Skip to main content
Games Radar Newsarama Total Film Edge Retro Gamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The smarter take on movies
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

Total Film Magazine - Issue 198

Features
By Total Film published 31 August 2012

The Sci-Fi Issue

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The Sci-Fi Issue

The Sci-Fi Issue

In the brand new issue of Total Film magazine (on newsstands now) , we probe into the hottest sci-fi movies headed your way.

Looper leads the pack, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis gracing our cover. A thriller geared up to blow the minds of wearied, cynical cinemagoers, we ask if it’ll be this generation’s Matrix …

On top of that we take a quantum leap into the future of movies to scope out Star Trek 2 , RoboCop , Godzilla , and Planet Of The Apes 2 .

Plus, we jump back in time to reunite the cast of E.T.

Issue 198 is on-sale now and comes with four incredible free posters, featuring Man Of Steel , The Hobbit , Skyfall , and Django Unchained .

Also, you may have already heard that Total Film is now available on your iPad , and it has an incredible new price - now just £1.99 per issue, or £12.99 for a whole year ($2.99 per issue or $17.99 yearly for the US and Canada, €2.39 per issue or €14.49 yearly for the Europe)! Read about the key features of Total Film 's interactive iPad edition .

Fans of the good old-fashioned paper edition need not worry – this version ain’t going anywhere! Like the look of that coverline-free, subscribers-only cover? Well, subscribe to Total Film magazine then!

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Looper

Looper

With one of the year’s catchiest concepts, Looper looks set to shake up your multiplex malaise by splicing thrills with smarts.

As you’ll know by now, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s hitman is tasked with whacking his future self (played by Bruce Willis) in Rian Brick Johnson’s noodle-baker.

With full access to all the key players, we’ve got this unique vision of the future covered.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Taken 2

Taken 2

We man up to visit the Instanbul set of Taken 2 , the brutal, bruising follow-up to the action sleeper hit.

Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and director Olivier Megaton explain how this sequel will be coarser and harder than the original.

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
On The Road

On The Road

The said it was ‘unfilmable’. Some 50-plus years after its publication, Walter Salles ( The Motorcycle Diaries ) has finally managed to wrestle On The Road onto the big screen.

A cult favourite, the Beat Generation novel by Jack Kerouac has hefty movie expectations, having been burn-burn-burned into the minds of its legion of fans. We get the inside track from Salles and his stars.

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Blake Lively

Blake Lively

With Gossip Girl coming to an end, Blake Lively is looking to assert her position in Hollywood with a brave turn in Oliver Stone’s Savages .

Threesomes, smuggling, kidnap and torture are on the agenda, as Lively builds on the promise demonstrated in The Town . We catch up with her in Beverly Hills…

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Nicolas Winding Refn

Nicolas Winding Refn

Making a play for the Most Stylish Man In Movies title, Nicolas Winding Refn talks about backing Pusher (a remake of his own breakout hit).

On top of that, the Drive director discusses his bromance with Ryan Gosling, his plans for Logan’s Run , and the moment he detonated an F-bomb on BBC Breakfast .

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
LA Story: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

LA Story: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Kid with a bike… Thirty years after the release of the sci-fi heartbreaker about a boy and his alien-botanist buddy, we reunite Spielberg’s cast for a full-on nostalgia overdose.

The whole gang share their memories of the life-altering shoot (well, apart from E.T. himself, that is. Spoiler: He was destroyed in a studio fire in 1986).

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Buzz and Agenda

Buzz and Agenda

Chris Hemsworth shoots to kill in this month’s Buzz , as the long-shelved Red Dawn remake finally surfaces. That wait didn’t harm Cabin In The Woods , so we’re feeling hopeful about this one.

Plus, there’s a first look at Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi , an exclusive chat with Gareth Evans on The Raid 2 , a catch-up with Jack Ryan, and the movies’ most haunted houses.

And in Agenda , Zoe Kazan (granddaughter of the legendary Elia) makes her own waves with Ruby Spark s and we worship Scorsese’s right-hand woman, Thelma Schoonmaker.

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Screen and Lounge

Screen and Lounge

Looper makes its presence felt in Screen this month, bagging prime review real estate as the opener. Will this one endure for future generations? Find out what we thought inside.

Plus, our official verdicts on Lawless , The Campaign , The Sweeney , Killing Them Softly , Premium Rush and many more…

On the home entertainment front, this year’s biggest movie, Avengers Assemble has a costume party, while The Raid , The Cabin In The Woods and Bond 50 all get the once-over. We’ve also taken the time to rank the best home-ent hardware (so you can achieve the ultimate viewing experience), and spent time on the booze-soused set of Boardwalk Empire Season 3 .

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Tim Burton -The Total Film Interview

Tim Burton -The Total Film Interview

“Once you get the moniker of being the weirdo, no matter what, that label sticks.”

With Frankenweenie soon to be reanimated in cinemas, we settle down for a monster chat with the master of gothic-pop, Tim Burton.

Discussing animation, box-office battles, Batman and his old pal Johnny Depp, the iconic director makes for a fun, fascinating interviewee.

Subscribe to Total Film magazine!

Get the interactive edition of Total Film magazine on your iPad!

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
PRODUCTS
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial frankenweenie looper on the road only god forgives savages taken 2
Total Film

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

Share by:
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Whatsapp
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Latest in Movies
Sam Worthington as Jake Sully in Avatar: Fire and Ash
James Cameron says Matt Damon didn't actually lose millions from turning down Avatar: "That never happened"
 
 
Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser in Marty Supreme, holding a red ping pong paddle, with a GamesRadar+ Big Screen Spotlight logo in the top right corner
Timothée Chalamet achieves greatness with Marty Supreme – a frantic New York odyssey wrapped up in a ping pong movie
 
 
David Jonsson, Cooper Hoffman, Ben Wang, and Tut Nyuot in The Long Walk
The Long Walk is one of the best Stephen King adaptations of all time – and the saddest movie of 2025
 
 
Dune 2
Dune: Part Three is about how Paul Atreides has "been impacted by years of leadership", says Timothée Chalamet
 
 
Sigourney Weaver as Kiri in Avatar: Fire and Ash
Avatar 4 is getting a new narrator, and the actor was told about it "12 years ago"
 
 
A Na'vi draws a bow in Avatar: Fire and Ash
Avatar: Fire and Ash frame rate explained – why do some scenes look so smooth?
 
 
Latest in Features
Jujutsu Kaisen season 3
New anime in 2026: the biggest upcoming and ongoing shows, including release dates
 
 
Steam Winter Sale 2025 banner showing official artwork of people in a futuristic setting tending to robots, with the sales dates showing - December 18 - January 5 at 10am PT
I spent 4 hours scouring the Steam Winter Sale with our expert brand director, these are the 10 best games I'd absolutely get
 
 
Phantom Blade Zero Game Awards trailer
Phantom Blade Zero devs want their kung-fu game to shake up the action genre, and I'm already spellbound
 
 
Miles Caton as Sammie in Sinners
Many have tried to dethrone it, but Sinners' time-travelling juke joint scene is still 2025's best set-piece
 
 
Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys in Weapons.
Weapons' Aunt Gladys is an instant horror icon – and 2025's best movie villain
 
 
Fallout 76 screenshot with a GamesRadar On the Radar overlay
Fallout 76 has become a living world that connects every point in the series – within reason
 
 
  1. Key art for Skate Story showing the glass skater boarding through a dark underworld filled with spikes towards a door of light
    1
    Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
  2. 2
    Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"
  3. 3
    Sleep Awake review: "An all-timer horror premise is let down by tired stealth that I feel like I'm sleepwalking through"
  4. 4
    Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review: "The series' atmosphere has never been better, while being dragged down by a boring overworld and clunky psychic powers"
  5. 5
    Routine review: "This imperfect but wonderfully atmospheric moon-based horror leaves a strong impression"
  1. Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash
    1
    Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
  2. 2
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  3. 3
    Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
  4. 4
    Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"
  5. 5
    The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"
  1. Power Armor in Fallout season 2
    1
    Fallout season 2 review: "A hell of a lot of fun despite being overcrowded and convoluted"
  2. 2
    Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review: “Can the Duffer brothers stick the landing? It’s sure looking like they will”
  3. 3
    Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"
  4. 4
    The Witcher season 4 review: "The Henry Cavill-less fourth season is the best yet"
  5. 5
    IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...