Reader Top Ten Greatest Science Fiction Films 2000 - 2013: BT

Regular reader BT starts off the afternoon with his choices for the top ten greatest science fiction films circa 2000 – 2013.

BT writes:

“Not sure how this is going to go over with everyone, and to be clear, there are a few movies on everyone's top 10 I haven't seen, but here's mine. 

10. Inception - (spoilers!) I'm normally not a huge fan of "rubber reality" type movies, as it's tough to invest in the narrative when the director/writers can essentially pull any rabbit out of their hat, but I thought Nolan handled it exceedingly well. In most cases an ending like the spinning top would drive me crazy, but I thought it was nearly perfect. Lastly as a father of 2 young girls, the ending really hit home for me. If I were DiCaprio in that situation, it wouldn't matter what reality I was in at the end, I'd be home. 

9. World War Z - In many ways it was pedestrian, it didn't really follow the (terrific) book at all, and there was not a ton of character development, but the fact is after watching seemingly hundreds of zombie movies that all, in some way or another follow the same template, this movie gave me huge sweeping scenes of vast hoards of marauding zombies, and scenes of the government attempting a response. In short, it gave me something I'd never seen before. Many critics ripped it for all the things it didn't do, but that, to me, seems unfair, as they are critiquing a movie not made. If they wanted more one on one zombie action, go see the hundreds of other zombie movies readily available to them. 

8. Night Watch/Day Watch- It's been a while since I've seen this Timur Bekmambatov duo, so it's hard to remember the specifics, but what I do remember was that it was pretty unlike anything I'd seen up to that point. Or more accurately, it was probably like a ton of things I had seen all mashed up into one. I do know it was unique, and that when it was over I wished it was a trilogy instead of only 2 movies. However I doubt many people are on board with me on this one. 

7. The Host -The Korean one, not the new one. The movie ends up being more about family dynamics than monsters, but that's still OK.  Not much to add here other than to say the opening attack was one of my favorite set pieces of the decade. 

6. Slither- Terribly underrated, with a fantastic cast, and witty dialogue. Affirmed my crush on Elizabeth Banks, and started my man crush on Nathan Fillion. Throw the fantastic Gregg Henry and Michael Rooker in to boot and you are cooking with gas (which if I remember correctly plays into the finale). 

5. District B13- (NOT District 9, which I also liked!) Another one people probably won't agree with but I loved it. In the far flung future of 2013, a section of Paris has been cordoned off and left to the street gangs (similarities to District 9, hence the listing as sci-fi on IMDB).  Enter an undercover cop and a local man to rescue a kidnapped sister, and find ticking time bombs. For better or for worse it may have helped usher in Parkour, but don't hold that against it. The film is an absolute blast, and every time you think you know which way it's going, it takes another turn. That's not to say it's a mystery, it's just that when you think it's settled into a specific narrative, it discards that one and zig zags to another. I went into this one completely cold and came out with a huge smile on my face. 

4. Moon - Brilliant screenplay. I smugly went into this movie having watched the trailer, confident I knew what the big "twist" was. Turns out the "twist" occurs a half hour into the movie, and is simply the jumping off point for a discussion about individuality, what it means to be human, and has the added bonus of destroying the old trope of the secretly sinister "helpful" computer. Sam Rockwell is pretty amazing, and the call home is heart breaking. 

3. Cloverfield - I grew up adoring Godzilla. Hands down they were my favorite movies as a kid. You can say all sorts of wonderful things about the old Godzilla movies, but one thing you CAN'T say is that they were scary. Cloverfield changed that. It showed how, instead of filming from the top down, with the sets in miniature, you film from the bottom up, with the monster enlarged, how terrifying those people running around Tokyo must have had it back in the day. The shaky cam has never bothered me, so I had no problem with the feeling that I was there, while the monster ran around Manhattan. And the Statue of Liberty scene is iconic, to me at least. 

2. Star Trek- I had reservations when reading about the reboot, but they were completely put to rest. The film was almost perfect to me. Just enough origin story, just enough meet and greet, and then it's off and running. Chris Pine captured the wit and swagger of Kirk perfectly, Bruce Greenwood's Pike gave it gravitas so it wasn't just an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog, and the rest of the cast fit like a glove. The action scenes were handled well, and the story was tweaked in just the right way to give the writers leeway to deviate from the Trek canon. My only gripe is a less than thrilling villain played by a pretty good actor. 

1. Cabin in the Woods -Someone else claimed it as sci-fi, I don't really think it is, but it was the best time I've had at a movie in a long time, so I'd like to include it as well. The movie was discussed pretty well on this blog, and I don't have a ton to add, other than I still think it was brilliant, insightful, biting, and even if John makes some great points about the end, it's not enough to change the way I feel about the movie as a whole. When people say "Scream" was a spoof of horror movies, I never quite understood that, as all it ever did, in my opinion, was openly acknowledge horror conventions. It was still a horror movie. THIS is a horror spoof. Not the "Scary Movie" kind either. Good stuff.”

BT: I think you made terrific selections, and argued well the case for their inclusion.  I also like Cloverfield (and write about it in Horror Films FAQ), but I think you described it perfectly: the switch from top town to bottom-up “monster” filmmaking.  And yes, it makes a difference; the new approach makes the giant monster genre legitimately scary.  Very well-enunciated, I think.

I was introduced to District B13 by a dear friend, and I own it on DVD.  Like you, I wasn’t exactly expecting much besides a guilty pleasure, but I came out of it having had a really good time.  It’s a fun movie, and the action is indeed breathtaking. 

I have not seen World War Z, but am looking forward to it!