Science fiction movies...

[fajrdrako]

From Livejournal's Writer's Block: What is the best science fiction movie of all time, and why?

I'm not big on sf movies, mainly because most of them seem to be war movies. Or franchises. So while I liked, say, Star Trek Nemesis it was within the context of Star Trek - where I was somewhat invested in the theme and characters (well, Picard) already.

So I'm no judge of sf movies. Name any sf movie of any renown, and chances are I never saw it, or saw it and didn't like it. I'm that one person on the planet who was bored by the original Star Wars.

Exceptions in alphabetical order:

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey - First seen in 1968, this movie introduced me to that 'sense of wonder' that a lot of fans talk about when they talk about science fiction. I took it as predictive - awed by the idea that in 2001 we might well be able to fly Pan Am to the moon. This movie was convincing. I was fascinated. Good thing I didn't know it was just an imaginative illusion.
   
   
2. Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door - I saw this before I saw the series, and loved it all. The music, the team, the art, the resemblance to Firefly, the spirit of it all - and especially Spike.
   
   
3. Enemy Mine - The movie was fine, but mostly I include it as a vote of confidence in the story, in the wonderful book by Barry Longyear. Obviously, I would love the peacemakng theme of it, but it's beautifully put together.
   
   
4. Frequency - A terrific story about time travel. A really delightful thriller. A favourite.
   
   
5. The Iron Giant - Just one of the loveliest movies I've ever seen.
   
   
6. Iron Man - Making a movie based on a comic and doing it right. Now, Tony Stark isn't exactly the Tony Stark of the comics, but he's fun. The spirit of the story was just right. And finally they gave me a Pepper Potts I could enjoy. Marvel already has excellent characters, but it took them a long time before they made movies in which the script reflected this.
   
   
7. Mad Max - A nice exercise in dystopian world-building.
   
   
8. Starman - One of my favourite movie romances ever.
   
   
9. Terminator 2: Judgment Day - I'd have cited the original Terminator movie, but i saw this first. I'd been expecting to be bored, expecting lots of explosions, violence and mindless action - but it drew me in with its good plot, characterization, and suspense. Good acting, too.
   
   
10. Wall-E - I don't usually like Pixar movies (yeah, I know, there's something wrong with me), but I loved this one, particularly the first, wordless, half. The second half was much less impressive, but the spell had been woven and I enjoyed it all.