Summer SciFi Thread

[Vylinius]

I'll just say as a young adolescent when I read this book. The character of Ender didn't make me think that only intentions mattered when making decisions or that my revenge upon people that bullied me at the time was righteous in some way. The character of Ender inspired me to become more empathetic and understanding toward those around me. At first I thought I could do it so I could disable or beat those who I competed with, but now I see that ability to understand not as a tool to dominate or compete, but to cooperate and befriend others. Ender's Game got me started on that path though so for that I'll be always grateful to this book and the character of Ender.

 

[Lord Baal]

I'll just say as a young adolescent when I read this book. The character of Ender didn't make me think that only intentions mattered when making decisions or that my revenge upon people that bullied me at the time was righteous in some way. The character of Ender inspired me to become more empathetic and understanding toward those around me. At first I thought I could do it so I could disable or beat those who I competed with, but now I see that ability to understand not as a tool to dominate or compete, but to cooperate and befriend others. Ender's Game got me started on that path though so for that I'll be always grateful to this book and the character of Ender.

Personally, Ender's Game taught me that it's much easier to wrestle older boys in communal showers if you soap yourself up first.

 

[Glassfan]

HISHE

Spoiler :

Man of Steel

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Somehow I don't think the zero-gee sparring matches and games will be in the movie.

How can't they be?
"The enemy's gate is down" is iconic.

I just assumed they were going to skip the better parts of the book - particularly the ones that will cost a ton of cash to do in special effects - because that is just what happens in most book-to-movie conversions.

They will be, they'll just be special effects cluster****s with no redeeming qualities. Probably.

If they have it then this is my thinking exactly.

the movie poster has the spherical battle room that they're going to use (which does various things towards "the enemy's gate is down" and all, but whatevs.

Well, there were no posters up when I wrote that or at least I hadn't seen one. (There is only one crappy cinema in my town and I've been to it maybe 3 or 4 times in 3 years).

@RuPaul 2024 or whatever -

Wait, that very well could happen. Now I'm sad panda.

______________


Anybody else catch Europa Report?

 

[sophie]

@RuPaul 2024 or whatever -

"If you can't love yourself, how in the HELL are you gonna love somebody else?"

CAN I GET A AMEN?!?

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Link to video.

 

[Cutlass]

I like how the text is in English, even though the rest of it isn't....

 

[El_Machinae]

Saw Pacific Rim, what I liked is how the story was obviously deeper than what we got to see. The story we saw was complete, but there was more going on in the background. This would allow more stories to be told in this universe.

I also liked the 'leveling' of the monsters, but wish the Jaegers had leveled as well. Progressively tougher monsters was predictable, but not in any disappointing way. I quite liked the fights.

 

[Phrossack]

Saw Elysium. Lots of eye candy and cool tech but not much else going for it, sadly. I had high hopes for it because District 9 was excellent and the premise was interesting. I wouldn't call it bad, but it wasn't great. Maybe a 6 or 7 out of 10.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Saw Pacific Rim, what I liked is how the story was obviously deeper than what we got to see. The story we saw was complete, but there was more going on in the background. This would allow more stories to be told in this universe.

I also liked the 'leveling' of the monsters, but wish the Jaegers had leveled as well. Progressively tougher monsters was predictable, but not in any disappointing way. I quite liked the fights.

QFT.
Pacific Rim was the quintessential Guillermo del Toro tour de force: ridiculous premise made plausible by some very good performances, great special effects, and a genuinely moving story with characters you actually care about.

Sent via mobile.

 

[Glassfan]

HISHE

Spoiler :

Pacific Rim

 

[sophie]

I watched Elysium last weekend

Verdict: The action was well directed and visuals were stunning. The story was just too ridiculous to take seriously. I was laughing at it all the way home. Also the dialogue was bad. Matt Damon did a really good job with what he was given, but there really wasn't all that much there. Likewise with Sharlto Copley - he did a great job crafting a complex character out of what was ostensibly supposed to be a dumb meatheaded caricature. Also also the plot was more or less District 9, only with the Prawns being replaced with poor Mexicans.

 

[Glassfan]

Summer movies 2013: Fantastic or fatiguing?

(CNN) -- What did Leonard Maltin think of the 2013 summer movie season?
"I'm glad it's almost over," the longtime reviewer and "Movie Guide" author tells CNN in a phone interview. "The movies get bigger and dumber every year, and we're subjected to more remakes and sequels. None of which means that they can't be good -- and occasionally they are -- but this has not been a very fortuitous season."

The summer movie season was full of extremes. Topping the box office list was "Iron Man 3," starring Robert Downey Jr., which made $409 million domestically and another $805 million overseas. Critics also liked it, giving it 78% on the aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

"Star Trek Into Darkness" was generally loved by audiences and critics, earning an 87 on the Tomatometer and coming in as the sixth-highest-grossing filim of the summer, with $227 million domestically and $231 million overseas.

So much for Will Smith's summer magic touch. "After Earth," with his son Jaden, cost $130 million but made only $61 million domestically. Overseas, Smith is still a big draw: The film earned $183 million in other countries.

 

[Kyriakos]

Link to video.

Just saw the trailer for it.

Well...

How could they not even have as cool armor for Robocop and ED-209 as the original films did 25 years ago? And of course ED-209 appears to be entirely CGI (part of why it looks like crap).

Robocop was one of the major films of that far-away decade. It had a dark tone, which also seems to not exist at all in the remake. The meaning of the film was anti-government and anti-corporate monopoly of power. This new film looks like it is some sort of americanized Ghost in the Shell, without the cool scenes of that anime either.

 

[sophie]

Link to video.

Just saw the trailer for it.

Well...

How could they not even have as cool armor for Robocop and ED-209 as the original films did 25 years ago? And of course ED-209 appears to be entirely CGI (part of why it looks like crap).

Robocop was one of the major films of that far-away decade. It had a dark tone, which also seems to not exist at all in the remake. The meaning of the film was anti-government and anti-corporate monopoly of power. This new film looks like it is some sort of americanized Ghost in the Shell, without the cool scenes of that anime either.

I'm not going to pronounce judgment on it just from the preview, but I am excited that this film's themes appear to be more focused on the notion of autonomy and individuality and the ever integrating relationship between humanity and technology. Remakes are dumb and pointless if it's just going to be a carbon copy of the original. That's why films like Dredd work and films like Psycho (1998) don't.

 

[Kyriakos]

I'm not going to pronounce judgment on it just from the preview, but I am excited that this film's themes appear to be more focused on the notion of autonomy and individuality and the ever integrating relationship between humanity and technology. Remakes are dumb and pointless if it's just going to be a carbon copy of the original. That's why films like Dredd work and films like Psycho (1998) don't.

^I guess some might be interested in that, but personally i would not hold my breath to see the angle and thoughts presented on human-computer hybrids in a new hollywood movie like this one, chances are they will be rather less than insightful.

But i can accept there may exist the market for what it has to offer, nonetheless. To each their own.

 

[sophie]

^I guess some might be interested in that, but personally i would not hold my breath to see the angle and thoughts presented on human-computer hybrids in a new hollywood movie like this one, chances are they will be rather less than insightful.

But i can accept there may exist the market for what it has to offer, nonetheless. To each their own.

I'm not saying I'm going to watch it, I just don't like pronouncing judgment on a film before it has even been released.

 

[El_Machinae]

Aesthetically, interesting choice to not make him fully cyborg...

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Aesthetically, interesting choice to not make him fully cyborg...

To say the least. But that's just asking for trouble.

The point of the original was that even though the corporate climber Morton had a better product, he was working for a multinational company, and the ED209 was supposed to be a new sale for the military.

Hence, the events that ensue.

Prescient about the corporate takeover of government functions and the 3-minute newscasts.

I will wait for the reviews, of course, and see what Owen and Joecoolyo have to say.

Sent via mobile.

 

[Cutlass]

I'm not going to pronounce judgment on it just from the preview, but I am excited that this film's themes appear to be more focused on the notion of autonomy and individuality and the ever integrating relationship between humanity and technology. Remakes are dumb and pointless if it's just going to be a carbon copy of the original. That's why films like Dredd work and films like Psycho (1998) don't.

Unfortunately, it appears that they put so much into the trailer that there's a good chance there's not much of anything left for the actual film.