GeekTown’s Top 5 Sci-Fi Movies Of 2009
2009 was a pretty good year for the sci-fi film. Not only did it produce the movie that’s well on the way to becoming the highest grossing movie of all time, but also some great little sci-fi gems that you may have overlooked. So heres GeekTown’s top 5 list of sci-fi movies from the last 12 months:
GeekTown’s Top 5 Sci-Fi Movies Of 2009
Watchmen
5. Watchmen
Watchmen got a fairly mixed reception on release. Yes, it did lose some of the weight of the Moore/Gibbons source material, but considering the number of people that had said it was ‘unfilmable’, and the directors that had been attached to the project and given up, I think Zack Snyder did an decent job with it. Maybe it wasn’t a unique as the comic book fans wanted, but Zack still made a very complex graphic novel into a perfectly fine, engaging superhero movie.
Avatar
4. Avatar
Currently on it’s way to sinking Titanic as the highest grossing movie of all time, James Cameron proves once again with Avatar that he doesn’t know how to make a non-smash hit movie. The lush visual world Cameron creates on Pandora, and the groundbreaking CGI work used to create the Na’vi set a new benchmark for special effects in film.
For our full review of Avatar and the Avatar premiere, click here.
3. Moon
Moon
Moon is probably the least well know of the films in this list, but is well worth seeking out on DVD/Blu-ray if you haven’t seen it yet. Duncan Jones makes a stunning directorial debut, in a clever film that has far more in common with the distopian sci-fis of the early 70s rather than your Avatar style blockbuster. The film is practically a one man show for the lead Sam Rockwell, who turns in a performance that (if there’s any justice) really should gain him an Oscar nomination.
Created for the tiny sum (in filmic terms) of $5 million, Moon proves you don’t need a massive Hollywood budget to create impressive, intelligent sci-fi.
For our full review of Moon click here.
2. District 9
District 9
District 9 was another of those films that crept up through the summers massive blockbusters of giant robots and pointy clawed mutants to slap them around the face and show you didn’t need a massive budget to make great sci-fi. Shot for a modest $30 million, Neill Blomkamp made a stunning feature length debut by adapting one of his earlier film shorts, Alive in Joburg, to create District 9. Taking on the themes of apartheid and translating them into a sci-fi setting Blomkamp creates a wonderfully intellegent and brilliantly original movie. The film is also a feature debut for lead Sharlto Copley (soon to be seen as ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock in the A Team movie), who manages the difficult job of taking his character Wikus van der Merwe, who really shouldn’t be all that like-able, and make you feel sympathy for him.
1. Star Trek
Star Trek
Like a lot of Trek fans, when it was announced that they were planning on rebooting Star Trek, a shiver ran up my spine… You can’t recast Kirk! You can’t recast Spock!.. Well, turns out you can. And very successfully too! JJ Abrams managed the seemingly impossible task of updating Trek without annoying Trekkers/Trekkies, and still bringing non-Trek movie goers to the franchise. By the simple but ingenious idea of creating an alternate timeline, thereby leaving the original universe intact, every body’s happy, and JJ has a whole new Star Trek universe to do whatever he likes with.
Zachary Quinto turns in a performance of Spock that nearly ‘out Spocks’ Leonard Nimoy (who also appears as ‘Spock Prime’). Chris Pine manages to still convey a very Kirk-like attitude, but without trying to imitate the unique Mr. Shatner. A mention also needs to go to Karl Urban’s brilliant portrayal of Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy which at times felt like he was actually channeling DeForest Kelley.
JJ Abrams achieved the seemingly unachievable in reinvigorating the Star Trek franchise without alienating existing fans and stomping over it’s rich lineage, and for that, we say ‘Live Long and Prosper’.
Click here to read our full review of Star Trek, and here for our coverage of the Star Trek premiere.
Competition: Win a Limited Edition Rorschach Hoodie!
To celebrate the release of the Tales of the Black Freighter DVD the lovely people at Paramount Home Entertainment have given me a Limited Edition Rorschach Hoodie to give away!
Official press release bit:
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, FEATURING Under the Hood
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, FEATURING Under the Hood
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, also featuring Nite Owl’s autobiography Under the Hood, storms onto DVD & Blu-ray on April 6 2009 ~
Offering audiences two essential Watchmen background stories, experience the exclusive and dramatic origin – essential to the Watchmen experience – as the comic-within-the-comic and Night Owl’s autobiography are brought to life when Paramount Home Entertainment releases Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, FEATURING Under the Hood on DVD & Blu-ray on April 6 2009.
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, the story within the highly anticipated Watchmen features the voices of Gerard Butler (300) and Jared Harris (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Executively produced by Watchmen director Zack Snyder, the feature is directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio and Mike Smith.
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter brings to strikingly animated life the graphic novel’s richly layered story. Within the graphic novel, Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, appears as a comic book read by a young man in New York City while the city is being destroyed.
This daring pirate saga chronicles a sailor’s journey home from being marooned. During his journey, the young seaman is “forced by the urgency of his mission to shed one inhibition after another” and experience horrible events along the way. The turbulent events the sailor endures seem to mirror those in the Watchmen’s world.
Visit Forbidden Planet for this Rorschach Bust and other Watchmen goodies!
Hollis Mason’s tell-all autobiography, Under the Hood, chronicles the events in Hollis Mason’s life that led to him becoming the masked avenger Nite Owl and discusses how the Minutemen were formed. It features the original Sally Spectre, the Comedian, Moloch the Mystic, along with Hollis Mason, the original Nite Owl.
Under the Hood is directed by Eric Matthies and also stars Carla Gugino, Matt Frewer, Stephen McHattie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan appear as their characters from the theatrical Watchmen film in this live-action documentary-style special.
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, FEATURING Under the Hood is available to buy on DVD & Blu-ray from April 6 2009 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Competition: Win a Limited Edition Rorschach Hoodie!
To win, all you need to do is answer the following question:
Q: What is Rorschach’s real name?
Competition closed.
Winner will be informed by email over the next day or so.
The Rules
The competition closes on 21st April 2009 and is open to UK residents aged 18 or over. By entering this competition, you are agreeing to the rules of this full rules which can be read here.
A Whole Lotta Watchmen Footage!
Today, a whole bunch of Watchmen footage has started springing up all across the interwebs! I’ll post them as i find them, but here’s a bunch so far. I’m SOOOOOO looking forward to this movie!!
Attention Citizens
Rescue
A Good Friend
Dan visits Veidt
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter Official Trailer (HD)
For those of you that know the Watchmen graphic novel, you’ll be aware of this story. For those of you less familiar, Tales of the Black Freighter was a comic book being read by teenage boy named Bernie, who sits beside a newsstand in the Watchmen universe. At points throughout the novel, panels/pages from the Tales of the Black Freighter comic are included at various intervals to “add subtext and allegory” to the main Watchmen story.
Although this story within a story was (somewhat understandably) dropped from the main Watchmen movie, they decided to make it as an animation, and release it on DVD/Blu-Ray to coincide with Watchmen‘s theatrical release. The lead is voiced by Gerard Butler, and tells the story of a mariners survival from an attack by the dreaded Black Freighter, and his horrific struggle to return hometown to warn them abou the ghost ship.
OFFICAL WATCHMEN PHOTOS!
AICN Just posted a truly awesome set of offical cast photos from the Watchmen Movie. Looks truly truly fantastic! Below we have the Comedian, Ozymandias, Rorschach, Silk Spectre and Nite Owl. Loving Nite Owl’s ship behind him! Really looking forward to this movie!
Click the pics for larger pics, or hop over to ACIN for even bigger versions.
