January 23 & 24, 2016 |
← Previous | IAP 2016 schedule | Next → |
The 38th Annual Science Fiction Marathon
January 23, 2016 at 7:00 pm in 26-100
Admission is FREE!The 2016 Marathon features four full-length films, one surprise feature, many short subjects, and a special selection of refreshments! Pizza pre-orders will be taken between Hitchhiker and The Martian for pickup before Apollo 13, and breakfast foods will be available before Street Fighter. |
|
Rated PG
format: 35mm |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)January 23, 2016 at 7:00 pm in 26-100Douglas Adams' oft-adapted tale of a normal guy making his way through the universe finally makes its way to the big screen in this endearingly goofy sci-fi comedy. Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) is a very ordinary man who is having a truly unusual day -- after discovering that one of his best friends, Ford Prefect (Mos Def), is actually an alien, Ford tells him that the planet Earth is going to be destroyed so that otherworldly forces can make room for construction of a hyperspace bypass. Since Arthur accidentally saved Ford's life years ago, Ford does him a favor -- he first gets him a ride on a spaceship passing by, and then presents him with a guidebook that will tell a beginner everything he needs to know as he hitchhikes through outer space. Along the way, Arthur encounters such interstellar notables as sleazy Galaxy president Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell), the girl of his dreams Tricia McMillan (Zooey Deschanel), perpetually glum robot Marvin (voiced by Alan Rickman), interplanetary construction magnate Slartibartfast (Bill Nighy), and cult leader Humma Kavula (John Malkovich). [allmovie.com] "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" is an enjoyable sci-fi romp with a strong twist of self-effacing British raillery that children of all ages will get a charge from. |
Rated PG-13
format: blu-ray |
The Martian (2015)January 23, 2016 at 9:15 pm in 26-100During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney's safe return. [rottentomatoes.com] "The Martian" is the kind of sci-fi movie I've been wanting for a long time-one where science takes center stage and the wondrous, awe-inspiring things that happen all stem from people solving problems using their brains, working collaboratively. |
A Special Surprise!January 24, 2016 at 12:00 am in 26-100 |
Rated PG
format: 35mm |
Apollo 13 (1995)January 24, 2016 at 1:00 am in 26-100"Houston, we have a problem." Those words were immortalized during the tense days of the Apollo 13 lunar mission crisis in 1970, events recreated in this epic historical drama from Ron Howard. Astronaut Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) leads command module pilot Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and lunar module driver Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) on what is slated as NASA's third lunar landing mission. All goes smoothly until the craft is halfway through its mission, when an exploding oxygen tank threatens the crew's oxygen and power supplies. As the courageous astronauts face the dilemma of either suffocating or freezing to death, Mattingly and Mission Control leader Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) struggle to find a way to bring the crew back home, all the while knowing that the spacemen face probable death once the battered ship reenters the Earth's atmosphere. [allmovie.com] Major, rousing, thoroughly professional Hollywood entertainment that will dazzle you with its re-creations of historical events, take you inside the space capsule and the Houston command center, and leave you wondering where our heroes [have gone]. |
Rated PG-13
format: blu-ray |
Street Fighter (1994)January 24, 2016 at 4:00 am in 26-100Based on the popular video game Street Fighter II, Street Fighter stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Col. Guile, the cocky but brave leader of an Allied Nations fighting force. When the evil General Bison (Raul Julia), the power-mad leader of Shadaloo, kidnaps a bus full of Allied Nations relief workers and holds them for a multi-billion dollar ransom, Guile and his team are sent in to do battle with Bison; aiding Guile is intrepid TV journalist Chun-Li (Ming-Na Wen), while a pair of con men (Damian Chapa and Byron Mann) try to play both sides against the middle for their own purposes. [allmovie.com] Fun Van Damme silliness. |
Copyright © 1996-2024 MIT Lecture Series Committee
Subscribe