Exploring Derelict Space Ship

From: trekfancvg

Here's an amazing scene from an ultra-rare, kitschy, trippy, Soviet-style SF film, Ikarie XB 1 (aka Ikaria XB1, Icarus XB1 and Voyage to the End of the Universe). Czechoslovakia's first science fiction film, this remarkable 1963 movie tells the story of Starship Ikaria XB 1's 2163 trek to Alpha Centari. ("Voyage" was the savagely cut, English dubbed version released by American International Pictures.)

The film is generally apolitical, except for this remarkable scene, in which the explorers enter a derelict 20th Century space craft, littered with evidence of capitalist immorality. The visuals are striking. Corpses of tuxedo-clad, gambling westerners, their bodies preserved by open vacuum. The crew killed by their own chemical hand-weapons as they fought over dwindling oxygen. The ship laden with nuclear weapons -- still active after centuries.

Ikarie XB 1 is an ambitious, thoughtful, intelligent film that was decades ahead of its time. It's an ultra-rare "must-see" for any serious SF fan, with high-concept elements galore: a trip to proxima centaura; time dilation; future foods, fashion, music and dance; first-contact protocols; increased longevity; artificial intelligence; bulky socialist robots.

It's said the screenplay was inspired by the work of Stanislaw Lem, including "The Magellanic Cloud" from 1955.

Available as a PAL Region 2 DVD from European retailers, and in the US from www.xploitedcinema.com. Please buy the DVD to help encourage future DVD releases of other Eastern-bloc SF gems.

1945A

I hope they make a movie out of this. It looks cool!

From: ryannagata

It's 1945, and the Allies are on the verge of winning World War II, when suddenly the Nazis unleash an arsenal of super weapons straight out of science fiction turning the tides in their favor. This presentation was done on a VERY small budget. All the tanks and vehicles (Willy's jeep, Stuart tank, Sherman tank, Nazi "Spider" tank) were done with 1:6 scale models, not CGI.

My website with more info on how I work with forced-perspective and models: www.ryannagata.com.

Rendezvous With Rama Short Film

The sequels were not as good, but I loved Arthur C. Clark's novel Rendezvous With Rama.

Aaron Ross directed and animated this short film based on the novel. It won Best Animation, Marin County Film Festival, 2003, and Best Animation, NYU First Run Film Festival, 2003.

New SF Show: Slingers

This looks cool. I look forward to seeing the pilot when it comes out. You can find more information on the TV show here.

SLINGERS from Mike Sizemore on Vimeo.

Time Machine

It always sounds like a good idea, but time machines never work out the way you want them to.



Oh, and don't bother trying to go back in time to kill Hitler. That never works.

Terminator - How It Should End

From: HISHEdotcom

To save the future, the Terminator must go BACK to the future! Watch as we combine two of the most implausible time travel movies of all time into one great trailer.

www.howitshouldhaveended.com

9

Shane Acker directed this 2004 video. This video has been made into a feature film by Tim Burton and Shane Acker.



Here is the trailer for the film.

9 Trailer
Uploaded by dreadcentral. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

Star Trek Bloopers

There have been many Star Trek shows and movies, so it is not surprising that a few bloopers can be found. Here are some of them.

From: Spock2

Original District 9 Short Film

I saw District 9 today. It's a great SF movie.

From: Theman3788

This a short film from Neill Blomkamp, which the movie District 9 is based on. Neill Blomkamp was originally set to produce the halo movie, which is now on hold indenfinitely.

The Cabonauts

A new Science Fiction web series is coming later this year, on DailyMotion. It's called The Cabonauts.

From their web site:

It’s 2183 AD and humans have finally conquered the stars. But the inky blackness that separates the galaxies and the hundreds of thousands of human outposts and colonies is vast and needs a firm hand to navigate. Which is why Cabonauts Inc. is so handy—you can just call a cab.

Harry’s learning to get his hack license and Cyril is his instructor. They’ve been friends forever, but the crappy economy has forced them to work together. We follow them as they take their passengers (played by iconic sci-fi actors & actresses) around the galaxies.

And did we mention each episode breaks into a full original song & music video?

Read more: www.cabonauts.com

Also, Nichelle Nichols of the original Star Trek has joined the cast!

Nichelle Nichols interview #1
Uploaded by cabonauts. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

Terminator Fun

Terminator 3 Sergent Candy Scene



Terminator 2 deleted scene -Dead Ringers - BBC comedy



Terminator 2: T-1000 - Barbie Girl

Terminator Salvation

The new Terminator movie is out. I plan to see it this weekend.

Here's the Guns N' Roses video for T2 from 1991. At the end, Arnold meets the band. Analysis: "Waste of Ammo."

Guns N' Roses - You Could Be Mine
Uploaded by djoik - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Here's a deleted scene from the new movie.

Terminator Salvation: Deleted Scene
Uploaded by barelydigital. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

Science Fiction Music

Some songs and music videos have a definite Science Fiction theme to them. The obvious ones are from SF movies and TV shows. But there are other songs that will pop up from time to time.

Mr. Spaceman - The Byrds

From the sixties. Another way to take a trip: hitch a ride with a spaceman!

Hey, Mr. Spaceman
Won't you please take me along
I won't do anything wrong
Hey, Mr. Spaceman
Won't you please take me along for a ride.

Byrds - Mr Spaceman
Uploaded by DwightFrye.

Come Sail Away - Styx

Styx had a similar idea in the Seventies.

I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise
They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies.

Styx - Come Sail Away
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup.

Mr Roboto - Styx

In Science Fiction, it's always nice to have a few robots.

Styx - Mr Roboto
Uploaded by renardeau.

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips

Of course, in Science Fiction, you end up having to fight those evil robots.

[Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots] Sai x Sakura
Uploaded by nagichan80.

If you want to hear more from The Flaming Lips, go to: www.wbr.com

‘39 - Queen

I love this song. It deals with the time dilation between people on Earth and people on a space ship traveling close to the speed of light. Time on the spaceship would slow down compared to time on Earth.

Don't you hear my call
Though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
Write your letters in the sand
For the day I'll take your hand
In the land that our grand-children knew

The sad reunion of the spaceman and his wife, who is much older than him now.

Don't you hear my call
Though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
All your letters in the sand
Cannot heal me like your hand
For my life, still ahead, pity me.

Queen - '39 live
Uploaded by alissen.

Queen & George Michael perform the song at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: www.dailymotion.com

Flash Gordon - Queen

Queen also sang the title song for the 1980 movie Flash Gordon.

Queen - Flash Gordon
Uploaded by timanou76.

Radio Ga-Ga - Queen

A third Queen song. This video has scenes from the 1927 film Metropolis. Some lost scenes to the film have been discovered, and are planned to be restored. It would be cool to see the movie in its entirety.

Queen - Radio Ga-Ga
Uploaded by hushhush112.

You Got Lucky - Tom Petty

Not a SF song, but a video about a future like the Mad Max movies.

Tom Petty - You Got Lucky
Uploaded by jpdc11.

She Blinded Me With Science - Thomas Dolby

Mad Scientist: another good SF theme.

Thomas Dolby-She Blinded Me With Science
Uploaded by adiis.

Venus and Mars - Paul McCartney & Wings

Venus and Mars are alright tonight.


Paul McCartney & Wings - Venus and Mars / Spirits of Ancient Egypt Uploaded by oliwiajackie

Threshold - The Steve Miller Band

This song has always sounded a little creepy to me. A UFO is searching for you, its searchlights scanning the area. Will they catch you?


The Steve Miller Band-Threshold/Jet Air Liner
Uploaded by onlythemusik

Primer

Primer (2004) is a 2004 independent film. It has no special effects, per se, but the plot does not require them. It's a Science Fiction movie about inventors discovering Time Travel, and what they do with it.

I found it a little hard to follow, so you might look it up on wikipedia to help understand it.

It’s Not Worth “Knowing”

I felt like seeing a movie today, so I went and saw Nicolas Cage’s latest movie “Knowing.” I did not read the review first, but the trailer looked cool.



It was not worth seeing the movie. Some of the special effects were cool, like the plane crash and the subway crash. And the fire scene at the end was cool, too. (Okay, the last video was not actually from the movie, but you get the idea.)

The idea of the movie was that a girl wrote down on paper 50 years ago a list of numbers containing the dates and death tolls of every major disaster for the next 50 years. But how did the kid know? The list is put into a time capsule, which is opened 50 years later. Nicolas’ son brings move the list from school, and Nicolas figurers out what the numbers mean. And only three events are left. Then what happens? The end of the world?

Where did the numbers come from the in first place? The girl heard the numbers in her head. From whom? In the current time, the same people are talking to Nicolas’ son. What are they? Angels? Aliens? They sort of remind me of these guys:



I’m watching the movie, and hoping that Nicolas figures out what the last disaster on the list is, and how to stop it. Well, he figures it out, but it is the end of the world, so he can’t stop that. Oh no! So what was the point of the list? “You’re gonna die; we just wanted you to know.”

Well, not exactly. The aliens/angels which can tell the future, know the world is going to end. And they want to save some of us. (And some rabbits, it seems.) But they can only take children on their space ship for some reason. The list, and talking to the children, was a way to get them to the place where the space ship would be. They could not just take the children; that would not be nice. They had talk in their heads, to make them want to go with them.

How is that better? Making the kids think they are crazy? (After all, they started doing this 50 years early for some reason.) But that’s aliens for you.

The movie just did not have much of a point to it. It was a waste of my time and money.

Red Dwarf is Back!

They are making new episodes of Red Dwarf after ten years. The new episode, “Back to Earth” is now showing on Dave TV. Dave TV? I thought this was Dave TV. :)

You can find clips from the original series at: www.bbc.co.uk. It’s also available on NetFlix.

Red Dwarf: Back To Earth - Web Preview



Red Dwarf Back to Earth Episode 1 part 1



Part 2



Part 3

Jurassic Park

You just can’t get enough of Jurassic Park. Here are some fan videos of the movie.

Jurassic Park (SWEDED!) part 1

From: LoneIslandFilms



Part 2



Lego Jurassic Park

From: jazz995



From: hathcock



Jurassic Park Movie Mistakes

From: ke200

That's a Lot of Fraks

Most of us know the "F word." The word not used in polite society, but so useful. Battlestar Galatica uses a different word, but for the same meaning: "frak." Since this is not a bad word in English, they can use it as much as they want on the show. And they do!

Battlestar Galactica - Frak Compilation 1

From: http://www.youtube.com/user/pizzicotta



Battlestar Galactica: What the Frak is Going On?

From: http://www.youtube.com/user/HotLeadExpress

A "Star Wars" Movie I Don’t Want to See

By mediaatmidnight

I usually look forward to Science Fiction movie sequels, even if they get bad reviews. But after what George Lucas has done the Star Wars in the past, I am listening to the bad reviews this time around, and I think I will skip watching “Clone Wars.”

I never liked the original movie “Star Wars” renamed “Episode IV - A New Hope;” why not call it episode 1 of the original trilogy? And why even make the prequel trilogy? Once we were given the characters in the first three movies, I wanted to see more movies about them.

I liked the Timothy Zahn books in the Thrawn trilogy and the subsequent Star Wars books. Why doesn’t George Lucas make new movies about what happens after the original trilogy? I would go see those movies.

Here are some of the reviews of the new movie:

Dear George Lucas: Stop ruining 'Star Wars'!

Ain't It Cool News retracts 'Clone Wars' review

'Star Wars': Game Over

I think I will just watch the Clone Wars animated TV series on YouTube instead.

What Next, Battlestar?

By Graham Ballantyne

They found Earth. And it is a irradiated, burned out ball. The ending reminded me of the ending of season 2. Another worthless planet to colonize. But they got out of that situation, so I'm sure they will get out of this one.

There are 8 episodes to go. What happens next?

Here are some topics that I hope they cover in the final 8 episodes.

The Cylon Home World

What is life like on the Cylon home world? Are there more types of Cylons then the ones we have seen so far? What do Cylons do when they are not at war? Do the human Cylons keep separate from the Centurions?

The History of the Cylons

The humans made the Centurions, but who made the other models? Is there a Cylon construction class? Who made the 12 Cylon humans, and programmed them? Who told them to not look for the the final five? Who made the Resurrection Hub?

Differences Between Humans and Cylons

How are the 12 Cylon humans actually different from us? How come they can do things we can’t, but we can’t tell them apart from us? There should be physical differences in the 12 Cylons:

• Their spine turns red when they have sex. What does this?
  
• They can be resurrected. What part of their body sends the information in their brain back to the resurrection ship?

Oh, and what did happen to Earth?

I don't expect that all of these questions will be answered. But these are the sort of things that I focus on in the series. I'm not that worried about whether Laura Roslin is cured of cancer, or what happens between Starbuck and Apollo; I want to know the back story of the Cylons. Oh well, maybe that will be covered in the new series.