SCI-FI September!

[Inspector Abberline]

Empire of the Ants (1977)


Finally, a film about killer ants for the dumbass community. Mysterious men in red boiler suits are shooting barrels of radioactive drums into the sea,I know this because all the drums have radioactive written all over them.But don't worry because they have "don't open" written on them,just in case somebody thought it was a barrel of ice cream or something innocuous like depleted plutonium. But do not worry because Dreamland Shores are selling property right on the coast,so no need to worry about pollution or anything like that sort of nonsense. Hey wait a minute what are those pesky ants doing,and what's that leaking into the eco system.And why are there a group of television actors and has bean's, all dressed in polyester and all acting like it was there first pay check in along time. Thankfully we know when the ants are lurking because they seem to make a shrill noise and the POV goes all multiple vision. I have to say if I was a giant ant and I come across these bunch of cretins swanning around a rather naff looking beach then I would chomp on these idiots as well.Marilyn Fryser (Joan Collins) although attractive,she is not my favourite actress,in fact I find her plain annoying. I have to say im definitely on the side of the giant ants here ,let them eat cake I say,or in this case ~B movie cake. Which incidentally that sugar refinery may come in handy ,oh wait............
Directed by Bert I. Gordon, the big head,decides to re write HG Wells,now I have never read Wells story,but im guessing there wasn't much in the way of Joan Collins and this band of losers .I do enjoy these before CGI creature features,its only when the characters start bickering among themselves,which normally happens in these situations ,that your wishing the giant sized ant/spider/rabbit delete the applicable would hurry up and chow and gnaw the rest of the cast sooner more than later. Fun.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Or The Slow Motion Picture as it's detractors like to think of it. However i think this is an excellent film.

Rather than an action packed space opera the movie series turned into, The Motion Picture is mainly a character study. Bringing back to life a group of characters not seen on our screens for ten years. As much a reinvention of the Star Trek universe as anything since, The Haunting and Sound of Music director Robert Wise gradually filters the Star Trek universe back into our consciousness.

From a cracking opening involving the destruction of three Klingon Birds of Prey attack ships... this is as action orientated as the film gets...it's first five minutes, Wise almost takes us backwards as we are introduced to characters one by one. First Spock, then Captain, now Admiral Kirk and so forth. It's when we are shown the classic space ship the USS Enterprise for the first time that the film becomes slow motion sci-fi porn. Wise's camera in the form of a shuttle craft slowly makes it's way about the Enterprise in it's space dock. It's a genuinely thrilling sequence and we are in as much awe as Kirk is in the shuttle.

The story itself, written by science fiction legend Alan Dean Foster is one that would be reused time and again in subsequent Star Trek series as well as many other science fiction shows, that of a deadly cloud approaching Earth on an orbit of total destruction. The fact that Foster wrote the story and Isaac ****ing Asimov - the king of science fiction - was it's technical advisor suggests the film isn't the kind of storytelling nonsense we get nowadays and the ideas used are all scientifically credible.

Quality slow burning science fiction. Makes me think i should give 2001 another go.

[Inspector Abberline]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Or The Slow Motion Picture as it's detractors like to think of it. However i think this is an excellent film.

Rather than an action packed space opera the movie series turned into, The Motion Picture is mainly a character study. Bringing back to life a group of characters not seen on our screens for ten years. As much a reinvention of the Star Trek universe as anything since, The Haunting and Sound of Music director Robert Wise gradually filters the Star Trek universe back into our consciousnes

From a cracking opening involving the destruction of three Klingon Birds of Prey attack ships... this is as action orientated as the film gets...it's first five minutes, Wise almost takes us backwards as we are introduced to characters one by one. First Spock, then Captain, now Admiral Kirk and so forth. It's when we are shown the classic space ship the USS Enterprise for the first time that the film becomes slow motion sci-fi porn. Wise's camera in the form of a shuttle craft slowly makes it's way about the Enterprise in it's space dock. It's a genuinely thrilling sequence and we are in as much awe as Kirk is in the shuttle.

The story itself, written by science fiction legend Alan Dean Foster is one that would be reused time and again in subsequent Star Trek series as well as many other science fiction shows, that of a deadly cloud approaching Earth on an orbit of total destruction. The fact that Foster wrote the story and Isaac ****ing Asimov - the king of science fiction - was it's technical advisor suggests the film isn't the kind of storytelling nonsense we get nowadays and the ideas used are all scientifically credible.

Quality slow burning science fiction. Makes me think i should give 2001 another go.

Which version was this?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

Which version was this?

I didn't know there was more than one version.

However looking at the dvd cover it's The Director's Edition.

[Inspector Abberline]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I didn't know there was more than one version.

However looking at the dvd cover it's The Director's Edition.

Yeah they say the directors cut is alot better than the original theatrical cut.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

Yeah they say the directors cut is alot better than the original theatrical cut.

Perhaps that's why i always enjoy watching it on dvd. I might have only seen the original film when i saw it at the cinema. Don't think i ever owned it on vhs.

[trebor8273]

IT! The terror from beyond space.

A spaceship crew is sent to Mars to pick up the surviving member of a mission to the planet who is set to be taking back to earth to be executed for the murder of his crew. Not long after picking him up and on their way back to earth some crew members are killed, it's not long before the crew figure out some of type of creature has gotten onboard and the prisoner they picked up had nothing to do with the death of his crew. It soon becomes a battle a survival against a cunning creature that appears unkillable. Claustrophobic and to tense and not hard to see that this must of had some influence on Alien. 7.7/10

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Master of the World (1961)

The well meaning but ever so slightly bonkers Robur (Vincent Price) builds a zeppelin esq airship - the Albatross - and uses it to stop all wars by threatening to destroy the American, British, German, and Russian fleets unless they demilitarize quickly.

Set in the late nineteenth century, this AIP production, although sadly not under the direction of Roger Corman, of a Jules Verne story, is a lot of fun. The film is both world conquering and personal as a team of four scientists lead by Charles Bronson (fresh from the previous years The Magnificent Seven) attempt to stop Price and disable or destroy the Albatross - Would you really name your sea crossing airship Albatross? I certainly wouldn't.

Cue lots of daring-do, bomb dropping and woeful stock footage, as the Albatross causes chaos across the world. It's all quite exciting stuff truth be told. Vincent Price is as marvelous as ever but the acting and action honours go to Bronson, in heroic mode, who not only has to save the day but put up with jealous allies as well, however it comes as no surprise that he eventually gets the girl in the end.

As far as Verne adaptations go this isn't the classiest but it is one of the most entertaining.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

As far as Verne adaptations go this isn't the classiest but it is one of the most entertaining.

Sounds fun - I may seek this one out myself this month too.

[Justin101]

I've given myself Sci-Fi fatigue already after a couple of days and instead watched a documentary and 'coming of age' film instead yesterday.

However I did watch some VERY good Star Trek TNG episodes over the weekend.



The first one was called Rascals which involved Picard, Keiko, Ro and Guinan having transporter issues, when they were beamed back aboard the Enterprise a glitch in the computer stripped a DNA node from them which turned their bodies into that of 12 year olds. It just so happened that at the same time the Enterprise was taken hostage by some Ferengi pirates who beamed all of the adults down the planet surface, leaving the 4 to try and fix the situation. A very fun episode, the lad playing a young Picard was great haha!



A Fistful of Datas was one of those rare funny Worf episodes - this time a holodeck program goes wrong and Worf, Alexander and Troi are in danger when the characters are replaced by Data in this homage to classic Hollywood westerns such as Shane, and not unfortunately the Italian counterparts where the show's name came from!



Another standout was the double-parter Chain of Command which saw Picard, Worf and Crusher sent on a top secret mission to infiltrate Cardassian space while a new Captain takes control of the Enterprise. This one saw David Warner as the guest star playing a rather sadistic Cardassian interrogator.

The other 2 episodes I saw weren't as good so I'll not talk about them! Halfway through Season 6 now so my TNG odyssey is almost over. I'm either going to dive straight into Deep Space Nine of have a Trekky break and watch Battlestar Galactica again.