Pixel Scroll 12/13 Twenty Thousand Links Under the Sea

(1) MOVIE MEME. Mari Ness’ contribution brought the #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly meme to my attention…

Some others –

(2) THINGS TO DO. Mary Robinette Kowal, who uses Habitica as a productivity tool, invites others get the benefit by participating in her guild, “Ink Slingers”

For science-fiction and fantasy writers and editors who are actively working in the field and trying to improve craft. But who also need peer pressure to be productive.

We have some challenges with habits and dailies that you might find helpful.

The way Habitica works is that you break the things you ought to be doing into three types of things.

  1. Habits: which are things you ought to do, but not necessarily on a regular basis. Like “3 minute stretch break.”
  2. Dailies: which you do regularly. Like “Write three sentences.”
  3. To-Dos: which are one time things. Like “Complete revisions for episode 2.”

To use it, you need to create a Habitica account first, then join Ink Slingers.

(3) WENDIG. Locus Online has an excerpt of its interview with Chuck Wendig.

“We’re either moving toward evolution or the ruination of humanity. There’s an angel and a devil. Both of those are manifest in every single technical jump we make. Which one of these do we bet on? Are we going to destroy ourselves with technology, with a nuclear bomb? Or are we going to get nuclear energy? Even a knife can be used to feed my family, or to kill you and take your food. Even the simplest, tiniest technology has a massive polarizing effect on humanity.”

(4) MAXAM PASSES AWAY. SF Site News reports Bay Area fan Felice Maxam died December 1. Maxam, then Felice Rolfe, participated in the Society for Creative Anachronism from the beginning. She was present at its first Tournament in 1966. She also belonged to the Peninsula SF Association in those days. Co-editor of Niekas with Ed Meskys, she was nominated for two Hugo Awards, and won the Best Fanzine Hugo in 1967.

(5) FUTURE OF EASTERCON. Caroline Mullan is publicizing the Future of Eastercon questionnaire one more time. By Novacon, 207 responses had come in. Another 40 have been submitted since. “We’re mailing round to see if there is anyone else out there who would still like to fill it in before we have another go over the responses,” she says.

The Eastercon Options website has been busy over the last month — here are some of the most interesting posts.

Questionnaire Press Release

A questionnaire was open on the website during October 2015. We had 207 responses, about half from people who do not usually attend Eastercon bidding sessions…. https://eastercon.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/novacon-presentation.pdf

What are the issues?

At the Novacon presentation, someone in the audience asked for a general restatement of what problems we’re trying to solve here. We have a number of problems, some more significant than others, some are not problems at the moment but may well become so. It’s fairly obvious from the results of the questionnaire, that we also have a whole bunch of problems that we didn’t really consider to be problems at all, until we started asking questions….

Communication

Fans are often bad about communication. We tend to be rubbish about talking to other people, and even worse about understanding them when they talk back. That’s a bit strange for a subculture that is largely based around forms of communication, from letters to fanzines to films to blogs to conversations and panels at conventions. Historically though, the record of fans communicating, misunderstanding each other, followed by “all Fandom plunged into war” is pretty consistent. So it’s no surprise that here we are in 2015 and the results from our questionnaire show that we’re still doing a lousy job. I’d like to understand why, though the folly of doing this through the act of communicating via yet another written medium has not escaped me….

(6) Today’s Birthday Boy

  • Born December 13, 1925 – Dick Van Dyke

Fans help Dick Van Dyke kick-off his birthday weekend celebration with a flash mob at The Grove in Los Angeles on December 12, 2015.

(7) SITH STATUARY. The BBC profile “The Man Who Turned Lenin Into Darth Vader” tells about Ukranian sculptor Alexander Milov, who got the Odessa city council to allow him to turn a Lenin statue they were threatening to melt down into a Darth Vader statue. It even has free Wi-Fi!

To create his new sculpture, Milov strengthened the original structure and added a helmet and cape made out of titanium alloy – he also inserted a Wi-Fi router in Vader’s head. Despite the statue’s apparent glibness, it serves as a reminder that we can’t control which memories last and which don’t. “I wanted to make a symbol of American pop culture which appears to be more durable than the Soviet ideal.”

(8) COOKING FOR WHO. Chris-Rachael Oseland, author of Dining with the Doctor (recipes inspired by Doctor Who), is interviewed by Salon in “Geek food for the geek soul: ‘As society gets increasingly secular, we need to fill the social void’”.

Oseland will bring out a second edition of her Dr. Who book next year, as well as “Geek Breads,” which includes the “Dune” recipe. If you’ve seen the image of a “Dune” sandworm made of bread that went viral last week, that’s her work….

So it came out of your interest in history, more than fiction or something?

Yes – and I think that’s reflected in most of my cookbooks. “An Unexpected Cookbook,” my hobbit one, is a straight-up history cookbook: It’s all recipes from Tolkien’s childhood in the 1890s.

I’m doing the same thing with my Dr. Who cookbook – anytime where they go back in history, it’s an excuse for me to tuck in a few historical facts… I feel this obligation to make sure I’m historically accurate with these things.

(9) SENSE OF HISTORY. Adam-Troy Castro read Castalia House’s first two blog posts about pedophilia in sf and he challenges the relevance of its entry about David Asimov.

(10) SOUND FOOTING. Star Wars socks from Stance.

Starwars-bg-top-hero-sm

(11) OUT OF THE BOX. This Saturday Night Live faux commercial spoofs toy collecting nerds.

(12) RUCKER RECOMMENDS. Rudy Rucker’s book picks for 2015 ends with four books from this year (the others date earlier). His enthusiasm is contagious, so brace your TBR pile for incoming….!

(10) Paul Di Filippo, A Palazzo in Space. 2015. Paul Di Filippo writes SF stories, a lot of them, and he’s had a zillion collections come out. I collaborate with him on stories sometimes, so I’m very sensitive to the pleasures of his style. He has this jovial voice and an extreme love of words, with a real knack for SF neologisms. Like one of his stories communication devices is said to be “uebertoothed.” And there’s a gang of reality hackers called Los Braceros Ultimos. In one of his stories, “Pocketful of Faces,” he gets into an insane riff about people switching their faces, storylet after storylet, topping himself over and over—its’ like watching some mad juggler. And in the denouement, someone is wearing a fake face on top of a fake face on top of their real face, and who even knows why, but it just has to happen. And the doubly buried faces is like a pale grubworm inside a rotten log. Great stuff. Write on, celestial scribe!

(11) ONE LORD A-LEAPING. Legend of Tarzan official teaser trailer.

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Martin Morse Wooster, and Steven H Silver for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Brian Z.]

207 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 12/13 Twenty Thousand Links Under the Sea

  1. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  2. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

  3. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    I don’t know how the heats are organized but somehow I like hardly anything in this one.

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

  4. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    2.Stalker (1979) Like Fight Club, the movie was better than the book (Roadside Picnic).
    4.The Running Man (1987)
    6.Total Recall (1990)
    9.Logan’s Run (1976)
    10.Fantastic Planet (1973)
    11.Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    12.A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    16.Robocop (1987)

  5. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Jeff Bridges was really good in this. I think he got an Oscar nomination, if I remember correctly.

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)
    Abstain.

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    Old farts diving in pools for the win!

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)
    Argh argh argh. Eeeeevil dice. Schwartzeneggar/Richard Dawson (plus Dweezil Zappa in a small role) vs. “Phone Home” and Reese’s Pieces? {clutches forehead cloth] Richard Dawson’s beautiful nastiness wins out.
    The Running Man

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)
    Abstain.

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)
    Abstain.

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)
    Actually I kind of liked last year’s Godzilla. I know, I’ll get my coat now.

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)
    Big dumb jingoistic fun, yes. But Jeff Goldblum.

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

  6. Aw, crap. Hampus, can I change my vote? I didn’t realize that was George Clooney’s Solaris. Please put me down for that for #2. Thank you.

  7. 1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    Abstain; didn’t see Starman

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)

    Abstain; didn’t see either

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)

    Abstain; didn’t see The Hidden

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)

    I’m going with The Running Man, not because it was a better film (it wasn’t) but because I really, really hated how Spielburg manipulated me in ET. I had tears running down my face and I was swearing. (Not rational, because films are supposed to manipulate emotions, but I don’t want to see the wires, damnit!)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    Abstain; didn’t see Bebop

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    No contest

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    I saw Serenity before I saw (the boxed set of) Firefly. And I still loved it.

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    Good ghod. Um. They were both pretty terrible. Forbidden Planet, I suppose.

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    Avatar, because it was prettier. Although the script was terrible. I watched it as a travelogue and didn’t pay much attention to what people were doing…. (Unobtainium? Really?)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    Can’t remember if I saw Fantastic Planet, but I’m voting for Young Frankenstein anyway. (“Put. The Candle. Back.”)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    Abstain; never saw any Apes movies.

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    Abstain; never saw A Scanner Darkly.

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)

    Abstain; never saw Godzilla

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    Abstain; never saw Strange Days (nor heard of it, actually)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)

    Abstain; never saw Them!. No. Wait. I did see it. Giant radioactive ants, right? Ok, I’m going with Independence Day, despite the absurdity of hacking an alien OS.

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

    Never saw the Fly. Good thing, too. It would have given me nightmares. Abstain.

    (Double-checking bolding this time)

  8. redheadedfemme:

    Aw, crap. Hampus, can I change my vote? I didn’t realize that was George Clooney’s Solaris. Please put me down for that for #2. Thank you.

    Fixed.

  9. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    The Running Man (1987)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  10. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

  11. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Solaris (2002)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    The Running Man (1987)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  12. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    Abstain

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)

    Abstain

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)

    Abstain

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)

    Abstain

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    Abstain

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    Iron Man

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    Serenity

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    Forbidden Planet

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    Abstain

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    Abstain

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    Abstain

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    Abstain

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)

    Abstain

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    Abstain

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)

    Them!

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

    Robocop

  13. Forehead Cloths! Getcher Official Bracket Forehead Cloths! Soothing! Cooling! May prevent hair loss!

  14. 1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  15. Movie Bracket Third Heat
    In which I collapse into a blackhole of not seeing both movies in any pair.
    Abstain for all.

    Sigh.

  16. Not much of a movie watcher, but I will vote for:

    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

    in case it needs the boost!

  17. Ouch.

    Ouch ouch ouch.

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Solaris (2002)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC

    abstain

    4. ON THE RUN

    abstain

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS

    abstain

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE

    abstain

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    The Fly (1958)

  18. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
    Ouch, but I’m a sucker for movies that are way better than they need to be.

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Logan’s Run (1976)
    Voting based on the 30 minutes of Avatar that I managed to watch. It just wasn’t pretty enough in Blu-ray to mask the creaky plot.

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Godzilla (1954)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    The Fly (1958)
    Ouch, but this version of The Fly gave me nightmares for years.

  19. 1. Tie, really enjoyed both movies.
    2. Abstain. Never saw Stalker.
    3. Cocoon
    4. ET
    5. Jedi
    6. Iron Man by a nose, but don’t really think either of these is a great film
    7. Abyss
    8. Forbidden Planet. No Forbidden Planet, no Star Trek TOS
    9. Logan’s Run
    10. Young Frankenstein. Like Galaxy Quest, shows that the best parodies are made by people who love the original material.
    11. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
    12. Abstain. Love Shaun, but haven’t seen A Scanner Darkly.
    13. Godzilla, especially the original Japanese version.
    14. Strange Days.
    15. Them!
    16. The Fly

  20. 1. Abstain
    2. Stalker
    3-4. Abstain
    5. Return of the Jedi
    6. Abstain
    7. The Abyss
    8. Abstain
    9. Logan’s Run
    10. Abstain
    11. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
    12. Shaun of the Dead
    13. Godzilla, so long as it’s the real Godzilla and not the re-edited abomination with Raymond Burr
    14-15. Abstain
    16. Robocop

  21. 1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    abstain

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    abstain

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    The Fly (1958)

  22. We have entered a bracket where I may freely throw my hands in the air as if I just do not care, because, in fact, 14 out of 16 of these matchups do not elicit much of a reaction one way or the other from me. Love the pairing titles, though. Good work, Hampus!

    Here are the two for which I have an opinion:

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

  23. Aw, crap. Hampus, can I change my vote? I didn’t realize that was George Clooney’s Solaris. Please put me down for that for #2. Thank you.

    Another vote for naked George Clooney–Check! 😉

  24. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Total Recall (1990)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  25. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
    meh

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)
    meh

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)
    meh

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
    meh

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

  26. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    Abstain

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)

    Abstain

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    Close call for me, but it’s Robert over Arnold by a couple of hairs.

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    With all it’s flaws, I’m taking the scrappy grungy spaceship and crew over the terrified crews on the sea bottom.

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    Abstain. I don’t like either film.

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    Abstain

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    Abstain. Haven’t seen Strange Days and don’t love This Star Trek enough to vote blind.

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)

    I’m voting for nostalgia, mostly. I’ve rewatched Them! dozens of times just for the campy fun.

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE

    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

  27. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)
    Abstain

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

    These movies have survived even into 6815.

  28. 1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Abstain

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Abstain

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    Abstain

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Abstain

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  29. 1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    abstain

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Total Recall (1990)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (195

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    abstain

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996) A surprisingly hard choice….

    15. THREATS TO CIVILIzATION (pedantic, I know)
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  30. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  31. Could we turn 13 into a battle between Iggy Pop’s “Repo Man” vs. Blue Oyster Cult’s “Godzilla”? Hard choice.

  32. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Solaris (2002)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    Abstain

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  33. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT
    1. Abstain
    2. Stalker (1979)
    3. Abstain
    4. The Running Man (1987)
    5. Abstain
    6. Total Recall (1990)
    7. Abstain
    8. Forbidden Planet (1956)
    9. Logan’s Run (1976)
    10. Young Frankenstein (1974)
    11. Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    12. Abstain
    13. Repo Man (1984)
    14. Strange Days (1995)
    15. Abstain
    16. Abstain

  34. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    After we saw this, I told my wife, “No matter what happens with my cancer treatment, I lived long enough to see Robert Redford say, ‘Hail Hydra!'” But really I liked a lot about this, including its perfect treatment of Black Widow.

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Solaris (2002)

    I liked it.

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    Cocoon was quite a good movie!

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)

    Haven’t seen Cowboy Bebop, but since it’s running unopposed it gets my vote by default.

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)

    A superhero movie made with love and craft against a disrespectful, slipshod PKD adaptation? It’s like you’re trying to make my life easy.
    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)

    A nice alt-universe take on Firefly.

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    I didn’t like Logan’s Run that much but man, Avatar is a prime hate vote.

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    Even though I only thought about my choice for a second, these are both worthy contenders. I probably consider Beneath to be the greatest of the first run of Apes movies.

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)

    Dick.

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Independence Day (1996)

    I can’t imagine voting for this twice, but who knows with brackets?

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

    If nothing else, some of us do say “I’ll buy that for a dollar!” now and then.

  35. 3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

  36. 1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
    Abstain

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)
    Abstain

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)
    Abstain

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)
    Abstain

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)
    Abstain

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
    Abstain

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)
    Abstain

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)
    Abstain

  37. 1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
    This was really tough.

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)
    Abstain. I haven’t seen Stalker, much as I loved Roadside Picnic.

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)
    Giving the nod to ET as more important, even though I hated it.

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)
    Abstain.

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)
    Another really tough call.

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)
    I love Repo Man, but I have to give the nod to the big guy.

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
    I hate to vote against Cameron’s best screenplay, but there it is.

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

  38. I haven’t seen very many pairs here.

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Godzilla (1954)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILIZATION
    Independence Day (1996)

  39. 1. Captain America: Winter Soldier. Preferred the first one but it’s not on the list.
    2. Pass
    3. Pass
    4. ET
    5. Cowboy Beebop. Ewok free since 1998.
    6. Total Recall. I like Robert Downey Jr but I was underwhelmed by the Iron Man films.
    7. Serenity
    8. Forbidden Planet
    9. Logan’s Run
    10. Young Frankenstein
    11. Beneath the Planet of the Apes
    12. Shaun of the Dead
    13. Godzila
    14. Star Trek; First Contact. Easily the best of the Next Gen movies.
    15. Them!
    16. Robocop

  40. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Solaris (2002)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    4. ON THE RUN
    The Running Man (1987)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Total Recall (1990)
    Gah!

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Just rewatched Barbarella for the Skiffy and Fanty podcast.

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  41. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    Difficult, since I really like Starman, but Winter Soldier is simply the better film.

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)

    I’ve never been much of an ET fan, even though I was exactly the right age when it came out.

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

    Meanwhile, here in the year 8177, you wouldn’t believe which film is considered the best SF movie of the 20th/21st centuries. Hint, it’s not on the list.

  42. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)
    Abstain

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Total Recall (1990)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)
    Abstain

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Godzilla (1954)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Independence Day (1996)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  43. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    5. SPACE COWBOYS

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)

  44. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Total Recall (1990)

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Abstain

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)

  45. SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE BRACKET – THIRD HEAT

    1. STARMEN
    Starman (1984)
    Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

    CAWS was a great techno-thriller disguised as a superhero movie.

    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER
    Stalker (1979)
    Solaris (2002)

    Mainly in honor of the book.

    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC
    Cocoon (1985)
    The Hidden (1987)

    4. ON THE RUN
    ET (1982)
    The Running Man (1987)

    I have personal reasons to hate ET. Aside from the diabetic coma it puts me into.

    5. SPACE COWBOYS
    Cowboy Bebop (1998)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)

    Kung fu gangster nihilist vs annoying furballs. Yeah…no contest.

    6. BLUE SKIES
    Iron Man (2008)
    Total Recall (1990)

    Iron Man, despite its excesses, is still a film that holds together well, thanks largely to Martin Downey Jr. There’s a reason it jump-started the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH
    Serenity (2005)
    The Abyss (1983)

    Much as I love Serenity, The Abyss is frankly a better SF film, and one of the best first contact films.

    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT?
    Forbidden Planet (1956)
    Barbarella (1968)

    Barbarella: what is this thing you humans call humor? Or plotting?

    And Forbidden Planet is still awesome to watch.

    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU
    Avatar (2009)
    Logan’s Run (1976)

    Avatar wins on points for two reasons:
    1. The spacecraft is actually the most realistic interstellar vehicle on film. No, seriously.
    2. The planet is obviously based on old Yes album covers.

    10. STRANGE CREATURES
    Fantastic Planet (1973)
    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    Mel Brooks at the top of his game.Sorry, Fantastic Planet.

    11. MONKEYING AROUND
    Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

    B&T is goofy, witty, good-natured and still fun to watch. BTPotA is…kinda goofy. If you’re drunk enough.

    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Shaun of the Dead (2004)

    SitD may well be a better film, but SotD is just wonderfully sarcastic.

    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK
    Repo Man (1984)
    Godzilla (1954)

    Argh! Repo Man appeals to my punk nature, but Godzilla is simply an awesome movie that founded a genre.

    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE
    Strange Days (1995)
    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

    Because anything after Wrath of Khan leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION
    Them! (1954)
    Independence Day (1996)

    Them! had a lot of Cold War paranoia, but ID was pure jingoism. Hated it.

    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE
    Robocop (1987)
    The Fly (1958)

    Eh, The Fly isn’t really a film that, after all these years, is still relevant satire.

  46. 6. Total Recall
    7. Serenity
    9. Logan’s Run
    10. Young Frankenstein
    11. Beneath The Planet Of The Apes
    15. Them

  47. 1. Oooh, ouch… Abstain
    2. Solaris
    3. Cocoon
    4. ET
    5. ROTJ
    6. Iron Man
    7. Serenity
    8. Forbidden Planet
    9. Logan’s Run
    10. It’s FRONKensteen
    11. Beneath Apes
    12. A Scanner Darkly
    13. Godzilla
    14. Strange Days
    15. Independence Day
    16. Robocop

  48. 1. STARMEN Starman (1984)
    2. ONE AGAINST ANOTHER Abstain
    3. HEAVY METAL OR POP MUSIC Abstain
    4. ON THE RUN The Running Man (1987)
    5. SPACE COWBOYS Return of the Jedi (1983)
    6. BLUE SKIES Total Recall (1990)
    7. OUT OF THEIR DEPTH Serenity (2005)
    8. WHAT’S A BATHING SUIT? Barbarella (1968)
    9. WELCOME HUMANS! I AM READY FOR YOU Logan’s Run (1976)
    10. STRANGE CREATURES Young Frankenstein (1974)
    11. MONKEYING AROUND Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989)
    12. MAN WAS NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS Abstain
    13. ONLY ONE FITS IN A TRUNK Repo Man (1984)
    14. THE SUM OF ALL THE RAGE AND HATE FELT BY HIS WHOLE RACE Strange Days (1995)
    15. THREATS TO CIVILISATION Them! (1954)
    16. MERGING WITH A MACHINE I love them both so much, this is like asking me to choose between my left pinkytoe and my right pinkytoe …. Robocop (1987)

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