http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog The futures depicted in the movies Thu, 02 Aug 2007 03:04:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Seemingly taking a cue from Futuristmovies.com's rating system, the London Times has created a list of the 50 best movie robots, rated by plausibility, coolness, dangerousness, and comedic value. http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog/index.php/2007/08/01/50-best-movie-robots/ Astronomers have discovered the brightest supernova ever seen, and there is a star "near" Earth thought to be a candidate for a similar explosion. This would have its positives and negatives: On the positive side, it would be possible to read a book at night by the light of the dying star. On ... http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog/index.php/2007/05/15/supernova-in-our-backyard/ Writing in Salon, Simon Reynolds laments the science fiction futures that never arrived, and offers a term: "neostalgia"--"nostalgia for the future." (That malady is, incidentally, an occupational hazard of the futurist.) http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog/index.php/2007/05/15/the-never-arriving-future/ Scientists have successfully given mice full color vision by inserting a human gene into mouse embryos, the WP reports. Mice normally see in yellows, blues, and grays, and it was not known if the modified mice would be able to use the new gene, or if their brains would have to ... http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog/index.php/2007/03/24/enhancement-enhancing-senses/ Sunshine, about a mission to "trigger a device to save the dying sun," will be released April 6th. This sounds even less promising than The Core, which at least involved terra firma, but it was made by Danny Boyle and the team responsible for the excellent 28 Days Later. Note: while the ... http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog/index.php/2007/02/11/upcoming-immmm-going-to-start-up-the-sun/ Open the Future has devised an 7-level "apocalypse scale," grading the threat to humanity and the planet of 7 levels of disaster. Given the popularity of mega-disasters in movies, we can consider which of the levels have been depicted -- or at least threatened -- on screen. LEVEL -- SCALE 0 -- Regional ... http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog/index.php/2007/01/24/apocalypse-in-7-not-so-easy-steps/ FORECAST SUMMARY Movie set in: 2027 Event / Likelihood Universal sterility -- low Global flu pandemic -- high RATINGS Overall rating: 6.8 (9th of 124 movies) Futurism rating: 6 The movie is thoughtful but devotes most of its energy to the issues of today rather than the ramifications of its central premise. Entertainment rating: 8 Tense and uncompromising, ... http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog/index.php/2007/01/17/review-children-of-men/ A 2001 apocalypse movie, Ever Since the World Ended, is being released on DVD tomorrow. Says the NYT, "This mock-documentary imagines the possible outcome after a strange and virulent virus sweeps the world, killing the vast majority of the Earth's population and reducing the city of San Francisco to only 186 ... http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog/index.php/2007/01/09/dvd-release-ever-since-the-world-ended/ Evolution creates sudden, radical jumps in the X-Men movies (and in the new TV show "Heroes"). It's not exactly super-healing or the ability to control the weather, but scientists have identified a mutation that conferred a highly valuable power on certain European and East African mutant humans: the ability to digest ... http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog/index.php/2006/12/24/x-men-cow-force/ Children of Men will be released December 25th. Set in 2027, it depicts a future "without hope": no women have been able to have babies for two decades, a plot reminicent of last year's Aeon Flux. As of 2002, it was scheduled for release in 2003, suggesting trouble, but it seems to ... http://www.futuristmovies.com/blog/index.php/2006/12/19/upcoming-children-of-men/