Heliosphere!

Sleep Dealer

First of all, although you have never heard of it, this is one of my favorite sci-fi stories that I have ever seen. It came out recently, so see if you can find it in theaters! Please note: if you liked Transformers 2, this movie is not for you, it is about you.

I had no idea what to expect when going to see this movie. It was a Mexican sci-fi, so I was kind of curious what the budget would be like. The special effects are pretty consistently average, but some of the major plot points seem to drop the ball on the special effects. This doesn't stop it from being an amazing sci-fi though because the script combines brilliant social commentary and an interesting personal story with some really relevant concepts of future technology. The movie also obviously prioritizes production value, so despite some inconsistencies, it never feels too cheezy.

The story follows a young man growing up in Mexico in the near future. The movie is as much about the future of America as it is the future of Mexico because of our close relationship as neighbors. It is also, like all good sci fi, a very revealing look at the present. I think that the scariest thing about this movie is how close to the mark it hits. I have never seen such a stunning in-depth 3rd person perspective of America as this movie offers. This movie shows a dark underbelly that could easily be a parallel future to any sci-fi epic we've ever seen as told by the country that knows us best. It also reveals that the future might not be nearly as glamorous as we imagine it to be, especially for those who are not privileged enough to live in a country with international leverage.

This movie really gives a voice to the millions of people who don't have movies or Internet to broadcast their struggles in the quickly globalizing economy. By the end of the movie, I was pretty convinced, and I think if you watch it you may be a little more skeptical of the future too.

R-Type Final (PS2)

Few shooters have as great of a mechanic as R-type despite its age. Not only did R-type Final stand out as an awesome, well designed game, it had almost infinite replay value (even if you aren't the type of person that goes for high scores)

Some shooters have as many as 6 different ships to choose from, so how many did R-type Final have? One hundred and one... unlockable through playing the game a ton. Add to that 83 different charge shots and 53 force pods total. That amount of interchangability makes an incredibly varied game, but there is a lot of creativity involved in the varied options as well. One force pod is a "camera" force which is weak in combat, but if you destroy an enemy with it, it adds it to your research index and you can read about it later.

There are also a ton of variations and alternate routes in the levels. One awesome example is a level that is half filled with water and when you beat the boss, a red(hot) and blue(cold) button show up. When you play through the next time, the water will either fill the level or be very low depending on which one you hit BUT if you hit the same color again, it will be even further modified on the next playthrough.

Overall this game is an incredible R-type game sporting amazing re-designed graphics and an attention to detail that is rarely seen. Some people have been complaining about the price of R-type Dimensions on XBLA, those people should consider picking this game up for the same price on Ebay if they have a PS2/3

Moon

(I saw this movie at Sundance film festival at a preview screening)  First of all, if you like good sci-fi movies, go see this movie.  Second, if you don't like good sci fi movies, what are you doing on the Internet? Turn off your electricity and stop polluting the future.  

This movie was really outstanding in its ability to convey a sense of environment.  The main character is a miner stuck on a 3 year term of service alone on the moon.  I really feel that the set, the story and the character are all very convincing.  I generally don't like when sci-fi movies imply that somehow the future is never dirty.  This movie, however, is aided by one of the set designers for the movie Alien and is inspired by a lot of other great sci-fi movies as well.  

Despite writing about the atmosphere of this movie, the plot is also outstanding.  I could also really imagine the exact scenario played out by the movie occurring in reality as soon as the technology became available.  For this reason I strongly recommend avoiding the previews for it. 

I know this movie isn't out yet, so there's no real way to know if it will be a neglected gem or not.  I mentioned it anyways because it is an incredible sci-fi movie made on a really tight budget an it has a lot of potential to be neglected because it is not accompanied by a giant marketing campaign.   Moon comes out June 12th, 2009