Rank these 5 recent flicks

word on the street is that good movies exist

I liked Jupiter Ascending well enough. Great visuals. I do recall thinking how it did tech was superior to anything. Thinking harder about it, I still agree. That's not to say there isn't some truly horrible bits that make my eyes roll back into my head so hard that Robert Downey Jr. has competition. (Bees...)
But there is some enjoyable stuff there.

Valerian is fun. Could be better. I wish it was better. But compared to a lot of stuff nowadays, even the holy star wars garbage or marvel flicks, it lines them all up (except rogue one) and kicks them in the dick for not having vision and the balls to follow it.
The acting isn't that great, especially Valerian himself. But once you somehow dislodge an incredibly large stick from your rectum and just let it be what it is, instead of fighting it and wishing it is something it is not (great advice for life in general) then I think it is actually pretty good in a lot of places.

I haven't watched the other stuff.

I enjoy movies like Hawk the Slayer, John Carter, Flash Gordon, Dog Soldiers, Stallone Judge Dredd even Escape From LA, so B and C grade flicks work for me.

To be honest, I tend to enjoy those more than sterile, A-grade offerings.

I think I'd find some enjoyment in any of the 5 listed in the OP...with Mute being the most questionable one.

Then Jupiter Ascending, Valerian and the Riddick trilogy would service you well.

Legomancer wrote: word on the street is that good movies exist

I'm not debating that point. But I do wonder where the good sci fis are.

We all seem to suck on the penis of star wars, yet when we get critical and honest, it is objective formulaic dreck that only nostalgia supports.

But when an original movie doesn't hold up to subjective literary expectations for the source material it is based upon, it gets panned. Panned so hard that people who do enjoy them hide in holes and gather in congeries to share their love for them, out of fear that an imaginary cinematic gestapo may find out their admissions.

As if there is no redeeming qualities whatsoever about them. Like the fact that they gave something new a try so that we don't have to live under Disney's yoke of what entertainment is or should be. Just a limp wristed dismissal.

That criticism I am making isn't directed at anyone specifically. But rather towards the collective group think who dictate and influence a large part of the industry by their "reviews" that completely miss the forest for the trees.

So where are these contemporary good sci fi or fantasy movies?

I'd rate what I've seen as:

Atomic Blonde - the trailers made me think it was Kingsman with Charlize Theron, but what I saw was darker and grimmer. But it was okay.
Bright - Felt more like a pilot than a stand-alone film. It wasn't bad either.
Valerian - For me it reminded me of The Fifth Element, with a lot of dull added. Gorgeous but dull.

The other two, I haven't seen.

Colorcrayons, I'm always saying that MOON was probably the first good sci-fi we had in years. Since then we had Arrival and Blade Runner which were great. But Moon was pretty special.

Did I read that Mute is in the Moon universe?

lol, oh no i hope not cuz then I'll want to see it. I'm still trying to fight the urge to see that Shymalanan movie about multiple-personalities simply cuz it's set in the "Unbreakable" universe.

...isn't that universe just our very own reality anyway?

Colorcrayons wrote:

Legomancer wrote: word on the street is that good movies exist

I'm not debating that point. But I do wonder where the good sci fis are.

We all seem to suck on the penis of star wars, yet when we get critical and honest, it is objective formulaic dreck that only nostalgia supports.

But when an original movie doesn't hold up to subjective literary expectations for the source material it is based upon, it gets panned. Panned so hard that people who do enjoy them hide in holes and gather in congeries to share their love for them, out of fear that an imaginary cinematic gestapo may find out their admissions.

As if there is no redeeming qualities whatsoever about them. Like the fact that they gave something new a try so that we don't have to live under Disney's yoke of what entertainment is or should be. Just a limp wristed dismissal.

That criticism I am making isn't directed at anyone specifically. But rather towards the collective group think who dictate and influence a large part of the industry by their "reviews" that completely miss the forest for the trees.

So where are these contemporary good sci fi or fantasy movies?

Regardless of the hive mind or whatever, Valerian was just plain not good. It's just as much objective formulaic dreck, it just looks pretty.

Some pretty good modern SF movies:

Arrival
Moon (the funadmental plot point doesn't really hold up, but it's still pretty good)
Solaris (the Tarkovsky version, haven't seen the Soderbergh one)
The Martian
Ex Machina
Attack the Block
Galaxy Quest
Speed Racer

I actually heard good things about Jupiter Ascending and would like to check it out. I didn't hear anything good about Bright or Mute, and Atomic Blonde looked like the same super agent shit we get at least three of a year.

I mean, if folks want to watch cinematic junk food, then I'm not gonna stop anyone. I watched John Wick recently, which ain't gonna bend any minds, and I enjoyed it. I get that. But I got a friend who wants to eat gummy bears and nothing but gummy bears and also insists I pretend with him that each one is a complete nutritious meal and gets mad if anyone suggests there are other things to eat, and I'm not down with that.

Annihilation is also very good, and may still be out in theaters depending on where you are. It's on Netflix now outside of the US, Canada, and China, in a profound show of lack of faith from the studio.

Annihilation, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049 are all amazing sci-fi films from the past few years.

I like Dredd. Thing is, it's not much of a sci fi.

The lead guy in Valerian possessed nothing even approaching charisma and sounded like a third-rate Keanu Reeves when he talked (personality-wise he makes Keanu Reeves look like Charles Nelson Reilly)

Sevej wrote: I like Dredd. Thing is, it's not much of a sci fi.

The world needs another Dredd film. I loved every second.