The Ultimate Sci-Fi Blu-Ray Movie Christmas Gift Top 10

It's December and you've already missed one week of Christmas shopping to playing Skyrim (or is that just me?). Next week you'll be Force gripped by the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic so maybe you should take a moment to get some gift shopping done?

I've put together a list of sci-fi movies that should make great Christmas presents for anyone with just a little appreciation for science fiction. They are great for presents for any fellow geeky family members, or perhaps as a little self indulging gift from you to you, with regards from Cyber Santa.
You can also pass along the list to gift givers and possibly avoid another pair of hand knitted socks (not that those aren't great!).

10: Star Wars: Blu Ray Box Set

I know I have bitched about what George Lucas has done to the old Star Wars movies. I completely stand by my criticisms, but despite Lucas' best efforts to mutilate my childhood memories to a degree that would make even Jack the Ripper uncomfortable, the fact of the matter is that Star Wars remain some of the best sci-fi movies ever made.
And even though this Blu-Ray box served as another opportunity for Lucas to mess with perfection it's still pretty great to see the old trilogy all polished up like R2-D2 at a medal awarding ceremony. Damn you Lucas! Just wipe that smug look off your face and take my money already!



9. Inception

I was very positively surprised by Inception, when I first saw it. It's the kind of movie that works really well the first time around, but if you start spending too much time thinking about the plot it starts to come apart at the seams a little. In that respect it reminds me a lot of another DiCaprio movie Shutter Island, which I can also recommend by the way.
But try not to think too hard about the logic of bringing people into the dreams of other people, or the silliness of going into a "dream within a dream" and Inception is a very entertaining movie, which also has some slick visual tricks up its sleeve.





8: A Clockwork Orange

Fancy some good old fashioned ultra-violence? Or perhaps you'd just like the opportunity to see the always awesome Malcolm McDowell in one of his best roles? How about a great scene of criminal brain washing by video, accompanied by Beethoven's Ninth Symphony?
If you can answer yes to any of these questions (and you should), then "A Clockwork Orange" is a must have in your sci-fi collection.
There are no flashy special effects in this movie, it's just a well made story about a truly disturbing future where the "cure" for criminals is almost as bad as the criminals themselves. A perfect holiday flick!



7: Chronicles of Riddick

Contrasting "A Clockwork Orange" perfectly we have "Chronicles of Riddick". A semi sequel to the also fairly enjoyable "Pitch Black", Chronicles will serve perfectly as a movie you can clamp your eyes on and switch off your brain. Perfect after your Christmas-related eating orgies, where you just need to lie down on a couch and try to figure out why you consistently insist on these levels of self abuse.
There are lots of people getting brutally killed and Vin Diesel being a badass in this movie, and the story rarely interrupts the next special effects crammed action scene for more than a few minutes at a time. What more do you want?




6: Spaceballs

Why so serious, you say? That's another movie, but I'll let that slide. Spaceballs is the perfect movie to turn that frown upside down (and laugh your lungs inside out). This old Star Wars parody by Mel Brooks will perhaps never go down in movie history as a work of great art, but if you don't mind some puns of dubious quality (Pizza the Hut anyone?) then there are plenty of really funny moments in Spaceballs.
I particularly like the plain slapstick humor of the Darth Vader inspired villain, Dark Helmet, drinking coffee through the grille on his helmet, and the 4th wall breaking scene of some of the main characters watching Spaceballs on a VCR. Make way for Dark Helmet!



5: Avatar

Whether you enjoyed Avatar or not it's hard to argue the effect that the movie had on the film industry, setting new standards for incredible special effects and especially the use of 3d.
Avatar is the first movie where I genuinely felt that seeing it in 3d added to my experience. All other 3d movies I had seen before, and most that I've seen after too frankly, have just added 3d as an extra effect to throw at the movie without considering that 3d needs to be used thoughtfully for it to be enjoyable for the viewer.
For this reason alone I think that you need to have Avatar in your collection.
I guess the story is alright too. You can never go wrong with space Pocahontas can you?



4: The Matrix

It's "The Matrix". I don't really need to sell you on "The Matrix" do I??
Aside from blowing my effing mind with its cool "jacking into a computer simulation" setup, this movie has some of the greatest fighting and shooting scenes in any movie.
Who can forget the mind-meltingly sublime "lobby scene", where Trinity and Neo take on a host of security guards armed to the teeth with automatic weapons and slick martial arts moves, all accompanied by a pumping soundtrack that would get even the sternest of pacifists to leap from their seat and yell "Hell yeah, shoot that guy in the face!". If you do not own "The Matrix" on Blu-Ray then. You. Need. To. Own. It. Now. Also, they should totally make more Matrix movies.



3: Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode 3

More Star Wars parody youssa speak? Alright then, if you insist. Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode 3 is a collection of funny sketches on various Star Wars characters.
Some scenes are alternate reenactments of scenes from the movies, but mostly it's a wacky take on a scene from the everyday life of the characters.
Personal favorite moments include a hilarious insight into Darth Vader's problems with using the toilet and a look at what orders 1-65 were (order 66 being the order Palpatine issued to kill all Jedi).
Great fun which can easily be digested in bite sized chunks, if you just need a few mins of entertainment in between your holiday activities.



2: Ghost Busters

More sci-fi comedy, though this time of a more spooky nature.
"Ghost Busters" is still a funny movie after 27 years and the special effects are actually not eye-stabbingly bad (the hair is, but that's the 80's for you!).
The Marshmallow Man is still one of the most iconic "monsters" to me and the clever dialogue of Dan Aykroyd holds up 100% even after all this time.
While it is perhaps not quite up there with Star Wars in terms of memorable movie quotes, I'm sure that many of us still worry about "crossing the streams" and maybe even find ourselves asking "what about the twinkie?"



1: Transformers 3

WHAT!? Transformers 3?! The movie that I hated so bad I felt compelled to write an extensive review detailing all the levels of crap that make up this sorry excuse for a movie?
Indeed, this is the obligatory "troll Christmas gift" suggestion. If there is someone that you feel have screwed you over in 2011 why not present them with this almost two and a half hours of sheer robotic movie torture that will have them screaming at the screen "WHY WON'T IT STOP!?".
It's the perfect gift that they won't even be able to bitch at you for, because it's a big blockbuster movie and some people legitimately loved it (those people should all be forcibly sterilized for the good of the human race, but that's a different discussion). Troll away!



I hope this has provided you with some inspiration for some Christmas related purchases (Pro tip: The list can also be used outside the Christmas period, though your results may vary).



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