#30. Alita: Battle Angel
From the incredibly talented Robert Rodriguez, and based on the manga by Yukito Kishiro, Alita: Battle Angel is a 2019 film that features a cast ensemble of awarded and gifted actors such as Christoph Waltz, Edward Norton and Jennifer Connelly alongside new rising stars.
This refreshing movie tells the story of Alita, played by Rosa Salazar, a cyborg that's brought back to life by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) with no recollection of her previous self. She then goes on a dangerous quest to find out who she is, uncovering a much darker truth in the process.
#20. Blade Runner 2049
A sequel to the original 1982 classic film, Blade Runner 2049 came out in 2017 and was directed by Dennis Villeneuve, known for having directed other critically acclaimed movies like Arrival and Prisoners. Blade Runner 2049 also received praise from critics for its cinematography, direction, performances and faithfulness to the original film, but sadly became a box-office failure.
The movie stars Ryan Gosling as K, a replicant who works for the Los Angeles Police Department as a 'blade runner', meaning he tracks down other rogue replicants and kills them. When he discovers a long-buried secret that could possibly destroy humanity, he is led to find Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard, a former blade runner who’s been missing for thirty years.
#28. The Martian
The Martian is a 2015 film directed by the legendary Ridley Scott, the mastermind behind classics like Alien, Thelma & Louise and Blade Runner. As many other science fiction films, The Martian is originally inspired by a novel of the same name, written by Andy Weir and adapted as a screenplay by Drew Goodard.
This film tells the story of a space explorer, played by Matt Damon, who gets abandoned by his crew, being presumed dead after a powerful storm. The man is now stranded on Mars and is forced to survive with minimal resources while NASA, on the one hand, and his former crew members, on the other, attempt to rescue him from the red planet. It is a movie that explores sanity and loneliness as its leading actor delivers a powerful and compelling performance.
#27. Arrival
This 2016 film, which was directed by the celebrated Denis Villeneuve, is an adaptation of the short story Story of Your Life, written by Ted Chiang. Its cast includes A-listers such as Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker and received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture, among others.
Arrival centers around Louise Banks (played by Amy Adams), a linguistic professor who leads a team of elite investigators, when mysterious alien shuttles land on twelve different locations around the globe. As nation’s fear of war lurks behind, Banks and her team must battle time in order to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial beings. This movie explores heavy themes like grief, and language barriers in a sophisticated way without ever becoming boring or pretentious.
#26. Mad Max: Fury Road
This 2015 post-apocalyptic action and science fiction film is a revisiting of the original 1979 cult-classic directed by George Miller. Despite having been through developmental hell for decades, with pre-production starting as far as 1997 and shooting attempts being delayed because of the September 11 attacks, Mad Max: Fury Road managed to become one of the highest grossing movies of the 2010s, and earned critical acclaim.
This film is set in a desert wasteland where petrol and water are scarce resources. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) joins forces with Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) in hopes of fleeing from cult leader Immortan Joe and his minions in an armoured tanker truck, which leads to a long and exhausting road battle. The movie’s never-ending action sequences and powerful performances make for an immersive, adrenaline-fueled experience that you’d never want to escape from.
#25. Ex Machina
Alex Garland, the screenplay writer behind 28 Days Later and Sunshine, made his directorial debut with the 2014 independent science-fiction thriller Ex Machina, which stars Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac. Despite its low budget, Ex Machina earned both box office success and critical acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
The movie tells the story of Caleb, a junior programmer working in a Google-like company who is selected to spend a week at the CEO’s luxurious and isolated home. At his arrival he discovers he has been chosen to evaluate the capabilities and consciousness of Ava, a beautiful and brilliant A.I. Ex Machina’s ability to delightfully explore gender and toxic masculinity is proof that high budget, grandiose productions are not necessary to tell captivating stories.
#24. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
