More Sci Fi Movies
Bored? Already reviewed the earlier list of science fiction movies? Thinking about movies? Why? Not for the sake of high art, but for simple escapism, probably. Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t like movies? Not everyone likes sports, or reading books, or watching TV – and some people, apparently, aren’t even all that keen on sex – but everyone loves movies of some kind. Here, we are only interested in science fiction movies.
Science fiction comes in all sorts of varieties. You've got your hard science fiction, which has its foundation in actual science. On the other end of the spectrum is the wildly fantastical tale that sees us traveling through time and warping space at the push of a button. Most science fiction stories seem to take place between the extremes. We'll start with that fantastical tale that was so popular a few years back, Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit movies have rekindled an interest in this genre.
Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a film series consisting of three epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). They were distributed by New Line Cinema. Plot: Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the films follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) as he and a Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring.
Here: there are three images; (top) the Ring, the one Gollum refers to as his "preciouses", (middle) the Elves heading to their ship, and (bottom) the battle at Helms Deep, fought on a rainy night.
Watch the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, here.
Hobbit
Like the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is a film series consisting of three epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson based on the 1937 novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. The first two are subtitled An Unexpected Journey (2012) and The Desolation of Smaug (2013) but the third title has not been firmed, to date.
Plot: The films take place in the fictional world of Middle-earth sixty years before the beginning of the The Lord of the Rings, and follow young Bilbo Baggins (uncle of the previous Frodo) (Martin Freeman), who is convinced by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) to accompany a spirited group of thirteen dwarves on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain, their mountain home - and the gold within it, from the dragon Smaug.
Here: This image shows Bilbo Baggins between two of the dwarfs Kili (Aidan Turner), on his right, and Thorn (Richard Armitage), on his left involved in a minor discussion. A short video of young master Bilbo and Gandalf, the grey can be seen here. Perhaps the images below of the dwarfs riding the rapids (left) or the dragon, Smaug, in gold would be more to you liking.
The first Hobbit movie, An Unexpected Journey, can be viewed here.
Iron Man (2008)
.gif)
No, not the Ironman Triathlon that's not a movie but one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC).
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics and made into a popular movie that has generated several sequels. Iron Man has been the focus of three animated series and a direct-to-DVD animated feature. At this writing three live-action Iron Man feature films, all starring Robert Downey, Jr. in the title role, have been released since 2008. Although his contract with Marvel Studios expired after the release of Iron Man 3 in June 2013, Downey Jr. signed on to return as Iron Man in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and a third Avengers film.
Plot: An American billionaire playboy, industrialist, and ingenious engineer, Tony Stark, creates a powered suit of armor to protect the world.
Here: Ever the engineer, he builds his crime-fighting suit during a kidnapping in which his captors attempt to force him to build a weapon of mass destruction. Later, he can be seen flying through the clouds in a red iron suit.
You can watch that 2008 movie here.
A Clockwork Orange
Because A Clockwork Orange employs disturbing, violent images to comment on psychiatry, juvenile delinquency, youth gangs, and other social, political, and economic subjects in a dystopian future Britain it received an 'X' rating. Contrary to popular claims, this was never banned in the UK, the film was removed from distribution there in 1973, due to several copycat crimes, preventing it from being freely shown until 2000 after the film makers' death.
Plot: In future Britain, charismatic delinquent Alex DeLarge is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem - but not all goes according to plan.
Here: Top image is that of Alex DeLarge, played by Malcolm McDowell, and the other is of him and his droogs (gang). You should be warned, this movie can be disturbing and not to be considered a 'family' film.
See it now here.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove was a 1964 British-American black comedy film that satirized the nuclear scare. Columbia Pictures agreed to finance the film on condition that Peter Sellers play at least four major roles however Sellers ended up playing only three of the four roles written for him due to his workload retraints.
The film was a popular success and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Roger Ebert's list of Great Movies, described the film as "arguably the best political satire of the century."
Plot: An insane general, Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper, triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.
Here: The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson (George C. Scott), decided to trade a love of cigars for chewing gum. Meanwhile, Herr Doktor Strangelove (Peter Sellars) has an idea on how they could survive a nuclear war. However, he seems to spend an inordinate amount of time with his obstinate arm.
You can watch Dr. Strangelove here.
Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
A 2004 American comedy-drama, Life Aquatic stars Bill Murray as the eponymous Zissou, an eccentric oceanographer who is determined to document his revenge on a shark. Even with a stellar cast the film was a box office disappointment. Many critics called it smug, ironic and artificial while others praised the movie's sheer uniqueness, eccentricity and whimsy. Some critics even predicted that Bill Murray would be nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award but he wasn't.
Plot: With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner Esteban, oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.
Here: The image is only one of many underwater scenes aboard Zissou's research vessel Belafonte .
Relax and watch The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou here.
Brainstorm
Brainstorm, a 1983 film, was Natalie Wood's final film appearance, as she died during production. The film was nearly scuttled by Wood's death during a production break. The director proceeded to complete the film by rewriting the script and using a body double for Wood's remaining scenes. Brainstorm was finally released on September 30, 1983, almost two years after Wood's death.
Plot: The film follows a research team's efforts to perfect a system that directly records the sensory and emotional feelings of a subject, and the efforts by the company's management to exploit the device for military ends.
Here: Brilliant researcher Michael Brace (Christopher Walken), having developed a system of recording and playing back actual experience, tries it out on himself.
Watch the Internet release of Brainstorm here.
*****
Perhaps you like to watch other streaming science fiction movies. What is streaming? Oh, well... it is defined as "a method of transmitting or receiving data (especially video material) over a computer network as a steady, continuous flow, allowing playback to proceed while subsequent data is being received."
Enjoy!
Your Science Fiction Movie data base on the Internet.
No comments:
Post a Comment