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Chris Richard
So that you don't have to spend hours searching through thousands of movies, some good, some bad and everything in-between, we've compiled a list of the best science-fiction movies and television shows currently on Netflix.
Synopsis: 13-year-old Adam Reed, still grieving the sudden death of his father a year earlier, walks into his garage one night to find a wounded pilot hiding there. This mysterious pilot turns out to be the older version of himself from the future, where time travel is in its infancy. He has risked everything to come back in time on a secret mission. Together they must embark on an adventure into the past to find their father, set things right, and save the world. Adding to the challenge of the mission, the two Adams discover they really don't like each other very much, and if they're going to save the world, they're first going to have to figure out how to get along.
Why you should watch: Ryan Reynolds leads an all-star cast in this family action drama that incorporates much of Reynold's dry wit. While not paying too much attention to the so-called "rules" of time travel, it brings drama and the complexities of human relationships into a spirited science fiction movie aimed at older kids and young adults. Joining Reynolds is an impressive line up, including Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldana and Catherine Keener. Plus it's directed by Shawn Levy, who also gave us "Free Guy" and "Real Steel."
Synopsis: The story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969 from two interwoven perspectives. It both captures the astronaut and mission control view of the triumphant moment, and the lesser-seen bottom up perspective of what it was like from an excited kid's perspective, living near NASA but mostly watching it on TV like hundreds of millions of others. It's ultimately both an exacting re-creation of this special moment in history and a kid's fantasy about being plucked from his average life in suburbia to secretly train for a covert mission to the moon.
Synopsis: An international fleet of naval warships encounters an alien armada while on a Naval war games exercise and faces the biggest threat mankind has ever faced. An intense battle is fought on sea, land and air. If they lose, the world could face a major extinction event and an alien invasion. Will humans win this alien war, what are the aliens doing here, and what do they want?
Why you should watch: The premise of this movie is mostly nonsense, but it's a well-made popcorn flick and as such, surprisingly enjoyable. The plot doesn't stretch the imagination and it's kept relatively simple, but the connection to the board game, on which this is very loosely based, is cleverly incorporated. The action is exciting, the accompanying rock ballads are well placed and thankfully it's not overloaded with cheese. A solid cast including Alexander Skarsgrd, Adam Godley and Rihanna, all deliver solid performances in fun, entertaining, military-themed sci-fi movie.
Why you should watch: This and "Maniac" are two of the best, little-known sci-fi thrillers on Netflix at the moment. An impressive cast, including Graham and also Kyle Soller you might know from "Andor," Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Amaka Okafor and Shira Haas. The penultimate conclusion, is such an incredibly thrilling almost-finale, that when the actual finale comes, it throws you in a totally different direction. This is a masterclass in time travel thrillers and hopefully there will be a second season, but even if there isn't, this is still very much a must-see.
Why you should watch: This Dutch children's movie is not without its charm. Both Kika van de Vijver and Anniek Pheifer play Nova, as different ages and Marouane Meftah plays Nas. The story is interesting and the production values are high. Thanks to a combination of quality cinematography and a relevant underlying message, this feature from writer and director Maurice Trouwborst will more than likely appeal to many adults as well.
Synopsis: Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The problem is that it's on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem is that no one cares. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate.
Why you should watch: Not only does this boast an amazing cast, including Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Ron Perlman and Mark Rylance, but the writer and director behind it is the same individual who gave us "The Big Short" and "Vice" And "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," Adam McKay. It has all the signs that it's going to be a well-written, very funny, deeply disturbing and beautifully observed dark comedy-cum-satire. It is, in essence, a message about climate change and mocks those who willfully and repeatedly scoff at the science. And sadly, that could be applied to a number of things, including the pandemic, pollution, orbital debris...
Synopsis: In the near future, a hostile alien race has attacked Earth. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military seek to find a future leader who can save the human race. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant young mind, is recruited to join the elite, where he's trained to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth.
Why you should watch: This movie was a box-office failure and was listed in Variety's "Biggest Box-Office Bombs of 2013," but the book was a big success as were its four sequels. It's worth a watch simply because of its unique story and storytelling style. There are solid performances from everyone involved and it really should have spawned adaptations of the follow-up novels, but it probably would've had more success if it'd been released in 90s, when experimental sci-fi had a much longer shelf-life.
Synopsis: In the wake of humanity's extinction, a teenage girl is raised by a robot designed to repopulate the earth, but their unique bond is threatened when an inexplicable stranger arrives with alarming news.
Why you should watch: Before "Raised With Wolves" came "I Am Mother," which also deals with the notion of robots raising humans. This Australian indie film stars Hilary Swank and features the voice of Rose Byrne; the story is well-written and relative newcomer Grant Sputore does an excellent job of directing, keeping your attention focused, right up until the plot twist at the end. It's simple and very effective.
Synopsis: Two strangers, Annie (Emma Stone) and Owen (Jonah Hill), sign up for a pharmaceutical test program. Over the program's course, not only do previously-undiscovered parts of their minds and memories reveal themselves, but also their dreams and subconscious become interconnected. Over time, the two bond, however, the line between was is real and what isn't gradually becomes more blurred over time and there's a danger that the experiment might be shut down.
Synopsis: Set in the near future after Earth has recently undergone an apocalyptic event, a lonely scientist in the Arctic (George Clooney) races across the frozen tundra to reach a radio transmitter powerful enough to contact an exploration spacecraft still in space and warn them not to return home. Along the way, he finds and rescues a very young girl and the two form an inseparable friendship.
Why you should watch: This is a low-on-action, character-driven movie that only just sneaks in under the genre banner of sci-fi. It's directed by and stars George Clooney and is very much a portfolio piece for him. If you like Apple TV+'s "Invasion" then you'll enjoy this, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. The cinematography is stunning and the film features an impressive cast, all in cameo roles, including David Oyelowo, Felicity Jones, Kyle Chandler, Ethan Peck and Tim Russ. Clooney however, has coaxed an outstanding performance from newcomer Caoilinn Springall. Aside from one or two liberties taken with the laws of thermodynamics, this is an enjoyable, in-depth illustration of Clooney's skills, both in front of, and behind the camera.
Synopsis: Berlin. Forty years from today. A roiling city of immigrants, where East crashes against West in a science-fiction Casablanca. Leo Beiler (Alexander Skarsgard), a mute bartender, has one reason and one reason only for living here, and she's disappeared. But when Leo's search takes him deeper into the city's underbelly, an odd pair of American surgeons (led by Paul Rudd) seem to be the only recurring clue, and Leo can't tell if they can help, or who he should fear most.
Why you should watch: This is Duncan Jones second major sci-fi motion picture set in the "Moon" universe and it does not disappoint. (The trilogy was concluded with the graphic novel "Madi.") Rudd and Skarsgrd lead the cast, joined by Justin Theroux, and together they all deliver strong performances in this vastly underrated, gritty sci-fi thriller set in the not-too-distant future.
Synopsis: A woman wakes in a cryogenic chamber with absolutely no recollection of how she got there. Unable to exit the status pod and slowly running out of oxygen, she must try to rebuild her memory in order to find a way out of her nightmare.
Why you should watch: One of the good things streaming services have enabled is for relatively low-budget sci-fi movies to be made that would never have seen the light of day 10 or 15 years ago, and this is one of them. "Oxygen" follows a simple premise and demonstrates that less quite often can be more. It has very little in the way of set changes and is focused entirely on the incredible performance of Mlanie Laurent ("Inglorious Basterds," "Beginners," "Enemy"). Another French heavyweight, Mathieu Amalric ("Munich," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Quantum of Solace"), provides the voice for the Medical Interface Liaison Officer or MILO, the AI incorporated into the cryogenic chamber.
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