Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies: Part 6

The Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies list now comes to an end! These are the 5 Sci-Fi films that rise up all others. These are the best of the best! Now, let's get started!

5: Aliens

James Cameron’s Aliens is one of the most thrilling and pulse-pounding film experiences ever made. While the first Alien film created the Xenomorph creature and established the concept, Cameron's Aliens exceeded the original film by combining the thrills of the original with incredible special effects and edge-of-your-seat action sequences. Aliens also established Ellen Ripley as one of film's greatest female protagonists of all-time. How could Aliens not be among the best sci-fi films of all-time!?

Aliens (1986) Review.

4: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Before Titanic and Avatar, James Cameron actually made a few freaking awesome sci-fi films and there are none better T2. Deciding between Aliens and T2 for my favorite Cameron flick was not easy, but after some deliberation, T2 came out on top, partially due to the fact that it has been one of my favorite movies ever since I was a kid. Despite T2 being known for its revolutionary CGI, it is the heavy use of practical effects during the action sequences that make it hold up so well today. Few action films today can match the level of action direction of T2, and yet it never forgets the characters by including a healthy dosage of heart.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day Review.

3: The Matrix

The Matrix blew my mind with its combination of sci-fi philosophy and sequences that remain unmatched in western films. Despite being more than 15 years old, everything holds up in the Matrix today as well it did years ago, and many of themes are all the more relevant to today's increasingly technological society. Unfortunately, the Wachowskis were never able to recapture the Matrix's greatest in the sequels or any other film.

2: Inception

Yet another mind-blowing and mind-bending experience on my list, Inception is the film that literally launched my film critiquing hobby. Christopher Nolan is at his unquestionable best with Inception in all aspects. For the first time in his films, he manages to craft characters that you genuinely care that get caught up in a plot with more twists and turns than one can count. While not everything about the concept and plot is the most original, the way Nolan used the concept of dreams to move the plot forward is unique and inventive. Will Nolan ever be able to top his masterpiece? That remains to be seen.

Inception Review.

1: Star Wars Saga

How could there be any other? Without Star Wars, half of the films on this list would have never been possible for technological, inspirational, and financial reasons. Star Wars showed Hollywood that science fiction is a viable genre. It elevated the Science Fiction genre to new heights never seen before! Not since the early days of film has a movie or franchise made such an impact on the culture of the world than Star Wars.

Since the Original Trilogy would have taken up the Top 3 spots on the list, I opted to include the franchise as a whole so that more sci-fi films could make the list. Of course, The Empires Strikes Back would top the list with the original Star Wars not far behind. With the new Star Wars films on the horizon, let us all hope that Star Wars will rise yet again to its former glory!

Well, that concludes my list of the Top 25 Sci-Fi films of all-time! At a later date, I will write up something about the 25+ Honorable Mentions that almost made the list. So, what do you think of my list? Please comment below and let me know! Thanks for reading everyone and if you missed one of the previous parts, click on the links below.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

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Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies: Part 3

Part 3 of the Top 25 Science Fiction Movies list continues with several more entries in the list! If you missed Part 1, click here, and here for Part 2.

17: Planet of the Apes

One of my favorite sci-fi films since childhood, Planet of the Apes tells the iconic story of man like apes being the rulers of a mysterious new world. For the era, the ape makeup effects are revolutionary, and if not for the film, many later sci-fi, horror, and other FX films would never have come into existence. Even today, the makeup holds up incredibly well, and it is so much better than the mediocre Tim Burton remake.

In regard to the movie itself, Planet of the Apes is an interesting adventure. Despite being several decades old, there is nothing really like it. Not even the recent Apes films have been able to top the original. 

16: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Steven Spielberg's E.T is among the best family films ever made. For me, a truly great "family film" is one that adults can enjoy just as much as kids and E.T. definitely succeeds. In fact, my first viewing of the film was not until I was 17 or 18. Spielberg is a masterclass director. He can make the most mundane things interesting to watch, and E.T. is a perfect example of his skill.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial is also one of the few films that stars a child where the kid does not detract from the film. Henry Thomas's performance off of the lovable E.T. special effect is excellent for his age. My only issue is that the movie does not do all that much in grand scheme of things, but that's fine for what it is.

15: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

One of my favorite time-travel stories, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, is based on a 1967 novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui. It tells the story of a girl, who can travel-through-time by jumping from a certain height. However, she eventually discovers that time-travel cannot fix everything as problems arise. 

What separates this film from other time-travel stories is that it does not follow the usual "dangers of time-travel." The main character actually uses the time-travel as you would expect a teenager would use it, and yet she is not an annoying teenager like almost every teenage character in recent memory. The mix of comedy and drama is effective, and in the end, the film is a must-see, especially for fans of Studio Ghibli and time-travel.  

14: Alien

Ridley Scott's classic is the principal of science fiction horror! Despite knowing who would ultimately survive, the film manages to create a strong sense of tension. What surprised me the most is how unnerving the alien "Facehuggers" and "Chestbursters" are to witness. My skin crawls just thinking about them. The first scene with the Chestburster remains one of the few times where body horror works to forward the story without seeming over-the-top or unnecessary.

Alien's special effects are yet another highlight as it is some of the best from classic sci-fi. The creature design for the Xenomorph is superb, as it too is one of the best creatures in film history. Lastly, the film set the foundation for one of the best heroines in film, Ellen Ripley.

What do you think of the list so far! Are many of these your favorites? Please let me know in the comments, and if you missed it, please check out my review of Interstellar by clicking here.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Aliens (1986) Review.

Thoughts: Wow, just wow, Aliens is one of the most pulse pounding, thrilling film I have ever seen! Few, if any, films have had me at the edge-of-my-seat and this among action as Aliens had. After a slow 40 minute buildup, the film became an intense thrill ride. Aliens, the sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien, except Aliens is directed by James Cameron. This movie has made me a fan of the Alien franchise, easily one of the best action films ever made. Compared to its contemporaries, only Indiana Jones and Star Wars have better action scenes and it would rank slightly below Cameron's Terminator 2. Some do not like Aliens because it "ruined the mystery of the first Alien film", to me however, this was the only logical step forward for the franchise. Rehashing the previous movie would have been pointless, Cameron turned a standalone film into an exciting franchise and made Ellen Ripley one of the best heroines in movie history. As a fan of the Halo video game franchise, I noticed many similarities to the games, particularly the technology and character Lieutenant William Gorman.


Directed by: James Cameron
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Action Thriller, Thriller,
Release Date: July 18, 1986
Running Time: 137 minutes
MMPA rating: R


The Good: Awesome action scenes, Very suspenseful, Perfect mix of action and thrills, Excellent performance by Sigourney Weaver, Amazing creature effects, A kid who is not annoying, An epic final throw down, Pulse pounding and intense, Jaw dropping special effects, Memorable quotes,

The Bad:

Warning: This film is rate "R" for language, violence and other mature content.


Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the only survivor of the space freighter Nostromo, is rescued and revived after drifting for 57 years in stasis. At an interview before a panel of executives from her employer, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, her testimony regarding the Alien is met with extreme skepticism as she has no physical evidence. Ripley loses her space-flight license as a result of her "questionable judgment" and learns that LV-426, the planet where her crew first encountered the Alien eggs, is now home to a terraforming colony.
Ripley is later visited by Weyland-Yutani representative Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) and Lieutenant Gorman (William Hope) of the Colonial Marines, who inform her that contact has been lost with the colony on LV-426. The company decides to dispatch Burke and a unit of space marines to investigate, and offers to restore Ripley's flight status and pick up her contract if she will accompany them as a consultant. Traumatized by her previous encounter with the Alien, Ripley initially refuses, but accepts after Burke promises that the team will destroy any Aliens found and not attempt to study them. Aboard the warship Sulaco she is introduced to the Colonial Marines, including Sergeant Apone (Al Matthews), Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn), privates Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein) and Hudson (Bill Paxton), and the android Bishop (Lance Henriksen), toward whom Ripley is initially hostile due to her previous experience with the android Ash aboard the Nostromo.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.


Plot: 9.5/10- While not groundbreaking in terms of story telling, Aliens got it right where it mattered most, the characters. The plot served its purpose to deliver the thrills, however there were some good plot twists that kept things fresh and never predicable. A few of the Colonial Marines were thinly conceived and their dialogue was a little corn, which is the only noticeable, however their characters were not important to story and therefore not an issue. Somehow the film made a child, Newt, not completely annoying. Actually she made the movie better by adding depth to Ripley's character. The pacing was solid, the first 40 minutes or so, where kind of slow, but it was used as important buildup for the plot and action.


Action: 9.9/10- Aliens is one of the few films where some darkly lit and obscure camera angles actually help the action scenes, opposed to the usual shaky-cam mess of what people call an "action scene". The action had some of the most suspenseful action scenes I have seen in the film and many of the others scenes were just shot excellently. The final throw-down was epic and a perfect way to end the film.

Acting: 9.2/10- Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley was nominated for an Oscar, which she was definitely deserving of. Unfortunately, the Academy overlooks modern action films even though all of the performances are Oscar worthy. Carrie Henn as Newt was excellent in her role. Michael Biehn played a similar role to Kyle Reese in Terminator, and he was good, even though not a main character. Bill Paxton as Private William Hudson gave an over-the-top performance and delivered some of the funniest lines of the film. A few of actors who played marines had some cheesy lines but nothing that detracted from the film.  

Special effects: 10/10: Aliens effects are terribly underrated! James Cameron makes some of the best special effects and Aliens is no different. While some of the effects are dated compared to today, most of the effects did not use CGI, which is usually more believable.
*Spoiler* The Alien Queen was awesome. One of the most impressive effects I have seen in a film. *End Spoiler*

Soundtrack: 7.9/10- James Horner's score adds tension and the military themes sound great. However, it is not one of his better soundtracks.


Comedy: 7.3/10- Bill Paxton delivered some hilarious lines but there was not much other humor in the film.

Would I Watch This Again: Most definitely, Aliens will be a film that I will watch many times in the future.

Overall: 9.6/10: Aliens is like a shot of adrenaline, pulse-pounding and exciting with a perfect mix of action and suspense, and it is one of my favorite movies ever made.

Closing comments: If you like science fiction and don't mind some blood and gore, watch the first Alien and then watch Aliens; it is awesome!

Recommended for: Action fans, Sci-Fi fans, Action Thriller fans, Suspense fans, If you watched Alien, James Cameron fans, Sigourney Weaver fans,


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If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Alien (1979) Review.

Thoughts: Alien, one of the most well known sci-fi films ever made. After watching Ridley Scott's recent film, Prometheus, it made me want to watch Alien, does it live up to the reputation?
Ridley Scott creates some of the best science fiction atmosphere and worlds and Alien is no exception. Even though a few of the effects and parts that were intended to be scary turned out more humorous than anything, the movie does have a solid amount of tension after the first 30 minutes. Some of the suspense was lost due to the knowledge of who survives at the end. At the time of release I can completely see why people were terrified and found it riveting but it does not hold up as well today. Also none of the "jump scares" actually made me jump because the movie is not the least bit scary, to me at least. Despite this, Alien is still a very enjoyable movie if you like practical effects and not discouraged by some gore. Surprisingly, one of my favorite aspect of Alien are all the technical aspects like the creature design and other special effects. While not near as disturbing as they would have been back in 1979, some scenes were impressively gruesome, particularly the infamous "Chestburster" scene. However, the one that stood out was probably the "Facehugger", which almost makes your skin crawl. It has to be one of the worst deaths ever in movie history. I will take being dismembered by a full grown Alien any day rather than a "facehugger" killing me. *Spoiler* The movie even makes a robot's death kind of gruesome, which is an impressive feat. Also the android trying to kill Ripley with a magazine was odd and almost unintentionally funny. *End Spoiler*
Watching Prometheus first probably made me enjoy Alien more than I would have otherwise, but I am uncertain as to which one I would recommend you to watch first.


Directed by: Ridley Scott
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror, Suspense,
Release Date: May 25, 1979
Running Time: 117 minutes
MMPA rating: R


The Good: Suspenseful, Great atmosphere, Excellent practical effects, Genuinely creepy at times, Fantastic direction, Top notch direction from Scott, "Chestburster" scene, A few standout performances,

The Bad: Slow pacing,

Warning: This movie is rated "R" for graphic violence,  profanity, and other mature content.


Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
The commercial towing spaceship Nostromo, owned and operated by Earth mega-corporation Weyland-Yutani, is on a return trip to Earth hauling a refinery and twenty million tons of mineral ore and carrying its seven-member crew in stasis. Detecting a transmission of unknown origin from a nearby planetoid, the ship's computer awakens the crew. Acting on standing orders from their corporate employers, they set out to investigate the transmission's source. Landing the ship on the planetoid damages the ship some, so Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt), and Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) set out to investigate the signal while Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm), and Engineers Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) and Parker (Yaphet Kotto) stay behind to make repairs.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.


Plot: 8.3/10- The pacing was terribly slow at times, especially the first 30 minutes. However, the concept was revolutionary for its day and has spawned many rip-offs. Despite the pacing problems, Alien was rarely boring due to its visual design, although I could see some being bored. The characters were memorable and mostly likeable, particularly Ripley. Some of the dialogue between the crew could have been better and slightly less stilted, but nothing terrible by any means. Fortunately there are not a lot of stupid horror clichés, which surprised me since Prometheus fell victim to them. On the other hand, there were a few scenes that felt kind of dumb considering the smart actions that the character made previously in the film. In typical Ridley Scott fashion, there is a intriguing mystery that is hinted but left ambiguously unexplained.

Action: 5.2/10- Little real action, rather just characters dying and one brief fight scene.


Acting: 7.9/10- Alien has no real star for the majority of the movie, it is more of an ensemble film, however, Sigourney Weaver gave standout performance of the group as Ripley. It was good to see old Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) in another role and he probably gave the second best performance.


Special effects: 9.5/10- Although a few of the effects looked especially dated, I have to respect the use of awesome practical effects. The "Alien" was kind of creepy and had excellent design. Since the film uses the "Jaws Effect" of not showing the Alien until the end, however due to the terrible AVP movies and that I have seen the original costume used at the Hollywood Disney, and in video games, the Alien reveal was not surprising as it would have been for those in the theaters when it was released.


Soundtrack: 7.8/10- A few of the tracks added to the tension, but most was not terribly noticeable during the film.


Comedy: N/A-

Would I Watch This Again: Most likely I will because it is a classic, although there will be no tension in sequent viewings.

Overall: 8.4/10- While Alien is a tad overrated, it is nonetheless a top notch sci-fi thriller with impressive creature design and solid thrills even today.


Closing comments: Some parts are awesome and others slow, but watching Prometheus made me enjoy Alien more than I would have otherwise and I highly recommend the film for sci-fi fans.

Recommended for: Sci-Fi fans, Thriller fans, Horror fans, Suspense fans,


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Prometheus Review.

For the first part of my Alien franchise review, here is the Prometheus review, since it was the first movie in the Alien franchise I actually watched.
Thoughts: Prometheus the kind of spinoff/quasi-prequel to the popular Alien franchise, that people still cannot determine how it fits into the Alien franchise. At the time of watching Prometheus I had not seen any Alien film (unfortunately I have seen both AVP movies) and therefore did not have any expectations before hand. Because of this Prometheus was actually a surprisingly enjoyable movie. A few days later, however, my interest in Prometheus convinced me to watch both Alien and the sequels Aliens, which were even better.
Prometheus has to be the most surprisingly good movie of 2012 for me since I had no expectations upon my first viewing. It certainly has its flaws, Prometheus is an entertaining and visually stunning science fiction film nonetheless.
Prometheus is one of the few films were an R rating was actually necessary due to the graphic content in the film, opposed the pointless barrage of obscenities (it does have some) present in most R rated films today. One scene in particular almost made me squirm. The camera work, practical effects made the scene very suspenseful and almost painful to watch, which is rare considering how desensitized I am to violence.


Directed by: Ridley Scott
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Suspense,
Release Date: June 8, 2012
Running Time: 124 minutes
MMPA rating: R


The Good: Many practical effects, Visual spectacle, Excellent performances by Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace, One unforgettable scene that will make you squirm, Easy to follow for those new to the franchise,

The Bad: Stupid decisions made by a few characters, A few illogical plot points,




Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
As a hovering spacecraft departs an Earth-like world, a humanoid alien drinks a dark bubbling liquid, then starts to disintegrate. The alien's remains cascade into a waterfall. His DNA triggers a biogenetic reaction.
In 2089, archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway discover a star map in Scotland that matches others from several unconnected ancient cultures. They interpret this as an invitation from humanity's forerunners, the "Engineers". Peter Weyland, the elderly CEO of Weyland Corporation, funds an expedition to follow the map to the distant moon LV-223 aboard the scientific vessel Prometheus. The ship's crew travels in stasis while the android David monitors their voyage. Arriving in 2093, they are informed of their mission to find the Engineers. Mission director Meredith Vickers orders the crew to avoid making contact without her permission.
The Prometheus lands near a large artificial structure, which a team explores. Inside they find numerous stone cylinders, a large, monolithic statue of a humanoid head, and the decapitated corpse of a large alien, thought to be an Engineer; Shaw recovers its head. Other bodies are found, leading the crew to surmise that the species is extinct.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.


Plot: 7.9/10- Ridley Scott does a good job of establishing the world he created and a very of the characters are well written, even if others are just plain stupid. Probably the biggest problem with Prometheus were the few horror movie clichés of characters being there just to die and doing dumb things. Scott should be better than this by now to not resort to stupid clichés. Despite this, the movie is well structured overall. Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw was one of the few well developed character and I has completely onboard with her character when the "crap hit the fan". Also the android "David" was another great character with some interesting philosophical statements, although the film puts a little too much emphasis on the philosophy , which was never anything profound. The whole "find our creators" stuff was kind of out there but is a sci-fi movie in a fictional universe so not a big problem. Some of the other characters were undeveloped, but that was not huge problem since they important to the story in the end.


Action: 6.9/10- Prometheus is much more of a thriller than action movie, but there were a few well shot fight scenes during the film.


Acting: 7.8/10- Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender gave the best performance of the cast. But other than Idris Elba the other cast members were entirely forgettable. Charlize Theron has not been all that great this past year, her performances have been too over-the-top and fake, however she was far from terrible in Prometheus. 


Special effects: 9.7/10- Prometheus' special effects is were it shines with excellent use of practical effects and along with top notch CGI. Tons of practical effects were used, which made the film all the most engrossing.


Soundtrack: 7.0/10- Not bad, but nothing particularly memorable by any means.


Comedy: N/A-


Would I Watch This Again: Sure, there is enough to make another viewing worth while.


Overall: 8.0/10- Prometheus is a smart and thrilling science fiction film with unique visual design, despite some flaws.

Closing comments: Prometheus left me wanting a sequel and wanting to know more about the "Alien" franchise, which is a good thing in my book.

Recommended for: Sci-Fi fans, Alien fans, Michael Fassbender fans, Thriller fans, Ridley Scott fans,


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Movie Moms: Happy Mother's Day.

Since today is Mother's Day let's celebrate some of cinema's best moms. Unlike a few of my other similar posts, this is not a list and the characters are in no particular order, but it just features many of the best movie moms.

 

 

 Leia Organa Skywalker Solo

Although not featured in the Star Wars films yet, in the Star Wars Expanded Universe Leia and Han had several children. Considering that Leia is, by far, my favorite heroine in any form of fiction, there is no question that she should be included on this post. With upcoming Star Wars films we should get to see her children on the big screen, 2015 cannot come soon enough!

Aunt May

Again, not the biological mother of the character, but Aunt May a motherly figure to her nephew Peter. Her speak in Spider-Man 2 about the definition of a hero is amazing.

Sarah Conner (Terminator)

Sarah Conner has to be the most bada-- mothers in cinema history. After being the one that needed saving in the first Terminator, she turned into one tough mother defending her son from the Terminators.

Ellen Ripley (Alien Franchise)

While her real daughter was never featured in the film, Ellen Ripley from the Alien franchise, which I recently watched, did have a mother/daughter type relationship in the sequel Aliens with the little girl Newt. 

 

 

 

 Lorraine McFly (Back to the Future)

Back to the Future gave us an extremely awkward mother/son moment and possibly the most distributing scene in film history, but it did remind us that our parents were teenagers once too.

 

Mrs. Gump (Forrest Gump)

"My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Who could forget those iconic words from Forrest Gump.

 

 

 

Mrs. Bates (Psycho)

“A boy's best friend is his mother.” Norman Bates and his mother have a very strange relationship, however saying anything more would ruin one of the best thrillers ever made. Basically, watch Psycho!

Samara (Mass Effect)

Although she is not in a movie (yet), Samara from my favorite video game franchise, Mass Effect, has a unique relationship with her children. All of her daughters have a rare Asari condition that kills anyone they "bond" (mind meld) with and she has hunt her daughter before she murders even more people.

Molly Weasley (Harry Potter) 

Mrs. Weasley does not play a major role in the Harry Potter franchise, but she still had some memorable moments.

 

 

One honorable mention would be Elasticgirl/Helen Parr from Pixar's The Incredibles.

 

Who are your favorite movie moms? Are there some that I left off the post? Please comment below.

 

Also a big thanks to my mother for being the best mom in the world, I would not be here today without her.

 

 

Here is a hilarious "Yo Mama" song about compliments, opposed to insults. It is by one of my favorite YouTube channels, RhettandLink.

 

Please check back tomorrow for my review of Wreck-It Ralph, Tuesday for a review of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, and hopefully Wednesday for a Iron Man 3 review.

 

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.