Disclaimer: Your Mileage May Vary. If you don’t like these, just click away.

These are given in no particular order because rating them would just be too hard. I love them all.

Just a fun romp, great popcorn flick, arcade game love letter.

This is a placeholder for all three. No. 2 is the weakest, but still a good ride. Number 3 made me cry. Griffin is my favorite one-off character in the series.

An utterly worthy adaptation of part of Frank Herbert’s epic saga, which is virtually impossible to adapt. I enjoyed the follow-ons, Timothée Chalamet and his co-stars did a marvelous job, and the effects were breathtaking… but this one stands alone. The third-stage guild navigator scene alone is memorable for effects-fu. Lisan al-Ghaib!

“We will not go quietly into the night!” Bill Pullman’s speech gives me frisson of delight every time I see it. Never mind the plot holes, it was a joyous ride. “Welcome to earth! *Bam!* Now that’s what I call a close encounter!”

A brilliant, terrible film that I have only ever been able to watch once because it’s so disturbing, but it left me hoping for a sequel which never appeared.

Watching Leeloo weep as she learned about war tore my heart out. The only thing worth saving in this terrible timeline of ours is love. Gary Oldman’s performance was amazing, but interestingly enough he didn’t care for the rôle.

I could re-watch any of these, although I thought the second one was weaker than the other two. These characters play off each other wonderfully.

The tragic prequel to “A New Hope” and the finale to the Andor saga, this story not only kept me on the edge of my seat but also ripped my heart out.

I have some friends with a sheep ranch in West Virginia. At night, in the pond behind their house, the peeper frogs come out and begin to sing. Since the sound of these giant ants was taken from their calls, I pretty much decided that I would not venture out in the evening.

I stupidly never cottoned on to the clever use of GTCA in the title until I had watched this movie the second time. If the people trying to destroy our government in favor of an oligarchic cabal of the wealthy have their way, most of us would find ourselves “invalid.” May they never be permitted to prevail.

The idiots at Fox cancelled Firefly after one season, but Serenity allowed the fans of the series, of which my wife and I count as two, to have a modicum of closure. I am encouraged, however, by the current efforts of the original cast to launch an animated sequel, starring the voice talents of those who are still alive (RIP Shepherd Book). May this come to fruition!

Saw this first in a drive-in theater when it came out. One of the first “dystopian” films I saw, well done for its time – Edward G. Robinson’s performance was masterful and touching, his last credited rôle before he passed away. If you’ve never seen this one and don’t know the story, I recommend it even though it’s a bit dated now.

Every time I hear the theme song, “Rejoice in the Sun,” sung by the incomparable Joan Baez, I can’t stop the waterworks from coming. This iis a masterwork ahead of its time.

One of the best animated films ever made. “I am not a gun.” You do not have to be what others expect you to be.

I have written an entire blog post about this one. Scared the crud out of my 7-year-old self for years, and I was terrified of walking past dark corners, or closets with their doors ajar, for the longest time. But revisiting the movie as an adult, I found out it had a decent message and featured the beautiful Salome Jens in her breakout rôle.

This love-letter to the Star Trek universe is one of the most amazing parodies-turned-serious I have ever seen. Patrick Stewart was recorded to have said,

“I had originally not wanted to see [Galaxy Quest] because I heard that it was making fun of Star Trek and then Jonathan Frakes rang me up and said ‘You must not miss this movie! See it on a Saturday night in a full theatre.’ And I did and of course I found it was brilliant. Brilliant. No one laughed louder or longer in the cinema than I did, but the idea that the ship was saved and all of our heroes in that movie were saved simply by the fact that there were fans who did understand the scientific principles on which the ship worked was absolutely wonderful. And it was both funny and also touching in that it paid tribute to the dedication of these fans.

Another recorded quote:

Best of all, [Stewart] loves the movie Galaxy Quest, a sublime Star Trek spoof. “Jonathan told me to see it. I said I didn’t want to see the piss taken out of me by Alan Rickman and the rest. He told me to see it in Santa Monica on a Saturday night. I did, and it was perfect, fantastic, one of my all-time favourites. They got it exactly right — that’s how it was, and the ending was right at the heart of the spirit of Star Trek.”

I had the honor of seeing “Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary” in the theater with my wife. It was a wonderful tribute to both Galaxy Quest and Star Trek all on its own, and I heartily recommend it.

“Look, Mummy! There go the firemen! There’s going to be a fire!” This was a loving adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s seminal novel about a world in which books were totally banned. On the odd chance that you have neither seen the film nor read the book, I will provide no spoilers… but it’s a classic, and especially well done for its time.

Michael Crichton knocked it out of the park with this book, one of the first ones I acquired as a member of Book of the Month Club. A great read, and a worthy adaptation which spawned numerous “disease gone rampant” films in years to follow, such as Contagion and Outbreak.

High, high on my list of favorites. It flies in the face of multiple science-fiction tropes that depict alien life as some variation of bipedal humans with different colored skin. The truth may be closer to what this film chillingly emphasizes: when and if we ever encounter alien life, it may be virtually nothing like what we have ever imagined.

Also rising to the top of my list is this beautiful, brilliant exploration of one attempt to save humanity from encroaching disaster. Heavier on human drama than scientific accuracy (a lot of speculation about what’s inside of and around a black hole, more fantasy than science), it always brings tears of joy and sadness to my eyes, as it did once again last night.

James Cameron’s epic saga, now in its third iteration. From a storytelling standpoint, it’s Fern Gully meets Pocahontas, repeated three times – but especially the first one, depicted here, created a world of stunning visual graphics and utterly believable effects. I saw the first one in 2010 with my new bride, in 3D; this was quite the visual extravaganza which gave me a bit of a headache it was so overwhelming, but boy howdy do you get right into the amazing world of Pandora.

“You’re an interesting species. An interesting mix. You’re capable of such beautiful dreams, and such horrible nightmares. You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you’re not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we’ve found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other.” ― Carl Sagan, Contact

A wonderful adaptation of Carl Sagan’s novel, one of my favorite reads and a movie I will return to often.

Always a classic. The practical effects were sometimes clunky, but by the end of the film you have fallen in love with one of the oddest-looking characters imaginable. Beautiful film, beautiful story, punctuated by the heart-pumping music of John Williams.

I can’t belive it’s been 13 years since this film came out. It feels as though it was just yesterday that I was contemplating the power of science to overcome an impossible situation. A galloping adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, and will be worth watching long into the future. As far as the practicality of a colony on Mars, despite the excesses of Elon Musk, I recommend reading A City on Mars by the Weinersmiths, an important analysis of whether or not might be able to – or even should attempt to – establish a human presence on our neighboring planet.

From the Twin Pines Mall to the Lone Pine Mall, this trilogy of films featuring Christopher Lloyd and the heroic and brave Michael J. Fox never ceases to entertain. There’s very little to say in praise of these films that has not already been said by many others. These always invite a re-watch and have become part of cinematic legend. If you have a Roku device and watch the Roku City screen crawl, the famous Clock Tower takes a place of honor in the lineup of hat tips to wonderful movies.

How a film manages to suck you in and enchant you with almost 42 minutes of zero dialog is a tribute to the world-building of Pixar Studios. Not only a morality tale but also one of the sweetest and most improbable love stories that I have ever seen, I revisit this movie regularly if my heart needs warming – which it does, often, in this dystopian timeline we find ourselves in.

Two coinciding aurora events allow ham radio contact between a man and his son 30 years in the future. Many “Butterfly Effect” twists and turns, but a lot of love and a happy, satisfying ending. My wife and I love this film.

Does the top keep spinning or not? We’ll never know, but I have my own thoughts on this multi-layered expedition into the world of dreams. It’s complex enough (along the lines of Donnie Darko, another great film that I have – for reasons of my own – not included in this list) that you need a graphic guide to get your head around what’s happening. I have provided one for you here, for your gratuitous enjoyment (art by Rick Slusher).

One of the great B-movies of the ’50s, this film stands the test of time for good science fiction. Along with ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still” (next one on the list), it has remained a beloved classic of the science fiction genre. Beware the Monster from the Id!

Made the same year as I was born, this film, for me, embodies the science fiction I grew up with as soon as I learned to read and could plunder my father’s library of sci-fi classiscs from the 40s through the ’60s. Based loosely on the 1940 science fiction novelette by Harry Bates, it warns humanity of destruction to come if we don’t clean up our act. While the ending fails to include the unexpected twist at the end of Bates’ tale, it still packs a punch. The remake of 2008 is… “interesting,” but doesn’t hold a candle to the original.

This one is chilling. It basically asks the question, “What would happen if an artificial intelligence with no moral constraints is unleashed upon the world?” And, to add to the impact, the answer is not provided, but rather implied in a terrifying manner.

What would happen if you could catch criminals before they had committed their crimes? This re-imagining of Phillip K. Dick’s story tries to answer that question, and the product is a great watch.

This is a twofer, because both versions are based on the 1938 novella “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr. (writing under the pseudonym of Don A. Stuart). When I was growing up in New York in the ’50s and ’60s, I would sometimes sneak out of bed while my mother was sleeping and watch “The Late Late Late Show” on TV, and the 1951 version was a regular on this program. Suffice it to say that it gave me nightmares. James Arness as the monster was chilling to a kid of 10. But I think if I had, at that age, been able to view the indescribable effects shown in the 1982 edition, I would have had a heart attack and died young. Both films are worth watching if you like the science fiction genre.

The 1968 Planet of the Apes is loosely based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes (Monkey Planet) by author Pierre Boulle. I read the novel in translation before seeing the film, and the fact that the movie spawned an entire parade of sequels and remakes and re-imaginings speaks to its impact and durability. Despite any flaws you might find in the simian makeup, the acting is outstanding, and yes, there is a twist at the end that I won’t spoil for you in the event that you don’t know the story. As for other versions, I am partial to the 2001 version starring Mark Wahlberg, and the series featuring Andy Serkis as Caesar. I never delved into the sequels of the original film, preferring to maintain in memory the adaptation of Boulle’s original story.

As a career linguist, I can confidently say that this is one of the most captivating science fiction films I have ever seen (re-watched it yesterday, since we’re on the subject, and yes, I cried again and no, I’m not ashamed.). It’s based on the 1998 novella “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, and is very hard to describe without spoiling the impact of the film. But it sits squarely at the top of my “favorites” list.

A wildly critical and financial success, grossing over $300 million on a production budget of $19.4 million (very considerable at the time), this masterpiece by Steven Spielberg, again with music from the masterful John Williams, stands as an epic entry in the science fiction pantheon. The model of the Mother Ship used in the film’s production sits in the Udvar-Hazy Space Museum, and includes numerous fun Easter eggs inserted by the designers, many of which can be seen here. Always worth a re-watch.

Watching a PanAm space clipper gracefully approach a space station under construction to the beautiful strains of Johann Strauss’ “Blue Danube’ waltz forever cemented in my mind the beauty and perfection of this adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel. This film has been praised and demonized and discussed almost ad nauseam, because many people just don’t get it… but it helps to read the book, and its sequels (2010: Odyssey Two (1982), 2061: Odyssey Three (1987), and 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997)), which make everything about the film clear. The film is utterly timeless, and the visual effects (minus the somewhat clunky proto-human costumes) are just stunning. This film may just be my “number one,” although it’s hard to say when there are so many competing candidates.

Star Wars (1977 onward)

Aside from a passing reference to the Star Wars universe above in my inclusion of Rogue One, I haven’t talked much about these wonderful films.

• Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
• The Special That Shall Not Be Named (1978)
• Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
• Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
• Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984)
• Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985)
• Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
• Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
• Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film, 2008)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (series, 2008)
• Star Wars Rebels (2014)
• Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
• Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
• Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
• Star Wars Resistance (2018)
• The Mandalorian (2019)
• Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
• The Book of Boba Fett (2021)
• Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021)
• Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
• Andor (2022)
• Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi (2022)
• Ahsoka (2023)
• Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (2024)
• The Acolyte (2024)
• Skeleton Crew (2024)
• Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld (2025)

I have never seen a fan base that hates its core material more than that of Star Wars. So much complaining and whining and moaning about this or that or the other not being “canon,” or “official,” or “accurate,” or… well, you get the idea. As for me, I love every single bit of the Star Wars universe (the “special that shall not be named” is an exception). Every one of them. And the animated Clone Wars. And all the spinoff series. They’re all great, and they work together to form a comprehensive and consistent world of adventure from a galaxy far, far away.

I will not be taking questions.

Star Trek

I mentioned the Star Trek universe briefly in the description of Galaxy Quest above, and there are a lot of films in this franchise.

Original Series

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Yes, films V and VI of the Original Series were weaker, but I still watch them. Seeing Christopher Plummer as a Klingon captain always makes me smile, whereas the ending of The Wrath of Khan broke my heart. (As usual, no spoilers in case you’ve been living in a commune with no electricity for the last 50 years.) I think the general consensus is that IV – “Captain! There be whales here!” – is the best of the lot.

Next Generation

• Star Trek: Generations
• Star Trek: First Contact
• Star Trek: Insurrection
• Star Trek: Nemesis

All of them are great, but for me, First Contact is my favorite for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the theme music. Best Star Trek theme ever (Voyager runs a close second). Many loving nods to the Next Generation series.

2009 Reboot

• Star Trek
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Star Trek Beyond

All I can say is that I was devastated that there would be no more of these films. Each and every actor channeled their predecessor with astonishing precision; Christopher Pine was James Tiberius Kirk; Zachary Quinto had the good fortune of communing with Leonard Nimoy before he passed, and the latter praised both his skill and his professionalism; Karl Urban is an actor for the decades, and even though he was unable to consult with DeForest Kelley, he nailed that rôle to absolute perfection. How I wish they could have continued this timeline.

Conclusion

There are more. So many more. Hundreds more. So many, in fact, that I probably forgot to include a few of my own favorites. But this list mentions the main bulk of sci-fi films that I have loved and continue to love until my last breath. Like I said, your mileage may vary – If you have a list of your own favorites, link it in the comments!

The Old Wolf has spoken.