My top ten sci fi movies
In all of cinema, I grant you there are genres of movies that I love better than others, and this is one of them. I love a good sci fi movie over romcom's or melodramas. And so begins the pain staking making of my fave 10 sci fi movies, leaving many on the cutting room floor. Aliens and Star Trek did not make my top ten, Close Encounters was number 11, as well honorable mention goes to the Matrix. I am sure I am forgetting some gems, it's hard to bring it all down to ten, but them's the rules.
# 10 - Planet of the Apes, starring Charleton Heston as the doomed commander of the US led mission of 4 astronauts, 3 men and one woman, who travelled ( ahead ) in time. To a kinder simpler world, popuated by the dominant species, no not man, but apes, chimps, gorillas, orangutans, and the like.
Spoiler alert : Chuck finds out he has not really left earth, finding a half buried Statue of Liberty on the beach.
Help me Dr.Zais.
#9 - Them, starring James Witmore and James Arness as a policemen and an army sergaent who pursue the strange goings on out in the New Mexico desert, the result of atomic testing of the 40's. Giant ants are the result of genetic mutation, and an epic tale is told. Two lost boys down in the sewer drains of Los Angeles takes place, and a battle to kill the remaining queen ants takes over.
#8 The Abyss, starring Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, and directed by James Cameron, who would go onto direct Avatar, Terminator 1, 2 and 3. It takes place primarily underwater in a research vessel, by a pseudo scientific crew, and a storm takes place on the surface all the while, a storm rages under water. The During initial investigation of the Montana, a power cut in the team's submersibles leads to Lindsey seeing a strange light circling the sub, which she later calls a "non-terrestrial intelligence" or "NTI". Lt. Hiram Coffey, the SEAL team leader, is ordered to accelerate their mission and takes one of the mini-subs without Deep Core's permission to recover a Trident missle warhead from the Montana just as the storm hits above, leaving the crew unable to disconnect from their surface support ship in time. The cable crane is torn from the ship and falls into the trench, dragging the Deep Core to the edge before it stops. The rig is partially flooded, killing several crew members and damaging its power systems.
#7 - The Core, starring Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank, plus Stanlet Tucci, as scientists trying to save the earth from extinction. The earth's core has stopped, affecting the electro magnetic field, boy this is hard to explain, and they must delve into it's core to "jump-start it again". Great special effects are used, as well as a darn good cast.
#6 - The Day the Earth Stood Still, starring no not Keanu Reeves, but Micael Rennie, as Klattu, an alien visiting earth to warn our scientists that other planets were watching this planet and it's nuclear proliferation. Patricia Neal also stars as the woman who befriends Rennie on earth.
Klaatu addresses Barnhardt's assembled scientists, informing them that
he represents an interplanetary organization that created a police force
of invincible robots like Gort. "In matters of aggression, we have
given them absolute power over us". Klaatu concludes, "Your choice is
simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and
face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer". Klaatu and Gort
re-enter the saucer and depart.
I'll be right here, says ET to Elliot.
I regret Spielberg never made a sequel to this movie.
#4- The Andromeda Strain, based on Michael Cricton's novel of the same name, made in 1969, A team is deployed to recover a military satelite which has returned to Earth, but contact is lost abruptly. Aerial survellaince reveals that everyone in Piedmont, Arizona, the town closest to where the satellite landed, is apparently dead. The mutated Andromeda attacks the synthetic rubber door and hatch seals within the Wildfire facility, rapidly migrating toward the upper levels and the surface. The self-destruct nuclear weapon is automatically armed when it detects the containment breach, triggering its detonation countdown to prevent the spread of the infection. As the bomb arms, the scientists realize that given Andromeda's ability to generate matter directly from energy, the organism would be able to consume the released energy and ultimately benefit from a nuclear explosion, forming a large indestructible biofilm within a day. Hitting pretty close to home, now isn't it ?
#3- Blade Runner - is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott.,starring Harrison Ford, and Sean Young, it is loosely based on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ? The film is set in a dystopian future Los Angeles of 2019, in which synthethic humans known as replicants are bio-engineered by the powerful Tyrell Corporation to work on off world coloines. When a fugitive group of advanced replicants led byRoy Batty escapes back to Earth, burnt-out cop Rick Deckhard reluctantly agrees to hunt them down.
Brillant camera work and special effects bring this futuristic world to the big screen.
#2- Star Wars,an space-opera of epic proportions, guided by George Lucas, is full of special effects genius that became an empire. Lucas casts Mark Hamill, as a young Luke Skywalker,Alec Guiness as Obi Wan ,and finds Harrison Ford just sitting around and casts him as the impresssive Hans Solo, pilot of theMilenium Falcon. Christopher Lee plays a heavy, and the universe is saved by the use of force. Great action photography is used and an almost cinematic serial fashion. John Williams scores a 10 for his soundtrack as well.
# 1- The thing from another world, starring Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite and an early appearance from James Arness, who played the thing from another world.
Directed by Howard Hawks, a eerie look at the first space exploration by aliens visiting the earth, and with wild results. Scientists vs the army, and normally I would root for the scientists, but one head strong scientist stumbles in and it has calamatus results.
"watch the skies" is the over riding message at the end, a marvelous cast, edgy camera work, and one haunting scene early in the movie of the army officials all making a perfect circle around the downed craft, nothing said, nothing needed saying either. I'm still watching those skies.
# 10 - Planet of the Apes, starring Charleton Heston as the doomed commander of the US led mission of 4 astronauts, 3 men and one woman, who travelled ( ahead ) in time. To a kinder simpler world, popuated by the dominant species, no not man, but apes, chimps, gorillas, orangutans, and the like.
Spoiler alert : Chuck finds out he has not really left earth, finding a half buried Statue of Liberty on the beach.
#9 - Them, starring James Witmore and James Arness as a policemen and an army sergaent who pursue the strange goings on out in the New Mexico desert, the result of atomic testing of the 40's. Giant ants are the result of genetic mutation, and an epic tale is told. Two lost boys down in the sewer drains of Los Angeles takes place, and a battle to kill the remaining queen ants takes over.
#8 The Abyss, starring Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, and directed by James Cameron, who would go onto direct Avatar, Terminator 1, 2 and 3. It takes place primarily underwater in a research vessel, by a pseudo scientific crew, and a storm takes place on the surface all the while, a storm rages under water. The During initial investigation of the Montana, a power cut in the team's submersibles leads to Lindsey seeing a strange light circling the sub, which she later calls a "non-terrestrial intelligence" or "NTI". Lt. Hiram Coffey, the SEAL team leader, is ordered to accelerate their mission and takes one of the mini-subs without Deep Core's permission to recover a Trident missle warhead from the Montana just as the storm hits above, leaving the crew unable to disconnect from their surface support ship in time. The cable crane is torn from the ship and falls into the trench, dragging the Deep Core to the edge before it stops. The rig is partially flooded, killing several crew members and damaging its power systems.
#7 - The Core, starring Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank, plus Stanlet Tucci, as scientists trying to save the earth from extinction. The earth's core has stopped, affecting the electro magnetic field, boy this is hard to explain, and they must delve into it's core to "jump-start it again". Great special effects are used, as well as a darn good cast.
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| Ctn Swank |
#6 - The Day the Earth Stood Still, starring no not Keanu Reeves, but Micael Rennie, as Klattu, an alien visiting earth to warn our scientists that other planets were watching this planet and it's nuclear proliferation. Patricia Neal also stars as the woman who befriends Rennie on earth.
#5- ET the extra terrestrial, starring Steven Spielberg's brilliant cast of characters, played by Dee Williams, Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas, as Elliot, who finds, befriends and saves ET from US officials, who want to study him. Brilliant camera work, excellent special effects and that haunting score by John Williams brings me to tears just thinking about it. A smallboy's love for his extraterrestrial friend is that bond that ties up , and our hearts.
I'll be right here, says ET to Elliot.
I regret Spielberg never made a sequel to this movie.
#4- The Andromeda Strain, based on Michael Cricton's novel of the same name, made in 1969, A team is deployed to recover a military satelite which has returned to Earth, but contact is lost abruptly. Aerial survellaince reveals that everyone in Piedmont, Arizona, the town closest to where the satellite landed, is apparently dead. The mutated Andromeda attacks the synthetic rubber door and hatch seals within the Wildfire facility, rapidly migrating toward the upper levels and the surface. The self-destruct nuclear weapon is automatically armed when it detects the containment breach, triggering its detonation countdown to prevent the spread of the infection. As the bomb arms, the scientists realize that given Andromeda's ability to generate matter directly from energy, the organism would be able to consume the released energy and ultimately benefit from a nuclear explosion, forming a large indestructible biofilm within a day. Hitting pretty close to home, now isn't it ?
#3- Blade Runner - is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott.,starring Harrison Ford, and Sean Young, it is loosely based on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ? The film is set in a dystopian future Los Angeles of 2019, in which synthethic humans known as replicants are bio-engineered by the powerful Tyrell Corporation to work on off world coloines. When a fugitive group of advanced replicants led byRoy Batty escapes back to Earth, burnt-out cop Rick Deckhard reluctantly agrees to hunt them down.
#2- Star Wars,an space-opera of epic proportions, guided by George Lucas, is full of special effects genius that became an empire. Lucas casts Mark Hamill, as a young Luke Skywalker,Alec Guiness as Obi Wan ,and finds Harrison Ford just sitting around and casts him as the impresssive Hans Solo, pilot of theMilenium Falcon. Christopher Lee plays a heavy, and the universe is saved by the use of force. Great action photography is used and an almost cinematic serial fashion. John Williams scores a 10 for his soundtrack as well.
# 1- The thing from another world, starring Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite and an early appearance from James Arness, who played the thing from another world.
Directed by Howard Hawks, a eerie look at the first space exploration by aliens visiting the earth, and with wild results. Scientists vs the army, and normally I would root for the scientists, but one head strong scientist stumbles in and it has calamatus results.
"watch the skies" is the over riding message at the end, a marvelous cast, edgy camera work, and one haunting scene early in the movie of the army officials all making a perfect circle around the downed craft, nothing said, nothing needed saying either. I'm still watching those skies.
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| Fan out every body , find out it's shape |
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