It’s hard to describe why I have always been so indifferent to the majority of the science fiction genre, but the space operas have never done it for me. I have (gasp) never seen Star Wars, and dive for the remote should the television ever turn on with the Trek on screen. Here, in the first of what should be a Pixels to Polys tradition of Top 5 lists, I will discuss my brand of sci-fi flicks. These lean more toward a light saber-free view of the future. One where fighting takes a back seat to the mysteries of the vast unknown (what a generic sentence).
1. Dark City : Think the Matrix if the Matrix were a great movie, rather than something that was cool at the time. Science fiction meets film noir in this underrated classic. I won’t spoil the end, but the film challenges our expectations of what a futuristic space ship could be.
2. Children of Men : Perhaps this doesn’t fit the genre, but Alfonso Cuarón’s distopian look into the not-so-distant future, full of nativity metaphors, fascinates me. The cinemetography is amazing, all handheld with the most memorable use of tracking shots since Goodfellas. It looks amazing while feeling all too real.
3. Wall-E : I’m strangely confident that this film will stand the test of time. Combined with Ratatouille, these two animated films stand as an amazing acomplishment for director Brad Bird and studio Pixar. The movie is all wonder and hope, and we just stare at it eyes agape. It is about what film should be and what I think Sci-Fi should be.
4. 2001: A Space Oddyssey : Kubrick just messes with your head and challenges your patience. I’ll admit that it won’t be my first pick to watch with the friends on a weekend, but it is a fascinating film to discuss at length. HAL sort of encapsilates the Man vs. Machine theme that permeates the genre.
5. Solaris: What about a planet that feeds on memories? --pause-- Talk amongst yourselves. Slow and methodical, quiet and eerie, just like outer space.
Couldn't agree more with Dark City, great flick. Its kind of cool how the Matrix came out a year after this film, but seems to borrow quite a bit from it. Maybe not borrow, but still.
ReplyDeleteMan though, as much as I love Kubrick, I have always hated 2001 with a passion. Its got its good points, but its surrounded by that stinky air of pretentious art film. I shouldnt need a PHD in film to understand what the hell the mans trying to say.
not watching star wars out of spite is not a valid excuse.......WATCH IT! at least then you can from an opinion of it, no one is trying to convert you.
ReplyDeletephew, sorry, i just got out of hand.
also back to the formula thing..
Anthony> Matt> Dan & Arnold> Pat = contributors to the blog.... someone needs to step it up
haha, uh oh, Pats getting called out...on a sci-fi post...that denounces Star Wars...the equivalence of lighting someone on fire and then refusing to piss on them to put it out...brutal!
ReplyDeleteAs far as Star Wars is concerned in this post...I don't think any of them would be in my top 5 Sci-Fi movies. I mean, they are a decent set of movies, but I like a lot of other Sci-Fi's better. So to defend Anthony, no need to watch them to make a top 5 list. To defend Dan, they are still movie's worth watching.
ReplyDeleteMy top 5: The Iron Giant> Wall-e> Donnie Darko> Terminator> 12 Monkeys
Pick a side arnold your with us or against us!
ReplyDeletealso i'm not saying the stars wars flicks are the best movies out there... all i'm saying is that twan needs to watch them to determine that for himself..... the problem is pats been cramming them down his throat for the last few years so now the flicks are to hyped up and they're going to suck no matter what. anthony watches foreign films with subtitles but won't watch star wars...... that boggles my mind
once again, sorry if this sounded forceful or spiteful or assholeish. it was written with love.
Maybe I didn't explain my list...I was trying to write a list to highlight my favorite style of Sci Fi films... ones that don't involve wars in outerspace, big spaceships, and futuristic light swords.
ReplyDeleteSomeday I'll prob watch the Star Wars.... but I have 180 movies on my netflix queue right now that are more interesting to me.
I too would suggest watching the Star Wars flicks, but for entirely different reasons. I like Star Wars, some people do not. Pat really likes Star Wars. In order to effectively argue with pat for enjoyment, i would watch the movie just to find its faults
ReplyDeleteBtw Arnold, good picks with The Iron Giant and 12 Monkeys
ReplyDeleteMy Sci-Fi Top 5 would probably have to be:
ReplyDelete1) Dark City
2) Blade Runner
3) Alien
4) Terminator 2: Judgment Day
5) Metropolis
5. Dark City
ReplyDelete4. Alien 3 (watch it again ..it’s the darkest.. Sleekest.. And most suspenseful of the series)
3. Equilibrium
2. GATACCA
1. The Matrix