Wow, sometimes even I can’t believe the extent to which I’m a huge nerd. Why do I enjoy doing these ‘Another Day, Another Movie’ things so much? I don’t have the answer. I just have a great time.
I’ve added another marathon to the queue, ‘Movies in Space.’ Pretty straightforward. They have to be movies that take place in space, or on another planet.
With the exception of Moon, Sunshine, Empire Strikes Back and 2001, etc., which are favorites I’m going to watch again, many of these are the space movies I haven’t seen from Total Sci-Fi’s list of “100 Greatest Sci-Fi Movies.” Some I’ve been wanting to watch for a long time, some I’ve never heard of before. I’m thinking about turning this one into a month-long thing.
Here’s what I have so far:
1. Flash Gordon (1980)
2. Solaris (1972) (maybe watch the George Clooney one, too?)
3. Dune
4. Outland
5. Barbarella
6. Dark Star
7. Moon
8. Silent Running
9. 2001: A Space Odyssey
10. The Fantastic Planet
11. Silent Running
12. Sunshine
13. Event Horizon (Brian and I make fun of this movie all the time, but it’s on Total Sci-Fi’s list, so I’m going to watch it. I’m nothing if not open-minded.)
14. Forbidden Planet
15. Serenity (there is always a reason to watch this movie, this ADAM is another one.)
16. The Empire Strikes Back (my favorite Star Wars movie. Or, as Lucille Bluth might say, my favorite Star War.)
So, again, I turn to you for help. What other space movies should I add? Or, if we are going to be honest and this is going to go the way it normally does: Jesse, can you give me some suggestions for more movies to add?
Jesse
The first four are real suggestions. The last three, not so much.
The 1979 version of Disney’s “The Black Hole.” THAT is some freaky shit, especially considering it’s from Disney. They’re going to remake it and I’m sure it’ll be horrible. Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, Maximilian Schell. And Roddy McDowell and Slim Pickens as the voices of robots. A great counterpoint to “Event Horizon.”
“Alien,” because it is the bee’s knees, but hey, we’ve all seen this one. Still one of my favorite horror and space movies.
I’m actually a pretty big fan of “Pitch Black.” It’s a lean, stark action-thriller with a really basic plot and fairly stock characters, but I think that everything about it is done well. I especially dig the way it’s shot. Even though it led to “Chronicles of Riddick.”
If you’re looking for something lighthearted you could find a good episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Does “Krull” count? The villain is an alien.
What about this one? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gayniggers_From_Outer_Space
“Jason X.” It is a ridiculous movie.
Scott
Consider ‘Black Hole’ added. I watched ‘Alien’ not that long ago, but I’ve been thinking I’ll probably watch it again anyway. ‘Pitch Black’ was one of my friend’s favorite films. i remember liking it when I watched it in college, but need to get over a mental Vin Diesel hump to get myself to watch it again. It’s possible.
This is actually the second recommendation I’ve gotten for ‘Jason X.’ Real, or otherwise. Most of the recommendations so far have come via Twitter, and most of the Twitter recs have been for space horror.
Gayniggers looks ridiculous. I’m going to read about that one for the next hour, I bet. Wow.
Jesse
I certainly can’t fault you for a Vin Diesel gag reflex. I like to think of “Pitch Black” as his apex movie, though. Before that he appeared in “Saving Private Ryan,” “The Iron Giant,” and “Boiler Room.” And then came “The Fast and the Furious,” and it’s been awful ever since.
Scott
I’ve never thought about his career arc that way, that might just help me appreciate those first few films more.