Still from Mercy. Chris Pratt, in a white shirt and looking like he can't remember if he locked the car, is strapped to a weird metal chair in a nondescript room with concrete walls.

Mercy (2026)

You'd think strapping your lead to a chair and making him read emails might result in a dull film. And you'd be right. Nowhere near as clever as it thinks it is, it's also shockingly uninterested in the ethics of its conceit. Hate to be negative, but it's not very good.

#SciFi2026

Image from Buckaroo Banzai. A group of people stand in a plain corridor: a man in a cowboy hat, one in a bright red cowboy shirt, a woman in a pink shirt and jacket who is trying to see around the corner, a man in a pink jacket, and another woman in a black jumper with her arms folded. It's not a very representative image from the film, to be honest. Sorry.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

Ambitious attempt to create a unique, goofy, comic book world of super-scientist rock stars. But its madcap tone leads to an uneven film, with plot and character lost in the shuffle. Still fun, but unfocused and woolly.

#SciFi2026

Still from The Man with the X-ray Eyes. A middle aged man looks off to the left of frame. His eyes are black with golden pupils

X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

A potentially cheesy b-movie premise is elevated with some strong performances and great direction, creating a dark psychological thriller with elements of body horror. The 60s psychedelic visuals are a cool cinematic statement of the time.

#SciFi2026

I'm watching as many sci-fi films as I can in 2026, and I've started writing mini reviews for them, in the order I watch them.

Maybe you'll find it interesting. I dunno, I can't read your mind - what do you think I am, a scanner?

#SciFi2026

Still from the animated film Gandahar. A woman and man stand at a rough stone table. She is very tall, in a low-cut black dress; she is also bald with large wings growing out of her head. He is shorter, fat, and old, with a big white beard. He is wearing a pale smock with an omega symbol on it. They both have light blue skin.

Gandahar (1987)

Fantastical animation that's full of wild ideas and out-there visuals. Eschews typical sci-fi tropes to give us something that feels new; ditto its themes of hurt, loss, and reparation. Let down a bit by slightly cheap animation, a woolly plot, and dodgy script.

#SciFi2026

Still from Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. A heavily-bearded man in a suit covered with wires and cables and various bits of homemade-looking tech, and wearing a see-through Mac, stands with his arms aloft in a diner at night. Various people behind him cower in fear.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026)

There's a wild sense of abandon to this tale of time travel and AI, like a Sweded take on Terminator. But despite great performances and visual invention, it's all over the place in terms of plot and, well, meaning. Fun despite a lack of focus.

#SciFi2026

Still from Invaders from Mars. A woman and a child look in horror at something happening off screen. The woman is screaming

Invaders from Mars (1986)

Depending on your POV, this b-movie remake is a failure in delivering convincing scares or compelling creatures, or a great my-first-horror for kids that will get under their skin with its body snatcher premise and PG aliens. I loved it as a child, at least.

#SciFi2026

Still from Plan 9 from Outer Space. A large, bald man with a pained expression carries an unconscious woman through a rudimentary forest - in reality some twiggy plants in front of a black background.

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)

Famously terrible Ed Wood film that spawned a cult following. In reality, it's perfectly fine: its biggest drawback is how cheap it all looks. But there's invention and a lot of fun here, from the bonkers plot to the campy performances. Enjoyable fluff.

#SciFi2026

Still from Things to Come. A futuristic traveller in a black uniform stands in a contemporary-looking but devastated town, with destroyed buildings and ruins around him. On the ground, several people are laid, as if unconscious or possibly dead.

Things to Come (1936)

Fascinating vision of the future from nearly a century in the past. Scarily prescient in its depiction of a blitzed London, a pre-atomic post-appcalypse, and how fear and anger can rise in both paradise and dystopia. Excellent effects and production design, too.

#SciFi2026

Still from Scanners. Michael Ironside stands, gurning, his eyes completely white, as something in front of him catches fire.

Scanners (1981)

A glorious blend of body horror, conspiracy thriller, and superhero origin story. The structure is a little loose, but the tension remains taught with multiple scenes of visceral action and a great psychological cat-and-mouse game at its heart. Ironside rules.

#SciFi2026

Still from the animated movie The Wild Robot. A fox character sits listening to a robot; the robot has a white orb body and white orb head, with glowing blue eyes. She's a bit battered and dirty with scratches on her torso. A glowing signal-thingie is sticking out of her head.

The Wild Robot (2024)

An absolutely beautiful ode to parenthood, both in terms of its message and also its watercolour-esque visuals. Akin to WALL-E in that it's about a nice robot bringing out the niceness in others; but it's gained further relevance in this age of AI algorithms.

#SciFi2026

Still from Avatar: Fire and Ash. Varang, a blue Na'vi warrior in red face paint and a headdress, screams whilst firing a flaming bow and arrow.

Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025)

The spectacle of the Avatar visuals is both astounding and yet part and parcel of this series. The family drama and eco-warrior plotting is similarly both basic and yet compelling; if you buy into its rhythms it's still an exhilarating, emotional adventure.

#SciFi2026

Still from Phantasm. A teenage boy is walking down a weird marble corridor. Behind him, at the far end of the corridor, is a tall, skinny man in a black suit, watching him

Phantasm (1979)

Predominantly a horror film with a decidedly late-70s, small town vibe, this tale of intergalactic evil has a cool and creepy sense of style. It's all fairly by-the-book and not very scary, but the enigmatic villain and his awesome, devilish devices carry it through.

#SciFi2026

A still from the film Dark Star. Two astronauts sit in an incredibly cramped control room on a spaceship; the walls are grey metal and covered with heavy-duty coloured lights and buttons. It all looks incredibly 1970s. The men are both long-haired and somewhat dishevelled in overalls; the nearest one has a full beard, the one behind him a thick moustache. They both look a bit distressed.

Dark Star (1974)

John Carpenter's debut is a darkly comic delight as a crew of increasingly depressed, bearded, bickering astronauts mundanely go about their job of blowing up stars. Tons of invention despite miniscule resources; the existential bomb and the weird alien both delight.

#SciFi2026

A still from Short Circuit. Number Five, a military robot that gains sentience, is sitting in a van that's being driven by a woman played by Ally Sheedy. Number Five has a flat head with no real features apart from large eyes that resemble camera lenses, and a scrawny neck made up of hydraulic tubes and cabling.

Short Circuit (1986)

If you can overlook Fisher Stevens in brownface, there is fun to be had here. Number Five shows heart and character as a newly-sentient robot, and the effects required to bring him to life still impress. Nothing too surprising or challenging but still pretty good.

#SciFi2026

A still from Stargate. Four men stand in a desert, all wearing army fatigues; three of them are armed, including one played by Kurt Russell, who's pointing a gun at something off-screen. The fourth man is played by James Spader, who is unarmed and waving at something off-screen.

Stargate (1994)

A great build-up, as boffin James Spader uncovers an alien language and activates the titular portal. There's some dated aliens-built-the-pyramids stuff, the once-wowing effects now show their age, and it settles into rote action fluff, but the first act still shines.

#SciFi2026

Still from Meet the Robinsons, an animated sci-fi movie. Two young boys are riding in what appears to be some sort of futuristic ship or vehicle; they're in the cockpit, sat one behind the other. The front boy has back hair slicked up into a quiff; the boy behind him has blonde spiky hair and glasses and a look of distress.

Meet the Robinsons (2007)

Made in the midst of Disney's experimental and inconsistent period, this is an odd but not totally unsuccessful film. The animation and much of the character design has aged poorly, but there's some zany fun to be had, and it just about hangs together.

#SciFi2026

Still from Robot Dreams, an animated sci-fi movie. A grey metallic robot with plain features stands next to a light-grey dog wearing a blue collar. They appear to be in a New York subway station.

Robot Dreams (2023)

Bittersweet and beautiful animation about a dog and his robot bestie, who get tragically separated and must try to recover, reconcile, and, well, live. Gorgeous animation and oodles of character in its anthropomorphised 80s NY. Really emotional and thought-provoking.

#SciFi2026

I really should have started this thread in January, but never mind - let's do some catching up.

I am spending 2026 watching as many #ScienceFiction movies as I can. Old, new, classic, claptrap, first-watch, beloved-fave.

This thread will review them in the order I see them.

#SciFi2026

Project Hail Mary isn't a survival story. It's a communication story — and that shift changes everything. Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, and James Ortiz deliver something rare. Full non-spoiler breakdown: #ProjectHailMary #RyanGosling #SciFi2026 #ScienceFiction #FilmReview
youtu.be/YHBj4QhtPms

Coming of age science fiction novel Song of the Unsung Mushroom is here!! Available on Amazon in ebook and print and audiobook on Spotify. Coming soon to Audible and all audiobook platforms. #newfiction #scifi2026 #floridafiction #strangerthings @paullev.bsky.social