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Post by neferetus on Sept 18, 2010 15:31:24 GMT -5
TCM was showing the 1973 Charlton Heston Sci-Fi Thriiller SOYLENT GREEN this afternoon, so I thought I'd tune in and give it a view. Hadn't seen it since it first came out.
Unlike 1968's PLANET OF THE APES, boy, is this one dated. To begin with Charlton Heston, who portrays a New York City cop in the year 2022 has a 1970's-looking television in his apartment that he actually has to switch on by hand. Geeze, I mean they actually HAD remote control TVs back in the 70's, so why show a hand switch one in the year 2022? Also, oddly enough, all the automobiles in the film look like 1970's cars, men and women both sport 1970's hairstyles, while the men wear snappy leisure suits. Ugh! Where was the props, costuming and special effects budget for this one? Apparently there wasn't one. I ended up switching the film off 15 minutes into it. I just couldn't take it.
Have any bad Sci-Fi movies you'd like to talk about?
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Post by Greg C. on Sept 18, 2010 17:44:49 GMT -5
I still like SOYLENT GREEN, mainly because of Heston and Edward G. Robinson making his final appearance. The plot line is now incredibly predictable and the end line which was so famous upon its release is a complete cheese fest. But still, I can enjoy this movie because it's one of the classics.
PLANET OF THE APES is still one of my favorite movies of all time. I can't find anything wrong with it. Great story line, and one of the best twist endings. Also, an incredible cast chemistry.
As for bad Sci-Fi, where do I start? I know I've seen a lot of terrible ones, but I can't really remember any major ones off hand. Of course, all one has to do is watch the ScyFy Network and see some of their original releases to see a bad movie.
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Post by Greg C. on Sept 18, 2010 17:45:39 GMT -5
 In changing the name of their network, they also spelled the abbreviation wrong. |
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Post by Bromhead24 on Oct 24, 2010 14:24:58 GMT -5
For bad syfy movies all you have to do is turn on the syfy channel and watch one of their original productions.
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Post by Greg C. on Oct 24, 2010 23:27:44 GMT -5
For bad syfy movies all you have to do is turn on the syfy channel and watch one of their original productions. They're so bad, they're worth watching. |
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Post by neferetus on Oct 25, 2010 0:31:53 GMT -5
I just saw one today at the IMAX theater in San Antonio called HAUNTED CASTLE 3D. I entered the theater thinking this would be a nice ghostly treat that would help to get me into the spirit of Halloween. Wrong! It was horrible beyond mention, most especially the bad script. As the viewer is 'driving' along in the same car as the narrator, he sees through the narrator's eyes. The narrator being a boy-band-looking rock star who states how, after his band has gotten rave album reviews, he's called to his late mother's estate, a creepy-looking castle on the wind-swept coast of England. He's bitter with his Mom, as she abandoned him when he was only 3 to pursue her own career as a rock star. Entering the castle, he calls out, "Hello! Is anyone home?" He asks this, even though he clearly sees candles lit throughout the place. Duh! All of a sudden, about 6 suits of armour begin to threaten him menacingly with their spears. "What's going on here?" the boy asks. (Powerful line, that.) Suddenly, out of nowhere, an un-scary-looking mechanical looking demon appears and addresses the budding rock star, Johnny. But before he does, he turns the suits of armor into tapioca, or something. Then he tells 'Johnny' that "Mr. D." wants to see him. They get into a mine car and go down, down, down into a tunnel, looking at other musicians in cages along the way who, over the years have sold their soul to the Devil as their price of fame. He arrives at the bottom, a watery-looking tomb where Mr. D. addresses him and offers him fame for a price. Satan reminds the boy that his rock-star mom had made a pact that included her not seeing her own son as the price of her fame. Suddenly, a hologram of a woman appears and begins to sing. I mean the hologram image is poised over a hologram projector, for gosh sakes. (Remember, this is a CGI-Animated film.) "Mom, is that you," the boy asks. The Mom never answers, but instead sings an entire lame and unscary pop song. Satan then offers Johnny his shot at fame again, but Johnny declines. The demon then says, "They all do that at first, but we get them all in the end. Would you like to see where we store them? Mr. D. has it all worked out cleverly." They then go into yet another tunnel, emerging at last in a Las Vegas-looking Hell, where all the rock stars have rooms.
I walked out at that point. I couldn't take it any more. Who the hell wrote this and for what age group?! Certainly not for adults, or children. But for teens who love their CGI-laced computer games, it must really be the ticket.
The straw that really broke the camel's back for me, in fact, is that this very expensively made IMAX 3D movie looked to be nothing more than an advertisement for a new video game, or amusement park ride. And the beauty of it all is they actually have people paying to see it!
I was so disappointed. I 'd gone in expecting ghosts, goblins, witches and skeltons and ended up with Rock and Rollers in Hell. What a misleading title that was, HAUNTED CASTLE. It would've been more on the mark to have called it SATANIC CASTLE, or CASTLE OF THE DAMNED.
In all fairness, the IMAX supervisor apologized and offered me another movie in its place, but I didn't have the time, so had to decline. My advice? Stay far, far, away from this bomb if you value your common sense.
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