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The Defence of Sci-Fi

Posted in Movie Blog, tagged Alien, Aliens, Back to the Future, Blade Runner, Children of Men, Donnie Darko, Inception, Serenity, T2, The Matrix, The Terminator, The Thing on November 12, 2015| 8 Comments »

I have had conversations with three people recently (one being my own farther!) who have said they don’t like Sci-Fi. When asked why they all came up with the same vague answers about it not being real, or realistic and they can’t suspend disbelief if the concept is too far from reality. But none of them had a problem with unrealistic plots in other films if the film was gunny or exciting. When challenged they all came up with a Sci-Fi film they actually liked, but hid behind things like, “but its funny” or they like the star. I didn’t intend to turn into a ardent defender of Sci-Fi or any other genre, but firmly believe there are two types of movie; good and bad, this is true regardless of genre.

With this in mind I have come up with my ultimate list of ten(ish) Sci-Fi films everyone should watch. I have taken out some of the more challenging movies: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Solaris (1972), Twelve Monkeys (1995), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004); anything animated that they may try and dismiss as kids films: Akira (1988), WALL·E (2008); and anything silent: Metropolis (1927). I have also taken out anything with serious baggage like Star Wars and Star Trek. We are left with my Must See Sci-Fi list:

Alien (1979) & Aliens (1986)

Blade Runner (1982)

The Thing (1982)

The Terminator (1984) & T2 (1992)

Back to the Future (1985)

The Matrix (1999)

Donnie Darko (2001)

Serenity (2005)

Children of Men (2006)

Inception (2010)

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My Top Ten 80’s Horror Movies

Posted in 80’s Classic, Lists and Top 10’s, tagged A Nightmare on Elm, Aliens, An American Werewolf in London, Film don’t Hurt, Hellraiser, Near Dark, Scanners, Spoorloos, Spoorloos aka The Vanishing, The Evil Dead, The Shining, The Thing, The Vanishing on November 12, 2013| 11 Comments »

A few years ago I started compiling a list of my top ten horror movies decade by decade. I didn’t get beyond the 50’s and didn’t publish the list. In the latest edition of Film don’t Hurt Kia suggests that the 80’s were a great time for horror movies, so I thought I would post my top ten in response:

The Shining (1980): Stephen King doesn’t like Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his novel because it isn’t faithful to his original story. Who cares, it is an amazing movie.

Near Dark (1987): Modern day western? Road movie? Metaphorical parable? Whatever you may think it is, Kathryn Bigelow’s vampire movie is probably my favourite vampire movie.

Hellraiser (1987): Gory, horrific and disturbing, it is both ahead of its time and totally within the traditions of horror, it is also Clive Barker’s best movie.

Aliens (1986): Although essentially a sci-fi movie, Ridley Scott’s original film Alien (1979) just as much a monster movie, slasher movie and a haunted house movie. James Cameron’s sequel introduces a more action but retains a sense of dread, fear and desperation.

The Thing (1982): John Carpenter’s The Thing falls somewhere between an remake and a sequel to The Thing from Another World (1951). A traditional monster movie utilising the best in 80’s effects.

The Evil Dead (1981): Sam Raimi’s low budget classic is seminal in horror history. Although not the best film on this list it is probably the most influential.

Scanners (1981): I could have filled half the list with David Cronenberg movies, I decided to just go with my favourite. Not as sexual as his earlier work or as abstract as his later work but forming a link between the two. And who can forget the iconic exploding head scenes.

An American Werewolf in London (1981): Probably the best werewolf movie ever made, and as you would expect from John Landis it is also very funny.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): Wes Craven’s seminal horror hasn’t actually aged that well but it is still an import milestone in horror and Freddy Krueger is a great villain/monster.

Spoorloos aka The Vanishing (1988): Forget the crappy Hollywood remake, the Dutch–French original is a classic. More a psychological mystery thriller than a true horror, but it is disturbing enough to make the list.

I might get around to finishing the other decades one day!

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Mixtape Movies – Cover Songs

Posted in Mixtape Movies, tagged A Fistful of Dollars, Airplane!, King Kong, La Jetée, Ocean's Eleven, The Thing, The Thing From Another World, Twelve Monkeys, Yojimbo, Zero Hour on June 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Inspired by the idea of cover songs, I have gone a little from my own brief of movies that fit together concentrating more on memorable remakes, but like a true mixtape they still sort of fit. I have excluded films where I haven’t seen both versions so Tony Scott Man On Fire (2004) misses out as I haven’t seen Elie Chouraqui’s 1987 Original, the same goes for The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941) as I haven’t seen Roy Del Ruth’s 1931Original. I also excluded directors remaking their own movies so no Heat (Michael Mann, 1995), The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock, 1956) or The Ten Commandments(Cecil B. DeMille 1923) all miss out. What we get is six very different movies across at least five genres:

Airplane! (Jim Abrams, David Zucker & Jerry Zucker, 1980) an interesting inclusion on the mixtape; the original Zero Hour (Hall Bartlett, 1957) has basically the same plot (and even some of the same dialogue) but is a straight disaster movie, the remake is comedy classic thanks to perfect deadpan delivery and some great sight-gags.

A Fistful of Dollars (Sergio Leone, 1964) the original samurai movie Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 1961) is a true classic, not only is it A Fistful of Dollars its equal, but it also turned Clint Eastwood from a TV actor into a moviestar. Despite settling a plagiarism suit with Akira Kurosawa, MGM/United Artists have never actually acknowledged that Dollars is a remake of Yojimbo.

Twelve Monkeys (Terry Gilliam, 1995): Strickly speaking Terry Gilliam’s Sci-Fi classic is inspired by rather than a remake of La Jetée (La Jet?e, Chris Baker, 1962) but I will take any excuse to recommend both movies. For those who don’t know, La Jetée is made up of a series of stills accompanied by a haunting voiceover.

Ocean’s Eleven (Steven Soderbergh, 2001): Ocean’s Eleven (Lewis Milestone, 1960) is a classic 60’s Rat Pack caper movie, except there is a problem, it isn’t very good. Not only is Soderbergh’s remake a lot funnier and a lot more fun than the original but it has a cast including: George Clooney. Brad Pitt. Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Andy Garcia and Elliott Gould.

The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982): Question: Was the 2011 movie The Thing a remake or a sequel, Answer, who cares it was rubbish! The original, The Thing From Another World (Christian Nyby, 1951) is well worth a look if you havent seen it, but the 1982 John Carpenter version is a classic.

Wild Card, the wild card is King Kong (Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933). Forget the numerous sequels and the 1976 and 2005 remakes (directed by John Guillermin and Peter Jackson respectively) and go for the classic stop motion original starring Fay Wray.

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