I cannot get enough Ghost in the Shell. My favorite are the two series rather than the movies, but I like anything set in that world. The characters that make up Section 9 are great, with real chemistry.

"We never get to look at our own brains." - Great stuff.

So I am curious, no one's mentioned it, but has anyone gone to see Terminator Genisys? I mean, yes it was a terrible movie, but I am just more surprised that it seems people are generally staying away from it period. I mean, it is a Terminator movie after all. As bad as it is, I always have [albeit slight] hopes for such films of franchises that I am a fan of. Junk sure, but at least an entertaining effort would be welcome. Though, granted, in this era of remaked, prequels, re-imaginings, etc., that is also not very common.

I don't want go over too many of the flaws with it, as people should judge for themselves, and I don't want to discuss the plot points for those who haven't yet seen it but want to, but I think this Bricken article sums up most of the feelings I had pretty well:

Terminator Genisys: The Spoilyr FAQ


So, in summary, critics have been harsh, and rightfully so. But warts and all, it remains a Terminator movie. And there have been worse I think, but that is setting a pretty low bar. How you feel about it though, and where it fits in the timeline is another story altogether.

That article was so good. I'm trying not to laugh out loud at work right now. (Screw it. It's the end of the day.)

I'll wait until the DVD release.

Side Note: I did buy those Mega Bloks Terminator figures though. Tiny T-800s? Yes!!

Bored...

Name that film for imaginary points!

Overlooking the really stupid plot full of giant holes what really made the movie bad was the acting. When a robot Arnold is doing the best acting out of all the main characters you know there is something horribly wrong. Which is odd because I don't think they are bad actors in general but they did a horrible job pretty much across the board in this movie. No timing or chemistry at all.

Hahah, yes, exactly. It was unbelievable (and would have been unthinkable to me) that I would come out of that movie with the biggest respect for Arnold as leading the acting [in it, or any film]. As terrible as all the plot holes and writing were, the biggest flaw with the entire production was the casting. NONE of the leads, with the exception of Arnold, were cast well, and the performances pretty terrible. Of what we saw Jason Clarke might have been the least terrible choice, but he could easily have been replaced by anyone - actually anyone. GAH! Just thinking about it now is heating up the blood. Such a wasted potential. I am ready to forgive a lot of terrible things hollywood does on the big screen and assent to a certain level of suspension of disbelief, but a poorly made film is one thing that really irks me when there is seemingly no reason for it.

I'll see your bored and raise you insomnia

^^^ A'yup! It's gots Mr. Stockwell in it, too...


...and lots of pew pew pew!

I agree completely. The main good guy was a horrible choice. All I remember him from is playing bad guys with no depth or humor at all and being Die Hard's son who was an ass as well. Making him the hero was stupid. The Connor guy is a good actor but as the man who led the world to victory against giant robots? No thank you. Even the over abundance of facial scars didn't make him seem any tougher. I am starting to think the Clark woman is like a Kevin Costner or Keanu Reeves and can play ONE character well but that's it. She was a cardboard cutout. All the stuck up pomp of a queen but while playing a sad lonely soldier girl who only had a robot for friend. Nope didn't work. She couldn't mix any of those things together at all.

I am surprised no one has talked about Mad Max: Fury Road yet. Close enough to sci-fi to talk about here. I thought it was outstanding. Tom Hardy's accent was quite bad but everything else was aces. As long as you accept that it is one long car chase going into the movie, it is a helluva good time. I can't wait to watch it again. Best movie of the year.

It was a perfect throwback 80's action movie. Everything was so over the top. The bad guys were wonderful bigger then life stereotypes. The vehicles were like some little kid took all his hot wheels apart and glued them back together with guns and monsters truck parts. The poor abused villagers looked like they were holding on to life by their very last thread. The "wives" all looked like fashion models. The plot was just a tool for more explosions and kills. Fun fun fun!

The people I know who didn't like it just took it waaaay too seriously. Like the previous Mad Max movies should have all won oscars or something.

Mad Max Fury Road was my favorite movie of the summer. I was taken in immediately. Going into it..I had no idea what to expect and loved it. Simply plot, not a lot of dialogue and pretty straight forward. It was a really fun spectacle.

Glad to see other folks enjoyed it. As an advocate of old monster flicks I have come to dislike most modern CGI-dependant tentpoles. This movie has a palpable authenticity lacking in the majority of films today. Such is the genius of George Miller. No plot? No problem!

No one's talking about Mad Max because approval is universal. (And I think it had its own thread. )

I watched two lower tier sci-fi movies over the last few days:

In Time:
I wasn't expecting a whole lot since the premise was, well, silly, and it rolled out pretty much as I expected: silly, nonsensical plot but I liked the world design and small details. I wouldn't go as far as recommend it, but if you, like me, are a sucker for Olivia Wilde, well then you have to watch it, doncha?

Lockout:
I think I'd read something on the AV Club that was praising the movie for its action, mentioning it in the same sentence as Mad Max and John Wick. It's never as great as these two and, again, the premise doesn't make any sense at all, but it was fun for different reasons: typical above-it-all tough guy banter made me chuckle, fun action, spaceships going pew pew.

Agree to all points above.

Aah, Lockout. What a fun movie. Guy Pearce and Joseph Gilgun (Rudy from Misfits) make this special.

Yeah, those two were both fun movies.

But I always have to look up any movie with the word "Time" in it. There were so many. And this reminded me others I saw (just because of the title).

Time After Time ( http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/time_af ... ter%20time )

Somewhere in Time is more a romance, but it has some Sc-Fi elements ( http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/somewhe ... where%20in ). I have to admit I loved this movie.

Somewhere in Time! Wow, trip down childhood Sunday afternoon movies...

I know what you're saying with movies with "Time" in their title... It goes both ways, actually: I was convinced that Keira Knightley movie had the word in it as well, but it doesn't: Romanek's Never Let Me Go was pretty awesome as a drama with sci-fi elements. The kind of movie you kind of glide on and that stays with you afterwards. A well-done metaphor for contemporary issues that isn't too blunt and in-your-face.

Speaking of Keira, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World was also a lot of fun as far as, again, romantic comedies set in a sort-of-sci-fi period go. Watched it with my wife who isn't a big sci-fi fan and it was a perfect compromise.

And speaking of end of the world, I loved von Trier's Melancholia, where the sci-fi elements are again very subdued and focus is put on the drama. That finale! Strongly recommended if you don't like your movies too pop-corny.

(Sorry if my reviews are short on plot synopsis: I myself would much rather go into movies as blindly as possible, so I try to keep it the same for others. There's always IMDb if you want more info!)

EDIT: First teaser for Westworld just came out. Well done trailer... Can't say much beyond that. Are they going after a Firefly/Matrix vibe?

Hilarious time travel short...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAUjt7KWp9A

Gateway is coming to tv!

http://io9.com/syfy-keep-making-scifi-t ... socialflow

Sort of a show, but I love Charlie Brooker. Everyone should check out Black Mirror. They have season 1 and 2 on Netflix now. 40-45 minute self contained episodes on the horrors of technology and how it works against us.

Black Mirror rocks but like Mr.Robot in can be painful in it's darkness.

I'm not sure if you meant literal darkness or not, but you'll forgive a pet peeve of mine: what the frig is up with darkness in sci-fi movies? You'd think light bulbs or the electricity to power them would be expensive on, I don't know, A SHIP WITH A FUSION REACTOR?! That and smoke. It keeps vacuum out and flies ftl but there's smoke leaks all over the place? It's become such a trope it's sad.

/rant

Mood darkness. The darkness of humanity. The dark side of possibility.

Black Mirror has no "look what awesomeness lies before us" sci-fi. None the less it is quite enjoyable.

Politicians doing it with pigs is kind of awesome though.

Double-post, but I watched this a few nights ago, and it was pretty great! I think the tagline "Mad Max on BMX" is sort of accurate. Definitely low-budget, B-style, and gory, it was nonetheless tons of fun and had an amazing soundtrack to boot. It has just started its theatre run. Go and watch it!