What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

The 101 Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movies of All Time: 1. Interstellar (3 Viewers)

Thanks for the great reads @Scoresman !!


Here are a few not mentoined that would have made my list:

=======================

Serenity - Just a beautiful ending to Firefly

Hunger Games (any of them) - This movie series was too influential to leave off. Katniss was able to do what Ellen Ripley was not and that was to get studios to believe in lead actresses in genre movies.

Space Battleship Yamato - IMO the best live action version of any anime. Those of us of a certain age will remember the brilliant Starblazers when we were kids.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the great reads @Scoresman !!


Here are a few not mentoined that would have made my list:

=======================

Serenity - Just a beautiful ending to Firefly

Was wondering if I missed this when Firefly was mentioned. Movie isn't quite as good as the show (which might be my favorite TV show ever), but it is still a great, great sci-fi movie (and more true sci-fi than the show, which I agree would be more appropriately called a western).
 
Just curious why LOTR gets one spot for three movies while the original Star Wars trilogy films each get individual spots.

2 reasons.

1. According to the rules I set, I either rank entire franchises or as individual movies, not picking and choosing what movies within a franchise I lump together. So if I were to lump all of Star Wars together, it would have to include everything.

2. Because of the rankings for all three. I previously said for LOTR I would have ranked them all pretty much together, so it made sense to just group them. Same with HP. With Star Wars, the movies range from all time classics to hot garbage, so I wouldn't even know how to average all that out and have it make sense.
Were The Hobbit movies included in the LOTR ranking?

No. And you bring up a decent point here, but I'm quietly ignoring the Hobbit movies. I think a lot of people do.
so it will be in your RomCom rankings then...
Leaving that one for someone else to do.

Someone should do comedy. I'm not qualified as there are an embarrassing amount of movies I need to watch, but that would be fun.
I'd like to see one on war movies. That's a fertile pool.
Yep. Ill save you some time though. Apocalypse Now is #1. The perfect blend of everything you want in a war movie. The entire vibe of the movie toggles between wtf and oh hell ya.
 
Interstellar is definitely up there for me and I'm going to see it in Imax again this week (and taking my son who's never seen it).

I think it might have ended up my favorite if it had a more straight forward ending. It was good enough to stand on its own as a straight-forward movie. They didn't need to try and force some twist in there that, frankly, didn't work.
 
Interstellar is definitely up there for me and I'm going to see it in Imax again this week (and taking my son who's never seen it).

I think it might have ended up my favorite if it had a more straight forward ending. It was good enough to stand on its own as a straight-forward movie. They didn't need to try and force some twist in there that, frankly, didn't work.
Thanks for the tip. just bought tickets at IMAX this weekend as well.
 
Interstellar.

Yeah…..big meh for me personally.

Would not even sniff my top 40.
For me Interstellar is one that has steadily creeped up my list as I rewatch. I was more in your camp when it came out, now I am more in Scores' camp.

There are things I still don't like about the movie, and people have brought up some of those things already. For me it's the ice planet scenes, the "twist", and the last scene with the daughter. They aren't huge beefs, just things that rub me the wrong way, and reasons I didn't like the movie much the first time. What I have figured out over the years looking at my ratings and feelings of movies is that I probably ding movies way too much when they don't land the ending for me. That is the case here, as much of what I listed is near the end of the movie. What it does before that IMO is a great movie. I started watching Interstellar today, and some of those things really stood out. I love the beginning with the "interviews", and that really pulls me in. Something else I hold in high regard is movies that still get reactions from me, and I forgot about the gut punch of the goodbye paired with the joke about the robot slaves on takeoff. Getting me to cry and LOL like that is rare for movies. I also think the videos are devastating after the gravity planet. Combine all that with some smart, big ideas, and I am hooked now and probably would have it in the 20s.

I think with Nolan you have to take the good with the bad. I love his movies, but many of them reach for the big idea and have some clunky exposition - especially in this genre. Even the one that I was pimping, The Prestige. It's my favorite of his, but I was PMing somebody about why it qualifies for this countdown and just writing it down made me laugh - it is a bit silly when you think about it, but I am still along for the ride and the dedication to practical effects.
 
is this where we get claims Star Wars is a western set in space and not sci-fi?
I know people will argue almost anything - but it would be a real stretch to say Star Wars is not Sci-Fi. Movies can have some overlap in genres.

Star Wars is far more fantasy than Sci Fi. There is almost zero science in Star Wars. Star Wars has core fantasy elements like wizards (Jedi), swords (light sabers) magic (the force), and quests.

Firefly is far more western than Sci Fi. Whedon added almost zero science in this show.
Does there have to be literal science in a movie for it to be Sci-Fi?

The spaceships, robots and laser weapons are not enough?

Not that it ultimately matters (labels aren’t my thing) but I doubt most people would consider Star Wars as more fantasy than Sci-Fi.
Yeah, the mere presence of spaceships and robots involve science. Since Star Wars wasn't a documentary, it's also fiction. Ergo, sci-fi
Spaceballs too?

Spaceballs is to sci-fi what Young Frankenstein is to horror.

I think they both tangentially count, but I omitted Spaceballs just to avoid that rabbit hole this go around.
Haha. I am the one who put Young Frankenstein on my horror list. Call me a literalist
So did I.
 
Interstellar.

Yeah…..big meh for me personally.

Would not even sniff my top 40.
For me Interstellar is one that has steadily creeped up my list as I rewatch. I was more in your camp when it came out, now I am more in Scores' camp.

There are things I still don't like about the movie, and people have brought up some of those things already. For me it's the ice planet scenes, the "twist", and the last scene with the daughter. They aren't huge beefs, just things that rub me the wrong way, and reasons I didn't like the movie much the first time. What I have figured out over the years looking at my ratings and feelings of movies is that I probably ding movies way too much when they don't land the ending for me. That is the case here, as much of what I listed is near the end of the movie. What it does before that IMO is a great movie. I started watching Interstellar today, and some of those things really stood out. I love the beginning with the "interviews", and that really pulls me in. Something else I hold in high regard is movies that still get reactions from me, and I forgot about the gut punch of the goodbye paired with the joke about the robot slaves on takeoff. Getting me to cry and LOL like that is rare for movies. I also think the videos are devastating after the gravity planet. Combine all that with some smart, big ideas, and I am hooked now and probably would have it in the 20s.

I think with Nolan you have to take the good with the bad. I love his movies, but many of them reach for the big idea and have some clunky exposition - especially in this genre. Even the one that I was pimping, The Prestige. It's my favorite of his, but I was PMing somebody about why it qualifies for this countdown and just writing it down made me laugh - it is a bit silly when you think about it, but I am still along for the ride and the dedication to practical effects.

What exactly was your beef with the ending? Too melodramatic?
 
One of my favorite sci-fi (I've talked about it a few times around these parts) is Colossus: The Forbin Project.

Unavailable to stream anywhere is a problem. Your library may have a copy. Otherwise it's worth tracking down on eBay or wherever for even just a watch and then resell it.

Another film in recommended to Scoresman is The Fall. If you like Pan's Labyrinth (and/or Life of Pi) you'll like this one.
Thanks. I'll check out The Fall. Life of Pi was one I asked Scoresman about, but he said it didn't make his list.
 
One of my favorite sci-fi (I've talked about it a few times around these parts) is Colossus: The Forbin Project.

Unavailable to stream anywhere is a problem. Your library may have a copy. Otherwise it's worth tracking down on eBay or wherever for even just a watch and then resell it.

Another film in recommended to Scoresman is The Fall. If you like Pan's Labyrinth (and/or Life of Pi) you'll like this one.
Thanks. I'll check out The Fall. Life of Pi was one I asked Scoresman about, but he said it didn't make his list.
Oh I was thinking of Pi for a minute…the one with the drill scene
 
Interstellar.

Yeah…..big meh for me personally.

Would not even sniff my top 40.
For me Interstellar is one that has steadily creeped up my list as I rewatch. I was more in your camp when it came out, now I am more in Scores' camp.

There are things I still don't like about the movie, and people have brought up some of those things already. For me it's the ice planet scenes, the "twist", and the last scene with the daughter. They aren't huge beefs, just things that rub me the wrong way, and reasons I didn't like the movie much the first time. What I have figured out over the years looking at my ratings and feelings of movies is that I probably ding movies way too much when they don't land the ending for me. That is the case here, as much of what I listed is near the end of the movie. What it does before that IMO is a great movie. I started watching Interstellar today, and some of those things really stood out. I love the beginning with the "interviews", and that really pulls me in. Something else I hold in high regard is movies that still get reactions from me, and I forgot about the gut punch of the goodbye paired with the joke about the robot slaves on takeoff. Getting me to cry and LOL like that is rare for movies. I also think the videos are devastating after the gravity planet. Combine all that with some smart, big ideas, and I am hooked now and probably would have it in the 20s.

I think with Nolan you have to take the good with the bad. I love his movies, but many of them reach for the big idea and have some clunky exposition - especially in this genre. Even the one that I was pimping, The Prestige. It's my favorite of his, but I was PMing somebody about why it qualifies for this countdown and just writing it down made me laugh - it is a bit silly when you think about it, but I am still along for the ride and the dedication to practical effects.

What exactly was your beef with the ending? Too melodramatic?
Maybe I will have a better reason if I finish tonight. I don't like the wormhole/bookshelf stuff, but that aside, I thought the movie ended a tad flat. I think it feels a tad rushed with the short scene with Murph then taking off. But mostly I think it's because IMO the emotional parts that landed a bit harder like the initial goodbye and the videos weren't felt as hard at the end. Again, nitpicking. We are talking about small reasons why a movie would be like #20 on my list vs #1 on yours but both of us really like. I honestly don't know where it would land exactly, but since I do a Desert Island approach and it's one that I keep revisiting and thinking about in my old age, it would be in the 2nd or 3rd wave/tier of movies I took.
 
Interstellar is definitely up there for me and I'm going to see it in Imax again this week (and taking my son who's never seen it).

I think it might have ended up my favorite if it had a more straight forward ending. It was good enough to stand on its own as a straight-forward movie. They didn't need to try and force some twist in there that, frankly, didn't work.

Yeah, to me arrival was better because of ending and just overall a cleaner story.
 
These would be my most underrated of those listed. Still need to check for movies that weren't listed.


93. Conan the Barbarian - maybe the most underrated on this list.
53. Dune: Part 1
50. Edge of Tomorrow
39. Dune Part Two - arguably the greatest sci fi movie ever imho despite its flaws
36. The Princess Bride
33. Predator
28. Blade Runner 2049
25. Back to the Future - in contention for #1 for me


Predator, both Dunes, Back to the Future and Edge of Tomorrow all make my personal top 10.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the great reads @Scoresman !!


Here are a few not mentoined that would have made my list:

=======================

Serenity - Just a beautiful ending to Firefly

Hunger Games (any of them) - This movie series was too influential to leave off. Katniss was able to do what Ellen Ripley was not and that was to get studios to believe in lead actresses in genre movies.

Space Battleship Yamato - IMO the best live action version of any anime. Those of us of a certain age will remember the brilliant Starblazers when we were kids.
I loved Starblazers and had no idea there was a live action version of this! Thanks for the heads up!
 
Thanks for the great reads @Scoresman !!


Here are a few not mentoined that would have made my list:

=======================

Serenity - Just a beautiful ending to Firefly

Hunger Games (any of them) - This movie series was too influential to leave off. Katniss was able to do what Ellen Ripley was not and that was to get studios to believe in lead actresses in genre movies.

Space Battleship Yamato - IMO the best live action version of any anime. Those of us of a certain age will remember the brilliant Starblazers when we were kids.
I loved Starblazers and had no idea there was a live action version of this! Thanks for the heads up!
It is in the original Japanese so while the story remains the same, Starblazers changed the names around for an American audience. Here is the trailer. Make sure you get a copy with subtitles.

 
Watching now. What if story-wise the gravity planet was last, shifting a bit of the emotional heft closer to the end?

I don’t know what purpose that would really serve except to introduce pacing issues. Having the 23 years of videos, then the tesseract stuff, then meeting with Murphy all back to back would be a bit much emotionally all stacked at the end.

Edit: also they had to do millers planet first because they would not have had enough fuel to swing back.
 
Most Overrated (for me)...many of these wouldn't make my top 100.


99. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - not in my top 100
86. Return to Oz - not in my top 100
76. The Matrix Revolutions - not in my top 100
69. The Dark Crystal - not my cup of tea with the puppets, not in my top 100
64. Signs - not in my top 100
54. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - everybody loves this more than me
45. What Dreams May Come - just seems like a genre misfit
44. The Fly - good not great
42. The Seventh Seal - not in my top 100
31. The Thing - never understood the love, but in my top 100
29. Harry Potter Franchise - good, not great
23. Annihilation - liked it, not this much
18. V for Vendetta - same as above
16. Big Fish - same as above
15. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - doesn't hold up, no interest in a rewatch, top 100 for nostalgia maybe
14. The Neverending Story - same as above, maybe barely makes my top 100
11. Children of Men - always felt overrated, in my top 50
10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - a bit high for my taste but in my top 50
8. The Abyss - same as above, but makes the top 50
 
Heavy Metal from 81 would probably make my top 100. Definitely an out of date animation style, the segments are uneven, its got more than a little fetish/objectification of women in it, but still a good sci fi trip. Interesting set of voice actors.
 
Movies not listed that make my top 100

Species
Demolition Man
The Running Man - such an easy rewatch
Ad Astra - I loved this movie
Time Bandits
The Prestige - perhaps the biggest omission, easily in my top 20
The Time Machine (original)
Guardians of the Galaxy
Escape from New York
Clash of the Titans (original) - such a huge omission for me, maybe I love this movie more than I should...would make my top 40.
Highlander
Conan the Destroyer
Phantom Menace
Star Strek the Voyage Home
Chronicles of Riddick
Pitch Black
 
Watching now. What if story-wise the gravity planet was last, shifting a bit of the emotional heft closer to the end?

I don’t know what purpose that would really serve except to introduce pacing issues. Having the 23 years of videos, then the tesseract stuff, then meeting with Murphy all back to back would be a bit much emotionally all stacked at the end.

Edit: also they had to do millers planet first because they would not have had enough fuel to swing back.
Just spit balling on that one. I was more thinking about how to get what I feel is the better landing emotional stuff towards the end. I forget we get all I describe with 1hour left in the movie.

I watched last night, and my answer is basically the same - mostly it's Mann and the black hole/tesseract stuff. It always lasts longer than I expect, and then the movie ends shortly after that leaving a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
 
Movies not listed that make my top 100

Species
Demolition Man
The Running Man - such an easy rewatch
Ad Astra - I loved this movie
Time Bandits
The Prestige - perhaps the biggest omission, easily in my top 20
The Time Machine (original)
Guardians of the Galaxy
Escape from New York
Clash of the Titans (original) - such a huge omission for me, maybe I love this movie more than I should...would make my top 40.
Highlander
Conan the Destroyer
Phantom Menace
Star Strek the Voyage Home
Chronicles of Riddick
Pitch Black
I was just about to ask people about this movie. I remember being stoked for it, seeing it in the theater, and not liking it - but I have little memory of the movie or the reasons why. I had added it to the queue a couple days ago after seeing it pop up on a streamer.
 
Movies not listed that make my top 100

Species
Demolition Man
The Running Man - such an easy rewatch
Ad Astra - I loved this movie
Time Bandits
The Prestige - perhaps the biggest omission, easily in my top 20
The Time Machine (original)
Guardians of the Galaxy
Escape from New York
Clash of the Titans (original) - such a huge omission for me, maybe I love this movie more than I should...would make my top 40.
Highlander
Conan the Destroyer
Phantom Menace
Star Strek the Voyage Home
Chronicles of Riddick
Pitch Black
I was just about to ask people about this movie. I remember being stoked for it, seeing it in the theater, and not liking it - but I have little memory of the movie or the reasons why. I had added it to the queue a couple days ago after seeing it pop up on a streamer.
It was terrible. Across the board.

I was going to reply to trips list, which has a bunch of deserving films.. but that one was an obvious no for me.
 
Before everyone posts about it, I did mention one movie in the beginning that is classic that I would not be including, and before everyone posts about it here it is.

Clockwork Orange. Sorry, this one is the cinematic equivalent of nails on a chalkboard for me. The setting, stupid lingo no one can understand, it just hits the wrong nerve for me. I know I'm in the monority here, and it's fine.
I love Clockwork Orange. Didn't immediately think of it as sci-fi. Doesn't mean it isn't, but it didn't occur to me as a glaring omission
 
Ok, real thing now.

11. Children of Men​

2006 - 1h 49 - R
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Metascore: 84


In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have somehow become infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.

Just an amazingly crafted film. The one take shot where blood splatters on the camera rattled me. The scene where they are descending from the tower with the baby is breathtaking. Typing all of this out makes me want to rank it even higher.

Trivia: This movie never explains the reason for the infertility. This has been attributed to Cuarón's dislike for expository film: "There's a kind of cinema I detest, which is a cinema that is about exposition and explanations." He once said. "It's become a medium for lazy readers. Cinema is a hostage of narrative. And I'm very good at narrative as a hostage of cinema."
I loved this movie. One of the great ones and very underrated. Glad it appeared so high on the list.
 
has Men in Black been mentioned?

others I thought of but not sure if I'd include because I haven't seen thme in decades to know how they hold up...

The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Brother from Another Planet
Liquid Sky
 
I should really rewatch both Interstellar and Children of Men. I liked them, but I've only ever seen them once each, and others have them quite a bit higher up than I do.
 
Field of Dreams has a little too much of a drama feel for me to add it. Not saying it wouldn't belong on a list, just didnt include it in mine.
 
Watching now. What if story-wise the gravity planet was last, shifting a bit of the emotional heft closer to the end?

I don’t know what purpose that would really serve except to introduce pacing issues. Having the 23 years of videos, then the tesseract stuff, then meeting with Murphy all back to back would be a bit much emotionally all stacked at the end.

Edit: also they had to do millers planet first because they would not have had enough fuel to swing back.
Just spit balling on that one. I was more thinking about how to get what I feel is the better landing emotional stuff towards the end. I forget we get all I describe with 1hour left in the movie.

I watched last night, and my answer is basically the same - mostly it's Mann and the black hole/tesseract stuff. It always lasts longer than I expect, and then the movie ends shortly after that leaving a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
The scenes on Mann's planet I feel were there to illustrate just how arduous the undertaking was. Here you have the leader of the first expedition, a revered NASA astronaut and engineer who was simply broken by the idea of never again seeing home once he realized his planet was not suitable. Also, without this scene we wouldn't have had the amazing docking sequence that came after.

I appreciated the tesseract and black hole stuff after reading Kip Thorne's book on the science of the movie.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top