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OK – I had never watched SG1 – until now, when I acquired the Season 1. I watched the pilot and first two episodesā¦ So far it looks like a rather naĆÆve propaganda for elementary school. It is our duty to bring enlightenment, democracy and civilization to all those poor, primitive and oh so grateful aliens out thereā¦ Urrrgh. Please tell me it will get better!
Very nice work Goryn! Oh boy, I’ve never seen Putin actually speaking on TV before. Is he seriously scary or is it just in my mind…?
I was stuck in a hotel room this weekend watching the Spiderman I, too tired to push a button on the remote control… It sucked. The main character was so revolting (sorry if anyone here is a fan) it almost made me puke… Traveling could be a bit tiresome sometimes.
The new James Bond – seen last week – not as bad as I expected.
Has anyone seen Pan’s Labyrinth? I want to rent it when it comes out on DVD tomorrow here in the US.Personally, I’d like to see Johnny Depp in that role….
Failing that, Drew would be OK. At least she has some meat on her bones and doesn’t take herself too seriously.As much as I disliked the Departed, it almost mad me cry to see a bit of Boston again. I moved to the sunny south seven years ago and still miss it too! Anyway, happy St. Patrickās Day to you MK, and may your Irish heart never grow old or cold!
Why canāt they publish a book as a cheap paperback first, with something like a coupon for those who want a hardcover – that could be (and should be, in this century) printed on demand? Why donāt they realize that some of us book lovers live in inadequate apartments with several thousands of books we cannot part with? And, once you pick up that pitchfork, could you also kill, very slowly, the greedy morons who print (and charge a fortune for) important books about history and such on cheap paper, with illustrations and photographs that are printed so poorly you canāt see if itās a castle or a cat? Grrrrrrrrrrr indeed.
Yes, I always look at the “update” link! It is very generous of you to post your work like that, thank you.
I was torn between BloodRayne and Ultraviolet but Blood was so much more stupid, all things considered. Of course, I didn’t see Superman. Was Scanner really so bad? I was just about to rent it.
I read the Master Projector, which really is quite fascinating – thanks to Zeto, not the obnoxious Victor whom I disliked very much for some reason. I think Zeto should have his own book. I mean the story could be a book if you could ever bear to deal with it again, in depth, in length, and with more patience. There are people out there who published books with one-tenth of the ideas you have (and I don’t mean necessarily only the sci-fi action-plot-explanation). Eh – sorry, this is really not to voice any opinions, just to let you know that we, the readers, are reading! Even during this weird time of the year.
Oh please stop teasing Mandara! She shares her thoughts and dreams with us, while the rest of us mostly just read and enjoy. Besides, I always pictured her like the character Kate Winslet plays in the Eternal Sunshine ā so her on-line persona, at least, is unquestionably and emphatically female.
Merry Christmas to all Sad Geezers, no matter what you call it! And their families and all creatures great and small!
We all love your ramblings Mandara š ! Fernandoā¦ Oh, boy! As you know we didn’t have drive-ins where I come from but we had the obnoxious teenage mating rituals called discotheques. I didn’t go too often because trying to unglue somebodyās sweaty hands from my various body parts, in the dark and with the endless repetitions of Fernando, I will survive and, grrrrrrrrr, Sunny, wasnāt my idea of fun. Now of course it seems almost like an idyllic memory …
And speaking of gorgeous sailors, I just watched Pirates of the Caribbean II. Twice. No, I am lying. Twice and a half. Thanks for a head-on on Al Goreās film, itās been on my list for some time. Iām definitely going to see it. After the last yearsā hurricanes, I’ll never look at natural disasters the same way.I finally got to watch the DVD I’ve had for some time ā The Best of Bowie. Itās awesome! What a history lesson ā and a trip down to memory lane.
I don’t know much about animation but the writing is pretty interesting. I’m really looking forward to read some more as soon as I have a bit more time. Thanks for the links Nick!
I must add this one to the list, although not strictly/only sci-fi:
The Shining is the best…!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were OK.
True. It looks like these days poor little creatures are not allowed to EXIST without a chaperone. I wouldnāt have traded all playstations in the world for my latchkey and all the fun you can have in a big city with practically no crime (one of a very few good things about living in a totalitarian regime). On the other hand, the dental care really sucked, and our parents definitely didnāt let us think we were a center of the universe. AND we had to put on gas masks once in a while and march to a basement as a special training in case the evil Americans would attack us. Needless to say, it convinced us from the early on that practically all adults were a bit insane/liars/stupid ā which made āsurviving the childhoodā both easier and more difficult .
ā¦to scare them into their armsā¦.
Lovely. I like idea – that the entire industry was created so that girls can pretend to be scared and give boys an opportunity to engage in whatever it is teenagers do in the dark. And to think Iāve never even been to a drive-in! What a deprived life I have been leading.
Suggestion: Maybe a clearer line should be drawn between a sci-fi thriller and a sci-fi horror? I dunno, not a big deal, just an idea.
I totally agree. I think we can also make a distinction between more or less intelligent framework of a ārealā sci-fi movie script and instances when āscienceā (or whatever the witless little brains of Hollywood industry people consider to be āscienceā) is only a token premise of yet another idiotic, collective-brainstorming-and-endless-compromise-made junk. Usually: a scientific experiment went bad. Man, they really think all science fiction fans are mindless infantile creatures ā¦ Sorry about the rant ā I just saw āDoomā, a total waste of practically everything. I wish the filmmakers gave those money to the nearest animal shelter instead.
It bothers me how some people exploit art (and science) for profit and mislead the masses along the same ignorant path. I learned some time ago that, just because something is “popular” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for the body or the mind. Of course, that’s just my opinion.
No argument here. However, it would be useless to protest against the image of their āaudienceā the movie industry apparently operates with. Their collective wisdom is obviously based on the old publishing truism ā the intelligent audience constitutes a commercially negligent fraction of the entire market. (I am not sure they arenāt entirely wrong.) What scares me (and not only in the movie industry) that there seems to be less and less of an alternative, some sort of a side stream that would offer something exciting and time-worthy to those of us who arenāt buying all this pre-fabricated, overblown and completely thoughtless c**p. Itās like ā there is almost nothing else to watch nowadays. And I think thatās what really irks Nick-Z. Dear movie people, give us ā once in a while – something smart, and different, and challenging, and surprising. Something not based on a computer game or a theme-park ride. Something we can watch without feeling like idiots. Isnāt science fiction supposed to free the writers from the laws of the reality, open the door for boundless imagination? Looking at the shelves of video stores and the pathetic offer of the U.S. sci-fi channel, it looks like all those endless possibilities of plots and characters, despite all the technical capabilities and CGI effect, remain unexplored.
I actually had to google it to figure out it’s a song… š³
Things one learns on this board…! It looks somewhat less gloomy, daosn’t it.I agree that there is a difference but not always a big one. Nick-Z. makes a valid point when speaking about the fear, and āsensation of frightā used as the main device or tool of entertainment in certain films presented as sci-fi. I just donāt think we can take fear (or filmmakers intention to cause it), even when it dominates the plot, as something that separates sci-fi from horror.
I still feel that the science fiction āsettingā ā if given enough space and significance, and if it is executed in at least somewhat meaningful if not completely ābelievableā way, AND if it is an integral part of the plot ā is one of the main factors that qualifies a film as science fiction. In other words, I donāt thing a film loses its ārightā to be called a sci-fi only because there is something that is supposed to scare viewers for most of the time.
Film is, to a large extent, a visual art. Much more than a book, where a specific setting is subjectively interpreted, and, in most cases at least, this process of subjective visualization is far far less important to a reader than the plot and/or characters. Not so in the film. What you see is given, what you see plays an important role in the entire visual experience. There are exceptions, of course, but thatās the reason why I think āCubeā is a sci-fi. (I am not defending the movie, I loathed it exactly for the reasons Nick-Z so accurately describes.}
I just donāt think there is ā or should be ā a clear line between the two genres, or that the āfearā should be used as a common denominator for the entire category (oh the hateful word) of āhorrorā.
In defense of the horror genre: It is equally irksome, if not offensive for me as a person who enjoys a few vampires, one or two nice housebroken werewolves or a good old-fashioned fun like The Dawn of The Dead, that those films (with, admittedly, zero fear factor) are lumped together in the same category as movies driven by depiction of meaningless, realistic, revolting brutality which I cannot stand in any so-called genre (and from my point of view, that includes Saw, Texas Chainsaw, and nearly all Martin Scorseās films, as well as those sadistic Japanese things I donāt want to call films at all). Considering both types of the āhorrorā films are sitting on the same shelves of videostores, no wonder if Nick-Z feels that the horror as a film category is deeply below sci-fi in basically any sense of the word.
But if I decided to hate the entire ācategoryā, how many great and fun movies I would miss? And how many great books I must have missed because some moron in a bookstore put them among āRomanceā or something like that? The problem is not the moron but all that endless, and always, always arbitrary, dividing of everything into groups, subgroups, labeled shelves etc. You see, I donāt want someone somewhere to decide that āCubeā is a horror, therefore a sci-fi fan will not like it, therefore it must be removed from a sci-fi shelf and put with horrors. No. I want āCubeā under āCā.
On a bit different note, I really like what Nick-Z said about āreasonable chance of survivalā.
In true science fiction, there must be some reasonable chance of survival, by scientific means. In the movie “Cube” there is no such reason or scientific means. Simply solving a jigsaw maze isn’t really scientifc method, it’s merely a child’s guessing game, and a guessing game is not real scientific method, it’s a form of gambling. Gambling is not science. It is simple math, yes, but not science.
That is quite fascinating way of looking at movies ā and very eloquently put. Definitely a food for thought.
I wonder why is it so important to draw the strict demarcation line between the two? There is often a bit of a value judgment in our efforts to strictly categorize things (or people for that matter). This is probably one of the most idiotic things schools do to young peopleās minds ā how do you label it? To which little box it belongs? What you do with the stuff (or people for that matter) that purposefully refuse to be squeezed into a box? Well, I guess many of the shows featured on this site wouldnāt fit this purist definition of sci-fi. Lexx, Fireflyā¦? Oh, I see. We need another category for thoseā¦.
OMG, Creature from Black Lagoon !!! I haven’t seen it in years. Do I dare confess I repeatedly watch THe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? I think I am the only living fan of that movie.
However, the best cult movie EVER: I Worship His Shadow. There is nothing in either universe that would beat that.
Other cult favorites:
Kindzadza
Mars Attacks
The Man Who Fell To Earth (that film didn’t age well but deserves a honorable mention because of David Bowie’s luminous presence)
Also, once upon a time, there was a great Czech director, who made beautiful movies (visually striking, that is) as I think Cesare mentioned in another threat. Here is a link to some pictures from a favorite of mine – Journey to the begining of Time (somewhere in the middle of the page):I agree. Great guy, and great loss. It makes me sick that so many people immediately got into this “he was asking for it” mode. Media should more on his work and his message, rather than endless speculations about details of his death. I feel so sorry for his wife.
I love Cesta do praveku, one of my most favorite movies of all times. I don’t think, though, it was ever shown outside of Czechoslovakia!
resident evil is considered a sci-fi film, abeit just not a very good one
[sigh] I was thinking about posting a list of 10 movies I like and everyone else hates (and a list of 10 books everyone else adores and I happen to loath) … I was also glad to see the old Solaris on the list, although the book was better. I am kind of surprised so many people liked the movie because it was definitely way too slow-paced for the video-games generation. Jurassic Park was terrific, that one should have been included!
apart from the Lexx episode reviews…
Yes!!!! Still missing the last few! And I love those – the Lexx reviews lured me here on the first place. Otherwise, I agree, this site has such a tremendous amount of information. Farscapers seem to lose their steam lately – there is of course Snurcher’s guide to Crackers don’t matter (I think it’s www. snurcher.com). It’s a bit cold, but a great deal of work was put into it.
I think Resident Evil can be considered sci fi, but my reputation in defining sci fi has taken a tumble lately
Yeah, I guess the older and wiser you get the less you believe in all that labeling and categorizing. Here in the US, large bookstores are now obsessed with “sections” – honestly, I sometimes wonder if they track each customer with a hidden camera… Romance? Horror? Gay? African American? History? What country? Is it supposed to narrow our mind and limit unnecessary choices?
I hereby declare Resident Evil is a sci-fi. It’s also a horror. And, speaking of Resident Evil II, it’s a damn good movie.
So much for my little personal anti-labeling revolution today!Thank you, great review, although I am with NewKate on this one. Those endless monologues in the second half of the film …! It’s visually beautiful, I agree. I’ve seen it nearly twenty years ago and still remember many of the scenes and colors. And the atmosphere of that unspeakable, lurking menace.
I liked Solaris much better, although not as much as the book.In addition to the obvious, like http://www.farscapeworld.com, here is a neat site for all things regarding Jules Verne:
http://jv.gilead.org.il/
I like the “illustrated” section because I remember those wondeful illustrated books from my childhood.Also, not quite sci-fi but definitely weird site:
http://www.conclave.ru/Once you update your QuickTime Player to a new version (like 7.0.4) you can watch MP4 format with no problem. QuicTime player and update are free.
Brilliant and hilarious. The look on SadGeezer’s face, alternating between mortification and desperate effort not to giggle and was by itself Oscar-worthy. “Disjointed elements…” love disjointed elements… Having been buried alive in the middle of beautiful nowhere for so long, I almost forgot what NORMAL people look like! Thanks guys!
DVDs. Full collection of Lexx and Farscape, not to mention Blackadder, Jeeves & Wooster, Father Ted, All Creatures Great and Small, League of Gentlemen (is there such word as Britophile?). As for TV, I’m not sure if morning headline news qualify as scifi… I am hoping to discover some nice juicy suggestion in this threat in order to recover after a paralyzing encounter with Aeon Flux the movie two days ago.
The total problem I had with anything past the more recent history is of course…. sanitation. Let’s face it, there are lots of great people to be during the middle ages but….. yuk! The beds, the privies, the odor……
Exactly!!!!!!!
A nice Agatha Christie-ish British village in the late 20’s, in a house of pleasantly well-off landed gentry… The tea, the scones, the tweed, the manners, the local vicar…!
Pre-Christian Rome would be nice, too.
Actually, almost any era would be good provided you find yourself among the rich, and the privileged.Only 5ā¦ š
5. Aeon Flux (animated series) ā because she keeps her sense of humor despite everything, even her own death
4. Aeryn in Firescape ā simply because Claudia Black is one of the most beautiful women Iāve ever seen, defining the world of difference between cute and truly beautiful
3. Scorpius in Farscape ā cold, intellectually intriguing, emotionally inaccessible, unpredictable but displaying occasional endearing weaknessesā¦
2. Prince in Lexx – cold, intellectually intriguing, emotionally inaccessible, unpredictable but displaying occasional endearing weaknessesā¦ hmmm
1. Kai in Lexx ā cold (dead), intellectually intriguing, emotionally inaccessible, unpredictable but displaying occasional endearing weaknessesā¦whatās not to love, right?
(And if I could cheat a bit I would add MāLee, a gentle little calcivore from Farscapeās Bone to be Wild, because I tend to behave like her when hungryā¦Alnexi, if you want, I can send you a subbed DVD – in fact I really need to work out a way of making this available for download.
Thanks, I speak Russian so I can watch it without subtitles. But it would be terrific if more people can see it. So to make it somehow available for at least a few like-minded individuals would be terrific It sometimes feels I haven’t seen a good sci-fi (or indeed anything else on TV) for ages. ..
PS This doesn’t belong to this threat but speaking of RUssian movies, did Katya see the new TV version of Master i Margarita (which is a sci-fi to some extent)…? If so, what did she think? I am thinking about getting it but the reviews are rather mixed.Hey Goryn,
I just registered after looking at this forum for a few months. So this might be a good time to say how much I love your calendars! The March one is really nice. Thanks – also on behalf of all the lurkers who wish to remain unknown but enjoy your work!
