The Best Movies & TV of 2009: Science Fiction
I must admit that when I volunteered to blog about the top 10 science fiction DVD and Blu-ray releases of 2009, I thought it would be a relatively simple task. However, before the day was over, I realized that narrowing it to only 10 would actually prove quite difficult. Then of course, there is the ranking thing, how do you decide the order? I won't bore you with the intricately complicated ranking system I devised to handle my new found conundrum, but I can assure it didn't involve picking names out of a hat. With that said, here are a handful of movies and TV shows that any fan of sci-fi would enjoy.
District 9 - What would you do if Peter Jackson gave you 30 million to make a movie? Director Neill Blomkamp made the best sci-fi movie of 2009. Deep, enthralling, original, and action-packed, this movie will leave you breathless.
Dollhouse: Season One - Joss Whedon, need I say more? An underground group of “Actives” who change their personalities for the whims of the rich and powerful, not to mention, Eliza Dushku is very easy to watch. Sure, Fox canceled it, but they also canceled Firefly.
Star Trek – JJ Abrams didn't disappoint. He kept it true enough to the original for the Trekkies (time warps are helpful for re-imagining story lines) yet refreshed it enough to introduce the franchise to a whole new audience.
Franklyn – Could be one of the best sci-fi films Americans haven’t heard of. A temporal twister set in contemporary London and a futuristic Meanwhile City. In the vein of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, bring your thinking cap.
Ben X – A teen with Asperger’s syndrome finds respite from endless bullying at school in video games. A little bit like Donnie Darko, but with subtitles.
Watchmen – great comic book, great movie. Any questions?
The Prisoner: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] – Before there was Lost, there was the Prisoner. A spy quits his job and wakes up on a mysterious island where people are given numbers instead of names. A constantly changing number two tries various methods to find out why he quit. Now you can revel in all that 1960’s mod high-tech weirdness in high definition since it’s now available on Blu-ray.
Logan’s Run [Blu-ray} – Made in 1976 and still good in 2009. Now on Blu-ray, so you can revisit all the incredible Oscar winning visual effects in stunning 1080p.
Fringe: the Complete First Season – I know, it’s another offering from JJ Abrams, but it’s a fantastic TV show. The FBI, a mad scientist, and his son team up to investigate seemingly related unusual crimes. Great to watch on DVD, because minor clues in one episode become important later in the season, I don’t recommend starting if you have anything pressing to attend to.
Monsters vs Aliens - This one's for the kids. A young woman grows to an inch under 50 feet after being stuck in the head by a meteorite, gets locked away by the government, and is tasked with leading a team of 1950’s B-movie monsters to save the earth from an alien invasion. Sound like fun, right?
See the rest of the top 100 DVDs, the top 100 Blu-ray discs, and many other lists at http://www.amazon.com/bestmovies2009. ---Mike
katie on November 25, 2009 at 12:10 PM
WHERE is Battlestar Galactica?????????
Mike on November 25, 2009 at 04:05 PM
Thankfully - not on this list.
regards,
Mikee on November 25, 2009 at 04:25 PM
District 9 was a fine movie - but to call it "deep" is to ignore the plot holes that had my 15 year old daughter complaining for days after seeing it.
Just one example: Do you actually think a house-sized hunk of spacecraft, filmed falling off the mother ship, would not be searched for until found, and would not be found rather quickly, despite the one-line setup (Searched two months and could not find it...) for its reappearance at the end of the movie?
Mikee on November 25, 2009 at 04:27 PM
I have never seen, before Battlestar Galactica, an anti-Deux-ex-machina ending. The series ending alone makes a complete reason to leave it off the list.
newscaper on November 25, 2009 at 04:31 PM
BSG had a fantastic start, then covered itself in shame in the end.
As to Dollhouse? Does not belong on this list -- watching Eliza play dress-up of the week was not compelling viewing, whereas Firelfy *did* kick butt.
LaurieK on November 25, 2009 at 05:02 PM
No "Lost"? I hereby declare this list bogus!
NikFromNYC on November 25, 2009 at 05:30 PM
Do yourself a service and grab a copy of KinDzaDza. It sets up a whole new world of characters akin to Star Wars or Mad Max.
"Two Humans, "Uncle Vova" and "The Fiddler" accidentally find themselves on another planet after pushing the wrong button on the strange device in the hand of an odd hobo, claiming to be an alien. Planet "Pluke" in the galaxy "Kin-Dza-Dza" looks like a desert. All "aliens" look human, and can understand Russian, after reading uncle Vova's mind. Their own language is mostly telepathic and is limited to 11 words - 10 plus "koo" - all other words. The whole paradox of Pluke is that their civilization is much more advanced than ours in time and space traveling, weaponry and so on, but totally barbarian in the social way. There is a special (and only) way to identify two groups of creatures by pointing a little device on the person, orange light - "Chatlanian" (superior), green - "Patsak" (lower class). The most valued things on the planet are matches (or, rather, the chemicals ordinarily used on Earth for match heads). One match head equals to 2200 "chatles". Uncle Vova and Gedevan "the Fiddler" Alexidze, have a long and dangerous journey in order to get home..." (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091341/plotsummary)
Blogassault on November 25, 2009 at 08:36 PM
Where is battlestar galactic? Come on now!
Kragger on November 25, 2009 at 09:05 PM
No Babylon 5?
Dark Eden on November 25, 2009 at 09:36 PM
Its amazing how the Touched By An Angel ending has forever tainted BSG. I totally agree and I'm still a little stunned by my own hostile reaction to it now.
Brian Macker on November 26, 2009 at 07:12 AM
"WHERE is Battlestar Galactica?"
Both versions are in the garbage heap.
A to the F on November 26, 2009 at 08:38 AM
Dollhouse is absolutely terrible, I can't believe it is included on this list. BSG's ending has it rightfully off of the list.
Moon, however, deserves to be on the list, ahead of some of these others, including the mostly mediocre Fringe.
newscaper on November 26, 2009 at 08:58 AM
The problem with BSGs ending is that they could have easily had a religious angle in there, if they'd had the slightest subtlety or deftness. But it was heavy-handed, hey we can sweep all our dangling half-thought out, no pay-off BS under the rug.
Even as a more overt 'religious' angle it was shit -- 'God's' actions in a morality tale are supposed to at least make some sort of sense. But here? Baltar, Caprica Six and Ellen Tigh, the ones most culpable for all the horror are the ones who get the happiest endings? WTF? They certainly did *not* atone in any substantial/proportionate way for what they unleashed, to become the ones who end up on top.
It all started going downhill with the Final Five tacked on to the story late in the game -- as *Moore* has admitted. Fools painted themselves into some corners when they already KNEW the series had a fixed end date. That's the worst crime -- they were NOT caught by the network cancelling them last minute.
I am confident that over time BSG will further slip in the standings. The process has been so slow only because so many critics, liberal-leaning of course, staked their reputations on it post Iraqtica (with its heavy handed Cylon=USA, jihadis=good guys), and were so invested in promoting it as best show on TV period -- even after it was apparent the wheels were coming off, that when it blew up in their faces in the finale they couldn't bring themselves to fully admit it. The apologists were making excuses to cover the fact of their own willing hoodwinking.
Scott on November 26, 2009 at 09:31 AM
Any list that doesn't include Sam Rockwell's "Moon" is complete rubbish. It just came out a week ago, and it, and District 9, were hands-down the best sci-fi movies of the year.
Mike From Houston on November 26, 2009 at 04:21 PM
My opinion? Mr. Falk is lacking in taste, judgement, and understanding of science fiction.
Jimpithecus on November 26, 2009 at 09:56 PM
I am surprised not to find Dark City (1998) on the list. This is One of William Hurt's best roles and is one of the creepiest trips into nightmares and memory holes I have ever seen. Roger Ebert called it the best film of the year.
怀淰＠＾过厾 on August 11, 2010 at 12:08 AM
My opinion? Mr. Falk is lacking in taste, judgement, and understanding of science fiction.
joesen on November 01, 2010 at 12:31 AM
Best-of-2009_120._V229505569_ I must admit that when I volunteered to blog about the top 10 science fiction DVD and Blu-ray releases of 2009,
xiao on November 16, 2010 at 05:24 PM
Do you actually think a house-sized hunk of spacecraft