August in the Water (1995)
Japanese Mystical End of the World
Baffling and incomprehensible Japanese SF film about a catastrophe that is causing people to turn to stone
Black Holes
The Black Hole (1979)
Lost Spaceship/Mad Scientist/Journey into a Black Hole
Disney’s attempt to join the post-Star Wars SF boom proved a flop that flounders in bad writing and ponderous pretensions. On the other hand, it is almost worth watching for the stunning design and effects
The Black Hole (2006)
Black Hole & Electrical Monster Amok
Of all the concepts in physics, the wildest of these is the black hole. It seems highly disappointing that this set out to be a film about a black hole but all we get is a film about an electrical monster amok
Earth’s Final Hours (2011)
End of the World/Disaster Movie
Another Syfy Channel low-budget disaster film. This creates a fascinating if scientifically dubious end of the world premise about a white hole but spends the show on the routine stuff of car chases and gunfights
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Multiverse Comedy
A multiverse comedy in which Michelle Yeoh is propelled through an hilarious series of alternate selves. One of the most mind-spinning films of recent viewing. Also the first SF film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture
The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)
Giant Spider
From Bill Rebane, a film about a rampaging giant spider (having emerged from a black hole we are told). This has a bad movie reputation, although on most accounts it emerges as strictly average
Godzilla vs Megaguirus (2000)
Japanese Monster Bash
The 24th Godzilla film where Godzilla faces a giant prehistoric dragonfly. While the modern Godzilla films have readily adopted CGI and animatronics, the effects here are much more variable
High Life (2018)
Space Mission
The title suggests a film about stoners more than about a space mission. From acclaimed director Claire Denis, this is less the space realism of Gravity and more akin to Solaris and its mission crew falling apart
Interstellar (2014)
Space Expedition
This could be Christopher Nolan’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. But where Kubrick was cold and oblique, this is a 2001 with a heart. A pleasure to see a film rooted in credible science and dealing with high concept SF
Meteor Moon (2020)
The Moon on a Collision Course with the Earth/Disaster Movie
The Asylum’s mockbuster version of Moonfall. This plays a ridiculous premise with an ingenious absurdity and proves far more entertaining than its bigger budgeted model
Oceans Rising (2017)
Global Warming Disaster Movie
Disaster movie from The Asylum set around global warming. Notable for two things – the wackiness of the scientist’s scheme to save the planet by creating black holes, and the cheapness of the production, which does almost everything it can to avoid effects shots
Omni Loop (2024)
Timeloop Film
A timeloop film with a difference where Mary-Louise Parker takes pills that help her go back and relive the previous five days as she seeks to find ways to travel back even further
The One (2001)
Alternative Universe Hopping Action
Promising idea of an alternate world-hopping film from James Wong, this spends too much time copying moves from The Matrix and lets most of its possibilities pass by
Space Cop (2016)
Cop from the Future Comedy
Comedy about a cop from the future who joins the present-day force where he is partnered with a cop thawed out from the 1960s. This is a premise that should have been funny but emerges as something like Sledge Hammer cast with the characters from Dumb and Dumber
Sphere (1998)
Crashed UFO Underwater/Michael Crichton Adaptation
Michael Crichton was hot property after the success of Jurassic Park but this was one flop. A by no means uninteresting film about a group of scientists in an underwater habitat making contact with an alien lifeform
Star Trek (2009)
Intergalactic Adventures
J.J. Abrams revives the Star Trek franchise by recasting it with younger faces and rewriting continuity. But in the appeal to a hipper, sexier vibe, it feels a long way from Gene Roddenberry’s creation – nowhere in evidence is the original’s concern with galactic politics and social issues of the day
Superman (2025)
Comic-Book Superhero
James Gunn’s almost completely successful reboot of the cinematic Superman, the first film that comes with a total confidence in the comic-book source and where Gunn is not afraid to be goofy
The Void (2001)
Miniature Black Hole
Film where scientists creates an an atom-sized black hole that has the potential to destroy the Earth