Summer of Sci-Fi: Part 2
The summer of Sci-Fi continues…
Silent Running (1972): After gushing to my dad about Moon and Sunshine, he recommended Silent Running to me and I loved it! The film is about one man’s pursuit to singlehandedly preserve the last existing species of plants from earth. Silent Running is Douglas Trumbull’s directorial debut. Previously Trumbull worked as a special effects supervisor on The Andromeda Strain and Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Overall, I think this film is really successful because of the minimalist story, masterful execution, endearing acting, and the psychological exploration of civil disobedience. Although the special effects may seem a little outdated, the story about the Earth’s environmental struggles are as relevant as ever. You can see Trumull’s lasting influence in many contemporary films such as Sunshine (greenhouses), WALL-E (extinct plant life), and Moon (minimalism + robot). Be sure to check out the interview with the director on the dvd! Another brilliant example of great and innovative filmmaking on a limited budget. The robot drones were adorable! (although it kinda freaked me out to learn they were played by four double-amputees).
Star Trek (2009): so I guess I’m a Star Trek fan now (well that’s not true, I’ve always been a LeVar Burton fan, so I guess I’ve always been a ST fan by default). I was a little intimidated at first, not being a die-hard Trekkie (like my mom), but this film brilliantly balances accessibility for new fans as well as not pissing off the hardcore fans too much. So far my mom and I have both seen this film twice in theaters, so it must be doing something right!
Going into this film I thought I would be a Dr. McCoy fan all the way, but Spock totally won me over and the whole Leonard Nimoy thing clenched it. I <3 SPOCK! I’m such a sucker for inner conflict and a Vulcan nerve pinch. The only thing that I thought was really strange was Winona Ryder as Spock’s mother. wtf?? I don’t want to give too much away, but overall this film really impressed me and did a great job of reinventing/relaunching the series for a young audience.
“Dammit, man! I’m a doctor, not a physicist!”
Hater (2009): Hater by David Moody is more horror with a sci-fi twist. It is the story of Danny McCoyne, an employee of the Parking Fine Processing office, who slowly witnesses the world becoming overrun with, not quite zombies, but what the media has labeled “Haters,” a person who suddenly snaps and viciously attacks anyone in sight.
I originally spotted the book randomly at the library. I saw the blood-splattered book-cover in the new releases section and I just had to check it out (check out the great post on Moody’s blog about the evolution of the cover: http://www.djmoody.co.uk/2009/08/03/the-hater-cover-story/). Reading the little author’s bio on the back of the book I was intrigued to learn that the book had originally been self-published on the Internet, and that Guillermo Del Toro has bought film rights.
Moody cites many influences including Wyndham’s Day of the Triffids, H G Wells’ War of the Worlds, and Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. I definitely see a Richard Matheson influence with the minimal/intimate first-person narration of the protagonist. In contrast to novels like The Stand, I felt that the characters’ reaction to the progressing pandemic felt genuine and convincing. Overall this book quenched my thirst for a great apocalyptic story spiked with HATE.
Little did I know that Hater was the first book in a trilogy (Dog Blood expected out in 2010) and I can’t wait to check out book 2 and the upcoming film. Follow David Moody on goodreads or on twitter @davidjmoody
District 9 (2009): District 9, in the same vein as Cloverfield and Blair Witch, is a science fiction film presented as a pseudo documentary/found footage. It is the story about an alien crew that is stranded on Earth when their spaceship stalls above Johannesburg. This film starts out strong, but even though there is always a lot of action, I felt that the second half was a bit disappointing. Overall I really appreciated the balance of comic relief with an otherwise very dark, gritty, and violent film with strong sociopolitical critique.
To me, this film seemed very reminiscent of Romero’s work (Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Toe Tags) with a sort of hybrid character that is able to bridge both worlds and reveal a redeeming side of the “monsters” to the audience. I guess my favorite part of the film would have to be the look of the aliens. They had a kind of Doctor Zoidberg meets a grasshopper type thing going on. Also, the baby alien was adorable!
Be sure to check out my previous post: Summer of Sci-Fi: Part 1 for reviews of Moon, Sunshine, The Hunger Games, and Zot!
Hater sounds really good!
Did you notice that during the second half of District 9 they abandoned the whole documentary/found footage gimmick that was at the beginning? It left me wondering, why do it in the first place if you can’t keep it up?
yes I was wondering the exact same thing!
Hater is a pretty sweet. With a name like “apocaknits” you gotta check it out!