I'm just saying I'd often rather watch a movie while doing schoolwork or laundry or something and save my free time for shit I can't otherwise do. I go through a novel or two a month, so I do enjoy reading. I just think the claim that someone who doesn't prefer books over films is somehow more primitive or worth less than someone who does.
One of the first big films with dubstep being used, works quite well as the background music of a falling apart London in the not very distant future...think Cyrus DJ'd at the opening party
I think the best thing about this film is how terrifyingly involving the setting is; it's not too far in the future so it's not impossible to relate to.
Every time I watch this film I find myself thinking, "shit, this could happen", even though I'm well aware that is ridiculously unlikely.
jowellz wrote:I think the best thing about this film is how terrifyingly involving the setting is; it's not too far in the future so it's not impossible to relate to.
Every time I watch this film I find myself thinking, "shit, this could happen", even though I'm well aware that is ridiculously unlikely.
Yeah exactly, that sort of Sci-Fi is so much better than the poncy galatical uniforms and laser beams nonsense that makes up the majority of the genre.
we share the same opinion, if you do read foundation, don't be put off by the way it kind of expects you to know what it's on about at first.. it gets soooooooo good.
abs wrote:depends, sometimes galactic empire laser stuff is the most amazing shit ever.
read the foundation series by Isaac Asimov and tell me it's a load of nonsense, it's the most clever sci-fi shit ever.
They're good but I don't think they're the most clever sci-fi shit ever. I personally believe that accolade goes to Richard K. Morgan for Altered Carbon, lots of believable tech and shizzle in there.
Altered Carbon is an exciting SF/crime hybrid, with an intricate (but always plausible) plot, a powerful noir atmosphere, and enough explosive action to satisfy the most die-hard thriller fan. It's also an extremely well-crafted piece of fiction. For all the ultra-violence, there's no American movie-style overkill: the furious pace is balanced by contemplative passages, giving the reader a chance to take a breather. The writing is skillful, with elegant prose that lifts even the most gruesome scenes above the ordinary. And there's a depth to this novel, with its strong characterizations and thoughtful treatment of alienation and loss, that one doesn't find in the average thriller.
Especially impressive is the world building. Morgan's 25th century Earth is a fascinating construct, both in its vividly-depicted futuristic strangeness and in what, under all the technology, hasn't changed. Earth's complicated history, as well as the histories of a number of colony worlds, is revealed in controlled snippets throughout the book -- bits and pieces that solidly establish atmosphere and context, yet are glancing and elliptical, and leave much unexplained. For the most part this mosaic approach works very well -- after all, this sort of vibrant half-knowledge is exactly what one has about the real world. Only in the book's central premise is there a bit of a gap. There are hints as to why it might have been useful to develop a method to digitize human minds, but in real life, expensive technological solutions rarely trickle down to the poor and disenfranchised, and it's not entirely credible that digitization should be universal. Morgan does take care to draw distinctions between rich and poor -- there's a big difference between the re-sleeving options available to the wealthy Bancrofts and those available to Louise, a prostitute Kovacs encounters. Still, the ramifications of such a radical social change don't seem quite adequately elaborated.
i've watched it a few times. it's an ok film, decent acting but yet something disturbs me. there are some cringeworthy bits for example when michael caine puts on this horrible music with turntablism(?) and screaming on it, was it supposed to be like the music of the future? kinda funny. i love the design on the cars and stuff. it's also a bit depressing and i'm not a big fan of depressing films
jowellz wrote:I think the best thing about this film is how terrifyingly involving the setting is; it's not too far in the future so it's not impossible to relate to.
Every time I watch this film I find myself thinking, "shit, this could happen", even though I'm well aware that is ridiculously unlikely.
Think the point is that we're already at this point. The complete failure of media, warrantless invasion of privacy, police brutality, black hooded arrests/detention camps, overwhelming military force brought to bear on civilian populations. What I find so shocking is looking at those images and thinking, yeah that would be a total shit world, then looking outside your window and seeing all of it unfolding around you.
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This film exposed me to dubstep for the first time.
abs wrote:depends, sometimes galactic empire laser stuff is the most amazing shit ever.
read the foundation series by Isaac Asimov and tell me it's a load of nonsense, it's the most clever sci-fi shit ever.
They're good but I don't think they're the most clever sci-fi shit ever. I personally believe that accolade goes to Richard K. Morgan for Altered Carbon, lots of believable tech and shizzle in there.
this sounds good, the only sci-fi ive read of the balls out distant future type is Peter F Hamiltons The Night Dawn trilogy, how do the two compare? Always looking for new scifi to read, but too much crap to wade through.