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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph 2013 Sci Fi Movies Preview

Discussion in 'Community' started by Jabbadabbado, Jan 10, 2013.

  1. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    Hellboy 2 is fairly pure fantasy (I'm sure there's a term of art for the subgenre of fantasy concepts intersecting with the modern world - "urban fantasy"?). My problem with it was the loose and uninteresting story, the absence of a compelling adversary, more interesting in tramping around in the odd hidden world than following a narrative. Consequently, I found H2 a bit boring, and I've been unable to watch it a second time. H1, on the other hand, is highly re-watchable and operates effectively on 3 or 4 planes of entertainment: ensemble comedy a la Ghostbusters, compelling fantasy, superhero comic book action movie. It was I think a useful template for Avengers and should get credit for pioneering that style of comic book movie years before Whedon adapted it for his megablockbuster.

    Also, nothing damns a movie with faint praise like complimenting it on its production design.

    True. The movie industry is tough on science fiction. There's no real reason for it to have any fidelity to sci fi literature other than that it has been a reliable source for material. 2001 may be the only hard sci fi film considered a cinematic masterpiece. Maybe cinema only needs one as a reference point. There are other lesser known gems, like Moon from 2009. Lucas has to take the hit for cementing the subordination of sci fi to the exigencies of action movies.

    Almost no filmmaker is going to let physics or astronomy get in the way of a compelling story idea. Pitch Black is a good example. The only things wrong with that movie are the parts having anything to do with "pitch" and "black". Nothing about how the planet's surface is brought into total darkness makes the slightest bit of sense. But who cares? I know I don't. It almost increases enjoyment of the movie to be able to talk about how poorly that key element was conceived.

    The problem with Chronicles of Riddick was not just that it was such a radical departure from Pitch Black. It also stripped away the elements of Riddick's character that were most interesting, leaving behind a terribly bland and generic superhero.That's just one of the reasons it failed.
     
  2. I Are The Internets

    I Are The Internets Shelf of Shame Host star 9 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 20, 2012
    I'll only see After Earth if Will Smith yells at his son "WELCOME TO EARF!" when they crash land.

    Silly title withstanding Star Trek Into Darkness is probably my most anticipated film of this year as long as it's not a remake of TWOK.

    Pacific Rim a close second because when Idris Elba says that they're cancelling the apocalypse you better believe it goddammit.

    Oblivion looks decent. I like the director.
     
  3. Point Given

    Point Given Manager star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Dec 12, 2006
    I always hated that "Earf" meme. He pronounces it correctly in Independence Day.
     
  4. Boba_Fett_2001

    Boba_Fett_2001 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Dec 11, 2000
    Nah man, that's how black people say earth.
     
  5. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    I missed this interesting-looking little independent sci fi found footage thriller starring Sharlto Copley: Europa Report, scheduled for an early August release.

     
    VadersLaMent and Chancellor_Ewok like this.
  6. Only-One Cannoli

    Only-One Cannoli Ex-Mod star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 20, 2003
  7. Darth_Invidious

    Darth_Invidious Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 21, 1999
    Holy...Captain ****** Harlock. That takes me back. When is this coming out?
     
  8. Only-One Cannoli

    Only-One Cannoli Ex-Mod star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 20, 2003
    Not sure...not even sure if it's coming out in the US. I'm going to guess fall since the promo is limited and that trailer keeps getting pulled.
     
  9. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    Yeah, found out about that last week. Looks like some kind of combo between 2001 and that one Moon flick where the Moon was inhabited by crabs. But it looks awesome.
     
  10. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
  11. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    After Earth

    From the man who **** up The Last Airbender. M. Night Shyamalan may be the butt of many jokes, but that is less true of Will Smith - a reliable global box office draw.

    Elysium

    Blomkamp's back! But not everyone loved District 9. Because they're stupid.

    Ender's Game

    a movie adaptation took decades to get off the ground. The cast is terrific and includes Harrison Ford, but can it be any good? I'm almost afraid to find out. Its visual effects company went out of business. That has to be a bad omen.

    Gravity

    Supposedly a hyper-realistic what if scenario about a plausible low-orbit disaster. People seem to be expecting greatness from this one.

    Oblivion

    The trailer is outstanding. Who dislikes Morgan Freeman? That's all I know.

    Pacific Rim

    Nothing says quality like giant robots. But it does bring Ron Perlman and Guillermo del Toro together. Here's hoping for something better than the Hellboy sequel.

    Riddick

    Well, why not? Chronicles of Riddick could not have been more of a disaster, but Twohy has plenty of talent.

    Star Trek into Darkness

    The expectations have been so low for this franchise that a $150 million Trek movie earning only $385 million in global box office apparently merits a sequel. Also, Chris Pine stinks as cptn Kirk.

    This is the End

    This is Seth Rogan's oft-retitled end of the world alien invasion comedy. At least I think it's an alien invasion, based on the trailer.

    World War Z

    zombie global apocalyptic plague. Could be considered sci fi. Depends on how it's done. The book is entertaining, definitely more sci fi than anything else.
    So far, this has been a terrible summer for sci fi. The original sci fi entries so far have been so-so (Oblivion) and potentially movie star career-ending (After Earth). The longest-lived sci fi franchise is having yet another mediocre box office run on a bloated budget. It becomes harder and harder to understand why Trek movies keep getting made. Quit while you're behind.

    World War Z is up next. Of course, the Man of Steel trailers makes this look the most science-fiction-ish of the Super Man movies.
     
  12. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    Elysium
    Blomkamp's back! But not everyone loved District 9. Because they're stupid.

    I lol'd 'cuz it's true.
     
  13. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    I disagree. He's fine. It's the script that gives the character problems.
     
  14. Adam of Nuchtern

    Adam of Nuchtern Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    It applies to the whole cast. They're good at their parts, it's just that they need better material to work with.
     
  15. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    Europa clip

    I am slightly annoyed here that a film the reports to be realistic has a manned launch ahppen and the astronauts are not in their suits and helmets.
     
  16. dp4m

    dp4m Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2001
    So, in "no hope for humanity" news, I was at Man of Steel yesterday and got the brilliant trailer for Gravity and people were snickering.

    So, yeah, original sci-fi from the adapter of Children of Men (one of the greatest sci-fi films in decades) with a great hook trailer and... snickering.

    Sad.

    Also, one of the things I was thinking about is... how far have we come from the days of speculative sci-fi tackling modern issues through a lens of fiction? Soylent Green, Silent Running, etc. -- some things obviously worked better than others, but the heart was there to tackle these issues. Ugh.
     
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  17. Saintheart

    Saintheart Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2000
    This is why I am just about ready to sacrifice cats to Pazuzu to ensure Pacific Rim gets at least a good run.
     
  18. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    Pacific Rim is off to a very slow start. Next up:

    R.I.P.D.

    Another movie with total radio silence on the reviews. It's hard to believe that the bulk of the movie could be even worse than the trailers already lead us to believe, but that's what the complete absence of critical reviews on the Tuesday before launch inevitably compels us to believe.

    Jeff Bridges partnering with Ryan Reynolds (the box office grim reaper himself) to do a parody of his True Grit Rooster Cogburn character in a rip-off of Men in Black. How could that be bad?

    The clear message is always the urgent imperative go see this movie before someone tells you how bad it is.

    Looks like The Conjuring is going to steal the show this weekend. Maybe the biggest horror movie opening of the summer.
     
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  19. SuperWatto

    SuperWatto Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 19, 2000
    Liked it because my daughter told me to. She's like the biggest Mackenzie Foy fan ever, like.

    QFT.
     
  20. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    Easily, judging by the source material. I mean, I don't want to say it's a bad comic, but I am saying it would bomb on open mic night.
     
  21. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2005
    I keep looking at the commercials for R.I.P.D and I keep thinking "Dead Like Me did the general concept better."
     
  22. Saintheart

    Saintheart Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2000
    I keep looking at the commercials for R.I.P.D and I keep thinking "Ryan Reynolds screws up yet another superhero, only this time it's the Spectre instead of Green Lantern."
     
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  23. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    That is said.

    No snickering in the theater when I was there thankfully, because that trailer looked awesome.

    With all the hype about Pacific Rim, I'll probably go see it either in the next couple of days or next week.
     
  24. Jabba-wocky

    Jabba-wocky Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 4, 2003
    To what extent can they actually be called "parts" Broadly painted archetypes throw lazy quips at each other. Does it take much to inhabit such a role?
     
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  25. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002