the Big Day approaches...

Well here we are peeps,

My big day is finally just about here.
Tomorrow morning I hop on a plane and take off for Toronto.

A week from now I will be married!

I'm not nervous, but I am very excited. Of course, I'm really busy today as you might imagine, but I'm also trying to find time to procrastinate and relax a little too. So I thought i should take a minute to say hi to everyone who might drop by the blog in the next week or so. I'm not sure I'll get a chance to do any updates until I'm back on the 10th so I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for reading, thanks to my friends and family for helping me get to the point. And no I'm not talking about the blog ;) I'm talking about in general how much I value the real friends I have. I know I'm not always the best at staying in touch with everyone but thanks for at the least humoring me in my crazyness.

This is gonna be fantastic guys I can feel it.

Wish me luck on the 7th. and I'll see you all later.

Peace and Love,
G

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Hooray! Posters!

Some interesting new film posters surfaced today care of the Cinema Expo International currently going on in Amsterdam. You can see snapshots of all the posters over at Film Focus. For me the coolest posters include the new ones you see below. Click to make slightly bigger :)

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Rorschach arrives...

I know that a lot of you out there aren't familiar with The Watchmen graphic novel. But let me just say that it is one of, if not the most fascinating comic book I've ever read. Oh I might enjoy re-reading Give Me Liberty, or Batman The Long Halloween more especially on a regular basis, but Watchmen is just utterly fascinating storytelling. It grabs you and simply will not let you go. If you are interested in reading a great dark thriller, are intrigued by more adult serious comics, and want to see the first and still best story of superhero deconstruction, I urge you to check out this book more than any other comic. And you might want to do it before the film version comes out. :)

For those in the know...
Rorschach is online.
What this site is, or will become, I have no idea.
I just saw this post from AICN and followed.



The site is basically empty for now, except for that pic. which links to the email address: rorschach@rorschachsjournal.com
BUT if you go to the page and highlight the space below the pic, you'll find some Morse code hidden invisotext style. Copy it into any of the many online Morse code descramblers and you find the message:
"Thanks for emails. will reply soon. the veidt method is a lie"
That said even knowing who Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias is... and knowing his significant role in Watchmen mythos, I'm not sure I understand it. Oh I'm intrigued all right, just not sure I actually get it.

Maybe viral marketing is getting a bit too complicated these days. Or maybe I'm just missing something... Ah well, I suppose I don't technically even know that this is an official Watchmen film site, but I suspect it probably is. And I'm definitely interested to see what becomes of the film which is being helmed by 300 director Zack Snyder. Of course its still in the hazy land of pre-production. But mark my words it will be buzzed about huge online once it finally starts to come together... that is of course assuming it really does.

For now the film is targeted to begin filming in Vancouver this September.

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Optimus Wants a Whopper

This is pretty funny :)



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Up, Up and Transform!

Well, well... who would've thought that there would be so much rumblings and grumblings over the recently announced Transformers Animated television series, but that seems to be exactly where we're at. When I posted about the show a few days ago there wasn't really much in the way of plot details available, but now that the news is out there have been a few interesting and concerning tidbits of info that've hit the netwaves...

Maybe I should preface this by saying I am all in favor of the changes being made. In general I have no problem when even my most beloved properties are altered slightly. Also, its not like they didn't change the entire mythos two or three times throughout the last few TF series; don't bitch now just cause you've finally started to pay attention. And even if the changes don't turn out for the best, I support people trying to make a series more interesting for today's kids. And then finally face facts, retconning never killed anyone. Wewh, ok, sorry. I just get kinda pissed at fanboy bullshit.

So just check out this new image that's come out for the show. You can really see the radical departure in style from any of the other TF series. Click to embiggen.

Next and most importantly though is the plot. From the Cartoon Networks press release:

"Set on Earth in the near future in Detroit, the alien Transformers are thrust into a world populated by humans and automatons. As visitors to Earth, the Transformers--Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Prowl, Bulkhead and Ratchet--work in the human world, interacting with the 'natives' in exciting and humorous ways. "Transformers Animated" has been created to showcase the heroic Autobots working together to battle the evil Decepticons and save Earth with kid-relatable plot lines filled with humor, distinctive character personalities, and dynamic action."

"Each episode will present a standalone storyline featuring everyday heroes who do good deeds that triumph over evil... Twenty-six, half-hour episodes will be produced as well as a 90-minute special of "Transformers Animated" which is scheduled for release in early 2008 on Cartoon Network in the U.S."

Now that doesn't so so bad. What got the interweb fanboys up in a huff though was what came out of this Hollywood Reporter article where they talked to the series helmers a bit more about what we can really expect...

"Cartoon and Hasbro execs said the new series, "Transformers Animated," will be significantly different than the others, adding humor, never-before-seen characters and a new premise in which the Autobots fight evil humans in Superhero fashion much more frequently than they battle the Decepticons..."

"We've used the basic Transformers and characters as a springboard, but then we're pretty much reimagining the whole thing," said Bob Higgins, senior vp programming and development at Cartoon Network. "What we're doing with it is basically turning it into a superheroes story. We're really excited that we're able to take this decades-old property and hopefully turn it into something that kids haven't seen or expected from a Transformers series before."

That is the problem. Transformers as superheroes?! Not fighting the decepticons?! And having robots with "a lot more human qualities, allowing kids to identify with the characters much more than in previous series." Are they crazy?!?!

Personally, I'm not so sure its a big deal. I mean yes I admit it sounds pretty weird. But heck, if someone told me about Beast Wars beforehand I would've thought they were crazy too. And I loved that show. In fact, I unapologetically think its better than the original. So I for one, am going to try to keep an open mind.

The Transformers Animated wiki has a few more interesting tidbits, including some interesting voice cast info... And other than that I'm not sure what else to say. I'll definitely be interested to see the show now. It's set for a launch in early '08 on Cartoon Network, with the accompanying toy line set for March. We shall see what else transpires in the meantime...

Oh, as a side note, I picked up the action figure for the movie version of Optimus Prime at Target this weekend. Haven't had a chance to open or play with it yet, but it looks super sweet!

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Incredible Hulk Poster

Grr! Hulk angry at teaser poster...



Photo by way of ComicBookMovie.com
The Incredible Hulk comes out June 13th, '08... obviously.

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WALL.E teaser

While this video is really only partly a teaser trailer, and partly a mini production vignette there's a lot to be interested in with this video for Pixar's next animated opus WALL.E. Back in February I posted something about the plot of this film along with a few other interesting details... While I do think Ratatouille looks great, WALL.E seems like it might be something genuinely fresh. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more.

Check out the official trailer page for bigger, and higher rez versions of the video. WALL.E is set to come out June 27th, '08.

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Where the Wild Things Are pic

Check out this awesome promo pic taken from the NYC Licensing show for Spike Jonze's new film Where the Wild Things Are. It is perhaps the coolest thing in existence. I have really high hopes that this classic book from my youth will be translated well to the big screen; because really if anyone can do it, Spike Jonze can.

The pic comes courtesy of the MTV Movie Blog, and you can click to make it really big :)

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New Speed Racer and Transformers toons

So as the title of this post implies there are two brand new cartoons in the works, one for Speed Racer and one for Transformers. Lets start with Speed Racer first as we've got a bit more information on that one.

As reported in Variety Lionsgate (in their first smallscreen cartoon venture) and Nicktoons have teamed up to bring 26 new original episodes of a Speed Racer cartoon to air next year. The cartoon, set to hit the airwaves around the same time as the Wachowski brothers live action Speed Racer movie, will not just be a simple retelling of Speed's story though. The new cartoon will be a sequel series, following the adventures of our young Speed Racer as he enters racing school to learn to become the fastest driver on earth only to discover that he is actually the son of the original Speed Racer, Who has recently mysteriously gone missing. And just like the original Speed his rival at the school turns out to be his long lost brother the brand new Racer X. But upon learning of their fathers disappearance in the first few episodes Speed and Racer X team up to both stop nefarious villains from stealing the secrets of the the ultra advanced Mach 6 race car, and find out what happened to their missing dad. Adapted from the original series, Speed's younger brother Spritle is now the headmaster of the racing school, and Chim Chim the chimp is recast as a robotic mechanic.

Well, its on Nickelodeon, who I like, and its not like I'm doing anything else, so I guess I'll check this show out. I will say that I don't know that I've ever been too enthralled by the recent style of racing series like IGPX, or F-Zero GP. Although this property has some really good legs; and with the new movie coming out, even though the series and it are totally unrelated, I think it could be quite good. I also actually really like the idea of Speed and Racer X teaming up, even if the plotline could really lend itself to the ridiculous. I think what we really need to see is some of the character artwork. Lets keep an eye on this.

The second new series is yet another Transformers tv show. With the last TF series, Cybertron, firmly finished now and the new movie coming out in a few weeks, I'm actually surprised that this hasn't come about sooner. But it looks like we'll have a little while to wait. There has been no official announcement of the series yet, but care of AICN we do have this fascinating trade show one sheet. Check out that hyper stylized artwork...

Wow, now that is a new take on the Transformers. What I think a lot of people don't really pay attention to is that there have been like 6 Transformers series since the original (Generation 1, or G1). Some of them have been good, some bad, and one of them, in my opinion, surpassed the original, but I don't think any of them have looked like this. I've watched most of them, and as a fan I had to get past some pretty big changes to the mythos. But Transformers have proved so amazingly versatile, such a truly robust property that even though none of the series has lasted too long they always attract fans for one reason or another. This, my friends, will be no different. I'm really looking forward to this show. I actually have the entire Cybertron series sitting on my computer right now ready to watch as soon as I get a chance for a marathon. But this new one, just knowing that it will be such a high profile new reimagining makes me even more interested.

As we can see from the advertisement the show, and new toy line, will launch in Spring of 2008. And the show will air on Cartoon Network. I'm sure we'll get more info on this soon as convention season is just heating up. And they often save this kind of juicy news for then. Did I mention yet that I'm going to the San Diego Comic Con? Well, I am :D and its going to kick so much ass I don't even know what to say... Of course first I've got that whole other big event, my wedding, in only 2 weeks time. But my point is, I bet that I'll have something more for you all by the time we get into the end of July. And until we have more official, I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Have a great weekend everyone, see you all next time.
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Have you seen it??? R.T's Sci Films - pt 4

Read - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
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Well here we are kids, the final section of running down Rotten Tomatoes 100 Best Reviewed Sci Fi Films and I think, we've finally made a breakthrough. If like me you are having a tough time understanding why and how some films have made it here, or how some films like Blade Runner, The Abyss, or The Thing can be ranked so embarrassingly low. It's come to light that the R.T. crew really do have a method to their madness. You can read more about their formula in the comments section. And from reading it, yes I have to admit the logic seems solid.

What I think the real problem with this list though is that it doesn't take a films context into account. Sure many kinds of films can be reviewed well, but I put a Star Trek film into a totally different context than Blade Runner. I don't expect as much from it, and so it meets those expectations easier. Yes both films might get a 9 out of 10 from me, but that 9 does not have the same real value. And the same goes for historical context. The special effects of John Carpenter's The Thing were groundbreaking and startling, they were unlike anything ever seen at the time. But even though they look pale in comparison to what we get in our horror these days, it should also be a real consideration for this list.

Anyhow, despite any misgivings, the show must go on, And so here for your reading enjoyment, are Rotten Tomatoes top 25 best reviewed sci fi films.

#24 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
I kind of feel like the original version is still more interesting than this.

#23 - Sleeper (1973)
The sci-fi satire SLEEPER is often hailed as the best of Woody Allen's early comedies, which relied mostly on slapstick and quick verbal asides, but still had more than their share of comic intelligence. SLEEPER tells the tale of Miles Monroe (Allen), who is accidentally cryogenically frozen following a minor operation. Released 200 years later, in 2173, Miles blunders his way through a bizarre future, featuring plenty of props and situations for Allen to mine for laughs. Eventually he meets vapid, hedonistic "poet" Luna Schlosser (Diane Keaton), with whom he eventually joins a rebel group opposed to the oppressive government. As in his earlier BANANAS and LOVE AND DEATH, Allen's character stumbles into a revolutionary plot, revealing the anti-authoritarianism that will appear again and again in his films.

I have an aversion to old Woody Allen. I know its stupid. The man has made some great films. I just find his personality so grating, and almost never funny. I will say his more recent efforts are much more to much tastes though. One day I know I'll have to make myself sit down and watch his old films. And honestly I'll probably like them when I do.

#22 - Back to the Future (1985)
Definitely one of the most watchable films ever. I could seriously watch this 1000 times and not get bored. a real classic.

#21 - Repo Man (1984)
Not really a good movie, but a fun one. I put it in the same league as The Warriors.

#20 - Mad Max (1979)
The original. Really a pretty decent film. Much more real world than its sequels, I always enjoyed this film.

#19 - Frankenstein (1931)
A masterpiece of cinema. Still holds up very well.

#18 - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Was never really my cup of tea. Maybe I'd learn to appreciate it, if I watched it like 10-15 more times; but I think I would go crazy if I had to do that...

#17 - Solaris (1972)
SOLARIS, director Andrei Tarkovsky's science fiction cult classic, presents an uncompromisingly unique and poetic meditation on space travel and its physical and existential ramifications. When a long-standing Russian space station hovering above the planet Solaris begins to report strange phenomena, Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis), an eager and intrepid cosmonaut, departs for the station in order to investigate. Warned by former Solaris specialists that the planet presents incomprehensible obstacles, Kelvin is nevertheless secure in his mission. However, the minute he steps foot onto the haunted and desolate space station, everything changes. Kelvin learns that of the three members left on board, one has killed himself and the remaining two have seemingly become schizophrenic recluses. When Kelvin's dead ex-wife appears out of the shadows, the reports that Solaris is a thinking being capable of reading human minds and materializing their desires and memories are proven true. As Kelvin joins the rest of the crew in a seemingly life-or-death struggle to understand this phenomena, Tarkovsky crafts a mind-altering earthbound space odyssey. Filled with visions of humanity versus itself, SOLARIS takes the philosophical investigations of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY to extravagant lengths and offers no answers except this: The only frontier humanity has yet to conquer is that of its own existence.

Somehow I've never seen this. Sounds pretty darn interesting.

#16 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
A great film all around. Fascinating and scary.

#15 - The Terminator (1984)
What can you say, it's just a really awesome film. Michael Biehn ius the Man.

#14 - Brazil (1985)
Up there with Blade Runner, this should be in the top 5. Utterly mesmerizing.

#13 - Galaxy Quest (1999)
See what I was saying about people not rating things by the same scale? I mean Galaxy Quest is a totally solid and funny film, but come on... it doesn't hold a candle to Brazil. It's not even in the same league. And that's fine. It's not trying to be something its not. Galaxy Quest is great, but this list is totally screwed up.

#12 - The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Yup, I agree. This is a really great film.

#11 - The Road Warrior (1981)
Definitely the best of the Mad Max films.

#10 - Aliens (1986)
You can't argue with greatness... This is one of the first movies to totally blow my mind as a child.

#9 - Star Wars (1977)
Really? only #9? Anyhow, it is such an important film what can you say that hasn't been said before. Personally this film really helped make me who I am today.

#8 - The Host (2007)
Gang-du (SONG Kang-ho) works at a food-stand on the banks of the Han River. Dozing on the job, he is awakened by his daughter, Hyun-seo ( KO A-sung), who is angry with him for missing a teacher-parent meeting at school. As Gang-du walks out to the riverbank with a delivery, he notices that a large crowd of people has gathered, taking pictures and talking about something hanging from the Han River Bridge. The otherwise idyllic landscape turns suddenly to bedlam when a terrifying creature climbs up onto the riverbank and begins to crush and eat people. Gang-du and his daughter run for their lives but suddenly the thing grabs Hyun-seo and disappears back into the river. The government announces that the thing apparently is the Host of an unidentified virus. Having feared the worst, Gang-du receives a phone call from his daughter who is frightened, but very much alive. Gang-du makes plans to infiltrate the forbidden zone near the Han River to rescue his daughter from the clutches of the horrifying Host...

This film is better than Aliens and Star Wars??? WTF? I haven't seen it. And really it sounds pretty cool; but this list is just so totally fucked up it's getting on my nerves.

#7 - Children of Men (2006)
CHILDREN OF MEN is not a popcorn movie. With its almost relentlessly bleak perspective on the future, Alfonso Cuaron's film doesn't make for pleasant viewing. But it's an exhilarating experience because the picture is an amazing dystopian drama that lacks all the typical trappings of the genre. Set uncomfortably close to the present, it paints a frighteningly realistic picture of the future. In 2027, every woman on earth is infertile. With the loss of the ability to have children, the world has also lost hope. Clive Owen (CLOSER) plays Theo, an Englishman attempting to make a life in a hellish world. His estranged wife (Julianne Moore) convinces him to help transport a young woman to safety. When Theo learns that the woman is pregnant, their journey takes on a significance--and a danger--he never imagined.

I have this dvd sitting beside my player. I will watch it very soon. Looks fantastic.

#6 - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Easily the best of the Star Wars films.

#5 - Minority Reoprt (2002)
Good film, but #5 it should not be...

#4 - Alien (1979)
A great film. Maybe a bit more horror than sci fi, I really love this flick.

#3 - Metropolis (1926)
Another excellent film that I'm sure makes most people's top 10 sci fi, and often would be #1 ... but if this is here then what on earth could be next? Well...

#2 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Yup. exactly. Eternal sunshine... sittin pretty at number 2. Well, I definitely agree it is a great film. Is it better, than Metropolis? Not even close. This is a film that should be at the most somewhere in the 30s. I mean don't get me wrong its a wonderful film. Please go check it out if you haven't seen it, but I think its debatable if its even Jim Carrey's best film, and it shouldn't even be in a discussion of the greatest science fiction films. argh. Frustrating...

So what you ask will be number 1... Killer Klowns From Outer Space? Maybe Universal Soldier: The Return? No nothing so controversial, but still a film I don't think belongs in the top spot. The number 1 film in Rotten Tomatoes 100 Best Reviewed Sci Films is...

#1 - E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL is Steven Spielberg's warmhearted classic delight for both children and adults. It tells the story of an alien creature, E.T., mistakenly left behind on Earth. When a young boy, Elliott (Henry Thomas), finds E.T. and hides him in his home, both their worlds are changed forever. E.T. teaches Elliott and his two siblings (Drew Barrymore and Robert MacNaughton), whose parents have recently separated, about caring and love while the children protect E.T. from the malevolent world of grown-ups. Elliott and E.T. become so close that they share emotions; as E.T. becomes ill, so does Elliott. The children end up going on a fabulous adventure trying to help E.T. find a way back to his home planet. The movie was originally going to be based on a story idea by director John Sayles, but after he removed himself from the project, screenwriter Melissa Mathison (Harrison Ford's wife) took over the script and made it her own. John Williams's beautiful soundtrack became forever linked to E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL.

Now don't get me wrong. I have a heart. I love E.T. I even went and saw it on the big screen when it was digitally remastered a few years back. E.T. is a beautiful story, which is expertly told. If somehow it falls onto your list of films your embarrassed to have never seen please take the time and check it out. Great film all around. Now does it deserve to be in the top spot here? In my opinion no.

Sigh... I'm glad I'm done with this list. As you might've noticed it was really getting frustrating by the end... I generally do enjoy these kind of top lists. And for my money I had assumed that following popular opinion would work well. I guess I was wrong though. I wonder would the results be any different if we looked at say the best rated sci fi films on IMDB? Or what about the most searched sci fi films on Google? Or maybe the most page impressions on Wikipedia? I don't think that any of these ideas would work. There's always some miscellaneous factor at work skewing the results, like with Rotten Tomatoes and their damn equation. Besides the fact that you still have to consider the demographics of the user base. Not just what kind of opinion are you getting, but what is it actually based on?

Maybe there just isn't any way to rate "the best" films. And really what is "Best"? I mean, it's all subjective anyways. Maybe what we should be doing is saying these are My Favorite films, and that's all. Even if we could get a legitimate group consensus, we would have to lower the standards to the lowest common denominator. And mob mentality never is not something that really encourages interesting art. How else do you explain the popularity of Michael Bay...

So thanks for taking this journey with me. And thanks to Rotten Tomatoes for their list. Despite the fact that I really didn't like it very much they did serve a purpose in the end by making me realize what bullshit this whole thing really is.

Until next time, have a good one peeps :)

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Nick Mutha F--in' Fury

So some truly great superhero movie news has come down the pipeline today. They have finally cast the howlin' commando himself Nick Fury. And who can it be? Why the most badass mutha f--in' actor working today; your hero and mine. SAMUEL L. JACKSON...

Nick Fury is the head of Marvel's super espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and has been a small yet integral player in the Marvel universe for years. A few years back when Marvel revamped and relaunched a number of their key titles creating the Ultimate line of books they somewhat controversially changed Fury from white to black, and started drawing his character based on Sam Jackson. I'm not kidding. With the actors full permission they revamped Fury into a mix of that character that Jackson is famous for: the Jules from Pulp Fiction, the cop from Snakes on a Plane, the badassedness of Mace Windu. They kept his trademark eyepatch, but changed how he looked to match exactly Samuel Jackson.

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Really when you look at it, you have to admit Sam Jackson is perfect for the role.

So I forgot one of the most important aspects of the story. While Marvel has plans on the books for a Nick Fury film. I mean another Fury film. They actually made a very cheesy made for tv Nick Fury film in the early 90s starring non other than David Hasselhoff. And he has appeared in both the recent animated direct to market Ultimates films. However he's going to have to wait just a bit longer for his big screen solo effort. He can first be seen in Favreau's Iron Man film, coming out next spring. I am really looking more and more forward to this film. With this caliber of actor they're really setting themselves up for something great.

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Have you seen it??? R.T's Sci Films - pt 3

Read - Part 1, Part 2, Part 4
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If you've been following along you'll know that I'm not really agreeing with the Rotten Tomatoes list of 100 Best Reviewed Sci Fi Films. There seem to be a lot of high minded films in the list that I am honestly surprised to see. You would think that essentially a list made up purely by popularity would skew to the modern and mainstream rather than classic or foreign. So what does that say about the average reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes? Or maybe its just me being the weirdo here. Either way, let's get on with the show...

#49 - District B13 (2006)
The plot involves a futuristic France where the worst ghettos have been walled off from the rest of society, their schools shut down, and the police force evacuated. The people in power simply want to ignore the plight of the disenfranchised, but this becomes difficult to do when the most notorious gang, led by the wild-eyed Taha (Bibi Naceri), gets its hands on a nuclear warhead and proceeds to demand a 20-million-Euro ransom, with the city of Paris as its hostage. Enter Damien (Raffaelli), a one-man police strike force, who has 24 hours to disarm the missile. To help him navigate the war zone of District B13, he springs a vigilante antihero, Leito (Belle), from jail. Leito has personal reasons for taking down the crime lord: Taha has turned Leito's adolescent sister into his junkie pet. As the ultra-athletic duo go up against Taha's gangster army, they repeatedly (and conveniently) lose their guns, and are forced to improvise, thrashing goons with steering wheels, cinder blocks, and their foreheads.

While the action looks great here, a French friend of mine who saw this a year or two ago says that it it a crap story. That said, the freestyle urban running, and the fighting look pretty sweet.

#48 - Serenity (2005)
I really enjoyed this film, although the story still worked better as a series. I understand why it didn't do very well at the box office.

#47 - Donnie Darko (2001)
An excellent film all around.

#46 - Delicatessen (1991)
After years of working successfully in commercials and music videos, French directors Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet make a splashing feature-film debut, DELICATESSEN, a hysterical exercise in style. Scripted by comic book writer and frequent Caro and Jeunet collaborator Gilles Adrien, the story follows a sweet-natured clown, Louison (Dominique Pinon), who moves into a run down apartment building with a delicatessen on the ground floor and falls in love with the butcher's daughter, Julie Clapet (Marie-Laure Dougnac). When it turns out that Julie's father (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) is actually butchering human beings and selling the meat to the carnivorous tenants of the building, Julie must decide if she will remain loyal to her father's business or expose the truth in order to save Louison from being the next victim. Taking place entirely inside, underneath, and on the roof of the delicatessen, the film uses an old pipe that runs throughout the building as a channel of communication for its characters.

This sounds pretty clearly like a horror film, not a sci fi. I don't know... is it really good?

#45 - A Clockwork Orange (1971)
A little of the old Ultra violence never hurt no one... Classic.

#44 - 12 Monkeys (1995)
This would be in the latter half of my personal top 10. Great film.

#43 - Re-Animator (1985)
Herbert West (Jeffery Combs) has found the secret to eternal life--or so he thinks. West needs fresh cadavers to continue his experiments in the re-animation of dead tissue, so he enlists the help of young medical student Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) to steal bodies from the local morgue. Despite all the warning signs of failure, the eccentric West's research continues. The results are crazed zombies that roam the streets, severed heads that talk, murder, madness, and chaos, all in the name of science, of course.

While technically I have seen this film, its been such a long time that I don't remember it really much at all. Once again this is a film I would place squarely in the horror category.

#42 - 2046 (2005)
Director Wong Kar-Wai's style reaches its fullest expression in his stunning film 2046. Picture-perfect period sets and costuming, finely wrought atmosphere, languid shots, glamorous cigarette smoke, amber lamplight, and allusions to film noir. 2046 is a meditation on memory, eroticism, love, loss, and longing which surpasses the director's beautiful, widely acclaimed IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000) in terms of formal ambition and visual sumptuousness. With its intriguing, layered structure, the film follows the adventures of Chow Wo Man (Tony Leung), a womanizer who is writing a science fiction novel about a future year in which all memories are suspended. The film shuttles between the BLADE RUNNER-like world of Chow's futuristic novel (complete with androids and other metaphors of emotional disconnection) and late-'60s Hong Kong--where Chow writes from a hotel room, and engages in relationships with a series of beautiful, complex women (including the luminous trio of Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, and Faye Wong). The film also journeys to Singapore and through the increasingly mysterious corridors of the protagonist's memory.

The trailer definitely made this film look beautiful. I would very much like to see this film.

#41 - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Kirk at his finest. This is probably the best performance we'll ever see from Shatner. Good stuff.

#40 - THX 1138 (1971)
Not a bad film, but it always seemed to get more credit than I thought it was due...

#39 - The Fly (1986)
Horror / sci fi never looked as creepy gross and good as Jeff Golblum the Brundlefly. Do you want a muffin?

#38 - Time Bandits (1982)
I wonder if this is my favorite Terry Gilliam film... maybe so. This is a fantastic film.

#37 - Them! (1954)
Atomic radiation once again manages to transform tiny harmless creatures into gigantic holy terrors. Probably the best of the '50s phenomenon, this top-notch thriller witnesses an invasion of giant ants using the sewer systems of Los Angeles like a vast ant farm. Academy Award Nominations: Best Special Effects.

I've seen other creature movies from the time, I'm just not sure if I've seen this one...

#36 - Blade Runner (1982)
Once again I totally don't understand this list. #36?! I mean 36?! Are you serious!? Easily top 10, probably top 5. This is a masterpiece.

#35 - Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
ugh... I've still got a bad taste in my mouth from that damn #36 on Blade Runner... OK First Contact. Yes decent film. I would probably move it a bit back on the list though.

#34 - Forbidden Planet (1956)
Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST is transformed in this landmark science-fiction film. Spacemen travel to a planet ruled by Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), who has built a kingdom with his daughter and obedient robot Robby. The good doctor is plagued by his mad quest for knowledge through his "brain booster" machine, and by Freudian "monsters from the id" as his daughter discovers other men and learns to kiss.

Yup, its another for the embarrassed to have not seen it list... Not that I really would expect to love the film, but it is really a classic.

#33 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Great film. Also a good excuse to play with your mashed potatoes.

#32 - The Matrix (1999)
The very first dvd I bought. This is a fantastic film.

#31 - The Invisible Man (1933)
With THE INVISIBLE MAN (the first film in a series), James Whale (FRANKENSTEIN) provides another stylish, blackly comic entry in the popular Universal horror cycle of the 1930s. When a mysterious man, face wrapped in bandages and wearing dark goggles, arrives in a small English village one snowy night, things start to go awry. Jack Griffin (Claude Rains), a chemist who has discovered an invisibility formula, wants desperately to find the antidote, but a side effect of the drug is driving him insane. Becoming gradually more unhinged, Griffin strips off his nose, bandages, and clothes before the stunned villagers and sets about terrorizing the countryside. When he progresses from mayhem to murder, Griffin's beloved Flora (Gloria Stuart) and colleague Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan) work with police to try to capture the elusive Invisible Man. It is a race against time to stop Griffin's plans to make the world "grovel" at his feet. Watch for the stunning special effects during the snowy climax to this gripping, atmospheric horror classic.

I just don't remember this film. Everyone know the iconic image of Claude Raines, but I can't recall if I've seen the actual film before. I definitely should.

#30 - The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Finally a classic I have seen. This is an excellent cautionary tale.

#29 - Ghostbusters (1984)
One of my favorite films, although I think I usually think of it as an action/comedy.

#28 - Men In Black (1997)
Get jiggy with it. Maybe the best buddy cop movie ever.

#27 - Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
This is another top 10 for me.

#26 - Young Frankenstein (1974)
very funny. If you haven't seen this please do.

#25 - Gojira (1954)
This is the original Japanese version of what we know as Godzilla. Personally I never had any problem with the addition of Raymond Burr though. That said, this is a fine film all around.

Well kids, that brings us once again to the end. Down to 25 more. Can you guess whats left on the list??? I already peaked and have to say I am not all that impressed... And it looks like I'm back to 7 unseen films from this batch of 25. Maybe, hopefully I'll do better in the next and final round. What are you guys thinking about the list? Is it as weird as I'm thinking it is???

Well until next time, have a good one. Later :)

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Flashback 05 - G.I. Joe opening

If you know me, you know I love G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. It is my favorite cartoon from when I was a kid, and it still holds up great today. Check out this classic opening credit sequence. I love how kick ass Stalker is, and that Cobra Commander actually is deigning to get his hands a little dirty fighting. Major Bludd is still a pussy though. Enjoy.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer review

I went into Fantastic Four 2 with high hopes and low expectations. And maybe that was for the best, because I ended up being really pleasantly surprised at how much this movie didn't suck.

Ripped from the pages of the FF comic, this film gives a platform to the introduction of my honest to goodness favorite Marvel superhero Silver Surfer. And thank god, they actually got him right! Silver Surfer has always had a rough go of it in the comics. Always the thinking mans protagonist; while SS can have some pretty dynamic action and of course the sweeping backdrop of the cosmos, he was always so inwardly focused that I know he often put readers off. He was always the character the question why, and muse openly on the themes rather than just the plot of his story. And so his translation to the big screen has been one that I've both eagerly anticipated and dreaded. Fortunately FF:ROTSS does an admiral job conveying the power and sadness of the Surfer. As you can tell from even a cursory glance, he looks spot on amazing, and his power cosmic comes across well on screen. My only complaint is that I think a bit more story development would have helped the audience understand his dramatic change of heart in the film. However, I liked that they referenced his past, they set up a spin off film, and that he managed to kick most everyone's ass and look good doing it.

While I went to see FF2 pretty much for the Silver Surfer alone, I was surprised and happy to see the team / family dynamic element VASTLY improved over the last film. While there were still a few dialogue clunkers between Alba, and Gruffudd I loved the interactions between Chris Evans as The Human Torch and Michael Chicklis as The Thing. Sure the writers took the silliness over the top a few times and some scenes just fell totally flat (I'm thinking the dance scene, ugh! or anything with Alicia) I really honestly enjoyed watching the Fantastic Four as a group in this film.

Perhaps the best thing I can say about the film is that I was sitting in the theater near a couple of kids who couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 years old and they really seemed to enjoy the heck out of the film. That makes it a success in all the most important ways my book.

I think this film is really solid film that's well worth watching. It's not mind blowing, and in a way it feels kind of small, and insular. But as long as you take it for what it is, I think you'll enjoy it. This film is not made on the scale of Spider-Man, or the X-Men films; but it has a charm and honest pulpy comic book feel that I liked a lot.

3.5/5

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That was another review from my Flixter page. Please if your interested feel free to friend me there. Or make any comments you like in the section below :)

One other very good piece of news that I thought I'd share, is that last week, in fact before Fantastic Four 2 even opened Marvel hired the excellent writer J Michael Straczynski to begin scripting the Silver Surfer prequel spin off film!!! This is exactly the news I've been waiting for ever since I was 9 years old and hung that Silver Surfer poster on my wall. I'm definitely going to be watching the word on this one.

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Have you seen it??? R.T's Sci Films - pt 2

Read - Part 1, Part 3, Part 4
--------------

Continuing on from last post about Rotten Tomatoes 100 Best Reviewed Sci Fi Films we get into a bit more of the nitty gritty with #74 and up. I have to admit after finishing the last post I snuck a look ahead and it was NOT AT ALL what I expected to see... And then upon looking at their criteria for their choices I'm kind of more confused than ever. They say: "In order to get a nice mix of old and new flicks, we used a weighted system that factors both the Tomatometer and the number of reviews. Some weren't well reviewed enough to make the cut (tough break, Tron), and others didn't have enough reviews to qualify (sorry, Stalker)." I mean are these really the best reviewed films?! Really?! Somehow I thought popular turth would look different thanh this...

We'll get into some of the surprises later though, for now on with the show...

#74 - Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is based on Jules Verne's 1864 novel. A scientist heads out on a treacherous journey to the center of the earth. With him are an intrepid student, an Icelandic guide and the widow of a geologist who steals his information in an attempt to beat him to the earth's core. Along the way the group are confronted by all manner of dangerous obstacles: excessive heat and cold, gale force winds, and tremendous floods.

I actually think I might've sen this at one point... I know for sure I read the book. I should see this again.

#73 - Alphaville (1965)
A bizarre space-chase across a glass and metal landscape of futuristic Paris--here called Alphaville--is the movie's premise. Creating a dystopian "tomorrow" characterized by alienation and cold corporate comforts, Godard slyly suggests that the future is now. Secret agent man Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine) travels across the expanses of intergalactic space and time to uncover the fate of his missing predecessor. Working under the alias of Ivan Johnson, Caution is accompanied in his quest by the lovely Natasha Vonbraun (Anna Karina), the daughter of a supposedly missing professor. Caution later discovers that the elder Vonbraun is the mastermind behind Alpha 60--the rigid, masterful computer that governs Alphaville. Alpha's job is to crush individuality, eradicating any human being who does not conform. Ultimately, Lemmy is left with no other choice but to destroy the calculating chip-and-wire monolith, with the only weapons he has left: his heart and soul.

That sounds very interesting, if perhaps a bit overly weird. Almost liek a combination of Until the End of the World, Immortal, and Zardoz. Sometimes far out scifi, especially Foreign far out scifi can get a bit too much for me. Probably it makes more sense once you see it...

#72 - Seconds (1966)
John Frankenheimer's chilling vision of middle-aged malaise concerns 50ish banker, Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph). Bored with his wife and comfortably retired life, Arthur happens to run into Charlie Evans (Murray Hamilton), an old friend he believed to be dead. He gives Arthur a tip on a secret organization called The Company, run by the Old Man (Will Geer). For a hefty fee, they offer to provide the old with entirely new, vigorous bodies, through a mysterious form of plastic surgery, and with completely new identities. Arthur signs on and finds himself transformed into the much younger Anitochus "Tony" Wilson (Rock Hudson). After a suitably middle-aged corpse has been burned to cover his disappearance, Tony is relocated to an idyllic Malibu beach community, where he already has a reputation as an artist. He begins a relationship with the vivacious Norma Marcus (Salome Jens) and is happy for a time, before discovering that she's one of The Company's employees. As he peels back the layers from his other neighbors, he begins to realize that nothing is as it seems. This incisive twist on the Faust legend, a mordant commentary on the American obsession with youth, features Hudson in what is possibly his finest performance, as a man cast in a part he despises. Hudson's sense of irony, then necessarily private, is now public. The great cinematographer James Wong Howe creates a sense of quiet horror through a skillful variation of lenses.

John Frankenheimer and Rock Hudson. That's a good combination. I have a feeling though that I might be bored with this story. It sounds too much like some old Outer Limits episode. Anyone seen this and can give their opinion?

#71 - Farenheit 451 (1966)
Maybe my favorite Ray Bradbury story. The movie is fine but the book is just so amazing, that's the memory I'm more emotionally left with. Wasn't this going to be updated with Mel Gibson a few years ago??? Wonder what happened to that. For a semi-similar, only better dystopia sci fi film, check out Equilibrium.

#70 - Time After Time (1979)
Victorian Brits H.G. Wells and Jack the Ripper travel through time into late 70s San Francisco. While the author marvels at this Utopian Eden, the psycho killer discovers his spiritual home -- and goes out searching for his next victim.

WTF?! This sounds utterly ridiculous. I just don't know about this list...

#69 - Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
Finally a film I can really get behind. Just like San Dimas High School football, Wyld Stallions totally rule!

#68 - The Abyss (1989)
Why is this film #68 ??? this should be in the top 10.

#67 - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
This is the one about the Klingons. No, I mean the other one about the Klingons... umm yeah.

#66 - Escape From New York (1981)
Snake Plisskin is one of the greatest anti-heroes of our time. Awesome. I'm not sure I'm ready for and yet cannot wait for the remake thats in the works starring our favorite Spartan Gerard Butler.

#65 - 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
I know its Disney but Kirk Douglas is great. I really enjoy this film, although as with Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne is such a great writer that it inevitably overshadows any mere adaptation. This is my favorite Verne book too, so while yes the film is a lot of fun, it merely pales in comparison.

#64 - Pi (1997)
I honestly thought my head was going to explode. Word of advice, don't watch this film high.

#63 - The Thing From Another World (1951)
I actually put the remake above this film in my mind, but I also really love this great suspense film. And they actually are totally different. If you want a fantastic character study of claustrophobia this is your film.

#62 - Jurassic Park (1993)
Such a great film. Should be higher on the list...

#61 - Open Your Eyes (1997)
Handsome 25-year-old Cesar (Eduardo Noriega) has it all--a successful career, expensive cars, a swank bachelor's pad, and an endless string of beautiful and willing women. Unfortunately, he can't get rid of his latest conquest, Nuria (Najwa Nimri) soon enough. When she crashes his birthday party, Cesar uses his best friend Pelayo's stunningly attractive girlfriend, Sofia (Penelope Cruz), as a means to her. The next morning, Nuria is waiting in her car outside his apartment and manages to coax him into the vehicle. The next thing Cesar knows, he's wearing a mask to conceal a horrible disfiguration while being interrogated in a prison held on a murder charge. Alejandro Amenebar's thriller distorts both the viewer's and Cesar's perception of reality with a series of mind-bending plot twists, ensuring that this intriguing Spanish production will keep you guessing until its final moments.

Wait, wait, wait... just hold on a friggin second. Vanilla Sky was a remake?! Why didn't anyone tell me???

#60 - Robocop (1987)
There is sooo much amazingness to this film. When I was a kid it was one of the goreyest films ever. Shooting his hand off, the spike through the neck, I'll buy that for a dollar, The chemicals melting that guy, the kickass hand cannon Murphy used, and of course Ed-209. What a fucking awesome film :)

#59 - Altered States (1980)
A psycho-physiologist doing experiments with human consciousness eventually decides to test his findings on himself. He becomes obsessed with performing these auto-sensory deprivation experiments until he actually changes form physically, ending up as a gorilla at a local zoo. He returns to his normal state, at which point he also involves his wife in the experimentation.

Doesn't sound that great to me...

#58 - The Brother From Another Planet (1984)
After escaping slavery on another planet, a three-toed alien (Joe Morton) crashes on Ellis Island and makes his way to Harlem. Assumed to be a homeless black man, the alien fits right into the multicultural swath of New York City, especially since he can fix both broken bones and broken machines just by touching them. Meanwhile, two men in black with unusual gaits and a fondness for DRAGNET-style dialogue prowl the streets of Harlem looking for the alien.

Sounds kind of heavy handed to me. But I suppose it could be good. Especially if its taken in the context of 1984.

#57 - Planet of the Apes (1968)
a true classic. And esily one of my top 5 Charlton Heston films.

#56 - Westworld (1973)
Michael Crichton's directorial debut, WESTWORLD is the direct precursor to JURASSIC PARK as the story of a technological amusement park gone out of control, with tourists becoming victims. For $1,000 a day, patrons can visit high-tech recreations of historically based mythical settings controlled by lifelike androids and synthetic environments: a Roman world that recreates tales of ancient Rome; a medieval world that recreates the legends of the Middle Ages; and Westworld, which recreates the myth of the classic Western. Two Chicago businessmen, Martin (Richard Benjamin) and Blane (James Brolin), spend their vacation in Westworld, where they live out their fantasies of the Old West mythology: chaotic barroom brawls, random love with beautiful prostitutes, and a violent jailbreak during which they shoot the local sheriff. But the complex technology that supports these fabricated worlds develops complicated syndromes faster than the scientists behind the scenes can resolve them. Soon the entire resort breaks down into chaos, and the androids turn hostile on the visiting tourists. WESTWORLD is both a retread on classic science fiction themes and a precocious critique of the false values and artificiality of the encroaching mass culture.

Man, I don't even have an excuse for not seeing this. I have no doubt in my mind that it rocks...

#55 - Fantastic Voyage (1966)
An important scientist is attacked by assassins and almost killed. When traditional medical methods are exhausted, a crew of scientists is shrunk to microscopic size and injected into the scientist's body to destroy a blood clot and save his life. An exciting adventure with colorful special effects. AKA Microscopia and Strange Journey.

Once again, I don't have any excuses.

#54 - Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
The one with the whales. After Generations I think this is definitely the best Star Trek film.

#53 - They Live (1988)
John Nada (Roddy Piper) is a quiet loner, a drifter who gets work where ever he can find it. While working on a construction site in L.A. and sleeping in a vagrant community at night, John stumbles upon a secret society of alien beings who pose as wealthy and powerful people in human society. John joins a rebel group commited to exposing this conspiracy, and becomes their reluctant leader and the only hope of the human race.

What? Oh man, yet another John Carpenter film I have yet to see. This one sounds great too. Kinda like a better version of The Arrival.

#52 - Save the Green Planet! (2005)
Lee Byeong-Gu (Shin Ha-Gyun, JSA) is a sensitive, blue collar sad sack hopped up on conspiracy theories and sci-fi films whose life has been derailed by one bad break after another. Yet he knows there's no such thing as bad luck. The only thing that could have made such a mess of his life are...aliens. Nasty, disgusting aliens who have infiltrated human society. Sly aliens who are planning to destroy our planet at the next lunar eclipse. The one alien possessing the Royal Genetic Code needed to contact the Crown Prince and stop the destruction just happens to be his old boss, CEO of Yuje Chemicals, Kang Man-Shik (Baek Yun-Shik).

So with the help of his circus-performer girlfriend he sets out to kidnap Kang and torture him until he confesses to his alien identity and stops the invasion. Of course, it's hard to confess to something that's just a delusion in a sick man's mind.

I've heard a few people say that this is a great film.

#51 - Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
I liked it. Although I think I've only watched it twice. The battle scenes were pretty damn cool.

#50 - Things To Come (1936)
In the years since they were published, H.G. Wells's words seem to have become prophecies...
Society in 2036 has devolved into a leisure-saturated body of mass consumers. Important decisions are relegated to an elite few. World wars have left parts of the globe in ashes; localized conflicts continue as a way of life. Social and medical epidemics rage.
The comfortable bourgeoisie dwells like moles, living below sea level. Its members rest on cellophane sofas, inhale filtered oxygen, ingest preserved food, and entertain themselves by synthetic light.
While the intelligentsia obliterates the sick to create a utopia for the earthlings who remain, others plan a mysterious trip to the moon, purportedly for humanity to reach the next rung on its evolutionary ladder.

Well, that sounds very interesting. I'd be really interested to see where a film like that goes. And I love it watching visions of the future from back in the day. When they're off its funny, and when its on, its eerie.

And so kids, that brings us up to #50. Halfway through, and I'm already disagreeing with a number of their choices. Also there were 11 films I'd missed from this batch! Ugh. That's no good. One thing for sure, the top 50 should be VERY interesting...

Stay tuned for more...

First Song

Ok, so I think Erica and I have agreed on this song as our first song to dance to at our wedding.

Aqualung - Brighter than Sunshine



only 3 weeks to go... eep!

Bernard very nicely pointed me towards this live version of the song. I definitely think the one thing I'd like is for a more chilled out first song. Like this is great but if it was acoustic or just more toned down I think it would work better. Hence the live version. This might be the way to go...

Have you seen it??? R.T's Sci Films - pt 1

Read - Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
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Rotten Tomatoes has compiled a list of The 100 Best Reviewed Sci fi Films of all time. As I've been toying with the idea of putting together a list of The Greatest Films I'm Most Embarrassed to Have Never Seen I thought I'd go through the list and focus on all the flicks I haven't watched. If you've seen any of the films I've missed and recommend them please let me know. I do consider myself a bit of a sci fi film buff; so I'm not sure if this will be a very long list.

hehe, so says the guy who has yet to even look through it. All the synopsis listed here are from Rotten Tomatoes, which is a wonderful film site that I hardly use at all. I wonder why that is... Ah well, on with the list. The films with descriptions are the ones I haven't seen yet. I'm listing the others here mostly for completeness. Ok, and maybe I'll make a comment or two on them as well. Which of these films have you seen? What do you love or hate about their list?

#100 - Escape From Planet of the Apes (1971)

#99 - Star Trek III: the Search For Spock (1984)

#98 - Primer (2004)
Totally awesome indie film. If time travel is ever discovered I bet it will look like this.

#97 - The Thing (1982)
I could easily write a whole post on how much I love this film

#96- A Boy and His Dog (1975)
Vic (Don Johnson), survivor of atomic holocaust, wanders hungrily across the bleak desert landscape in search of cans of food buried deep in radioactive ash. His telepathic dog, Blood (Tim McIntire) depends on Vic for food, but Vic needs Blood to find him something much more scarce: female companionship. The bedraggled duo eventually discover an underground society of survivors, called "Down Under," where they have reproduced the look of pre-apocalypse Americana but with frighteningly totalitarian politics. A cult black comedy based on the novella by Harlan Ellison.

While I haven't seen this film, I listened to a fantastic audiobook version of the story, on one of my favorite podcasts Escape Pod a few months ago. Now that I'm looking of course I can't seem to find it, but I would definitely recommend the cast for anyone who likes good dramatized short sci fi.

#95 - Dark Star (1974)
John Carpenter's low-budget debut feature is a hilarious romp set in the deepest reaches of outer space. The haggard crew of the dilapidated Dark Star spaceship--Doolittle (Brian Narelle), Boiler (Cal Kuniholm), Pinback (Dan O'Bannon), and Talby (Dre Pahich)--is on an extended mission to seek out and destroy unstable planets. But after 20 years of the same routine, each crewmember is reaching the end of his tether. The journey is fraught with mishaps, and danger seems to lurk around every corner. There are misbehaving pet aliens, suicidal bombs that dream of detonating, frozen crewmates dispensing advice from beyond the grave, and a surly, unhelpful main computer that holds the men it serves in total contempt. Despite all these problems, the crew is still bored to the brink of madness. Co-written by the multitasking O'Bannon, who is also credited as the film's production designer and editor, DARK STAR brims with giddy jabs at the science-fiction genre (including George Lucas's THX 1138), an approach that Mel Brooks would later take in his own sci-fi spoof, SPACEBALLS (1987). In addition to writing, directing, and acting, Carpenter also composed the film's atmospheric score.

This film definitely falls into the category of I'm embarrassed not to have seen it yet.

#94 - Mad Mad: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
We don't need another hero! This film isn't as good as either of its predecessors, but I love me some Tina Turner, and Mel Gibson is totally badass. I sure hope we really get Mad Max Fury Road one day.

#93 - Dreamscape (1983)
A university dream research clinic is exploring "dreamlinking", a method by which conscious people can insert themselves into others' dreams. The research director recruits washed-up psychic Alex Garland for his experiments, and Alex proves a natural for dream manipulation. But even though the doctor overseeing the research has only the best intentions, someone else believes that dreamlinking can be the ultimate weapon... and he's determined to recruit Alex for his own evil ends.

I'm going to operate under the assumption that I will have seen more of these films the closer I get to the top. I don't know that I've ever even heard of this film. Notice that the main character in Dreamscape is named Alex Garland. I wonder if the author and screenwriter Alex Garland has seen this film... probably. Any film starring Dennis Quaid and Max von Sydow is good in my books.

#92 - It Came From Outer Space (1953)
A meteor crashes in the desert near a small Arizona town, and research scientist John Putnam (Richard Carlson) thinks it's a spaceship, but no one will believe him except his loyal girlfriend, Ellen (Barbara Rush). Weird evidence begins to back up his theory however, from the strange behavior of some of the locals, to the slime trails, the ghostly noises in the phone lines, and the apparitions of hideous alien eyes swooping down on passing cars. Director Jack Arnold (CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON) lets the story unfold deliberately, and infuses the desert locale with all the unearthly mystery of an alien landscape, helping to make this one of the best science fiction films of the 1950s. Charles Drake is Matt, the sheriff who first thinks John is a fool with all this flying saucer talk, and who later tries to lead a posse against the aliens when the truth is too blatant to ignore. It's based on a story by Ray Bradbury, with an eerie, theremin score, on which Henry Mancini is an unbilled contributor.

wow, I don't have any clue why I haven't seen this. Bradbury, Mancini, and what sounds to be an archetypal story... Sounds great!

#91 - A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
I wish Kubrick had been able to get this film made in his lifetime. It's not what it should be...

#90 - Death Race 2000 (1975)
I find this film is not as great as you remember or wish it was but I still hope the remake is cool.

#89 - War of the Worlds (2005)
ugh. Damn you Tom Cruise. Damn you...

#88 - Flash Gordon (1980)
Frankly, I felt like this movie has been overhyped for what it is. But don't miss the new Flash Gordon tv series, starting on Sci Fi Channel 08/10.

#87 - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Ewoks and all I love this film. I would almost definitely rate this film higher on the list.

#86 - Starman (1984)
A departure for director John Carpenter, STARMAN is a gentle, simple film that won accolades from critics and applause from audiences. Jeff Bridges plays the title character, an alien that has come down to Earth on a peaceful scouting mission. When he takes the form of a recently widowed woman's dead husband he unintentionally involves her in his mission. The alien only has a few days to reach a rendezvous point where he will be picked up by his mothership. Along the way he must discover what he can about human beings and our civilization. He finds out plenty very quickly, as his relationship with the young widow grows very strong as they make their way to the rendezvous point. Meanwhile, the FBI is in hot pursuit after it discovers the discarded landing vehicle, and the alien's own health is deteriorating in Earth's foreign atmosphere. The story tells of the struggle for communication, the pain of letting go, and the search for understanding. Jeff Bridges gives an unforgettable performance as the gentle alien trying his best to cope with being a human. With STARMAN, Carpenter proves he is a master storyteller, not just of horror and science fiction, but of subtle, emotional drama as well.

Yet another film I am ashamed to say I have never seen. It is currently on my computer waiting to be watched though... soon, soon...

#85 - Innerspace (1987)
I should see this again. I remember it being really funny...

#84 - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
not as bad as people made it out to be.

#83 - Signs (2002)

#82 - Dark City (1998)
Another favorite of mine.

#81 - The Matrix: Reloaded (2003)
I believe history will look back at all 3 Matrix films as sci fi masterpieces.

#80 - The War of the Worlds (1953)

#79 - Total Recall (1990)
Utterly fantastic. I even love the book. Great all around.

#78 - Gattica (1997)
First time I remember realizing who Jude Law was. This is a very solid film.

#77 - Videodrome (1983)
This film, along with Cronenberg's other masterpiece Naked Lunch, changed my life. This is one of the main reasons I wanted to get into filmmaking. Take from that what you will...

#76 - X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes (1963)
Ray Milland stars in this visionary sci-fi film as Xavier, a doctor who gains the power to see through solid objects; first it's women's dresses at a party, then people's bodily organs, and, eventually, God looking back at him from the center of the universe. Attractive Dr. Diane Fairfax (Diana Van Der Vlis) is Xavier's love interest, though he can’t stop seeing through things long enough to notice her--he can’t even sleep since he can see through his own eyelids. When he accidentally kills a fellow doctor, Xavier winds up at a carnival sideshow where he performs fortune-telling and faith healing for a sleazy barker (Don Rickles). Later he and Diane head to Vegas, where his see-through card abilities parlay into a small fortune, but then he's on the run again, going progressively more insane as the visions get too much to bear. An insightful script, a moody Les Baxter score, and Milland’s tortured performance amply compensate for the film’s low budget, and there’s a twisted shock ending. It's considered an intellectual peak in B-movie maestro Roger Corman's vast canon, with cheap but engaging "X-ray" optical effects that anticipate his later psychedelic freak-out THE TRIP.

I haven't actually seen much Roger Corman, other than Bucket of Blood. This sounds interesting. I wonder who plays God?

#75 - The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976)
In Nicolas Roeg's sci-fi tale based on the novel by Walter Tevis, a humanoid alien from a dried-up husk of a planet falls to Earth in a spaceship--and later falls again metaphorically through alcohol abuse and the manipulations of a hostile culture. Arriving as a secret ambassador from a dying world, the masquerading Mr. Newton (David Bowie) patents several basic devices, including a self-developing color film and music recordings in the shape of small silver balls, in order to amass the tremendous capital necessary to build a spaceship. Along the way he solicits the help of a crack patent lawyer (Buck Henry) and a country-fried small-town girl (Candy Clark) who introduces him to gin, which he soon begins to substitute for his customary glass of water. Newton debates the reality of returning to his dead world only to have the choice made for him when he is swept from the launchpad by government agents. After serving his time with men in black, he is released, blinded by x rays, into the world. As a last drunken hurrah, he records an album under the name the Visitor with the hope that it may someday be broadcast and heard by his family and friends back home.

Well it looks liek once again I'm in desperate need of some edjumacation....

I do hope that part two of this romp through the most highly regarded classic sci fi films doesn't leave me looking worse than I do now. Then again as Rotten Tomatoes says, this is technically just the best reviewed films on their site. Not sure what that means precisely... I suppose its a really nod to the Wikiality of the Rotten Tomatoes system. And if I respect anything, its Turthiness...

It looks like I've already got some watching to do. 7 of 25 missed. Not good. How'd you do? Any of the other ones I caught that you maybe missed? Let me know in the comments.

And sorry if this post isn't your thing. I think I'm leading up to maybe eventually trying to put together a list of my own. Eventually...

ok, I'm off now. TTYL kids.

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