They stole his mind, now he wants it back.

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox, Marshall Bell, Mel Johnson Jr.

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"Who gives a shit what you believe? In thirty seconds you'll be dead, and I'll blow this place up and be home in time for cornflakes." - Cohaagen

Why watch this? Schwarzenegger and sci-fi - a very good combination on the red planet Mars.

Plot Summary: Douglas Quaid is a construction worker tormented by dreams of Mars and a mysterious woman. He visits Rekall, a company specializing in virtual memory implants for exotic vacations, hoping to experience a simulated Mars adventure. However, the procedure goes awry, uncovering evidence that Quaid's entire life might be a false memory and that he's being hunted by a powerful organization with secrets about Mars.

Carolco Pictures; Tri-Star Pictures

From the Award-Winning Director Hayao Miyazaki

Starring: (the American voice talents of:) James Van Der Beek, Anna Paquin, Cloris Leachman, Mark Hamill, Jim Cummings, Richard Dysart, John Hostetter, Michael McShane, Andy Dick, Mandy Patinkin, Tress MacNeille, Debbie Derryberry

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"This is no longer a throne room. This is a tomb for the both of us. You see, a king without compassion does not deserve a kingdom." - Sheeta

Why watch this? This is a other-worldly vision crammed with animated awesomeness.

Plot Summary: A young girl named Sheeta, who possesses a mysterious crystal, is pursued by both government agents and air pirates seeking to find a legendary floating city called Laputa. After she falls from an airship, she is rescued by a boy named Pazu, and together they flee their pursuers while trying to uncover the secrets of her past and his family's connection to the mythical castle. Their quest leads them on a high-flying adventure, but they soon discover that Laputa holds powerful secrets that others want to exploit.

Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli; Toei

You are not welcome here.

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Vanessa Haywood, Mandla Gaduka, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"When dealing with aliens, try to be polite, but firm. And always remember that a smile is cheaper than a bullet." - MNU Instructional Voice

Why watch this? Benevolent aliens reach Earth, and humans are never gracious hosts.

Plot Summary: After aliens arrive on Earth seeking refuge, they are placed in a segregated internment camp near Johannesburg, South Africa, known as District 9. A government bureaucrat, tasked with relocating the aliens, is exposed to an alien substance that begins to transform his DNA. This leads to him being hunted by his own government and seeking refuge within District 9, where he learns more about the aliens and their treatment.

TriStar Pictures, QED International,
WingNut Films; Sony Pictures Releasing

A place beyond your dreams. A movie beyond your imagination.

Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, José Ferrer, Linda Hunt, Sting, Richard Jordan, Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino, Brad Dourif, Freddie Jones, Jack Nance

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"Don't try your powers on me. Try looking into that place where you dare not look. You'll find me there, staring back at you." - Paul Atreides

Why watch this? It's wonderful world-building along with a smart script. Try to keep up!

Plot Summary: In the distant future, warring noble families clash over control of Arrakis, a harsh desert planet and the only source of the universe's most valuable substance: the spice melange. When control of Arrakis is transferred to House Atreides, young Paul Atreides is thrust into a dangerous political landscape where he must confront betrayal and fight for survival in a treacherous environment. As Paul navigates the planet's deadly secrets and its mysterious native inhabitants, the Fremen, he comes to terms with his destiny.

Dino De Laurantiis Corp.; Universal Studios

A better reality awaits.

Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance, Philip Zhao, Win Morisaki, Hannah John-Kamen, Ralph Ineson, Susan Lynch

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"People come to the Oasis for all the things they can do, but they stay for all the things they can be." – Parzival

Why watch this? A dystopian future that will thrill all the gamers in the theater seats.

Plot Summary: In 2045, much of humanity escapes their grim reality by logging into a sprawling, limitless virtual universe called the OASIS. When the game's eccentric creator dies, he leaves behind a series of hidden challenges with his immense fortune and total control of the simulation as the grand prize. To prevent a ruthless corporate tech giant from monopolizing the digital world, an ordinary teenager teams up with a group of dedicated allies to solve the puzzles first.

Villiage Roadshow Pics, Amblin Ent., Amblin
Partners; Warner Bros.

Long Live The Fighters.

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yocoub, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Alison Halsted

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Look how your Bene Gesserit propaganda has taken root. Some of them already think I'm their messiah. Others... false prophet. I must sway the non-believers. If we get enough of them to support us, we can halt spice production. It's the only way I can get to the Emperor." – Paul Atreides, to his mother

Why watch this? Part 2 ends in explosive fashion, and harkens a third film.

Plot Summary: Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen to seek revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family, rising as a powerful leader on the desert planet Arrakis. As he embraces the ways of the desert warriors and navigates a manufactured prophecy, he struggles to prevent a terrible future holy war that he foresees. Ultimately, Paul faces a difficult choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe.

Legendary Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures

Everything Is Connected

Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Doona Bae, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, Keith David, James D'Arcy, David Gyasi

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Our lives and our choices, like quantum trajectories, are understood moment to moment. At each point of intersection, each encounter suggests a new potential direction." - Isaac Sachs

Why watch this? This is a fantastic exploration of life - past, present and future, all connected - and how choices matter.

Plot Summary: This ambitious, time-spanning tale is crammed to the brim with filmdom's top talent, cutting-edge effects and race-altering make-up. Strap on your cranial seatbelts to explore six storylines, some in the past, some in possible futures. Most actors recur in each of the stories and reincarnation is apparent. Most characters, at their core, either evil or good, however, the main characters (Hanks, Berry and Broadbent) are on a journey, progressing. They begin as unlikable beings, displaying cowardice, callousness, even homicidal tendencies. But their paths, over the eras, are heading to a cosmic redemption, based on their growth, love and choices made. Is this not what we all face in real life?

Cloud Atlas Prod., X Filme Creative Pool,
Anarchos Productions; Warner Bros.

Believe it or not - he's the good guy

Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt, Anna Walton, John Alexander, James Dodd, Luke Goss, Anna Walton

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I'm not gonna kill him, Abe. But I am gonna kick his ass." - Hellboy

Why watch this? It's almost as good as the original. It has more wonderful creatures.

Plot Summary: Hellboy and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD) face a new threat when an elven prince breaks an ancient truce between humans and mythical creatures. This prince, driven by a desire to reclaim the world for his kind, seeks to reassemble a magical crown that can awaken the unstoppable Golden Army, a formidable force designed to eliminate humans. Hellboy, Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien, and the newly introduced ectoplasmic agent Johann Krauss must race against time to stop the prince and prevent global devastation.

Relativity Media, Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd
Levin Prod., Dark Horse Ent.;
Universal Pictures

1997. New York City is now a maximum security prison. Breaking out is impossible. Breaking in is insane.

Starring: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Adrienne Barbeau, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Are you crazy? Nobody gets to meet the Duke. You meet him once and then you're dead!" - Cabbie

Why watch this? Kurt Russell is so dope in that eye-patch!

Plot Summary: In a crime-ridden future of 1997, Manhattan Island is walled off and transformed into a maximum-security prison for the United States' worst criminals. When Air Force One is hijacked and crashes within the prison walls, the President of the United States becomes a hostage. Ex-soldier and criminal Snake Plissken is offered a pardon if he can retrieve the President from the dangerous environment within 24 hours.

Int'l Film Investors, Goldcrest Films Int'l,
City Films; AVCO Embassy Pictures

No children. No future. No hope.

Starring: Clive Owen, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Pam Ferris, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, Peter Mullan, Danny Huston

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"As the sound of the playgrounds faded, the despair set in. Very odd, what happens in a world without children's voices." - Miriam

Why watch this?  This film shows us a future you might not want to see, but rather need to see.

Plot Summary: The story is set in dystopian 2027, twenty years since the last baby was born due to a mysterious infertility in women. This has led to war, global chaos, and a general sense of dread. England remains an isolated country still holding onto some form of government. It is now a police state, rounding up refugees, deporting them, or worse. Theo Faron, a former activist, is forcibly taken by a group of militants, called the Fishes, led by his ex-wife Julian. They want him to use his connections to acquire transit papers for a young girl named Kee. Theo quickly becomes the only chance Kee has to get her out of a crumbling country.

Strike Ent., Hit and Run Productions,
Toho-Towa; Universal Pictures

A chase through time -- to catch Jack the Ripper!

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen, Charles Cioffi, Patti D'Arbanville, Kent Williams, Joseph Maher, Corey Feldman

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"We don't belong here? On the contrary, Herbert. I belong here completely and utterly. I'm home."- Jack the Ripper, on being transported to New York City, 1979

Why watch this? As a fan of The Time Machine (1960), this takes things one more horrifying step.

Plot Summary: English writer H.G. Wells, having invented a functional time machine, finds himself chasing notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper through time. Jack has escaped to the year 1979 in Wells' own creation. Upon arriving in a future he did not anticipate, Wells encounters a woman named Amy Robbins and enlists her help in his pursuit of the infamous murderer, now turned loose in San Francisco.

Orion Pictures; Warner Bros.

A game nobody survives. But Schwarzenegger has yet to play.

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Richard Dawson, Jim Brown, Jesse Ventura

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Americans love television... They love game shows, they love wrestling, they love sports and violence. So what do we do? We give 'em what they want! We're number one, Ben, that's all that counts, believe me." - Killian

Why watch this? This is a thrilling, dystopian film you will not forget.

Plot Summary: In a dystopian future, a wrongfully accused police officer named Ben Richards is forced to participate in a deadly reality television game show called The Running Man. On the show, convicts, known as Runners, must evade professional killers called Stalkers in a battle for their freedom and survival.

Braveworld Productions, Taft Ent. Pics;
TriStar Pictures

What would you do if you were accused of a murder, you had not committed... yet?

Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow, Neal McDonough, Peter Stormare

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Don't trust anyone. Just find the Minority Report." – Dr. Iris Henimen

Why watch this? This futuristic thriller is one of Spielberg's many masterpieces.

Plot Summary: In a future where a specialized police unit called PreCrime stops murderers before they can act, Chief John Anderton believes the system is flawless. However, one day he receives a prediction that he himself will commit a murder, leading him to question the system's infallibility. Now a fugitive from the very unit he led, Anderton must try to prove his innocence and uncover a possible conspiracy that could be behind his predicted crime.
 

Dad's Preview: Early on, Tom Cruise was just too cocky for me. This film made me an true fan. Set in a future, utopian Earth, the plot centers on a crime agency that arrests people for future crimes. The dreams of three telepathic triplets (kept in medically-induced comas), called "Pre-Cogs", are recorded and analyzed to predict future murders. The plot is uber-creative and Spielberg makes is exciting. Cruise's character is flawed and complex. It's engaging, fast-paced and full of surprises.

DreamWorks Pics, Amblin Entertainment,
Blue Tulip Prod.; 20th Century Fox

From the Dark Side to Our Side

Starring: Ron Perlman, John Hurt, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, Rupert Evans, Karel Roden, Biddy Hodson, Corey Johnson, Kevin Trainor

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"In the absence of light, darkness prevails. There are things that go bump in the night, Agent Myers. Make no mistake about that. And we are the ones who bump back." – Professor Broom

Why watch this? It's a great comic book hero adapted to film. Pearlman is awesome!

Plot Summary: Raised by a professor after being summoned to Earth by Nazis during World War II, a demon named Hellboy now works for a secretive government organization known as the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Alongside his fellow unique agents, Hellboy must protect the world from various supernatural threats that emerge from the shadows. However, his skills and fiery personality are truly tested when a powerful, resurrected sorcerer from his past returns with a sinister plan that seeks to unleash the apocalypse.

Revolution Studios, Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd
Levin Prod., Dark Horse Ent.; Columbia Pics

The thing that won't die, in the nightmare that won't end.

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen, Earl Boen

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Listen, and understand! That terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear! And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!" – Kyle Reese

Why watch this? ... it's a sci-fi action flick that features Mr. Universe as a relentless cyborg.

Plot Summary: In a future ravaged by a war between humans and intelligent machines, a cyborg assassin is sent back in time to 1984 Los Angeles to kill a woman named Sarah Connor. A soldier, Reece, from the future is also sent back to protect Sarah, as she is destined to give birth to the leader of the human resistance.

Hemdale, Pacific Western Prod., Euro Film
Funding, Cinema '84; Orion Pictures

You Will Orbit into the Fantastic Future!

Starring: Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux, Sebastian Cabot, Whit Bissell, Tom Helmore, Doris Lloyd, Paul Frees

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"George... I speak to you as a friend – more as a brother... if that machine can do what you say it can, destroy it. Destroy it, George, before it destroys you!" – David Filby

Why watch this? It's a thought-provoking rendition of H. G. Wells' classic novel.

Plot Summary: Set in Victorian England, the film follows an inventor who builds a machine to travel through time. His journey takes him into a distant future where humanity has split into two distinct groups: the peaceful, surface-dwelling Eloi and the monstrous, subterranean Morlocks. He becomes entangled in their struggle and works to understand the secrets behind their existence and the decline of mankind.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Galaxy Films;
Loew's Ltd.

Part man. Part machine. All cop.

Starring: Peter Weller, Karen Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise, Paul McCrane, Lee de Broux

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Let me make something clear to you. He doesn't have a name. He has a program. He's product." - Bob Morton

Why watch this? It's an excellent sci-fi film about a possible future of law enforcement.

Plot Summary: In a crime-ridden future Detroit, the Omni Consumer Products (OCP) corporation privatizes the police force, seeking to implement their advanced robotic officers to control the city's rampant criminal activity. When police officer Alex Murphy is brutally murdered by a gang, OCP uses his body to create RoboCop, a cyborg law enforcer programmed to serve the public trust. As RoboCop patrols the city and fights crime, memory fragments of his past life as Alex Murphy begin to resurface, leading him on a path to investigate his own death and the corruption within OCP.

Arne Schmidt; Orion Pictures

A chilling, bold, mesmerizing, futuristic detective thriller.

Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmett Walsh, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Brion James

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"I need ya, Deck. This is a bad one, the worst yet. I need the old blade runner, I need your magic." - Bryant

Why watch this? It's haunting, brooding and dark... and a mesmerizing sci-fi classic.

Plot Summary: In a dystopian future Los Angeles, a burnt-out detective (aka: a "blade runner"), Rick Deckard, is tasked with hunting down and "retiring" a group of advanced androids called replicants, who have escaped from off-world colonies. These replicants seek to find their creator and extend their limited life-spans, while the blade runner wrestles with the complex morality of his job and his growing connection to a beautiful replicant who believes she is human.

The Ladd Co., Shaw Brothers; Warner Bros.

Boy, have we got a vacation for you... Where nothing can possibly go worng!

Starring: Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin, Alan Oppenheimer, Dick Van Patten, Alan Oppenheimer, Victoria Shaw, Steven Franken

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"There's no way to get hurt in here, just enjoy yourself." – John Blane

Why watch this? ... it is one of the best sci-fi films from the 70's.

Plot Summary: In a futuristic amusement park called Delos, wealthy guests can indulge in their fantasies in lifelike, robot-inhabited worlds, including the Wild West-themed Westworld. When a programming error causes the androids to malfunction, these vacationers find themselves in a terrifying struggle for survival against the park's attractions.

Paul N. Lazarus III; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Free your mind

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, Marcus Chong, Juian Arahanga

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #19 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of The Matrix

"Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague, and we are the cure." - Agent Smith to Morpheus, as he interrogates him

Why watch this? Conceptually, visually, creatively - this film set a new action sci-fi standard.

Plot Summary: A computer programmer named Thomas Anderson, known in the hacking underworld as Neo, feels that something is fundamentally wrong with his reality. He is contacted by the enigmatic Morpheus and Trinity, who offer him the chance to discover a shocking truth: that his world is actually a computer-generated simulation. Upon swallowing a red pill, Neo awakens in the desolate real world and begins a journey to free humanity from the machines that have enslaved them.

Village Roadshow Pictures, Grouch II Film
Partnership, Silver Pictures; Warner Bros.

Words can't describe it!  "Metropolis" must be seen!

Starring: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Fritz Rasp, Theodor Loos, Erwin Biswanger, Heinrich George, Heinrich Gotho, Fritz Alberti, Grete Berger

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Your magnificent city, Father - and you the brain of this city - and all of us in the city's light... and where are the people, father, whose hands built your city...?" - Freder to his father Jon

Why watch this? This masterpiece is ground-zero for sci-fi influence in films.

Plot Summary: This is a morality tale set in a futuristic city dystopia where the wealthy rule and abide in shining skyscrapers above, while the workers live below in concrete squalor. The city's creator and administrator is the cold Jon Fredersen. His privileged, good-hearted son, Freder, by chance, encounters Maria, a saintly woman caring for the underworld's children. This inspires Freder to learn the truth about the oppressed workers, who slave away, operating massive computers, themselves becoming cogs in the brutal machinery. Jon becomes frustrated that the workers are planning to rebel, so he enlists the city's inventor, Rotwang, to covert a female robot into the likeness of Maria, to quell the upstart insurrection.

UFA; Parufamet