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The CGI Art of Pixar vs. Dreamworks Art in Movies

This diagram says it all.

It's all in fun - Don't get me wrong, I love both studios movies, just prefer Pixar a little more.

However I LOVE Ardman Studios, who created the Wallace and Gromit movies, and when they teamed up with Dreamworks, the movie Flushed Away tops it all, but I digress...

Click through to compare the artistic creative process of Pixar vs. Dreamworks CGI

28 Days Later, in One Minute, in One Take

The Danny Boyle Zombie masterpiece 28 Days Later was a non-stop thrill ride to watch, but sometimes we are pushed for time - so if you don’t have the 113 minutes required to watch 28 Days Later, you can watch this. "28 Days Later, in One Minute, in One Take".

The "One Minute Film" video was produced by UK students who have produced other masterpieces such as "Forest Gump, in One Minute, in One Take" or "Kill Bill Parts 1 & 2 in One Minute" and the not so true to the movie "Star Wars, in One Minute, in One Take"

Artistically, the props made from cardboard and paper are brilliant, and I specially love the way they convey the blood and guts of 28 Days Later with fire and paper entrails popping out all over the place.

This is a DIY filmmaking making highpoint!

So if you have 60 seconds to spare and want a good laugh...

Click through to Watch the video

Moon, written and directed by Duncan Jones. An artistic Sci-Fi odyssey

...Some might say Moon is a bit slow in places, but instead I would say thoughtful.

If you are expecting another so called sci-fi "block buster" full of explosions, cheesy dialogue and mind numbing CG (computer graphic) special effects, then you will be disappointed. Even the exterior lunar scenes in Moon are shot predominantly with models and miniatures giving a distinct artistic retro feel. Indeed the budget for Moon was only 5 million.

While the movie didn't keep me on the edge of my seat with action, it did keep me guessing - by not walking down the typical somewhat clichéd well worn paths of the sci-fi genre.

Click through to see why Moon is a welcome return to the art of old-school Sci-Fi

My little Pony has reached Sci-fi Art Awesomeness proportions...

I never thought a lame toy pony could look this good.  Add a splash of science fiction and some amazing artistic tallent to a My Little Pony and wow!

All images can be enlarged to see the fine artistic effort and detail put into these My Little Pony Sci-fi classics

 Click through to check out the amazing Art work!

The Zombie Sci-fi / Horror genre seems to be the latest 'gold rush' for Hollywood

With Zombieland out in a month or so, and the trailer for Carriers doing the rounds. The Sci-fi movie Pandorum also looks to have a bit of a zombie feel too it too.

World War Z movie concept art above by Daniel LuVisis

Perhaps the swine flu pandemic has primed us all to the zombie danger?

Click through to your favourite zombie apocalypse movie!

100 years of amazing movie visual special effects from early silent black & white through to sci-fi, fantasy and the latest greats.

Click through to watch the clip!

District 9 is a science fiction movie with something new, unseen before. Or is it?

There are certainly some parallels between the sci-fi movie District 9 and apartheid in South Africa, but the point is not labored. It is much deeper than that, which gives this movie a breath of fresh air and some realism.

An alien spaceship arrives over Johannesburg and in stark contrast to your usual Hollywood formulaic rubbish, nothing drastic happens. In fact the movie is set 20 years after it arrives. The people of earth are not fighting for survival over an alien oppressor. The pentagon don't need to call in their specialist secret team that even the president does not know the existence of. There is no nerdy misfit or previously discredited scientist to save the day with a sci-fi gizmo at the last minute with seven seconds left on some digital countdown. It's not even set in America!

Holy crap - this is something new.

...Or is it?

Click through to find out...

Can Hollywood please come up with some new Sci-Fi?

It's an interesting question, and with Science Fiction movies from the past being remade on an increasing basis, we are even starting to see movies that are only a few years old getting remade. Perhaps soon the 'new Sci-Fi remake' will come out at the theatre before the original has made the transition from theatre to DVD.

Have all the Sci-Fi stories that can be told, already been told?

Click through to find out!

District 9 has a new trailer - gives a Sci-fi film 'gasm

...and by all signs this is going to be the right mix of action, story and a message...

In the new trailer you get to see more of the aliens and back story. Some exciting action and realistic special effects. I am very much liking the way this has a 'real life' documentary feel which draws you in.  

Look out for the little alien scorpions and some cool mecha vs a surface to air rocket. OMG!

Click through to be amazed: Scifi-art and the new District 9 trailer.

The Age of Stupid - Documentary that shows the results of climate change and where we are all heading.

Set in a devastated sci-fi world of 2055, Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, Brassed Off) stars as a man living alone looking back at "archive" footage from 2007 and asking:

Why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?"

This is uncomfortably more science fact than science fiction, and is supported by some stunning visuals to bring home the point.  Oh, and I forgot to mention, the other star of the movie is YOU...

Click through to amazing futuristic artwork, movie trailer and interview with Pete.

With the new Sci-Fi movies like Gamer, Sleepdealer and Surrogates, the concept of Virtual Reality has changed

When I was young, virtual reality had started to become popular. I even had a VR Headset for my Amiga3000 computer back in 1991

Sci-Fi movies like 'Tron' in 1982 depicted one of the first virtual worlds that I remember, and there have been many more since then. 'The Lawnmower Man' showed how a VR Headset and a scientist (Pierce Brosnan) could turn a simple mentally challenged man (Jeff Fahey) into a super powered villain.

'Avalon', another lesser known but excellent Sci-Fi movie revolved around people escaping from the real world to play a vrtual military RPG (role player game) for money, but often being left in a catatonic state from playing too much. Then there is The 'Matrix' (Only the first one, there is no trilogy!)

In all, people were living in the real world, while escaping to a virtual world.

... and how this has changed.

Click through to find out just how much...

Earth is constantly leaking our 'electromagnetic radiation' signals into space - Which Aliens are listening? What are they watching?

The opening scene of the Sci-Fi movie "Contact" written by Carl Sagan, staring Jodie Foster illustrates how the radio signals and noise from our planet leak into space.  The further out you travel, the older the signal is, the further you go back in time.

So if our Alien neighbours have a SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) program, and are looking in our direction, watching our TV shows, what are they watching? What is their opinion of us?

Click through to find out!

Sci-Fi movie set in a fictional world, where aliens have become refugees confined to District 9, a refugee camp in South Africa.

The extraterrestrial race have been forced to live in a slum-like environment on Earth for the years since their arrival. Suddenly they find a kindred spirit in Wikus (Sharlto Copley) a government agent that after being exposed to their biotechnology flees into District 9.

District 9 is based on Alive in Joburg, (which you can watch for free when you click through!)- it's a short film produced by Neill Blomkamp.

There are several versions of the District 9 trailer on the net, and I have the new unblurred District 9 trailer with alien subtitles.

Click through to watch the unblurred District 9 Sci-fi movie trailer and the Sci-Fi short film "Alive in Joburg"

A spoiler free review.

The opening credit montage to depict the "early years" (which did have some similarities with the superior opening credits of Watchmen) started the action and adrenalin pumping which I am happy to say continued mostly right through to the end of the movie.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the second blockbuster fantasy sci-fi comic book to movie crossover this year., with a balance of special effects, visuals, storytelling and character development, like Hugh Hackmans muscles, were strong and I would have liked a bit more time getting to know Deadpool (played by Ryan Reynolds)

Click through to read more...

The movie trailer for MOON looks like your classic good quality science fiction artistic movie. Quality acting, ideas music and visuals.

The tagline:

MOON 950,000 miles from home the hardest thing to face... is yourself.

MOON is an independent sci-fi movie directed by Duncan Jones (AKA David Bowie’s son – Zowie Bowie) staring Sam Rockwell, and has a bit of a 2001 feel, not afraid to have periods of silence from time to time.  As you would if you were stuck on the moon by yourself for 3 years.

Click through to watch the Sci-Fi movie trailer for MOON

Amazing 3D animated short film trailer invites you to Meet Meline.

Two years of intense work on the independent film by Sebastien Laban have produced something that would make DreamWorks and Pixar stand up and take notice. Complementing the stunning artwork and visuals, are the official music of Meet Meline composed by Guillaume Roussel.

I was captivated by the teaser/trailer of the Sci-Fi Fantasy 6 minute short film, where a little girl searches for a mysterious little creature. You can really feel the warmth and dedication they have invested in making this, as it transforms into spine tingling magic.

Click through to watch the trailer and see some artwork.

Have you have ever wondered if the science fiction stories of nanotechnology turning the world into a mass of “grey-goo” will ever come to pass?

Unfortunately the answer is yes.

Especially with this excellent artistic training cartoon on how to achieve just that sci-fi dystopian end.

If you have been laughed at by your peers, picked on at school, and humiliated in front of the opposite sex, then this how to be amazing video is just for you.

So nerd up, get out your notepad, sharpen that HB pencil, click through to the cartoon and start taking notes.

If you are a fan of the Watchmen movie or not, there is no denying that the artistic achievement in the opening credits sequence for Watchmen is amazing.

uY+co who produced the sequence with Zack Snyder have now released the trailer.

Every time I watch this I notice something new, and it does a great job of laying out some of the back story and history to set the scene.

Click through and enjoy!

A common staple of dystopian Sci-Fi films, books and Art...

Robots and computers become self aware and then decide the world would be a better place without us.

The next step is to start a nuclear war.

If you have ever wondered what damage your city would sustain if hit by a nuke, then have I got a treat for you.

I present... "Ground Zero"

This fantastic little mash up between Google maps and some programming by Carlos-labs will provide hours of fun.

Pick a city, chose your weapon of choice and then click "Nuke It !"

Click through and try it out...

Sci-Fi epic Watchmen, based on Hugo award winning art filled graphic novel of the same name is out next week.

Now find out about the science and physics of Dr. Manhattan.  Meet James Kakalios professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota who was a physics consultant on Sci-Fi flick Watchmen. I always geek out on science fiction to science fact stories.   Get your inner geek on and watch the interview! 

Am I the Stormtrooper you are looking for?

An Artistic Stormtrooper with some Sci-Fi love for Valentines day

Happy Valentines day everyone! ...And if you are not sure what all this means, then you should probably look at the Star Wars sci-fi trilogy, told by someone who never saw it

This has to be the best artistic sci-fi movie retelling ever

...told by someone who has never actually seen the first three Star Wars science fiction movies

It's just episode 4, 5 and 6. No mention of episode 1, 2 and 3 or the Clone Wars... and let's face it, we all wish they never happened anyway. :)

Click through to the video !!!

Sci-fi Art and technology combine to give the 'Terminator Salvation' movie promo poster.

Sony Pictures have released a new full-motion poster for the sci-fi action thriller. Focused on the transformation of Los Angeles over the next nine years, the poster shows the destruction progress of the city from 2009 to 2018. It opens with a 'Google Earth' style overhead shot of current Los Angeles in 2009. The poster then morphs into the face of an early T-model terminator, as explosions, falling buildings and fire ravage the scene. The stunning transformation ends when the tagline, "The End Begins" appears. Click through to the readmore link to see. It's well worth it - I am officially excited... and impressed!!