Ten Forward: 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies Of Past Decade

That, as it turns out, is not easy undertaking! There were some years where there were a half-dozen really great movies, and some where we were lucky if there was even one passable flick. So I scrapped the idea of trying to list what I thought was the best for each year for the past 10 years.

Instead, I chose movies based on how many times I watched a movie. The more I watched it, the more likely it was something I liked. So the following is a list of 10 movies I watched anywhere between three and 30 times.

Note that this is not a list taken from the SyFy Genre Awards, but my careful assessment of recent science-fiction movies. I also left out fantasy, horror, and comic book-based movies. I think I’ll save those for future columns.

So here we go …

1. "Serenity" -- You know I’m a diehard fan of anything by Joss Whedon. I saw this movie twice before it premiered, saw it three more times once it was released in theaters, and countless times on DVD. I know every word by heart. I still laugh at the funny parts and cry at that part. Anyone who has seen it knows what I mean. I also get all choked up every time River says “My turn!”

2. "Galaxy Quest" – Yes, I know it’s a spoof of "Star Trek" and the whole Trek fandom, complete with conventions and geeks obsessed with the blueprints of a fictitious starship, but it’s also a love letter to all of us. On top of that, it’s actually a sci-fi story that’s on a par with many of the great Star Trek episodes. I’ve watched this movie at least a dozen times, and every couple of years, bring it out again to watch several more times. Some trivia: David Newman wrote the score for both "Galaxy Quest" and "Serenity."

3. "V For Vendetta" – This is a movie that portrays an almost Orwellian view of the future, but with pointed criticism of fascism, and the forces behind a repressive political regime in the United Kingdom (and the United States) in the near future. I’ve seen this one more than five times. (That’s more than V times in Roman numerals.)

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