Movies for hardcore sci-fi geeks

In summary, Shane Carruth's Primer is a well-done, complex science fiction film that may be too difficult for some viewers. It's an excellent movie that is sure to entertain those who enjoy time travel and scientific fiction.
  • #561
enorbet said:
I recently watched what may come to be an important milestone in Sci Fi. Don't get excited yet since it is by no means a "pulse-pounder". It is the 2017 film, The Beyond .

I liked this movie rather a lot while at the same time understanding it's low rating and probably low appeal as far as numbers are concerned. It's not visceral. It's intellectual. I've loved Sci Fi since I was a child but over time I came to realize that much of it is just Cowboys and Indians in Space and while it often pays homage to Science and Technology it is most often rather fearful of them, which is probably a reflection of how the unscientific, the vast majority of the population, view Science and Technology. It may well play a part in the current suspicion, distrust and skepticism that gives us Flat Earthers and Moon Landing Denial, etc etc etc.

Some of the "Science" in The Beyond is.. well... silly but it's not a deal breaker to the main thrust of the concept and some of those can keep your thoughts and imagination highly stimulated especially if you're at all intrigued by Kurzweil's "singularity".

Some of the plot mechanics are silly too unless you are able to suspend disbelief when presented with many so-called Sci Fi plots that actually imagine the current state of humanity has a snowball's chance in Hell of defending against a civilization that can travel interstellar distances let alone routinely command energies equivalent to orders of magnitude greater than our Sun over it's entire lifetime, but then quite a few movies not only seem to imagine this possible and reasonable but hold it up to be somehow heroic. Because of this fact, I can forgive The Beyond, especially in the service of the Big Picture that finally get's presented with a positive message and displays trust in Science and Technology while doing it.

Since fearful, suspicious Sci Fi and Technology has also led to the TLDR generation, here's the skinny. If you loved "Aliens" AND hated "Star Trek: The Next Generation" or even preferred "Star Wars" to "Star Trek"this probably isn't your "cuppa". If you liked "Contact" it very well might be. It's not quite as well done as the recent "Arrival" (not the Charlie Sheen movie) but it is broader and equally high minded with a far greater reach. It could keep you thinking about anyone of a number of points for a very long time.

The way it addresses human-technology singularity is extremely thought provoking and quite possibly rather prescient.

Your suggestion "The Beyond" looks cool. I acquired it and will watch it tonight.

More like it please. Movies that can make you think of the future and possible technological marvels especially regarding the brain and its extensions.
 
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  • #562
new6ton said:
Your suggestion "The Beyond" looks cool. I acquired it and will watch it tonight.

More like it please. Movies that can make you think of the future and possible technological marvels especially regarding the brain and its extensions.
This is the purview of speculative fiction - of which science fiction is a subset.
You will find no end of material about how technology affects mind and culture in the field of speculative fiction.
But due to the fact that it's more conceptual and more subtle, it lends itself better to the written word than the screen, where abstract ideas can be fleshed out in exposition, rather than in action.
There are some great authors that specialize in this field.
 
  • #563
I don't know if it's been mentioned but this was a favorite of mine - Timerider
Motorcycle racer Lyle Swann (Fred Ward) is cruising through the Mexican desert when he accidentally stumbles into a time-travel experiment and finds himself transported back to the Old West of the 1870s. There he encounters an attractive local woman (Belinda Bauer) and a gang of criminals led by Porter Reese (Peter Coyote). Lyle's motorized bike is impressive in the past -- until it runs out of gas. Now Lyle must rely on his wits to take care of business and return to his own time.
 
  • #564
Incidentally for those of us who enjoy positive message Sci Fi suitable for whole family viewing Disney's Tomorrowland is a decent experience. It poses a great riddle for kids (and maybe some adults) to ponder -
Brad Bird (writer) said:
You have two pets
One is Darkness and Doom
The other is Brightness and Hope
Which one survives and flourishes?

Some of the Science is typically Disney child-like but it displays a trust in Science and Technology and accepts and champions a responsibility in people as well as displaying the joy and empowerment of grasping "how things work" that is fundamental to all enthralled with Science. Your kids, especially the girls, will love it and rightfully so.
 
  • #565
Here is a Science mag news interview of Naren Shankar, showrunner of "The Expanse".
Covers his physics background, motivations, and how he got into showbiz.

New show in about a week.
 
  • #566
I can't see that Tom Cruise's Oblivion has been mentioned (the noise made by the sentinel bots is terrific), but it's a solid little sci-fi mystery, as is his Edge of Tomorrow.
 
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  • #567
I'm rather impressed with a new (2019) gem from the UK which may be rather unfortunately titled Cosmos as there is bound to be some confusion and blurring over that title, but it is well worth seeking unless you don't enjoy the geekier films of the genre. It starts very slowly and takes a long time to begin accelerating and does have a few crude plot devices to bring the visceral to the cerebral, but once it gets the base revealed it rapidly becomes a true "mind blower". Even some of the plot devices will have you imagining how seemingly minor random events in real life could utterly alter how the plot unfolds on perhaps THE most compelling question anyone interested in Science-driven imagination can pose, and how the answer may one day unfold.
 
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  • #568
On a lesser note I binge watched the new season of The Expanse and while the cast and production are as compelling as ever, I found it mildly disappointing but that is probably due to the "tough act to follow" syndrome. Not every writing team or story can conclude a brilliant story as perfectly as The Sopranos or Six Feet Under. It's still worth watching and does retain some possibility of greater things to follow, but for me, this season was a bit of a lull. Hopefully it's just the "eye of the hurricane".
 
  • #569
enorbet said:
On a lesser note I binge watched the new season of The Expanse and while the cast and production are as compelling as ever, I found it mildly disappointing but that is probably due to the "tough act to follow" syndrome. Not every writing team or story can conclude a brilliant story as perfectly as The Sopranos or Six Feet Under. It's still worth watching and does retain some possibility of greater things to follow, but for me, this season was a bit of a lull. Hopefully it's just the "eye of the hurricane".
FWIW it seemed to me that the book series ran out of ideas and steam
 
  • #571
One I've been watching lately that is okay, is Travelers, on Netflix. It isn't great but it is keeping my attention for now.

Hoping to see more episodes of The Black Mirror soon.

I haven't seen a lot of hard sci-fi recently. I enjoyed the series Jericho, which sort of qualifies as sci-fi. I definitely enjoyed Away.

Certainly fantasy and not sci-fi, I really enjoyed The OA. At times it got silly but I thought it was very creative. And for a wonderfully satirical and slap-stick look at the afterlife while getting an overview of classical philosophy and ethics, The Good Place cracks me up.
 
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