The 2nd Science Fiction Hall of Fame

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I think this may be a film down the road that even I will forget that I saw, so I will need to see it again. I seem to have that issue sometimes with films.
I used to have that problem a lot. I'm still discovering films (and sometimes tv series) that I've previously seen, but somehow completely forgot about. It's strange how the mind works sometimes.



I watched Aliens today, but have no idea what to write about it. I find it harder to write about films that everyone knows so well, because I feel like I don't really need to point anything out.

Alien Covenant I liked it, it was a solid return to form and it fixed a number of issues that the previous three Alien films had.
I thought I was in the minority for actually liking Covenant. I do think the film loses it towards the end (when it's supposed to be climactic), but I enjoyed the lead-up to that point, and loved the ending. Fassbender was the only part of Prometheus I thought was great, so having more of him was definitely a bonus for Covenant.



Attention all crew members of the
Second Science Fiction Hall of Fame!

@ahwell @Citizen Rules @edarsenal @John-Connor @Nathaniel @Okay @pahaK @rauldc14 @ScarletLion @Siddon @TheUsualSuspect @Yam12

This is your Captain speaking. We have just passed the one month mark of our journey, so it's time to check your mission progress. Ideally, everyone will have 4 films completed by now. The farther behind that goal you are, the harder you'll have to work to complete this HoF before the deadline.

ahwell - 6/13
Citizen Rules - 10/13
CosmicRunaway - 7/13
edarsenal - 5/13
John-Connor - 6/13
Nathaniel - 0/13 !
Okay - 2/13
pahak - 5/13
rauldc14 - 4/13
ScarletLion - 4/13
Siddon - 3/13
TheUsualSuspect - 2/13
Yam12 - 0/13 !

Green readouts mean you have met or exceeded the recommended pace. If your readout contains a red exclamation mark, please contact me immediately by private message, post comment, or by posting in the thread to let me know you haven't been admitted to the sick bay, or fallen out of the airlock.

There are currently 9 weeks remaining until the deadline. That's all for now. I hope you all enjoy the remainder of our journey.





Aliens (1986)
Directed By: James Cameron
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen

Aliens features a lot of great practical effects work. The xenomorph costumes are still impressive to this day, and the puppetry used to bring the face huggers and queen to life are masterfully done. The miniatures, even though they are quite obvious, are well crafted and a joy to watch in motion as well. The alien-created interior structures are as beautiful as they are creepy, and must have taken a long time to design and build. I always pay attention to those elements because they never fail to be interesting no matter how many times I've seen them.

Unlike the first film, which was written neutrally so that every part could be played by an actor of any sex, Ripley's gender is taken into consideration for Aliens. I'm not sure that I'm completely happy with that change in writing intention, but it does add some depth to the character, albeit a little stereotypically. I've never liked the inclusion of the kid, since she exists only to force an emotional connection, draw out Ripley's motherly instincts, and to be rescued. It doesn't affect my overall enjoyment of the film, but I'd prefer if it didn't feel the need to rely on those clichés.

When I was a kid myself, I actually saw Aliens before Alien and didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. While some viewers may take issue with the occasionally cheesy dialogue, the writing is obviously strong enough that the film can stand on its own without relying on the audience's familiarity with the original. It's tone is different enough from Alien to prevent it from feeling like a copy, but it still retains enough elements from the first film that it doesn't alienate its existing fan base. It's an excellent example of a sequel done right, and it's always a pleasure to watch it, even if I personally prefer Alien.


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I'm waiting to get Robinson Crusoe on Mars from Netflix DVD, it should be next week. And my library has been supposedly shipping Attack the Block to me for 16 days! Which is totally nuts as it only takes a few days for a shipped dvd to reach my library. I guess I'll have to find it online somewhere. I've seen Videodrome several times, I was going to take a refresher look at it, but think I'll wait to see if Yam makes it out of the cryogenic chamber first



Women will be your undoing, Pépé


Aliens (1986)
Directed By: James Cameron
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen

Unlike the first film, which was written neutrally so that every part could be played by an actor of any sex, Ripley's gender is taken into consideration for Aliens. I'm not sure that I'm completely happy with that change in writing intention, but it does add some depth to the character, albeit a little stereotypically. I've never liked the inclusion of the kid, since she exists only to force an emotional connection, draw out Ripley's motherly instincts, and to be rescued. It doesn't affect my overall enjoyment of the film, but I'd prefer if it didn't feel the need to rely on those clichés.


I'm normally the same and it is a bit of a plot device. Most times when they have a kid, that, normally, is in need of rescuing, I roll my eyes or, depending on how much I dislike the kid, secretly wish the cavalry doesn't make it in time.
So, to say it works for me is saying quite a lot. Which it does. And i had some serious doubts the first time I watched this and Newt ended up being in the top list of favorite characters in the film. A true rarity for me.


Also, didn't know about the first film and the neutrality style of writing the characters. . . very cool.
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Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Videodrome

Brian O'Blivion: [to Max Renn] Your reality is already HALF video hallucination. If you're not careful, it will become TOTAL hallucination. You'll have to learn to live in a very strange new world.

Ain't that the f@ckin truth.

It's been decades since I've watched Videodrome. And when I did, it was always late night, while I was very, very high. Which was more than just a little ideal for this hallucinogenic festival with a dark prophecy of what lurked around the corner of TV and video watching at the time it came out.

A macabre, sexually charged romp through our violence-influenced nightmares where TVs pulsate sexually; desiring to be whipped, video tapes moan and can be inserted into more than merely video players and all of this delving into a Lovecraft-esque nightmare world.

Croneberg's disturbed vision is executed exceedingly well and is well deserving of it's cult position. With both James Wood and Blondie's Debbie Harry portraying our hosts into the nefarious world of Videodrome.

Quite the solid nomination for this HoF.



Most times when they have a kid, that, normally, is in need of rescuing, I roll my eyes or, depending on how much I dislike the kid, secretly wish the cavalry doesn't make it in time.
Women often got the same treatment, which is probably why there are so few female characters I like.

And i had some serious doubts the first time I watched this and Newt ended up being in the top list of favorite characters in the film. A true rarity for me.
As far as young characters go, Newt isn't bad. At least she's not detrimental to the film, which isn't always the case. It probably doesn't help that children typically get played by inexperienced actors, obviously out of necessity. I think I just don't like watching kids on film in general, since even when I was younger, I preferred to watch movies about adults.

WARNING: "Alien 3" spoilers below
Since Newt was one of your favourite characters in Aliens, how do you feel about her death in Alien 3?



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Liquid Sky



I actually can dig how out there this film is. That being said, I don't think it equates to being a good film but I found it to be an interesting one. It has a pretty weird atmosphere to it, kind of giving off a Suspiria vibe which seems to be a weird comparison but that's what I thought of it.

The director seems pretty sex obsessed though, which can often make the dialogue quite laughable as that is all that is talked about at times. The acting was fairly meh for me although I did enjoy Paula Sheppard's performance the most. I would say that the music was pretty good.

It just wasn't as entertaining a movie as it should have been, which affects the overall rating that I give it. It actually had potential, but severely failed to deliver. Kind of has a Lynchian feel to it, so that is always a hit or miss.




Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Women often got the same treatment, which is probably why there are so few female characters I like.
Which is quite the shame. The most memorable having to go the route of femme fatales. You really have to look to find one that is more than simply someone's mom/wife/daughter/girlfriend. Not that they aren't out there, but there really should be a lot more and not such a splattering.

As far as young characters go, Newt isn't bad. At least she's not detrimental to the film, which isn't always the case. It probably doesn't help that children typically get played by inexperienced actors, obviously out of necessity. I think I just don't like watching kids on film in general, since even when I was younger, I preferred to watch movies about adults.

WARNING: "Alien 3" spoilers below
Since Newt was one of your favourite characters in Aliens, how do you feel about her death in Alien 3?
As a kid I was iffy on kid actors except for when they caused trouble like the very old Little Rascals shorts or like the musical Oliver! or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But when they were getting the better of inept criminals and allowed to mouth off to so-called dangerous characters, even then I kind of rolled my eyes and cheered when someone got an actual kick in the pants.

WARNING: "As for Alien 3" spoilers below
I was a little disappointed not getting to see her or Hicks again, but I don't think I actually held it against the film itself. Figuring it was simply a writer technique to bring a little heartbreak/hard times to Ripley's character. Making her truly alone in this next chapter, as it were.
Thinking back I may have actually cracked a joke about apparently some folks had a little trouble with their contracts and thereby not making it into the next film.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
@Okay @TheUsualSuspect and @Yam12


might want to go ahead and avoid Seconds because I had to just DQ Nathanial, which sucks because that might have ended up winning
Is that confirmed?
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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



He was DQ'd from the Classic Comedy HoF, but I'm going to give him until the end of the week to respond here.

In the meantime, both Seconds and Videodrome should probably be pushed to the back of everyone's watch lists. Unlike Nathaniel, Yam has at least been to the forum in the past few days, so there's still some hope there.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
He was DQ'd from the Classic Comedy HoF, but I'm going to give him until the end of the week to respond here.

In the meantime, both Seconds and Videodrome should probably be pushed to the back of everyone's watch lists. Unlike Nathaniel, Yam has at least been to the forum in the past few days, so there's still some hope there.
Arranging my viewing order now. None of these are on Canadian Netflix, but I own a couple.



I’d give them both some time. For Pixar both finished (eventually), although it took a little nagging.