The 5. 0 Best Sci- Fi Films Of The 2. Century So Far. It’s impossible for us to choose a single favorite genre from the wealth that cinema offers. But if some sort of “Sophie’s Choice” situation were to occur, we probably would be able to point to one that occupies a more central place in our hearts: science fiction. The term encompasses multitudes: sci- fi runs the gamut from stark, philosophical inquiry to space western to brainless robot- go- bang- bang; it hybridizes beautifully with other genres like comedy, horror and romance and as such is maybe the most expansive and elastic genre of them all. This week, we’re using the opening of Justin Lin. We’re hardly the first to notice that recent world events feel distinctly dystopian, and seeing various scenarios play out as extended thought experiments is something that only this genre really affords us. READ MORE: The 5.

An intriguing film named “Wolfen,” which is not about.

Includes cast/credits, awards, reviews, plot summary, quotes, and trivia. Cannes 2017: How to Talk to Girls at Parties, review: Nicole Kidman channels Toyah Willcox in this lifeless sci-fi flick. Review The ravishing sci-fi noir 'Ghost in the Shell' is fascinating, and not without its glitches. Only worthwhile storytellers could take an elevator pitch like this one and produce long-lasting curiosity about its inherent beauty and horror. We're both excited and terrified for the return of Pennywise in Stephen King's It. See which other movies and TV shows we're excited about this month. Tommy Lee Jones is close to signing on for Brad Pitt’s upcoming sci-fi epic Ad Astra.

I swear ya’ll published this the exact same day as The Fil mStage.com’s own list on purpose.

Falling just short of being so bad it’s good, “Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter” is a shameless low-budget “Terminator”/“Star Wars”/“Mad Max” knock-off. Kevin Bacon says that a Tremor TV show reboot pilot is set to be made (with Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum onboard), in order to kick-off a full series.

Best Animated Films Of The 2. Century So Far. Expanding the list was also interesting, insofar as noting how much or how little our feelings have changed over the past few years. Aside from including a few titles we’d excluded before for prosaic reasons, and a couple of new entries in the top half that are films released after the original list was drawn up, the passage of time has buffed some titles to a higher shine, while others have slightly lost their luster. But we haven’t undergone a 1. The 5. 0 Best Film Scores Of The 2. Century So Far. Writer Edmund Crispin once said that “science fiction is the last refuge of the morality tale,” and perhaps, living in such challenging and morally murky times, that’s why we find ourselves so compelled by it.

Or perhaps we just really dig lasers and neoprene outfits! Either way, here are the 5. Don’t tell drama or westerns that we said that!), has to offer. But that’s hardly even a criticism when it comes to this type of conceptual sci- fi: “Remainder” may be chilly, pretentious and at times alienating in its Moebius- strip narrative of endlessly looping causes- and- effects, but it’s seldom less than fascinating.

A deliberately dissociative Tom Sturridge plays a young man given a massive payoff when he’s the victim of a freak accident which leaves him with a kind of monomaniacal selective amnesia. He then uses his wealth to recreate a fragment of memory down to the most obsessive detail, assisted by a resourceful and discreet factotum (Arsher Ali). It’s never particularly emotive, but as a pared- down mash- up of “Primer,” “Synecdoche NY” and “Memento,” this investigation into identity has its own prismatic, crystalline appeal. Essentially a sequel to his masterpiece “In The Mood For Love,” the film sees Tony Leung’s Chow return, now romancing (or sometimes not romancing) various women while penning a series of stories set in the year 2. The meta- nature of the narrative means that the film is sci- fi only by the loosest sense, but it’s still a thrill to get to see Wong turn his hand to a neon fantasia of a future.

And if the pieces don’t quite add up to a satisfying whole (the Cannes premiere was somewhat rushed, and there’s a slight sense that the film was never quite finished), it nevertheless captures the very particular kind of melancholy that only Wong can pull off. The Sundance- approved film directed by Jennifer Phang sees Gwen (Jacqueline Kim, who co- wrote the script), a spokesperson for a cosmetic surgery company in the near- future, elect to have a procedure that will give her a new, younger body, only to find it difficult to connect with her daughter afterwards. The writing is occasionally stiff and the acting somewhat variable, but it creates a fascinating world on a meagre budget and is positively bursting with ideas and meaty themes, most of which —aging, the roles of women in business, racial identity, motherhood— simply wouldn’t have occurred to most white male filmmakers. Netflix bought the rights, and it’s well worth checking out. Following wash- out Gary King (Pegg in his greatest performance)’s attempt to reunite his old friends for a once- aborted pub crawl around his hometown, only to discover that the place has been steadily taken over by robots, the film sees Wright’s craft reaching greater heights (the fight scenes are world class) and finding a newly melancholy tone in his work that feels like new ground. And if you’re looking for an insight into the British psyche that caused the self- destructive decision to go for Brexit, look no further than Gary King scorching the earth and telling the alien consciousness to “fuck off back to Legoland” in order to achieve self- determination.

Much was made in advance of the film’s debts to Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter —perhaps too much, in the sense that it disappointed those who went in hoping to scratch the kind of ’8. Netflix’s “Stranger Things” does so effectively. In fact, Nichols’ film, which stars Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst and Jaeden Lieberher, is far more thoughtful and introspective. The otherworldly elements —a child with supernatural powers, a government conspiracy, extra- terrestrial communiques— function as merely a science fiction framework allowing Nichols to probe the concept of fatherhood to a painfully personal degree, as well as the existential dilemmas that raising a child can pose.

The new- agey- cult story “Sound of My Voice” from Zal Batmanglij may be even stronger, but for a robust sci- fi premise, “cult leader who may be from the future” is pipped at the post by “second Earth appears, inhabited by exact doubles of every person on the planet.” Mike Cahill. Here, Marling’s student and William Mapother. Whole Fifty Shades Darker (2017) Movie Online here. Buy Criminal (2016) The Movie On Dvd here.

But it only lasted one 1. Serenity.” Starring the same cast —Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite and Summer Glau— rustling up the same chemistry and chowing into the same quippy, characterful dialogue, Whedon’s TV provenance also shows in less positive ways: it’s not hugely cinematic and the plotting feels a little episodic. But the transition mostly works well, with Fillion’s Captain Mal leading his motley crew on a surprisingly moving and ultimately very satisfying big- screen outing boasting genuine scares courtesy of villains The Reavers and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Directed by Gore Verbinski collaborator James Ward Byrkit, it’s the kind of film that works best the less you know about it. But broadly speaking, it focuses on a well- to- do L. A. It’s ingeniously written and resourcefully made, with Byrkit stripping the story right down to its bones, but without making the characters or dialogue feel perfunctory.

Yet it’s narratively satisfying in a way that mind- benders of this type aren’t always, ending on a lingering note of existential dread that feels deeply earned. It’s rough around the edges, and yet few low- budget sci- fi pics feel as accomplished or exciting. Abrams undoubtedly has a feel for what audiences want from mainstream entertainment that few can match. But the secret of his Bad Robot factory isn’t so much in the choice of material as it is the strength of execution, and “Cloverfield” exemplifies that. Uniting two hugely talented Abrams collaborators, Drew Goddard (who wrote) and Matt Reeves (who directed), the film is the why- didn’t- I- think- of- that concept of “The Blair Witch Project” meets “Godzilla,” which was always going to connect. But it’s lasted — even growing in reputation— because Reeves’ direction is extraordinarily well- choreographed, capturing the chaos of disaster without making it incomprehensible, and because Goddard’s script finds the humanity among the people on the ground. For a film that could have just been a rollercoaster ride, it holds up incredibly well nearly a decade on.

Mining the national resource that is Damon’s everyman charm, Scott made his most satisfying film in years courtesy of Drew Goddard’s peppy script (based on the bestseller by Andy Weir) and a little help from the incongruously ABBA- heavy soundtrack.

Tommy Lee Jones to play Brad Pitt's father in space epic 'Ad Astra'? Tommy Lee Jones is close to signing on for Brad Pitt’s upcoming sci- fi epic Ad Astra.

According to Deadline, the Men in Black star is in final talks to star in writer/director James Gray’s film, which will begin shooting in September. Pitt will play an autistic space engineer on the hunt for his father who left earth to seek extra- terrestrial life.

Jones will reportedly play the father, according to the movie news website. Pitt produced and was originally expected to star in Gray’s The Lost City Of Z, which hit the big screen earlier this year.

He will also produce Ad Astra with his Plan B partners.