Renee
Apr 17, 20202 min
Updated: May 20, 2020
You're all alone! Everything goes wrong! Will anyone survive???
#1 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
This epic sci-fi thriller is arguably one of the greatest and most influential films of all time. If you've never seen it before, put down your hand sanitizer and go stream it now! Featuring sparse dialogue, a glorious soundtrack, stunning visuals, oh-so-rare accurate depictions of space travel and moments that will leave you scratching your head for years to come, it's an essential movie for any film buff. 2001: A Space Odyssey deals with larger than life themes of human evolution, existentialism, artificial intelligence, and the possibility of extra-terrestrial life.
I don't even want to get into the plot, which in itself is up to interpretation. Watch it for the special effects, or to understand the myriad cultural references that came in its wake. Watch for the music, or the dazzling display of imagination and production.
Watch for the science, watch for the beauty.
Available to stream on DirectTV and for rental on digital platforms
#SpaceOdyssey #Kubric #SciFi #Thriller #Mystery #Epic #DirectTV #Rental
#2 Moon, 2009
Directed by Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie)
Starring Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice)
Moon is a rare find: a space-themed movie that is driven by character and emotion. Sam Bell, a sort of lighthouse keeper isolated on the moon, is played by the exceptionally talented Sam Rockwell, and experiences fluctuations of hope, despair, and loneliness that one can expect in extreme isolation. After three years in space with very little human interaction, Sam is bordering on hallucination. His interactions are almost exclusively with his artificial intelligence companion GERTY, voiced by Spacey, who is an obvious reference to HAL, the A.I. computer system in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
I don't want to give away any spoilers, since the plot takes a wild, unexpected turn. Despite fizzling a bit at the end, I recommend Moon for it's haunting and beautiful soundtrack, magnificent moonscapes, and Rockwell's outstanding performance.
Available to stream on Netflix and Crackle
#Moon #Drama #Mystery #SciFi #SamRockwell #Netflix #Crackle
#3 The Martian, 2015
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels
While I wouldn't normally recommend anyone watch Matt Damon for more than two hours, The Martian is an exception. Mark Watney (Damon) is a stranded astronaut acting as the human counterpart to science and technology, struggling to survive and get home. While my husband assures me that the book (written by software-engineer-turned-novelist Andy Weir) is infinitely better, libraries are closed right now, so the movie it is!
Unlike the previous entries in this post, The Martian has a much lighter tone, and at it's heart is a popcorn-eating shipwreck tale. The cast is dotted with comedic actors such as Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, and Donald Glover, who kind of take me out of the experience since they don't have any truly laughable moments, while Damon does.
With the possibility of manned missions to Mars in our near future (2022?), this movie offers a glimpse of what our astronauts might be up against. If you're looking for a film about hope, determination, and human potential, this one is for you.
Available to stream on Hulu and for rent on digital platforms.
Ad-supported streaming on SlingTV