Sci Fi movie recommendations

ceekay74 · 13-04-2016 6:14pm #1

I watched the new Star Wars films and The Martian recently, really enjoyed them. My sci-fi appetite has been re-aroused.

Any suggestions?

I've probably watched all the usual ones already, Star Trek, Star Wars, Terminators, etc.

Lights On · 13-04-2016 6:20pm

Edge of Tomorrow
Moon
Interstellar
District 9
Minority Report
Children of Men

Those are some of the more recent-ish ones that I've really enjoyed.

Edit: Childen of Men might not fall under sci fi on second thinking! But it's in or around it

HamsterFace · 13-04-2016 9:57pm

I'm not really into sci-fi but Moon is a great film.

And I know the real fans don't agree at all but I liked Prometheus. Wasn't great but it map pretty good.

Plus the Last Star Fighter was great 20 years ago!

johnny_adidas · 13-04-2016 10:04pm

Event Horizon and Sunshine would be two of my favourites

Glen_Quagmire · 13-04-2016 10:05pm

The butterfly effect
Donnie Darko
Star Trek (new movies)
Gravity
Interstellar

Captain Chaos · 13-04-2016 10:08pm

I recommend checking out The Expanse, it's a show for the Syfy channel. Season 1 is out now with season 2 in production for release in early 2017.

Space Above and Beyond is an old show that used to be on Sky One in the '90s, oldie but goodie I think.

charlie_says · 13-04-2016 10:09pm

Ex Machina is excellent.

biko · 13-04-2016 11:57pm

Can't go much wrong with the original Starship Troopers

bur · 14-04-2016 12:02am

Lights On wrote: »

Edge of Tomorrow
Moon
Interstellar
District 9
Minority Report
Children of Men

Those are some of the more recent-ish ones that I've really enjoyed.

Edit: Childen of Men might not fall under sci fi on second thinking! But it's in or around it

Stole all my recommendations.

Robot & Frank is a personal favourite. Heist film involving an old man going senile and his new Robot carer.

j.s. pill II · 14-04-2016 7:10am

9 posts in and no mention of Alien(s)!?

Some more essential viewing:

- 2001: A space odyssey

- A Clockwork Orange

- Robocop (first one only)

- Total Recall (original only...please please please do not watch the remake)

- Predator (baring the AvPs I think they're all pretty decent in their own way)

One honorable mention is Gattaca - thought it was terrible when it first came out but changed my mind completely when I watched it again recently

jacksie66 · 14-04-2016 7:17am

This post has been deleted.

Edward Hopper · 14-04-2016 7:30am

Dredd is very good, gets Judge Dredd pretty spot on compared to Sylvster Stallones attempt at it.

Monsters is something different worth a watch, low budget effort that gave Gareth Edwards his big break.

Blade Runner (though don't watch the version Netflix has) is a classic.

Finally if you've missed it the eight thousand times E4/Channel 4 showed it I-Robot is a good fun film, product placement a plenty.

frostyjacks · 14-04-2016 8:37am

Silent Running is a classic from the seventies. Mark Kermode regards it as the best sci-fi film of all time.

shrapnel222 · 14-04-2016 9:40am

Others not mentioned yet:

Brazil
Time bandits
Solaris
Dune

Wedwood · 14-04-2016 9:17pm

A few older ones worth a watch:

Planet of the Apes (1968)
Forbidden Planet
The Day the Earth Stood Still
When Worlds Collide
Silent Running
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Catcher7791 · 15-04-2016 1:27pm

Some of these recommendations have just shown in the IFI's sci-fi season, and there's a few more of them coming up:

http://www.ifi.ie/futures-past

charlie_says · 15-04-2016 1:51pm

Under the Skin is also a personal favorite of mine.

If you don't mind anime then Ghost in the Shell (the first one only) is great sci-fi also.

Icaras · 15-04-2016 2:02pm

Blade runner - amazing movie

Conall Cernach · 15-04-2016 5:43pm

Europa Report is a more recent one. It's fairly low budget (less than 10million) but I found it enjoyable. It's about a mission to Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, that goes wrong.

mordeith · 15-04-2016 5:49pm

Dante 01 (it's French but well worth watching with sub titles)
Matrix
Moon
Aliens
Event Horizon
AI
Minority Report

TerrorFirmer · 15-04-2016 7:36pm

Conall Cernach wrote: »

Europa Report is a more recent one. It's fairly low budget (less than 10million) but I found it enjoyable. It's about a mission to Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, that goes wrong.

Good suggestion, that was an excellent under the radar movie.

Dempsey · 15-04-2016 10:30pm

j.s. pill II wrote: »

One honorable mention is Gattaca - thought it was terrible when it first came out but changed my mind completely when I watched it again recently

I wasnt impressed by the first viewing either but its a very good film.

Temptamperu · 15-04-2016 11:14pm

Timecrimes (2007)
Primer (2004)

j.s. pill II · 16-04-2016 4:41pm

charlie_says wrote: »

Under the Skin is also a personal favorite of mine.

I'm ashamed to say, I really needed the subtitles for this one...

j.s. pill II · 16-04-2016 4:57pm

While were in Planet of the Apes/Charleton Heston terriroty, Soylent Green is well worth a watch. Surprisingly touching in parts.

Also worth noting - Dawn of planet of the apes is a steaming crock of sh!te. Who would have though a film featuring chimps with machine guns could be so unengaging.

Cantstandsya · 16-04-2016 10:48pm

It's not been mentioned and it might only barely qualify as science fiction but Inception is one of my favourite films of all time...

Skatedude · 16-04-2016 11:01pm

The machine, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone think lower budget version of ex machina.

And has anyone mentioned inner space yet?

Tigger · 16-04-2016 11:03pm

HamsterFace wrote: »

Plus the Last Star Fighter was great 20 years ago!

32 years ago

Tigger · 16-04-2016 11:06pm

Temptamperu wrote: »

Timecrimes (2007)
Primer (2004)

you seen Synchronicity?

Synchronicity

degrassinoel · 16-04-2016 11:06pm

shrapnel222 wrote: »

Others not mentioned yet:

Brazil
Time bandits
Solaris
Dune

+1 for Dune, classic!

here's some more

probably to everyone's taste but yeah, sci-fi

The Thing (John Carpenter's one, not the re-remake)
Robocop (original and best)
Back to the future
Predator (get to da choppa)
Total Recall (get to da reacta - the original, not the colon farrell one)
Escape from New York
Any of the original Planet of the Apes films
invasion of the bodysnatchers - the one with Donald Sutherland & Leonard Nimoy
Bladerunner
Timescape (Jeff Daniels - early 90's)
Dark City (inspired The Matrix apparently)

TerrorFirmer · 17-04-2016 10:43am

Skatedude wrote: »

The machine, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone think lower budget version of ex machina.

And has anyone mentioned inner space yet?

Yes, also really enjoyed The Machine, a sort of Terminator meets Universal Soldier type of flick.

Speaking of, Universal Soldier: Rengeration and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckonging are also a good watch from recent memory - forget the raft of crap sequels that followed the original movie, these one are actually quite good.

The Robocop reboot was also good, about as good as re-boots get the past few years.

The 2012 version of The Thing gets a pass because it's actually a prequel rather than a remake.

The Guest is also a great film that pays homage to a variety of genres - not at all what you'd expect from the blurb/cover.

helimachoptor · 17-04-2016 8:25pm

Sunshine
Battle Beyond the Stars (cheesey but enjoyable imo)
Tron(original)
Fortress (cheesey but enjoyable imo)
Alien Nation (the film)
Timecop
Equillibrium

The_Valeyard · 17-04-2016 8:29pm

Equilibrium
Edge of Tomorrow
Childhoods End
Event Horizon
Battlestar Galactica reboot
Serenity

Jimbob1977 · 17-04-2016 8:36pm

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Alien

Oblivion

Gattaca

Lonely Planet

The Day the Earth Stood Still (Lucas paid homage in Star Wars by naming three characters Klaatu, Barada and Nikto)

Star Wars IV, V and VI

Star Trek

Event Horizon

Minority Report

28 Days Later

The Martian

Interstellar

Dirty Dingus McGee · 17-04-2016 9:23pm

Source Code is a brilliant film.

seamusk84 · 17-04-2016 9:31pm

Another mention for Europa Report here. It's fantastic and for the budget they had it is some feat.

Elysium is great film too, and a great encore to District 9.

The film version of Stephen Kings The Mist is definitely worth a watch. Not sure if it is on netflicks but I think the full film is on YouTube.

Moon is fantastic. I love the final scene.

Skerries · 17-04-2016 11:56pm

degrassinoel wrote: »

The Thing (John Carpenter's one, not the re-remake)

that is actually a remake itself

Quandary · 18-04-2016 12:07am

Westworld - starring Yul Brynner

Really enjoyed that movie. Genuine eerie feel to it.

degrassinoel · 18-04-2016 2:13pm

Skerries wrote: »

that is actually a remake itself

yep, from a 1950's classic

shrapnel222 · 18-04-2016 2:18pm

we forgot to mention mad max 1 and 2

Kolido · 19-04-2016 12:08pm

Transcendence

And mentioned earlier, Sunshine (actually didn't like this one when it came out but watched it again recently and really liked it)

KrakityJones · 19-04-2016 1:23pm

Didn't see it mentioned yet : Looper (Bruce Willis time travel movie)

Another excellent time travel movie - Predestination with Ethan Hawke is well worth a watch, one of the few time travel movies where it's very hard to pick holes in (well I thought anyway)

saneman · 20-04-2016 3:07am

Some great recommendations already and only cos I haven't seen them mentioned:

Contact (or "Jodie Foster & the signal from space")

2010 (2001's sequel with Roy Scheider, a solid movie it it's own right, and ties up some of the loose ends)

Enemy Mine (Dennis Quaid does "Hell in the Pacific" with an unrecognisable Louis Gossett Jr)

Dark City (Matrix-esque, actually vice versa, Dark City was out first)

Outland (Sean Connery's marshal keeps the peace on a mining facility on Jupiter's Io)

Animatrix (a collection of animated shorts based on The Matrix universe, put the sequels to shame...even more)

force eleven · 20-04-2016 3:26am

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. You can argue this one but technically it has a science fiction premise.

Into The Blue · 20-04-2016 3:43am

Flight of the Navigator.

I win.

pinksoir · 20-04-2016 7:54am

saneman wrote: »

Some great recommendations already and only cos I haven't seen them mentioned:

Contact (or "Jodie Foster & the signal from space")

2010 (2001's sequel with Roy Scheider, a solid movie it it's own right, and ties up some of the loose ends)

Enemy Mine (Dennis Quaid does "Hell in the Pacific" with an unrecognisable Louis Gossett Jr)

Dark City (Matrix-esque, actually vice versa, Dark City was out first)

Outland (Sean Connery's marshal keeps the peace on a mining facility on Jupiter's Io)

Animatrix (a collection of animated shorts based on The Matrix universe, put the sequels to shame...even more)

All great shouts here. Outland is a sort of remake of High Noon and I really enjoyed it. For camp value and sticking with the Sean connery theme, Zardoz is pretty entertaining and has been riffed on by a bunch of stuff including Rick and Morty.

Any fans of Sci-Fi could do well to check out the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune - what might have been but wasn't, and the legacy it left in all the Sci-Fi movies that followed is pretty special.

Kiith · 20-04-2016 8:04am

Don't think it's been mentioned, but i'd recommend Pandorum. It's sci-fi horror, with the always good Ben Foster. Set on an abandoned ship after a crew member wakes up from cryo.

It's probably not a good movie, but i enjoyed it :P

Greys0n · 21-04-2016 8:32am

I Robot is the best

Doodah7 · 21-04-2016 12:51pm

I don't see Logan's Run mentioned?? All hail The Carousel!!!

henryporter · 22-04-2016 1:25pm

Primer - lowest budget possible with highest amount of concentration needed to follow it.
Upstream Color (Same Director as primer - equally as great)
Melancholia (technically Sci-fi-ish!)
Cloverfield (Sci-fi / Horror or both?)
Coherence - great parallel universe drama done Cloverfield style.

shrapnel222 · 22-04-2016 1:58pm

We forgot Cronenberg

The Fly
Videodrome
existenz
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Sci Fi movie recommendations

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