Lifepod

I first saw this in grad school, and recently watched it on late-late-night TV. For a remake of the 1940's Hitchcock movie, with minimal early 1980's special effects and sets, the story held up surprisingly well. Worth a couple of hours to see Joe Penny and Carl Lumbly (1980's actors with mainly TV roles), and Kristine DeBell ("Meatballs" and a memorable cameo on the Harry Anderson "Night Court" TV show). Reasonably decent acting, and the "surprise ending" wasn't completely telegraphed in the plot. There was no connection to 2001, other than a talking, slightly psychotic computer. More closely related to an episode of the a Rod Serling "Twilight Zone"

This one isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. Sure, it's a very low-budget flick and the acting is pretty cheesy/subpar, but the concept is actually really engaging. There definitely needed to be a more stern hand in the editing room, in my opinion, because there are too many instances that feel like filler.

I still recommend this flick even with its numerous faults. If you enjoy cheap sci-fi, this may just be right up your ally.

I'm going to throw some love to this movie. I first saw this almost 25 years ago on a Sunday morning. The graphics even in the day were not top tier. However, I did like the plot.

It's 2020 and the patina of age has treated this kindly, IMHO. The storyline is a luxury liner, the Arcturus, is on it's maiden voyage to Saturn and a malfunction has occurred which has required to abandon ship, a hairy idea if you consider life pods in space going who knows what direction. What has caused the malfunction is the question that gets answered at the very end. A life pod that has escaped the Arcturus, containing a ship's lieutenant, various passengers, and the head of the Whitestar line is being pursued but the ship itself while the captain remains on board, not in control, wrestling with the central computer that controls it.

This is a movie that with the right exposure could be something of a cult classic. I think the acting is pretty good, especially Christopher Cary, the captain. Like every good Sci-Fi movie, they lend a believability that allows a willful suspension of disbelief. The design of the Arcturus is pretty good, the robots in the film are believable, the launch and movement of the Lifepod are well done, and the interaction of the cast are good. They set out to make a believable movie given the limitations of the money (obviously) and I think they did a good job.

This is a movie you can find on Amazon Prime. Give it a try. You'll either turn it off in the first 20 minutes or you'll enjoy the ending.

Arcturus is a civilian spaceship on its maiden voyage to Jupiter. There are some 3000 passengers aboard. There is a mysterious distress signal and most are abandoning ship. Crew member Simmons (Joe Penny) gathers various people as he searches for a way to a lifepod.

I remember Joe Penny from 80's TV and a few of the actors seem familiar. The production designs look 70's or very early 80's. There is no action other than shaking the camera in the third act. This is no Titanic. The miniature work is fine. The story is something about computer, but it's sorta non-sense. It can't really get above its low production value.

Wow. Something of a surprise. Though flawed, it is far better that I expected.

The brand new space liner Arcturus with some 3,000 passengers is in the final days of its sixteen day trip to Jupiter. Without warning, the ship's Cerebral (central computer) sounds a disaster alarm and orders everyone to evacuate.

Soon, there are only a handful of people remaining including one of the ship's astrogators (Penny), the captain (Cary), and the director of the shipping line (Kenyon).

It turns out that the alarm was false and that the main Cerebral is acting

erratically. The remaining passengers and crew must escape the ship and

avoid personal conflicts in order to survive.

The film starts out very well. The opening commercial is a very nice touch. There are obvious parallels to 2001: A Space Odyssey and to the historic

sinking of the Titanic. The film does slow down at times and has pacing

problems, but is generally well made and well acted.