Sci-fi films that are scoring votes in our online poll
Fantastic Planet D: René Laloux (1973) 71m
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Classic animated sci-fi about a race of people who are kept as pets by big blue aliens called the Traags. When the hero escapes his domestication he uses a Traag learning device to incite his people, the Oms, to revolution. Allegorical tale about the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Won the Grand Prix medal at Cannes in 1973.
A critical flop on release, this parody has remained popular by riding the coattails of the Star Wars phenomenon. It's not Brooks' (Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles) best by a long shot, but manages the occasional guffaw largely thanks to the presence of Rick Moranis and John Candy. Brooks himself plays two roles in the film.
V for Vendetta D: James McTeigue (2005) 132m
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When the gentle Evey (Natalie Portman) is rescued from the iron fist of brutality by the masked 'V' (Hugo Weaving) she is introduced to his world of vengeance and resistance to oppression. Visually stylish and loaded with Matrix-style SFX action, the film will not disappoint fans of the Alan Moore graphic novel on which it is based. Historical inspiration via Guy Fawkes' 17th century Gunpowder Plot.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy D: Garth Jennings (2005) 109m
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Douglas Adams' radio series that turned into a five book 'trilogy' and a BBC TV series finally hits the big screen. As one might expect, it's difficult to do such a cultural icon justice in under two hours, but this film does pretty well. When the Vogons destroy Earth, Arthur Dent becomes an intergalactic hitchhiker on a hilarious journey.
War of the Worlds D: Steven Spielberg (2005) 116m
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Blockbuster version of the H G Wells classic starring Tom Cruise. Set in contemporary America, the now-familiar story of Earthly resistance to a devastating alien invasion is a special effects eye-popper - as one might expect from its director, Steven Spielberg. A great movie if you can stand all the doom and gloom.
Spider-Man D: Sam Raimi (2002) 121m
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Claimed by both the fantasy and sci-fi communities, Spider-Man is a passable superhero blockbuster that pretty much offers up what most would expect. A high school geek (Tobey Maguire) is bitten by a genetically-modified spider and attains spidery super-powers. He squares off against the Green Goblin and goes OK with his girl.
When the short-lived cult-TV series Firefly folded, fans rallied. As yet they haven't got their series back, but what they did get was this theatrically released feature film. The crew of the Serenity are finding jobs hard to get, thanks to the fact that two of them are fugitives from the Alliance. A spoken word, 'Miranda', may hold the key.
Young Frankenstein D: Mel Brooks (1974) 106m
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Director Mel Brooks takes aim at the early Frankenstein movies and manages to produce one of the funniest films ever made. Gene Wilder stars in the title role, recreating his father's experiments using the 'How I Did It' book he left behind. Sets from the original flicks add authenticity while a host of top flight comedians strut their stuff.
