-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson Counts Down His Top Ten Sci-Fi Movies
- Thread starter Kraftwerk
- Start date
- Status
The Faceless Master
Member
Deep Impact? YES!
Why would you expect his list to be "better respected"? I honestly find his choices pretty bad. In the end it's all subjective anyway, but still, no Moon or District 9? Pffffft!
Team Filler
Member
I'll give you The Rock, but I'm not as high on the other two, and still I enjoy The Island more than anything else he's done.
Screaming Meat
Unconfirmed Member
Pffft. No Zardoz? What the hell kind of list is this?
Trent Strong
Banned
That is not a good list.
Robot Pants
Member
Yup
Delta Assault
Member
We've come to the point where listing Michael Bay and Zach Snyder films is considered *not* pandering to the unwashed masses.
...what a time to be alive.
Lana Del Rey
Banned
I should really watch Gattaca. I've seen the first act 3 times now, maybe I'll finish tomorrow.
It's boring as shit, but you were awesome in Contact!
To be fair, the masses didn't go watch The Island.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
Are these in order? If so, how is The Matrix his "top film in any category" but still not at the top of this list? Well, whatever, good selections overall, with a few exceptions.
EDIT: Oh, chronological order. Somehow missed that!
EDIT: Oh, chronological order. Somehow missed that!
For some reason I was thinking of The Beach, when he included The Island in his list and was going, WTF. LOL. For the record, The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, scores only 6.6 on IMDB and The Island, starring Ewan McGregor, scores only 6.9. I didn't like The Beach and don't think I've seen The Island.
But yeah, what a strange choice for the Astrophysicist, picking The Island over the seminal Gattaca (scores 7.8 on IMDB), which is all about a man's impossible dream (given his lowly position in life) of space travel and to Saturn's largest moon Titan, no less (Titan is covered on Cosmos, the only moon in our solar system with an atmosphere). What's also a little odd, given his "low budget cousin" comment, is that Gattaca is from 1997, where as The Island is from 2005 and despite its modest budget ($36 million) Gattaca looks gorgeous.
But yeah, what a strange choice for the Astrophysicist, picking The Island over the seminal Gattaca (scores 7.8 on IMDB), which is all about a man's impossible dream (given his lowly position in life) of space travel and to Saturn's largest moon Titan, no less (Titan is covered on Cosmos, the only moon in our solar system with an atmosphere). What's also a little odd, given his "low budget cousin" comment, is that Gattaca is from 1997, where as The Island is from 2005 and despite its modest budget ($36 million) Gattaca looks gorgeous.
legacyzero
Banned
The Island was pretty good, tho.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Replace Terminator, Contact, The Matrix and The Island with Inception, John Carter, Prometheus and 12 Monkeys and you got something there, Tyson.
Triggerhappytel
Member
It's ironic really that The Island is Michael Bay's best film since 1996, yet it was also far and away his least successful.
Delta Assault
Member
As a Michael Bay action flick, it's in the top tier of his catalogue, sure.
...but on a list of the top ten sci-fi movies of all time?
DoktorEvil
Banned
It's NDT's "personal" favorites list.
He's not a Roger Ebert, so let's cut the man some slack.
mattiewheels
And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
I'm trying to picture what would have emerged if the Watchmen movie never happened, and it was instead done as an HBO miniseries (which isn't implausible, since people love their superheroes nowadays).
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Not a bad film but too pro totalitarian and misanthropic, not a favorite. I guess it works as sort of warning but the people behind this film are just as scary and I think it is a fucked up film made by fucked up people.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
I like it more than the above. The film is flawed, too slow and unengaging, does not have as strong characters as other films but it kind of works, humanity as a character is kind of interesting and is one of the most ambitious sci fi films.
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Did not see
The Terminator (1984)
The more tense, less intelligent, with less heart and less funny and worse characters and action Terminator. Also less exploring the artifical intelligence of Arnold bot. Still a great film.
The Quiet Earth (1985)
Didn't see
Contact (1997)
Didn't see
Deep Impact (1998)
Didn't see
The Matrix (1999)
Agree with Neil
The Island (2005)
Liked the begining a lot, didn't like the rest or the film overall. If the rest of the film was like it's begining it could had been one of the greats. As it is, it is far poorer than Gattaca.
Watchmen (2009)
I liked the film but less so than Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises or X-men 2.
And the runner up is…
Blade Runner (1982)
Meh, not a very good film. As far as A.I goes I much prefer A.I and Ghost in the Shell.
Not a bad film but too pro totalitarian and misanthropic, not a favorite. I guess it works as sort of warning but the people behind this film are just as scary and I think it is a fucked up film made by fucked up people.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
I like it more than the above. The film is flawed, too slow and unengaging, does not have as strong characters as other films but it kind of works, humanity as a character is kind of interesting and is one of the most ambitious sci fi films.
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Did not see
The Terminator (1984)
The more tense, less intelligent, with less heart and less funny and worse characters and action Terminator. Also less exploring the artifical intelligence of Arnold bot. Still a great film.
The Quiet Earth (1985)
Didn't see
Contact (1997)
Didn't see
Deep Impact (1998)
Didn't see
The Matrix (1999)
Agree with Neil
The Island (2005)
Liked the begining a lot, didn't like the rest or the film overall. If the rest of the film was like it's begining it could had been one of the greats. As it is, it is far poorer than Gattaca.
Watchmen (2009)
I liked the film but less so than Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises or X-men 2.
And the runner up is…
Blade Runner (1982)
Meh, not a very good film. As far as A.I goes I much prefer A.I and Ghost in the Shell.
RoyaleDuke
Banned
Finally someone who agrees with how I feel about the film.
This film is my generations Bladerunner, and a marvelous adaptation of some incredibly complex material.
EDIT: Why the fuck he doesn't have Alien in that list is beyond me.
Wolfe
Member
Precisely because it's his opinion, he can disagree with it all you want but why not at least have the decency to respect it?
Just because you find his choices to be bad doesn't mean they are (or aren't for that matter), for example I think Moon and Alien are great but Serenity is poo. I still respect your opinion that it belongs on that list though.
Still a better film than T2.
This isnt allowed.
Not really it isn't but
So I guess we are going to just disagree on the Terminator films
ShadowkillXNA
Member
Moon is seriously overrated, and Alien is horror, not sci-fi. District 9 wouldnt be a bad choice for that list.
Sadly I agree. I liked Moon when I first saw it but I was very underwhelmed by its rewatchability. Nice little movie though and Sam Rockwell shows once again how immensely talented he is.
And Alien......yep. I kind of wonder if it's possible to make any movie take place in space without it being considered sci-fi under some people's definition. It's clearly a horror movie.
Just labels. I never would have even considered Watchman as a sci-fi movie. Is Spider-Man a sci-fi movie?
The label doesn't really matter. It probably shouldn't be a surprise that a movie that takes place in space gets called sci-fi.
Extra Sauce
Member
Alien and Moon son come on.
edit: Alien is as much sci-fi as it is horror. The idea that a movie can only be part of one genre is silly.
edit: Alien is as much sci-fi as it is horror. The idea that a movie can only be part of one genre is silly.
Extra Sauce
Member
The first half of The Island is a good sci-fi movie. The rest is typical Michael Bay vehicle chases and explosions.
edit: Why didn't I just add this to my previous post? I blame how late it is.
edit: Why didn't I just add this to my previous post? I blame how late it is.
Extra Sauce
Member
Fortress is the sci-fi champ!
I loved that movie as a kid. I've been meaning to revisit it but I'm terrified of ruining it.
MisterHero
Super Member
Where's Space Cowboys?!
Ol No Bones
Banned
The island is a good movie. Pretty thoughtful movie.
Wolfe
Member
I was hoping someone would point that out lol, but exactly, I still respect the fact that you think it's the superior flick for whatever reason!
Maybe I didn't word that as well as I should but I just meant that your post made it seem like you didn't respect his choices at all, as in giving it no respect. You can disagree with it all you want but the dude gave reasons why he thought what he did and for you to just come in and say it's a shitty list without even explaining why (you thought the movies you mentioned should have been included).
But I digress, this is an argument I've gotten into before on here and I doubt I managed to get anyone to see things differently.
If you have a HBO subs you can judge for yourself whether The Island is a worthy entry on NDT's Sci-Fi list.
I just watched it (on the recently expanded HBO On-Demand (XFinity) cable service) and I stand by original comments 110%. The Island is largely a ripoff of Logan's Run, except instead of creating an entirely believable futuristic world, it's set in our near future, with major plot elements essentially borrowed from Coma (c1978, a favorite of mine). Overall it was merely o.k., but I highly doubt it will be making the top hundred of most Sci-Fi fans, let alone their top ten (unlike Logan's Run and Gattaca).
The Coma aspect of the movie is actually quite interesting (
, except for NDT, as a scientist, I'm again surprised he didn't baulk at the science, which is highly questionable (
), where as Gattaca's science is pretty much rock solid and could be entirely feasible in our near futures.
In fact, I suspect his
made this list, which might explain the anomaly 
.
I just watched it (on the recently expanded HBO On-Demand (XFinity) cable service) and I stand by original comments 110%. The Island is largely a ripoff of Logan's Run, except instead of creating an entirely believable futuristic world, it's set in our near future, with major plot elements essentially borrowed from Coma (c1978, a favorite of mine). Overall it was merely o.k., but I highly doubt it will be making the top hundred of most Sci-Fi fans, let alone their top ten (unlike Logan's Run and Gattaca).
The Coma aspect of the movie is actually quite interesting (
in this case, creating clones purely to provide backup organs for their "sponsor" (the cloned "rich" person)
growing fully matured clones
In fact, I suspect his
clone
.1.21Gigawatts
Banned
Neil DeGrasse Tyson said:
No, you're not alone. I'm with you on that one.
CyclopsRock
Member
I'd never heard of this guy until about 4 months ago. Now he's everywhere - what happened with him?!
- Status