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Science Fiction: Films & TV

Dark Road: Its 2029, seven States have seceded from the US including the new Free State of Jefferson, consisting of Northern California and Southern Oregon. Jefferson is doing bad economically, only cash is accepted in bars. Its a Libertarian State which suggests the other six which make up The Free Independent States of America may also be so.

An army veteran heads home to the Free State, he is a Cyborg in so far as he is attached to a removable AI called Clyde. Looking for work he runs into a woman who is having problems with her Ex and is soon her bodyguard and lover. But is she a femme fatale? There is also a strange drug involved and even a suggestion of the Occult.

AI, Secesion and Chandleresque PI tropes mix in this film which bears some superficial resemblance to Blade Runner. SF Noir. 7/10.

https://www.facebook.com/blackroadmovie/

http://mikesfilmtalk.com/2016/09/17/black-road-2016-sci-fi-noir-review/

http://blackroadmovie.com/
 
this sounds interesting - says the non film person
 
New Passengers trailer:

If you're wondering, "what is Passengers?", it's a spaceship movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, everyone's current favourite movie stars. No, I'd never heard of it either. Let's hope there's more to it than the trailer looks to be about, or it's going to be a lot of chit-chat.
 
GNC said:
Let's hope there's more to it than the trailer looks to be about, or it's going to be a lot of chit-chat.
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I read the script online a few years ago (back when Keanu Reeves was up for the Chris Pratt role) and yeah, there's a lot of chat, but it does make you think what would you do in their position "alone in space", plus it got writer
Jon Spaihts his gig on Prometheus (before it was re-written I hasten to add!)
 
graylien said:
I'm not sure I'd call Frankenstein Unbound a success, although it's certainly an enjoyable piece of schlock. Aldiss goes into the A.I saga in depth in the foreword to his collected short stories. He and Kubrick did come up with a completed script, but then Kubrick put it on the back burner. Aldiss used some of his ideas from the script to create two short story sequels to Supertoys Last all Summer Long. It's been a while since I read them, but IIRC elements of these did eventually make it into Speilberg's film, such as the android junkyard.
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What about Greybeard? Probably my favorite Aldiss novel.
 
sherbetbizarre said:
I read the script online a few years ago (back when Keanu Reeves was up for the Chris Pratt role) and yeah, there's a lot of chat, but it does make you think what would you do in their position "alone in space", plus it got writer
Jon Spaihts his gig on Prometheus (before it was re-written I hasten to add!)
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I suppose if the dialogue's good enough it'll carry the film nicely. Here's hoping (anyone getting a Lloyd vibe from Michael Sheen in the trailer?).
 
The Call Up: Set in the near future, eight elite online gamers are invited to beta test a new virtual reality video game. The prize for the top scorer is $1 million. The VR suits are wifi and a "Holodeck" is created. The scenario is that terrorists have taken over a building in the computer generated war torn city. The mission is to clear the invaders out floor by floor. Soon the gamers discover that the suits cause actual pain and cannot be removed...

Not exactly cutting edge but its an OK SF/Gamer Action film. 6/10.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/may/19/the-call-up-review

https://www.facebook.com/TheCallUpMovie/
 
I'm assuming this is Science Fiction, it looks like it from the trailer. It was recommended on youtube's BFI channel and I think it looks quite interesting in a 'West World' kind of way.
(It seems to be a short, not a full-length film)

 
davidplankton said:
I'm assuming this is Science Fiction, it looks like it from the trailer. It was recommended on youtube's BFI channel and I think it looks quite interesting in a 'West World' kind of way.
(It seems to be a short, not a full-length film)
EDIA]
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The Hunchback (2016)
29min | Short, Sci-Fi | 27 April 2016 (Portugal)

A delirious sci-fi riff on the Arabian Nights' 'Tale of the Hunchback', that submerges us in a technological dystopia reigned by Dalaya.com, a mega-corporation that forces it's employees to 'relax' at company-run medieval reenactments.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5647246/
 
Arrival: Saw a preview of Arrival last week. Truly original in how it dealt with communication between Aliens & Humans. The Aliens design isn't original, they look like Kang and Kodos from The Simpsons minus the eye and mouth. But are much eerier, even Lovecraftian. They have seven tentacles and are dubbed Heptapods.

Amy Adams is the linguist who along with scientist Jeremy Renner try to open communications with the Aliens. Forest Whitaker is a US Army Colonel. Alien Starships are well imagined as are the interiors with switching gravity directions. Could be an Oscar in this for Adams and Special Effects & Production Design Oscars as well.

Do they come in peace or to set us at each others throats? See the film! 9/10.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543164/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast
 
An addendum to Turbo Kid:

If you haven't seen it, just be aware that Apple is the most loyal android ever. Apparently there's a sequel in the works - yay!
 
GNC said:
An addendum to Turbo Kid:

If you haven't seen it, just be aware that Apple is the most loyal android ever. Apparently there's a sequel in the works - yay!
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Great! I loved it!
 
That was both sad and funny at the same time. Cute.
 
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND IS GETTING A TV SERIES
Syfy is being Robert A Heinlein’s classic novel to the small screen

By Steve Wright 16-11-16

We’re liking Syfy’s focus on ambitious undertakings of sci-fi and fantasy favourites. Already we’ve had adaptations of Arthur C Clarke’s Childhood’s End, James SA Corey’s The Expanse and Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp, and now Robert A Heinlein’s science fiction classic Stranger In A Strange Land will be getting the Syfy TV series treatment.

To be co-produced by Paramount Television and Universal Cable Productions, Stranger In A Strange Landfollows Valentine Michael Smith, a human who was raised on Mars, but returns to Earth to find it – as the title would suggest – a changed land, having just about survived World War III, and being dominated by religious organisations. As the story progresses, he travels the world and gradually changes it, expounding principles like free love and communal living – which inevitably leads to him making some enemies in the process.

Speaking in a statement, Paramount TV president Amy Powell said of the proposed adaptation, “Paramount TV is excited to have the opportunity to adapt Robert Heinlein’s seminal work of science fiction. This novel has resonated with me since college and there’s a reason it has continued to find new fans for over forty years. Syfy’s understanding of imaginative and futuristic programming is unmatched, making them an ideal partner for this series.” ...

https://www.scifinow.co.uk/blog/mr-carey-on-guilt-conscience-and-atonement-in-fellside/
 
I just started watching The Expanse. I don't know how Netflix gets the money for making these things, it doesn't look cheap. Though all that dim lighting must have helped with the electricity bill.
 
Xanatic* said:
I just started watching The Expanse. I don't know how Netflix gets the money for making these things, it doesn't look cheap. Though all that dim lighting must have helped with the electricity bill.
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I thought it was terrific myself.
 
I enjoyed The Expanse enough to order the novel for Kindle. I don't know when (or, frankly, if) I'll get the chance to read it. But the series was good, and I'm looking forward to its followup.
 
Lord of the Rings director to film Devon writer's acclaimed sci-fi series
By WMNJBayley | Posted: November 18, 2016

A Devon author’s work is to become the latest epic from Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.
The adaptation of Philip Reeve’s steampunk series Mortal Engines is being produced by the Oscar winner who has co-written the script.
Another Academy Award winner, Christian Rivers, the New Zealander’s long-term collaborator and compatriot, will direct.

“It is fantastic news,” said Mr Reeve, who lives in Widecombe-in-the-Moor.
“The books are in the hands of people with a reputation for creating huge, imaginative worlds on screen.”

Mr Jackson was just as complimentary about Mortal Engines.
“The moment we read these novels, we knew what exciting movies they’d make,” said the filmmaker, who won three Oscars in 2004 for The Return of the King, the first of the Lord of the Rings adaptations.
“If you haven’t read the books, you should. They present a stunning look into the future. I literally can’t wait to see them!”

The Mortal Engines series of four books is set in a post-apocalyptic future in a world ravaged by war. The Earth’s major conurbations are mounted on wheels as “traction cities”, hunting down and consuming smaller ones.
At the time he wrote Mortal Engines, the first book in the series of the same name, Mr Reeve was an amateur filmmaker.
The novel went to win a Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Award.

“I always wanted Mortal Engines to be an action movie,” he said. “That’s how I saw it.
I am glad I am not involved in the film. It’s 20 years since I wrote it and I am imagining other worlds now.”

His more recent work includes the Railhead series of novels for teens and adults. The first of the adventures in a future of inter-galactic travel may also be filmed – Warner Brothers has an option.
“That is still in development,” said Mr Reeve, 50. “These things can take years, which is what happened with Mortal Engines.
“You wonder if anything will ever happen. When I heard that it would with Mortal Engines and that Peter Jackson was involved I thought it was wonderful.”
The film is being financed by MRC and Universal and shooting will begin in New Zealand in March.
“The special effects will be by Peter’s people in New Zealand, the same as for Lord of the Rings so it should be visually brilliant,” said Mr Reeve.

Mr Rivers is a visual effects specialist and won an Oscar for his work on 2005’s King Kong, which Mr Jackson directed.

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/lor...ci-fi-series/story-29915535-detail/story.html
 
Spectral: Special Forces along with a DARPA scientist and a CIA agent battle invisible creatures which can kill by touch and seem to be composed of energy. Through special goggles they appear as ghost-like wraiths.

Set in near future Moldova where the US has intervened in a Civil War. (The supporters of the over-thrown Government are referred to as Insurgents.) A devastated City and abandoned/ruined industrial plants give both the feel of Terminator and Alien. The Special Ops teams are equipped like Colonial Marines or even Starship Troopers.

A Netflix original filmed in and around Budapest, I recognised some landmarks but I hope CGI was used to inflict the damage Good SF/Horror which at 1h 44m might have benefited from a 15m cut in running time. 7/10.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2106651/
 
ramonmercado said:
Spectral: Special Forces along with a DARPA scientist and a CIA agent battle invisible creatures which can kill by touch and seem to be composed of energy. Through special goggles they appear as ghost-like wraiths.

Set in near future Moldova where the US has intervened in a Civil War. (The supporters of the over-thrown Government are referred to as Insurgents.) A devastated City and abandoned/ruined industrial plants give both the feel of Terminator and Alien. The Special Ops teams are equipped like Colonial Marines or even Starship Troopers.

A Netflix original filmed in and around Budapest, I recognised some landmarks but I hope CGI was used to inflict the damage Good SF/Horror which at 1h 44m might have benefited from a 15m cut in running time. 7/10.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2106651/
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I watched this yesterday as it happens and I'd give it 8/10. It's shy of the usual stupid token 'hero/heroine' 'romance' and the science was 'good enough for movies'. Everything is nicely explained and if you're on the ball you can get there first.

I thought it was the iron in the bathtub myself
 
ramonmercado said:
Spectral: Special Forces along with a DARPA scientist and a CIA agent battle invisible creatures which can kill by touch and seem to be composed of energy. Through special goggles they appear as ghost-like wraiths.

Set in near future Moldova where the US has intervened in a Civil War. (The supporters of the over-thrown Government are referred to as Insurgents.) A devastated City and abandoned/ruined industrial plants give both the feel of Terminator and Alien. The Special Ops teams are equipped like Colonial Marines or even Starship Troopers.

A Netflix original filmed in and around Budapest, I recognised some landmarks but I hope CGI was used to inflict the damage Good SF/Horror which at 1h 44m might have benefited from a 15m cut in running time. 7/10.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2106651/
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Nice ideas and a well put together movie, One of the writers ,(john Gatins has done the new Kong and Power Rangers movie). Nice to see Emily Mortimer in anything.
 
Coal said:
Indeedy.
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I was trying to think of a British televised play about OCD and tricotilomania which I thought had Emily Mortimer in but I can't find it. I can picture the male lead too but can't remember his name. Would have been in the last 10 years.
 
Naughty_Felid said:
I was trying to think of a British televised play about OCD and tricotilomania which I thought had Emily Mortimer in but I can't find it. I can picture the male lead too but can't remember his name. Would have been in the last 10 years.
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Would it be Dirty Filthy Love? Doesn't have Mortimer in the cast though.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411291/
 
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