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Slashdot Asks: What's Your Favorite Sci-Fi Movie?
Many say it's the golden age of science fiction cinema. And rightly so, every month, we have a couple of movies that bend the rules of science to explore possibilities that sometimes make us seriously consider if things we see on the big screen could actually be true. The advances in graphics, and thanks to ever-so-increasing video resolution, we're increasingly leaving the theaters with visually appealing memories. That said, there are plenty of movies made back in the day that are far from ever getting displaced by the reboots spree that the Hollywood is currently embarking. With readers suggesting us this question every week, we think it's time we finally asked, what's your favorite science-fiction movie? Also, what are some other sci-fi movies that you have really enjoyed but think they have not received enough praises or even much acknowledgement?
Editor's note: the story has been moved up on the front page due its popularity.
Editor's note: the story has been moved up on the front page due its popularity.
Bladerunner. The original with the overdubbing.
Corny, but a classic to enjoy for all time.
Starship Troopers. We can end all discussion now. It's about the greatest movie ever made. Anyone who disagree is a bug lover.
"Show me a successful sci-fi movie that's not a remake, sequel/prequel or spin-off in the last ten years."
The Martian?
Interstellar?
Arrival?
Metropolis (1927) or The Fifth Element.
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2001 Space Odyssey. "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Serenity
>> Many say it's the golden age of science fiction cinema Slashdot editors must be getting dumber or I'm getting older. Show me a successful sci-fi movie that's not a remake, sequel/prequel or spin-off in the last ten years. On second thought, I'll vote for "dumber."
Interstellar. Moon. Inception. District 9. The Martian. Ex Machina.
They aren't all my favorites, but they're all original (the Martian is an adaptation, not sure if that counts). And they are all firmly sci fi.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
It's one of the few movies that has actually become more though provoking over time. Sure it's full of cheese and an-old but great story.
love is just extroverted narcissism
"Silent Running" has never been my favorite movie (it would probably "Outland" with Sean Connery). But it has more science fiction than a lot of science fiction movies that came before or after. It fit the 1970's environmental theme quite well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Running
If only for kevin spacey's voice paired with emoji
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
Based on HEINLEIN's work: PREDESTINATION - Starring Ethan Hawke (gives NEW meaning to the phrase "Go fuck yourself", lol).
* It is truly awesome...
APK
P.S.=> A friend of mine brought it home & the SECOND I saw Robert Heinlein on it, I just knew it had to be great (it didn't disappoint)... apk
Forbidden Planet
I saw it four times in the movie theater and it was the first DVD I ever bought.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt01...
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Because Kubrick did meticulous research from flat screen displays and glass cockpits. Also had all actors be boring just like the characters they portrayed, i.e. people that do space are not expressive like most actors (compare 2001 to 2010). Of course Kubrick missed a few things, like Pan Am no longer exist, we ignored the Moon after 1972. But then I'm old enough to remember seeing this movie in 1968 shown at Century theatres on Winchester Blvd, a time when it seemed only obvious because soon we will have men walked the surface of the Moon. And many people were around to remember reading the news of first flight of Wright Bros and Lindbergh's transatlantic flight. By the time they were retirement age, they can ride an airplane that comfortably flies across continents or oceans. Hey when I'll be their age, I can do the same with space travel. But no, still waiting to see who will walk the surface of the Moon again, still waiting for my flying car (oh wait there's roadable airplanes I cannot afford). However, we got computers to enable me to rant on the forums (can't do that with a HAL9000).
mfwright@batnet.com
Because of the story it is based on, which I had read before. Westworld (1973) was also pretty good. Unfortunately, there are not so many good Science Fiction movies, although there are quite a few. I don't remember any good recent ones, even though I watch all of them. Metropolis with live classical piano accompaniment was also very good. They Live is also fantastic, and I also liked Solaris (1972). Many more, of course, but I'll stop there.
Edge of Tomorrow came out in 2014, a scant 3 years ago.
Interstellar came out in 2014, a scant 3 years ago.
Looper came out in 2012. It wasn't as big as the other ones I've mentioned, but its box office returns were 6x its production budget (which is much better than some of the bigger names above).
Gravity, 2013, might be argued to not be sci-fi but science fact, but presuming we can reasonably call it Sci fi, it did pretty well, bringing in about $723M in revenues.
Inception, 2011, made approximately 5.5x its budget and brought in around $826M, which is successful by most people's account
District 9, 2009, brought in only around $210M, but only cost around $30M or so, so a 7x multiplier, and hugely popular
(all numbers courtesy of http://www.boxofficemojo.com/)
Now, it's likely -- this being Slashdot -- that someone will argue that some/all of these movies aren't good, or particularly original. That's fine. The original claim was "no successful Sci-fi movies in the last decade who aren't remakes, [s|pr]equel, or spin-offs. None of these movies are that.
Not a 'great' movie, but for sure one of my favourites. =)
Night Watch (Russian: , Nochnoy dozor) is a 2004 Russian urban fantasy supernatural thriller film written and directed by Timur Bekmambetov. It is loosely based on the novel The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko, and is the first part of a duology, followed by Day Watch. You have to watch both movies to get the complete narrative and it is friggin awesome! This is one of the best sci-fi/fantasy movies I have ever seen!
Primer
As far as I know, it's the only one that involves time-travelling without inconsistencies, although I may have missed several.
Not a popular movie, but it's my favorite. It accomplishes the almost impossible task of thoroughly explaining 2001, for a start.
Other things I like about it? HAL 9000 redeems himself. We find out what his problem was and who was responsible. Then HAL sacrifices himself to save lives.
Another nice bit - the science in this movie is just about 100%. The zero gravity, the air brake scene, the actual 3d environment of space where the Discovery is simply tumbling. Space ships aren't moving around like flat horizontal pieces on a chess board. The only flaw I can find is when Jupiter ignites there is a sound, which of course there wouldn't be. But that's about it.
It's a great story and it's told very well.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
Loved the fist Matrix movie. Philosophy, virtual reality, crazy new visual effects. I remember walking out of that movie and there was silence from the audience. Many were still processing the meaning and some were discovering brand-new ideas for the first time.
Colossus: The Forbin Project
So many others,
A Boy and His Dog
Quintet
Zazrdoz
Oh yeah and I forgot, The Ice Pirates, fucking Robert Urich.
Maybe considered sci-fi/fantasy but hands down my favorite movie ever. I prefer the director's cut since it excludes some of the hand-holding voice-overs. The story is great, it was shot "film noir" style, has great sound track and an excellent cast. I think "Richard O'Brien" played a perfectly creepy stranger. I like how they cast Jennifer Connelly as the caring wife of her homely husband (Rufus Sewell). William Hurt played a great contemplative Det. Bumstead. I could go on.
The question was just about "sci-fi movies" and not about "sci-fi movies but not in space". But ok:
Source Code
Chappie
Ex Machina
Edge of Tomorrow
Elysium
Tomorrowland
Limitless
The Book of Eli
Better? ;)
Right, right, right... but apart from Avatar, Edge of Tomorrow, Interstellar, Looper, Gravity, Inception, and District 9, what have the Romans ever done for us?!
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
I find that there are few movies that I can watch more than once, but I've seen The Thing many times and will watch again. The paranoia and fear among the characters is palpable, and there is no lame CGI.
You must gather your party before venturing forth.
...for its thoughtful resolution of the time travel causality paradox.
Dark Star!
Oh wait, James Cameron's been sitting on the rights for that for almost two decades so he can waste our time with giant blue aliens encounter generic military stereotypes.
Either use your rights, or give them to someone else already, John. My opinion of you has gone from top-notch to meh about you over the years. Shit or get off the pot.
this was the movie that set the Flying Saucer as the premier interstellar spaceship design. There were some good special effects, however, I think those effects pretty much blew the budget. They then had to rely on good plot, story, engaging character, script, acting skills, dialog to make this an epic film.
mfwright@batnet.com
Fifth Element. Just like in real life, you know you have an arch nemesis out there, you just may never meet them. Your actions are always in direct conflict with theirs even if you never come face to face with them.
I would also put some of those originals (and their contemporaries) in the top tier: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing from Another World, War of the Worlds... Obviously, you have to forgive the limited special effects of the day, but some of the stories were every bit as good as the top-rated films today.
And, though it's not a movie per-se, um... Twilight Zone anyone?
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Primer may be my favorite Sci-fi of all time, certainly in the time-travel sub genre.
Fast Federal Court and I.T.C. updates
I'm surprised Howard The Duck hasn't been mentioned yet, I would have thought that was everyone's favourite sci-fi. Or are people not mentioning it because they see it more as a drama?
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
I love 2001, but many of the key themes are more in the realm of fantasy. I love Forbidden Planet but it's really an adaptation of The Tempest; replacing the sorcery with science. Metropolis is a beautiful film, but it hardly depends on the scientific themes to deliver its message. Same thing with most of the other dystopian films like Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, 1984, or Logan's Run.
But that's really the tricky part about "best science fiction". You've gotta get everyone to agree on what defines quality science fiction.
In whatever order I'm in the mood for, which varies:
Bladerunner - the original, with the narration.
Firefly - TV show same. These were just plain fun, except for the pilot's death, which struck me as uncalled for.
Starship Troopers - loved the twisted angle on government. Great bugs. Would you like to know more?
Paul - hilarious, totally non-serious SF.
Alien (original) - great SF horror, and great SF besides.
Terminator - original
The Martian - really good hard SF, quite rare to find
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Because it's an almost totally original concept, not relying at all on hyperdrives or laser canons. Maybe the producers got some ideas from "Stargate" which preceded it by three years.
Because it's suitable for everybody.
Because it's based on something that we can all participate in, the SETI project.
I'm wondering if and hoping that there will be a sequel in 2024.
"Edge Of Tomorrow" - a clever sci-fi interpretation of "Groundhog day" with a good choice of a cast
The Martian may well be forgotten, but it was a much better movie than any that you named. Space Odyssey is practically unwatchable because it's so full of anachronisms. Star Wars is a typical hollywood three-act play. Don't get me wrong, I loved it when I was twelve, but it's not great art, and it's not even great story. The Matrix was fantastic, I loved it, I even use imagery from it in my meditation practice, but there were way too many bandaids. One of them is even the bandaid that my wife and I use to joke about Hollywood scriptwriting bandaids: "combined with a form of fusion..." Alien 2 was pretty good, I'll grant you that, but it was basically a bug hunt.
What is great about The Martian is that it's got story, it's got adventure, it's got a kick-ass optimistic view of the future, and most of the science is fine. There is one plot band-aid at the beginning—the windstorm that can knock over a spaceship—but that's the worst one. And above all else, the film honors and lauds science. That's what science fiction is about, not blasters and bugs.
Children of Men (2006) It is about civilization collapsing, after 18 years of global human infertility. No spaceships, no aliens, no CGI; just a great story and amazing performances.
It is easily the first scifi film I remember watching when I was a kid, I remember most of the star wars and stuff but the first one I can remember was TRON. I also vividly remember The Last Star Fighter, and Wargames.
Man, came here looking for Brazil, no mentions so far. I hope everyone takes the time to see this film.
It's an "in-universe" propaganda movie to get people jacked up for war and boost recruitment numbers.
Think "Triumph of the Will" meeting "Top Gun".
Except it's Verhoeven behind the camera. And when he satirizes something he dials it up to 11.
And then he breaks off the dial and replaces it with a "MORE!!!" button, which he then beats with a hammer until there's nothing left to indicate that it's a satire.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I never did understand why Live Action Disney movies of the past never did well... I really loved The Black Hole... I think I even had a Lunch Box... Other good ones: The Absent-Minded Professor Tron And for a more modern favorite (but not Disney): Stargate
The Matrix.
Watching that movie for the first time with no idea what it was about was fantastic - was it a hacker movie? alien invasion? spy thriller or detective movie? some kind of martial arts superhero movie? Going down the rabbit hole was great.
A shame they never made a sequel...
Released right before Star Wars upped the game as far as special effects ... great concept, wild sets, including an ice cave patrolled by an insane robot, a domed utopian/dystopian city, and Washington DC covered in vines... wonderful stuff.
Cloud atlas was an honourable failure, and had several storylines that were compelling and believable. It fell apart under its own weight, since just one of its threads could have sustained an entire movie easily. Due to the fact that no-one will watch a ten-hour movie, the Wachowski's could only really scratch the surface of each storyline, which ultimately let all of the stories down.
But Jupiter Rising is total, complete, absurd, nonsense. And believe me, I did pay attention, it's a little bit patronising to suggest that people didn't like it because they couldn't follow it. I could follow it fine, thanks. It was just very, very, very bad indeed.