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All in Science Fiction
This week, we watch the most polarizing science fiction film of all time. Famous for it’s slow pacing, heady ideas, and mind-bending visuals, this film has not aged since it’s release over 50 years ago. It inspired all visually based movies after it, from Star Wars to Interstellar, and other art forms as well (David Bowie owes his career to a viewing of this film). 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), directed by Stanley Kubrick.
This week, we watch the first full length science-fiction film ever made. Its influence is seen in almost every sci-fi movie in the past 100 years, and it is still being restored to its original version to this day. It’s easy to see where Star Wars, Blade Runner, and hundreds of other classics got their ideas from. Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang.
Bonus Episode Time! To welcome the film onto Netflix (starting June 26th) and to attempt to give it all the praise it deserves, we watch Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse. This movie blows away all recent animated and superhero films alike. It drips originality and brims with jokes, action, and lovable characters. The creators and animators swing for the fences and succeed throughout. Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman.
This week, we watch the sequel to the ground breaking classic that is the grandfather of all dark, futuristic science fiction films. This film manages to equal the quality of the original, and even improves on certain aspects, while expanding on the ideas put fourth by Ridley Scott decades ago. Blade Runner 2049 (2017), directed by Denis Villeneuve.
This week, we watch what some consider the best science fiction film in history. The world shown on screen set a standard for the genre, and its influence can be seen in nearly every sci-fi film since its release. With five official cuts and a wealth of lore behind the making, this film begs to be rewatched and pondered over. The outstanding visuals just make it that much more enjoyable. Blade Runner (1982), directed by Ridley Scott.
This week, we watch another animated masterpiece by Studio Ghibli. Packed with bird wizards, fire demons, cursed witches, enchanted scarecrows, war machines, tar monsters, walking castles, spirit creatures, and portal doors, Miyazaki outdoes himself in this tale of fantasy. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
This week, we watch Episode VII, a fantastic entry to the Star Wars saga, where Darth Vader is now a moody teenager, R2D2 is round, and everyone is still making fun of the Millennium Falcon for some reason. We’re also glad to see the portly X-Wing fighter makes it this time around. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), directed by J.J. Abrams.
This week, we watch the film that popularized the Guy Fawkes mask and gave birth to the symbol of the hacking organization, Anonymous. This film melds noir, science-fiction, fantasy, post-apocalyptic, and super-hero genres together in a bloody tale of power and fear. V for Vendetta (2005), directed by James McTeigue.
This week, we watch a dog turn into a spider, a head turn into a spider, a chest turn into a mouth, and a hole bunch of aliens set fire in the snow. This classic sci-fi horror keeps us guessing as to who we can trust, and who is going to die next. One thing is for sure, Kurt Russell's hair is glorious. The Thing (1982), directed By John Carpenter.
This week, we watch the unprecedented sequel that pumped blood back into the Max Mad trilogy with a shotgun, the sci-fi/fantasy film that brought an imaginative, cohesive plot to the screen with almost no dialogue, the action movie that received a best picture nomination. With special guest/Mad Max trilogy binger, Tim Brown. WITNESS ME! Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), directed by George Miller.
This week, we watch the film that brings back dinosaurs in the groundbreaking blockbuster that combines horror, drama, comedy, action, adventure, sci-fi...really, this movie does it all. Now with four films in the franchise (Jurassic World is currently the 4th highest grossing movie of all time), the original still towers over the sequels, with special effects that somehow didn't age a day. Jurassic Park, directed by Steven Spielberg.
This week, we watch the animated classic who's popularity lead to the founding of Studio Ghibli, which went on to make additional milestones in animation like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and My Neighbor Totoro. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
This week, we watch the Russian science fiction film where two men are lead into The Zone by a Stalker in hopes of entering a room that grants wishes. Come for the beautiful cinematography, stay for the inescapable atmosphere. Stalker (1979), directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.
This week, we watch the mind-bending, genre-defying film that is at once about a time traveling super-hero who receives his directives from a imaginary man in a scary bunny outfit, while also being a coming of age drama/comedy with one of the best sound tracks in movie history. Donnie Darko (2001), directed by Richard Kelly.
This week, we watch ANOTHER (back-to-back) time travel, science fiction mash-up classic, that contains the break-out performance of Mr. Universe himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and kicked-off the career of the man who would go on to direct the two top-grossing movies of all time, James Cameron. The Terminator (1984).
This week, we watch the time travel, science fiction mash-up classic, that contains performances from Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt that defied all expectations, and is helmed by the visual genius, Terry Gilliam - Twelve Monkeys (1995).
This week, Matt Damon gets stuck on Mars. Will he get off? Lets find out! The Martian (2015), Directed by Ridley Scott.
This week, we watch the Marvel Studios surprise hit, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), starring a slew of new favorite characters, including a raccoon and a tree. Directed by James Gunn.
