The Shape of Things to Come

[Ralph]

Thanks Jeff I'll watch out for that - in regard to Equilibrium I saw a few clips on TV a few months ago but it looked too much like the Matrix for my liking - however I need to watch the whole thing to be fair!

[Jeff]

Thanks Jeff I'll watch out for that - in regard to Equilibrium I saw a few clips on TV a few months ago but it looked too much like the Matrix for my liking - however I need to watch the whole thing to be fair!

I liked The Matrix (the first one especially) but while this had some stylistic similarities, especially in regards to violence and the use of guns (the style was inspired by The Matrix and John Woo films), I thought the story was much different, and like the original Matrix, it gave you some food for thought to chew on. I thought the story for Equilibrium was much more of a pure sci-fi plot than what The Matrix was though. From wiki:

The movie draws from classic dystopian novels such as 'The Giver' (suppression of emotion), 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' (totalitarian state), 'Fahrenheit 451' (destruction of literature), 'We', 'Anthem', 'This Perfect Day' and 'Brave New World' (use of drugs to create uniform individuals), as well as from the Outlanders series of novels, and films such as 'Logan's Run' and 'THX-1138'.

[MacNimon]

A snip at 2.97 as well. I suppose t really doesn't matter how good it is, when it's at that price. As long as it's watchable.

[Ralph]

A snip at 2.97 as well. I suppose t really doesn't matter how good it is, when it's at that price. As long as it's watchable.

I didn't realise you spoke with t yorkshire accent Mac

[Wayne]

Me & my Dad watched 'Total Recall' the other night.
I'd not seen it since it came out, & it was actually a lot better than i'd remembered. Some of the effects look a bit dated, but it's a good Sci-Fi/action movie crossover. I love the concepts involved. I hadn't realized that like 'Minority Report', it was also based on a Phillip K. Dick story.

[Ralph]

They Live (1988)



Another John Carpenter movie I'd never seen and watched the other night.

"John Carpenter's slow and deliberate immersion of the daunting and worrying fable of the corrupt, deceiving and indifferent economic, social and political society, that has wrapped itself around its people and who in turn have blindly accepted their fate. Multicultural in more forms than anticipated, are the leading and upwardly mobile alien race who have gelled themselves into the Human psyche and exploited it to its full potential. This is the story of an everyman, a no one, a Nada [Roddy Piper] who stumbles upon their secret, via an underground movement, whose mission is to sabotage their plans and awaken the world to its sinister plans. With the help of a pair of sunglasses, that shows the world as it really is, not in colour, but a black and white parallel world that the sub-conscious has chosen to ignore. With subliminal messages as "OBEY", "CONFORM", "MARRY AND REPRODUCE", "CONSUME", "WATCH TELEVISION" and "SLEEP". It is through this thought control that the aliens have this world tied up and neatly packaged for its own manipulative uses, to further themselves at the expense of the meek, mild and the lowly sufferers of a job less and hungry world. This is the battle of self-awareness and one mans struggle with a reality check that has these alien beings staging war against the up-rising and rebellious armies from the gutters and streets. They Live You Sleep; where will your consciousness take you when the sleep is washed from your eyes. Welcome to the real world"

I like the concept of this movie and this vision of our manipulation by media and messages. The film itself I found a bit of fun entertainment which carries you along quite nicely with easy viewing - I found it a kind of mix of Invasion of the Body Snatchers with The Omega Man. It would probably fit well in the b movie category but no harm there. 6.5/10

[Ralph]

Me & my Dad watched 'Total Recall' the other night.
I'd not seen it since it came out, & it was actually a lot better than i'd remembered. Some of the effects look a bit dated, but it's a good Sci-Fi/action movie crossover. I love the concepts involved. I hadn't realized that like 'Minority Report', it was also based on a Phillip K. Dick story.

I haven't ever watched Total Recall all the way through. I was put off at first that it was an Arnie movie but bits I have seen looked quite interesting. In terms of budgets I think it was probably at the opposite end to They Live but I suspect John Carpenter got better returns on his movie?

[Wayne]

I did a double Sci-Fi bill yesterday morning.

THX 1138 (1971)

This is one of those movies which I would think gets better with more viewings - at first I found it just plain weird but in retrospect I think it creates an interesting and unusual futuristic atmosphere.

You would certainly need to be a fan of 2001 to like this and also certainly appreciate the likes of Bladerunner. It's certainly not a typical George Lucas production. For now I'd give it 6/10.

I thought this was quite an interesting film. I rather like the dystopian future theme, & i agree the film with it's stark white backgrounds made for an unusual, & i might add, surreal, futuristic atmosphere. Watchable & quite thought provoking up to a point. Enjoyable enough, if not amazing. I think 6/10 is a fair score.

Escape From New York (1981)

This movie has nostalgia elements for me having first seen it in my student days. Plus I generally like Kurt Russell in movies, his performance in this one is memorable as the cool Plisken. This one also features Lee Van Cleef who I enjoyed seeing back in a major movie after so many years since his career peaked in the Dollars movies. Also there's Harry Dean Stanton and Ernest Bornine and Donald Pleasance as the President.

The score's one of the highlights for me, again like Carpenter's score for the Thing it adds greatly to the atmosphere of a once great city reduced to anarchy ruled by the Duke of New York - his car adorned with lit chandeliers on the front wings

A variation on The Omega Man with the under seige feel.

I'd give this one 7/10.

I have to say that i wasn't very impressed with this one. I usually quite like Kurt Russell too, but i think he tried to model himself on Clint Eastwood a bit too much here, only he doesn't pull it off with the same panache as Clint. It's not a bad performance, but it just doesn't feel very natural.
However, my main issue is not with the acting as such, but with the movie as a whole, which didn't really grab me. Again, it's not really a bad film as such, but although it's obviously set in the future, i found this more of an average action based movie, more so than really Sci-Fi, & i thought it was a bit of runaround. Watchable, but ultimately below average, for me. 4/10.

[Paul Monk]

THX 1138 is actually quite good I think. It loses it more thought provoking elements near the end though. It was George Lucas' student film which he expanded for cinema release. See tinkering around with his stuff already!

[Ralph]

Re Escape From New York

I had a feeling you wouldn't like this one so much Wayne. I agree Kurt Russell is in the shadow of Eastwood here. It's just an action movie which is loosely sci-fi based, just because it's set in the future I suppose or 1997 if I recall correctly

It's good to see you enjoyed the visual starkness which is THX1138.

[Ralph]

This classic gets it's UK DVD release on June 18th

[Wayne]

It's on Channel 5 next Thursday afternoon. Very apt.

[Jeff]

Does that mean Wayne won't be seeking out the instantly forgotten sequel, Escape from L.A. ?

[Ralph]

I've never seen EFLA - I think I'll give it a miss though

[Ralph]

Continuing with my John Carpenter season last night I watched "Village of the Damned" the 1995 remake, thanks to the Waynester for lending me his copy

This remake is just a straight rerun of the classic original and ignoring the original it's a good film. The movie's well paced moving quickly into the action. However having seen the original I was disappointed it didn't take a fresh approach. When Carpenter made the remake of The Thing he took this fresh approach reinventing the film and produced a superior version to the original but then perhaps the original in that case was a weak classic.

The original of this movie is a tough act to follow and I miss the British setting as well, the americanisation of the movie made it I fell possibly a little blander.

Christopher Reeve has the lead role in his last film I think before his accident. I've never been a big fan not being into the Superman movies - I don't know -I just didn't find his performance entirely convincing here.

The children in this movie seemed just as well played as the original and top marks go to these child actors but they seemed a bit more unsettling in the original than here - not sure I can quite pin down why - maybe it's down to the Black & White photography.

Overall then I'd give this remake 6/10 against the original which I'd say is an 8/10.

[Wayne]

Glad you enjoyed it up to a point, Ralph.
I also think the original can't be beat, & yes the British feel has a lot to do with it. Some of this is echoed in my comparisons of the 2 versions of 'The Wicker Man' on the 'Don't Watch Alone' thread.
However, as i said earlier when talking about VOTD, i think it's an enjoyable version, i think both Chris Reeve & Kirstie Alley give good enough performances.
I would rate it 7/10 against 9/10 for the original. So same balance of 2 marks between the scores, but i obviously like them a bit more than you do.

[Ralph]

So same balance of 2 marks between the scores, but i obviously like them a bit more than you do.

It's easier to rate stuff that is poor or excellent but I sometimes find it difficult to judge where when in the middle. I could change my mind next time and match your scoring

[Paul Monk]

As a rule Carpenter's films get crappier the near they get to 1990. As far as I'm concerned after 1990 they're all pants.
They Live is a classic bit of daft fluff though. There's a mad fight scene that goes on for ages between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Keith David and seems to achieve nothing.

Dark Star is well worth a look if you've never seen it.

[Wayne]

Dunno what year it was made, but i didn't think much to 'John Carpenter's Vampires'.
Wes Craven's stuff is generally better, IMO. (for 'horror' anyway)

[Paul Monk]

Post 1990, so crap!

[Jeff]

I liked Carpenter's Vampires well enough... James Woods was cool in it.

Mohagany.

[Ralph]

Forbidden Planet DVD arrived yesterday so I'll be checking it out shortly

[Wayne]

I was gonna watch it on Channel 5 a coupla weeks back, but i couldn't be arsed.

I watched the 2002 re-make of 'The Time Machine' today.
I've got mixed feelings about it. I didn't really take to Guy Pearce & Samantha Mumba's performances, but i did think the production values were excellent. The Moorlocks looked good, & the moving through time bits, & even the Time Machine itself was well done. It's watchable enough version all in all, but it doesn't have the charm of the original.
I'd give 6.5/10 against the 8.5/10 score of the original.

[Dirk Gently]

I saw it recently (I think it was channel 5) & it's ok but very B Movie.

I'd give it 7/10 if only for Morbius!

[Ralph]

Forbidden Planet (1956)

"When Adams and his crew are sent to investigate the silence from a planet inhabited by scientists, he finds all but two have died. Dr. Morbius and his daughter Altaira have somehow survived a hideous monster which roams the planet. Unknown to Adams, Morbius has made a discovery, and has no intention of sharing it (or his daughter!) with anyone"

I'm a bit disappointed by the miserable responses to this film

This is a great science fiction film! The special effects are exceptional for the 1950s and stand up in my opinion very well to this day. The production values are just tremendous - this aint no b movie if it is then so is 2001 - A Space Odyssey and also Star Wars.

For lovers of science fiction movies this is simply a joy to behold - the flying saucer shots are convincing, the Robot is iconic, the music is fantastic along with the sets it just oozes amazing creativity and imagination. It's very much a 1950s movie but thats all part of the charm

On the DVD there's great extras all about the movie with top directors chipping in - this movie has inspired a generation of film makers and it's easy to see how! Gene Roddenberry was inspired by this!

My rating 9/10 for a cinematic landmark and iconic film that I loved since I first saw it back in the 70s

Top notch!!!

























classic Sci-fi