THE MATRIX (1999)

Perhaps the definitive modern action movie, and also maybe the one with the action sequences that I have loved most over the years, which somehow also has literally many treatises’ worth of material going on just below the surface.

DONNIE DARKO (2001)

A mentally ill teenager from the 80s experiences bizarre events and a guy in a creepy bunny suit, in a movie that works more on a vibes level than on an actually making sense level.

DUNE (1984)

The first film version of Frank Herbert’s best-selling sci-fi novel was directed by David Lynch, of all people, and I found it both extremely watchable and an astounding disaster.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)

A classic of Cold War paranoia that still rings true today, about our friends, loved ones, and neighbors turning out not to be who they seem. Also there are giant plant pods from outer space.

THE VISITOR (1979)

A truly nuts lost 70s sci-fi(?)/horror(?) classic(?) involving an evil tween, her pet falcon that pecks out people’s eyes, people in wheelchairs getting thrown through large aquariums, dramatic games of Pong, and John Huston slowly walking down the world’s tallest escalator. I love it so much.

JURASSIC PARK (1993)

Perhaps the best of the Steven Spielberg popcorn movies, with dinosaur effects that incredibly still hold up 28 years later.

ALIENS (1986)

A bombastic, action-packed sequel that has basically nothing in common with its tense, contained thriller of a predecessor, and yet both are great movies in their own way.

OUR 300th MOVIE: PREDATOR (1987)

The winner of our action movie poll is the muscle-fest called “Predator,” in which Arnold Schwarzenegger fights an alien that see only in very doofy-looking heat vision.

NAUSICAӒ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (1984)

For those who enjoy a good post-apocalyptic diesel-punk environmental fable, with the usual stunning animation from Hayao Miyazaki.

SOLARIS (1972)

A heavily influential Soviet sci-fi epic that takes a lot of patience from the viewer to get to its basic message: no matter how far we go, we’ll never be able to escape our own humanity.