ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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There are few sci-fi movies as fun to watch as the three below. One is about a giant monster that rampages through the Big Apple and takes quite a bite out of it.

The second one has been called “The best Star Trek movie!” — even though it isn’t really a Star Trek movie, just sort of one, in a clever way.

The third one managed to rewrite the rules for action movies, knocking the socks right off all previous action movies . . . in . . . slow . . . motion.



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Godzilla (1998)



In the late 1990s I developed a survival skill that saved my sanity.

Whenever the missus turned into a raging monster and started roaring at me for real-or-imagined offenses, I would make a strategic retreat from the house, rather than make the mistake the Japanese military often did — waste ammunition in pointless combat with a fearsome foe that couldn't be stopped.

And whenever I used this brilliant defense, I'd make a bee-line for the local cinema and pick a movie from the 24 titles on the marquee. There was always something playing that was much better than staying home and being eaten alive.

So, that's how I happened to see Godzilla for the first time — and part of why I loved it.

But this movie would have won my heart even if it hadn't saved me from verbal dismemberment, because it fixed all the things about the legendary Japanese monster that had always bothered me — the chunky shape, the plodding walk, the apparent need to find a major city and lower the property values to zero just because he liked the feel of architecture between his toes.




Roland Emmerich's Godzilla has style, he's got class, he's got feet like Fred Astair's that allow him to outrun Blackhawk helicopters and swan dive into the East River so neatly that the Olympic judges would hold up signs with 10s straight across the board.

Godzilla would earn the Gold Metal in the swimming competition, too, gliding around underwater and dodging torpedoes like a bullfighter. Poetry in motion, this guy was, and I knew that all those beloved Harryhausen monsters had finally met their match.





So, ladies and gentlemen, that's my Godzilla story — a tale of rescued sanity and raging behemoths. I'm forever grateful to the Big Green Lizard.

If you find yourself under attack from a "significantly hostile other", just grab your DVD of this movie and find comfort in the arms of a caring and sympathetic monster.
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Galaxy Quest (1999)



I wouldn't have believed a spoof of Star Trek could be this funny and this exciting, both at the same time.

Knowing that the soap opera conflicts between the stars of the fictional series were based on the real life drama between Shatner and his costars really gives life to this wonderful combination of comedy, action, and science fiction.

Harold Ramis was slated to direct this movie but he quit. Here's what Wikipedia says.
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Ramis was hired in November 1998, but departed in February 1999 due to casting difficulties. He wanted Alec Baldwin for the lead role, who turned it down. Steve Martin and Kevin Kline were considered, though Kline turned it down due to family reasons.

Ramis did not agree with the casting of Tim Allen as Jason Nesmith, and Dean Parisot took over as director within three weeks.

After seeing the film, Ramis said he was ultimately impressed with Allen's performance.
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The aliens were created by the Stan Winston Studio from designs by Crash McCreery, Chris Swift, Brom, Bernie Wrightson, and Simon Bisley.

Wrightson is the amazing artist famous for a series of Swamp Thing comics and many other fine works.
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The Matrix (1999)



Boy, did this one ever knock us all for a loop!

The Wachowski brothers managed to sell this idea to the big brass at Warner Bros., and then they gave the cast a homework assignments — a colossal "required reading" list so they would be smart in real life and not just look smart on film.

Here's how Wikipedia describes it.
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The actors of the film were required to be able to understand and explain The Matrix. Simulacra and Simulation [ — a 1981 philosophical treatise by Jean Baudrillard seeking to examine the relationships among reality, symbols, and society. It was required reading for most of the principal cast and crew.

Reeves stated that the Wachowskis had him read Simulacra and Simulation, Out of Control, and Evolutionary Psychology even before they opened up the script, and eventually he was able to explain all the philosophical nuances involved.
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So, remember that the next time you hear somebody suggest that Reeves doesn't strike them as being too smart.

Now that the directors had smartened up the cast, they went to work on their bodies. ("Remember, Grasshopper — your greatest weapon is your mind!").

Wikipedia has the skinny on that backstory, too.
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The directors had also been admirers of Hong Kong action cinema for a long time, so they decided to hire the Chinese martial arts choreographer and film director Yuen Woo-ping to work on fight scenes.

To prepare for the wire fu, the actors had to train hard for several months. The Wachowskis first scheduled four months for training. Yuen was optimistic but then began to worry when he realized how unfit the actors were.

Yuen let their body style develop and then worked with each actor's strength. He built on Reeves' diligence, Fishburne's resilience, Weaving's precision, and Moss's feminine grace. Yuen designed Moss' moves to suit her deftness and lightness.
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All this rigorous training and in-depth education sounds a lot like what happened to the characters in the movie -- except the actors couldn't just plug a long scary thing into the back of their heads, shake around in a chair like they had a snake in their shorts, and then hop up to say, "I know Kung Fu . . . "

I'm impressed.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)