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Science Fiction: Films & TV

There is a rumor floating around on the internet that Pedro Pascal almost did not do the Mandalorian because Disney only wanted to pay him as a voice actor.

Actually Pedro’s salary is not known.
 
Nope (2022).

Was very much looking forward to this latest Jordan Peele movie, given the number of Fortean teasers present in the trailer.
Daniel Kaluuya stars as horse rancher OJ Haywood, who witnesses inexplicable events, starting with the bizarre death of his father. Assisted by his feisty sister Em, Angel a CCTV salesman (who, coincidentally happens to be a UFO-nut) and a grizzled old cinematographer, they set out to get to the bottom of the mystery.
So far so good.
The pace though is frustratingly glacial, with Kaluuya's character in particular being so understated as to be borderline comatose. Borrowing heavily from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and with hat-tips to ET, Jaws, Bird Box and classic 50s sci-fi, Nope certainly looks impressive, but it struggled to hold my interest, barring the admittedly dramatic conclusion (be prepared to suspend your disbelief).
2 hours 15 minutes felt way too long and the hefty dose of quirkiness didn't really do it for me.
After the movie, I checked out some of the professional reviews and it appears that some of the movie's references were a bit too clever for me, nor did I get which themes were probably intended to be allegorical rather than literal.
Overall, I'll go along with the Guardian's comment that Nope is ultimately less than the sum of its parts, with a 3 stars or 6/10 rating.
On Sky Cinema.
 
charliebrown said:
I really tried to watch NOPE, but it was moving so slow I had to stop.
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Indeed (slight spoilers ahead).

I felt that the whole sub-plot with the child star and the homicidal chimp (echoing the real-life horror attack by Travis the chimp on Charla Nash) felt tacked onto the central UFO story and bloated the run-time unnecessarily. Nope struck me as a "King's invisible clothes" kind of movie in that if viewers admitted to struggling with the long run-time and the many obscure art-housy references, it could be blamed on the viewers for not being in on the joke.
And as for the photographic well being perfectly positioned to catch all the action, that required me to suspend my disbelief even more so than accepting the flying saucer.
Maybe 6/10 was a bit generous, but the underlying premise of UFO abductions at a remote ranch was sufficiently Fortean to hook in this sci-fi nut and just about (barely) got me through to the end credits.
 
Tonight's dose of (early-evening) sci-fi was the 2018 movie Native, currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
An advanced but hive-based humanoid civilisation detects Earthkind's noisy interstellar broadcasts and responds by sending two pathfinders, with the aim of ensuring planet Earth has been sterilised of native life in preparation for colonisation.
Ellie Kendrick is Eva and Rupert Graves is Cain who, between prolonged periods in stasis, are the two alien colonists occupying their grimly austere spacecraft and who frequently discuss (via telepathy) the implications of their mission.
I'm sure the Biblical names were intentionally ironic as Eva, far from being the mother of humankind, seems determined to be its destroyer.
Cain, on the other hand, seems fascinated by the sound of Earth music (superb use of Beethoven!) and gradually breaks free of his hive mentality, leading him to question the morality of their mission.
Whilst a very different sci-fi movie from last night's Nope, Native does similarly suffer from a very slow pace.
There are also clear heavy allegorical overtones in comparing hive-mind thinking in totalitarian human societies today with Western democracies.
At just 84 minutes though, the contemplative style and stuttering momentum (not to mention the obvious lack of budget) is never too painful.
It felt like it was building to a nail-biting conclusion, but, to be honest, did peter out somewhat and left me feeling a bit short-changed by the abrupt ending.
Overall I enjoyed it though and, if you liked 2001 A Space Odyssey and Solaris, I expect you will too.
7/10 from me.




native.png
 
I thought that Din Djarin and Din Grogu rode off into the sunset at the end of season 3 of the Mandalorian as both retired to their retirement home.

But, Jon Favreau said he has written all of season 4 and he believes Pedro Pascal is OK with it, and would like to push it to market in 2024.
 
Watched `John Carter`

Pretty good; if only for the believable way the Green Martians gesture.

Its nice space opera; better than the last Star wars trilogy.

Why was this not promoted?

(Apart from maybe issues with encouraging folk to read ERB? I read the book yonks ago...he is indeed (and always has been) a problematic problem, a pot boiler and a darn good storyteller...)
 
Kondoru said:
Watched `John Carter`

Pretty good; if only for the believable way the Green Martians gesture.

Its nice space opera; better than the last Star wars trilogy.

Why was this not promoted?

(Apart from maybe issues with encouraging folk to read ERB? I read the book yonks ago...he is indeed (and always has been) a problematic problem, a pot boiler and a darn good storyteller...)
Click to expand...
ERB was one of our favorites in our "nerd club" in highschool in the 70's. I don't pay attention and didn't know they did a movie, I will look for John Carter.
 
Plan 75: A future Japan where the elderly are offered voluntary euthanasia to deal withe strain of an ageing population. They'll even throw in free cremation and interment. As the narrative unfolds though we see there are subtle pressures placed on older people, they are still working into their 70s, even at manual outdoor jobs, they lack security of tenure in their homes. They are not made into Soylent Green but even their last moments lack the dignity which was offered in that film. They also face violence, the opening scene a middle- aged man shoots his wheelchair bound parent and then commits suicide. The widespread nature of the threat is subtly alluded to. While senior citizens are seen as disposable, immigrant Filipino workers are used as cheap labour as caregivers. Some deeply personal stories are related as characters challenge roles which seem preordained. It's a plausible scenario as Plan 75 also offers a kind of Anti-Samaritans talkline where lonely old folk may discuss their woes. A disturbing film which ypu will mull over long after the credits have rolled. Directed and co-written by Chie Hayakawa. 8/10.

In cinemas.
 
ramonmercado said:
Plan 75: A future Japan where the elderly are offered voluntary euthanasia to deal withe strain of an ageing population. They'll even throw in free cremation and interment. As the narrative unfolds though we see there are subtle pressures placed on older people, they are still working into their 70s, even at manual outdoor jobs, they lack security of tenure in their homes. They are not made into Soylent Green but even their last moments lack the dignity which was offered in that film. They also face violence, the opening scene a middle- aged man shoots his wheelchair bound parent and then commits suicide. The widespread nature of the threat is subtly alluded to. While senior citizens are seen as disposable, immigrant Filipino workers are used as cheap labour as caregivers. Some deeply personal stories are related as characters challenge roles which seem preordained. It's a plausible scenario as Plan 75 also offers a kind of Anti-Samaritans talkline where lonely old folk may discuss their woes. A disturbing film which ypu will mull over long after the credits have rolled. Directed and co-written by Chie Hayakawa. 8/10.

In cinemas.
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That sounds pretty bleak.
 
Kondoru said:
Watched `John Carter`

Pretty good; if only for the believable way the Green Martians gesture.

Its nice space opera; better than the last Star wars trilogy.

Why was this not promoted?

(Apart from maybe issues with encouraging folk to read ERB? I read the book yonks ago...he is indeed (and always has been) a problematic problem, a pot boiler and a darn good storyteller...)
Click to expand...
This was scandalously mismarketed at the time - they didn't want to go with the title of Princess of Mars for some reason that I have now forgotten, and settled for the unbelievably bland title of John Carter, the worst name for a sci-fi movie ever, causing it to flop in the cinemas. I enjoyed this film immensely and re-watch it every now and then with near-equal enjoyment.
 
blessmycottonsocks said:
Watched the first episode of French sci-fi series Missions tonight.

A disfunctional crew of French astronauts on a rather unconvincing spacecraft are about to land on Mars, when they pick up a video broadcast from an American crew that just beat them to Mars but subsequently disappeared, warning of something horrible awaiting them.

Didn't have much feeling of realism about any of it, but it just about intrigued me enough to watch the next episode.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b3964c
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I've watched the first 2 series. The first is quite intriguing but the second goes way more ‘out there’. Set five years later, it features portals to the future, human replicas, DNA changes etc. Mars is a sentient being. Or something. I’ve lost interest in watching the third.

It looks good, with vaguely Vangelis-ish soundtrack, but didn’t grab me..
 
skinny said:
I was a BSG tragic in the late 70s. I watched it on TV before I saw anything else space-themed, including Star Wars. Filled my schoolbooks with drawings of Vipers and Cylon heads. My favourite ep was the Patrick McGee devil/angel one. Sure it was corny, but it was flashy and fun.

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The original BSG was quite unique, not the Star Wars ripoff it has frequently been accused of being. It fascinated me as a child that someone was brave enough to combine space oprah with mythology so blatantly, although, as an adult, I recognise the parallels between the two kinds of narrative.

Galactica 1980 was, of course, dreadful, unsurprisingly.

The modern remake series had, from memory, a couple of good seasons before descending into a bunch of people overreacting to everything like children for the sake of drama.
 
Hypnotic: What is reality? Whats happening to you? This isn't just about hypnosis, it involves highly skilled Hypnotics who can force people to see a new reality using hypnotic structures. Detective Danny Rourke *Ben Affleck) is troubled, his daughter was kidnapped years ago, her abductor claims to have no memories of the event. Going on a stake out at a bank he sees a man (William Fichtner) apparently speaking to bystanders and security guards and assumes thta they are in on a planned robbery. He comes face to face with Ficthner, realises he is somehoe involved with his daughter's disappearance and sees him force other detectives to shoot each other. He later meets up with a hypnotist (Alice Braga) who relates the tale of how Hypnotics are part of a secret Government Agency and rogue agents are behind a wild plot. Framed for murder Affleck and Braga go on the run. An interesting SCi-Fi noir thriller, Kafkesue in ways as might be filtered through Philip K. Dick at his most paranoid. The nested layers of reality and compelled vision will make your head spin but the action is quite effective. As are the occasions when peoples minds are manipulated, perhaps at it's best when a crowd of people turn into a zombiesque mob in pursuit of Braga and Affleck.. There are a few plot twists here, perhaps one too many but Hypnotic is well worth watching. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, who co-wrote the screenplay with Max Borenstein. 7.5/10.

In cinemas.
 
Found a golden oldie on Youtube - Destination Moon (1950) produced by George Pal and based on a story by Robert A Heinlein who also had a hand in the script. I found it quite enjoyable and pretty accurate for its time.
 
One interesting detail in Destination Moon is that the rocket landed on its tail; this was probably due to Heinlein's insistence on engineering accuracy. Previously, Flash Gordon type rockets had landed on their bellies, making takeoff difficult. The poor old astronauts have to climb down a fantastically long ladder to the bottom, and it doesn't even reach the ground, so they have to jump the last bit. Of course this all happens in 1/6 gee, so it is slightly less strenuous than on Earth, but still risky.

The Apollo lunar module was a much smaller affair, just designed for landing and take off, so the ladder was much shorter- but there was still a bit of a jump involved. Modern designs for single stage Moon rockets like the Space X example on the right tend to have a lift.
lunar lift.png


Heinlein's rocket looks to be about the same scale as the Space X example; you can see the tiny figures climbing down the ladder.
 
eburacum said:
The Apollo lunar module was a much smaller affair, just designed for landing and take off,
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Or (to be pedantic) it was designed to land, and then for the top half to take off.
The NASA engineers made use of 'dumping unnecessary weight' at every available opportunity.
 
Just about managed to struggle to the end of Sky Sci-Fi channel's eco-thriller "The Swarm"

As I suspected after the first episode, it covered a lot of the same ground as last year's Amazon Prime series "The Rig".
The Swarm though was dragged out to a totally unnecessary 8 hours and became unfeasibly eco-preachy and whimsically woo towards the end.
Lacking the inherent spookiness of an isolated North Sea gas rig, The Swarm's locations also compared poorly and it definitely had less appeal to this horror fan.
I found most of the characters way too intense and over-zealously earnest to be believable (with the exception of German actress Leonie Benesch, who had a particularly dramatic scene in the last episode and put in a very good performance overall). The moodily taciturn Canadian Joshua Odjick I found particularly irritating and unconvincing.
Some spectacular special effects throughout just about held the interest.
Would probably have made a watchable 90 minute movie, but, overall it's just a 5/10 from me.
The enigmatic non-ending, as is common these days, suggests a second series is on the cards if viewer figures are high enough, but really just cheats the viewer and I hope The Swarm won't drag on any further.
 
Anyone see Cold Lazarus?

A spaceship built for a cult science fiction TV series Cold Lazarus has been saved from being crushed.

The craft, which has an engine and is about 8.5m long (28ft), sits on Jack Brescia's driveway in Leighton Buzzard, in Bedfordshire. It was discovered in August, in Wendover, Buckinghamshire, by his friend, Joe Serevena.

He initially thought it was an American-style caravan that was "a bit different".

A science fiction spaceship on a drive in Leighton Buzzard
IMAGE SOURCE, JACK BRESCIA Image caption, The prop measures 2.9m (9.5ft) in height, 2.6m (8.5ft) wide and 8.5m (28ft) long

The friends thought they could turn it into a bar but after research discovered it had been used in the four-part 1996 drama series, by Dennis Potter, which was shown on Channel 4 and BBC and starred Albert Finney.

Mr Serevena said: "I was driving to work one morning and I saw it buried under trees. It had sat there for 15 plus years."

The inside of a TV prop spaceship
IMAGE SOURCE,J ACK BRESCIA Image caption, The insides of the craft will need restoration

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-65853559
 
Minor Premise: In ways a bit like Split because neuro-scientist has split his consciousness into ten different parts, Trouble is he did it deliberately to troubleshoot a memory editing device , the different segments control him for six minutes at a time. Leaving him with blackouts, some his personalities are creative others are violent. This affects his lif and continuing grants as a researcher, his relationships and even his continued existence. The editing is good ar tines especially when he tries to get the maths of his experimental machine to work out. But it can also be confusing as it chops and cuts between timelines. Pay close attention. to this interesting SF tale about memory and consciousness.. Directed by Eric Schultz in his directorial debut. He co-wrote the script alongside Justin Moretto and Thomas Torrey. 7/10.

Saw it on AMC UK.
 
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