(1) STAR WARS PREMIERE. Photographer Al Ortega has posted 105 photos taken at last night’s Hollywood premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Facebook.
And Craig Miller has an account of attending the premiere on Facebook too. Both are public.
(2) ON THE CARPET. CNN has Big Media’s coverage of celebrities’ responses to seeing the movie. I didn’t spot any spoilers, but caveat emptor.
Finally, the most hilarious comment comes from Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford. Talking about how much he possibly enjoys red carpet events, he remarked: “I can’t think of anything better to do! I do these in my backyard on Wednesdays.”
(3) WINDING UP THE REWATCH. Michael J. Martinez completed his Star Wars rewatch in the nick of time — “Star Wars wayback machine: Return of the Jedi”.
I think the Luke/Vader scenes work much better, especially when the Emperor is in the mix. Ian McDiarmid plays Palpatine with relish and Evil and it’s pretty awesome. Luke’s character goes through the wringer, and the performance is pretty damn good. And of course, we see Vader return to the Light. That wasn’t too horribly predictable going into the movie, and it worked. The one thing that the prequels did well (or didn’t mess up) was to show the beginning of Vader’s arc and how he ended up tossing the Emperor down a well and being the good guy he always wanted to be.
Martinez says, “I’ll be seeing the new one Thursday night, and will post a non-spoiler review on Friday. Thanks yet again for having me on File 770!”
(4) TAKE NO CHANCES. Nate Hoffelder at The Digital Reader claims “This Chrome Extension Will Protect You from Seeing Star Wars Spoilers”.
And that’s why I’m thrilled I found Force Block. This simple Chrome extension saves me from seeing any unwanted spoilers. After it’s installed, any webpage that reveals details about the new Star Wars movie will look like this screenshot from movies.com…
(5) HO HO HO. Reason thinks Star Wars I-VI needs a parody collection of trigger warnings.
(6) MAGNUM OPUS. Whereas The Slipper works for its audience share with a rundown on how the original movies were handled in comics — “Something about that Space Wars thing everyone’s talking about”.
The Slipper knows how to leave them wanting more, as it ends by reproducing a series of Bloom County strips about Star Wars from the late Nineties.
(7) REEPICHEEP’S TAILOR? A Calgary metal artist crafts suits of armor for mice and cats.
Tiny helmets, shields and weapons could (theoretically) protect rodents and felines in battle…
It takes anywhere from 10 to 40 hours for de Boer to complete one suit of mouse armour. Cat armour takes much longer — 50 to 500 hours per piece
The link leads to a photo gallery of his work.
(8) LIVING COLOR. At Harry Bell – Fine Artist you can see glorious work like his oil painting of the London Millennium Bridge.
Harry is a past Hugo nominee (1979), Rotsler Award winner (2004), and two-time FAAn Award winner (1977, 2014).
(9) ADDITIONAL NOTES. Deborah J. Ross tells more about “My Love Affair with the Music of The Lord of the Rings” in today’s installment at Book View Café.
Playing
When The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released, I bought the easy piano/voice version of “The Song of the Lonely Mountain,” from the closing credits of the movie. By this time, I was on my own, without my teacher, but the piece was comfortably within my skill level. I knew how to drill fiddly fingering passages and such like. The key as written was a little low for my voice, but manageable. I even figured out how to use paper clips to grab on to so I could turn the pages without breaking the flow of the song.
Of course, I wanted more. The song was so much fun, how I could I not want more? But I also wanted to challenge myself.
(10) MAKING SPACE. John Dodd’s talks about letting go (how un-collector-like!) in “The Great Collection in the Sky” for Amazing Stories.
But, after wiping away the tears, I moved on. Later, my massive collection of comics and graphic novels had to go – sold at rock bottom price to a comics shop. There had been mint first editions in there, I thought, how dare he insult me with that price? But in the end, I relented. The collection was holding me back from moving on (quite literally – the new place wasn’t big enough for all that paper and cardboard).
So, do I regret the letting go? Actually no, I don’t. I made space for some truly amazing new things in my life…less “things” and more “experiences”.
(11) RAIN OBITUARY. Author David Rain, who wrote sf as Tom Arden, died December 15 reports Locus Online.
Arden is best known for the five-book Orokon epic fantasy series, beginning with The Harlequin’s Dance (1997). He also wrote standalone novels Shadow Black (2002) and The Translation of Bastian Test (2005), as well as Doctor Who novella Nightdreamers (2002), and numerous stories, reviews, and critical articles. As David Rains he published The Heat of the Sun (2012)….
(12) 3…2…1…BOOM! On December 15, 1960 The Traveler at Galactic Journey witnessed the nadir of America’s space program, a fourth consecutive disaster — “Booby Prize (Pioneer Atlas Able #4)”.
Today, NASA made a record–just not one it wanted to.
For the first time, a space program has been a complete failure. Sure, we’ve had explosions and flopniks and rockets that veered too high or too low. We’ve had capsules that popped their tops and capsules that got lost in the snow. But never has there been a clean streak of bad missions.
(13) APPENDIX N. Jeffro Johnson closes out his series with “Appendix N Matters”, a summary of his views about fantasy and its readers.
The retiring of Lovecraft’s bust from the World Fantasy Awards is therefore not so much reminiscent of statues of Stalin being pulled down in post-Soviet Russia. It’s more a reflection of the Berlin wall… going up. It used to be that reading centuries old books was almost universally considered to be a very good thing, to the point of being the very definition of an education. Now, looking into works that are merely decades old are increasingly beyond the pale. People with this attitude will even go so far as to object to having to read Ovid at university– and college administrators– far from standing up to this– seem instead to be on the lookout to accommodate this sort of thing.
In the not too distant past, though, the “dangerous visions” of the day could be enjoyed side by side with classic fiction by Lord Dunsany and A. Merritt. Professionals with highly divergent views on politics and religion could coexist within the pages of the same magazines. And people that were keen on challenging every imaginable taboo could get on within the same market where more traditional approaches to science fiction and fantasy were still practiced. People were free then in a way that’s hard to even imagine now. Political correctness and its legions of freelance thought police were only just beginning to gain a foothold, and remnants old ways and attitudes could be taken for granted.
The Appendix N list preserves therefore not just a list of books that are of especial interests to fans of classic Dungeons & Dragons. It’s also a snapshot of what fantasy fandom was into in the seventies. And don’t let anyone tell you different. While the list is not without its idiosyncrasies, it is nevertheless a representative sample of the authors that would have been translated into foreign languages when other countries finally got around to importing the fantasy and science fiction phenomenon for themselves.
(14) ABIGAIL ON ANCILLARY. Abigail Nussbaum’s review “Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie” does a lot of what used to be called “praising with faint damns.”
For example:
That Ancillary Justice is as much fun as it is feels all the more remarkable when you consider that it is, essentially, a book-long infodump.
Or:
…By this point, we’ve learned enough about the Radch and its stratified, class-conscious society to view the popularity of these kinds of stories with distrust–their narrative of virtue triumphing over social convention is intended to paper over the real issues of class prejudice that hinder most capable lower class citizens from climbing the social ladder (or the pitfalls that trip them up even once they’ve achieved a higher status, as in the case of Lieutenant Awn). It’s less clear whether we’re meant to notice that Ancillary Justice is also one of these stories–Breq isn’t just lower class, by the standards of the Radchaai she isn’t even human, and yet by the end of the novel her courage and devotion to Lieutenant Awn have not only gained her the respect of several high-ranking Radch officials, but she has been granted citizenship and the command of her own ship. All that’s missing is the love story with a high-born Radchaai (and I’m betting rather heavily on that for the sequels). Is it even possible to question the very idea of empire through what is essentially a Horatio Hornblower story?
(15) CORREIA. Don’t just ask any professional, “Ask Correia #18: Creating ‘Offensive’ Characters” at Monster Hunter Nation.
That whole Bechdel Test thing? Where they ask are there two females in a scene who talk about something other than a man? Okay, first off, you shouldn’t have to “test” your story for anything beyond is it readable and entertaining enough to sell it to somebody, but second WHO CARES? (well, a legion of Twitter feminists and gender studies professors obviously) Right off the bat most of the mega-selling romance genre fails the test, and most of those books are written by female authors for a female audience (and the romance genre makes serious bank compared to the rest of us).
There isn’t some arbitrary test that if you pass you’re good, and if you fail you’re sexist. Because you see what they call me, and I wrote Grimnoir, where the single most important, pivotal, critical, essential dialog scene in the entire trilogy was two young women talking about origami on top of a blimp. Test passed, and I’m the International Lord of Hate.
The real test for every scene should be asking yourself, is this scene good? Is this entertaining? Does this advance the story? Does this scene expand the characters or the universe? But that should be every scene, not just the one with two female characters in it.
(16) EMPATHY. I wonder if Larry knows the subject in the neverbeenmad comic ”2015 Voight Kampff Empathy Test”?
(17) Today In History
- December 15, 1974 – Young Frankenstein was released.
- December 15, 1978 — Superman with Christopher Reeve premiered.
(18) BRIN REMEMBERS CLARKE. Coinciding with the Syfy show’s premiere, David Brin has penned a tribute “Childhood’s End and Remembering Arthur C. Clarke”.
And yet, what most intrigues me about Arthur’s work is something else – his ongoing fascination with human destiny – a term seemingly at odds with the scientific worldview.
True, a great many of his stories have focused on problem-solving, in the face of some intractable riddle. His characters, confronted with something mysterious, aren’t daunted. They gather resources, pool knowledge, argue, experiment, and then – often – transform the enigmatic into something that’s wondrously known. This part of the human adventure has always shown us at our best. Peeling away layers. Penetrating darkness. Looking back at the wizard, standing behind the curtain.
(19) WHAT WILL BE IN TWO YEAR’S BEST COLLECTIONS . Through SF Signal I found
“Table of Contents: The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 1 Edited by Neil Clarke” (31 stories)
and
“Table of Contents: The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016 Edited by Rich Horton” (30 stories).
Somebody with more time than I have just now should see if there is any overlap…
(20) WALK ON THE WILD SIDE. James Bacon took “A Superhero Stroll Around New York City” when he was in town, and wrote it up on Forbidden Planet. Lots of photos too!
Paul Lepelletier is our guide for this superhero walk around New York City, and at two pm he gathers us all outside. This is a friendly group, and soon we all know where everyone is from, four from England, four from Boston, two locals from Manhattan, two from Scotland, two from New Jersey, and four other New Yorkers, it is a decent crowd..
Paul has worked for DC comics; he drew comics at one stage of his varied career, worked in the licensing division, and indeed, is an award winning graphic designer and marketer, but his love of comics, and his appreciation for having been involved with them, is quite clear.
His knowledge is strong, and soon we are hearing about Fleicher’s Rotoscope technique and additions they made to the Superman ouevre, such as the famous Phone Booth as we stand outside their offices.
Soon we are on Park Avenue, looking at a building that housed Will Eisner’s studio, and hearing about the relationship between Will Eisner and Bob Kane, about how Batman was sold, and how Bob Kane’s own career developed and again looking at the building that housed his studio back in the day.
Paul’s knowledge of comic characters and their history, especially on TV and Radio, is new ground to me. As well as Batman, he talks about the rise of marvel in the 1960s, the old movie serials and the germination of TV series.
(21) HWA LA SIGNING. On January 16, 2016 members of the Horror Writers Association LA will sign Winter Horror Days edited by David Lucarelli at a Burbank bookstore.
Join us Sunday January 10th 2-4 pm as members of HWA LA sign Winter Horror Days at Dark Delicacies, 3512 W Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505
[Thanks to Martin Morse Wooster, James Bacon, Hampus Eckerman, Will R., Brian Z., and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Jonathan Edelstein.]
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1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Prestige (2006)
The only great Christopher Nolan movie.
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
Logan’s Run (1976)
Both are flawed, but Logan’s Run is just too cheesy.
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Lynch’s Dune was half of a great movie. Unfortunately, the other half was a terrible movie.
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Abstain.
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
This was really hard, but Winter Soldier is the best superhero movie ever.
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
Back To The Future (1985)
Another really tough call.
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
Dark City (1998)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998)
Gravity (2013)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Godzilla (1954)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Serenity (2005)
I want to vote for both!
Pingback: Amazing Stories | AMAZING NEWS FROM FANDOM: 12/20/15 - Amazing Stories
Well, I needed forehead cloths for most of these, and it’s only going to get harder! Darn dice!
1. Bride of Frankenstein. The first sequel to improve on the original movie.
2. Logan’s Run.
3. King Kong
4. War of the Worlds
5. Abstain. Never saw A Scanner Darkly.
6. Things to Come. The production defined “future” for many years.
7. Iron Giant
8. 12 Monkeys
9. Galaxy Quest
10. Abstain. Never saw Minority Report.
11. Star Wars. When I saw the re-release in the 90’s, I finally understood how my mom fell asleep when she took me to see it originally. Way over-rated as a film, but still the defining film of the age.
12. Dark City
13. The Thing
14. Gravity
15. Young Frankenstein
16. Buckaroo Banzai
Man, that was hard!
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
**Pedant impulse – rising – must not – point out – heat – and round are -pretty much – the same – thing!**
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
The Prestige (2006)
I really liked this, quite apart from the older movies having a problem getting my vote.
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
Again, we are talking about one of cinema’s very greatest movies here.
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
I like characters.
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
There has been no loss of essence.
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Basically running unopposed here.
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
I know I saw the Star Trek movie, but I don’t remember even the first thing about it.
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
Richard Dreyfuss really was pretty good in this even though it was part of the meteoric process of his becoming over-exposed.
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
This is a tough contest. But Miyazaki.
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
One of the hardest things for an actor to do is vivify basic goodness and make it interesting. Hats off to Chris Evans.
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
The Chuck Berry scene means I will never vote for Back to the Future for any contest other than Best Unconscious Racism.
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Because I’ve seen Rocky Horror more times and it has better cosplay.
12. CITY PEOPLE
Dark City (1998)
What every PKD movie should have been.
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Strategic pro-comedy vote.
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
Serenity (2005)
While the opening scene with Simon and River literally could not have happened according to the TV continuity, it’s a riveting piece of drama featuring my hands-down favorite character: Simon.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND GROUP – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Prestige (2006)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
Logan’s Run (1976)
Abstain. Never seen Brazil; don’t love Logan’s Run enough to vote for it anyway.
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
Dark City (1998)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998)
Gravity (2013)
Jim Carrey can be a good dramatic actor when he wants to be.
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Godzilla (1954)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Serenity (2005)
Still mad Stalker got cut ! Its a beautiful film.
1. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
2. Brazil (1985)
3. King Kong (1933)
4. The War of The Worlds (1953)
5. Dune (1984)
6. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
8. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
9. Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
10. Back To The Future (1985)
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. WALL-E (2008)
13. The Thing (1982)
14. The Truman Show (1998)
15. Young Frankenstein (1974)
16. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
abstain
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
it will take a lot to beat Brazil
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
abstain, both have their points
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
abstain
7. FIRST CONTACT
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
12. CITY PEOPLE
Dark City (1998)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
abstain
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
abstain
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Some of those are lost causes but oh well.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
Still hitting a few where I haven’t seen one or both.
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
7. FIRST CONTACT
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Aauugh Tie dammit, apples to oranges
12. CITY PEOPLE
Dark City (1998)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
double meh.
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Godzilla (1954)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Serenity (2005)
Augh. Buckaroo due to lack of gratuitous deaths of favorite characters and a GREAT closing credits sequence, and my limit is one tie per round
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Prestige (2006)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
Logan’s Run (1976)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
King Kong (1933)
My friend Adam Hahn wrote a play called “KONG: A GODDAMN THIRTY-FOOT GORILLA,” a remix/deconstructing of King Kong. Skypilot Theatre produced it here in L.A. and it was incredible. I’d vote for -that- version of Kong.
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
The Iron Giant (1999)
Difficult. Went for the more emotionally resonant one.
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
Back To The Future (1985)
ARRRGGHHHHHHH. But Minority Report has that incredible car-assembly chase, and the terrifying eye-surgery scene, and Colin Ferrell being very, very smart…
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
Dark City (1998)
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME, HAMPUS.
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998)
Gravity (2013)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Godzilla (1954)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Serenity (2005)
Only 10 & 12 required forehead cloths.
@tintinaus,
No worries. I for one did not take offense.
Are they a new-fangled design of scissors? Because when I try to use scissors with the wrong hand, it doesn’t end well.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
2. Logan’s Run (1976). Sob.
3. King Kong (1933)
5. Dune (1984) Both flawed, but Dune was more glorious in its badness.
7. The Iron Giant (1999)
9. Galaxy Quest (1999)
10.Back To The Future (1985)
11. Star Wars (1977). Now where’s that forehead cloth?
12. WALL-E (2008)
13. The Fifth Element (1997)
15. MONSTER MOVIES [abstain]
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Godzilla (1954)
16. Serenity (2005)
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. The Prestige (2006)
2. Brazil (1985)
3. King Kong (1933)
4. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. A Scanner Darkly (2006)
6. Things to Come (1936)
7. The Iron Giant (1999)
8. Abstain
9. Abstain
10. Abstain
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. Dark City (1998)
13. The Thing (1982) Both enjoyable but in very different ways.
14. The Truman Show (1998). Still not entirely convinced it’s really SF, though
15. Young Frankenstein (1974)
16. Abstain
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
abstain: neither
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
Gravity (2013)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
abstain: both
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM Logan’s Run (1976)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS Dune (1984)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST Things to Come (1936)
7. FIRST CONTACT The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND Twelve Monkeys (1995)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER Galaxy Quest (1999)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN Star Wars (1977)
12. CITY PEOPLE Dark City (1998)
13. MEAT POPSICLES The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS? The Truman Show (1998)
15. MONSTER MOVIES Young Frankenstein (1974)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE Serenity (2005)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Logan’s Run (1976)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953)
7. FIRST CONTACT
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Evil, evil dice to pair these two when there are so many in this bracket that I don’t care about.
12. CITY PEOPLE
Dark City (1998)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Again with the evil dice? You couldn’t have paired one of these with The Truman Show?! Fine.
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
Serenity (2005)
Hampus, your dice are evil but when I read your summaries of which movies won, all becomes right with the world.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Prestige (2006)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
Logan’s Run (1976)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
The Iron Giant (1999)
Nope
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
By Grabthar’s hammer, what a movie!
(Sorry, Captain.)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
Back To The Future (1985)
Nope
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
Dark City (1998)
Nope
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998)
Gravity (2013)
Nope
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Godzilla (1954)
FOREHEAD CLOTH!
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Serenity (2005)
Nope
1-3. Abstain
4. Dr. Strangelove
5-7. Abstain
8. Twelve Monkeys
9. Abstain
10. Back to the Future
11. Yikes. Star Wars
12-14. Abstain
15. Godzilla
16. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (which admittedly I haven’t seen, but it’s got to be better than Serenity)
Yay! By the second heat there are as I hoped enough thing I’ve watched to be worth voting!
Still not as many as I’d like…
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
7. FIRST CONTACT
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
… but it was close…
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
Serenity (2005)
Petrea
Don’t count on it. It’s incoherent and insane. I can see how it is so in ways that someone might enjoy, maybe if they’re the sort who like having their brain scrambled, but it did noticeably less than nothing at all for me. (it’s in my husband’s movie collection, though, and I believe I bought it for him.)
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – SECOND GROUP – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Prestige (2006)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
Logan’s Run (1976)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Abstain
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Abstain
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
Dark City (1998)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998)
Gravity (2013)
Abstain
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Godzilla (1954)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Serenity (2005)
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Prestige (2006)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
Logan’s Run (1976)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
Dark City (1998)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998)
Gravity (2013)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Godzilla (1954)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Serenity (2005)
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
King Kong (1933)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
I usually point to this film as an example of Good Ensemble Handling.
7. FIRST CONTACT
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
I liked TM a lot, but I won’t vote against a Ghibli I haven’t seen. They’re too good.
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
OW. Not cool, dice, not cool. I can’t do it: TIE. (Kyra-style, please.)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
I have BTTF fatigue.
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Ow. Not quite as bad as the other one, but VERY NEARLY. *burrows into pile of forehead cloths*
12. CITY PEOPLE
I have seen both of them, but curiously I can’t remember a damn thing. I think I enjoyed them? Possibly? But which one is better I couldn’t say.
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Godzilla (1954)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Definitely not a hate-vote, no sirree. *innocent whistle*
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
7. FIRST CONTACT
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
Gravity (2013)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
Serenity (2005)
The increasingly evil dice have forced me to say:
1. abstain
2. Brazil
3. King Kong
4. WOTW
5. (flips coin) Dune
6. Things to Come
7. CE3K
8. Nausicaa
9. arghghgh… forehead cloths… Galaxy Quest
10. BTTF
11. Star Wars
12. WALL-E
13. Thing
14. Gravity
15. Fronkenshteen
16. Buckaroo
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Prestige (2006)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
Logan’s Run (1976)
Argh difficult, since I like both. But Brazil is simply the better film, while Logan’s Run is fun but flawed.
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
I have a soft spot for the 1984 Dune.
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
The Iron Giant (1999)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
Argh, this is very difficult, since both are wonderful films. But in the end, I’ll go with Cap and Bucky over Galaxy Quest.
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
Dark City (1998)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998)
Gravity (2013)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Godzilla (1954)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Serenity (2005)
Argh, another really difficult choice. But much as I love Buckaroo Banzai, Serenity is simply better.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
The Prestige (2006)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
Gravity (2013)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
7. FIRST CONTACT
The Iron Giant (1999)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Ugh, this is definitely starting to get harder. /me places a pile of forehead cloths in easy reach…
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
The Prestige (2006)
Well, not too bad so far…
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
Ouch, I’m really fond of Logan’s Run, but I love Brazil!
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
King Kong (1933)
Yikes, tough choice. So very different, so hard to choose. I guess I’ll go with the classic.
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Ok, both kind of classics here, but this is another of my all-time favorites, so it wins.
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Dune was probably the better book, but I have serious mixed feelings about its adaptations (all of them), while ASD is simply a brilliant adaptation all around, and a seriously underrated film. I suspect it’ll lose, but I gotta vote for it anyway.
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Abstain.
7. FIRST CONTACT
The Iron Giant (1999)
Yikes! Yes this is painful! Ok, I’m going with the one I’m more interested in rewatching.
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
AAAAAAAAHHH! The dice are my enemy! I love both these movies! I think I have to go with the old: give my vote to whichever one is behinder at the end trick here!
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Oh, the pain simply doesn’t stop! I don’t want to choose, but I will, because I just love GQ so much.
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Back To The Future (1985)
Eeek, ok, I don’t like it, but I think I can pick one here.
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Bad dice! I have to go with SW; there’s just no other valid option. *sniff*
12. CITY PEOPLE
Dark City (1998)
No, no, no, this is all wrong! I suppose I like this one better.
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Thing (1982)
I went back and forth on this about ten times. I suspect this is the underdog, so I’ll go ahead and choose it, but I’ll be happy no matter which one wins.
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
Gravity (2013)
Not as hard a choice as some, but not entirely easy either. *re-sigh*
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
This simply isn’t fair. Godzilla deserves to get farther than this, but I cannot, in good conscience, pick it here.
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
That’s it. My mind is broken. If you need me, I’ll be the small whimpering lump over in the corner. But first, I’m picking the weird cult classic over the raving-fan favorite.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
The Prestige (2006)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Logan’s Run (1976)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
Gravity (2013)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
Serenity (2005)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
To the people who have asked if The Truman Show is SF: well, Wikipedia certainly seems to think so.
I mean, if you want to get into the question of whether it’s “real” SF, that’s a can of worms I suspect we’d all rather not reopen. (“Is Star Wars science fiction or science fantasy?”) But building an entire town, including fake skies and such, all just to mess with one person and entertain the masses? That’s a pretty science-fictional concept in my book.
Note that it predates the rise of the reality show, so it may look slightly less stfnal today than it did when it came out, but even so, the whole fake town puts it pretty solidly into SF territory for me.
Of course, I didn’t actually vote for it, but I certainly think it belongs on the list here.
Oh, and it won the 1999 Hugo! 🙂
Feeling the bracket heat:
1. Bride
2. Logan’s Run
3. KOOOOOOONNNNNG! (with apologies to Montalban)
4. War of the Worlds, but I’d pay good money to see Slim Pickens take on a tripod.
5. Scanner Darkly
6. First Contact
7. Ouch. Iron Giant.
8. 12 Monkeys, which I’d love to see remade as 12 Monkees.
9. GalaxyQuest
10. Back to the Future (which is now the past)
11. I’m gonna be the heretic here and pick RHPS for rewatchability. And Tim “I can play ANY role” Curry.
12. Dark City
13. Fifth Element
14. Truman Show
15. Young Fronkensteen
16. Buckaroo Banzai, because it’s pronounced “big-boo-TAY!”
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Prestige (2006)
YOU GO TO FAR!!!
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
Logan’s Run (1976)
Honestly, Logan’s Run isn’t a very good movie. Brazil is an excelent, if incredbly depressing movie.
So for Movie Night, We’ll have Brazil, Pan’s Labyrinth, and…
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985)
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Dr. Strangelove just really defined the Cold War.
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
AKA “Visually at least, these films are awesome!!”
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Ehhh…the technocratic vision behind Things to Come has kind of worn thin.
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
The Iron Giant (1999)
Still the best Superman movie.
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Nausicaa, for all it’s flaws is still beautiful And far less depressing than the manga.
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
So I flipped a coin on this one…
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002)
Back To The Future (1985)
The ending actually pretty much ruined Minority Report.
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
*sigh* Gotta go with the one that completely warped my teen years.
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
Dark City (1998)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Thing (1982)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998)
Gravity (2013)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Godzilla (1954)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Serenity (2005)
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
7. FIRST CONTACT
The Iron Giant (1999)
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
King Kong (1933)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
@Xtifr: Appeals to Wikipedia, really? 😉
My reasoning for “The Truman Show” not being SF is there’s nothing unrealistic/futuristic tech-wise, it’s not alt history (IMHO), etc. The plot’s outlandish and “Twilight Zone”-y (the article mentions it was inspired by a TZ episode), but lots of non-SFF movies have outlandish plots or have a surreal feel to them.
IMHO “Star Wars” is a bad comparison since I haven’t seen anyone say “The Truman Show” is fantasy (I’d get a kick out of that, though!). It’s seems “SF or not” – not “SF or fantasy.”
Anyway, just my take on it. It’s in the bracket and that’s all that matters. BTW I didn’t realize it won a Hugo! (But then, I’ve seen a few other highly-debatable-if-it’s-SFF-at-all items get a Hugo nomination.)
I do love this movie.
/ramble, sorry
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
2. Brazil (1985)
7. The Iron Giant (1999)
9. Galaxy Quest (1999)
10. Minority Report (2002)
11. Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
12. Dark City (1998)
13. The Fifth Element (1997)
16. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
@ kendall – The Truman Show may not have depicted future tech, but it did show an entirely novel use for existing technology, so I think it should count.
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
Just the facts.
1. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
2. Logan’s Run (1976)
3. King Kong (1933)
4. The War of The Worlds (1953)
5. Dune (1984)
6. Things to Come (1936)
7. The Iron Giant (1999)
“Su-per-man.” [sniff]
8. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
9. Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
10. Minority Report (2002)
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. Dark City (1998)
13. The Fifth Element (1997)
14. Gravity (2013)
15. Godzilla (1954)
16. Serenity (2005)
SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985)
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
King Kong (1933)
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984)
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Abstain
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999)
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Back To The Future (1985)
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977)
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008)
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997)
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
Gravity (2013)
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Godzilla (1954)
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
@soon lee
Yes, using scissors with the wrong hand puts the leverage wrong, so they don’t cut well. That’s why it is so weird that I became a right-handed scissors user while growing up in a house of left-handed scissors.
BGHilton: The Truman Show may not have depicted future tech, but it did show an entirely novel use for existing technology, so I think it should count.
Not only that — but building a dome big enough to “enclose” Truman’s world without him realizing it had boundaries really isn’t within current technology. They had a false ocean inside the dome — despite the camouflage, it still had to be pretty large for him not to see its boundaries. Remember when the klieg light fell from the sky? How high up would those lights have to be for him to not be able to see them?
I always considered the movie at least borderline SF because we really don’t have the technology to create that large of a dome right now.
WHISTLEBLOW
Voting closing down in one hour.
9. Galaxy Quest
10. Back To The Future
11. Star Wars
13. The Thing
15. Young Frankenstein
16. Serenity
VOTING IS CLOSED!
RESULTS: SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – ROUND TWO – FIRST HEAT
1. MAN’S REACH EXCEEDS HIS IMAGINATION
Bride of Frankenstein (1935) – 19 votes
The Prestige (2006) – 15 votes
It’s a perfect night for mystery and horror. The air itself is filled with monsters. This gives Frankensteins Bride a +3 in saving throw against magic and Bride of Frankenstein wins with only four votes.
WINNER: Bride of Frankenstein
2. MR. SANDMAN, BRING ME A DREAM
Brazil (1985) – 32 votes
Logan’s Run (1976) – 11 votes
Logan 5 falls asleep and his post and never wakes when Sam and Jill thunders past in their truck. A depressed Logan goes to the Carrousel on his Lastday, while Sam and Jill travel to a happy future. Or do they?
WINNER: Brazil
3. MONSTERS VS ALIENS
Cocoon (1985) – 10 votes
King Kong (1933) – 33 votes
Cocoon is a good movie, but you don’t mess with The King. One little toe-dip in the swimming pool and the cocoons are out of energy.
WINNER: King Kong
4. DESTRUCTION OF EARTH
The War of The Worlds (1953) – 9 votes
Dr. Strangelove (1964) – 34 votes
This time, the aliens brought a cold vaccine and that was that for the earth. Meanwhile, humanity goes for a happy ending in Dr. Strangelove and ends on an optimistic tone of friends coming together again later on.
WINNER: Dr. Strangelove
5. FILMING THE CLASSICS
Dune (1984) – 19 votes
A Scanner Darkly (2006) – 20 votes
At the end, there was only one votes difference. Paul Atreides is eaten by a sandworm and the House of Harkonnen takes over the universe, specialising in making weaponry for ancient vampires.
WINNER: A Scanner Darkly
6. TO GO ON, CONQUEST BEYOND CONQUEST
Things to Come (1936) – 17 votes
Star Trek: First Contact (1996) – 20 votes
It turns out that Basra, Iraq was not really the center of peace as Things to Come had predicted. With three votes lead, Star Trek makes contact.
WINNER: Star Trek
7. FIRST CONTACT
Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977) – 20 votes
The Iron Giant (1999) – 25 votes
So. An aliens that plays weird musical tones and makes you play with your food or a giant freaking murder robot that wants to be your friend? Yes, I would choose the same.
WINNER: The Iron Giant
8. CREATURES RUNNING AROUND
Twelve Monkeys (1995) – 19 votes
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) – 17 votes
Poor Nausicaä. Her jungle continues to be toxic, the Ohms continue on their rampage and the valley is not rebuilt.
WINNER: Twelve Monkeys
9. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER SURRENDER
Galaxy Quest (1999) – 35 votes
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) – 13 votes
Captain America is put back on ice as Galaxy Quests gets its new series.
WINNER: Galaxy Quest
10. KNOWING THE FUTURE
Minority Report (2002) – 10 votes
Back To The Future (1985) – 38 votes
So you can predict what will happen, but what does that help when someone can change the future?
WINNER: Back To The Future
11. I CAN MAKE YOU A MAN
Star Wars (1977) – 46 votes
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – 8 votes
A mental mind fuck can be nice, but this one was not. Dr. Frank-N-Furter does a jump to the left and screams “THEY DIDN’T LIKE ME! THEY NEVER LIKED ME!” and then sets of for Transylvania.
WINNER: Star Wars
12. CITY PEOPLE
WALL-E (2008) – 18 votes
Dark City (1998) – 23 votes
WALL-E is stuck on earth and EVE never finds the plant. No pizza plants. John Murdoch gets to continue his search for Shell Beach.
WINNER: Dark City
13. MEAT POPSICLES
The Fifth Element (1997) – 24 votes
The Thing (1982) – 22 votes
The Fifth Element if the fifth element. You get it? The fifth! That gives it a multipass and The Thing is out in the cold.
WINNER: The Fifth Element
14. HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT ME TO CARRY ON UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?
The Truman Show (1998) – 15 votes
Gravity (2013) – 19 votes
Good Afternoon, Good Evening and Good Night, because we will not see you again, Truman Show.
WINNER: Gravity
15. MONSTER MOVIES
Young Frankenstein (1974) – 31 votes
Godzilla (1954) – 15 votes
Godzilla is defeated by the Oxygen Destroyer, not to rise again. Dr. Frankenstein, meanwhile, continues to vallow een ees gandfadda’s vootsthaps and his monster and has learned how to pronounce his name.
WINNER: Young Frankenstein
16. SNAPPY DIALOGUE
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) – 23 votes
Serenity (2005) – 24 votes
“BANZAI! I’LL-A SEE YOU IN-A HELL!” screams Lord Whorfin. He is right, because the whole planet is vaporised.
WINNER: Serenity
The second heat is open for voting here.
Wow, I’m really surprised Cap’n America didn’t put up a better fight (even though I very-reluctantly voted against it), and I’m also surprised that Serenity won by such a narrow margin! Just one vote? Were all the brown
shirtscoats away on holiday?Other than that, basically what I expected, although the tie between Nausicaa and Twelve Monkeys that I was praying for didn’t happen.
Godzilla defeated by Young Frankenstein? Enjoy your wrongfun, you rats. QQ
Wow a number of those were surprises. I couldn’t tie hubby down yesterday and so didn’t vote. Great commentary as always Hampus.