Was this a good year for science fiction and fantasy movies? Well, let’s see: there was an abysmal Terminator installment (and that’s harsh coming from me, because I really enjoyed the last couple), a frustratingly popular yet mediocre Jurassic Park sequel, a weak and sloppy Avengers sequel and a Fantastic Four reboot that shockingly was worse than Roger Corman’s version.
Jupiter Ascending was mostly a disaster, Tomorrowland was mostly a disaster, Chappie was mostly a disaster, Pan was mostly a disaster, Pixels was a total disaster, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 was a total disaster, Frozen Fever was just an embarrassment, Self/Less was a bore and so were all the YA dystopia franchise entries — your Divergents and Hunger Gameses and Scorch Trialses.
However, we did get new Mad Max and Star Wars sequels, and one of them exceeded our expectations while the other at least met them. Thirteen other releases this year are, if not perfect, worthy of recommendation to the most hardcore or most casual of genre fans. Among them can be found FSR’s picks for movie of the year, scene of the year and performer of the year.
One of them could even be the movie that finally gives sci-fi a Best Picture win at the Oscars.
15. The Visit
Not to be confused with M. Night Shyamalan’s new (disappointingly not sci-fi) movie of the same name, the latest documentary from Danish filmmaker Michael Madsen (Into Eternity) is technically science fact, only it speculatively concerns things that haven’t happened yet. The feature, subtitled “An Alien Encounter,” interviews people from NASA, SETI, the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs and other places housing experts on what will happen when extraterrestrials finally arrive on Earth. Some of the talking heads address the camera directly, as if they’re talking to the interplanetary visitors, while others simply express the various reasons why any such encounter will surely turn out bad.
14. Ant-Man
In a year surprisingly light on superhero movies, Marvel’s smallest entry yet, fittingly featuring its smallest character yet, easily beat out the other two. That’s not saying much, and Ant-Man sure doesn’t look like it cost even the mere $130m it’s reported to have been budgeted at, but it’s one of the more entertaining MCU installments regardless of timing. Most of the credit goes to Michael Pena, whose comic relief overshadows the fact that the movie’s hero (Paul Rudd) is himself a jokester. It’s also easily enjoyed independently of its mega-franchise connections as simply a sci-fi heist film about a guy who can become miniature thanks to a special suit.
13 and 12. The Good Dinosaur and Inside Out
Both of Pixar’s feature releases this year are just barely qualifiable as sci-fi and/or fantasy. The Good Dinosaur is alternate history set on an Earth where the dinosaurs didn’t become extinct — though there doesn’t seem to be any reason why its story couldn’t work without that idea, just with anything else in place of the human character (or with him, since it’s just a cartoon). And Inside Out imagines our minds are full of little creatures representing our emotions running the show — but of course, none of it’s supposed to be taken literally a la Meet Dave. Each of these very dissimilar movies has its charms and each has its faults, and together they show us the animation studio is still brimming with brilliance, and the genius is not all uniform. Speaking of which, an honorable mention has to go to the new Pixar short Sanjay’s Super Team.
11. Cinderella
Rounding out a quartet from the Mouse House is Disney’s unnecessary but ravishing live-action remake of its own 1950 animated classic. The songs have been discarded, which allows us to focus more on the scenery, particularly the costumes, as well as Cate Blanchett chewing that scenery with old school Hollywood glam. She’s the best thing about the fairy tale feature, but while there’s not much else that really stands out there’s almost nothing to complain about with the largely safe but still magical effort. I don’t buy that Kenneth Branagh brings anything of depth related to his knack for Shakespearean adaptation to this version of “Cinderella.” It’s just a very good family film.
10. Predestination
If you think the time-travel paradoxes of the Terminator franchise are crazy, wait’ll you get a load of this, our obligatory mind-bending sci-fi movie for 2015. Its twisted narrative comes mostly from the 1959 Robert Heinlein short story “All You Zombies,” and if you’re not familiar with its plot then you should just go in cold. Written and directed by the Spierig Brothers (Daybreakers), the movie stars Ethan Hawke, who made his debut with a fun sci-fi feature 30 years ago, Explorers, and ought to do more of it. There are parts of Predestination that may remind you of Gattaca, in fact, by way of some weak overarching window dressing that’s clearly there to distract us from realizing how much our brain is getting fucked.
9. Crimson Peak
This inclusion is definitely not to make up for leaving Pacific Rim off the list two years ago. While hardly a perfect movie, Crimson Peak is nevertheless Guillermo del Toro’s most satisfying cinematic experience since, well, maybe ever (Hellboy II: The Golden Army gets points off for having to follow the first Hellboy). Sadly, the ghosts that qualify it to be here are the weakest part, but the rest is a visual treat and features two more unforgettable performances from the always enchanting Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain. Plus, with his supporting role here, Charlie Hunnam does make up for being in Pacific Rim two years ago.
8. When Marnie Was There
As someone who doesn’t always love the bigger, more surreal efforts of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli overall, this quieter film from the company by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (The Secret World of Arrietty) easily won me over. And as someone who watches a lot of documentaries, the animated feature surprised me by feeling more real at times than anything else I saw this year. Strange, as it’s centered around the story of a little girl and a friendly ghost. When Marnie Was There is also a bittersweet ending for Studio Ghibli — well, except they have a co-production in the works, so it’s not totally over for them — given that it’s not been more appreciated.
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