<![CDATA[Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum - Film, Photography & Literature ]]>

<![CDATA[Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum - Film, Photography & Literature ]]> https://www.scivillage.com/ Sat, 25 Apr 2026 10:22:10 +0000 MyBB <![CDATA[How Villeneuve uses silence]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20242.html Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:18:57 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20242.html
Blade Runner 2049 (2017) features entire dialogue scenes played in near-silence, where Ryan Gosling's character processes information internally while the camera holds on his face, requiring both extreme actor discipline and the confidence to let a frame exist without filling it. Villeneuve has described his approach as using silence the way most directors use music, as an active storytelling tool rather than the absence of one. This makes him one of the few directors working today who trusts that what the audience imagines in the space between sounds will be more powerful than any score."

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Blade Runner 2049 (2017) features entire dialogue scenes played in near-silence, where Ryan Gosling's character processes information internally while the camera holds on his face, requiring both extreme actor discipline and the confidence to let a frame exist without filling it. Villeneuve has described his approach as using silence the way most directors use music, as an active storytelling tool rather than the absence of one. This makes him one of the few directors working today who trusts that what the audience imagines in the space between sounds will be more powerful than any score."

]]> <![CDATA[Great queer moments on film]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20229.html Sun, 19 Apr 2026 02:51:22 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20229.html
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1605321320706558]]>
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1605321320706558]]> <![CDATA["Kill Your Darlings"]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20169.html Sat, 11 Apr 2026 15:46:23 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20169.html
"Kill Your Darlings is loosely based on the life of poet Allen Ginsberg. DeHaan portrays Ginsberg's friend, Lucien Carr, who documented their years together at school. The film tells the story of the 1944 untold murder bringing together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEr8Ogdm-3I

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"Kill Your Darlings is loosely based on the life of poet Allen Ginsberg. DeHaan portrays Ginsberg's friend, Lucien Carr, who documented their years together at school. The film tells the story of the 1944 untold murder bringing together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEr8Ogdm-3I

]]> <![CDATA["Avatar: Fire And Ash"]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20124.html Sun, 05 Apr 2026 20:17:44 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20124.html

]]>

]]> <![CDATA["FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER"]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20065.html Fri, 27 Mar 2026 05:56:32 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20065.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsy9sBw-VGE

"There’s a spiritual strain running through all of Jarmusch’s work—part theology and part quantum physics, with shades of lamentation for humanity’s limits and affection for their delusions and foibles. All that is present here as well. The movie is not trying to give advice or make a statement. Still, something about the approach makes it feel as if hidden knowledge is being transmitted, and that you can connect to it or learn from it if you stay tuned to the movie’s wavelength....

..What’s it all about? What’s the conclusion? What’s the takeaway? Jarmusch never hands us anything. We’re left to think about all of it, how it might or might not fit together, and how we relate to it. The constant through all of Jarmusch’s work is an attentiveness to narrative and visual storytelling that most other filmmakers avoid or just never include. It’s unsettling, in a way—as if the normal experience of moviegoing has been turned inside-out. You may be left cold, feeling that you’ve seen a theoretical exercise whose purpose was never articulated. Or you may react as I did. I took pages of notes for this review, doing my best to describe the movie as a discrete work—an object to be contemplated. When the final credits rolled, I closed my notebook and wept."------ https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fathe...eview-2025]]>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsy9sBw-VGE

"There’s a spiritual strain running through all of Jarmusch’s work—part theology and part quantum physics, with shades of lamentation for humanity’s limits and affection for their delusions and foibles. All that is present here as well. The movie is not trying to give advice or make a statement. Still, something about the approach makes it feel as if hidden knowledge is being transmitted, and that you can connect to it or learn from it if you stay tuned to the movie’s wavelength....

..What’s it all about? What’s the conclusion? What’s the takeaway? Jarmusch never hands us anything. We’re left to think about all of it, how it might or might not fit together, and how we relate to it. The constant through all of Jarmusch’s work is an attentiveness to narrative and visual storytelling that most other filmmakers avoid or just never include. It’s unsettling, in a way—as if the normal experience of moviegoing has been turned inside-out. You may be left cold, feeling that you’ve seen a theoretical exercise whose purpose was never articulated. Or you may react as I did. I took pages of notes for this review, doing my best to describe the movie as a discrete work—an object to be contemplated. When the final credits rolled, I closed my notebook and wept."------ https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fathe...eview-2025]]> <![CDATA[Colbert to co-write new LOTR film with Peter Jackson]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20052.html Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:24:00 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20052.html
https://www.facebook.com/reel/962516223003204]]>
https://www.facebook.com/reel/962516223003204]]> <![CDATA[Dune 3]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20019.html Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:34:41 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20019.html
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C5DNwWsRy7A]]>
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C5DNwWsRy7A]]> <![CDATA[Top 10 Road Movies]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19963.html Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:47:54 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19963.html
https://alltherightmovies.com/feature/on...ad-movies/

A few others I found to add to the list:

Kings of the Road
This 1976 drama by Wim Wenders skirts the border of East and West Germany as it ponders the state of cinema, American cultural colonialism and male friendship. A film projector repairman (Rüdiger Vogler) and his depressed passenger (Hanns Zischler) are on a road to nowhere, soundtracked by that Roger Miller song.

Badlands
Fifties South Dakota teenager Holly (Sissy Spacek) falls for unstable, young rebel Kit (Martin Sheen) and goes on the run with him after he shoots her disapproving father. Terence Malick’s 1973 debut is in some ways a typical lovers-on-the-lam tale, but the film-maker’s now-lauded feel for landscape and atmosphere infuses it with a lyrical, fairytale quality.

Sightseers
A defiantly British take on the killers-on-the-run thriller. Instead of Monument Valley and the Mojave desert, Ben Wheatley’s jet-black 2012 comedy gives us the Derwent Pencil Museum and Crich Tramway Village. Steve Oram and Alice Lowe’s sociopathic caravanners go on a road trip in northern England that escalates into a murder spree. Like Nuts in May, but with blunt-force trauma.

Midnight Run
Cop-turned-bounty hunter Robert De Niro thinks he’s got an easy payday when he picks up shlubby mob accountant Charles Grodin. Little does he know … Martin Brest’s sparky 1988 comedy of errors plays up the bickering pair’s differences as they travel across the US by various modes of transport, and brings out a hitherto little-seen comic side of De Niro.

The Straight Story
David Lynch’s arch, elegiac 1999 comedy-drama features probably the slowest road trip in all cinema, as Richard Farnsworth’s Alvin Straight drives his lawnmower, at 5mph, 240 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin to see his sick, estranged brother. An understated examination of heartland America and old age, and available to stream for a bargain 99p.]]>
https://alltherightmovies.com/feature/on...ad-movies/

A few others I found to add to the list:

Kings of the Road
This 1976 drama by Wim Wenders skirts the border of East and West Germany as it ponders the state of cinema, American cultural colonialism and male friendship. A film projector repairman (Rüdiger Vogler) and his depressed passenger (Hanns Zischler) are on a road to nowhere, soundtracked by that Roger Miller song.

Badlands
Fifties South Dakota teenager Holly (Sissy Spacek) falls for unstable, young rebel Kit (Martin Sheen) and goes on the run with him after he shoots her disapproving father. Terence Malick’s 1973 debut is in some ways a typical lovers-on-the-lam tale, but the film-maker’s now-lauded feel for landscape and atmosphere infuses it with a lyrical, fairytale quality.

Sightseers
A defiantly British take on the killers-on-the-run thriller. Instead of Monument Valley and the Mojave desert, Ben Wheatley’s jet-black 2012 comedy gives us the Derwent Pencil Museum and Crich Tramway Village. Steve Oram and Alice Lowe’s sociopathic caravanners go on a road trip in northern England that escalates into a murder spree. Like Nuts in May, but with blunt-force trauma.

Midnight Run
Cop-turned-bounty hunter Robert De Niro thinks he’s got an easy payday when he picks up shlubby mob accountant Charles Grodin. Little does he know … Martin Brest’s sparky 1988 comedy of errors plays up the bickering pair’s differences as they travel across the US by various modes of transport, and brings out a hitherto little-seen comic side of De Niro.

The Straight Story
David Lynch’s arch, elegiac 1999 comedy-drama features probably the slowest road trip in all cinema, as Richard Farnsworth’s Alvin Straight drives his lawnmower, at 5mph, 240 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin to see his sick, estranged brother. An understated examination of heartland America and old age, and available to stream for a bargain 99p.]]> <![CDATA[Top 10 Road Movies]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19962.html Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:46:55 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19962.html https://alltherightmovies.com/feature/on...ad-movies/]]> https://alltherightmovies.com/feature/on...ad-movies/]]> <![CDATA["Project Hail Mary" (no green screens but..)]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19900.html Thu, 05 Mar 2026 18:52:47 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19900.html https://variety.com/2026/film/news/proje...gjx4JkgPZg

“Project Hail Mary” co-director Christopher Miller issued a clarification on X after his recent interview with Comicbook.com went viral for his revelation that the movie features zero green screens despite being a VFX-heavy space odyssey. Ryan Gosling headlines Miller and Phil Lord’s film adaption of Andy Weir’s 2021 book of the same name, which centers on a school teacher turned astronaut tasked with stopping a mysterious entity from blacking out the sun.

“What’s fun about the movie is that there is no green screen in the movie whatsoever. Not a single green or blue screen was used,” Miller told ComicBook on the film’s press tour. “The whole ship was built as a set from the inside. We had a huge section of the exterior of the ship on the outside that we built. [The alien character Rocky] was really with us at all times. And so, that’s what makes it feel real and makes it feel natural.”

Miller then took to X to clarify that “no green screen” doesn’t mean “no VFX,” and “there were, in fact, thousands of VFX shots in the film (2018!).”

“Green screen is sometimes used in lieu of building sets or figuring out locations/lighting in advance, which can be noticeable if not done carefully, and is something we didn’t want to do,” Miller explained. “We built the entire interior of the Hail Mary ship – but within the ship, there were still wire and puppeteer removals and ceiling replacements, etc.”

Miller continued, “When Ryan is outside on the hull of the ship, we shot him in front of a black background for space and a shifting hue background when he was up against the aurora of a planet which allowed for truer interactive light on him than a green screen would. The wide space exteriors and spaceship shots were entirely digital and beautifully done by ILM. Rocky was a seamless blend of puppetry and animation from Framestore. And other great work from many more. It really does take a village and we had the best of the best on our side.”

The practical effects in “Project Hail Mary” are already being singled out as one of the film’s biggest triumphs. Guillermo del Toro recently attended a screening of the film and posted: “What Phil and Chris did here- the amount of PRACTICAL sets and effects and puppets is just so beautiful to see- so inspiring to hold- it’s a goal- and aspiration and a commitment. Specially now- so much- now.”

“Project Hail Mary” opens in theaters March 20 from Amazon MGM."

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/proje...gjx4JkgPZg]]> https://variety.com/2026/film/news/proje...gjx4JkgPZg

“Project Hail Mary” co-director Christopher Miller issued a clarification on X after his recent interview with Comicbook.com went viral for his revelation that the movie features zero green screens despite being a VFX-heavy space odyssey. Ryan Gosling headlines Miller and Phil Lord’s film adaption of Andy Weir’s 2021 book of the same name, which centers on a school teacher turned astronaut tasked with stopping a mysterious entity from blacking out the sun.

“What’s fun about the movie is that there is no green screen in the movie whatsoever. Not a single green or blue screen was used,” Miller told ComicBook on the film’s press tour. “The whole ship was built as a set from the inside. We had a huge section of the exterior of the ship on the outside that we built. [The alien character Rocky] was really with us at all times. And so, that’s what makes it feel real and makes it feel natural.”

Miller then took to X to clarify that “no green screen” doesn’t mean “no VFX,” and “there were, in fact, thousands of VFX shots in the film (2018!).”

“Green screen is sometimes used in lieu of building sets or figuring out locations/lighting in advance, which can be noticeable if not done carefully, and is something we didn’t want to do,” Miller explained. “We built the entire interior of the Hail Mary ship – but within the ship, there were still wire and puppeteer removals and ceiling replacements, etc.”

Miller continued, “When Ryan is outside on the hull of the ship, we shot him in front of a black background for space and a shifting hue background when he was up against the aurora of a planet which allowed for truer interactive light on him than a green screen would. The wide space exteriors and spaceship shots were entirely digital and beautifully done by ILM. Rocky was a seamless blend of puppetry and animation from Framestore. And other great work from many more. It really does take a village and we had the best of the best on our side.”

The practical effects in “Project Hail Mary” are already being singled out as one of the film’s biggest triumphs. Guillermo del Toro recently attended a screening of the film and posted: “What Phil and Chris did here- the amount of PRACTICAL sets and effects and puppets is just so beautiful to see- so inspiring to hold- it’s a goal- and aspiration and a commitment. Specially now- so much- now.”

“Project Hail Mary” opens in theaters March 20 from Amazon MGM."

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/proje...gjx4JkgPZg]]> <![CDATA["The Backrooms" (from internet urban legend to A24 horror film)]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19872.html Sat, 28 Feb 2026 06:24:12 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19872.html
In 2019, a 4Chan thread started up about a fictional abstract liminal space called “The Backrooms.” The realm is an impossibly large space of empty rooms, in which wanderers get trapped by “no-clipping” (phasing) through the walls of physical space. The concept began when a photo of a Wisconsin HobbyTown toy store under renovation was posted in a thread and shared over to a board dedicated to the paranormal. Users were invited to post their own “disquieting” images of freaky-looking empty locations. One user posted a description of the original photo, never knowing they were giving birth to a viral nickname and urban legend: “If you’re not careful and you noclip out of reality in the wrong areas, you’ll end up in the Backrooms, where it’s nothing but the stink of old moist carpet, the madness of mono-yellow, the endless background noise of fluorescent lights at maximum hum-buzz, and approximately six hundred million square miles of randomly segmented empty rooms to be trapped in.”

The user ended their post with this bit, which really sparked horror fans’ imaginations: “God save you if you hear something wandering around nearby, because it sure as hell has heard you.”

That idea of The Backrooms as a supernatural space where dark things could lurk took off. Different themed levels (or “floors”) were introduced, the concept jumped to other digital platforms (YouTube, TikTok), and the fandom quickly split into factions that explored the concept either seriously (sci-fi), superstitiously (horror), or satirically (comedy). In 2022, filmmaker Kane Parsons launched his own Backrooms web series on YouTube, where a corporation discovers and experiments with the Backrooms, causing the walls between that reality and ours to thin. Different stories are told about expeditions into the Backrooms, or unsuspecting innocents who get phased into the space and are forced to escape while monsters or other creatures hunt them. After making more than 20 short films (and getting hundreds of millions of views), Parsons landed a feature-film deal with A24.

The Backrooms stars Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Mark Duplass (Creep), Finn Bennett (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms), Lukita Maxwell (Shrinking), and Avan Jogia (Caprica). As the synopsis reads, “After a therapist’s patient goes missing into a dimension beyond reality, she has to enter the unknown to save him.”]]>
In 2019, a 4Chan thread started up about a fictional abstract liminal space called “The Backrooms.” The realm is an impossibly large space of empty rooms, in which wanderers get trapped by “no-clipping” (phasing) through the walls of physical space. The concept began when a photo of a Wisconsin HobbyTown toy store under renovation was posted in a thread and shared over to a board dedicated to the paranormal. Users were invited to post their own “disquieting” images of freaky-looking empty locations. One user posted a description of the original photo, never knowing they were giving birth to a viral nickname and urban legend: “If you’re not careful and you noclip out of reality in the wrong areas, you’ll end up in the Backrooms, where it’s nothing but the stink of old moist carpet, the madness of mono-yellow, the endless background noise of fluorescent lights at maximum hum-buzz, and approximately six hundred million square miles of randomly segmented empty rooms to be trapped in.”

The user ended their post with this bit, which really sparked horror fans’ imaginations: “God save you if you hear something wandering around nearby, because it sure as hell has heard you.”

That idea of The Backrooms as a supernatural space where dark things could lurk took off. Different themed levels (or “floors”) were introduced, the concept jumped to other digital platforms (YouTube, TikTok), and the fandom quickly split into factions that explored the concept either seriously (sci-fi), superstitiously (horror), or satirically (comedy). In 2022, filmmaker Kane Parsons launched his own Backrooms web series on YouTube, where a corporation discovers and experiments with the Backrooms, causing the walls between that reality and ours to thin. Different stories are told about expeditions into the Backrooms, or unsuspecting innocents who get phased into the space and are forced to escape while monsters or other creatures hunt them. After making more than 20 short films (and getting hundreds of millions of views), Parsons landed a feature-film deal with A24.

The Backrooms stars Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Mark Duplass (Creep), Finn Bennett (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms), Lukita Maxwell (Shrinking), and Avan Jogia (Caprica). As the synopsis reads, “After a therapist’s patient goes missing into a dimension beyond reality, she has to enter the unknown to save him.”]]> <![CDATA[The Midnight Meat Train]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19860.html Thu, 26 Feb 2026 03:14:44 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19860.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtUiRfMy_uI]]>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtUiRfMy_uI]]> <![CDATA[Wheel of Time canceled..]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19765.html Wed, 11 Feb 2026 02:32:31 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19765.html
"The Wheel of Time was cancelled by Prime Video primarily due to financial reasons, specifically high production costs versus viewership, leading to a difficult cost-benefit analysis for Season 4, despite the show's creative improvements and strong fan base. Even though executives liked the series creatively, the decision was driven by the economics of streaming and Amazon's focus on profitability, especially compared to other expensive fantasy shows like The Rings of Power."]]>
"The Wheel of Time was cancelled by Prime Video primarily due to financial reasons, specifically high production costs versus viewership, leading to a difficult cost-benefit analysis for Season 4, despite the show's creative improvements and strong fan base. Even though executives liked the series creatively, the decision was driven by the economics of streaming and Amazon's focus on profitability, especially compared to other expensive fantasy shows like The Rings of Power."]]> <![CDATA[Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19736.html Fri, 06 Feb 2026 07:07:26 +0000 Yazata]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19736.html

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Nm4WbapDzDQ]]>

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Nm4WbapDzDQ]]> <![CDATA["Bug"]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19580.html Sun, 11 Jan 2026 15:41:43 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-19580.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMRljLE8gQA]]>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMRljLE8gQA]]>