While at home under national lockdown, catch up on some great Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) classics.

When it comes to great movies, there’s no film genre as infinitely creative or original as science fiction – especially when you consider how expansive the subject matter is. In fact, just like survival movies and end-of-the-world movies, there’s truly not much that the ‘sci-fi’ genre hasn’t already explored on screen.
 
The genre has existed since the early years of silent cinema, when Georges Melies’ A Trip to the Moon (1902) employed trick photography effects. The next major example (first in feature length in the genre) was the film Metropolis (1927). From the 1930s to the 1950s, the genre consisted mainly of low-budget B movies. After Stanley Kubrick’s landmark 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the science fiction film genre was taken more seriously. In the late 1970s, big-budget science fiction films filled with special effects became popular with audiences after the success of Star Wars and paved the way for the blockbuster hits of subsequent decades.
 
Science fiction films have often been used to focus on political or social issues, and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition. So it’s fascinating to explore even just the last 20 years of science fiction motion pictures and watch filmmakers struggle to stay on the cutting edge of the cutting edge, always one step into the future, and (hopefully) never ruined by the next big leap forward.
 
Aliens, cyborgs, astronauts, outer space, time travel, interstellar travel, technology, artificial intelligence – you name it! Guaranteed there’s a dazzling science fiction film about it. Of course, the great thing about science fiction is that there’s truly something on the list for everyone: from exhilarating action movies and heart-pumping horror-thriller hybrids, to even romantic films that set a poignant love story against a futuristic setting. Regardless of the particular subject matter, though, any one of these ‘sci-fi’ films will be great to watch.
 
To honour this long-beloved genre that’s produced a whole lot of spectacular, mind-bending films, we’ve rounded up some of the best.

• Robocop (1987)
• The Fifth Element (1997)
• Tron (1982, 2010)
• The Abyss (1989)
• Inception (2010)
• Ex Machina (2014)
• Arrival (2016)
• Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
• Annihilation (2018)
• Back to the Future (1985, 89, 90)
• Oblivion (2013)
• Interstellar (2014)
• 12 Monkeys (1995)
• Snowpiercer (2014)
• Contact (1997)
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
• The Terminator (1984)
• Alien (1979,86,92,97)
• Gravity (2013)
• Avatar (2009)
• Wall E (2008)
• Jurassic Park (1993)
• The Martian (2015)
• Planet of the Apes (1968,70,71,72,73, 2001,11,14,17)
• Star Trek (1979,82,84,86,89,91,94,96,98, 2002,13)
• Source Code (2011)
• Star Wars (1977,80,83,99, 2002,5,15,1,19)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
• Metropolis (1927)
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
• Looper (2012)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Flash Gordon (1980)
• The Thing (1982)
• Waterworld (1995)
• Mad Max (1979,81,85, 2015)
• Firefly (2002)
• Serendipity (2001)
• Her (2013)
• The Matrix (1999)
• A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
• and many more…

We hope you enjoy this months’ recommendations!

PLEASE NOTE:  Some of the above and below recommendations carry age restrictions and need parental guidance. We want to PREVENT causing any unnecessary issues for you at home while most of you are home-schooling your children during this national lockdown period.

NETFLIX TRENDING (SCI-FI MOVIES):

• Under the Skin (2013)
• Back to the Future (1985)
• Snowpiercer (2013)
• Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
• Ex Machina (2015)
• The Matrix (1999)
• Her (2013)
• Equilibrium (2002)
• And so many more…

Making recommendations is tough as each choice is purely dependent on individual taste but perhaps the above lists can get you to start watching. Do you have any movies you would like to recommend? Please let us know on FB or Instagram.
 
We always look forward to hearing from you.  So a special thanks goes out to our insta-follower Sam West for the recommendation of her ‘musical’ playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8f9iZYnBYoVvq2fl0uEDkkdCFLQA3s78
 
Watch out for our movie recommendations in the ‘musicals’ genre in next month’s newsletter.

Happy birthday to our July bunnies, belated and still coming.

Franklinite Corner

We would like to give a special shout out and congratulations to our current Franklin members Dimitri Stathoulis and Traci Scerri on their current achievements:

• Dimitri Stathoulis has been creating music to assist in dealing with the stresses we have faced during this pandemic and current lockdown. All music has been written and played by Dimitri himself! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtSeEFXCrLRwukZqe88V4Cg
   
• Traci Scerri recently made her advert debut for Volkswagen!
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXnlK2cXpIE&app=desktop 

Let us know what you have been up to during this pandemic. We would love to hear from you!

News from other societies

RLT PRODUCTIONS
RLT will be hosting another fun filled online charades evening on Friday, 31 July, 19:15. To sign up or find out more, drop them a line at RLTProductions1950@gmail.com before Tuesday, 28 July 2020. They will need your name and cell number, and whether you will be playing via a mobile device or PC/ laptop.