The 5. 0 Best Sci- Fi Films Of The 2. Century So Far. It’s impossible for us to choose a single favorite genre from the wealth that cinema offers. But if some sort of “Sophie’s Choice” situation were to occur, we probably would be able to point to one that occupies a more central place in our hearts: science fiction.
The term encompasses multitudes: sci- fi runs the gamut from stark, philosophical inquiry to space western to brainless robot- go- bang- bang; it hybridizes beautifully with other genres like comedy, horror and romance and as such is maybe the most expansive and elastic genre of them all. This week, we’re using the opening of Justin Lin. We’re hardly the first to notice that recent world events feel distinctly dystopian, and seeing various scenarios play out as extended thought experiments is something that only this genre really affords us. READ MORE: The 5. Best Animated Films Of The 2.
From superheroes and star wars to apes and aliens, there's plenty of sci-fi movies coming out in 2017 that will make geeks rejoice. 2017 February movie releases in theaters, streaming and coming to home video. 2017 TV-14 1 Season. The cult hit returns! Captured by mad scientists, new host Jonah survives a blitz of cheesy B movies by riffing on them with his funny robot pals. Yes, "The Matrix" is included, along with 19 other movies very ready for you to stream right here in 2017. We've selected the very best designs in sci-fi movies, and a host of influential designers discuss our picks.
The real Lord Buckethead: the cult sci-fi film that inspired Theresa May's election rival. Itunes Movies For Ipod Trophy (2017) more. I swear ya’ll published this the exact same day as The Fil mStage.com’s own list on purpose. SCI FI Channel is now Syfy, but you can still get access to all your favorite SCI FI Channel content right here. Syfy features science fiction, drama, supernatural.
Century So Far. Expanding the list was also interesting, insofar as noting how much or how little our feelings have changed over the past few years. Aside from including a few titles we’d excluded before for prosaic reasons, and a couple of new entries in the top half that are films released after the original list was drawn up, the passage of time has buffed some titles to a higher shine, while others have slightly lost their luster.
But we haven’t undergone a 1. The 5. 0 Best Film Scores Of The 2. Century So Far. Writer Edmund Crispin once said that “science fiction is the last refuge of the morality tale,” and perhaps, living in such challenging and morally murky times, that’s why we find ourselves so compelled by it. Or perhaps we just really dig lasers and neoprene outfits! Either way, here are the 5. Don’t tell drama or westerns that we said that!), has to offer.
But that’s hardly even a criticism when it comes to this type of conceptual sci- fi: “Remainder” may be chilly, pretentious and at times alienating in its Moebius- strip narrative of endlessly looping causes- and- effects, but it’s seldom less than fascinating. A deliberately dissociative Tom Sturridge plays a young man given a massive payoff when he’s the victim of a freak accident which leaves him with a kind of monomaniacal selective amnesia. He then uses his wealth to recreate a fragment of memory down to the most obsessive detail, assisted by a resourceful and discreet factotum (Arsher Ali). It’s never particularly emotive, but as a pared- down mash- up of “Primer,” “Synecdoche NY” and “Memento,” this investigation into identity has its own prismatic, crystalline appeal. Essentially a sequel to his masterpiece “In The Mood For Love,” the film sees Tony Leung’s Chow return, now romancing (or sometimes not romancing) various women while penning a series of stories set in the year 2. The meta- nature of the narrative means that the film is sci- fi only by the loosest sense, but it’s still a thrill to get to see Wong turn his hand to a neon fantasia of a future. And if the pieces don’t quite add up to a satisfying whole (the Cannes premiere was somewhat rushed, and there’s a slight sense that the film was never quite finished), it nevertheless captures the very particular kind of melancholy that only Wong can pull off.
The Sundance- approved film directed by Jennifer Phang sees Gwen (Jacqueline Kim, who co- wrote the script), a spokesperson for a cosmetic surgery company in the near- future, elect to have a procedure that will give her a new, younger body, only to find it difficult to connect with her daughter afterwards. The writing is occasionally stiff and the acting somewhat variable, but it creates a fascinating world on a meagre budget and is positively bursting with ideas and meaty themes, most of which —aging, the roles of women in business, racial identity, motherhood— simply wouldn’t have occurred to most white male filmmakers. Netflix bought the rights, and it’s well worth checking out. Following wash- out Gary King (Pegg in his greatest performance)’s attempt to reunite his old friends for a once- aborted pub crawl around his hometown, only to discover that the place has been steadily taken over by robots, the film sees Wright’s craft reaching greater heights (the fight scenes are world class) and finding a newly melancholy tone in his work that feels like new ground. And if you’re looking for an insight into the British psyche that caused the self- destructive decision to go for Brexit, look no further than Gary King scorching the earth and telling the alien consciousness to “fuck off back to Legoland” in order to achieve self- determination. Much was made in advance of the film’s debts to Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter —perhaps too much, in the sense that it disappointed those who went in hoping to scratch the kind of ’8.
Netflix’s “Stranger Things” does so effectively. In fact, Nichols’ film, which stars Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst and Jaeden Lieberher, is far more thoughtful and introspective. The otherworldly elements —a child with supernatural powers, a government conspiracy, extra- terrestrial communiques— function as merely a science fiction framework allowing Nichols to probe the concept of fatherhood to a painfully personal degree, as well as the existential dilemmas that raising a child can pose. The new- agey- cult story “Sound of My Voice” from Zal Batmanglij may be even stronger, but for a robust sci- fi premise, “cult leader who may be from the future” is pipped at the post by “second Earth appears, inhabited by exact doubles of every person on the planet.” Mike Cahill.
Here, Marling’s student and William Mapother. But it only lasted one 1.
Serenity.” Starring the same cast —Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite and Summer Glau— rustling up the same chemistry and chowing into the same quippy, characterful dialogue, Whedon’s TV provenance also shows in less positive ways: it’s not hugely cinematic and the plotting feels a little episodic. But the transition mostly works well, with Fillion’s Captain Mal leading his motley crew on a surprisingly moving and ultimately very satisfying big- screen outing boasting genuine scares courtesy of villains The Reavers and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Directed by Gore Verbinski collaborator James Ward Byrkit, it’s the kind of film that works best the less you know about it.
But broadly speaking, it focuses on a well- to- do L. A. It’s ingeniously written and resourcefully made, with Byrkit stripping the story right down to its bones, but without making the characters or dialogue feel perfunctory. Yet it’s narratively satisfying in a way that mind- benders of this type aren’t always, ending on a lingering note of existential dread that feels deeply earned. It’s rough around the edges, and yet few low- budget sci- fi pics feel as accomplished or exciting. Abrams undoubtedly has a feel for what audiences want from mainstream entertainment that few can match. But the secret of his Bad Robot factory isn’t so much in the choice of material as it is the strength of execution, and “Cloverfield” exemplifies that.
Uniting two hugely talented Abrams collaborators, Drew Goddard (who wrote) and Matt Reeves (who directed), the film is the why- didn’t- I- think- of- that concept of “The Blair Witch Project” meets “Godzilla,” which was always going to connect. But it’s lasted — even growing in reputation— because Reeves’ direction is extraordinarily well- choreographed, capturing the chaos of disaster without making it incomprehensible, and because Goddard’s script finds the humanity among the people on the ground. For a film that could have just been a rollercoaster ride, it holds up incredibly well nearly a decade on. Mining the national resource that is Damon’s everyman charm, Scott made his most satisfying film in years courtesy of Drew Goddard’s peppy script (based on the bestseller by Andy Weir) and a little help from the incongruously ABBA- heavy soundtrack.
Cult film - Wikipedia. For the album by Blue . Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, an elaborate subculture that engage in repeated viewings, quoting dialogue, and audience participation. Inclusive definitions allow for major studio productions, especially box office bombs, while exclusive definitions focus more on obscure, transgressive films shunned by the mainstream. The difficulty in defining the term and subjectivity of what qualifies as a cult film mirror classificatory disputes about art. The term cult film itself was first used in the 1. Cult films trace their origin back to controversial and suppressed films kept alive by dedicated fans.
In some cases, reclaimed or rediscovered films have acquired cult followings decades after their original release, occasionally for their camp value. Other cult films have since become well- respected or reassessed as classics; there is debate as to whether these popular and accepted films are still cult films. After failing in the cinema, some cult films have become regular fixtures on cable television or profitable sellers on home video. Others have inspired their own film festivals. Cult films can both appeal to specific subcultures and form their own subcultures. Other media that reference cult films can easily identify which demographics they desire to attract and offer savvy fans an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge. Cult films frequently break cultural taboos, and many feature excessive displays of violence, gore, sexuality, profanity, or combinations thereof.
This can lead to controversy, censorship, and outright bans; less transgressive films may attract similar amounts of controversy when critics call them frivolous or incompetent. Films that fail to attract requisite amounts of controversy may face resistance when labeled as cult films. Mainstream films and big budget blockbusters have attracted cult followings similar to more underground and lesser known films; fans of these films often emphasize the films' niche appeal and reject the more popular aspects.
Fans who like the films for the wrong reasons, such as perceived elements that represent mainstream appeal and marketing, will often be ostracized or ridiculed. Likewise, fans who stray from accepted subcultural scripts may experience similar rejection.
Since the late 1. Films that once would have been limited to obscure cult followings are now capable of breaking into the mainstream, and showings of cult films have proved to be a profitable business venture.
Overbroad usage of the term has resulted in controversy, as purists state it has become a meaningless descriptor applied to any film that is the slightest bit weird or unconventional; others accuse Hollywood studios of trying to artificially create cult films or use the term as a marketing tactic. Films are frequently stated to be an . Fickle fans on the Internet have latched on to unreleased films only to abandon them later on release. At the same time, other films have acquired massive, quick cult followings, thanks to spreading virally through social media.
Easy access to cult films via video on demand and peer- to- peer file sharing has led some critics to pronounce the death of cult films. Definition. Several people defined cult films primarily in terms of their opposition to mainstream films and conformism, explicitly requiring a transgressive element, though others disputed the transgressive potential, given the demographic appeal to conventional moviegoers and mainstreaming of cult films. Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock instead called them mainstream films with transgressive elements.
Most definitions also required a strong community aspect, such as obsessed fans or ritualistic behavior. Citing misuse of the term, Mikel J. Koven took a self- described hard- line stance that rejected definitions that use any other criteria. Matt Hills instead stressed the need for an open- ended definition rooted in structuration, where the film and the audience reaction are interrelated and neither is prioritized. Ernest Mathijs focused on the accidental nature of cult followings, arguing that cult film fans consider themselves too savvy to be marketed to, while Jonathan Rosenbaum rejected the continued existence of cult films and called the term a marketing buzzword. Mathijs suggests that cult films help to understand ambiguity and incompleteness in life given the difficulty in even defining the term. That cult films can have opposing qualities – such as good and bad, failure and success, innovative and retro – helps to illustrate that art is subjective and never self- evident.
However, they reject cult films as having a single unifying feature; instead, they state that cult films are united in their . Cult followings themselves can range from adoration to contempt, and they have little in common except for their celebration of nonconformity – even the bad films ridiculed by fans are artistically nonconformist, albeit unintentionally. At the same time, they state that bourgeois, masculine tastes are frequently reinforced, which makes cult films more of an internal conflict within the bourgeoisie, rather than a rebellion against it. This results in an anti- academic bias despite the use of formal methodologies, such as defamiliarization.
This nonconformity is eventually co- opted by the dominant forces, such as Hollywood, and marketed to the mainstream. Due to their rejection of mainstream appeal, Mendik says cult films can be more creative and political; times of relative political instability produce more interesting films. Film critic Harry Allan Potamkin traces them back to 1. France and the reception of Pearl White, William S.
Hart, and Charlie Chaplin, which he described as . Stoker's widow sued the production company and drove it to bankruptcy. All known copies of the film were destroyed, and Nosferatu become an early cult film, kept alive by a cult following that circulated illegal bootlegs. The Night of the Hunter (1. Although critics Pauline Kael and Arthur Knight argued against arbitrary divisions into high and low culture, American films settled into rigid genres; European art films continued to push the boundaries of simple definitions, and these exploitative art films and artistic exploitation films would go on to influence American cult films. These underground film festivals led to the creation of midnight movies, which attracted cult followings. Eventually, the rise of home video would marginalize midnight movies once again, after which many directors joined the burgeoning independent film scene or went back underground.
Joanne Hollows states that they were seen as turning cult films mainstream – in effect, feminizing them by opening them to distracted, passive audiences. Hollywood films, due to their nature, are more likely to attract this kind of attention, which leads to a mainstreaming effect of cult culture. With major studios behind them, even financially unsuccessful films can be re- released multiple times, which plays into a trend to capture audiences through repetitious reissues. The constant use of profanity and drugs in otherwise mainstream, Hollywood films, such as The Big Lebowski, can alienate critics and audiences yet lead to a large cult following among more open- minded demographics not often associated with cult films, such as Wall Street bankers and professional soldiers. Thus, even comparatively mainstream films can satisfy the traditional demands of a cult film, perceived by fans as transgressive, niche, and uncommercial. I wanted to make box- office hits. Mad Max (1. 97. 9) was an international hit – except in America.
The early cult horror films of Peter Jackson were so strongly associated with his homeland that they affected the international reputation of New Zealand and its cinema. As more artistic films emerged, New Zealand was perceived as a legitimate competitor to Hollywood, which mirrored Jackson's career trajectory. Heavenly Creatures (1.