Pi (1999) – Darren Aronofsky

  The 101 Sci-Fi Movies brings another mess with your mind film, this time from Darren Aronofsky. Shot in a gritty black and white, subjective style, the film follows a brilliant mathematician, Max Cohen (Sean Gullette) as he becomes obsessed with tracking down the pattern of the universe. He’s convinced that the entire realm of…

Starship Troopers (1997) – Paul Verhoeven

  Verhoeven returns to the 101 Sci-Fi Movies with this loud, violent and gory action film that sees humanity at war with a race of insects in a distant system. Based loosely on Robert Heinlein’s original novel, the tale follows a group of high school graduates, barely two-dimensional characters in their creation, as they sign…

Gattaca (1997) – Andrew Niccol

  The 101 Sci-Fi Movies brings us a tale that could be a possible future, where we can improve ourselves genetically before birth, and that defines who we are and what we can do with our lives. A decidedly future-noir film, this one features a stand out cast, Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin,…

Men In Black (1997) – Barry Sonnenfeld

  The cult favorite comic book, created by Lowell Cunningham, hits the mainstream as a popcorn delight in this entry on the 101 Sci-Fi Movies list. Using the conspiracy of the MiB as a launching point, and incorporating all manner of UFO stories, rumors and possible sightings, Barry Sonnenfeld as director guides Will Smith and…

The Fifth Element (1997) – Luc Besson

  The 101 Sci-Fi Movies brings a colorful, flamboyant and undeniably fun addition to the list with this fun ride, that features Bruce Willis as an unemployed cab driver who is trying to save the world. Set in the distant year of 2263, the thing I love most about this film is that its future…

Independence Day (1996) – Roland Emmerich

  The 101 Sci-Fi Movies list brings this combination of sci-fi in the vein of War of the Worlds and an Irwin Allen disaster flick, with a huge dose of popcorn entertainment thrown in as good measure. Now that being said, this film isn’t with its eye-rolling cheese, and its questionable plotlines… the most famous of…

Twelve Monkeys (1995) – Terry Gilliam

  Terry Gilliam returns to the 101 Sci-Fi Movies with this fantastic temporal thriller that nods to both La Jetee and Slaughterhouse Five. It also, for my money, has Brad Pitt’s finest performance. Bruce Willis is James Cole, a ‘volunteer’ recruited by the scientists who run the world of 2035. Humanity has been forced from…

Ghost In The Shell (1995) – Mamoru Oshii

  The 101 Sci-Fi Movies brings us another anime classic, based on the manga of the same name, this one dealing with the idea of what it means to be living and how we define life. Set in the oh-so-distant year 2029, corporations and city-states have taken over the world, nations have collapsed, and the…

Jurassic Park (1993) – Steven Spielberg

  As soon as I heard about Michael Crichton’s new book in 1990, I scrabbled to get my hands on a copy, and ended up co-opting and keeping my mother’s hard cover edition as soon as she was done with it. Then, hearing that Spielberg had bought the rights for it, I knew I had…

Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) – James Cameron

  The 101 Sci-Fi Movies, and the 101 Action Movies mesh with this title, appearing as a fin example of both genres. Cameron’s film picks up 13 years after the original classic, and finds a rebellious John Connor (Edward Furlong) living with his foster parents, while his toughened, but possibly psychotic mother, Sarah (Linda Hamilton)…