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(io9) Interesting Ten science fiction movies for people who don't like science fiction movies   (io9.com) divider line 121
More: Interesting, science fiction film, science fictional, Alec Guinness, Truman Show, Andrew Stanton, Alfonso Cuaron, Vanilla Sky, brave new world  
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10494 clicks; posted to Geek » on 27 Dec 2011 at 6:48 PM   |  Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook   more»   |    Get this fabulous T-Shirt and impress the methane out of your friends! shirt it!



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Ed Finnerty [TotalFark]
2011-12-27 06:52:08 PM
As someone who recently watched Inception again (with the benefit of RiffTrax this time), I can safely say that movie is a complete turd.
 
DarthBrooks [TotalFark]
2011-12-27 06:58:43 PM
cdn.whatculture.com

This list is wrong at 88 mph.
 
enforcerpsu
2011-12-27 06:59:00 PM
Ed Finnerty: As someone who recently watched Inception again (with the benefit of RiffTrax this time), I can safely say that movie is a complete turd.

Meh. I thought it was decent. I really enjoyed it the first time.

However, this list is fail without The 5th Element.
 
davidphogan
2011-12-27 07:00:09 PM
I'm still not sure how I've lived this long and never seen Brazil. I'll have to fix that this week.
 
aerojockey
2011-12-27 07:00:14 PM
Somehow I doubt that a person who can't handle a few spaceships is going to be able to handle something like Brazil (or any Gilliam movie, really).
 
Ed Finnerty [TotalFark]
2011-12-27 07:01:25 PM
enforcerpsu: However, this list is fail without The 5th Element.

Agreed.
 
aerojockey
2011-12-27 07:01:42 PM
davidphogan: I'm still not sure how I've lived this long and never seen Brazil. I'll have to fix that this week.

Be sure to get the director's cut. The original theatrical release is not worth seeing.
 
MrSteve007
2011-12-27 07:02:17 PM
"10. Children of Men - And finally, a film that a bunch of us did just watch over the holidays."

Pro-tip: If you're writing on the subject about movies and you're attempting to sound like an authority, don't point out that it's taken you 5 years to see a major film - especially if it's a film that was nominated for 3 academy awards, including Best Screenplay.
 
Iceboxxx
2011-12-27 07:05:27 PM
I couldn't even finish the turd that was Scanner Darkly. Still don't understand why everyone said that Inception was a hard movie to follow, it wasn't that great and I don't want to watch it a second time.

Mark me down as another agreement with 5th Element.
 
itazurakko
2011-12-27 07:05:50 PM
davidphogan: I'm still not sure how I've lived this long and never seen Brazil. I'll have to fix that this week.

aerojockey: davidphogan: I'm still not sure how I've lived this long and never seen Brazil. I'll have to fix that this week.

Be sure to get the director's cut. The original theatrical release is not worth seeing.

Yes. It's one of my favorite movies ever.
 
E_Henry_Thripshaws_Disease
2011-12-27 07:09:00 PM
Be sure to get the director's cut. The original theatrical release is not worth seein

My copy of Brazil has both versions, you should watch both, very interesting
 
JasonOfOrillia
2011-12-27 07:09:25 PM
Inception looked beautiful but it was a muddled mess. I've never heard of robot stories before. The Host was hilarious but I'm not sure I would recommend it to people beacause it is a big of a weird foreign film. Scanner Darkly is a bit too weird without being well done for average viewers. Brazil's subject matter is a bit bleak.

Truman Show and White Suit are good choices because they can be perceived as non-genre films.

My list would also include Back to the Future.
 
expobill
2011-12-27 07:09:35 PM
the "truman show" was considered a science fiction?
i saw Brazil when that was released and forgot everything about the movie, so that should be fixed soon.
 
Ishkur [TotalFark]
2011-12-27 07:11:50 PM
I don't understand the list.

First of all, what is it about science fiction movies that people who don't like science fiction movies don't like about them? And are they confused as to what constitutes science fiction, or do they just not like suspending their disbelief? If they think science fiction is "any movie with spaceships", they're wrong, and if they think science fiction is "any movie that's intellectually deep", they're not going to like half the movies on that list anyway.
 
WhoIsWillo [TotalFark]
2011-12-27 07:12:19 PM
expobill: the "truman show" was considered a science fiction?
i saw Brazil when that was released and forgot everything about the movie, so that should be fixed soon.

Yes, it is. It has a gigantic domed city, for one.

But the list fails without:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Back to the Future
Starman
and the Iron Giant
 
davidphogan
2011-12-27 07:13:05 PM
E_Henry_Thripshaws_Disease: Be sure to get the director's cut. The original theatrical release is not worth seein

My copy of Brazil has both versions, you should watch both, very interesting

Hopefully that's the copy the local video store has.
 
Leader O'Cola
2011-12-27 07:14:42 PM
E_Henry_Thripshaws_Disease: Be sure to get the director's cut. The original theatrical release is not worth seein

My copy of Brazil has both versions, you should watch both, very interesting

Would be really nice if Criterion got busy on their version of the Bluray of that....
 
RoxtarRyan
2011-12-27 07:16:31 PM
List fails because gawker affiliated sites don't know how to optimize for mobile devices.
 
DeQ
2011-12-27 07:17:12 PM
...for People Who Think They Don't Like Science Fiction

They really like science fiction, it's just that they mistakenly think they don't.
 
Because People in power are Stupid [TotalFark]
2011-12-27 07:18:25 PM
My ex-wife liked the movie contact. She hated all other science fiction movies
 
ShawnDoc [TotalFark]
2011-12-27 07:19:24 PM
Ten science fiction movies for pretentious assholes would be a much better description. While I agree with some of the movies, the justification is just wrong.
 
Solon Isonomia
2011-12-27 07:20:43 PM
Science fiction is just a setting, like other genres. shiat, every story can be boiled down to a variation of three basic ideas: man learns a lesson, boy meets girl, and The Little Tailor.
 
Herr Flick's Revenge
2011-12-27 07:20:51 PM
Brazil?
Really?
People who don't like sci-fi are going to like a dark comedy set in a totalitarian regime?
No.

Also found inception to be meh.
 
KiplingKat872
2011-12-27 07:22:37 PM
Why would I hang out with people who don't enjoy SciFi?
 
Ecliptic
2011-12-27 07:25:19 PM
Ed Finnerty: As someone who recently watched Inception again (with the benefit of RiffTrax this time), I can safely say that movie is a complete turd

I also waited quite awhile to see it (small children, never get to go out anymore)... it had several logical consistency problems that really bugged me. Aside from that I thought it was fine, beautifully shot, and entertaining. But I really didn't understand why everyone went so crazy about it. If you want a good Nolan movie watch The Prestige.

/which should also be on this list... blew my mind for like 2 weeks in spite of the fact that I figured out what was going on with Jackman's character before the reveal
 
Contents Under Pressure
2011-12-27 07:27:25 PM
I'm glad they included Asian movies in the list. It's not all about the US.

Woody Allen's "Sleeper"
"Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"
"2001: A Space Odyssey "
"Mad Max."

And, yes, "Godzilla". Watch it with the kids and then spend the weekend trying to make that rusty gate screech that Godzilla made while stomping all over Japanese model buildings.

I agree eleventy about "Back to the Future". That was a lot of fun for everyone.
 
Solty Dog [TotalFark]
2011-12-27 07:32:11 PM
Solar Babies.
 
jsnbase
2011-12-27 07:34:10 PM
WhoIsWillo: expobill: the "truman show" was considered a science fiction?
i saw Brazil when that was released and forgot everything about the movie, so that should be fixed soon.

Yes, it is. It has a gigantic domed city, for one.

But the list fails without:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Back to the Future
Starman
and the Iron Giant

You might want to read the entire article. You'll find about 50% less fail.
 
KiplingKat872
2011-12-27 07:34:36 PM
Inception was o.k., but fails as a scifi film as it never explains the tech or really plays with the concept. It's a heist film in a SciFi packaging. Visually beautiful tho'. In that same vein, another film that gets overlooked a lot us Strange Days.

Agree Iron Giant needed to be in the list, but WALL- e is a great choice for the number of common scifi themes they wove into a cohesive and entertaining story. Star Wars is of course the ultimate non-scifi watchers film. Everyone enjoyed the original trilogy.

Also thought it was weird they were bragging about seeing Children of Men now.

I know it is blasphemy in the geek community, but I loved Contact. But then, I had read the book, and so did not feel ripped off when the alien appeared as her Dad.
 
t3knomanser
2011-12-27 07:40:35 PM
Solon Isonomia: Science fiction is just a setting, like other genres. shiat, every story can be boiled down to a variation of three basic ideas: man learns a lesson, boy meets girl, and The Little Tailor.

Show's how dumb you are. There is only one story:
Characters exist in some kind of status quo. They get involved in a conflict. This conflict escalates until it reaches a climax. After the climax, a new status quo is set, and the final part of the story establishes this new situation.

Everything else is just a variation on a theme.

KiplingKat872: I know it is blasphemy in the geek community, but I loved Contact.

Wait, it's a geek offense to like Contact? I thought geeks liked it and non-geeks hated it. I'm so confused. I am going to drown my sorrows by eating pi.
 
Quantum Apostrophe
2011-12-27 07:41:32 PM
Solty Dog: Solar Babies.

Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone
Battle Beyond the Stars
 
BumpInTheNight
2011-12-27 07:43:44 PM
was Inconvenient Truth on the list, sorry I'm not able to click the link because of the site.
 
Bacontastesgood
2011-12-27 07:44:16 PM
RoxtarRyan: List fails because gawker affiliated sites don't know how to optimize for mobile devices.

That's all you needed to say, really.

KiplingKat872: I know it is blasphemy in the geek community, but I loved Contact.

I don't see why that would be blasphemy. That movie kicked ass, as did the book. What Sagan wrote was so badass, even Zemekis couldn't drag it down to Senoro Spielbergo's level. And it's some of Jodie Foster's best screen time. Way better than her bullshiat southern accent in Silence of the Lambs.
 
Quantum Apostrophe
2011-12-27 07:47:37 PM
The Ice Pirates
 
andrewagill
2011-12-27 07:49:52 PM
If you tell your non-scifi friends that they'll love A Scanner Darkly, your friends will never listen to your advice about films ever again. Seriously, it's almost as bad as convincing your friends to watch Brazil.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take a large sip of coffee before reading the next movie suggestion...

/Loves Brazil and A Scanner Darkly
//But my non-scifi friends would not.
 
KiplingKat872
2011-12-27 07:50:22 PM
Wow. I am pleasantly surprised. A lot of my friends hated it because they never got to see the alien, but as a Hollywood film adaptation of what I think is a pretty insightful and important book, it pretty damn good.
 
ProfessorOhki
2011-12-27 07:50:57 PM
KiplingKat872: Inception was o.k., but fails as a scifi film as it never explains the tech or really plays with the concept. It's a heist film in a SciFi packaging. Visually beautiful tho'. In that same vein, another film that gets overlooked a lot us Strange Days.

Agree Iron Giant needed to be in the list, but WALL- e is a great choice for the number of common scifi themes they wove into a cohesive and entertaining story. Star Wars is of course the ultimate non-scifi watchers film. Everyone enjoyed the original trilogy.

Also thought it was weird they were bragging about seeing Children of Men now.

I know it is blasphemy in the geek community, but I loved Contact. But then, I had read the book, and so did not feel ripped off when the alien appeared as her Dad.

You don't really have to explain the technology behind something for it to be sci-fi. Take the original Star Wars: they don't explain hyperdrive, blasters, lightsabers, the Force, etc. That doesn't mean it's any less a sci-fi film (though, I suppose you can make a solid case for it being a sci-fi skinned fantasy film). IMHO, putting 15 minutes of technobabble behind the device they used wouldn't have changed the overall content of the movie at all.

That's sort of like saying Aliens is a monster movie in a sci-fi packaging. Sort of true on one level, but just not quite right.
 
Bacontastesgood
2011-12-27 07:52:14 PM
Taking one for the team, since io9 is maybe the least objectionable of the gawker shiat parade. Here's the list:

1. Inception

2. The Man in the White Suit

3. The Truman Show

4. The Host (Gwoemul)

5. Robot Stories

6. E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial

7. A Scanner Darkly

8. Brazil

9. Wall-E

10. Children of Men
 
9beers
2011-12-27 07:55:04 PM
I liked Inception but was a little disappointed that a movie that took place in a dream world didn't include more weirdness.
 
T.rex
2011-12-27 07:55:44 PM
Ed Finnerty: As someone who recently watched Inception again (with the benefit of RiffTrax this time), I can safely say that movie is a complete turd.

I've tried... trust me, i've TRIED to like it... I've attempted to watch it no less than five times and i fall asleep every time around the time Leo's British wife starts going batshiat insane... Its just meh.

I'm not a Nolan hater. I loved The Prestige, though mostly because of the dynamic between Bale and Wolverine guy.
 
kibbled
2011-12-27 07:55:47 PM
How about "Pi" or Dark City.

I introduced some friends to "Children of Men" the other week. They seemed to like it.
 
Optimal_Illusion
2011-12-27 07:56:38 PM
t3knomanser: Solon Isonomia: Science fiction is just a setting, like other genres. shiat, every story can be boiled down to a variation of three basic ideas: man learns a lesson, boy meets girl, and The Little Tailor.

Show's how dumb you are. There is only one story:
Characters exist in some kind of status quo. They get involved in a conflict. This conflict escalates until it reaches a climax. After the climax, a new status quo is set, and the final part of the story establishes this new situation.

Everything else is just a variation on a theme.

KiplingKat872: I know it is blasphemy in the geek community, but I loved Contact.

Wait, it's a geek offense to like Contact? I thought geeks liked it and non-geeks hated it. I'm so confused. I am going to drown my sorrows by eating pi.

Actually, it's this: Once upon a time there was somebody, and stuff happened. The End.
Everything else is window dressing, Or Ranch. I'm partial to Thousand Island or Green Goddess.
 
KiplingKat872
2011-12-27 07:57:11 PM
kibbled: How about "Pi" or Dark City.

I introduced some friends to "Children of Men" the other week. They seemed to like it.

Pi and Dark City are deep SciFi-fu.
 
that bosnian sniper
2011-12-27 07:58:21 PM
KiplingKat872: Agree Iron Giant needed to be in the list, but WALL- e is a great choice for the number of common scifi themes they wove into a cohesive and entertaining story.

I loved the crap out of WALL-E. It had all the great, traditional sci-fi themes, fantastic storytelling, and a great love story, all while managing to be first and foremost a kids' movie. It was, in my opinion, the best thing Pixar has done to date.
 
CitizenTed [TotalFark]
2011-12-27 07:58:55 PM
Ed Finnerty: As someone who recently watched Inception again (with the benefit of RiffTrax this time), I can safely say that movie is a complete turd.

You are my friend now. :0)

I thought Inception had a great concept but the production was over the top and the overall approach (every scene/shot/bit gleamingly perfect in every way) was boring. Inception also confirms my prejudice against using DiCaprio as a lead. I don't care what anybody says or thinks, the guy does not have gravitas. Period.

If Nolan had made the film grittier and left the "perfect gleaming production" tricks solely to the dream world, it would have been much more compelling. It would have been an interesting "down the rabbit hole" story. Instead, it was all slicker-n-snot production value. Bor-ing!

Oh, and if DiCaprio and his wife had a lifetime to dream up the most compelling world they could create, why did they create a faceless, sterile forest of identical skyscrapers? Lack of imagination? Or did that just look cooler on film?

Doesn't matter. The movie was a turd.
 
KiplingKat872
2011-12-27 08:01:13 PM
ProfessorOhki: KiplingKat872: Inception was o.k., but fails as a scifi film as it never explains the tech or really plays with the concept. It's a heist film in a SciFi packaging. Visually beautiful tho'. In that same vein, another film that gets overlooked a lot us Strange Days.

Agree Iron Giant needed to be in the list, but WALL- e is a great choice for the number of common scifi themes they wove into a cohesive and entertaining story. Star Wars is of course the ultimate non-scifi watchers film. Everyone enjoyed the original trilogy.

Also thought it was weird they were bragging about seeing Children of Men now.

I know it is blasphemy in the geek community, but I loved Contact. But then, I had read the book, and so did not feel ripped off when the alien appeared as her Dad.

You don't really have to explain the technology behind something for it to be sci-fi. Take the original Star Wars: they don't explain hyperdrive, blasters, lightsabers, the Force, etc. That doesn't mean it's any less a sci-fi film (though, I suppose you can make a solid case for it being a sci-fi skinned fantasy film). IMHO, putting 15 minutes of technobabble behind the device they used wouldn't have changed the overall content of the movie at all.

That's sort of like saying Aliens is a monster movie in a sci-fi packaging. Sort of true on one level, but just not quite right.

Most SciFi people do not consider Star Wars to be a SciFi series because all the themes are Fantasy. It just has a SciFi wrapping, which is why it went over so great with the general public. It think to qualify for SciFi, you have to take a concept like genetic engineering and explore it like Gattica does.
 
OscarTamerz
2011-12-27 08:01:54 PM
Blade Runner is a far better movie than anything on that list. The only slightly SciFi element were the silly flying cars. The photo stuff you could do now with Photoshop and a 50 megapixel Hasselblad. Who wouldn't want a basic pleasure model that looked like Darryl Hannah or Sean Young for that matter. As for the exploding bullets Reagan got shot with one of those the decade before So the whole movie was an examination of the human condition and the descent into inhumanity and ultimately redemption. It was a better movie than say Apocalypse Now or any other movie with a similar theme of any genre.
 
Bacontastesgood
2011-12-27 08:08:17 PM
OscarTamerz: The only slightly SciFi element were the silly flying cars.

Or, you know, the synthetic people, not to mention the off-world colonies which was why LA was a ghost town.

I love BR, but it's hard sci-fi.
 
KiplingKat872
2011-12-27 08:18:26 PM
that bosnian sniper: KiplingKat872: Agree Iron Giant needed to be in the list, but WALL- e is a great choice for the number of common scifi themes they wove into a cohesive and entertaining story.

I loved the crap out of WALL-E. It had all the great, traditional sci-fi themes, fantastic storytelling, and a great love story, all while managing to be first and foremost a kids' movie. It was, in my opinion, the best thing Pixar has done to date.

It really is an undervalued piece of writing genius, especially when you consider that it did all that with two leads with a dialog range of maybe five words apiece?
 
WhoIsWillo [TotalFark]
2011-12-27 08:20:33 PM
jsnbase: You might want to read the entire article. You'll find about 50% less fail.

Pretty sure none of these items were on the list.
 
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