Science Fiction: Films & TV

[Okarin]

Anyone else watching The Last of Us?
I'm 2 episodes in now, but am unsure whether it's worth investing any more time.
Not convinced we needed yet another Walking Dead-style EOTWAWKI drama, particularly with characters as unlikeable as these.
Bella Ramsey as Ellie is particularly irritating and unbelievable - surely no-one would be as cocky as that, when they could be executed at any second? Seems to be little more than a platform for her to spout her potty-mouthed cheeky one-liners.
The post-apocalyptic cityscapes look good, but is that enough?
Maybe it worked better as a computer game?

I saw the first episode having been a huge fan of the game I was curious as how it would translate to the screen. Have to be honest I struggled to get in to it and haven't watched on. I agree with you Ellie just grated on me.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

I saw the first episode having been a huge fan of the game I was curious as how it would translate to the screen. Have to be honest I struggled to get in to it and haven't watched on. I agree with you Ellie just grated on me.

I'd never played the computer game and so had no preconceptions about The Last of Us.
It does strike me as a hugely derivative mash-up of The Walking Dead, A Quiet Place, 28 Days Later, Bird Box and many others in the EOTWAWKI genre.
Pedro Pascal, taking a break from the devil's wine cellar, is suitably stoic and believable, but Bella Ramsay just plain isn't.
I suppose these zombies are slightly different, having been killed from the inside out and then reanimated by the fungus into super-fast predators, hunting by sound. If I knew the story would be wrapped up in one series, I would stick with it, but now it appears there will be subsequent series, I can see it turning into another Lost and I know that's a chunk of my life I won't be getting back.

 

[brownmane]

I saw the first episode having been a huge fan of the game I was curious as how it would translate to the screen. Have to be honest I struggled to get in to it and haven't watched on. I agree with you Ellie just grated on me.

That's too bad. I looked up the actor playing Ellie. She is 19 years old. A little too old to be playing Ellie if it is based on The Last of Us part 1. She is supposed to be a young teen. An adult playing a teen often doesn't work for me. And snarky kids that just have attitude rather than heart is also a no go for me. As a comparison to difference in a snarky kids show, I have watched Young Sheldon and totally enjoy it.

I thought that, though the game is light on storyline, the characters for tv could have become more fleshed out.

I did enjoy the game because of the characters. I wondered how it could be made into a tv show considering that The Walking Dead is same, but with more characters to work with. I also didn't follow TWD beyond 4 seasons. You can only watch people kill dead people in a gymnasium, arena, prison etc. for so long. I watched it more for the special effects involved in the zombies and the kills.

 

[Mr. Banooka]

The Last of Us has been pretty good so far. I never go into any adaptation now expecting it to be identical. But so far they have been able to convey some of the challenges from the game in different and more believable ways. I like how they have kept the same composer for the music as well.

They've also fleshed out character back stories as well. Anna Torv as Tess has been brilliant so far. Always liked her from her Fringe days. There's been more explanation of what's going on and how the infection started. As to Ellie, I've found Bella Ramsey fine so far as her behaviour and character goes. But Ellie's look in the game is so indelibly etched in my mind I struggle to see her as Ellie some times.

It's a much better adaptation than the other Naughty Dog adaptation (Uncharted). With the Uncharted movie I think they were too concerned with getting big names involved. They should just have adapted one of the game stories and hired a cast more suited to the role. Bruce Campbell should have played Sully.

Speaking of Uncharted, did anyone notice that Tess' lighter in The Last of Us has the same design as Sam Drake's in Uncharted 4?

I am in anticipation for Joel to go searching for the parts to make a shiv now.

 

[maximus otter]

Anyone else watching The Last of Us?
I'm 2 episodes in now, but am unsure whether it's worth investing any more time.
Not convinced we needed yet another Walking Dead-style EOTWAWKI drama, particularly with characters as unlikeable as these.
Bella Ramsey as Ellie is particularly irritating and unbelievable - surely no-one would be as cocky as that, when they could be executed at any second? Seems to be little more than a platform for her to spout her potty-mouthed cheeky one-liners.
The post-apocalyptic cityscapes look good, but is that enough?
Maybe it worked better as a computer game?

The mem and l are really enjoying it, though neither of us has played the PC game.

I was shocked to realise that Anna Torv was the actress who played the cool and impeccably put-together psychology consultant in Mindhunter. She’s got range.

maximus otter

 

[Mr. Banooka]

The mem and l are really enjoying it, though neither of us has played the PC game.

I was shocked to realise that Anna Torv was the actress who played the cool and impeccably put-together psychology consultant in Mindhunter. She’s got range.

maximus otter

I remember watching her in Fringe and her getting grief for being wooden from certain elements of the internet. I never thought that, just thought it was her characters demeanour. That was eventually confirmed when Fauxlivia appeared and had a completely different character and demeanour.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Everything Everywhere All at Once.

A whimsical 2021 sci-fi comedy based on the multiverse theory.
Downtrodden, middle-aged launderette owner Michelle Yeoh discovers that her humdrum existence is merely one of a multitude, as every life choice she has made caused the universe to branch and create a new reality.
Worse than that, the entire multiverse is under threat by a malevolent version of her own daughter, who has created a universe-swallowing black hole (giant bagel).
It's utterly bizarre, spectacular at times, with some mind-blowing special effects, but its immensely silly and frivolous treatment of a profound subject really wasn't my cup of tea.
At 2 hours 20 minute, I also found it far too long.
It's received several Bafta nominations though, so it obviously appealed to some critics.
If you're into goofy humour and slapstick with a sci-fi theme, you may enjoy it, but it's only a 5/10 from me.
Red Dwarf's Ace Rimmer did it so much better than this!
On Amazon Prime.

 

[hunck]

Everything Everywhere All at Once.

A whimsical 2021 sci-fi comedy based on the multiverse theory.
Downtrodden, middle-aged launderette owner Michelle Yeoh discovers that her humdrum existence is merely one of a multitude, as every life choice she has made caused the universe to branch and create a new reality.
Worse than that, the entire multiverse is under threat by a malevolent version of her own daughter, who has created a universe-swallowing black hole (giant bagel).
It's utterly bizarre, spectacular at times, with some mind-blowing special effects, but its immensely silly and frivolous treatment of a profound subject really wasn't my cup of tea.
At 2 hours 20 minute, I also found it far too long.
It's received several Bafta nominations though, so it obviously appealed to some critics.
If you're into goofy humour and slapstick with a sci-fi theme, you may enjoy it, but it's only a 5/10 from me.
Red Dwarf's Ace Rimmer did it so much better than this!
On Amazon Prime.

Agree with you.

It had decent reviews & looked as though it could be interesting. Multiple parallel universes, alternate lives etc.

It boiled down to a good v evil from a parallel universe story & was a good forty minutes too long. At one point I thought it was ending then part 2 came along. After that part 3, with much repetition. I got quite restless. It’s quite uninvolving & I found I didn't really give a fuck about any of them. You kind of knew it would work out in the end.

Some of the effects were OK but OK effects don’t make a good film.

It did have some comic moments but can’t recommend although some seem to love it.

I wouldn’t give it more than 5 either. Overrated.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Agree with you.

It had decent reviews & looked as though it could be interesting. Multiple parallel universes, alternate lives etc.

It boiled down to a good v evil from a parallel universe story & was a good forty minutes too long. At one point I thought it was ending then part 2 came along. After that part 3, with much repetition. I got quite restless. It’s quite uninvolving & I found I didn't really give a fuck about any of them. You kind of knew it would work out in the end.

Some of the effects were OK but OK effects don’t make a good film.

It did have some comic moments but can’t recommend although some seem to love it.

I wouldn’t give it more than 5 either. Overrated.

Exactly.
And the comical bits struck me as being downright juvenile (like having to stuff something up your bum to jump between universes).
I'm guessing that the movie was pitched at a teenage audience, rather than a more mature and discerning clientele (as I would hope most of us are here).
I, like you, was also amazed at how much the critics raved about it.

 

[hunck]

And the comical bits struck me as being downright juvenile (like having to stuff something up your bum to jump between universes).

It was so forgettable I’d already forgotten that.

I'm guessing that the movie was pitched at a teenage audience, rather than a more mature and discerning clientele (as I would hope most of us are here).

You’re probably right.

 

[ramonmercado]

Infinite: A bit like Highlander but these people achieve immortality through incarnation, they remember their past lives and skills though some need special treatment to fully access their memories. Evan McCauley is one of these, apparently suffers from schizophrenia. having memories which aren't his own has difficulty holding down a job. But he manages to expertly craft a katana for a gangster but this results in him ending up in a police station. He encounters two different types of immortals. There are the bad guys who've had enough of reincarnation and want to end all life on Earth so the cycle will end, then the goodies, who wish to use their memories to drive humanity forward. Some great action sequences as the two sides battle, car chases, hand to hand combat, a Shamballah like HQ. These guys on both sides must have a lot of control to cover up the mayhem and havoc they leave in their wake even i large cities. Some of the events are more akin to what yiu'd expect from MCU movies but hey you accept that dontcha? A good SF/Fantasy romp. directed by Antoine Fuqua. Directed by Antoine Fuqua from a screenplay by Ian Shorr, adapted from D. Eric Maikranz's 2009 novel The Reincarnationist Papers. 7/10. Streaming (free) until 6 March at https://www.channel4.com/programmes/infinite

 

[Ermintruder]

Anyone else watching The Last of Us?

Yes: and I still can't make my mind up about it. It's good where it's good, and wildly-unfocussed when it's not.

I'm currently watching the Bill & Frank episode: and it's so jarringly-different from the whole journey so far, I just do not know what the rest of the experience is going to be like.

Bella Ramsey as Ellie is particularly irritating and unbelievable

I'm sad to say you're totally-correct on both counts. I don't know the game at all, so I've no preconceived character in mind, but....Bella Ramsey is certainly no Maisie Williams (and I think I mean that in every sense)

 

[SimonBurchell]

I just saw the first episode of the new season of Star Trek: Picard last night. Not bad, not as slow or pretentious as previous offerings, but seemed to be trying for Star Wars-style battle sequences.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Just watched "Coherence" on Prime Video.
Don't know how I missed this 2014 movie first time around, but I'm glad to have finally caught up with it, as it's an absolute cracker!
Starts off with the reassuringly cosy ambience of 8 friends at an initially convivial dinner party.
Before long though, there's a seemingly very selective power cut, which may have something to do with the spectacular comet bisecting the night sky, like a medieval woodcut, and then increasingly weird shit starts to happen.
I was getting flashes of déja vu from the classic BBC 1970s chiller "Dead of Night: The Exorcism", with which Coherence certainly shares a vaguely similar premise and supremely creepy atmosphere. This movie though branches off into a more sci-fi vibe, with hints of quantum theory, Schrödinger's Cat and the multiverse thrown into the heady mix.
Thought-provoking and unsettling in equal measure, Coherence scores a solid 8.5/10 from me.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Yes: and I still can't make my mind up about it. It's good where it's good, and wildly-unfocussed when it's not.

I'm currently watching the Bill & Frank episode: and it's so jarringly-different from the whole journey so far, I just do not know what the rest of the experience is going to be like.


I'm sad to say you're totally-correct on both counts. I don't know the game at all, so I've no preconceived character in mind, but....Bella Ramsey is certainly no Maisie Williams (and I think I mean that in every sense)

Yesterday's episode "Left Behind", featured Ellie's back-story and ill-fated "womance" and did nothing to further the main plot.
I found it pretty well a waste of 54 minutes.

I gather there's only 2 episodes left, so it's clearly going to drag on into at least one more series.

I haven't played the video game on which The Last of Us is based, but I assume that does have some sort of conclusion. I hope they don't just keep on milking it to give us another Lost or Walking Dead.

 

[FunkyTT]

Yes, I'm getting fed up with "the last of us " also. Too much soap opera type drama and not enough Mushroom Man Zombie action. And that foul mouthed young lady is annoying as hell..... People on another forum seem to love her, why I don't know!!

 

[Yithian]

I was entertained by thinking through this in my mind's eye.

Prior to casting Christopher Lloyd, Robert Zemeckis had a list of potentials to portray ‘Doc Brown’ in Back to the Future:

There are some great actors here, but I'm having trouble thinking people like Gene Hackman (Henry Winkler??) into the rôle.

Gene Wilder or Donald Sutherland might have worked...

Some of the others might well have destroyed the film!

 

[skinny]

Just watched "Coherence" on Prime Video.
Don't know how I missed this 2014 movie first time around, but I'm glad to have finally caught up with it, as it's an absolute cracker!
Starts off with the reassuringly cosy ambience of 8 friends at an initially convivial dinner party.
Before long though, there's a seemingly very selective power cut, which may have something to do with the spectacular comet bisecting the night sky, like a medieval woodcut, and then increasingly weird shit starts to happen.
I was getting flashes of déja vu from the classic BBC 1970s chiller "Dead of Night: The Exorcism", with which Coherence certainly shares a vaguely similar premise and supremely creepy atmosphere. This movie though branches off into a more sci-fi vibe, with hints of quantum theory, Schrödinger's Cat and the multiverse thrown into the heady mix.
Thought-provoking and unsettling in equal measure, Coherence scores a solid 8.5/10 from me.

Good rec. I'm onto it.

 

[Zeke Newbold]

Mira (Russia, 2022).

The title of this disaster-cum-science fiction-cum family melodrama might seem somewhat ironic right now - since `Mir` in Russian means `peace` (more on this later) - but in the fact title references a fictional space station called `Mir. A` and an onboard artificial intelligence which has been dubbed `Mira` owing to it having a female voice.

We are in Vladivostok - a city on the far east coast of Russia - in the near future. In it a moody 15 year old girl, Lera, (Veronika Ustimova) lives only for her running. She is somewhat estranged from her parents. Her mother has divorced and married a well meaning paunchy lummox of a guy. She has a nine yeasr old brother, who she considers to be an irritant.Her `real` father is a cosmonaut who spends long periods in orbit on the space statrion Mir. A where he seems to spend a lot of time conversing with the onboard computer - Mira.

Creepily, though, the father has the technological means (via Mira) to access pretty much any electronic device down on earth so he can check up on the fruit of his loins whenever he likes - a fact which serves to wind up Lera even more.

We learn that Lera was badly burnt as a child after being trapped in a burning lift from which her father was unable to save her. She now has a phobia of fire - something she will soon have to confront.

Next - a cluster of metoerites is heading for Earth. These collide with the father's space station, disabling it and killing his colleagues and then rain down on Vladivostok creating Armageddon style mayhem. All of a sudden daddy's surveillance tech becomes invaluable: Can the new father-and- daughter team, in remote unison, find her lost brother - and prevent a nearby tanker from exploding and hence destrorying the city altogether? An can Lera face down her fear of fire in the process?

I was awed by the special effects which are among the best I have seen: plenty of masonry flying about, screaming and panicking people, explosions, car piles ups and rumbling sensuround noises and so on. (This should have come as no surprise as Russians had already proved they could do this six years back with Attraction - to which this film, initially, bears quite a strong resemblance). it is quite heavy stuff for a 12+ `family movie` actually!

The Vladivostok location (a rarity in Russian films) was refreshing. Much of the science was silly (especially Mira - and her capabilities).

In Ustinova they have found a great new actress - but they failed to give the other characters personalities, so the family drama element was much less tearjerking than the film was aiming at. Nevertheless I did not become restless thoughout its 150 minutes - which is rare for me.

What will stay with me are the sequences where Vladivostiok is being reduced to rubble. It was impossible not to be put in mind of the horrors that people have been going through in certain Ukrainian cities owing to the Russian shelling of them. Indeed, a few Russians have viewed this film as a covertly anti-war one. This seems a bit of a stretch but...yeah...well...maybe. However, the production will have been underway long before the invasion began.

 

[brownmane]

I was entertained by thinking through this in my mind's eye.

Prior to casting Christopher Lloyd, Robert Zemeckis had a list of potentials to portray ‘Doc Brown’ in Back to the Future:

View attachment 63907

There are some great actors here, but I'm having trouble thinking people like Gene Hackman (Henry Winkler??) into the rôle.

Gene Wilder or Donald Sutherland might have worked...

Some of the others might well have destroyed the film!

I could see James Wood doing it, but his delivery would have been totally different. Very deadpan and brooding, menacing is how I picture his delivery.

Joe Piscapo? I've not seen him do comedy.

 

[Ermintruder]

Yes, I'm getting fed up with "the last of us " also

I feel that 'The Last Of Us' has achieved some level of redemption, with S1Ep8 (the latest and penultimate episode). Despite a high level of very-predictable tropes (I feel that megalomaniac cult leader characters should be banned by government statute), overall it was quite an addictive spectacle for me (though I'm easily-wowed by the screen, due to doing so much myself IRL, and being a gaming virgin post-Pacman). The Twin Peaks style location choices were a bit creaky, but still better than bad.

I feel Ellie/Bella Ramsey was a lot more holographically solid, and loveable, in this episode. She showed a much wider range of emotions than just her default ennui snarl-face.

Maybe (just maybe) TLOU will be a genuine success when considered in the round....Monday Ep9 will be *very* interesting.

 

[Mythopoeika]

She showed a much wider range of emotions than just her default ennui snarl-face.

Can I borrow that phraseology, please? It's wonderful.

 

[Ermintruder]

Can I borrow that phraseology, please?

Yes of course! And are you watching TLOU? Am I being unfair about the series, and Bella Ramsey? Because I don't know her from any previous castings, and I now think her limited range shown so far might've been a deliberate self-applied ruse, not a performance threshold.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Yes of course! And are you watching TLOU? Am I being unfair about the series, and Bella Ramsey? Because I don't know her from any previous castings, and I now think her limited range shown so far might've been a deliberate self-applied ruse, not a performance threshold.

Thanks. I'm not watching the series, no. But I do have the game somewhere.

 

[hunck]

Dunno if this has been mentioned before

Predestination [2014]

Time travel theme but one of the better ones. Also has a gender change theme. Apparently based on Heinlein’s ‘All You Zombies’. It’s currently on ITV player.

Starts slowly but builds as it goes on. Quite a few twists to the story I didn’t see coming. Good performances from Ethan Hawke & Sarah Snook - not heard of her before.

Not one of the most well known sci-fi films but a solid 7.5 to 8 out of ten for me.

 

[ramonmercado]

Dunno if this has been mentioned before

Predestination [2014]

Time travel theme but one of the better ones. Also has a gender change theme. Apparently based on Heinlein’s ‘All You Zombies’. It’s currently on ITV player.

Starts slowly but builds as it goes on. Quite a few twists to the story I didn’t see coming. Good performances from Ethan Hawke & Sarah Snook - not heard of her before.

Not one of the most well known sci-fi films but a solid 7.5 to 8 out of ten for me.

I loved it as well.

 

[Trevp666]

Dunno if this has been mentioned before

Predestination [2014]

Time travel theme but one of the better ones. Also has a gender change theme. Apparently based on Heinlein’s ‘All You Zombies’. It’s currently on ITV player.

Starts slowly but builds as it goes on. Quite a few twists to the story I didn’t see coming. Good performances from Ethan Hawke & Sarah Snook - not heard of her before.

Not one of the most well known sci-fi films but a solid 7.5 to 8 out of ten for me.

Yeah, good film. I enjoyed it. A handful of plot holes but then that might have more to do with some poor editing. Overall though, pretty good.
Seems to be of a similar ilk to 'Looper' in it's approach to timetravel, sort of.

 

[ramonmercado]

The original short story is here: https://xpressenglish.com/our-stories/all-you-zombies/

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Everything Everywhere All at Once.

A whimsical 2021 sci-fi comedy based on the multiverse theory.
Downtrodden, middle-aged launderette owner Michelle Yeoh discovers that her humdrum existence is merely one of a multitude, as every life choice she has made caused the universe to branch and create a new reality.
Worse than that, the entire multiverse is under threat by a malevolent version of her own daughter, who has created a universe-swallowing black hole (giant bagel).
It's utterly bizarre, spectacular at times, with some mind-blowing special effects, but its immensely silly and frivolous treatment of a profound subject really wasn't my cup of tea.
At 2 hours 20 minute, I also found it far too long.
It's received several Bafta nominations though, so it obviously appealed to some critics.
If you're into goofy humour and slapstick with a sci-fi theme, you may enjoy it, but it's only a 5/10 from me.
Red Dwarf's Ace Rimmer did it so much better than this!
On Amazon Prime.

Baffling and disappointing to see sci-fi comedy EEAAO was the big winner at the Oscars, ahead of anti-war epic All Quiet on the Western Front.
The Oscar judges clearly rate silliness above profundity.

 

[Xanatic*]

One of the nominees for Best Animated Short Film was called An Ostrich Told Me The World Is Fake And I Believe It. It is about a stop-motion character who has a bit of a revelation, slightly fortean.