DenebStation SF Book Reviews

       I was excited to go back into the 1900's mainly for one great early director of science fiction films, Georges  Méliès ! If you take a film class, his film, "A Trip to the Moon" is usually the first one you will see.      Georges  Méliès  is very important in not just science fiction film history but in film history in general because he one of the first to experiment with special effects like substitution splices, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and multiple exposures, things we take for granted today.       Though the technology was primitive, he still made beautiful films that hold up well to this day. Watching his movies is like watching a dream. A Trip to the Moon is based very loosely on a book by Jules Verne. The movie is more fantastical than Verne's original story with the astronomers in the movie fighting a moon army and saving the moon people from an oppressive moon king.      ...

            I was 10 years old when Robocop came out. My brother was 8 and was invited to watch it with our aunt and our cousin, who was also 8. Since he already saw it anyway, I was allowed to watch Robocop when it came out on cable. Even at 10, I covered my eyes in horror when the new police robot ED-209 shot an innocent man into pieces in the boardroom scene at the beginning of the movie. I wanted to cry when Murphy got shot into bits, but learned about bullet proof vests. You see, the gang killed Murphy by shooting him around the bullet proof vest. I thought I was a smart kid because I noticed that. Then, finally, there was the toxic waste guy scene. Those are all of the scenes I remembered from those decades ago.         Though I was allowed to watch Robocop, my parents were normally strict about not letting us watch violent movies. I never watched The Terminator, Aliens, or Predator as a kid. We had to watch Rambo and Com...

            Total Recall is based off of the 1966 short story “We Can Remember it For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Dick also wrote the stories that inspired the movies Blade Runner and Minority Report. The rights to “We Can Remember it for You Wholesale” were bought by Ronald Shusett in 1974 and he and Dan O’Bannon worked together on a script. It never went anywhere and Dan O’Bannon and Shusett became famous instead for another science fiction story that became the 1979 movie, Alien. Total Recall’s script got shopped around the 80’s and at one point David Cronenberg was set to direct. Being about body horror, he was the one who added the story about the mutants on Mars. By 1987, the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group took over and began development in Australia. They turned down Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role because he didn’t fit the description of the main character. De Laurentiis went bankrupt and Schwarzenenegger jumped at the opportunity. ...

      Back to the Future III was the end of a popular trilogy but was probably one of the better made movies. However, I remember when I watched it in the theater, being disappointed. I didn’t think it was very funny and thought the characters had become too cartoonish. I believe it has aged well, completing Marty and Doc’s character arcs and ending on a positive note, that the future is in your control.  It's basically the first movie, but with late 19th century technology. 4 out of 5 It's a classic but isn't one of the best classics.      Flatliners was a typical bratpack movie, with  gratuitous sex scenes. It was well shot and I loved the gothic feel of the movie like I was watching a classic horror movie. I overall was disappointed with the scenes of the afterlife. The afterlife is nothing but the guilt we hold on to. Maybe that is the point, that death is meaningless and that we need to make our lives worth living and let go of our guil...

        This is a new blog and podcast about the history of science fiction film and at first I will be focused on the 1980's. This was an important decade in science fiction history due to the further development of the summer blockbuster, and advancements in practical effect and the beginnings of CGI. I will talk about the top 5 science fiction movies of each year, the ideas they were concerned with, and their importance to Science Fiction Film History. This is an index of movies.  1980 2001: A Space Odyssey Saturn 3 Stalker Death Watch Humanoids from the Deep The Empire Strikes Back Galaxina The Final Countdown Without Warning The Apple The Visitor Altered States 1981 Scanners Earthbound The Incredible Shrinking Woman Outland Escape From New York Heavy Metal Galaxy of Terror Looker 1982 Parasite Silent Rage Forbidden World Britannia Hospital Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan E.T. Blade Runner The Thing Tron Endangered Species Android 1983 Xtro Videodrome Liquid...