Sci-Fi Movies

[Jamison]

A thread made specifically for movies in the science fiction genre. Please limit your discussion to movies of the appropriate genre.

Examples: Star Trek, Super 8, Rise of the Planet of the Apes

[Amin]

I want this movie. Now. I mean, for christ's sake, they even used the SAME BLOODY TITLE LETTERS as the original Alien. Cruel bastards.

[Jamison]

^ Oh my god, yes!

[Deleted]

That looks hella good. Can't wait for June!

[Jamison]

I think this looks pretty cool. I've been living in a CAVE lately. I'm only just seeing this trailer, during my watch of "The Vampire Diaries" tonight.

[Jamison]

Chris Davis Reviews...

I saw Chronicle on my birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I must say that I was impressed. It wasn't the perfect movie. There were actually a couple of flaws I'd like to touch on in a moment, but it definitely did what it was set to do. It was engaging, entertaining, and left me wanting more, which is both a good and bad aspect of the film.

"Chronicle" follows the story of three teenagers that get telekinetic powers after exploring an underground cave. As they continue to use their new-found powers, they realize they are getting stronger, and a bad home life for one of them, leads to disaster.

Pretty simple, solid concept. Nothing totally new or "original," but the way in which the film was executed made it seem like the first of its kind.

The found footage, which was utilized throughout the entire movie, was a key component in why the movie worked the way it did. Sure, the reasoning for why they had a camera following them to whole time was a bit lacking, and it may have been more appropriate to utilize the found footage when absolutely necessary, but that's not what they did so, I won't think too much of it.

The characters in the film were exceptionally believable. The same can be said for the acting. The amount of interest and emotions I got when following their story was a bit of a shock to me, because going into the movie, I wasn't expecting much in the acting field. But again, I was pleasantly surprised.

Another thing I like, was the fact that the entire movie dealt with these three actually learning how to use their powers. In other films of this kind, we only get to see this process for about a quarter of the film, and then immediately get thrown into the whole "good vs. bad" concept for the rest of the film. While "Chronicle" did go that route during the end, the transition and growth of the characters and their powers was the main focus, and I really loved that.

For the films low budget, I didn't expect the special FX to be as good as they were. I really enjoyed those flying scenes, especially. Really felt like I was in the air with them. This entire movie turned out to be one big shocker, since I keep saying I was surprised about how a certain aspect of the film exceeded my initial expectations.

One thing I didn't quite like about the film, was the fact that were we giving no insight on how they got their powers. We got to see them getting their powers, but we still don't know how, or what that "thing" actually was, which is one of the major reasons I'm hoping for a sequel.

All in all, a good film. It wasn't one of my favorites or anything, but it's definitely worth a watch. I'd give it a 7/10.

[Amin]

In space, no one can hear you SQUEEEEEE

[Jamison]

I want to see PROMETHEUS so badly!! I really need to catch up on the Alien franchise. I only remember seeing one of the films.

[Deleted]

Prometheus looks awesome! I keep seeing the trailer and cannot wait!

[Jamison]

This movie has so many awesome actors; Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, etc etc etc... plus, Damon Lindelof had a hand in writing it! Talk about epic.

[Verbal Vegetable]

Prometheus looks so amazing. I cannot wait. I have been WANTING them to do a prequel for so long, glad they finally decided to read my mind and make it. XDD

[Jamison]

I plan on seeing Prometheus this weekend. I really hope it's as good as I want it to be.

[Jamison]

THE DARKEST HOUR

While I appreciated the unique alien threat, (well, I think it's unique, as I've never seen anything quite like this before) the film fails at just about everything else (plot/character development, story structure, etc...)

The movie was full of illogical, idiotic characters that just made bad decision after bad decision throughout the entire movie, and somehow made it out alive. I didn't buy half the crap they tried to shove down my throat, and it's not like it's a very intelligent movie.

All in all, it seemed a bit rushed and underdeveloped. Nice CGI though. ★1/2

[Jamison]

In a futuristic gangland, a 25 year-old killer named Joseph Simmons (Gordon-Levitt) works for a Mafia company in Kansas City in the year 2042 as a "Looper", where he kills and disposes of people who are sent by their employers known as "Gat Men" from their corporate headquarters in Shanghai from the year 2072.

Loopers, like himself, are used as foot soldiers and are well paid on the terms that all hostages must never escape, including Loopers themselves. Gat Men are New York Accent-sounding men who are hired by a Southern Accented Godfather, who is portrayed by Jeff Daniels, who are being used as sentries, and each Gat Man has been given complete authority and responsibility in controlling their own group of Loopers.

When one target arrives however he recognizes the 55 year-old victim (Willis) as himself and hesitates, allowing his older self to escape. The resulting failure of his job causes the Gat Men to come after him, forcing him to fight for his life as he hunts his older self.

[Jamison]

CBS Films announced today that they have secured the screen rights to the iconic Deus Ex videogame franchise from Square Enix. Roy Lee and Adrian Askarieh are attached to produce and John P. Middleton will serve as Executive Producer.

The Deus Ex franchise was originally introduced in June 2000. Its latest entry, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, launched to universal acclaim in 2011, ranking #1 across global sales charts and earning over 100 industry awards. Developed by Eidos-Montréal and published by Square Enix, Deus Ex: Human Revolution will serve as the primary template for the film.

Set in the near future, when dramatic advances in science, specifically human augmentation, have triggered a technological renaissance, Deus Ex: Human Revolution follows Adam Jensen, an ex-SWAT security specialist who must embrace mechanical augments in order to unravel a global conspiracy.

"As is clear from the wild success of the game, Square Enix and Eidos-Montréal know how to exceed their audience's expectations by engineering incredible worlds," said Terry Press, Co- President, CBS Films. "No one knows Human Revolution like the team that created it and we look forward to working with them from day one to make a film adaptation worthy of the Deus Ex name."

"As the millions of fans who have played the Deus Ex games for more than a decade will tell you, these games catapult you into a universe that is stimulating, engaging and relevant,” said Phil Rogers, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Europe. “We’re firm believers in building strong partnerships and so we're thrilled to be working with CBS Films on bringing the unique Deus Ex experience to the big screen.”

Executive Vice President of Production Maria Faillace and Creative Executive Alex Ginno are overseeing the project for CBS Films.

www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/cbs-films-makes-a-deal-to-bring-sci-fi-video-game-deus-ex-to-the-bigscreen

[Jamison]

My ★★★ review of Lockout (2012)

Lockout was surprisingly amusing at times, which is probably what made the movie for me. To be honest, this film was a mixture of a variety of different films, just set to a sci fi tone, which is fine, but it didn't leave much room for anything unique. When a movie is very predictable, forgettable is right around the corner, and Lockout was both. For example, I knew that there would be only one seat on that escape pod from the moment it was mentioned in the movie.

Average performances from Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace. I enjoyed their dialogue. However I thoroughly enjoyed Joe Gilgun's character. Very creepy and unsettling. As for the plot... it was what it was, and nothing more. It tried to add an element of mystery with the whole "briefcase" side mission, but it failed to connect to the main story in a way that actually mattered. Unnecessary, in my honest opinion.

Overall, it didn't go to as many places as it could have, or maybe, it just wasn't supposed to. Still, a decent film if you want to pass the time, but don't expect a masterpiece.

letterboxd.com/chrisdavis90/film/lockout-2012/

[Jamison]

REVIEW: Looper

Oh my god. This movie was BRILLIANT!

I went into this with high expectations and it did not disappoint one bit! If anything, it exceeded my expectations. This movie was a combination of soo many different science fiction sub-genres, and it worked out soo well, on so many different levels.

I went into this movie completely unaware of what it was all about. I knew the basic idea, but I essentially, had no idea what I was getting into. I think that actually allowed me to enjoy the film even more.

The acting from Joseph Gordon-Levitt was brilliant, as usual. That guy really gets into whatever character he's playing at the time, and makes me believe he's actually that character. Not all actors can do that to the degree that he can, and his portrayal of a younger Bruce Willis was just great.

Even though the two look nothing alike, with or without makeup, his demeanor and acting chops alone made me believe the idea that he could grow up to be the older version of himself, portrayed by Bruce Willis.

This is probably my favorite movie of the year, so far!

[Carey]

www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/10/30/disney-buying-tar-wars-maker-lucasfilm-for-405b/

So, Disney now owns Star Wars. Well, it couldn't be worse than the prequals, right?