10 Sci Fi's to Explode Into 2014- Part 2

Got an itching for some good Sci fi's this year? Well worry no more because my Good-Sci-fi-O-Matic machine has just pulled ten perfect films from the future just for you!* Are you into the solitude of Space? Maybe Robots are your thing? Or perhaps Giant City Destroying Lizards? 

And now for the second half of this best Sci Fi's of 2014 list we have what I like to call the "Monsters, Monkeys*** and the Final Frontier"! Enjoy the spectacular sights of strange creatures, weird genetically enhanced animals and super space adventures all for 2014!


6. Godzilla

After years of hibernation an ancient monster awakens from a deep hibernation, its name- Godzilla. The mighty force of nature that is Godzilla is met with the full force of man’s corruption of earth and the awakening of an ancient enemy.

Is this new interpretation of Godzilla, no longer one born of radiation but instead a full force of nature, some kind of Hollywood version of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth? I mean, one that’s not The Day AfterTomorrow... All the themes are there- after “testing” some nukes in the pacific America awakens a walking natural disaster, talk about American Guilt. Forgetting the Man vs. Nature aspect of the new ‘Zilla, this flick has been made with the original Japanese heavily in mind-something that can already be seen through the recent posters. Not only that but Breaking Bad fans (plus Malcolm in the Middle and even How I Met Your Mother fans) will be happy to see Bryan Cranston taking on the lead (human) character with full force and a heavy conscience. Godzilla will be released in UK cinemas on the 16^th of March so be prepared for the full power of this behemoth of a monster movie

7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

As lead Chimp Caesar’s ape-centric society begins to develop they are threatened by a band of some of the few human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade ago. After a short lived peacetime the two factions are forced to go to war with each other but which will become the dominant species of Earth? Be warned there may be a spoiler to that question somewhere in the original Planet of the Apes!

 With Andy Serkis picking up one of his best as motion-capture characters “Caeser”, the ape protagonist of 2011’s Rise of the Planetof the Apes, and being joined by franchise favourite Gary Oldman this wartime ape-scapade is looking better and better every day it draws closer to release. This time we get to see a little more of the newly formed Ape culture and society, something which promises to be as enthralling as being introduced to an alien civilization... Excluding the fact that we know where this is leading... to a whole new Planet. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is due out on the 17^th of July in the UK.

8. Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Jones is no ordinary future Earthling, born under the night sky with multiple signs predicting her great destiny. When Caine, a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth Jupiter is forced to realise a destiny that has been drawn for her since birth. Jupiter’s genetic signature hides a connection to an extraordinary celestial inheritance which may alter the balance of the cosmos.

Filmed in our very own Pinewood Studio, amongst other places of course, Jupiter Ascending is looking to be a fast paced intergalactic action Sci fi with the likes of Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum filling in the lead roles of Jupiter and Caine respectively. Jupiter Ascending looks to me as if it could go two ways- a spectacular adventure though space pulled off with exact precision ...or a repeat of the devastating flop that was John Carter. Fortunately with an ace pairing of directors, Andy and Lana Wachowski, and with Kunis and Tatum leading the Jupiter Ascending doesn’t look at all like it will head down the Carter road. Jupiter Ascending will be released in the UK on the 18^th July.

9. Guardians of the Galaxy

Finding himself the target of unrelenting bounty hunters after stealing a mysterious orb Peter Quill, or ‘Starlord’ as he likes to be called, is forced to join forces with a motley space crew. Dubbed “The Guardians of the Galaxy” (probably by Quill himself) this “team” comprises of a green skinned assassin, a super muscled warrior, a gun totting genetically enhanced racoon and... Well why not... a humanoid tree who can only say “Groot” – which happens to also be his name. But when Quill realises the true power of his orb this rag tag group of ex-cons has to become the true Guardians of the Galaxy.

One of the films on the list I am looking forward to the most –not least because it’s one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films (as in The Avengers) this film features the bravest ensemble of characters in any Marvel film to date. These “heroes” have been labelled as the “Rolling Stones to The Avengers’ Beatles” and, whilst I take umbrage at the idea that the Avengers are The Beatles, I must say The Guardians make the Iron Man, Hulk, Cap and Thor combo look like a girl scout meeting. This is the first of the MCU films to reach way beyond the stars (The Thor’s were still pretty earthbound) and the first to go against the standard idea of a superhero movie being good or almost good people saving earth. For those of you who, like me, are counting the days for this star filled film The Guardians of the Galaxy is released in the UK on the 1^st of August.

10. Interstellar

When a wormhole is newly discovered a team of explorers and scientists embark on a journey that may well help to transcend the limitations of human space travel. With a plot suspected to involve time travel, alternate dimensions and a rustic future version of earth Interstellar is by far the most enigmatic of all the films on this list.

Due to its distant release date, all the way on the other end of the year, little has been made known about the film, but what is known is that it will be another of Mathew McConaughey’s ever growing list of serious and emotionally complicated characters, a real juxtaposition to the hunks and Adonis’s of Sahara and Failure to Launch. Joining McConaughey will be Anna Hathaway and, a personal favourite of mine, John Lithgow (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Footloose(’84) and Barney’s Dad in How I Met Your Mother) and with Christopher Nolan at the helm it’s fair to say that Interstellar will be one to look out for when it’s released on the 7^th of November.

*The Good Sci fi-O-matic cannot pull "ten perfect films from the future" and is not capable of time travel. Please do not request films from the future otherwise I will be forced to use my Miniature Death Ray to eliminate you.**

** The Miniature Death Ray cannot and will not be used for elimination. The Miniature Death Ray is for bacteria killing purposes only.

***They are not Monkeys! They're Apes!

10 Sci Fi's Set to Explode Into 2014 - Part 1

Got an itching for some good Sci fi's this year? Well worry no more because my Good-Sci-fi-O-Matic machine has just pulled ten perfect films from the future just for you!* Are you into the solitude of Space? Maybe Robots are your thing? Or perhaps Giant City Destroying Lizards?  

So here they are, the first five in the Sci Fi list to keep you going until 2015... or at least December 2014... Part 1 is the 'Aliens, Robots and Time Travel' section so keep your eye augmentations fixed as I go through numbers 1 to 5!

1. Under the Skin

A mysterious, and voluptuous, alien woman combs the highways of Scotland for lonely or isolated men to take back to her lair where she seduces them and removes their humanity. But what happens when this sex-tra terrestrial (get it?) becomes too comfortable in her borrowed body?

This film adaptation of Michael Faber’s book by the same name is set to star Scarlett Johansson as an alien seductress sent to Earth to collect stray humans. Under the Skin is about looking at Earth with new eyes and will probably touch on themes surrounding the idea of humanity, such as mercy and snobbery, whilst also being a political satire on factory farming and big businesses with little social conscience. Set to be released here in the UK on the 14th of March it has been predicted to become an instant cult classic.

2. The Machine

Two computer programmers fall in love as they create the most advance piece of self aware Artificial Intelligence technology in existence designed to help humanity. However as their arduous project comes to completion tragedy strikes, in the form of a programming bug causing ‘The Machine’ to become an incredible fighting, and killing, machine.

Set in the near future, in a world where a Cold War with China has drained the West of its power, programmer Vincent McCarthy (Toby Stephens) creates Ava (Caity Lotz) with good intentions but soon his creation goes horribly wrong. Think Blade Runner combined with Frankenstein and you may be close to The Machine, but I have a feeling this British Independent film is going to be as original a film as any this year. Only a select few cinemas are showing The Machine it on the 21^st of March, but don’t worry because it will be out on Blu-Ray DVD on the 32^nd of March... I’ve already pre-ordered mine.

3. Transcendence

When the foremost researcher in AI technology, Dr Will Caster, is shot by anti-AI extremists he wakes up as a digitised version of his previous self complete with his emotions, memories and overpowering drive for knowledge. 

Another AI based Sci fi? When you compare Transcendence to The Machine it’s quite clear that they’re going to be very different films, a Hollywood blockbuster vs. a British independent, Jonny Depp vs. a virtually unknown lead and above all the difference between humans interacting with machines and becoming the machine. Transcendence will no doubt be another film with a well made character for Depp to bring to life... figuratively speaking... and touches on both the concepts of human augmentation taken to the limit and human corruptibility when given power. No doubt this will be a popular one and for good reason. Transcendence is out in the UK on the  25^th of April.

4. Edge of Tomorrow

When Lt. Col. Bill Cage, an Officer with no combat experience, is dropped into a suicide mission of a battle field he is killed within minutes. But that’s not the end of Cage as he is inexplicable caught in a time loop and forced to relive the same brutal combat over and over again, becoming increasingly skilled as he goes.

Think Groundhog Day but in the gruesome confines of an alien battlefield. That’s Edge of Tomorrow or as it was originally named All You Need is Kill after the Graphic Novel it was based on. Tom Cruise will be playing right into his wheel house, a military type who becomes an expert at combat, and Emily Blunt will hopefully balance Cruise a little whilst proving her versatility as an actress. However it gets played out what is obvious is that both these characters promise to go through an pretty interesting journey so keep an eye out for that after its release on the 25^th of April.

5. X-Men: Days of Future Past

In a future where the Mutant race is being hunted to extinction the X Men, led by the newly resurrected Professor X, send the wild fury that is Wolverine back to the 70’s to stop the hunt before it begins.

As the first time travelling superhero film to hit the big screens X-Men: Days of Future Past has a lot riding on it but, with an almighty cast of past and present X actors and original X-Men director Bryan Singer on board, this is looking to be a real breakthrough in X-Men cinema. Over the years fans have grown attached to Patrick Stewart's wise and kind Prof whilst enjoying McAvoy’s young incarnation for his quick wit and surprising suave, and now we get to see them together, so win win! The same goes for Magneto (McKellen-Fassbender) and we get to revisit Storm (Halle Berry), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and two different Wolverines (70’s Hugh Jackman-Greying Hugh Jackman). So if you’re a fan then this ultimate X-film will be out on the 22^nd of May.

                                                                                       

*The Good Sci fi-O-matic cannot pull "ten perfect films from the future" and is not capable of time travel. Please do not request films from the future otherwise I will be forced to use my Miniature Death Ray to eliminate you.**

** The Miniature Death Ray cannot and will not be used for elimination. The Miniature Death Ray is for bacteria killing purposes only.

Heart of Oblivion

In a world where America lies under the rubble of time, where the Statue of Liberty is forgotten under icy cliffs and all that’s left of the Empire State Building is the very tip only Jack, a true Red Blooded American, can save what’s left of the world.

This is Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise, and of course Tom’s Jack isn’t going to let a little thing like America not existing get in the way of him being an American hero.

Yes, he has no recollection of America and, yes, he comes from a space station called the Tet and alright so he has to survey the decrepit remains of New York each and every day but he still finds time to talk about the Super bowl like any other good American.

This is another one of those "Tom Cruise loves America" films, where a hero belongs to an American system (grant it one that's no longer on American soil) and has to fight the enemy to protect American interests... Sort of...

It's Tom Cruise all over!

The "All-American Hero" whose life makes Action Man feel like a cub scout. "Save the country from an unknown evil, shoot a few people and celebrate with a big juicy steak and a couple of bruski's!"

They all are great representations of what America would like it's citizens to be, whether it's the “Salt of the Earth” 'average' American type such as Ray Ferrier (War of the Worlds), Vincent Lauria (The Color of Money) and Joseph Donnelly (Far and Away) or the "do anything for my country" military types such as Pete Mitchell (Top Gun), Ethan Hunt (Mission: Impossible), John Anderton (Minority Report), Nathan Algren (The Last Samurai) and Jack Reacher (Jack Reacher). 

Or Jack Harper of Oblivion who sort of fits into both categories. Both a regular techie engineer who fixes droids and a kick-ass military type Jack is the perfect representation for the Tom Cruise American Hero.

Even in the film Valkyrie, where Cruise played a Nazi officer, there was a distinctly American feel to the Nazi-turned-good-guy anti-hero Cruise played. Perhaps it was the brash attempts to kill Hitler which had a “one man against the world” feel to them or perhaps it was simply having an American play a Nazi- Although Liam Neeson played Schindler (Schindler's List) rather well and he’s far from German.

But how does Tom choose these Uber-Americans?

Does he base it on how much red meat they eat in a day or is it more to do with how often they go to baseball games? Or does he simply count how often they salute the American flag?

Does he get to amp up the patriot factor in the films if they’re not the embodiment of America?

What's that reader? You want to know how Jack Harper can be that All-American Hero when America doesn't exist... and in fact isn't even mentioned as a country?

Well, let’s just have a look at just a few of Jack’s favorite things:

Sports: What American doesn’t love a bit of Baseball and Football? Of course it would help if there were any other Americans to play with in this post-Apocalyptic world but never mind!

Style: No American hero is complete without a baseball cap and a pair of really good Aviators (maybe a throwback to Top Gun). Just because the futures dress code requires you to wear impeccably white flight suits doesn’t mean you can’t accessorise, right?

Being a Happy Camper: What American doesn’t love escaping to a log cabin in the forest? Maybe if there were a few more people around Jack could even scavenge for a guitar and sing some campfire songs!

Living America: Being a New Yorker, albeit when New York is mostly underground, Jack gets to see such wonderful American monuments as (the tip of) The Empire State Building and (the torch of) The Statue of Liberty and maybe even the crumbling ruins of the stadium the last Super Bowl was played in.

This man lives in a time when America no longer exists, and perhaps hasn’t existed for years...

So how is he so very American?

Because, Reader, Hollywood Sci Fi's need Americanness. I don't know why, but they always have, ever since Planet of the Apes had the Statue of Liberty sticking out of a beach it's been a common staple of American Sci Fi's. 

We can't fight it... There's no point resisting.

So maybe my main issue with this film is its American-ness and the way Jack is portrayed, who I see as a pretty two dimensional character. That’s not entirely fair seeing as it’s actually a pretty well designed film; certainly somebody put a lot of time and effort in making the world of the film look good.

And it paid off. The action is precise and well choreographed so that every turn, every shot and every explosion feels necessary. There are no over doing the gun fights in this film. In fact Jack isn’t even a soldier in this film; he’s an engineer with a riffle for when things get sticky. Jack knows how to use a gun, no doubt, but he doesn’t always shoot first ask questions later.

Simple things like giving Jack and his entire tech a clean and sterilised white look whilst the creatures he is tasked to fight are clad in black armor made up of pre-war earth tech and with a strong warlord motif to them. A simple but very effective motif which comes in handy later when the many twists and turns begin...

Which brings me to my next point... And not a particularly positive point.

Oblivion has a good plot and an intriguing twist at its heart but that main twist is weakened by a handful of smaller twists each treated like a grand reveal. So when you finally get to the end and Jack discovers the truth (I won’t mention what that truth is) I was left feeling a little deflated... I’d guessed that twist half an hour ago!

The films whole plot was filled with deception and false faces so that half an hour after being told one thing you find out that it was a lie... Eventually you get used to it and none of the lies feel convincing enough to buy into them. A mass of twists makes one feel either confused and disorientated or cynical about any other twists to come.

I counted at least ten different “big reveals” which shook the foundation of the film... Am I supposed to gasp at all of them? Because I’m sorry but I’m worried I’ll hyperventilate if I do.

More than anything I found the ending a huge disappointment. When I watch a Sci Fi I expect the character to have gone through a massive and often painful personal journey... Blade Runner, Logan’s Run, Total Recall (1990)... All those films fit that grand personal journey of self discovery. There’s a philosophy behind it them which makes them feel like a nutritional meal... But Oblivion was like a nutrition bar; yes it did the trick but I don’t feel satisfied.

Regardless, somebody worked hard on it... those white clothes are so dazzlingly white they made Tom Cruises teeth look only very shiny. So well done to whoever provided the washing powder for the film! I applaud you.