Summer: Time to look at new movies!

Well, summer is finally here and we can finally take a break and watch some of the many recent, highly anticipated science fiction movies that have come out. There have been some really nice additions recently that science fiction fans can all kick back and enjoy. Here are some highlights:

The most popular ones:

Star Trek: After quite some time, our old friends, the famous crew of the USS Enterprise are back! Yep, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, and especially Captain James T. Kirk are back in uniform, younger, and more spiced up. This is about the early days of Kirk's career, the building of the Enterprise, and the formation of the crew after leaving the Starfleet Academy. I'm sure hardcore fans will enjoy a comeback from their beloved franchise despite some incongruity with the original series, but this movie is intended to gain a bigger audience and welcome new fans of Star Trek. The original show is an old classic. "This is not your father's Star Trek,"a quote from the filmmakers really says something about this film. The makers of this film have highly modernized everything and have used more CGI than ever. The character are played by new, and younger actors, but some of the old ones will also show themselves somehow. All sci-fi fans should consider seeing this.


Terminator: Salvation: This is the fourth Terminator film. After all the talk of a future war between man and machine in the previous films with Arnold Schwarzenegger, it has finally come! Christian Bale from Batman will play as John Conner, leading humanity's struggle for survival against the machines. This apocalyptic war is filled with heavy usage of CGI, cool robots and lots of action. I have been told to try not to let my nostalgia of the wonderful Terminator 2 ruin my enjoyment of this film. See how you like it.

Other ones you should check out:

Monsters vs. Aliens: A lot of kids will probably enjoy this 3D computer animated movie. Earth is attacked by powerful aliens. Humanity cannot defend itself. The main character is a girl who gets hit by a meteorite and turns into a giant. She is taken to a secret government facility where she becomes part of a rag-tag team of monsters who will have to job of saving the Earth.

Battle for Terra (or just Terra): Another nice computer-animated movie. There is a beautiful planet called Terra inhabited by cute little aliens which faces destruction from colonization by the displaced remainder of the human race. This this the story of a Mala, a teenage Terrian and her struggle to save her planet and species. This film shows how precious and vital our natural resources are.

Land of the Lost: This is a nice adventure comedy about a scientist played by will Ferrell who gets sucked into a space-time vortex with some friends. They explore fantastic lands in this parallel universe of strange creatures, dinosaurs. You don't have to be a Sci-fi fan to enjoy this funny adventurous film.

Knowing: This story takes place in the present. A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: A remake of the classic 1951 film. When a sphere from outer space lands in the Central Park in Manhattan, a group of scientists are summoned by the American government under the call of the Secretary of Defense Regina Jackson. The reborn alien form Klaatu is brought to a military facility and Dr. Helen Benson decides to help him to escape and become the only chance to save the mankind from destruction.

Alien Trespass: If you enjoy those good ole B-movies of the past, you might want to watch this. After crash landing near a desert town, an alien enlists the help of a local waitress to re-capture a monster that escaped from the wreckage of his space ship.

Race to Witch Mountain: A production by Disney worth looking at. A Las Vegas cabbie enlists the help of a UFO expert to protect two siblings with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans.