My Nominations for PHC Top 3 Contest- Extraterrestrial Movies

My Nominations for the PHC Top Monthly Contest - Extraterrestrial Movies

• This is my entry into this month’s PHC Top 3 contest.

• This months topic is: Extraterrestrial Movies

My Nominations are:

Nomination #1

’Contact’

Director: Robert Zemeckis

My Reasons:

This is not only my favorite “Extraterrestrial movie” but my favorite film of all time. Carl Sagan has been one of my lifelong heroes. I read the book at age 12 & it had a profound effect on me but the film took it to a whole new level. In this movie, rather than the extraterrestrial playing the main stage it’s the scientist Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodi Foster) & her curiosity, childlike wonder, & humble amazement of the vast cosmos. It demonstrates, in its purest form, what a nobel pursuit science is & should be. Along with Carl Sagan’s ‘The Cosmos’, this film may be wholly responsible for my addictive interest in the Universe, Physics, the nature of reality & those deepest questions humanity has ever asked. Jodie Foster & Matthew McConaughey both give masterful performances. The constant debate between the two serves as a vehicle to play out the debate that goes on daily in modern times. It is Fosters various monologues as Dr. Arroway that are the most gripping, thought-provoking, & touch me somewhere deep in the soul. Examples below:

Nomination #2

10 Cloverfield Lane

Director: Dan Trachtenberg

My Reasons:

Another film that is not a “Extraterrestrial movie” in the traditional sense. The second film in Producer J.J. Abrams’ “Cloverfield’ series, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a great little Psychological Thriller. With an Alien Invasion serving as a catalyst, it demonstrates how other people, not external forces, can be the greatest threat during a natural disaster. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is perfectly cast as our heroine, Michelle who wakes in a strange bunker with two men after a car accident. Howard (John Goodman) tells her that a massive chemical attack has rendered the air unbreathable, and their only hope of survival is to remain inside. Claiming to be their savior Howard becomes controlling of both Michelle & Emmet (John Gallagher Jr.). As his behavior becomes more erratic Michelle suspects things may not be what they seem. This paranoid thriller is carried almost exclusively on the film dialogue & character development. A testament to great storytelling.

Nomination #3

Childhood’s End (miniseries)

Developed By: Matthew Graham
Director: Nick Hurran

My Reasons:

I may be bending the term ‘movie’ here. The three part SyFy channel miniseries based on the 1953 book of the same name by the great Arthur C. Clark, needed to be longer than a two hour film to get the full story in. It deals with first contact as an alien race called ‘Overlords’ show up on earth. The story takes place over many generations as the overlords reveal more information as they slowly acclimate humans to their ways. The story plays on various themes and tropes. Among these are religion, technology, the pursuit of utopia, & humanities resistance to change. In the vein of much of Clark’s storytelling it is full of grand ideas & questions. The book has a greater density of this but the film still leaves you in a state of deep thought & contemplation. Sometimes A hard balance to find in storytelling, the intellect of the movie doesn’t subtract from its entertainment value. I enjoyed it so much I bought it on Blu-ray & digital. For a SyFy product that is a personal first (& maybe only) occurrence. It’s a rare gem in the The SyFy body of work & hard to believe produced by the people who brought you the ‘Sharknado’ films. 😂

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