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Part three of this five-part series. Numbers 30-21.

30. The War of the Worlds (1953)

Overlooked because it came out two years following the release of The Day the Earth Stood Still and three years preceding the release of both Forbidden Planet and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, this film adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic novella (which would be remade several times—three in 2005, including Spielberg’s version with Tom Cruise) is one of the better films to come out of the ’50s, specifically in the sci-fi genre. It won an Academy Award for its special effects achievements, which, despite looking dated and hokey now, were unprecedented in 1953, and was a cornerstone in igniting Hollywood’s spontaneous blast of enthusiasm for science-fiction pictures.

29. Sleeper (1973)

A sci-fi comedy that sports jokes as spot-on as any other film of director and star Woody Allen’s, Sleeper hits the right themes, as well, such as coercion in society by authoritative governments (similar to those depicted in V for Vendetta, #49) and the progressive control that modern technology has over civilians of past and present generations. After being treated for an ulcer, Miles Monroe (Allen) is accidentally cryogenically frozen by liquid nitrogen. When he awakes his slumber after 200 years, he is a lone man in a time under dictatorship rule, only finding a sense of belonging in the company of a woman named Luna (Diane Keaton), whom he later becomes part of a rebellion with.

28. THX 1138 (1971)

Foreseeing a future in which explicit media corrupts the minds of its indulgers with striking accuracy, George Lucas’ studio-film debut is a genius mixture of bare beauty and sound tinkering that exemplifies its strengths and blankets its flaws. Robert Duvall plays THX 1138, a factory employee drugged to an emotionless state, who, alongside his female roommate, ceases the consumption of his daily medication and regains his human desires for such things as love. (The 2002 sci-fi thriller Equilibrium followed this premise.) This film—an elongated version of Lucas’ ’67 student film submission—is one of the most influential of the genre and, aside from introducing George Lucas to Hollywood and America to George Lucas, featured an extortionate outlook that truthfully reflected the state of our nation in the early ’70s.

27. The Fly (1986)

As disgusting and terrifying as this remake—it’s a loose adaptation of the 1958 film of the same name—is, it’s equally heartbreaking and ends in great tragedy. Gore-master David Cronenberg directed and co-wrote the screenplay for this sci-fi horror, and instilled grievous discomfort within moviegoers unlike he ever had (and probably ever will again). Oddball scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) meets a journalist named Veronica (Geena Davis) at a business get-together and takes her back to his lab, where he’s perfected his newest invention: a pair of telepods that can teleport matter from one to the other. However, when Seth tries to teleport himself, he and Veronica are dealt gruesome and unforgiving results.

26. Jurassic Park (1993)

Another instant classic from Steven Spielberg, this spectacular translation of Michael Crichton’s famous novel entertains with constant, enduring bouts of excitement and a full plate of terrorizing sequences as memorable as they are awe-inspiring. A forewarning of the possible cataclysmic effects of meddling with biology and genetics, Jurassic Park exercises one of the most engaging, smartly-conceived plots in Hollywood history—simple, yet beyond the realm of most peoples’ imaginations. Spielberg’s use of special effects (in particular, animatronics) is absolutely perfect—the dinosaurs are more realistic than anything similar that anyone’s ever seen. This film’s cast is pleasant and applicable, and its sound effects rival its visuals, making it one of the most technically flawless films of all time.

25. Back to the Future (1985)

The on-screen duo of Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd embodies the off-screen brilliance of director Robert Zemeckis and producer Steven Spielberg in this cinematic treat, and is a prime example of two actors feeding off of each other’s draw and thrusting their film into a classic rank among others of its kind. Full of friendly, funny quotables—one of which Ronald Reagan used in his State of the Union Address—Back to the Future acquired a mass of followers, celebrities and civilians together, and spawned two sequels that closed out the trilogy’s better-than-modest success.

24. Donnie Darko (2001)

An astonishing achievement in independent cinema, young writer and director Richard Kelly’s sci-fi psycho-thriller is disturbing and audaciously original. Targeting American suburbia, Kelly’s film saturates audiences with its dark sense of humor and mind-blowing tale of time-travel and teenage behaviorism. Jake Gyllenhaal is given the title role, a trouble-minded high school student whose psychological state is being rattled by the commands of a destructive voice in his head—that of a 6-foot-tall prophesying rabbit named Frank, who alerts Donnie of the world’s end, which is to come in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. As perhaps Frank would’ve predicted, this treasure of cinema (which also stars Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Jena Malone, and Jake’s sister, Maggie) accumulated rave reception and a surprisingly massive cult following.

23. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

This abstract romantic-comedy by writer/director Michel Gondry is given the boundary-less treatment one would expect from a loopy sci-fi pic. Teaming with famed playwright Charlie Kaufman, Gondry delivers a genuine love story that links the emotionally distant Joel Barrish (Jim Carrey) with the effervescent, free-spirited Clementine (Kate Winslet). Unbeknownst to them, they just ended a relationship with each other. But, in their yearning to move on, they had their memories erased by a medical firm based in New York—well, Joel almost did…until he woke up during the procedure, turning his world into one of mental confusion and illogicality.

22. The Road Warrior (1981)

One of the few sequels in cinematic history to surpass its predecessor, George Miller’s masterpiece (the second installment in the Mad Max trilogy) asserted Mel Gibson as a force of a leading man after being introduced in the wretched ’77 pic Summer City and starring in the cult classic Mad Max (#36). Like the first film of the franchise, The Road Warrior was praised by audiences and critics alike, and was a huge box-office success. While bombarding viewers with hardy action, it also grazes topics such as emotional solidarity, women’s independence, and immigration and overpopulation, and consists of a Hollywood-famous car chase that belittled any chase anyone had ever seen (including that of Bullitt) prior to the recent releases of the Bourne flicks.

21. Children of Men (2006)

In director Alfonso Cuaron’s finest work to date, he attacks itchy subjects such as terrorism, overpopulation, pollution, and illegal immigration in a way that culminates in one of the very best cinematic examinations of the milliniem. Set in an irrevicable future in which women can no longer have children, Children of Men, adapted from P.D. James’ book, reminds us, with heightened intensity, where our problems in this day in age could put us twenty years down the road. Top-notch performances and a crisply cut script, delivered via the depressingly beautiful backdrop of a dying country, amount to a devastating experience, impacting anyone with a pulse and tapping into the great watchful minds of the industry’s scrutinizers with a powerful message: What’s to come of mankind in twenty, fifty or a hundred years? I haven’t the slightest clue. However, as long as we’re given tidy diversions such as this, I’ll be satisfied.

Check out rest of the count down.  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5