Keyoka’s Top 10 FAVE Sci-Fi Movies

My top is always changing. These kinds of lists are hardest to do because, when attempting to squeeze the best of the best into ten numbers, or even forty or a hundred, you’re bound to leave something out. I watch so many movies, and it was tragically difficult to put them all into a list. There will always be something else, something better, something that was good enough, but was forgotten. However, right now, this is what you’re getting. I’ve noticed that these are all fairly recent, but fantastic films that are must-see worthy, and if you have seen them, it’s time for a rewatch. They’re in no particular order.

1. Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds (2005) No, it’s not the original, but this one has Tom Cruise. Spielberg is one of those directors who, even if you can’t list a bunch of his movies, you recognize his name. He’s the director behind some of the most iconic films, including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), and Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). War of the Worlds is an adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel of the same title. It follows a divorced father, Ray Ferrier (Cruise), as he juggles the impending destruction of Earth by the hands of aliens and a shaky relationship with his estranged children, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin). He’s not a superhero or a soldier in the military. He doesn’t have a special skill that makes him invaluable to the government. He’s a regular guy caught in the midst of an alien attack. Apart from the adventure and the suspense, one of the reasons I like this film is because there’s a human element to the storyline. I love when there’s character development at the heart of an action-filled film. It’s the key to helping me relate to the characters and feel for them, hoping that they make it to the end of the movie.

2. Manuel Carballo’s The Returned (2013) Raise your hand if you’ve heard of this film. Go on. Nobody? Me either. It premiered in 2013, but I saw it in early March when I was researching movies to watch for my Confessions articles. The concept is similar to BBC’s In the Flesh. There’s a zombie outbreak caused by a virus that has been contained and treated. The Returned have to administer daily shots of medicine to keep the savage zombie cells under control. Awesome idea! Except in this world, the magical formula is dwindling and anti-Returned groups are becoming more proactive. In this world, Alex (Kris Holden-Ried from Lost Girl), a Returned man, tries to maintain the normalcy in his life with his girlfriend, Kate (Emily Hampshire), as they struggle against the odds. I watched Cuaron’s Children of Men recently, and it reminded me of this movie. Each film has a subtlety to it that makes them intelligent. Both directors have created stories that focus on humans and humanity while centering their plots on foundations of mass destruction, devastation, and fear.

3. Andy and Lana Wachowskis’ The Matrix (1999) When this movie came out, I was about six. I saw it in theaters with my aunt, and although I was definitely too young to grasp everything that was happening, I remember this being one of the films that introduced me to science fiction. The Matrix is the definition of cool. The Wachowski siblings painted this world black with leather and guns. Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving, The Matrix depicts a dystopian world where humans are controlled by machines. Reality as we know it is just a simulation, called The Matrix, used to subdue the human population and use them as energy sources. Thomas Anderson (Reeves), a computer programmer moonlighting as a hacker named Neo, is thrusted into the bleak reality by Trinity (Moss) and Morpheus (Fishburne). Along with others that have been “unplugged,” they fight against the Agents (Weaving, Paul Goddard, Robert Taylor) to wake up the world and reclaim their lives from the intelligent machines.

4. Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) Another Spielberg film! What do you want me to say? They’re good. The late 90s and early 2000s were big for Haley Joel Osmet. How many kids do you know that can carry a big budget box office film? He stars as David, a robot that physically resembles a human child and has the emotional capacity to love. After being abandoned by his original owners, David and his friends, Teddy (Jack Angel) and Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), set out on a quest to find the Blue Fairy. Yes, that one. David hopes that the Blue Fairy can turn him into a real boy, so his parents will love him. Things don’t exactly go according to plan, but Spielberg opens up this futuristic world and sheds light on the simplistic naivety of a child, yearning for affection.

5. Paul W.S. Anderson’s Alien vs. Predator (2004) I love a good merging of franchises. There are strong cases for the Alien and the Predator series to be on this list separately, but my favorite is the AVP crossover. How terrifying is it to live on someone else’s battlefield? An eclectic group of archaeologists, linguists, and drillers travel to Antarctica to examine a strange heat signal. What they find is an underground pyramid, complete with hieroglyphics and a human sacrificial chamber. Upon further exploring, the team discovers that the Predators would travel to earth and participate in a rite of passage by hunting Aliens. These Aliens would attach themselves to humans as hosts to reach adulthood and face off with the Predators. The film stars Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Colin Salmon, Raoul Bova, Tommy Flanagan, and more.

6. Brian Singer’s X-Men (2000) If you don’t know what Marvel is…I don’t know what to tell you. X-Men is one of those big blockbuster films (like The Fast & the Furious or Iron Man series) backed by a huge production company guaranteed to rake in the dough. Some people might find these overrated, but in my opinion, they also guarantee a good show. Apart from animation, I had never seen a film like the first installment of X-Men before. It depicts a world in which a small group of human beings have a genetic mutation that expresses itself in the form of superpowers. There are two houses of mutants: those with Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) in X-Men wanting a peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants, and those with Magneto (Ian McKellen) who want to subjugate and mutate humans because they don’t believe coexistence is possible. It blends not only sci-fi, but romance and drama. This film, although largely action-based, holds its foundation on a political power struggle and is innately human at its core. Also, there are so many famous people in it that I can’t even list them all, including Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, and James Marsden.

7. Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men (2006) I mentioned it above, so I had to throw it in here. I recently reviewed this film for my Confessions segment (you’ll be reading that soon) and fell in love. Set in 2027, Children of Men chronicles the life of Theo Faron (Clive Owen) as he navigates in a world where children has not been born for almost 20 years. Society is on the brink of collapse, and the U.K. houses the last functioning government. I use the term”functioning” very loosely. Britain has transformed into a highly militarized state with extremely strict and brutally enforced immigration laws. Translation: concentration camps. Theo is tasked with protecting the life of a young immigrant, Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), who carries the hope of all humanity in her belly. It’s a fantastic film, and I talk extensively about it in my other article, so if you want to read me blab some more, click the “Confessions” link. I tried not to give anything big away.

8. Miguel Sapochnik’s Repo Men (2010) This is yet another remake as well as a book adaptation, but I prefer this version as opposed to its predecessor. Remy (Jude Law) and Jake (Forest Whitaker) work for a futuristic corporation called The Union. The Union provides vital bio-mechanical organs that save the lives of many people. Problem? Most of their customers purchase these items on credit, and when they fail to pay up, the organization sends repo men to rip these organs right out of the patrons’ bodies. It’s an interesting, badass take on gangsters in this 2025 society. That is until Remy needs a few of those organs himself after a collection gone wrong and begins to feel compassion for his victims. The hunter is now one of the hunted as Remy plunges down into the underground world that he once helped terrorized. This film is everything: action, drama, Jude Law’s sexy arms, and a guaranteed must-see for anyone obsessed with dystopian worlds like I am.

9. Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996) You know you’re in for a treat when they destroy New York City. It’s almost always a good sign. Starring Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox, Jeff Goldblum, and the list goes on, this film depicts an Independence Day that brings a new meaning to the holiday. Alien spaceships occupy the airspace of Earth’s major cities, and ignite an uproar among human beings. Aliens attack and intend to oppress the human nation, and we have to regain our independence all over again. This movie is special because it follows various people from all over the spectrum of civilization: a scientist, an Air Force pilot, a stripper, the President, and others. It lends itself to believability because of the different depictions of people reacting to an invasion. It’s another big blockbuster and a very good movie.

10. Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men in Black (1997) Here’s another with Will Smith as the leading man because aren’t most of his films in the sci-fi genre? Men in Black follows two agents, Agent K (Will Smith) and the newly instated, Agent J (Tommy Lee Jones). M.I.B. is a secret organization that polices extraterrestrials hiding their coexistence on Earth as human beings. This film is the first installment of the Men in Black trilogy, so it not only includes the pair of agents saving the world, but it also depicts Agent J’s start with the agency. This movie is hilarious as well as slimy at times with all of the alien guts flying around. A little skimpy on the plot, but a great family film.

If you enjoyed Keyoka’s list and would like to read other pieces like it, you can find the rest of her work HERE. You can also follow her on Twitter @keyokakinzy.

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