Science Fiction Films discussion

OK, I know what youre all thinking. I hate remakes too....generally...BUT there are sometimes when it really really needs to happen (if its done right of course). I really dont want to stray off course and talk about films already made and how much they suck or whatever....just keep this thread to prospects and films currently in production if at all possible. I also might make a poll on this one, but I havent decided.

Here is my list:

Capricorn One: This was an amazing concept, but the execution in a lot of parts was terrible. I loved the parts when it focused on each individual person and their struggle, but the setup of the whole scenario was completely unbelievable and O.J.???? Whose bright idea was it to give him screen time?

The Crazies: *WAS* set to be remade with Brad Anderson (Session 9, The Machinist) at the helm, but somehow it got shelved and now it *appears* to be in the hands of some dude named Breck Eisner.... [sigh:]...such high hopes. This film in its original form *almost* had it right, but definitely needs an update.

Westworld: First off, RIP to Michael Crichton. Then I will say, that this film was great back in '73 (I wasnt alive then, but even in the 80s it was still hella neato) but we needs a new one. Tarsem Singh *was* set to direct this, now its just sitting up on imdb with no director attached. What are your thoughts on director, actors, etc?

Logan's Run: This one is finally up and running again (after gathering dust on imdb for the past couple years and is attached to the same guy is now currently filming Tron 2. Yes, I did just say Tron 2... Hopefully this time theyll get the facts of the story right. What do you all think?

LOL, Ive never heard of It! Sounds cheestastic

Well, I dont see why people concern themselves with twist endings. Its the path getting there that matters. I consider movies like The Sixth Sense one-shot deals -- disposable cameras if you will. People also too often confuse twist endings with shocking endings. SG had a shocking ending.

But, differences aside, I thought of mnentioning SG in my initial post, but Im one of those who do happen to like the original enough to not have it tampered with *unless* we can get a REALLY good director AND one who has enough clout in the industry so he has complete control to make it HIS way. Example, Frank Darabont only agreed to direct The Mist *IF* it was written into the contract that there be absolutely NO alternate endings and that he film the end exactly the way he wanted it. He's Frank Darabont, the director of the #2 rated film of all time so he got his way, but most directors wouldnt. Id rather never have it remade than suffer with something mediocre...

I thought 'Soylent Green' was well done & probably wouldn't watch a remake. Maybe it's age, but I liked the sweaty, understated way it was played by Heston & Robinson. I read Harry Harrison's book, Make Room! Make Room! after seeing the movie & while it added some depth, I actually liked the movie better.

I would LOVE to see Logan's Run redone. It was fun & OK, but just too cheesy. Not that William F. Nolan wrote high literature, but the idea was cool & could be done so much better.

As much as I like the original, I wonder what a remake of 'Forbidden Planet' would be like? Certainly the monster & the crew shooting at it could be done a lot better, although they didn't improve 'Lost in Space' much, if at all.

The Day of the Triffids could use a remake. I didn't care much for the novel by John Wyndham, but the movie could be done better.

I read somewhere Ron Howard is going to direct the remake of The Forbin Project.

Day Of The Triffids is one that Ive neither read nor seen, but its high up on my list.

I'd like to see a remake of EMPIRE OF THE SUN, one that wasn't directed by weepmaster Spielberg.

Not SF, I know, but Ballard's an SF writer, so...

and presumably without John Malkevich since he's such a favorite of yours.

Very definitely without Malkovich. I just don't get the Malkovich thing. He was excellent in IN THE LINE OF FIRE, but I find he gets very tiresome very quickly in pretty much everything else.

Spielberg doing EMPIRE OF THE SUN. God in heaven. Like Judd Apatow doing KING LEAR, but without the laughs.

as i've probably stated elsewhere, i hate remakes, but you folks have made some good suggestions - logan's run, day of the triffids, soylent green....yeah, if the right director was employed, i might subscribe.

i personally wouldn't want to see a remake of westworld. i was a teenager when the original came out, and i liked it a lot. of course it could be updated with better robot effects, better actors and whatnot, but what would be the point? it's kind of a perfect b-film just as it is.

i'm going to stay out of the malkovich discussion.

I agree with Jim
Soylent Green the movie is much better than the book.

the book is about solving a murder in a hellish enviroment of an exhausted planet. The movie is much more sinister with a bigger scope regarding human beings and the enviroment and the implications for the future are devestating.

It would be nice to see this flawed movie could be made better.
Who can forget those laughable "Scoopers?"

I also thought the women in Soylent Green are all doormats. They are all used by men as sex objects. They are even called "furniture".

I guess by now we all know the secret of Soylent Green, but I think it could still be a good movie.

my opinion is hardly radical. i think he's fine in some things, and in others i think he pushes it over the top a bit much. but being john malkovich? he's perfect in it. i speak russian, and i thought his performance was OK in rounders, but his accent and the way he overemphasized all the russian syllables kind of ruined his performance. i just wanted to turn his accent knob down 2 or 3 clicks...it would have made it much better. but hell, i'm talking about a matt damon film...what the hell?

One thing that scares me about remaking films is they tend to focus on completely unbelievable special effects too often now. Older films had less special effects &, while often poorly done, they were limited. The drama was often among the characters & situation. Generally my belief only had to be suspended on a couple of things, not EVERYTHING.

Most of the good SF stories don't force me to suspend my belief too often. They are often quite mundane, except for one or two items that drive the entire story. That often make for a better story than one where the entire world is unfamiliar.

Film makers have been doing more & more effects that just aren't physically possible. Corkscrew jumps by cars, a hero sliding down a freeway in a tee shirt without getting road rash, one person fighting 50 others with a sword & winning...

In the discussion about "The Planet of the Apes" someone mentioned how they didn't like the apes speaking English. It was one too many things that were far out for them. While I didn't agree in that particular case, I can understand it.

The number of & type of items where I can suspend my belief is finite. Hit that limit & the show is ruined. I'm afraid that the present trend to puff up the action & top the previous film's effects would ruin too many good stories for me.

rob,

those are all good examples of malkovich films.

and, i'm with you on ACTION. it's become bloated. give me the chase scene from bullit anyday.

Love me some BULLIT! Great car chase with what, non-stop twenty minutes of squealing tires and growling engines? I long for the days of the stuntman (or stuntwoman).

My wife says that Harrison Ford ruined the old action films. (She LOVES his flicks & is half joking.) Her point is that both 'Star Wars' & 'Indiana Jones' started with & contained so much action, that everyone afterward tried to do it better & with more. Those two raised action to a new level. Whether she's exactly right or not, about that time, late 70's, I think the action in most films picked up tremendously & has increased to an insane level.

I think of 'Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid' as an action film. Ditto with the ones Rob mentioned in #24. They're completely different than action films today. Much less action & the actors really have to act - not just react.

I do like action flicks today. I'm a guy - I can watch senseless sex/violence & be entertained, but it is beginning to be too much, too often. I imagine there will have to be another change soon. I wonder what it will be? We have about reached the max in graphic, gratuitous violence & sex - often both at the same time (the first 'True Blood'). We have maxed out haven't we?!!!

What do you think Hollywood will start feeding us next?

"I'm a guy - I can watch senseless sex/violence & be entertained..."

Awww... and here I was thinking that girls were considered equals! I'll have you know that girls can be entertained by all the stuff that boys can! (Maybe better!) ;)

I second that Becky!

Becky & Angie, I'm simply repeating what THE BOSS tells me. She says I have terrible taste, with the notable exception of allowing her to marry me.

I've never understood why women want to take a step down & be equal to men, but it's your call.

;-)

really, gender equality is such the downgrade for women.

actually, sex on screen really doesn't do it for me. (ok, i'm waiting for someone to throw something at me). i go with the old hitchcock clause: what you don't see is always more interesting than what you do see.

i just end up thinking: i'd rather be doing that than watching it.

i'm not talking about kissing. i'm talking about...you know, the other stuff. lots of nudity, groping. it's usually done without a lot of playfulness or imagination. and the guy is almost always on top. what's up with that? is there some film code that says woman on bottom or it's an X rating?

Jim I love your last line!

I suppose that one could say that gender equality is a downgrade for women, but girly movies are so boring... I started to watch "Little Miss Sunshine" once, and didn't make it.

Don't get me wrong, I do like classics too, but really I like car-chases! I like fight-scenes and foul-mouthed charactors who are bad-ass and know it, and maybe wear chains as clothing. Fun stuff!

Thanks, Angie, but I think Phillip put it better.

Becky, my daughter, The Little Boss, agrees with you, but my wife doesn't. Believe it or not, but she stopped me from watching "Resident Evil" for the umpteenth time the other night for having too much gore.

Of course, all is not lost. She did record the new Victoria's Secret commercial for me (I rarely see commercials). That's why we've managed to stay together for over 26 years.

Personally I liked Little Miss Sunshine and did not think it was girly, that movie to me is more about families and how they interact. Now Sex in the CIty, that might be girly...

Let me be the first to claim SEX AND THE CITY as the bold progenitor of a bold new genre: girly science fiction horror. SATC deals with a group of bizarro predatory creatures whose lives bear no relationship to life as it is lived by 98% of all humanity since the beginning of time. They are strange mechanical beings with changeable shells who suck the lives out of all men unlucky enough to get caught in their orbits. One intrepid explorer comes to his senses and nearly escapes, but finds himself pulled back in to his horrific fate, a life with Carrie Bradshaw and her closets.

Horrors. ALIEN, ALIENS, etc. look downright tame in comparison.

Tom, that is hilarious.

LMS defenders, maybe I will give it another shot - I only watched about 5 minutes of it... but I got bored.

Jim, I unabashedly love the Resident Evil movies, and I watch them all the time. And since I'm the girl, there's nobody to tell me that they are too gory!
(P.S. Your wife must be cool to record a commercial for you just because it has half naked ladies in it.)

Rob, never saw Beaches... Now I know not to waste my time. Thanks!

becky:
if rough and tumble is your thing, let me recommend hard candy and freeway. both films where girls kick serious booty. and what about girlfight?

rob,
i'm with you - little miss sunshine was great, and there was nothing girly about it, apart from that ending sequence where all the "princesses" did their dance routines. that scene cracked me up.

tom,
excellent examination of SATC. carrie bradshaw and her crew scare the $#*@ out of me.

p.s.
i love films like texas chainsaw massacre, but i also love jane austen movies (and her books), etc. i clearly have a healthy inner teenage girl, among numerous other personae, dwelling within this masculine frame. they all seem to be getting along fine as long as i keep a diverse array of films and books on hand.

Phillip, I have seen Freeway and I loved it. Great modern re-telling of "Little Red Riding Hood". Plus, Keifer was great in it. Definitely time for a re-watch of that one.
Haven't seen Hard Candy or Girlfight. Just IMDB'd them and added to my Netflix queue... Thanks!

And, I added Little Miss Sunshine too! I figure since it has won such loyal defenders as you guys, it can't be all that bad. ;)

TOM, that was #$#%^& HILARIOUS!

(though I love SATC, hides behind the couch)

And I love LMS and I don't know why people called June "the next LMS". Personally I don't think Juno came close to how good LMS is.

I liked Juno... up to a point.

There were just some parts of it that felt fake to me... Like it was trying WAY too hard to be quirky & hip.

(Do 16 year olds even say "hip" anymore?)

I was only half-kidding when I wrote that about SATC, but it actually does kind of sum up the movie doesn't it? Some ghastly combination of Hawthorne, Kafka, Dan O'Bannon and Manohlo Blahnik.

I'm not sure this is a candidate for a remake, but does anyone remember "Circuitry Man"? I loved Plughead & Leech. The scene where the latter proves his name is truly memorable & quite gross.

One of my favorite SF stories is "Nightfall" by Issac Asimov.

I have seen two dreadful versions on DVD.

I would love to see a movie version that respects the original story and or extended book version.

How would you react knowing your civilization only has a few hours left before chaos turns everything to ashes?

TRON. i had a dream that tron was revamped, and the "bad guy" was "world of warcraft", sucking up programs of the internet to play "NPC's" (non-player characters)

Guys,
There IS a recent (WEll, 1981!) 'Day of The Triffids' remake available from the BBC website. It was shown in three 50 minute episodes and is regarded as the best of the adaptations.

i just saw tron a few months ago at the castro...i forget why they were showing it. it didn't hold up that well. i don't know how i'd feel about a remake, but since i'm not married to the original, it might just work.

dave,
wow.
one can hope.

I would really like to see both Soylent Green and Planet of the Apes remade. My clause would be that they NOT add any special effects. Make-up for POTA would obviously be great, but the re-make that was already done was HORRID! I want a cerebral version. Soylent Green doesn't need any extra effects shots either, just an update.
I agree that Soylent Green was more entertaining than Make Room! Make Room!. I only read it because of the movie which I have seen countless times, but only read once!

I know, but, like I said, it was HORRID! I loved all the original movies, (even thought they got progressively cheesier) but that remake stank! The only thing I feel can be improved upon, as far as the original goes, is the make-up. The reason I long for a make-over is that I want to share it with my children. They are too busy picking it apart for technical flaws to actually get the message!

From what I've read, I don't want to see the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" or "The Planet of the Apes". Have any remakes been better than the original?

I like the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The one with Leonard Nimoy and Donald Sutherland.

Yeah, the PLANET OF THE APES remake is pretty painful to watch, except for Paul Giamatti's performance. He's the only real person in the entire godforsaken film. Poor old Mark Wahlberg.

Jim wrote: "From what I've read, I don't want to see the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" or "The Planet of the Apes". Have any remakes been better than the original? "

The '78 "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is really more of a sequel than a remake. It doesn't surpass the original but it's good in its own right.

The SF remake that DOES surpass the original is David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of "The Fly." I consider it one of the best films of the 1980s.

And on a non-SF note, the 1941 "The Maltese Falcon" -- the one with Humphrey Bogart -- is actually the THIRD movie version of the novel.

Daniel M, you make a good point on 'original'. To me, the original is often the one I grew up with. Your example of the 'Maltese Falcon' is right on target.

The "I Am Legend" films are another. I've always liked "The Omega Man" the best of the 3. Vincent Price's (senior moment, can't think of the title) was OK & I didn't care much for Will Smith's attempt. I never finished watching it.

Agreed about Cronenberg's THE FLY, probably Cronenberg's best film. I'm not a big admirer of Kaufman's BODY SNATCHERS, it just didn't work for me at all.

NON-SF DIGRESSION -- Ever seen those original versions of MALTESE FALCON? They'll only make you appreciate Huston's film even more. Ricardo Cortez' Sam Spade is just insufferable.

You're thinking of "The Last Man On Earth", Jim.

I have to say that if "The Omega Man" and "The Last Man On Earth" were combined into one film, it would be perfect.

I felt that Heston's portrayal of Robert Neville was more on par with the Robert Neville in the book, but I just couldn't go along with the vampire "cult" in "The Omega Man".

I loved the Omega Man when I saw it as a kid.
I saw it again recently and was not impressed.

The shots of Heston driving through the supposedly empty streets of LA was ridiculous. In the background you can clearly see highway traffic moving at a brisk speed.

Also the horrible ending with Heston in the Christ-like pose in the fountain was laughable.

Yeah, I wasn't really thrilled with that aspect of the ending either, Manuel.

I did think that Heston's attitude was right for the part though. A little bit angry, haughty, sad, lonely, and desperate. He knew what was coming toward the end, but he still fought for his life an held out hope for a cure that would bring back humanity. It all just worked for me as far as Neville's character went.

I suppose my disappointment with Omega Man, had more to do with direction than with Heston's performance.

I suppose my disappointment with Omega Man had more to do with the film's direction, than with Heston's performance.

I liked him as "Taylor" in the "Planet of the Apes" movies.

I never understood why with each sequel in that franchise, the movies kept getting more and more dumb. I read that the budget for each subsequent film, was only half the budget of the previous movie. The first two movies were great, the last 3 were stupid, the last one is especially painful to watch, the story line and dialogue are ridiculous.

Manuel-They did cut the budget by half each time, and they did go downhill, but I can't help loving them anyway! I think it's amazing they were able to make a movie of any quality (I know, I know that quality is debatable)with the linited resources they were given.
I actually thought Conquest was pretty decent as far as story went. Again, with more money they could have made a quality film with that idea. I guess I am just personally vested in the ape characters. They were such a big part of my childhood.
By the way, I thought I am Legend was awful, despite loving Will Smith.