ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Science fiction movies range from stories about post-apocalyptic worlds to advanced societies in the far future.

And sometimes . . . they're just plane fun.

This thread is intended for discussions about light-hearted or comical tales that quality as science fiction. I came up with a list of twenty movies that I think fit that description. I'll kick off this thread with the first five (listed alphabetically), and I won't add more until you guys have added a few titles of your own, or provided comments on the ones shown below.

Click on the posters if you'd like to access the thread for any of the movies.
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This great movie (and its two sequels) does a masterful job of combining comedy with solid science fiction. Other "fun" sci-fi movies may present more complex plots rooted deeply in science, while still others focus more on the comedy and less on realism.

But the Back to the Future trilogy strikes a perfect balance.
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Director Matthew Robbins managed to mine comedy from a story about desperate people living in a condemned building . . . and a group of sentient A.I. drones from who-knows-where. Some folks found this unusual tale unsatisfying, but I think it excels in heart and imagination.



In addition to the broad comedy, these two time travel movies do something that no others have ever done; they present the idea that time travelers can plan to go back to a time before an event their currently experiencing, and make changes which can alter the moment to their advantage.

As crazy as this may sound, it worked!
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Is this movie science fiction? Well, no.

Is this movie fun? Hell yes?

But with a wealth of great animation by David Allen and his associates, the movie is sort of a "parallel universe" in which dinosaurs co-exist with humans . . . and the humans are hysterically goofy.



Is this move science fiction? Well . . . yes. With lots of action.

Is this movie funny? Again, hell yes!

This is a goofy future that takes itself seriously — without expecting US to. The clever comments on today's culture which are built into this future society are witty and wonderful. Sylvester Stallone makes it all work like a charm.
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Okay, it's your turn, folks. Don't just "lurk" and worship my clever posts from afar! Recently we had 199 guests, and they're greatly appreciated. But we need members who post, too!

So, roll up you sleeves and give this poor struggling message boards a transfusion with your own imaginative and interesting comments.
Please! _
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Monkey Business (1952).

The Rocket Man (1954).

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

Abbott & Costello Meet The Invisible Man (1951).

The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters (1954).

Have Rocket Will Travel (1959).

Visit To a Small Planet (1960).

The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), Son of Flubber (1963).

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962).

[Bud Brewster]

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Amazing! What a great list!

And yet not a single one of the movies on your list is on the list I created to eventually post on this thread!

Mine all just happened to be released between 1970 and 2000, so that's the forum I placed my post in. But we'll just include "fun sci-fi" from any year and not worry about the forum the thread is in.

Or maybe I should move it to Science Fiction Discussions in General, which I can do at any time.

What do you think, Mike?

Anyway, here's five more "Fun Science Fiction Movies".
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I can't help wishing this movie had tried for more humor, since we certainly weren't expected to take it seriously. But it's still a rousing fantasy/adventure



This is a kid's "wish fulfillment" yarn with an enjoyable premise and some witty dialog from Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman). I really liked the alien ship's deep voice before it went a bit nuts and started talking like Pee-we, but I got a kick out of the wacky version of the ship as well.
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Jeez, what a great movie! It pokes fun at Star Trek, but it also allows these Faux Trek actors to become true space heroes! Tim Allen and his co-stars are brilliant, and the FX are delightful to behold. A genuine Fun Sci-Fi movies.
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In 1987 my daughter (All Sci-Fi's Ticket to the Moon) was seven years old, and my son was four. This was the perfect family movie, and we loved it. We saw it at the Starlight Six Drive-in (<— link) which is still in operation in Atlanta!
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I liked thse movies. My kids liked thesemovies. I liked watching these movie with my kids. So if you read anything here against tese movies . . . it's a typo.

First of all, the concept of rhe first on is brilliant: make an epic adventure about four miniaturized kids crossing their backyard.

Throw in a giant insect they befriend and ride on, a colossal battle between said insect and a huge red mutant scopiosaurus, and a wild ride on bubbloid bee creature.

The film became an unexpected box office success, grossing in excess of $222 million worldwide, and became the highest-grossing live-action Disney film ever, a record it held for five years.

The sequel has its golden moments as well
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Maurice]

Of this era specifically...

—The first three Star Wars films
—Flash Gordon
—Parts (pun intended) of Flesh Gordon
—Wizards tho it's really more fantasy
—All three Back to the Future films
—Honey I Shrunk the Kids
—Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Off the top of my head.

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"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles

[Bud Brewster]

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Great list, Maurice! In fact, Flash Gordon, the Back to the Future movies, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids are on my lists above!

Here's a five more "fun sci-fi movies".
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Fantastic Voyage suffered from a sad lack of humor. This movie definietly does not!

The cast is terrific. Dennis Quaid is charming as a Naval pilot, similar to his role in The Right Stuff. Meg Ryan is his spunky girlfriend, similar to her role in Top Gun. Martin Short is a goofy little nerd who yearns NOT to be a goofy little nerd, similar to his role in Three Amigos.

And who would suspect that Kevin McCarthy from Invasion of the Body Snatchers could do comedy so well!
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As fun sci-fi goes, this one is a hoot-and-a-half!

The highly imaginative story is about an ambitious young man who masters a video game which is actually designed to test the player's combat skills.

When he passes with flying colors, he's drafted into the Star League by an alien who looks remarkably like Professor Harold Hill from The Music Man. But instead of forming a band, he's recruiting Star Fighters to battle an armada of enemy aliens.

Now, if THAT does does sound like fun, you're a born party pooper!
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Here's something we don't see every day — a comedy about a typical small town in Florida, circa 1963, who eagerly anticipates the premiere of new science fiction movie.

And even the sci-fi movie is a wild spoof of the genre!

Throw in the Cuban Missile Crisis and a movie producer who rigs up amazing gizmos in the theater, and you've got the Monsterkid Experience we all wish we'd had!
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What could be more fun than a movie about an invisible man that we can see, but the people in the movie can't . . . and he's played by Chevy Chase!

Add a romantic interest played by Darryl Hannah (who made a big splash in a Ron Howard's sci-fi comedy), and this movie becomes a clear winner!

(Sorry . . . I couldn't resist.)
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All three of the Men in Black movies are wildly imaginative and extremely entertaining. The chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones is perfect, and the great score by Danny Elfman is a real plus, too.

And no other movie has gotten so many laughs by creating hysterically funny alien beings!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[scotpens]

The 1993 made-for-cable remake of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, with gorgeous Daryl Hannah as the titular giantess, cranks up the spoof factor by just the right amount (although I don't believe the 1958 original was meant to be taken completely seriously). The movie can be viewed as a feminist parable — you could say it's about a woman's personal growth!

[Bud Brewster]

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Scot, you sly old dog, you've hit the 50-foot nail right on the head!

That wonderful remake of the cult classic is definitely a fine example of a "Fun Sci-Fi" movie. I love it!

I thought I had a download of it, but apparently it's gone for some reason. Can you provide it for us using one of your "pirate sites", matey? (Arrrr!)

Anyway, thanks for reminding us of this very special "Fun Sci-Fi" movie.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Here's a quartet of "Fun Sci-Fi" that I've enjoyed for years. I hope you folks enjoyed them, too.
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The premise of this comedy could just as easily be used in a serious sci-fi movie. A complex alien device from a crashed saucer causes strange temporal anomalies, turning an empty high school building into a collage of time periods in different areas.

Cavemen, dinosaurs, and barbarians run amok while two boys and a shy-but-science-mind-girl struggle to survive. All the scenes in the building are well done — including a T-Rex in the prehistoric-jungle-invested gymnasium.

Hey, who needs The Time Tunnel when your school teaches history lessons using field trips to the past?
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The strange thing about this movie is that (to me, at least), it's only fair during the first half and terrific during the second half?

I'd love to find out if anybody agrees with on this.
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This magnificent sci-fi adventure did everything right!

So why the hell wasn't it the big hit it deserved to be. Disney hoped it would spawn two sequels, but the cancelled the plans because the box office take wasn't big enough.

Ah, well . . . we know a Fun Sci-Fi when we see one, and we've seen this one often.
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I'm not making a pun about electricity when I say this movie polarizes the opinions of viewers. Some folks (like me) love the story, the characters, the amazing Sid Mead designed robot, and even the comedic dialog of Number 5!

Other folks. . . . well . . . don't.

The sequel is fairly good until it gets to the climax, which just doesn't computer — ya know what I mean?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Fun Sci-Fi can be about crazy stuff, like accidentally going up in space shuttle, or discovering strange creatures which burrow underground, or causing a global thermonuclear war while playing video games on your home computer!

You know, the kinds of things that happen to average kids all the time. Right?
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This light-heart film was sabotaged by tragic explosion of the Challenger space shuttle. The idea that NASA could pull such a colossal boner like the one in this movie suddenly seemed possible . . . and not nearly as entertaining.

But the movie is intended to be a grand adventure for a group of bright young people who have to pull together and get back to Earth. It's a shame that two space shuttles were lost, making the premise of this film even more unlikely.
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Tremors and its sequels gave us a very 50s style story. Strange creatures are racing around under the ground, gobbling up people and horses and sheep.

The movies has just enough action, just enough suspense, and just enough interesting characters, and just enough action to make a Fun Sci-Fi movie.
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A classic Boy's Adventure!

Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy are a cute couple, and they do a great job of displaying all the angst a pair of teens would feel if they thought they'd started World War III.

The set of the War Room is a gasser, a very convincing portrayal of what the military would use to orchestrate the destruction of the human race in a global nuclear war.

This enjoyable sci-fi movie ought to look so dated by now it couldn't possibly be enjoyable today, but director John Badham did so well that his 33-year old movie still delivers a fun experience.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)