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Since it was asked - what are your top sci-fi movies of all time?

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Tim Hutto asked in the Spidey-2 thread what I thought was the best sci-fi movie of all time. I thought it was a great question for discussion, so I have moved it to a Friday blog entry.

 

So, the question is this: what are your top sci-fi movies of all time? No set number, list as many as you want; but remember, this is sci-fi, not fantasy (that will come later ;) ). Here are some of my top ones, in no particular order, with comments afterwards...

 

  • The Matrix - this movie set the standard for the modern sci-fi movie. It showed Hollywood that you could have a movie with complex plots based on deep philosophy, and the audiences will "get it" - you don't have to dumb down a movie to make it have action. Too bad the sequels didn't live up to the first one.
  • Star Wars - brought the Saturday serial movie back for a new generation - and wowed my generation's geeks. We couldn't get enough of it - too bad the "marketeers" (Lucas himself one of them) got ahold of it.
  • Empire Strikes Back - the best of the Star Wars movies, hands down. Is Lea Luke's sister? Is Darth Vader Luke's father? Who the hell is Boba Fett and why is he such a badass?
  • X-Men -X:2 - Probably the best comic book movie. Great action, true to the characters (even though the took poetic license, still true to the "feel", left you wanting more).
  • Spider-man 2 - A geek movie that appeals to "normal" people too. I loved this movie.
  • Blade Runner - probably one of the best "mood" movies.

 

Those are the ones that come to mind for me - how about you?

 

Oh, and have a great weekend!!

 

Rock (from the Web)

Comments

1 - Trent: yes the Vincent Price version, from a simpler time when stories could be told without bells and whistles and still be good

Rock: Poltergeist? Too bad that is not sci-fi cause that was great!

2 - Oooohh, Trent makes a Poltergeist reference! (Another Spielberg classic...)

Rock

3 - I always loved the 50's "War of the Worlds" movie. I grew up in the 80's and I still loved it.

4 - Forbidden Planet!!! (Leslie Nielsen playing it STRAIGHT! Monsters From the Id!)

Planet of the Apes (voted -- at my house -- best sci-fi movie from which a South Park line was cloned: "You bastards!")

2001 A Space Odyssey (Duh!) 2010 was ok too (and starred Bob Balaban, so what's not to like?)

The Matrix

Dark Star ("Use logical positivism on the smart bomb")

The first Star Trek film

The first Star Wars film


5 - diverting a bit from the movies...my daughters and I just this weekend finished watching the complete first season of Lost in Space on DVD (We watchd 1 a week for 29 weeks + the unaired pilot). How times have changed. They were asking me about all the plot holes I missed when I was a kid!

At the very end of the last episode of the first season, the show switches to full color from black & white. And guess what? They said: "Dad, we think we like it better in black & white. The colors of the unforms looked so stupid in color and the robot looks blue!"

Bottom line is that they loved the show as is with its mediocre special effects, reused costunes, resued sets and all. They cannot wait for Season 2 to come out!

6 - Hate to date myself, but to me the oldies are always the best:

Them! - First one I remember seeing and it scared the daylights out of me (I was a kid you know )

Tarantula
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Fly
Forbidden Planet
Soylent Green

I always have a fondness for the oldies but goodies!

Rock, did you get the db I sent?

7 - A couple of mine have already been listed, but here are some others I like:

The Andromeda Strain
Logan's Run
Planet of the Apes
Spaceballs

8 - well we can't forget The Highlander! There can be only one!

and there was another one that probably hardly anyone has seen that i like quite a bit, sort of a "B" film but great anyway. called Slipstream.

mark hamill is in it. but don't let that stop you from seeing it , its a great movie, and covers some of that asimovian "i robot" ground as the main character is an android who gets into some interesting situations/issues. i like this movie for a variety of reasons but i don't want to spoil it if you haven't seen it.

9 - Chris, judging by the other movies on your list, I assume you're talking about the original "The Fly."

I found Cronenberg's version to be horrifying, and I would go so far as to say it's probably one of the most horrifying movies of all time. It's like one of those nightmares where you look in the mirror and start tearing your face apart (c'mon, we've all had those, haven't we? )

10 - Here's my $0.02 worth of Sci-Fi movies :-

The Thing (the John Carpenter remake in 1982) - Mostly a horror movie I guess, but it does have a Sci-Fi plot to it. Scared the kak out of me back in 82, but still a classic.

Star Wars - Nuff said! And yes The Empire Strikes Back is my fave of the series too.

Alien/Aliens/Alien Resurrection - Alien3 is missing from this list, cos IMO it was the weakest of the series. But the original Ridley Scott masterpiece has to be my fave of the lot.

Star Trek Movies - All of the even numbered Trek movies are the best, with No8 (First Contact) being my fav.

Forbidden Planet - The all time classic. It gave us the original Morpheous and Robbie the Robot!

Predator - How cool was the Predator as a villain. 8 foot tall and scary as heck!

11 - Oooo, nice shiny lists! Mine would probably be:

Forbidden Planet - a classic, and an inspiration to many sci-fi movie people
2001: A Space Odyssey - To understand the movie, read the book. To understand the book, watch the movie.
The Abyss - So many people thought it was supposed to be horror, they didn't watch it (including me). The director's cut is one of the most underappreciated sci-fi movies out there.
Star Wars - What guy didn't want to be a Jedi in '77?
Alien - Scared the crap out of me. Giger's alien design set the bar for everything to come afterwords.
Aliens - Sci-Fi as action movie. Cameron ROCKS.
Highlander - There can be only one! (And I wish they'd left it at that and hadn't made 2, 3, and 4)
Contact - One of the few movies that didn't feel the need to dumb down the jargon just to make sure everyone knew what was happening. Explained just enough so people didn't get lost.
The Fifth Element - Oh, come on. It's funny!
Galaxy Quest - One of the funniest send-ups of the Trek mythos ever conceived.

and last...

Akira - One of the last hand-drawn Anime (Japanese Animation), this film is a work of art masterpiece in every frame. If you've never seen it, and you're a serious Sci-Fi geek, give it a try. You'll never regret it.

12 - Being a HUGE time travel story nut I gotta ad the original BACK TO THE FUTURE. Even 20 years later that movie is still great!! No big holes in the story, great comedy, bite your nails till the end action... This movie is one that is hard to beat in my books of flat out good time sci-fi.

Gotta run... so I better make like a tree and get out of here.


13 - 12 Monkeys - not just great sci-fi, but one of the best movies ever (kind of like Pulp Fiction, crossed with Brazil, crossed with Last Year in Marienbad). I must have seen it a dozen times, and still can't decide how the story really hangs together. Maybe the sci-fi parts of it are actually the ravings of a lunatic... It is so rich that on every viewing I see additional details. If I flick channels and find it on, I am compelled to watch it again :-/

14 - Ooooh, Adam found some I had forgotten about! I have to agree on these:

2001: A Space Odessy - it did ROCK! "Open the pod bay doors, HAL!" "I can't do that, Dave..." And you have to love that HAL is one letter to the left of... IBM!
The Abyss - that was the first time we see the "liquid" effect, which was greatly used in the Terminator sequels.
Alien and Aliens - two different style movies, same world. "Get away from her you BITCH!" - you had to cheer. Oh, and I would have killed that damn cat in the first one...
Contact - I can't believe I left this one off my first list. I absolutely LOVED the exploration of the conflict between science and faith. Extremely well acted, and made me love Jodi Foster even more.

OK, everyone else: keep them coming!

Rock

15 - First Star Trek: Blah (and I was among the first in line to see this one)

Wrath of Khan: The best of all the Trek movies ("First Contact" comes in second and would win except I cannot stand Deanna Troy, especially a drunk Deanna Troy)

Footnote: The season ender of "Enterprise" this year was by and far THE best Star Trek episode of all time (IMHO).

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Rocky Oliver
Rocky Oliver
If you see me at a conference, please stop me and say hi!

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