 The Best Movies For Sr, Ok TV shows too... |
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  Dec 24 2007, 02:04 AM
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#1
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Moving Target  Group: Members Posts: 209 Joined: 25-January 07 Member No.: 10,771  |
I'm trying to compile a list of must-see movies to get the mood right for Shadowrun and the setting. Specifically the corp culture.
Here are a few to start off. In no particular order. Aliens - A bit higher tech than SR, but just feel that atmosphere. Also if you want to know how a fight with a 6th world supernatural horror (not necessarily one of the Horrors) would go down look no further than the Alien. Resident Evil - Umbrella Corp, do I need to say more? Though Red Queen is a much more functional AI than any in SR (Hey she was right about containment wasn't she?). Blade Runner - Perhaps the defining cyberpunk movie. Though I don't know which version is the best. BubbleGum Crisis - The tech might not exactly fit SR style but the Knight Sabers are defiantly a runner team. Ghost in the Shell - Another anime/manga series that fits well into the feeling of cyberpunk and SR. Day Watch - For magic mixed with a modern setting. I need more. This post has been edited by Redjack: Feb 2 2008, 08:58 PM
Reason for edit: Add sr* icon
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Dec 24 2007, 02:21 AM
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#2
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,537 Joined: 27-August 06 From: Albuquerque NM Member No.: 9,234 |
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Dec 24 2007, 02:39 AM
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#3
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,748 Joined: 5-July 02 Member No.: 2,935 |
Ronin.
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Dec 24 2007, 03:49 AM
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#4
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,326 Joined: 15-April 02 Member No.: 2,600 |
Proof of Life (or "How Movies Aren't Like RPG's".) The first forty-five minutes of the movie would be the first forty-five minutes of the game: reading the backstory, setting up the run, meeting the Johnson, trying to find dice. The next forty-five minutes of the movie would be a five minute Negotiation test. The last fifteen minutes of the movie would be a three-hour combat.
Even if the movie is too slow for your taste, its worth catching the last half an hour for the raid. Very well done, good examples of tactics and planning. I could practically see the bonus dice being allocated. |
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Dec 24 2007, 06:14 AM
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#5
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Free Spirit Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,944 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Bloomington, IN UCAS Member No.: 1,920 |
Wow, 3 1/2 months!
Especially that '80s feel: Gung Ho (1986): a japanese company buys an american auto plant and installs japanese management, production techniques and culture. Or at least tries... Wall Street: Greed is Good, mergers, acquisitions and liquidations, corporate espionage and insider trading. |
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Dec 24 2007, 06:37 AM
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#6
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,326 Joined: 15-April 02 Member No.: 2,600 |
I think my pick for the best 80's Corp SR-inspirational movie would have to be Rising Sun.
Edit: Add in Robocop to the corp pile. |
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Dec 24 2007, 01:00 PM
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#7
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Free Spirit Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,944 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Bloomington, IN UCAS Member No.: 1,920 |
RoboCop is also an example of privatized, underfunded police forces, cyberzombies (hence cyberware, too), and a shadowrunner team led by actor Kurtwood Smith (aka Red Forman.)
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Dec 24 2007, 06:58 PM
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#8
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 976 Joined: 16-September 04 From: Near my daughters, Lansdale PA Member No.: 6,668 |
There was a film with Wesley Snipes and Sean Connery. I think it was called "Rsiing Sun" about two LA cops investigating a murder at a Japanese corp office in LA. Very much the who SR corp environment.
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Dec 24 2007, 08:16 PM
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#9
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 152 Joined: 11-May 06 Member No.: 8,547 |
johny mneumonic
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Dec 25 2007, 12:18 AM
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#10
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Chrome to the Core Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,152 Joined: 14-October 03 From: ::1 Member No.: 5,715 |
Firefly. Only crossing borders instead of flying through space.
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Dec 25 2007, 07:12 AM
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#11
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,326 Joined: 15-April 02 Member No.: 2,600 |
Let's skip the fact that you were a little late to the party, and celebrate that you showed up at all. Having mentioned this very movie, I dug it out of my old pile of VHS tapes and watched it for the first time in probably seven years. Being an avid SR player, this is a movie I saw many times in my youth, and it was interesting to watch it again. I spent a lot of the time thinking, Cops don't really do that, do they? It has an oddly ambiguous ending for a studio picture. (Spoilers ahead, maybe. I mean, there are spoilers ahead, but the movie is like 17 years old. I have to believe everyone who is going to see it already has.) I remember reading the book but it was a long time ago, and I don't really recall the major differences, other than the ones they're still crawing about on imdb.com. The main thing about the book I remember is it went into a lot more detail on the Japanese corporate structure (or the West's paranoid mindset about Japanese Corporate structure), and that to me was a lot more useful from an SR perspective. The main difference in the book and the movie is they made the killer an American, although from the very first time I saw the film I thought that the Nakamoto Corporation (not to be confused with the Nakatomi Corporation, of Die Hard) was complicit in the plot. And ultimately, figuring out who actually killed the girl hardly seemed to matter, since the case had already been "solved". The thugs that killed the murderer were actually getting revenge for the death of Eddie, who was framed and killed by other people. The other guy mainly responsible for both deaths (who was actually there gloating when Eddie was killed) was just sent back to Japan to "stare out a window" as if this was a fate worse than death, but if he were so corrupted by Western culture it doesn't seem like he'd care. He could just quit his job and come be a "hustlin' business samurai" in America, go to work for DOW or somebody who would have loved to have a Japanese guy. It also struck me as weird how the senator shot himself, when his only crime was nailing the girl, thinking he killed her, and being a douchebag. And the cops faxed him the pictures. If I faxed a guy pictures that caused him to kill himself, I'd feel bad about it is what I'm saying, even if he was a douchbag. Tamara Tunie was in it, briefly. She's now the medical examiner on Law & Order: SVU. Her only spoken lines are over the phone, so you see her in a couple of shots and you hear her in another scene, but you never see her speak. I wonder if she gets paid differently than that, since she's basically an extra in one scene and voice part in another. Sam Lloyd was also in it as one of the MicroCon doofi; he's now Ted on Scrubs, a show I kinda like and character I always find amusing. He was bald, even back then. Really doesn't look that much different. Actually, considering the movie was made 15 years ago, you could reshoot it today and most of the actors would look exactly the same. There's probably not too many movies you could say that about. I had forgotten Steve Bushemi was in it, and while he was noticeably younger he's always been a weird-looking cat. (There's probably one cast member that just exploded. Its that way with the cast of Buck Rogers, Erin Grey still looks fantastic and Gil Gerard looks like he has been stung repeatedly by something he is really allergic too, but I digress.) The two girls from the sushi-eating, saki-nipple-dipping scene are an interesting footnote; Saki Nipple was a Playboy model for whom Rising Sun is her only acting credit (aside from about 30 Playbody videos), and Naked Sushi was a body double who doubled for everybody from Julia Roberts (in Pretty Woman) to Barbara Streisand (in Prince of Tides). The guy that played Meat in Porky's was in it just long enough for Sean Connery to hit him in the throat, which is a mark of success I suppose. (He should get together with that guy Sean Connery beats up with his thumb in the Presidio, and they could do a tv show together or something.) This was also Meat's last movie role. (I wonder if him and Saki Nipple ran off together. I'd like to think so. But I sense I am losing you.) The guy that Sean Connery beats up with his thumb in the Presido made movies until 2001, which I guess proves the rule that the less of his body Sean Connery touches you with, the longer you will make it in Show Business. I think Jack Warner had a saying to that effect. People who Sean Connery didn't touch at all are still working today. Well, I've drifted far afield of my original point which was, if I recall correctly, that Rising Sun hasn't aged great. The police work comes off as pretty shoddy, although the glimpses of 80's corporate culture was interesting. Worth checking out for that. And I'm always happy to see Mako getting work. That is the most badass name in Hollywood. You play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon you can get anywhere with that guy. Did a lot of tv in the 60's. He also died last year, which is very sad. I think my favorite credit of his from imdb.com would have to be Super Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! He was also really good as Aku in Samurai Jack. |
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Dec 25 2007, 07:28 AM
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#12
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,640 Joined: 6-June 04 Member No.: 6,383 |
I agree that Mako is the most under-rated actor ever.
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Dec 25 2007, 07:39 AM
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#13
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,174 Joined: 13-May 04 From: UCAS Member No.: 6,327 |
he was also the voice of Iroh in Avatar the Last Airbender for the first two seasons. It's a shame that he passed away, they did a good tribute to him in one episode that had a segment that only focused on his character.
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Dec 25 2007, 07:46 AM
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#14
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Horror Group: Members Posts: 5,322 Joined: 15-June 05 From: BumFuck, New Jersey Member No.: 7,445 |
Especially the episode "Ariel". It had everything except a doublecrossing Johnson. But made up for it with a [ Spoiler ]
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Dec 25 2007, 11:14 AM
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#15
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 475 Joined: 17-June 02 From: Concord University, Athens, WV Member No.: 2,880 |
The big ones in our group have always been Boondock Saints, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Robocop, and Ronin.
A newer member is pushing for Ocean's 11 and it's sequels, though. And we used to include the first Matrix on the list, but one player ruined that for everyone. |
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Dec 25 2007, 07:18 PM
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#16
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,537 Joined: 27-August 06 From: Albuquerque NM Member No.: 9,234 |
How did they ruin it?
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Dec 25 2007, 08:11 PM
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#17
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Chrome to the Core Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,152 Joined: 14-October 03 From: ::1 Member No.: 5,715 |
I liked [ Spoiler ] ;) |
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Dec 25 2007, 10:27 PM
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#18
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
I'm going to add Over There to the list. It isn't cyberpunk, but it certainly is dystopian. It is the first scripted television series to take place in the current conflict in Iraq and it does a good job of showing just how messed up war is.
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Dec 26 2007, 12:17 AM
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#19
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 197 Joined: 15-June 05 From: Portland, Or. Member No.: 7,447 |
strange days, hellboy, total recall, the running man, demolition man, solarbabies, fortress, volcano high (the non- mtv version), distract B13, smoking aces
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Dec 26 2007, 09:32 AM
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#20
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Horror Group: Members Posts: 5,322 Joined: 15-June 05 From: BumFuck, New Jersey Member No.: 7,445 |
Yeah, as I understand it, they have [ Spoiler ]
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Dec 26 2007, 12:15 PM
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#21
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 475 Joined: 17-June 02 From: Concord University, Athens, WV Member No.: 2,880 |
Every character he made was an attempt to copy Neo, he would be a munchkin and outright cheater to pull it off, and generally tried to pull the entire campaign into being his own vision of a Matrix fangame. Eventually he did run his own game and pretty much used the Shadowrun rules to run The Matrix. Except he made everyone about a 10th initiation adept so they could be like Neo. So in general, he was an obsessive fanboy and wanted all of us to join him in obsessive fandom, whether we liked the movie that much or not. |
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Dec 29 2007, 03:20 AM
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#22
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Prime Runner Group: Members Posts: 3,577 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Gwynedd Valley PA Member No.: 1,221 |
It's been years since I saw this flick but I think the point was that the Japanese guy had become corrupted and was 'western' and the white guy who took the fall was really acting like a Japanese of old, in that he died to cover his master. and the old, Japanese guy, who really was ultimately responsible just walked away because one of his followers died for the sin. Since someone took the fall, all the rest of the 'sin' was taken with him. I could be wrong, it's been a LONG time since I saw it but that was what I carried away from it, that it was less a crime drama than a look at Japanese corp culture. Since no one's brought it up. I'll add the first National Treasure- heck Nick Cage and his decker friend steal the Declaration of independence ahead of sean Bean and his thugs in what is clearly a shadowrun? |
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Dec 29 2007, 08:56 AM
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#23
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 640 Joined: 8-October 07 Member No.: 13,611 |
Ugh. Rising Sun was a horrible book. The movie version was better, if not a little for the fact that it ratched the Japanophobia WAY down (Crichton is just the most vile kind of Chicken Little, except when it comes to climate change. Then, people claiming it exists are terrorists).
Firefly. Man, it just screams D&D party. Must be why so many gamers love it. I really like Way of the Gun for several reasons. Most of which, if you've seen in, are self-evident. I've had runs go down like the end of Bad Boys II, but I don't know if I'd recommend it. Oh, corp culture. I should have read the OP. My two favorite examples: Glengarry, Glenross (anyone who doesn't like that movie is insane) and Swimming With Sharks. The Producers has a good sense of corporate life before the accountant quits (btw, rent the original. I almost walked out of the one with Lane and Broderick). The Aviator is what I think of when I picture Damien Knight. Especially since it's just before the collecting piss in jars stage of Hughes' life. The Corporation is a great documentary... to make you hate corps. It goes into detail about how corporations are clinically psychopathic. There's always The Office, too. BTW, The Unit is a great show. It has to be. It was created by David Mamet, Shawn Ryan (creator of The Shield) and one of the original members of Delta. Definitely good inspiration for clever runners. |
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Dec 29 2007, 04:21 PM
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#24
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Prime Runner Group: Members Posts: 3,577 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Gwynedd Valley PA Member No.: 1,221 |
No one's brought it up but it was on TV yesterday- Clint eastwood's "Firefox." A run to steal an experimental jet.
Or for a real oldie Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton Where Eagles Dare famous for the break into the castle riding on a gondola's roof, but the movie is a data steal. No spoilers here but seriously, if you haven't seen it, rent it and watch it late at night when you won't be disturbed. The film's climax is such a 'what the flock is going on?" dominated by Burton, that you forget Clint Eastwood is in the room |
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Dec 31 2007, 09:33 PM
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#25
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 249 Joined: 14-January 07 Member No.: 10,633 |
As bizarre as it may sound, Shrek the Third.
Think about it: Shrek as the leader, Puss as the dueling sammie, Donkey with his connections, and Artie as the string-pulling face. Stretch it out even further, a kingdom coup, shifting alliances, and ... Don't read this unless you have seen the movie or not going to [ Spoiler ] |
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