On the occasion of the last edition of the festival The Myceliads, Étienne offers you a special episode of the Mag.7. Thus, the cinema teams The Lobies and libraries of Agglopolys of Blois have come together to offer you a selection based on imagination and science fiction.
It was the next session!
Mag.7 is a podcast, produced and distributed by the association blésoise The Next Meeting. The principle is simple: in collaboration with libraries of Agglopolys In the town of Blois, the host Étienne invites people to walk through the music-cinema service and video games of the places and to choose DVDs there. More specifically, seven films, series, documentaries or concerts – seven corresponding to the borrowing capacity proposed by the library – then evoke their selection to the microphone. A monthly program based on the sharing and passion of the 7th art, and seeking to highlight the quality and quantity of films available in public libraries, all accessible for modest amounts, if not totally free in some communities.
The imaginary SF within the Mag.7
Launched in 2021 following a call for projects by the CNC, the festival The Myceliads takes place in various cinemas and libraries in our dear French cities. The goal: to propose an annual and national event that combines web creation, scientific research and the world of SF imaginary. In this year 2026, the city of Blois was able to host the festival within its infrastructures (the cinema The Lobis and the libraries of Agglopolys) from 31 January to 15 February. But as all these teams prepared a program worthy of the Myceliads, they also lent themselves to the game of Mag.7. Thus, find a special selection of DVDs chosen for the occasion, which will make you travel through space and time, with their lot of creatures and other cyborgs. In short, a journey that titillates imagination, as cinema has been able to offer during its many decades of existence!
Monsters (2010)
Nationality : United Kingdom – Gender : Drama, Thriller, Science fiction – Implementation : Gareth Edwards – Distribution : Whitney Able, Scoot McNairy, Annalee Jefferies, Justin Hall, Ricky Catter...
DVD Edition France | M6 Video | 06 April 2011 - Blu-ray Edition France | M6 Video | 06 April 2011 - Dissemination platforms : Amazon Prime Video, PremiereMax, Viva and Rakuten TV
The pitch : A NASA probe crashes into the Mexican jungle, releasing particles from an alien life form on earth. Six years later, Mexico and Costa Rica became war zones deserted by local populations, quarantined and populated by monstrous creatures. A photographer is in charge of escorting a young woman through this devastated area. Only on the road, they will try to reach the American border...
Opinion of MaG (the celest wolf): Turned with derisory means, Monsters It is a real tour de force: a sensitive SF road-movie, where romance breaks a path between infected areas and ruined borders. Gareth Edwards unfolds a stunning visual poetry, up to a final that strikes in the heart. Between creatures taped in the shadows and vacillating humanity, this singular film remains a jewel of modern science fiction, to be discovered without delay.
Opinion of The Next Meeting (Sébastien): Whether you like Gareth Edwards' cinema or not, it must be noted that the director was able to stand out by mastering his visual effects. Coming from this technical universe, he has a staging that manages to magnify them. Just look at his Godzilla and Rogue One to measure the extent to which it is able to offer them a disproportionate magnitude. And what about The Creator, blockbuster at « small » Budget (approximately 80 M$) Who visually beats much more expensive titles? In short, it goes without saying that Edwards masteres the effects, understanding and refining them. But until then, we're talking about purely Hollywood films, the cost of which is a lot of zeros. Before entering the workings of the big productions, the filmmaker made himself known in 2010 with a much more modest first feature film: MonstersA small, independent nugget on the budget that hardly exceeds $500,000!
Although it is imperfect at a few levels (writing or directing actors), Monsters shines with his technique and staging. Desirous of filming gigantic creatures with little means, Edwards takes the side of putting his camera at the height of man. By playing the map of the out-of-field and close-ups taking the point of view of his characters, he turns a simple hike into an immersive ride. Thanks to these technical choices, the director manages to give life to his immense creatures by soliciting the spectator's imagination. In return, he offers him moments oscillating between tension and pure poetry. A process he will take over with Godzilla, which will become his visual leg so characteristic.
So if you like Gareth Edwards' movies and you only know his blockbusters, don't hesitate to rush on Monsters. If only to discover a feature film directed by a real craftsman, who literally put his hand to the dough (he officialises as a director, screenwriter, artistic director and photo director of the project). His passion, as well as his ambition, is visible on the screen, and it is clearly good to get out of such a work.
Terminator 2: Final Judgement (1991)
Title V: Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Nationality: United States – Type: Action, Thriller, Science fiction – Implementation : James Cameron – Distribution : Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Joe Morton...
DVD editing: France | Studiochannel | 02 June 2015 - Blu-ray Edition France | Studiochannel | 1 September 2022 - 4K Ultra HD Edition France | Studiochannel | 29 November 2023 - Dissemination platform: HBO Max, PremiereMax, VIVA, Pathé Home, Orange, Canal VOD, UniverseCine, SOONER, FILMO and Rakuten TV
The pitch : Destined to become the leader of a future apocalyptic where machines exterminate humanity, a young boy finds himself being hunted by a cyborg who has passed through time to eliminate him. But her mother, helped by a reprogrammed machine, will try everything to protect her from this relentless adversary, even to prevent the future from happening...
Opinion of MaG (the celest wolf) : After the classic of the cinema of action and anticipation of the 80's which will the Terminator (a mythical figure of the 7th art) in the collective imagination, here is the monument of science fiction that revolutionized the technique of SFX (the digital age) by pushing the limits of the possible. At the edge of the temporal paradox, this true « monster » From cinema to very great show is still an absolute model of the genre. Now I know why you're crying...
Opinion of The Next Meeting (Sebastian): A good suite is not necessarily better than the original. A film can be regarded as such when it manages to preserve the essence of the precedent while evolving its universe and characters, without ever betraying it. That's how we could define a good sequel, and we might as well say that cinema is not lacking! But then, when can an opus be considered superior to the first? In a rough way, a sequel turns out to be better when it resumes the foundations of its predecessor by improving them, pushes the pottery to the fullest and manages to make it forget. In this context, the examples are rather rare: a first episode of saga is usually the one that marks the minds. There are, of course, titles that we think of immediately, such as The Empire Against Attack, The Godfather Part 2, Evil Dead 2 or The Dark Knight. But by watching the polls of the type « The best suite of all time », a film constantly returns to top of the list, proof of its impact on the collective unconscious: Terminator 2: The Dernie Judgementr.
Yet, looking at it well, James Cameron does not do so much more than the first part. He uses the formula, some sequences and replicas, and makes some changes. But doped by a much larger budget than in 1984 (6 million versus 100 million dollars), making him the most expensive film in history at the time, the filmmaker turned his universe into a real playground. 75% of the budget is for special effects, and it's obvious! Terminator 2, it is a unpacking of spectacular action sequences, rich in cascades and explosions. The film is also a technical revolution, with the emphasis on digital visual effects, which are still in its infancy when it is released (Cameron had already experienced them, during the time of a sequence, in Abyss). From a technical point of view, Terminator 2 impose like a tower of unstoppable force, which fills the eyes for our greatest pleasure.
But if the ensemble is full of iconic plans and memorable scenes, it is also on the writing side that this suite stands out. James Cameron breathes heart into his show. This is essentially due to the character of Arnold Schwarzenegger, an evil symbol of the first part of the hero's protection. While this process may seem artificial, it mainly gives material to its star machine. The Terminator, a cold-blooded killer, gains humanity through his relationship with John Connor. In spite of this, he became a surrogate father for this child who had never known his father. Just with this screenshot pirouette, Cameron offers to Terminator 2 a correctness and emotion that was missing from the first film. If it looked a little icy, this suite will make you laugh as much as we cry, while nailing you to your chair. The Final judgementBest suite ever? The answer obviously depends on everyone. But there is much to bet that, for many, this is indeed the case.
Paprika (2005)
Title V: Papurika ( Nationality: Japan – Type: Science fiction, Thriller, Animation – Output: Satoshi Kon – Distribution: Megumi Hayashibara, Toru Furuya, Koichi Yamadera, Katsunosuke Hori, Toru Emor...
DVD editing: France | Sony Pictures | 20 June 2007 - Blu-ray Edition: France | Sony Pictures | 20 June 2007 - 4K Ultra HD Edition: France | Sony Pictures | 21 February 2024 - Dissemination platforms: VIVA, UniverseCine, SOONER, PremiereMax and Canal VOD
The pitch : In the future, a new psychotherapeutic treatment called PT was invented. Thanks to a machine, the DC Mini, it is possible to enter into patients' dreams, and record them in order to probe the depths of thought and unconsciousness. While the process is still in its test phase, one of the prototypes of the DC Mini is stolen, creating a wind of panic among the scientists who developed this small revolution. In the wrong hands, such an invention could indeed have devastating results. Dr. Atsuko Chiba, a colleague of the inventor of the DC Mini, Dr. Tokita, decides, in the appearance of his delusional alter-ego Paprika, to venture into the world of dreams to discover who has seized the DC Mini and for what reason. She discovers that Dr. Tokita's assistant, Himuro, has disappeared...
Opinion of The Next Meeting (Aurélie): PaprikaIt's the story of a team of scientists who created the DC Mini, a small device that makes it possible to go into a patient's dreams, to help him heal his psychoses. Like any good invention, when it falls into the wrong hands, the damage is legion. Imagine that anyone can enter your head and set up a wild parade, high in color and music, but also make you win by madness and drive you to suicide.
Watch PaprikaIt's accepting that you can no longer make a difference between dream and reality. Many films address this theme, with varying degrees of success. Christopher Nolan even confessed in an interview that he "could have inspired" Paprika (2006), for the scenarioInception (2010), and indeed, the similarities between the two films are numerous. Paprika succeeds in making the passages between dream and reality readable, even when the dream becomes invading, thanks to the doubling of his heroine. This is where the story goes further in my view, revealing that even professionals (doctors, psychologists, police officers...) have their share of weakness, doubt and trauma. We are not dealing with protagonists who are masters of their emotions, and transparent with themselves, but with people like us.
Finally, the quality of animation is at the rendezvous, but after animations like Perfect Blue and Tokyo GodfatherIt's not a surprise. Satoshi Kon continues to make us dream, whether by the sensitivity and depth of his stories, but also by his works and rich visuals.
High Life (2018)
Nationality: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Poland, United States – Type: Science fiction, Drama – Implementation : Claire Denis – Distribution : Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin, Mia Goth, Lars Eidinger...
DVD editing: France | Wild Side Video | 24 April 2019 - Blu-ray Edition France | Wild Side Video | 24 April 2019 - Dissemination platforms: Amazon Prime Video, PremiereMax, ARTE Boutique, Rakuten TV, Canal VOD, FILMO, VIVA and Orange
The pitch : A group of death row criminals agreed to commute their sentences and become guinea pigs for a space mission outside the solar system. An out-of-standard mission...
Opinion of The Next Meeting (Aurélie): The film's official pitch announces a science fiction film, where criminals are sent into orbit around a black hole to extract energy from it. Surprising, High Life is also classified in the horror category, without which one can imagine why. The story in space, we can easily hope for the presence of bad animals or other...
We quickly understand that the team is sent to orbit without a return or contact solution to Earth, a form of imprisonment on death row. But the horror of their situation goes far beyond that. Dibs, played by Juliette Binoche, psychologically disturbed, is obsessed with her mission to bring about a healthy baby despite exposure to radiation. To achieve its ends, it engages in dubious fertilization practices, sometimes to the detriment of other inhabitants of the ship.
Disturbing movies, I've seen, and I'm watching them knowingly, for their film interest. Watching High LifeI feel trapped to find myself facing this kind of movie without me deciding. Especially as I don't find it interesting to advance the plot or its staging. As if the undeveloped SF part was a pretext to make a film about sexual violence. We should have gone to the end of the idea.
It is also a slow film, which does not find its balance with scenes now the rhythm and attention of the spectator. One can highlight the interest of his casting with Robert Pattinson as lead role, and Mia Goth who plays a second role in keeping with his habits. But the psychology of the characters, except Dibs, being little exploited, again, we pass aside.
E.T. the alien (1982)
Title V: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial – Nationality : United States – Type: Science fiction, Adventure, Fantastic – Implementation : Steven Spielberg – Distribution : Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton...
DVD editing: France | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment | 29 October 2002 - Blu-ray Edition France | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment | 1 February 2023 - 4K Ultra HD Edition France | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment | 7 January 2026 - Dissemination platforms: Disney+, Pathé Home, Canal VOD, Orange, PremiereMax, Rakuten TV, FILMO, LaCinetek, VIVA and ARTE Boutique
The pitch : A flying saucer landed in the middle of the night near Los Angeles. Some extraterrestrials, sent to Earth on a mission of botanical exploration, come out of the machine, but one of their adventures beyond the clearing where the shuttle is located. The latter then heads towards the city. This is his first discovery of human civilization. Soon tracked by soldiers and abandoned by his own, this terrified little creature named E.T. takes refuge in a suburban residence. Elliot, a ten-year-old boy, discovers him and builds a shelter in his wardrobe. Rapproached by a telepathic exchange, the two beings soon became friends. Helped by his sister Gertie and older brother Michael, Elliot will then try to keep the presence of E.T. secret...
Opinion of MaG (the celete wolf): Unloaded from the 2002 retouches, the 1982 version finds all the sweetness of his tale about otherness and separation. Of course, some SFXs accuse their age, but their retro charm is now a patina that magnifies memory. In this framework, Spielberg signs one of his most intimate works, carried by bright children and a creature that has become an icon. And the emotion, always alive, still looks like an obvious, touching small and large.
Opinion of The Next Meeting (Mia): The strength of this film is the sensitivity of its director, who puts the plot of the film from the point of view of the children. E.T. is the nice monster par excellence. It is frightening at first sight, but it is very endearing for the children of the film and the spectator. This film is directed directly to the child who is within us and who dreamed of living this kind of story.
It is the children who have power, because of their childhood and the open mind that goes with their youth. Adults cannot understand, they are useless or even dangerous. For example, Elliot, his sister and brother have friendship with the alien, care for him, hide him and protect him from state agents who track him. Steven Spielberg's creation underscores the magic of this film while moving into a realistic world: an American residential suburb. This realism breathes magic directly into the daily lives of the characters and the spectator. It's like we, too, could one day by chance find an alien lost in the forest and take him home by tracing a path of M&M. Like E.T and Elliot, Spielberg points out to connect with us and offer us this modern poetic tale rocked by John Williams' music.
RoboCop (1987)
Nationality: United States – Type: Action, Polar, Science fiction – Implementation : Paul Verhoeven – Distribution: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O的Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Miguel Ferrer...
DVD editing: France | Amazon MGM | 04 June 2014 - Blu-ray Edition France | Amazon MGM Studios | 04 June 2014 - 4K Ultra HD Edition: United Kingdom | Arrow Films | 28 March 2022 - Dissemination platforms: Pathé Home, Canal VOD and Orange
The pitch : In Detroit, gangred by organized crime, police officer Alex Murphy is left for death after a shooting. He then became the perfect guinea pig for the creation of a new weapon, a half-man, half-robot hybrid policeman...
Opinion of MaG (Celeste wolf): In the heart of a dystopic Detroit plagued by crime and corruption, this visceral spectacle, where deliciously offbeat humour contrasts with the great-guignolesque violence of action scenes, puts itself at the service of a satire of the Reagan administration (from the greed of companies to authoritarian drifts through capitalist marketing). As enjoyable in the background as in the form, RoboCop has lost nothing of its relevance and avant-garde charm.
Opinion of The Next Meeting (Aurélie): RoboCop is one of those movies that we rank in the category cult film, and we quickly understand why from the beginning of its viewing. The film was released in 1987, the 1980s full of science fiction films with increasingly credible special effects, and RoboCop This is the perfect example if we compare it with films released at the beginning of this decade.
At first glance, it is a Hollywood blockbuster among so many others. But with his cyborg in the midst of police defending the good people against the rise of crime, the film can present the beginnings of superhero movies. RoboCop is also a title with several levels of reading: crooked politicians, social criticism and capitalism, with even a little reflection on human cruelty and the right to dignity. Moreover, with these two themes in mind, Murphy's transformation into RoboCop m Very current questions in our society. For a 1987 film, it is news, and ages well. If like me, you've never seen it, that you like science fiction movies, it's to put in your watchlist.
Alien, the eighth passenger (1979)
Title V: Alien – Nationality: United States, Great Britain – Gender : Horror, Science fiction – Implementation : Ridley Scott – Distribution: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt...
DVD editing: France | 20th Century Fox | 24 October 2007 - Blu-ray Edition France | 20th Century Fox | 07 November 2018 - 4K Ultra HD Edition France | 20th Century Studios | 24 April 2019 - Dissemination platforms: Disney+, Pathé Home, Orange, VIVA, Rakuten TV and PremiereMax
The pitch : The commercial vessel Nostromo and its crew, seven men and women, return to Earth with a large shipment of ore. But during a forced stop on a deserted planet, Officer Kane gets assaulted by an unknown life form, an arachnid that chokes his face. After the flight attendant took away the specimen, the crew found the smile and dine together. Until Kane, taken from convulsions, saw her abdomen punctured by a living foreign body, escaping in the passageways of the ship...
Opinion of MaG (the celest wolf): First appearance of the most frightening creature in the history of the SF and founder of a huge mythology, this horrific closed-door very refined (the realization of Scott is always a reference after more than 40 years) at a rather slow pace, provides horrific upsurges when his star species makes its appearance and stages an unusual hero for the time, a woman, who will also become an icon of horror cinema in his three suites. More than a timeless classic, this fabulous nightmare was imposed as an indisputable masterpiece of 7th art.
Opinion of The Next Meeting (Sebastian): Looking at it, nothing predestined Alien to become this cult film. In the beginning, it was an ordinary series B horrific, seeing space-carriers confront an alien. But it took stars to line up at the right time for the project to mark minds and times. AlienIt is simply the meeting of persevering and ambitious people, who have enabled the whole to materialize. I would even say more: who turned a simple entertainment into a timeless work, to the point of making it a pillar of science fiction cinema.
Alien is a movie that plays with the unknown. Ridley Scott and his team, through his decors and meticulous writing, put in images a credible universe at all points. This brings together realism in the smallest detail (the corridors of the Nostromo, the various pictograms visible in the ship...), as well as the imagination generated by its artistic direction. Combined with the artist's plastic work H.R. Giger, it propels us into an unhealthy and anxious universe. Rather than amusing the gallery, Alien cultivates a palpable horror of this unknown thanks to his tense atmosphere, his visuals of another world and, above all, his creature perspiring the symbolism of rape. By the shock they represent or the intensity they emit, many scenes remain in the head: the discovery of the wreck, the hold with the eggs, the facehugger, the birth of the Chestburster, the first appearance of the Alien, the revelation on the nature of Ash, Ripley evacuating the Nostromo... The eighth passenger is a roller coaster in the matter of strong sensations, which also owes much to the accuracy of his writing and to the impeccable interpretation of his characters.
This movie just forged my film. So this writing is not entirely objective, and I see the friends of The Next Meeting sketch a smile by reading these lines. But talk aboutAlien allows me to recall that a discovery can impact your vision, your perception. Art has a reach that goes far beyond contemplation. He transfers you, defines you and accompanies you in your life. So, when you come across a realization that marks you at this point, it is that you have, no doubt, found yourself facing a masterpiece.
Paradise for All (1982)
Nationality: France – Gender : Drama, Comedy, Science fiction – Implementation : Alain Jessua – Distribution: Patrick Dewaere, Jacques Dutronc, Fanny Cottençon, Stéphane Audran, Philippe Léotard...
DVD editing: France | Studiochannel | 1 January 2013 - Blu-ray Edition France | Studiochannel | 02 January 2023 - Dissemination platforms: Canal VOD, ARTE Boutique, PremiereMax, VIVA, Orange and FILMO
The pitch Alain becomes the guinea pig of a doctor who invented a treatment to fight depressive states and make people perfectly happy...
Opinion of The Next Meeting (Étienne): Last film by Patrick Dewaere, Paradise for all is a good example of the success of French cinema in the SF genre. In this film, Alain (Dewaere), depressive, is offered by his shrink (Jacques Dutronc) a treatment allowing for « flash » his brain and erase all negative emotions. The operation is a success: Alain is happy, and soon the whole population will be treated. Paradise for all is a comedy of anticipation with a sweet bitter tone, even burlesque. There is Patrick Dewaere affable, kind and helpful, very far from his usual lively skinned character.
This is a film where characters swim in the most perfect happiness, without ever experiencing despair, hatred or jealousy again. Then we find ourselves in a completely aseptic and atonous dystopia. This general anaesthesia of feelings causes the loss of envy, of creative desire, and this world is satisfied with a very banal mediocrity. This postulate is very well illustrated by one of the famous scenes of the film, where advertising music has become the panacea of musical creation, for the greatest happiness of all characters.
Alain Jessua crucches in a visionary way, with cruelty and cynicism, a society always in search of perfect happiness, imposed by the images of the great media. And when she does, it's at the price of her humanity. A film that still keeps all its subversive power today.
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