (Jul 7, 2002)

I was thinking, I really enjoyed Escape from New York. Yeah sure, Escape from L.A. kind of blew, but I can forgive John Carpenter for that one since the first one was cool, especially for it's time, and for his remake of The Thing was good too.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Agreed! Escape from New York was a pleasant surprise and Escape from L.A. was a disappointment. Just goes to show ya that a big buget does not always guarantee a good remake or part two of an established hit.

On the other hand,Terminator 2 was very good, I thought...perhaps because it had the same director....despite the huge budget. The original still looks quite good as well, despite the tiny budget.I wonder what Terminator 3 will be like (it is apparently in production as we speak)


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

T3: Rise of the Machines is indeed in production as we speak here in Vancouver. Ahnuld is apparantly getting paid something like 25 or 30 million dollars for it. With a paycheck like that they practically have to shoot it in Canada, just to save some cash.

I can;t tell if I am looking forward to it, because Linda Hamilton is nowhere to be seen, Edward furlong is not reprising his role as John Connor, and so far as I can tell James Cameron (the father of the franchise) is not involved except for the "based on characters created by" tag in the credits thus far. Also some small stuff has changed, like Ahnulds model is no longer T-800, but T-101. I am a bit of a stickler for continuety (so why do I like Star Trek so much?).

see http://www.terminator3.com/ for more info.

I am looking forward to both the Matrix: ReLoaded and The Matrix: Revolutions though. If the Wachowski Brothers and Joel Silver can come up with half the movie they did for the first installment, there is no way either of the sequels can be bad.

--PB


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## Vorvis (May 7, 2002)

I just pulled out the old Nintendo system for the kid the other day with old T2 game. I think the The Terminator was Series 800 model T-101. I could be wrong, I'll have to play tomorrow to confirm.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Not a good sign at all if James Cameron is not involved in Terminator 3, IMHO.

BTW-I thought that most of the movie was being filmed in L.A. The news article I read said that Arnie has designs on being Governor of California fairly soon and he had transferred production down to tinseltown in order to placate all of the Hollywood types who are concerned about the exodus of the movie industry to Vancouver (read:unions) He wants their votes.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

Well, it _was_ whooting here anyway, and it was here for about two months as I recall. 

Ahnuld? Governor of California? Governor of anywhere? I would laugh, but I bet they laughed at Jesse Ventura too.

Speaking of the Body himself, does anyone here like either of the Predator Films?

--PB

(when I think about it, it is amazing how many Action SciFi movies I like have Ahnuld in them. Wierd.)


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

I really liked Predator! The second one was OK, at best. The first one ROCKED!!

I actually like Arnold Scwartzenegger movies. They're a lot of fun and no one takes them too seriously. The Terminator series is probably his best sc-fi work, followed by Eraser IMHO. True Lies is also quite good, but not sci-fi per se. (although a Harrier JumpJet in full hover mode for fifteen minutes while the pilot fights off bad guys with his fists definitely puts it into the "Fantasy" category)

Re: Arnie's bid for Governor...

Actually, PB...there is quite a long history of Hollywood actors being voted into public office in the USA. The guy who used to play "Gopher" on the Loveboat became a Senator. Senator Thompson (Republican)....I don't recall his first name...used to _play_ Senators and Presidents in Hollywood films during the eighties and nineties. Guess he "looked the part" as they say.

Jessie Ventura was only in two or three movies and nobody gave him much credence when he ran for Governor of Minnesota. But look what happened!

Clint Eastwood got hisself elected Mayor of Carmel California. He probably could have gone on to try for Governor if he'd wanted too.

We mustn't forget Ronald Regan here....he was Governor of California after being an actor for several decades. Then he went on to be what some people refer to as one of the two best Presidents of the twentieth century (the other would have to be FDR) In fact, he was a far better President than he was an actor. Sort of the opposite of Jimmy Carter.

Arnold is married into the Kennedy family and there has been a lot of speculation that he would eventually try for Governor of the Sunshine State. He'd probably get it too, anything would be better than the sad sacks they've had running the place for the last few terms.

I'm bettin that he will run....and that he will WIN!!

Then the good people of California will be able to wear T-shirts that say "My Governor can beat up YOUR Governor"

If...that is...Jessie Ventura decides to stay out of public office in Minnesota.  

Politics in the US can be a lot of fun to watch, really. Better than some movies! Plus it's all _real_!

Well...._sort of..._


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by macnutt:
*
Jessie Ventura was only in two or three movies and nobody gave him much credence when he ran for Governor of Minnesota. But look what happened!
*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep, he was in Predator actually! but I was more thinking of his run as a WWF SuperStar, which he was for a long time. 

--PB


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

What about the Fifth Element? I have yet to meet someone who didn't like it. Personally, the only thing I don't like right now is that the DVD has few special features.

A special edition soon hopefully.

--PB


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## Alesh (Dec 10, 2001)

I didn't like Fifth Element... it was pretty cheezy.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

Agreed macdoc! Twelve Monkeys was quite a film....and one that I have watched several times...and one that I seem to enjoy more each time I watch it.  

To me, a movie is truly great if you can watch it quite a few times and still enjoy it. 12 Monkeys was one of those. The Professional was as well. Fifth Element was not.

This past weekend I indulged myself and watched both Spiderman and Star Warshantom Menace. I'll probably watch both of them again a couple of times just to make sure but, as of this writing, they are not on my "must buy" list.

Again, just my opinion. Not bad but certainly not great, either. The "huge budget" curse seems to have visited itself on both of those productions and more's the pity. Movies (like cars) seem to be better when they are created from the vision of one or two gifted people. Hordes of marketing analysts and big commitees don't seem to make very creative decisions and the end result looks kind of bland in some undefineable way.

Too bad.


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

BTW- I seem to recall that 12 Monkeys was directed by Terry Gilliam, of Monty python fame. That would explain a lot about why I liked it. Weird and sort of twisted and quite compelling.

Has anyone out there seen "Brazil"? It was not a huge budget sci-fi but, in my humble opinion, is absoloutely brilliant. It is also a Terry Gilliam film.

If you haven't seen it, check it out. If you have, then please share your comments on it with the rest of us.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

I have only seen half of Brazil, but Time Bandits was great. i haven;t seen it in a long time though.

The Fifth Element was cheesy, but it never claimed not to be. I like movies that don't take themselves seriously.

I think I see a pattern here. I think I like the escapest type films better than most here so far.

Honestly though, Luc Besson's best work IMO was La Femme Nikita (french with subtitles, not dubbed), although the Professional is kickass as well. but that is for another thread.

--PB


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## MacNutt (Jan 16, 2002)

I'm with you Alesh...I didn't think much of Fifth Element. I _thought_ I would like it so I bought it brand new, without having seen it first. I had been totally blown away by Luc Besson's earlier work, The Professional, and so I just knew I would like his first big sci-fi movie.

I didn't.

It had some good points, but overall I thought it was....you put it best..._cheesy_.

I watched a couple more times just to make sure and then flogged it to a buddy at wellsite. For half price. IMHO this movie could have been good...but wasn't.

Oddly enough, Luc Besson apparently dashed off "The Professional" in order to obtain financing for the sci-fi tour de force that he had been dreaming of making since he started as a filmmaker. Which turned out to be "Fifth Element"

I suspect that a couple of decades from now "The Professional" will be considered the tour de force, and "The Fifth Element" will be just an expensive footnote.

Just my thoughts on this.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

I liked Fifth Element altho it fell flat at some points. 12 Monkeys was the better film imho


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

Posterboy, I loved the Professional. As for La Femme Nikita, that's just one of a very long list of foreign (mostly French and British) films that were much better as originals than the sanitized, dumbed-down American remakes.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

No kidding Gordguide. If you haven't seen "Point of No Return" (the american remake of La Femme Nikita), for the loev of jebus don't. It is terrible.

--PB


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