Sad news, stop-motion effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen died today. The filmmaker, who retired from features in 1981, leaves behind a relatively small but incalculably influential body of work. His stop-motion animated skeletons, dinosaurs, and other beasts almost universally became icons of sci-fi and fantasy filmmaking.
Ray Harryhausen; "I'm another snowball. Willis H. O'Brien* started the snowball, then I picked it up, then ILM picked it up and now the computer generation is picking it up. Where it will end, I don't know. Maybe in holography, although I'm not sure I'd like a grotesque monster appearing in 3-D in my living room."
*creator of the monsters in The Lost World (1925) & King Kong (1933)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0366063/
http://www.slashfilm.com/visual-effects-master-ray-harryhausen-has-died-at-92/
Showing posts with label Film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Film. Show all posts
June 5, 2016
February 17, 2016
Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune
Even though this film was never actually made, it's built up an impressive reputation none the less. Before the first shot made it to film Jodorowsky had already blown 2 million on its conception. That might sound like a lot but when you realize the roster of talent he had lined up to bring his phonebook sized script to life... It's peanuts. Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, Pink Floyd, Mick Jagger, HR Giger, Jean Giraud (Moebius) and yes even David Carradine were all set to contribute their specific talents. It's immensely regrettable that ultimately it all fell apart. Now, decades later, the mother of all unmade movies is getting a fascinating documentary on what was to be and what went wrong.
February 16, 2016
The Congress
Wow. No words to describe it. They should've sent a poet. In this "documentary", Robin Wright, who you might know as The Princess Bride or Jenny from Forrest Gump, plays herself. She is now over 40, her career is running to an end and she accepts or gets pressured into accepting one last contract from MiraMount. In exchange for a large payout, the studio gets to use a virtual copy of her in any manner they see fit.
I am going to cut it there cause really, the less you know, the better. Suffice to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that events set in motion by the description above will have consequences far beyond any one person. The film is very loosely based on a story from Stanislaw Lem and has been criticized for not sticking to the source material but personally I am glad that they decided to add and spin so much that you end up with something almost completely new.
The Congress couldn't be any more different from Ari Folman's previous theatrical release, "Waltz With Bashir", the both thematically and visually dark documentary on the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Instead, The Congress is a vibrant explosion of colorful imagination. About the only thing that stayed the same is the mix of live action and powerful animation. Harvey Keitel and Paul Giamatti add a bunch of class to the live action and the animation, probably some of the best I've ever seen, really doesn't need any help.
I don't want to create impossible expectations but for me this is the most fun I've had in the cinema since The Tree of Life. No, this is not 2001: A Space Odyssey but it is the sort of film that takes many liberties with story and pacing, more concerned with making you think about a variety of interpretations than telling a sharply defined completely coherent story, although there are some of those too. Some aspects don't make sense and would look like plot holes in any other film but I am willing to forgive here simply because it feels right here. Dreams, different realities and the truth are things you can play with. I'll save the spoilers for when the rest of the world gets to see it.
This is not something everyone will enjoy but I am pretty sure that anyone who sees it is unlikely to forget it any time soon.
SPOILERS START HERE!
I love films that introduce a ton of dots and then leave it up to you which ones you want to connect and what their relationship should be. The Congress contains a stunning amount of layers and can be interpreted in many different ways. The open and at times almost lucid dream like approach to everything from narrative to visuals and sound sure makes it hard to put into words what you think you saw. There are single scenes that contain so much meaningful background porn that I could fill a page on them. Although the animation might not be for everyone, I think it looks great. There's also Max Richter's hauntingly beautiful score which adds another few gigatons of emotion and all this truly adds up to an enormous explosion out of leftfield. Amazingly it didn't make much noise upon arrival but I am pretty sure that, as we go forward, it will be cherished by its ever growing audience.
Now for some more meaty thoughts; This review will be as disjointed as the film so I am just going to throw out a bunch of random thoughts, make of them what you will.
One of my favorite characters was Jeff, the head of MiraMount. Originally, during the live action part, most of the stuff that comes out of his mind is prophetic, as we move into the animated zone he becomes more of a prophet of doom and ultimately an instigator of said doom. The way he says "this is not science fiction, it's a documentary" about Triple R (Robyn's SF film) which also pointed back to the live action (today) really drives home that the first half hour of the Congress is reality today. The next half hour we move into the near future with Ms. Wright's scan becoming the focal point through which we ultimately get to see the birth of a new world.
Each time she meets Jeff, the Miramax head, he shakes up the world. The embodiment of blind, profit driven disruption, the kind that places dollar signs above life and creativity? The first time they meet he tells her that actors of flesh and blood are a thing of the past, the second time they meet, he's moved a level up, now it's no longer just the actors that get scanned but also the environments which means most people are let go because they no longer need a set crew, make up artists, lighting experts, designers, prop makers, ... Their next meeting takes place in the animated zone. The consequences of his disruptive actions are becoming far more severe. MiraMount has spread its tentacles to other industries and thanks to the development of a new drug the magic of cinema has left the big screen and entered the real world. This new drug seems to take over the interface between sensory input and experience and allows the traversing signals to be modulated. It conjures up vivid and realistic hallucinations which allow consistent and even shared alternate realities. First the drug was rigidly defined and its effects limited in time but as research progressed the drug became more potent, ultimately allowing users to take control over their hallucinations which sets them free but disastrously also closes the feedback loop between want and get with enormous consequences. The last time Wright meets Jeff, he has basically fired everyone that had anything to do with movies. He's still in entertainment but now only sells drugs or "experiences". Things take a turn for the worse when MiraMount starts losing control over its product and global unrest sparks violence.
Ultimately we end up in what I would describe as something similar to a post singularity environment. When the world goes almost completely animated and everyone can be whoever they want to be and do whatever they want to do. What you think is what you get. That in The Congress this is achieved through controllable hallucinogenics doesn't matter much as the result is pretty much indistinguishable from digital reality substitution, programmable matter or a virtual life. The parallels you can draw between these approaches can be quite surprising. In all these worlds the lag time between imagination and instantiation is basically zero.
Some more thoughts;
The Wright family, thanks to Aaron's disease was the first one that really learned to fly? I have the feeling that there is more to the wright/flyers/Wright brothers connection but I'll probably have to see it again to unravel that further.
The animated zone as a liberal offshore island.
Can you be yourself as someone else? If you relive someone else's entire life, how much of the original you would be left?
Do you take the red pill or the blue pill? Here the pill is chemical instead of digital in nature but here too you could very much hold the opinion that life inside beats the Zion outside.
Does her animator know more about herself than she does?
Should the human race die happy or should we toil in misery? It almost looks like mankind has collectively decided to euthanize itself in the most painless way possible.
Alternatively, are we simply machines that got tricked and manipulated by chemicals to willingly and happily engineer our own demise?
I also really liked how they introduced Aaron and his "illness". Giamatti doesn't yet know how right he is when he says of him that he was born before his time. His condition could be seen as an evolutionary step up because in many ways his mind functions similarly to those who later on end up taking the drug. Before the "singularity" he heard what he wanted to hear and was wrong, after the "singularity" he really hears what he wants to hear and becomes "wright"?
It's not explicitly stated but I can imagine that Aaron would be much better adapted to living a life in a world you shape yourself compared to living a life in the world forced upon him in which he grew up. After taking the drug his condition is likely to work in symbiosis with the drug, boosting his ability to perceive creatively, to play with what is real, to new heights.
It's especially interesting to connect his "illness" with a statement from Jeff who at one point says we make movies so we don't have to read books. The less information you get, the more blanks you fill in yourself which is what makes a story more personal. In this sense a movie is a pre-chewed book, largely the same for everyone who lays eyes upon it. Aaron has the ability to always spin his surroundings and experience into something uniquely personal so for him every movie and life itself will likely be about airplanes or something he cares about. In many ways it's a biological analogue for the digital filter bubble. It comes with both pros and cons.
I could talk about this flick for hours and hours. There are many other dots I haven't pointed at yet, like the meaning of identity in a world where it can be copied and replicated to someone else, but likely you've connected your dots a bit or completely differently so first I want to hear your side.
I am going to cut it there cause really, the less you know, the better. Suffice to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that events set in motion by the description above will have consequences far beyond any one person. The film is very loosely based on a story from Stanislaw Lem and has been criticized for not sticking to the source material but personally I am glad that they decided to add and spin so much that you end up with something almost completely new.
The Congress couldn't be any more different from Ari Folman's previous theatrical release, "Waltz With Bashir", the both thematically and visually dark documentary on the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Instead, The Congress is a vibrant explosion of colorful imagination. About the only thing that stayed the same is the mix of live action and powerful animation. Harvey Keitel and Paul Giamatti add a bunch of class to the live action and the animation, probably some of the best I've ever seen, really doesn't need any help.
I don't want to create impossible expectations but for me this is the most fun I've had in the cinema since The Tree of Life. No, this is not 2001: A Space Odyssey but it is the sort of film that takes many liberties with story and pacing, more concerned with making you think about a variety of interpretations than telling a sharply defined completely coherent story, although there are some of those too. Some aspects don't make sense and would look like plot holes in any other film but I am willing to forgive here simply because it feels right here. Dreams, different realities and the truth are things you can play with. I'll save the spoilers for when the rest of the world gets to see it.
This is not something everyone will enjoy but I am pretty sure that anyone who sees it is unlikely to forget it any time soon.
SPOILERS START HERE!
I love films that introduce a ton of dots and then leave it up to you which ones you want to connect and what their relationship should be. The Congress contains a stunning amount of layers and can be interpreted in many different ways. The open and at times almost lucid dream like approach to everything from narrative to visuals and sound sure makes it hard to put into words what you think you saw. There are single scenes that contain so much meaningful background porn that I could fill a page on them. Although the animation might not be for everyone, I think it looks great. There's also Max Richter's hauntingly beautiful score which adds another few gigatons of emotion and all this truly adds up to an enormous explosion out of leftfield. Amazingly it didn't make much noise upon arrival but I am pretty sure that, as we go forward, it will be cherished by its ever growing audience.
Now for some more meaty thoughts; This review will be as disjointed as the film so I am just going to throw out a bunch of random thoughts, make of them what you will.
One of my favorite characters was Jeff, the head of MiraMount. Originally, during the live action part, most of the stuff that comes out of his mind is prophetic, as we move into the animated zone he becomes more of a prophet of doom and ultimately an instigator of said doom. The way he says "this is not science fiction, it's a documentary" about Triple R (Robyn's SF film) which also pointed back to the live action (today) really drives home that the first half hour of the Congress is reality today. The next half hour we move into the near future with Ms. Wright's scan becoming the focal point through which we ultimately get to see the birth of a new world.
Each time she meets Jeff, the Miramax head, he shakes up the world. The embodiment of blind, profit driven disruption, the kind that places dollar signs above life and creativity? The first time they meet he tells her that actors of flesh and blood are a thing of the past, the second time they meet, he's moved a level up, now it's no longer just the actors that get scanned but also the environments which means most people are let go because they no longer need a set crew, make up artists, lighting experts, designers, prop makers, ... Their next meeting takes place in the animated zone. The consequences of his disruptive actions are becoming far more severe. MiraMount has spread its tentacles to other industries and thanks to the development of a new drug the magic of cinema has left the big screen and entered the real world. This new drug seems to take over the interface between sensory input and experience and allows the traversing signals to be modulated. It conjures up vivid and realistic hallucinations which allow consistent and even shared alternate realities. First the drug was rigidly defined and its effects limited in time but as research progressed the drug became more potent, ultimately allowing users to take control over their hallucinations which sets them free but disastrously also closes the feedback loop between want and get with enormous consequences. The last time Wright meets Jeff, he has basically fired everyone that had anything to do with movies. He's still in entertainment but now only sells drugs or "experiences". Things take a turn for the worse when MiraMount starts losing control over its product and global unrest sparks violence.
Ultimately we end up in what I would describe as something similar to a post singularity environment. When the world goes almost completely animated and everyone can be whoever they want to be and do whatever they want to do. What you think is what you get. That in The Congress this is achieved through controllable hallucinogenics doesn't matter much as the result is pretty much indistinguishable from digital reality substitution, programmable matter or a virtual life. The parallels you can draw between these approaches can be quite surprising. In all these worlds the lag time between imagination and instantiation is basically zero.
Some more thoughts;
The Wright family, thanks to Aaron's disease was the first one that really learned to fly? I have the feeling that there is more to the wright/flyers/Wright brothers connection but I'll probably have to see it again to unravel that further.
The animated zone as a liberal offshore island.
Can you be yourself as someone else? If you relive someone else's entire life, how much of the original you would be left?
Do you take the red pill or the blue pill? Here the pill is chemical instead of digital in nature but here too you could very much hold the opinion that life inside beats the Zion outside.
Does her animator know more about herself than she does?
Should the human race die happy or should we toil in misery? It almost looks like mankind has collectively decided to euthanize itself in the most painless way possible.
Alternatively, are we simply machines that got tricked and manipulated by chemicals to willingly and happily engineer our own demise?
I also really liked how they introduced Aaron and his "illness". Giamatti doesn't yet know how right he is when he says of him that he was born before his time. His condition could be seen as an evolutionary step up because in many ways his mind functions similarly to those who later on end up taking the drug. Before the "singularity" he heard what he wanted to hear and was wrong, after the "singularity" he really hears what he wants to hear and becomes "wright"?
It's not explicitly stated but I can imagine that Aaron would be much better adapted to living a life in a world you shape yourself compared to living a life in the world forced upon him in which he grew up. After taking the drug his condition is likely to work in symbiosis with the drug, boosting his ability to perceive creatively, to play with what is real, to new heights.
It's especially interesting to connect his "illness" with a statement from Jeff who at one point says we make movies so we don't have to read books. The less information you get, the more blanks you fill in yourself which is what makes a story more personal. In this sense a movie is a pre-chewed book, largely the same for everyone who lays eyes upon it. Aaron has the ability to always spin his surroundings and experience into something uniquely personal so for him every movie and life itself will likely be about airplanes or something he cares about. In many ways it's a biological analogue for the digital filter bubble. It comes with both pros and cons.
I could talk about this flick for hours and hours. There are many other dots I haven't pointed at yet, like the meaning of identity in a world where it can be copied and replicated to someone else, but likely you've connected your dots a bit or completely differently so first I want to hear your side.
In memory of Merrin*: An education in P2P
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MVGroup
MVGroup is a BitTorrent tracker and file sharing community that specializes in the distribution of educational media, especially documentaries. MVGroup was established in 2002 by "Merrin" and "DarkRain" (Vittorio in those days, hence MVGroup) as a DVD-ripping-and-distributing group for the eDonkey file-sharing network, and the group continues to distribute DVD rips and TV rips on both eDonkey and BitTorrent. It has continued functioning since its establishment except for a short-lived April 2008 outage caused by an error from an anti-piracy group.
On May 5, 2008, "Merrin", the co-founder of the tracker died of undisclosed long-term health problems at the age of 31. By the time of his death, MVGroup had gained over 150,000 members, and has continued to set itself apart from larger trackers, such as The Pirate Bay, by focusing on documentaries and educational material only.
In my humble opinion these are some of the best documentaries out there. If you are looking for more information on any of these you can find it at http://www.docuwiki.net. Read carefully the linked page and you'll find nirvana. ;)
Exact Science
[Physics]
Absolute Zero - BBC (series, 2 episodes)
Light Fantastic - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
Atom - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Time - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
Shock and Awe - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Everything and Nothing - BBC (series, 2 episodes)
Order and Disorder - BBC (series, 2 episodes)
Invisible Worlds - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
The Fabric of the Cosmos - PBS (series, 4 episodes)
Elegant Universe - PBS NOVA (series, 3 episodes)
Hunting the Elements - PBS NOVA
The Secret Life of Chaos - BBC
The Big Bang Machine - BBC
Feynman: Fun to Imagine - BBC
Do You Know What Time it is? - BBC Horizon
How Long is a Piece of String? - BBC Horizon
What is Reality? - BBC Horizon
What is One Degree? - BBC Horizon
To Infinity and Beyond - BBC Horizon
What Happened Before the Big Bang - BBC Horizon
What on Earth is wrong with Gravity - BBC Horizon
Is Everything we Know about the Universe Wrong? - BBC Horizon
The End of God - BBC Horizon
Parallel Universes - BBC Horizon
Can We Make a Star on Earth? - BBC Horizon
Molecules with Sunglasses - BBC Horizon
Nanotopia - BBC Horizon
[Biology]
The Shape of Life - PBS NOVA (series, 8 episodes)
Evolution - PBS NOVA (series, 7 episodes)
How to Grow a Planet - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Becoming Human - PBS NOVA (series, 3 episodes)
The Origins of Us - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Inside the Human Body (series, 4 episodes)
Into the Mind - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Superhuman - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Brain Story - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
The Brain: A Secret History - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Human Sensens - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
How to Build a Human - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
First Life - BBC (series, 2 episodes)
Wonders of Life - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Secret Universe: The Hidden Life of the Cell - BBC (docu-film)
The Secrets of the Mind - PBS NOVA
Is Seeing Believing? - BBC Horizon
The Ghost in Your Genes - BBC Horizon
Fix Me - BBC Horizon
How Does Your Memory Work - BBC Horizon
Mad but Glad - BBC Horizon
Don't Grow Old - BBC Horizon
Are We Still Evolving? - BBC Horizon
The Secret You - BBC Horizon
The Secret Life of your Body Clock - BBC Horizon
Living Forever - BBC Horizon
The Nine Months That Made You - BBC Horizon
Why Do Viruses Kill? - BBC Horizon
Designer Babies - BBC Horizon
What Makes Us Clever? A Horizon Guide to Intelligence - BBC
Do You See What I See? - BBC Horizon
Playing God - BBC Horizon
[Geology]
Time Machine - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Earth, the Power of the Planet - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Journeys from the Center of the Earth - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Earth Story - BBC (series, 8 episodes)
Journeys into the Ring of Fire (series, 4 episodes)
The Beauty of Maps - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
How the Earth Was Made - History Channel (series, 2 seasons)
Cloudspotting - BBC
Snowball Earth - BBC Horizon
The Core - BBC Horizon
IMAX - Journey to Amazing Caves (docu-film)
[Astronomy]
The Planets - BBC (series, 8 episodes)
Stephen Hawking's Universe - Discovery (series, 6 episodes)
Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking - Discovery (series, 3 episodes)
How the Universe Works - Discovery (series, 8 episodes)
The Universe - History Channel (series, 5 seasons)
Known Universe - NGC (series, 6 episodes)
Wonders of the Solar System - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Wonders of the Universe - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
Space - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
The Search For Life: The Drake Equation - BBC
Titan A Place Like Home - BBC Horizon
Bye Bye Planet Pluto - BBC Horizon
The Death Star - BBC Horizon
The Hawking Paradox - BBC Horizon
Titan, A Place Like Home? - BBC Horizon
Supermassive Black Holes - BBC Horizon
Lost Horizons: The Big Bang - BBC Horizon
Most of Our Universe Is Missing - BBC Horizon
Seeing Stars - BBC Horizon
Are We Alone in the Universe? - BBC Horizon
Death Of The Universe - NGC
Origins - PBS Nova (series, 4 episodes)
Welcome To Mars - PBS Nova
Voyage To The Mystery Moon - PBS Nova
Journey to the Edge of the Universe - NGC (docu-film)
IMAX - Space Station (docu-film)
IMAX - Hubble (docu-film)
[Nature]
Private Life of Plants - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Life in the Undergrowth - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Nature's Great Events - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Frozen Planet - BBC (series, 7 episodes)
The Blue Planet - BBC (series, 8 episodes)
Planet Earth - BBC (series, 11 episodes)
Human Planet - BBC (series, 8 episodes)
EarthFlight - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Great Barrier Reef - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Madagascar - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Galápagos - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Yellowstone - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Wild China - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Wild Pacific - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Ganges - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Africa - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Life - BBC (series, 10 episodes)
Life on Earth - BBC (series, 13 episodes)
The Living Planet - BBC (series, 12 episodes)
The Trials of Life - BBC (series, 12 episodes)
Life in the Freezer - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
The Life of Birds - BBC (series, 10 episodes)
The Life of Mammals - BBC (series, 10 episodes)
Life in Cold Blood - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Wild Sex - NGC (series, 6 episodes)
March of the Penguins (docu-film)
Microcosmos (docu-film)
[Mixed]
The Ascent of Man - BBC (series, 10 episodes)
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage - PBS (series, 14 episodes)
The Day the Universe Changed - BBC (series, 10 episodes)
The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
The Human Animal - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
The Incredible Human Journey - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
How Earth Made Us - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Chemistry, a Volatile History - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
The Story of Maths - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
The Code - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Visions of the Future - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Connections - BBC (series, 3 seasons)
Swarm - BBC (series, 2 episodes)
Dara Ó Briain's Science Club - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Brave New World - Channel 4 (series, 5 episodes)
Through the Wormhole - Discovery (series, 4 seasons)
NatureTech (series, 3 episodes)
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (Richard Feynman)
How to Build a Bionic Man - Channel 4
Explosions, How we Shook the World - BBC
Afterlife: The Strange Science of Decay - BBC
The Voice - BBC
The Satellite Story - BBC
The Story of One - BBC
Stuff: A Horizon Guide to Materials - BBC
The Hunt for AI - BBC Horizon
Diamond Labs - BBC Horizon
Fermat's Last Theorem - BBC Horizon
Who's Afraid of Designer Babies? - BBC Horizon
The Lost World of Lake Vostok - BBC Horizon
Human v2.0 - BBC Horizon
Moon for Sale - BBC Horizon
The Boy Who Was Turned into a Girl - BBC Horizon
Alien Planet - Discovery (docu-film)
Home (docu-film)
Humanities
[War]
The World at War - (series, 26 episodes)
Weird Weapons - History Channel (series, 2 episodes)
Atlantic convoys - War at Sea (series, 4 episodes)
Apocalypse: The Second World War (series, 6 episodes)
Last Voices of WWI - History Channel (series, 6 episodes)
Fog of War (docu-film)
Nuit et brouillard - Night and Fog (docu-short)
Hearts and Minds (docu-film)
Restrepo (docu-film)
Armadillo (docu-film)
Trinity and Beyond (docu-film)
[Prehistory & earlier]
Walking with Sea Monsters - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Walking with Monsters - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Walking with Dinosaurs - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Walking with Beasts - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Walking with Cavemen - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
The Mystery Of The Jurassic - BBC Horizon
Stone Age Columbus - BBC Horizon
The Day The Earth Almost Died - BBC Horizon
[Politics & Economics]
Commanding Heights - PBS NOVA (series, 3 episodes)
The Ascent of Money - (series, 6 episodes)
How Britain Made the Modern World - (series, 6 episodes)
In Europe (series, 30 episodes)
Frontline - PBS (series, 30 seasons)
The Love of Money - BBC
Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky (docu-film)
Rebel with a Pause - Noam Chomsky (docu-film)
Inside Job (docu-film)
Nostalgia for the Light (docu-film)
Chavez: Inside the Coup (docu-film)
Taxi to the dark side (docu-film)
Taking liberties (docu-film)
Crude (docu-film)
Globalization is Good (docu-film)
The Corporation (docu-film)
Wal-mart: the High Cost of Low Price (docu-film)
Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room (docu-film)
[Mixed subject]
Civilization - BBC (series, 13 episodes)
The Virtual Revolution - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
Science and Islam - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Fry's Planet Word - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Human, All Too Human - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
The NASA Missions : When We Left Earth - Discovery (series, 6 episodes)
Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends - (series, 3 seasons)
When Louis Met... - (series, 2 seasons)
Up - (series, 7 docu-films)
The Boy With the Incredible Brain
N is a Number
The Century of the Self (series, 4 episodes)
Guns, Germs and Steel - PBS (series, 3 episodes)
Transcendent Man (docu-film)
We Live in Public (docu-film)
Lake of Fire (docu-film)
Into Eternity (docu-film)
Titicut Follies (docu-film)
Rise of the Drones - PBS NOVA
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple - PBS
The Machine That Made Us - BBC
A War On Science: Intelligent Design - BBC Horizon
Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires - (docu-film)
All Watched over by Machines of Loving Grace - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
[Special cases]
Koyaanisqatsi (docu-film)
Powaqqatsi (docu-film)
Naqoyqatsi (docu-film)
Chronos (docu-film)
Baraka (docu-film)
Samsara (docu-film)
51 Birch Street (docu-film)
Our Daily Bread (docu-film)
Rivers and Tides (docu-film)
Encounters at the End of the World (docu-film)
Dark Side of the Moon (docu-film, don't research it (spoilers!) just watch!)
I'd also like to stress that BBC Horizon, now into its 49th season is prolly the best docu seriess of all time. I could just as well have included every single episode.
MVGroup is a BitTorrent tracker and file sharing community that specializes in the distribution of educational media, especially documentaries. MVGroup was established in 2002 by "Merrin" and "DarkRain" (Vittorio in those days, hence MVGroup) as a DVD-ripping-and-distributing group for the eDonkey file-sharing network, and the group continues to distribute DVD rips and TV rips on both eDonkey and BitTorrent. It has continued functioning since its establishment except for a short-lived April 2008 outage caused by an error from an anti-piracy group.
On May 5, 2008, "Merrin", the co-founder of the tracker died of undisclosed long-term health problems at the age of 31. By the time of his death, MVGroup had gained over 150,000 members, and has continued to set itself apart from larger trackers, such as The Pirate Bay, by focusing on documentaries and educational material only.
In my humble opinion these are some of the best documentaries out there. If you are looking for more information on any of these you can find it at http://www.docuwiki.net. Read carefully the linked page and you'll find nirvana. ;)
Exact Science
[Physics]
Absolute Zero - BBC (series, 2 episodes)
Light Fantastic - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
Atom - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Time - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
Shock and Awe - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Everything and Nothing - BBC (series, 2 episodes)
Order and Disorder - BBC (series, 2 episodes)
Invisible Worlds - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
The Fabric of the Cosmos - PBS (series, 4 episodes)
Elegant Universe - PBS NOVA (series, 3 episodes)
Hunting the Elements - PBS NOVA
The Secret Life of Chaos - BBC
The Big Bang Machine - BBC
Feynman: Fun to Imagine - BBC
Do You Know What Time it is? - BBC Horizon
How Long is a Piece of String? - BBC Horizon
What is Reality? - BBC Horizon
What is One Degree? - BBC Horizon
To Infinity and Beyond - BBC Horizon
What Happened Before the Big Bang - BBC Horizon
What on Earth is wrong with Gravity - BBC Horizon
Is Everything we Know about the Universe Wrong? - BBC Horizon
The End of God - BBC Horizon
Parallel Universes - BBC Horizon
Can We Make a Star on Earth? - BBC Horizon
Molecules with Sunglasses - BBC Horizon
Nanotopia - BBC Horizon
[Biology]
The Shape of Life - PBS NOVA (series, 8 episodes)
Evolution - PBS NOVA (series, 7 episodes)
How to Grow a Planet - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Becoming Human - PBS NOVA (series, 3 episodes)
The Origins of Us - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Inside the Human Body (series, 4 episodes)
Into the Mind - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Superhuman - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Brain Story - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
The Brain: A Secret History - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Human Sensens - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
How to Build a Human - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
First Life - BBC (series, 2 episodes)
Wonders of Life - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Secret Universe: The Hidden Life of the Cell - BBC (docu-film)
The Secrets of the Mind - PBS NOVA
Is Seeing Believing? - BBC Horizon
The Ghost in Your Genes - BBC Horizon
Fix Me - BBC Horizon
How Does Your Memory Work - BBC Horizon
Mad but Glad - BBC Horizon
Don't Grow Old - BBC Horizon
Are We Still Evolving? - BBC Horizon
The Secret You - BBC Horizon
The Secret Life of your Body Clock - BBC Horizon
Living Forever - BBC Horizon
The Nine Months That Made You - BBC Horizon
Why Do Viruses Kill? - BBC Horizon
Designer Babies - BBC Horizon
What Makes Us Clever? A Horizon Guide to Intelligence - BBC
Do You See What I See? - BBC Horizon
Playing God - BBC Horizon
[Geology]
Time Machine - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Earth, the Power of the Planet - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Journeys from the Center of the Earth - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Earth Story - BBC (series, 8 episodes)
Journeys into the Ring of Fire (series, 4 episodes)
The Beauty of Maps - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
How the Earth Was Made - History Channel (series, 2 seasons)
Cloudspotting - BBC
Snowball Earth - BBC Horizon
The Core - BBC Horizon
IMAX - Journey to Amazing Caves (docu-film)
[Astronomy]
The Planets - BBC (series, 8 episodes)
Stephen Hawking's Universe - Discovery (series, 6 episodes)
Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking - Discovery (series, 3 episodes)
How the Universe Works - Discovery (series, 8 episodes)
The Universe - History Channel (series, 5 seasons)
Known Universe - NGC (series, 6 episodes)
Wonders of the Solar System - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Wonders of the Universe - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
Space - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
The Search For Life: The Drake Equation - BBC
Titan A Place Like Home - BBC Horizon
Bye Bye Planet Pluto - BBC Horizon
The Death Star - BBC Horizon
The Hawking Paradox - BBC Horizon
Titan, A Place Like Home? - BBC Horizon
Supermassive Black Holes - BBC Horizon
Lost Horizons: The Big Bang - BBC Horizon
Most of Our Universe Is Missing - BBC Horizon
Seeing Stars - BBC Horizon
Are We Alone in the Universe? - BBC Horizon
Death Of The Universe - NGC
Origins - PBS Nova (series, 4 episodes)
Welcome To Mars - PBS Nova
Voyage To The Mystery Moon - PBS Nova
Journey to the Edge of the Universe - NGC (docu-film)
IMAX - Space Station (docu-film)
IMAX - Hubble (docu-film)
[Nature]
Private Life of Plants - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Life in the Undergrowth - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Nature's Great Events - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Frozen Planet - BBC (series, 7 episodes)
The Blue Planet - BBC (series, 8 episodes)
Planet Earth - BBC (series, 11 episodes)
Human Planet - BBC (series, 8 episodes)
EarthFlight - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Great Barrier Reef - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Madagascar - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Galápagos - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Yellowstone - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Wild China - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Wild Pacific - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Ganges - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Africa - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Life - BBC (series, 10 episodes)
Life on Earth - BBC (series, 13 episodes)
The Living Planet - BBC (series, 12 episodes)
The Trials of Life - BBC (series, 12 episodes)
Life in the Freezer - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
The Life of Birds - BBC (series, 10 episodes)
The Life of Mammals - BBC (series, 10 episodes)
Life in Cold Blood - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Wild Sex - NGC (series, 6 episodes)
March of the Penguins (docu-film)
Microcosmos (docu-film)
[Mixed]
The Ascent of Man - BBC (series, 10 episodes)
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage - PBS (series, 14 episodes)
The Day the Universe Changed - BBC (series, 10 episodes)
The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
The Human Animal - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
The Incredible Human Journey - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
How Earth Made Us - BBC (series, 5 episodes)
Chemistry, a Volatile History - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
The Story of Maths - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
The Code - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Visions of the Future - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Connections - BBC (series, 3 seasons)
Swarm - BBC (series, 2 episodes)
Dara Ó Briain's Science Club - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Brave New World - Channel 4 (series, 5 episodes)
Through the Wormhole - Discovery (series, 4 seasons)
NatureTech (series, 3 episodes)
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (Richard Feynman)
How to Build a Bionic Man - Channel 4
Explosions, How we Shook the World - BBC
Afterlife: The Strange Science of Decay - BBC
The Voice - BBC
The Satellite Story - BBC
The Story of One - BBC
Stuff: A Horizon Guide to Materials - BBC
The Hunt for AI - BBC Horizon
Diamond Labs - BBC Horizon
Fermat's Last Theorem - BBC Horizon
Who's Afraid of Designer Babies? - BBC Horizon
The Lost World of Lake Vostok - BBC Horizon
Human v2.0 - BBC Horizon
Moon for Sale - BBC Horizon
The Boy Who Was Turned into a Girl - BBC Horizon
Alien Planet - Discovery (docu-film)
Home (docu-film)
Humanities
[War]
The World at War - (series, 26 episodes)
Weird Weapons - History Channel (series, 2 episodes)
Atlantic convoys - War at Sea (series, 4 episodes)
Apocalypse: The Second World War (series, 6 episodes)
Last Voices of WWI - History Channel (series, 6 episodes)
Fog of War (docu-film)
Nuit et brouillard - Night and Fog (docu-short)
Hearts and Minds (docu-film)
Restrepo (docu-film)
Armadillo (docu-film)
Trinity and Beyond (docu-film)
[Prehistory & earlier]
Walking with Sea Monsters - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Walking with Monsters - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Walking with Dinosaurs - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Walking with Beasts - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Walking with Cavemen - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
The Mystery Of The Jurassic - BBC Horizon
Stone Age Columbus - BBC Horizon
The Day The Earth Almost Died - BBC Horizon
[Politics & Economics]
Commanding Heights - PBS NOVA (series, 3 episodes)
The Ascent of Money - (series, 6 episodes)
How Britain Made the Modern World - (series, 6 episodes)
In Europe (series, 30 episodes)
Frontline - PBS (series, 30 seasons)
The Love of Money - BBC
Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky (docu-film)
Rebel with a Pause - Noam Chomsky (docu-film)
Inside Job (docu-film)
Nostalgia for the Light (docu-film)
Chavez: Inside the Coup (docu-film)
Taxi to the dark side (docu-film)
Taking liberties (docu-film)
Crude (docu-film)
Globalization is Good (docu-film)
The Corporation (docu-film)
Wal-mart: the High Cost of Low Price (docu-film)
Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room (docu-film)
[Mixed subject]
Civilization - BBC (series, 13 episodes)
The Virtual Revolution - BBC (series, 4 episodes)
Science and Islam - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
Fry's Planet Word - BBC (series, 6 episodes)
Human, All Too Human - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
The NASA Missions : When We Left Earth - Discovery (series, 6 episodes)
Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends - (series, 3 seasons)
When Louis Met... - (series, 2 seasons)
Up - (series, 7 docu-films)
The Boy With the Incredible Brain
N is a Number
The Century of the Self (series, 4 episodes)
Guns, Germs and Steel - PBS (series, 3 episodes)
Transcendent Man (docu-film)
We Live in Public (docu-film)
Lake of Fire (docu-film)
Into Eternity (docu-film)
Titicut Follies (docu-film)
Rise of the Drones - PBS NOVA
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple - PBS
The Machine That Made Us - BBC
A War On Science: Intelligent Design - BBC Horizon
Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires - (docu-film)
All Watched over by Machines of Loving Grace - BBC (series, 3 episodes)
[Special cases]
Koyaanisqatsi (docu-film)
Powaqqatsi (docu-film)
Naqoyqatsi (docu-film)
Chronos (docu-film)
Baraka (docu-film)
Samsara (docu-film)
51 Birch Street (docu-film)
Our Daily Bread (docu-film)
Rivers and Tides (docu-film)
Encounters at the End of the World (docu-film)
Dark Side of the Moon (docu-film, don't research it (spoilers!) just watch!)
I'd also like to stress that BBC Horizon, now into its 49th season is prolly the best docu seriess of all time. I could just as well have included every single episode.
February 15, 2016
2015's Best Films
Top 10 2015
1. Inherent Vice
2. Sicario
3. Foxcatcher
4. Birdman
5. Whiplash
6. It Follows
7. Mad Max: Fury Road
8. The Martian
9. Ex Machina
10. Wild
11. The Voices
12. The Big Short
13. Selma
14. Relatos Salvajes
15. Kingsman: The Secret Service
16. Still Alice
17. The Imitation Game
18. Youth
19. Le Tout Nouveau Testament
20. Chappie
21. The Lobster
22. El Capital Humano
23. A Most Violent Year
24. Big Hero 6
25. American Ultra
Top 20 most anticipated 2016
1. Voyage of Time
2. The Revenant
3. Star Wars: Rogue One
4. Story of Your Life
5. Doctor Strange
6. The Hateful Eight
7. Captain America: Civil War
8. Midnight Special
9. Anomalisa
10. The Circle
11. Silence
12. Hail, Caesar!
13. Room
14. The Witch
15. Independence Day Resurgence
16. The Discovery
17. Passengers
18. Évolution
19. Colossal
20. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
1. Inherent Vice
2. Sicario
3. Foxcatcher
4. Birdman
5. Whiplash
6. It Follows
7. Mad Max: Fury Road
8. The Martian
9. Ex Machina
10. Wild
11. The Voices
12. The Big Short
13. Selma
14. Relatos Salvajes
15. Kingsman: The Secret Service
16. Still Alice
17. The Imitation Game
18. Youth
19. Le Tout Nouveau Testament
20. Chappie
21. The Lobster
22. El Capital Humano
23. A Most Violent Year
24. Big Hero 6
25. American Ultra
Top 20 most anticipated 2016
1. Voyage of Time
2. The Revenant
3. Star Wars: Rogue One
4. Story of Your Life
5. Doctor Strange
6. The Hateful Eight
7. Captain America: Civil War
8. Midnight Special
9. Anomalisa
10. The Circle
11. Silence
12. Hail, Caesar!
13. Room
14. The Witch
15. Independence Day Resurgence
16. The Discovery
17. Passengers
18. Évolution
19. Colossal
20. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Richard Matheson, a Legend
Richard Matheson, sci-fi author, dies aged 87 | guardian.co.uk - IMDB
"I think we're yearning for something beyond the every day. And I will tell you I don't believe in the supernatural, I believe in the supernormal. To me there is nothing that goes against nature. If it seems incomprehensible, it's only because we haven't been able to understand it yet."
"I think we're yearning for something beyond the every day. And I will tell you I don't believe in the supernatural, I believe in the supernormal. To me there is nothing that goes against nature. If it seems incomprehensible, it's only because we haven't been able to understand it yet."
What is Science Fiction?
Although most people have a rough idea of what Science Fiction is all about, there's not really a singular agreed on definition. Personally I'm a big fan of the one cooked up by Rod Serling's, The creator and host of the Twilight Zone. He once stated that; "Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science Fiction is the improbable made possible." That being said, almost all big names in SF have their own idea of just what Science Fiction really is. You can check out Wikipedia's extensive list of SF definitions to get an idea of the variety of ideas out there.
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." -Alan Kay
Did you know that the literally thousand year old Indian epic "Ramayana" (5th to 4th century before chirst) featured SF elements? Those ancient texts refer to flying contraptions that could traverse not just the skies but also space and the oceanic depths. These supremely speedy craft carried weapons of mass destruction so powerful that they could level entire cities! In the second century the Syrian-Greek writer Lucian wrote about a trip to space where he met alien life. In his conversation with them he criticized certain earthly behavior and in doing so Lucian became one of the first to employ SF as a tool for societal criticism He turned the lens back around, using it to look at ourselves through the eyes of an outsider. The first story that incorporated time travel as a device to study our ever more rapidly changing world emerged from Japan in the 8th century. In said story, a man who gets sent 300 years into the future desperately tries to find the way back to his old hometown in a for him almost unrecognizable world. It's clear that the history of SF goes back quite some time. From the mythic stories produced in ages nearly lost to history to the more recent European proto-SF movement and the 40s & 50s US golden age to ultimately the modern cyberpunk and biofunk of today. SF keeps renewing itself, a necessity brought about by its core task; to stay ahead of the future.
"Everything is becoming science fiction. From the margins of an almost invisible literature has sprung the intact reality of the 20th century." -J. G. Ballard
Science Fiction has a whole lot more to offer than just entertainment. SF can help us think through some of the possibly dangerous implications present in changing technology, culture or human nature. It allows us to simulate possible future scenarios which in a sense make it possible for us to anticipate and thus plan for and even guide our fates towards certain outcomes above others. There is a lively feedbackloop active between technological innovation and SF literature. Both push each other onward to ever greater feats of imagination and engineering prowess. A good example of this is the communication satellite which was first dreamt up by Arthur C. Clarke and took more then a decade to be translated from page to reality. Today more than 3000 of them circle or planet every day. People like Clarke allow us to pull a certain future into the present.
"A good science fiction story should be able to predict not the automobile but the traffic jam." -Frederik Pohl
"Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories." -Arthur C. Clarke
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
Outline of Science Fiction - Wikipedia
Science Fiction Essentials
Science Fiction Classics
Forgotten Gems & Future Classics
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." -Alan Kay
Did you know that the literally thousand year old Indian epic "Ramayana" (5th to 4th century before chirst) featured SF elements? Those ancient texts refer to flying contraptions that could traverse not just the skies but also space and the oceanic depths. These supremely speedy craft carried weapons of mass destruction so powerful that they could level entire cities! In the second century the Syrian-Greek writer Lucian wrote about a trip to space where he met alien life. In his conversation with them he criticized certain earthly behavior and in doing so Lucian became one of the first to employ SF as a tool for societal criticism He turned the lens back around, using it to look at ourselves through the eyes of an outsider. The first story that incorporated time travel as a device to study our ever more rapidly changing world emerged from Japan in the 8th century. In said story, a man who gets sent 300 years into the future desperately tries to find the way back to his old hometown in a for him almost unrecognizable world. It's clear that the history of SF goes back quite some time. From the mythic stories produced in ages nearly lost to history to the more recent European proto-SF movement and the 40s & 50s US golden age to ultimately the modern cyberpunk and biofunk of today. SF keeps renewing itself, a necessity brought about by its core task; to stay ahead of the future.
"Everything is becoming science fiction. From the margins of an almost invisible literature has sprung the intact reality of the 20th century." -J. G. Ballard
Science Fiction has a whole lot more to offer than just entertainment. SF can help us think through some of the possibly dangerous implications present in changing technology, culture or human nature. It allows us to simulate possible future scenarios which in a sense make it possible for us to anticipate and thus plan for and even guide our fates towards certain outcomes above others. There is a lively feedbackloop active between technological innovation and SF literature. Both push each other onward to ever greater feats of imagination and engineering prowess. A good example of this is the communication satellite which was first dreamt up by Arthur C. Clarke and took more then a decade to be translated from page to reality. Today more than 3000 of them circle or planet every day. People like Clarke allow us to pull a certain future into the present.
"A good science fiction story should be able to predict not the automobile but the traffic jam." -Frederik Pohl
"Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories." -Arthur C. Clarke
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
Outline of Science Fiction - Wikipedia
Science Fiction Essentials
Science Fiction Classics
Forgotten Gems & Future Classics
October 5, 2015
Pickings from the four pillars of pop culture
Taking a look at someone's bookcase can tell you a lot about that person but so too does their taste in film and music. It's almost like reading someone's life lines from the palm of their hand... Only, you know, this actually sort of works. :p As stated before, I feel defined by what I love so in keeping with the previous posts in which I shared people and places, for day 4 I am sharing some of the stuff that gets my blood pumping every time I so much as catch a hint of it.
Feel free to share the creative works you have fallen in love with! In fact, that's kind of the main purpose of this post. You don't have to list your favorites as exhaustively as I did but I very much would like to know what you guys and girls are into. I've been obsessed with lists pretty much from the day I was born so if you could make it at least top 10s, that would be greatly appreciated! :p
Feel free to share the creative works you have fallen in love with! In fact, that's kind of the main purpose of this post. You don't have to list your favorites as exhaustively as I did but I very much would like to know what you guys and girls are into. I've been obsessed with lists pretty much from the day I was born so if you could make it at least top 10s, that would be greatly appreciated! :p
Under the Skin
108 min - Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller
A mysterious seductress preys upon the population of Scotland.
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Stars: Scarlett Johansson
Films like this don't come around often and deserve to be experienced on a massive screen with a sound system capable of generating 200 mph vortex winds. From the first minute alone you just know that you are in store for a treat. They say there are two sorts of schools for films to follow. Almost all the films made today are focused on telling a well defined story through dialogue and narration but there is another school which tries to get away from that and instead uses the language of the visual to hint at underlying meaning. This film is most definitely a follower of this second school. It automatically brings with it echoes of films like 2001 or the Tree of Life simply because there isn't much else to compare it to. Without a doubt this is one of the most original movies of the past decade. In fact, I don't think we've ever seen something quite like this before.
It took Glazer a decade to get this out and it shows. It's a deeply personal film that doesn't care if you'll like it. Where most commercial films try to please their audience by checking the usual boxes and some artsy directors will try to meet their audience halfway, It's obvious that Glazer didn't compromise on anything but instead chose to fanatically execute his singular vision.
This is not market researched mass production which scores an "it's okay" with 90% of its audience. If a film is made for everyone, it's made for no one in particular. Art on the other hand isn't made for everyone or even anyone in particular but if you are lucky enough to be on the same wavelength as its creator, his work can connect with you in such a way that it goes well beyond simple entertainment. Sometimes a good piece can alter the way you think, making it life changing.
It's with this in mind that I can't guarantee you'll like Under the Skin but I most definitely recommend you see it. In the worst case you'll hate it, but if you are like me, you'll get to see a mindblowing masterpiece. One thing's for sure, even if you hate it, this film will get under your skin and haunt your thoughts for weeks to come.
The film itself is a truly unique and utterly alienating experience. Hidden cameras film unsuspecting people as they interact with a predatory Johansson as she stalks the streets of Glasgow. We see people go about their daily lives but from a disconnected point of view which infuses the mundane with an eerie dose of strangeness. The camera lingers on actions each and every one of us has performed many times over but seeing Johansson go through them seemingly for the first time makes you question yourself which can at times be quite unsettling.
A haunting and brooding tension simmers just below the surface throughout the entire film, only punctuated by a couple of chilling key moments where the slow pace gives way to pure shock and terror when the speed unexpectedly ramps up. It's not just the pacing that contributes to the feeling of dread. Certain scenes will quite simply nail you to the floor. Either by their macabre beauty or because you feel like a rabbit trapped in headlights. Glazer brings to the table a visionary style, effects that transcend "special", and layers of metaphor so deep you'll have a hard time keeping your head above the water...
There's also a hypnotic quality to the horror that makes it impossible for you to look away for which the score is largely responsible. It's hard to put into words just how perfect the score matches the movie. It is at times as perfectly cold and calculated as Johansson's mastery of murder, next it's completely unpredictable, jumping around as if it were a deer caught in bear trap. The only constants are its threatening and otherworldly qualities. Under the Skin - Death
The location, Scotland, perfectly suits the themes of the film. There is beauty in the bewildering chaos of its natural landscapes but also despair in its grim and desolate character. I am not going to give anything away about the film's story or what I think it means. It's much more fun to go in without having a preconceived notion of what it's all about. I wouldn't even bother with the trailer and instead go in completely fresh but if I haven't convinced you yet; Under the Skin Trailer Official - Scarlett Johansson
Do yourself a favor, go find out what it does for you.
A mysterious seductress preys upon the population of Scotland.
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Stars: Scarlett Johansson
Films like this don't come around often and deserve to be experienced on a massive screen with a sound system capable of generating 200 mph vortex winds. From the first minute alone you just know that you are in store for a treat. They say there are two sorts of schools for films to follow. Almost all the films made today are focused on telling a well defined story through dialogue and narration but there is another school which tries to get away from that and instead uses the language of the visual to hint at underlying meaning. This film is most definitely a follower of this second school. It automatically brings with it echoes of films like 2001 or the Tree of Life simply because there isn't much else to compare it to. Without a doubt this is one of the most original movies of the past decade. In fact, I don't think we've ever seen something quite like this before.
It took Glazer a decade to get this out and it shows. It's a deeply personal film that doesn't care if you'll like it. Where most commercial films try to please their audience by checking the usual boxes and some artsy directors will try to meet their audience halfway, It's obvious that Glazer didn't compromise on anything but instead chose to fanatically execute his singular vision.
This is not market researched mass production which scores an "it's okay" with 90% of its audience. If a film is made for everyone, it's made for no one in particular. Art on the other hand isn't made for everyone or even anyone in particular but if you are lucky enough to be on the same wavelength as its creator, his work can connect with you in such a way that it goes well beyond simple entertainment. Sometimes a good piece can alter the way you think, making it life changing.
It's with this in mind that I can't guarantee you'll like Under the Skin but I most definitely recommend you see it. In the worst case you'll hate it, but if you are like me, you'll get to see a mindblowing masterpiece. One thing's for sure, even if you hate it, this film will get under your skin and haunt your thoughts for weeks to come.
The film itself is a truly unique and utterly alienating experience. Hidden cameras film unsuspecting people as they interact with a predatory Johansson as she stalks the streets of Glasgow. We see people go about their daily lives but from a disconnected point of view which infuses the mundane with an eerie dose of strangeness. The camera lingers on actions each and every one of us has performed many times over but seeing Johansson go through them seemingly for the first time makes you question yourself which can at times be quite unsettling.
A haunting and brooding tension simmers just below the surface throughout the entire film, only punctuated by a couple of chilling key moments where the slow pace gives way to pure shock and terror when the speed unexpectedly ramps up. It's not just the pacing that contributes to the feeling of dread. Certain scenes will quite simply nail you to the floor. Either by their macabre beauty or because you feel like a rabbit trapped in headlights. Glazer brings to the table a visionary style, effects that transcend "special", and layers of metaphor so deep you'll have a hard time keeping your head above the water...
There's also a hypnotic quality to the horror that makes it impossible for you to look away for which the score is largely responsible. It's hard to put into words just how perfect the score matches the movie. It is at times as perfectly cold and calculated as Johansson's mastery of murder, next it's completely unpredictable, jumping around as if it were a deer caught in bear trap. The only constants are its threatening and otherworldly qualities. Under the Skin - Death
The location, Scotland, perfectly suits the themes of the film. There is beauty in the bewildering chaos of its natural landscapes but also despair in its grim and desolate character. I am not going to give anything away about the film's story or what I think it means. It's much more fun to go in without having a preconceived notion of what it's all about. I wouldn't even bother with the trailer and instead go in completely fresh but if I haven't convinced you yet; Under the Skin Trailer Official - Scarlett Johansson
Do yourself a favor, go find out what it does for you.
September 20, 2015
The controversial science behind "immortality"
In the SXSW accepted film "The Immortalists" two eccentric scientists struggle to create eternal youth in a world they call “blind to the tragedy of old age.” As they battle their own aging and suffer the loss of loved ones, their scientific quest ultimately becomes personal.
I am hoping that the documentary focuses on more than just telomerase and instead takes a look at a more complete picture such as described by the SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) approach cause otherwise I am afraid it will prove to be a quite dumbed down and simplistic vision.
By the looks of it The Immortalists should provide a balanced view as the cast is about evenly divided between those who think that fighting aging is a good idea and those who say it isn't feasible or that we shouldn't bother.
Those last few shots of de Grey and his missus... It's always refreshing to see someone own what lesser beings might wrongly choose to hide in shame. Good stuff! :) It's obvious that this documentary will try to infuse the rather depressing topic of death with a dose of lighthearted humor.
Aubrey de Grey is probably one of the most famous biogerontologists alive and has been trying to get the fight against aging on the agenda for a long time. Before he co-founded SENS he was one of the main drivers behind the creation of the Methuselah foundation, named after both the biblical figure who supposedly ;) lived to be 969 years and the very real 4845 year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine which is still alive and kicking today somewhere in the White Mountains regio of eastern California. He was the main instigator behind the Mprize (Methuselah Mouse Prize) which has awarded various teams for achieving preset life extension and rejuvenation milestones in mice. Check out this TED talk from 7 years ago if you want a small primer on his work.
Alternatively you can check out this hour long lecture for a more detailed look at why he thinks that SENS will help us conquer aging - Aubrey de Grey, "Ending Aging" | Talks at Google
If you really want to start digging into the science behind aging you might want to take a look at the SENS foundation's site and their archive of lectures. The SENS conferences regularly attract huge names who run some of the biggest labs in the world. For example, last year's keynote, SENS6, was opened by George Church and SENS5 was opened by Caleb Finch. - http://www.sens.org/videos
And finally, if you are looking for a spicy debate, just last week he was featured on the BBC show HARDtalk where he had to defend his views from one of journalism's bulldogs; Stephen Sackur.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah_(tree)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerontology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomedical_gerontology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telomerase
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategies_for_Engineered_Negligible_Senescence
I am hoping that the documentary focuses on more than just telomerase and instead takes a look at a more complete picture such as described by the SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) approach cause otherwise I am afraid it will prove to be a quite dumbed down and simplistic vision.
By the looks of it The Immortalists should provide a balanced view as the cast is about evenly divided between those who think that fighting aging is a good idea and those who say it isn't feasible or that we shouldn't bother.
Those last few shots of de Grey and his missus... It's always refreshing to see someone own what lesser beings might wrongly choose to hide in shame. Good stuff! :) It's obvious that this documentary will try to infuse the rather depressing topic of death with a dose of lighthearted humor.
Aubrey de Grey is probably one of the most famous biogerontologists alive and has been trying to get the fight against aging on the agenda for a long time. Before he co-founded SENS he was one of the main drivers behind the creation of the Methuselah foundation, named after both the biblical figure who supposedly ;) lived to be 969 years and the very real 4845 year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine which is still alive and kicking today somewhere in the White Mountains regio of eastern California. He was the main instigator behind the Mprize (Methuselah Mouse Prize) which has awarded various teams for achieving preset life extension and rejuvenation milestones in mice. Check out this TED talk from 7 years ago if you want a small primer on his work.
Alternatively you can check out this hour long lecture for a more detailed look at why he thinks that SENS will help us conquer aging - Aubrey de Grey, "Ending Aging" | Talks at Google
If you really want to start digging into the science behind aging you might want to take a look at the SENS foundation's site and their archive of lectures. The SENS conferences regularly attract huge names who run some of the biggest labs in the world. For example, last year's keynote, SENS6, was opened by George Church and SENS5 was opened by Caleb Finch. - http://www.sens.org/videos
And finally, if you are looking for a spicy debate, just last week he was featured on the BBC show HARDtalk where he had to defend his views from one of journalism's bulldogs; Stephen Sackur.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah_(tree)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerontology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomedical_gerontology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telomerase
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategies_for_Engineered_Negligible_Senescence
April 11, 2015
2014's Best Films
Top 10 2014
1. Under the Skin - review
2. Her
3. Interstellar
4. Only Lovers Left Alive
5. 12 Years a Slave
6. Guardians of the Galaxy
7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
8. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
9. The Grand Budapest Hotel
10. Fury
11. Les Combattants
12. Nightcrawler
13. Zulu
14. A Most Wanted Man
15. Snowpiercer
16. Gone Girl
17. The Homesman
18. Mommy
19. Magic in the Moonlight
20. Tracks
21. X-Men: Days of the Future Past
22. Nymphomaniac
23. Une Nouvelle Amie
24. Boyhood
25. Dallas Buyers Club
If you ask me 2014 was one of the best years in film of all time! 2015 brings with it the return of many aging franchises but hopefully it too will have more than its fair share of yet unknown wholly original surprises up its sleeve. If it manages to deliver even half as many good flicks as 2014 I'd be more than happy. :)
Top 10 most anticipated 2015
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2. Inherent Vice
3. Midnight Special
4. The Martian
5. Chappie
6. Avengers: Age of Ultron
7. Tomorrowland
8. Ex Machina
9. Birdman
10. Self/less
Some other noteworthy 2015 releases; Ant-Man, The Hateful Eight, Spectre, The Lobster, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Blackhat, Big Hero 6, Silence, Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Good Dinosaur, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, The Revenant, Mission:Impossible 5, Terminator: Genisys, The Fantastic Four, Pixels, Inside Out, Black Mass, The Imitation Game, Nailed, High-Rise, Pride and Prejudice and zombies, Absolutely Anything, Spielberg's Cold War Spy Thriller, Eye in the Sky, That’s What I’m Talking About, Far from the Madding Crowd, In the Heart of the Sea, Poltergeist, Still Alice, Unbroken, Jupiter Ascending, American Sniper, Force Majeure, Elle, Crimson Peak, Whiplash, Mortdecai, A Most Violent Year, Knight of Cups, Joy, The Salt of the Earth, While We're Young, Regression, The Visit, Selma, Macbeth, Big Eyes, Jane got a Gun, The Walk, Demolition, The Little Prince, Victor Frankenstein, Friday the 13th, The Sea of Trees, Furious 7, Foxcatcher, The Theory of Everything, The Jungle Book, Into the Woods, Grimsby, The Interview & The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
1. Under the Skin - review
2. Her
3. Interstellar
4. Only Lovers Left Alive
5. 12 Years a Slave
6. Guardians of the Galaxy
7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
8. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
9. The Grand Budapest Hotel
10. Fury
11. Les Combattants
12. Nightcrawler
13. Zulu
14. A Most Wanted Man
15. Snowpiercer
16. Gone Girl
17. The Homesman
18. Mommy
19. Magic in the Moonlight
20. Tracks
21. X-Men: Days of the Future Past
22. Nymphomaniac
23. Une Nouvelle Amie
24. Boyhood
25. Dallas Buyers Club
If you ask me 2014 was one of the best years in film of all time! 2015 brings with it the return of many aging franchises but hopefully it too will have more than its fair share of yet unknown wholly original surprises up its sleeve. If it manages to deliver even half as many good flicks as 2014 I'd be more than happy. :)
Top 10 most anticipated 2015
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2. Inherent Vice
3. Midnight Special
4. The Martian
5. Chappie
6. Avengers: Age of Ultron
7. Tomorrowland
8. Ex Machina
9. Birdman
10. Self/less
Some other noteworthy 2015 releases; Ant-Man, The Hateful Eight, Spectre, The Lobster, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Blackhat, Big Hero 6, Silence, Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Good Dinosaur, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, The Revenant, Mission:Impossible 5, Terminator: Genisys, The Fantastic Four, Pixels, Inside Out, Black Mass, The Imitation Game, Nailed, High-Rise, Pride and Prejudice and zombies, Absolutely Anything, Spielberg's Cold War Spy Thriller, Eye in the Sky, That’s What I’m Talking About, Far from the Madding Crowd, In the Heart of the Sea, Poltergeist, Still Alice, Unbroken, Jupiter Ascending, American Sniper, Force Majeure, Elle, Crimson Peak, Whiplash, Mortdecai, A Most Violent Year, Knight of Cups, Joy, The Salt of the Earth, While We're Young, Regression, The Visit, Selma, Macbeth, Big Eyes, Jane got a Gun, The Walk, Demolition, The Little Prince, Victor Frankenstein, Friday the 13th, The Sea of Trees, Furious 7, Foxcatcher, The Theory of Everything, The Jungle Book, Into the Woods, Grimsby, The Interview & The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
2013's Best Films
Top 10 2013
1. The Congress
2. Gravity
3. Oblivion
4. Mud
5. Cloud Atlas
6. Don Jon
7. Elysium
8. The Iceman
9. Inside Llewyn Davis
10. Europa Report
11. Star Trek: Into Darkness
12. Riddick
13. Django Unchained
14. Borgman
15. Zero Dark Thirty
16. Man of Steel
17. Upstream Color
18. The Master
19. Thor: The Dark World
20. L'ecume des Jours
21. The Counselor
22. Flight
23. Seven Psychopaths
24. Trance
25. Ender's game
Note: Most of the oscar contenders have yet to hit theaters here so that's why you won't find heavy hitters like; 12 Years a Slave, Saving Mr. Banks, American Hustle, Nebraska, Dallas Buyers Club, All is Lost, August: Osage County, Fruitvale Station & Philomena
Top 10 most anticipated 2014
1. Voyage of Time
2. Interstellar
3. Transcendence
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel
5. Her
6. Midnight Special
7. Godzilla
8. Inherent Vice
9. The Monuments Men
10. The Wolf of Wall Street
Some other noteworthy 2014 releases; Noah, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, Jupiter Ascending, Robocop, The Zero Theorem, Nymphomaniac, Jodorowsky's Dune, Snowpiercer, Oldboy, Poltergeist, Guardians of the Galaxy, Edge of Tomorrow, Knight of Cups, Ex Machina, Young Ones, Our Robot Overlords, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, I Origins, Chef, Jersey Boys, Autómata, Monsters: Dark Continent, The Labyrinth, The Signal, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Gone Girl, Parts Per Billion, Mad Max: Fury Road, Space Station 76, Passengers, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 300: Rise of an Empire, Under the Skin, Maleficent, Into the Woods, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Homefront, Big Eyes, Big Hero 6, The Giver, 47 Ronin, Anchorman 2, Birdman, Grace of Monaco, Far from the Madding Crowd, How to Catch a Monster, Jane got a Gun, Every Thing Will Be Fine, The Raid 2, Dumb and Dumber To, Predestination, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Divergent, Dracula Untold, The Maze Runner, A Most Wanted Man, I Frankenstein, The Lego Movie, Tusk, The Imitation Game, Fury, Unbroken, Frank, Before I Go to Sleep, Exodus, The Little Prince, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
1. The Congress
2. Gravity
3. Oblivion
4. Mud
5. Cloud Atlas
6. Don Jon
7. Elysium
8. The Iceman
9. Inside Llewyn Davis
10. Europa Report
11. Star Trek: Into Darkness
12. Riddick
13. Django Unchained
14. Borgman
15. Zero Dark Thirty
16. Man of Steel
17. Upstream Color
18. The Master
19. Thor: The Dark World
20. L'ecume des Jours
21. The Counselor
22. Flight
23. Seven Psychopaths
24. Trance
25. Ender's game
Note: Most of the oscar contenders have yet to hit theaters here so that's why you won't find heavy hitters like; 12 Years a Slave, Saving Mr. Banks, American Hustle, Nebraska, Dallas Buyers Club, All is Lost, August: Osage County, Fruitvale Station & Philomena
Top 10 most anticipated 2014
1. Voyage of Time
2. Interstellar
3. Transcendence
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel
5. Her
6. Midnight Special
7. Godzilla
8. Inherent Vice
9. The Monuments Men
10. The Wolf of Wall Street
Some other noteworthy 2014 releases; Noah, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, Jupiter Ascending, Robocop, The Zero Theorem, Nymphomaniac, Jodorowsky's Dune, Snowpiercer, Oldboy, Poltergeist, Guardians of the Galaxy, Edge of Tomorrow, Knight of Cups, Ex Machina, Young Ones, Our Robot Overlords, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, I Origins, Chef, Jersey Boys, Autómata, Monsters: Dark Continent, The Labyrinth, The Signal, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Gone Girl, Parts Per Billion, Mad Max: Fury Road, Space Station 76, Passengers, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 300: Rise of an Empire, Under the Skin, Maleficent, Into the Woods, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Homefront, Big Eyes, Big Hero 6, The Giver, 47 Ronin, Anchorman 2, Birdman, Grace of Monaco, Far from the Madding Crowd, How to Catch a Monster, Jane got a Gun, Every Thing Will Be Fine, The Raid 2, Dumb and Dumber To, Predestination, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Divergent, Dracula Untold, The Maze Runner, A Most Wanted Man, I Frankenstein, The Lego Movie, Tusk, The Imitation Game, Fury, Unbroken, Frank, Before I Go to Sleep, Exodus, The Little Prince, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
April 10, 2015
2012's Best Films
Top 10 2012
1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Shame
3. Prometheus
4. Take Shelter
5. Dans La Maison
6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
7. Argo
8. The Avengers
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Jagten
Note: Most of the oscar contenders have yet to hit theaters here so that's why you won't find heavy hitters like; The Master, Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln or Cloud Atlas on this list.
Top 10 most anticipated 2013
1. Gravity
2. Voyage of Time
3. Elysium
4. The Zero Theorem
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
6. Oblivion
7. Man of Steel
8. Her
9. Star Trek Into Darkness
10. Ender's Game
2013 is shaping up to be one hell of a year for sci-fi!
Some of the other big upcoming films of 2013; Pacific Rim, Evil Dead, The World's End, After Earth, World War Z, Iron Man 3, The Wolverine, Thor: The Dark Worlds, 300: Rise of An Empire, Mad Max: Fury Road, R.I.P.D, Riddick, Sin City: A Dame to Kill, Identity Thief, The Great Gatsby, Oldboy, Mama, John Dies at the End, Trance, Only God Forgives, The End of the World, Nymphomaniac, Movie 43, Twelve Years a Slave, Stoker, 47 Ronin, Side Effects, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Upside Down & Upstream Color
1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Shame
3. Prometheus
4. Take Shelter
5. Dans La Maison
6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
7. Argo
8. The Avengers
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Jagten
Note: Most of the oscar contenders have yet to hit theaters here so that's why you won't find heavy hitters like; The Master, Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln or Cloud Atlas on this list.
Top 10 most anticipated 2013
1. Gravity
2. Voyage of Time
3. Elysium
4. The Zero Theorem
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
6. Oblivion
7. Man of Steel
8. Her
9. Star Trek Into Darkness
10. Ender's Game
2013 is shaping up to be one hell of a year for sci-fi!
Some of the other big upcoming films of 2013; Pacific Rim, Evil Dead, The World's End, After Earth, World War Z, Iron Man 3, The Wolverine, Thor: The Dark Worlds, 300: Rise of An Empire, Mad Max: Fury Road, R.I.P.D, Riddick, Sin City: A Dame to Kill, Identity Thief, The Great Gatsby, Oldboy, Mama, John Dies at the End, Trance, Only God Forgives, The End of the World, Nymphomaniac, Movie 43, Twelve Years a Slave, Stoker, 47 Ronin, Side Effects, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Upside Down & Upstream Color
March 2, 2015
Still waters run deep
The below clip is a trailer of sorts for an upcoming non-verbal film titled Prograve by Italian filmmaker and documentarist Sandro Bocci. The feature is billed as (translated from Italian) “an experimental film orbiting scientific and philosophical reflections on time and space, and that through various shooting techniques, fields of magnification, and an exciting soundtrack, weaves a web between science and magic.” The section shown here depicts beautiful macro timelapses of coral, sponges and other aquatic wildlife filmed under ultraviolet light.
It looks to be a film in the style of those like Koyaanisqatsi and Baraka. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
It looks to be a film in the style of those like Koyaanisqatsi and Baraka. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
March 17, 2014
Dead Space: Downfall
Downfall, the prequel to Dead Space, explores what went wrong on the USG Ishimura prior to Isaac Clarke's arrival.
March 16, 2014
Halo Legends
A collection of seven short anime films set in the Halo universe.
The Babysitter
A squad of four Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, also known as Helljumpers, is sent into a Covenant zone under the cover of a meteor shower to eliminate a Prophet.
The Duel
Accused of heresy, an alien known as an Arbiter who does not want to follow the Covenant religion is sent into a trap when his wife is endangered.
The Package
A group of Spartans, including John-117, must infiltrate a Covenant fleet of ships in order to retrieve an important "package".
Origins Pt1
Origins Pt2
This two parter details the history of the Halo universe.
Homecoming
The story of Spartan II Daisy-023 and how she learns to deal with her beginnings.
Prototype
A demolition team known as the Hades Squad, led by a marine sergeant nicknamed Ghost, is tasked with the mission of carrying out the Cole protocol.
Odd One Out
Spartan 1337 finds himself stranded on an alien planet after falling out of his transport ship. There he must battle dinosaur inhabitants along with the latest Covenant weapon known as Pluton.
The Babysitter
A squad of four Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, also known as Helljumpers, is sent into a Covenant zone under the cover of a meteor shower to eliminate a Prophet.
The Duel
Accused of heresy, an alien known as an Arbiter who does not want to follow the Covenant religion is sent into a trap when his wife is endangered.
The Package
A group of Spartans, including John-117, must infiltrate a Covenant fleet of ships in order to retrieve an important "package".
Origins Pt1
Origins Pt2
This two parter details the history of the Halo universe.
Homecoming
The story of Spartan II Daisy-023 and how she learns to deal with her beginnings.
Prototype
A demolition team known as the Hades Squad, led by a marine sergeant nicknamed Ghost, is tasked with the mission of carrying out the Cole protocol.
Odd One Out
Spartan 1337 finds himself stranded on an alien planet after falling out of his transport ship. There he must battle dinosaur inhabitants along with the latest Covenant weapon known as Pluton.
Halo 4 adds history
Wake up John
Scanned
UNSC Infinity
Comissioning of the Infinity (Live action)
Opening Cinematic
Final Cinematic
Halo 4: Infinity - Spartan Ops
Scanned
UNSC Infinity
Comissioning of the Infinity (Live action)
Opening Cinematic
Final Cinematic
Halo 4: Infinity - Spartan Ops
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