Any Scifi film (or others too but I tend to like Scifi best) recommnedations - I'm off on a business trip and want to load a couple of films to my tablet.
Most of the 'good' mainstream scifi films I've already seen (though maybe not more recent ones) so something that's maybe smaller budget or less well know would be good.
I loved Moon recently if that's any help 🙂
Primer. Definitely low budget. I doubt it's possible to get everything that is going on in one sitting but it's a great time travel paradox film.
looper seemed ok, but only seen the 1st half
iron sky
dredd
equilibrium
district 9
firefly (series) + serenity
I've seen looper - wasn't bad but got a bit lost I felt.
Dredd, I've made my thoughts known on 🙂
will check iron sky.
Serenity
Is that the Firefly one? I started watching it (having obviously not watched Firefly) and didn't really find it that engaging.
Watch Firefly first, then try it again
Event Horizon.
Or you could try Battlestar Galactica - the noughties version, not the eighties original.
only watch serenity if youve watched firefly 1st
tbh the best scifi these days is on TV.....
falling skies is ok
fringe
lexx
BSG
Cargo - [url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381940/ ]IMDB Link[/url]
Oblivion - despite Tom Cruise it's a decent flick
I loved Event Horizon 🙂
kimbers - haven't seen any of those - will check them out.
Or perhaps the JJ Abrams Star Trek films
Looper - meh.
Quite enjoyed Serenity though it's fairly lightweight.
Source Code was pretty good.
BSG is great though - and hours and hours of it to keep you entertained.
'Sunshine' was good.
Oblivion - despite Tom Cruise it's a decent flick
I found it a meanderingly dull film, I'm afraid. Not at all impressed with it.
Ditto Looper. OK, but one brilliantly disgusting scene aside, it was just a bit meh.
Give Gattaca a shot. Interestingly done.
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Logans Run!
Jenny Agutter hubba hubba
If you can get a copy (and put up with the hippy singing) Silent Running with Bruce Dern from the early 70's might make a refreshing change. Not what you would call a rip roaring film but it made me cry like a baby at the end... I was about 9 mind 🙂
Bought it on DVD the instant I saw it was available, one of those I wanted to have at my disposal.
Sunshine is the kind of film I like but it just seemed to be a bit too far fetched
Logan's Run - classic 🙂
Gattaca wasn't bad - If I hadn't seen it, it'd have been about right.
Have seen the new star treks - enjoyed them.
Souce code - ditto.
Will check Cargo. Oblivion too - I can sometimes live with Hollywood lightweight scifi if the vision of the future is done well.
pandorum was OK - quite similar to event horizon
space above and beyond was a good series but axed too soon 🙁
Space - Above and beyond is a canny series that you might have missed.
Source Code is probably the best sci-fi film I've seen in a long time, it was an especially good surprise as I didn't really know the premise before watching it and had heard a bit of negativity!
Ah, yes, I saw Pandorum recently - not the best but on the same (roughly) lines as Event Horizon so I did enjoy it.
Watch moon if you have seen oblivion. IMHO its a far better film.
Dark City
OOh yes The Jacket with adrian brody surprised me by being better than i thought, if a bit familiar
Oblivion - despite Tom Cruise it's a decent flick
I concur, amazed how much I liked it considering the smug pairing of Tom Cruise and Olga Whatsit
+1 for Oblivion
Prometheus did it for me. A lot of people panned it and said it leaves more questions than answers, but that's the whole point. But then I am an Aliens whore.
greeble - Member
Watch moon
clubber - MemberI loved Moon recently if that's any help
🙂
Dark City - seen
Prometheus - ditto (three times, even though I didn't think it was that great...)
I enjoyed Starship Troopers in a disengage brain type way.
Has anyone seen Altered?
Very low budget alien film. Watched it on Virgin movies and it was pleasant surprise. No one I know has seen it.
Bladerunner
Old but still brilliant.
'Evil Aliens'
For a bit of fun, local film making!
Complete with Worzels 'combine harvester' tune.
Looks like you've seen most of the good movies.
Series:
+1 for Space - Above and Beyond and BG
Babylon 5
Films:
Cloverfield
Chronicle
Lockout
Paul
Prometheus was pretty gash. The bad ideas outnumbered the good ones. Lacked both the menace and wonder of Alien and the scares and tight action of Aliens.
JJ Abrams Star Treks are good but not really Sci-Fi
Would agree that the best recent Sci-Fi stuff has all been on TV.
Battlestar Galactica was epic.
Fringe is good too, starts of as an X-files clone and then gets much weirder / darker
Hmmm that reminds me - I have Blade runner on DVD with the original voice over which I've never heard.
Starship Troopers is a much better film I think than many people realise 🙂
tallpaul - thanks - have seen Cloverfield but not the others.
Yes Evil Aliens is well worth a watch. Straddles the fine line between crap and entertaining like so few low budget B-movies to achieve.
[url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1564585/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_12 ]Skyline?[/url]
the plot's not the best but the effects are good and the aliens are pretty good at blowing shit up. Turn brain off and watch.
Even with my brain turned off I struggled with Skyline.
HTH 🙂
Pitch black and chronicles of riddick?
"Super 8" is worth a watch although it gets a little schmaltzy towards the end.
"Attack the Block" is a good brain-out bit of daftness (Directed by Joe of Adam and Joe fame)
"Rubber" is worth a watch, just for it's self-aware B-movie premise.
Ive got this on my "to watch" list.. I thnk it got recommended on a similar thread on here recently, even though its a few years old.
Fire in the Sky.
Metropolis.
Couple of oldies to chuck in the mix..
Soylent Green
Boy and his dog.
Oh, and has anybody mentioned 'Galaxy Quest'? 🙂
JJ Abrams Star Treks are good but [b]not really Sci-Fi[/b]
You've lost me there....
"Sci-Fi" is literally [b]fiction based on science[/b]. Mostly based on some kind of "what if..." premise, eg "what if we could time travel" etc. The recent Star Trek films are fantasy films not sci-fi because it could just as well be about wizards and magic but retain the same plot - they're just adventure films. Even the original Star Trek was more about sociological issues than science.
A lot of what most people think are sci-fi films/tv series really aren't, and for some (mainly books) really old stuff (e.g. Frankenstein) the opposite is true.
Fringe is well worth the effort, first half of season 1 is like said above a bit close to x files, but then it heads off on its own eccentric path. Great through to at least end of season 3. Some top characterisation from John Noble as well.
I recently watched THX 1138, which was George Lucas' first ever film, made in 1971. A complete contrast to Star Wars in every way possible.
The story line is quite predictable but the film itself is a good sci-fi thriller and if you're into dystopian films then 100% worth a watch.
[url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066434/ ]IMDB link[/url]
"Sci-Fi" is literally fiction based on science. Mostly based on some kind of "what if..." premise. The recent Star Trek films are fantasy films not sci-fi because it could just as well be about wizards and magic but retain the same plot. Even the original Star Trek was more about sociological issues than science.
This is pedantic bs. I would suggest that you're referring to the niche 'hard sci fi'.
Not really. The difference is, something like Back to The Future is sci-fi, even though (the original) is set in the past. Something like Babylon 5 isn't sci-fi, it's a (political) drama that happens to be set on a space station, in the future.
If "sci-fi" means "space ships & aliens" to you, then that's fine, but that is not the correct meaning.
new star trek films are just standard hollywood action blockbusters in space
and as such they dissapoint me also
thx1138 is great, especially if you are a NIN fan
the john carpenter Thing is well worth it even the 'sequel' is ok, but not a patch on the kurt russel one
Are we talking classics without mentioning "Close Encounters"? But if you watch that, you have to watch "Paul".
I used to have a pretty large collection of sci-fi back in the day on VHS. I really should get round to putting them all on DVD or .mp4 or something.
How about comparisons? Go for the Arnie version of "Total Recall" followed immediately by the new version. Then discuss. Repeat the process for "The Day The Earth Stood Still", or "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", or "I Am Legend"/"The Omega Man".
Failing that, go all B-movie and take in some quality 50's black and white films if you can find them.
Not really. The difference is, something like Back to The Future is sci-fi, even though (the original) is set in the past. Something like Babylon 5 isn't sci-fi, it's a (political) drama that happens to be set on a space station, in the future.If "sci-fi" means "space ships & aliens" to you, then that's fine, but that is not the correct meaning.
You must be great to sit and have a pint with.
Good old STW 🙂
I like both Scifis discussed above. They're all scifi to me.
I can REALLY get going after a few beers 🙂You must be great to sit and have a pint with.
Are you one of the characters in The Big Bang Theory? 😉
Monsters is good.
Not Sci Fi really, but a bloody good UK indie film.
Well worth a watch.
zilog are you the blonde girl whose always smuggling peanuts?
I was thinking this more
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That would probably make negotiating a discount in LBS a bit easier!zilog are you the blonde girl whose always smuggling peanuts?
Back to the Future?
It's about this guy who jumps in his mad mates time machine and almost ends up being his own Dad. It had 2 lesser sequels as well which are worth watching as well.
That sounds rubbish. I can't imagine that would ever be a popular film...
"Repo men", body part loan people.
If you don't mind subtitles, then Chrysalis isn't too shabby. Better than it's score of 5.1 on IMDB would have you believe.
Agree with verses about Super 8...thought that was a cracking watch.
I'm afraid I didn't... 😉
lots been suggested that I would have said, so rather than repeat I'll add, these sci-fi (or non-sci fi accord to zilog 😉 )
Skyline.. (yes I know it mentioned above) I loved it for the effects/aliens, just fast forward the 1st twenty minutes, you'll thank me.
Battle: Los Angeles.. Blackhawk down with aliens.. entertaining but rubbish.
Battleship .. brainless pap but it's watchable at least once.
Inception, definitely worth a watch at least once.
The book of Eli - hey it's Denzel Washington, everything he's in is worth a watch (ok, most of what he's in..)
Tron: Legacy, if only to oggle 13
Classic: Outland - Sean Connery being ace.
The Fifth Element
The Twelve Monkeys
After Earth is very good IMO
Titan AE - a kids film is pretty good fun
Source Code I really enjoyed but thought it should've ended about 10mins earlier - I think the actual end was tacked on thanks to test audiences, but had it ended where I think it should've ended it would be regarded as a classic.
Outland +1
The Fly
If post apocolypse counts Mad Max II
The Abyss
Robocop
Dune
no classics yet?
forbidden planet
the day the earth stood still
dark star
or what about
ghost in the shell
akira
proper sci fi (i concur with zilog)
eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
solaris (both versions)
and stuff blows up
the riddick movies
starship troopers
wrath of khan
the abyss
and nobody for zardoz? really?
Omega Man was good and also enjoyed The Martian Chronicles
Quatermass and the Pit (classic)
Silent Running (cool robots)
Sunshine
Blackhole (sorry)
Forbidden Planet (yes - that is Leslie Nielsen)
I love Blackhole, probably because I was so young when I first saw it and it made such an impression. I've watched it a few times recently - great sound track.
I also live Tron (the original), which I think stands up really well for it's age.
I've got quite an extensive Sci-fi collection. been finding online lists then downloading any I don't have and catching up with classics oldies like Soylent Green, Silent Running, Zardos etc.
Videodrome
Barbarella 🙂
Dark Star
Forbidden Planet
Soylent Green
Planet of the Apes
2001
Silent Running
The Day the Earth stood still
Akira (but only in Japanese with english subtitles)
BSG
ST2 Wrath of Khan
ST First Contact
Dune (but book is MUCH better)
Three pages in and no-one's recommended Escape From New York? I've half a mind to ban the lot of you.
That is, apart from PrinceJohn who redeemed himself with:
Titan AE - a kids film is pretty good fun
Don Bluth (Dragon's Lair, Space Ace) and Joss Whedon, what's not to like? Titan A.E. is a vastly underrated little movie.
Thanks everyone. I think I've seen most of the suggestions but there are a few to check out.
Oh yeah, and in terms of series, no Farscape love?
Farscape, Firefly, BSG. For very different reasons, three of the finest sci-fi shows ever to grace our screens. And Deep Space 9 only dodges that accolade by being shit for two seasons before being awesome.