Daily Archives: April 22, 2023

2001: A Space Odyssey is a name that is engraved into the emblems of science fiction. A film that has revolutionized the sci-fi genre and has been an inspiration to countless movies and TV shows. The movie's awe-striking visuals and cinematography are way ahead of their time and remain very relevant to pop culture to this day. 2001: A Space Odyssey has influenced films like Star Wars, Alien, and Interstellar, and its mesmerizing score has sparked the music industry into a renaissance.

The Kubrick Masterpiece has paved the way for several incredible sci-fi and space travel movies like Contact (1997) and Moon (2009), taking the space genre in cinemas to new heights. Today's world is home to some great films with similar immersive experiences to 2001: A Space Odyssey. And so we have curated for you a list of Movies to Watch if You Loved 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Silent Running is a sci-fi space drama directed by the visual effects maestro Douglas Trumbull. The movie is based on aspects like space journey, the future world, environmentalism, preservation, etc., and strongly links to 2001: A Space Odyssey. The world has seen the extinction of its flora and fauna, and the only existing plants and animals are now aboard a spaceship surviving inside domes. One such dome comprising a forest is tended by the botanist Freeman Lowell who has formed a deep connection with the living beings. Due to increasing expenses, the ship's crew are ordered to destroy the forests and return to Earth. Lowell refuses to abide by the orders and eventually flees with the ship with the help of his companion robots.

The movie focuses on his journey toward the unknown, filled with dramatic events to preserve the last surviving plants and animals. Silent Running is a thought-provoking film that emphasizes nature preservation and sheds light on isolation. An incredibly shot film with amazing visual effects that gives a certain vibe of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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The popular classic sci-fi horror film Alien was released in 1979 and was directed by Ridley Scott. The film focuses on a crew of the mining spacecraft Nostromo who answers a distress call on a distant planet on their way home. After landing, they discover a hive colony of eggs inside a strange ship. The horror aspects start when a facehugger hatched from the eggs attacks one of the crew members and plants an alien form inside him. The alien creature bursting out from the attacked individual starts stalking and killing the other crew members one by one.

The story is paced with jump scares and thrilling twists. The film revolutionized the sci-fi space genre by incorporating horror aspects to it. Even though the movie's core doesn't really relate to the one of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the film's blend of thriller and space certainly helps create the unique atmosphere.

The lesser-known successor to the highly acclaimed 2001: A Space Odyssey is our current pick, 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984). The film, directed by Peter Hyams, is based on the later events of Kubrick's film and follows the crew of the spacecraft Leonov on their journey to Jupiter. The crew ventures to Jupiter to investigate the lost ship Discovery One and unravels several mysteries surrounding it. The film answers the secrets of the monolith and brings down curtains to the incredible duology.

Even though the film failed to reach the heights of its predecessor, 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) still managed to create a concrete footing in terms of cinematography, screenplay, special effects, and suspense.

The modern-day sci-fi film Annihilation is a horror thriller directed by Alex Garland. The film follows Lena Double (Natalie Portman), a biologist and former soldier who, searching for her husband, volunteers to enter an environmental disaster zone named "The Shimmer." Four scientists, including Lena, are sent into the mysterious, rapidly growing ecological zone to discover its secrets. They encounter strange phenomena and mutated creatures inside the area, and as they venture more and more, they face intense psychological effects.

Their journey to search out the root cause is filled with thrillers and horrors. The film sheds light on alien creatures and philosophical themes and keeps a constant sense of mystery. The film's unique cinematography and story remind us of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Based on the novel by Andy Weir comes the sci-fi adventure film The Martian. The film, directed by Ridley Scott, focuses on Mark Watney(Matt Damon), a NASA astronaut left alone to survive on Mars. The film starts with a group of astronauts on a mission on Mars when suddenly they are hit by a massive storm where Mark is impaled and assailed away. Mark is left alone to survive until the next mission arrives after his crew leaves him, presuming his death.

The movie portrays Mark's survival on the unhabitable planet through his wit and mental strength. As Mark faces issues with his acuity, like growing food, reestablishing communication, ensuring a safe habitat, etc., back on earth, NASA plans a dangerous mission to rescue him unharmed. The film is a representation of space survival and facing alien issues with ingenuity, which relates to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Sunshine is a sci-fi thriller directed by Danny Boyle and released in 2007. The film follows the Icarus II mission crew, tasked to revive the sun and save humanity from mass extinction. Sun is dying, and Earth is about to face its eternal doom; in such circumstances, the Icarus II spacecraft is on a mission to reignite the sun using a bomb. With Cillian Murphy leading the cast, the crew aboard the ship faces hurdles one after another as they proceed toward their goal.

With issues like system failures, accidents, making contact with Icarus I, etc., the crew must give the ultimate test of perseverance to save life on Earth. The film is an intense space thriller, and its suspense creates a similar atmosphere to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

From the famed director Robert Zemeckis, comes the classic sci-fi film Contact. The film, released in 1997, is a drama thriller that follows Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), a SETI scientist who has worked all her life searching for Extraterrestrial intelligence. While facing many hurdles and skepticism, Dr. Ellie and her colleagues finally detect a signal of Extraterrestrial intelligence. They perform a seemingly impossible task with the help of a billionaire and send Dr. Ellie to make contact with Extraterrestrial life.

The film includes aspects like alien contact, space journey, skepticism, etc., and creates a great deal of mystery and suspense throughout. Contact incredible sci-fi film viewers would love to watch if they liked 2001: A Space Odyssey.

One of the cinematic feats of Christopher Nolan, Interstellar is a mind-bending sci-fi thriller adventure film. Favorite to many sci-fi lovers, Interstellar follows the story of Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former NASA pilot who is tasked to lead a mission to find a habitable planet. The Earth is now prone to disasters and droughts, and humanity suffers from intense food shortage; in such circumstances, Cooper and a team of scientists and two robots, TARS and CASE, venture on an immersive and dangerous interstellar journey. Along with their search for a habitable planet, they face intense time dilation, effects of relativity, gravitational anomalies, etc., and at times they are met with tough choices.

The movie brilliantly brings up concepts like black holes, wormholes, interstellar journeys, etc., and beautifully portrays the emotions and sacrifices of the characters. The movie's outwardly cinematography and screenplay are something that lovers of 2001: A Space Odyssey would love to enjoy.

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Moon is a sci-fi mystery film directed by Duncan Jones and released in 2009. The sci-fi drama follows the story of Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), who has been living on the Moon with a robot named GERTY for almost three years, working for a Helium mining company Lunar Industries. As he nears the end of his contract of three years with the company, Sam starts to face hallucinations and delusions. Suddenly he suffers a severe accident at his mining site, and after his recovery, he starts to discover several mysteries, which leads him to question the reality of his existence. Unearthing the company's dark secrets, Sams plans to return to Earth by himself.

The film is a brilliant representation of isolation, identity, psychological toll, living in space, etc. The film has incredible visual effects and screenplay and is a must-watch for the fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

From the great Andrei Tarkovsky comes one of the greatest sci-fi films to ever hit the silver screen, Solaris. This masterpiece of a sci-fi mystery was released in 1972 and focuses on the story of Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis), a psychologist tasked to investigate the strange abnormalities instilled by the planet Solaris. Kris is sent to the space station orbiting the planet Solaris after reports of the crew facing psychological events and hallucinations. After arriving, Kris also starts to face these occurrences, where he meets his wife, Hari, who has been dead for years. Upon further investigation, he begins to unravel the psychological mysteries of the planet, which also affects his psyche.

The film brilliantly explores human consciousness, the deeper meanings of life, and the impacts of memories. The film's imagery is exceptional, and its atmosphere and screenplay are like no other. This thought-provoking masterwork is a must-watch for any sci-fi fan and is a worthy contemporary to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Originally posted here:

10 Movies to Watch if You Loved 2001: A Space odyssey - MovieWeb

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Picture this: Youre standing over the blue bin, trying to figure out if this plastic cup can be recycled. Theres a small label on it with arrows and a number, but you cant remember what this particular one means. Its frustrating.

Not long ago, Sean Winn found himself in a situation like this. He wanted to know what plastic could be recycled and what couldnt, so he started researching. And he was amazed by how broken the system is.

A lot of the consumer packaged goods are sort of defective from a recycling standpoint, he said. They're not really designed to then flow through the materials stream.

Because of cost and other issues, only a small fraction of the plastic we use and even throw in our recycling bins actually ends up being recycled. According to a Greenpeace report, just 5% of the plastic waste generated in the U.S. in 2021 was transformed into new items. The rest ends up in landfills or winds up polluting our environment.

One solution is to use less plastic. Last year, Winn started a nonprofit called the Plastic Reduction Project. The goal is to get people in Austin to rely less on single-use plastic the plastic containers, forks, cups and bags we use once and then toss out.

At first, the Plastic Reduction Project started a website sharing information about what individuals can do to make a difference, like how to make better decisions at the grocery store.

But our thinking started changing pretty rapidly that its actually a little bit unfair to put all that burden on the consumer, Winn said.

Winn and the Plastic Reduction Project felt they needed to move their efforts up the ladder. They landed on restaurants.

If the diner never gets handed a plastic fork, then thats good for everybody, not just the green tree huggers, Winn said. Everybody gets a proper fork and a proper plate and, therefore, youre moving the needle much more than just preaching to the choir.

Ditching plastic

Getting big chains like McDonalds to change their ways felt impossible. But Austin has a lot of local restaurants. The ice cream shop around the corner? The bakery up the street? In those places, the group felt it could make a change.

With a local restaurant, I think we can get to a decision-maker much more easily, Winn said. If he or she likes what you have to say, then they can implement it right away, and we can talk to them as a peer.

The Plastic Reduction Project began offering free consultations to restaurants to help them find ways to use fewer plastic products. Winn said the group takes a dollars-and-cents approach, showing restaurants how replacing disposable dishes and utensils with reusable ones can save them money.

We feel like thats speaking the entrepreneurs language, and, quite frankly, just taking culture wars off the table, he said. We dont know what the political persuasions are of the manager or the owner. And fortunately if the financial case is compelling, it just shouldnt matter.

The consultations show local restaurants how to access the City of Austins zero waste rebate programs. Businesses can apply for funds to support their waste-reduction efforts. For example, the city offers up to $1,800 to businesses that ditch single-use plastic and switch to reusable and compostable items.

Some businesses operate on a to-go model, so using things like ceramic dishes and silverware isnt an option. Thats the case for Caseys New Orleans Snowballs.

The locally owned shaved ice shop, which has been at the corner of 51st and Airport for nearly three decades, sells up to 65,000 snowballs a year. Caseys co-owner Mars Chapman had a consultation with the Plastic Reduction Project a few months ago.

The group showed Chapman ways to make his business more sustainable, like giving out straws only when customers ask for them and taking the plastic bags they use to transport ice to proper recycling centers when theyre done with them.

Before the consultation, Caseys was already using compostable products. The business stopped using Styrofoam in 2014.

I became tired of the fact that we were sending thousands and thousands, tens of thousands, of cups to the landfill that are just going to be around for forever, Chapman said. That's not the legacy that I want to leave.

He said switching to compostables was more expensive for the business. But it was important to him, so he found ways to make up for the cost elsewhere, like raising prices and adding more service windows so the business could sell more product.

But using compostable cups isnt a cure-all. Caseys uses Greenware Cups to hold its icy treats. Theyre made of PLA, or polylactic acid, a compostable material derived from plants. They look like clear, plastic cups. Someone ordering a snowball might think the cup is recyclable and toss it in the blue bin, which then contaminates the recycling stream.

Only some cup sizes Caseys offers tell customers in plain letters that the cup is compostable. Others just have symbols on the bottom, like PLA and the No. 7. This signals theyre compostable, not recyclable, but not everyone may know that.

The Plastic Reduction Project recommended Caseys put signs up to inform customers the cups and serviceware are compostable. Chapman says hes working on getting signs posted.

But ensuring the cups and spoons actually end up being composted will still be a challenge. For one thing, there arent compost bins at Caseys. Chapman said Caseys used to contract with a compost hauler in the past, but customers would often throw other non-compostable items in the bins, which caused problems for the business.

No amount of signage resulted in us not having to dig through every single trash bag to pull out things, he said. Otherwise, for each item we were being hit with a $50 fine, and we're already having to pay a premium to work with a private compost hauler.

These cups break down only in industrial facilities, like the City of Austin uses. A backyard compost pile wont get hot enough to do it. So, for these cups to actually end up being composted, a customer would need to take them home and toss them in their city-issued curbside compost bin, if they have one. The rest will end up in the landfill, where its not totally clear what happens to them.

Still, Chapman said he prefers using these compostable products because hes supporting companies that dont use plastic.

By buying it, were increasing demand for it, he said. And demonstrating demand for alternative solutions or products eventually helps bring down the overall price for those products. So to me, its very much worthwhile to buy it, even if its just getting thrown away, because hopefully its going to be easier for then other people to make the jump to buy compostable products as opposed to traditional.

Vote with your wallet

That feeling of wanting to do better and putting your money where your mouth is is something a lot of people can relate to. Thats where the other half of the Plastic Reduction Projects efforts come in. They encourage Austinites to use a smartphone app called PlasticScore.

Users rate restaurants based on their sustainability practices. You select a restaurant and then answer a series of questions about your experience, like: Did your food come on a reusable plate or not? Were you handed a paper to-go bag or a plastic one? It then gives the restaurant a rating that other app users can see and make their dining-out choices based on.

The app helps people find more sustainable restaurants where they can sort of vote with their pocketbook to give business to the folks that are trying to do better in this space, Winn said.

The Plastic Reduction Project has been around for only about a year, but it has gotten more than 700 reviews up on the app. People can join by following these steps.

The reviews can be useful for consumers, but the data collected could also be helpful for policymakers. Winn said the Plastic Reduction Project is sharing the data with the City of Austin to help it understand what products restaurants are using, like what percentage are relying on Styrofoam versus compostables. He hopes all of this will help lead to real changes in the city.

Our little ant colony is kind of the way I look at it. You've got all these people running around doing a very small amount of volunteering, but it all adds up and it compiles into this database, he said. Hopefully then that finds its way into policy.

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This nonprofit wants to reduce plastic waste one Austin business at ... - KUT