Dark City... OMG, i saw it when I was a kid, and was flabbergasted, and stunned throughout my life when people had no idea what I was talking about. Had a rewatched recently and bruh... this movie still hold up today. Definitely in my top 3 SCI fi movies of all time.
Maybe not a kid but I've seen it the 1st time so long time ago I had only a few moments in my memory and memorized mostly mood. Rewatching it was a great idea as it is really underrated plot.
One of my favourites. Sam Rockwell nailed it. A really sad film and very well done. No CGI from what I understand and that made it look more realistic for me. Very sad.
It was also the first big "reality is a lie" movie to come out a year before The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor, and Existenz. I'm sure that there are others - but Dark City was unquestionably the first, and The Matrix was definitely ripping off the aliens a bit with the agents, also with Neo/The One having powers as John Murdoch does.
Great list. One movie that deserves a mention is eXistenZ directed by David Cronenberg, a definitely underrated sci-fi movie. Came out the in same period as Dark City and the Matrix and dealt with similar themes regarding the nature of reality. Weird but good!
I'd recommend this Mexican sci-fi called The Incident (2014). It's like Nolan meets Kojima, with a wildly original and mind-numbing plot with twists and turns. Also give Aniara (2018) a watch. It's a Swedish sci/existential horror about a trip to Mars that veers off-course, leading to some of the most terrifying events you can imagine.
As a Spaceflight Scientist who adores Sunshine I’m so happy to see it on your list. You hit all the salients points. Well done. Excellent video overall. In case you’re interested, I made a video on Sunshine digging a bit deeper into the third act to try and explain why the film is both misunderstood and underrated.
I like this list. 80% are a part of my dvd collection. My honorable mentions are: Predestination, Under The Skin, Snowpiercer and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (anime).
Gotta make the switch to Blu Ray or 4K UHD. Bit more costly, but well worth it. Get as many as you can, as Best Buy and other retailers are no longer going to be selling physical media.
Your honorable mentions are great movies, but I wouldn't say they're underappreciated, Predestination gets mentioned way more than Gattaca and Dark City, the Snowpiercer has a spin off series on Netflix, and Hayao Miyazaki's work has been deified.
I wouldn't class Nausicaa as anime. To me anime are the gamut of long running animated TV series. Nausicaa and other Ghibli films are animated films - and I mean that in the most complete sense, as in films that happen to be animated instead of live action. Anime has a lot of baggage attached to it because of the weirder (and pervier) TV series out there, so I find it much safer to just call the good films animated movies - because when you try and recommend them to people as anime they immediately think of the bad stuff, and if they are not into the culture they will just not and then ignore you.
@@nicholasszabo5954 "Gotta make the switch to Blu Ray or 4K UHD" 99% of the time these days when people say DVD they mean a mix of all 3 formats, especially as many films and TV series are still not available on even Blu Ray, let alone 4K. James Cameron's The Abyss being one glaring example that is only just now getting a Bluray and 4K release more than 2 decades after the DVD release which itself was literally just the old non anamorphic Laserdisc master repackaged on a new format. Another James Cameron directed classic True Lies is also in this same limbo, with no release in sight as yet. The fact that it took Cameron 10+ years to shart out Avatar and then a similar time to shart out Avatar 2 and sequels to come without addressing new format masters for these 2 films is one of many reasons I dislike the self involved pr!ck.
I might be biased because i consider Villeneuve the best director working in Hollywood, but Arrival is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. The premise, the dialogues, the music, the VFXs and the twist, they're absolutely perfect. It's a movie that transcends its genre, not only is it a great sci-fi movie, it's a great movie, period.
Good selection. The only one I haven't seen is The Machine. Brazil and Gattaca are in my top 20 movies. Duncan Jones followed up Moon with the far more poppy Source Code which is worth a look. Would also recommend Cypher by Vincenzo Natali and Hardware by Richard Stanley.
Wow, never heard of "The Machine". So wonderful to still find unknown movies... ;) BTW: "The morrow" from Gattaca´s OST is a wonderful pice of music, just like Moon´s "Welcome to Lunar Industries"
Watched them all except Brazil and The Machine. Sunshine and Equilibrium are amongst my all time favourite films, Dark City, Gattacca, and Moon way up there too.
Great selection, although there's a couple more I'd suggest: 1. Alita: Battle Angel - a really different film experience based on a great manga series by Yukito Kishiro. There's plenty of additional ways that subsequent films could cover, depending on how closely (or otherwise) the series is followed. But Alita is a really good film in its own right, with a terrific performance from Rosa Salazar as Alita. 2. Edge of Tomorrow - one of the few Tom Cruise movies that I can watch. Great premise (alien invasion that totally disrupts time for some soldiers) and well-acted, especially by Emily Blunt And of course, there are also some older films, such as Metropolis (1927), Flash Gordon (1980), and The Abyss (1989), amongst so many others.
Thanks for a very useful list! I didn’t know about half of them so I look forward to some engaging streaming experiences over the next few evenings. I would add the dystopian film George Lucas made before Star Wars- “THX 1138“ from 1971. Totally different from his blockbusters- cerebral and eerily tense.
I would add Europa to this list. Moon is my favorite on this list. Then Sunshine and Brazil But this list is completely correct that all of these were mostly overlooked but incredible movies. These are all on my list of favorite Sci-fi.
I came across your video purely by chance, but I was one of the VFX artists on The Machine, and I also did a few days on set. There were probably about 8 of us working on it in our little studio in Cardiff (most of the film was shot in South Wales nearby), over four months or so. The shot at 11:03 was the first shot I did of Caity's blue glowing eyes that got the director (Caradog James) to sign off on the look. I added a subtle rotation, like the iris was adjusting to the light as her eyes open for the first time. So I got to do all of the eye shots, one of which was among the hardest VFX shots I ever worked on (the Machine emerges from under a table, and I just could not get a good track on her eyes!). Loads of my shots in the trailer clip, so a nice trip down memory lane. Thanks for featuring the film in your list!
@@Michelle-EdenAgreed. Wish I could get the wasted time back. It was so bad I didn't bother to even remember wha5 it is about. At least it wasn't Ad Astra, probably the worst sci fi movie of all time.
Will there be a spoiler free version of this? Having watched "The Moon", some of your comments relate to items not in the 1st 1/3rd of the film. Off to find "The Machine" as it is the only film on your list that I have not seen. Thanks for the list
Strange Days is brilliant. For some reason, though they're completely different, I can't watch Strange Days without thinking of Existenz, and vice-versa.
I went to the cinema when I was 17 to watch Starship troopers and I loved it. Gattaca as well. I love Equilibrium, Sunshine, Moon and Dark City. I've also enjoyed A scanner darkly. I haven't seen The machine nor Brazil, but this last one looks great. I didn't like Cloud Atlas. Great selection, by the way.
Sunshine, Moon and The Machine I saw on their Premieres. I sat behind Ewan McGregor on the The Machine (Ewan's uncle plays the main antagonist), and it had outstanding acting from Caity Lotz. Anyhoo, a super list that every SF must have at least seen (if not own).
Starfield Troopers is a masterpiece. You start out enjoying it for its slapstick sci-fi teen-movie fun, and at some point you suddenly realise that you are watching an allegory about fascism and the casual nature of evil.
"Fans of the book (Starship Troopers) might have been disappointed or even shocked..." is the understatement of the century. Like the other Heinlein adaptation I saw (Puppet Masters) the source material was butchered into something closer to Frankenstein's monster than cinema. I really can't understand why any of the characters and story remain in the movie, except to insult those that found the book moving and inspiring.
I know the guys who made The Machine they’re really nice and always called themselves amateur filmmakers, they’re legends in Wales (their home country).
Thank you so much. Some of my very favorite movies are on this list. I'm going to be sure to check out the others that I'm not familiar with. It's videos like this that keep truly great films from getting lost forever
Moon, Starship Troopers, Sunshine, Gattaca, Brazil - if you havnt seen one or all of these you must. Great highlight from this channel on good scifi. Thumbs up. Cloud Atlas - You must be really awake but its great.
Artifice Girl ( 2023 ) : similar to Ex - Machina, the best low budget SF movie I ever watched. Excellent story & dialogues. One guy is a director, screenwriter & one of the actors. Highly recommend. Never heard of " The Machine " looks good, thanks Darrel
Fantastic list! I've seen most of these, but the one movie I really thought you'd include was Event Horizon (truly embracing the cosmic horror aspect of human existentialism, and also inspired the Dead Space game series - considered one of the most immersive and disturbing ever made). I haven't seen Moon, The Machine, or Cloud Atlas, so I'll give those a glance. Thank you for mentioning both Equilibrium and Dark City! Some of my all-time favorites, and what I feel were nearly lost rare gems. I want to say Dark City probably inspired the game BioShock.
@@paulmerry8929 I would be happy to recognise the sarcasm if you hadn't had a ratio of 2 great to 4 crap films. Now if you had Jean de Florrette, The Seven Samarei, One flew over the cuckoos nest, psycho ... It would have been funnier
@@derekcouzens9483 the only crap film he has in there is titanic, but that’s just my opinion. There’s enough going on there to reasonably understand his point and you pulling him up on it is, quite frankly churlish. Thought I’d treat you likewise
Sam Rockwell is a brilliant actor and I would love to see him in bigger movies. Imagine him playing doc along side Tom holland in a back to the future requeal.
Gattaca is by far the best movie in the list, a true masterpiece. Great acting, great story with deep meaning. Cited in bioethics publications and relevant in university grade courses and symposiums.
Just so you know, Darrel. I can see you’ve chosen your words carefully. I’ve been concentrating on each single word (yep, I’m weird), and I’m pretty stunned about the boiled-down descriptions. Normally I listen in a kind of daze. Your show today is in a class of its own. I’ve seen most of these but will chase up the others.
Great list... Dark City is in my Top 10 Best Sci-Fi films, Equilibrium is right below it. Have 6 of the 10 in my DVD collection. Will be watching the others... Thanks👍
I think this is the first time that I have watched such a review video and found that I’ve seen all of the movies featured (and read some of the books). I would not disagree with any of the inclusions here. The list could have been longer, but this collection of movies would not disappoint any Sci-Fi fan. Read the book before you watch Cloud Atlas.
Very good list! I've seen 9 of these with the exception being The Machine. But I also discovered several in the comments that I haven't seen and have added to my future watch list. Unfortunately my future watch list now sits at 500+ titles! Here are two more from me that I enjoyed and you don't hear much about: "John Carter" (2012) Campy Sci-fi fun and "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" (1964). Similar to more recent "The Martian" and definitely better than you would expect given the name.
1998 and 1999 was a remarkable time for Sci-Fi movies. A plethora of movies questioning the nature of reality came out during these two years. They are all quite different, but they all share the dilemma of discerning what the nature of the world really is. Remarkably, they are all quite good, and any of them are worth watching. I'm talking about DARK CITY, THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR, EXISTENZ, THE TRUMAN SHOW, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, RUN LOLA RUN, and, the king of them all, THE MATRIX. Strange times.
Moon was my favorite movie that year and one of the best sci-fi films of the decade. A career high performance by Sam Rockwell too who manages to convey the full spectrum of emotion. It takes a great actor to carry an entire film on their back like that, especially in such an isolated space. If you liked Cast Away, you’ll appreciate this.
I've actually seen all 10 of these movies. Well I can agree with nine of them, the idea that starship troopers is a satire is way beyond my comprehension. It does seem like just a another space opera Western, in the mold of Star wars with insects. I guess maybe you just have a love for this particular movie for some reason and somehow are able to pick out some satire in some form that for me just does not exist. However your narrative your ability to describe these movies are amazing and very talented. Very impressive use of editing and great delivery. Hopefully your presentation will get other people to really have an opportunity to experience most of these movies as they originally needed to be. Thanks for your contribution.
I have seen, Moon, Gattica ( I have a DVD copy), AScanner Darkly (and read the book), Sunshine, Cloud Atlas and Brazil.. My favorite has to be Gattica with Scanner Darkly and Sunshine joint second.
I liked Dark City. Rented it from Blockbuster and my girlfriend (now wife) fell asleep in the first four minutes, leaving me to enjoy the movie as a sci fi fan.
Wish I could give this two likes. Loved Moon and Cloud Atlas. Will have to look at Star Troopers again. Seemed very silly at the time. So much new to look for. Thanks.
Gattaca was my favorite from this list. I never had to suspend disbelief. I don’t think Vincent was fighting to change anything; rather he wanted to fulfill his dream in spite of his genetic imperfections. This is a problem humans WILL have to address in the future, so, like most great sci-fi, it gives humanity a head start. Sunshine was packed with unrealistic elements from start to finish. It’s a fun movie to ponder, but that’s about it. Moon was great, but it’s hard to believe the main premise. If the viewer just accepts it, it is a great movie.
Nice list, but a little too meditative for me. I like my sci fi less philosophical and more kick ass ! In no particular order 1. The machine 2. Pandorum 3. Kill command 4. Starship Troopers 5. Puppet Masters 6. The Arrival (with Charlie Sheen) 7. Screamers 8. Outland 9. Cyborg 10. Prospect
A great list, though I've never even heard of The Machine, and personally, I would've excluded Cloud Atlas and include Extracted, a brilliant and underappreciated hidden gem if ever I've seen one.
It would be hard to know if you would be interested in the following movies, they have a sort of sci-fi/fantasy element which I found provocative and outstanding. The first one would be another Earth 2011 which is only slightly sci-fi but it has a great message and character development. A second movie would be nomads 1986 which deals into the concept of nomadic people in Los Angeles and Pierce brosnan as an anthropologist trying to discover what these people are. Finally one of the best sci-fi television series for me personally was defining gravity 2009. It seemed to have a charm and vibrancy all of its own.
A great list. The only ones I haven't seen are Dark City, Starship Troopers and The Machine. The rest are (or have been, lol) in my DVD bookcase. I was really chuffed to see four of my favourite films on the list; Equilibrium, Gattaca, Moon and A Scanner Darkly. Anything by Phil Dick is okay by me! :)
I read Cloud Atlas before watching the movie. I completely understand why it is difficult to grasp there was so much left out of the movie that I feel just couldn't be conveyed onscreen. The movie sort of fails to tie the stories together and doesn't use the same timing or setup from the book. I enjoyed the movie, but I think it's only because I read the book first.
All these movies are OUTSTANDING, have watched all of these at least every few years, Hollywood just doesn't make movies/films like this anymore, there is no soul in what is being produced. Cloud Atlas has to be my All Time BEST Movie, so deep and woven together through timelines, I WISH there would be more stories about this type of content, lay off Robot's and AI for awhile, we get it, we already live in this dystopian cyber world, we just haven't gone full crazy yet, then we will be at cyber-punk level.
Some people hated Sunshine's final act, but Pinbacker was a pivotal embodiment of the film's themes of Religion v Science. I can't see how it could have ended any other way that made sense.
I wasn't particularly thrilled by any of these movies, to be honest, except Starship Troopers. And I feel that since our tastes might be so different, I'd like to offer my own list of underrated sci-fi, in case there are any you haven't seen yet: - Until the End of the World - Another Earth - The Hidden - Screamers - Perfect Sense - Seconds - Robinson Crusoe on Mars - Timecrimes - World on a Wire - Starman
I've seen all of these but Moon. Equilibrium and Gattaca are my favourites by far. I was disappointed by Cloud Atlas, it just didn't feel connected throughout and some of the segments were much better than others.
Great list, 6 I've seen and loved and I'll be checking out the other 4 sometime soon. A shout out for George Lucas first film THX 1138 bleak but ultimately uplifting
From the list, I haven't seen Dark City and The Machine. I'm going to remedy this as soon as possible. Out of the rest my all-time favourites are Brazil and Moon. Cloud Atlas , the film, is much more optimistic than the novel, and that's why I like it more.
Dark City...
OMG, i saw it when I was a kid, and was flabbergasted, and stunned throughout my life when people had no idea what I was talking about. Had a rewatched recently and bruh... this movie still hold up today. Definitely in my top 3 SCI fi movies of all time.
Maybe not a kid but I've seen it the 1st time so long time ago I had only a few moments in my memory and memorized mostly mood.
Rewatching it was a great idea as it is really underrated plot.
Watched Dark City six times the week it came out
Covers too much of the same ground as matrix
@@nosuchthing8 Are you not mistaking with Equilibrium?
@@archieil I need to see it
Moon is a brilliant film. I tend to avoid films with more or less one character in a very limited universe, but this is one of very few exceptions.
Not many actors could have done what Sam Rockwell did.
What a great movie. This is a true underrated movie.
One of my favourites. Sam Rockwell nailed it. A really sad film and very well done. No CGI from what I understand and that made it look more realistic for me. Very sad.
Sam Rockwell was so good!
those "bottle episode" type movies are literally the best
2:42 Appreciates Moon and it looks like he bought Bank's culture series, Subscribed.
Thanks for mentioning Dark City. Great thought-provoking movie, it's about time I watch it again.
If you haven't yet, try to watch it with Roger Ebert's full-length commentary track. It is fascinating.
It was also the first big "reality is a lie" movie to come out a year before The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor, and Existenz.
I'm sure that there are others - but Dark City was unquestionably the first, and The Matrix was definitely ripping off the aliens a bit with the agents, also with Neo/The One having powers as John Murdoch does.
Are there any actual evidence for The Matrix ripping off Dark City? Having things in common isn't the same thing.@@mnomadvfx
I agree with all your observations. Moon, Dark City, Starship Troopers, Sunshine, Cloud Atlas are all favourites. Keep up the good work!
Great list. One movie that deserves a mention is eXistenZ directed by David Cronenberg, a definitely underrated sci-fi movie. Came out the in same period as Dark City and the Matrix and dealt with similar themes regarding the nature of reality. Weird but good!
I've seen most of these. Another underrated movie is "The Fountain" with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz!
An incredible movie. But is it science fi though?
@@crazycutz8072 I would say so. The third act takes place in the far future. It also has a theme about finding the secret to eternal life.
It’s similar to Cloud Amal’s with the time jumping.
The Machine is new to me, so I'll have to check it out. Hope you'll feature more lists like this.
It is a good one. Has a satisfying ending. Ava (Caity Lotz) is rather good in this as is Toby Stephens.
I'd recommend this Mexican sci-fi called The Incident (2014). It's like Nolan meets Kojima, with a wildly original and mind-numbing plot with twists and turns.
Also give Aniara (2018) a watch. It's a Swedish sci/existential horror about a trip to Mars that veers off-course, leading to some of the most terrifying events you can imagine.
I can’t vouch for The Incident since I haven’t seen it yet but the The Similars from the same director is worth checking out if you like weird.
@@waverlyking6045 Oh yeah, i enjoyed that. The director seems to be doing something different atleast. Good stuff.
Aniara would fit well in this list.
As a Spaceflight Scientist who adores Sunshine I’m so happy to see it on your list. You hit all the salients points. Well done. Excellent video overall. In case you’re interested, I made a video on Sunshine digging a bit deeper into the third act to try and explain why the film is both misunderstood and underrated.
I like this list. 80% are a part of my dvd collection. My honorable mentions are: Predestination, Under The Skin, Snowpiercer and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (anime).
Gotta make the switch to Blu Ray or 4K UHD. Bit more costly, but well worth it. Get as many as you can, as Best Buy and other retailers are no longer going to be selling physical media.
i cant remember much about predestination, but those other 3 are amazing films for sure.
Your honorable mentions are great movies, but I wouldn't say they're underappreciated, Predestination gets mentioned way more than Gattaca and Dark City, the Snowpiercer has a spin off series on Netflix, and Hayao Miyazaki's work has been deified.
I wouldn't class Nausicaa as anime.
To me anime are the gamut of long running animated TV series.
Nausicaa and other Ghibli films are animated films - and I mean that in the most complete sense, as in films that happen to be animated instead of live action.
Anime has a lot of baggage attached to it because of the weirder (and pervier) TV series out there, so I find it much safer to just call the good films animated movies - because when you try and recommend them to people as anime they immediately think of the bad stuff, and if they are not into the culture they will just not and then ignore you.
@@nicholasszabo5954
"Gotta make the switch to Blu Ray or 4K UHD"
99% of the time these days when people say DVD they mean a mix of all 3 formats, especially as many films and TV series are still not available on even Blu Ray, let alone 4K.
James Cameron's The Abyss being one glaring example that is only just now getting a Bluray and 4K release more than 2 decades after the DVD release which itself was literally just the old non anamorphic Laserdisc master repackaged on a new format.
Another James Cameron directed classic True Lies is also in this same limbo, with no release in sight as yet.
The fact that it took Cameron 10+ years to shart out Avatar and then a similar time to shart out Avatar 2 and sequels to come without addressing new format masters for these 2 films is one of many reasons I dislike the self involved pr!ck.
I might be biased because i consider Villeneuve the best director working in Hollywood, but Arrival is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. The premise, the dialogues, the music, the VFXs and the twist, they're absolutely perfect. It's a movie that transcends its genre, not only is it a great sci-fi movie, it's a great movie, period.
Good selection. The only one I haven't seen is The Machine. Brazil and Gattaca are in my top 20 movies. Duncan Jones followed up Moon with the far more poppy Source Code which is worth a look. Would also recommend Cypher by Vincenzo Natali and Hardware by Richard Stanley.
Of this list I've only watched Moon, Gattaca and Brazil and I can confirm they are wonderful movies 😁
I was introduced to Equilibrium by Roger Ebert when he was on TV. He compared it to Matrix. I ended up buying and enjoying it.
The Gun Karta is pretty awesome.
Wow, never heard of "The Machine". So wonderful to still find unknown movies... ;)
BTW: "The morrow" from Gattaca´s OST is a wonderful pice of music, just like Moon´s "Welcome to Lunar Industries"
What an excellent list.
As number 11, I'd add Arrival. That is one of the best films I've ever had the pleasure of watching.
Great list, really enjoyed Cloud Atlas, and agree Sunshine is under appreciated!
Sunshine may be underappreciated, but the ending kinda botched it for me - a great looking film otherwise wasted.
@@mnomadvfx Man touches the sun..What more you want?
Watched them all except Brazil and The Machine. Sunshine and Equilibrium are amongst my all time favourite films, Dark City, Gattacca, and Moon way up there too.
Great selection, although there's a couple more I'd suggest:
1. Alita: Battle Angel - a really different film experience based on a great manga series by Yukito Kishiro. There's plenty of additional ways that subsequent films could cover, depending on how closely (or otherwise) the series is followed. But Alita is a really good film in its own right, with a terrific performance from Rosa Salazar as Alita.
2. Edge of Tomorrow - one of the few Tom Cruise movies that I can watch. Great premise (alien invasion that totally disrupts time for some soldiers) and well-acted, especially by Emily Blunt
And of course, there are also some older films, such as Metropolis (1927), Flash Gordon (1980), and The Abyss (1989), amongst so many others.
100% agreed on good additions ; both excellent manga/anime adaptations
Slop
good list
1 & 2 get all the love they deserve. The abyss just made a comeback. Flash Gordon is the 80s version of Barbarella.
Moon is SO great! Rockwell is so underrated.
Thanks for a very useful list! I didn’t know about half of them so I look forward to some engaging streaming experiences over the next few evenings.
I would add the dystopian film George Lucas made before Star Wars- “THX 1138“ from 1971.
Totally different from his blockbusters- cerebral and eerily tense.
Love that film.
good call
I would add Europa to this list.
Moon is my favorite on this list.
Then Sunshine and Brazil
But this list is completely correct that all of these were mostly overlooked but incredible movies.
These are all on my list of favorite Sci-fi.
Sunshine is such a hidden gem, love that movie.
Man, I'm impressed. This is a good list. Not only are these underrated, but there are some actual deep cuts like Dark City and Gattaca.
I came across your video purely by chance, but I was one of the VFX artists on The Machine, and I also did a few days on set. There were probably about 8 of us working on it in our little studio in Cardiff (most of the film was shot in South Wales nearby), over four months or so. The shot at 11:03 was the first shot I did of Caity's blue glowing eyes that got the director (Caradog James) to sign off on the look. I added a subtle rotation, like the iris was adjusting to the light as her eyes open for the first time. So I got to do all of the eye shots, one of which was among the hardest VFX shots I ever worked on (the Machine emerges from under a table, and I just could not get a good track on her eyes!). Loads of my shots in the trailer clip, so a nice trip down memory lane. Thanks for featuring the film in your list!
Enjoyed your picks - Sunshine is a top-10 film for me, Gattaca and Cloud Atlas not too far behind
You forgot to mention that dark city is best watched in the Directors cut. The theatrical version ruins the plot in the first 30 seconds.
Cloud Atlas is a masterpiece.
That's funny. I thought it was unwatchable.
@@Michelle-EdenAgreed. Wish I could get the wasted time back. It was so bad I didn't bother to even remember wha5 it is about. At least it wasn't Ad Astra, probably the worst sci fi movie of all time.
Beautifully shot, artful and just disturbing enough to be memorable. The opposite of pulp sci-fi. One of the few movies I bothered to buy on Blu Ray.
Will there be a spoiler free version of this? Having watched "The Moon", some of your comments relate to items not in the 1st 1/3rd of the film. Off to find "The Machine" as it is the only film on your list that I have not seen. Thanks for the list
Great list. I would also recommend Automata, Until The End of The World and Strange Days.
Strange Days - good call.
@@Thurgosh_OG Angela Bassett was as good a version of Molly Millions as we're gunna get :)
That's exactly what I thought when I first saw the film back in the day.
Strange Days is brilliant. For some reason, though they're completely different, I can't watch Strange Days without thinking of Existenz, and vice-versa.
I went to the cinema when I was 17 to watch Starship troopers and I loved it. Gattaca as well. I love Equilibrium, Sunshine, Moon and Dark City. I've also enjoyed A scanner darkly. I haven't seen The machine nor Brazil, but this last one looks great. I didn't like Cloud Atlas.
Great selection, by the way.
Sunshine, Moon and The Machine I saw on their Premieres. I sat behind Ewan McGregor on the The Machine (Ewan's uncle plays the main antagonist), and it had outstanding acting from Caity Lotz. Anyhoo, a super list that every SF must have at least seen (if not own).
I have watched and enjoyed nearly all of these, yet to see The Machine. A very good list indeed.
Starfield Troopers is a masterpiece.
You start out enjoying it for its slapstick sci-fi teen-movie fun, and at some point you suddenly realise that you are watching an allegory about fascism and the casual nature of evil.
"Fans of the book (Starship Troopers) might have been disappointed or even shocked..." is the understatement of the century. Like the other Heinlein adaptation I saw (Puppet Masters) the source material was butchered into something closer to Frankenstein's monster than cinema. I really can't understand why any of the characters and story remain in the movie, except to insult those that found the book moving and inspiring.
I know the guys who made The Machine they’re really nice and always called themselves amateur filmmakers, they’re legends in Wales (their home country).
Thank you so much. Some of my very favorite movies are on this list. I'm going to be sure to check out the others that I'm not familiar with. It's videos like this that keep truly great films from getting lost forever
Moon and Brazil both are amazing and my favourite movies.
Never heard of Dark City, definitely gonna check this out. Thanks for the recommendation.
You yourself are a sci-fi gem. I appreciate your clear articulation and insights. Thank you.
Moon, Starship Troopers, Sunshine, Gattaca, Brazil - if you havnt seen one or all of these you must. Great highlight from this channel on good scifi. Thumbs up.
Cloud Atlas - You must be really awake but its great.
Really liked The Machine, for such a low budget it was awesome, great atmosphere and music, as well as the performance from Caity Lotz.
Great list. I have seen all these movies multiple times. They are definitely on my favorites list.
dark city was a staple with me and my friends . amazing movie
I love seeing Equilibrium receiving some attention
Artifice Girl ( 2023 ) : similar to Ex - Machina, the best low budget SF movie I ever watched. Excellent story & dialogues.
One guy is a director, screenwriter & one of the actors.
Highly recommend.
Never heard of " The Machine " looks good, thanks Darrel
I haven't seen Moon or The Machine, but I agree with the rest on this list.
Dark City and A Scanner Darkly seem quite promising. Thank you for your effort! 😘
Fantastic list! I've seen most of these, but the one movie I really thought you'd include was Event Horizon (truly embracing the cosmic horror aspect of human existentialism, and also inspired the Dead Space game series - considered one of the most immersive and disturbing ever made). I haven't seen Moon, The Machine, or Cloud Atlas, so I'll give those a glance. Thank you for mentioning both Equilibrium and Dark City! Some of my all-time favorites, and what I feel were nearly lost rare gems. I want to say Dark City probably inspired the game BioShock.
Great video. I've got another candidate if you want to make a longer list: the 1977 sci-fi thriller Demon Seed.
That's interesting. I liked the book, but I've never seen the movie.
Dean Koontz doesn't get the love he deserves when it comes to Hollywood.
Can't wait for the next underrated movies list such as:
- Godfather
- Citizen Kane
- Titanic
- Matrix
- Saving private Ryan
- Lord of the Rings
My thoughts exactly 😅
The list is those "underrated" ... Citizen Kane and Godfather almost always turn up in lists of the best films ever and rightly so.
@@derekcouzens9483I see sarcasm is lost on you
@@paulmerry8929 I would be happy to recognise the sarcasm if you hadn't had a ratio of 2 great to 4 crap films. Now if you had Jean de Florrette, The Seven Samarei, One flew over the cuckoos nest, psycho ... It would have been funnier
@@derekcouzens9483 the only crap film he has in there is titanic, but that’s just my opinion. There’s enough going on there to reasonably understand his point and you pulling him up on it is, quite frankly churlish. Thought I’d treat you likewise
Sam Rockwell is a brilliant actor and I would love to see him in bigger movies. Imagine him playing doc along side Tom holland in a back to the future requeal.
Gems the lot of them! Dark City was an eye opener for me.
Gattaca is by far the best movie in the list, a true masterpiece.
Great acting, great story with deep meaning.
Cited in bioethics publications and relevant in university grade courses and symposiums.
Just so you know, Darrel. I can see you’ve chosen your words carefully. I’ve been concentrating on each single word (yep, I’m weird), and I’m pretty stunned about the boiled-down descriptions. Normally I listen in a kind of daze.
Your show today is in a class of its own.
I’ve seen most of these but will chase up the others.
Great list... Dark City is in my Top 10 Best Sci-Fi films, Equilibrium is right below it. Have 6 of the 10 in my DVD collection. Will be watching the others... Thanks👍
I haven't seen A Scanner Darkly or The Machine, will have to check them out. The rest are all great movies. I'd also add UNDER THE SKIN to this list.
The Machine looks brilliant.
I think this is the first time that I have watched such a review video and found that I’ve seen all of the movies featured (and read some of the books). I would not disagree with any of the inclusions here. The list could have been longer, but this collection of movies would not disappoint any Sci-Fi fan. Read the book before you watch Cloud Atlas.
Thank you for the video and list. I will take a second look at some of them.
Would highly recommend the German sci fi film Cargo from 2009. A hidden gem definitely.
Oh My Goddess, I have seen so many of these hidden gems! THANK YOU for shining the spotlight on them & giving them some love!💗🥰🥰🥰💗
Equilibrium is a positively stunning film! Alex Proyas is a magnificent director! A Scanner Darkly speaks for itself.
Very good list! I've seen 9 of these with the exception being The Machine. But I also discovered several in the comments that I haven't seen and have added to my future watch list.
Unfortunately my future watch list now sits at 500+ titles!
Here are two more from me that I enjoyed and you don't hear much about: "John Carter" (2012) Campy Sci-fi fun and "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" (1964). Similar to more recent "The Martian" and definitely better than you would expect given the name.
Great list of sci-fi films. The machine is the only one that I have not watched.
Well lucky you, it's too late for me but save yourself.
1998 and 1999 was a remarkable time for Sci-Fi movies. A plethora of movies questioning the nature of reality came out during these two years. They are all quite different, but they all share the dilemma of discerning what the nature of the world really is. Remarkably, they are all quite good, and any of them are worth watching. I'm talking about DARK CITY, THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR, EXISTENZ, THE TRUMAN SHOW, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, RUN LOLA RUN, and, the king of them all, THE MATRIX. Strange times.
Excellent list. I had never heard of The Machine, and have never seen Cloud Atlas. I've got some movies to watch...
The Wall (German: Die Wand) is a 2012 Austrian-German drama film written and directed by Julian Pölsler and starring Martina Gedeck.
I’ve seen all of these, except for Cloud Atlas and Sunshine. I agree that this is a great list!
Great list! Here’s an older one (80s) that I think is way overlooked. The Quiet Earth.
Moon was my favorite movie that year and one of the best sci-fi films of the decade. A career high performance by Sam Rockwell too who manages to convey the full spectrum of emotion. It takes a great actor to carry an entire film on their back like that, especially in such an isolated space. If you liked Cast Away, you’ll appreciate this.
So many great choices on your list ,good job.
I've actually seen all 10 of these movies. Well I can agree with nine of them, the idea that starship troopers is a satire is way beyond my comprehension. It does seem like just a another space opera Western, in the mold of Star wars with insects. I guess maybe you just have a love for this particular movie for some reason and somehow are able to pick out some satire in some form that for me just does not exist. However your narrative your ability to describe these movies are amazing and very talented. Very impressive use of editing and great delivery. Hopefully your presentation will get other people to really have an opportunity to experience most of these movies as they originally needed to be. Thanks for your contribution.
I have seen, Moon, Gattica ( I have a DVD copy), AScanner Darkly (and read the book), Sunshine, Cloud Atlas and Brazil.. My favorite has to be Gattica with Scanner Darkly and Sunshine joint second.
I liked Dark City. Rented it from Blockbuster and my girlfriend (now wife) fell asleep in the first four minutes, leaving me to enjoy the movie as a sci fi fan.
The Machine was a masterpiece. Dark City a classic. Moon another classic, Gattica same. Sunshine very dope.
I've seen most of these movies and they were all great. Under-appreciated indeed.
Wish I could give this two likes. Loved Moon and Cloud Atlas. Will have to look at Star Troopers again. Seemed very silly at the time. So much new to look for. Thanks.
Brilliant list! You have a new subscriber, despite the Sunshine puns….
I've seen all of these except Sunshine. My favorites are Cloud Atlas, Moon, Brazil, and Dark City.
Gattaca was my favorite from this list. I never had to suspend disbelief. I don’t think Vincent was fighting to change anything; rather he wanted to fulfill his dream in spite of his genetic imperfections. This is a problem humans WILL have to address in the future, so, like most great sci-fi, it gives humanity a head start.
Sunshine was packed with unrealistic elements from start to finish. It’s a fun movie to ponder, but that’s about it.
Moon was great, but it’s hard to believe the main premise. If the viewer just accepts it, it is a great movie.
👍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐So many great choices on your list ,good job. 10,- Cloud Atlas is my favorite!
Subscribed for this man's voice alone.
Nice list, but a little too meditative for me. I like my sci fi less philosophical and more kick ass ! In no particular order
1. The machine
2. Pandorum
3. Kill command
4. Starship Troopers
5. Puppet Masters
6. The Arrival (with Charlie Sheen)
7. Screamers
8. Outland
9. Cyborg
10. Prospect
A great list, though I've never even heard of The Machine, and personally, I would've excluded Cloud Atlas and include Extracted, a brilliant and underappreciated hidden gem if ever I've seen one.
These are all brilliant films I have watched more than once. Sam Rockwell was so good in Moon.
It would be hard to know if you would be interested in the following movies, they have a sort of sci-fi/fantasy element which I found provocative and outstanding. The first one would be another Earth 2011 which is only slightly sci-fi but it has a great message and character development. A second movie would be nomads 1986 which deals into the concept of nomadic people in Los Angeles and Pierce brosnan as an anthropologist trying to discover what these people are. Finally one of the best sci-fi television series for me personally was defining gravity 2009. It seemed to have a charm and vibrancy all of its own.
A great list. The only ones I haven't seen are Dark City, Starship Troopers and The Machine. The rest are (or have been, lol) in my DVD bookcase. I was really chuffed to see four of my favourite films on the list; Equilibrium, Gattaca, Moon and A Scanner Darkly. Anything by Phil Dick is okay by me! :)
Have you seen Next with Nicholas Cage?
That's another lesser known PKD adaptation.
@@mnomadvfx Yes, that's another good one. :)
Really great list!
Great list! I want to watch all of them. Thanks.
What a great list. Love all these fab films
I read Cloud Atlas before watching the movie. I completely understand why it is difficult to grasp there was so much left out of the movie that I feel just couldn't be conveyed onscreen. The movie sort of fails to tie the stories together and doesn't use the same timing or setup from the book. I enjoyed the movie, but I think it's only because I read the book first.
All these movies are OUTSTANDING, have watched all of these at least every few years, Hollywood just doesn't make movies/films like this anymore, there is no soul in what is being produced. Cloud Atlas has to be my All Time BEST Movie, so deep and woven together through timelines, I WISH there would be more stories about this type of content, lay off Robot's and AI for awhile, we get it, we already live in this dystopian cyber world, we just haven't gone full crazy yet, then we will be at cyber-punk level.
Some people hated Sunshine's final act, but Pinbacker was a pivotal embodiment of the film's themes of Religion v Science. I can't see how it could have ended any other way that made sense.
"Midnight Special" was pretty bloody good
I wasn't particularly thrilled by any of these movies, to be honest, except Starship Troopers. And I feel that since our tastes might be so different, I'd like to offer my own list of underrated sci-fi, in case there are any you haven't seen yet:
- Until the End of the World
- Another Earth
- The Hidden
- Screamers
- Perfect Sense
- Seconds
- Robinson Crusoe on Mars
- Timecrimes
- World on a Wire
- Starman
Each of these movies are worth watching and re-watching.
I've seen all of these but Moon. Equilibrium and Gattaca are my favourites by far. I was disappointed by Cloud Atlas, it just didn't feel connected throughout and some of the segments were much better than others.
Great list, 6 I've seen and loved and I'll be checking out the other 4 sometime soon. A shout out for George Lucas first film THX 1138 bleak but ultimately uplifting
From the list, I haven't seen Dark City and The Machine. I'm going to remedy this as soon as possible.
Out of the rest my all-time favourites are Brazil and Moon.
Cloud Atlas , the film, is much more optimistic than the novel, and that's why I like it more.
I love the last 3 movie well done and very interesting movie some I have just not got around to watching yer