In compiling a list of the best Science/Science Fiction films, I’ve avoided blockbuster franchises such as Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek, though several movies in each of these series are top notch. Many of the movies on my list I haven’t seen in years, but they each have left an enduring impression on me and shaped how I feel about the importance of film in general.

1. Contact: Jody Foster leads a cast that includes fine performances by Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, and Tom Skerritt about the Earth’s first communication from an extraterrestrial source. The 1997 film also explores the relationship of science and religion in a more meaningful way than most movies of the Sci Fi genre. This is not only my favorite science film, it is one of my favorite movies, mostly because the scene where Jody Foster finally encounters the alien life is truly emotional and deeply moving.

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey: absolutely the Mother of All Science Fiction movies, the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film written by Kubrick and Sci Fi maven Arthur C. Clarke is a must-see. Endlessly discussed and debated, one gets out of this movie basically anything one wants to: answers to philosophical questions on human nature, a warning on the power of machines, or even the ultimate reason for man’s place in the Universe. A trippy, Sixties movie indeed.

3. War of the Worlds (2005): the early 1950s version was fun, but I can’t get enough of this Steven Spielberg film starring Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning . It’s as much a great story of the awakening of parental love and responsibility as it is a tour de force of special and terrifying effects. Tom Cruise shows a depth of acting ability playing the protective father facing impossible odds to save his children from invaders from another planet. Dakota Fanning was criticized for screaming too much, but I feel her hysterics blend in perfectly with the non-stop action. The scene where the aliens burst onto the screen and the subsequent mayhem is reason enough to watch this movie again and again.

4. The Day the Earth Caught Fire and The Day the Earth Stood Still: made in Britain, Fire was released in 1961 and is a chilling Cold War lesson in the imagined consequences of the nuclear arms race. The earth’s orbit has shifted because of atomic tests and the action is seen through investigative newspaper reporters tracking down what is going on. The last shots of this movie are probably amongst cinema’s most chilling. As the world awaits the results of corrective blasts to set the planet back on track, the newspaper is to decide which headlines will run: “World Doomed” or “World Saved.” Stood Still (recently remade) is a 1951 movie that’s a bit campy, but good fun as well and surprisingly intelligent. The visitor from outer space with his steely and cold robot, respectively and famously named Gort and Klaatu, are now iconic images in popular culture. A scene where the visitor solves a professor’s difficult mathematical problem is worth the viewing of the film alone. I’ve always considered these two movies together for some reason, probably because they share a similar moral outlook and lesson.

5. Colossus: The Forbin Project: a 1970 film in which a super computer becomes intelligent and subsequently takes over the world. I haven’t seen this film in over 35 years, but it was without a doubt light years ahead of its time in predicting the dangers of machines and the possibility that they could go out of control.