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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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.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day Review.

Thoughts: Terminator 2: Judgment Day the sequel to The Terminator. directed by James Cameron and staring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Edward Furlong. Recently I re-watch Terminator 2 for the first time since I was a kid and all that I can say is wow! It was a lot better than I had originally remembered. Not only is it one of the action movies, it is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.
While the first Terminator would be considered an action suspense thriller, Terminator 2 is much more of an awesome action movie, but it still contains some of the suspense that made the original great. This is the perfect example on how to make a sequel, it is better in every way than the original. The action, story, characters, effects, acting, everything really is just better.


Directed by: James Cameron
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi,
Release Date: July 3, 1991
Running Time: 139 minutes
MMPA rating: R


The Good: Incredible action scenes, Likable characters, Great story, Top notch performances, Revolutionary special effects, One of the best movie villains, Has a message, One of the best action movies ever made, Good use of humor, Great soundtrack,

The Bad:


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


Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
In 1995, eleven years after the events of The Terminator, John Connor (Edward Furlong) is ten years old and living in Los Angeles with foster parents. His mother Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) had been preparing him throughout his childhood for his future role as the leader of the human Resistance against Skynet, but was arrested after attempting to bomb a computer factory and remanded to a hospital for the criminally insane under the supervision of Dr. Silberman (Earl Boen). Skynet sends a new Terminator, a T-1000 (Robert Patrick), back in time to kill John. A prototype which is more advanced than the Terminator sent after Sarah, the T-1000 is composed of a "mimetic poly-alloy", a liquid metal that allows it to take the shape and appearance of anyone or anything it touches. Though it cannot mimic complex machines such as guns or bombs, it can shape parts of itself into knives and stabbing weapons and can mimic the voice and appearance of humans. It assumes the identity of a police officer and goes in pursuit of John. Meanwhile, the future John Connor has sent back a reprogrammed T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to protect his younger self.
The Terminator and the T-1000 converge on John in a shopping mall, and a chase ensues in which John and the Terminator escape by motorcycle. Fearing that the T-1000 will kill Sarah in order to get to him, John orders the Terminator to help free her. They encounter Sarah in the midst of her own escape attempt. She is initially terrified by the Terminator but accepts its assistance after it helps them to escape the T-1000. The Terminator informs John and Sarah about Skynet, the artificial intelligence that will initiate a nuclear war on "Judgment Day" and go on to create the machines that will hunt the remnants of humanity. Sarah learns that the man most directly responsible for Skynet's creation is Miles Dyson (Joe Morton), a Cyberdyne Systems engineer working on a revolutionary new microprocessor that will form the basis for Skynet.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.


Plot: 9.5/10- While it may be an action movie, the story never forgets its characters and gives them depth. Plus, the plot is smart and perfectly paced.

Action: 9.9/10- Terminator 2 has some of the best action scenes ever filmed. Cameron's direction is spot on, there are a lot of fantastic stunt work, which makes the action scene so much more believe than many filmed today. The filming of every scene is masterfully lighted and framed without any use of the terrible shakey-cam method, which far too many "film makers" currently use.

Acting: 9.2/10- Linda Hamilton much improved her performance from the last film and really developed into a great character. Edward Furlong as John Connor is not the usual annoying kid character that almost always happens in movies. He is likeable and mostly well acted. Arnold Schwarzenegger is usually not a good actor, but this is the perfect role for him. Robert Patrick giving a very menacing performance, one of the best film characters of the 90s.


Special effects: 10/10- Although the computer generated effects were revolutionary at the time, there are never over used and reserved mostly for the iconic T-1000 character. While the film is more than 20 years old, the effects hold very well today. The film using many practical effects during the action scenes, which are far more effective than any form of CGI.


Soundtrack: 9.3/10- It uses a variation of the original soundtrack and it worked brilliantly.

Comedy: 7.3/10- There was a surprising amount of humor in the movie and it all works well.

Would I Watch This Again: Definitely, so many great scenes, a very re-watchable film.


Overall: 9.6/10- Overall Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a fantastic, near perfect action film with a smart plot and characters that you actually care about.


Closing comments: Terminator is an absolute must see action movie, the action is amazing, the plot and well written.

Recommended for: Action fans, Sci-Fi fans, James Cameron fans,


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