For months I’ve been excited about the movie Pandorum. It’s got a spaceship, it’s got a monster, it’s got Dennis Quaid. As bonus, it has the fantastic character actor Ben Foster in his first major starring role. Yay yay yay. And then I was told the studio would have no press screenings.
It’s a lame move. I believe that if you are putting a product out, you can’t do it under the cloak of shame. I salute Warner Bros. who screened the truly dreadful Whiteout and Lionsgate for screening the equally awful The Haunting in Connecticut. They knew those movies were junk, but they faced the music like champs.
The funny thing is: Pandorum might very well be good! But I can’t tell you for certain. . . 'cause they won't let me see it. So as you plan ahead for your weekend, here are some movies about space ships with monsters I can tell you are good. Rent one of these.
Alien: You want a monster on a space ship, come to Mama. Each time I see it I’m startled by just how terrific it is. The scares are still there, the characters are awesome and few films have ever had a bigger visual impact. You should probably see this again anyway, as Ridley Scott prepares to direct his prequel. Get a good look at the poor, dead Space Jockey on LV-426 – we may be seeing a lot more of him!
Event Horizon: “This place is a tomb.” It’s funny, but Event Horizon is a movie that comes up in conversation a lot. Mostly because the phrase “Paul W.S. Anderson sucks!” comes up a lot. The only natural response, of course, is “what about Event Horizon?” Then there is a handshake and a sharing of skittles. Nerds rule!
Solaris: I should probably be recommending the 1972 Andrei Tarkovsky verision, but the Steven Soderbergh/George Clooney version is a whole lot shorter. Sometimes the scariest monsters are. . . .in your mind! Neither Solaris is all that action packed, but for heady, heavy sci-fi there are few better films.
Silent Running: This flick was heavily name-checked when folks were reviewing Moon this summer. While its hippie philosophy is a tad heavy-handed, it deserves its praise as a sincere representation of what life alone on a space ship really would be like. Monster, thy name is boredom!
Sunshine: One of the best films of the decade. However, the only weak spots are. . .the parts about the monster on the space ship. Hence only a slight recommendation. (By the second viewing I came very much to terms with the monster, however. This flick is flawless.)
Eden Log: Okay, they aren't on a ship so much as a "science fiction environment." (It would be a spoiler to tell you precisely where they are.) Furthermore, it isn't a monster - it is many monsters. Mutants, actually. And, to be fair, Eden Log isn't exactly the greatest picture ever made. The real reason to see it, though, is so you can say you are on board with the new New Wave of Foreign Language Science Fiction (aka NWFLSF) movement. Trust me, it's a cool thing to say.
The Ice Pirates: If you are gonna’ only have one scene with a monster on your space ship, make sure it is a giant dose of space herpies.
3:10 To Yuma: This film has neither monsters or a space ship. (Although Peter Fonda should count heavily toward both of those categories.) What 3:10 To Yuma does have is an absolutely fantastic supporting role from Ben Foster. When I saw this flick I thought, hot damn, this guy is terrific. I didn’t even recognize him as Angel from X-Men: The Last Stand. A few weeks later he kicked my arse again in the flawed 30 Days of Night. 3:10 To Yuma, though, is a terrific picture – and any day now it will be “re-discovered” as such. You can be first on that, ahem, train by taking another look at it.
