Recommend me an epic sci-fi film?

I finally went with Dawn Of The Planet of The Apes! Big fan of the first and this one IMO is the only other since that to have much breadth about it (already dated-looking CGI notwithstanding) so a fun and slightly thoughtful ride.

Looking forward to checking out some recommendations. Quite a few mention Silent Running, I really enjoyed that some decades back don’t know how much it would do it today.

Edge Of Tomorrow/Live Die Repeat was a ripping yarn and quite breathtakingly shot and paced. Cruise is normally so annoying (and Blunt for a few different reasons) but he was cast well in this as a cowardly snot bag who finally starts shaping up with each successive smackdown. Wish had seen it on the big screen it’s a lot of fun.

Gattaca on my radar for some time yet not checked it out yet so that too.

Looper – gah have tried that and gotten frustrated/fell asleep a few times now. Worth sticking with?

Oblivion I’ve seen a couple of times and thought that was an underrated film. Again not a Cruise fan but it felt like proper sci-fi in the grand tradition.

Original Day The Earth Stood Still was a classic.

Anyone remember seeing ‘Invaders From Mars’? – found that to be quite creepy even in my late teens – that little sandy footpath leading off to abduction and personality change. Brrr.

Watched Serenity this evening. Really enjoyed opening scenes and was wondering how I’d not heard of it before but the following scenes immediately screamed TV MOVIE. A lot of things just happened for no apparent reason but I carried on watching as it had a good rating. Then found some amusement guessing what was coming. Set design was fairly good in places. Was some improvement after the mid-way point but nowhere near worth the rating it has IMDB – acting reminded me of another film with an unfathomably great rating: The Man from Earth.

The Man from Earth is an interesting idea and quite different, but I expect the book (which I haven’t read) is probably better.

If you want to try something a little different, watch ‘Garm Wars’. Utterly baffling and weird, it might make a refreshing change from the more conventional stuff. Just don’t expect a satisfying conclusion.

sirromj – Member

Watched Serenity this evening. Really enjoyed opening scenes and was wondering how I’d not heard of it before but the following scenes immediately screamed TV MOVIE.

Do you know the background? It was a TV series that was cancelled, then rebooted to create the film.

Just got back from seeing arrival, very good indeed.

Primer is excellent
Predestination is an odd little film
Snowpiercer (made by Joon-ho Bong, who directed the amazing Korean monster movie “the host”)
Timecrimes
Beyond the black rainbow
The survivalist

Not all strictly sci-fi and not all epics, but all interesting in their own way.

Another vote for Melancholia – mesmerising oddness.

CountZero while I’m not overly concerned about the casting I wouldn’t dismiss the whitewashing argument so completely, they refer to her simply as Major in film.

My concern is more that based on the trailer the central themes around sentience and a right to life appear to be shifted more towards the Major’s own creation. It’s also based around disappoint in other remakes where Hollywood has felt the need to apply it’s own moral balance to a story see Infernal Affairs vs The Departed ending.

I’m probably overly sensitive about the film though after all the questions it raised were the final nail in the coffin for my belief in a god a fairly life changing event for me.

‘Perfect Sense’ and ‘The Lobster’ – interesting (though not epic:)

I’d probably watch V again just for the smokin’ hot lizard lady.

Sorry if this objectifies lizard women. 😳

Ah! Diana 8)

I’m surprised no one has tried to re-boot it, in a Battlestar Galactica-type fashion. Perhaps it’s to close to the truth

But they have rebooted it

V is an American science fiction television series that ran for two seasons on ABC, from November 3, 2009 to March 15, 2011.

And Diana had a role in it.

They obviously did it well then, lol.

Oh, I know. Cube. From Wikipedia:

A man named Alderson awakens in a cube-shaped room with a hatch in each wall, the ceiling and the floor, each of which leads to other cube-shaped rooms, identical except for their color. He enters an orange room and, without warning, is killed by a trap.

In another such room, five people – Quentin, Worth, Holloway, Rennes, and Leaven – meet. None of them knows where they are or how they got there.

It’s ace. There are a number of sequels but they’re all rubbish, don’t bother.

Also, Cypher. Futuristic twisty-turny corporate espionage. Direct-to-video but really well done.

Arrival = wow wow wow!

What an amazing film, the imagination and creativity that came up with that is awe inspiring.

I think it might have ruined me for all other Sci fi films though…

Went to see Arrival at the flicks with a group of friends and to great shame fell asleep a third way into the film. Woke to the sound of a giant echoing single porcine ‘SNORT!!!’ and then diverse giggling from a good portion of the audience. Then realised my friends alongside were covering their mouths whilst quaking with barely concealed mirth. Of course, it then dawned that The SNORT that woke me had emanated from self. And, of course, it happened during the quietest part of the movie. 😳

Shame as I was enjoying it. It was just warm and comfy in there 😕

I didn’t like Melancholia, I downloaded it after this thread but it was just dull.

It’s just about a family holed up in a large secluded house somewhere and a lot of whining, being miserable, a wedding that goes all odd and then people driving across golf courses to the inevitable end.

I clearly missed something intrinsically crucial to the “plot”.

Started watching The Expanse yesterday based on this thread and crammed in 4 episodes, good to know that there is another season on the way.

Watched Serenity this evening. Really enjoyed opening scenes and was wondering how I’d not heard of it before but the following scenes immediately screamed TV MOVIE. A lot of things just happened for no apparent reason but I carried on watching as it had a good rating

that’s because you effectively watched the sequel first. As mentioned above, it was an attempt to tie-up the Firefly TV series which got cancelled.

Most of the people who will have rated it highly on IMDB will have watched Firefly and probably been fanbois *ahem* 😳

Most of the people who will have rated it highly on IMDB will have watched Firefly and probably been fanbois *ahem*

Ok. I didn’t know background.

Cargo was more my taste, and even Europa Report although wasn’t quite convinced by certain aspect of the ending.

Not Sci-Fi exactly, but there’s a certain genre of films mentioned in this thread, one in particular, which if you enjoy a bit of hedphukeri then I recommend Triangle 😉

I’m surprised no one has tried to re-boot it, in a Battlestar Galactica-type fashion. Perhaps it’s to close to the truth

They have, got about 2-3 seasons worth. Diana makes a cameo appearance.
Morena Baccarin from Firefly is the head lizard lady this time round

Speaking of Firefly & BSG, in the pilot BSG film, when Laura Roslin is getting her cancer diagnosis, camera pans up to the skylight and what do we see but a Firefly class ship…

Speaking of Firefly & BSG, in the pilot BSG film, when Laura Roslin is getting her cancer diagnosis, camera pans up to the skylight and what do we see but a Firefly class ship…

I’d completely forgotten that!
Has anyone mentioned Babylon 5? Another really epic series, fantastic visual FX, huge space battles and really inventive alien ship designs, the Shadow ships being a personal favourite.

Another vote for Solaris (the Tarkovsky version) and Stalker – my absolute favourite.

Not sure if it is technically sci – fi but the Turin Horse by Bela Tarr is an absolutely amazing film about the end of the world and time. Not everyone’s cup of tea though.

Farscape? Has the rather lovely Claudia Black in a central role.

Star Trek Prelude to Axanar

For a moment, I forgot all about this movie. Has to be one of my all time favourites..

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