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[Core Xii]

I've been watching Lexx. It's hilarious in its retro-ness, but I can see how it would have been the bomb in 1997.

[1982]

If one wants to be nitpicker, he would say that some films suggested here definitely are not sci-fi:

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible (or at least non-supernatural) content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities. Exploring the consequences of scientific innovations is one purpose of science fiction, making it a "literature of ideas".

We could have another topic for fantasy film suggestions.

[Mikademus]

Space Quest? That's a games series by Sierra On-Line; did you mean Galaxy Quest with Tim Allen?

Woops! Yes I did! Ah well. I guess my 80s-90s bias is showing.

Don't worry, that's why we love you

Granted, 'The Fifth Element' was kinda of cheesy.

Hey, it is one of the best films in your list! A little bit of cheeze just lends flavour! :D

[ithamore]

I know you probably don't want recommendations for movies that are only available at screenings and film festivals for the time being, but I'm looking forward to Dimensions and Radio Free Albemuth.

[Mikademus]

Any opinions about the series "Fringe"? Have only seen the first ep and it seems to copy the X-Files model almost as-is, but nonetheless seems like an ok watch with menacing secret organisations, conspiracies within conspiracies and unexplainable technologies and events.

[Greg]

I know you probably don't want recommendations for movies that are only available at screenings and film festivals for the time being, but I'm looking forward to Dimensions and Radio Free Albemuth.

Those both look amazing. Radio Free Albemuth might possibly be the best adaptation of a PKD story yet.

Recommendation: anything and everything Philip K. Dick., Mainly read the stories. They're too much infused with their own thing to be properly adapted into films, but I'm always enthralled when they try.

[Dragonmaw]

actually, paprika and paranoia agent are also good sci-fi esque anime.

As much as I love those two, I dont think they belong to sci-fi.

paprika definitely does, as it revolves around the misuse of a technology (the dream machine thing)

paranoia agent is arguable.

both also fall into the realm of psychedelic and psychological as well

ps: the best PKD adaptation is blade runner hands down

also if it hasn't been mentioned, The Abyss is a good james cameron movie

[John Sandoval]

paprika makes no fucking sense but it really doesnt matter cos there are japanese businessmen doing olympic style dives off of buildings

[C.A. Sinner]

ps: the best PKD adaptation is blade runner hands down

But only because it's not really an adaption and takes A WHOLE LOT of liberties with the source material.

[Dragonmaw]

The best adaptations are the ones that don't stick strictly to the source material. Movies tend not to make good books and vice versa. What works in a movie (like Blade Runner's dense visual style) don't work well in books, and what works in books (holy shit dialogue) doesn't really work that well in movies.

Good adaptations take what makes a book or movie interesting and converts it into the other format.

[Mikademus]

The best adaptations are the ones that don't stick strictly to the source material.

I certainly hope you weren't thinking of I, Robot there or there is another one I need to strangle with his own entrails...

[Greg]

quick book recommendation quick list

Isaac Asimov	- Foundation series
Alfred Bester	- The Stars My Destination
Orson Scott Card	- Ender's Game
Cory Doctorow	- Little Brother, various short stories, ephemera.. (all free on his website)
William Gibson	- Neuromancer, Count Zero (soo amazing)
Verner Vinge	- A Fire Upon the Deep. and A Deepness in the Sky (huge)
Iain M Banks	- The Algebraist [2004]
Greg Bear	- Eon
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky	- Roadside Picnic.  The book that Tarkovsky's Stalker was based on. (which, incidentally is the movie that the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game is based on).
Bruce Sterling	- anything he writes, particularly journalism & appearances as much as fiction
Philip K. Dick	- Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Galactic Pot Healer, They remember for you Wholesale, Ubik, Martian Time-Slip
Robert Heinlein	- The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Time Enough For Love
Larry Niven	- Ringworld series, Integral Trees

[cystem glitch]

Total Recall is also from a Philip K Dick story (We Can Remember It for You Wholesale), I definitely agree that some of the best adaptations of sci fi material have taken kernels of ideas and done their own thing with them.

Dark Star, John Carpenter's first movie he made as a student is fantastic.  He co-wrote it with Dan O'Bannon who went on to write Alien & Total Recall among others.

I rented this and despite some laughably bad effects work and plodding story it was still pretty good. A lot of the time I was thinking "space travel portrayed as being carried out by regular working joes / anti heroic mystique, haven't I already seen this done better in Alien?" but yeah, this is the guy who went on to write Alien. I loved the arguments with the bomb and how some of the threads get wrapped up, and little flourishes like they don't remember their own first names.

[Christian Knudsen]

If you want to spoil the 2001 experience, there is two very interesting explanations for it which either add a ton of "depth" or kill the whole thing:


1. You must see the monolith as a Stanley Kubrick himself
2. You must see the monolith as a presentation of film screen

Everything's explained in the novelization (which was written concurrently with the screenplay). It's really not as trippy as you might think.

[C.A. Sinner]

The best adaptations are the ones that don't stick strictly to the source material. Movies tend not to make good books and vice versa. What works in a movie (like Blade Runner's dense visual style) don't work well in books, and what works in books (holy shit dialogue) doesn't really work that well in movies.

Good adaptations take what makes a book or movie interesting and converts it into the other format.

Yeah, but have you actually read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Blade Runner is so different I wouldn't even call it an adaption. That was the point. They're two completely separate works based on the same concept imo.