Morgan Bell
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Jason King
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TOP 15 Sci-Fi Movies from the Last 15 Years
April 22nd 2009 01:46
Sci-fi is one of my favourite genres, and within my favourite genre I will try to narrow down some of my favourite films.
Sci-fi can examine the human condition in ways that realism cannot. When a film is set in the future, or in space, or on another planet, the scope is so broad that the formulation of hypotheticals is boundless and free. I particularly like films about artificial intelligence (robots), genetics and cloning, and reevaluating perceptions of reality.
I have enjoyed the "classic" sci-fi films like Alien, Terminator, Star Wars, Blade Runner, A Clockwork Orange, Planet of The Apes, The Abyss, Short Circuit, Cocoon, and Close Encounters.
I have cringed at The Cube, Lawnmower Man, Waterworld, Logans Run, Rollerball, Transformers, and Battlefield Earth.
I can even appreciate light-hearted "entertainment" sci-fi like Galaxy Quest, Back To The Future, The Fifth Element, Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Total Recall, and ET.
However being a child schooled in the 90s, my absolute favourites are those more serious, thought-provoking sci-fi films from my own generation. I believe sci-fi is getting better and better.
Here are my TOP 15 from the Last 15 Years:
1. Star Trek Nemesis (2002)
2. Gattaca (1997)
3. Aeon Flux (2005)
4. The Matrix (1999)
5. The Island (2005)
6. The Truman Show (1998)
7. The Final Cut (2004)
8. Vanilla Sky (2001)
9. Stargate (1994)
10. Serenity (2005)
11. Sunshine (2007)
12. Contact (1997)
13. A.I. (2001)
14. Soldier (1998)
15. Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Sci-fi can examine the human condition in ways that realism cannot. When a film is set in the future, or in space, or on another planet, the scope is so broad that the formulation of hypotheticals is boundless and free. I particularly like films about artificial intelligence (robots), genetics and cloning, and reevaluating perceptions of reality.
I have enjoyed the "classic" sci-fi films like Alien, Terminator, Star Wars, Blade Runner, A Clockwork Orange, Planet of The Apes, The Abyss, Short Circuit, Cocoon, and Close Encounters.
I have cringed at The Cube, Lawnmower Man, Waterworld, Logans Run, Rollerball, Transformers, and Battlefield Earth.
I can even appreciate light-hearted "entertainment" sci-fi like Galaxy Quest, Back To The Future, The Fifth Element, Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Total Recall, and ET.
However being a child schooled in the 90s, my absolute favourites are those more serious, thought-provoking sci-fi films from my own generation. I believe sci-fi is getting better and better.
Here are my TOP 15 from the Last 15 Years:
1. Star Trek Nemesis (2002)
2. Gattaca (1997)
3. Aeon Flux (2005)
4. The Matrix (1999)
5. The Island (2005)
6. The Truman Show (1998)
7. The Final Cut (2004)
8. Vanilla Sky (2001)
9. Stargate (1994)
10. Serenity (2005)
11. Sunshine (2007)
12. Contact (1997)
13. A.I. (2001)
14. Soldier (1998)
15. Battlestar Galactica (2003)
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Comment by Someone
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Also, I would definitely put Serenity in the top 3, possibly first. I love that movie so much.
I also have spots reserved on my list for Terminator 4, The Star Trek remake, and Transformers 2
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Comment by Norm
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The Day the Earth Stood Still, is one I wouldn't have in my top 5.
Minority Report, I have to admit, I would have in my top 6.
I stll reckon 2001: A Space Odyssey is a great moofie, Hal.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i think theres a big area of overlap between sci-fi and horror, i would count anything that uses technology that is not currently available as sci-fi, space ships into deep space is obviously a big one, but i count the lucid dreams in Vanilla Sky, and the human memory recording in The Final Cut
i havent seen Wall-E yet but i suspect i would enjoy it
i would classify Jurassic Park as light entertainment, and Starship Troopers as cringe (lol sorry)
Serenity was fantastic though hey
Comment by Morgan Bell
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Minority Report has some really cool special effects, esp the scenes in the old ladys garden, oh and the eyeball operation . . . whats with sci-fi and the obsession with removing eyeballs?
only 4 out of the 15???
you need to take a movie excursion to my house if you want to be a real nerd!
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the good ones are always worth watching again and again
thanks so much for the kind comment
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Me too. That's the beauty of it
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i like The Happening based on much the same theory
Comment by Bryn
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But there are some crowd favourites that I loathe, such as The Fifth Element. I thought Solider was dreadful. I thought AI, The Island and Sunshine were hugely disappointing. I'm not a Trekkie, but I'm keen to see the re-boot. I beg to differ that science fiction movies are getting better. I think special effects (ie CGI) are allowing filmmakers to realise visual concepts a lot more convincingly, but I don't think they're necessarily better movies.
I'm a little longer in the tooth, so my favourites are mostly from the earlier decades, with a couple of exceptions. I also prefer my sf to be of a darker hue.
My top 15 would be:
1. Blade Runner (1982)
2. Alien (1979)
3. The Thing (1982)
4. The Terminator (1984)
5. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1958)
6. Solaris (1972)
7. The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976)
8. Star Wars (1977)
9. THX-1138 (1969)
10. Primer (2004)
11. La Jetee (1962)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. The Time Machine (1960)
14. Wizards (1977)
15. Saturn 3 (1980)
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i was kind of anticipating your comment, so i thought i would pick a few you probably wouldnt
i should watch The Man Who Fell To Earth again, i vaguely remember bits of it as a child, and i have a bit of an affinity with Bowie (yes he likes me as much as i like him haha), im sure i would like it
thanks for your list
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Comment by JohnDoe
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15 of my faves over the last 15 years are
Pi
Primer
Wall-E
Equilibrium
Pitch Black
Dark City
Solaris (remake)
The Cube
Starship Troopers
Abre Los Ojos (Open your Eyes)
Los cronocrímenes (Time Crimes)
Free Enterprise
A Scanner Darkly
Existenz
The Mist
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whoa, a wang-doodle! haha
well it would be worth tuning in just for that!
it is a great concept . . . oh the evils of alcohol!
hi JohnDoe,
i loved the overall concept of Nemesis, the whole nature vs nuture debate, and the film came hot of the heals of 9/11 and the conflict in the middle east, i felt it was asking if you grew up in abject poverty and violence would you become ruthless yourself?
and with Picard as the ultimate archetype of "good", could a clone of him be so mistreated they became "evil" . . . well thats my little synopsis anyway
oh and i see The Cube on your list haha
a film that sounds good on paper, but had some of the worst acting ive ever seen
thanks for putting together a list (quite a few i havent seen)
Comment by JohnDoe
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The nature versus nurture angle is a fave of mine too but in Nemisis it was so brushed over with very obvious cues and no depth just cliche- at least thats what I saw......now I do want a Monroe Box though (Simpsons moment sorry)
As for the Cube YES the acting was bad but still had moments of genuine emotion, the script and set pieces were too intriguing for me not to enjoy it.
Now The Island, that to me was unbearable acting all round with not a hint of believability and a recycled story (See THX, Logan's Run plus the other 70's film it ripped off or cloned is it
Nice to be chatting films again with you....
Comment by Morgan Bell
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oh that was cheeky!
Tom will be Tom, there is no excuse for him, but i really think Vanilla Sky is the best performance i have ever seen by Diaz - she nailed it!
see i thought Logans Run was a badly executed film based on a good idea, and The Island improved on the original inspiration with a stellar script
actually i wish someone would remake The Cube so it looked less like a stageplay . . . we dont have nearly enough mathematical dramas
always a pleasure chatting films with you too
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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sounds like we have a few favourites in common!
i think the stories are improving as there is more technology to draw on for inspiration, more moral and ethical issues to explore . . . some of the ideas have been around in books for decades (sometimes centuries) but i think sci-fi in cinema is now becoming more mainstream and these older ideas are finally appealing to producers, so more is getting fleshed out on the screen . . . and old concepts are being enriched and renewed by all the modern implications of how the technologies could be applied
thanks for the discussion
Comment by Bryn
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I much prefer the heady, but still high-tech dystopia sf of films such as THX-1138 and La Jettee, or the weathered realism of Alien and Blade Runner.
Or the dark malevolent machines of The Terminator and The Matrix (but only the first movies of each)
I'm very curious to see what James Cameron does with Avatar.
However .... I really enjoyed Contact and WALL-E, both unashamedly feel-good movies, albeit with stunning visuals and great acting
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there is some really terrible sci-fi of late (i can think of a few examples starring Will Smith) where CGI does indeed saturate the film and alter the storyline to accomadate for even more visual showing off
you will have no arguments from me that Alien and Terminator were much more artfully made films than some of the "sunny" sci-fi i enjoy, but i also feel those classics had the element of surprise on their side, they could rely on the awe of the audience . . . in order to be innovative and remain interesting i think modern filmmakers are trying to develop ideas that branch off from the "dark" experience people are expecting
hi Stu,
not one of my favourites, i actually turned the sequel off when it came on tv
hi Mau,
sci-fi is not for everyone, i know some people purposely avoid it . . . are there any alien, or space, or robot, or time travel, or dystopian, or future movies that you have enjoyed?
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haha straight shootin
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But my top 15 - although not over the last 15yrs include:
These are pretty much in order.
Star Trek (the new one)
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
Wall E
Aliens
Terminator 2
The Matrix
ET
Transformers
2001
12 Monkeys
Donnie Darko
Nowhere
The Abyss
Metropolis
The Cube
The Cube totally rocked Morgan!!
Comment by Morgan Bell
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its funny how The Truman Show became a self-fulfilling prophecy and spawned all the reality tv shows like Big Brother where cameras were on people 24 hours a day . . . i think we take it for granted now, but when it came out it was well ahead of its time
hi Jason,
ixnay on the oosegay haha
i note you chose the sequels to Alien and Terminator instead of the originals, they were very good sequels though!
i think i liked Transformers less than The Cube lol
i really need to see Wall-E and the new Star Trek . . . catch up on the latest rave sci-fi flicks
thanks so much for putting a list together
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PS: Morgan, maybe next time you should come up with the Top 15 Horror Movies from the last 30 years or something similar with it... Well, it's just my 2 cents opinion!
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i am am quite a fan of all the Picard based Star Trek movies, First Contact is another fine example
i struggle with time travel movies like 12 Monkeys
hi Wilson,
glad to see we have some favourites in common
i purposely picked the last 15 years so i could choose something other than the classics, i do love the classics but i wanted to highlight some more modern masterpieces
Comment by Lilla
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Although I no longer write my film blog, I wanted to mention a few o my favs here as Sci fi is also one of my favourite genre*s after true life stuff. and posts like this make me stop and think about the amazing stuff that hs been made.
trouble is when I sat down and thought about it, there are so many favourites I covered a whole sheet, and my daughter reminded me that there was jsut s*posed ot be about 15 or so, so from the top in order of preference
Contact (the best ever)
Timeline
Buckaroo Bonzai
Logans Run
Waterworld
Anything Trek or Star Wars.
Dune
Evolution
The Fifth Element
The Matrix
Blade Runner
Gattaca
I Robot
Paycheck
(ooh last place is hard and a toss up between Wall.E, The New Batmans, Jumper, Minority report and the Day After Tomorrow).. pick one?
I liked the premise of Vanilla Sky, Final Cut and Cypher too, but felt they all lacked something.
Lilla
Comment by NoaIzumi
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Time travel movies can be confusing (perfect example: the Terminator TV series) and 12 Monkeys is no exception. I had a some trouble with it myself at first.
Lilla,
I always thought that Logan's Run was one of the most under-rated sci fi films ever.
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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thanks for putting together a list!
i would nominate Jumper to be in your 15th place, i really enjoyed that film
i see we have a few in common (Contact is amazing isnt it) and a few we would disagree on, and a few on your list i havent seen at all
hi Noalzumi,
for time travel i think Terminator, Donnie Darko, and Butterfly Effect are all excellent films, but the concept of time travel itself is a paradox so it is hard to digest if it is the sole or central theme
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Back to the Future must have destroyed you
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well Back To The Future had a flux capacitor and a mad scientist to explain everything!
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The Matrix
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Wars: return of the Jedi
Gattaca
The Terminator
The Cube
Pitch Black
Mission to Mars
Predator
Cocoon
Westworld
Robocop
Independence Day
The Fly
Alien
Logan's Run
Close encounters of the Third Kind
Silent Running
Starman
2001: A Space Odyssey
Well, now it's the top 20. But now I'm going to list honorable mentions
A.I.
Contact
Total Recall
I Robot
The other Star Wars movies
The other Star Trek movies
The other Matrix Movies
Finally, the biggest losers, IMO:
5th Element
Event Horizon
Vanilla Sky
Starship Troopers
And the worst popular of all time:
Men in Black
Best Sci-Fi TV shows of all time:
Star Trek
X-Files
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The Matrix
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Wars: return of the Jedi
Gattaca
The Terminator
The Cube
Pitch Black
Mission to Mars
Predator
Cocoon
Westworld
Robocop
Independence Day
The Fly
Alien
Logan's Run
Close encounters of the Third Kind
Silent Running
Starman
2001: A Space Odyssey
Well, now it's the top 20. But now I'm going to list honorable mentions
A.I.
Contact
Total Recall
I Robot
The other Star Wars movies
The other Star Trek movies
The other Matrix Movies
Finally, the biggest losers, IMO:
5th Element
Event Horizon
Vanilla Sky
Starship Troopers
And the worst popular of all time:
Men in Black
Best Sci-Fi TV shows of all time:
Star Trek
X-Files
Comment by Anoop
THE BEST 20 FILIMS LAST 15 YEARS
]
1. THE TERMINATOR JUDGMENT DAY
2. GOOD FELLAS
3. THE MATRIX
4. PULP FICTION
5. SHWASHANK REDEMPTION
6. THE LORD OF RINGS
7. GLADIATOR
8. FINDING NEMO
9. FIGHT CLUB
10. BRAVE HEART
11. THE BOURN IDENTITY
12. THE DEPARTED
13. BOOGIE NIGHTS
14. KILL BILL
15. APOCALYPSTO
16.THE SIXTH SENSE
17. PUNCH DRUNK LOVE
18. KING KONG
19. TITANIC
20. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN