Board 8 > Gauntlet Crew Ranks Science Fiction Films I

(+) Yeah! (+)

I can't say I predicted that. I briefly thought perhaps They Live had made a #1 spot, but not for Snake.
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I feel like that's the most I've ever disagreed with Snake on a film
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Johnbobb posted...

I feel like that's the most I've ever disagreed with Snake on a film

Mr Lasastryke posted...

i'm not saying everyone has to love they live. i get that not everyone is into artsy movies. but some of those writeups just make it seem like the movie is over the writers' heads. (god, i wish their was a less pretentious way to say this but i don't think there is, so whatever.) if all you got out of the movie is "he puts on some weird glasses" or "things look weird" or "the long fight" you just didn't get it. which in itself is totally fine! i didn't get it when i first saw it either. truffaut's law states that a critic should watch a movie three times, or the review should come with an apology. this law applies more than any other movie to they live. i certainly don't expect everyone to do a deep dive into the movie. my issue is that almost none of the film's detractors acknowledge that they didn't get it (^5 johnbobb - he actually did say he didn't get it). this just makes the writeups come across as incredibly arrogant and dismissive to me. the fact that people are essentially going "lol this is all stupid nonsensical bullshit by carpenter" really rubs me the wrong way.

it's like if someone would look at a picasso and say "LOL WTF IS THIS SHIT HE COULDN'T EVEN DRAW PROPERLY." (the sad reality is that some people DO say shit like that about picasso's work >_>; )

...also, i like men in black! it just has no business being above they live on any ranking of science fiction movies that is to be taken seriously. one is an absolute masterpiece and one of the most monumental achievements in movie history, the other is a fun popcorn flick.

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omg, I hope you quote that for every movie ranked until MiB. Which also makes me hope MiB doesn't place too soon.
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Just one ranking today.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

Just one ranking today.

Surprise Matrix exit incoming!
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*boops topic*
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#23 - Attack the Block (2011)
Scarlet - 6
Johnbobb - 7
Inviso - 11
Genny - 19
Snake - 20
Wickle - 20
JONA - 21
charon - 28
KBM - 28
Stifled - 28
Karo - 40
Total: 228

"What It Is: The greatest explanation on why to watch Naruto.

Why It Matters: This movie directly lead to John Boyega taking a lead role in the sequel Star Wars trilogy, and it helped launch Joe Cornish out of being a buddy of Edgar Wright and into a larger spotlight (Ant-Man and soon the adaptation of the seminal classic Snow Crash). And Jodie Whitaker also made her big break here before eventually becoming the Doctor. It also helped reinvent sci fi comedically for the first time in a decade.

What I Think: I absolutely adore this movie. There are so many aspects of this film that resonate with me and constantly make me laugh. The dialogue is so accurate to the time and place of the setting, and there's an earnestness beneath the protagonists (most notably Moses) that allows him to develop as a human being over the course of the worst night of his life. There's also a lot of charm in a couple of the minor characters - most notably Luke Treadaway's stoned-out minor character and Nick Frost. The sparse nature of the dialogue leaves things unsaid and allows me as a viewer to come to the conclusion of the film's quiet cultural and social commentary while still providing a Hollywood-style happy ending that doesn't cheapen my perception of things. All-in-all, it's a high concept piece with a down-to-Earth execution, and therefore it sits unlike everything else on this list as wholly unique." ~scarlet

"This is an alien invasion that's basically the polar opposite of Independence Day. It's small-scale and personal instead of international. It argues the ineffectiveness of the government (both in times of emergency and in daily life) as opposed to blind patriotism. The film is tight and compact and fluidly paced without drawing anything out longer than need be. Also it's British. Attack the Block simultaenously manages to be effective as horror, comedy and sci-fi, tossing in some social commentary and complex character dynamics for good measure." ~Johnbobb

"For a short little sci-fi horror movie, I think Attack the Block does a great job of blending horror, action, and a little bit of humor into a concise package of a film. I like the fact that the heroes of the film are kinda scumbags in their own right. Its always more satisfying to watch those kinds of personalities in a horror movie than good people getting fucked over. But yeah, a gang of teenaged hoodlums starts the movie by mugging The Doctor, only for the gang and victim alike to witness an alien crash landing on Earth. Naturally, because teenagers are assholes, the gang kills said alien and parades it around like a trophy. This is a mistake.

Turns out that the alien was a female, and it was supposed to spread its pheromones around to attract males. Males that come to Earth in droves and chase the SHIT out of anything that moves. And so, the movie becomes all about these thugs being chased through their own apartment complex and trying to improvise ways of killing the aliens that are after that. They run across The Doctor again, who turns out to be a nurse and has to bandage one of them up, but this leads to a ragtag band of criminals-turned-heroes working together and prevent an alien invasion of earth with a little ingenuity and some handy-dandy fireworks. The addition of the drug dealer, the comedic duo of a tweaked-out stoner and Nick Frost, and two of the better children Ive seen in film only serve to elevate this movie to new heights. Its really good." ~Inviso
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"I know it's awful, truly terrible, but as I was watching Attack the Block I couldn't help but think of Big Shaq the whole time. I'm the worst kind of person, I know. Anyway I called a few of the plot points from this film but it didn't hinder my enjoyment of it- if anything not focusing on the why's of things allowed me to focus moreso on the character dynamics and action sequences which of course made me enjoy it more. I don't really get why Moses got praised as a hero for saving the Block since he ya know endangered it in the first place, but hey he probably ended up saving the whole planet from those gorilla wolf mother fuckers. At least that's what I guess happens when you just leave those things alone and allow them to breed." ~Genny

"Easily the funniest film on this list! The pace is breakneck with some only marginal social commentary and light character development, but I was laughing too much to really notice. I also really liked the unique visual design of the aliens." ~Snake

"Hood rats think they own the neighborhood until they draw problems when no one believes them that theyre fighting monsters that came from space. Just want to point out that theres still probably a lot of bodies of the beasts around and that no human can really kill these other guys the way they did. So uh cops, please. And just remember, when all goes wrong go home, lock your door, do your homework (if you have any), and watch Naruto. Itll make everything okay." ~Wickle

"A horror movie on the list, ya serious bruv? Ill allow it. The best part of the movie is the dialogue. Really quotable and helps the setting of the British ghettos sink in. Its got a memorable cast and some cool alien designs. However, dont let this writeup distract you from the fact that Karo is a racist." ~JONA

"A different take on alien invasions is much appreciated, I just wish it was done with lead characters that weren't so morally decrepit. It's difficult for me to root for the band of misfits here when they are portrayed so poorly to begin the film. Now I don't care about some narrative they attempted to throw in there about how disenfranchised inner city youth is. Honestly, I cringed at it a good bit when it was brought up a few times. One character giving another character flak because her husband was a volunteer in Ghana instead of helping out in England instead, or the main character pondering whether or not the government sent the aliens in to kill black people. That's almost comical... and while I feel that shows a lack of responsibility to your own actions, I will give Moses credit for deciding he WOULD take responsibility for the situation in whole by the end. I guess the character progression was okay in that regard, but I still got the impression the movie wanted to say something I didn't really fully agree with in presentation." ~charon

"Through the first act, I was really afraid I was going to spend the entire movie hating all these characters. Fortunately that didn't turn out to be the case, and things picked up quite a bit after that. I got tired of hearing the phrase THE BLOCK all the time, though. We get it the movie has the block in the title, and the first shot is literally of the block. You don't have to say it out loud every minute of the runtime. Nonetheless, the initially unlikable characters do grow on you, once the aliens show up and they're forced to stop being idiots and work together (and those aliens are fucking scary; brilliantly designed). You can definitely see why this launched what's already a hell of a career for John Boyega." ~KBM
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"I had pretty high hopes for this movie. I was excited about Finn from Star Wars and the fat guy from Shaun of the Dead being involved. But thenFinn is a gang member. Stormtrooper was bad enough! I normally dont get too mad at type casting or stereotypes, but really? Do the black kids really have to mug people and be in a gang? God dammit. The crew definitely grew on me later in the movie, but they were not at all likeable early on and I found myself rooting for the aliens with the cool glowing teeth. But once a few of them dropped, I was surprised to feel awful for them. The movie sneakily made me care even though I thought I didnt, so I have to give it props for that. But you know who I definitely 100% didnt like? That crazy idiot drug dealer guy that JUST WOULD NOT DIE. The plot armor he got was crazy and it all led up to a meaningless final confrontation that didnt boost anyones character development. The aliens were all this movie needed. Gang banger could have been eaten early on and it would have been fine. To be frank, I didnt like the first half of the movie. But once they got armed up and started fighting the aliens, I had a good time. Their personalities started shining through, they made up for previous wrong-doings (somewhat) and everything was peachy. Everyone cheering for Finn at the end was really cool too.

Traviss Opinion: Nooooope." ~Stifled

"A bunch of british inner city teens make first contact with a member of an alien race. This group of dumbass cavemen then promptly chases down this poor creature who seemed more afraid of them than anything and bludgeons it to death.
This of course leads to larger more aggressive aliens sent down to the hood to chase these wannabe gangstas around. These kids are so stupid it takes until nearly the end of the movie to even realize that maybe the reason behind this attack is that they murdered an extraterrestrial and dragged its corpse off to be displayed disrespectfully at some shitbag's weed farm.
Most of the film is just this group of [Editor's Note: Karo used a banned word on GameFAQs at this point] running around being chased by giant dust bunnies all the while speaking in a dialect so irritating it rivals that of Jar-Jar Binks, Bizzaro and Oh the alien.
It is just a thoroughly unpleasant experience throughout that adds nothing new to either of its genres, and often feels like watching a loud, foul-mouthed version of Scooby-Doo.
Imagine what would have happened if E.T. had landed in this shithole instead of suburban america. 'oy bruv, iz quita bloody big noggin on dat bloke innit, believe!' *smash* *bash* *squish* 'whoa man, yuh merked dat boppa righ' in the wazzit!' *crack* *crunch* 'Yah, dis tha fuckin' block, allow it!'
The block not only needed to be attacked, but burned to the ground. With everyone inside." ~Karo
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The Outlander Game Part XVII: Karo Attacks the Blacks

Wickle - 187
JONA - 174
Stifled - 176
KBM - 148
Inviso - 146
Snake - 137
Karo - 126
Genny - 124
Johnbobb - 121
Charon - 115
Scarlet - 112

Everyone finally crosses the centenary mark as we start to wrestle with some disappointing truths about one another.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

What It Is: The greatest explanation on why to watch Naruto.

lol

At least John Boyega pronounces it better than Michael B Jordan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ2fKJ5iUjo" data-time="&start=178
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He doesn't even know what FLCL is!
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scarletspeed7 posted...

He doesn't even know what FLCL is!

fully cully bruv
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StifledSilence posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

He doesn't even know what FLCL is!

fully cully bruv

Allow it.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

Most of the film is just this group of [Editor's Note: Karo used a banned word on GameFAQs at this point] running around being chased by giant dust bunnies all the while speaking in a dialect so irritating it rivals that of Jar-Jar Binks, Bizzaro and Oh the alien.

Is it the word I'm thinking of?
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scarletspeed7 posted...

The Outlander Game Part XVII: Karo Attacks the Blacks

I laughed and feel bad about it
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WickIebee posted...

Is it the word I'm thinking of?

its a word that starts with T and is often associated with the british
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Tea?
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Dear God that edit.
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Wait, is it Tudor?
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Tories?
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Teletubbies
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No ranking today. I'm confident we'll be back on track tomorrow. I had so many boxes of new product to deal with today; won't get home til late.
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I'm amazed that that word is still on the banned list and not just the censored list.

Is it really like, their equivalent of the c-word for us or something?
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Up for now.
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Surprised "wanker" is fine.
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Ill wank your er.
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Today is the absolute last day of no rankings. I'm out of town for the day, but everything should be back to normal tomorrow. Thanks for your understanding.
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https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_He2FWFlCG4/maxresdefault.jpg
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Too soon.
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purease underustando
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#22 - Blade Runner (1982 or 1997 or 2007 or 2049 or)
JONA - 1
Scarlet - 7
Karo - 18
Wickle - 19
Snake - 22
Charon - 23
Inviso - 25
Genny - 26
Johnbobb - 26
KBM - 27
Stifled - 32
Total: 226

"This movies setting and atmosphere is just amazing. Absolutely gorgeous yet terrifying. Every moment is either thrilling, emotional or thought-provoking. Sometimes it can be a mix of all three. There are a lot of ideas the movie conveys to talk about and its hard to even decide where to begin. Just a powerful movie and a powerful move by Jay White. " ~JONA

"What It Is: The answer to the question, "Do androids dream of electric sheep?"

Why It Matters: THE quintessential adaptation of Philip K. Dick's works, Blade Runner stands as a landmark hard science fiction piece and has been listed as an influence on countless later films in the genre.

What I Think: This film so desperately demands a second watch when the big reveal at the end throws everything into doubt. The beauty of the ambiguity of Deckard's identity makes this movie a psychological mystery - is Deckard a replicant? There are strange quirks to his hardboiled detective behavior throughout the movie, but when you start laying out the case for what Deckard truly is, the movie begins to line up and fall into place. Films that explore the fundamental nature of humanity and question it always tend to breed more questions than answers, and I certainly loved ruminating on this movie with my friends after rewatching this movie for the list. I think we spent half the night arguing and debating... and that's a great sign that a movie has reached outside of the screen and really brought some substance to my life. On top of the weighty material, the visuals are an absolute delight. The greasy city scenes and sepia-washed landscapes add to the films unforgettable visuals and help make it one of the most arresting sci-fi films ever made. Add to that a captivating performance by Rutger Hauer, and you have something truly special here." ~scarlet

"In the far distant future of sometime next year, Han Solo lives on Coruscant and hunts down fugitive robots.
For large sections of the movie it feels like the plot is stuck in neutral gear as the protagonist wanders about the city showing off all the pretty backgrounds. The movie is nearly two hours long, and it often seems there is only an hour of story to go along with it.
He eventually ends up falling in love with a pretty girl robot, though they just up and forget about this plot point as soon as it shows up, reappearing only in the final seconds of the movie thus losing any emotional resonance the end scene might have had. In fact, most every character feels so wooden and disconnected that it is surprising that it isnt directed by George Lucas.
Sometimes it seems as if there is going to be some profound point made about the nature of consciousness or what it means to live, but it never really materializes and one just begins to think everyone was just stoned out of their minds while writing the film.
Is the movie beautifully scored? Yes.
Does it have wonderful cinematography? Yes.
Is it hella boring? Unfortunately, also very yes." ~Karo

"They have four years to live, why is it honestly necessary to kill them for being on Earth when they do nothing and die after that time is up? Its another movie that shows the irrationality of humankind. Not all too uncommon in this sci-fi list. I do wish they developed Roy a little more, he could have been a really tragic villain. Though, the fact that I think that might be more in how much more spoiled I am in writing from movies in our decades." ~Wickle
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"There may not really be a perfect version of the film, but no matter which version you end up seeing, Blade Runners beautiful, deep, and seedy world captivates in a way so few films ever achieve. Harrison Fords Deckard is a weird character, ranging from doofus to badass, but the real star is Roy Batty, who encapsulates the films ideas in an intense, lonely sadness thats deeply impactful." ~Snake

"There's a great premise for something here, but for some reason this film cannot put it all together in a way that makes good sense and is fulfilling by the end. It's all so very vague. Like for instance, why is Deckard so forced into doing this, and exactly why do there seem to be no "good guys" in this movie? He's sort of... threatened by his former superior? Then you have the replicants, who are a mixed bag. They don't give most of them enough time to be interesting or meaningful, like Zhora for instance. She was just suddenly approached and killed. Okay? I will say I loved Roy Batty, he's a great villain who deserved much more screentime. He's really the only person in this movie that even has motives that I can actually understand. By the end, Deckard decides to run off with the pretty replicant after he spends the movie tracking them down and killing them because he was told to, not because the replicants were actually doing something that was unspeakably horrible (outside of Batty, maybe). I just don't know. Cool ideas, poor delivery for me." ~charon

"I like this movie. That final sequence with Deckard and Roy is amazing, and it solidifies Roy as a great character, slowly losing his grip on reality, yet finding his humanity on deaths door. The only reason I rank it this low (and I say low as its still in the top half of the list up to the point where this write-up was written) is that, while the tone is great, the visual effects are great, Harrison Ford gives a great performance as a lowbrow cop, and Roy Batty is amazingthe movie has a bit of a disjointed feel to it. Youve got the story with the replicants wanting to extend their lives, and thats great. But theres just a bit too much hopping around to various one-off scenes (Zhora in a strip club, Roy meeting up with James Hong, Roy meeting Sebastian and killing him like, one scene later) which sets the pacing off just a little bit for my tastes. Its still great, but its just not as great as Id like it to be." ~Inviso

"This movie is incredibly dark. No I don't mean the subject, though it paints an eerie (immediate lol) future. I mean it's damn near impossible to see anything. Why the hell is it always night? Anyway, this movie really plays with the subject of what it really means to be a human, and what it means to have a soul. Roy is not a bad person- he's just a bad human, but that's the fault of his father. I felt for him and Pris because they got dealt a bad hand in life- literally. I can't say I wouldn't do questionable things too if I were created with a short time to live and I was expected to spend all that time as a sentient slave. I don't know what I'm supposed to feel for Rachel and Deckard either, because their relationship is odd. She ends up saving him, but as a runaway Replicant him not killing her makes them even? Okay... The way he restrains her to stop her from running away yet again made me cringe a bit but she does seem to care for him legitimately so it's fine I guess." ~Genny
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"Years ago, I watched Blade Runner, having always heard of it as one of the must-see sci-fi films. On my first viewing, I couldn't help but feel it was pretty overrated. But I was young and impatient and couldn't properly appreciate a slow, complex noir. Now I'm older, I've seen a LOT more movies, so surely I should be able to appreciate the film more now, right? ...I mean, a little bit. I can appreciate the questions it asks and the dystopian neon stlye that covers everything in the film. But that doesn't fix the films main problem: it's boring. And don't get me wrong, I can really enjoy a good noir mystery. I loved Double Indemnity, I loved Chinatown, I even loved Sin City. But Blade Runner is really just... alright. Deckard is barely a character, and the film seems to expect me to care about his relationship with Rachael, but I don't. There's quite a bit of good here, but not enough." ~Johnbobb

"To answer what I'm sure is some people's first question right away, I have only ever seen the Final Cut version of Blade Runner from '07. As visionary as the movie is from a cinematography and effects standpoint, it does have some problems even in this form that I have trouble ignoring. My main problem is that the storyline is really nowhere near as deep or profound as the movie seems to think it is. Ridley Scott puts so much dramatic weight into the framing of every scene, to the point that for me it actually kind of highlights the lack of development that went into basically anything that isn't the lead characters' personalities. Which, in all fairness, Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer are magnetic in this arguably even more so than they usually are. Edward James Olmos is also memorable as the origami-obsessed Gaff, and Vangelis' score is one of the greatest film scores from the '80s. I do still consider this a near-classic, and I do think it's one everybody should see at least once. I even see why people love it as much as they do. My reservations come from the fact that the world of Blade Runner (and Blade Runner 2049) is a case of style-over-substance almost as severe as Baz Luhrmann's filmography (if Lurhmann's movies were depressive as opposed to manic). I have my problems with it, but it's a testament to the overall strength of this list that this ends up all the way down at 27th." ~KBM

"Strangely, I did not particularly like any individual part of this movie. The pacing was bad. The characters were boring, even Harrison Ford. His performance was bland and wooden, which is not like him at all. The setting was cool, yet also too gloomy. The action wasnt even all that great. But I was oddly compelled the whole time to see where it was going. So I have to give this movie points for that. I would call it the best boring movie I have ever seen, if that means anything.

Traviss Opinion: I might have gotten away with letting Travis watch this, but I decided to abide by the R rating this time. So he skipped it. It wasnt too bad, but there were boobs and a bit of intense violence. So good call I guess. " ~Stifled
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The Outlander Game Part XVIII: Ranked Bummer

JONA - 195
Wickle - 190
Stifled - 186
KBM - 153
Inviso - 149
Snake - 137
Karo - 130
Genny - 128
Scarlet - 127
Johnbobb - 125
Charon - 116

JONA steals the top spot with a small 5-point lead.
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Holy crap. JONA is the outlier right now? *gasp*
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god fucking dammit

I better win outlier
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It's weird how no one even talked about how Deckard might be a replicant.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

It's weird how no one even talked about how Deckard might be a replicant.

I had a Deckard replicant line that I think I lost when I put it in the excel sheet

something along the lines of "Is Deckard a replicant? Who cares, because Deckard isn't an interesting enough character for me to be invested in"
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For me, the ambiguity is what makes him interesting.
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I never once thought he was a replicant the whole film, it just never crossed my mind.
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i was not expecting to be third highest for blade runner
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Sherry_Tueli posted...

I never once thought he was a replicant the whole film, it just never crossed my mind.

Not even with the last scene?
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scarletspeed7 posted...

Sherry_Tueli posted...

I never once thought he was a replicant the whole film, it just never crossed my mind.

Not even with the last scene?

No, when the message was brought up I was reminded of Rachel asking Deckard if he ever took the test, but I never looked for the answer.
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I had wondered if anybody was gonna watch the version with narration and how that affects the film as a whole.
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For me, whether Deckard is a replicant is almost beside the point. He's a guy asked to do increasingly horrifying things in his job as a professional assassin until he ultimately loses his connection to humanity. This is how I read the Rachel rape scene as consistent with his character; he's been forced to dehumanize these people because of his line of work, and that serves as an ultimate example of the consequences. Roy's ending monologue finally forces him to confront what he has become.

Deckard being a replicant actually undermines this message. The whole point is that denying the humanity of the replicants made Deckard, a human, into the inhuman figure he was charged with fighting against. Basically it's a film meditation on the Nietzsche "He who fights with monsters" quote.
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Hi
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