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"Never send a human to do a machine's job."
When Star Wars (now titled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) debuted in May of 1977, it forever changed sci-fi — and Hollywood’s perception of the genre — with its epic fantasy story and groundbreaking technology. It quickly became the highest grossing movie of all time and garnered numerous accolades, winning six of the ten Academy Awards categories for which it was nominated. Star Wars continually ranks near the top of just about every movie list category out there, including our own recent Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 1970’s and ‘80s, as voted by you, the Reelz.com readers.
The long-awaited prequel trilogy that was launched in May of 1999 with Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was a huge success for Lucasfilm, but, even though it boasted far superior special effects, it failed to make the same sort of impact on moviegoers as the original. Was Jar Jar Binks really the source of the ambivalence that many fans felt toward The Phantom Menace or was it that they had already had their minds blown by The Matrix, which opened two months prior? And how do the Star Wars prequels and The Matrix trilogy stack up against other sci-fi movies with next-level special effects like Avatar or more cerebral movies like Donnie Darko? Sit down, jack in and upload your choices of the best sci-fi movies from 1990 to today.
Rate the Top 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies (1990s - 2010s) >>
Posted 03.14.13 by BrentJS -
Want to mess up your head for 2.5 minutes? Check out any of these 2012 trailers.
Trailers are intended to give movie fans a little glimpse of upcoming movies and to intrigue an audience to buy tickets for another movie. Many trailers accomplish that task admirably, but some trailers… well some trailers just mess with your head. For that latter group of movies we give you the Reelzie nominees in the category of Craziest WTF! Trailer.
Vote for the Craziest Trailer >> Posted 12.19.12 by Mandy -
Which of this year's movies deserve the industry’s highest honor?
This has been an incredible year for movie lovers, especially fans of genre movies. There were fewer superheroes on the big screen, but they ruled the box office, nonetheless, with smartly written, ingeniously directed and just plain fun comic book adaptations coming in first, second, and fifth on the list of the highest-grossing movies of the year. Sci-fi fans were made to suffer through a couple of early duds, but had their patience rewarded with the return of some classic characters and one of the most influential directors to work in the genre after a thirty-year hiatus. Fantasy fans got to choose between whimsical and warrior Snow Whites, and the world's most popular vampire couple had a baby, not to mention that the greatest high fantasy franchise of all time returns to theaters this month after a decade slumbering in the Shire. (Horror fans got the short end of the stake stick this year, with too many sequels and not enough original content.)
Women continued to assert themselves in 2012, with more female-driven comedies getting laughs for the kinds of jokes once reserved for men, and the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director is almost a sure thing for another nomination. Independent studios also made a splash this year, turning out several engaging, moving, and downright brilliant dramas that are every bit as good as the big studio dramas with A-list directors.
Which movies were the best? Which ones deserve the honor of being nominated for the movie industry's top prize? That's up to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to decide, but we want to know what you think. Ignore genre and tell us which movies deserve to be nominated for Oscars, whether for Best Picture, Best Animated Feature or Best Documentary.
Top 10 Most Oscar-Worthy Movies of 2012 >>
Posted 12.11.12 by BrentJS -
The first trailer for the upcoming sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas clocked in at 5 and a half minutes, basically because, as directors Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) and Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy) explained, the movie is "hard to describe." As Tom Hanks explains in a new featurette for Cloud Atlas, the movie "is going to have a scope that's bigger than anything I've ever seen." So we guess they weren't kidding when they said it was hard to describe.
watch the video >> Posted 10.16.12 by Ryan -
This trailer is like the Cliff Notes for the first, much longer trailer
What's new: When the five-minute-plus trailer for Cloud Atlas debuted, it's probably safe to say most of us we baffled. The movie looked amazing and interesting and compelling but we were left with almost no idea what the movie was really about (expect that Tom Hanks has the hots for Halle Berry) but this new theatrical trailer clocks in under three minutes, is a tad more digestible, and tries at least to explain what the movie is about.
So what is it about? Everything is connected, as we're told in the trailers. Much of the cast play several characters in the story, which spans from the remote South Pacific in the 19th century to a distant, post-apocalyptic future. The movie, which is based on the acclaimed novel by British author David Mitchell, consists of six interwoven stories.
Who's in it? It's probably easier to list who's not in this movie but the cast includes Hanks, Berry, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, and Jim Broadbent. The movie boosts not just two directors, but three — Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) and Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy).
Fun Fact:The movie cost north of $100M and is reportedly the most expensive independently financed movie of all time.
You want trailers. we got trailers. Saturdays 10:00a ET / 7:00a PT
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We got our first good look at Cloud Atlas yesterday, when a score of new still images from the upcoming sci-fi epic co-written and co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) and German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) were released online. Now, the first teaser poster has also been released, along with an an awesome, 5-plus minute trailer for the movie.
Why such a long trailer? In an introductory video released along with the trailer, the notoriously camera-shy Wachowskis and Tykwer explain that they felt they needed a "really, really, really long trailer" because the movie — which takes place in many different locations and time periods, with multiple actors playing multiple roles — is both "hard to describe" and "hard to reduce" to a single genre.
see the poster and videos >> Posted 07.27.12 by BrentJS -
An incredible, five-plus minute international trailer for Cloud Atlas, the new sci-fi epic co-written and co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) and German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), hit the 'net yesterday; however, it apparently was not supposed to be released online yet as it was quickly taken down by most sites. Fortunately, Warner Bros. has released, via EW, a score of official still images from the movie, so you can gaze in wonder at the complex, emotionally-charged sci-fi goodness to come.
Based on David Mitchell's award-winning 2004 sci-fi novel of the same name, Cloud Atlas is comprised of six interconnected storylines, each taking place in different locations and time periods. The impressive cast includes Matrix alum Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, Jim Sturgess, Jim Broadbent, Keith David, Doo-na Bae, Ben Whishaw, and Academy Award–winners Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon and Halle Berry.
SEE THE NEW IMAGES >> Posted 07.26.12 by BrentJS -
The release dates of two highly anticipated genre movies have finally been announced.
First up is Cloud Atlas, an adaptation of David Mitchell's award-winning 2004 sci-fi novel that was co-written and co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski, (The Matrix) and German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). Warner Bros. (WB) initially passed on Cloud Atlas, feeling that it was unaffordable at $170 million, but the Wachowskis and Tykwer found foreign backers and ended up making it for $101 million — thanks, in part, to Tom Hanks taking a smaller fee for his participation — and WB picked up North American distribution rights at Cannes for "about $20 million" despite the movie's lengthy 2:44 running time exceeding the contractural running time of 2:30. According to IndieWire, producer Grant Hill revealed that WB "plans to open the movie stateside December 6" and may screen it at the Berlin International Film Festival to make it eligible for Oscar consideration.
more about Cloud Atlas and Sin City 2 >> Posted 05.18.12 by BrentJS -
It's been extremely quiet on the Cloud Atlas front since the sci-fi epic co-written and co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) and German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, The International) went into production in Glasgow, Scotland, and Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany, in September. Other than the "spy" photos of Hugo Weaving and Halle Berry on the set in Glasgow, the only thing we've seen or heard about the movie since production began is the production photo featuring the trio of directors that apparently includes several key props from each of the movie's six interconnected storylines. Now, however, Korean movie site HanCinema has posted online two gorgeous pieces of concept art and a still image from the movie that features South Korean actress Doo-na Bae (The Host) as Sonmi-451, a clone living in dystopian Seoul, Korea, in 2144.
see the concept art and still image >> Posted 12.29.11 by BrentJS -
A new sci-fi action tentpole from the creators of The Matrix trilogy? Yes, please!
According to Deadline, Warner Bros. has given the green light to an original creation by Andy and Lana Wachowski called Jupiter Ascending that could go into production by as early as Spring 2012. Nothing is known about the plot and no cast members have been hired as of yet, but considering the incredible impact The Matrix had and continues to have on cinema and pop culture in general we are already sold on whatever the movie is about and whomever they end up casting in it.
what have the Wachowskis been up to? >> Posted 10.22.11 by BrentJS