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posted by cmn32480 on Sunday November 06 2016, @01:37PM   Printer-friendly
from the they-forgot-Waterworld dept.

The weekend is upon us and if you are looking for something to help pass the time, look no further! The Ars Technica science fiction bucket list—42 movies every geek must see ...and nine bonus stinkers from which you should run away screaming.

[...] Lists of science fiction movies are a common item for discussion on the Ars staff Slack channel—particularly short lists of the best science fiction movies ever made. But "best" is an impossible word to quantify in any broadly applicable way—one person's "best ever" might be another person's worst, especially in a genre of movies as rich and varied as science fiction.

["Science fiction" is a meta term that refers to a huge host of sub-genres, from "hard" science fiction to skiffy to all points between. For this list, we've chosen to constrain eligibility requirements to movies that deal speculatively with science and/or the future. This lets us include classics like Frankenstein (which is properly sci-fi) while excluding films that skew heavily toward fantasy. Then again, we've got Star Wars in the list and that's not a future movie, so author's discretion trumps all, I suppose!]

While the Ars staff has some bitter disagreements on which movies are better than others, it's undeniable that some science fiction movies are mandatory viewing for the modern geek. To that end, rather than try to pull together another tired "top ten sci-fi movies" listicle, we've instead polled the Ars staff to try to come up with a definitive "science fiction bucket list"—that is, a list of sci-fi movies that you should absolutely see at least once before you die. They aren't necessarily the "best" movies by any specific set of criteria, but every film on this list is outstanding in some particular way. Some were groundbreaking in their stories or subject matter, some were controversial, and some contained a character or plot twist that went on to become an archetype, referenced in and reused by countless other films. Some films on the list, like Fritz Lang's Metropolis, are pure cinematic poetry; others, like Pacific Rim, are pure popcorn fun. And, as a bonus, we even included a bonus list of a few absolutely terrible stinkers at the very bottom.

[Continues...]

Here is Ars Technica's list of forty-two must-see movies. See the linked Ars Technica story for writeups on each film or follow the IMDb (Internet Movie Database) link provided here.

  1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (IMDb)
  2. 28 Days Later... (2003) (IMDb)
  3. Alien (1979) (IMDb)
  4. Blade Runner (1982) (IMDb)
  5. Brazil (1985) (IMDb)
  6. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) (IMDb)
  7. Children of Men (2006) (IMDb)
  8. A Clockwork Orange (1972) (IMDb)
  9. Computer Chess (2013) (IMDb)
  10. C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004) (IMDb)
  11. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) (IMDb)
  12. District 9 (2009) (IMDb)
  13. Dune (1984) (IMDb)
  14. Enemy Mine (1985) (IMDb)
  15. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) (IMDb)
  16. Forbidden Planet (1956) (IMDb)
  17. Frankenstein (1931) (IMDb)
  18. Galaxy Quest (1999) (IMDb)
  19. Ghost in the Shell (1995) (IMDb)
  20. Ghosts with Shit Jobs (2012) (IMDb)
  21. Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1954) (IMDb)
  22. Her (2013) (IMDb)
  23. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) (IMDb)
  24. The Matrix (1999) (IMDb)
  25. The Martian (2015) (IMDb)
  26. Metropolis (1927) (IMDb)
  27. Moon (2009) (IMDb)
  28. Pacific Rim (2013) (IMDb)
  29. Planet of the Apes (1968) (IMDb)
  30. Primer (2004) (IMDb)
  31. RoboCop (1987) (IMDb)
  32. Stalker (1979) (IMDb)
  33. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) (IMDb)
  34. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) (IMDb)
  35. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) (IMDb)
  36. They Live (1988) (IMDb)
  37. The Thing (1982) (IMDb)
  38. THX 1138 (1971) (IMDb)
  39. TRON (1982) (IMDb)
  40. Videodrome (1983) (IMDb)
  41. WALL*E (2008) (IMDb)
  42. WarGames (1983) (IMDb)

And it may be best to avoid these:

  1. Bad Taste (1987) (IMDb)
  2. Barbarella (1968) (IMDb)
  3. Battlefield Earth (2000) (IMDb)
  4. Brain Damage (1988) (IMDb)
  5. Re-Animator (1985) (IMDb)
  6. Robot Jox (1990) (IMDb)
  7. Solarbabies (1986) (IMDb)
  8. Star Trek Nemesis (2002) (IMDb)
  9. Zardoz (1974) (IMDb)

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by FatPhil on Sunday November 06 2016, @06:04PM

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Sunday November 06 2016, @06:04PM (#423194) Homepage
    Yes, and it's normally predicated upon some prior context.

    Person A: I love ones that address travelling back in time and desperately trying to avoid, or bring about, paradoxes.
    Person B: You *must* see /Timecrimes/

    Not everyone must see Timecrimes. But if you've put yourself inside that gamut of interest, then it's quite fair to list that film as one that's within your gamut of interest with a confidence that you will find the time spent watching it time well spent.

    I hear the phrase about beers all the time, and internally I translate it to "I believe it would be worth your while to try it because of how much I enjoyed it". I'm glad they don't waste my ear-time with the longer version, to be honest.

    When I say it myself, what I actually mean is the slightly more complex "I believe it would be worth your while to investigate what it is, with the knowledge that with my knowledge of you I am sure you will like it". But that's retardedly wordy when "you've gotta try X" pretty much says the same thing.

    It's when skiiing nerds say "you've got to try skiiing", that I get a bit pissed off. Have you seen my physical state?!?! What on earth made you think rolling down a hillside bonoing myself into trees would improve my life?

    At least the film and beer nerds (that I'm friends with, rather than just in the same room as) are actually trying to proffer information that they have some confidence will be useful to me.
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
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  • (Score: 2) by requerdanos on Monday November 07 2016, @01:35AM

    by requerdanos (5997) Subscriber Badge on Monday November 07 2016, @01:35AM (#423339) Journal

    Its just a language pattern people use to show their level of excitement. Anyone who feels like its a command is the odd one out.

    and it's normally predicated upon some prior context.

    Person A: I love ones that address travelling back in time and desperately trying to avoid, or bring about, paradoxes.
    Person B: You *must* see /Timecrimes/

    When there's some prior context, I don't find it disagreeable, and appreciate the recommendation. What I find more often is more like

    Person B: Hey, have you seen (random film)?
    Person Me: No, I haven't.
    Person B: You GOTTA!
    Person Me: Thanks, I'll check it out.
    Person B: No, I mean you GOTTA, I can't imagine anybody not seeing random film, what a great movie. I can lend you mine, or you can get it at the used bookstore around the corner, etc. etc. etc. blah. blah.
    (days pass)
    Person B: Have you seen random film yet? Man if you haven't seen it yet you GOTTA. I can't believe you haven't seen it yet.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by FatPhil on Monday November 07 2016, @07:48AM

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Monday November 07 2016, @07:48AM (#423406) Homepage
      Avoid Person B?

      Are you sure he's not also handing out leaflets with a heading like "Watchtower", or books titled "Dianetics"?
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 08 2016, @09:07AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 08 2016, @09:07AM (#423988)

        If you liked Dianetics, you gotta see Battlefield Earth.