Ron Put Posted March 5, 2021 Report Share Posted March 5, 2021 36 minutes ago, Dean Pomerleau said: A time-bending, really-makes-you-think series my wife, daughter and I really enjoyed was the recent mini-series Devs. I saw it last year and while I found it interesting at the beginning, it went flat and more formulaic toward the end. I'd recommend the older, two-season British-made Utopia (not the Amazon much lamer remake). It's a black comedy, with quick-witted writing and great cinematography, and it may hit home with the 2020 pandemic. The UK version is also available on Amazon (as Utopia UK). Be forewarned, there is a particularly violent scene toward the end of the first episode, but I was aware of it and just fast-forwarded (I can't even watch needles on screen :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Put Posted March 5, 2021 Report Share Posted March 5, 2021 Another show I enjoyed during the last year is Counterpart: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 (edited) OK, here's one that fits the "low budget, slow paced, no action" category that engineers and sci-fi nerds might enjoy Cosmos I'd have to think too hard to explain why I liked it, I just did 😉 Or for something TOTALLY different, if you enjoy subtitled kung fu movies, I recently saw Ip Man and thought it was very good. Also really enjoyed The Upside but neither of these are Sci-Fi. p.s. Dean - to me there is no bad "stuck in a time loop" movie, haha. Maybe I'm just easily amused. Those guys making a list/map of all the interesting things they could find (like a bird catching a fish, or an amazing skateboarding trick) for some reason just made me smile. I think some of you guys are too intense, haha. Edited March 10, 2021 by Gordo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 (edited) Oh and one more SciFi recommendation if you like "creepy" SciFi, there is a new show on NBC called "Debris" you should check out. If you have a smart TV (Roku TV or AmazonFire/GoogleTV) add the FREE channel "Peacock" which will give you access to stream it (or see it live on NBC or however you stream NBC). I won't spoil it, basic plotline so far is that a really enormous alien spaceship was somehow destroyed pretty far from Earth but the debris field was spotted and moving toward Earth. Lots of pieces from the craft have fallen to earth and they seem to have very unusual properties that are causing all sorts of interesting things to happen (such as teleportation, levitation, and manifestations of one's memories when in contact with or close proximity to the debris). Edited March 10, 2021 by Gordo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccoy Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 Guys, to me, nothing is geekier than interstellar, with the consultancy of Kip Thorne. That's the original reason why I subscribed to Netflix. When I have a little time, I'm going to see it a second time, with a step-by step consultation of Thorne's book "The science of interstellar". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted March 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 4 hours ago, Gordo said: OK, here's one that fits the "low budget, slow paced, no action" category that engineers and sci-fi nerds might enjoy Cosmos I liked the trailer. I'll watch it this weekend and report back. 4 hours ago, Gordo said: Dean - to me there is no bad "stuck in a time loop" movie, haha. Maybe I'm just easily amused. Those guys making a list/map of all the interesting things they could find (like a bird catching a fish, or an amazing skateboarding trick) for some reason just made me smile. I think some of you guys are too intense, haha. Fair enough. If you are such a fan, I'm wondering if you've seen any of these time travel flix: Project Almanac Looper Hot Tub Time Machine Primer About Time Safety Not Guaranteed I haven't seen any of them, but some sound interesting from this website description of fantastic time travel movies. 40 minutes ago, Gordo said: Oh and one more SciFi recommendation if you like "creepy" SciFi, there is a new show on NBC called "Debris" you should check out. Funny, I was just about to recommend Debris. My wife and I watched the first episode last week and really liked it. We're watching the next one tonight. --Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted March 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 My wife and I watched Looper from the list above last night. A well done high-action time travel movie. Not one to watch with young kids though. Quite a bit of violence. Here is the trailer. --Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike41 Posted March 14, 2021 Report Share Posted March 14, 2021 On 3/13/2021 at 5:35 AM, Dean Pomerleau said: My wife and I watched Looper from the list above last night. A well done high-action time travel movie. Not one to watch with young kids though. Quite a bit of violence. Here is the trailer. --Dean I’m interested! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted March 14, 2021 Report Share Posted March 14, 2021 (edited) On 3/10/2021 at 4:07 PM, Dean Pomerleau said: Project Almanac Looper Hot Tub Time Machine Primer About Time Safety Not Guaranteed I've only seen one from that list, "Safety Not Guaranteed". I have a feeling you (and Ron) would hate it, but I enjoyed it! In general I hate time travel in movies by the way, "stuck in a time loop" is a completely different genre (that I love) but there aren't too many of those out there. On 3/10/2021 at 3:41 PM, mccoy said: Guys, to me, nothing is geekier than interstellar, I loved interstellar McCoy. Six more "big budget" SciFi movies on my recommend list are: Inception, The Martian, Ad Astra, Arrival, Gravity and my all time favorite, Contact. Edited March 14, 2021 by Gordo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted March 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2021 12 minutes ago, Gordo said: I'm surprised that I've only seen one from that list, "Safety Not Guaranteed". I have a feeling you (and Ron) would hate it, but I enjoyed it! We watched the trailer for Safety Not Guaranteed and it looked too character-driven for my taste. My wife already saw About Time and loved it, but it is a pretty romantic story. Gordo you'd probably like it :-). I definitely recommend Looper. The trailer doesn't really do it justice IMO. It is a clever story. I liked 5 of the 6 you listed, and haven't yet seen Ad Astra after the disappointing reviews. Maybe we'll try it. I forgot about Contact. It was so long ago I don't really remember it. Maybe we'll watch that one again. Thanks for the suggestions! --Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted March 14, 2021 Report Share Posted March 14, 2021 32 minutes ago, Dean Pomerleau said: We watched the trailer for Safety Not Guaranteed and it looked too character-driven for my taste Yea, it's almost hard to call that one SciFi at all, with maybe the exception of the final 2 minutes of the movie, haha. 33 minutes ago, Dean Pomerleau said: My wife already saw About Time and loved it, but it is a pretty romantic story. That reminds me of "The Time Traveler's Wife" which was one of my wife's favorite movies (I thought it was pretty good too though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianA Posted March 15, 2021 Report Share Posted March 15, 2021 Primer is definitely worth a watch. And a rewatch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinton Posted March 16, 2021 Report Share Posted March 16, 2021 (edited) I’ve always enjoyed the 1982 John Carpenter’s “The Thing” - based at a US research outpost in Antarctica where they are infiltrated by an alien. Most of you have likely seen it... I enjoy watching it and trying to determine who becomes infected/taken over by the alien and in what order; like a sci-fi mystery movie And the sound track by Ennio Morricone is perfect- chilling background music. 👍👍 Edited March 16, 2021 by Clinton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saul Posted March 16, 2021 Report Share Posted March 16, 2021 The plot of "The Thing" is based on a short story by A. E. Van Vogt. He is (was) my favorite Science Fiction author. For those of you who similarly enjoy the writings of Van Vogt, his family has published the second sequel to his most famous novel "Slan". The novel is called "Slan Hunter", and was written in notes by Van Vogt, but not finalized prior to his death. The family chose a good writer to convert the notes into a novel -- the novel is excellent. It is being sold by Amazon, but not available in Amazon Kindle format. My favorite Sci Fi novel is Van Vogt's "The world of Null A"; the sequel, "The Players of Null A", is first class as well. (The following sequels are, IMO, inferior.) Enjoy! -- Saul P.S.: Van Vogt wrote many other novels and short stories -- they are extremely original, and and (almost) every one is a gem. "Null A" presents a philosophy that spawned a subject of study at the University of Hawai. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Put Posted March 16, 2021 Report Share Posted March 16, 2021 I had completely forgotten that I had seen Looper, until seeing the trailer. While none of these sci-fi movies are my cup of tea, I had run across a movie review site that has a whole section of time travel movies, so some here may find it interesting: https://www.thisisbarry.com/tag/time-travel/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Put Posted March 16, 2021 Report Share Posted March 16, 2021 If anyone might have the inclination to see what I consider two of the best sci-fi movies ever made, they are both by Andrei Tarkovsky: Solaris (1972) and Stalker (1979). Trailers won't do these justice, so here is a link to an article on both titles: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/features/tarkovsky/ Both movies have a cult following around the world, including in the US, so some here may have seen them already. These are the best movies by Tarkovski, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted March 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Douglas E. Richards (the author Saul and I discussed above) has just come out with a new book, The Immortality Code (Amazon Link). I'm about 25% of the way through it and I am really enjoying it. It has the same believable tech (based on real underlying technology), fast pace, lots of action like his other stories (e.g. Split Second and Mind's Eye). And in an amusing coincidence, the plot hinges on a fictional breakthrough in quantum computing that uses molecules modeled on the process plants may actually use in real life during photosynthesis to exploit quantum properties to simultaneously explore many possibilities, which I referenced a week ago in this thread about "many worlds" and the ultimate purpose of life. Here is a link to a 10 page free sample from the start of the book for anyone who wants to check it out: https://a.co/c2JykK3 The entire book is free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. --Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saul Posted March 20, 2021 Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 Hi Dean! I finished it. It includes alien nanobots that do things way beyond human technology, that among other things, make people immortal. In the author's notes following the conclusion of the novel, Edwards promises that this is his last offering with alien nanobots. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book. -- Saul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinton Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 Nanobots!! I gotta read this! It makes sense that true nanotechnology could provide immortality ... Fun concepts to consider. Aubrey de Grey with his SENS and (in the next year or two??) robust mouse rejuvenation (project 2021), Harold Katcher with his ‘Elixer’ ... is it E5?? Both confidently planned or expected to completely rejuvenate... plus nanotechnology?? go to YouTube and searc Harold Katcher and watch recent videos if you aren’t familiar. Can’t wait for another 4000yrs!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted March 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 20 hours ago, Saul said: It includes alien nanobots that do things way beyond human technology, that among other things, make people immortal I just got to the nanobot part of The Immortality Code. It does detract some from the believability of the story, but it is a fun read nonetheless. 13 hours ago, Clinton said: Aubrey de Grey with his SENS and (in the next year or two??) robust mouse rejuvenation (project 2021), Harold Katcher with his ‘Elixer’ ... is it E5?? Both confidently planned or expected to completely rejuvenate... plus nanotechnology?? go to YouTube and searc Harold Katcher and watch recent videos if you aren’t familiar. Can’t wait for another 4000yrs!!! Yeah. Good luck with that. A really great and unique novel about nano-sized aliens is Dragon's Egg (Amazon link). It is about an alien civilization that evolves in just a few days on the surface of a neutron star. --Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cTpa Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 (edited) Hi guys, personally I'm not that of a big sci-fi fan - but I would like to tell you about an extremely interesting movie: District 9. I'm interested to hear if somebody of you knows it and how do you like it. Best regards cTpa Edited April 4, 2021 by cTpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted April 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 3 minutes ago, cTpa said: I would like to tell you about an extremely interesting movie: District 9. I'm interested to hear if somebody of you knows it and how do you like it. My wife and I started watching District 9 but couldn't get into it. It felt like a heavy-handed commentary on apartheid. The special effects seemed cool though. --Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cTpa Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 6 minutes ago, Dean Pomerleau said: My wife and I started watching District 9 but couldn't get into it. It felt like a heavy-handed commentary on apartheid. The special effects seemed cool though. --Dean That is extremely sad to hear. The start (which is docummentary-like) is the reason not many people know about this genius art / work. I would highly recommend both of you to try to go through the start. I could imagine you will thank me for this 😉 Best regards cTpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinton Posted April 5, 2021 Report Share Posted April 5, 2021 5 hours ago, cTpa said: Hi guys, personally I'm not that of a big sci-fi fan - but I would like to tell you about an extremely interesting movie: District 9. I'm interested to hear if somebody of you knows it and how do you like it. Best regards cTpa Omg!! That was an awesome movie!!!! Loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted June 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2021 I just finished reading There is no Antimemetics Division. Simply mindbending. Has anyone else read it? It really gets you thinking about the possibility of unthinkable ideas - i.e. ones that can't be thought, or more interestingly, actively prevent themselves from being thought. The Amazon ebook is only $2.99. But you can also get a taste of it before you buy or even read the entire story for free on-line at the antimemetics subsection of the SCP (Special Containment Procedures) website. But I warn you the SCP genre is very addictive. I've now slowly begun working my way down their list of top rates stories. The genre has a very X-Files vibe to it. Or more recently, the TV series Debris, which my wife and I really enjoyed but which unfortunately was just canceled after one season. --Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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