This time, we review and take a look at the forgotten dystopian classic Logan’s Run and along

the way ask why do dystopian films want to take the fun out of reproduction, why only keep

humans alive until 30, and how did this film get lost in the shuffle? Let’s dive in…

Logan's Run Movie Cast and Crew

* Directed by Michael Anderson: The English director had previously made the

original film adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel 1984 and his film,

Around the World in 80 Days, had won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

* Starring Michael York as Logan 5: He is more popularly known as Basil in

the Austin Powers film franchise, but had appeared in the adaptation of the popular

musical Cabaret.

* Richard Jordan as Francis 7: Logan’s Run was one of Jordan’s first roles, but

would appear in Dune and The Hunt for Red October prior to his death in 1993.

* Jenny Agutter as Jessica 6: This was an early film role for her as well, but has

since appeared in An American Werewolf in London and Captain America: The

Winter Soldier.

* Farrah Fawcett-Majors as Holly 13: She was on TV during at this time in The Six

Million Dollar Man as well as Charlie’s Angels and thus, received prominent billing

due to her rising stardom at the time.

* Peter Ustinov as The Old Man: The legendary actor has won two Academy

Awards for his roles in Spartacus and Topkapi.

* Roscoe Lee Browne as Box: While not exactly appearing on-screen in Logan’s

Run, Browne would later become a very accomplished voice actor; The Real

Ghostbusters, Batman: The Animated Series and Spider-Man.

From the Page to the Screen

Logan’s Run is based on a novel of the same name by William F. Nolan and George

Clayton Johnson which released in 1967. Almost immediately after the novel’s release,

it was optioned for a future film adaptation, but it labored in developmental hell for years.

The producer who had originally acquired the film rights, George Pal, had differing

opinions with his screenwriters in regards as to the tone of the film. The writers originally

wanted to incorporate relevant themes at the time of the late 1960’s, but Pal wanted a

more fun sci-fi romp.

These rewrites caused production to be delayed as Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space

Odyssey had revived the science fiction genre among audiences.

Pal would later leave the project and fellow producer Saul David stepped in

with a new writing team who made significant changes from the novel to the film.

For starters, the original age limit was raised from 21 to 30 to allow for a wider range of

actors and extras to be involved in the project.

The biggest spectacle of the film, the Carrousel, was created specifically for

the film and is not a part of the original novel. It was simply a means to create

This time, we’re taking a look at the space travel/horror film, Sunshine, and along the way

we find out if the cast and crew of the Icarus 2 has the “right stuff,” we’ll look at how a

sudden turn can totally derail a film, and is a remake of this film possible? Let’s dive into

our Sunshine movie review and commentary...

Sunshine (2007 Film) Movie Cast and Crew

Directed by Danny Boyle: After gaining international prominence following his

directorial efforts in Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, Boyle decided to wade into

the science fiction genre and was tagged to direct Sunshine. He would later

direct the award winning films Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours.

Written by Alex Garland: Garland and Boyle had previously teamed up

together to make 28 Days Later and was asked to collaborate again for

the making Sunshine.

Cillian Murphy as Robert Capa: He had also worked with Boyle after

starring in 28 Days Later, but had gained prominence after appearing in Batman

Begins.

Chris Evans as James Mace: Before being cast as Captain America in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe, he had previously starred in the Fantastic

Four films as well as the parody film Not Another Teen Movie

Rose Byrne as Cassie: After appearing in the epic film Troy, she was

handpicked by Boyle to appear in this film

Rose Byrne provided the voice of Mother in Netflix's I Am Mother, check out our review

Michelle Yeoh as Corazon: Following appearances in Tomorrow Never

Dies, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha, Boyle

gave her carte blanche to pick whatever role she wanted even saying a

character could and would be rewritten to fit her gender.

Also Starring: Cliff Curtis as Searle, Hiroyuki Sanada as Kaneda, Troy Garity as Harvey,

Benedict Wong as Troy, and Mark Strong as Pinbacker

“The Right Stuff” for Sunshine

As Chris and Sean outline in the podcast episode, Boyle had the actors go through an

extensive to-do list in order to prepare for their roles. This list included:

* Forced to live together as the crew of the Icarus 2 would’ve been living together

for 16 months at the beginning of the film

* Enrolled in space training/SCUBA classes

* Watched The Right Stuff

* Toured a nuclear submarine to provide a sense of claustrophobia

* Rode on a KC-135 “Vomit Comet” as well as a Boeing 747 simulator

* Read Moondust which is a collection of stories from astronauts who have walked

on the Moon

As this list was meant to prepare non-astronauts for a space, real NASA astronauts go

through an extensive training program which includes:

* Space shuttle/space craft basics in case repairs are necessary

* Medical procedures to care for injured crewmates

* Survival training in case they are required...

This time, we review the fascistic satire war film Starship Troopers and along the way we wonder if it’s right to poach 18-year-olds for your military, is it really a Paul Verhoeven movie if there’s no nudity, and how did this movie spawn an entire direct-to-video franchise? Let’s dive in…

Starship Troopers (1997) Cast and Crew

Directed by Paul Verhoeven: As Chris remarks during the episode, this may have been the point of Verhoeven’s career where he was fully actualized having directed Robocop (which we’ve previously covered with special guest Brian McLeod), Basic Instinct, Total Recall and Show Girls. While his career hasn’t enjoyed the same popularity in recent years, he became known for hyper stylized violence, subversive yet relevant content and of course, nudity.

Written by Edward Neumeier: He had previously collaborated with Verhoeven on Robocop

Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico: Van Dien had developed quite a reputation working on television prior to being cast in this film having appeared on shows like Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, Beverly Hills 90210, and Married with Children

Denise Richards as Carmen Ibanez: This is considered by many to be Richards’ breakthrough role as she starred in Drop Dead Gorgeous, The World is Not Enough and Wild Things after starring in Starship Troopers

Dina Meyer as Dizzy Flores: Meyer was also cast following a run on Beverly Hills 90210 as well as a memorable run on FRIENDS as a romantic partner of Joey

Neil Patrick Harris as Carl: Harris was slowly working on rebranding himself as a serious actor after he was primarily known as a child star on the show Doogie Howser, M.D.

Jake Busey as Ace: The son of legendarily crazy person Gary Busey, Jake has become more a bit actor, but is willing to accept roles with little prestige especially in recent years as he appeared in the third season of Stranger Things and several episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Also Starring:

* Michael Ironside as Rasczak

* Patrick Muldoon as Zander

* Clancy Brown as Zim

* Dean Norris as Commanding Officer

* Seth Gilliam as Sugar

Earth in the Future

While it’s not explicitly mentioned when this film takes place, it’s set sometime in the 23rd century when interstellar travel is now possible and militaries are more advanced than ever before. The government is also controlled by a group of veterans or military officers having overt...

This time, we look at a modern cult classic with our Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow film review and along the way ask, why is Angelina Jolie so prominent in the film’s marketing? How influential was the “digital backlot?” And, was resurrecting Laurence Olivier a smart move? Let’s dive in…

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow Cast and Crew

* Directed by Kerry Conran: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was Conran’s directorial debut and remains his only credit as a director. Conran has remained relatively quiet since Sky Captain’s release having only directed a commercial for Coca-Cola and a short film that premiered in 2012.

* Jude Law as Sky Captain/Joseph Sullivan: By 2004, Law had become an international movie star and in that year alone, he had starred in I Heart Huckabees, Alfie, Closer, The Aviator and A Series of Unfortunate Events. His casting as the titular 'Sky Captain' was seen by many as his foray into adventure films.

* Gwyneth Paltrow as Polly Perkins: At the time, her career had begun to wane following her Oscar win for Shakespeare in Love. Following that performance, she starred in Bounce, Shallow Hal and View From the Top. Her casting was announced at San Diego Comic Con in order to drum up interest for the film.

* Giovanni Ribisi as Dex: Ribisi has a knack for finding quirky yet entertaining films and he actually signed on for this film without reading a script. He was shown a teaser trailer created by Conran and one of his producers in order to nail Ribisi.

* Angelina Jolie as Frank Cook: Due to her commitments filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life, she could only be on set for three days. She helped to add credibility to the film following the casting of Law and Paltrow.

* Also starring: Michael Gambon as Editor Paley and Bai Ling as The Mysterious Woman

The Rise of the Digital Backlot

If you’ve watched Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, you probably noticed the film has an odd color palate and design. This is due to Conran utilizing what became known as a “digital backlot.” Conran is a fan of cinema of the 1930’s and 40’s as well as animation techniques. Following his apprenticeship in a Disney animator program, he thought many of the techniques he learned could be applied to a live-action film, but upon realizing that many studios would not be willing to take a chance on a first-time director with a brand new concept of filming, he decided to make the film himself.

He spent many years in the 90’s working on a Macintosh computer and even produced a crude teaser trailer with homemade bluescreens. This trailer was then shown to a friend of Conran who in turn showed it to an additional friend and agreed to produce the film. This producer and Conran would spend the next ten years working together in an attempt to get their film onto the big screen. Prior to shooting with a full cast,

This time, we we look at the 2013 sleeper hit with our Pacific Rim film review, and along the way we ask if the giant Jaegers are actually possible? Does Ron Perlman play the best character in the film? Finally, we examine Pacific Rim’s complicated legacy. Let’s dive in…

Pacific Rim Movie Cast and Crew

* Written and Directed by Guillermo del Toro: Del Toro came into the project almost by accident as he was pitching a different movie, an adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story At the Mountain of Madness, but when this didn’t materialize, he read the story treatment for Pacific Rim developed by Travis Beacham and immediately signed on to direct the film.

* Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket: At the time, Hunnam had achieved popularity after starring as the lead character on the FX series Sons of Anarchy. He had previously been considered for a role in a past del Toro film, Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

* Rinko Kikuchi as Mako Mori: Kikuchi had risen to international fame following her Oscar nominated performance in Babel and has remained a star in Asian cinema in the years since Pacific Rim.

* Idris Elba as Stacker Pentecost: Elba has had a varied and impressive career over the past 20 years. From roles on shows like The Wire, Luther and The Office as well as films like Thor, The Jungle Book (2016) and Beasts of No Nation. The role of Pentecost was originally offered to Tom Cruise who declined due to conflicts in his shooting schedule.

* Also Starring:

* Charlie Day as Dr. Newton Geiszler

* Ron Perlman as Hannibal Chau

* Robert Kazinsky as Chuck Hansen

* Max Martini as Hercules Hansen

* Clifton Collins, Jr as Tendo Choi

The Odd Journey to Pacific Rim

The production of Pacific Rim actually began in 2006 when screenwriter Travis Beacham conceived of a film where giant robots battled giant monsters. While basic, the concept evolved over the next several years until he had a 25 page treatment. Then, in 2010, Guillermo del Toro was announced to be directing the aforementioned H.P. Lovecraft film, but this project was ultimately cancelled after del Toro was unwilling to compromise on the film’s budget as well as the eventual “R” rating for that film. Following that cancellation, del Toro partnered with Beacham to continue working on the script for the next year.

Finally, in 2012, del Toro and his team were able to begin shooting and the schedule was hectic to say the least. Del Toro is notorious for the control he exerts over his productions. He often does not employ a second unit to shoot scenes that do not include principal actors or prominent scenes,...

This time, we go over our Waterworld Movie Review, a massively overbudgeted epic of a film. Along the way we ask, how shameless is this film a rip-off of Mad Max, is this a pro-environmental film, and is Dennis Hooper a convincing villain? Let's dive in...

Waterworld Movie Cast and Crew

Directed by Kevin Reynolds: Reynolds has establish a solid working relationship with Kevin Costner after directing films like Fandango, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and Rapa Nui that all featured Costner. Therefore, it seemed natural for Reynolds to direct this Costner-led sci-fi adventure film.

Kevin Costner as the Mariner: In the mid-90's, Costner was Hollywood's leading man starring Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Dances with Wolves, JFK, and The Bodyguard. Think how popular Dwayne Johnson or Tom Cruise is now and you have an idea of how much of a box office draw Costner was during the late 80's into the 90's.

Dennis Hopper as The Deacon: While the legendary actor has had a stellar career, his star had faded as the 80's rolled into the 90's and really began when he accepted a role in the now infamous adaptation of Super Mario Bros. He returned to prominence again after his villainous performance in Speed, but never returned to the renown he enjoyed during the 60's and 70's.

Jeanne Triplehorn as Helen: She was just beginning her career as she starred in films such as Basic Instinct and The Firm. Since then, she's been a mainstay on television after long runs on the shows Big Love and Criminal Minds.

Tina Majorino as Enola: If the name doesn't sound familiar, viewers may remember her the young clothing and hair accessory vendor in the cult classic Napolean Dynamite. She has also appeared in television shows such as Veronica Mars, True Blood, and Big Love.

Also starring:

* Michael Jeter as Old Gregor

* Kim Coates as Drifter

* R.D. Call as Atoll Enforcer

* Gerard Murphy as The Nord

* Jack Black as Smoker Plane Pilot (this is a 'blink and you'll miss it' cameo)

An Underwater Production

Initially, Waterworld was already approved for a budget of $100 million. Now that was in the early 90's, and was a massive budget. Adjusted for inflation, that would be equivalent to $174 million today and this had the makings of a success for any studio. It had a decent science fiction premise and Hollywood's most prominent actor at the time, but the budget slowly began to creep up.

A storm had destroyed many of the massive sets that were built for the film forcing the production to shut down to allow for the sets to be rebuilt. This added $35 million to the budget and by the time filming had wrapped, the production budget came out to be $175 million. With promoting and marking costs added, Waterworld's final budget came out to $235 million.

Many aspects of the film would be just as troubled. The film's original composer, Mark Isham, was fired after completing about a quarter of the music and was replaced by James Newton Howard. Costner remarked that Isham's firing was due to his core sounding "too bleak and ethnic" for the tone of the film.

In addition, Kevin Reynolds left the production citing frequent clashes with Kevin Costner. Prior to the film, Costner had won an Oscar for directing Dances With Wolves and maybe thought his input would be welcome given his past success. However, according to Reynolds, Costner became a "backseat director" and forced Reynolds to leave the film entirely. The relationship was strained so much that the two would not work together until Costner was cast in the miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.

It Could Happen ... Sort Of

The premise of Waterworld is that Earth has become completed submerged following the melting of the polar ice caps and has forced the remaining humans to live on the water.

This time, we review the family survival drama film A Quiet Place and ask how did John Krasinski go from office prankster to survivalist farmer, is this a film with social commentary, and why have a baby during the apocalypse? Let’s dive in…

A Quiet Place (2018) Cast and Crew

Written, directed and starring John Krasinski as Lee Abbott: Krasinski rose to prominence following his starring role as loveable goofball Jim Halpert on the US version of The Office where he gained a reputation as a comedic actor. Then he slowly began to turn around that perception by appearing in 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and the Amazon Prime series Jack Ryan. 

A Quiet Place also helped him separate him from his Jim Halper role even further. His appearance in A Quiet Place not only cemented a new perception of Krasinski as an actor, but also as a director as this was only the third time he sat in the director’s chair and his first time as a director for a major studio. He also shares screenwriting credits with fellow writers Bryan Woods and Scott Beck.

Emily Blunt as Evelyn Abbott: In real life, Blunt and Krasinski are married, but had not starred together in a film before A Quiet Place. When Krasinski signed on to direct, Blunt was initially hesitant to appear in the film until she read his script and asked him to be cast in the role of Evelyn. For a more in-depth review of Blunt’s early career, check out our past episode on Live. Die. Repeat: The Edge of Tomorrow.

Millicent Simmonds as Regan Abbott: Simmonds is deaf in real life and even coached her fellow actors in the use of American Sign Language (ASL). Her casting was intentional as Krasinski wanted a young deaf actress to play his daughter in the film. She also suggested two of the more poignant moments in the film when Regan stops her father from putting in a new hearing implant and at the end of the film when Lee signs to his daughter “I have always loved you.”

Noah Jupe as Marcus Abbott: In spite of his young age, Jupe has already appeared in several big-time productions like The Night Manager, Suburbicon and more recently Ford v Ferrari and along with his young co-star, they are able to contribute to the film in ways that many actors their age wouldn’t be able to do.

Politicizing Parenthoood

After watching the film and reading interviews of John Krasinski, it is easy to interpret the film’s theme as that of parenthood. Not only parenthood, but also how to prepare one’s children for the future in addition to how to deal with guilt following a family tragedy. However, since we live in a society that refuses to accept a simple explanation, critics have been analyzing this film for any sort of deeper political or social commentary.

Krasinski did mention that he watched horror films with a social commentary like Jaws and Get Out for inspiration, but did not intentionally make this film with an eye on direct commentary. New Yorker writer Richard Brody called the film “the antithesis of Get Out” with a conservative and pro-gun message. It’s difficult to determine how Brody came to this conclusion, but he seems to fixate on the inclusion of guns in the film. Krasinski has directly rebuked this critique in subse...

This time, the Force Fed Sci-Fi team binged so we could bring you our own Netflix's Space Force review and rating. While watching the latest Netflix comedy Space Force we asked ourselves how is Mark Naird different from Michael Scott, is John Malkovich the new everyman of Hollywood and did Netflix somehow defeat the US Government? Let’s dive in….

Space Force Cast

-Steve Carell as General Mark Naird: Carell has made his career in comedy after a long stint as lead character Michael Scott on the US version of The Office and in roles in films like Anchorman, The Forty Year Old Virgin, Get Smart and Crazy, Stupid, Love. Carell is also credited as a creator and executive producer on Space Force along with co-creator Greg Daniels, who also created the US version of The Office.

There are noted similarities between the former show and Space Force, especially the use of a single camera, the deadpan comedy and various workplace hijinks. As Chris and Sean note during our podcast episode, Carell’s performance as Naird is more believable than Michael Scott as a General Naird-like individual that can be found in just about every workplace imaginable.

-John Malkovich as Dr. Adrian Mallory: Malkovich’s film career extends back to the late 1970’s and has appeared in films like Empire of the Sun, Of Mice and Men, Being John Malkovich, Burn After Reading, Secretariat and RED. In recent years, he’s developed a reputation of portraying manic characters like in RED where he plays a paranoid, ex-CIA assassin who’s convinced of a major conspiracy to eliminate him and his former colleagues. In spite of his stellar resume, he has yet to receive an Academy Award for his efforts, but hopefully that may change in the next several years.

He’s truly able to show off his range with the character of Dr. Mallory in Space Force as we see him and Naird have a lot of friction due to Mallory being a true scientist and Naird being military. However, in the end, they have truly tender moments among being colleagues / friends.

-Also Starring:

* Ben Schwartz as F. Tony Scarapiducci

* Diana Silvers as Erin Naird

* Tawny Newsome as Captain Angela Ali

* Lisa Kudrow as Maggie Naird

* Fred Willard as Fred Naird (His last credited role prior to his death in May 2020)

Is Space Force Real?

While the Space Force as we know it gained traction in late 2019, its actual history extends back to 1982 when it was known as the Air Force Space Command and its mission didn't exactly have war-like objectives. They were primarily responsible for launching satellites, ensuring the friendly use of space, weather forecasting, missile warning and navigation.

This was originally a division within the United States Air Force and not its own separate branch as we now know it to be. The Air Force Space Command was dissolved on December 20, 2019 with the signing of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2020 and was formed into its own branch that became simply known as Space Force.

This time, we discuss yet another Ethan Hawke film with a Daybreakers film review and along the way we ask, how can the Spierig Brothers have major issues with big pharma, why does this film disregard literal centuries of vampire lore, and is Ethan Hawke really half-assing his job as an actor? Let’s dig in….

Daybreakers Movie Cast and Crew

Written & Directed by the Spierig Brothers: The Brothers have firmly placed themselves as working exclusively in the horror genre including this film as well as Predestination (also with Ethan Hawke), Jigsaw and Winchester.

Starring Ethan Hawke as Edward Dalton: We’ve previously discussed the early career of Hawke in our past episode reviewing Gattaca. He had a great career following the release of that film and had major clout heading into Daybreakers. It’s rare for him to take on a genre film of this type, but he’s also starred in the remake of Assault on Precinct 13.

Willem Dafoe as Lionel “Elvis” Cormac: As our podcast hosts observe, many people of their generation became aware of Dafoe following his performance as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, but Daybreakers isn’t a film for him to lean on in terms of strength of his acting career. He’s done a good job of redeeming his career following Oscar nominated performances in The Florida Project and Eternity’s Gate as well as turning in an acclaimed performance in The Lighthouse.

Sam Neill as Charles Bromley: While many would argue Neill’s peak was in Jurassic Park, he’s managed to turn in solid performances since that release. There was a great opportunity for Neill to be a great villain in this film and is instead reduced to Bond villain type tropes.

Also Starring: Isabel Lucas, Michael Dorman, and Claudia Karvan

Daybreakers Movie Summary: A Reflection of Our World?

As we discuss in the podcast episode, living during a pandemic certainly helps to change one’s perspective of this film. No one in 2009 could’ve imagined a global pandemic that would affect everyone and force us to confront a new reality.

In Daybreakers, a global pandemic has changed the majority of the world’s population into vampires and the population was quick to accept the new normal and discard the old ways of humanity. However, even though this world is dominated by vampires, we still see some reflections of our world including freak outs in coffee bars as well as a critique on big pharma and the healthcare for profit system.

Right away, we see the effects of addiction when a homeless, starving vampire is dragged away to an unknown fate as well as the introduction of the subsiders which, are vampires who have become so desperate for blood that they have started drinking their own blood. We also see the rich,

This time, we’re taking a look at the cult film Dredd (2012 movie) and along the way we ask, how does this film compare to the original film from 1995, how can a character thrive with little to no emotional development and just how badass is Ma-Ma? Let’s dive in….

Dredd (2012) Cast and Crew

Directed by Pete Travis: Travis’ primary credit before Dredd was the 2008 assassination drama Vantage Point and has not done too much since this film wrapped up with the exception being a History Channel miniseries Project Blue Book.

Written and Produced by Alex Garland: Garland has become a new voice in the sci-fi genre having previously written films like 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Never Let Me Go as well as directing Ex Machina and Annihilation as well as the recent F/X series Devs. There were reports in post-production that Garland took over the editing process from Travis with Travis supposedly being alright with this arrangement. This may suggest that Garland was more hands on during filming than previously believed, with star Karl Urban even suggesting in 2018 that Dredd should be considered Garland’s directorial debut and not Ex Machina.

Starring Karl Urban as Judge Dredd: It’s hard to imagine Karl Urban being a lead actor in a solo film, but that’s only because he’s been in so many great ensemble films like Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings and Red. He’s also appeared in films like Doom, The Bourne Supremacy and The Chronicles of Riddick, as well as an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe while appearing as Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok.

Olivia Thirlby as Anderson: Thirlby’s breakthrough came in 2007 after appearing in the off-beat comedy Juno, but has since gone on to appear in No Strings Attached and Chappaquiddick; although, she doesn’t have many widely known credits to her name.

Lena Heady as Ma-Ma: Heady has been a mainstay in cinema and television for almost 30 years now, but is best known for her appearances in films like 300, The Purge and Fighting with My Family as well as being part of the main cast of Game of Thrones for nearly the entirety of the show - if you’ve watched it, you’ll understand that’s quite an achievement.

Wood Harris as Kay: Harris got his start in the beloved Disney/Sports film Remember the Titans, but has also displayed his range in projects like The Wire, Ant-Man, Creed and Blade Runner 2049. In Dredd, we get to see him play off of the character of Anderson for most of the film.

Domhnall Gleeson as Techie: Gleeson’s character doesn’t have a name in the film, but it’s clear that he’s been suffering at the hands of Ma-Ma for years prior to the events shown. Gleeson himself has come up other times in our podcast (listen to our episodes on the