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Top Sci-Fi Movies by Marc Eastman

Top Sci-Fi Movies
{by Marc Eastman of Are Your Screening?}
When did you realize you wanted to be a movie critic?
Oddly, it was in a Philosophy of Art class. We had to basically write reviews of art using philosophical theories on aesthetics. I have always loved film, and learned that I enjoyed putting together reviews almost as much.
All-time favorite movie:
Jesus of Montreal
Movie you quote a lot:
Caddyshack
Movie character that reminds you of yourself:
Joe Mantegna's father in "Searching for Bobby Fischer." Not that there's really a chess connection, but because whatever else may be going on, I'm constantly astounded by how magical my children are.
Movie you wish you could un-see:
Resident Evil: Retribution
You can find Are You Screening? all over the web including facebook and twitter. Marc Eastman is also a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association.


Learn why Marc curated Sci-Fi Movies: Science Fiction and Fantasy play to the greatest strengths of storytelling, working out explanations to the human condition by way of circumstances that are beyond possibility. They also capitalize on the wonder that is built into the film world, and send us on adventures we can barely imagine. These films are perhaps not the greatest films or greatest sci-fi films, but they are some underappreciated or overlooked gems of the genre.

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    • Logan's Run DVD
    • Logan's Run DVD
    • Live it up today, your time is up tomorrow. In the Year of the City 2274, humans forsake the ravaged outer environment by living in a vast, bubbled metropolis. There, computerized servo-mechanisms provide all needs and everyone can pursue endless hedonism. Endless, that is, until Lastday.… [ read more ]
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    • Somewhere In Time: Collector's Edition DVD
    • Somewhere In Time: Collector's Edition DVD
    • He Sacrificed Life In The Present…To Find Love In The Past. Somewhere In Time is the story of a young writer who sacrifices his life in the present to find happiness in the past, where true love awaits him. Young Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) is approached by an elderly woman who… [ read more ]
    • $9.99
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    • The Amazing Captain Nemo DVD
    • The Amazing Captain Nemo DVD
    • From hit making producer Irwin Allen (The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno) comes the triumphant return of the greatest adventurer of all (by way of Jules Verne)! Awakened from a 100-year cryogenic freeze, the legendary Captain Nemo (Academy Award® winner* José Ferrer) pursues a mad… [ read more ]
    • $26.99
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    • Westworld DVD
    • Westworld DVD
    • Androids go haywire with guests at an adult theme park of the future. Written/directed by Michael Crichton. Expert Review: A product of the fears of the times, this early '70s feature showcasing Yul Brynner and a great supporting cast has more fun than scares, but still manages tension… [ read more ]
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    • Time After Time DVD
    • Time After Time DVD
    • The clever sci-fi thriller "Time After Time" (1979) ingeniously suggests that H.G. Wells, author of "The Time Machine," actually invented a device that travels through time, and uses it to pursue Jack the Ripper from Victorian London to contemporary San Francisco. Malcolm McDowell wittily… [ read more ]
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    • Starman DVD
    • Starman DVD
    • "Starman" (1984) is the tale of a gentle alien who lands on Earth, and takes the shape of the deceased husband of a Wisconsin woman. With only a limited time allowed for him to learn about the human race, the inquisitive alien is aided by the woman, although she initially believes herself… [ read more ]
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    • Fahrenheit 451 DVD
    • Fahrenheit 451 DVD
    • This science fiction classic is based Ray Bradbury's novel about a futuristic society subjugated in part by a ban on books. The great director François Truffaut brings this chilling story to life in his only English language film. Oskar Werner plays the part of a Fireman, someone whose job… [ read more ]
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    • Solar Crisis DVD
    • Solar Crisis DVD
    • Put on your shades for "Solar Crisis" (1990)! This terrifying science-fiction vision of the future puts the Earth in deadly danger from the very vessel that gives us life - the sun. A crew is sent to divert a solar flare that threatens our planet, but the saboteurs work against them. With an… [ read more ]
    • $9.98
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    • Riverworld DVD
    • Riverworld DVD
    • Brad Johnson stars in this adaptation of science fiction icon Philip Jose Farmer's "Riverworld" (2003), the story of an astronaut, who, after he dies in a space accident, is brought back to life as a young and healthy version of himself in a mysterious land called Riverworld. Inhabited by… [ read more ]
    • $27.98
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    • Flash Gordon Blu-ray
    • Flash Gordon Blu-ray
    • Alex Raymond's famous comic strip blasts to life in the action-packed sci-fi adventure Flash Gordon. When energy waves pull the moon out of orbit, New York Jets quarterback Flash Gordon (Sam J. Jones) unwittingly finds himself heading for the planet Mongo, where - with assistance from… [ read more ]
    • $19.98
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    • The Last Starfighter: 25th Anniversary Edition DVD
    • The Last Starfighter: 25th Anniversary Edition DVD
    • One of the earliest films to use computer-generated imagery, this action-adventure tells the story of a teenage boy who is recruited by an alien force to fight in an interstellar war. Starring Lance Guest, Catherine Mary Stewart, Ed Berke, Al Berry and Ellen Blake. Expert Review: A film… [ read more ]
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    • Dreamscape: Special Edition Blu-ray
    • Dreamscape: Special Edition Blu-ray
    • Dennis Quaid stars as Alex Gardner, a gifted psychic recruited to help Dr. Paul Novotny (Max von Sydow) and Dr. Jane Devries (Kate Capshaw) in an experiment to help patients disturbed by dreams, in the action-packed "Dreamscape" (1984). When the U.S. President, played by Eddie Albert,… [ read more ]
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    • Krull DVD
    • Krull DVD
    • In a whimsical sword-and-sorcery 1983 fandango, Ken Marshall as the valiant Prince Colwyn sets out on a daring mission to rescue his kingdom and Lysette Anthony as his bride, Lyssa, both of which have been captured by the evil Beast. First the prince must find the legendary Glaive, a… [ read more ]
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    • They Live DVD
    • They Live DVD
    • Among the contemporary masters of the horror film genre, John Carpenter scared up plenty of chills with his classics such as "Halloween" (1978) and "The Thing" (1982). In "They Live" (1988), Carpenter returned to the realm of sci-fi with the story of drifter John Nada (Roddy Piper) who is… [ read more ]
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    • The Black Hole DVD
    • The Black Hole DVD
    • Can an uppity young hammer thrower find true love at the Olympics? As a boy, Wee Geordie was picked on for being puny. Determined to change his life, Geordie answers an ad for the Charles Atlas workout. Flash ahead a few years and Geordie, now played by Bill Travers, is a strapping young man… [ read more ]
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    • Moon DVD
    • Moon DVD
    • The isolation of space comes to life in this indie hit in the tradition of such science fiction classics as "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) and "Silent Running" (1972). Sam Rockwell stars as a miner nearing the end of a three-year contract to harvest precious gasses on the moon. With no… [ read more ]
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    • Donnie Darko DVD
    • Donnie Darko DVD
    • This edgy coming-of-age thriller stars Jake Gyllenhaal as the title character, a teen who is slowly confronting the reality of his life. Donnie, delusional but charismatic, begins experiencing visions of a demonic rabbit who offers predictions for the future that are less than pleasant. Also… [ read more ]
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    • Dark City: Director's Cut DVD
    • Dark City: Director's Cut DVD
    • Film noir meets sci-fi, in director Alex Proyas' cult classic, "Dark City" (1998), in which Rufus Sewell wakes up in an icy bathtub to discover a murdered woman's body. In true noir form, he has no memory of the preceding night and to make matters worse, he's now being pursued by a police… [ read more ]
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    • The Fifth Element (Remastered) Blu-Ray
    • The Fifth Element (Remastered) Blu-Ray
    • New York cab driver Korben Dallas didn't mean to be hero. But he just picked up the kind of fare that only comes along every five thousand years. Expert Review: A very rare mix in films, this one is crazy almost to the point of becoming silly, yet it manages to avoid truly entering the… [ read more ]
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    • Equilibrium DVD
    • Equilibrium DVD
    • Feelings are illegal. Emotions are banned. In "Equilibrium" (2002), the population of the future is forced to take a drug that renders everyone emotionless. It's a brave, new, peaceful world - no wars, no conflicts, but no music, art or culture, either. Rogue bands of artists have refused to… [ read more ]
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    • Source Code: Special Edition Blu-Ray
    • Source Code: Special Edition Blu-Ray
    • Jake Gyllenhaal races against time in the explosive and trippy sci-fi thriller "Source Code" (2011) on Blu-ray. A bomb on a Chicago train kills hundreds of people. To identify the terrorist and stop another deadly attack, a soldier agrees to take part in a government experiment that allows… [ read more ]
    • $30.49
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    • SOLARIS: The Criterion Collection Blu-Ray
    • SOLARIS: The Criterion Collection Blu-Ray
    • A Soviet psychologist probes the unknown at a space station on a strange planet. Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Expert Review: The original becomes harder to sell with the less than spectacular success of the George Clooney remake, but the masterwork of Andrey Tarkovskiy is still one of… [ read more ]
    • $39.95
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