They Live is a strange experience. On the one hand it wears its anti-commercialism message on its sleeve, and on the other it’s an unashamed cheesy action/sci-fi movie with funny quips and insults everywhere. One thing’s for sure though: it’s a good laugh, and Roddy Piper is surprisingly good in the lead role too (not that it’s the most complex part in cinema history…) So let’s have a look at the 1980s entry into the 10 Decades, 10 Sci-Fi films marathon…
It’s been a while since I’ve put up some classic Sci-Fi TV reviews up, but there has been a lot of new TV in recent months to get on with… That being said, let’s start a run through of UFO, the first live action Gerry Anderson TV show. I’ve been wanting to watch it (and its spiritual successor Space:1999) for a while now, the Blu-rays of all three series just waiting for me on my shelf, but I didn’t want to rush it (or watch four episodes in August and then another four in December, which would have made this review rather tricky.) I’ve enjoyed it so far, though the series isn’t without faults, both due to age and otherwise. Let’s have a look!
We reach the 1970s in the Sci-Fi films “10 Decades” marathon, and with it we reach another film where I’ve seen / heard it mentioned or parodied so much I wanted to finally watch it. Soylent Green is a dystopian story set in 2022 New York, where over-population has caused a greater divide between the rich and poor, and global warming has made the weather constantly muggy and unpleasant… Probably closer to how a lot of the world will be like in four years’ time than we’d all like, really… Anyway, enough current day political bollocks, let’s have a look at the film in question!
You know all those episodes of shows where people get shrank down and go around the inside of a human body? Well, this is what they’re all, in some way, based off of. That’s why I chose it for the 60s entry in the “Sci-Fi films I haven’t seen” decades marathon. It’s another one of those “seen it parodied so much I wanted to see the original” kind of things. So, beyond its importance to science fiction in general, is it still fun to watch, now in 2018? Well…
It’s the 1950s and we already have our first colour film in this “10 Decades” marathon. Forbidden Planet has been on my mental “to watch” list for many, many years, the design of Robby the Robot being just one of many things from this film that has been referenced or parodied in countless shows, movies and games I’ve experienced over the years. Turns out, after all this unintentional waiting, that the film is just a really good sci-fi story even now. Amazing effects for the time, a talented cast, and an interesting central plot, it’s only a slow middle that really hurts this otherwise gem of a film. Let’s take a closer look!
We reach the 1930s in my “10 Decades” etc. marathon (just look at the thumbnail for the full title!) and while I could have gone with one of the Universal horror films that straddle the line into sci-fi (apart from Frankenstein, as I’ve seen it already) I’ve gone with Island of Lost Souls for the simple reason that I’ve seen it parodied so many times I feel it’s only right to watch the original (a common theme in this marathon, it has to be said!) So let’s take a look at this extremely early H.G. Wells adaptation, that he himself… strongly disliked. Ah well…
Okay… here we go. Now, I’m going to put my hand up right away and say I’m not the biggest fan of silent films, or indeed much that was released in early cinema in general, but at least this film I felt I needed to see (where as the next two in the marathon are pretty much just so I can have 10 decades and 10 films…). I also have to say that while I found it visually impressive and amazing to think of that fact that it was created before even World War II, in general I also found it to be far too long. Now, it’s such an influential film that, as big of a fan of the Sci-Fi genre that I am, I’m glad I’ve watched it but some things said in this review might make certain film student types go crazy… All that being said, let’s have a look!
I took my time getting around to this Netflix series as it didn’t immediatly appeal, admittedly my knowledge of Lost in Space is limited to the Matt LeBlanc film from the 90s, so… Not really a surprise I didn’t jump straight in! Anyway, I ended up really enjoying the series! It took its time to get going, that’s for sure, but it really picked up in the latter stages and prooved itself worthy of a second season. So let’s take a closer look then!
Blake’s 7 Audio Drama Series 4 comes to a close with “Crossfire – Part 3”, another set of four stories, now in the middle of the galactic civil war between Servalan and the Former President. The Liberator crew can find only way solution to ending the war, and nobody is thrilled with it… but was I thrilled in hearing it?! Pretty much! Let’s take a closer look…
Altered Carbon is a great blend of many sci-fi tropes and ideas, beautifully brought to life with a high budget and a great cast. End of review… No, seriously, I loved it, and I knew nothing about it before it was suddenly advertised by Netflix. I mean, it was kind of funny that this month I’ve reviewed the two Blade Runner films and a bunch of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, and this series has strong beats from both (although I will point out that the book “Altered Carbon” came out before the new BSG, so I’m not saying the similarities to resurrection technology was this show copying that!) So with that all said, let’s take a closer look!
Hogan Reviews 