Is classic & innovative SF dead in the movies???

POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Saturday, July 24, 2010 19:13
VIEWED: 3980
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CHRISISALL

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 10:45 PM (P)

Inception.
Great reviews. Want to see.

That's ONE.

Avatar.
Nice predictable Cameron blockbuster.

That's two.

Serenity.
Excellence.

Moon.
Innovative.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Wonderous.

That's five.

Predators- derivative retro pastiche. Still want to see.
AVP: Requiem- not terrible; not very great either.
Terminator: Salvation; see above.
AVP- suckfest.
Solaris- nice version; but missed something that would have made it classic.
Matrix: Revulsions- sad. Just sad.
Star Trek- pretty, fun & nicely cast tripe.
& more that are much, much worse.

Okay- I'm not gonna research this too much, but it seems to me that SF is suffering terribly in this century.
Is it CGI making story superfluous?
Is it the economy forcing reboots & continuations of franchises to more or less guarantee ticket sales?
Did 9-11 steal our intrepidity?
Are superhero flicks getting all the green-lights instead?

Please, tell me I'm not correct in this observation...
I need to be stand-corrected.

The laughing Chrisisall

KIRKULES

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 10:57 PM (P)

I thought "The Man from Earth" http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi479396121/ was a good example of how SF can be done without any special effects. I think it's cool that it's just a group of people sitting around talking about things that get your own imagination going. This type of story could be done with an infinite number of subjects and never get old.

CHRISISALL

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 11:07 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Kirkules:
I thought "The Man from Earth" http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi479396121/ was a good example of how SF can be done without any special effects. I think it's cool that it's just a group of people sitting around talking about things that get your own imagination going. This type of story could be done with an infinite number of subjects and never get old.

I will hunt it down.
ETA, and it's on the way, thanks, Kirk!

The laughing Chrisisall

WHOZIT

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 11:20 PM (P)

Just wait, everytime they say Broadway is stale a couple of killer shows come along examples, "Million Dollar Quartet", "American Idiot".

CYBERSNARK

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 12:30 AM (P)

You also missed District 9.

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 12:36 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Cybersnark:
You also missed District 9.

Honestly, except for what they achieved on the low budget, I was not all that impressed.

The laughing Chrisisall

BIGRICHARD

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 12:39 AM (P)

What about

The Fountain

District 9

Cloverfield

Sunshine

Pitch Black

Slither

Minority Report

Children of Men

Wall-E

edit: Damn, got beaten about District 9. I thought it was a decent film. Didn't live up to the hype, but it was an interesting one, and for the budget, it was pretty amazing.

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 12:54 AM (P)

The Fountain- good film, but was it SF or fantasy?

Cloverfield- Monster shaky-cam-fest. SF? Kinda.

Sunshine- horror with no science in evidence IMO.

Pitch Black- EXCELLENT horror flick.

Slither- Horror again.

Minority Report- Nice production; trite script.

Children of Men, Wall-E- okay, great!

The laughing Chrisisall

STORYMARK

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 6:08 PM (P)

Really, it seems the same as it ever was. 95% of anything is crap. This century is only a decade old. Go back and compare another decade, and I'll bet you'll find an equal number of shit films hat came out, and have just been forgotten about. Besides, what makes a great Sci-Fi film varies. You didn't care for District 9 and others that I and many more thought were great. And you have a bit of a rep for standing up for really weak films from time to time yourself. It's all subjective.

Just as the good films coming out now will be remembered, and the crap will slowly fade into obscurity. And mediocre, well-made crap, or near misses will settle somewhere in-between.

You're just getting old and nostalgic.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 6:43 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Storymark:
you have a bit of a rep for standing up for really weak films
You're just getting old

Wanna have a duel?

The laughing Chrisisall

HEDGEHOG

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 7:17 PM (P)

How about El laberinto del fauno and Children of men (someone already mentioned that one).
Hey Chrisisall i think i know you from DAN,are you that guy??? :-p

OPPYH

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 8:06 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Inception.
Great reviews. Want to see.

That's ONE.

Avatar.
Nice predictable Cameron blockbuster.

That's two.

Serenity.
Excellence.

Moon.
Innovative.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Wonderous.

That's five.

Inception-Brilliant

Avatar-Cameron at his most mediocre. VISUALS DO NOT MAKE A GOOD MOVIE!!!

Serenity-A very good science fiction thriller. Unfortunately the television show that spawned it is worlds better.

Moon-Average film that I won't watch again.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-3 words for ya: Being John Malcovich. It's a much better film, and way more sci-fi.

Not many innovative sci-fi films are made, because there are so few sci-fi films these days. Comic book movies have the run of the movie market.

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70's TV FOREVER

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 11:15 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by hedgehog:

Hey Chrisisall i think i know you from DAN,are you that guy??? :-p

No. Sorry.

The laughing Chrisisall

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 11:21 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by OPPYH:

Not many innovative sci-fi films are made, because there are so few sci-fi films these days. Comic book movies have the run of the movie market.

I heard an interview with a 20th Century Fox guy today on NPR; he said innovative SF would need to see many more Box-Office failings of reboots, remakes & franchise continuations before the trend towards real innovation begins anew, despite Avatar & Inception's respective successes.

I guess we need to see a Wolverine 2 & a Terminator: Re-Salvation before we get to the good stuff, eh?

The laughing Chrisisall

STORYMARK

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 11:42 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:

I guess we need to see a Wolverine 2 & a Terminator: Re-Salvation before we get to the good stuff, eh?

I believe the point is, if you want innovation - you need to NOT see those.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

CHRISISALL

Thursday, July 22, 2010 12:22 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Storymark:

I believe the point is, if you want innovation - you need to NOT see those.

LOL, yeah.

The laughing Chrisisall

HEDGEHOG

Thursday, July 22, 2010 8:58 AM (P)

my mistake,there is just this guy on Dark Angel who leaves similar signature like you

MANGOLO

Friday, July 23, 2010 7:58 AM (P)

Well, I do hope you come to see 'strange frame' when it is done. We bust up a lot of conventions.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/strange-frame/182133437902

CHRISISALL

Saturday, July 24, 2010 1:22 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Kirkules:
"The Man from Earth"

O.M.G.

http://www.manfromearth.com/index2.html

Thank you, Kirk!!!!!!!!!!!
That movie was amazing!!!! I'd never heard of it before! I owe you one, bro!
Seriously.

The laughing Chrisisall

CHRISISALL

Saturday, July 24, 2010 1:36 AM (P)

"Man From Earth" is one of the best SF movies I've ever seen, and the *miniscule* budget only helps it.
Jerome Bixby rules!

The laughing Chrisisall

CHRISISALL

Saturday, July 24, 2010 6:44 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by hedgehog:

Hey Chrisisall i think i know you from DAN,are you that guy??? :-p

OHHHHH, "Dark Angel Network"!
Yeah, that's me, I think!
(I was like, who's "DAN?")

The laughing Chrisisall

TRAVELER

Saturday, July 24, 2010 6:59 PM (P)

Does Pan's Labyrinth count.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

CHRISISALL

Saturday, July 24, 2010 7:13 PM (P)

If you have to ask, then, no.

The laughing Chrisisall