Space movies (possible spoilers)

[Nikxice]

First Man looks really good. I’ve read Apollo 8, and of course, know a middling bit about Apollo 11. There is lots of drama to be shown, no need to invent anything,

So true, there's plenty of events to choose from. The general public will likely come away with an appreciation as to how frequently Armstrong came to clocking out before the age of 40. Should be interesting to see how the filmmakers dramatize Armstrong's and Dave Scott's near death struggle while tumbling end over end attached to the Agena target vehicle.

There's been movies such as The Right Stuff that have highlighted the Mercury program and also several Apollo based flicks. After fifty plus years it'll be nice to see the mid-1960's Gemini program finally make it to the big screen.

 

[ecarfan]

Anyone seen the latest Lost in Space series? Is it any good?

I found it mildly entertaining but fundamentally ridiculous. The planet they are stranded on is, with a few exceptions, remarkably benign and compatible with human life. The alien robot is easily manipulated by two different humans for completely different purposes, which is not plausible for such sophisticated technology.

On the plus side, the show features strong, capable female characters of all ages.

 

[ZsoZso]

I found it mildly entertaining but fundamentally ridiculous. The planet they are stranded on is, with a few exceptions, remarkably benign and compatible with human life. The alien robot is easily manipulated by two different humans for completely different purposes, which is not plausible for such sophisticated technology.

On the plus side, the show features strong, capable female characters of all ages.

I agree, Science is treated extremely loosely on many aspects. Character development / drama is fairly decent which is what makes it entertaining.

 

[doug]

If you want a good current sci-fi show with space travel, watch The Expanse.

 

[S'toon]

If you want a good current sci-fi show with space travel, watch The Expanse.

SyFy's Most Excellent New Series "The Expanse" Full Episode Preview

 

[ecarfan]

If you want a good current sci-fi show with space travel, watch The Expanse.

Agreed. Just finished Season 3. Pretty wild, and compelling!

 

[favo]

Agreed. Just finished Season 3. Pretty wild, and compelling!

So, of course SYFY cancelled it. However, Amazon Prime picked it up for season 4.

 

[Nikxice]

There's a new movie documentary coming out that focuses on the events of Apollo 11. The launch day footage is quite spectacular. The premier is this Friday in IMAX theaters, with a wider release on March 8th. It recently received high marks playing at the Sundance Film Festival. My understanding is that it's primarily a visual experience with little or no dialogue. It also contains previously unseen film captured in 70mm format. Maybe a good way to prep for the evening's DM-1 excitement?
'Apollo 11' trailer, poster show enormity of first moon landing mission | collectSPACE

I'll include here a shameless plug for a newly released TV series that features a long time Space collecting friend. Available now on Netflix, "Space Dealers" gives a glimpse into the inner workings of collecting flown and unflown artifacts from both the US and Russian space programs. The show is sprinkled with vintage space footage, historical facts, and astronaut guests. He's mentioned to me that if they get enough viewers they'll be producing a season 2. If your a collecting junkie like myself or maybe just a little curious, please check it out. Also it's never too early to start thinking about SpaceX items for collecting. A few items already exist. Perhaps at some point we'll even want to add a pertinent thread to the forum.

 

[ggies07]

We have another one now!

 

[Cosmacelf]

A movie about a woman going crazy? Not my cup of tea...

 

[ggies07]

A movie about a woman going crazy? Not my cup of tea...

So you didn't like this movie?

 

[ecarfan]

Just based on a viewing of the trailer, I would not consider that a “space” movie. Looks like a horror flick. Not my preference.

So you didn't like this movie?

 

[ggies07]

Just based on a viewing of the trailer, I would not consider that a “space” movie. Looks like a horror flick. Not my preference.

haha, true, but I was commenting on the remark about a crazy women movie. oh, and is a great thriller.

 

[Nikxice]

Yesterday I was able to travel 30 minutes to watch the documentary film "Apollo 11". I'm mentioning this because in the weeks prior it was only playing in Boston, therefore it probably won't be in many local theaters. Best viewed in IMAX or on a large screen. I don't think DVD or Blu-Ray versions will be out until later this year.

This film more than made up for my disappointment in "First Man". It's designed to tell the story visually. The narration is supplied by flight controllers, some Cronkite commentary, plus the astronauts. The Saturn 5 footage alone was worth the price of the ticket. It's so good that some might be fooled into thinking they used CG to create those shots. Compared to that overworked Theremin instrument used in "First Man", the musical score for "Apollo 11" was perfect. There was even a surprisingly fitting tune played onboard towards the end. A short director video interview was published last week.
https://www.space.com/apollo-11-documentary-featurette.html

 

[adiggs]

My kudos and recommendation for Apollo 11 as well. As a colleague put it as we walked out of the (IMAX) theater - a documentary with no voice over. I hadn't realized it while watching, but it was strictly period audio and video (with some short segments of music). Instead of a modern voice over explaining what would be happening next, we had Cronkite explaining to the period audience what was happening next.

Really well done, really good stuff.

 

[ICUDoc]

My kudos and recommendation for Apollo 11 as well.

One of the great movies.

 

[f-stop]

My kudos and recommendation for Apollo 11 as well. As a colleague put it as we walked out of the (IMAX) theater - a documentary with no voice over. I hadn't realized it while watching, but it was strictly period audio and video (with some short segments of music). Instead of a modern voice over explaining what would be happening next, we had Cronkite explaining to the period audience what was happening next.

Really well done, really good stuff.

I've not yet had a chance to see the Apollo 11 movie, but I'm really looking forward to watching it.

in the meantime, I stumbled upon something that other fans of the movie (and of the manned space program) will likely find interesting. Have a listen to the Mar 19, 2019 episode of the podcast "Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project":
Apollo 11 - Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project - 3/19/19 - Tested.com

in this episode they have an interesting interview with Todd Miller, the director/editor of Apollo 11. Great discussion about how Miller first stumbled upon archives of unseen Apollo 17 footage and then their various behind the scenes activities in the archives, leading up the making of the Apollo 11 movie.

bonus: as mentioned during the interview, Todd Miller previously created a short film about Apollo 17 - also worth a look*

* I found one strange thing with this otherwise good Apollo 17 film. At around the 5:00min mark, Apollo 17 gets the "go" for Trans Lunar Injection, but for some weird reason the filmmaker chose to show film that is very clearly a view looking out a Gemini capsule beginning earth re-entry. (not surprising if actual footage of Apollo mission TLI doesn't exist, but why show something so very not-the-same in its place? OTOH in the credits they do mention Gemini 8 footage is used in the film...) This inaccuracy kinda bugged me.

 

[TEG]

I went with the family to see Apollo 11 yesterday based on all the positive comments here. It was a real experience.
The launch sequence alone was worth the price of admission, and got an emotional reaction from me even though I knew the outcome already.

The editing was amazing, blending different camera footage from many different angles and perspective. It really made me feel like I was there.

The only downside was wincing when remembering that Nixon got to take some of the glory for this and Vietnam war was happening at the time.

 

[Nikxice]

'Ad Astra' is a Sci-Fi Space thriller set for release in theaters, including IMAX screens, Sept. 20th. It looks promising, even before audience reviews it's showing 84% on the Tomatometer. The special effects alone might make this worth seeing. Plenty of lunar landscapes, also believe there's a SpaceX style landing on Mars. There's several movie trailers available over on YouTube. Here's one that captures the gist of a lunar rover chase scene that's been described as Mad Max in Space.

 

[ggies07]

'Ad Astra' is a Sci-Fi Space thriller set for release in theaters, including IMAX screens, Sept. 20th. It looks promising, even before audience reviews it's showing 84% on the Tomatometer. The special effects alone might make this worth seeing. Plenty of lunar landscapes, also believe there's a SpaceX style landing on Mars. There's several movie trailers available over on YouTube. Here's one that captures the gist of a lunar rover chase scene that's been described as Mad Max in Space.

Bought my IMAX ticket already and taking a half day off from work to see this. Can't wait!