Accurate but misleading Sci-Fi film descriptions

http://www.filmcritic.com/features/2010/11/accurate-but-misleading-movie-synopses/

 John Scalzi - An Experiment in Accurate But Misleading Movie Descriptions
 Posted by John
Scalzi<http://comments.blogs.amctv.com/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=270&id=3013>on
Nov
17 2010
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John Scalzi<http://comments.blogs.amctv.com/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=270&id=3013>
John Scalzi is an award-winning science fiction writer.
full bio of John
Scalzi<http://comments.blogs.amctv.com/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=270&id=3013>

There's a famous television listing for *The Wizard of Oz*, written by
newspaperman Rick Polito, which goes like this: "Transported to a surreal
landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up
with three strangers to kill again." It's amusing because, despite not being
the way that one usually describes *The Wizard of Oz*, it is, in fact, an
accurate summation of the story. Accurate but misleading.

And, of course, it's easy to do it with science-fiction films as well.
"Disaffected farm boy destroys military installation, killing thousands" is,
for example, an accurate but misleading description of *Star Wars*, giving
the impression that it's a different kind of film than it really is. If
nothing else, this sort of exercise makes you look at your favorite films in
a new light.

With that in mind, here are some accurate but misleading descriptions of
popular science-fiction films. Enjoy.

*2001: A Space Odyssey<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/169/2001-A-Space-Odyssey/overview>
*A well-meaning computer's attempt to fulfill its mission runs afoul of a
human crew with other plans.

*Alien <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/1503/Alien/overview>
*A rambunctious alien child invites itself aboard a human cargo ship; a
memorable game of hide-and-seek follows.

 *Aliens <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/1524/Aliens/overview>
*Humans and aliens join together to raise alien youth, but the marines take
exception to their methods.

*Alien 3 <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/1504/Alien-3/overview>
*A lady and a stowaway change the lives of lonely prisoners forever.

*Avatar <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/352199/Avatar/overview>
*A company attempts to solve the Earth's ecological woes; unhelpful aliens
interfere with the task.

*Back to the Future<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/3671/Back-to-the-Future/overview>
*A bewildered teenage boy fends off his mother's disturbing and unnatural
attraction to him.

*Blade Runner <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/5994/Blade-Runner/overview>
*Poor product design leads to trouble for a manufacturer and one exasperated
policeman. (Note: this is also the description for *I,
Robot*<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/286093/I-Robot/overview>
.)

*Cloverfield <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/413038/Cloverfield/overview>
*A group of hipster Manhattanites find their plans for the night completely
overturned thanks to an unexpected visit from an out of towner.

*Escape From New
York<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/16035/Escape-from-New-York/overview>
*A former soldier tries to find someone in the Big Apple but is frequently
distracted by the colorful locals and their interesting lifestyle choices.

*E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/15032/E-T-The-Extra-Terrestrial/overview>
*An interloper endangers the life of a small boy in a desperate attempt to
get home.

*I Am Legend <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/335700/I-Am-Legend/overview>
*A New Yorker has trouble getting along with his neighbors, especially at
night.

*Inception <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/480818/Inception/overview>
*An eclectic group of dreamers meet a poor little rich boy and try to change
how he feels about losing his father.

*Independence Day<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/136197/Independence-Day/overview>
*Humans and aliens engage in a dispute over resource management.

*Jurassic Park <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/26808/Jurassic-Park/overview>
*A couple tries to have a good day at an amusement park and is thwarted by
faulty ride management.

*Logan's Run <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/29834/Logans-Run/overview>*
A young man seeks to discover if he can ever trust someone over 30.

*Men in Black <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/154946/Men-in-Black/overview>
*A cop joins the immigration service and loses his sense of identity and his
place in the universe.

*Planet of the Apes<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/38295/Planet-of-the-Apes/overview>
*An astronaut shows a civilization the errors of its prejudiced ways but
discovers that the ways of his own people aren't always perfect.

*Star Trek: The Motion
Picture<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/46515/Star-Trek-The-Motion-Picture/overview>
*A child's attempt to find his parents leads to misunderstandings on a
galactic scale.

*Star Trek IV: The Voyage
Home<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/46552/Star-Trek-IV-The-Voyage-Home/overview>
*Time travelers attempt to steal an endangered species just to save their
own behinds.

*Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom
Menace<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/179455/Star-Wars-Episode-I-The-Phantom-Menace/overview>
*A floppy-eared alien meets two robed humans who take him on a series of
increasingly disturbing adventures, including an attempt to acquire a small
boy on a bet.

*Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the
Clones<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/261809/Star-Wars-Episode-II-Attack-of-the-Clones/overview>
*A budding romance between a man and a woman is threatened by her political
career and his job in a paramilitary operation.
*
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the
Sith<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/286686/Star-Wars-Episode-III-Revenge-of-the-Sith/overview>
*An ambitious young man's career choices confound his wife and his immediate
supervisor.

*The Fly <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/17925/Fly/overview>
*Lax operating standards in a laboratory lead a scientist to change the way
he lives his life.

*The Matrix <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/177524/Matrix/overview>
*A lonely programmer discovers he's spending more time in a massive
multiplayer online game than he ever suspected.

*The Matrix Reloaded<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/279420/Matrix-Reloaded/overview>and
The
Matrix Revolutions<http://movies.amctv.com/movie/282917/Matrix-Revolutions/overview>
*The owners of a popular immersion video game fight outside attempts by
technophobes to shut it down.

*The Terminator <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/49101/Terminator/overview>
*A robot with a funny accent goes looking for a woman in eighties Los
Angeles.

*The Thing <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/49462/Thing/overview>
*A visitor tries to blend in with the crew of an Antarctic base but find
attempts to become one of the guys is met with suspicion and resistance.

*Transformers <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/322407/Transformers/overview>
*A young man's desire for a car involves him in a philosophical dispute
between two metalheads.

*WALL-E <http://movies.amctv.com/movie/379342/WALL-E/overview>
*An employee at a garbage dump abandons his job to pursue a woman he's just
met.

Johne Cook
| http://raygunrevival.com | http://authorculture.blogspot.com |

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