Most of you reading this likely known Christopher Lloyd best for playing Doc Brown in the Back to the Future movies, and rightly so. His performance as Marty McFly’s mentor is one of several ways the original movie has aged so successfully and certainly one of the most entertaining aspects of the entire film trilogy. Now when it comes to Lloyd’s more recent performances, one that sticks out for me fittingly also involve time travel. He appeared in three episodes of 12 Monkeys, which I consider to be one of the best sci-fi TV shows, and I’m getting a kick out of learning that wild idea he immediately pitched for his villainous character.

This reveal comes from Terry Matalas, created the 12 Monkeys series and discussed his experience working with Christopher Lloyd while on The Sackhoff Show (where he also talked about the “sacrifices” that went into Star Trek: Picard Season 3). Lloyd played Zalmon Shaw, a.k.a. The Missionary, and when he first met Matalas, he wasted no time suggesting making a distinctive change to his physical appearance. The showrunner recalled to Katee Sackhoff:

Well… ok then. As Terry Matalas mentioned, Zalmon Shaw was the father of Tom Noonan’s character, who was never actually named on 12 Monkeys, but nicknamed the “Tall Man” in the show. Both men were dedicated servants to the Army of the 12 Monkeys, and Zalmon already visually stood out with his black outfit and hat, which his son would wear as an adult, too. But Christopher Lloyd wanted to take things even further and shave his eyebrows while playing this character, and that took Matalas by surprise. He continued:

Christopher Lloyd first made an uncredited appearance at the end of the 12 Monkeys Season 3 episode “Casualty,” then made his full debut in the episode immediately afterwards, “Nature.” He then returned in Season 4’s “Legacy,” but this time, Lloyd wasn’t quite as enthusiastic about shaving his eyebrows. Terry Matalas wrapped up the story as follows:

I’m with Terry Matalas on this one. Sure, he’s the one who had final say over what happened on 12 Monkeys, but if someone of Christopher Lloyd’s stature is volunteering to get rid of his own eyebrows for his role, why on Earth would you tell him he shouldn’t? That said, I also don’t blame Lloyd for wanting to deal with that a second time. There was enough about Zalmon to keep fans’ attention occupied.

Unfortunately, 12 Monkeys not available to stream on any platforms as of this writing. However, if you’re curious to see some of Christopher Lloyd’s other sci-fi work, he played Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, which can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription, as well as guest-starred as Commissioner Helgait in The Mandalorian Season 3 episode “Guns for Hire,” which is accessible with a Disney+ subscription. He also has a yet-to-be-revealed guest role in Wednesday Season 2, which premieres its first half August 6 on Netflix.

When Bruce Willis retired from acting in 2022 for health reasons, he left behind a spectacular legacy of likable heroes, explosive action sequences, and quite a few brilliant quotes. Let’s look back on some of the most wonderful Bruce Willis movies and TV shows by revisiting some of the coolest things the actor ever said on screen.

"Come Out To The Coast. We'll Get Together, Have A Few Laughs" - Die Hard

Bruce Willis skyrocketed to stardom by leading arguably the greatest action movie of all time, 1988's Die Hard, as a New York cop who becomes the only hope to save a group of L.A. office workers in a violent hostage situation. At one point, his character, John McClane, is forced to evade detection by traveling via air duct, during which he reflects on the apparent fact that it was his estranged wife, Holly's (played by Bonnie Bedelia), idea to visit her corporate building, where this situation breaks out.

"Zed's Dead, Baby. Zed's Dead" - Pulp Fiction

Bruce Willis has the honor of not only starring in Quentin Tarantino's masterful 1994 hit but also speaking one of the coolest quotes from Pulp Fiction. After Butch (Willis), along with Marcellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), has survived a traumatic ordeal at the hands of Zed (Peter Greene), the boxer takes the crooked security guard's "chopper" to his girlfriend, Fabienne (Maria de Medeiros), and tells her that its owner is no longer around.

"I Don't Want To Talk About Time Travel Because If We Start Talking About It Then We're Going To Be Here All Day Talking About It, Making Diagrams With Straws" - Looper

One of the best time travel movies, Looper, stars Bruce Willis as an older version of a mob assassin named Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), whom he meets after sending himself to the past. Writer and director Rian Johnson brilliantly dodges explaining how time travel works in the film with Older Joe's dismissive response to Younger Joe's questions.

"I Got Invited To The Christmas Party By Mistake. Who Knew?" - Die Hard

Many people refuse to see Die Hard as a Christmas movie classic, despite all the festive evidence right in front of their eyes. For instance, the movie would not exist without said holiday, as Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his goons interrupt the Nakatomi corporate Christmas Eve party, which is also why John McClane was visiting Holly. His remark about a mistaken invitation, while speaking to Gruber pretending to be a hostage, references him crashing the German thieves' plans.

"So, Ross Was In College, And Decided To Jump At The Chance To Take A Young Girl To Her High School Prom?" - Friends

Bruce Willis made one of the most memorable guest appearances on Friends with a three-episode arc as Paul Stevens, the father of Ross' (David Schwimmer) college-age girlfriend, Elizabeth (Alexandra Holden), who immediately dislikes him due to their age difference. Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) attempts to vouch for her friend by recalling when Ross, then a college freshman, offered to take her to her senior prom when it seemed like her date had stood her up, but even that backfires.

"An Old Man Dies. A Young Woman Lives. A Fair Trade" - Sin City

Each segment of 2005's Sin City – Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's acclaimed film noir based on Miller's graphic novel series – is bookended by a defining quote. For Det. John Hartigan's (Bruce Willis) story, which revolves around his devotion to protecting Nancy Callahan as an adolescent and as a 19-year-old (Jessica Alba), the quote has two variations, the first being, "An old man dies. A little girl lives. A fair trade."

"Welcome To The Party, Pal!" - Die Hard

You could say that the real hero of the classic '80s movie, Die Hard, is the only one on the ground sticking up for John McClane, Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson). However, they have a bit of an awkward first meeting when McClane is forced to get his attention by dropping a goon's corpse onto his cruiser, at which point he utters one of the action film's most quotable lines.

"You've Been Back Enough. I'll Be Back" - The Expendables 2

In The Expendables 2, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Trench uses the actor's oft-quoted catchphrase, originating from The Terminator, which Bruce Willis' Church decides to try for once. Trench then replies with a sarcastic (and censored) variation of the most iconic line from Die Hard, "Yippee-ki-yay."

"United States Government Just Asked Us To Save The World. Anybody Wanna Say, 'No'?" - Armageddon

The plot of Armageddon, which star Ben Affleck even pointed out was a little ridiculous, involves a deep-sea drilling crew asked to help destroy an asteroid with a nuclear explosion before it hits Earth. We cannot help but respect leader Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) for asking if his crew would rather abstain from participating in an incredibly dangerous mission like this.

"I Spend A Lot Of Time In Air Ducts. I Definitely Don't Live Up Here" - The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part

Bruce Willis makes an awesome cameo in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part as himself, referencing his scene in Die Hard when McClane is forced to climb through an air duct. However, this LEGO figurine version of the actor, who crosses paths with Wildstorm (Elizabeth Banks) while she is looking for Bruce Wayne (Will Arnett), has, apparently, made himself at home in an air duct.

"Well, Maybe That Mime" - Die Hard With A Vengeance

The third (and arguably second-best) Die Hard movie, 1995's Die Hard with a Vengeance, is a buddy movie that partners McClane with Harlem shopkeeper Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson), who ends up claiming many of the best lines. However, McClane does get in a classic one-liner after Zeus asks if he is intentionally trying to hit bystanders while recklessly driving a taxi through New York's Central Park.

“I'm Gonna Keep The Coke And The Fries, But I'm Gonna Send This Burger Back. If You Put Any Mayonnaise On It, I'm Gonna Come Over To Your House, Chop Your Legs Off, Set Your House On Fire, And Watch As You Drag Your Bloody Stumps Out Of Your House. OK, Pierre?" - The Whole Nine Yards

A role that effectively blends Bruce Willis' comedic skills with his action star intimidation is Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski from 2000's The Whole Nine Yards. The former mafia hitman in hiding does not hold back when letting a Canadian restaurant server know just how much he hates a certain food condiment.

"Now I Know What A TV Dinner Feels Like" - Die Hard

Like most air vents in movies and TV shows, the ones in Nakatomi Plaza are still larger than what you might see in reality. Still, they are narrow enough to inspire one of John McClane's funniest one-liners in Die Hard.

"Charlie Chaplin Once Entered A Charlie Chaplin Look-Alike Contest In Monte Carlo And Came In Third. That's A Story" - Lucky Number Slevin

Also one of the best Josh Hartnett movies, 2006's fun crime thriller Lucky Number Slevin stars Bruce Willis as a mysterious figure who, at one point, recalls this fun bit of trivia inspired by a true, but unproven, rumor, according to Snopes.

"I Promise I Will Never Even *Think* About Going Up In A Tall Building Again" - Die Hard

In Die Hard, as John McClane is about to leap from the Nakatomi Plaza roof before it explodes (a stunt that Bruce Willis actually performed from the top of a parking garage), he pleads to God that if he lets him survive this ridiculous idea, he will stay as close to the ground as possible for the rest of his life.

"Did I Happen To Mention, Did I Bother To Disclose, That This Man That We're Seeking With The Mole On His Nose? I'm Not Sure Of His Clothes Or Anything Else, Except He's Chinese, A Big Clue By Itself" - Moonlighting

Before Die Hard made him a movie star, Bruce Willis' biggest claim to fame was the hit TV show Moonlighting, in which he and Cybill Shepherd play mismatched private detectives who eventually fall for each other. However, this was no typical mystery series, but a cleverly self-aware parody of the genre that indulges in all kinds of unusual gags, such as this Dr. Seuss-inspired speech.

"Hunter S. Thompson Once Said To Me, 'Bruce, My Boy, The Movie Business Is A Cruel And Shallow Money Trench Where Thieves And Pimps Run Free And Good Men Die Like Dogs.' And Then He Added, 'There's Also A Negative Side'" - What Just Happened

Bruce Willis may appear as himself in What Just Happens, but you might assume he was playing a role based on his bushy beard. One scene from the 2008 Hollywood satire sees him eulogize a late, beloved talent agent, during which he sums up the film's more cynical themes with a probably fictional quote from legendary author Hunter S. Thompson.

"I Was Out Of Bullets" - Live Free Or Die Hard

The fourth Die Hard movie, 2007's Live Free or Die Hard, sees John McClane try his most elaborate, and kind of ridiculous, ways to retaliate against his enemies. For instance, his reluctant partner, Matt Farrell (Justin Long), points out that he managed to take down a helicopter using a speeding cop car, and this is his witty explanation for why.

"Get Senator Roark Behind Bars? Sure. And Maybe After I've Pulled Off That Miracle, I'll Go And Punch Out God" - Sin City

Sin City's John Hartigan is on a one-man war against corruption, a war that he knows he is doomed to lose. He reflects on this harsh truth at the end of his segment after assuring Nancy Callahan that he intends to bring Senator Roark (Powers Boothe) to justice, before revealing in his overhead narration that he lied, knowing full well that she will never be safe from him as long as he is alive.

"That's What My Captain Keeps Telling Me" - Die Hard

When John McClane pulls his piece on Tony (Andreas Wisniewski), he claims that the cop will not hurt him because he would have to follow police protocol. McClane's reply is his intimidatingly witty way of letting the Gruber goon know that he is not one to be messed with.

"I'll Call You Back In Two Hours" - The Fifth Element

The closest we will probably ever get to seeing John McClane in the future is seeing Bruce Willis play Korben Dallas in Luc Besson's 1997 sci-fi favorite, The Fifth Element. The special forces agent-turned-cabbie demonstrates a flavor of wit similar to the Die Hard hero when the United States President tells him that a giant fireball is estimated to hit Earth in one hour and 57 minutes.

"Well, Now That You Mention It, I Have Experienced A, You Know, Like A Burning Sensation Between My Toes. I Thought It Was Just Some Athlete's Foot Or Something" - Die Hard With A Vengeance

In Die Hard with a Vengeance, McClane is questioned by FBI agents over how he may be connected to the mysterious bomber known as Simon (Jeremy Irons), but he does not take it very seriously. That is, until he discovers that Simon's last name is Gruber, identifying him as the brother of Hans from the original Die Hard, revealing the "vengeance" in the title.

"One Of The Things We Liked To Remind Ourselves Before We Went Into Any Job Is 'Expect The Unexpected'. Alright? Alright? Always sounds Like Good Advice. Except, Of Course, If You Are Expecting The Unexpected, Then... Well Then It Really Isn't Unexpected Anymore, Is It? And That Leaves You Vulnerable To The Truly Unexpected, Because You're Not Expecting It" - Bandits

Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton star in director Barry Levinson's Bandits as a pair of notorious thieves with the genius method of kidnapping bank managers at their homes the night before, earning the nickname "The Sleepover Bandits." Intercut between the main story are clips from their interview with a true crime host, during which Willis' character, Joe Blake, facetiously details his methodology.

"All Things Being Equal, I'd Rather Be In Philadelphia" - Die Hard

Fun fact about this John McClane one-liner: Bruce Willis actually did grow up in Philadelphia, as did Die Hard screenwriter Steven E. deSouza.

"You Wanna Take That Knife Out Of My Balls Now?" - RED

In RED, Bruce Willis stars as retired secret agent Frank Moses, who must call upon the help of his former colleague, Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich), when his life is threatened. However, their reunion is initially hostile, due to the paranoid Marvin's security measures.

"Thanks For The Advice" - Die Hard

When John McClane misses the chance to take out Marco (Lorenzo Caccialanza), the goon, sitting on top of a table that our hero is hiding under, tells him that he should not hesitate when he has the chance to kill somebody. McClane takes this to heart and promptly unloads his magazine through the table.

"I Remember When They Told Sylvia Plath, 'Hey, Syl, Cheer Up!' I Remember When They Told e. e. cummings, 'e, Baby; Use Caps!' But Did Ol' e Listen? No. Little n. Little o" - Moonlighting

In this line from Moonlighting, Bruce Willis' David Addison refers to the fact that poet e. e. cummings stylized his name in all lowercase letters. He did not, however, write entirely in lowercase letters.

"Death Is An Art Form In Russia" - RED 2

In Red 2, we meet Frank Moses' Russian former girlfriend, Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who talks of taking a life like she is a painter in an art studio.

"Hey, You Guys Wouldn't Be Able To Tell Us Who Actually Killed Kennedy, Would Ya?" - Armageddon

If the U.S. Government asked me to help save the world, I think I would also try to see if they could reveal one of the most perplexing mysteries in American history as repayment.

"Oh, Wouldn't It Be Great If I *Was* Crazy? Then The World Would Be Okay" - 12 Monkeys

Bruce Willis stars in Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys as a man from a future ruined by a catastrophic virus who is sent back in time in hopes of preventing it. However, his attempts are thwarted by people trying to convince him that his warnings are a delusion, which is what he would prefer they be.

"DOD Says I Can't Come Out Of Retirement. They Didn't Say Anything About Reenlisting." - G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Bruce Willis shows up in G.I. Joe: Retaliation as retired General Joseph Colton, the original G.I. Joe, who decides to bend the rules to help save the world.

"Try This Salsa. Go On. It Makes You Feel Like You Got Shot In The Tongue" - That '70s Show

As a friend of Ashton Kutcher, Bruce Willis guest-starred on That '70s Show as Playboy Club security manager Vic. The sleazy dude offers Kelso (Kutcher) some of his personal salsa, which he insists is hot enough to feel like you are experiencing injury, before offering him a job.

At this point in his long and successful career, Christopher Meloni is likely most recognizable to general audiences for his lengthy stint(s) as Eliott Stabler in the world of both Law & Order: SVU and its spinoff Law & Order: Organized Crime, whose fifth season shifted to Peacock from NBC. Though we’ll be waiting until the 2025 TV schedule to see the character’s return, the actor himself shared a bunch of fun facts about his career and personal life, including the celeb that left him the most starstruck.

Considering he’s portrayed Stabler for more than 15 years at this point, combined with more limited roles in dramas such as Oz, The Handmaid’s Tale, Pose and others, it might be easy for the actor’s fanbase to forget just how big comedy has been across Meloni’s career. But we’re talking about Wet Hot American Summer’s Gene Jenkinson, whose return for Netflix’s spinoff series provided the funniest First Day of Camp moment by far. So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that he was most taken aback by a comedy icon.

Meloni gave US Weekly the rundown on a variety of topics, including the early-career moment when he met and worked for Monty Python’s animation genius-turned-filmmaker Terry Gilliam. In his words:

As a huge fan of Meloni's comic book adaptation Happy, as well as his hilarious efforts in everything from Harley Quinn to Wonder Showzen to Veep, I love hearing that he was able to have that kind of "meet your heroes" moment so early on during his rise in Hollywood. It was only his third film, following comedies Junior and Clean Slate the year before, and I have to imagine it was a wild transition to go from Ivan Reitman to Terry Gilliam.

I think it's safe to say Meloni and Gilliam hit it off well enough. Three years later, the actor popped up in a hilarious supporting role as hotel clerk Sven in the director's next cinematic ordeal, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. That said, it was the last time they worked together to date, but Meloni clearly still thinks highly of the visionary filmmaker if Gilliam remains the go-to celeb that left him most starstruck.

While I'll forever side with Monty Python's Flying Circus being my favorite effort from any of the six troupe members' careers, both Brazil and 12 Monkeys are 100% elsewhere in my Top 5., with Fawlty Towers and Life of Brian filling out the other two. sloths. Not that anybody asked, but still.

The Actors Christopher Meloni Looked Up To The Most

Beyond giving big props to Terry Gilliam, Christopher Meloni also addressed the on-screen performers that made a big impact on him in his youth, and most impressed him with their respective talents. As he put it:

How amazing would it be to have De Niro, Day-Lewis, Slater and Meloni all co-starring in a movie directed by Terry Gilliam? I'm going to dump a bunch of pennies into a wishing well to try and make that happen.

With the promoted Dean Norris returning for more brotherly love within the Stabler family, Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 will arrive for fans with Peacock subscriptions at some point in early 2025, and we're hoping to get more updates soon.

From creator Jason Rothenberg, The 100 is considered today to be one of the best dystopian TV shows of its time. It follows a large group of juvenile delinquents who are sent to Earth nearly a century after nuclear war drove humanity away, only for them to discover the planet is not completely desolate.

After seven seasons on The CW, the Emmy-winning series had its final curtain call, but it remains a hit on Netflix (one of the best streaming services to subscribe to) today. If you are instead looking for something else to binge that is similar in plot and tone, perhaps our recommendations for other great sci-fi TV shows like The 100 might be just what you are looking for.

Fallout (2024-Present)

A, literally, sheltered young woman (played by Ella Purnell), a young man who aspires to be a knight (played by Aaron Molen), and an ageless bounty hunter (played by Walton Goggins) search for a coveted possession in a war-torn dystopia.

Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: In Amazon Prime's series adaptation of the popular video game franchise, Fallout — which has a second season in the works — the central character, Purnell's Lucy, is a young woman exploring the remnants of an Earth decimated by nuclear war for the first time, much like our central characters on The 100.

Stream Fallout on Amazon Prime.

3% (2016-2020)

Years in the future when Earth has become an uninhabitable wasteland, impoverished youths fiercely compete to be one of the few allowed entry to the “better side.”

Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Another dystopian series following a group of young people struggling to navigate their harsh environment (and one of the best sci-fi TV shows on Netflix) is the Brazillan import, 3%, which also boasts themes and elements that call to mind the Hunger Games movies.

Stream 3% on Netflix.

The Society (2019)

Teenage Allie Pressman (Kathryn Newton, giving one of her best performances) and other people her age suddenly find themselves mysteriously trapped inside their small town without the adults and cut off from the rest of the world.

Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Another one of the best TV shows on Netflix with connections to The 100 is The Society, both for the way it follows a young cast of characters left to their own devices to create stability in an increasingly dangerous environment and in that it was also prematurely cancelled during COVID.

Stream The Society on Netflix. 

Terra Nova (2011)

As the planet becomes increasingly less homey, an average man (played by Jason O'Mara) and his family find a new place to call home by traveling to the prehistoric age.

Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: In The 100, the last of humanity seeks refuge from an uninhabitable Earth by living on a space station, while Terra Nova — a show Fox should feel embarrassed about canceling — follows a group of people trying a different method: time travel.

Buy Terra Nova on Amazon.
Buy Terra Nova on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Lost (2004-2010) 

After suffering a horrific plane crash, a group of strangers must band together to survive on a desert island where nothing is quite what it seems.

Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: The 100 is certainly a TV show like Lost, since it also follows a crew of survivalists who must endure harsh terrain, mysterious research labs, and conflicts with enemy tribes.

Stream Lost on Netflix.
Stream Lost on Hulu.
Buy Lost on Amazon. 

The Wilds (2020-2022)

A group of teenage girls must work together to create stability on a deserted island after a near-fatal plane crash leaves them stranded.

Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Another great Amazon Prime TV show like The 100 (and, admittedly, a lot like Lost, too) is The Wilds, which is especially similar to the show of honor as it also involves teenagers thrown into the unknown where brewing conflicts lead them to split into warring factions.

Stream The Wilds on Amazon.

12 Monkeys (2015-2018)

A scavenger (played by Aaron Stanford) from a futuristic world ravaged by a disastrous epidemic is sent back in time on a mission to prevent the spread.

Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Later seasons of The 100 heavily involve a bid to save humanity from a deadly plague, which is also the central plot of 12 Monkeys, an acclaimed Syfy series inspired by director Terry Gilliam's classic time travel movie from 1996.

Buy 12 Monkeys on Amazon.
Buy 12 Monkeys on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)

After an extraterrestrial enemy wipes out most of humanity, the surviving people aboard the sole remaining warship travel through outer space in search of sanctuary.

Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Similar to The 100, Battlestar Galactica — the acclaimed, Emmy-winning reboot to a cult favorite sci-fi series from the 1970s — is set after their civilization's downfall and follows a group of protagonists looking for a new home...on the fabled planet of Earth.

Stream Battlestar Galactica on Amazon Prime.
Buy Battlestar Galactica on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Magicians (2015-2020)

A group of students are recruited into a secret society from which they learn that magic is real and very dangerous if used by the wrong people.

Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: While it may not be a sci-fi dystopian thriller or a survivalist drama, The Magicians is a compelling fantasy with a few similar character arcs, and epic twists and turns galore.

Stream The Magicians on Netflix.
Buy The Magicians on Amazon.
Buy The Magicians on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Shadowhunters (2016-2019)

Following the disappearance of her mother, teenager Clary (Kat McNamara) discovers that she is a descendant of a long line of demon hunters and must accept her destiny to join the fight.

Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Spun off from the movie The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (also an adaptation of Cassandra Clare's popular series of novels), Shadowhunters is another popular drama about a group young people with the weight of humanity's fate on their shoulders.

Stream Shadowhunters on Hulu.
Buy Shadowhunters on Amazon. 

If you have already seen all of these shows, go ahead and log into your Netflix subscription and see The CW's The 100 cast in action again.

Prison is a scary place. Even in the movies, it's the kind of place that is impossible to romanticize, and Hollywood can do that with a lot of other terrible places. Prisons are also a place where storytellers can find interesting characters and angles to bring humanity to life. There is nothing good in prison, but there is that, there is humanity. Still, as the movies on this list will prove, you never want to end up there. 

The Green Mile

If there is an even worse place to be than regular prison, it's death row. It's even worse if you were to find yourself on death row in Louisiana in the 1930s. That's where our story takes place in The Green Mile and while Tom Hanks' character is somewhat kind, the rest of the guards are a nightmare and the experience looks miserable. Death might be a relief.

The Last Castle

Military prison is no joke, especially when the warden is one like the one James Gandolfini plays in The Last Castle. The movie plays out like a lot of prison movies, in the vein of Cool Hand Luke. One prisoner, unhappy with the unfair treatment of the warden and the guards takes them all on in a battle of wills.

Escape From Alcatraz

Escape From Alcatraz is an all-time classic and a fun adventure movie. It's not fun to see what life was really like on "The Rock." Watching this movie it's easy to understand why people were desperate to escape the "escape-proof" prison.

Cool Hand Luke

A failure to communicate is not why Luke (Paul Newman) was the way he was in Cool Hand Luke. A mere existence on a chain gang in a prison work camp seems like it would be just the worst thing to ever go through. At least you get all the eggs you can eat though.

The Longest Yard

On its surface, The Longest Yard makes light of life in prison. They get to play football and make jokes all day. Dig a little deeper and think a little more and you realize that the only relief from the stress and the boredom of prison is the take desperate measures on the football field. No thanks.

Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking, starring Sean Penn as a condemned man on death row is a really hard movie to watch. There is nothing scarier than being in a situation where you know you're going to die and little can be done to save yourself. Instead, you can only hope to take solace in your death by meeting with a spiritual advisor and hope the afterlife is better than where you are.

The Great Escape

Okay, okay, this really is a fun adventure movie, for the most part. Still, there are some dark moments in The Great Escape like Archie Ives (Angus Lennie) cracking and in a move of desperation trying to scale the fence only to be cut down by the guards. As fun, as this movie is, it's still prison.

In The Name Of The Father

The only thing worse than getting locked up for committing a crime is getting locked up as an innocent man. In the classic In The Name Of The Father, that's exactly what happens to a man and his father, played by Daniel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite, respectively. They spend years in prison fighting for their freedom, which eventually comes, but too late for the father. 

The Bridge On The River Kwai

World War II prison camps in the Pacific Theater were no joke. In one of the best movies of all-time, The Bridge On The River Kwai, the brutality of life in the camp is on display for the full run-time of the movie. It's impossible to understand how those soldiers kept their dignity like they did. 

The Shawshank Redeption

In one of, if not the best movie of the '90s, two men face life sentences in a brutal prison in Maine in The Shawshank Redemption. The fact that Andy (Tim Robbins) is an innocent man wrongly sent to jail makes it even more brutal. Still, this is the kind of movie where humanity shines through, it's just not how anyone would every choose to experience it. 

Bronson

Bronson is a wild movie, about a wild guy dubbed "Great Britain's most dangerous prisoner." Tom Hardy plays the titular character, who is based on a real criminal, and one look at how he acts with those around him and you'll know you never want to deal with anyone like him. The best way to avoid that is to stay out of jail! 

Brokedown Palace

Smuggling illicit items into a foreign country is about the worst idea, ever. Starring Claire Danes as Alice Marano and Kate Beckinsale as Darlene Davis, Brokedown Palace tells the story of two young women who make one major mistake and pay the price in the worst way in a brutal women's prison in Thailand.

Escape From New York

Not every prison has walls guards, or even cells. Some, it turns out are just the burnt-out remains of one of the great cities of the world, New York City. In Escape from New York, Snake (Kurt Russell) must navigate an apocalyptic landscape in a chaotic, free-for-all prison on what was once the island of Manhattan. No thanks.

Midnight Express

"Have you ever been in a Turkish prison" is the question Captain Over asks a kid in the spoof movie Airplane! Lost on a modern audience is that the joke is in reference to a movie from 1978 called Midnight Express. It was a phenomenon at the time and really set the bar for just how scary and awful prison can be, 

25th Hour

Even though 25th Hour doesn't actually take place in a prison, it's almost worse. Edward Norton plays a convicted man headed to prison, navigating how to prepare. Sometimes the anticipation can be the worst part and there is no better example than this fantastic movie directed by Spike Lee. 

Con Air

Once again, we're talking about a movie that while it's a ton of fun on the surface, it doesn't take much to look under the hood and see how terrifying the people in prison are. Just two of the passengers on Con Air, Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich) and Garland Green (Steve Buscemi) are enough to convince anyone that prison is a bad place to be. 

No Escape

Set in the year 2022, the 1994 movie No Escape is completely over-the-top. Similar to Escape from New York, it's about a penal colony on a island, but this time it's no city, just jungle. And there is no escape, if you believe the title. It seems like about the worst place to do time. 

The Hurricane

Yet another tragic tale of an innocent man rotting away in prison for decades trying to get someone, anyone, in the justice system to believe him. Ruben Carter was railroaded into a murder conviction in the 1970s and spent years trying to get out. Hurricane tells his story brilliantly, and the good news is that eventually he did get out and declared innocent. 

The Dark Knight Rises

There is an old saying about throwing the worst criminals down the deepest, darkest hole in the earth. In The Dark Knight Rises that's exactly where some of the worst of the worst end up, including both Bane and Batman at different times. Only a few have ever escaped, like Talia al Ghul (Joey King) and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale)

12 Monkeys

Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between prison and a mental facility. Especially in a dystopian future like the one in 12 Monkeys. In fact, the movie makes the latter look way worse than a simple prison. Either way, you hope to not end up in either one. 

Sleepers

Sadistic guards in movies have long been one of the reasons it's clear you don't end up in jail, even - or maybe especially - as a juvenile. Kevin Bacon's character in Sleepers is so evil, so sadistic, that even when the worst happens to him later, you can't help but cheer. And say a little prayer that you never had to go through what the kids in that movie went through. 

Deadpool 2

Even in a fun superhero movie like Deadpool 2, you don't want to end up in prison like Wade (Ryan Reynolds) does. Not only do they block his power and allow the cancer to return, he can't be protected from Cable (Josh Brolin)

The Power of One

One of Morgan Freeman's most underrated movies has to be The Power of One. Ultimately it's an inspiring story, but it's not without the cautionary tale of avoiding prison, something his character sadly cannot do in apartheid South Africa. 

American History X

If there is one thing to learn about avoiding prison in American History X, it's that you never want to end up like Edward Norton's character. Ever. He is the personification of evil and prison only makes him better at being evil. Not only do want to avoid people like him, you would never want to be in a position to have to be more like him. 

Goodfellas

This one is a little tricky. For one, prison for wise guys doesn't look that bad in Goodfellas. There is steak, lobster, and thinly sliced garlic. On the other hand, life in the witness relocation program, eating egg noodles with ketchup, sounds like a miserable existence, so its best to just avoid the whole situation and stay on the straight and narrow. 

Papillion (2017)

2017's Papillon is a remake of a movie from 1973 starring Steve McQueen about a condemned man sent to the notorious Devil's Island prison from France. Both movies are great, so it's hard to pick one over the other. Both will scare the pants off you and ensure you'll do anything to avoid something like that. 

Stir Crazy

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor can make anything fun and that includes prison. So while Stir Crazy is of the few movies on this list that audiences laugh through, it still doesn't sell anyone on the idea that prison is the place to be. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

The Stanford Prison Experiment

The Stanford Prison Experiment isn't the best movie on the list, nor is it about an actual prison, but anyone who knows anything about the real experience this film is fictionalizing knows just how awful things got. The experiment was to show what happens when regular people are put under the stress of being prisoners and guards in a prison-like situation. The results may make you lose all faith in humanity. 

Starred Up

Violence is everywhere in prison and Starred Up makes sure that audiences feel all of it viscerally. It's not an easy movie to watch, and it makes you wonder how anyone could survive inside with the level of violence possible. It's an underrated movie, but not one you aspire to be like. 

Jailhouse Rock

One of the many low-budget, quick productions that starred Elvis early in his career was the prison movie Jailhouse Rock. While it doesn't seem like the worst prison on earth and there is singing and dancing, it's still a prison. Maybe the real prison would be having to watch this movie over and over in lockdown 23 hours a day. 

Alien 3

Even in the future, prison looks miserable. Maybe even more miserable when you are stuck on a prison planet with nothing but violent criminals and forced to shave your head to avoid lice. And then an alien gets involved. Nope! No, thank you! 

Law Abiding Citizen

Everyone want to root for the antihero and in Law Abiding Citizen, Gerard Butler's character is one that is easy to root for. The time he spends in jail, however, is not something anyone could root for. Just like all the movies on this list. It all just sounds awful. 

Sometimes a movie leaves us with a finale so head scratching, we need to run out and talk about it. That concern is always going to be valid, and that’s why we felt it was time to decipher 32 of the most confusing movie endings, so that you don’t have to. Brace yourselves, as some of these finales are all-time stumpers. 

Inception

Is Dom (Leonardo DiCaprio) still in the dream world, or is he back home with his kids? It’s been over a decade since Inception planted that question in our minds, and as far as Christopher Nolan’s thoughts on Dom’s ending are concerned, it doesn’t matter because the character doesn’t care. Though if you ask us, Leo’s still dreaming in the end.

Looper

Because of how Looper’s time travel works in Rian Johnson’s story, one could say that it’s safe to assume that young Cid (Pierce Gagnon) doesn’t become the criminal overlord known as The Rainmaker. However, our own interpretation of the ending is that the death of both Joes (Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Bruce Willis)  probably had no effect on Cid’s future, and the kid’s still destined for darkness. 

Shutter Island

This one’s a pretty cut-and-dry affair, as the finale of director Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Shutter Island is actually clearer than the book when it comes to the final fate of Andrew Laeddis (Leonardo DiCaprio). In author Dennis Lehane’s novel, we’re not sure if Andrew or his Teddy Daniels persona is in control; but in Shutter Island’s movie ending, it’s plainly clear that Andrew wants that lobotomy, and pretends he still thinks he’s his US Marshall alter ego. 

mother!

The ending to mother! is a literally Biblical finale, with Jennifer Lawrence’s titular matron unleashing apocalyptic ruin against her lover, Him (Javier Bardem). As we saw Darren Aronofsky’s film start with a woman burning in some hellfire of her own, we’re led to believe that the cycle of creation and destruction is about to start again, thanks to Him waking up his new companion the same way he roused mother. 

Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film Birdman, Or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance is a rare case where a seemingly impenetrable ending fits along with the story that came before it. While we debate whether Riggan (Michael Keaton) jumped to his death or soared with the birds, the blurred lines of reality never let up even in the finale, causing us to question everything we’ve seen come to pass. 

The Shining

Stephen King’s notorious dislike of The Shining, at least as a movie, certainly has its points. While Stanley Kubrick’s iconic adaptation is definitely a different beast from its literary source, as the film seemingly depicts the soul of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) now caught in the purgatory of The Overlook. For years the mystery of that ominous photo kept people guessing, but thanks to Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep, that seems to be the best answer available. 

Fight Club

Just as Fight Club’s Operation Mayhem is about to punch a hole in the status quo, we learn that Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is a manifestation of the Narrator (Edward Norton) and his contempt for the world. Sometimes dissociating into that personality it’s our Narrator that was the mastermind this whole time. Holding hands with Darla (Helena Bonham Carter) while the world seemingly ends, there’s two comic sequels that tell the story of what happened after one of the best ‘90s movies of all time.

American Psycho

Did Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) really kill all of those people? Apparently not. While he confesses to killing rival Paul Allen (Jared Leto), and even engages in a gun-toting showdown with the NYPD, the next day sees Patrick’s crimes being laughed off by anyone he mentions them to. Mary Harron’s film is just as open-ended as Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, but at the end of the day, Patrick does do a lot of drugs, and nobody can keep anybody’s names straight. 

Memento

2000’s Memento saw would-be detective Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) seeking out his wife’s killer. Unfortunately,  Leonard’s anterograde amnesia prevents him from remembering that he actually killed his wife’s assailant a year prior to the movie. Even after learning the truth, a moment of vengeance ensures that he’ll keep hunting his wife’s killer for the foreseeable future.

No Country For Old Men

The audience for 2007’s No Country for Old Men thought that there was a chance Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) could have escaped the wrath of hitman Anton Chegur (Javier Bardem). As it turns out, that was never the case, as Moss and his wife were already dead. The true point of the story is to observe Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) and his acceptance that the past is in the past, and there’s nothing you can do about it. 

A Serious Man

In a quest for cosmic and karmic answers, Professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) sees two potential misfortunes befall him at the end of The Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man. Larry’s recent lab tests may indicate some serious health problems, and his son Danny (Aaron Wolff) is seconds away from being lost in a tornado. All because Larry took a bribe to change a student’s grade. 

Blade Runner

The question of whether Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a replicant depends on how you view Blade Runner, right down to the cut you choose to view. While Harrison Ford believes Deckard is a replicant, both Ridley Scott and the events of Blade Runner 2049 seem to fall into the camp of uncertainty at best, and flat-out rejection in its most extreme. So yeah, Deckard’s humanity is up for grabs, with a firm lean towards confirming he’s flesh and blood.

Arrival

The ending of Arrival also happens to be the beginning, as the visions of Louise Banks (Amy Adams) losing her young daughter are not flashbacks, but flash-forwards. Since the Heptapod language allows the human consciousness to basically remember the future, Louise’s fate is all the more bittersweet, as she proceeds to live through the tragedy she could have prevented.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Dr. David Bowman (Keir Dullea) finds himself experiencing one of the trippiest endings of cinematic history in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The simplest way to explain what happened is that thanks to the third, most powerful Monolith, Dr. Bowman found himself unbound from time and space. Reborn as “The Star Child,” he is now ready to transition into even crazier forms throughout the rest of Arthur C. Clarke’s source novels; as he’s basically become immortal. 

Donnie Darko

Time travel helps Donnie Darko become a confusing loop of causality, in which Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) realizes that in order to save his community from a chain of death and tragedy, he has to die. Using the strange powers he’s been developing throughout the film, he causes the jet engine that lands on his house earlier in the movie to ultimately kill his past self, rendering the events of Richard Kelly’s story null and void.

The Thing

John Carpenter’s The Thing is a horror classic for several reasons, one of which is the legendary special effects magic that remains chilling to this day. For our purposes, the other reason open for discussion is the movie’s ending, which questions whether Macready (Kurt Russell) or Childs (Keith David) could be The Thing. If you really want to fit the paranoid theme of the movie, the best assumption is that neither is The Thing, and their distrust eventually kills them both in the end.

Tenet

Sometimes it feels like Christopher Nolan is going for the Hall of Fame when it comes to confusing endings. Tenet’s wild time inversion ride is one of the best examples, as the ending is as twisty as its concept of time. For The Protagonist (John David Washington), and the rest of us in the audience, Tenet is the beginning. However, for Neil (Robert Pattinson), this journey has been an inverted arc that leads to his death saving his new old friend in the movie’s killer opening sequence. 

Annihilation

In a world of doppelgangers and uncertainty, Alex Garland’s film version of Annihilation is a double helix of a twist ending. Not only do we learn that Kane (Oscar Isaac) is actually an alien replica of his human self from the mysterious area known as “The Shimmer,” but we see that the original Lena (Natalie Portman) has been possessed by some of that Shimmer herself. 

Total Recall

Admit it: Total Recall is so pumped full of adrenaline that it’s kind of easy to overlook whether or not Arnold Schwarzenegger’s protagonist had been dreaming the whole time. Paul Verhoeven’s action-packed retelling of Philip K. Dick’s “We’ll Remember It For You Wholesale” may seem to hedge its bets by the end, but we’re willing to say that Total Recall’s ending was all a dream.

Minority Report

Legendary sci-fi author Phillip K. Dick had a knack for writing stories that lead to some of the most open-ended finales of all time. Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report is a long-standing beacon of ambiguity, as Tom Cruise’s John Anderton may or may not have dreamed his own happy ending after a certain point. 

12 Monkeys

Poor James Cole (Bruce Willis). Plagued by nightmares from his childhood, the man trusted to prevent 12 Monkeys’ viral apocalypse from occurring just happens to be the man he saw gunned down in an airport when he was young. While the apocalypse seems to be on its way to being averted, this unfortunate time traveler’s fate would appear to have always been sealed.

Jacob’s Ladder

Vietnam Vet Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) winds his way through a maze of mystery and hallucination in Jacob’s Ladder, which ultimately leads to one hell of a twist ending. By the time we see his dead son Gabe (Macaulay Culkin) welcoming him to the afterlife, we learn that Jacob actually never made it home from Vietnam. The entire movie, save for the sequences set during the war, was a hallucination on Jacob’s deathbed.

The Dark Knight Rises

Based on the overwhelming evidence left in the finale of The Dark Knight Rises, the question of whether Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is alive and well in Italy at the end seems pretty open and shut. After learning that the Caped Crusader fixed the autopilot function on The Bat, it would appear that Bruce found a way to retire from his life of crime-fighting, while leaving his arsenal to the next person he trusted with the mantle: Officer Robin John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

Joker

What do Joker’s Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and American Psycho’s Christian Bale have in common? Well, apparently, they both suffer from a state of psychosis so great they’ve imagined killing people in their waking lives. What makes Todd Phillips’ Academy Award-winning thriller all the more confusing is that thanks to Arthur’s reputation as an unreliable narrator, there may be several layers of fantasy at work throughout this chilling narrative. 

Us

Throughout Jordan Peele’s Us, we’re supposed to believe that Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) is being chased by her Untethered doppelganger Red (also Nyong’o). In actuality, what seems to have happened is that on that fateful night in 1986, Red swapped places with Adelaide. Over 30 years later, when Adelaide attempts to reclaim her life through an Untethered revolution, Red kills her - maintaining her stolen life on the surface.

Brazil

Brazil’s ending is one of the most confusing in history thanks to the fact that there are three different conclusions. Thanks to good old-fashioned studio meddling, Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) either suffers a mental break, escapes with his true love (Kim Greist), or winds up in a sort of middle ground; depending on which cut you watch. But the definitive ending is the first and bleakest scenario, which explains what inspired the meddling in the theatrical and TV cuts. 

Predestination

Predestination’s ending is a confusing affair because of all the twists one has to keep in mind when defining the identity of our protagonist. The trick is to know two things: John (Sarah Snook), Jane (also Sarah Snook), and their baby are all the same person, and thanks to time travel shenanigans they eventually become the terrorist they’re hunting (Ethan Hawke). With that knowledge, it doesn’t seem like the terrorist attack in question can be changed, especially since it all hinges on several variants of the same person involved in all the crucial aspects. 

Life Of Pi

Apologies to all of you animal lovers out there, as the tiger known as Richard Parker wasn’t in the lifeboat with young Pi (Suraj Sharma). All of the animals in the tragic story on the boat are metaphors for the very real tragedy of Pi losing his mother (Tabu) and killing her murderer (Gérard Depardieu) before being lost at sea. It turns out the tiger was the metaphor for Pi’s inner strength to survive. 

A.I.: Artificial Intelligence

Stanley Kubrick’s trust in Steven Spielberg to make A.I.: Artificial Intelligence into a reality has led to many people wondering where the movie should have ended. It only confused things more when there wasn’t a readily apparent explanation that the “aliens” that young David (Haley Joel Osment) encounters in the far-flung future are actually evolved Mechas trying to learn about the age of humanity. 

Contact

Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) assumes that her journey toward the end of Contact actually sends her to the outer reaches of space. In truth, while her consciousness may have encountered alien life, there’s no physical evidence to corroborate her story. For once, the scientist is on the side of faith. 

Black Swan

In the third act of Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, ballerina Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) mistakenly thinks she killed her presumed rival Lily (Mila Kunis) with a large shard of class. In actuality, it was herself that she stabbed, right before a supposedly star-making performance in Swan Lake. It's presumed that Nina bleeds out as the film fades to white. 

Dune: Part Two

To be completely honest, there’s one simple yet baffling reason the ending to Dune: Part Two is on this list. Honestly, if you can walk away from Paul Atredies’ (Timotheé Challamet) journey and think he’s still a hero, you’re wrong. Try as he might, the dude’s turned into the prophecy, and he’s about to commit space genocide. Sorry, he’s about to “show his enemies to Paradise.”

We hope that your head isn’t spinning too hard after this collection of the most confusing endings of cinematic history. At least you can count on the finale of this very rundown to be a clear and concise version of events. Or can you? 

The final decade of the 20th century gave us some of the most unforgettable cinematic experiences, including some game-changing science fiction spectacles. If you want to go back and revisit some of the best ‘90s sci-fi movies like Jurassic Park, The Matrix, and so much more, then you’ve come to the right place. From some of the best ‘90s movies to sci-fi deep cuts you may have forgotten, there’s a lot to choose from.

Here’s everything you need to know about what we think are some of the best sci-fi movies of all time and how you can go about watching them in a variety of ways, including on some of the best streaming services.

The Faculty (1998) 

A great horror movie that never got a sequel, The Faculty is also one of the most overlooked sci-fi films of the ‘90s. Released on Christmas Day 1998, Robert Rodriguez’s thriller follows a group of high school students (played by Jordana Brewster, Josh Hartnett, and Elijah Wood, among others) as they try to save their school after members of the faculty have been infected by alien brain parasites.

Stream The Faculty on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy The Faculty on Amazon.

Alien 3 (1992) 

Though not the best Alien movie, David Fincher’s 1992 sequel isn’t a terrible one by any means. Set almost immediately after the events of James Cameron’s Aliens, this down-and-dirty sci-fi thriller has more in common with Ridley Scott’s franchise starter when it comes to its tone and approach. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) attempting to escape a prison colony invaded by xenomorphs is quite the experience.

Stream Alien 3 on Hulu.
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Flatliners (1990)

Released in 1990, Joel Schumacher’s Flatliners has one of the most unique concepts of any sci-fi movie in the ‘90s: what happens when a group of medical students intentionally kill themselves before being brought back to life to document their near-death experiences? With a cast that features Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, and Kevin Bacon, to name a few, the movie sets out to answer that question and explore the ramifications of playing with death.

Rent/Buy Flatliners on Amazon.

The City Of Lost Children (1995)

Directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, The City of Lost Children is one of the most terrifying and unsettling sci-fi movies to come out of the ‘90s. Basically, a mad scientist named Krank (Daniel Emilfork) kidnaps children to steal their dreams after losing the ability to make them on his own. With off-putting cinematography, unnerving performances by its cast, and a general sense of eeriness, there’s a lot to unpack.

Rent/Buy The City of Lost Children on Amazon.

Face/Off (1997)

Featuring one of the craziest Nicolas Cage performances, John Woo’s 1997 sci-fi action flick shows what happens when an FBI agent (played by John Travolta) and terrorist (played by Cage) swap faces. What follows is one of the wildest movies to come out of the decade, which is saying something.

Stream Face/Off on Prime Video.
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The Matrix (1999)

In one fell swoop, the Wachowskis forever changed the action genre and ushered in a new era of sci-fi with their landmark 1999 film, The Matrix. With its unique and engaging story about the last remnants of humanity fighting to free themselves from a computer simulation, along with its inventive action, and loads of philosophical discussions, there are countless reasons The Matrix is so influential 25 years later.

Rent/Buy The Matrix on Amazon.

The Fifth Element (1997)

With its futuristic setting, ridiculous collection of outfits, and characters that are just too good to believe, there’s much to love about The Fifth Element. Luc Besson’s 1997 sci-fi action film follows Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) as he is tasked with saving the world by working with a mysterious woman named Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), and it just gets better from there.

Rent/Buy The Fifth Element on Amazon.

12 Monkeys (1996)

Sent decades into the past, James Cole (Bruce Willis) is put up to the task of preventing a devastating plague from being released. In a race against time, the unsuspecting hero encounters all manner of obstacles and crazed characters in Terry Gilliam’s 1996 sci-fi adventure, 12 Monkeys.

Rent/Buy 12 Monkeys on Amazon.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Considered one of the best action movies of all time, James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day took everything that worked about its predecessor and turned it up a few notches. This story of survival, redemption, and making a better world is just as good in 2024 as it was back in 1991.

Stream Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Netflix.
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Rent/Buy Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Amazon.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, a movie that defined 1993, is one of those massive blockbusters that combines elements of multiple genres to create an unforgettable experience. Sci-fi, action, adventure, comedy, drama, they’re all there in what is -- and forever will be -- the greatest dinosaur movie ever made.

Rent/Buy Jurassic Park on Amazon.

Ghost In The Shell (1995)

The ‘90s saw a golden era of anime, and one of the best examples is Mamoru Oshii’s adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. Set in a futuristic 2029, the movie follows Motoko Kusanagi (Mimi Woods) as she tracks down a mad scientist who is hacking into the brains of cyborgs before the damage cannot be undone.

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Galaxy Quest (1999)

Released in 1999, Galaxy Quest finds the perfect balance between homage and parody with its story inspired by shows like Star Trek and the lore and fandom surrounding them. Tired, jaded, and bitter, the stars of a fictional TV show find themselves on a real-life space adventure after an alien civilization mistakes their series for the real thing.

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The Iron Giant (1999)

Though it wasn’t a box office success, The Iron Giant has since become one of the most cherished and beloved sci-fi and animated movies of the ‘90s. Brad Bird’s touching and powerful adventure film follows a young boy as he strikes up an unlikely bond with a massive alien robot, a machine being hunted by the government.

Rent/Buy The Iron Giant on Amazon.

Contact (1997)

With great performances, stellar and inventive visual effects, and a controversial movie ending we’re still debating, Contact had it all. Robert Zemeckis’ 1997 sci-fi thriller stars Jodie Foster as Dr. Ellie Arroway, a brilliant scientist who comes in contact with a mysterious alien civilization with technology far eclipsing anything on Earth. But like other great sci-fi films, that’s only part of the story.

Rent/Buy Contact on Amazon.

Stargate (1994)

Scientists and soldiers form an uneasy bond after humans discover a mysterious gateway that can transport them to an alien planet that looks very similar to ancient Egypt in Stargate. But after visiting the magical world, the travelers find themselves trapped by its tyrannical leader.

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Dark City (1998)

After waking up alone and confused, John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) finds himself on the hook for a series of murders, crimes he has no memory of committing (or not committing). In his attempt to solve the mystery, however, he finds himself falling a little deeper into the madness of it all in Dark City.

Rent/Buy Dark City on Amazon.

Strange Days (1995)

Set in a world in which people become addicted to experiencing recordings of others’ memories and experiences, Strange Days follows Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes), a former cop-turned-dealer. When one of the recordings shows a grisly crime, Nero goes back to his old ways to solve the case. 

Buy Strange Days on DVD on Amazon.  

Starship Troopers (1997)

A movie that perfectly blends sci-fi and satire, Starship Troopers is one of the most misunderstood movies of the ‘90s. On one hand, it’s about humanity getting revenge against a civilization of bugs who killed millions of people, while on the other, it’s an exploration of fascism, imperialism, and every other ism in the book.

Rent/Buy Starship Troopers on Amazon.

Men In Black (1997)

After having a chance encounter with an extraterrestrial criminal, Agent J (Will Smith) finds himself as the new partner for Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) as they try to prevent an interstellar war from destroying the universe. Men in Black checks all the boxes when it comes to sci-fi, action, and movie tie-in music videos.

Stream Men in Black on Peacock.
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Independence Day (1996)

One of Will Smith’s best movies, Independence Day follows humanity’s effort to come together and defeat a malevolent alien force that is determined to wipe out all life on Earth. A massive box office hit, this 1996 blockbuster also features some of the most terrifying movie moments of the ‘90s.

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Total Recall (1990)

After undergoing an experimental virtual reality procedure to visit Mars, Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) realizes that his life isn’t what he thought it was. Total Recall, a wild adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel of the same name, does a lot of things well, including some key Arnold freakouts.

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Gattaca (1997)

Upon learning that he wasn’t accepted into a space program because he was deemed “in-valid,” Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) draws up a plan to use the DNA signature of another man (played by Jude Law) to make his dreams come true, in Gattaca.

Stream Gattaca on Max.
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Fire In The Sky (1993)

Inspired by the alien abduction account told in the book The Walton Experience, Fire in the Sky follows a group of friends who find themselves in the middle of a terrifying situation after one of them is abducted by aliens and the others are accused of killing him. The story only gets stranger from there.

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Mars Attacks! (1996)

With Mars Attacks!, Tim Burton created one of the strangest movies about Las Vegas and one of the goofiest alien movies ever made. There’s just so much going on in this fun throwback to mid-century sci-fi stories, including its bonkers cast.

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Cube (1998)

Vincenzo Natali gave audiences one of the most unique and terrifying sci-fi experiences of the ‘90s with Cube. This low-budget sci-fi horror film follows a group of random strangers who wake in a series of cube-like rooms with no explanation and no memories of how they got there. Paranoia, claustrophobia, and madness are aplenty in this cult classic.

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The X-Files: Fight The Future (1998)

About halfway into the show’s run, The X-Files got the big-screen treatment with 1998’s Fight the Future. Serving as a narrative bridge between the fifth and sixth seasons,  Rob Bowman’s movie follows Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they unwittingly uncover a government conspiracy revolving around, you guessed it, aliens.

Rent/Buy The X-Files: Fight the Future on Amazon.

eXistenZ (1999)

David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ follows a game designer (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) as she goes on the run from a killer and teams up with a young businessman (Jude Law). But their journey isn’t a simple Point A to Point B affair, as they fall into a place between the rules of reality and virtual reality.

Buy eXistenZ on 4K on Amazon.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Considered one of the best Star Trek movies, 1996’s First Contact feels very much at home with The Next Generation TV series and is a must-watch for fans of the franchise. After following a Borg ship through a wormhole, the Enterprise crew finds themselves trapped in the past with no way of getting home, or so they think.

Stream Star Trek: First Contact on Paramount+.
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Predator 2 (1990)

Though Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t return, there’s still a lot to love about Predator 2. Replacing the jungles of the first film with the busy streets of Los Angeles, the movie follows a group of cops and special agents as they try to combat the technologically advanced and deadly predator before it’s too late.

Stream Predator 2 on Hulu.
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Back To The Future Part III (1990)

Back to the Future Part III, which is primarily set in the Old West, follows Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) as he goes back in time to save Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) one final time. The mixing of old and new creates an exciting and clever way of wrapping up the beloved franchise.

Stream Back to the Future Part III on Netflix.
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Demolition Man (1993)

Though it's cheesy and silly, Demolition Man is a gem of a movie. This 1993 sci-fi action flick starring Sylvester Stallone as a renegade 20th-century cop waking up in the future to take on an old enemy is just so much fun.

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If you’re all caught up with these great flicks, check out our breakdown of all the upcoming sci-fi movies that could very well become classics before long. 

What do movies about time travel and films set in some version of the future have in common? Well, besides taking up a crazy amount of spots on the list of best ‘80s movies, these sci-fi flicks, comedies, and dramas tend to feature some truly bonkers and ridiculous outfits from the near and distant future.

Over the years, classics like Back to the Future Part II, Demolition Man, and the Mad Max franchise have all introduced some outrageous costumes, uniforms, and other outfits that leave many of us scratching our heads all these years later. Let’s take a look at 32 of those ridiculous wardrobe decisions… 

Zed's Wardrobe (Zardoz)

Though the late Sean Connery will always be remembered for his portrayal of James Bond, let’s not forget the iconic Scotsman’s performance or outfit in Zardoz. His portrayal of Zed in the 1974 sci-fi fantasy cult classic is something to behold, as was the costume he wore. The ponytail, the thigh-high boots, and the crossed suspenders that only seemed to draw attention to his chest hair were all ridiculous and ridiculously awesome.

Ruby Rhod's Wardrobe (The Fifth Element)

Chris Tucker stole the show in The Fifth Element with his portrayal of Ruby Rhod, the over-the-top and fabulous radio show from the 1997 sci-fi cult classic. We couldn’t settle on just one outfit, so we just had to include his entire wardrobe. The leopard print, the hair, the jewelry, the flowers, they’re all so much.

Biff's Bully Uniform (Back To The Future Part II)

Back to the Future Part II had some wild ideas for the future, with everything from Pizza Hut to transportation to communication methods being updated in the 1989 sequel. But one of the biggest statements was made with the fashion, especially Biff’s costume. The gold zebra print jacket is one thing, but that metal helmet just puts this over the top.

The United Planets Uniforms (Forbidden Planet)

Though it would be cool to visit Altair IV from Forbidden Planet, we would have to do something about those United Planets uniforms. Not the most absurd sci-fi outfit by any means, but the strange padding and muted colors make this a strange choice, especially for a movie set hundreds of years into the future.

Simon Phoenix's Overalls (Demolition Man)

Wesley Snipe’s Simon Phoenix looked like he stumbled into a Buggle Boy story on his way to the future in Demolition Man, but it works for the absurd nature of his character. The haircut, which inspired Dennis Rodman to make a big change, is a wild and cool choice, but those overalls are truly something else. 

Judge Dredd's Uniform (Judge Dredd)

Judge Dredd came out in the mid-90s, which explains why Sylvester Stallone’s titular crimefighter’s futuristic costume looks like something out of a toy line. Does it look good? Yes, but the shoulder pads, helmet, and uniform make the comic book character look like something out of Street Fighter. But still, Dredd looks ridiculously cool.

Neo's Coat (The Matrix Reloaded)

The Matrix movies have always had some wild fashion choices whether the story is taking place in the simulation or back in the real world in Zion. While Keanu Reeves’ Neo has had some cool (and nu-metal) outfits, his coat in The Matrix Reloaded is another story. It looks like a duster, a priest’s vestment, and a Coal Chamber album were fused together.

Lord Humongous' Bondage Wear (Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior)

George Miller took dystopian fashion to the extreme in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Though Mel Gibson’s Max Rockatansky looks like he could be from any remote outpost in the Outback, the film’s villain, Lord Humongous is like something out of a fever dream. That hockey mask, the bondage wear, the exposed skin that is surely burnt to a crisp by the sun, it’s all wild.

The Three Most Important People (Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure)

Played by Clarence Clemons, Martha Davis, and Fee Waybill, three legendary musicians, the Three Most Important People from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure have some wild, crazy, and outrageous outfits in this 1989 comedy classic. They’re so futuristic, righteous, and straight-up excellent.

Barbarella's Outfit (Barbarella)

Jane Fonda was already an established star by the time she was cast in the titular role in Barbarella, but her take on the space adventurer gave her “icon” status. Though each of the costumes worn by the actress throughout the movie is undeniably ridiculous and not mild-mannered, there’s a reason the cult classic is still a popular watch 50-plus years later.

Carl Jenkins' Military Attire (Starship Troopers)

Upon its release, not a lot of people understood that Starship Troopers is a biting satire that goes way beyond just a story about humans fighting extraterrestrial bugs. Just look at Neil Patrick Harris’ character, Carl Jenkins, and his military attire. If you aren’t getting Nazi vibes from this look then you’re in for a rude awakening when you discover why the main characters are all from Argentina.

Immortan Joe (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road has to be one of the most outrageous characters in George Miller’s iconic franchise. Though he’s a tad bit silly and ridiculous, the big bad in this 2015 Oscar winner looks so freaking cool with this mask, strange see-through chest armor, and those various tubes and medals.

Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (The Fifth Element)

Though not necessarily one of the best Gary Oldman characters, Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg from The Fith Element is one of the Academy Award winner’s most absurd and ridiculous villains. The futuristic costumes are one thing, but that hair and goatee look like it belongs to an MLB slugger with 35 home runs but 200 strikeouts in a season who’s still collecting a deferred salary.

Terl (Battlefield Earth)

Do you know what’s more bonkers than John Travolta’s line delivery in Battlefield Earth? Well, you’d be right if you guessed the fashion choices. Nearly a quarter of a century after this dreadful sci-fi film’s release, we’re still trying to make sense of it all. And by all, we mean everything about the movie. 

Dynamo's Costume (The Running Man)

The Running Man, one of the best sci-fi films from the ‘80s, is mostly remembered for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performance or maybe Jesse “The Body” Ventura’s great turn, but let’s not forget the truly out-there fashion choices. Like, look at Dynamo, one of the show’s stalkers, and his clear helmet that looks like it has Lite-Brite pegs glued all over it. Still, this costume is pretty righteous.

The Droogs' Uniforms (A Clockwork Orange)

A Clockwork Orange is set in the future, but the Droogs in Stanley Kubrick’s dystopian crime thriller look like they left home in their underwear and nothing else on a cold morning. The shirts and pants are one thing, but the odd-looking jock straps they wear over their clothes are just utterly ridiculous. 

Andrew Martin's Strange Futuristic Pajamas (Bicentennial Man)

Chris Columbus’ Bicentennial Man takes place over the course of 200 years (hence the name), and during that time, Robin Williams’ Andre Martin watches as loved ones, cherish memories, and various trends come and go. When the android is finally recognized as a human in 2205, he sporting these futuristic pajamas that look like something out of a Star Trek parody. 

Effie Trinket's Reaping Day Suit (The Hunger Games)

Elizabeth Banks steals just about every scene featuring her Effie Trinket character in The Hunger Games, and the outfit that rises above the rest when it comes to pure ridiculousness is the violent getup she wears on the first Reaping Day scene. The contrast between her and Katniss Everdeen makes it all the better.

Prince Vultan (Flash Gordon)

Flash Gordon, like a lot of sci-fi movies from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, is full of costumes that range from cool to wild to straight-up bonkers. Prince Vultan fits into that final category with his attire that looks like it’s from a failed attempt to make a Thor movie decades before the MCU got off the ground.

Castor (Tron: Legacy) 

Okay, Michael Sheen’s Castor is supposed to be a computer program and look all crazy in Tron: Legacy, but that doesn’t make his digital Ziggy Stardust appearance look any less ridiculous. The character was one of the bright spots of the 2010 sequel and one we can’t forget… maybe because of that monochromatic look.

Associate Bob's Kimonos (Demolition Man)

Associate Bob is only a minor character in Demolition Man, but his fashion choices make him the star attraction of any scene in which he’s featured. Dr. Raymond Cocteau’s right-hand man is always in some loud, color, and undeniably ridiculous outfit, and more times than not, it’s a kimono of some sort. Taking part in some futuristic virtual meeting? Kimono. Taco Bell dinner? Kimono. Dealing with Simon Phoenix? You know the answer…

Jack Harper's Yankees Cap/Mechanic Suit (Oblivion)

If Tom Cruise’s Jack Harper were to only be wearing his futuristic mechanic suit in Oblivion, we probably wouldn’t see him on this list. But you add an old Yankees cap that looks so out of place in the movie’s futuristic setting and you have yourself an iconic and ridiculous look.

Rollerball Uniforms (Rollerball)

One of the most absurd and greatest James Caan movies, Rollerball (the 1975 version, not the terrible 2002 remake) is one of those wild dystopian future movies where everything, including sports, is about violence and corporate greed. But with all that money, you think they could get some better uniforms for the teams, especially Houston with their Halloween-espe attire.

Æon Flux's Mask (Æon Flux)

There’s a scene in the 2005 Æon Flux movie in which Charlize Theron’s character walks around a futuristic city on an important mission, but it’s hard to keep track of everything because of the bizarre outfit. The movie is set far into the future, so why does she look like a kid wearing their mom’s hose on their head?

Jason's New, Futuristic Outfit (Jason X)

Near the bottom of Friday the 13th movie rankings, Jason X is set nearly 500 years into the future, which means everyone’s favorite hockey mask-wearing killer is going to get some new digs. And boy, that futuristic metal mask and everything else is something. A good something? We’ll let you be the judge…

The Spacing Guild's Suits (Dune - 1984)

There are a lot of really cool costumes and sets in David Lynch’s Dune, but those outfits worn by the Space Guild are truly something else. These guys waltz in looking like they’re wearing trash bags at a music festival after they forgot to pack a poncho.

Bibi Phillips' 'Speed' Costume (The Apple)

The 1980 sci-fi musical, The Apple, takes place in the futuristic time of 1994 and follows pop singer Bibi Phillips as she becomes an international superstar. If you’re trying to imagine what society would look like in the movie’s version of the future, just imagine an Abba music video but much longer and with more silver and metallic clothing choices.

The Ice Pirates' Costumes (The Ice Pirates)

Do you remember the 1984 sci-fi comedy The Ice Pirates? Well, this cult classic about a dystopian civilization where ice cubes (yes, ice cubes) are a form of currency due to the scarcity of water. So, with a lack of water, an angry populace, and bandits, it’s easy to imagine there being some wild outfits. And that there are, as just about everyone in Stewart Raffill’s movie dials up the ridiculousness to the max.

Sub Zero's Attire (The Running Man)

Sub Zero, The Running Man character and not the Mortal Kombat staple, found a way to combine hockey and combat sports better than just about anyone else in the 1987 Stephen King adaptation. Yeah, the hockey garb is a bit ridiculous and wild to see on screen, but it’s that over-the-top nature of the movie, and its stalkers, that makes the look so cool.

The Duke's Uniform (Escape From New York) 

Isaac Hayes’ take on The Duke in Escape from New York is ICONIC and one of the best characters from John Carpenter’s filmography. The brutal and charismatic crime boss of New York has such a ridiculously cool uniform with those tassels and gold chains. But you know what’s even better? His car with has chandeliers as hood ornaments.

James Cole's Hazmat Suit (12 Monkeys)

Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys is one of the wildest sci-fi movies of the ‘90s, so you know it’s going to feature some absurd outfits. Well, you don’t have to wait long, as the film opens with Bruce Willis’ James Cole walking through a devastated Philadelphia wearing an outrageous hazmat suit. While most of the movie takes place in the past, this opening sequence after a deadly virus wiped out almost all of humanity is something else.

Auntie Entity's Wardrobe (Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome)

The late Tina Turner looked marvelous as Auntie Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, a film that saw her wear some outrageous outfits while ruling Bartertown. More refined than Lord Humongous and Immortan Joe and pretty much any other villain in the franchise, Auntie looked great albeit a tad bit ridiculous.

For better or worse, these are some of the most ridiculous outfits from movies set in the future. Sure, some are cooler than others, but they all have a place in cinematic history.

We all know the trope of the hero defeating evil, getting the girl, and they live happily ever after. That isn't always what happens in life or at the movies. Sometimes the bad guy wins. Sometimes the hero can't come out on top. These movies will sometimes stick with us days or weeks, so here's our list of the times the bad guy wins in the end. 

Warning: Spoilers ahead, of course.

No Country for Old Men

Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a reluctant hero in No Country for Old Men. He stumbles onto a briefcase full of cash from a deal gone bad by the Mexican Cartel and finds himself on the run from them and the assassin Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Despite his resourcefulness, which leads audiences to believe he'll come out ok, his mother's mistake leads to Moss getting killed and losing the money while his wife (Kelly Macdonald) is (probably) murdered by Chigurh.

Se7en

Kevin Spacey's John Doe in Se7en is one of the most evil villains in cinema history and a big reason why is that in the end, he gets everything he wants. He completes all seven of the deadly sins when Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) kills Doe and becomes the seventh sin, rage. So while Doe ends up dead, he still wins. 

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Throughout the Star Wars saga, good and evil have traded blows with both sides coming out on top at different times. The first example (or second, depending on what order you watch the Star Wars movies in) is the legendary end of The Empire Strikes Back. Luke, handless, dangles from a tower as Darth Vader tells him about his lineage after Han Solo is carted away, frozen in carbonite. It's bleak. 

Silence Of The Lambs

The ending of Silence of the Lambs is a mixed bag. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) gets Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), but another villain, Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) gets away and hunts his nemesis down on an unnamed tropical island. Some may call Lecter an anti-hero here, but he's pure bad guy in reality.

Rocky

One of the reasons Rocky is such a timeless movie is because, in the end, Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) actually loses the fight. It makes the movie real and gritty. Its true brilliance is that the end it still triumphant, even though Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) wins the fight. 

Avengers: Infinity War

It was the snap heard 'round the universe after Thanos collected all the Infinity Stones and in a millisecond wiped out half of the population everywhere. Marvel is not where audiences ever expect to see a movie end with the villain winning, but Avengers: Infinity War changed everything and it's brilliant. 

Chinatown

One of the reasons Chinatown has one of the greatest scripts ever written is because of the twist ending no one sees coming. Jake (Jack Nicholson) has just worked out all the ins and outs of the scam he's been trying to uncover for the whole movie when he's caught by Cross (John Huston) and forced to help Cross complete his plan. Cross gets away and Jack can only watch it happen. 

Kingpin

The stakes are quite a bit lower in Kingpin than in some of the other movies on this list, but that doesn't change the fact that the villain, in this case bowler Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray) defeats Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) in the final match of the movie. Munson just can't catch a break. 

The Usual Suspects

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist and the greatest trick The Usual Suspects pulls is having Keyser Soze (Kevin Spacey) escape right out from under the noses of the authorities. Hailed as one of the great twists in cinema, while all the clues are right there for audiences to see, the mysterious Soze completes his plan and gets away. 

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

R.P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is one of the greatest anti-heroes in literary and cinema history, but that doesn't mean he gets to win. No, in the end, it's one of cinema's greatest villains, Nurse Rachet (Louise Fletcher), and the system that wins leaving McMurphy lobotomized. 

Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby is one of the scariest movies ever made and just when you think Rosemary (Mia Farrow) might figure out what is going on with the weirdos in her apartment building, the coven wins, and Rosemary births Satan's child. What's worse is that Rosemary gives in and decides to raise the child. 

Primal Fear

The shocking twist ending to Primal Fear was a controversial one, but it's so satisfying when you think about it. Yeah, the good guy, attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere), and everyone else, is fooled by Aaron/Roy (Edward Norton) and a murderous villain basically gets away with killing multiple people, but it works so, so well. 

Saltburn

One of 2023's most talked-about films, Saltburn leaves audiences guessing until the end with what is really going on. Oliver Quick's (Barry Keoghan) is a bit of a mystery until he reveals that he is pretty evil. He manipulates an entire family so he can get what he wants, which is apparently to dance...um...freely, through the Saltburn estate. 

Skyfall

No one ever expects James Bond to lose, and he rarely does. Sometimes, however, the villain does at least partially win. Skyfall is a great example. Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) is one of the best Bond villains of all time, and in the end, while he doesn't live, Silva does take out M (Judi Dench) and in a way, breaks Bond on his way out. 

The Wicker Man

Whether it's the classic original from 1973 or the ill-advised "comedic" 2006 remake of The Wicker Man, the results are the same. The police officer investigating the cult of pagans doesn't get his man in the end, in fact, they get him. 

Fallen

While Fallen isn't going to top any list of great Denzel Washington movies, it is an example of the bad guy winning in the end. It's a weird story, involving demon possession and other occult-ness, and in the end, while Washington's character thinks he's got the upper hand by poisoning himself and shooting his possessed partner, played by John Goodman, it turns out he doesn't and the demon walks away after possessing a cat. Seriously. 

12 Monkeys

12 Monkeys is as confusing as it is visually stunning and because the plot can be so confusing it's hard to say if the bad guy wins definitively. It's even hard to say who the baddies are definitively. What is clear is that despite Bruce Willis' character trying to do what's best for himself and his future, fate, the scientists in the future, or whomever, steps in to take him out. So the good guy doesn't win, which is close enough. 

Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith

There's no surprise that Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith is on this list. It's an interesting addition because most fans knew exactly where this part of the Star Wars saga was headed. Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) wins by drawing Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to the Dark Side and creating Darth Vader. Bummer. 

The Bad New Bears

The Bad New Bears is a classic sports comedy that follows a tried and true formula. A group of misfits come together after struggling and make it to the championship game. Unfortunately for the Bears, they lose in the championship to their rivals, the Yankees. The bad guy is most definitely the terrible coach of the Yankees, who even slaps his son before the game ends, yet he's rewarded by winning. Bad news for the Bears. 

Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines

In the Terminator series, fans waited a long time to see Judgment Day, when Skynet became aware. That finally happens at the end of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. John Connor (Nick Stahl) and Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) seek to shut down Skynet before it becomes sentient, but find their destination is the wrong place to do that. Skynet becomes aware, launching the nukes that would kick off the war with the machines. 

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange turns a lot of tropes on their heads. For starters, audiences end up rooting for Alex (Malcolm McDowell) despite being a horrid, homicidal maniac. When he's sent to the hospital to be reformed, the brainwashing works and Alex is "cured" of his ultra-violent tendencies, and yet, we're all left disappointed somehow and the bad guys become those saving the maniac. Or did they...

Taxi Driver

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) in Taxi Driver is a bad guy. There's no way around it. He might have been driven to madness, but that doesn't mean he's good. Still, he never pays for any of his horrible crimes and in the end, is still driving his cab. It's a win for the anti-hero that shouldn't even be considered that. 

Swimming with Sharks

When Guy's (Frank Whaley) dream job turns into a nightmare at the hands of one of the worst bosses in movie history, Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey) in Swimming With Sharks he comes up with a plan to end Buddy's reign of terror. Instead, Buddy turns it around on Guy and Guy becomes everything he tried to avoid. Chalk another one up for the bad guy. 

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley is a grade-A sociopath and when presented with an opportunity to weasel his way into a lifestyle he craves, he resorts to everything up to murder to do so. He kills friends, lovers, and other innocent people to get what he wants, without even a hint of remorse most of the time. He also gets away with it all, getting everything he wants with no consequences. 

Cool Hand Luke

"Cool Hand" Luke Jackson is another anti-hero we all love. He's incorrigible and untamable in the best way. That is until he meets The Captain in a prison in Florida who goes out of his way to break Luke in Cool Hand Luke. The Captain is so brutal on Luke, that the movie ends with Luke's death. The Captain wins and seemingly will continue his brutal ways in the future. 

Network

Network doesn't have one bad guy that wins, it has a bad system that wins. Corporations and capitalism are the bad guys, not state actors or terrorists. "There is only IBM and ITT and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon," according to Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty). Howard Beale (Peter Finch) tries to take them down, but he's just yelling madly out a window. Almost 50 years after Network came out and the corporations are still winning. 

Basic Instinct

Catherine Tramell is a great villain in Basic Instinct. The role is played so well by Sharon Stone that by the end, audiences aren't sure if she's good or bad, if she's a murderer or not. It's less ambiguous when we see the ice pick in the final scene. Still, she wins, she gets away with murder, or multiple murders and lives on, ready to commit at least one more, maybe. 

Sicario

Sicario's morality is all over the place. Audiences are left asking more questions about it than answers to be found in the movie. Is the CIA evil? Are the U.S. policies in the War on Drugs? Is the Mexican Cartel? What about Benicio Del Toro's character? We just don't know. What we do know is that no one wins, especially not the good guy.  

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

In George Lazenby's only appearance as James Bond, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, James Bond saves the world but loses his wife, which definitely qualifies as the bad guy winning. After Bond stymies Blofeld's (Telly Savalas) plans and rescues his love interest, Tracy (Diana Rigg), Blofeld returns the favor when he and his henchwoman gun down Tracy in a drive-by shooting as the couple are leaving their wedding. It's safe to say the moment changed 007 forever. 

Arlington Road

In Arlington Road Michael (Jeff Bridges) suspects his neighbors, played by Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack, as being terrorists, and he pursues them in a cat-and-mouse game that ultimately leads to Michael discovering he was right, but the terrorists are one step ahead of him and Michael dies in an explosion at FBI headquarters and is framed as the perpetrator of the blast. Meanwhile, his neighbors, who are responsible, get away scot-free. 

Gone Girl

Just who is the bad guy in Gone Girl? Is it Nick (Ben Affleck) for the way he treats his wife, or is it his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike) for the way she frames him? It's hard to answer, but by the end, Amy has trapped Nick in their toxic relationship, so in one way or another, the bad guy wins. 

The Dark Knight Rises

The Joker in The Dark Night Rises is quite possibly the best villain in any comic book movie ever. Heath Ledger's performance is worthy of all the praise it gets. And while he doesn't get everything he wants, to destroy the soul of Gotham, he does manage to destroy Batman's (Christian Bale) psyche and that is enough to say the bad guy won. 

It's nice to not always have the bad guy lose, even if we don't like it in the moment. But as the Rolling Stones said, sometimes you need to have a little "sympathy for the devil." 

From the earliest days of cinema, filmmakers understood the power of the medium to show us worlds that we would never be able to otherwise experience. Science fiction, in all its forms, can show us a future that's terrible or wonderful. It can show us alien worlds and it can bend the laws of physics and make us wonder, what if?

Science fiction covers a lot of ground, and so, any list of the best sci-fi movies ever made is going to cover a variety of fantastical stories. While they all share a few common characteristics, the main thing these 35 films have in common is greatness.

35. Annihilation 

Annihilation is a movie that was generally reviewed well, and it’s also a movie that a lot of people have very strong feelings about. However, the fact that everybody feels strongly about it shows how well the movie did its job. On its surface Annihilation is a science fiction story with a mysterious alien presence and strange creatures, but there’s a lot more going on inside Annihilation. It’s also an emotional journey about change, grief, and loss. 

34. Robocop

There's a lot to love about Robocop, and, to be clear, we're talking about the original version from 1987. If you're into hyper-violent action movies, it has that. If you just like science fiction movies with cyborgs, you're covered. However, one thing that elevates Robocop from simply being a fun movie to becoming a great one is the satire. The film has something important to say about modern society, something that might be even more relevant today than it was in the 1980s. It's a smart film that just so happens to have people turned into a red mist via high-caliber machine guns. 

33. The Fifth Element

Luc Besson's The Fifth Element is one of those films that took a while to become a fan favorite. It did solid box office business but was far from a huge hit when first released. However, through home video and streaming services, more and more people have come across the film and it seems to have become a film with little negative reaction. Bruce Willis plays a cab driver who gets pulled into a fight for galactic survival by a beautiful woman played by Milla Jovovich. The premise is simple but thanks to delightfully fun characters like Chris Tucker's Ruby Rhod and a musical number that nobody will ever forget, this one will survive the test of time. 

32. Blade Runner 2049 

The sequel to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner took decades to produce, and much like the movie that came before it, Blade Runner 2049 largely failed to ignite audiences but make no mistake, this movie is, also much like the original, an absolutely amazing piece of filmmaking. It’s beautiful, both in cinematography and tone. Ryan Gosling’s performance is excellent. It’s a fitting follow-up to a classic. 

31. Tron

In the 1980s the computer became a device that the average family could afford, as such, there was an explosion in ownership, yet, in many ways, people didn't understand them. This aspect of science fiction made real was the premise of Tron, a film that wondered about what was happening inside the machine. While the film may feel a little dated by current standards, you simply can't underestimate what the movie brought to the screen upon its release. The computer effects that created the digital world had simply never been seen before. It was a leap forward in technology that dozens of films would be influenced by. The film has ultimately spawned enough additional materials it can be hard to keep the Tron timeline straight, and a third Tron film is finally on the way. 

30. The Abyss

While most science fiction movies take place among the stars, some of them can work within the confines of our planet. The Abyss finds alien life residing at the bottom of the ocean, showing that James Cameron has been wondering what's going on in our waters since long before Titanic. The claustrophobia of the environment is palpable, making the movie an exciting ride all the way through. In addition, it brought computer-generated characters to the next level thanks to groundbreaking work from Industrial Light & Magic. They're still impressive effects, even if, James Cameron now finds them "quaint."  If you haven't seen this one, fix that soon. 

29. Inception

While director Christopher Nolan did a lot of good to bring credibility to the comic book genre with his Dark Knight trilogy, it was a film he made in between those movies that was truly revolutionary. In many ways, the set-up was that of a simple heist. However, the trick was that the information our team needed to steal was inside somebody's mind. The story creates technology that allows them to enter the dreams of unsuspecting victims. Inception has many of the hallmarks of the best science fiction. It creates a fictional world with specific rules that the story must abide by, making the situation feel more real than it could ever be. This, combined with some stunning visual set pieces, captured largely practically rather than digitally, makes Inception a worthy recent entry to this list. And of course, there's also the Inception ending which has remained one of the most talked about movie conclusions ever.

28. Ex Machina

The concept of artificial intelligence has been covered in countless science fiction movies over the years. However, it has never been done as well as it was in Ex Machina. Alicia Vikander plays Ava, an artificial life form that may, or may not, be capable of true consciousness and emotion. Can humans truly relate to a machine the way we relate to each other? And if we can, what exactly does that mean about our concepts of what it means to be alive? Ex Machina is the all too rare dramatic science fiction movie. It has no ray guns or explosions. It's ultimately about people, even if one of the people isn't entirely real. 

27. Edge of Tomorrow

Tom Cruise is almost always an actor who's good for having a fun time at the movies. However, the criminally underrated Edge of Tomorrow is so much more than that. The story follows Cruise's character, a military officer who has never seen combat before but is now forced to the front lines, as he accidentally gets exposed to alien technology and discovers that the reason the aliens are winning the war is that they can travel back and repeat time and learn from their mistakes. Once he gains the same ability we get to see him use it to learn how to fight and try to win. Also, you get to watch Tom Cruise get blown up, a lot. 

26. Back to the Future

And, while we're discussing time travel, let's talk about what is probably the most popular time travel movie ever made. Even more rare than science fiction drama is the science fiction comedy, yet, Back to the Future lands it perfectly. The science fiction mechanic of the film indeed exists only to give a reason to have 1980s Marty McFly experience the world of 1955, yet, the movie deals with many of your standard time travel tropes including accidentally changing the past to negate the future, the bootstrap paradox, not to mention the possibility of accidentally becoming your own father, which is funny, and also gross. It's a movie so great that fans wanted more sequels for years. 

25. The Martian 

When a science fiction movie gets nominated for Oscars, you know it's something special. The Martian is one of the more recent movies but it has earned its spot. While the movie is Cast Away in space, it's also so much more. This movie just has everything that hardcore science fiction fans love, space travel, alien worlds, and enough scientific facts built in to make the science fiction plausible. Add in the fact that the film is legitimately funny and you've got a movie that has a little something for every type of sci-fi fan.

24. 12 Monkeys

Terry Gilliam has directed some gloriously fantastic science fiction, including a couple of films that came very close to making this list. However, his best science fiction movie has got to be 12 Monkeys. The story of a man sent back in time to prevent the spread of a plague would seem straightforward, but straightforward is something that never happens when Terry Gilliam is involved. A movie that earned Brad Pitt his first Oscar nomination and also contains one of the best performances by Bruce Willis simply can't be left off this list. 

23. The Day The Earth Stood Still

The question of whether or not we're alone in the universe is a consistent theme in science fiction films. The answer to that question was the subject of one of the great classics of the genre, The Day the Earth Stood Still. Today the words "Klaatu barada nikto" still survive in pop culture, which shows just what an impact the movie had. One wonders how many people even know that this is where the phrase comes from. So often when we do meet aliens in movies they are hostile invaders, but even back in 1951, a movie wondered if we might have been the aggressive ones. 

22. Snowpiercer

Most of the movies on this list are big and popular films that you're likely familiar with, even if you haven't seen them. Snowpiercer was something of an unknown quantity upon its release. Over time, however, it has acquired a significant fanbase. Korean director Bong Joon-ho's English-language debut sees Chris Evans as a passenger on a train in a future world that has been taken over by ice. Only those on a constantly moving train survive and quality of life is dictated by your position on the train. Those in the back start a revolt that takes them forward on the massive train. Whether you're looking for great action sequences or an examination of society you'll get both with Snowpiercer. 

21. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

There are so many ways one could describe Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's a science fiction drama, it's a romantic comedy, it's just a general mind-fuck of a movie. Eternal Sunshine is all these things and more. Charlie Kaufman is known for writing some of the more offbeat stories in recent memory but this one may very well be his masterpiece. By the time this one came out we knew that Jim Carrey wasn't just a comedian and we already knew how great Kate Winslet was, but we saw entirely different sides of both actors here. The story follows two ex-lovers as they decide to get the memories of each other erased from their heads. The movie is utterly bizarre but that doesn't stop it from being an emotional journey. 

20. Dune (2021) 

Ever since David Lynch tried, and unfortunately failed, to adapt Dune for the screen, the Frank Herbert novel was widely considered impossible to turn into a movie. Denis Villeneuve has found at least half of the solution, as 2021’s Dune is an absolutely excellently produced film, and it has a shelf full of Oscars to prove it. If there’s any knock against the film, it’s that it only tells half the actual story.

19. Arrival 

On its surface, Arrival stars Amy Adams as a linguist whose expertise is called upon when alien life makes first contact with Earth. However, as with all great science fiction, there’s a great deal more going on. A very well-constructed story, and the third science fiction movie directed by Denis Villeneuve on this list, Arrival is an emotional character exploration with a satisfying, if potentially heartbreaking, conclusion. 

18. The Terminator

No list of science fiction films could be complete without the movie that created one of the biggest action heroes of all time. The Terminator introduced Arnold Schwarzenegger as an unstoppable killing machine and for a guy that looked like he did, audiences bought it. Even if Arnold himself was unsure about his most iconic line. While the movie doesn't have the flashy special effects of future sequels, that's part of why this movie still stands up. It's a desperate fight against an unstoppable force; it's not supposed to be pretty. While most of the movies that followed never held up, the reason they even tried was because the original was so good. 

17. Wall-E

One of the best science fiction films ever made deals with elements of artificial intelligence, love between artificial beings, and the destruction of human habitat. Also, it's an animated Pixar movie. Pixar has a near-perfect record when it comes to creating good movies, however, Wall-E may be in a class by itself. It's a film so good that the movie doesn't even require dialogue for half its runtime. It is by far the best animated science fiction movie ever made and Wall-E will be one of our favorite sci-fi characters forever. Wall-E and Eve is one of the greatest cinematic romances of all time. 

16. Jurassic Park

While actors performing against non-existent characters on a green screen is fairly commonplace now, such things were mostly unheard of prior to the release of Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. What's more, while many digital effects in other films from the era don't really hold up today, the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park do. That, combined with one of John Williams' best scores makes for not only one of the best films of the '90s but also an all-time classic. Also, it has dinosaurs in it and they eat people. You really can't go wrong with that. None of the sequels have ever come close to surpassing the original, something even Colin Trevorrow admits to now. 

15. Aliens

Following up Ridley Scott's Alien could not have been an easy task even if James Cameron acted like it was the easiest thing in the world. The director made at least one brilliant decision, however. Rather than try to recreate the pulse-pounding terror of the original film, brilliant in its own right, he traded some of that tension in for space marine action. There continue to be attempts to recreate the magic of an Alien sequel, but nobody, even Ridley Scott himself, has been able to go back to this world and figure out how to make it work. It's hard to believe people told James Cameron Aliens would end his career.

14. Planet of the Apes

Who could have possibly dreamed that all these years later a movie about a planet run by apes would still be so popular? And yet, here we are. While the original may be best known for its famous twist ending, its influence on popular culture simply can't be overlooked. It received sequels, adaptations, spoofs, a new trilogy of movies that have been as good as anything the series has ever produced, and the equally well reviewed Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. None of that happens without Charlton Heston and the "damn dirty apes" which earns it a spot on this list. 

13. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

You can't talk about science fiction without including Star Trek in the conversation. For a series that's gone on as long as it has, the movie side has seen its ups and downs, but the best of them still has to be the second film in the franchise: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. If you were a hardcore Star Trek fan then this film was a godsend as it brought back one of the great villains from the original series. However, you didn't need to be steeped in lore to enjoy Ricardo Montalban's over-the-top evil performance. The movie's so good the reboot film series wanted to do their take on it, but really, there's no way to improve on perfection. 

12. Everything Everywhere All At Once 

The word masterpiece should not be used lightly when discussing films, but it has been used frequently by critics discussing Everything Everywhere All At Once. Michelle Yeoh is always great on screen but she is in a class all by herself in this multiverse story that sees Yeoh jumping between her various realities and trying to save everything. It’s the newest film on this list, but we’re confident this one will stand the test of time. The film had an incredible night at the 2023 Academy Awards, taking home the prizes for Editing, Screenplay, three of the four acting awards, and, oh yeah, Best Picture. Few movies have ever had a better night at the Oscars. 

11. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

While the original Terminator is a classic, it was the sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, that took the franchise to the next level. This time Arnold got to be the hero as he was sent back in time to protect John Conner from the next generation of Terminator. James Cameron has always been one to latch on to the newest technology in filmmaking and for Terminator 2 it was digital morphing effects that allowed the T-1000 to transform in front of our eyes. Add to that the fact that the film was rated-R, during a time period where the PG-13 rating was beginning to establish movie dominance and fans got exactly the sequel they wanted, bigger and better. 

10. The Thing

You know that you've made a seminal work of science fiction when your movie is so good, people forget it's a remake. John Carpenter's The Thing technically follows 1951's The Thing From Another World and while that movie is still pretty good, it doesn't hold a candle to the masterclass in science fiction and horror that Carpenter's film was. The movie is still debated today as the ending of The Thing is left open to interpretation. Was The Thing destroyed, or is one of the final survivors actually a monster in disguise? 

9. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

What is there to say that hasn't already been said about the Star Wars trilogy. It quite simply changed the way Hollywood works. While some, including George Lucas himself, aren't necessarily thrilled by that fact, it's the world we live in now. The Empire Strikes Back was the film that proved that the pop culture circus that surrounded the first film was no accident. In many ways, the sequel is even superior to the original. With one of the greatest twists in the history of film included, The Empire Strikes Back will never be forgotten. 

8. E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial

So often in science fiction, the aliens are the bad guys that need to be defeated. However, Steven Spielberg's E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial doesn't just create a sympathetic alien that needs to be protected, it puts that protection in the hands of kids, making the movie something that entire families can enjoy. As such, it becomes one of those films that people make sure is seen by future generations. It's a heartwarming story that can hit you in the feels whether it's the first time you've seen it or the 50th. 

7. Metropolis

Made in 1927, when movies were still without sound, Metropolis is still one of the most influential science fiction movies ever made. Its visuals and effects were ahead of their time, fitting for a movie that portrayed a world that was highly advanced in technology, if not in humanity. It's difficult to argue that without Metropolis we may have never had any of the other films on this list. If you've never seen the film it is worth it to take the time and find it, if only to see the precursor to so many other genre classics. 

6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Hey look, it's Steven Spielberg again! The accomplished director has numerous great films on his filmography but when it comes to the science fiction genre, Close Encounters of the Third Kind is clearly his magnum opus. The question of whether or not we are alone in the universe is a topic in several films on this list, but while most films are about the answer, Close Encounters is a film about the question. It's about humanity's fascination with the idea of aliens and the lengths to which some will go to find a connection with the rest of the galaxy. It's a beautiful film and clearly one of the top ten in all of science fiction. 

5. The Matrix

The best movies are the ones that turn out to be great when you had no idea what to expect. The Matrix surprised pretty much everybody when it was released in 1999. Its cutting-edge use of "bullet time" cameras and "wire-fu" martial arts combined with a cyberpunk aesthetic was quite simply a combination that nobody had seen before. Add a solid story with a healthy dose of philosophical discussion on the nature of reality and the result is so popular that the universe is still being mined for stories to this day.  Perhaps none of The Matrix sequels have measured up, but that just shows how great the original truly was. 

4. Blade Runner

The fact that Blade Runner saw a sequel 25 years after the original debuted is all it takes to show how this film has survived over the years. Ridley Scott's story about a future where androids are virtually indistinguishable from humans and live amongst us captured the imagination. Perhaps one of the reasons the film has been so popular is that it has so many versions to choose from. No fewer than seven different cuts have been released over the years. The fact that so much work has been done following the initial release not only shows that fans are still interested but also helps to show how involved the film's story truly is, and that it can be looked at from so many different perspectives. 

3. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

While The Empire Strikes Back is viewed by many to be the high point of the Star Wars franchise, you simply can't underestimate just how important a film the original movie is. It not only launched the biggest property in the history of pop culture, but it changed the way movies were made and the way science fiction was viewed by the masses. No longer was it simply the purview of little kids watching Flash Gordon serials. Science fiction was now serious business. Everybody tried to do their own Star Wars after the original became the highest grossing film of all time. They all failed to match its brilliance. 

2. Alien

"In space, no one can hear you scream." With that simple phrase, we were introduced to some of the most terrifying alien creatures that have ever been created. Luckily, we were also introduced to one of the most badass heroes that science fiction, or any genre, has ever seen. Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley broke the mold when it came to genre heroines and she's still one of the greatest ever created. Alien was as good a science fiction film as it was a horror movie and the two are inextricably intertwined with each other -- in fact, Alien also ranks highly on our list of best horror movies of all time. It is absolutely one of the best science fiction movies ever made. 

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey

Every movie on this list is a great one, but all of them owe something to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The movie has everything you could want. It's got impressive outer space scenes. It's got drama that borders on horror thanks to a slightly deranged computer. Then it's got completely off-the-wall imagery and symbolism from Stanley Kubrick that still has people talking and asking questions to this day. After all these years we still can't stop thinking about 2001, which is why it's still the best science fiction movie ever made. 

Good science fiction movies come out all the time, but it takes something more to truly become great. Time will tell what modern movies might one day join this group of the best the genre has to offer.

Also, be sure to check out our list of sci-fi movies that have a 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Movie fans around the world were in for a shock in March 2022 when it was announced that Bruce Willis is retiring from acting due a health condition, bringing and untimely end to one of the most iconic careers in the history of Hollywood. Since then, there have been numerous tributes from fellow actors and an outpouring of support from cinephiles honoring Willis’ legacy.

To honor the career of the man who could effortlessly jump from comedy to horror and action to drama, we have put together a list of Bruce Willis’ best movies and just about every possible way to watch them, either for the millionth time or the first spin. 

Die Hard (1988)

John McClane (Bruce Willis), a New York City police officer, leaves the Big Apple and heads to Los Angeles to attend a Christmas party with his estranged wife at her Los Angeles high-rise. But the reunion is cut short when a group of terrorists led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) takes over the tower and holds the guests ransom.

People will always go back and forth on whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie, but there is no debate when it comes to how Bruce Willis helped redefine the action star in an era mostly made up of muscle-bound men armed to the teeth.

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Pulp Fiction (1994)

Quentin Tarantino’s classic Pulp Fiction centers on the stories a handful of characters all connected one way or another, whether they be two hitmen prone to engage in theological discussions, a former actress who’s now married to a ruthless gangster, or a boxer who doesn’t want to take a fall in a fixed fight.

It is hard to say which of the main stories in Pulp Fiction is at the top of the list, but the tale of Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) going on the run after not throwing a fight only to save the man who wants him dead is a strong contender. There’s so much depth to the story and a lot of that has to do with Willis’ ability to bring a level of contention and uneasiness to the role.

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The Sixth Sense (1999)

Following a series of hauntings, a young boy named Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is visited by child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) who attempts to understand his client’s abilities only to come to terms with a secret of his own.

M. Night Shyamalan could have never made another movie after The Sixth Sense and he would have still been considered one of the most visionary filmmakers of his generation. Everything about this movie just works — the script, the pacing, and incredible chemistry shared by Willis and Osment are all out of this world. And then there’s the brilliant twist that makes a rewatch an absolute must.

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Looper (2012)

After he fails to kill an older version of himself sent back in time, Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finds himself in a situation where his own actions and those of his future self (Bruce Willis) could potentially change the outcome of their lives but also countless others.

One of the things that makes Rian Johnson’s modern-day sci-fi classic such a gem, besides its take on time travel, is the relationship shared by the younger and older versions of Joe, who aren’t necessarily partners while also not being the prototypical enemies as well. They both feel, act, and look (thanks to some prosthetics) like the same person, which is a testament to the actors’ skill and chemistry.

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Armageddon (1998)

With an asteroid set on a collision course with Earth, NASA doesn’t turn to a team of highly-trained astronauts to prevent the rock from killing the planet but instead a ragtag group of oil drillers led by Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) who are sent to space to drop a nuke into its core and split it in two.

Sure, Armageddon isn’t scientifically accurate, but it’s hard to find a big-budget disaster movie about a planet-killing asteroid more fun this Michael Bay thrill ride. It’s big, it’s dumb, and sees Willis take on the role of an overprotective father with serious trust issues but also the ability to bring a team of outcasts together to save the day.

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12 Monkeys (1995)

Nearly 40 years after a deadly virus is released and wipes out all but a small portion of the human race, James Cole (Bruce Willis), a prisoner living in 2035 Philadelphia, is sent back to the 1990s to prevent the deadly pathogen from being released. But when he is sent back to the wrong year, his mission becomes all the more complicated.

It feels like Willis was born to play roles like that of the time-traveling inmate in Terry Gilliam’s 1995 mind-bending thriller 12 Monkeys, because his performance is simply incredible. The way in which he is able to pull off a character who is so ambiguous only makes the performance, and movie, better.

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The Fifth Element (1997)

After a strange woman named Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) crashes down onto his cab, Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) finds himself in a race against time to save her and prevent a mysterious force from descending upon 23rd-century New York City and destroying the universe in the process.

Luc Besson’s eye-popping and stylish sci-fi action flick The Fifth Element puts the pedal to the metal and doesn’t let off until the credits roll. Everyone in this quintessential ‘90s movie is at the top of their game, including Chris Tucker and Gary Oldman, who appear in major roles. But at the center of the story is Willis’ character, who helps ground the movie and prevent it from going off the rails.

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Death Becomes Her (1992)

The bitter rivalry of two frenemies — Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) and Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn) — plays out over the course of decades after they each discover a potion that will grant them immortality, though with some drawbacks and routine maintenance. Caught between the two is Dr. Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis), a one-time successful plastic surgeon, who will do anything to escape the two.

Robert Zemeckis' 1992 horror comedy Death Becomes Her is mostly remembered for the outlandish performances by Streep and Hawn (and rightfully so), but the person who really anchors the movie is Willis, who is constantly being torn between the two loves of his life. Badgered, manipulated, and used time and time again, his character’s quest to remove the two women from his life (even if it means losing a chance at immortality) is one of the actor’s best turns.

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Unbreakable (2000)

Upon surviving a train crash in which everyone else died, David Dunn (Bruce Willis) discovers that he has superhuman strength and is impervious to injury. If this wasn’t difficult enough, David soon catches the attention of a mysterious man named Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) who is his opposite in every imaginable way in Unbreakable.

Though not as groundbreaking as The Sixth Sense, the second collaboration between Willis and filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is just as powerful and does a superb job of flipping the superhero motif on its head. The idea of a reluctant hero being forced to face off against an over-eager villain-in-the-making also provides for some great discussions on the nature of good and evil.

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Sin City (2005)

Based on Frank Miller’s landmark graphic novel series of the same name, Sin City tells four stories of crime and punishment on the deadly streets and back alleyways of the corrupt metropolis. 

The Sin City cast is full of characters on both sides of the spectrum (as well as the gray area in between those absolutes), including Bruce Willis’ down-on-his-luck cop John Hartigan, who fights an army of thugs, officials, and his own failing body to save a young girl from a sadistic killer with ties to the city’s morally bankrupt elite.

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Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

In the summer of 1965, two 12-year-olds living on an island off the New England coast run away from their small town and embark upon a romantic journey in the wilderness where they hide out from other residents and make a new life together in peace.

There are a ton of great characters in Moonrise Kingdom, arguably the best Wes Anderson movie, but few (outside of the two leads, anyway) compare to Bruce Willis’ portrayal of New Penzance Police Captain Duffy Sharp, who seems to be the only adult who cares for the missing children. This daring and caring authority figure rises to the occasion time and time again, especially in the film’s final minutes.

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Look Who’s Talking (1989)

What starts out as a ride to the hospital turns into an unlikely romance when James Ubriacco (John Travolta) gives Mollie Jensen (Kirstie Alley) a ride to the hospital so she can give birth to her son. With no father figure, or at least one willing to step up, James starts caring for the young Mikey (voiced by Bruce Willis) and becomes the most constant person, besides his mother, in his life.

Look Who’s Talking was a massive box office hit upon release in 1989. And while a lot of that can be attributed to the undeniable chemistry shared by Travolta and Alley, there’s no question Willis’ voice-over work contributed to that that success. He brings so much life to the role and takes the movie from being a fun romantic comedy into one of the most recognizable movies of the era.

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Bruce Willis has consistently been one of the most dynamic figures in Hollywood and has delivered a number of memorable performances throughout his career. And while we don’t know what the future holds for the veteran actor, we’re all better off having had him in our lives all these years.

Greetings fellow time travelers, and welcome back to the CinemaBlend labs! It’s been a little while, I know, but after recovering from both the “human faxing” process and existential crises implicated by our trip through Timeline, the recovery process took a little longer than usual. Never fear, as it’s now time again to travel from here to there in the then and now; and this week is a bit of a dark and twisted journey. We’re going to go nuts with a classic favorite of mine that’s just turned 25 this past December, as Bruce Willis deals with unpredictable time travel, hair dye, and one whacked out Brad Pitt in one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, director Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys.

However, before we depart into the wilds of Philadelphia, there’s some stuff we should discuss ahead of time. This is the latest in CinemaBlend’s adventures in the world of time travel. We love to play around with the particulars that make bending the rules of space and time exciting to watch, and absolutely inadvisable to attempt. So if you’re interested in seeing some of our other efforts in this bold scientific field, be sure to swing by our time travel archive, and read some of our past studies. With that out of the way, the music is starting up, weird dreams are beginning to muddy things up in my mind, and I think I just saw a young Brad Pitt’s butt. Welcome to the world of 12 Monkeys.

The Time Travel in 12 Monkeys

Between 1996 and 1997, five billion people die in a horrific pandemic. One percent of the world’s population survives, and is forced underground to try and preserve all who are left. But an experiment in time travel could change all of that, if the right steps are taken, and the right candidate can uncover the mysteries of the 12 Monkeys.

Who's Time Traveling

In the world of 2036, prisoners are used as “volunteers” and sent back into various points in the past to try and save the future. In exchange, these prisoners could receive reduced sentences for whatever crimes they’ve committed. For our purposes, we follow the path of James Cole (Bruce Willis).

From When To When

The plan was to send James Cole from the far flung future of 2035 back to October 1996, just before 12 Monkeys’ devastating viral outbreak started to kick off. But, because the time travel process is rather unstable, Cole gets sent back to other points in time all willy nilly like. On his first trip, he winds up going to Baltimore in April 1990, and is then sent to World War I in 1914, by accident. Cole eventually finds his way back to Baltimore, this time in November 1996.

The Purpose Of Their Trip

A panel of scientists rule humanity’s underground society, with the intent to send a subject back in time, in order to obtain a sample of the mysterious virus “in its purest form, before it mutates.” With the pure strain of the virus secured, a cure could be devised, and humanity can return to the surface.

How Time Travel Happens In 12 Monkeys

The time travel process of 12 Monkeys is among one of the more simplified processes we’ve seen here at the CinemaBlend labs. After cleansing the subject being sent back into the past, they are placed in a plastic chamber, with a bunch of painful but essential looking clips attached to their body. The chamber is then raised and interlocked with a “time tunnel” that acts as a sort of railway. James Cole goes through this process, and is literally shot into the past; with his return trips merely seeing him disappear from the past and arrive back in the future.

A huge problem presents itself in the time travel used throughout 12 Monkeys story, as the process is extremely unreliable. While the machine works, the people operating it don’t seem very adept at using it, and as a result Cole and his fellow travellers are sent back to various points in time unintentionally. There’s a theory that the surviving 1% of the world’s population happens to be those with mental disorders, which is why the process doesn’t run exactly as it should; but the film doesn’t confirm or deny this possibility. If you’re going to enjoy 12 Monkeys, delicious ambiguity is something you’re going to have to be comfortable with.

Can History Be Changed As A Result Of Time Travel In 12 Monkeys?

In a tragic example of a causal loop, some history cannot be changed in 12 Monkeys, because the trip made in the movie actually causes everything James Cole knows as reality to come to pass. Not even Detective Stabler, sorry Lt. Halperin, can prevent the events of humanity’s downfall, as James Cole’s dreams become a reality. Somewhere, Doc Brown is slapping his head right now, as the careless time travel practices of the future look to have sealed the fate of the past.

Older Cole, in disguise along with Dr. Railly, tries to shoot Dr. Peters at the airport, in order to stop him from taking his apocalypse world tour. But, just as he saw in his dreams, Older Cole gets gunned down, left to die in Kathryn’s arms, in front of Young Cole. Though there may be a small glimmer of hope in the fact that Jones, the astrophysicist from the panel of future scientists, is found to be Dr. Peter’s seat neighbor. After all, she does say she’s “in insurance,” and that has a ring that suggests she may have been the next plan activated after Cole’s death. Humanity may be able to change its fate, but it’s a merely suggestion at the end of 12 Monkeys’ timeline of events. Though if you listen to the film’s commentary track, while that line about insurance was in the script, the inclusion of that scene was to send audiences out of the theater with a debate in their minds. Plus, director Terry Gilliam and producer Charles Roven had this to say about that ending:

Humanity might find itself preserved, just not in the way that one would have thought. You can debate that ambiguity until the zebras clog I-676 , to be sure. Meanwhile, James Cole has died, and always will die, causing a sad chain of nightmarish events he’ll never be able to escape. If this kid ever met Donnie Darko, they’d surely have something to bond over.

What Are The Consequences Of Time Travel In 12 Monkeys?

The scientists almost totally ensured the apocalypse in 12 Monkeys, as their careless time travel sends James Cole throughout the space-time continuum, dropping the pins to connect the red thread that is the pandemic in 1996. A chain of haphazard trips through time culminates in the dreams that have plagued James Cole since his childhood in 12 Monkeys. Only they weren’t dreams… they were memories; and everything we’re about to describe sets the table for the end of civilization as we know it.

Cole’s initial trip to 1990 introduces him to Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), the son of a prominent virologist, and Dr. Cassandra Railly (Madeline Stowe); the two people that set 12 Monkeys’ history into motion. Dr. Railly becomes focused on the Cassandra Complex, where a person who claims to know the future cannot convince the world their visions are true. Meanwhile, Jeffrey is introduced to the notion that maybe humanity needs to be wiped out, giving the planet back to the animals.

This all ultimately filters down to Dr. Peters (David Morse), the true fanatic who triggers the viral apocalypse. After seeing a lecture from Dr. Railly, which reinforces Jeffrey’s notions of letting humanity fall within him, Dr. Peters steals the virus that Jeffrey’s father Leiland (Christopher Plummer) has been working on. Being given orders to “beef up security” and take him out of the loop, Dr. Peters has the keys to Armageddon, through his seven vials of God’s wrath. The chess game of foreknowledge and scrutiny wraps as it was always going to, with the endgame spelling potential doom.

WE DID IT!

Apologies for the bummer that is 12 Monkeys, but time travel isn’t always a happy endeavor that sees humpback whales coming back from extinction. Though, if you think this temporal case file was a downer, just wait until you see what we’ve got planned for the next trip out. But before we turn the page on the next experiment in time travel, we’d like to extend the customary invitation to you, the reader, to send us your suggestions for what time travel experiments you’d like to see us tackle next.

I would have written something different as the closer, but the original thought I had was pretty weak. So through some concentration, and my trusty journal, I came back to this moment and put something better down on the page. Yes, it’s time to jump back into the past with Ashton Kutcher and get into some even messier time trouble with The Butterfly Effect. So until then, take all the time to decompress you need, and prepare to dive into the dark and somber waters of time travel when we return.

12 Monkeys is a time-traveling sci-fi flick that revolves around visitor from the future James Cole, played by Bruce Willis, and mental patient Jeffrey Goines, played by Brad Pitt. Even though the film went on to be a critical and financial success, and even netted an Academy Award nomination, Willis wasn’t director Terry Gilliam's first or even second choice to lead the movie.

In an alternate timeline, there could have been some other big names of the '90s in his place. The director recently revealed that he had his pick of the litter when it came to choosing a lead for 12 Monkeys, and he turned down some serious A-list talent. In Terry Gilliam's words:

While celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 12 Monkeys premier with Inverse, Terry Gilliam discussed his difficulties in selecting a suitable lead for the film. After turning down both Tom Cruise and Nic Cage (in the mid ‘90s, no less) Gilliam struggled to find someone who fit the bill of James Cole. The decision to go with Bruce Willis didn’t come easily, according to Terry Gilliam. He explained:

Despite the director's oral fixation, Bruce Willis was eventually hired for the part, but the casting issues didn’t end there. The 12 Monkeys lead issue was complicated even further, as Brad Pitt also wanted the role of James Cole, but only after Bruce Willis had been signed on. This left Terry Gilliam in a tight spot, as he still wanted Pitt involved. Fortunately for both parties, he was able to convince Pitt stay on the project as fast-talking Jeffrey Goines, but not without reservation. The director stated:

I think it’s safe to say that he was happily proven wrong, as Brad Pitt earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Academy Awards, a category he recently won, for his performance.

While some may consider 12 Monkeys to be one of the best sci-fi films of all time, there’s no doubt that the film would have been completely different if Tom Cruise of Nicolas Cage had taken the helm. Uh-oh, now I’m thinking about alternate timelines again. For those of you who are interested in more recent sci-fi film,s be sure to check out our list of the best sci-fi films of 2020.

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HBO Max is still a relatively young streaming platform, yet it already seems to have caught wise to one of the biggest keys to continued success: new and exciting content additions. Just when you thought all of the DC Comics action you could ever want was the end all and know all purpose of HBO Max, some new movies have come along to make July 2020 all the more special. Here now are 12 great movies coming to HBO Max this month, with all titles currently available for viewing, unless otherwise noted.

American Graffiti

Before he blasted off to a galaxy far, far away, writer/director George Lucas delivered American Graffiti into the world. This slice of Americana tells the story of high school grads getting into various adventures on the last night of summer vacation. Funny, but bittersweet, this all-star romp features Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Cindy Williams and even Harrison Ford in its impressive cast.

Blade II

Who would have ever thought a Marvel movie would land on a platform extremely friendly to the concerns of DC Comics fans? Jokes aside, Blade II is a relic of a by-gone era when Marvel Studios wasn’t a homogenous PG-13 hit factory. With this Guillermo del Toro-directed sequel in Wesley Snipes’ daywalking adventure trilogy, a very R-rated sensibility prevails, and it’s still a standard for all dark comic films to aspire towards.

Catch Me If You Can

Steven Spielberg caught lighting in a bottle when he made Catch Me If You Can. Bringing in Tom Hanks for another team-up, and landing Leonardo DiCaprio in the role that helped make him a household name, this story of true life thievery and suavity is an upbeat comedy with some heartfelt drama mixed in. It looks amazing in a post-HD conversion world, and if Christopher Walken doesn’t break your heart in this one, you may want to see a doctor.

The Departed

If you want to make it a Leonardo DiCaprio double feature, The Departed can help arrange that particular desire. Prepare for a tonal whiplash though, as this film directed by Martin Scorsese is very far from the idyllic globetrotting that Steven Spielberg made him famous for. It’s a gritty crime drama, with a cast that boasts Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and Vera Farmiga, among others. Not to mention that those sick Scorsese needle drops pepper the soundtrack with a beautiful layer of context.

Dumb & Dumber

Ah, the carefree days of 1994; back when Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels were able to frolic in ignorant bliss as the iconic duo that made Dumb & Dumber a certifiable hit. While the two have met up on and off in the years after this blockbuster made them a household duo, this original caper involving kidnapping, ransom money and the heads of pets falling off is still the round of dumb fun it’s always been.

Enemy Of The State

Director Tony Scott’s particular skill set of talents is one that’s still sorely missed in the modern age of filmmaking. Enemy of the State is a prime example of the man at his best, as this espionage driven thriller pairs Will Smith with Gene Hackman in a slick and stylish action bonanza. Containing perhaps the most explosive phone call ever captured on film, time may have been a bit too kind to the paranoid plot at the heart of this beloved classic.

Innerspace

Innerspace is a movie you might recognize by the look and feel of its product, but not necessarily by the name. In case you’ve been trying to find out what movie contained a frantic Martin Short running around with a miniaturized Dennis Quaid zooming around in his bloodstream, while Meg Ryan tries to help investigate just why this is so important, you’ve come to the right place. A zany adventure on the same level of humor as director Joe Dante’s other films, you’ll be glad you revisited this one on HBO Max.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

While HBO Max is going to be the future home of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and potentially everything DC Comics movie fans could ask for, there’s still some impressive stuff waiting for people to discover upon the platform’s current lineup. A great example of that sort of content is Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, in which the lynchpin storyline depicted in the Flashpoint comic is brought to life in brilliantly animated color. It may not be the big live-action return of Michael Keaton, but it’s something pretty impressive in its own right.

Saving Private Ryan

Another double feature of contrasting tones one could engage in is a viewing of Catch Me If You Can paired with another Steven Spielberg hit, Saving Private Ryan. The first of many collaborations between the director and Tom Hanks, the World War II drama centers around a combat unit that is tasked with saving the last surviving brother of a family that suffered heavy losses in the devastating conflict. It’s a war epic that still stands out among the scores of films that cover similar content, as it remembers to inject heart into the characters we’re following on the battlefield.

Superman: The Movie

One of the greatest debates DC Comics fans still have on a regular basis is who the best big screen Superman happens to be. A good number of fans cite Christopher Reeve’s portrayal of the Man of Steel in 1978’s Superman: The Movie, and they’d be absolutely right to say so. Balancing the warmth of Clark Kent with the strength and wisdom of Superman, Reeve made the world believe a man could fly. Though it also helps that Gene Hackman was along for the ride, as he's the best Lex Luthor a Superman could ever ask for.

Twelve Monkeys

Time travel can be, for lack of a better term, complicated. Terry Gilliam’s cult classic Twelve Monkeys highlights the most problematic angle of this often discussed plot device, as Bruce Willis has to travel throughout human history in an attempt to prevent a massive pandemic that brings our species to its knees. If you loved the Syfy Channel series adaptation of the film, or just happen to like watching Brad Pitt go crazy, you need to throw this movie into your queue.

Motherless Brooklyn

Edward Norton wanted to make Motherless Brooklyn into a movie for a little over 20 years, and 2019 finally saw the fruits of his labors make it to theaters worldwide. Unfortunately, the detective noir story that sees him investigating an ensemble of familiar faces (also including Bruce Willis) didn’t seem to go over too well in a particularly dismal month for the box office overall. But much like how Doctor Sleep has found an audience in HBO Max subscribers enjoying its theatrical and extended cuts, now’s the perfect time to let this atmospheric mystery into your living room.

Available July 25

Much like any other streaming service, HBO Max is adding some heavy hitting titles to the streaming library in the month to come. As such, keep in mind that all titles are subject to change and availability, so you’ll want to check the library often to make sure what you’re looking for is in the right place. Until next time, stream safely, and we’ll see you back here before the end of the month. Though if you aren’t currently a subscriber, you should check out the 7-day free trial that could serve as a gateway to your future HBO Max membership.

Do you feel like crap too? It's flu season. Not to mention the coronavirus is spreading. On that note, you might be spending some sick days at home. Some people suggest light rom-com movies to watch when you're sick to make you feel better. I feel differently. On Mondays I tend to recommend stuff to stream, and today I'm suggesting you get down with the sickness by streaming these 10 movies about deadly viruses. Go ahead and scare that cold away!

Night Of The Living Dead 

If you feel like the living dead, you should join your people by streaming this 1968 George A. Romero classic. Victor Halperin's 1932 movie White Zombie is widely considered the first zombie film, but Night of the Living Dead is the granddaddy of modern zombie movies, whether the walking dead are calling zombies or not. Modern films tend to go for a faster zombie approach -- everyone is in such a rush to die these days! -- but it's worth slowing down to appreciate the leisurely pace of past attacks. Night of the Living Dead can be streamed right now on Tubi, Shudder, Sling TV, and Starz.

Contagion

Director Steven Soderbergh's star-studded 2011 virus movie is currently enjoying a huge streaming boost "thanks" to the coronavirus. Contagion's virus also spread from China, and even though there are major differences (and the movie is fiction) the movie is pretty helpful with its general reminder to stop touching your damn face every few seconds. (That reminder was for me. I do that all the time, and every time I do it I can hear Kate Winslet's character shaming me. I'm sorry, Dr. Mears!) I love everything about this movie from the soundtrack to the heartbreaking story -- to shaking my head at Jude Law's smarmy blogger to loving Matt Damon's #1 dad. It shouldn't take a virus for anyone to appreciate this movie. And that ending prom dance! I tear up every time. Stream Contagion with a Hulu subscription or pay to rent/buy it at Amazon, FandangoNOW, Vudu, YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, or wherever you pay for such things.

Outbreak

Before Contagion came along to scare us into not touching anything, there was Outbreak to scare us into not wanting to breathe. The 1995 virus outbreak film stars Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey (back when we all loved him), Cuba Gooding J., Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Rene Russo, and -- somehow I forgot this -- Patrick Dempsey. It's another heartbreaker of a movie with a plot just realistic enough to get you scared it could happen in real life. Netflix does not have this movie as of February 2020 -- or most of the others I put on here, to be honest -- but you can pay a couple of bucks to stream Outbreak on Amazon, iTunes, etc.

28 Days Later

Danny Boyle made one of the all-time great virus movies and it works so well because it's low-budget and low-tech. It's not splashy or filled with major stars. The realism just adds to the dread and heartbreak. This was Cillian Murphy's breakout role, but it also put Bond star Naomie Harris on the map. And don't forget Brendan Gleeson as another standout dad or Christopher Eccleston in his chilling military role. (The military often ends up on the wrong side of history in these movies.) The cast is relatively small, since it's the end of the world, and we come to care about all of them. I didn't love the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, but you can watch that too if you like. I won't drop blood in your eye or anything. Stream 28 Days Later on Hulu, or pay to rent/buy at the usual spots.

World War Z

I remember all the behind-the-scenes issues with Brad Pitt's movie, which was based very loosely on the Max Brooks novel. So when it finally arrived in theaters in 2013 I was prepared for it to be a hot mess. Instead, I thought it was pretty fantastic, and I'm still waiting for more. I love every virus outbreak but there's a special place in my heart for the ones that show the effect around the world -- a globe-trotting film like Contagion or World War Z as opposed to focusing on one location like the raw realism of 28 Days Later. In this case, it allows for harrowing scenes like that one in Jerusalem as the zombies scale the walls. [shivers] Stream World War Z on Hulu with a subscription or pay a few bucks at the usual digital spots.

12 Monkeys

Brad Pitt again! The man does love to go viral. Brad Pitt recently talked about hating his performance in the second half of this movie. The Academy didn't agree, giving him an Oscar nomination as Jeffrey Goines. Bruce Willis is the main star, though, as prisoner James Cole in 2035, sent back in time to try to help stop the virus that will eventually spread and kill off most of humanity. Madeleine Stowe plays his 1990 psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly in a movie that manages to balance time travel, a virus outbreak, and the usual surreal images and off-kilter humor you can expect from a Terry Gilliam film. 12 Monkeys was inspired by Chris Marker's La Jetée, and so was the 12 Monkeys TV series that aired on Syfy. Stream 12 Monkeys on Hulu or for just a couple of bucks to rent at Amazon, etc.

The Omega Man

Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend gave us three great virus movies: Vincent Price's The Last Man on Earth in 1964, Charlton Heston's The Omega Man in 1971, and Will Smith's I Am Legend, noted below. Each movie adapted the story a little bit differently for its own time. In The Omega Man, biological warfare is to blame for the plague that wipes out most of humanity. Heston's Neville gives himself an experimental vaccine to survive and battles a cult of plague victims called The Family. Neville thinks he's the only man alive until he meets other survivors, including Lisa, played by the great Rosalind Cash. The movie is a cult classic today and you can stream it to rent/buy at YouTube and the usual places.

I Am Legend

Will Smith's 2007 post-apocalyptic movie is also based on Richard Matheson's novel, like The Omega Man. It also makes its own changes, including seeing the virus' origin as a cure for cancer gone wrong. (This is your fault, Emma Thompson!) This movie scared me more than most. Sometimes I think of it when night is about to fall and I think I'd better get indoors and in the bathtub and keep SILENT or the Darkseekers will get me. I also can't look at photos like the one shown above without melting a little bit and getting close to tears. Oh, sweet Sam. All in all, this is one of Will Smith's best action movies. It's a one man (and one dog) showcase and he carries it easily. I'm mad that Netflix doesn't currently carry I Am Legend, but it might by the time you see this. For now, you'll have to pay a few bucks to rent or buy at Amazon and company.

Dawn Of The Dead

Remakes get a bad name, but there's no disloyalty in pointing out when a movie does a damn good job of reimagining a classic. Zack Snyder's 2004 movie does that damn good job. It carries the same title as George A. Romero's 1978 movie and has some similarities -- including a shopping mall sanctuary and apocalypse pregnancy -- but Snyder's film definitely has its own take. The cast is A+, led by the amazing Sarah Polley, who won me over in The Sweet Hereafter and now directs and produces her own films. Still, I'd love to see her back in a kickass role like nurse Ana. Humor, heart, an awesome soundtrack, this movie has it all. It's not on Netflix as of February 2020, but you can rent/buy at Amazon and the usual spots.

Pontypool

I'm going a little more obscure for this last one. There are plenty of other outbreak movies to watch, but to be honest you've probably seen most of them already. I love re-watching movies I love, but maybe you haven't seen Pontypool yet? It's a 2008 horror film out of Canada set in the titular town in Ontario. Stephen McHattie's character Grant Mazzy is a shock jock radio announcer in a station that tries to navigate through a very creative virus attack that spreads through language. The movie is based on Tony Burgess' novel Pontypool Changes Everything and he adapted his own work for the screenplay. Pontypool isn't available everywhere, but it looks like you can stream it through Shudder or for a few bucks at iTunes.

BONUS: Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak

This is a TV series, not a movie, but it's perfectly timed for the coronavirus. Plus, it's on Netflix! Yes, Netflix actually has something. This six-episode series is called Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak and it follows the vaccine debate and doctors around the world trying to treat and cure viruses. It's fascinating and scary and a bit maddening, but definitely worth watching. Stream Pandemic here on Netflix.

More options: There are so many zombie or other virus films and TV shows you can stream. Obviously Shaun of the Dead is a delight and a great mix of humor and horror. I almost added that one but went for Pontypool instead, so go ahead and BITE ME if you don't like my choice. You can also watch Zombieland or maybe stream the first few seasons of The Walking Dead and stop right when they get to Alexandria so you're spared the slow and painful decline. Netflix also has the new vampire outbreak show V Wars starring Ian Somerhalder. And Netflix also has a TV series following an outbreak in Atlanta called Containment.

If you're looking for more streaming recommendations, there are A LOT of past features you can check out:

• 5 Excellent Keanu Reeves Roles Worth Streaming On Netflix And Amazon

• 5 Sci-Fi TV Shows To Watch On Netflix: Our Streaming Recommendations

• 5 Documentary Series To Watch On Netflix: Our Streaming Recommendations

• 5 British TV Comedies On Netflix You Should Bloody Well Watch: Our Streaming Recommendations

• 3%, Occupied, Harlots, and Other Streaming Recommendations

• 5 Robert Downey Jr. Movies To Love 3000 On Netflix

• 5 Chris Evans Movies Worth Streaming On Netflix And Amazon

• 5 Ryan Reynolds Roles Worth Streaming On Netflix And Amazon

• 5 Will Smith Movies Worth Streaming Right Now On Netflix And Beyond

• 5 Refreshingly Non-Toxic Reality TV Shows Worth Streaming On Netflix

• 5 Joaquin Phoenix Movies Worth Streaming On Netflix And Amazon Ahead Of Joker

• 5 Stripper Movies Worth Streaming In Honor Of Jennifer Lopez's Hustlers

• The 5 Best Space Movies To Stream In Honor Of Brad Pitt's Ad Astra

• 11 Unbelievable True Crime Series Worth Streaming On Netflix

• 8 Movies With 100 Percent Ratings Worth Streaming Before Netflix's The Irishman

• 7 Paul Rudd Movies Worth Streaming On Netflix Before Living With Yourself

• 8 Movies With Twist Endings Worth Streaming On Netflix After Fractured

• Where To Stream Firefly And 10 Other Great Shows Cancelled After One Season

• Whodunit? 7 Murder Mysteries Worth Streaming On Netflix

• 12 Royal TV Shows Like Netflix's The Crown: Our Jolly Good Streaming Recommendations

• 11 Best Gangster Movies Worth Streaming Along With Netflix's The Irishman

• 11 Best Tom Cruise Action Movies Worth Streaming As We Wait For Top Gun: Maverick

• 13 Adam Driver Movies Worth Streaming, Including Netflix's Marriage Story (But Not Star Wars)

• 8 Carrie Fisher Movies Worth Streaming As Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Opens

• 8 TV Shows Worth Streaming On Netflix As You Wait For The Witcher Season 2

• 10 Disney+ Shows Worth Streaming As We Wait For The Mandalorian Season 2

• 10 Best Oscar Nominees Worth Streaming Before 2020 Academy Awards

What sick movies or shows do you watch when you feel lousy? Do you go the light route, like Singin' in the Rain or a Frasier marathon, or feed the cold by going full dark?

Brad Pitt is Hollywood royalty, with a career spanning 30 plus years and a remarkable number of box office smash hits. Though he’s never won an Academy Award (really), he has put on some powerhouse performance in movies like Fight Club, Se7en, 12 Monkeys, and Ocean’s Eleven. He’s also put out a fair amount of duds, a few of which are really quite bad.

We put together a handy-dandy list of some of his best performances and movies as well as a few of his worst. As with anyone with a CV as long as Brad Pitt’s, some major performances just missed the cut, like Inglourious Basterds, 12 Years A Slave, The Big Short, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and the movie that launched his career, Thelma & Louise. Brad Pitt's had quite an amazing career, to say the least, let's take a look.

The Best Brad Pitt Movies

Fight Club (1999)

Fight Club was not a huge hit when it was released, but it’s become a classic. It's often called a cult classic, but it’s far too popular for that these days. Based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk and directed by the great David Fincher, Fight Club features Brad Pitt as The Narrator’s alter-ego, a man called Tyler Durden, who encourages The Narrator (Edward Norton) to start an underground fight club. Brad Pitt’s performance is pitch perfect as a jumpy, angry figment of The Narrator’s imagination.

12 Monkeys (1995)

12 Monkeys, directed by Terry Gilliam has everything people have come to expect from a Gilliam film. It’s visually amazing and disturbing, filled with crazy characters and a twisting plot that leaves viewers questioning humanity. Brad Pitt plays an eccentric patient in a bizarre insane asylum opposite Bruce Willis. It was the first time Pitt the heartthrob was recognized for his acting chops. The first time he proved he was more than just a pretty face, really.

Se7en (1995)

Brad Pitt’s first collaboration with director David Fincher (they've worked together three times now) is scary, twisted, and disturbing yet incredible, especially the first time you see it, before figuring out the twist at the end. Pitt’s performance as a young detective working with his partner, played by the amazing Morgan Freeman, is fantastic as the two work to solve the case of a terrifying serial killer who recreates the seven deadly sins with his victims.

Moneyball (2011)

Unlike some of the other movies on this list, Moneyball is a more straightforward film with a more straightforward performance from Brad Pitt. Based on the book by Michael Lewis about the radical new way of doing business in baseball by Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (Pitt), the movie is a bit of revelation. Though the book was a fascinating look into modern baseball, few thought it could translate to the big screen, but director Bennett Miller and writers Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin made it work brilliantly, with huge help from an Oscar-nominated performance by Brad Pitt.

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

There are few movies that are as much fun as Ocean’s Eleven. A remake of the legendary Rat Pack classic from the '60s that was famous for its cast and their shenanigans in Las Vegas while they were filming, the updated Ocean’s Eleven features a similar all-star cast, including Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts. It also has a similar loose vibe where all the cast members look like that are genuinely having a great time making the movie. It’s the kind of flick you can turn on at any time and at any moment in the movie and watch until the end. As for Brad Pitt, he sure was hungry when he made this one.

Snatch (2000)

Brad Pitt’s performance as a sketchy Irish gypsy underground boxer in Guy Richie’s Snatch is the highlight of a very entertaining movie. His stylized accent is almost completely unintelligible, yet absolutely charming and funny. When viewers do catch a word or a line here and there, they are hilarious. It’s a completely different role than a lot of his parts and it’s truly one of his best. Snatch is easy to compare to Ocean’s Eleven, as it's a heist movie with a heavyweight cast, including Benicio Del Toro, Jason Statham, Dennis Farina, and Vinnie Jones, but it’s also totally different as it’s a movie that only Guy Richie could have made.

The Worst Brad Pitt Movies

Cool World (1992)

Cool World is a disaster of a movie from 1992, it was early in Brad Pitt’s career and frankly, he may feel lucky that it didn’t completely derail said career. Directed and drawn by legendary animator Ralph Bakshhi (Felix The Cat), Cool World is a mess in every way. Pitt plays a hardboiled live-action detective in an animated world in a sort of Who Framed Roger Rabbit for adults – or at least that was the goal. It’s 4% rating on Rotten Tomatoes pretty much says it all. It’s not even fun in a campy way.

By The Sea (2015)

By The Sea, directed by Brad Pitt’s then-wife Angelia Jolie, feels more like an excuse for the couple to hang out in the Mediterranean (it was filmed during their honeymoon in Malta) than anything else. Frankly, it’s a boring movie with a tired plot about love and betrayal in the South of France. It’s not worth exploring the plot more than that, because it’s exactly what you expect. It was a total bomb at the box office too. What else is there to say?

Johnny Suede (1991)

Johnny Suede is an impressively bad movie that star Brad Pitt and his hair. His hair, like Rami Malik’s teeth in Bohemian Rhapsody, is the real star of the performance here. Everything else about the movie is completely forgettable. He was cast in this right after filming Thelma & Louise, but before it was released, so he was still an unknown actor at the time, and thankfully for his career, this movie is completely overshadowed by his breakout performance in Thelma & Louise. Again, with different timing, his career might have been quite different.

Seven Years In Tibet (1997)

Seven Years In Tibet is a movie that SHOULD be good but… just... isn’t. Brad Pitt’s performance is uneven, with him taking on a pretty poor Austrian accent. Let’s just say it wasn’t his finest performance. Pitt plays famous mountaineer Heinrich Harrer in a story based on his real life as a POW during World War Two that escaped British capture and hid out in Tibet for rest of the war. Seven Years In Tibet really should be a great movie! It’s sad that it isn’t. It also suspiciously leaves out a crucial aspect of Harrer's life - he reportedly was possibly a Nazi.

With more than 75 acting credits over the years, Brad Pitt has had remarkably great track record, both as an actor and the in the movies he picks. There really are quite few duds on his resume and the future also looks great with the much-anticipated Once Upon A Time In Hollywood set for release this summer.

What do you think is Pitt’s best role? What about his worst? There are plenty to choose from, so we'd love to hear more.

May means blockbusters, and blockbusters mean excitement! For a long time in cinematic history, it used to be that you had to go to the theater or set a VCR to capture that excitement, but that's not true anymore! Nope, with the world of streaming, every month is a blockbuster month, and Hulu's May lineup has tons of thrilling content from the past and the present.

If you're looking for what last month brought to the platform, we have April's rundown secured in another location. If you're ready for the future though, strap in and get ready for what's coming to Hulu in the merry month of May!

Week of May 1

Anger Management (2003) – 5/1/19

Bait Shop (2008) – 5/1/19

Billboard Dad (1998) – 5/1/19

The Big Kahuna (2000) – 5/1/19

The Birdcage (1997) – 5/1/19

Black Rain (1989) – 5/1/19

Borat: Learning of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation Kazakhstan (2006) – 5/1/19

Breakdown (1997) – 5/1/19

Bully (2001) – 5/1/19

The Burrowers (2009) – 5/1/19

Catacombs (2007) – 5/1/19

Cecil B. Demented (2000) – 5/1/19

Center Stage (2000) – 5/1/19

Chocolat (2000) – 5/1/19

Chuck & Buck (2000) – 5/1/19

Clerks (1994) – 5/1/19 – 5/1/19

Dazed and Confused (1993) – 5/1/19

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) – 5/1/19

El Pantra (2018) – 5/1/19

The English Patient (1996) – 5/1/19

Fair Game (2010) – 5/1/19

Fatal Attraction (1987) – 5/1/19

Flashdance (1983) – 5/1/19

The Green Mile (1999) – 5/1/19

Ground Control (1998) – 5/1/19

Happy Endings (2005) – 5/1/19

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) – 5/1/19

Hardware (1990) – 5/1/19

Harsh Times (2006) – 5/1/19

Hoodlum (1997) – 5/1/19

Hunt for the Skinwalker (2018) – 5/1/19

Imagine Me and You (2005) – 5/1/19

Julie & Julia (2009) – 5/1/19

Kazaam (1996) – 5/1/19

The Krays (1990) – 5/1/19

Kygo: Stole the Show (2017)

Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies (2017)

Larger than Life (1996)

The Landing (2018)

The Last Animals (2017)

Le Divorce (2002)

The Lucky Ones (2008)

Made (2001)

Major League (1989)

Man of the House (2005)

Mermaids (1990)

My Five Wives (2000)

New Guy (2002)

Nick of Time (1995)

The Night We Never Met (1993)

Passport to Paris (1999)

Possums (1998)

The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper (1981)

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Rollerball (1975)

Rollerball (2002)

Shaolin Soccer (2001)

Show of Force (1990)

The Sicilian (1987)

Slow Burn (2000)

Spirit (2002)

Star Kid (1998)

Steak this Movie (2000)

Switching Goals (1999)

The Time Machine (2002)

The Toybox (2018)

Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2001)

Thirteen (2003)

Twelve Monkeys (1996)

Twice Upon a Yesterday (1999)

Under Siege (1992)

Wargames (1983)

Welcome to Mercy (2018)

Zombieland (2009) – 5/1/19

Dies Irae: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED) (Crunchyroll) – 5/2/19

Into The Dark: All That We Destroy: Episode 8 Premiere (Hulu Original) – 5/3/19

Don’t Believe the Hype: Complete Season 1(Complex) – 5/3/19

Everything’s For Sale: Complete Season 1 (Complex) – 5/3/19

Jobs Unlisted: Complete Season 1 (Complex) – 5/3/19

Price the Hype: Complete Season 1 (Complex) – 5/3/19

The Yellow Handkerchief (2008) – 5/3/19

Drunk History: Complete Season 6A (Comedy Central) – 5/4/19

Painkillers (2018) – 5/4/19

The Clovehitch Killer (2018) – 5/4/19

Week of May 5

The Spanish Princess: Series Premiere - 5/5/19 (STARZ premium add-on required)

Crash (2005) – 5/6/19

Unicorn (2018) – 5/6/19

Chernobyl: Series Premiere - 5/6/19 (HBO premium add-on required)

My Hero Academia: Complete Season 3A (DUBBED) (Funimation) – 5/7/19

Hillbilly (2019) – 5/8/19

Action Point (2017) – 5/9/19

Dinosaur 13 (2014) – 5/10/19

Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men: Limited Docuseries Premiere - 5/10/19 (Showtime premium add-on required)

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season 6 Premiere (ABC) – 5/11/19

Above Majestic (2018) – 5/11/19

Driver X (2018) – 5/11/19

Funny Cow (2017) – 5/11/19

One Million American Dreams (2018) – 5/11/19

Swimming With Men (2018) – 5/11/19

My Dad Wrote a Porno: Comedy Special - 5/11/19 (HBO premium add-on required)

Week of May 12

Claws: Complete Season 2 (TNT) – 5/12/19

Our Cartoon President: Season 2 Premiere - 5/12/19 - (Showtime premium add-on required)

Angels of Death: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED) (Funimation) – 5/13/19

The Bachelorette: Season 15 Premiere (ABC) – 5/14/19

The Romantics (2010) – 5/14/19

What’s My Name – Muhammad Ali: Documentary - 5/14/19 (HBO premium add-on required)

Big Bad BBQ Brawl: Complete Season 2 (Cooking Channel) - 5/15/19

Bobby Flay’s Barbecue Addiction: Complete Season 4 (Food Network) - 5/15/19

Burgers, Brews & ‘Que: Complete Seasons 1-3 (Food Network)

Cash Cab: Complete Season 13 (Discovery Channel)

Counting On: Complete Seasons 2-3 (TLC)

Diesel Brothers: Complete Seasons 3-4 (Discovery Channel)

Eat, Sleep, BBQ: Complete Season 1 (Food Network)

Four Weddings: Complete Seasons 7-8 (TLC)

I Found the Gown: Complete Seasons 2-3 (TLC)

La Promesa: Complete Season 1 (Caracol)

Love It or List It: Complete Season 12 (HGTV)

The Little Couple: Complete Seasons 11-12 (TLC)

A Breath Away (2019)

Astral (2018)

Beautiful Girls (1996)

Egg (2019)

Getting Grace (2018)

Iris (2001)

Little Voice (1998) - 5/15/19

MasterChef Celebrity Family Showdown: Special Part 1 (FOX) - 5/16/19

Knocked Up (2007) - 5/16/19

Catch-22: Complete Series Premiere (Hulu Original) - 5/17/19

Punisher: War Zone (2008) - 5/17/19

The Punisher (2004) - 5/17/19

Thanks for Sharing (2013) - 5/18/19

The Riot and the Dance: Earth (2018) - 5/18/19

Week of May 19

Federal Hill (1994) – 5/20/19

Preacher: Complete Season 3 (AMC) – 5/21/19

Bernie the Dolphin (2018) – 5/21/19

Jesus’ Son (2000) – 5/21/19

Tracers (2015) – 5/22/19

Baywatch: Complete Series (Fremantle) – 5/23/19

MasterChef Celebrity Family Showdown: Special Part 2 (FOX) – 5/23/19

Backtrace (2018) – 5/23/19

Lulu on the Bridge (2011) – 5/23/19

Vida: Season 2 Premiere - 5/23/19 (STARZ premium add-on required)

Week of May 26

Morning Glory (2011) – 5/26/19

Game of Thrones: The Last Watch: Documentary Special - 5/26/19 (HBO premium add-on required)

Broad City: Complete Season 5 (Comedy Central) – 5/27/19

The Frozen Ground (2013) – 5/27/19

Against the Clock (2019) – 5/28/19

America’s Got Talent: Season 14 Premiere (NBC) – 5/29/19

Songland: Series Premiere (NBC) – 5/29/19

The Terror: Complete Season 1 (AMC) – 5/29/19

American Ninja Warrior: Season 11 Premiere (NBC) – 5/30/19

Angie Tribeca: Complete Season 4 (TBS) – 5/30/19

This month, TV is dark and full of terrors, as fans will be saying goodbye to their beloved Game of Thrones. If you're a fan, chances are you have the HBO premium add-on, which means you'll get to see the documentary Game of Thrones: The Last Watch the week following Jon Snow's... er, we know nothing. Speaking of finales, Broad City's fifth and final season is also available, which is perfect for folks who want to relive Ilana and Abbi's first flight on a dragon in New York City. That may not have happened, but imagine if it did!

Finally, Hulu's original content has two big drops coming through the month of May, the first being the latest episode of Into The Dark entitled All That We Destroy. As a geneticist clones their would-be serial killer son to teach him a lesson, there's certainly going to be a heartfelt and uplifting ending to this tale of torment and pain. If horror isn't your speed, then the pitch-black satire of Joseph Heller's Catch-22 will also be available to brighten your day. With an all-star cast including George Clooney, Kyle Chandler, and Hugh Laurie, you couldn't go wrong flying with this modern spin on an old classic.

On the films side of the equation, there are some pretty good movies headed onto the Hulu platform, including the 1983 classic Wargames. Playing thermonuclear chicken with a supercomputer may not be the wisest thing in the world, but it certainly made for a charming movie with Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, and Dabney Coleman back in the day. Though if you've got a wish to see the apocalypse, and happen to be a big Bruce Willis fan, 12 Monkeys is going to be available to scratch that very particular itch. Also, if you happened to be a fan of the Syfy show of the same name, now's a good time to compare and contrast.

We close the month with two films that satisfy two different polls of the moviegoing spectrum, with some surprising results. Should you be going through withdrawal after the last season of The Punisher, both previous live action films from the modern era will be uploaded to Hulu in May. Though, if we're being honest, we'd say the only one worth it is director Lexi Alexander's Punisher: War Zone, a vastly underrated film that takes the franchise to a level of bloody fun, it just has to be seen. And if you're looking for more heartfelt comedy, but still crave an edge, Judd Apatow's Knocked Up is ready to make you a parent to a bouncing bundle of laughter, in just over two hours worth of couch time.

Now keep in mind, all titles are subject to change. So if you think you've missed something, and want to be sure it hasn't moved off of the schedule, you'll want to check back here for future updates. But if you want to get a small glimpse into what's coming in the future, we can point you to the upcoming streaming premiere dates schedule, which promises even more fun in the near future. Otherwise, happy Hulu'ing, and we'll see you next time as we look into this streaming platform's ever evolving library!

Syfy put a new twist TV on time travel back in 2015 with the premiere of 12 Monkeys. The show has run for two seasons so far, and fans have had plenty of twists and turns to puzzle over between episodes. Unfortunately for those fans, Syfy has officially announced its decision to cancel 12 Monkeys. That said, there is some good news. Syfy has ordered one final season of the series before it ends for good.

The third season of 12 Monkeys will run for ten episodes and kicks off in May. Syfy has not confirmed how many episodes have been ordered for Season 4 or when it will debut. If it follows the pattern set by earlier seasons, however, we can bet that Season 4 will debut sometime in spring 2018 with 10 or 13 episodes.

Season 3 hasn't even premiered yet, so it's hard to say what prompted the decision to order one more season but cancel the entire series. The ratings were nothing to brag about throughout Season 2, and it wouldn't have been too much of a shock back then if Syfy had announced a cancellation. Now, with Season 3 set to debut, we can only guess at what prompted the bizarre order.

The Season 4 order/series cancellation isn't the only bizarre piece of news to come out of Syfy regarding 12 Monkeys. Season 3 will be released in an entirely unexpected way over the course of one weekend. The first four episodes of 12 Monkeys Season 3 will hit the airwaves on Friday, May 19, the next three will air on Saturday, May 20, and the final three will air on Sunday, May 21. Yes, Syfy is indeed releasing an entire season of episodes in the span of three days.

If Syfy hadn't ordered Season 4, I would have assumed that the network was just dumping all the episodes of Season 3 as soon as possible and trying to move on to other programming. The ratings certainly haven't been stellar over the years, and Syfy wanting to be rid of 12 Monkeys ASAP would certainly explain the entire season over three days. The Season 4 order indicates that Syfy has at least enough faith in the series to want to invest in another batch of episodes. Who knows? Maybe releasing episodes en masse will be the kind of event 12 Monkeys needs to pull in an audience moving toward the very end.

All things considered, the early renewal/cancellation might be the best thing that has ever happened to 12 Monkeys. The folks behind the scenes will be able to plan Season 4 as the very last, and so we might be spared any huge cliffhangers in the finale. The show doesn't have to worry about earning another season; it will get exactly one more, and the team will be able to tie up as many loose strings as they could possibly desire.

Tune in to Syfy on Friday, May 19 at 8 p.m. ET to catch the first four episodes of 12 Monkeys, and be sure to check out our midseason TV premiere schedule and summer TV premiere schedule to see what else you can catch on the small screen. If streaming is more your style, our 2017 Netflix premiere schedule may be the place to be.

Syfy has done a good job in the past couple of years of supporting solid science fiction dramas, and bringing audiences shows they can really sink their teeth into. One of those shows is 12 Monkeys, and now fans of the program are getting some good news, as the show has just been renewed for Season 3.

Word on the renewal came down today from Entertainment Weekly, and the outlet notes that the third season will have 10 episodes. Season 3 is expected to debut sometime in 2017, but an exact date has not been announced yet. The first two seasons premiered in January and April, respectively, so the best guess puts a Season 3 start at early in the new year. The first and second seasons of 12 Monkeys each received 13 episodes.

12 Monkeys is, of course, based on the 1995 film of the same name which starred Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Madeleine Stowe, which was, itself, based on the 1962 short film La Jetée. The show focuses on time traveler James Cole (Aaron Stanford), who comes to the present from 2043 to try and stop the release of a deadly virus that ended up killing 93.6% of the world's population in James' original timeline. The mysterious group known as The Army of the Twelve Monkeys is behind the attack, and James is aided in his efforts to track them down, find out why they want to destroy humanity and stop them, by virologist Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull) and math genius Jennifer Goines (Emily Hampshire), who just happens to have severe phycological troubles.

The sci-fi mystery allowed its characters to stop the original release of the plague, but, unfortunately, their actions only served to push that deadly event back two years. So, while James, Cassandra and Jennifer are still working to stop the plague from wiping out most of the world, they now have a better chance of keeping more people alive, since they know it's coming and when it should hit. Now the trio and their allies are concerned with trying to find out why The Army of the Twelve Monkeys wants humanity destroyed and what the sinister organization stands to gain from all the destruction.

While critics' reactions to 12 Monkeys have been mixed, with the Rotten Tomatoes Season 1 score standing at 62%, audiences have responded much more positively to the series, and have given the first season of the show a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 82%. The series has proven itself adept at playing with the concept of time in original ways, and keeping the plot moving with twists that are hard to see coming. If you want to catch up with 12 Monkeys, you can watch it Mondays on Syfy.

The streaming age of entertainment has been pretty fantastic for science fiction fans, as series both new and old have made their way to viewers through many online platforms in recent years. But one of the genre’s best efforts, Sci-Fi’s Battlestar Galactica, has been absent for a whileLong enough to get us all antsy. Have no fear, my Cylon-hating friends, as the modern classic is once again available for streaming, this time on Hulu.

This new era of binge-watching Battlestar Galactica is happening thanks to a sizeable deal struck between Hulu and Universal Cable Productions through parent company NBCUniversal. The agreement gives the second-place streaming service the entirety of the space-faring show’s run, which includes the first two miniseries that led to the proper TV series getting ordered, as well as the four seasons that followed, adding up to 78 episodes of futuristic survival drama.

As well, all 24 episodes from the original 1978 series are there for streaming. Depending on your tastes, you may want to get these out of the way immediately before diving into the more intense reimagining from Ronald D. Moore, or you may want to save them for last. Or you may just avoid them altogether. It’s a free universe.

Oh, and they’re all on Hulu right now, so you don’t even have to wait for the ink on the contracts to dry. (And really, they’ve probably dried already, since modern pens are good about such things.) This is extremely good timing, as it was just yesterday when it was revealed that the big screen reboot took a step forward by snagging a powerful Hollywood producer. That film probably won’t happen for a while, so it’s good to have something to do in the meantime.

The Hulu/NBCUniversal deal also set up the current Syfy drama 12 Monkeys with its first semi-permanent exclusive streaming home. According to Variety, Season 1 of 12 Monkeys will hit Hulu in its entirety on Wednesday, February 24, slightly less than two months ahead of Season 2 premiering on Monday, April 18.

There were a couple of other shows that entered into this agreement, with Saved by the Bell standing out as the most guilty pleasure of the bunch. The list is rounded out by the kids shows Bob the Builder, Thomas and Friends and Barney.

Are you guys happy to be able to catch up with Commander Adama and Starbuck whenever you want?

The world was very busy in 1995. The Internet became part of the public consciousness. Dean Martin died. OJ Simpson was found not guilty. And Jumanji was released. Robin Williams playing the world’s best board-game wasn’t the best thing to happen in the movies that year, though. Oh, no. In fact, cinema screens across the globe were lit up with an array of fantastic performances, delightful direction, and all-round enthralling entertainment over the course of 12 months.

But which films were the cream of the crop back in 1995? And which films have aged the best since then? Well, to mark the 20th anniversary of these efforts, let’s look back and celebrate the 10 best films of 1995, as selected in 2015.

10. Friday

While Ice Cube had already proven that he could perform on the big screen with 1991’s Boyz n the Hood, it was still rather shocking to see him take to screenwriting with such aplomb.

But with Friday he did just that, while he also brought an authenticity and lyricism to the film that was akin to his music. Heck, Ice Cube’s writing was so punchy that even Chris Tucker wasn’t annoying. Sure, there’s something rather crude, naive, and offensive about Friday, but that’s also what made it so unique, as it gave us a truly fascinating look at life on the street.

9. Die Hard: With A Vengeance

Obviously nowhere near as superb as the 1988 original, but a step-up from Die Harder (and a skyscraper above the disastrous installments that would follow), Die Hard: With A Vengeance bolts out of the blocks, and for its first hour showcases everything that’s great about summer blockbuster cinema.

Unfortunately, it’s unable to keep up this pace, and ultimately ends in an overly familiar, formulaic fashion. But, with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in top form, you’re never bored, and are constantly overjoyed just to be spending time with the duo as they look to foil the latest terrorists in John McClane's life.

8. Apollo 13

Despite his Oscar success with A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 is still Ron Howard’s best film to date. Yeah, sure, Apollo 13 falls into overly schmaltzy territory that Howard simply can’t avoid, but he is also meticulous with his detail of the failed mission, and brings both the 1970s and the journey into space to life in a twinkling fashion.

Apollo 13 is also boosted by fine performances from Tom Hanks (as per usual), Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris, and Gary Sinise. William Broyles, Jr. and Al Reinert’s script is expertly structured and plotted, creating incredible tension and suspense, despite the fact that we all knew how the story would end.

7. Braveheart

As South Park once expertly explained, "Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but the son of a bitch knows story structure." And that has never been more evident than in the multi-Oscar-winning epic, Braveheart.

Sure, it’s littered with historical inaccuracies and anachronisms, but it’s also brutal and ambitious, while pulsating action and drama is never too far away. It's anchored by a heart-breaking romance to boot. Wonderfully dirty, gritty, and unpredictable, even though he’s directing, Mel Gibson gives one of his most driven and intense performances, though his accent borders on the unforgivable at times.

6. Heat

The pairing of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino as a thief and an LAPD detective, respectively, was deemed as Heat's main selling point 20 years ago. But, with time, Michael Mann’s sumptuous direction is now what the crime drama is rightly remembered for, as he controls every ebb and flow of its almost three-hour running time to create the quintessential action film.

The movie's influence can still be felt to this day, from The Dark Knight's meticulous set-pieces to the intimacy of the Bourne series and the artistry of Mad Max: Fury Road. Mann brought a poetry to Heat's action scenes, and no one has come close to matching them since.

5. 12 Monkeys

1995 was a great year for Bruce Willis. After rejuvenating John McClane, Bruce ended it working alongside Terry Gilliam and Brad Pitt in the bewildering but beguiling 12 Monkeys, which underlined his status as the biggest movie star on the planet.

Gilliam revels in 12 Monkeys’ jumbled-up plot, which unfolds at a startling pace. But he also makes sure to create an atmospheric, haunting, and bleak dystopian future that is as intoxicating as it is disturbing. He ekes out towering performances from both Pitt and Willis, as well as Madeline Stowe and Christopher Plummer, but more than all that, 12 Monkeys is just wonderfully entertaining. As long as you let it wash over you, and don’t think too hard about it.

4. The Usual Suspects

It should never be forgotten just how good The Usual Suspects actually is. Not only did the film put both Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie on the movie map, but it also boasts one of the best movie posters ever created, as well as one of the finest conclusions and plot twists of all time.

But, to just focus on its ending would do The Usual Suspects a huge injustice. Because Singer's direction and, especially, McQuarrie’s script feature so much detail that you can’t help but go back to it after its stunning revelation is made to look for clues and fawn over it in a brand new light.

3. La Haine

Prescient. Pulsating. And almost damn near perfect, La Haine is blisteringly beautiful, and could easily be the love child of Mean Streets and Do The Right Thing.

Set over a 24-hour period, and revolving around three close pals from the suburbs of Paris, the trio crack quips, act tough, and find themselves involved in all kinds of scrapes across the City of Love, which simmers with racial tension following the beating of their pal in police custody. The grim setting is beget by its flowing direction, which cranks up the tension and intensity all the way through its gut-punching end.

2. Toy Story

It’s almost impossible to think of a movie landscape without Woody and Buzz Lightyear anymore. That’s just how important, innovative, and entertaining Toy Story was and still is to do this day.

Sure, looking back, the animation is a little crude and rough around the edges, but Toy Story’s story-telling, jokes, and heart are all still ever present and at its core. In fact, just hearing the opening bars of Randy Newman’s music is enough to provoke a smile. It rejuvenated the genre, and while Pixar has gone on to create more inventive and profound films, Toy Story deserves its recognition because it all started here.

1.Se7en

Se7en makes for grim viewing in the best possible way. Drenched in rain-water, covered in shadows, and featuring every minute detail of some of goriest and most rancid crimes Hollywood has ever depicted, there had never been anything as bleak on-screen before. And it’s glorious for that exact reason.

To the films eternal credit, it never deviates from this path, all the way up until its brutal ending. David Fincher was the perfect, angst-ridden director to bring this world to life, while Brad Pitt is brash, cocky, and still utterly appealing. But it’s wily old Morgan Freeman who is Se7en’s true savior, because even in its most depressing moments, just knowing he’s there makes you think that everything’s going to be all right. This is a Hollywood thriller unlike any other, and still the most definitive, enthralling, and audacious of its genre to date.

The world's greatest filmmakers tell their stories from the very first frame in their movies to the very last. Need proof? Just watch the amazing supercut below, and you'll notice just how many brilliant films have beginnings and endings that work in stunning tandem.

This video, titled bluntly "First and Final Frames," was created by Vimeo user Jacob T. Swinney, and it's an impressive edit that highlights the brilliant work of filmmakers from every era, including John Ford, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino and many more. It's amazing to watch just how many movies have perfectly poetic beginnings and endings.

So what are some of the highlights? One of the earliest in the video comes from a film that was only released just last year: David Fincher's Gone Girl. The mirrored beginning and ending here isn't exactly subtle in framing, but what's lurking behind Rosamund Pike's eyes completely changes the context.

My next favorite is featured from Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love. This is a movie all about a man rejecting his loneliness and finding love, and it's illustrated perfectly here.

And then there's the visual magic of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, which juxtaposes "sunrise" with the giant space baby:

I've always found that part of the fun in watching these kinds of videos is simply naming as many of the movies as you can - and I imagine that many of you are the same way. If you've already made your guesses, head over to Page Two to check them against the full list of films, which the editor was kind enough to provide.

There are myriad risks in adapting a feature film as a TV series, and Syfy’s 12 Monkeys is one that runs dangerously close to the clutches of audiences that hold Terry Gilliam’s 1996 film in the upper echelon of time travel fiction. Yet this small screen version manages to elude strictly comparative criticisms by overhauling many of the film’s details and only holding tight to the central premise of a guilt-ridden man trying to stop a devastating plague from wiping out the Earth’s population. If you can take one hour for the next 13 Friday nights to forget the movie exists, you might just like it.

Nikita’s Aaron Stanford plays Cole, a guy on the wrong side of the law in 2043 who is used as the guinea pig for a time travel mission given to him by a mysterious group of underground survivors who wish to move back to the surface and repopulate the Earth. Back in 2017, something happened that wiped out billions of people, and it all ties back to the Army of the 12 Monkeys. No, seriously, the series isn’t interested in using the MacGuffin tactic that the film did. The Army did the damage here...probably.

Although the whole “sending people back in time” thing isn’t an exact science just yet – as Cole does end up in a few mistaken locations that play their own part in the narrative – his initial goal is to contact virologist Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull), who plays an important part in setting this entire rescue mission in motion. And though Cole isn’t supposed to hang around Railly longer than necessary, he is quite taken by her, and by the past in general. Don’t knock the freedom of taking a stroll outside in the sun unless you’ve been completely robbed of such things.

The hunt is on for Leland Frost, played perfectly by Zeljko Ivanek, who has mysterious ties to Cole in the past. Their first big scene together is one where the series reaches legitimate thrills, but not even the shifty-eyed Ivanek can compete with the series’ true big bad: Tom Noonan. Without saying too much about where he comes into the story, I can say that he’s one of the more genially menacing villains on TV, and would have been right at home on Lost. (That’s a compliment, by the way.)

Having seen the first two episodes, I can’t quite gauge where the series is heading, and that’s a big positive. I like the story in general, and I’m fully invested in seeing where the plot goes. But I can’t exude the same praise for everything else 12 Monkeys has going for it. For one, Stanford-as-Cole is a pretty terrible anchor for this series to have, as he’s neither the brain-warped drooler that Bruce Willis was in the film, nor someone with any discernible traits of his own. He’s just a temperamental dude who will apparently save the planet by being surly and yelling a lot. In comparison, Schull is quite good at appearing engaged in an unbelievable situation, and I think she’ll be the more interesting lead as time goes on. Quick shout out to Kirk Acevedo’s Ramses, the lone beacon of slightly comedic relief in this show.

The elephant in the room is Emily Hampshire, who plays Jennifer Goines, the character based on Brad Pitt’s maniac in the film. She is as painful to watch as Pitt was joyous, though I’m inclined to blame the writing as much as the actress. Jennifer is also a loon, and ties into the monkey motif via sketches she draws on the wall, which is interesting enough, but she’s so over-the-top in playing “crazy” that it’s laughable.

12 Monkeys is far from perfect, but it’s an encouraging step forward in Syfy’s original programming, as it looks and feels crisp despite obviously working with a reasonable budget. Despite some performance issues, this story is still a captivating sci-fi adventure where the stakes couldn’t be any bigger. And even though I know the good guys will probably win out in the end, my money is on Tom Noonan.

Rating:

While there’s still time left, find 12 Monkeys when it premieres on Syfy on Friday, January 16, at 9 p.m. ET. You can find the first nine minutes of the show here for a preview.

January is a rough month for movies. It’s a time when all the titles that already hit the major markets in November and December are expanding their releases. It’s a time that’s also considered a dumping ground for plenty of films that we’ll all forget about by the time the summer blockbusters roll around. But nobody ever thinks of January as the time we’ve all been waiting for.

However, there are a few movies that have broken this nasty cycle. While January 2015 is filled with much of the same — we’re referring to Mortdecai, The Boy Next Door, The Wedding Ringer and Blackhat, the latter of which looks like this year’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit — there are some noteworthy films you would never have guessed is part of the January circuit because they’re so good. To help disperse the depressing haze that lingers in movie theaters this month, here are 10 great January-released films, dating back to the 1980s.

The Grey (2011)

Box Office: $51,580,236

Why It Wasn’t Terrible: It’s Liam Neesons! It’s Liam Neesons fighting those big-ass wolves! The Grey was one of those movies starring the apple of Key and Peele’s eye that wasn’t about somebody getting "tooken." Unless you count Neeson getting "tooken" by Mother Nature. Focusing on a sharpshooter flying a crew of Alaskan oil refinery workers back home after a grueling five-week shift, The Grey shows what happens when we are faced with a do-or-die situation in the wilderness. Dropping on January 2012, it dominated the box office that opening weekend, which also saw One For the Money, Man on a Ledge, Underworld: Awakening and The Lincoln Lawyer screening in theaters. While it went on to become one of the Neeson’s most standout performances, it also earned the respect of critics and landed on many lists of the best movies of 2012.

Cloverfield (2008)

Box Office: $80,048,433

Why It Wasn’t Terrible: Cloverfield certainly didn’t kickstart the whole found-footage format, but it brought it back into popularity. As a giant Godzilla-like monster terrorizes New York City, we see what it’s like for a group of friends to survive in this war zone through the camera lens of their handheld. You can either blame Cloverfield for making audiences sick to death of seeing found footage used all over the place in films like Chronicle, The Bay, The Last Exorcism, The Sacrament, As Above, So Below…we could keep on going. Or you could see the film as the one who made it awesome. Cloverfield also marks T.J. Miller’s big-screen debut as one of the guys behind the camera. Now, he’s one of the funniest and most successful comedians to emerge on the scene in recent years. Lord knows he was the best thing about Transformers: Age of Extinction.

12 Monkeys (1995)

Box Office: $57,141,459

Why It Wasn’t Terrible: The world is devastated by disease. The vast majority of the world’s population has been terminated. Humanity’s only hope for survival is to send Bruce Willis back in time to 1990 and figure out where it all went wrong. Though the ingenious story was based on 1962’s La Jetée, which focused on World War II instead of a plague, it was made something entirely its own when David and Janet Peoples wrote the script for 12 Monkeys. Opening in January of 1995, the film led Brad Pitt to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a win at the Golden Globes, while the work was also nominated for the Best Costume Design Oscar. Syfy is going to try and recreate the magic that was this hardcore sci-fi extravaganza with a new series this year, but nothing can top the original.

White Fang (1991)

Box Office: $34,793,160

Why It Wasn’t Terrible: Ethan Hawke was a young man in his 20s when he set out into the wilderness for White Fang; it was only a few years after he appeared alongside Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society. Though it was no "Liam Neeson vs. wolves," it stills goes down as a beloved classic. Taking its story from the Jack London novel of the same name, White Fang sees a young boy traveling into the Alaskan wilderness in search for gold. Once there, he encounters a half-dog, half-wolf who’s being cruelly treated by his owner. Upon rescuing the animal and nursing him back to health, the man forms a bond with the beast. Disney tried to recreate the success of White Fang with a sequel subtitled Myth of the White Wolf, but it didn’t do so hot at the box office — it hit a little more than half of what the first earned during its opening weekend. Some things just don’t warrant sequels.

Tremors (1990)

Box Office: $16,667,084

Why It Wasn’t Terrible: When terrifying worm-like creatures start attacking people from underground, it’s up to Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward to save the day. "No way these are local boys." It came in fifth at the box office during its opening weekend. Though, in its defense, The Little Mermaid and Back to the Future II were still making the rounds. Bacon’s accent and dramatic running away from explosions may be goofy, and the dialogue may be just as cheesy, but Tremors has gone down in history as a sci-fi classic. You just can’t beat the wonder of the practical effects used to create some of the "Graboids," A remake has been rumbling for a while at Universal, but these creative designs and production contraptions were what helped turn it into such a hit.

Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)

Box Office: $62,134,225

Why It Wasn’t Terrible: A remake of Boudu Saved From Drowning, Down and Out In Beverly Hills sees a homeless man so depressed and down on his luck that he tries to commit suicide by drowning in the pool of a wealthy businessman. However, he is saved and brought in to live with the man and his family, though their lavish lifestyle doesn’t intrigue the recovering man. Bette Midler is a hoot and a half in this film, playing the businessman’s living-in-luxury wife. (We’re still laughing over her bringing in the dog therapist.) She was even nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical, while the film as a whole was nominated for the Best Comedy/Musical category. Though, it didn’t win either, Down and Out topped the box office during its opening weekend, besting the likes of The Color Purple, Murphy’s Romance and Youngblood.

Varsity Blues (1999)

Box Office: $52,894,169

Why It Wasn’t Terrible: Varsity Blues is a classic. Sure, it’s not the most critically acclaimed film out there, but it’s beloved by its fans and spawned a slew of inside jokes told by movie and sports lovers for years to come. Starring James Van Der Beek and the late Paul Walker, Varsity Blues takes audiences to Texas where high school football is king. When the star quarterback (Walker) injures himself, the hard-ass coach is forced to promote a benchwarmer (Van Der Beek). It’s a position that will not only determine a division title, but it also holds the entire town’s hopes. Thankfully, there’s Ali Larter to provide some stress relief in that famous scene of her with the whipped cream. Chris Evans spoofed it in Not Another Teen Movie, only he added in a banana for fun. The film transcended its sports movie genre, connecting audiences more to the threads that binds a small community together and the pressures of growing up.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Box Office: $25,836,616

Why It Wasn’t Terrible: What’s better than a tatted-up George Clooney battling vampires alongside Quentin Tarantino? From Dusk Till Dawn is one of Roberto Rodriguez’s most famous films, and it’s also one of the best titles in the vampire horror genre. This is back when cinematic bloodsuckers used to transform into Buffy the Vampire Slayer-looking monstrosities at the drop of a hat and exploded in a bool of guts when you staked them. Not so much the glittery-skinned, heartthrobs of the night in Twilight and True Blood. This is also the movie in which Salma Hayek performed her famous "Dance of the Seven Wonders" (at least that’s how I’m referring to it) in the vampiric strip club. The film has become a horror classic, and, much like with all classics, a remake was likely down the road. Thankfully, Rodriguez was behind the TV series that spawned from this property.

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

Box Office: $54,234,062

Why It Wasn’t Terrible: Raise your hand if you remember baby Henry Cavill in The Count of Monte Cristo? He sure was a lot scrawnier than his Man of Steel-worthy build, though he wasn't the primary focus. Jim Caviezel of Person of Interest starred in this film, which was an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ novel. When a handsome, young sailor is falsely but deliberately framed by his best friend in order to steal his lover away, he exacts a revenge scheme. This particular January had more than one good title hitting theaters, such as Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down and Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind, the latter of which expanded after its limited release in the previous December. But The Count still managed to emerge from the pack as one of the great films of all time.

City of God (2002)

Box Office: $7,564,459

Why It Wasn’t Terrible: City of God was a surprise hit. This story of two young men chooses opposing paths in Rio de Janeiro was a limited release, but critics discovered and fell in love with it. Many praised the film as one of the year’s best. The fact that January 2003 was a particularly dreary month in terms of movie releases could’ve also helped matters. City of God was nominated for four Oscars — Best Director for Fernando Meirelles, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. It was also nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes, though it unfortunately didn’t take home any statuettes in either ceremony. Peter Jackson beat our Meirelles for the director’s win, but it's still an all-around impressive piece of cinema.

Nine minutes from now, do you think you’ll be happy with yourself for watching this preview featuring the first nine minutes of Syfy’s 12 Monkeys, or do you think you’ll want to go back in time and stop yourself from clicking? There’s only one way to find out…

Well, that was something. While this nine-minute promo didn’t exactly halt all of my wariness about this project’s existence, it did a few things effectively, and yes, the use of "These Arms of Mine" counts. For one, it streamlined a large chunk of Terry Gilliam’s film into a single intro, giving us the first meeting between Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull) and the aggro-time traveler Cole (Aaron Stanford). There’s a nice sci-fi moment involving her watch, though I’m not sure that making changes in the past should involve all that shaking and glinting light. It should be more of an instantaneous thing, right?

The intro also clues viewers into another part of this rebooted universe: time travel is still a new technology where not all of the bugs have been worked out yet. (You’d think of all the things anyone would want to make sure were fully functional before use, a time machine would be at the top of the list.) Cole is asking Railly about Leland Frost, the mysterious villain played by Zeljko Ivanek, but she doesn’t know anything about him. It’s a good thing he was already about to get sent back to the present – 2043, for those paying attention – because he was just a little too early on this trip. Now I’m intrigued to see what Railly thinks of things when she meets Cole for the second time.

The series, unlike the film, will actually put the Army of the Twelve Monkeys front and center as antagonists, led by Tom Noonan’s Slender Man. (At least that’s what he’s been referred to as.) The troubles are in both the past, where a plague has wiped out most of humanity, and the future, where there are several factions who want to take advantage of the newly developed time travel. We can also look forward to seeing a mental female named Goines (Emily Hampshire), a spin on Brad Pitt’s character in the film.

For anyone with a Philips TV with its Hue lighting set up, Syfy has partnered up with the manufacturer for a 12 Monkeys-themed custom light show that will be powered by audio cues through the Syfy Sync app on smartphones and tablets. All 13 episodes will feature colorful effects that give viewers an added bit of immersion to make the whole experience that much more enjoyable.

12 Monkeys is set to premiere on Friday, January 16.

TV remakes of interesting movies have been all the rage this season, but Syfy has beat a lot of the other channels to the punchline with its 12 Monkeys series, based on Terry Gillam’s 1996 film of the same name. The cable network picked up the drama more than a year ago, and has taken its time getting the show together. Now, we’ve been given an extended trailer for 12 Monkeys. Check it out, below.

As the trailer shows, 12 Monkeys will follow a worldwide pandemic that wipes out most of humanity. But this isn’t your average post-apocalyptic pandemic type of show. In Syfy’s drama, years after the plague strikes, a prisoner is tasked with time traveling back to the past in order to potentially change the outcome of the future for mankind. His name is James Cole, and in the trailer he meets up with Dr. Cassandra Railly, who may just be able to help him change the world. The trailer is full of quick cut-to shots, during which we meet Cole, Railly and Leland Frost, who is reportedly responsible for causing the pandemic. There are also pictures of burning bodies, hopeless humans, the time travel machine, and billboards covered in pandemic notes. Oh yeah, and some passionate lovemaking. Because sex will be what everyone has on the brain when the world is ending.

Honestly, Syfy really seems to be stepping up its game with 12 Monkeys. The trailer looks dramatic in a compelling way, and the cast is stellar. Amanda Schull’s been one of my favorite things about Suits for the past several seasons, and she’s wildly underused in that drama, so kudos to Syfy for nabbing her. And Zeljko Ivanek was creepy as hell as JJ on Big Love back in the day. This trailer gives me zero reason to believe his character will be any different this time around.

I can’t wait to see what both actors do with their larger roles in 12 Monkeys. The show also feels different enough from its movie counterpart that audiences should hopefully be able to find reasons to like both.

We won’t have too much longer to wait. While 12 Monkeys feels like it has been in development forever, Syfy has finally set a premiere date for 12 Monkeys this January. You can catch the first episode when it hits the schedule on Friday, January 16 at 9 p.m. ET.

We all know that the distant future is going to get rough for this planet. The thing in question here is whether or not Syfy’s small screen take on 12 Monkeys is going to make the future better or worse. Syfy has announced a finalized start date for the science-fiction mystery, which will debut on Friday, January 16, at 9 p.m. ET. Is this how you guys want your weekends to begin?

Syfy also released a promo image to go with the press release, which you can see below. I wouldn’t mind having a prop bulletin board in my house with a sole purpose of having someone spray-paint an Army of the Twelve Monkeys symbol on it.

The series stars Aaron Stanford as James Cole, a prisoner in 2043 who is used as a guinea pig for an untested form of time travel. He must go back to the past (or the present, to us normal folk) to try and figure out the source of a deadly virus that wipes out most of the planet’s population. The fate of the world rests on this one guy’s shoulders, and he soon meets up with Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull), who eventually buys into Cole's crazy stories and helps him on his quest. Tom Noonan plays a villain, but his misdeeds may not be the ones that started all this. Emily Hampshire will star as Jennifer Goines, the batshit loony mental patient based on Brad Pitt’s role in the original film. As you can imagine, this version is sticking to the film's plot but also keeping things open-ended enough to justify itself.

Those heading to New York Comic Con this weekend will have a chance to hear more about 12 Monkeys, as Syfy and Universal Cable Productions will be hosting a panel for the series on Saturday, October 11. Producers Natalie Chaidez, Tarry Matalas and Travis Fickett will be there, along with Hampshire, who will discuss her role, and how she will or won’t play into the Twelve Monkeys conspiracy.

This is one of my favorite movies, so its existence as a TV show is still disconcerting. But the trailer below, while it doesn’t compare in the least to Terry Gilliam’s, is still interesting enough in its own right.

Even if you don't have any time machines at your disposal, you can still find 12 Monkeys when it debuts on Syfy on Friday, January 16.

Hearing about Syfy’s upcoming 12 Monkeys series makes me wonder what Brad Pitt’s paranoiac character would think about the world today, with instant communication and government awareness of it all. There’s a decent chance my pondering may get addressed on the series, as Rookie Blue actress Emily Hampshire has signed on to the show as a female Jeffrey Goines. She’s joined in new casting by Hell on Wheels star Tom Noonan, who is being introduced in an entirely new role. Expect to find a few new names added to this cast soon, as the series will officially begin production in Toronto on August 6.

In this version of 12 Monkeys, Cole (Aaron Stanford) comes back to our present time from the year 2043 in order to find the source of a deadly plague that completely destroys the world’s population. And once he finds that source, he’s meant to take it out. Of course, this isn’t a form of time travel that has been perfected or anything, considering it was developed underground.

Somewhere along the way, presumably in a mental hospital, Cole will run into Hampshire’s Jennifer Goines, a mental patient whose unpredictability makes her extremely dangerous, but also a good asset when need be. She may very well have the key – “Mon…Key! Mon…Key!” – to the entire mystery. Or maybe she’ll just be a redheaded herring. Hampshire, who starred in 2012’s Cosmopolis and last year’s The Returned, is also set to star opposite a stellar cast in the Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek, so here’s hoping she can turn on some of that comedic side when yelling at people to get out of her chair.

Noonan, whose Tooth Fairy killer in Manhunter is one of cinema’s more unsettling villains, plays a mysterious antagonist who serves as the public face of the Army of the 12 Monkeys. “Imposing and intelligent,” the press release says, “Noonan’s character will be at the center of the conspiracy.” So I guess by telling us this, they’ve completely removed all of the mysteries surrounding Terry Gilliam’s film. Sure, they’ll fill the plot with new mysteries, so I guess it’s okay, but it’s just another reminder that this should have been its own time-travel series instead of an adaptation. In any case, Noonan is a right proper choice for a genre baddie.

Check out the full trailer for the series pilot below, where you’ll also see Amanda Schull as Cassandra Railly and Kirk Acevedo as Ramse.

Syfy will debut 12 Monkeys to audiences in January 2015. And if it doesn’t do well, someone from 2043 (at SiiFii Network) will send someone back in time to make sure the show is good. Either way, it’s logically impossible for it to suck, right?

It’s a hard-knock life for Syfy’s upcoming thriller series 12 Monkeys. Movie-to-TV remakes are almost always initially perceived with disgust, especially when the movie in question is as excellently bizarre as Terry Gilliam’s 1996 feature. We’ve been biting our tongues about it, but now the first full-length 12 Monkeys trailer is here so that we may judge this series accordingly. First impressions? This doesn’t look much different from any other dark drama out there right now, and it’s in dire need of Brad Pitt talking about plagues of madness. But it could be a lot worse.

In Syfy’s version, adapted by Terra Nova and Nikita writer/producers Travis Fickett and Terry Matalas, we have Aaron Stanford as James Cole, a survivor of a worldwide pandemic that destroyed most of the population. As in the film, he’s sent back in time to try and figure out where the virus came from and how to stop it from spreading. To that end, he’s assisted by Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull), an initially reluctant doctor who slowly comes to believe that Cole is an actual non-insane time traveler. Kirk Acevedo (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) is also working with Cole in some capacity. And then there’s Zeljko Ivanek, who plays Leland; it isn’t quite clear if he’s some big bad antagonist or not, but he certainly looks the part.

At the Television Critics Association press event this week, the creators and executive producer Richard Suckle (who also produced Gilliam’s film) point out that this isn’t so much a remake as a top-to-bottom re-imagining, saying they adore the movie and saw no point in rehashing the exact same story. So why do it at all, especially this many years later? According to Deadline, plans to bring 12 Monkeys to TV were begun almost as soon as the film hit theaters, but it’s taken a long time to get all the pieces together. Lucky us of the future.

The trailer does a few different things from the movie while still remaining comparable. I don’t quite buy into Cole and Cassandra’s troubled relationship just yet, and I have no idea where the threat will come from this go-around, but this trailer doesn't advertise the pile of monkey shit I once expected this project to be. I hope the scenes between Cole and his future advisors are as off-kilter as they were in the movie. Also, I’m highly curious to find out how they’re going to introduce the Order of the 12 Monkeys if things are so completely different.

Don’t expect to find this show at Comic-Con this year, as production for the series is beginning soon, and Syfy thought it best to get the product made rather than promote it in San Diego. 12 Monkeys is set to begin airing on Syfy in January 2015.

While Syfy can’t be completely forgiven for diving into a black hole of B-movie creature features, the network is thankfully reverting back to the genre that spawned its original name. They're headed into the future (and also the past, and possibly the present) for their latest and most baffling slice of genre fiction, as they have granted their 12 Monkeys remake a full season order, with a tentative premiere date set for January 2015. And how many episodes will there be? 13, which doesn’t tie into the title in a fun way at all.

This iteration of 12 Monkeys has come together surprisingly quickly for such a questionable project. Universal Cable Productions and Atlas Entertainment (who produced Terry Gilliam’s 1995 film) were given a pilot order back in August, and the episode has apparently pleased enough Syfy execs that they figured another twelve episodes would really infect the world.

All parties involved are still keeping quiet about the specifics of how the series will stretch out the events in the film, but we do know that Aaron Stanford (Nikita<) will be taking on the Bruce Willis role of a prisoner in the future who enters into a government-sponsored time travel program to try and find the source of a deadly virus that wipes out most of the planet’s population. Amanda Schull (Suits) is presumably playing the Madeline Stowe character, who becomes something of a partner and strangely romantic foil for the lead. The series also stars Noah Bean (Nikita) and Kirk Acevedo (Fringe) in unknown roles.

Below is the first look at Stanford’s character, via THR, though I’m not quite sure how recent it is. Maybe someone took it a couple of months from now and sent it back to show us what it will look like. Or maybe Syfy released it when the pilot was completed.

Natalie Chaidez (In Plain Sight) will serve as the showrunner and executive producer. The pilot was directed by Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights) and written by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett (Nikita, but no other directors or writers have been given a call just yet. We’re pretty sure Gilliam wants nothing to do with this.

Part of my confidence in 12 Monkeys is inspired by new network president Dave Howe, the man responsible for bringing the sci-fi back. He recently renewed Helix for a second season and is developing Wil Wheaton’s genre news show, the space opera miniseries Ascension and the not-past-the-pilot-stage space drama High Moon from Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller.

Will 12 Monkeys live up to the film’s reputation? As a diehard fan, I’d have to think not, but it isn’t crazy to think that it may stand alone as solid genre TV. Semmelweis, now there’s a guy who’s crazy. Relive the plague of madness with the trailer below.

Post-apocalyptic dramas are fairly trendy on the big and small screen right now. It’s no surprise that a network like Syfy would like to get into the post-apocalyptic game. Now, the network is hoping to do so by adapting 12 Monkeys to the small screen. Talks have been in the works for a little while and on Tuesday it was reported that Syfy is close to a series order for 12 Monkeys.

The premise has been expanded upon several times. In 1962, Chris Marker created La Jetée, a short film that would later be expanded into the 12 Monkeys movie fans have come to know and love. The premise of the movie follows a future in which humanity is forced to live underground after a deadly virus wreaks havoc on the surface of the Earth. In the future, scientists begin to use an unreliable new time travel technology in order to try and keep the deadly virus from taking hold in the past. The 1995 film starred Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, and Madeleine Stowe.

Syfy president of original programming Mark Stern told THR recently that the network already has a full pilot put together for the series and, hopefully, we will learn whether or not the network will move forward with a series based on the film soon.

If the project moves forward, Syfy is considering a 90-minute backdoor pilot that would then lead into a full episode order for the series. Syfy has done this oftentimes in the past, with the TV movie for Battlestar Galactica being the most prominent recent example I can think of. Nikita and Terra Nova writers Terry Matalas and Travis Fick are signed on to pen the pilot. 24’s Jon Cassar is directing and Atlas Entertainment, a company involved with the 1995 film, initially pitched the show to the network.

With programs like Alphas ending and shows like Warehouse 13 hitting the tail end of its run, Syfy is looking to produce new programming that will hopefully resonate with fans of the network. At the forefront of this programming initiative is Ron Moore’s Helix, which has been teased heavily over the past several months and even made an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con. In order to accommodate plenty of new programming, Stern says Syfy hopes to pull together 8-10 episode orders rather than the regular 13 the network normally signs on for.

Along with 12 Monkeys, Syfy has a few other pilots in the works, including High Moon from Bryan Fuller and M. Night Shyamalan’s Proof. We’ll let you know if 12 Monkeys moves forward in the coming months.

I won't pretend to be excited that The Faculty has become available on Netflix Watch Instantly, but only because doing so might imply that I didn't already own the 1998 alien-invasion film on DVD, which might not be entirely true. ("Crash and burn, Casey.") The Elijah Wood starring body snatchers teen sci-fi-horror is just one of a few movies that's been added to Netflix's Watch Instantly. Check out the list ahead to see what's newly available or coming soon to the subscription-based streaming video service.

Those looking to take a break from using their Netflix subscription to marathon through a TV series might want to keep an eye out for what's arrived and what's coming among the movie selection at Netflix Streaming. Apocalypse Now Redux, Look Who's Talking Too, The Cable Guy, The Cider House Rules and Life is Beautiful are all available as of today. Meanwhile, Immortals, 12 Monkeys and Donnie Brasco are among the movies set to become available this July. As is A League of Their Own ("There's no crying in baseball!") And there's more…

These aren't the only films set to make their way onto Netflix Watch Instantly in the coming weeks. The list we posted last month, contains other movies arriving on Netflix next month, and some of the upcoming titles that will be available later this month, including Goon which will be available June 28, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (arriving June 30).

Update: The July 1 date mentioned for Memento and Chasing Amy in the above list appears to be an error. At present, it looks like those are currently available.