Some of you may already know this, Ares and I are huge sci-fi fans. Except, we aren't looking for impressive special effects, we are looking for nice, clean, and futuristic sets with interesting concepts and storylines. We don't need sci-fi's to take themselves too seriously, in fact, we love how Star Trek is a little light-hearted.
Here are some sci-fi films/shows we recently watched that we were surprised that we liked! Ares even said that the trend seems to have caught up with his taste. (Just a little insight into why I call him Ares.) I'm going to be very vague when introducing the plot because I don't want to give you any spoilers. I think the less you know about a movie beforehand the better. So I want to give you just enough information to draw you in, but not so much that you know what's going on as soon as you start watching them.
The Adam Project
Production: Netflix (movie)
Cast:
Ryan Reynolds, also known as Deadpool, The Hitman's Bodyguard, and Free Guy. He has been involved in lots of hit movies lately, most of them have been funny and interesting. We especially loved the concept of Free Guy and were looking forward to it for a long time before it was available. So when we saw that he had another sci-fi film, we had to check it out. In The Adam Project, Reynolds resumes his role as the character that is funny yet kick-ass with severe daddy issues.
Zoe Saldaña. As soon as I saw her on screen, I exclaimed "Lieutenant Uhura!" I was going to refer to her as Uhura in the new Star Trek movies, but then I realized that they really aren't that new anymore. She was Lieutenant Uhura in the alternate timeline Star Trek movies with Chris Pine and Gamora from Guardians of The Galaxy. She is really an exceptional actress, not to mention absolutely beautiful and seems to not have aged at all.
Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner. I never thought that I'd see them as a screen couple again after 13 Going On 30! It is no doubt that they are both amazing actors. They played small yet essential roles in this movie and did a great job.
Walker Scobell, whom I have never heard of before but have to mention since he plays one of the main characters in the movie. Though he isn't famous yet, he is an impressive child actor.
Tags: sci-fi, time travel, alternate timeline
Introduction:
We did not expect to like this movie so much because it's set in the present. Ares used to say that he thinks production is just being lazy when they make a futuristic sci-fi movie but set it in a retro scene. I only recently changed his mind about Back to The Future 2. Despite not having shiny and cool sets throughout the entire movie, the concept is interesting and the story was engaging.
It's not all just special effects and cool sci-fi scenes. It also makes you ponder on time travel and how our lives might turn out differently if just a tiny factor in time was changed. As per Ryan Reynolds movies and his rampant on-screen daddy issues, the movie contains moving scenes of parental love, demonstrating the relationship between father and son. I am not ashamed to admit that it even brought be to tears. It's definitely a great movie except for the very last bit that kind of had us going "that's not really how physics works."
Halo
Production: Paramount (series)
Cast:
Pablo Schreiber from Den of Thieves plays the main role of Master Chief in Halo, showing the struggle of a trained soldier, a weapon, a Spartan who gains freewill and a conscience.
Natascha McElhone, not a household name but definitely a recognizable face. She plays the genius scientist and creator of the Spartans.
Shabana Azmi is one of the most acclaimed Indian actresses. She usually appears in Hindi films so I have not seen her performance before. But here, she does a great job portraying a calculating politician.
Yerin Ha plays another main character, Kwan Ha. The sole survivor of the alien's attack on her home planet.
Tags: gaming, sci-fi, aliens
Introduction:
As of right now, as I am writing this, only 2 episodes have been made available, so there's no telling how the rest of the series is going to go. But so far, I'm loving it. For the gamers out there, I'm sure you are familiar with the concept of Spartans. Not the Spartans of Ancient Greek, but the cyber-enhanced soldiers from the video game Halo.
Ares proudly announced that he bet most people do not know what "halo" means. Walking into his trap, I said "the shiny circle above angels?" He laughed and told me that it stood for "high-altitude low-opening." So here I am, spreading knowledge. In military service, the phrase specifically refers to soldiers that are specially trained to arrive from altitudes that are so high that their vehicles are undetectable. Then they drop to the ground from the plane, now too low to be detected, and start attacking without the enemy even having enough time to notice their presence. And this is exactly how the Spartans show up in their first scene.
This is definitely one of the shows that draw interest because of their cool and elaborate costumes and special effects. 20 minutes or so into the first episode, we see the intro of the series. It shows Master Chief being slowly dressed into his Spartan suit with nano-technology. I kept screaming that it was so cool throughout the minute-long intro and refused to skip it. Ares said that it is similar to the teaser of Halo 2, where a Spartan was snapped into his suit and spit out a cigar butt before putting on his helmet. He had thought that it was so cool that he had the video saved. But we couldn't find it anywhere or on YouTube, so if you have the video or a link to it, please reach out!
The storyline is intriguing, too. It's currently still shrouded in mystery and I can't wait for the next episode.
Moonfall
Production: Lionsgate Films and Huayi Brothers (movie)
Cast:
Patrick Wilson plays the lead of a former NASA astronaut who was partnered with non-other than Cat Woman herself, Halle Berry.
John Bradley, also known as Sam Tarly from Game of Thrones. He once again plays his role of an awkward outcast. He is a conspiracy theorist and self-proclaimed megastructure expert in this movie, who ends up becoming one of the heroes of the movie.
Michael Peña plays a small role in this movie. However, his highly recognizable face would definitely draw attention. Though his role is minor, his performance was funny and heart-felt.
Tags: sci-fi, space
Introduction:
It is no doubt that Earth is able to be home to such diverse and beautiful lives because of the perfect distance and relationship between us and all the planets around us. We have been to the moon and we have numerous astrologists that seem to be experts on what the universe contains. But what if these planets are not what we thought they were?
Not only is the concept of the movie interesting, where the conspiracy theorists end up being correct, but it has plenty of emotions tied up in the storyline. It shows us the love of parents for their children and the strength of friendships. It also taps into the feeling we all have from time to time: when we know or think that we are right, but nobody would believe us.
I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I also shed a few tears during this movie. And the ending also seems to suggest that a sequel is not impossible. Though I sincerely hope they don't make one. Sequels always ruin the movie.
Moonshot
Production: Warner Brothers (movie)
Cast:
Lana Condor, who was recently made famous by Netflix for her role of Lara Jean Covey in To All The Boys I Loved Before 1, 2, and 3, plays the lead role of trust fund baby Sophie. Who is intelligent, well-organized, and had her entire life planned out with checkboxes that tick off.
Cole Sprouse plays the male lead of Walt. I know him as Cody from Zack and Cody's Suite Life and also Ross' son Ben from Friends. Some of you may know him from Riverdale. The indisputable fact is that he has been going strong in Hollywood since he was a child actor. His role is unbelievably relatable, a boy who is so average in every aspect that he was described as having "extraordinary mediocrity." However, his moonshot thinking of achieving what is considered impossible for him, leads us down his journey.
Tags: rom-com, space
Introduction:
When I saw Lana Condor, I thought she was going to be type-casted into another unbearable romantic comedy. But I was pleasantly surprised by the film! The film does not seem to take itself too seriously and the characters make a couple of jokes on their own expense. I find the artificial intelligent robots in this movie particularly endearing. They make snarky comments, occasionally say mean things, and seem exasperated by human's stupidity at times while remaining friendly to people. I would definitely say that Gary the robot is one of the most important characters in this movie despite his role being minor.
The movie is light, cute, and predictable but it does not follow the typical belief that one must finally achieve their childhood dreams to be successful. It shows us that even though a character is repeatedly painted as useless for being average, he ultimately realizes where he truly belongs. And sometimes, we have to go on a journey that takes us back to where we started to realize that we have been at our destination all along, just like Santiago from The Alchemist.
I have to say that there isn't a whole lot of science in this movie, but it painted an interesting background for the story.
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