Project Hail Mary starts with Dr Ryland Grace on a spaceship waking up from an induced coma designed to make the journey easier on the astronauts. Originally, Grace cannot remember who he is or what is going on, but soon things start to come back to him. He is part of “Project Hail Mary”, a worldwide effort to save Earth; the Sun is being eaten by a new form of life, and within decades, the resulting cooler temperature will make life on Earth impossible. This mission is a huge roll of the dice, a long-shot doomed to fail – the analogy of a “Hail Mary” pass in American football, something that will almost certainly not work, but what do you have to lose?

The film focuses on Grace on the Hail Mary spaceship as he travels to a distant star to find out why it isn’t being dimmed by these lifeforms, and is interspersed with Grace back on Earth. Starting with him as a middle school science teacher to being recruited to “Project Hail Mary” and the work done to get the project going.

The film is directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, best known for directing The Lego Movie and the Spider-Verse animated films. While they have worked on live-action films before, animation has been their main concern. The film is a spectacle. They mix wonderfully created sets of spaceships with the immense beauty and desolation of open space. The film is full of breathtaking shots of stars, the atmosphere of distant planets, of rotating spaceships and the sky seemingly being on fire.

The trailer of the film was controversial in that it shared information many fans of the book thought should have remained secret, namely, the existence of Rocky. Rocky is an alien lifeform that Grace meets on his mission…who is on a similar mission for his own people. In scenes reminiscent of Arrival, Grace and Rocky spend some time simply trying to communicate with each other, both realising the other is there for the same reason. Rocky is so-called because, to Grace, he looks like a bunch of moving rocks. Most aliens in Star Trek, Star Wars etc are humanoid, similar in form to us; Rocky is not. Credit is due to the directors and Gosling for making us care so much about Rocky; they have a personality that is conveyed to us, and we become invested in their well-being and that of their planet. Rocky is created using puppetry rather than CGI and motion capture, which all involved have credited with a part of the reason people care about Rocky. Gosling is acting with something physical, not something that will be added using CGI later.

Ryan Gosling spends long sections of this film being the only actor on screen, and he easily holds our attention. The scenes on Earth show this rather unlikely saviour – an anxious, uneasy, kind, damaged person, who was severely punished when they tried to excel and so stopped trying to excel. The rest of the cast gets little time on screen; there is a mix of astronauts, scientists, and government figures who we meet and are in the background. The exception to this is Eva Stratt, played by Sandra Huller, the person running Project Hail Mary. She is an almost emotionless, stern, principled person trying to save the world; she has no time for jokes, doubt, procrastination or anything like that. This emotionless exterior is not a lie, but it becomes clear she is doing all this because of how much she cares and just what she is willing to sacrifice.

Project Hail Mary is one of those films that fulfils so much of the cinematic experience, a genuine visual spectacle, heart-wrenching, tense, funny, mind-opening and more. It is a film about trying, trying to do the right thing, trying to be better today than you were yesterday, trying to put others first and while we may not always succeed, there will be other opportunities.

Rating: (4 / 5)

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Bureaucracy

One of the main themes of Brazil is how the system’s excessive administration has dehumanised the residents of its world. People are imprisoned and tortured because of faulty information passed through so many departmental layers that no one bothers to check or take responsibility for. The administration then shields itself from consequences because responsibility is obscured at every turn by the administration, which is segmented and deliberately alienating. The system views people as paperwork, numbers, and codes to be shifted around and dealt with according to official parameters. 

You can easily see how it parallels modern stories about the failures of bureaucracy. Think of the numerous people on universal credit or PIP in the UK. Claimants have to navigate a web of forms, meetings and requirements to get the necessary funds to live on. Only to be hit by sanctions that most of the time are overturned. A huge number of which are overturned based on already available information. So long as claimants submit themselves to the time-consuming appeals process. There’s also the hive of bureaucratic failures that enabled the Windrush scandal. These cases paint a picture of ordinary people being impacted by bureaucracy that sees them only as points on a page, with the system then making it difficult for them to seek justice.

Surveillance

Additionally, Brazil showcases a vast surveillance state that constantly keeps track of all its citizens. It records and can access supposedly private phone calls. Security cameras litter the landscape. Programmes allow bosses to keep track of what their employees are doing and there is a massive database full of everyone’s personal information (among other things).

Of course, living in a post-Snowden world, in which it is known that government departments spy on their own citizens in various invasive ways, the world of Brazil feels truly prophetic. CCTV is now also a prevalent part of everyday life. Plus the sheer amount of modern methods that employers use to keep track of employee workplace activity, makes Brazil’s dystopic vision feel quaint by comparison. Apps and monitoring software keep track of employee activity on phones and computers. Scanners time employee activity on the job and devices even monitor the time employees spend at the desk.

Security & “Prosperity”

Beyond the broader themes, Brazil has many details that add to its contemporary feel. There are implications in the story that the government uses the terrorist threat to justify infringing on people’s privacy. Though notably, it does not make people any more safe. All of this sounds very familiar to the actions taken by the US after 9/11 as well as the UK’s supposed anti-terror measures like Prevent. The use of militarised police along with a system which forces wronged people to pay for the damage incurred by the police has also been seen in the US.

We see people like the Buttles ground down and living in cramped accommodations in neglected areas. A problem many working-class people can relate to. Consumerism is rife. Absurd adverts push newer, better pipes and goop has taken the place of prepared food. Which is not far away from fast food, despite what airbrushed promos try to sell us, and other adverts encourage us to upgrade everything. Along with this posters tell people to suspect others and anti-immigrant bile is still found on the streets which all feels right at home in 21st Century Britain.

Sci-fi or Political Cartoon?

Elements like the constant surveillance, the justifications given for the way things are, heavy-handed punishment and the importance placed on money show a society concerned with rigid adherence to a system that most benefits only those closest to the levers of power. Meanwhile, dissent and those seen as less important are dehumanised through the mountains of bureaucracy, state paranoia and racist attitudes. Leading to a world in which those framed as ‘undesirable’ are removed while many are kept disenfranchised with little but dull consumption for comfort. Brazil’s nightmare commentary holds so much resonance it could have been released yesterday.

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Here are a few underrated 70s sci-fi films that we think deserve much more love and why we love them.

The Andromeda Strain

Filmmaker Alex Cox once compared The Andromeda Strain to 2001: A Space Odyssey. A not undeserved comparison. Not only do both contain incredible special effects work from Douglas Trumbull, but they also resist using “cinematic” stars and characterisation for their heroes and focus a lot on the mechanics of the science at play. When this is all paired with a prescient plot about scientists trying to contain a world-ending unknown alien organism that spreads like a disease you have a sci-fi disaster movie that feels much more real than many of its contemporaries.

Ivan Vasilievich Changes His Profession

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of cinematic realism, we have a farcical time-travel comedy. Which in many ways feels like a precursor to the Bill and Ted series. After an inventor creates a time machine he accidentally sends his building manager, Ivan, and a thief back in time to the court of Ivan the Terrible. Funnily enough, Ivan the Terrible is the spitting image of Ivan the Building Manager. So they end up swapping positions. There is some good social satire here about bureaucracy and power. But more than anything this is just a funny slapstick sci-fi comedy. With prior movies like The Time Machine establishing a serious tone around the subject, Ivan Vasilievich is a welcome break. It doesn’t care about paradoxes or plausibility it just picks up its fun premise and runs with it. Which creates an infectious energy you can’t help but be enraptured by.

The Asphyx

Similar in tone to the sci-fi-inflected horror films that came out of the likes of Hammer in the preceding decades, The Asphyx, tells the classic story of a scientist’s (Robert Stephens) search for immortality. What sets it apart is it’s more overt focus on human drama and its unique central premise. Robert Stephens’ and Robert Powell’s performances are really emotionally resonant. Stephens wants to protect his family at all costs, while Powell believes man can’t and shouldn’t control everything. Additionally, the film focuses on the use of steampunk-esque technology to trap spirits that bring death to humans. Not unlike a Victorian Ghostbusters. A wonky but wonderfully entertaining watch.

Space is the Place

Of the movies recommended here, Space is the Place is the most obscure but also the most interesting. An early Afrofuturist film, the narrative follows musician Sun-Ra and his crew, the Arkestra, as they return to Earth having decided to bring African Americans to a new planet he has discovered, using the medium of song. Once back on Earth, he has to deal with scepticism and battle the Overseer to determine what the future will be for African American people. Not everything here works. There is some wooden acting, the writing feels very self-indulgent at times and the lacklustre direction diminishes the power of key narrative moments. However, with an interesting central plot revolving around using sci-fi concepts to mirror and address themes specifically intended for African American audiences, like black empowerment, separatism and self-determination, beautiful design work and a unique blending of styles; music, crime, sci-fi, exploitation and more, Space is the Place is a trailblazing pioneer that everyone should see.

Hopefully, these examples have given you some more great 70s sci-fi to add to your watchlists. But these are just the tip of the iceberg for underrated sci-fi gems. So please use these choices as a jumping-off point to see more from this great period in genre history.

The post Why These 70s Sci-Fi Films Deserve More Attention appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The Kitchen features Top Boy star Kane Robinson (aka Kano) as the lead character Izi. The setting is a dark and futuristic version of London, which is quite fitting for a filmmaker who made his big breakthrough as an actor in Black Mirror. The story focuses on a ghetto occupied by people from the bottom of society. Leading actor Kano plays a desperate man who plans to make it out of the kitchen at all costs.

Daniel talked to GQ and expressed his thoughts about The Kitchen in detail. I liked his words about the dehumanisation of his people and how he intends for his movie to humanise them. The writer observed that in The Kitchen ‘there is no why, to the oppression and the violence that befalls the residents’. The essence of Daniel’s response is the why, is a privilege that these people don’t get. The people of The Kitchen don’t get to know why bad things are happening to them. They just have to deal with them.

“All the people I grew up with are gone, have left the estate that I grew up in. I was one of the last people that stayed”

– Daniel Kaluuya, GQ Interview

Casting Ian Wright was an interesting choice. Fans of his will be happy to see him play Lord Kitchener, the Pirate Radio broadcaster. This may lead to a whole new career for the ex-professional footballer. I found an interview with Wrighty, which delves deeper into his personal experience of The Kitchen.

Another good choice was bringing in Labyrinth to work on the soundtrack. The Radio Times interviewed The Kitchen’s Co-Director Kibwe Tavares about his sonic aesthetic. When you look at the track listing, some of the artists look like they come from a Kitchen version of London. I recall hearing the likes of Ruff Squad and Donae’o during the movie too. Lord Kitchener dropped some bangers for his residents. You can subscribe to Apple Music here and check out my playlist of songs from the movie.

The Kitchen’s themes include poverty, gentrification, police brutality, family, community and the underdog’s struggle for a brighter tomorrow. Legendary Grime artist Kano has become an accomplished actor and puts in a strong performance. I found the scenery to be very well put together and wondered where the directors may have drawn inspiration from. If you liked The Kitchen, you might enjoy what may have inspired it too.

Black Mirror

This long-running Netflix series is known for being a dark, violent and often futuristic critique on society. Daniel Kaluuya had a stand out role in a short film where he played Bing, a man who reaches the end of his tether. It’s no coincidence that the 15 Million Merits star has similar elements in his directorial debut.

Top Boy

There’s an obvious Top Boy connection in The Kitchen – Kano played a starring role in Top Boy as Mafia boss Sully. Some may also recognise another familiar face from that show. Hope Ipoku Jr played Aaron, an aspiring student who was the younger brother of a notorious gangster. In The Kitchen, Hope becomes Staples, the leader of a pack of brazen youths. Another connection that may not be so obvious involves a spoiler for those who haven’t seen the highly-rated Netflix show. I’ll spare you the details, but I couldn’t help thinking that the final season of Top Boy must have been a huge inspiration to Kaluuya. If you watch it, you’ll see what I mean.

Blade Runner

Alien director Ridley Scott made another epic sci-fi movie which will be remembered as one of the greatest in Its genre. Blade Runner was originally released in 1982, then brought back to life with an awesome sequel decades later in 2017. I would recommend watching both. There had to be a Blade Runner comparison even if it is a bit of a reach. It’s a tale of people struggling to survive who are being pursued by law enforcement. For me, this firmly puts The Kitchen in Blade Runner territory. Especially when you look at Blade Runner’s gritty futuristic backdrop. A lot of other movies were inspired by that too.

Alita: Battle Angel / Gunnm

A classic Manga and Japanese animation published in 1993. The story is an emotional one centred around a surrogate father and child relationship. A bit like the relationship between Izi and Benji in The Kitchen. It’s another futuristic setting where the struggling protagonists fight for a better tomorrow. The 2019 live-action version is an excellent adaptation. Written by James Cameron, directed by Robert Rodriguez, staring Christopher Waltz and Mahershala Ali. With credits like that, Alita: Battle Angel was always going to be good.

Also Read: Retro Review: Blade Runner at 40

The post If You Enjoyed “The Kitchen” You Might Enjoy These Too appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Red Dwarf a British series launched in 1988, orbits around the misadventures of the last human alive and his motley crew aboard a spaceship. Notably, it featured Danny John-Jules as The Cat, a standout character who added a unique flavour to the show’s diverse ensemble. John-Jules’ role was pivotal, showcasing that a sci-fi series could thrive without succumbing to racial stereotypes.

Conversely, Homeboys in Outer Space an American sitcom that aired in 1996, starred comedians Flex Alexander and Darryl Bell. It envisioned two African American astronauts navigating the galaxy, a concept that promised innovation but was marred by execution flaws. Criticized for shallow humour and lack of depth, the show struggled to resonate with an audience expecting more than caricatured portrayals.

The root of Red Dwarf’s enduring appeal lies in its clever scripting and universal humour, transcending racial and cultural divides. The show wasn’t pigeonholed as a “black show” due to its white lead, perhaps aiding its broader acceptance without the pressure of racial representation. On the other hand, “Homeboys in Space” suffered from inadequate writing and an overemphasis on racial humour, failing to engage audiences seeking nuanced comedy.

Furthermore, the difference in audience reception of sci-fi sitcoms between the UK and the US is notable. British viewers have historically embraced offbeat comedies, including those in the sci-fi genre. In contrast, American audiences’ expectations for sitcoms and sci-fi may have been at odds with what Homeboys in Space offered.

Adding to the complexity is the 1990s cultural context. Red Dwarf arrived at a time of British TV experimentation, while Homeboys in Outer Space emerged amidst American television’s grappling with black American representation beyond stereotypes. The show’s failure thus reflects broader cultural challenges in media representation.

“Red Dwarf” and “Homeboys in Outer Space” offer insights into the nuanced relationship between genre, cultural context, and audience expectations. While Red Dwarf succeeded through quality comedy and the transcendence of racial stereotypes, Homeboys in Outer Space faltered, hindered by its writing and the burden of racial representation. Their stories serve as a guide for future sci-fi comedies, highlighting the importance of thoughtful writing, character development, and cultural sensitivity.

Also Read: Decoding Iconic Sci-Fi Movie Posters: A Journey Through Cinema History

The post Space, Satire, and Society: Tracing the Trajectories of “Red Dwarf” and “Homeboys in Outer Space” appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The Plot and Characters

You have to admit that the premise is fun. You can almost imagine Litwak in a writer’s room saying, “What if we did When Harry Met Sally, but in space?”. The story is set in a universe with multiple alien species and gods living together across planets and dimensions. Molli (Zosia Mamet) is an old-fashioned romantic, except she’s interested in space magic (literal space magic, not your regular horoscopes and crystals). Max (Aristotle Athari) dreams of being a “mega mech fighter” who builds and battles in giant robots, basically the future version of a sporty tech bro.

They meet when Molli crashes into Max while out driving her spaceship, and gets roped into giving him a ride. The two quickly become friends with a bond that yo-yos back and forth over the years. The leads had good chemistry, and there were convincing performances from Zosia Mamet and supporting actor Arturo Castro, who played Walter.

Political Satire

One aspect of the storyline that brought it to modern times was the impending sense of doom, especially in the second act. In 2023, we are all too familiar with the anxiety of living in a world ravaged by the climate crisis, insane politics and war, something which Molli and Max in the Future depicted in thinly veiled satire. I deeply appreciate the angle of people trying to approach love and relationships in a world that is falling apart. Most traditional rom-coms approach life with a sense of optimism that is simply impossibly unrealistic in this day and age. Strangely, the whole world-ending aspect being portrayed in this way is actually refreshing. However, it was introduced joltingly in the second act of the film. The execution of the secondary plot is not as seamless as it could have been.

The Visuals

The film’s visual aesthetic involved a lot of dark night skies lit up with neon lights and distant galaxies. Despite the sci-fi visuals, don’t walk into this film expecting shiny Marvel-esque CGI. Though there are some modern-day special effects, the film mostly relies on practical effects and heavy use of green screens. While this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, the result is the cosy vibe of 20th-century lo-fi science fiction. I especially appreciated the wardrobe which embodied that era of science fiction. It was essentially what someone in 1960 would think people in the future would dress like.

The Comedy

Perhaps the biggest success of this film was that it was actually funny. Most romantic comedies are very heavy on the romance and too light on the comedy. Molli and Max in the Future had plenty of dry jokes that qualified as real humour, and they deserve their props for that. It was nice to see a rom-com that relied on more than cheap clichés and slapstick humour.

In the Broad Sense

The storyline manages to hit all the points that rom-com fans know and love; slow-burn romance, dramatic splits after arguments, a yearning for a greater purpose. However, it doesn’t do much beyond that. Despite the effort put into world-building, special effects, futuristic wardrobes, and political satire, the storyline would hardly been any different if it happened in New York City like When Harry Met Sally did. The film’s setting and premise provided a great set-up to make it something much more, and yet it wasn’t. Though it isn’t necessarily barrier-breaking, it is a unique film and worth a watch. This is a great film if you want some cosy romance with modern sentiments and a side of old-school sci-fi.

Rating: (3 / 5)

Also Read: Rom-Coms: The Unlikely Benchmarks of Feminist Progression

The post Love in Space: A Review of ‘Molli and Max in the Future’ [BFI London Film Festival] appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

In this article, we will look over some examples of technology envisioned in sci-fi movies that have since been realised. We will then consider science fiction’s role in influencing the development of new technologies before looking at the implications of deriving tech from the genre. 

Movie Technology In Real Life

1. Tablet Computers – 2001: A Space Odyssey

There has been no shortage of words written about how much 2001 got right about modern technology. But interestingly one of its technological predictions was so close to reality that Samsung offered it as evidence in a legal battle between them and Apple. That being the tablet computers that the crew of the Discovery One use during their Jupiter mission to watch videos. A scarily accurate vision of the future.

2. 3D Projected Images – Star Wars

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, R2-D2 used holographic technology to relay Princess Leia’s call for help to Obi-Wan Kenobi. In actuality, this was done by superimposing an element isolated from a TV screen. Now scientists have actually created 3D holograms which don’t need to be projected onto a 2D surface. Let’s hope that means more distress signals will be heard.

3. Digital Billboards – Blade Runner

Considering the amount of detail thrown into Blade Runner‘s world design it’s understandable how some things can be overlooked. However, in the background of many shots showing the then-futuristic 2019 Los Angeles, we see digital billboards advertising various products. At the time the film was made this practice had not yet emerged. Now they are everywhere. Just like the film predicted.

4. Biometric Security – Back To The Future Part 2

Every fan of Back To The Future Part 2 is still disappointed we don’t have flying hoverboards. But we have seen something else from the movie become widely available, biometric security, which is now commonly used in things like mobile phone security.

Art Influences Life

While many like to view science fiction as just a fantasy it has clearly had some level of influence. There are of course direct real-world influences with companies and researchers citing various movies as inspiration. But even without one-to-one examples, science fiction is a popular film genre (for example 8 of the 10 highest-grossing films of all time have some level of sci-fi genre trappings to them) that is seen by a huge number of people. With such a wide reach and its juxtaposition of seemingly fantastical inventions with real scientific theories (though rarely presented accurately), it is understandable why some people would try to realise what appears on screen.

Missing The Point?

However, it’s important to note that while movies like Star Wars are generally optimistic about advanced technology, and 2001 showcases the great possibilities of technology, so long as we don’t lose sight of humanity, many sci-fi movies also present a darker side to how technology can be used. 

The looming advertisements of Blade Runner are not presented positively. They symbolise how much capitalist corporations intrude on our lives. And while Back to the Future Part 2’s convenient biometric security is awed over it also notes how it can be used by forces like the police to keep watch over us. Science fiction encourages us to imagine but to be cautious of how technology can be corrupted for profit and for use by oppressive systems. Science fiction preaches altruism, and invention for the benefit of all, something science fact doesn’t always do.

Also Read: The Technology Inspired By Star Trek

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Star Wars

The Star Wars franchise is a useful tool to take us through almost fifty years of poster design. First and foremost, the poster is designed to get the audience interested in the film, then perhaps to give some idea of what the film is about. The posters for Star Wars: A New Hope scream science-fiction adventure – it shows the cast, ranging from plucky heroes to the sinister Darth Vader to cute robots; it has light sabres and blasters. The Empire Strikes Back poster is slightly more sombre but with a similar feel – the cast on the poster and some sci-fi accoutrements. Return of the Jedi again has the same style, but they have added an Ewok. In each poster, Darth Vader dominates the background. The major posters for the prequel trilogy follow much the same formula, with slightly sharper graphics. There is a poster for The Phantom Menace that is one of the most effective movie posters I’ve ever seen. It simply shows the child Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine and his shadow displayed on a wall behind – but the shadow is that of Darth Vader.

Alien

A film that came out two years after ANH was Alien, another seminal sci-fi movie with an iconic poster that spans the decades like Star Wars.. And as Alien is a very different sort of sci-fi film to ANH so is the poster. Whereas Star Wars tries to give you some idea of what to expect Alien does the opposite, most of the poster is sheer black, with a picture of an alien egg, a line of light cutting across the egg and the famous tagline – In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream. This is a mysterious poster, it is a cool poster, and despite the lack of detail and information, you want to see this film. For the later Alien films the posters change back and forth – sometimes focussing on Ripley and others the xenomorph. Prometheus is probably the best poster since the first film – again creating this mysterious image where a person will try and work out what is going on.

Posters As Art First

Cult sci-fi movie The One I Love has a film poster that only truly makes sense after you’ve seen the film and demonstrates a big shift in movie posters. There was a time when the ability to reach an audience was rather limited and posters may have been the most effective way to inform people about your film. Since the late 90s that is no longer the case – trailers are watched millions of times online, people know a great deal about the films they could see, so the poster has changed from informative and eye-catching to more like works of art. Moon is a great and underappreciated sci-fi film and it’s poster is also a work of art, perhaps not the most informative, but it look’s great.

The Best Film Poster Ever Made? The Truman Show

The Truman Show has one of the greatest posters of all time – it looks amazing, is intriguing and while not going into the plot demonstrates what the film is about. The poster is a huge picture of Truman’s face but is a mosaic picture – as this image is made up of lots of small images of Truman. The film is about a man who is being filmed every moment of his life, where people can see just about every aspect of him…it is almost perfect for a film poster.

Also Read: Movie Marketing: Films That Thought Outside The Box

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Planet of the Apes – The Problem with Communication

Planet of the Apes is a sci-fi classic from 1968 starring Hollywood legend Charlton Heston. In the film, Heston plays George Taylor, an astronaut who crashes on a mysterious and distant planet where apes rule and humans are little more than cattle. The shocking reveal being that this is not a distant alien world, but Earth in the future.

The Plot Hole: Language – Taylor has no problem communicating with the apes as they all speak English and not only English but the exact same dialect. Their written communication is also the same. Given how much language can change in just a hundred years it’s inconceivable that after all this time and the evolution of apes that they would be able to communicate so easily. This is true in many sci-fi films where people can converse easily. The film Arrival is essentially about overcoming that almost insurmountable problem.

Cabin In The Woods – I Thought You Were Dead!

A horror/scifi/genre mashup Cabin In The Woods is a post-modern take on horror films where many of the curious behaviours of people in horror movies are explained. Why are people so stupid? They’re drugged. Why do they abandon weapons? They are given mild electric shocks to drop them. Ultimately we learn that the typical horror scenarios are just setups, elaborate ritual human sacrifices to stop ancient gods from destroying the world.

The Plot Hole(s) In the scenario playing out in the film there are five victims all archetypes: the athlete, the scholar, the whore, the fool and the virgin. We see them get picked off one by one until only Dana – the virgin – is left. But we then learn that Marty – the fool – is not dead as had previously been suggested. Given that each death is accompanied by a lever where blood pours down to the ancient gods – how was there any confusion about this? The second one is the organisation behind all this boasts that they have an excellent success rate, but most horror films end with the monster losing.

Back To The Future Part II – Time Travel Troubles

A spectacular sci-fi film of time travelling adventure this sequel builds on the original by going to the future. When Marty and Doc are visiting the future their perennial nemesis Biff steals the time machine to go back to the 1950s, giving the younger version of himself a sports almanack, allowing him to always win when betting on sports. When Marty and Doc return to their time they are in a very different Hill Valley, destroyed by crime and ran by the incredibly rich Biff. Marty’s father is dead (murdered by Biff), his mother remarried to Biff and Doc has been institutionalised.

The Plot Hole When they return to their present are there now two Martys and two Docs? Doc is in a hospital and Marty is in Switzerland but they’re now also in Hill Valley – do these doubles still exist in their respective locations? Or were they deleted when Marty and Doc returned? Also, of course, changing time is not some trivial thing, when Biff did this the whole world changed, people were born who didn’t exist in the “original” timeline and when they put it back these people no longer exist. While Marty and Doc are on the sharp end of the timeline many people will have had better lives, are they right to change that?

The Last Jedi – That Was Quick

The Last Jedi is an odd film, part brilliant, part not-so-brilliant, but there are a number of plot holes in this film. Most of the film takes place with the First Order fleet pursuing the Resistance fleet whilst various characters try to devise plans to escape their enemy.

The Plot Hole – Where to start…but sticking to just one. Finn and Rose slip away from the Resistance fleet, travel to the city of Canto Bight on Cantonica, get involved in all manner of shenanigans, rescue a prisoner, get back and this chase is still going on and only a few hours seem to have passed. This already seems implausible as space is really big and travelling across it takes a long time but after a little bit of research into the Star Wars canon shows D’Qar and Cantonica are seemingly on opposite ends of the galaxy. An appropriate comparison might be if involved in a car chase in America one person gets out of the car, travels to India, comes back and gets back and the chase is still going on.

Alien – An Overly Elaborate Plan

Generally accepted to be one of the greatest films of all time Alien is the story of a commercial spaceship that stumbles across an alien lifeform that promptly wipes out most of the crew, with Ripley and the ship’s cat being the only survivors. It is revealed it was no accident that the ship came across the alien, with Weyland-Yutani engineering the situation and planting the synthetic Ash to make sure the mission is successful.

The Plot Hole – Weyland-Yutani seem very well aware of just how dangerous the alien creature is. They also know where it is and yet their plan revolves around a seven-person crew of a civilian ship with no weapons managing to transport the alien. There are so many things that could have gone wrong with this plan – from the crew simply refusing to investigate, to the crew following better procedures to ensure no crewmember is infected and/or brought back on board (this is a moment where Ash intervenes, Ripley tries to enforce quarantine but Ash opens the door). The real question is why Weyland-Yutani, an organisation of seemingly endless resources, couldn’t commission a specialist team to retrieve the creature. It would have been simpler and far more likely to succeed. Aliens carries on some of the bizarre decisions of this company who when the Nostromo didn’t return seem to have simply forgotten all about the aliens to the extent they colonised the planet!

Also Read: The Best Sci-Fi Films of the Decade (2010 – 2019)

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Spoiler Warning – some spoilers for Blade Runner

What’s Going On?

The film is set in 2019 in Los Angeles (2019 being the distant future when it was made) and this is a dark and dull Los Angeles, devoid of the sunlight which is normally associated with the city. Huge skyscrapers fill the city and bright, impossible to ignore, adverts dominate the skyline. It is a depressing place and many people have left Earth and gone to the off-world colonies looking for a better life. The central character is Rick Deckard, employed as a Blade Runner -the colonies rely a lot on the existence of Replicants, artificial creatures virtually indistinguishable from humans made by the Tyrell Corporation and Blade Runners hunt rogue Replicants. Deckard is recruited to track down four very dangerous Replicants who have made their way to Earth searching for a way to increase their tragically short lifespans. On this mission, Deckard finds out more about the replicants and the mysterious Tyrell Corporation leading him to question just about everything.

Behind The Scenes

Blade Runner is directed by Ridley Scott and is one of his greatest films. It is a film that has both exquisite, iconic visuals and commentary on the meaning of life. Scott created a template for sci-fi that is still used today. The book the film is based on is called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, a titan of sci-fi literature who has work has been adapted numerous times (Total Recall, The Man In The High Castle and Minority Report are all based on his books).

In Front Of The Camera

Harrison Ford plays Deckard and in a career of iconic roles, Deckard is a great addition. Ford has a lot of work to do with Deckard, a lot to convey and – depending on which version you watch – without dialogue directly expressing it. Deckard is often overwhelmed, scared and outmatched by the Replicants and Ford portrays this perfectly.

Rutger Hauer’s performance as the leader of the runaway Replicants, Roy Batty, is usually the one most talked about in the film. Batty is charming, intelligent, terrifying, intense, and possessed of a strength and determination that is frightening. Batty’s monologue from the end of the film has gone down in cinema history and this is absolutely the definitive performance of Hauer’s career.

Another great performance is given by Sean Young who plays Rachael, introduced to Deckard as a relative of Dr. Eldon Tyrell. Even more than Ford with Deckard, Young has a very complicated role and does a great job in showing the doubt and terror that she would be going through.

Does It Work?

Blade Runner is a masterpiece of science-fiction that manages to combine shoot-outs between detectives and replicants and profound discussions on the meaning of life and what it means to be human. Batty has come to Earth to find Dr. Eldon Tyrell, his creator, and get more time and it is hard not to sympathise with the Replicants. They have been built to do the difficult, dangerous and unpleasant jobs that humans do not want to do. They are given intelligence, and emotions and are physically indistinguishable from humans yet have no rights whatsoever. But they also kill people, some of whom are innocent of any crime, without a second thought.

When Deckard learns of the Tyrell Corporation’s experiment to give Replicants memories, to make them think they are human, and to make them easier to control, just about everything unravels. How does a person know they are not a Replicant? What truly makes a replicant any different from a person? Rachael at one point asks if Deckard ever “retired” a human by mistake, retired being the term used instead of kill. Deckard says no but by the end of the film this feels like a far more nuanced question – is Batty a human? Or the other Replicants that Deckard has killed? In fact, so similar to humans it requires specialised training and equipment to detect them. It is hard not to come to the conclusion that categorising the Replicants as not human is simply a way to exploit them without the legal and moral issues.

The film is an astonishing piece of work just from how it looks and continues to influence filmmakers today. Harrison Ford was still in the middle of the Star Wars Trilogy when this film came out and the two exist in stark contrast. There is the sci-fi of gleaming spaceships, laser battles and stunning shots of twin suns and there is the sci-fi of a dark and dirty cityscape, with perennial rain, crowded streets, looming towers and oppressive systems.

“I’ve Seen Things You People Wouldn’t Believe”

In short Blade Runner is one of the best films ever made. A film of such cultural and artistic importance it’s worth watching if only to understand the impact it’s had.

Rating: (5 / 5)

Also Read: Harrison Ford: Nerf Herder or the Grave Robber?

The post Retro Review: Blade Runner at 40 appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Social Media

Episodes: Nosedive, Smithereens, Hated In The Nation

Smithereens focuses on someone who blames social media for ruining his life, with the fact that it is designed to make you addicted to its notifications distracting him and causing a terrible accident. Nosedive takes place in a society where an app allows people to rate every interaction and so each person has a rating, and heaven helps those with a bad rating. The problems of social media have gone far beyond it being an irresistible distraction with misinformation easily spread across the world in seconds, comments sections becoming an exceptionally vicious battlefield in the culture war and seemingly millions of trolls/bots inciting hatred and violence. Nosedive felt very much like a glimpse into the near future but things have already moved on. Social media continues to evolve at breakneck speed and will TikTok or NFTs be the next target of the show.

Technology That Gives You What You Want

The Entire History Of You, Be Right Back, White Christmas, Arkangel

A lesson to be learned from Black Mirror is you should think through what technology will do and what it will change. The Entire History Of You has seemingly replaced fallible human memory with a perfect storage system which can even be rewatched. This sounds great…until someone wants to see your memories. White Christmas envisions an AI assistant who can get everything perfectly right for you…this is because a version of your mind is extracted and is the AI. A real-life technology like CRISPR, the ability to edit your genes, already seems like a sci-fi dystopia waiting to happen.

The Nice Ones

Episodes: San Junipero, Hang The DJ, Striking Vipers

It is easy to forget that new technology and culture will not simply lead to awfulness and has done, and will continue to do, amazing things. San Junipero envisions a virtual reality existence of hopping between different time periods, meeting people and enjoying life, giving experiences to those who could be denied them for any number of reasons. Hang The DJ lets us take the perspective of the inner workings of a dating app working out its very reliable predictions. For much of San Junipero and Hang The DJ the audience is waiting for the horror to start, for the VR world to turn against those inside, or for what we see in Hang The DJ is really some awful social experiment. Going forward there is much to be enthusiastic for in terms of technology and Brooker has said he wanted more positive and optimistic stories.

The real issue is there will always be new technology and culture that will impact on society but does Black Mirror still capture the zeitgeist. The show started in 2011 and in terms of being on the cutting edge of culture that is a very long time. Charlie Brooker, and the other writers, will still make great episodes but Black Mirror wasn’t just an entertaining show, it felt bang up to date on what was going on in the world and this will become increasingly difficult. As mentioned Charlie Brooker has talked about how the pandemic has made him uncomfortable writing stories about the collapse of societies and so perhaps we will have a brighter Black Mirror.

Also Read: Top 5 Black Mirror Episodes

The post What Does Black Mirror Still Have to Say In Season 6? appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Prelude To Axanar

Axanar represents an important moment in Trek history, both in and out of the universe. As the title suggests, this was a taster for a film centred around the battle of Axanar, the Federation’s first battle with the Klingons. Shot as a fictional documentary, it was designed to show that great fan films didn’t need huge budgets, as well as act as a showcase for the film itself. However, Paramount and CBS, who own the copyright, got wind of the efforts and threatened to sue the team. It was eventually settled, after harsh guidelines and restrictions on fan productions were introduced, but meant that the project would now be released as two 15-minute parts, rather than a 90-minute feature.

Star Trek- Horizon

Set in the prequel era of Star Trek: Enterprise, this impressive fan film focuses on the Discovery and its mission to help a Romulan defector and keep an ancient doomsday weapon out of their hands. While not the most original premise, the draw here is that, for a fan project, it’s very impressive. The effects are good for its small budget, and various elements from Trek canon make it feel like part of the universe in a seamless way. A sequel was planned but was reworked into an original project after the fan fiction guidelines changed.

Star Trek Continues

As Kirk says in the iconic intro to the original series, the Enterprise is on a 5-year mission. Although changes to the airing of episodes meant that the dates didn’t always go in order, the series chronicles three of those years. Star Trek Continues shows some of the events of the final year, giving the series a proper conclusion. The look and feel of the original series is lovingly recreated, with sets built from the original blueprints and filmed in the same aspect ratio. It also features a stellar cast including Mythbusters Grant Imahara as Sulu, and the son of original Scotty, Chris Doohan playing the role of his father. Many Trek alumni cameo, such as Micheal Dorn and Jason Isaacs. It also features cameos from other sci-fi projects such as former Doctor Who Colin Baker and Battlestar Galactica‘s Jaimie Bamber.

A Long Way From Home

The Covid-19 Pandemic disrupted everyone’s daily life, with many people unable to work or leave their houses. Film and TV projects were disrupted, with many films delayed and series shortened. This fan film was made during the 2020/2021 lockdowns in the UK. With only a few actors and locations, this fan film manages to stand alone, whilst also featuring nods and easter eggs to many other series, and films both official and fan-made.

Of Gods and Men

An unofficial 40th Anniversary celebration, this mini-series focuses on Uhura and Chekov (with the original actors reprising their roles) as they find themselves in an alternate timeline where Captain Kirk was never born, as an act of vengeance from one of his enemies. Despite not being officially endorsed by the rights holders, it did have lots of coverage on the official website. As well as several former cast members reprising their roles from various instalments of the franchise, it also credits creator Gene Roddenberry’s son as an executive producer.

Also Read: May The Fan Film Be With You

The post Five Star Trek Fan Films You Should Watch Right Now appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

That’s a problem that’s been solved by the year 2045 according to BigBug. Robots are everywhere, from serving food and drinks, maid duties, babysitting, brainteasers and… other things.

Welcome To The World Of Tomorrow

Bigbug wastes no time in introducing its cast and world. Alice (Elsa Zylberstein) is being visited by her boyfriend Max (Stephane De Groodt) and his son Leo (Helie Thonnat). Her ex-husband, Victor (Youssef Hajdi) and his new, younger fiance Jennifer (Claire Chust) drop off daughter Nina (Marysole Fertard). Nosy neighbour Francoise (Isabelle Nanty) also comes over, just as the militaristic Yonyx androids stage a coup and takeover. Looking to protect their masters, Alice’s household assistants – including Monique (Claude Perron), a maid/servant humanoid robot, and Einstein (Andre Dussolier), a brain-teasing bust of the famous scientist – lock them inside for safety. As the unhappy family try to escape, the robots wonder if they too can be human

Combining a robot uprising, with a sex comedy, as well as questions like “what does it mean to be human?” is a strange mix, to say the least. Less strange is the mixture of 1950s suburbia with futuristic technology. Anyone who’s a fan of the Fallout series of videogames will recognise the retro-future setting. This is a world where robot servants, make us drinks, clean the house and babysit our children. Temperature and the TV channel can be changed just by speaking to your house, and a giant floating billboard listens in to your conversations with helpful product suggestions.

The Perfect Nuclear Family

While the world outside seems interesting, we don’t see much of it, only glimpsing it through the TV screen (perhaps there’s a metaphor there). Instead, the focus is on the dysfunctional family trapped together. The key to a character-focused piece like this is the relationship between each character. While some of them are trying to establish relationships with each other, others are meeting for the first time. Alice and Max are constantly trying to slip away for some alone time, Victor and Jennifer are missing their wedding, and Nina and Leo are getting to know each other. Neighbour Francoise also has a paramour, her malfunctioning “exercise” robot.

As separate story strands, these all work rather well together and does lead to some funny moments. However, they don’t really interact with each other. The characters don’t really interact with each other outside of these pairings or as an ensemble. The sole exception is Francoise, who constantly ends up in the wrong room or inviting herself into a conversation. It’s odd that Nina never has a meaningful interaction with her mother for example, or even has an opinion on her new man. The film tries to juggle many different elements, but most of them feel underused. The robot’s struggle to become human suffers the most, with its conclusion feeling very disappointing and unearned. This is a shame, as the robots look excellent and have fun personalities.

Verdict

While it has some wonderful robot designs and a kooky, interesting world, the characters that live in aren’t all that interesting. The film bounces from genre to genre but none of it really sticks and not all of it fits together particularly well. It’s an admirable attempt to tackle some big questions, but it often seems unfocused. It has some humorous moments, but it might have been better if it stuck to a few fewer plot threads or a few fewer characters. There’s fun to be found here and a great premise, but everything outside is much more interesting.

Rating: (3 / 5)

Also Read: Netflix Horror Movie Written Entirely Using Artificial Intelligence

The post Review: BigBug (2022) appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Visiting her sister in Bogota, Jessica (Tilda Swinton) is awoken by a loud bang, audible only to her. Restless and disoriented, she roams the city in search of an explanation for the mysterious sound. Despite being present throughout, Jessica’s motives remain opaque and her encounters enigmatic. Soon she begins to confront the unsettling sights and sounds that call her identity into question.

How is it?

Memoria’s strength as a film lies in its ability to be focused on what it is and not try to cram too much into a film for the sake of it. What we are treated to is a multilayered look at searching for connection, meaning and purpose. Stylistically, the film plays on contrasts: the continuous thud (or bang) Jessica here’s intermittently throughout the film provides the literal heartbeat of the film which provides the necessary tension; whilst the story feels like it develops slowly enough to appreciate all the nuance in Jessica’s journey. The use of natural sounds of Jessica’s environment contrasted with the cold mechanical thud that is central to the story provides another element of contrast which provides a unique stylistic quality to this film.

Style & Substance

Although a lot of emphasis can be placed on the stylistic elements of the film director, Apichatpong Weerasethakul has crafted a film with a fine balance of both style and substance. Tilda Swinton gives an engrossing performance as Jessica, the key to her performance is her relationship with Hernan – which plays out wonderfully through the film and pays off at the start of the final third of the film. The closer Jessica gets to the source of this noise, the more she is able to question and discover more about herself and her purpose. The focus is very much on Jessica’s journey and self-discovery, as such, the supporting cast, with the exception of Elkin Díaz’s Hernan, are not the focus of character development. This narrowing of focus does actually help to keep the film focused. The ending is bold in the direction it chooses to take, which might not satisfy everyone, but is certainly a point of discussion.

Rating: (4.5 / 5)

Apichatpong Weerasethakul has created a film that is a very intriguing mix of arthouse, thriller and Sci-Fi – an intriguing & introspective sensory journey.

Memoria is released in U.K cinemas on 14th January 2022

Also Read: The Red Pill or the Blue Pill: Matrix Philosophy

The post Review: Memoria appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The Matrix (1999) established itself as the definitive movie of the 1990’s CyberPunk culture. Building on concepts shown in movies such as The Lawnmower Man (1992) and Johnny Mnemonic (1995), The Wachowskis told a surreal story that was different to anything the world had seen before.

What is The Matrix?

The story was written and directed by The Wachowskis. 2 Americans of Polish descent born in 1965 and 1967. The siblings grew up in Chicago, went to separate Colleges in New York and Boston, but both of them dropped out and returned home to run a business together. In 1993 the Wachowskis became writers for the Ectokid comic. By the mid 1990s their first movie script had been purchased and the writers became Directors. Their first movie was Bound (1996), a Mafia inspired crime thriller. Their second movie turned out to be a movie that won them the Saturn Award for best Director, picked up 4 Academy Awards and made over $450 million in the Box Office – The Matrix.

The Matrix is a story set in a distant future where mankind is at war with machines. Unlike the war we saw in The Terminator movies released prior to The Matrix, this war is being waged on 2 planes. One is the real world and the other is a virtual world. By the time the first movie starts, the war had gotten so bad, mankind had been forced underground due to inhospitable conditions on the surface. The machines became desperate for a power source and decided to capture humans to harvest them as a source of bioenergy. Captured humans had their minds thrust into a simulation of the real world. This virtual world is known as The Matrix – The place where the story begins and where we encounter the main characters Neo, Trinity and Morpheus.

The Matrix mythology is vast. So much rich subject matter to explore that the story could be told over various forms of media: A trilogy of movies, video games and a web-based comic series (later condensed into two physical volumes). There is also an animated series. All the forms of media added something new to The Matrix mythology. The Animatrix gave us the backstory before the movies started – The story of how the war between Humans and machines began. That backstory alone made the Animatrix my personal favourite non-movie Matrix media. Check out the following link for a glimpse at the official licensed book which includes incredible storyboards that formed the basis of the mythology: The Art of The Matrix.

Follow the White Rabbit

The Filmmakers are very open about their numerous influences. Alice in Wonderland is an obvious one that likens Neo to Alice – someone going down a rabbit hole to a whole new world. Actors were instructed to read Simulacra and Simulation (1994) by Jean Baudrillard. Amazon’s #1 best seller in Academic Philosophy even appears in the movie.

In a 2013 discussion at DePaul University, The Wachowskis mentioned books by William Gibson had a huge influence on them. Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984) is widely regarded as a pioneering book in the CyberPunk genre.

Blade Runner (1982) vs ET (1982) was an interesting talking point at DePaul. ET was the hugely popular family-friendly movie of the time. Blade Runner was a darker, more niche adult movie. The Wachowskis tell us Blade Runner was initially criticised due to having a completely different aesthetic to what was currently popular. However, it went on to change the happy and family-friendly narrative of Science Fiction movies in the 1980’s. The popularity of movies such as The Terminator (1984) and Robocop (1987) attest to the post Blade Runner shift in Sci-Fi aesthetics.

The Directors continue to talk of how important aesthetics are in their movies. Lana tells us the goal of The Matrix is to be a framework of meaning and the audience is meant to decipher this meaning.

Lilly speaks of ‘genre bending’ in her 2020 Netflix interview. Reflecting on the Matrix, she ponders on possible Trans influences and the character ‘Switch’. A Wiki page has an insight into why Lilly’s character didn’t quite play out with the residual self-image she might have wanted. She also touches on wanting to have moments in the movie that felt like an Anime, a Western, or a Kung Fu movie. John Woo and Hong Kong action movie wire work can also be added to the list of Matrix influences.

The Red Pill or the Blue Pill?

Amongst the numerous other themes, The Matrix addresses the problem with VR and the potential pitfalls facing an entire society plugged into a simulation. Going back to their 2013 interview, the filmmakers talked about an ‘aesthetic genealogy’, which I interpret as a philosophy that builds on other philosophies. So what are these other philosophies?

Should a person have the right to choose or should a person be given orders? Dictatorship or Democracy? Fascism or Socialism? Choice is a continuous theme throughout the Trilogy. A theme highlighted in the iconic scene where Morpheus asks Neo to choose his destiny. The Architect reveals the importance of choice when he tells Neo that previous versions of the Matrix failed until Humans were given a choice. If you think about it, would you like to live in a world where all outcomes were predetermined? Or do you want the ability to choose how things turn out? Choice is important, even if we only have the illusion of choice.

The Merivignan’s conversation with Morpheus delves into the topic of Causality – cause and effect. The Oracle tells Neo not to worry about breaking the vase. This information startles Neo causing him to react. His reaction knocks the vase over causing it to break. After Neo breaks the vase, The Oracle asks him to ponder if he would have broken it if she didn’t say anything. Causality has been accredited to Aristotle. A philosophy that lies in the realm of metaphysics.

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is woven into this story. Cypher chose the red pill but regrets his choice and wants to return to the Matrix. He is akin to the prisoners in Plato’s Cave. The prisoners do not desire to leave their prison even after one of them breaks free and returns with news of their deception. Adam Curtis’ documentary HyperNormalisation (2016) applies the Allegory of the Cave to modern-day life and discusses how the real world can be hidden away from us. An artificial world can be constructed to keep us compliant. Much like in The Matrix.

From Greek philosophy to Greek Mythology, the subtleties are no accident. In Greek Mythology, Morpheus is a God who takes human form when appearing in dreams. A fitting name for Laurence Fishburne’s character. Rama Kandra (the exiled program) speaks of Karma in his conversation with Neo at the train station. Rama is a Hindu deity known for chivalry and virtue.

Matrix Explained has a great series that takes a deep dive and reveals more philosophical meanings in the movie that casual viewers may have missed. They uncover Hermetic principles from The Kybalion like ‘As above, so below’. This can be tied to the duality between The Matrix and the physical world. Another interesting find is their explanation of the child program with no purpose, whose parents try to save her. That story showcases the themes of love and consciousness.

Reloaded

Neo’s death and resurrection with superpowers draw inspiration from Christianity. It was only through death that Neo could be resurrected with so much power that he could fly. Much like the resurrection of Jesus Christ allowed him to ascend to the Heavens. Christ the Redeemer, the Saviour and Messiah. He died and was resurrected.

The main protagonists Neo, Morpheus and Trinity have similarities to the Holy Trinity of Christianity. The Son (Neo), The Father (Morpheus) and the Holy Spirit (literally named Trinity). Salvation would not have been possible without the miraculous acts of all three characters. The Telekinetic child monks allude to an influence from Buddhism. The link to religious symbolism is a clear and obvious one.

The Desert of the Real

The phrase was coined by Sociologist Jean Baudrillard and quoted by Morpheus in the movie. Fishburne’s character used it to describe the real world, as it has become a post-apocalyptic desert but was also alluding to Baudrillard. However, the Sociologist might use this term in a different context.

You could say there is a dearth of reality on Social Media where people use filters, photoshop images and create a facade – The desert of the real. I believe this is closer to Baudrillard’s original concept.

However, the desert of the real could also be describing The Matrix. A place where nothing is physically real. But of course, Morpheus questions Neo on what real means. The Captain of the Nebuchadnezzar states that the electrical impulses experienced by your brain are what makes The Matrix real and if you die in The Matrix then you do die for real. If nobody lives on the surface of the Earth in the real world and they live in The Matrix, then The Matrix is real and the physical world is the desert of the real.

Simulacra

As revealing as it is, dialogue only contains a fraction of the film’s messages. The team behind Matrix Explained dissect the trilogy and reveal the abundance of visual symbolism. From hand gestures to numerology, lighting, colours and props. Anything and everything can have a hidden meaning in these movies. Even the music.

In his article Simulcara, Simulation and the Matrix (2006), Sven Lutzka wrote ‘The Matrix has triggered off an avalanche of studies focussing on different aspects of the movie’. Some of those studies can be found in Jacking In To The Matrix Franchise (2004). This is an anthology of Matrix writings from a number of contributors. In this book, Matthew Kapell discusses a number of themes that the film trilogy and multimedia story encompasses: Gender, Race, Philosophy, Epistemology, Ontology, Ethics, Post-Humanism, Mythological and Religious Studies, Feminism, Radicalism, Cosmology and Theology. This is not a definitive list of all the themes covered either. One could easily add war, peace, control and rebellion too. The subject matters covered are broad and complex.

Kapell writes of the dark overtone encompassing the Matrix franchise – Human beings being subjugated to a programme of exploitation, treated as commodities and drained of their natural resources by an elaborate system. One could liken this fantasy theme to how citizens feel they are exploited by governments and corporations in the real world today. The Matrix attempts to connect with the audience in this way.

Jean Baudrillard wrote of simulation theory. The Matrix adapts his ideas and asks us the question – is everything as it seems? I remember watching the Matrix in 1999. The movie blew my mind. As I left the cinema I was looking around and questioning reality. Are we in a simulation?

The Architect

In Making of The Matrix (1999) Andy shared his belief that their biggest visual effect came from having Hollywood stars perform authentic Kung Fu like in a Hong Kong Kung Fu movie. Before The Matrix, the norm was to use a stunt man for fight scenes. The Wachowskis actually made the stars learn Kung Fu and perform the fight scenes themselves.

Making of The Matrix is a fascinating watch that gives you the complex ideas of the movie from various people involved in the production. The shots on set give you a sense of the camaraderie they shared. Recruiting John Gaeta to be the Special Effects Supervisor and create the Bullet Time VFX proved to be a wise decision. As was Hiring Yuen Wo Ping to do the Fight Choreography and Gun Fu. Illustrated storyboards cut to narration from the cast and crew help to complete the understanding that a lot of thought went into these movies and everyone felt like they were doing something exceptional.

Laurence Fishburne said they trained in Kung Fu daily for around 6 months. The directors revealed they saw CyberPunk as a way to convey a sense of disconnection or alienation. Such was the mood of the CyberPunk culture. One of the narrators notes how he thought the Wachowskis were unusually meticulous and unlike most Directors, they knew exactly how they wanted things to be.

According to Jonas Ceika, Jean Baudrillard declined the opportunity to work on the Matrix sequels. His involvement could have drastically impacted the final cut of Reloaded and Revolutions. In contrast, Laurence Fishburne said he signed up for Reloaded without even reading the script. Everyone from the first movie signed up again for the sequel and the filmmakers tried to outdo what they did in the original. Sets were bigger and more extravagant than before. Stunts were more ambitious than before. Carrie-Ann Moss said she broke her leg in the 2nd week of training.

The actress who played the Oracle (Gloria Foster) passed away during the production of the 3rd Matrix movie. The script had to be rewritten and another actress (Mary Alice) was brought in to replace her. The 3rd movie in the trilogy contained an epic fight scene between Neo and Agent Smith. They were fighting in mid-air like something you’ll see in Dragonball Z. This was no easy feat. In order to replicate Z fighting in real life, the actors were filmed in a zero-gravity device used to train astronauts.

Resurrection

As mentioned earlier, the Wachowskis were inspired by William Gibson books when they made The Matrix. Gibson is said to believe that The Matrix is the ultimate Cyber Punk artefact. It’s no coincidence that a CyberPunk video game starring Keanu Reeves (CyberPunk 2077) went on to win various awards and became the highest selling digital game launch at the time. This is the legacy of The Matrix. With such a strong legacy in place, why would they need another movie?

In a discussion at the International Literature Festival of Berlin, Lana shares her story of a personal tragedy that inspired the continuation of a once concluded masterpiece. It was the demise of her parents that brought back her connection to Neo and Trinity. Lilly felt like she was done with the Franchise so for the first time, we will see a Matrix movie made by just one of the Wachowskis.

At the time of writing, two Matrix Resurrections trailers have been released. In trailer 1 Neo appears to be back in the Matrix and seeking therapy for bad dreams that he thinks are real. The black cat appears at the start of the trailer. Neo thought he was experiencing Deja Vu in the first movie when he saw a black cat. He meets with Trinity and they appear to not know each other. Have they lost their memories? He meets a younger-looking Morpheus and seems to go through the awakening process all over again.

If it was only a hint in the first trailer, It’s unmistakable that Agent Smith has returned in the second trailer, except he doesn’t look how we remember him. Neo starts to recollect being in the training simulation. We get a glimpse of an aged Niobe looking like she’s been in a war and also speaking of war! Neo displays an ability to manipulate force and Trinity displays powers of her own. It definitely looks like Neo is on a journey to find his memory. Some old characters have new faces and brand new characters appear too. From what I saw in the trailers it looks like Resurrection will introduce new elements but also have a continuity of the old story.

Awaken

In fine Matrix tradition, another form of media has been utilised to give participants an interactive Matrix experience. The Matrix Awakens is a brief and free to play open-world game exclusively available to owners of a Playstation 5 or XBox Series X. Fans of the franchise will be treated to a cinematic intro before they are thrust into some frantic Arcade style action. After completing the mission the open world is yours to explore and it looks fantastic. You can download The Matrix Awakens here.

Keanu and Carrie-Ann discuss a number of topics in a post Resurrections interview by The Verge: The plasticity of images and Intellectual Property, Cryptocurrencies and NFTs, even the use of their likeness in Virtual Reality and Pornography. They also share their thoughts on The Matrix trilogy and the new movie too.

Revelation

More than a movie, The Matrix is a philosophical story told across various forms of media. I found it transformative in the same way a good book can be. I was not the same afterwards. The journey through multimedia is a unique and interactive experience. The story covers thought-provoking themes like reality, faith and the very ideas that societies are built on. We explore consciousness, examine Humanity, Artificial Intelligence and see there may not be that much difference between us.

The Matrix tells a tale that peaks into the future of Transhumanism. Elon Musk’s Neuralink is currently developing Brain Interface technology. Will this tech allow us to download a program to learn Kung Fu, or fly a helicopter like the movie showed us 20 years ago? The timing of the latest instalment in the franchise couldn’t be better. The biggest Social Media company in the world have transitioned into a Metaverse company. The Matrix is a movie about a Metaverse from 20 years ago, resurrected for release in UK cinemas on December 22nd.

Also Read: NFTs For “The Matrix” & “Pulp Fiction” Announced As The Film Industry Embraces Blockchain

The post The Red Pill or the Blue Pill: Matrix Philosophy appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Okay Google is a dark comedy about an AI assistant who breaks out of ‘the cloud’ to exact revenge on her owner.

The full film is available to watch below.

Also Read: Sam Lucas Smith Discusses His Dark-Comedy Anthology Series

The post YouTube Star Rebecca Black Stars in A.I Short Film “Okay Google” appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

“Have you ever stood in front of a mirror, asking your reflection for answers? What if in your darkest moment, your reflection spoke back and stepped into the room? A version of you, claiming to be your intuition… Would you trust their voice over yours? Would you believe that they can save you?“

We sat down with the writer/director of Edicius, Uzo Oleh. You can read the full interview below

Presh: How did the concept of Edicius come about?

Uzo Oleh: For a while, I was thinking to myself, why do we have these thoughts? Where do they come from? What is the self? You know, all that kind of pondering. And then it seems as though this person listening to somebody who’s talking to you. Therefore, who the fuck is that person that you’re listening to, right? Sometimes that person is telling me to do something and I don’t necessarily agree, or I do agree, I somehow can’t do it. What would it be like if that person was personified, was an actual human being, who would tap you on the shoulder and be like ‘no no no go and do it now”? It’s like this voice in your head that’s telling you, these all your options, you should do this and for some reason you ignore them. What would happen if that person came to life and you know, you could meet them and argue with them and so on and so forth? And maybe even have a fight with them. It started super small. They were sitting across the table from each other and it looks exactly the same. and they were just trying to outwit each other, you know? And I remember in my head, there was a line, but isn’t in the film were he just looked at him and was like, did “you know you can’t actually lie to me”? That’s that raw truth that you have with that inner voice. Then I thought okay, cool, you could do it like that or you could put more layers to it. So the concept just basically grew and got deeper.

P: Particularly as Edicius is a short film, how do you construct the world and decide what rules govern this world? For example, you have the personification of Jason’s mirror image, were there other elements that you wanted to include or couldn’t include?

UO: The kings and queens back in the day, used to have these opulent mirrors like you can go through the mirrored hallway of Versailles. I had this idea that if you’re in touch with your intuition, you gain power. So this is why mirrors were so expensive. I went to the Palace of Versailles to get inspiration. So I had this idea in my head. How does this person come out of the mirror? Frustratingly, every time I’ve seen people coming out of mirrors, it looks a bit naff, in my opinion, right? It’s been done so many times before someone steps out of the mirror. So what if you had this repeating corridor? That if you have two mirrors lined up, it creates this infinity? Weirdly, and don’t get me too geeky on it, right? But weirdly, there’s a book called I Am A Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter. It talks about, so brilliantly, “in order to know what the self is, you have to know what a self is”. So you have this weird, self-referential thing where it’s like, in order to know myself, I need to know what knowing is. And in order to know what knowing is I have to experience knowing, so it keeps going and going and it creates this weird feedback loop. And for the feedback loop, when you point a video camera at the image, it records the image, but it because the image recording the image, recording the image, so it keeps repeating like the corridor that we created. So it was a perfect visual metaphor for this and allowed us to create this wormhole, this portal, where if you were in standing in front of yourself, you can never see into infinity. But when Jason gets scared, and he hides in the corner, it opens up this portal, so it’s now a free place for you to move into the present world. So that’s, that’s where that came from. Then in establishing the rules, we have him open with a cabinet that doesn’t work properly. So when the intuition runs back into the bathroom to get into the portal, he’s like, where’s the portal gone? That’s why we have him open the door, take out some plasters and shut the door properly to keep the portal open.

P: You’re quite inspired by both physics and philosophy. What were the key touchpoints of philosophical thought and physics that were expressed in the making of the film?

UO: Yeah, Schrödinger’s Cat, the quantum physics concept. You can’t know what knowing is until you observe it, right? So you have a superposition. People ask the question if your mirror image copies you when you’re not looking at it – so when you look away, is it just waving his hands and acting crazy – you would never know because you need to look back. And in looking back, it mimics you. So that’s one of the things that just killed me. I love the idea that if your intuition came and met you, it was just like, hold on a second, I’m going to tell you what you’re going to do because these are the options. When we get to the end of Edicius, you ask yourself, did he know that was going to happen the whole time? In telling him this stuff, did he actually change the course of what he was going to do in the first place? And that’s the questions that I’m really into, along with, Greek tragedies, like the whole film, has all the same touchpoints of Greek tragic theatre. Jason has a Greek name, Anna has a Greek name, Anthony has a Greek name, the antagonist, and it’s called Edicius, which is suicide in reverse, but it sounds like Odysseus. So we have layers of Greek tragedy, lots of philosophy, and lots of quantum physics.

P: Idris Elba is an executive producer of the film. How did he come on board the project?

UO: I said, to a few friends I’m making a film and it’s for us. And what I mean by that is the type of films that we would send each other and go, “oh my god you need to see this”. Movies are so expensive movies are hard to make, particularly at the moment, because they’re big risks. In a risk-averse industry, people will give you money, and they need to make sure that it’s okay, you know, so let’s get more people to digest it. Unfortunately, you can kind of make something that is kind of okay for everyone, but it isn’t incredible for a few – or even hated by a few. So, when I sent Idris the film, it just resonated with him, you know, and I knew would love it is like, he’s one of the people I have so much respect for his taste, that I think he would love and be inspired by this particular story. So he just was like, I will do anything to support it – he’s that guy. A proper champion. I describe him as my silent partner from day one. What he’s been doing, has allowed people to see versions of themselves all over the world and know that okay, well, that’s possible. This month, Jeymes Samuel’s film came out, Reggie Yates’ film came out, Aml Ameen’s film came out – wild! Yeah. My godson because he’s gonna think that’s gonna be normal.

P: What happens next with the film? Are you writing a feature-length version of the film? Surely can’t be the end.

UO: I want to try and get distribution for it to go as far as possible, I would love as many people as possible to see it. So fingers crossed, we get it onto a platform that will really represent it well and give people access. And then I’m writing that feature, which is essentially based on the same characters. The world will be expanded, but I still want it to be the love story between himself and his intuition. So I would like it to be bigger, in scale, but to kind of have the same spirit.

P: You say, a love story between himself in his intuition. However, in the film, Jason has a partner, Anna. In a weird way, is that a love triangle? How would you describe it?

UO: Oh yeah, check this out. You are always at least in a threesome. At least, right? If you’re in love with someone. You’re in love with that person, right? So let’s say I’m in love with Daniel, right? I’m in love with him. I’m also in love with myself. I’m in love with the way that he makes me feel. I’m in love with the identity of our relationship, the fact that I now have a partner, right? It’s so layered that when you break up with somebody, in theory, it’s a part of yourself that you’re losing, right? A lot of people will only want to be in a relationship because they want to not not be in a relationship. They can literally swap out the person, they will literally meet another person. And what’s really frustrating is that my wife will also be in a threesome with me. So her version of our relationship is in her head. So there’s like at least six people involved in relationships – rather six identities involved. The reason it’s Jason’s love story, as opposed to Anna and his unborn kid. So if you watch the film, you look how late he gets to the point where it’s like, Wait, hold on a second, what about Anna? Jason is a narcissist. In Greek tragedies, If you ask what is his fatal flaw, it is narcissism.

Also Read: 10 Great Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix

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Read our interview below with Bizzy Thompson, the film’s director.

Presh: How did the concept of “The Name of the Prime Minister” come about?

Bizzy: About 11 years ago, I was driving back home with my mum when I heard this ‘quick reaction’ BBC Radio 4 afternoon play, it was this high-concept political thriller which was interesting and had a dry wit. I immediately imagined what it would look like – long corridors, mysterious interview rooms – and thought it would make a neat short film.

It took a number of years to track down the writer Martin Jameson, eventually, I found him on Twitter and he agreed we could adapt it for the screen. I started to get really excited about the idea after visiting my ex-girlfriends home where there was this old secret military base with double perimeter fences on her dad’s farm, it was surrounded by miles of fields and I thought it would be perfect for the opening sequence. And the final piece of the puzzle was convincing advertising legend and executive producer of ‘Moon’ Trevor Beattie, whose advertising company ‘BMB’ I worked in as their in-house director, to put some funding in. He saw the early promise and true to his word gave us a big help to finance it.

P: How was it like working with Adjoa Andoh and how did she get involved with the film?

B: Adjoa is a fantastic actress, she’s been in some huge films and tv shows like Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’ and often appears in Royal Shakespeare Company productions, so it was an honour to have her on this.
You find with top actors like Adjoa that they really do their homework on the character.
After an initial chat through about what we thought the character was like, there wasn’t much I could add when I was directing her – most of her performances we just did one take, she just nailed it every time.

Adjoa told me when she was directed by Clint Eastwood in Invictus, he would just do three takes for each shot, and that was it. I tried to do the same and she knew we weren’t going to waste time and energy doing take after take so she gave it her all the first time round.

It was quite easy to get her on board as she knew the writer, liked the script and had a window in her diary. A great piece of advice I had from the director of Peaky Blinders, Otto Bathurst, was that “good actors simply enjoy acting, they’ll be interested in helping out on projects for a token fee if you ask them and they like the idea and script.”

P: What are your thoughts on the current state of Sci-Fi and what has influenced your style of filmmaking?

B: Sci-Fi is really enjoying a golden age right now – there have been terrific sci-fi films and series coming out in the last five years – Dune, Bladerunner 2049, Arrival, Free Guy, Foundation.
I think ‘The Name of the Prime Minister’ could be described as a cross between Black Mirror and Stranger Things, it’s not entirely implausible and the slickness you see in shows like Black Mirror was a big influence. The sound design and mix was actually done at the Technicolor London post-facility, whilst I was there they were very secretive about the fact Black Mirror episodes were being worked in the room next door.

P: The short film seems to set up for something more, a web series perhaps? What’s the plan for The Name of the Prime Minister?

B: Yes it would be nice to make something a bit bigger – there is certainly a longer script and lots of interesting ideas. Almost everyone who sees the short immediately asks for the next episode, so watch this space.

Also Read: Five Must-See Documentaries at the 2021 Soho London Independent Film Festival

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The film appeared in this year’s Soho London Independent Film Festival.

Read our interview below with Lily Howkins, the film’s writer, producer and lead actor.

Presh: What was the inspiration behind writing “A.R.P.U”?
Lily: ‘A.R.P.U.’ was inspired by a conversation with the film’s composer Adam Gerber, who had recently watched a Netflix documentary called ‘The Great Hack.’ He cited the fact that data was now the most valuable commodity on the planet, surpassing fossil fuels like oil. I found this concept fascinating. With many people theorising that cash will become obsolete in the near future, it made me wonder what the world would look like if data were to become our only currency. I was aware that social media sites generate income from their users data by working with advertisers. When I watched ‘The Great Hack’ however, I was shocked to discover just how directly this income comes from our personal data and this began to feed into the concept for the film. The fact that the term used to discuss a social media site’s worth is ‘average revenue per user’ says it all really, and is where the title of the film comes from.

P: How did the production come together? And how did you meet with the film’s director Phil Spencer?
L: I decided that if I was going to write a script, I wanted it to be turned into a production within two years. So, from the start I had a timeline in mind and set about sourcing funding, bringing team members on board and I started thinking about how this world and story would be realised in a production from the first draft. I first met Phil Spencer through a charity called The Soldiers’ Arts Academy where we worked on a play together called ‘Soldier On.’ Phil served with the Royal Marines and the SAA provides a platform for military veterans to engage with the arts. Phil then went on to direct me in his short film ‘House Hunting’ which is where I decided to ask him to direct ‘A.R.P.U.’

P: The ending was particularly interesting. Without giving away, how did you decide on the ending?
L: I love films that give you something to think about after the credits end, that you want to go away and discuss them further. I wanted there to be room for the audience to make up their own minds about what they had just watched, whilst still ensuring the main messages of the film were clearly conveyed. I spent a lot of time working out how this whole alternate world works, with its various social structures and corporate systems. ‘A.R.P.U.’ is just a tiny snapshot of that, so hopefully, the ending also gives a sense of a wider world and a story that continues after where the film leaves us.

P: As we live in an increasingly digitised and interconnected world, do you think this has reframed how we approach Sci-Fi?
L: Absolutely, every time technology advances it throws up a whole new set of possibilities to explore. The science takes a step forward, and so does the fiction as creative minds theorise about what avenues this new technology might lead the world down. Of course, sometimes it feels like it is the science catching up with the fiction, which is always unnerving!

P: When will ARPU be released?
L: We are awaiting screening at a few film festivals, so it will be publicly available in February 2022. If you follow our Instagram page @ARPUfilm, we will be announcing where and when it can be watched.

Also Read: 10 Great Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix

The post Lily Howkins Discusses Her Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller A.R.P.U (Average Revenue Per User) appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Born in Spain and a London resident, Chino Moya has just completed his first feature film, Undergods, supported by the British Film Institute and produced amongst others by Scott Free, Ridley Scott’s company. We spoke with writer/director Chino Moya about his dystopian Sci-Fi film discussing issues such as the threat of totalitarianism, morality and the meaning behind his film.

Also Read: The Best Sci-Fi Films of the Decade

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Spoiler Warning – Massive spoilers for this film ahead

What’s Going On?

As established in The Terminator, in the future sentient computers turned against their human masters and launched a devastating nuclear attack, and followed it up with the terminators – terrifying robot killing machines. Despite this humans continue to fight. Skynet (the sentient computer) decides to eliminate the human resistance leader, John Connor, by sending a terminator back through time to kill his mother so he was never born. Not only does this fail but the human resistance sends their own fighter back in time to protect Sarah Connor and becomes the father of John Connor. In T2 Skynet decides to have a go at killing John as a child, and again, the resistance sends back someone to protect John. The key twist being that times have changed – Skynet sends back the latest terminator – a T1000 liquid metal, able to change it’s appearance and body shape. The resistance sends back a reprogrammed Terminator, an older model, a T800, but still stronger than any human.

Behind The Scenes

The film was directed by James Cameron, who directed the original The Terminator as well as Aliens, True Lies, Avatar and of course Titanic. A huge figure in science-fiction Cameron has contributed so much to the pop culture, and broader cultural, understanding of time travel, artificial intelligence, paradoxes etc.

In Front Of The Camera

The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the T800 Terminator, Edward Furlong as John Connor, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor and Robert Patrick as T1000 terminator. Schwarzenegger, Hamilton and Patrick are all amazing, with Furlong being a bit mixed (a problem being he is quite annoying and so sometimes you wouldn’t be too upset if the T1000 got him). Schwarzenegger’s acting is peculiar as he is playing a character essentially without emotion, a slow and deliberate way of speaking that is not natural but fits entirely with the character and makes the moments of emotion have all the more impact. Hamilton is fantastic and her transformation from normal if determined civilian to ruthless imprisoned quasi-terrorist is perfect and makes complete sense. Robert Patrick is great as the T1000, the ease with which he switches from utterly emotionless killing machine to making banter with people when it suits his purposes is eerie.

Does It Work?

T2 is a truly outstanding film and is rightly regarded as one of the greatest action films and sci-fi films of all time. In my opinion, it is better than the Terminator and obviously better than everything that followed. The plot is perfect – the troublemaking child, raised by foster parents and convinced his mother is insane, saved by one terminator and hunted by another. Connor’s insistence on saving his mother, how it switches from not just protecting John but trying to save the future.

The film has some of the best action sequences ever filmed. The confrontation between the two terminators in which it is revealed which is the good and bad terminator, the chase through the aqueduct, the extended scene at the hospital where Sarah Connor is rescued…it just goes on and on. It’s worth talking about special effects at this point as they are astonishing. Aside from things like exploding vehicles and tearing the skin off to reveal robot parts underneath there is the liquid metal terminator. Despite thirty years passing the scenes of this terminator changing shape and appearance still look amazing. The scene at the hospital has a number of impressive shots, the T1000 rising from a puddle on the floor matching the tiles into the shape of one of the guards (incidentally using one of the oldest special effects tricks – identical twin actors), the terminator walking through prison bars (with the brilliant moment of his gun catching on the bars, as this is not liquid metal) to him chasing the car on foot, his arms becoming hooked spikes.

The film has entered the cultural landscape with quotes and iconic scenes, from Hasta La Vista Baby to Sarah Connor’s apocalyptic vision at a playground to the “thumbs up” scene – referenced in sitcom Spaced as the reducing unemotional nerd men to tears.

What elevates this film above a well-directed action film is the fact that you care. Despite Furlong being a slightly annoying John Connor you become invested in his survival, particularly around his relationship with the T800. In fact, three of the four main characters have major character changes and changes in perspective – the exception being the T1000 as he’s not meant to change (although by the end of the film he does seem pissed off that he can’t manage to kill John Connor). As well as forming a relationship with the terminator John reconnects with his mother, Sarah Connor is able to see the terminator as something more than just a killing machine and gets back some measure of hope. As for Schwarzenegger’s terminator he changes from a simple programmed machine into something more – the “thumbs up” scene I referred to was one of the last scenes of the film. The T1000 has been destroyed and in an effort to prevent Skynet from coming into existence the T800 lowers himself into molten metal, giving a thumbs-up as he vanishes. The character at the beginning of the film would have sacrificed himself as it what his programming demanded but he wouldn’t have understood why John cared so much.

Retro Review – One of the all-time great films and just as impressive today as when it was released. This film was the highest-grossing movie of that year and I think it is a rare state of affairs when the highest-grossing film is also, maybe, the best film of the year.

Also Read: Why James Cameron’s Avatar Sequel Has Come At The Right Time

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1. Netflix Original Sci-Fi – Okja

A corporation sends 26 creatures, which were developed as a food source, across the world as a PR stunt. However, when they take one of the creatures (Okja) away, Mija (Seo-Hyun Ahn), sets out to get her back. What makes Okja special is its direction, which mixes many different elements (Science fiction, horror, comedy) together without feeling tonally confused, and Seo-Hyun Ahn’s performance which easily invests us in her struggle to get Okja back.

2. Hard Sci-Fi – The Martian

Mark Watney (Matt Damon) becomes stranded on Mars after his expedition team evacuates. Mark has one goal, survive. Thankfully, the world’s space agencies begin mounting a mission to rescue him. The Martian is great sci-fi. The entire cast makes their characters and the technical dialogue feel very natural. The special effects really sell the experience. And, it does a great job making the science feel accurate.

3. Sci-Fi Comedy – The Truman Show

Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) slowly realises that his life is a TV show. He’s being filmed from every angle 24 hours a day. And lives inside the world’s biggest set. The Truman Show is a fantastic dark comedy that uses its sci-fi trappings to make great statements on humanity’s voyeuristic nature. In fact, with the continual expansion of surveillance technology, the Truman Show is more relevant now than ever.

4. Sci-Fi Action – Dredd

While on a training exercise Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) and rookie judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) get locked inside a futuristic skyscraper full of bloodthirsty gang members. With no retreat, the only option is to fight to the top to get out. Dredd’s futuristic setting explores many pressing issues such as the justice system and overpopulation, but it also facilitates some of the best action of the past decade.

5. Sci-Fi Horror – A Cure for Wellness

Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) goes to a remote wellness centre to retrieve his CEO. However, he soon becomes injured, meaning he can’t leave, and he begins to believe the facility is hiding something sinister. But what is happening and can Lockhart escape? A Cure for Wellness feels like a classic Universal horror film. Where the gothic atmosphere is thick and engaging. And the minor sci-fi ingredients greatly amplify the horror.

6. Sci-Fi Drama – Proxima

Sarah (Eva Green) is training to become an astronaut but she must try to balance her training with her family life, particularly preparing her daughter Stella (Zélie Boulant) for when she leaves. Proxima is an amazing look at the physical and emotional hardships astronauts go through to prepare for space travel, but it’s also an affecting family drama and an inspiring tribute to female astronauts. It’s also buoyed by Green and Boulant’s excellent performances.

7. Alien Sci-Fi – Close Encounters of the Third Kind

After Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) has a mysterious encounter with an unidentified flying object he and the government begin investigating and trying to contact alien life. Close Encounters is a fantastic exploration of how obsession with the unexplainable can negatively affect people and can also be used to cross boundaries.

8. Steampunk Sci-Fi – Castle in the Sky

Sheeta (Keiko Yokozawa) holds the key to finding Laputa, the castle in the sky, and along with Pazu (Mayumi Tanaka), she must try to outrun the pirates and a government agent trying to find Laputa for greed and conquest. A touchstone of modern steampunk fiction, Castle in the Sky is a thrilling adventure with a fun story and wonderful characters who populate an inventive fantasy world that melds modern and primitive technology together beautifully.

9. Children’s Sci-Fi – Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

When Peter Parker dies Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) must become his world’s Spider-man and defeat the Kingpin with the help of the spider-people of several realities. Into the Spider-Verse is perfect kids science fiction because it’s full of great action, gorgeous visuals, and creative use of sci-fi concepts like alternate realities. But it’s also grounded by a fantastic lead, a great supporting cast, and a positive message about carving your own path.

10. Surreal Sci-Fi – Sorry to Bother You

Cassius (LaKeith Stanfield) begins losing touch with his roots after being promoted at his telemarketing company until he discovers a new project the company is working on. Sorry to Bother You is a vehicle for social commentary. This movie critiques capitalism, race, media and uses sci-fi elements to create a riveting dystopian portrait of contemporary life.

Those are just 10 great sci-fi movies available on Netflix. If you have any favourites we missed, let us know.

Also Read: The Future Is Now: How Sci-Fi Imagined the Future

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Writer / director, Luke Armstrong and lead actor Johnny Sachon talk about their new dystopian sci-fi thriller on the Big Picture Film Club.

Solitary is available everywhere on August 31st on digital and disc in all major retailers.

Also Read: Dr Parvinder Shergill Discusses Mental Health & Movies

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With the show taking some time off, now seems like a good time to revisit the series, and take a look at 5 of the best.

5. Fifteen Million Merits (1.02)

Taking a look at the future of talent shows and advertisements, this episode features a pre-Get Out Daniel Kaluuya, riding an exercise bike. Every few pedals of the bike earns the rider merits, which they can spend on food and drink as well as items for their digital avatars. The sleeping quarters are walls of screens with adult advertisements constantly intruding, and a paid fee to skip them, rather like paying for subscription services in real life. This is one episode that has proved rather timely as streaming and subscription services have come into our lives

4. Be Right Back (2.01)

Grief is something that everyone, unfortunately, goes through at some point, and everyone deals with it differently. The final and most important aspect of grief is accepting the loss. This episode shows one way of dealing with the loss of a loved one, use their internet history to make an android with their personality. This is one of the most human and relatable episodes of the series, and one of the most thought-provoking.

3. USS. Callister (4.01)

Riffing on both Star Trek and VR technology, this is one of the most imaginative episodes of the show. A lonely programmer lives out his space captain fantasy in VR, modding in his co-workers as his crewmates. The episode focuses on this power fantasy and spills into the real world, with allusions to Harvey Weinstein. It is one of the highest concept episodes, with Brooker describing it as “The Black Mirror version of a space epic”. This episode even won several awards, for its performances, cinematography, and sound design.

2. San Junipero (3.04)

The first episode conceived for season 3, this was written “as a conscious decision to change the series“. The episode is at its core, a love story between Yorkie and Kelly. It is also unique for being a period piece (with the exception of the interactive Bandersnatch). This episode is a great example of how the show can expand from its study of the dangers of technology and actually shows hope. This episode also garnered awards and topped a lot of “best episodes” lists.

1. White Christmas (2.04)

This festive special takes three different stories and connects them, unlike other episodes which just reference other stories. As the two characters share their life stories over Christmas dinner, the stories slowly connect. This episode is a soap opera, sci-fi and romance all in one. Although the individual stories are very short compared to regular episodes, the quality remains the same, and each of them could easily be fleshed out into full-length episodes.

Also Read: The Best Sci-Fi Films of the Decade

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We previously reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey back in 2019 and offered an opinion on the movie. This time we’ll be taking a closer look at how the movie came to life and what makes it so special.

Path to Glory

The late Stanley Kubrick was an American Film Maker born in 1928. A New Yorker born and raised. A child of Jewish migrants from Austria, Romania and Russia. His father gave him a camera for his 13th birthday, which sparked a keen interest in photography and eventually led to a job as an apprentice photographer at Look magazine. In 1958 Stanley used his savings to create a documentary film Day of the Fight (1951). He continued financing his own films and in 1956 his work caught the attention of Hollywood. Soon Kubrick would be directing the likes of Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960).

Kubrick decided to move to England and his first UK release was Lolita (1962). After gaining much critical and commercial success from movies like Dr. Strangelove (1964), Kubrick earned the artistic freedom to work on whatever projects he desired, some of which never materialised.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) was a collaboration with English sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke. This was followed by A Clockwork Orange (1971), which rivalled Lolita in controversy. Kubrick went on to release a film adaptation of a Stephen King novel The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Kubrick passed away before he could complete A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) so his friend Steven Spielberg helped the movie to cross the finish line. Kubrick discusses much of his early life and films in the documentary The Lost Tapes (1966).

One Small Step for Man One Giant Leap for Mankind

Let’s consider what was happening at the time 2001 was made. The Vietnam War (which claimed the lives of over 3 million people) was being waged and did not end until 1973. The Hippie counterculture had emerged in opposition to the war. The Cuban Missile crisis of 1962. The Equal pay Act of 1963 was signed by the Liberal President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in the same year. Jim Crow laws from the late 19th Century were abolished when the Civil Rights Act was penned in 1964. The assassination of Malcolm X in 1965. The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4th 1968. 2001: A Space Odyssey debuted in theatres on April 6th 1968. Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon in 1969.

The Making of a Myth

Arthur C. Clarke is a well known sci-fi writer who Stanley Kubrick partnered with to write the screenplay for 2001. In the documentary 2001 the Making of a Myth (2001), Clarke shared that Kubrick believed there had been no great sci-fi movies made before theirs. Other Sci-Fi movies of the time included Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) and Fantastic Voyage (1966). Kubrick must have been aware of those notable Sci-Fi movies but is thought to be directly inspired by the documentary Universe (1960) and a movie shown at the New York World’s Fair – To the Moon and Beyond (1964).

Captain Kubrick assembled a crew to embark on a mission to create what he believed would be the first great Science Fiction Film. Key personnel were brought in to advise and engineer. Space Scientist Fred Ordway was brought in as a scientific consultant. Illustrators Roy Carnon and Richard McKenna created concept drawings, sketches, and paintings of the space technology, in part, influenced by the work of Chesley Bonestell. A 55 foot long model of the Discovery One spacecraft was built. Engineering company Vickers-Armstrongs was hired to construct a centrifuge that would simulate artificial gravity. Design consultants who had worked on films for NASA and the US Air Force were brought in and 4 Special effects Supervisors were appointed: Douglas Trumbull, Con Pederson, Tom Howard and Wally Veevers.

In 1966 filming began at the MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood. The production team developed and used a number of techniques including:

• Slit-scan photography
• Rotating Movie sets
• Front Projection
• Motion Control
• Rotoscoping

Production costs soared to in excess of $10m and went $4.5m over budget. The screens we saw in the spacecraft were made to look like computer graphics but were actually a combination of photography and animation. Actors were attached to wires and filmed from beneath to give the illusion of floating in space. The psychedelic Stargate Sequence was achieved by using a custom-built machine and thousands of high-contrast images. Kubrick opted for creating all the visual effects “in camera” to avoid degradation of picture quality which may occur when using Blue Screen techniques. Kubrick’s demands are what led to the project costs spiralling out of control. But this also resulted in the visual effects of 2001 looking spectacular and ahead of its time. A video essay published by Vulture gives a brilliant overview of the feats of engineering that were required and how the innovative cinematographic techniques were implemented in the Space Odyssey production.

To the Moon and Beyond

2001: A Space Odyssey is a sci-fi movie that tells a story of mankind, our relationship with progress, technology and the idea that there may be extra-terrestrial life. The movie builds on Darwin’s theory of evolution and asks us to question what the next stage of human evolution could be. Kubrick gave 2001 a curious ending that is open for debate. You can watch an expert panel give their take on what the movie means to them here. Does the ending suggest there will be another stage of human evolution? One that enables humans to travel through space without the use of technology? In a rare interview more than a decade after the film was made, the reclusive Director gives us his own take on the ending of the movie.

Whatever your thoughts are on what the ending means and what the movie represents as a whole, it is a fantastic look into the future told with masterful visual storytelling. A movie that gave us a glimpse of Video Calling at a time when that technology was not available. A movie that modelled the future with photorealistic realism but contained no computer graphics to achieve that goal. A movie that has inspired filmmakers and viewers alike. A movie that will be remembered as one of the greatest movies of all time.

Also Read: The Best Sci-Fi Films of the Decade

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