2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)

2010: The Year We Make Contact is the rarely discussed sequel to 2001 that was released in 1984. Contrary to popular belief, the director received a blessing to make the film from both Stanley Kubrick and the 2001 and 2010 author, Arthur Clarke. The story this time is much more straightforward with Dr. Floyd (the man who authorized the Jupiter Mission in 2001) and a small crew returning to the abandoned Discovery One to reactivate HAL for scientific purposes. There is also a strong political overtone in this film regarding Russian and US relations which makes the crew uneasy as there are astronauts from both regions. 

I would say I that I enjoyed this movie, but it is a bit more clumsy in its execution than 2001. It is pretty much necessary to have seen 2001 to understand all of the references and the main plot involving the Discovery One. The pacing also feels like a strange combination of the faster paced 80's sci-fi films and the plodding philosophical 60's sci-fi films. It really aims to answer the questions presented in the first film and does succeed with believable explanations. The biggest difference is a more plot driven film that feels less like an art film and more like a product geared towards an audience. It is worth a watch just to see Kier Dullea and Douglas Rain reprise their roles as Dave and HAL. The special effects are hit and miss with some amazing miniatures, but the recreation of the "floating pen" effect from 2001 looks way worse even though it was filmed 16 years after the original. My biggest complaint is the sound design as some effects just sound cheap or are just irritating. I really only recommend this film if you're itching for more 2001 or want feasible answers for the events in that film. It just isn't as impactful or poetic as 2001 although it is a decent attempt at a sequel.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey is a science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick and released in 1968. While the film received both positive and negative reviews when first released, it is now considered one of the most important science fiction films ever made. The film contains four distinct segments (The Dawn of Man, TMA-1, Jupiter Mission, and Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite) which are linked together by the mysterious monolith. The Dawn of Man tells the story of man-apes whose lives are altered when the Monolith appears. TMA-1 focuses on officials investigating "odd things" at a base where a monolith is discovered. Jupiter Mission focuses on scientists aboard the Discovery One spacecraft and their journey with the ship's computer, HAL 9000. Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite is a direct continuation of the Jupiter Mission and its events.

This is quite an interesting film which I believe still holds up today. It is definitely a movie that you have to be in the right mood to watch because it is a very slow film. It is also difficult to be engaged in the story due to the shifting between segments that focus on different characters. Many people cite the Jupiter Mission as the best part of the film because of the interaction between Dave Bowman (played by Keir Dullea) and HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain). I will agree that it is easily my favorite part as the pacing is tense and the information given feels important. The special effects and cinematography are absolutely groundbreaking and still leave me wondering how they achieved them in the 60s. Kubrick's use of classical music also helps give space a unique tone that is alive but dangerous. Of course I recommend 2001, but be aware that some people find it really boring because of the pacing.

Paranorman (2012)

Paranorman is a 2012 comedy horror adventure film directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler. This film was also released by Laika and again uses the medium of stop-motion. The plot tells the story of a young boy named Norman who can see dead people (sadly there's no Bruce Willis) and begins having dark visions which lead him on a thrilling adventure. The plot becomes much more complicated and goes into some extremely dark places that I did not expect a PG movie to go. If you want to know more about the plot then you'll just have to watch it yourself. 

I really enjoyed Paranorman and went to see it in theatres twice (I saw Coraline three times). Norman meets a large cast of characters and every single one is very memorable. The animation is AMAZING and made use of color 3D printers in order to construct the puppets. The film is very reminiscent of campy horror movies from the 70s and 80s and tries to keep the tone light by having hilarious jokes peppered in between the more macabre moments. The music is a mixed bag and contains both fantastic and slightly generic pieces with the main theme being the highlight. Paranorman is a strange film in terms of content as it tries to combine a lot of different genres and themes. Laika again marketed it as a children's film, but much of the dialogue and subject matter will resonate

Coraline (2009)

Coraline is a fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and released in 2009 by the film studio Laika. It was made using stop-motion animation which has become Selick's trademark. The story revolves around a young girl named Coraline who has recently moved to a new town with her parents. She meets a local boy named Wybie and begins to explore her family's new house. Eventually she discovers a small door that leads her to an alternate version of her home with another set of parents that she prefers much more. As she spends more time in the new home she realized that everything may not be what it seems. 

Coraline is one of my favorite animated films for many reasons. When this film was released it was probably the best stop motion animation in any feature film. The set pieces that the animators were able to include are jaw dropping and include a marching band of mice and a full garden coming to life. The pacing, music, and character development are just right for the film. Many scenes were actually cut by the director in order to keep the pace perfect. Keep in mind that even the scenes that were cut took many weeks to film. I really feel that Selick had such a clear vision and was able to make the story engaging while also including slower parts that develop the character's personalities. This film was marketed towards younger audiences, but has some very creepy moments during the climax that can be a little unsettling. I absolutely recommend Coraline and specifically the Bluray release with tons of special features and amazing image quality.

Alien (1979)

Alien is a science fiction suspense film directed by Ridley Scott (who went on to direct the best film ever made). The story begin with the crew of the spaceship Nostromo waking up from a stasis to find out they have received a confusing transmission from a nearby planet.  They land on the planet and investigate which leads to a crew member being attacked and inadvertently bringing a foreign creature onboard. If you don't know exactly how he does that, then I'm not going to spoil it here. The crew attempts to fight the creature but are often outwitted by its stealthy tactics. Overall the plot is actually pretty basic, but it is executed so well. 

The crew seem like real people who are just trying to do their job and are very likable (unlike the crew in the pseudo-prequel Prometheus). The pacing adds so much tension as you hardly ever see the alien (called a Xenomorph) and when he does appear, he always takes a crew member's life. I'm going to be honest, I love this movie and it's easily my favorite entry in the Alien franchise. It was one of the first really gritty sci-fi movies that made environments feel lived in as if you were looking in at just another day in the crew's life...a very horrible day.