Day: May 21, 2023
My Favourite Movies That Were Set On Mars
âThe Martianâ (2015)
Matt Damon shows once again why heâs one of the top actors in the solar system as he plays astronaut Mark Watney, who is stranded alone on Mars after the rest of his team is forced to flee the planet due to a massive dust storm. The film is directed by Ridley Scott (âAlienâ), who certainly knows a thing or two about making great space films, and features an all-star cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels and Kristen Wiig. Itâs based on the novel of the same name by Bay Area native Andy Weir.
“Mission to Marsâ (2000)
Sure, it might only be the 173rd best film based on a Disney attraction, yet weâll watch anything directed by horror master Brian De Palma (âCarrie,â âScarfaceâ) and this tale of a Mars mission gone wrong is pretty intriguing. It also features a star-studded cast that includes Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins, Don Cheadle, Connie Nielsen, Jerry OâConnell and Kim Delaney. (Available on several platforms.)
âGhosts of Marsâ (2001)
Remember what we said about De Palma? It goes double for John Carpenter, even when the legendary âHalloweenâ director delivers such an uneven oddity as this box office bomb starring Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham and Pam Grier. Yet, weâre charmed by the filmâs campiness, which may or may not have been intentional. (Available on several platforms.)
“Total Recall” (1990)
Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the peak of his career in the early 90s and was one of the era’s most sought-out action heroes. Having starred in a sci-fi blockbuster, Terminator, in 1984, destiny called him again to star in yet another sci-fi classic, Total Recall. Based on the novelette We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick, the film follows Douglas Quid, who is troubled by visions of himself on Mars. Taking up a memory implant, things change drastically, and so does the very existence of his previous life. Apart from being the classic sci-fi 90s movie with a few sprinkles of explicit content, the film dives deeper into many philosophical and political layers that make one question the very essence of humankind.
John Carter (2012)
Living in 1868, Confederate soldier John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) discovers a medallion after a run-in with an extra-terrestrial and uses it to travel to Mars. Carter’s unique physiology gifts him supernatural abilities while on the planet, and he uses them to fight bad guys and rescue the princess. While John Carter was a box office bomb, it is far from a bad movie. It is a visual treat as Carter escapades around the dusty planet and a good adaptation of the Barsoom novels it is based on. Disney hoped the movie would lead to its next big franchise, but its box office failure quickly killed those plans.
“Red Planet” (2000)
Coming out the same year as Mission to Mars and with a similar premise, Val Kilmer stars with a robot Cujo in another movie about an expedition to the red planet and the discovery of life there. Due to an ecological crisis on Earth. As part of the first stage of terraforming, automated interplanetary missions seeded Mars with atmosphere-producing algae. The crew of Mars-1 is dispatched to investigate when the oxygen produced by the algae mysteriously decreases. The movie, which also stars Carrie-Ann Moss, Benjamin Bratt & Simon Baker,  was a critical and commercial failure and is Hoffman’s only feature film to date.
Nottingham Forest 1 Arsenal 0
Nottingham Forest beat Arsenal at the City Ground to secure their Premier League survival and crown Manchester City as champions. Taiwo Awoniyi’s 19th-minute goal was enough to seal victory and spark jubilant scenes from the home supporters at the final whistle. Arsenal dominated possession but Mikel Arteta’s men could not find a way through Forest’s spirited defence in order to force City to win a fifth title in six years themselves. Not that Forest and their noisy supporters were bothered about Pep Guardiola and his team. After what must have seemed like an age as he paced up and down his technical area, waiting for seven minutes of injury time to pass and the loss of goalkeeper Keylor Navas in the very last seconds, Forest boss Steve Cooper was able to celebrate survival.
In the stand above, owner Evangelos Marinakis was also hugged by those around him, having been rewarded for keeping faith with Cooper during a tumultuous campaign. Awoniyi only scored four times in his first 23 Premier League games after joining Forest from Union Berlin – but now has five in his past three. And, like the former Liverpool striker, Morgan Gibbs-White’s form has also shown a major upturn over the past few weeks and it was little surprise the pair combined to put Forest ahead. There was an element of fortune given Gabriel slid in to reach Gibbs-White’s angled pass into the penalty area first.
But given the battling qualities they have shown in their survival fight and the phenomenal support they have received from the stands, Forest deserved the fortune that saw the ball strike Awoniyi, then rise above Aaron Ramsdale, who was diving to smother, and into the net. It would be grossly unfair to say Arsenal did not deserve something from this game. They dominated possession for long periods and only some diligent Forest defending kept them at arm’s length. But the clinical edge of their early season performances has deserted them just as City have hit top gear. In contrast to the first half of the campaign, when they only dropped seven points, Arsenal have collected just nine points from their past eight games.