Watch it twice, and you'll start to notice a whole lot more. Whereas most sci-fi of the time was more magical, A New Hope featured a dirty, lived-in universe, which somehow feels so real. The Giger-designed alien is as terrifying a monster as you could wish for. Brazil's surreal, dreary dystopian setting is as much a character as anyone in the movie.
The 2014 remake attempted similar levels of social commentary, but without Verhoeven's twisted sense of humour, missed the target. One of the most iconic and influential sci-fi movies of all time, 2001 still feels incredibly modern today, thanks to its incredible cinematography and practical effects. What happened to chris and jeff on junkyard empire what bobby. Almost every original animation produced by Pixar has been a groundbreaking classic. The Terminator, of course, put James Cameron on the map, proving his skills at world-building, character development, and genre were exceedingly good. Immerse yourself in Kubrick's masterpiece and you'll immediately understand why we voted 2001 the best sci-fi movie of all time. And, of course, turning the first movie's villain into the protector of John Connor is a stroke of genius – all praise James Cameron!
Star Trek: Wrath of Khan. This is a surreal, twisted, low-key flick that will gnaw at your brain long after finishing. The '80s were pretty good for sci-fi movie remakes. What happened to chris and jeff on junkyard empire season. Released a full year before Neil Armstrong took one small step for mankind, 2001: A Space Odyssey took one giant leap for cinema. The dread goes much deeper than teeth and claws though. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But this is Jonathan Glazer's point: weird shit can happen anywhere, so why not there? Yet, amid the bleak dystopian setting is a remarkably heart-warming tale of an innocent, simple droid finding love with a futuristic companion, EVE. Jonathan Price plays Sam Lowry, a miserable worker at the Ministry of Education desperate to break free from the shackles of a totalitarian regime.
Nine-year-old Hogarth discovers the robot and the two strike up an unlikely friendship. Terry Gilliam's dystopian future may be terrifying, but electric performances from both Willis and a young Brad Pitt – playing an unstable activist – makes this a thrilling watch. There's a lot that happens: peace is brought to the galaxy (for now), the Emperor is defeated (for now), Han and Leia get together (for now), and there's a huge battle over Endor that's still mindblowing today. On a basic level, the majority of 2001 centres on a team travelling through space, only for their robotic command centre to turn evil. What happened to chris and jeff on junkyard empire online. Then check out our list of the best horror movies (opens in new tab) of all time. Well, Steven Spielberg's classic's slightly different. The movie centres on Joel and Clementine, who meet on a train and are immediately drawn to each other. Alfonso Cuarón directs a sombre, dystopian sci-fi that dazzles with its visual flair, including an awe-inspiring one shot as Owen's character runs through the desolate streets of Bexhill-on-Sea. From the opening scene right up until the final moments, writer-director James Gunn's love for the material is on brazen display, every frame oozing with soul. This creature represents a multilayered, bottomless pit of psychosexual horror, its very form praying on a raft of primal terrors. Things, as you would expect, go horribly wrong as a Xenomorph gets on board – and the hunt begins.
The genre covers a lot of scope, from robots to space travel to dinosaurs, encompassing classics like Blade Runner and Jurassic Park from directing giants like Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg to more recent releases that may have slipped under your radar like Under the Skin. As the narrative operated on several levels simultaneously, so did the filmmaking, layering metaphysical ideas with startling visuals and a grippingly propulsive narrative. And, just in case you forgot, Robert De Niro shows up for one of his more low-key, somewhat baffling roles. Want more best movie lists? There's no beating perfection. The first of four James Carmon movies on this list, The Abyss makes for an exciting – at times terrifying – underwater adventure. It's not long before the fly DNA starts to take control. If you're after some family-friendly titles, there's also everything here from the original Star Wars movies and Back to the Future to a handful of Marvel flicks and Pixar's WALL-E. Favouring affecting, emotional drama and the discussion of big questions over lasers and explosions, Arrival's maturity and sophistication – highlighted by some fantastic lead performances, namely Amy Adams (robbed of an Oscar nomination) – made it one of the best movies of 2016. A visual stunner with a longing heart to match, who knew we'd get a Blade Runner sequel as daring as its predecessor?
The second of the director's output to appear on this list, Arrival blends the arresting spectacle of alien contact with the intelligent, distinctly personal story of a linguist recruited to find a way to communicate. There was The Thing (spoilers, more on that later) and The Fly, the latter of which was redone by horror maestro David Cronenberg and stars Jeff Goldblum as a scientist attempting to crack a teleportation code. Not only does E. T. come in peace, he just wants to get back home. The Abyss follows a crew of American roughnecks who are employed to help discover why a US submarine, near the Cayman trough, mysteriously sunk. 2001: A Space Odyssey. While Harrison Ford's performance anchors us in Ridley Scott's world, it's Rutger Hauer's Roy Batty who steals every scene. It's no overstatement to say the original Star Wars changed cinema forever – its mix of pulpy adventure, aliens, spaceships, robots, smugglers, "hokey religions and ancient weapons" was unlike anything we'd seen before. The Fly is pure body horror. And really, when is Star Trek better than when it puts the crew's humanity front and centre? Denis Villeneuve does. John Carpenter's ultimate creature feature. Never has that been more true than with their ninth movie, WALL-E, the story of an ordinary robot who ends up saving the human race.
A cold, washed-out Glasgow is an unusual location for a cerebral sci-fi flick. Upon release, behind-the-scenes difficulties overshadowed the movie's actual content and it was an initial box-office flop. It also explores the potential of its concept further than its core story making for a near flawless sci-fi movie. Do not – and we cannot stress this enough – watch on a mobile phone or laptop. Where other sci-fi movies will hinge everything on an intergalactic conquest or saving entire worlds, Back to the Future's stakes never get bigger than Marty protecting his family.
Every frame is a wonderfully detailed painting, and you need to get this on the biggest screen possible – whether TV or projector. Scarlett Johansson stars as a perplexed extraterrestrial disguised as a perplexed young woman, who ambles around the Glaswegian streets luring men into her Transit van. Most aliens who fall to Earth seem to have one thing on their mind: world domination. Daydreaming of rescuing the same woman over and over, he tries to locate a terrorist – and encounters his fictional woman. The producers took this to heart, as they hired Nicholas Meyer (Time After Time) to direct a feature film that doubles down on the thrills. Yes, there have been countless sequels, TV shows, comics, and video games set in the Star Wars universe, but none of them can quite compare to the original. There's no super-strong lead; no laser-eyes villain; just a rag-tag team of goofy friends saving the universe. There's intense paranoia as the party begins to fall apart as the infection spreads, but it's the very real, oh-so-touchable nature of the nasties at work here that's so disturbing. James Cameron's 1984 flick cast Arnold Schwarzenegger as the eponymous character, a cyborg sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) the mother of future resistance leader, John. Conclusive proof that blockbusters can respect their audience's intelligence while also thrilling with spectacular set-pieces, Inception is a truly remarkable achievement. A savage satire of excess (that simultaneously revels in the very same), RoboCop is as hilarious as it is heartfelt; as smart as it is filled with splatter. Ostensibly the tale of an honest cop in a decaying future Detroit brought back to messianic, cybernetic life after his excessively gory murder, Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece is a movie with serious layers. Ruthless and ferociously intelligent, Khan's re-emergence forces the trainee Enterprise crew to rally harder than ever before, raising the personal stakes to new highs. Watch it once, and you'll have a bloody good time.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Simplifying the story is no easy task. The resistance sends her a protector in the form of Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), who will do anything to keep her safe.