{"id":7967,"date":"2017-10-16T23:59:50","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T23:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jurn.link\/dazposer\/?p=7967"},"modified":"2017-10-16T23:59:50","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T23:59:50","slug":"screen-sci-fi-of-2018-a-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/2017\/10\/16\/screen-sci-fi-of-2018-a-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"Screen sci-fi of 2018: a survey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that the new Blade Runner<\/em> movie has so expertly turned the corner of the year 2017, it seems timely for me to do a new survey of the forthcoming 2018 science-fiction and fantasy films. <\/p>\n

There are of course still a few<\/em> more films to come in 2017. Before Christmas we get Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok<\/em>; DC’s Justice League<\/em>; Guillermo del Toro’s acclaimed ‘beauty and the beast’ movie The Shape of Water<\/em>; and of course the big-big release which is Star Wars: The Last Jedi<\/em>. <\/p>\n

But below I focus is on what’s coming in 2018. I should note that I’m not someone who watches trailers, due to the generally spoiler-ific nature of trailers. So these comments are not informed by any trailers there might be out there.<\/p>\n

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* Extinction<\/em>: Extinction<\/em> leads a whole pack of gloomy movies, with its January 2018 release. It sounds like Close Encounters of the Third Kind<\/em> (the grim family-breakdown bits) meets any number of imminent-apocalypse movies. I’m not expecting much from this one.<\/p>\n

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* The God Particle<\/em>: The heavily delayed space-station horror movie God Particle<\/em> is now set for release in early February 2018. Despite the intellectual-sounding title it appears to be just a basic ‘dangerous aliens on a space station’ story. It’s also apparently now part of the Cloverfield<\/em> franchise. Perhaps that’s how the makers rescued what was, by all accounts, a turkey.<\/p>\n

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* Annihilation<\/em>: A Natalie Portman vehicle due at the end of February 2018. It features a small-team scientific expedition to an “environmental disaster zone”. Could be just another “monsters and guns on the jungle” action-eer with a veneers of sci-fi. But the fact that the makers had hoped to get Tilda Swinton suggests it may have a little more intellectual substance to it. One suspects that piranha-like flesh eating nano-swarms may be involved, rather than a giant crocodile. However, with that sort of thing I’m always haunted by the huge pile of pretentious nano-crud that was Johnny Depp’s awful Transcendence<\/em> (2014).<\/p>\n

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* A Wrinkle in Time<\/em>: Once we get past the dead zone of the January\/February releases, things become a little more upbeat with a Disney movie. This is an adaptation of a children’s Christian science-fiction novel that was well-known in the 1960s and 70s, but which somewhat faded from public awareness in the 1980s and 90s. It’s a big Disney live-action movie, so should be fairly enjoyable. Though it may work best for those aged 11-14. It’s due in early March 2018, and will possibly be the most cheerful fantasy of what appears to be a very gloomy year of movies.<\/p>\n

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* Black Panther<\/em>: Yet more<\/em> jungle adventure — is the Dominican Republic offering vast subsidies to movie-makers, to film in its lush jungles? I must stay I enjoyed the Black Panther’s first brief appearance on the big screen in Captain America: Civil War<\/em>. But it sounds to me like this may be a re-hash of Avatar<\/em>, with military outsiders invading the hidden jungle trying to steal the Panther’s vibranium metal. Yawn. Still, it’s from Marvel, so it should have some extra sci-fi zip to it, if the makers faithfully visualise Jack Kirby’s ground-breaking take on Afrofuturism. Presumably it also somewhat sets the scene for the big Avengers: Infinity War<\/em> blockbuster later in the year.<\/p>\n

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* Tomb Raider<\/em>: A big Warner Bros. release in mid March 2018. Judging by the grim movie poster it’s not going to be bouncy and camp Raiders of the Lost Ark<\/em>-style fun, and will instead go for a gritty “I’m a survivor, taste my bloody ice-pick!” angle. <\/p>\n

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* Pacific Rim: Uprising<\/em>: A sequel to the big brash but forgettable Pacific Rim<\/em>. This time there’s no Guillermo del Toro in sight. Sounds like a big dumb sequel, full of monsters vs. giant machines, but hey… that can be enjoyable too.<\/p>\n

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* Rampage<\/em>. Yet another ‘bio-engineered monsters in the jungle’ movie, this time based on an old 1980s videogame. And of course the monsters escape and go on the rampage. Sounds like an over-the-top formula popcorn movie, basically Jurassic Park<\/em> crossed with Godzilla<\/em>. Expect laughs, if not outright parody.<\/p>\n

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* Ready Player One<\/em>. Steven Spielberg as director of a post-apocalyptic \/ cyberpunk movie, set in a future where most people prefer to ‘live’ in the virtual reality world of the OASIS. Sounds like Blade Runner<\/em> meets Tron<\/em>. Hopefully it will have an interesting Snow Crash<\/em>-like edge in terms of the visuals, although it’s apparently based on a dire young adults novel that was anything but the great Snow Crash<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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* The New Mutants<\/em>. At first glance I thought this was proper X-Men movie, but from the description it seems to be a grim psychological teens-in-a-maze horror videogame dressed up in X-Men clothing. Nope, that just sounds awful to me — even when I learn that the great Maisie Williams is starring.<\/p>\n

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* Avengers: Infinity War<\/em>: Which releases in early May and opens the summer season. One of the year’s big “must see” movies, of course.<\/p>\n

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* “Untitled Han Solo film”, in May 2018. A Lucasfilm space-western telling the backstory of Han Solo, and directed by Ron Howard. Yup, I’ll definitely<\/em> see that.<\/p>\n

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* The Incredibles 2<\/em>: Pixar’s big summer movie from… the great Brad Bird. Interesting. Yup, that sounds like another must-see movie.<\/p>\n

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* Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom<\/em>: Yet more<\/em> jungles and escaped monsters, and yet more<\/em> forgettable popcorn and people-munching action.<\/p>\n

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* Ant-Man and the Wasp<\/em>: Presumably this will be Marvel’s lighter offshoot movie, serving as a palette-cleanser after the heavier Avengers: Infinity War<\/em>. The first Ant Man<\/em> movie was enjoyable, and presumably this will be more of the same.<\/p>\n

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* Hotel Transylvania 3<\/em>: Hotel Transylvania 2<\/em> was a thoroughly enjoyable entertainment, even with its (thankfully quite short) musical interludes. So I have hopes for more fun from this.<\/p>\n

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* Alita: Battle Angel<\/em>: Hollywood takes another crack at doing Japanese manga\/anime as a big summer blockbuster movie. Maybe this time it’ll finally<\/em> work, with James Cameron at the helm. In the far future a girl cyborg is rescued from a scrapheap. It should be Valerian<\/em>-style treat visually, if nothing else.<\/p>\n

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* Hellboy<\/em>: Apparently Hellboy reboots into an R-rated Deadpool style, but… he travels to an ancient England, must defeat Merlin the wizard etc. Hmmm… Well, I guess an early medieval fantasy setting would allow for lots of gratuitous violence and gore. I’ve only ever seen the Hellboy<\/em> movies, and I disliked the Deadpool<\/em> movie, so while the setting excites me the style may not.<\/p>\n

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* Bumblebee<\/em>: Apparently a Transformers<\/em> spin-off movie telling the 1980s backstory of Bumblebee. I suspect a viewer will have to be younger than 11 to enjoy this one.<\/p>\n

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* The Man Who Killed Don Quixote<\/em>: Terry Gilliam’s new project, in which a time-travelling ad-man meets the famous tragic hero Don Quixote. Any whacky and surreal Gilliam movie is always welcome.<\/p>\n

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* Mission: Impossible 6<\/em>: Always a treat, with cool future-gadgets and snappy patter.<\/p>\n

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* First Man<\/em>: a bio-pic on the life and work of the Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong. Hopefully a respectful one.<\/p>\n

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* The Predator<\/em>: apparently an attempt to revive the Predator brand, as a sequel to the 1987 movie. Judging by the timing of the release it’ll just be a big dumb summer action movie.<\/p>\n

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* The Titan<\/em>: Seems to be a low-budget action\/horror movie in which an Air Force pilot is genetically re-engineered to survive on Saturn’s moon Titan. Might be interesting, though it seems he just turns into the usual movie-monster. <\/p>\n

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* Venom<\/em>: In early October we get the big screen version of Marvel’s Venom character, introduced in the late 1980s as a new arch-enemy of Spider-Man. He’s from a time when I had stopped reading Marvel comics, so there’s no “oh wow, Venom!” reaction from me. But he sounds like an interesting character. I’m hoping this won’t be skewed into Deadpool<\/em> territory, but I guess it will be.<\/p>\n

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* X-Men: Dark Phoenix<\/em>: the big and long-awaited X-Men movie lands in early November. It is, of course, the movie version of the famous Dark Phoenix story. Just as long as they do it right…<\/p>\n

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* Batman: Gotham by Gaslight<\/em>: an animated Batman feature, in which the Batman inhabits an alternate-world steampunk Victorian Gotham, is on the trail of Jack the Ripper. Based on the graphic novel, though that’s not always a recommendation. For instance, I was disappointed by the recent feature-animation of Justice League: The New Frontier<\/em>, which was risibly simplistic compared to the graphic novel.<\/p>\n

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* Fantastic Beasts and Where Not to Find Them<\/em>: A Fantastic Beasts<\/em> sequel. The first one was entertaining, in a Doctor Who<\/em>-ish sort of way, and looked great. Yes, more of the same would be welcome.<\/p>\n

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* Mortal Engines<\/em>. An adaptation of the novel set in a steampunk-ish version of London, on an alternate-history desolated earth. Set for a 14th December release, so it must be really good<\/em> if it’s going to do well in the Christmas slot. <\/p>\n

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That’s it. It’s interesting to see how steampunk comes through strongly at the end of the year, albeit with a gloomy edge to it. Can 2019 be a bit more cheerful and optimistic please, Hollywood?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now that the new Blade Runner movie has so expertly turned the corner of the year 2017, it seems timely for me to do a new survey of the forthcoming 2018 science-fiction and fantasy films. There are of course still a few more films to come in 2017. Before Christmas we get Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotted-in-the-news","category-the-animation-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7967\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/dazposer\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}