MOodVIES
ImaginaLIST
Scorsese and Fincher: Thriller/Crime Directors and Masterminds of Suspense
Gone Girl (2014) | Rating: 83%
Directed by: David Fincher | Based on: Gillian Flynn’s crime thriller novel
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011) | Rating: 79% | 1 Oscar Winner
Directed by: David Fincher | Based on: Stieg Larsson’s psycho thriller novel
Shutter Island (2010) | Rating: 77%
Directed by: Martin Scorsese | Based on: Dennis Lehane’s psycho thriller novel
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio
The Departed (2006) | Rating: 86% | 4 Oscars Winner
Oscars for Best Picture and Directing by: Martin Scorsese | Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan | Based on: Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s thriller film
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio
Fight Club (1999) | Rating: 81%
Directed by: David Fincher | Based on: Chuck Palahniuk’s novel
Starring Brad Pitt
Se7en (1995) | Rating: 83%
Directed by: David Fincher | Screenplay: Andrew Kevin Walker
Starring Brad Pitt
Goodfellas (1990) | Rating: 93% | 1 Oscar Winner
Directed by: Martin Scorsese | Based on: Nicholas Pileggi’s non-fiction book
Starring Robert de Niro
Taxi Driver (1976) | Rating: 88%
Directed by: Martin Scorsese | Screenplay: Paul Schrader
Starring Robert de Niro
Fantasy, Alternate Reality and Speculative movies or series
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) | Rating: 86% | 3 Oscars Winner
Directed and written by: Guillermo del Toro
Shape of Water (2017) | Rating: 79% | 4 Oscars Winner
Oscars for Best Picture and Directing: Guillermo del Toro
Life of Pi (2012) | Rating: 79% | 4 Oscars Winner
Oscar for Best Directing: Ang Lee | Based on: Yann Martel’s novel
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) | Rating: 82%
Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón | Based on: J.K. Rowling’s series of fantasy novels
Game of Thrones (TV Series 2011-2019) | Rating: 89% | Network: HBO
Created by: David Benioff and D. B. Weiss | Based on: George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) | Rating: 89% | 11 Oscars Winner
Oscars for Best Picture, Directing and Adapted Screenplay: Peter Jackson | Based on: J. R. R. Tolkien’s series of fantasy novel
The Fountain (2006) | Rating: 63%
Directed and written by: Darren Aronofsky
Mr Nobody (2009) | Rating: 70%
Directed and written by: Jaco Van Dormael
2046 (2004) | Rating: 80%
Directed and written by: Wong Kar-wai
Midnight in Paris (2011) | Rating: 80%
Directed and written by: Woody Allen
The Fall (2006) | Rating: 76%
Directed and co-written by: Tarsem Singh
Benjamin Button (2008) | Rating: 76%
Directed by: David Fincher | Screenplay: Eric Roth | Based on: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story
Top 20 Animated Fantasy and SciFi movies of all time
Best Innovative Visuals
Fantasia (1940) | Rating: 83% | Production: Disney
Story direction by: Joe Grant and Dick Huemer
Fantastic Planet (1973) | Rating: 81% |
Directed by: René Laloux | Story by: René Laloux and Roland Topor
Toy Story (1995) | Rating: 88% | Production: Pixar
Directed by: John Lasseter | Story by: John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and Joe Ranft
Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse (2018) | Rating: 89% | Oscar for Best Animated Film | Production: Sony
Directed by: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman | Story by: Phil Lord
Disney
Beauty and the Beast (1991) | Rating: 85% | Oscars for Best Music, Original Score and Original Song
Aladin (1992) | Rating: 85% | Oscars for Best Music, Original Score and Original Song
Lion King (1994) | Rating: 86% | Oscars for Best Music, Original Score and Original Song
Mulan (1998) | Rating: 81%
Pixar
Ratatouille (2007) | Rating: 88% | Oscar for Best Animated Film
Wall-E (2008) | Rating: 89% | Oscar for Best Animated Film
Inside Out (2015) | Rating: 87% | Oscar for Best Animated Film
Coco (2017) | Rating: 87% | Oscar for Best Animated Film and Best Music, Original Song
Japanese anime
Akira (1988) | Rating: 83%
Manga created by Katsuhiro Ôtomo, supervising director of the anime
Ghost in the Shell (1995) | Rating: 83%
Directed by: Mamoru Oshii | Based on: Masamune Shirow’s manga
Paprika (2006) | Rating: 81%
Directed by: Satoshi Kon | Based on: Yasutaka Tsutsui’s Sci-Fi novel
Your Name (2016) | Rating: 87%
Directed and written by: Makoto Shinkai
Studio Ghibli
All those movies were written and directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) | Rating: 86%
My Neighbor Totoro (1988) | Rating: 87%
Princess Mononoke (1997) | Rating: 88%
Spirited Away (2001) | Rating: 92% | Oscar for Best Animated Film
Top SciFi and dystopian TV Series of 2010s & 2020s
Blockbuster & Space TV Series
The Mandalorian (TV Series 2019-) | Rating: 82% | Network: Disney+
Created by: Jon Favreau | Based on: George Lucas’s Star Wars saga
Strange New Worlds (TV Series 2022-) | Rating: 83% | Network: Paramount+
Created by: Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman & Jenny Lumet | Based on: Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek saga
The Expanse (TV Series 2015-2022) | Rating: 89% | Network: Syfy (s1-3) / Amazon Prime Video (s4-6)
Created by: Daniel Abraham, Mark Fergus and Ty Franck | Based on: James S. A. Corey’s series of SciFi novels
Foundation (TV Series 2021-) | Rating: 75% | Network: Apple TV+
Created by: David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman | Based on: Isaac Asimov’s series of SciFi novels
Alternate history & reality TV Series
For All Mankind (TV Series 2019-) | Rating: 80%
Created by: Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi
The Man in the High Castle (2015-2019) | Rating: 82%
Created by: Frank Spotnitz | Based on: Philip K. Dick’s SciFi novel
The Peripheral (2022-) | Rating: 77% | Network: Amazon Prime Video
Created by: Scott B. Smith | Based on: William Gibson’s Sci-Fi novel trilogy
Westworld (TV Series 2016–2022) | Rating: 81% | Network: HBO/Warner
Created by: Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy | Based on: Michael Crichton’s film
Psychological & Mystery TV Series
The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-) | Rating: 81% | Network: Hulu/Disney+
Created by: Bruce Miller | Based on: Margaret Atwood’s Sci-Fi novel
Severance (2022-) | Rating: 88% | Network: Apple TV+
Created and written by: Dan Erickson
Black Mirror (2011-) | Rating: 86% | Network: Channel 4 (s1-2) / Netflix (s2-6)
Created and written by: Charlie Brooker
Utopia (TV Series 2013–2014) | Rating: 90% | Network: Channel 4
Created and written by: Dennis Kelly
The Space Exploration for All Humankind
Sunshine (2007) | Rating: 72%
Directed by: Danny Boyle | Screenplay: Alex Garland
Ad Astra (2019) | Rating: 70%
Directed and co-written by: James Gray
The Martian (2015) | Rating: 80%
Directed by: Ridley Scott | Based on: Andy Weir’s SciFi novel
Moon (2009) | Rating: 79%
Directed by: Duncan Jones | Screenplay: Nathan Parker
Gravity (2013) | Rating: 83% | Oscars for Best Cinematography, VFX, Sound and Music
Oscar for Best Directing, Film Editing: Alfonso Cuarón | Screenplay: Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón
Apollo 13 (1995) | Rating: 78% | 2 Oscars Winner
Directed by: Ron Howard | Based on: astronaut Jim Lovell’s non-fiction book
The Right Stuff (1983) | Rating: 87% | 4 Oscars Winner
Directed by: Philip Kaufman | Based on: Tom Wolfe’s non-fiction book
Hidden Figures (2016) | Rating: 81%
Directed by: Theodore Melfi | Based on: Margot Lee Shetterly’s non-fiction book
First Man (2018) | Rating: 77% | Oscar for Best VFX
Directed by: Damien Chazelle | Based on: Neil Armstrong’s biography written by James R. Hansen
For All Mankind (TV Series 2019-) | Rating: 80%
Created by: Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi
The Expanse (TV Series 2015-2022) | Rating: 89%
Created by: Daniel Abraham, Mark Fergus and Ty Franck | Based on: James S. A. Corey’s series of SciFi novels
Foundation (TV Series 2021-) | Rating: 75%
Created by: David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman | Based on: Isaac Asimov’s series of SciFi novels
Parallel Realms: the Imaginative Visions of the Wachowskis, Zemeckis and Niccol
V For Vendetta (2006) | Rating: 76%
Directed by: James McTeigue | Screenplay: The Wachowskis | Based on: David Lloyd’s Graphic Novel
The Matrix (1999) | Rating: 82% | Oscars for Best VFX, editing, Sound & Sound Effects
Directed and written by The Wachowskis
Cloud Atlas (2012) | Rating: 68%
Directed and written by: The Wachowskis & Tom Tykwer | Based on: David Mitchell’s novel
Forrest Gump (1994) | Rating: 81% | Oscars for Best Picture, Actor, Film Editing and VFX
Oscar for Best Director: Robert Zemeckis | Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth | Based on: Richard McGuire’s graphic novel
Back to the Future (1985) | Rating: 86% | Oscar for Best Sound Effects
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis | Screenplay: Robert Zemeckis | Based on Winston Groom’s novel
The Truman Show (1998) | Rating: 85%
Directed by: Peter Weir | Screenplay: Andrew Niccol
Gattaca (1997) | Rating: 79%
Directed and written by: Andrew Niccol
Contact (1997) | Rating: 73%
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis | Based on: Carl Sagan’s SciFi novel
Dystopian, Apocalyptic & other Sci-Fi movies or TV Series
Silo (2023-) | Rating: 78%
Created by: Graham Yost | Based on: Hugh Howey’s Sci-Fi novel trilogy
District 9 (2009) | Rating: 80%
Directed and written by: Neill Blomkamp
Twelve Monkeys (1995) | Rating: 82%
Directed by: Terry Gilliam | Inspired by Chris Marker’s 1962 short film La Jetée
The Peripheral (2022-) | Rating: 77%
Created by: Scott B. Smith | Based on: William Gibson’s Sci-Fi novel trilogy
The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-) | Rating: 81%
Created by: Bruce Miller | Based on: Margaret Atwood’s Sci-Fi novel
Children of Men (2006) | Rating: 84%
Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón | Based on: Phyllis Dorothy James’s Sci-Fi novel
Never Let Me Go (2010) | Rating: 70%
Directed by: Mark Romanek | Based on: Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel
Black Mirror (2011-) | Rating: 86%
Created and written by: Charlie Brooker
Severance (2022-) | Rating: 88%
Created and written by: Dan Erickson
Source Code (2011) | Rating: 76%
Directed by: Duncan Jones | Screenplay: Ben Ripley
Minority Report (2002) | Rating: 81%
Directed by: Steven Spielberg | Based on: Philip K. Dick’s SciFi novel
The Man in the High Castle (2015-2019) | Rating: 82%
Created by: Frank Spotnitz | Based on: Philip K. Dick’s SciFi novel
Bong Joon-ho and the Recognition of the Korean New Wave
Burning (2018) | Rating: 83%
Directed by: Lee Chang-dong | Based on: Haruki Murakami’s short story
Parasite (2019) | Rating: 92% | Oscar for Best International Feature Film
Oscars for Best Picture, Directing and Original Screenplay: Bong Joon-ho
Decision To Leave (2022) | Rating: 82%
Directed by: Park Chan-wook | Screenplay: Chung Seo-kyeong & Park Chan-wook
Old Boy (2003) | Rating: 85%
Directed by: Park Chan-wook | Inspired by the Japanese manga series written by Garon Tsuchiya and illustrated by Nobuaki Minegishi
Memories of Murder (2003) | Rating: 88%
Directed by: Bong Joon-ho | Based on: Kim Kwang-rim’s play
Mother (2009) | Rating: 85%
Directed by: Bong Joon-ho | Screenplay: Bong Joon-ho & Park Eun-kyo
Snowpiercer (2013) | Rating: 78%
Directed by: Bong Joon-ho | Based on the French climate fiction graphic novel Le Transperceneige
Okja (2017) | Rating: 78%
Directed by: Bong Joon-ho | Screenplay: Bong Joon-ho & Jon Ronson
The Digital Media Revolution & Imagination of Cyberworlds
Akira (1988) | Rating: 83%
Manga created by Katsuhiro Ôtomo, supervising director of the anime
Ghost in the Shell (1995) | Rating: 83%
Directed by: Mamoru Oshii | Based on: Masamune Shirow’s manga
Spirited Away (2001) | Rating: 92% | Oscar for Best Animated Film
Written and directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Paprika (2006) | Rating: 81%
Directed by: Satoshi Kon | Based on: Yasutaka Tsutsui’s Sci-Fi novel
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) | Rating: 83% | 7 Oscars Winner
Oscars for Best Picture, Directing and Original Screenplay: Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)| Rating: 86%
Directed by: Michel Gondry | Oscar for Best Original Screenplay: Charlie Kaufman
Utopia (TV Series 2013–2014) | Rating: 90%
Created and written by: Dennis Kelly
Network (1976) | Rating: 84% | 4 Oscars Winner
Directed by: Sidney Lumet | Oscar for Best Original Screenplay: Paddy Chayefsky
The Social Network (2010) | Rating: 86% | 3 Oscars Winner
Directed by: David Fincher | Oscar for Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorki | Based on: Ben Mezrich’s non-fiction book
Steve Jobs (2015) | Rating: 75%
Directed by: Danny Boyle | Based on: Walter Isaacson’s non-fiction book adapted by Aaron Sorkin
Ex Machina (2014) | Rating: 80% | Oscar for Best VFX
Written and Directed by: Alex Garland
Westworld (TV Series 2016–2022) | Rating: 81%
Created by: Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy | Based on: Michael Crichton’s film
The Imaginal Power of Movies & Visual Effects
This spring has been a prolific season for me to explore the imaginative power of movies and visual effects. I have been joining film festivals and (re)discovering acclaimed movies from the 95th ceremony of the Oscars to the upcoming 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
My mood for movies has inspired me to start reviewing a list of the top 250 films in a movement I call ‘The MooDvies IMAGINAList.’ This comes in addition to ‘The CREAtive TECHnologist’, which focuses more on tech companies and tools, ranging from Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR) to Visual Effects (VFX).
To start this journey, I couldn’t have found a better community than the Visual Effects Society, which organizes screenings for its members and networking events from Los Angeles to London. The society also publishes the magazine VFX Voice; its latest Spring 23 edition was particularly insightful in exploring the paradigm shift of Virtual Production (VP) described by major VFX studios.
As generative AI is becoming trendy, the magazine couldn’t skip examining AI Art from the protests against this new set of CreaTech tools to understanding the limits of AI. I would also suggest reading another article which argues that AI will make human Art more valuable.
The VFX Voice magazine also highlighted the VES Awards winners, in particular, Avatar: The Way of the Water, which, as one may expect, won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects three weeks later. It is also worth mentioning The Art of Being Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, the sensational winner of 7 Oscars during the 95th ceremony, for its VFX with a budget 10 times lower than James Cameron’s production.
These movies demonstrate how imagination, from the VFX of big productions to indie movies, can reveal simple facts about our human nature, family, friendship, and love through Sci-Fi while acknowledging the immense possibilities and absurdity of our condition in this world.
Let’s start the ‘Voyage to the Edge of Imagination’ with the Science Museum and more specifically, the Science Fiction Film Festival, which was a great opportunity to join IMAX screenings and several talks. The panels included ‘Building Sci-Fi Worlds‘ with Paul Franklin — Academy award-winning VFX supervisor for Interstellar and Inception, as well as ‘How to Build an Android’ to discuss the imaginal power behind Blade Runner and Artificial Intelligence in general.
As we enter a new era of space exploration to the moon, Mars, and beyond, movies or even TV series, such as The Expanse with the Rocket Science VFX, are transforming our imagination in the same way as the seminal work of Stanley Kubrick, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ did five decades ago during the Apollo program.
The visual effects, and practical effects in real environments cherished by Christopher Nolan, extend our imagination with a sense of accuracy and even discovery. A good example is VFX studio DNEG’s collaboration with Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne to create gravitational lensing by spinning black holes not only for the aesthetics of Interstellar but also for the publication of two scientific papers.
Sci-Fi movies and VFX are a starting point for imagining the Design Futures of work, space, and species, or in short, ‘The WQrksPACE Futures’ that we can foresee as design futurists through architecture and (bio)engineering to develop autonomous machines and new construction in space without compromising the climate as well as biodiversity, thanks to the bioeconomy and hydrogen revolutions.
Blade Runner 2049 is another great artwork of a sci-fi world created by John Nelson — Overall VFX supervisor of the Academy Award-winning movie. He supervised a combined team from DNEG, Framestore, and six other VFX studios involved.
Ridley Scott’s and Denis Villeneuve’s versions of Philip Dick’s novel explore, in their own ways, the status of being a person in the advent of artificial general intelligence (AGI). I would say that humanoid robots are more like a metaphor for understanding our cyber identity, personalized medicine, and personal assistants in the rise of chatbots (for now), and ultimately our desire for power and immortality.
From this other perspective, sci-fi movies and VFX are also sources of inspiration to imagine business solutions for digital wealth, health, and care, or in short, ‘The W3althCARE Solutions.’ As business solutionists, we can implement these solutions through product management and (bio)marketing to improve ourselves using artificial intelligence and extended reality without compromising our well-being and, most importantly, our freedom.
Recognizing that fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth, as in V for Vendetta, we should be aware that the imaginal power of movies and visual effects can also be a means of propaganda or, at the very least, uniformity.
That’s why I embrace the diversity of films, which provide us with different images, stories, and even revolutions of our times. The recent Hong Kong Film Festival UK, for example, reflected on identity as a migrant and raised questions about artistic freedom.
The second part of The MooDvies Imaginalist journey would be to explore different mediums for telling stories and showcasing moving images, especially in the face of deepfake technology and the convergence of moviemaking and gamemaking.