What Are the New SciFi Classics? »
Posted by: Wil 3 months agoJohn Scalzi says, "One interesting thing about the list, however, is that it stops 17 years ago; the latest film to be included on the list is Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which hit screens in 1991." So he made his own list of new classics, released after 1991.
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ind063 months ago
Ten best since 1991? By my count there have been at least 28 excellent sci-fi films in that period. I'll break them down into serious, action, horror and comedy groups.
SERIOUS
1) 12 Monkeys
2) A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
3) Contact
4) Pi
5) Existenz
6) Gattaca
7) Sunshine
8) Solaris
9) A Scanner Darkly
10) Children Of Men
ACTION
1) The Matrix
2) Minority Report
3) Star Trek: First Contact
4) The Fifth Element
5) Stargate
6) Starship Troopers
7) Star Wars III: Revenge Of The Sith
8) Independence Day
SCI-FI/HORROR
1) Donnie Darko
2) Pitch Black
3) Dark City
4) Event Horizon
5) Cloverfield
6) Jurassic Park
7) 28 Days Later
SCI-FI/COMEDY
1) Men In Black
2) Invaders From Mars
3) Galaxy Quest
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sumptuousdigs3 months ago
Ditto on the list Ind06! Only, did you mean Mars Attacks?
Ack-ack! Ack Ack Ack!!
I used to collect the topp's cards in the '60s. I used the story on the back (plagiarized), to get an 'A' in my 6th grade composition. I hope Mrs. Bialis isn't reading this...lol!
Ps. Don't know if this qualifies in the strictly Sci-fi genre, but "28 Days Of Night" was a really good contemporary vampire movie.
Thanks Tehranchik, for the heads-up. Thanks Wil, for the fun post.
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tehranchik3 months ago
I haven't seen 30 days of night but plan to. I think if we're going to add vampire stuff you can't leave out 'From Dusk Til Dawn' with Clooney and Tarantino.
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ciera-marie3 months ago
Mars Attacks I knew going in was a comedy. That said still FREAKED the Heck out of me. Couldn't go to bed. I honestly couldn't.
Aliens in Independence Day didn't bother me nor the ones in MIB (love that series. Tommy Lee Jones is the best.)
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CRYMTYPHON3 months ago
my top ten, no meaning to the order:
1) Dark City
2) Contact
3) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4) Men In Black
5) Aeon Flux
6) Serenity
7) Sky Captain and The World Of Tomorrow
8) Zathura
9) X Men I, II, and III
10) Galaxy Quest
When I saw you fools had left off Serenity ( the best space movie of all time including anything that every comes out of a wormhole from the future) I wanted to flame you for incompetence but I agree with tehranchick that is getting stale so I will settle for recommending it and thanking y'all for your lists. Good lists.
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CRYMTYPHON3 months ago
When I saw the recommend for 'starship troopers' that made me think of the book (by Heinlein), which made me think of the other movie made from one of his books: The Puppet Masters (1994) which is pretty obviously the original idea for the X Files.
Blade Runner, A Scanner Darkly, Total Recall, PayCheck, and Minority Report, were all based on stories by Philip K. Dick; great writer.
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SonOfTheMask3 months ago
You have to look to Phillip K. Dick to see the genesis of some of the greatest sci-fi movies of the last 25 years:
http://www.philipkdick.com/films_intro.html
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SonOfTheMask3 months ago
If you mean great sci-fi films of the past 20 years or so:
Alien Nation
Dark City
Bicentennial Man
The Matrix
The Chronicles of Riddick
The Fifth Element
Independence Day
Stargate
Space Truckers (ha! maybe not, but I still liked it)
Galaxy Quest (c'mon, you know you liked it)
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (okay, okay, I'll stop)
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SonOfTheMask3 months ago
I didn't know that about the movie rights; I'll store that for future reference or Sci-Fi Trivial Pursuit. :)
I honestly don't know a whole bunch about his life, but I've read a decent bit of his short stories. He was pretty prolific and had a heck of an imagination.
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SonOfTheMask3 months ago
Some other films I really like, for varying reasons:
Outland
Starman
Tron
Fahrenheit 451
Barbarella
Rollerball
Escape from New York
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SonOfTheMask3 months ago
A guilty pleasure of mine is Planet of the Vampires:
http://www.horror-wood.com/planetv.htm
Scared the heck out of me when I saw it as a kid.
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ciera-marie3 months ago
Okay I can not believe I just gave SOTM positives. Wow, gave DKAL one too and meant too. Wolfie gets them too. Nice to know we agree on some things.
Anyway here is my list and not in any particular order:
I'm partial to The Star Trek Series original and Next Generation.
Star Wars episodes four through six and episode three.
The Matrix series
Men In Black
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Minority Report
The one where Tom Cruise had his eyes transplanted (scary to think we've got the technology to implement it.)
Aeon Flux
X-Men Series
If Galaxy Quest is with Tony Schalub and Alan Rickman then yes I liked it and it's on my list. If that's not the name of it then the one with those two and Tim Allen.
I liked Aliens one. After that yuck.
The Astronaut's wife with Johnny Depp and Charleze T.
Stargate (loved the original series)
Lost In Space
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1-2-Oscar3 months ago
The truth is that they no longer make interesting science fiction movies. Instead, they make excellent special effects demonstrations. No plot development is necessary, no quality writing, no engaging acting--who needs any of those if you can actually watch A morph into Z in 25 easy steps, while everybody bounces off the walls (even if you can't actually see the walls).
Can't anybody write a decent STORY anymore?
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CRYMTYPHON3 months ago
C.S. Lewis says, in the Screwtape Letters, that when someone complains you can't get a good cup of coffee anymore, or a decent servant, or a piece of toast done right, - what they mean is there was a time when it was easier to enjoy things as they are.
In the words of Galaxy Quest:
Never give up; never surrender!
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ind063 months ago
While special effects are certainly a staple in sci-fi (when weren't they?) I think many of the films mentioned are good for more than just effects.
12 Monkeys is light on effects but it's a great story, The Matrix is an excellent story whose effects serve to augment its tale. I could say the same thing for The Fifth Element and certainly for the greatest sci-fi comedy I've yet seen, Galaxy Quest. These are good films, not just a bunch of effects reels.
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Radiofreeeuropa3 months ago
I have little to add to the movies already mentioned by tehranchik, SOTM, Crypto, and ind06. Excellent choices all. And proof that great Sci-Fi is still quite a viable art. I would add a few off beat films to the periphery - "V For Vendetta","Children of Men", "Donnie Darko", and perhaps "Cypher". A real interesting one that flew below the radar is "Save the Green Planet", a Korean film that had a brief commercial run in the U.S. in '05. It blew me away and is worth checking out if you like sci fi. The thinly disguised remake of "Omega Man" "I Am Legend" had some good moments but left me flat for some reason. John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness" strikes me as Sci Fi because it deals with alternate reality... sure gave me the creeps. What actually makes good Sci Fi? Ultimately the really great ones actually change you. Great thread by the way!
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tehranchik3 months ago
V for Vendetta was a good film for sure. Children of Men reminded me, in a way, of A Handmaid's Tale. Liked Donnie Darko and haven't seen Cypher---I'll have to put it on my list of 'to see' along with Save a Green Planet.
I thought it was a great thread too Rfe.
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