Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Contact (1997)
Director: Robert Zimeckis
Theatrical running time: 150 mins.

Jan says, "This one kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved it!"

The search for life outside our solar system becomes a personal and
spiritual quest for a young researcher. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) is a
scientist who lost her faith in God after her parents died when she was a
child. However, Ellie has learned to develop a different sort of faith in the
seemingly unknowable: working with a group that monitors radio waves
from space, Ellie hopes that some day she will receive a coherent
message from another world that will prove that there is a world beyond
our own. Ellie's hard work is rewarded when her team picks up a signal
that does not appear to be of earthly origin. Ellie decodes the message,
which turns out to be plans for a space craft, which she takes as an
invitation for a meeting with the aliens. Ellie and her fellow researchers
soon run into interference from a White House scientific advisor, David
Drumlin (Tom Skerritt), who cuts off their funding and tries to take
credit for their achievements. However, Ellie receives moral support from
Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), a spiritual teacher who advises
President Clinton and tries to persuade her to accept the existence of a
higher power, and financial backing from S.R. Hadden (John Hurt), a
multi-millionaire willing to fund her attempts to contact the source of the
message. Contact was based on a novel by Carl Sagan, who advised
director Robert Zemeckis during the film's production until his death in
1996. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Thing--a.k.a. The Thing from Another World
(1951)
Director: Christian Nyby
Theatrical running time: 87 mins.

Dewey writes, "I believe that the movie that scared me more than any
other was The Thing. I have always liked sci-fi. I was in the third grade
when I saw it, and I saw Things in alleys for months after that movie."

Blockbuster has no review of this movie, so here's what Google found:
(1) Scientists at an Arctic research station discover a spacecraft buried
in the ice. Upon closer examination, they discover the frozen pilot. All
hell breaks loose when they take him back to their station and he is
accidentally thawed out! Written by KC Hunt {khunt@eng.morgan.edu}

(2) Producer Howard Hawks' adaptation of the John Campbell story of
an arctic expedition that runs afoul of a blood sucking alien is often
credited (or blamed - depending on who you talk to) with launching the
evil-monster-tries-to-destroy-humanity films that were so prevalent in the
1950's. Written by Debbie Twyman {nkchigh@qni.com}

(3) I would rate this movie along with This Island Earth and The Day the
Earth Stood Still as probably the most quintessential of the 50's genre
sci-fi films. It spawned the later John Carpenter directed film The Thing
with Kurt Russell loosely following with a similar storyline. As a personal
preference this film transports me back to my childhood in such a
nostalgic fashion that I can't help but become engrossed. I highly
recommend it to those of you who can push aside their objectivity and
float back to a simpler time with uncluttered films unburdened with
artificial special effects and CGI. I'll take this over The Matrix any day of
the week.  Written by Gary W. Tooze
(www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReview/thing.htm)

Cast (Complete credited cast)
Margaret Sheridan ...  Nikki
Kenneth Tobey ...  Captain Patrick Hendry
Robert Cornthwaite ...  Dr. Carrington
Douglas Spencer ...  Scotty
James R. Young ...  Lt. Eddie Dykes (as James Young)
Dewey Martin ...  Crew Chief
Robert Nichols ...  Lt. Ken McPherson
William Self ...  Corporal Barnes
Eduard Franz ...  Dr. Stern
Sally Creighton ...  Mrs. Chapman
James Arness ...  The Thing
The reviews of these movies are from Blockbuster.com unless otherwise cited.