Spoilers for "Moon" follow.
Most post-apocalyptic science fiction tales focus on ravaged planets, the despair and hope in re-building human colonies, or the advent of new horrors in an already bleak universe. Duncan Jones' directorial debut, "Moon," zooms in on one man — rather, the various versions of a man long dead — while capturing the acute sense of isolation he feels during a three-year-long solitary stint on the far side of the moon. This man, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), is on the verge of breaking free from this lonely, monotonous routine, which is when a rover accident completely destabilizes his concept of self, including the emotion-fueled memories he thought were exclusively his.
When a newly activated Sam clone ventures outside and brings the unconscious Sam inside the facility, the two are immediately mired in conflict about who the "real" Sam is. After all, both men have the same memories about their wife,...
Most post-apocalyptic science fiction tales focus on ravaged planets, the despair and hope in re-building human colonies, or the advent of new horrors in an already bleak universe. Duncan Jones' directorial debut, "Moon," zooms in on one man — rather, the various versions of a man long dead — while capturing the acute sense of isolation he feels during a three-year-long solitary stint on the far side of the moon. This man, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), is on the verge of breaking free from this lonely, monotonous routine, which is when a rover accident completely destabilizes his concept of self, including the emotion-fueled memories he thought were exclusively his.
When a newly activated Sam clone ventures outside and brings the unconscious Sam inside the facility, the two are immediately mired in conflict about who the "real" Sam is. After all, both men have the same memories about their wife,...
- 4/2/2024
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
The Moon is a Korean sci-fi fantasy film. Directed by Yong-Hwa Kim, The Moon is set in the near future and it follows Astronaut Hwang Seon-woo (Do Kyung-soo), as he tries to survive on the moon after Korea’s second manned mission to the moon goes awry. To get him back home Naro Space Center turns to its former managing director Kim Jae-guk (Sol Kyung-gu). So, if you also loved The Moon here are some similar movies for you to check out next.
The Martian (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – 20th Century Fox
Synopsis: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a...
The Martian (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – 20th Century Fox
Synopsis: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a...
- 8/5/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in Pride & Predudice, Succession and Stonehouse.
Matthew MacFadyen Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education
Matthew Macfadyen was born on October 17, 1974 (Matthew Macfadyen: age 48) in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. His parents are Meinir and Martin Macfadyen, a drama teacher and an oil engineer respectively. He attended schools in England, Scotland and Indonesia before being accepted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London when he was 17. He finished his schooling in 1995 before taking to the British theatre.
Matthew MacFadyen Biography: Career
Macfadyen started his career on the stage with the company Cheek by Jowl where he had roles in The School for Scandal, Much Ado About Nothing and The Duchess of Malfi. He then went on to play roles in television, such as Hareton Earnshaw in a TV adaptation of Wuthering Heights (1998), Daniel Symon in Perfect Strangers (2001) and...
Matthew MacFadyen Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education
Matthew Macfadyen was born on October 17, 1974 (Matthew Macfadyen: age 48) in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. His parents are Meinir and Martin Macfadyen, a drama teacher and an oil engineer respectively. He attended schools in England, Scotland and Indonesia before being accepted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London when he was 17. He finished his schooling in 1995 before taking to the British theatre.
Matthew MacFadyen Biography: Career
Macfadyen started his career on the stage with the company Cheek by Jowl where he had roles in The School for Scandal, Much Ado About Nothing and The Duchess of Malfi. He then went on to play roles in television, such as Hareton Earnshaw in a TV adaptation of Wuthering Heights (1998), Daniel Symon in Perfect Strangers (2001) and...
- 3/8/2023
- by Hailey Schipper
- Uinterview
While Austin Butler’s performance in Baz Lurhmann’s “Elvis” is visually captivating, the music experience is immersive. The film needs to be seen, but it demands to be heard.
Composer Elliott Wheeler worked closely with music editor Jamieson Shaw, as the film dances between Butler’s vocals, Elvis Presley’s voice and newly recorded versions of the King’s classics like Kacey Musgraves’ rendition of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
Wheeler says Butler recorded every single line of each performance seen in the film, and Presley’s voice was then mixed in when needed. Wheeler explains, “If we did end up using Elvis takes, we ended up slicing [parts of] Austin’s performance. We used a lot of the breaths, grunts and body movements that are Austin, and we’d switch back to Elvis.”
Though it is primarily Butler’s vocals that audiences will be hearing, the latter half of...
Composer Elliott Wheeler worked closely with music editor Jamieson Shaw, as the film dances between Butler’s vocals, Elvis Presley’s voice and newly recorded versions of the King’s classics like Kacey Musgraves’ rendition of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
Wheeler says Butler recorded every single line of each performance seen in the film, and Presley’s voice was then mixed in when needed. Wheeler explains, “If we did end up using Elvis takes, we ended up slicing [parts of] Austin’s performance. We used a lot of the breaths, grunts and body movements that are Austin, and we’d switch back to Elvis.”
Though it is primarily Butler’s vocals that audiences will be hearing, the latter half of...
- 6/25/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
If you’re 25, Elvis Presley died 20 years before you were born. “Oh, yeah, they don’t care [about Elvis],” said “Elvis” director Baz Luhrmann, who sat down with me in a sunny suite at the Ja Marriott shortly before his film premiered in Cannes. “In a way, I like that. Because they’re very honest about it. Even when I was a fan as a kid, I was more Bowie and Elvis became wallpaper. And I think they know him through ‘Lilo and Stitch,’ or he’s in a video game. Like he’s the guy in the white jumpsuit.”
Never say that the Australian director isn’t down for a challenge. On his first trip to Cannes three decades ago, he walked the Croisette in a warm wool suit looking for financing for his first feature, “Strictly Ballroom.” Since then he’s made “Romeo + Juliet,” Cannes 2000 opening-night dazzler “Moulin Rouge,...
Never say that the Australian director isn’t down for a challenge. On his first trip to Cannes three decades ago, he walked the Croisette in a warm wool suit looking for financing for his first feature, “Strictly Ballroom.” Since then he’s made “Romeo + Juliet,” Cannes 2000 opening-night dazzler “Moulin Rouge,...
- 5/26/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
After the premiere of “Elvis” at Cannes this week, writer-director Luhrmann compared Elvis Presley to rapper Eminem and their respective musical influences from growing up in Black communities. Presley was raised by his mother in Memphis, Tennessee, and Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, is from Detroit, Michigan.
“The most important thing in this film is to show that a young kid, just like Eminem, grew up in a Black community, their personalities are formed by what they absorb,” Luhrmann said during the Cannes Film Festival press conference. “So the music that came out of Elvis was music that he absorbed and from his friendships with emerging Black musicians who weren’t famous like B.B. King.”
Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays King in the film, led by Austin Butler as Presley and Tom Hanks portraying manager Colonel Tom Parker. Olivia DeJonge plays Priscilla Presley, Kodi Smit-McPhee is country legend Jimmie Rodgers,...
“The most important thing in this film is to show that a young kid, just like Eminem, grew up in a Black community, their personalities are formed by what they absorb,” Luhrmann said during the Cannes Film Festival press conference. “So the music that came out of Elvis was music that he absorbed and from his friendships with emerging Black musicians who weren’t famous like B.B. King.”
Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays King in the film, led by Austin Butler as Presley and Tom Hanks portraying manager Colonel Tom Parker. Olivia DeJonge plays Priscilla Presley, Kodi Smit-McPhee is country legend Jimmie Rodgers,...
- 5/26/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Sam Rockwell in Moon Moon, Great Movies (Freeview Channel 33), 9pm Tuesday, December 14
Duncan Jones' debut centres on Sam Bell - an astronaut at the end of a three-year solo mission to harvest Helium-3 energy from the Moon. He begins to think he may be losing it just as he is on the verge of being sent home to his family - but soon he becomes convinced that his paymasters may have a more sinister agenda. It is hard to talk too much about Rockwell's performance without spoiling a key element of the plot but it allows him to show the full extent of his range. The focus is on plot rather than special effects but the ones that are used are seamless. As Jones told us: "We found an approach that allowed Sam to be his improvisational best, while still making sure I got the technical discipline I needed.
Duncan Jones' debut centres on Sam Bell - an astronaut at the end of a three-year solo mission to harvest Helium-3 energy from the Moon. He begins to think he may be losing it just as he is on the verge of being sent home to his family - but soon he becomes convinced that his paymasters may have a more sinister agenda. It is hard to talk too much about Rockwell's performance without spoiling a key element of the plot but it allows him to show the full extent of his range. The focus is on plot rather than special effects but the ones that are used are seamless. As Jones told us: "We found an approach that allowed Sam to be his improvisational best, while still making sure I got the technical discipline I needed.
- 12/13/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
This week saw the release of Space Sweepers, Korea’s first big budget special effects space movie extravaganza. There are a lot of interesting things to say about this movie, but one of the things that makes it stand out is it’s an excellent portrayal of people in space who are skint.
See, I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably never going into space. Unless you’re a highly trained technical specialist (well done!) or a billionaire (pay your taxes!), your best shot at seeing Earth from space within your lifetime is the development of realistic-yet-cheap VR headsets.
And the thing is, a lot of the time this holds up in sci-fi as well. Space travellers are either living in a post-scarcity utopia, are part of the military, or are some kind of genius scientists.
Even where we see supposedly salt-of-the-Earth relatable types, like Han Solo or Mal Reynolds,...
See, I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably never going into space. Unless you’re a highly trained technical specialist (well done!) or a billionaire (pay your taxes!), your best shot at seeing Earth from space within your lifetime is the development of realistic-yet-cheap VR headsets.
And the thing is, a lot of the time this holds up in sci-fi as well. Space travellers are either living in a post-scarcity utopia, are part of the military, or are some kind of genius scientists.
Even where we see supposedly salt-of-the-Earth relatable types, like Han Solo or Mal Reynolds,...
- 2/11/2021
- by Rosie Fletcher
- Den of Geek
A giant spaceship, Pushpak 634-a, lumbers along in infinite space. In the ship a demon, or rakshas, named Prahastha receives deceased humans, heals them and recycles them for their next birth.
Watch Cargo Movie Trailer
https://youtu.be/ZvpdN4VltKY
Prahastha, played by Vikrant Massey, is a loner and an introvert. He exchanges few words even with his supervisors on earth via the TV screen that is his only source of communication. He also shuns the idea of social media exchange with his legions of fans. Yes, he has many fans, we are told -- doing what he does for 75 years now makes him an important cog in the wheel that drives peace between humans and demons.
Prahastha's lonely yet measured life is thrown in a tizzy when earth sends the spirited young Yuvishka (Shweta Tripathi) as his assistant. Her arrival on the ship not only disturbs his personal space.
Watch Cargo Movie Trailer
https://youtu.be/ZvpdN4VltKY
Prahastha, played by Vikrant Massey, is a loner and an introvert. He exchanges few words even with his supervisors on earth via the TV screen that is his only source of communication. He also shuns the idea of social media exchange with his legions of fans. Yes, he has many fans, we are told -- doing what he does for 75 years now makes him an important cog in the wheel that drives peace between humans and demons.
Prahastha's lonely yet measured life is thrown in a tizzy when earth sends the spirited young Yuvishka (Shweta Tripathi) as his assistant. Her arrival on the ship not only disturbs his personal space.
- 9/10/2020
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
Michael Ahr Jul 19, 2019
Duncan Jones reflects on his directorial debut, Moon, as the sci-fi Sundance darling receives a tenth anniversary 4K Ultra HD release.
After Moon garnered praise at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, director Duncan Jones won a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Director, and the science fiction story starring Sam Rockwell quickly became a modern classic. Now, upon the tenth anniversary of the movie’s release, new viewers and established fans alike can enjoy the story of a lone astronaut in the final stretch of his three-year contract mining the lunar surface in a special 4K Ultra HD release available today. We spoke to Jones on The Fourth Wall podcast about what new things might pop off the screen in this high definition version of his first film.
“I hope things that are going to pop off are going to be in a good way,” he joked.
Duncan Jones reflects on his directorial debut, Moon, as the sci-fi Sundance darling receives a tenth anniversary 4K Ultra HD release.
After Moon garnered praise at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, director Duncan Jones won a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Director, and the science fiction story starring Sam Rockwell quickly became a modern classic. Now, upon the tenth anniversary of the movie’s release, new viewers and established fans alike can enjoy the story of a lone astronaut in the final stretch of his three-year contract mining the lunar surface in a special 4K Ultra HD release available today. We spoke to Jones on The Fourth Wall podcast about what new things might pop off the screen in this high definition version of his first film.
“I hope things that are going to pop off are going to be in a good way,” he joked.
- 7/16/2019
- Den of Geek
We’ve got another exciting batch of home entertainment releases coming our way, and if you’re something of a Fulci-phile, it’s going to be an exceptionally good week for you, as Scorpion Releasing is giving both Murder-Rock and The Psychic the Special Edition treatment this Tuesday. Arrow Video has dug up the cult classic The Chill Factor for their Special Edition release, and Scream Factory is showing Strays some love this Tuesday as well.
Duncan Jones’ Moon is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a brand new 4K release that you can pick up this week, and for those of you DC fans out there, Shazam! hits multiple formats as well.
Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for July 16th include Head Count, Space: 1999 – The Complete Series, Last Rites of the Dead, Blood Paradise, Frankenthug, Satanis: The Devil’s Mass, and Bong of the Living Dead.
The Chill Factor:...
Duncan Jones’ Moon is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a brand new 4K release that you can pick up this week, and for those of you DC fans out there, Shazam! hits multiple formats as well.
Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for July 16th include Head Count, Space: 1999 – The Complete Series, Last Rites of the Dead, Blood Paradise, Frankenthug, Satanis: The Devil’s Mass, and Bong of the Living Dead.
The Chill Factor:...
- 7/16/2019
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Titan Books and Liberty Films have announced the publication of "Making Moon" to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Duncan Jones' Moon’s initial release, as well as the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Director Duncan Jones’ feature film debut, Moon won the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, along with numerous film critic and film festival awards. Moon was also nominated for the BAFTA for Best British Film and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film in 2009.
Directed by Duncan Jones, and written by Nathan Parker from a story by Jones, Moon is a 2009 science fiction drama following Sam Bell (Oscar®-winner Sam Rockwell), a man who experiences a personal crisis as he nears the end of a three-year solit...
Director Duncan Jones’ feature film debut, Moon won the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, along with numerous film critic and film festival awards. Moon was also nominated for the BAFTA for Best British Film and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film in 2009.
Directed by Duncan Jones, and written by Nathan Parker from a story by Jones, Moon is a 2009 science fiction drama following Sam Bell (Oscar®-winner Sam Rockwell), a man who experiences a personal crisis as he nears the end of a three-year solit...
- 3/14/2019
- QuietEarth.us
Author: Daniel Goodwin
Duncan Jones’ fourth feature, the long gestating twinkle in his eye/ pseudo Moon sequel Mute, is finally set to make its Netflix debut on Friday 23rd February. This British/German sci-fi production, filmed in Berlin, has been a passion project of Jones’ for some time and one that has careered from pipedream to planned and temporarily postponed. But when potent concepts flower within the minds of passionate artists they have a tendency to materialise in some form or another; whatever the cost. In Mute’s case, due to the evolution of online streaming triggering an industry metamorphosis, the film will mostly bypass cinemas* and arrive in the homes of Netflix subscribers on Friday 23rd February. What is known of the narrative is not much beyond a log-line with morsels extracted from myriad sources to form a patchwork understanding of what the story might be.
Prior to the...
Duncan Jones’ fourth feature, the long gestating twinkle in his eye/ pseudo Moon sequel Mute, is finally set to make its Netflix debut on Friday 23rd February. This British/German sci-fi production, filmed in Berlin, has been a passion project of Jones’ for some time and one that has careered from pipedream to planned and temporarily postponed. But when potent concepts flower within the minds of passionate artists they have a tendency to materialise in some form or another; whatever the cost. In Mute’s case, due to the evolution of online streaming triggering an industry metamorphosis, the film will mostly bypass cinemas* and arrive in the homes of Netflix subscribers on Friday 23rd February. What is known of the narrative is not much beyond a log-line with morsels extracted from myriad sources to form a patchwork understanding of what the story might be.
Prior to the...
- 2/22/2018
- by Daniel Goodwin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Author: Stefan Pape
Whether it be Moon, Source Code, or to a slightly lesser extent Warcraft, there’s something about Duncan Jones’ work, where the audience just want to exist in the worlds he has created. Needless to say we were absolutely thrilled when invited onto the set of the director’s latest production Mute, which launches on Netflix on February 23rd.
This sci-fi thriller, set 40 years into the future in Berlin, is a companion piece to Moon, set in the same universe (and with a cameo from Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell) and tells the story of a mute bartender, played by Alexander Skarsgard, striving to uncover the whereabouts of his missing partner, which leads him to the eccentric duo of Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) and Duck Teddington (Justin Theroux).
Set Visit Video Report
Given the futuristic elements, needless to say the set was breathtaking, with so much built,...
Whether it be Moon, Source Code, or to a slightly lesser extent Warcraft, there’s something about Duncan Jones’ work, where the audience just want to exist in the worlds he has created. Needless to say we were absolutely thrilled when invited onto the set of the director’s latest production Mute, which launches on Netflix on February 23rd.
This sci-fi thriller, set 40 years into the future in Berlin, is a companion piece to Moon, set in the same universe (and with a cameo from Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell) and tells the story of a mute bartender, played by Alexander Skarsgard, striving to uncover the whereabouts of his missing partner, which leads him to the eccentric duo of Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) and Duck Teddington (Justin Theroux).
Set Visit Video Report
Given the futuristic elements, needless to say the set was breathtaking, with so much built,...
- 2/20/2018
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
To say that Mute, the fourth feature film from Duncan Jones, has been a long time coming may read as something of a colossal understatement.
Though he’s been busy launching Moon, Source Code and the big-screen adaptation of Warcraft, Jones’ work on the sci-fi oddity dates back to 2003, when he initially approached Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) about playing mute bartender Leo – a role that would later go to Alexander Skarsgård.
Fast forward to 2018, and all of the pieces have ostensibly fallen into place for what is undoubtedly a passion project for Duncan Jones. It’s a visual delight, too, as the newly-unveiled teaser trailer shows Skarsgård’s silent protagonist walk the streets of a near-future Berlin.
Whisking viewers off to the year 2052, Mute chronicles the story of Skarsgård’s Leo, who gets caught up in the city’s seedy underworld when his girlfriend, Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh...
Though he’s been busy launching Moon, Source Code and the big-screen adaptation of Warcraft, Jones’ work on the sci-fi oddity dates back to 2003, when he initially approached Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) about playing mute bartender Leo – a role that would later go to Alexander Skarsgård.
Fast forward to 2018, and all of the pieces have ostensibly fallen into place for what is undoubtedly a passion project for Duncan Jones. It’s a visual delight, too, as the newly-unveiled teaser trailer shows Skarsgård’s silent protagonist walk the streets of a near-future Berlin.
Whisking viewers off to the year 2052, Mute chronicles the story of Skarsgård’s Leo, who gets caught up in the city’s seedy underworld when his girlfriend, Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh...
- 1/30/2018
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Alec Bojalad Jan 12, 2019
Sci-fi is one of the most diverse, versatile genres. Here are the best sci-fi movies on Netflix right now.
Editor's Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page and come back every month to see the best sci-fi movies on Netflix.
Updated for January 2019. You can see a complete list of new Netflix releases here.
Even if the present feels more and more like science fiction every day, actual science fiction is still here to inspire and terrify you.
Science fiction is one of our more dynamic and inspired genres as a species. We need something to aspire to as much as we need something to fear. Science fiction provides both. And the best science fiction can provide even more. Here is our list of the best sci-fi movies on Netflix right now. Come back often to see what the future holds.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2...
Sci-fi is one of the most diverse, versatile genres. Here are the best sci-fi movies on Netflix right now.
Editor's Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page and come back every month to see the best sci-fi movies on Netflix.
Updated for January 2019. You can see a complete list of new Netflix releases here.
Even if the present feels more and more like science fiction every day, actual science fiction is still here to inspire and terrify you.
Science fiction is one of our more dynamic and inspired genres as a species. We need something to aspire to as much as we need something to fear. Science fiction provides both. And the best science fiction can provide even more. Here is our list of the best sci-fi movies on Netflix right now. Come back often to see what the future holds.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2...
- 2/4/2017
- Den of Geek
The cameras have only just begun rolling on the Berlin set of Mute, Duncan Jones’ long-anticipated science fiction film, and already we have word that the movie has landed a distributor in the form of Netflix.
At least, that’s according to Alexander Skarsgård, who swung by Empire to reveal that Mute will enjoy a similarly staggered release as that of Beasts of No Nation, in the sense that Jones’ passion project would make its debut on the streaming service first before being launched into select theaters in and around the same timeframe. Said Skarsgård: “I think they’ll do what they did with Beasts Of No Nation, where they do a theatrical simultaneously to a Netflix release.”
Aligning with previous reports, the actor went on to reveal that he’ll be assuming the role of Leo Beiler, a mute bartender living in a far-future Berlin – 2056, to be exact. Prowling...
At least, that’s according to Alexander Skarsgård, who swung by Empire to reveal that Mute will enjoy a similarly staggered release as that of Beasts of No Nation, in the sense that Jones’ passion project would make its debut on the streaming service first before being launched into select theaters in and around the same timeframe. Said Skarsgård: “I think they’ll do what they did with Beasts Of No Nation, where they do a theatrical simultaneously to a Netflix release.”
Aligning with previous reports, the actor went on to reveal that he’ll be assuming the role of Leo Beiler, a mute bartender living in a far-future Berlin – 2056, to be exact. Prowling...
- 9/30/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Duncan Jones' Moon is a terrific sci-fi movie, and I was pleased to hear that his longtime passion project Mute — which he begins shooting next week — takes place in the same cinematic universe. I haven't paid too much attention to the details in the intervening years (Jones has been wanting to make Mute for a long time, even before Moon came out in 2009), so while this may be old news to some of you, I just learned a couple of new details about the connection between the two films and I wanted to share them with you.
First of all, here's the synopsis for Mute in case you have no idea what I'm even talking about:
Berlin. Forty years from today. A roiling city of immigrants, where East crashes against West in a science-fiction Casablanca. Leo Beiler (Alexander Skarsgard), a mute bartender has one reason and one reason only for living here,...
First of all, here's the synopsis for Mute in case you have no idea what I'm even talking about:
Berlin. Forty years from today. A roiling city of immigrants, where East crashes against West in a science-fiction Casablanca. Leo Beiler (Alexander Skarsgard), a mute bartender has one reason and one reason only for living here,...
- 9/23/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
Moon and Warcraft director Duncan Jones has been trying to get his passion project Mute off the ground for years. Well, it's finally happening! Jones announced on Twitter that he will start shooting the movie next week! I'm a huge fan of Jones' work, and I'm so excited and happy for him that he is actually making this dream project of his. The sci-fi film project is set in the year 2046, it stars Paul Rudd and Alexander Skarsgård, and this is the synopsis:
Berlin. Forty years from today. A roiling city of immigrants, where East crashes against West in a science-fiction Casablanca. Leo Beiler (Skarsgard), a mute bartender has one reason and one reason only for living here, and she’s disappeared. But when Leo’s search takes him deeper into the city’s underbelly, an odd pair of American surgeons (led by Rudd) seem to be the only recurring clue,...
Berlin. Forty years from today. A roiling city of immigrants, where East crashes against West in a science-fiction Casablanca. Leo Beiler (Skarsgard), a mute bartender has one reason and one reason only for living here, and she’s disappeared. But when Leo’s search takes him deeper into the city’s underbelly, an odd pair of American surgeons (led by Rudd) seem to be the only recurring clue,...
- 9/22/2016
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
It’s been a long time coming “Warcraft” is on the way! Which means tons of new information from the set. Back in the beginning of 2014, HitFix Harpy was among those who got to visit the set and see everything Duncan Jones and his team were doing to bring the world of Azeroth (and Draenor) to life. With over a decade’s worth of lore at their disposal — including the games and authorized books and comics — the creators of “Warcraft” had a delicate line to walk. The film needed to be instantly recognizable to fans of the universe but not so dense that it came off like The Silmarillion and scared off the general populace. Luckily not only was director Duncan Jones a fan of the series, but producer Stuart Fenegan as well. Along with fellow producer Jillian Share, Fenegan laid to rest any fears fans might have that “Warcraft...
- 11/6/2015
- by Donna Dickens
- Hitfix
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From Thomas F Wilson in Back To The Future to Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in Face/Off - when actors play multiple roles...
The dramatic use of actors playing multiple characters is a bold and rather theatrical device that has its ups and downs. It goes at least as far back as Captain Hook being played by the same actor who plays the Darling children's father in stage productions of Peter Pan, a technique largely adopted in film adaptations of the story, too (hello to Jason Isaacs).
It's used a lot in cinema too. Done well, it's impressive, but when it's bad, it's Jack & Jill. Whether used in comedy or drama or outright horror, there are countless examples of actors delivering terrific performances in more than one role at once, and that's before we even get past Cloud Atlas. Still, we've had a go at totting up 25 of the best.
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From Thomas F Wilson in Back To The Future to Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in Face/Off - when actors play multiple roles...
The dramatic use of actors playing multiple characters is a bold and rather theatrical device that has its ups and downs. It goes at least as far back as Captain Hook being played by the same actor who plays the Darling children's father in stage productions of Peter Pan, a technique largely adopted in film adaptations of the story, too (hello to Jason Isaacs).
It's used a lot in cinema too. Done well, it's impressive, but when it's bad, it's Jack & Jill. Whether used in comedy or drama or outright horror, there are countless examples of actors delivering terrific performances in more than one role at once, and that's before we even get past Cloud Atlas. Still, we've had a go at totting up 25 of the best.
- 11/5/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
For as long as Duncan Jones has been a creative to keep eyes on, there has been the knowledge that he most wishes to direct Mute, a Blade Runner-inspired sci-fi noir that has at least one brilliant twist up its sleeve: the protagonist, a Berlin bartender searching for his kidnapped girlfriend, is incapable of speaking to anyone. (See, it has that title because… well, see…) Being a less-than-commercial set-up, the project hasn’t gone very far — but, at long last (and no doubt with some capital built from the director’s upcoming Warcraft), it seems those days of waiting are nearing their end.
Coming out of the American Film Market is news that Mute will begin production this coming March with Alexander Skarsgård taking up the lead role. Two other great things have emerged from this: Paul Rudd will co-star, and some of the first proper plot details are now available.
Coming out of the American Film Market is news that Mute will begin production this coming March with Alexander Skarsgård taking up the lead role. Two other great things have emerged from this: Paul Rudd will co-star, and some of the first proper plot details are now available.
- 11/4/2015
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
A genre constantly overlooked at awards ceremonies, sci-fi cinema is full of stunning performances - like these...
Should we care whether the Academy likes science fiction or not? Does it matter that the genre and its best performances are regularly overlooked by most mainstream awards bodies? Probably not. But consider this: cinema is by now a long-established artform. Movies chart all aspects of the human condition: birth, death, happiness, sadness, ennui, fear, elation, empathy.
The best sci-fi movies arguably achieve the same thing. Where else is the sense of mystery and triumphant discovery felt more keenly than in, say, Solaris? What other genre could explore the nature of addiction with the same humour and pathos as A Scanner Darkly? Could the themes of ageing and disease in The Fly be transposed to a realistic drama and still be as thrilling, bizarre and tragic?
It’s still the case that science...
Should we care whether the Academy likes science fiction or not? Does it matter that the genre and its best performances are regularly overlooked by most mainstream awards bodies? Probably not. But consider this: cinema is by now a long-established artform. Movies chart all aspects of the human condition: birth, death, happiness, sadness, ennui, fear, elation, empathy.
The best sci-fi movies arguably achieve the same thing. Where else is the sense of mystery and triumphant discovery felt more keenly than in, say, Solaris? What other genre could explore the nature of addiction with the same humour and pathos as A Scanner Darkly? Could the themes of ageing and disease in The Fly be transposed to a realistic drama and still be as thrilling, bizarre and tragic?
It’s still the case that science...
- 9/9/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
The End of the Tour is just the latest in a series of movies that feel tight, contained, and downright theatrical. Much of this has to do with the film’s incredibly basic premise, one where two characters simply sit and talk. These films don’t feel cinematic. They feel inherently small, and lack any obvious sense of grandeur or ambition. So why make a movie like this? These are films that lack any obvious cinematic qualities, especially in terms of scale, stakes, and grandeur. In spite of this, though, these small cast films are often excellent. They prove to be compelling throughout, even if the characters in question are the only things that drive the action forward at all. To understand what makes The End of the Tour a success, it becomes necessary to look back at other films that are similar in scale and ambition. These are just five of those films,...
- 8/6/2015
- by Joseph Allen
- SoundOnSight
Our “Six Of The Best” actors series has highlighted the work of some of the most revered and celebrated actors of our generation. Some of them are living legends, and others are legends in the making, but they all have one thing in common — their filmographies boast an eclectic mix of strange, heroic, funny and sometimes downright scary characters that are hard to shake. They’ve made an impression on us that deserves to be recognized.
Despite all of the great performers who have impressed us over the years, there is one man who symbolizes the true spirit of memorable character acting. That man is Sam Rockwell: an actor for the ages.
With over two decades in the industry, Sam Rockwell has dipped his toes into virtually every genre of film imaginable. The most impressive aspect of this achievement is how adept he is at comprehending each character, while...
Despite all of the great performers who have impressed us over the years, there is one man who symbolizes the true spirit of memorable character acting. That man is Sam Rockwell: an actor for the ages.
With over two decades in the industry, Sam Rockwell has dipped his toes into virtually every genre of film imaginable. The most impressive aspect of this achievement is how adept he is at comprehending each character, while...
- 5/12/2014
- by Damen Norton
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Jesse Eisenberg takes on his most challenging role since Mark Zuckerberg in Richard Ayoade's The Double, playing a lonely everyman whose life is gradually destroyed by the arrival of a charismatic doppelgänger.
Inspired by Eisenberg's powerhouse dual performance, Digital Spy has taken a look back over 9 more actors who excelled at doubling up.
Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell and Sam Bell (Moon)
Had Duncan Jones not found exactly the right leading man in Sam Rockwell, his remarkable debut feature would likely never have worked. Astronaut Sam Bell is nearing the end of his three-year work contract on the moon, but everything he believed about his mission begins to change when he discovers an unconscious doppelgänger outside his base. It's both a top-notch sci-fi drama and a compelling exploration of loneliness, and Rockwell grounds all of the film's twists in emotional reality.
Jeremy Irons as Beverly Mantle and Elliot Mantle...
Inspired by Eisenberg's powerhouse dual performance, Digital Spy has taken a look back over 9 more actors who excelled at doubling up.
Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell and Sam Bell (Moon)
Had Duncan Jones not found exactly the right leading man in Sam Rockwell, his remarkable debut feature would likely never have worked. Astronaut Sam Bell is nearing the end of his three-year work contract on the moon, but everything he believed about his mission begins to change when he discovers an unconscious doppelgänger outside his base. It's both a top-notch sci-fi drama and a compelling exploration of loneliness, and Rockwell grounds all of the film's twists in emotional reality.
Jeremy Irons as Beverly Mantle and Elliot Mantle...
- 4/6/2014
- Digital Spy
My first real attempt at understanding the brilliance that was Stanley Kubrick came in my freshman year of college, when I wrote a research paper on 2001: A Space Odyssey for an English class. After all that work, I only received a B and found myself more confused than ever. But there it was – the spark that Stanley Kubrick’s work produces. Kubrick’s best films were experiences; it’s impossible to “half-watch” one of his many masterpieces. And that’s what the movies on this list do. They take you on an odyssey of visual wonder, psychological tremors, and expect you to do as much work as the people involved in the making of the films. Yet, in the end, Kubrick’s films didn’t feel like homework. They felt like vacations to a world where deep thought is a welcome respite.
20. The Thin Red Line (1998)
Directed by Terrence Malick
What makes it Kubrickian?...
20. The Thin Red Line (1998)
Directed by Terrence Malick
What makes it Kubrickian?...
- 3/19/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
He plays a zany waterpark manager in The Way, Way Back, but the actor isn't quite the joker his on-screen personas often suggest
• Interview with The Way, Way Back's writer-directors
• First look review: The Way, Way Back
As the best thing in the occasionally appealing, frequently cheesy summer schmaltzfest that is The Way Way Back, Sam Rockwell also delivers the movie's greatest moment. Faced with two kids stuck halfway down a waterslide, Rockwell, in gravelly mock-heroic mode as waterpark manager Owen, stands up to address to the waiting line of gormless boys. "I need a hero," he appeals to the crowd. Then, with impeccable timing, he adds, "I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night."
But Rockwell doesn't even need to borrow the words of Bonnie Tyler to be hilarious. As always, he crackles with comic energy, but with something wild and potentially dangerous flowing underneath.
• Interview with The Way, Way Back's writer-directors
• First look review: The Way, Way Back
As the best thing in the occasionally appealing, frequently cheesy summer schmaltzfest that is The Way Way Back, Sam Rockwell also delivers the movie's greatest moment. Faced with two kids stuck halfway down a waterslide, Rockwell, in gravelly mock-heroic mode as waterpark manager Owen, stands up to address to the waiting line of gormless boys. "I need a hero," he appeals to the crowd. Then, with impeccable timing, he adds, "I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night."
But Rockwell doesn't even need to borrow the words of Bonnie Tyler to be hilarious. As always, he crackles with comic energy, but with something wild and potentially dangerous flowing underneath.
- 8/24/2013
- by Hermione Hoby
- The Guardian - Film News
Duncan Jones's science fiction passion project Mute will be made as a graphic novel through Dark Horse Comics.
The Moon director revealed on Twitter that he is collaborating with artist Glenn Fabry on the project, which will be based on a Blade Runner-esque script Jones has been working on for several years.
Mute follows a silent bartender searching for his missing girlfriend in a futuristic Berlin. Jones has struggled to finance the project due to its dark and visually ambitious nature.
The BAFTA-winning filmmaker also posted an image from the Mute graphic novel on his Twitter feed, adding that he will be signing copies of it today (July 21) at Comic-Con.
And as a very special gift & thank you to all my mates twitter... all 150,000+ of you, lay your eyes on this. :) pic.twitter.com/cCPzdUxCdI
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) July 21, 2013
Speaking to Digital Spy to promote Source Code...
The Moon director revealed on Twitter that he is collaborating with artist Glenn Fabry on the project, which will be based on a Blade Runner-esque script Jones has been working on for several years.
Mute follows a silent bartender searching for his missing girlfriend in a futuristic Berlin. Jones has struggled to finance the project due to its dark and visually ambitious nature.
The BAFTA-winning filmmaker also posted an image from the Mute graphic novel on his Twitter feed, adding that he will be signing copies of it today (July 21) at Comic-Con.
And as a very special gift & thank you to all my mates twitter... all 150,000+ of you, lay your eyes on this. :) pic.twitter.com/cCPzdUxCdI
— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) July 21, 2013
Speaking to Digital Spy to promote Source Code...
- 7/21/2013
- Digital Spy
It's hard to figure out what exactly conspires to make an actor underrated, though in Sam Rockwell's case he might as well be the poster-child for undervalued thespians. Even in "The Way, Way Back," his latest movie, a touching indie about an introverted teen navigating the quiet indignities of adolescence while his mom gets drunk with her jerk of a boyfriend, Rockwell once again takes a backseat.
Instead, his strong supporting performance as Owen, the water park manager who's so relentlessly charming he helps young Duncan come out of his shell, gets overshadowed in Nat Faxon and Jim Rash's directorial debut after their screenwriting Oscar for "The Descendants." Or maybe it's the general shock of watching Steve Carell play a jerk, and do it so well.
Like most coming-of-age films, "The Way, Way Back" is about the underdog making good, and with his reputation for scene-stealing, well-documented dance moves and easy charisma,...
Instead, his strong supporting performance as Owen, the water park manager who's so relentlessly charming he helps young Duncan come out of his shell, gets overshadowed in Nat Faxon and Jim Rash's directorial debut after their screenwriting Oscar for "The Descendants." Or maybe it's the general shock of watching Steve Carell play a jerk, and do it so well.
Like most coming-of-age films, "The Way, Way Back" is about the underdog making good, and with his reputation for scene-stealing, well-documented dance moves and easy charisma,...
- 7/5/2013
- by Rick Mele
- Moviefone
Science Fiction has always played a pivotal role in cinema. It is a means by which we can look into the future and speculate as to what “could be”. Our only limit is our imaginations, and our imaginations provide an infinite number of possibilities. With that being said there have been some incredible films that allow us to look forward and wonder, “what if?”. Whether it is the existence of extra terrestrials or humankind’s self destructive nature – these possibilities are fascinating.
While it is easy to point to the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises because they are so iconic, we decided that would be too easy. Below are our favorite Science Fiction films that do not begin with the word “Star”. Did we miss something? Share your favorite with us on Facebook, Twitter, or in the comments below!
Graham’s Picks
Minority Report (2002)
John Anderton: Mr. Marks,...
While it is easy to point to the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises because they are so iconic, we decided that would be too easy. Below are our favorite Science Fiction films that do not begin with the word “Star”. Did we miss something? Share your favorite with us on Facebook, Twitter, or in the comments below!
Graham’s Picks
Minority Report (2002)
John Anderton: Mr. Marks,...
- 6/17/2013
- by Graham McMorrow
- City of Films
This article is dedicated to Andrew Copp: filmmaker, film writer, artist and close friend who passed away on January 19, 2013. You are loved and missed, brother.
****
Looking at the Best Actor Academy Award nominations for the film year 2012, the one miss that clearly cries out for more attention is Liam Neeson’s powerful performance in Joe Carnahan’s excellent survival film The Grey, easily one of the best roles of Neeson’s career.
In Neeson’s case, his lack of a nomination was a case of neglect similar to the Albert Brooks snub in the Best Supporting Actor category for the film year 2011 for Drive(Nicolas Winding Refn, USA).
Along with negligence, other factors commonly prevent outstanding lead acting performances from getting the kind of critical attention they deserve. Sometimes it’s that the performance is in a film not considered “Oscar material” or even worthy of any substantial critical attention.
****
Looking at the Best Actor Academy Award nominations for the film year 2012, the one miss that clearly cries out for more attention is Liam Neeson’s powerful performance in Joe Carnahan’s excellent survival film The Grey, easily one of the best roles of Neeson’s career.
In Neeson’s case, his lack of a nomination was a case of neglect similar to the Albert Brooks snub in the Best Supporting Actor category for the film year 2011 for Drive(Nicolas Winding Refn, USA).
Along with negligence, other factors commonly prevent outstanding lead acting performances from getting the kind of critical attention they deserve. Sometimes it’s that the performance is in a film not considered “Oscar material” or even worthy of any substantial critical attention.
- 2/27/2013
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
Moon
Directed by Duncan Jones
Written by Duncan Jones & Nathan Parker
Us, 2009
One area of film that was really neglected during the 00’s (whatever you choose to name them) was one of the founding cornerstones of modern cinema, the unlimited avenue of storytelling possibility that is pure science fiction. Even mediocre attempts at overly mind bending space stories were few and far between, perhaps dictated by disastrous franchise flick Star Trek: Nemesis, colossal Eddie Murphy failure Pluto Nash and George Lucas’ uniformly soulless and awful Star Wars prequels. Indeed, it wasn’t until the final year of the decade that James Cameron returned to the far reaches of the cosmos with the unadventurous Avatar. The same year, a good old fashioned philosophical quagmire with flavors of classic Lem arrived to minimal fanfare but substantial critical acclaim. Duncan Jones’ directorial debut, Moon proved superior to the highest grossing movie of all...
Directed by Duncan Jones
Written by Duncan Jones & Nathan Parker
Us, 2009
One area of film that was really neglected during the 00’s (whatever you choose to name them) was one of the founding cornerstones of modern cinema, the unlimited avenue of storytelling possibility that is pure science fiction. Even mediocre attempts at overly mind bending space stories were few and far between, perhaps dictated by disastrous franchise flick Star Trek: Nemesis, colossal Eddie Murphy failure Pluto Nash and George Lucas’ uniformly soulless and awful Star Wars prequels. Indeed, it wasn’t until the final year of the decade that James Cameron returned to the far reaches of the cosmos with the unadventurous Avatar. The same year, a good old fashioned philosophical quagmire with flavors of classic Lem arrived to minimal fanfare but substantial critical acclaim. Duncan Jones’ directorial debut, Moon proved superior to the highest grossing movie of all...
- 12/9/2012
- by Scott Patterson
- SoundOnSight
Moon (2009) is a love letter to the science fiction movies that director Duncan Jones grew up watching. He stated his intention was, “to create something which felt comfortable within that canon of those science fiction films from the sort of late seventies to the early eighties”*. Jones’ eerie story of a moon base worker who discovers uncomfortable truths about himself during a three year solo mission certainly achieved that. One of the central reasons the film succeeds, attests blogger Dallas King is its subtly readable costume design by Jane Petrie.
Petrie’s only previous science fiction credit was in the costume department for Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999). With Moon, however, she avoided the fantastical elements of sci-fi to create a look that felt more science fact rather than fiction, while still evoking the spirit of genre classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Solaris (1972), Outland (1981) and...
Petrie’s only previous science fiction credit was in the costume department for Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999). With Moon, however, she avoided the fantastical elements of sci-fi to create a look that felt more science fact rather than fiction, while still evoking the spirit of genre classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Solaris (1972), Outland (1981) and...
- 5/25/2012
- by Contributor
- Clothes on Film
Whether they’re male or female, old or young, they’ve illuminated some classic movies. Here’s our top 50 list of sci-fi heroes and heroines…
On the face of it, compiling a list of truly great sci-fi protagonists should be easy. Pick a load of familiar names from a hat, write some breathlessly adoring drivel beneath them, and head off to the pub to reward a job well done.
Except it was never going to be as simple as that – and compiling lists seldom is. For every character making an appearance in the list below, there were at least two other possible candidates who didn't quite make the cut. Some sci-fi heroes were removed, then quickly reinstated. The order was jiggled around, then reordered again.
At one point, your humble writer realised there were more than 50 entries, and then had the unenviable task of hunting back through to decide which poor soul to eliminate.
On the face of it, compiling a list of truly great sci-fi protagonists should be easy. Pick a load of familiar names from a hat, write some breathlessly adoring drivel beneath them, and head off to the pub to reward a job well done.
Except it was never going to be as simple as that – and compiling lists seldom is. For every character making an appearance in the list below, there were at least two other possible candidates who didn't quite make the cut. Some sci-fi heroes were removed, then quickly reinstated. The order was jiggled around, then reordered again.
At one point, your humble writer realised there were more than 50 entries, and then had the unenviable task of hunting back through to decide which poor soul to eliminate.
- 4/19/2012
- Den of Geek
We salute 50 of the finest contemporary films with budgets of less than $10million. Did your favourite make the list…?
In this age of multi-million dollar blockbusters and eye-watering fees paid to some actors, you may forget we’re in an age of austerity. However, for the vast majority of the film industry, there is no huge vat of money, nor has there ever been. But this hasn’t stopped some of the finest films of recent years being made on a relative shoe-string, and in some cases, quite literally with a shoe-string.
I reckon filmmaking thrives at the sharp end, and low budgets mean more creative ideas, and as a result, more engaging films. To prove this, here is a list of what I consider to be the finest 50 contemporary films made for under $10 million. There is a breathtaking array of recognisable genre pictures in here, too, with budgets rangin...
In this age of multi-million dollar blockbusters and eye-watering fees paid to some actors, you may forget we’re in an age of austerity. However, for the vast majority of the film industry, there is no huge vat of money, nor has there ever been. But this hasn’t stopped some of the finest films of recent years being made on a relative shoe-string, and in some cases, quite literally with a shoe-string.
I reckon filmmaking thrives at the sharp end, and low budgets mean more creative ideas, and as a result, more engaging films. To prove this, here is a list of what I consider to be the finest 50 contemporary films made for under $10 million. There is a breathtaking array of recognisable genre pictures in here, too, with budgets rangin...
- 2/2/2012
- Den of Geek
Geek Girl Navigating the World – The Perils of Space Claustrophobia
Human beings, in general, can get terrified of the unknown pretty easily. On an evolutionary level, it makes sense. By avoiding risks and refraining from making uninformed decisions, the species will survive to reproduce. On the other hand, if you never go anywhere or do anything, your chances of actually meeting a mate and reproducing are pretty much in the tank from the start. So, as much as that fear is part of us, the need to figure out what’s happening around us is, too.
Nowhere does that odd dichotomy of human nature get demonstrated better than in science fiction films that take place in outer space. Space is vast and incomprehensible, dotted by points of light so distant from us that our atmosphere distorts that light making it look like it twinkles. It’s occasionally studded with planets,...
Human beings, in general, can get terrified of the unknown pretty easily. On an evolutionary level, it makes sense. By avoiding risks and refraining from making uninformed decisions, the species will survive to reproduce. On the other hand, if you never go anywhere or do anything, your chances of actually meeting a mate and reproducing are pretty much in the tank from the start. So, as much as that fear is part of us, the need to figure out what’s happening around us is, too.
Nowhere does that odd dichotomy of human nature get demonstrated better than in science fiction films that take place in outer space. Space is vast and incomprehensible, dotted by points of light so distant from us that our atmosphere distorts that light making it look like it twinkles. It’s occasionally studded with planets,...
- 1/25/2012
- by dragonwomant
- Boomtron
Robert here w/ Distant Relatives, exploring the connections between one classic and one contemporary film. A warning today, there are Spoilers Ahead for anyone who'd like to go into Moon with as little ruined as possible When technology gets advanced enough to make suitable replacements for humans, we're going to use them as our slaves. Right now we view the technologically sub-human as means to our needs, and why shouldn't we? We've yet to create anything sentient. But when we do, and I'm more and more convinced that it's a "when" not an "if" (in all fairness this convincing mostly has to do with people showing off their smart phones to me, but still... progress) whether we'll be filled with empathy toward our creations is not likely a given. The android and the clone aren't exactly the same thing, but they often serve the same purpose in science fiction. They're human stand-ins,...
- 1/5/2012
- by Robert
- FilmExperience
We start the Top 7. You finish the Top 10.
Before there were robots, there were automatons. These self-operating machines could look human-like, though made of metal. For this Top 7 list, I decided to ignore more advanced, human looking cyborgs and androids, so no Terminator or replicants. Most of the machines on this list would also be classified as robots, but I’m going steam-punk for this week’s movie, the release of Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, featuring a mysterious automaton that might find a place on this list someday.
7. Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet (1956)
Recap: Shakespeare’s The Tempest in space, Dr. Morbius and his daughter Altaira live with their robot companion/servant, Robby, on Altair. When a rocket lands, hoping to find out what happened to the rest of their crew 20 years ago, the secrets they find could kill them all.
Reason: Though he looks a bit clunky (sort...
Before there were robots, there were automatons. These self-operating machines could look human-like, though made of metal. For this Top 7 list, I decided to ignore more advanced, human looking cyborgs and androids, so no Terminator or replicants. Most of the machines on this list would also be classified as robots, but I’m going steam-punk for this week’s movie, the release of Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, featuring a mysterious automaton that might find a place on this list someday.
7. Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet (1956)
Recap: Shakespeare’s The Tempest in space, Dr. Morbius and his daughter Altaira live with their robot companion/servant, Robby, on Altair. When a rocket lands, hoping to find out what happened to the rest of their crew 20 years ago, the secrets they find could kill them all.
Reason: Though he looks a bit clunky (sort...
- 11/23/2011
- by Megan Lehar
- The Scorecard Review
We all know the importance of the director, they are the heart and soul of a film (in layman terms… we don’t want to go into the auteur theory here) and few have careers that flourish decade after decade, yet the Spielberg’s and the Scorsese’s are still going strong.
The future of cinema is folly to guess, but below are a list of ten of the best visionaries in the industry from the past eleven years, filmmakers I hope go on to define the 21st century. I’ve decided to look back on the last decade, and moving forward into the current, to see what filmmakers have made the greatest impressions and gone on to take the world by storm, with the future of cinema in the back of my mind.
Here’s a look at what new talent I think has grown and will flourish from...
The future of cinema is folly to guess, but below are a list of ten of the best visionaries in the industry from the past eleven years, filmmakers I hope go on to define the 21st century. I’ve decided to look back on the last decade, and moving forward into the current, to see what filmmakers have made the greatest impressions and gone on to take the world by storm, with the future of cinema in the back of my mind.
Here’s a look at what new talent I think has grown and will flourish from...
- 11/20/2011
- by Adam Lock
- Obsessed with Film
In the run-up to the release of Apollo 18 this Friday, we examine the dangers of visiting the Moon, and what astronauts can learn from the movies...
On September 12th 1962, President John F Kennedy made a speech that set out the objectives of the space program during the remainder of the decade. He asserted that America chose to strive for the goals of travelling through space, and for a manned moon landing, “Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
Any number of astronauts in the movies will attest to just how bloody hard landing on the Moon can actually be. You never know what you're going to find there. Whether your Moon landing involves escaped Kryptonian prisoners, a metaphysical confrontation with yourself or an inexplicable black monolith, movies have never served as attractive tourism films for the Moon.
In fact, a selling point in recent films, such...
On September 12th 1962, President John F Kennedy made a speech that set out the objectives of the space program during the remainder of the decade. He asserted that America chose to strive for the goals of travelling through space, and for a manned moon landing, “Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
Any number of astronauts in the movies will attest to just how bloody hard landing on the Moon can actually be. You never know what you're going to find there. Whether your Moon landing involves escaped Kryptonian prisoners, a metaphysical confrontation with yourself or an inexplicable black monolith, movies have never served as attractive tourism films for the Moon.
In fact, a selling point in recent films, such...
- 8/30/2011
- Den of Geek
A genre constantly overlooked at awards ceremonies, sci-fi cinema is full of stunning performances. Here’s a list of 10 that deserved Oscar attention…
There are certain aspects of cinematic storytelling that Oscar judges absolutely love: feel-good dramas in which characters triumph over adversity, sweeping period epics, or films in which a popular Hollywood actor undergoes some startling, uncharacteristic change (see Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, for example, or Ben Kingsley in Ghandi) are a few examples.
Should a film somehow incorporate all three of these features, it will almost certainly walk away with an entire armful of golden statues. It’s a depressing fact, meanwhile, that genre movies are regularly overlooked by almost all mainstream film awards, and not just the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
If you’re an actor in a science fiction film, for example, it’s quite unlikely that you’ll receive much attention for your performance,...
There are certain aspects of cinematic storytelling that Oscar judges absolutely love: feel-good dramas in which characters triumph over adversity, sweeping period epics, or films in which a popular Hollywood actor undergoes some startling, uncharacteristic change (see Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, for example, or Ben Kingsley in Ghandi) are a few examples.
Should a film somehow incorporate all three of these features, it will almost certainly walk away with an entire armful of golden statues. It’s a depressing fact, meanwhile, that genre movies are regularly overlooked by almost all mainstream film awards, and not just the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
If you’re an actor in a science fiction film, for example, it’s quite unlikely that you’ll receive much attention for your performance,...
- 8/23/2011
- Den of Geek
On the 5th August, Super 8 will finally hit our shores, riding on a wave of critical praise from the other side of the Atlantic. Its combination of eighties youthful nostalgia (Stand by Me, Goonies) and Spielgburg-esque science fiction (Close Encounters, E.T) looks set to titillate young and old alike. However, Super 8 also acts to highlight the growing trend of modern Science Fiction taking its influences from the past. Whilst seemingly going against the grain of the genre’s forward thinking philosophy, it’s a welcome relief from the recent influx of movies which have forgone the subtle underlying warnings which made Science Fiction such a stalwart of seventies and eighties cinema .
Unlike other genres of film this speculative, science based medium of entertainment isn’t bound to any particular era, period or location, allowing film makers a free reign when it comes to storytelling. However, as the...
Unlike other genres of film this speculative, science based medium of entertainment isn’t bound to any particular era, period or location, allowing film makers a free reign when it comes to storytelling. However, as the...
- 7/15/2011
- by Guest
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Anyone with sense enough to read these words will love Hugh Laurie. Upper class twit of the new wave of British comedy in the early 80s, he escaped with Stephen Fry to star in their own comedy series as well as appearing in three series of Blackadder and became, again with Fry, the epitome of Jeeves and Wooster and has found an indecent amount of fame as an American doctor in House MD.
I can’t remember seeing Laurie in anything approaching a leading role on the big screen for a long time, IMDb is taking me back to 2000′s Maybe Baby (when he played a character named Sam Bell – perhaps Moon is the unofficial sequel to this?) or Stuart Little the year before. He’s a talented dramatic actor, particularly when playing against type (at least against what his tpe was before his tenure in House), and today’s...
I can’t remember seeing Laurie in anything approaching a leading role on the big screen for a long time, IMDb is taking me back to 2000′s Maybe Baby (when he played a character named Sam Bell – perhaps Moon is the unofficial sequel to this?) or Stuart Little the year before. He’s a talented dramatic actor, particularly when playing against type (at least against what his tpe was before his tenure in House), and today’s...
- 4/14/2011
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
This editorial contains spoilers for Source Code and Moon. If you haven’t seen the movies yet, go check it out first before diving in. When I watched Duncan Jones’s sophomore effort Source Code, I couldn’t help but think about how much it resembles, nearly beat for beat in its structure, his first film Moon. This is not necessarily a criticism of Source Code or Jones, as repeated thematic occupations and narrative revisitation can be the sign of the auteur, and I’ve enjoyed both his films. But the films are, admittedly, structurally identical in several ways. Both involve a lone protagonist who discovers something unexpected about their identity that changes their relationship to their given tasks (Sam Bell realizing he is a clone in Moon, Captain Colter Stevens’s “near-death” state in Source Code), and combat some form of repression against a bureaucratic organizational body (a private corporation in Moon, military...
- 4/4/2011
- by Landon Palmer
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Duncan Jones film, Source Code, open s this weekend and according to Rotten Tomatoes, it’s the best reviewed studio movie of the year.
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright, the film has some great twists and turns. And while you may think you know what’s going to happen (or will you?), you’ll still be in for a great ride.
I loved Duncan’s last film, Moon, and while this may have some shades to that – loneliness and isolation – the film has so many more colors and that’s due to the screenwriter, Ben Ripley.
I talked to both Duncan and Ben at SXSW in a roundtable interview where they talked about casting, explaining the Source Code and how they put Jeffrey Wright‘s knee injury into the film!
This interview is very spoiler heavy so I didn’t include a lot of what we talked about.
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright, the film has some great twists and turns. And while you may think you know what’s going to happen (or will you?), you’ll still be in for a great ride.
I loved Duncan’s last film, Moon, and while this may have some shades to that – loneliness and isolation – the film has so many more colors and that’s due to the screenwriter, Ben Ripley.
I talked to both Duncan and Ben at SXSW in a roundtable interview where they talked about casting, explaining the Source Code and how they put Jeffrey Wright‘s knee injury into the film!
This interview is very spoiler heavy so I didn’t include a lot of what we talked about.
- 4/1/2011
- by Lance@dailyactor.com (Lance Carter)
- DailyActorMedia
Thank God Duncan Jones didn’t hit the ol’ sophomore slump. Second features always seem to be the trickiest for filmmakers, especially when they’re coming off a hot success, like Jones’ excellent breakout film, Moon. While Source Code may not work on the level that Moon did, that doesn’t mean Jones doesn’t deliver the goods. This is a lean, mean, sci-fi thriller with a few unique ideas in its head. While it may not be as brainy or as hardcore science fiction as many would have hoped, it asks some good questions throughout.
At its core it’s a popcorn film, but one slightly above the average Iq. It’s clever and has distinct concepts, but they all feel secondary to the entertainment factor. With a running time around 90 minutes, the pace runs quick and smoothly. Whenever a certain idea doesn’t seem logical, or make complete sense,...
At its core it’s a popcorn film, but one slightly above the average Iq. It’s clever and has distinct concepts, but they all feel secondary to the entertainment factor. With a running time around 90 minutes, the pace runs quick and smoothly. Whenever a certain idea doesn’t seem logical, or make complete sense,...
- 4/1/2011
- by Jack Giroux
- The Film Stage
Source Code really solidifies a suspicion we all have had about director Duncan Jones: he’s a real people person. Yes, unlike most sci-fi filmmakers, there is very little cynicism or dread to his films. While both Moon and his successful sophomore effort, Source Code, do explore the idea of man abusing science, ultimately, there’s a huge amount of hope in his work. Not only that, but he follows generally fun and – if a tad flawed – good people. That’s right, there’s no mopey, emo action lead in Source Code. Colter Stevens, the hero of the film, is the Han Solo archetype. He’s charming, brash, and sometimes, thinks more with his fists than his head. Stevens is quite similar to Duncan Jones’s previous antagonist, Sam Bell. There’s an everyman quality to both leads. They’re not macho. They’re not invincible. And they’re both flawed individuals. Like...
- 4/1/2011
- by Jack Giroux
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Filed under: Features, Trailers and Clips, Cinematical
With director Duncan Jones preparing to make his debut in the world of big-budget Hollywood production with his upcoming film 'Source Code,' why not take a look back at the little indie that got him here? Just about two years ago, Jones showed off his writing and directorial chops with his very first feature, 'Moon.' The film only pulled in about $9.8 million at the worldwide box office on a supposed $5 million budget, but made enough of an impression on critics, moviegoers and the folks over at Summit Entertainment, to secure Jones another gig.
'Moon' stars Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, an employee of Lunar Industries wrapping up a three-year contract harvesting helium-3 on the moon. The gig is a one-man operation, so Sam is by his lonesome except for the base's computer host, Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey...
With director Duncan Jones preparing to make his debut in the world of big-budget Hollywood production with his upcoming film 'Source Code,' why not take a look back at the little indie that got him here? Just about two years ago, Jones showed off his writing and directorial chops with his very first feature, 'Moon.' The film only pulled in about $9.8 million at the worldwide box office on a supposed $5 million budget, but made enough of an impression on critics, moviegoers and the folks over at Summit Entertainment, to secure Jones another gig.
'Moon' stars Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, an employee of Lunar Industries wrapping up a three-year contract harvesting helium-3 on the moon. The gig is a one-man operation, so Sam is by his lonesome except for the base's computer host, Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey...
- 3/29/2011
- by Perri Nemiroff
- Moviefone
Filed under: Features, Trailers and Clips, Cinematical
With director Duncan Jones preparing to make his debut in the world of big-budget Hollywood production with his upcoming film 'Source Code,' why not take a look back at the little indie that got him here? Just about two years ago, Jones showed off his writing and directorial chops with his very first feature, 'Moon.' The film only pulled in about $9.8 million at the worldwide box office on a supposed $5 million budget, but made enough of an impression on critics, moviegoers and the folks over at Summit Entertainment, to secure Jones another gig.
'Moon' stars Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, an employee of Lunar Industries wrapping up a three-year contract harvesting helium-3 on the moon. The gig is a one-man operation, so Sam is by his lonesome except for the base's computer host, Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey...
With director Duncan Jones preparing to make his debut in the world of big-budget Hollywood production with his upcoming film 'Source Code,' why not take a look back at the little indie that got him here? Just about two years ago, Jones showed off his writing and directorial chops with his very first feature, 'Moon.' The film only pulled in about $9.8 million at the worldwide box office on a supposed $5 million budget, but made enough of an impression on critics, moviegoers and the folks over at Summit Entertainment, to secure Jones another gig.
'Moon' stars Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, an employee of Lunar Industries wrapping up a three-year contract harvesting helium-3 on the moon. The gig is a one-man operation, so Sam is by his lonesome except for the base's computer host, Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey...
- 3/29/2011
- by Perri Nemiroff
- Cinematical
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