Avatar Tops List

Well, "Avatar" is now the highest-grossing film of all-time, earning more than $1.86 billion. Hopefully, this will spark renewed interested in science fiction literature. There are a few top-notch science fiction films over the past year that have not been huge box office draws but are not to be missed including "The Road," "Moon" and "District 9." They reaffirm that science fiction is alive and well.

The Long and Winding Road

The "Road" is a tender story of a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) trying to survive in a harsh, cold, bleak world. It is a post-apocalyptic world populated with cannibals, weary and desperate characters and perhaps "good guys" who inexplicably lack thumbs. Charlize Theron serves a small turn as the depressed wife who is sick of hanging on in a world gone mad.

We are never sure of what went wrong exactly, there is never a mention of the calamity that befell mankind but we can assume it had something to do with the disastrous effects of global warming and nuclear holocaust. There are no animals left living. The trees are blackened from fire and fall without warning. The only path for the boy and his father are to keep moving south to the coast and hope for a better, warmer tomorrow and all paths lead to "The Road."

An excellent film directed by John Hillcoat and based on the Pulitzer winning novel by Cormac McCarthy it was unfortunately snubbed by the Golden Globes. Hopefully it will fare better when the Oscar nominations come in. Make sure not to miss it.