movie review
Reviewing the best science fiction movies from the past, present, and future.
Must Watch Space Documentaries on Netflix
If you love going to space as much as I do, yet can't afford a shuttle ride to the stratosphere like most, I can assure you these must watch space documentaries on Netflix will bring you even closer than any Virgin Space or SpaceX program could ever attempt. These are not only spell-binding and imaginative looks into the cosmic mainframe, they're knowledgeable adventures into time itself.
Salvador LorenzPublished 7 years ago in FuturismMovie Review: Shortwave
Shortwave is at once exceptionally ambitious and completely insane. The film about a shortwave radio engineer and his wife dealing with the consequence of his having invented shortwave technology that can speak to lifeforms not of this Earth has remarkable ambition but lacks the budget and ability to meet that ambition. Part arty, pretentious nonsense and part low budget sci-fi exploitation, Shortwave is, at the very least unique.
Sean PatrickPublished 7 years ago in FuturismReview of 'Bladerunner 2049'
I loved it. So did my son Simon, who's now a father of his own. We loved it almost as much as the original Bladerunner, which we saw more than once on videotape, before there even were DVDs for rent, back in the early 1990s. That's high praise. The only reason Bladerunner 2049 wasn't as good as Bladerunner circa 1982 was that the 1982 movie broke so much new ground. Back in the mid-80s, when I was teaching in the MA in Media Studies Program at the New School, I asked Stephen Jacobs (who then was my student, and has long since become a professor himself, at the Rochester Institute of Technology) to give me an example of cyberpunk movies. "Bladerunner," he replied. It defined the field, at least in the movies. It was and still is that good. Not only that, it began Philip K. Dick's run of stories made into great movies and TV series, with the current example of The Man in the High Castle on Amazon. And it inspired me to write The Civil Right of Robots.
Paul LevinsonPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Message in 'Children of Men' is Buried too Deep to Be Found
Children of Men never fails to receive huge accolades as one of the best science fiction movies ever made, and when those same writers explain it to me, I am persuaded. But that’s not how it works. There’s way too much misdirection in this film to give rise to the subtle messages it seeks.
Rich MonettiPublished 7 years ago in FuturismBlade Runner 2049 Movie Review
Released: October 5th 2017 (UK) Length: 163 Minutes Certificate: 15 Director: Dennis Villeneuve Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana De Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davies and Jared Leto
Robert CainPublished 7 years ago in FuturismAltered States Review – A Sci-Fi Lost Classic?
Altered States is a 1980 American science fiction horror film. This movie is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Paddy Chayefsky. The film was directed by Ken Russell and was the film debut of William Hurt as scientist Edward Jessop.
'Lifeforce': Tobe Hooper's Misunderstood Masterwork
Hello, and welcome to Second Chances, the column where I give another look at a largely maligned or forgotten piece of pop culture. Whether movie, song, game, or whatever, everything that shows up here deserves a second chance.
Adam WallacePublished 7 years ago in FuturismMovie Review: "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets"
I knew little of the plot of this movie when I went to see it. Something about a giant space station, a number of different aliens (including humans) that populated it, and the inevitable threat that would supposedly drive the storyline. So it’s safe to say that I went in with only a few preconceptions, ready to enjoy a science-fiction movie. Yet somehow, I left the theatre bitterly disappointed.
Anne MorleyPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Problem with Hollywood's A.I.
The exactitudes of 2015's Ex Machina might have passed from your memory, but the sci-fi film's influence is still felt by many within the industry. Made for a relatively small budget (as science fiction films go) of around $15 million, Alex Garland’s film was a smash hit with both audiences and critics. New Scientist magazine called it “a much needed shot in the arm for smart science fiction.” It was deemed “smart sci-fi” by a host of other reviewers: a benchmark to which later science fiction films should be compared.
Jurgens, Von Braun, & 'I Aim At The Stars'
For those of a certain age or with an interest in the history of space exploration, the name of Wernher Von Braun will be a familiar one. Von Braun was one of the fathers of NASA's rocket program, the man who helped not only to build the massive Saturn V rocket that took the Apollo missions to the moon but also helped to sell the idea of space exploration to the American public. He was also the man behind Germany's V-2 rocket program during the Second World War, an act which (along with his potential involvement in and definite awareness of the use of slave labor to build said rockets) might also make him something of a war criminal. When Von Braun was at the height of his fame in the late 1950s-early 1960s, the idea of making a film about his life was deemed to be a good idea. The result was I Aim At The Stars, released in 1960 and which stands as an interesting historical piece if nothing else.
Matthew KresalPublished 7 years ago in FuturismSci-Fi Movies Influenced by 'Dune'
Dune is one of the most famous science fiction books to ever be published, and also spawned a series of movies and television shows by the same name. This has led to a number of visual masterpieces under telling the story of Dune, including a movie by Frank Herbert as well as a legendary never-produced movie by famed director, Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Riley Raul ReesePublished 7 years ago in FuturismBest Cryptozoology Documentaries
Cryptozoology is the study of animals that allegedly exist—but currently have no physical proof of it quite yet. It's a fascinating field where people will actually sit down and investigate claims of Bigfoot sightings, the veracity of mermaids being spotted in Asia, and more.
Riley Raul ReesePublished 7 years ago in Futurism