When, after a car accident, Michelle wakes up in a shelter belonging to a stranger who says that a WMD attack of unknown origin hit the U.S., she susses that not all is what it seems.
Although a bit clichéd (benevolent aliens offer their superior know-how to the bickering humans, thus saving them from the global war) Arrival is a clever, solid piece of sci-fi.
J. J. Abrams’s vision of the ‘Galaxy Far, Far Away’ doesn’t break any moulds, but maintains continuity and is instantly recognisable as Star Wars to the fans of the franchise.
Jam-packed with well-timed gags and laugh-out-loud funny, but also moving and thought-provoking, Chappie is another solid entry to the science fiction genre by director Neill Blomkamp.
When the Earth is no longer able to sustain humankind, the spaceship Endurance and its crew ventures through a wormhole to a distant galaxy in search of a new home for humanity.
The second instalment of The Divergent Series, Insurgent sees Tris, Four, his mother and her Factionless army on a crash course with Jeanine, the tyrannical head of Erudite faction.
After aliens find, and misinterpret, the footage from the 80’s arcade game world tournament, they attack the Earth with weaponry modelled on Pac-Man and other classic arcade games.
With a budget three times that of The Matrix, Jupiter Ascending should be Wachowskis’ sci-fi masterpiece; instead it ended up being yet another spectacular CGI damp squib.
The swinging 70s are still in a full swing aboard the Space Station 76, with turtleneck sweaters, dodgy moustaches, loose sexual morals and misuse of psychotropic substances galore.
With its flawless special effects matched only by its watertight script, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes expands on the best reboot of a cherished sci-fi franchise in this decade.
With better cast, better script and, naturally, better special effects, RoboCop is one of the best reboots of a classic we have seen coming out of Hollywood in the recent years.
Whether you came to see a genuinely original science fiction thriller art film, or just want to ogle over Scarlett Johansson’s beautiful body, Under the Skin is definitely well worth a look.
Based on the novel of the same name by Veronica Roth, Divergent is the first instalment in The Divergent Series, with the second part, Insurgent, scheduled for 20th March 2015.
Earmarked as a 'cult classic' long before its release, this ambitious film became a victim of its own hype. Full of action but somewhat lacking in depth, it is still well worth a look.
Based on sound science and facts, realistic, utterly believable, yet still very entertaining, Europa Report is a gripping space thriller that puts the 'science' back into 'science fiction'.
Based on the real-life 'Brown Mountain Lights' phenomenon reported near Brown Mountain in North Carolina, this is a 'found footage' film depicting an ordeal of an alien abductee.
A deadly infection laid waste to humanity. Joshua and Penelope are fighting for their lives with the remnants of the infected. Then they meet Abira - a survivor with a sinister secret.
Winning several prestigious awards, including Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Screenplay, Her is a bittersweet story about the state of human relationships in the digital age.
A mysterious message from their father Alex leads the siblings Ronan and Beatrix to a derelict building which, to their astonishment, is the gateway to infinite parallel Earths.
Zombies on Mars anybody? Sounds awful? Well, rest assured that it actually looks even worse than it sounds. Horrific for all the bad reasons, this film is 98 minutes of pure agony.
When the Barrett family wakes up and finds kitchen utensils and food receptacles arranged in intricate geometric shapes, they suspect it is not a work of an intelligent raccoon.
