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Science Fiction: Films & TV

ramonmercado said:
Some good stuff in the works.

WHY SCI-FI NOVELS ARE THE NEW COMIC BOOKS FOR STREAMING TV

YOU ALREADY GET a Star Wars movie every year. Star Trek is coming at you from at least two directions. A good chunk of the Marvel movies are basically space opera. Bigscreen fascination with science fiction and fantasy is nothing new—but now you can add the many flavors of TV network, from legacy broadcast to basic cable to streamers. Forget comic books; somehow, SF/F novels have become Hollywood’s hottest IP.

Some highlights of what may be on its way: Amazon is making Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash and Larry Niven’s Ringworld, and a show based on Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens is in production. Universal is doingHugh Howey’s Sand, Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven series, Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s Sirens of Titan (with Community genius Dan Harmon at the helm), and Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light, a.k.a. the movie that the CIA pretended to be making when they rescued American diplomats from Iran—a story that was itself the basis for the movie Argo. Done yet? Nope! HBO is making Nnedi Okorafor’s Who Fears Death? Netflix ismaking JG Ballard’s Hello America and Daniel Suarez’s Change Agent. And Lionsgate is making Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle series. ..

https://www.wired.com/story/streaming-tv-sci-fi-gold-rush?mbid=social_twitter
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Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s Sirens of Titan, is one of my favorite SF books, not sure it's actually filmable, but it should be interesting. It'd be great to see them use Jack Kirby's concept drawings for Lord of Light, for the abortive film project, which the CIA used in their Iran caper, but probably won't happen and we'll have to settle for the Jack Kirby influence in THor:raganarok. I'd like to see someone have a shot at Tim Powers's The Anubis Gates (which is insane), they sort of used Tim Powers's On Stranger Tides, in Pirate of the Caribbean: On Stranger tides, though Tim Powers got there first wit zombie pirates even before the first PotC movie.
 
Naughty_Felid said:
Just in the middle of Watching Children of Men which I've not seen for years.

My god this film is pretty close to mirroring our present world.

Getting rid of the refugees "fugees".

Keep Britain for the British slogans.

Bombings becoming a regular fixture.

Tooled up Police wandering around London

It's actually alarming to see how close we are to this Dystopia and probably the first SF film I can think of that accurately portrayed the future, (lack of children aside).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Men
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One of my all-time favourite flicks, largely due to the epic cinematography and sparse soundtrack. Agree that it was strangely prescient.

Now, where the hell's my body-kitted Citroen CX?
 
A cool little short:
CGI Sci-Fi Short Film: Synesthesia Sci-Fi Short Film by ArtFx School - Jimmy Fovet, Antoine Pion, Nicolas Hayat, Celine Marsais, Roland Sassine. Featured on http://www.cgmeetup.net/

“A musician tries to bring his dead wife back to life using the power of sound waves. ”
 
Well, this looks perfectly sensible:

Based on a computer game, that always goes well. Especially when the game is barely one step up from Space Invaders.
 
James Cameron's produced new film, Alita - Battle Angel. The trailer looks interesting .. and it's probably cost more than a Brexit cheque ..

 
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Swifty said:
James Cameron's produced new film, Alita - Battle Angel. The trailer looks interesting .. and it's probably cost more than a Brexit cheque ..

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Looks interesting, but also as if it's been adapted from a computer game - not that I'm au fait with current games, but it just felt a bit contrived, with style over substance. I may be wrong. It was nice to look at, but the lead girl's enlarged eyes were a bit uncanny (which is probably intentional, I realise).
 
Peripart said:
Looks interesting, but also as if it's been adapted from a computer game - not that I'm au fait with current games, but it just felt a bit contrived, with style over substance. I may be wrong. It was nice to look at, but the lead girl's enlarged eyes were a bit uncanny (which is probably intentional, I realise).
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I read someone's opinion on this trailer this morning that agreed with you, that it has an uncanny valley feel to it.
 
The Worthy (2016) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4943218/

A film from the United Arab Emirates which is pretty cool. This gory, fast-paced post apocalypse film sees a small group of survivors trying to reserve what little water they have left whilst fighting off strangers.

Very gory in parts, nicely done but a little thin in plot and dialogue. Worth a watch as I'm sure we are going to see more SF/Horror films from this part of the world.

6 out of 10.
 
Mortal Engines trailer!
Thousands of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, humankind has adapted and a new way of living has evolved. Gigantic moving cities now roam the Earth, ruthlessly preying upon smaller traction towns. Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan)—who hails from a Lower Tier of the great traction city of London—finds himself fighting for his own survival after he encounters the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar). Two opposites, whose paths should never have crossed, forge an unlikely alliance that is destined to change the course of the future.

Mortal Engines is the startling, new epic adventure directed by Oscar®-winning visual-effects artist Christian Rivers (King Kong). Joining Rivers are The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies three-time Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who have penned the screenplay. The Universal and MRC adaptation is from the award-winning book series by Philip Reeve, published in 2001 by Scholastic.

On board as producers are Zane Weiner (The Hobbit trilogy), Amanda Walker (The Hobbit trilogy) and Deborah Forte (Goosebumps), as well as Walsh and Jackson. Ken Kamins (The Hobbit trilogy) joins Boyens as executive producer. Universal will distribute the film worldwide. www.mortalengines.com
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Looks like fun! Complete nonsense, but fun!
 
A mixture in concepts of The Running Man, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Battle Royal and The Long Walk amongst other reality shows, here's a fake one, Series 7 - Contenders .. the premise is horrific, in the future any one of us could be handed a gun and given a kill or be killed ultimatum to be filmed for the entertainment of the TV audience, the last survivor wins ..

 
Mythopoeika said:
Looks like fun! Complete nonsense, but fun!
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I dunno, YA adaptations kind of ran their course over the past year or two, it's not Twilight or Harry Potter time anymore. Well, apart from the actual Potter spin-offs that are doing well.
 
I’ve just watched the bluray of Valerian instead of going to see Star Wars. And what a creative and well-designed film it is. Every frame is lovingly crafted, inventive and colourful.
Fifth Element fans will miss a lead with the weight and charm of Bruce Willis but Cara Delevigne actually does a good job here.

A stunning film that crams giant sea monsters, mind-reading jellyfish, epic space battles, a trans-dimensional gunfight and a shape-changing Rhianna.
Very stylish and a lot of fun. Potentially more of a future cult hit than Fifth Element if you ask me and it’s a shame it’s got Luc Besson into a bit of a financial mess. It’s not perfect by any means, but it is a lovely sci-fi gem that delivers on looks.
 
jimv1 said:
I’ve just watched the bluray of Valerian instead of going to see Star Wars. And what a creative and well-designed film it is. Every frame is lovingly crafted, inventive and colourful.
Fifth Element fans will miss a lead with the weight and charm of Bruce Willis but Cara Delevigne actually does a good job here.

A stunning film that crams giant sea monsters, mind-reading jellyfish, epic space battles, a trans-dimensional gunfight and a shape-changing Rhianna.
Very stylish and a lot of fun. Potentially more of a future cult hit than Fifth Element if you ask me and it’s a shame it’s got Luc Besson into a bit of a financial mess. It’s not perfect by any means, but it is a lovely sci-fi gem that delivers on looks.
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This is next on my list!

As an aside...I can't take Bruce Willis seriously since I found out his real name is Walter Willis. Bruce is his middle name.
 
jimv1 said:
I’ve just watched the bluray of Valerian instead of going to see Star Wars. And what a creative and well-designed film it is. Every frame is lovingly crafted, inventive and colourful.
Fifth Element fans will miss a lead with the weight and charm of Bruce Willis but Cara Delevigne actually does a good job here.

A stunning film that crams giant sea monsters, mind-reading jellyfish, epic space battles, a trans-dimensional gunfight and a shape-changing Rhianna.
Very stylish and a lot of fun. Potentially more of a future cult hit than Fifth Element if you ask me and it’s a shame it’s got Luc Besson into a bit of a financial mess. It’s not perfect by any means, but it is a lovely sci-fi gem that delivers on looks.
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Its an OK film imho. Here's what I thought of it back when I saw it in the cinema:

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets: Luc Besson surpasses himself with the beautiful imagery in this fim. These is a moving opening sequence where the successor to the ISS grows over the years, visitors being greeted, eventually the visitors are Aliens. In the 24th Century it is moved across the Galaxy, far from Earth and becomes Alpha, The City Of A Thousand Planets. home to many Alien Species as well as Humans.

There is a quest for an animal which is a power sources, an interstellar conspiracy, battles with aliens, wonderfully designed monsters and Aliens. Sadly the plot and script let the rest of the film down. Tastes great like some decaf coffees but lacks a lasting kick. 6/10.
 
ramonmercado said:
Its an OK film imho. Here's what I thought of it back when I saw it in the cinema:

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets: Luc Besson surpasses himself with the beautiful imagery in this fim. These is a moving opening sequence where the successor to the ISS grows over the years, visitors being greeted, eventually the visitors are Aliens. In the 24th Century it is moved across the Galaxy, far from Earth and becomes Alpha, The City Of A Thousand Planets. home to many Alien Species as well as Humans.

There is a quest for an animal which is a power sources, an interstellar conspiracy, battles with aliens, wonderfully designed monsters and Aliens. Sadly the plot and script let the rest of the film down. Tastes great like some decaf coffees but lacks a lasting kick. 6/10.
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Saw it recently on DVD. I'd give it 7/10 for style. Acting could have been better. Visually stunning.
 
jimv1 said:
I’ve just watched the bluray of Valerian instead of going to see Star Wars. And what a creative and well-designed film it is. Every frame is lovingly crafted, inventive and colourful.
Fifth Element fans will miss a lead with the weight and charm of Bruce Willis but Cara Delevigne actually does a good job here.

A stunning film that crams giant sea monsters, mind-reading jellyfish, epic space battles, a trans-dimensional gunfight and a shape-changing Rhianna.
Very stylish and a lot of fun. Potentially more of a future cult hit than Fifth Element if you ask me and it’s a shame it’s got Luc Besson into a bit of a financial mess. It’s not perfect by any means, but it is a lovely sci-fi gem that delivers on looks.
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Agree with this, it gets bogged down when it tries to explain the story, but sit down and experience it as fantastical image upon fantastical image, and it's highly captivating.
 
All fair comments but it is one gorgeous-looking film.
Probably worth defending on another thread.
 
Bushwick: Texas attempts to secede from the Union, Militia groups attempt to seize control of New York and other east coast cities. We follow events in Bushwick, Brooklyn where grad student Lucy (Brittany Snow) and an ex-marine, Stupe (Dave Bautista) make their way through the confusion, first to her grandmothers house and then to an evacuation point.

Chaos reigns and some looting ensues but the militias are confronted by locals who have more guns and backbone than those good old southern boys expected. Hasidic Jews armed with AR-16s and Molotov Cocktails prove more than a match for the Master Race. I love the smell of burning ubermensch in the morning!

Black, White, Hispanic, Asian and Jew unite to fight back against the invaders. This is uplifting but it is a dark film which shows the reality of such Urban Warfare. Don't get too attached to characters as they are winnowed like wheat. Police are mostly absent and we only see US Military overhead in copters.

Good Conspiracy/Political Action Thriller let down a bit by shaky acting and Bautista mumbling his lines. 7/10. (On Netflix.)
 
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