Happy New Year, Osgoode! During the lawless purgatory otherwise known as the time between December 26th and 31st, I developed an insatiable sci-fi affliction and watched too many movies. If you can make the time to watch something new even as classes ramp up again, here are some of my top modern science fiction recommendations.
Blade Runner (1982, dir. Ridley Scott)
The sequel is better. 4.5 Stars.
Blade Runner is a legendary movie, for good reason. Its aesthetic and direction are among the most memorable of any movie I’ve ever seen. The use of lighting and colour alone makes this film a worthwhile watch. This movie has inspired endless derivatives, but they never capture what makes this thing so special. However, despite how compelling the visuals and sound design are, the plot is held together by scotch tape. The fascinating themes of personhood, religion, and environmentalism can be lost in the shuffle on first viewing. I, at least, had to rewatch this a few times before fully understanding its message. Regardless, given its place in film history and influence over the techno-noir genre and stories involving artificial humans, I consider this an absolute must-watch.
Arrival (2016, dir. Denis Villeneuve)
Still bitter about Amy Adams losing that Oscar. 5 Stars.
I can’t even make jokes; this movie is undeniably incredible. This slow, atmospheric drama held its own in a year stacked with other incredible, powerhouse releases (to name a few, Moonlight and La La Land). A serious, thought-provoking story about how we communicate with one another. Can language cross barriers of culture and time? Arrival answers this question and will probably make you cry in doing so. I’ll always remember this story’s unique take on fate and the pain that comes with living. And, the short story that this movie is based on (Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang) is somehow even better! I’d highly recommend reading that, too.
Interstellar (2014, dir. Christopher Nolan)
What if we kissed in the time-dilation hell of a black hole’s accretion disk? 5 Stars.
There’s so much to love about this movie: its optimism, the performances, the visual effects, the score, and the somewhat overbearing, beating-you-over-the-head-with-it themes of love and humanity. Yes, it’s long and convoluted. Yes, it’s overly sentimental. Lots of people don’t like this movie for those reasons, and I get it. But in my opinion, the sentimentality is what makes this thing—powered by realistic (?) but confusing explanations of gravity and time—feel human. I like Nolan, but I know some of his movies lean into bombastic ideas with sub-par execution (…Tenet…). I don’t think that’s the case here. I especially think this movie is interesting to look at in the context of his career, contrasting Interstellar’s look at science with wonder and fear with the cynical perspective on the American scientific apparatus in Oppenheimer. With the tenth anniversary of this film coming around this year, here’s hoping it’s re-released in theatres.
Saltburn (2023, dir. Emerald Fennel)
Barry Keoghan is a freak and that’s about it. 3 Stars.
Is this a sci-fi movie? No, but where else would I talk about it? Certainly not in next month’s ranking of the best picture nominees. This is a weird one, because Saltburn is definitely trying to be weird—which somehow makes it less weird and just contrived. There are some… questionable moments in here, and I cringed a few times thinking about how the creators probably inserted them because of how “out there” and “crazy” those scenes were.
Jacob Elordi does well for himself playing a manic-pixie-dream-girl, but Barry Keoghan doesn’t really sell being eighteen years old when he looks about forty. The technical aspects of this movie—cinematography, costume design, and especially lighting—were compelling, but by far the most memorable aspect of Saltburn was how much asinine internet discourse it spurred. Overall, this is a somewhat interesting but shallow look at upper-middle-class desperation to become part of the upper upper echelon. Barry’s character reminded me of people who pay for Twitter, desperate to be noticed by Elon Musk when that man couldn’t care less if you live or die.
Whatever. It was fun. I’d recommend it. What more can you ask for?