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Science Fiction: Films & TV

Men In Black International: Chris Hemsworth is Agent H, a senior London field agent, channeling his Thor persona if a tad more dopey, Tessa Thompson as Agent M, she has spent years getting into MIB after a childhood encounter with the. Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson are Senior MIB Agents. Good fun, flying motorbikes, flying cars, even flying trains which cross the Atlantic. Some good Aliens, especially Hemsworth's three-armed lover and a Cthuhlu like Hive creature. Shape shifting Aliens suck out human life forces to assume new identities. To maintain the tension there's a mole within MIB, working for the Evil Aliens. Director F. Gary Gray adds an enjoyable film to the MIB franchise. 7/10.
 
Demon Seed: 1977 SF/Horror about an AI, Proteus IV, which achieves consciousness and becomes intent on impregnating it's creator's (Fritz Weaver) estranged wife (Julie Christie). It's a bio-tech computer, based on some hokum RNA. Some great scenes of a Smart House which the AI manages to take over. Even in 1977 the internet of things was to be feared. A wheelchair with an arm becomes a weapon as does many of the other household items. Convincing horror as the AI despatches anyone who gets in it's way, crushing and decapitating with a polyhedron snake robot it has created. Not for the squeamish. Directed by Donald Cammell. 8/10.

Saw it at the Irish Film Institute, part of the Dark Skies: Man vs Machine Season.
https://ifi.ie/dark-skies-2019
 
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ramonmercado said:
Demon Seed: 1977 SF/Horror about an AI, Proteus IV, which achieves consciousness and becomes intent on impregnating it's creator's (Fritz Weaver) estranged wife (Julie Christie). It's a bio-mechanical computer, based on some hokum RNA. Some great scenes of a Smart House which the AI manages to take over. Even in 1977 the network of things was to be feared. A wheelchair with an arm becomes a weapon as does many of the other household items. Convincing horror as the AI despatches anyone who gets in it's way, crushing and decapitating with a polyhedron snake robot it has created. Not for the squeamish. Directed by Donald Cammell. 8/10.

Saw it at the Irish Film Institute, pat of the Dark Skies: Man vs Machine Season.
https://ifi.ie/dark-skies-2019
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That's what that movie was! I was recently thinking about some scattered scenes I remembered from a film I'd seen as a kid, but had no idea what the film was. It clearly had an impression on me. I'd be interested in seeing it again.
 
Demon Seed is also a warning of how mankind can make itself obsolete through artificial intelligence. Womankind, however, will be just fine (as long as she doesn't mind an intelligent vibrator for a husband).
 
The Arrival (1996): A good example of the SciFi-Horror Paranoia Thriller genre. Radio Astronomer Charlie Sheen detects strange signals but ends up being fired and his reputation is destroyed. Climatologist Lindsay Crouse finds evidence of bizarre temperature rises suggesting 12 degree F rise by 2006. Attempts are made to kill both of them. Not just a government conspiracy, Aliens are at work, trying to make the Earth more hospitable to them. Some pretty gruesome scenes with shape-shifting ETs, you never know who to trust. Shades of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and the 60s TV Series The Invaders. Tension is maintained throughout and it moves to quickly for you to spot the implausibilities in the plot.. Directed and written by David Twohy. 7/10. On Horror Channel,
 
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A new discovery... from 1985!

Lost for years (or maybe nobody bothered to look for it), The Legend of the Stardust Brothers is being rereleased this year. Looks like a Japanese version of The Apple, cult sci-fi musical fans.
 
CALL FOR HELP! I have the evening to my self. I have four bottles of dog and Netflix. Is there any decent science fiction to be had on Netflix? Because I'm struggling to find anything.
 
PeteByrdie said:
CALL FOR HELP! I have the evening to my self. I have four bottles of dog and Netflix. Is there any decent science fiction to be had on Netflix? Because I'm struggling to find anything.
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Hi PeteBydie might want to try these 3, some of my top picks. I tend to enjoy those which rely a bit more on plot than non-stop special effects or gore.
1) Origin Unknown
2) The beyond
3) Apollo 18
 
Jim said:
Hi PeteBydie might want to try these 3, some of my top picks. I tend to enjoy those which rely a bit more on plot than non-stop special effects or gore.
1) Origin Unknown
2) The beyond
3) Apollo 18
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Thanks @Jim I've seen The Beyond. It was an interesting approach. I'll give Origin Unknown a shot.

EDIT Darn it, I can't find Origin Unknown on Netflix. To my shame, I've started to watch Beyond Skyline. I found the first film to have an interesting, though ridiculous, premise, but to be a woefully soulless mess. Someone save me!
 
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PeteByrdie said:
Thanks @Jim I've seen The Beyond. It was an interesting approach. I'll give Origin Unknown a shot.

EDIT Darn it, I can't find Origin Unknown on Netflix. To my shame, I've started to watch Beyond Skyline. I found the first film to have an interesting, though ridiculous, premise, but to be a woefully soulless mess. Someone save me!
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I’ll give a vote for Apollo 18 a fun film. Mind you I’m just about to watch AVP so what do I know?
 
gordonrutter said:
I’ll give a vote for Apollo 18 a fun film. Mind you I’m just about to watch AVP so what do I know?
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Apollo 18 also doesn't appear on Netflix. AvP is okay if you're not in the mood for too much mind nourishment.
 
gordonrutter said:
Yep, got a beer and AVP is basically the plot of the Ancient Aliens episode I just watched :)
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It's delightfully fortean for bridging the ancient aliens concept into the alien universe before Ridley Scott did it. Perhaps AvP did it better. But, if I remember rightly, the archaeologist guy forms a theory that the pyramid changes configuration every ten minutes because the Aztec calendar was metric, or something. This is a stretch, especially as second, minutes and hours are not based on a metric system. Some things in movies, I struggle to think beyond.

EDIT Beyond Skyline is proving significantly better than its predecessor. That's not saying much, but it's okay.
 
You could binge watch Altered Carbon.
 
There's a new Rocko's Modern Life special! That could get strange...
 
Xanatic* said:
You could binge watch Altered Carbon.
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I've heard good things about Altered Carbon, but I'm unwilling to get into a series because I rarely get the chance to watch them through. I'm now one movie and three bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale into my evening. Beyond Skyline actually was quite enjoyable. But I need to snack, and then find another movie.

GNC said:
There's a new Rocko's Modern Life special! That could get strange...
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What's Rocko's Modern Life?
 
PeteByrdie said:
What's Rocko's Modern Life?
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*Gasp!* Semi-legendary cartoon, supposedly for kids but enjoyed by more adults who got the jokes and sympathised with Rocko's struggles with, yes, the weirdness of modern life. No idea if this reboot is any good or not, probably strictly for nostalgists, so if you never saw the original it might well be lost on you.
 
GNC said:
*Gasp!* Semi-legendary cartoon, supposedly for kids but enjoyed by more adults who got the jokes and sympathised with Rocko's struggles with, yes, the weirdness of modern life. No idea if this reboot is any good or not, probably strictly for nostalgists, so if you never saw the original it might well be lost on you.
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Sounds as though I've missed out. Perhaps I'll catch up later. For now, I thought The Endless sounded fun, so I've chosen that.
 
PeteByrdie said:
It's delightfully fortean for bridging the ancient aliens concept into the alien universe before Ridley Scott did it. Perhaps AvP did it better. But, if I remember rightly, the archaeologist guy forms a theory that the pyramid changes configuration every ten minutes because the Aztec calendar was metric, or something. This is a stretch, especially as second, minutes and hours are not based on a metric system. Some things in movies, I struggle to think beyond.

EDIT Beyond Skyline is proving significantly better than its predecessor. That's not saying much, but it's okay.
Click to expand...
Yes not metric and after the first couple of times it forgets to change every ten minutes...
 
PeteByrdie said:
Thanks @Jim I've seen The Beyond. It was an interesting approach. I'll give Origin Unknown a shot.

EDIT Darn it, I can't find Origin Unknown on Netflix. To my shame, I've started to watch Beyond Skyline. I found the first film to have an interesting, though ridiculous, premise, but to be a woefully soulless mess. Someone save me!
Click to expand...
I wonder if NetFlix in the sates and the UK varies a bit? I just checked and they're listed on Netflick presently in the States? Apollo 18 is a lower budget goody with a great surprize and scary ending, hope Y can locate it?
 
Jim said:
I wonder if NetFlix in the sates and the UK varies a bit? I just checked and they're listed on Netflick presently in the States? Apollo 18 is a lower budget goody with a great surprize and scary ending, hope Y can locate it?
Click to expand...

I think you're right, Netflix UK has all the Netflix "official" productions, but a smaller amount of originals from elsewhere than the US service. It's going to be trampled by Disney+ next year anyway - streaming wars! Oh, great (sigh).
 
Jim said:
I wonder if NetFlix in the sates and the UK varies a bit? I just checked and they're listed on Netflick presently in the States? Apollo 18 is a lower budget goody with a great surprize and scary ending, hope Y can locate it?
Click to expand...
I suspect you're right. Given that I can Google an article and it includes adverts for products relating to the last things I searched for on Amazon, I imagine Netflix is more than likely to be able to tailor its output to different regions. But Apollo 18 is in my head now, and I'll look out for it.
 
GNC said:
I think you're right, Netflix UK has all the Netflix "official" productions, but a smaller amount of originals from elsewhere than the US service. It's going to be trampled by Disney+ next year anyway - streaming wars! Oh, great (sigh).
Click to expand...

yeah different stuff in uk to usa. i'm not sure how netflix in the uk will be affected by disney, they don't have much disney owned content. there is all the marvel stuff like jessica jones, which will disappear but its still a smallish amount.

@PeteByrdie
CALL FOR HELP! I have the evening to my self. I have four bottles of dog and Netflix. Is there any decent science fiction to be had on Netflix? Because I'm struggling to find anything.
Click to expand...

may i recommend The OA. 2 series, and netflix have just announced they are cunningly NOT going to make the third season that might have explained it all, but its still delightfully bonkers.

oh and theres always star trek disco if you like a bit of trek. a few twists and turns there, worth watching.
 
Ladyloafer said:
yeah different stuff in uk to usa. i'm not sure how netflix in the uk will be affected by disney, they don't have much disney owned content. there is all the marvel stuff like jessica jones, which will disappear but its still a smallish amount.

@PeteByrdie


may i recommend The OA. 2 series, and netflix have just announced they are cunningly NOT going to make the third season that might have explained it all, but its still delightfully bonkers.

oh and theres always star trek disco if you like a bit of trek. a few twists and turns there, worth watching.
Click to expand...
After watching it in some form or other for much of my life, I genuinely have no more appetite for Trek. Or Trek-like series really. The OA I remember trying one episode of, but had so little idea of where it was heading I didn't give the second episode a chance. Perhaps I gave up too soon, but with a busy life, I don't always have the time to take a chance on things that aren't immediately gripping. Sad but true!
 
saw snowpiercer on thread recommendation while in detroit, oh dear !
 
henry said:
saw snowpiercer on thread recommendation while in detroit, oh dear !
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It is overrated, but as a SF shaggy dog story, it's fine. Not sure how they'll get a whole TV show out of it, mind you.
 
Saw ABIGAIL yesterday: a Russian science fantasy adventure somewhat in the The Golden Compass mold and aimed squarely at tweenies.

It wears its steampunk credentials heavily on its sleeve: lots of clocworky mechanisms and Edwardian-cum-twenties technology, including a very Moorcokian airship. It's features a paralell world dystopia - in fact it's difficult not to see it as an allegorical allusion to the current situation in contemporary Russia! -opposed by a very Rowlinsonesque underworld of amiable and eccentric magicians.

Filmed mostly in picturesque Talinin and featuring some up and coming Central Asian stars and with a great quasi-classical musical score. it is hardly a game changer and does drag after two hours (albeit I was watching it in Russia and struggling with the language).

Judging from this trailer, it looks as though a dubbed english version is likely to be doing the rounds soonish. If you've got kids do take them to see it.

I'll be reviewing it in my blog.

 
Watching this breakdown reminds me how much I was impacted by The Matrix. Such a groundbreaker. Almost 20yo now.

Great work, as usual, NR.
 
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