Since last week’s end of the summer movie season prompted the first ever MindFoodies Award Ceremony, it only seems fit that this week we look forward. Sure, the summer months may have been a bit uneven on the sci-fi front (well, to be fair, it wasn’t just sci-fi that suffered at megaplexes this summer), but surely the rest of 2010 is going to pull it together, right?
September
In years past, September has traditionally been treated like the dumping ground of movies that are either not blockbuster material or not awards contenders. This September doesn’t look it’s trying too hard to break that mold.
The most crowd-friendly title of the month is no doubt the fourth entry in Paul W.S. Anderson’s sole film franchise, Resident Evil: Afterlife. And as easy as it is to rag on Anderson for botched jobs like Alien Vs. Predator, there are reasons to admire the man (this time last year the surprisingly good Pandorum, which he produced, hit theaters), so I’m actually looking forward to RE:A. The goofy second entry aside, I’ve dug the series thus far and I’m hoping that this new flick continues to indulge the popcorn side of my brain. As for why I’m including the latest film adaptation of a survival horror video game series in a guide to sci-fi movies, I think there’s a pretty solid case to be made that the movies became sci-fi when they left their zombie roots to give us a dystopian future where civilization was brought to its knees by the experiments of a single corporation.
After, RE:A, however, the month takes a more art house turn with Mark Romanek’s adaptation of the novel Never Let Me Go; a film that is already receiving early Oscar hype despite barely being seen. It’s not an overtly sci-fi film due to the lack of usual genre tropes, but think of it as Michael Bay’s The Island if it had been set in the English countryside, written by the screenwriter behind 28 Days Later and Sunshine, and directed by the guy who made One Hour Photo and you’ll have more of an idea of the subtle sci-fi film this promises to be.
The final sci-fi(ish) film of September is Zack Snyder’s animated kids film, Legend of the Guardians, which I’d like to make special mention of solely because I seem to be on of the few people on the planet who is actively looking forward to it. Sure, it’s about warrior owls, but since when is a little bit of imagination in a kids film a bad thing?
October
October is a month that’s understandably dominated by sci-fi’s sister genre, horror, but Magnolia did still find a spot to sneak in their SXSW acquisition, Monsters. I’ve been singing this film’s praises for months now, so I’m finally glad to have a chance to see it again on the big screen. I will repeat my normal refrain though: I think the marketing is all wrong. I think that the title and the cryptic trailers are implying more alien mayhem than the film actually contains. That’s a shame as I’m sure it will disappoint some movie goers, but I think the rest of us will be able to appreciate the ingenuity and originality on display in Gareth Edwards’ directorial debut.
November
Despite quite hating their previous film (Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem), I’ve really been looking forward to the Strause brother’s new film, Skyline. I’m trying to remain as in the dark as possible about the film - all I really know is that it involves UFOs that draw people “outside like moths to a flame” - so I actually don’t have a feel for whether this is going to be another surprise, lower budgeted sci-fi hit or if it’s going to be another reason to distrust visual effects designers who start directing movies.
Then we have, of course, the biggest fantasy film of the year: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. I’m a huge fan of the franchise (more so the books than the films) and I think that if this final film (well, the first part of it, anyway) delivers even half of the awesome things found in the final book, then we’re in for a treat. I’m not the biggest fan of David Yates as a director (I wish Warner Brothers had stuck to their original approach of a new director for each film, instead of letting him finish out the franchise), but as long as the script doesn’t gut out the good stuff, that shouldn’t matter too much.
December
Then we have the second biggest fantasy film of the year, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I’ve been mildly pleased with the franchise thus far, but that’s about the extent of it. I’m glad younger demographics have a film franchise they can look forward to, but I think anyone over the age of 13 recognizes this as a fantasy series for kids and treats it accordingly. Maybe the third film will toughen up that attitude, but I wouldn’t count on it.
And, of course, the sci-fi/fantasy year ends with Tron: Legacy (I’m just going to pretend that the abysmal-looking Gulliver’s Travels doesn’t exist). I can’t even believe how excited I am for this film. I love the look of the trailer, but more than anything I love the sound of it. The hum of speeding lightcycles, the sound of programs flying around in virtual reality, Daft Punk’s orchestral-techno hybrid...it’s all music to my ears. If this movie sucks, it will be the biggest disappointment of the year for me.