Sci-Fi That Makes You Think

[mrsl]

Bryce asked:

"Did the public just get tired of thinking, or did the studios simply get tired of financing critically acclaimed films that were failures upon release, if not forever? Will we see another Metropolis, 2001 or Blade Runner in the next ten or twenty years?"

Your answer is a resounding NO. Studios target audience are young people, under 20. Unfortunately those youngsters do not know the difference between sci-fi and horror, so studios keep churning out the "I can show more blood and guts than you can". With those, the audience doesn't need a brain, just eyes to see the gore.

I don't mean to offend anyone but we all know teenagers are the target audience for all movies nowadays. But what the hey, while they're watching the junk, I'm enjoying Harry Potter, Shrek, Ice Age, Over the Hedge and Madagascar to name a few.

Except for a few TV shows, we haven't had a sci-fi movie that made us think in 20 years. Heck, even the worst of the old 50's sci-fi's at least gave us some fodder for thought.

Anne

[Hollis]

Two words is all it takes: "Forbidden Planet" is the great grand daddy of the serious Sci-Fi flicks! Without it, others to follow might never have been made!!


As always,

Hollis

[Mr. Arkadin]

I agree with the posts on Dark City (1998) and find it to be one of the better modern films. I do find the climactic fight scene at the end pretty boring compared to everything shown beforehand however.

[Metry_Road]

"I, too, have taken that hypnotic, poetically ruined, sunset-tinged barge ride, bearing no ticket beyond that desperate, willing thumping of the heart . . ."

Klondike

Klondike, that's absolutely beautiful. The best reponse to a post I've ever recieved.

Regards

Metairie Road

[Dawtrina]

I can happily throw a new film into the mix: Jerome Bixby's The Man from Earth. It apparently came out in 2007 but I saw it last week at a local horror and sci fi film festival, so it's certainly still doing the rounds.

I was stunned by this film, which completely fits the 'thinking' requirement here. It's almost entirely set in a single room and is told almost entirely through dialogue. There are no spaceships, no aliens and no rayguns. There isn't a hint of a franchise anywhere. It won't be adapted for TV. However I'm still thinking about it. I can't remember being stunned by a science fiction film since Blade Runner, which is difficult to compare because of how different they aim to be.

The ensemble cast is top notch: David Lee Smith is the lead, but people like Tony Todd and John Billingsley are stunning. William Katt is probably the most recognised name and there are other character actors like Ellen Crawford and Richard Riehle that you'll know by sight if not by name.

I have no idea how you'll find this film but if you're into science fiction and you understand the difference between science fiction and sci fi, you need to find it. You'll love it. And then you can lend it to other people and they can love you for introducing them to it. Introducing it to you is my good deed for the day.

[Dawtrina]

And I recently saw another recent film that fits this category. Primer is a 2004 independent film, apparently made for $7,000 (though anyone who's read Joe Queenan's The Unkindest Cut: How a Hatchet-Man Critic Made His Own $7,000 Movie and Put It All on His Credit Card can't help but doubt that). It won the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Festival that year.

Primer is a little more cryptic than The Man from Earth, but it's imaginatively shot and very clever. Some may see it as too clever for its own good, but I'd reserve that judgement until I see it at least one more time. There's a lot going on and I don't pretend to have understood all the permutations, but it has a magnetism to it.

The IMDb page is here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/.

[jdb1]

Yipee! Eureka is coming back to the Sci-Fi Network (soon to be called the "Sy-Fy Network" [not "Sky-Fy" as I read in a newspaper]). I just saw a promo during this evening's worth of Eureka reruns which said that it will be on Fridays, but I thought I heard not until July.

If you haven't yet seen this quirky and almost unclassifiable Canadian series, I recommend a look. It's sort of a mix of X Files, Twin Peaks and the sensibilities of the Jack Benny and/or Bob Newhart TV shows (sane, rather dull central figure surrounded by eccentrics in absurdist situations). One of the smarter and more entertaining programs on television these days.

[mrsl]

I stand 100% behind Judith on this one. Eureka is a wonderful show for all to watch. The little kids won't understand any of the scientific stuff (I barely do), but there are enough visual scenes for them to enjoy. For instance, you might see a balloon floating sideways instead of up. Colin Ferguson is the star and he is perfect as the constantly overwhelmed police chief. Last year his daughter gave him some heart flutters, but I think this year she will be more grown up.

Judith: The only thing I never felt was any kind of chemistry between Allison and Nathan. I hope things change and the chief gets another chance.

According to imDb you're right July 10 is the next season opener.

Anne

[jdb1]

And don't forget the cliffhanger ending of the last season: the Sheriff Carter got fired. Wonder in what capacity he's going to remain in Eureka.

I kept thinking that Nathan was that guy who's married to Tori Spelling, but he isn't; he's a different Canadian. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if they brought him back from the "dead." There wasn't much of Joe Morton last season -- I hope we see more of him this time out.

Frankly, I don't feel all that much chemistry between Allison and Carter either, but that may grow. Anne, did you see that TV movie with Ferguson and Jennifer Love Hewitt of two or three years ago -- Confessions of a Psychopathic Social Climber, or something like that? They were very good together; that was good chemistry.

[Metry_Road]

I’m afraid I’ll have to concur with Ridley Scott – Sci-Fi is DEAD, D-E-A-D, DEAD.

“What I tell you three times is true” – Lewis Carroll

At least as far as movies and television goes.

If I see another so called Sci-Fi show with some camo clad heart-throbs crab-walking through a desolate landscape with weapons held high in the two-handed combat ready position, I shall throw up.

The misnamed Sci-Fi channel has not served real sci-fi fans for years. They might as well hang it up and go completely to wrestling, ghost hunting and crappy second-rate movies like ‘Tremors’.

The only time the Sci-Fi channel is worth watching is when they have their ‘Twilight Zone’ marathon.

Rest in peace, real Sci-Fi.

Does anyone here play the ‘Sims’? In Philip K. Dick’s novel ‘The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch’ (1965) there’s a game (I suppose) that is a drug induced, total-immersion version of the ‘Sims’. The man was a genius.

However, Sci-Fi is alive and (somewhat) well in the printed media and on the internet.

Dawtrina, apologies for not responding to your posts earlier, but I’ve been…….., away.

Here’s Jerome Bixby’s ‘It’s a good life.’ Read by William Dufris.

The story is in two parts. It was included as part of a ‘Time Traveler Show’ podcast.

Part 1 - 04tts_fixed.mp3
Part 2 - 05tts.mp3

Best wishes

Metairie Road

[bryce]

What about Sunshine? Children of Men? Cowboy Bebop? Solaris? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? Innocence: Ghost in the Shell? Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow? The Wild Blue Yonder? Idiocracy? V for Vendetta? Watchmen? Battle Royale? Plus many, many more, and those are just films from the 2000s!

Some of these are every bit as good as hard sci-fi champeens 2001 or Blade-Runner, while others are merely soft pulpy goodness designed to stimulate the more easily excited bits of your brain. I would put Children of Men or Sunshine up against anything the space age could dish out and Eternal Sunshine is the best Philip K Dick novel never written.

Sci-fi isn't dead and neither are Westerns. If anything, it's easier today to spot the great "real" sci-fi (and western) films and to call out and subsequently ignore the "fakers" for what they really are.

[Metry_Road]

Dear Bryce,

Half the movies you mention are anime, which I don’t consider mainstream. Of the others you mentioned, ‘Children Of Men’ was excellent and scary. ‘V For Vendetta’ was dull, politically biased and a pale imitation of 1984. ‘Eternal Sunshine’ was a decent enough movie despite the fact that I can’t stand Jim Carrey.

My teenage son, who is also a fan of Anime is reading this over my shoulder and showering me with semi-respectful abuse.

The fact that you could only come up with this paltry list of candidates out of the thousands of movies produced since the turning of the millennium simply confirms my hypothesis that Sci-Fi is dead. And while I’m at it, westerns as well, and good detective movies.

Best wishes

Metairie Rad

[bryce]

Two out of twelve a half it does not make.

I suppose we will have to agree to disagree. Your loss.

[Metry_Road]

Is this debate about Mathematics or Movies?

Metairie Road