25 underrated science fiction movies

Wes Anderson's latest is not projected to make much money at the box office, but those who see it will be over the moon with wonder. When a group of scientists gathers for a Junior Stargazer convention, the director's quirks take center stage in what can only be described as a Space Western. It's not one of his best, but it's one of his most ambitious. 

All the President's Nerds! The only mix between science-fiction and conspiracy thriller we can think of, Michael Crighton's screenplay makes for a strain of movie we've never seen before. It's got the intrigue of a conspiracy, the horror of a science-fiction and the comedy of a science professor. When an alien virus comes to Earth, it's up to the nerds to stop it. 

Two magicians compete to see who is best. It really is magic! Leave it to Christopher Nolan to pull a rabbit out of a hat in this heady mix of science-fiction and illusion, in which he makes you think one thing before revealing another. 

If you ever wondered where the "dream within a dream" concept came from, you clearly haven't seen Paprika. The inspiration for Christopher Nolan's Inception, this story of a stolen device is like having a dream on acid--you don't know where you are or whose body you're in, but those parade of colors sure are something. 

It's a genius piece of casting: who wouldn't get into a car with Scarlett Johansson if she asked them to? I certainly would. Her character lures men into cars and then takes them to her lair, where she eats them alive. It's an alien movie unlike any other, with a career-best performance from Johansson at the center. 

There are science-fiction movies and then there's Stalker, which exists in a whole 'nother realm from anything else. Any comparisons are futile--like comparing a child's scribbles to the Sistine Chapel. Andrei Tarkovsky's movie about a magical zone is more surreal, profound and mystical than anything on our list. 

No, not the show. The movie that started the concept of amusement parks coming to life. Written and directed by Michael Crighton, this story of an amusement park whose robots come to life is like Night of the Museum... but good. 

Science fiction asks questions that no other genre asks. Are we alone? Is this reality? Did I kill that guy or was that just a dream? You know, the normal stuff. Dark City asks all those questions when Rufus Sewell's character is suspected of a murder he isn't sure he committed. 

In space, no one can hear you snore. That was the joke behind James Gray's space adventure, which unfolded at the pace of a tear rolling down your cheek. It can be lethargic to watch Brad Pitt saunter through space, but there are also some deep questions and incredible visuals along the way. 

When a meteor lands on Earth, a shimmering haze expands from the site. The inside is full of mutated creatures, flowers and colors, which means anyone who enters is unlikely to come out. It's like the Zone in Stalker meets the time travel in 2001: A Space Odyssey,a combo that will have your head spinning for two hours straight.  

These aliens picked the wrong place to land. Anyone who has partied in London knows to take precautions--there are many people with knives out there--and the aliens crash land in a particularly unsafe part of town. What follows is a sharp, pointed and hilarious debut from director Joe Cornish. 

More Tarkovsky! This time we're headed to the outer depths of space and the inner depths of a person's mind. Leave it to Tarkovsky to make a science-fiction movie with more emotion than technology, more tears than action. When a group of astronauts starts to question the meaning of life, they get lost in a galaxy of thoughts. 

This movie follows a bunch of astronauts who search for life but are greeted by death instead. It's a shame more people didn't like this one--there are some really good scares along the way. 

If you ever wondered what science-fiction would look like with hippies, Silent Running is your answer. The movie sees a space station with gardens inside, that way we still have a chance if plants die on Earth. It's a nice concept, one that lets the hippies do their thing. 

There's a new food sweeping the nation. And no, it's not the Filet-O-Fish at McDonalds. It's the substance called Soylent Green, which is a food that keeps our future world alive. We won't tell you the ingredients of the story, but just know that you're in for a whopper of an ending. 

Teenagers can feel like aliens in their own families, especially when their parents don't understand their passions. It's the driving force behind this animated comedy, which sees a family take a road trip when the world is taken over by iPhones. Hey, Siri: how come more people haven't seen this movie? It's fantastic! 

This movie was turned to scrap metal at the box office, but the film is now a cult classic. The story of a robot who crash lands on Earth is just too cute to ignore. 

Speaking of cult classics, this movie is unlike anything else out there. The story of carjackers who stumble upon an alien conspiracy is just plain different. 

The greatest short film ever made. Chris Marker's film is made almost entirely of black-and-white stills, and the result is something that almost seems suspended in time. In a world where radiation sends everyone underground, scientists try to send a man back in time to save the world. Too bad he meets a woman. The rest, as they say, is history. 

What would you do if the world was overrun by aliens and you had the only glasses to see them? That's the concept that makes John Carpenter's movie so interesting, along with several really cool action sequences. This may not be the director's most famous work, but it has some of its best moments. 

Of all the paranoia movies of the 50s, only one can claim to have giant ants. The concept is the same as other Cold War-era flics--radiation is in the air, misinformation is in the water--but this one turns the "others" into ants. 

Everyone talks about John Carpenter's remake, but the original has some great moments too. The story of aliens taking over human bodies is the perfect Cold War metaphor, one that would later be enhanced in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

It's the future, and humanity lives in a digital world where most humans have robotic limbs. Sound familiar? It's the inspiration for The Matrix, another movie about the way technology can suck the life out of humanity. 

Honestly, we still haven't been able to figure this one out. A horror movie without scares, a mystery without answers and a science-fiction without science. Donnie Darko is the story of a boy haunted by a stuffed animal, which can be a metaphor for any number of things. 

One of the best things about science fiction is the atmosphere. Along with the stories, there is something wonderful about diving into a landscape like this one, in which giant insects crawl through the desert, lush valleys sway with the wind a princess named Nausicaa tries to save the world from extinction. It's another masterpiece from Hayao Miyazaki.