Our top pig of sci-fi movies
From time travel to outer space; gene splicing to rogue androids – this is our top pig of sci-fi movies.
Released a year before Neil Armstrong took one small step for mankind, 2001: A Space Odyssey took one giant leap for sci-fi movie genre. Stanley Kubrick’s seminal epic – an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s short story the Sentinel. The film, which follows a voyage to Jupiter with the sentient computer HAL after the discovery of a featureless alien monolith affecting human evolution, deals with themes of existentialism, human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The film is noted for its scientifically accurate depiction of space flight, pioneering special effects, and ambiguous imagery.
Star Wars is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. Later the first part of the saga was given the title A New Hope. This timeless tale of good versus evil that introduced us to that famous galaxy far, far away is filled with unique creatures and witty characters. The action takes place when the galaxy is in a period of civil war. Rebel spies have stolen plans to the Galactic Empire's Death Star, a moon-sized space station capable of destroying an entire planet. Princess Leia, secretly one of the Rebellion's leaders, has obtained its schematics, but her starship is intercepted by an Imperial Star Destroyer under the command of the ruthless Sith Lord Darth Vader, an agent to the Empire. Before she is captured, Leia hides the plans in the memory of astromech droid R2-D2, who, along with protocol droid C-3PO, flees in an escape pod to the desert planet Tatooine.
While Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 movies are stunning science fiction films with the atmospheric works of deep intelligence and profound emotional impact, the original Blade Runner from 1982 directed by Ridley Scott, remains the unmoved classic. The film is set in a dystopian future Los Angeles of 2019, in which synthetic humans known as replicants are engineered by the powerful Tyrell Corporation to work on off-world colonies. When a fugitive group of advanced replicants escapes back to Earth, burnt-out cop Rick Deckard reluctantly agrees to hunt them down.
The Empire Strikes Back redefined movie sequel standards – it not only does the follow-up expand the galaxy Lucas built, but it turned out to only be the middle part of a much wider story. Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, the Rebel Alliance, led by Princess Leia, has set up a new base on the ice planet Hoth. The Imperial fleet, led by a merciless Darth Vader, hunts for the new Rebel base by dispatching probe droids across the galaxy. Luke Skywalker is captured by a wampa while investigating one such probe, but manages to escape from its lair using the Force and his lightsaber. Before Luke succumbs to hypothermia, the Force spirit of his deceased mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, instructs him to go to the swamp planet Dagobah to train under Jedi Master Yoda. Han Solo discovers Luke and manages to keep him alive by keeping him under the body fat of his dead Tauntaun mount, and the two are rescued by a search party the following morning.
Low budget, high concept – The Terminator can be summarized as a love story set in a world of machines. James Cameron’s 1984 science fiction film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose son will one day become a savior against machines in a post-apocalyptic future.
John Carpenter’s Thing from 1982 remains one of the most gloriously splattery and tense science fiction horrors of all time. Based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There?, movie tells the story of a group of American researchers in Antarctica who encounter the eponymous "Thing", a parasitic extraterrestrial life-form that assimilates, then imitates other organisms. The group is overcome by paranoia and conflict as they learn that they can no longer trust each other and that any one of them could be the Thing.
Ridley Scott’s 1979 science fiction horror film centres on the crew of the Nostromo, who are sent to investigate a distress call from an abandoned spaceship. Things, as you would expect, go horribly wrong as an aggressive extraterrestrial set loose on the ship and begins the hunt.
The Xenomorph and its accompanying artifacts were designed by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger, and we must admit he did an excellent multilayered creature that creates a psychosexual horror, from its very form praying on a raft of primal terrors and perfectly harmonizing with the “hidden in the shadows” tension atmosphere bild by Ridley Scott.
Terry Gilliam’s homage to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four was classified as a fantasy/satire on bureaucratic society, and has been called Kafkaesque and absurdist. The film centres on Sam Lowry, a man trying to find a woman who appears in his dreams while he is working in a mind-numbing job and living in a small apartment, set in a dystopian world in which there is an over-reliance on poorly maintained and rather whimsical machines.
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality, the Matrix, created by intelligent machines to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source. When computer programmer Thomas Anderson, under the hacker alias "Neo", uncovers the truth, he "is drawn into a rebellion against the machines" along with other people who have been freed from the Matrix.
The Matrix is an example of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction.The Wachowskis' approach to action scenes was influenced by Japanese animation and martial arts films, and the film's use of fight choreographers and wire fu techniques from Hong Kong action cinema influenced subsequent Hollywood action film productions.
This science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve was based on the 1998 short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang. Movie reminds us about good old times when Hollywood made big-budget, epic science fiction movies. The film follows a linguist enlisted by the United States Army to discover how to communicate with extraterrestrial aliens who have arrived on Earth, before tensions lead to war. Arrival blends the ideation of alien contact with the intelligent, distinctly personal story of a linguist recruited to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial species. Favouring affecting, emotional drama and the discussion of big questions over lasers and explosions.
Children of Men is a 2006 dystopian sci-fi thriller film directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuarón.
The film takes place in 2027, when two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in the United Kingdom, where the last functioning government imposes oppressive immigration laws on refugees.
Twelve monkeys is a 1995 American science fiction film directed by Terry Gilliam, inspired by Chris Marker's 1962 short film La Jetée. What would the authorities do with a man claiming to be a time-traveller that survived from a post-apocalyptic future where a deadly virus has ravaged the face of the planet? Lock him up in an asylum, of course. Unique ideas, amazing scenes, great cast and marvelous performance makes this a memorable masterpiece.
Trapped in a dream inside a dream, inside a dream... Inception is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. He is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased as payment for the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious. This movie is proof that holywood can still respect the audience's intelligence while also delivering a spectacular cinematographic experience. Inception is truly one of few XXI cenrury’s masterpieces.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fun fact: The title of the film is a quotation from the 1717 poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 science fiction romantic drama film directed by Michel Gondry. It follows an estranged couple who have erased each other from their memories just to meet again on a trip and almost immediately connect, feeling drawn to each other despite their contrasting personalities . The film uses elements of the psychological thriller and a nonlinear narrative to explore the nature of memory and romantic love.
We highly recommend this sweet, sad, intelligent and bit heartbreaking cinematography wonder.
The Fly is a 1986 science fiction body horror remake loosely based on George Langelaan's 1957 short story of the same name. The film tells of an eccentric scientist who, after one of his experiments goes wrong (of course), slowly turns into a fly-hybrid creature. The The Fly is pure body sci-fi horror. Every stage of the main character's transformation into the fly is disgusting. Warning, after The Fly you'll never be able to look at a doughnut the same way.
Blade Runner 2049 is a 2017 sequel set thirty years after the first Blade Runner film. In 2049, bioengineered humans known as replicants are slaves. K (Ryan Gosling), a replicant, works for the Los Angeles Police Department as a "blade runner," an officer who hunts and "retires" (oh dear is that how retirement looks like?) rogue replicants. At a protein farm, he retires Sapper Morton and finds a box buried under a tree. The box contains the remains of a female replicant who died during a caesarean section, demonstrating that replicants can reproduce biologically, previously thought impossible. K's superior fears that this could lead to a war between humans and replicants. She orders K to find and retire the replicant child to hide the truth.
This 1979 Soviet science fiction art film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky is loosely based on the 1972 novel Roadside Picnic. The film uniquely combines elements of science fiction with dramatic philosophical and psychological themes. The film tells the story of an expedition led by a figure known as the "Stalker" who takes his two clients: a melancholic writer seeking inspiration, and a professor seeking scientific discover, to a mysterious restricted site known simply as the "Zone", where there supposedly exists a room where all one's wishes can allegedly be granted.
Under the Skin is a 2013 science fiction film directed by Jonathan Glazer. The film is loosely based on the 2000 novel by Michel Faber. It stars Scarlett Johansson as an otherworldly woman who preys on men in Scotland. We must admit, Glasgow is quite an unusual location for a cerebral sci-fi flick.
Few words about the plot: a motorcyclist retrieves an inert young woman from the roadside and places her in the back of a van, where a naked woman dons her clothes. After buying clothes and make-up at a shopping centre, the woman drives the van around Scotland, picking up men. She lures a man into a dilapidated house. As he undresses, following the woman into a void, he is submerged in a liquid abyss. This movie is a surreal, twisted, unexpected flick that will stick in your brain long after finishing.
The Iron Giant is a 1999 animated science fiction action film adapted from Ted Hughes' story. Set during the Cold War in 1957, the film centers on a young boy, who discovers and befriends a gigantic metallic robot who fell from outer space. However, the robot becomes the target of a persistent government agent. Boy with the help of a beatnik artist named Dean McCoppin undertakes an epic quest to save the misunderstood machine. The Iron Giant is a lovely and deep story that has something to offer to both kids and adults.
The Abyss is a 1989 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron. Movie action starts when an American submarine sinks in the Caribbean, the U.S. search and recovery team works with an oil platform crew, racing against Soviet vessels to recover the boat. Deep in the ocean, they encounter something unexpected. There are a few different cuts out there, and we recommend watching the Director’s Cut.