George Lucas adapted this, his first film, from a short he made at University. THX 1138, LUH 3417, and SEN 5241 attempt to escape from a futuristic society located beneath the surface of the Earth. The society has outlawed sex, with drugs used to control the people. THX 1138 stops taking the drugs, and gets LUH 3417 pregnant. They are both thrown in jail where they meet SEN 5241 and start to plan their escape. Written by Colin Tinto {cst@imdb.com}

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Sam Lowry is a harried technocrat in a futuristic society that is needlessly convoluted and inefficient. He dreams of a life where he can fly away from technology and overpowering bureaucracy, and spend eternity with the woman of his dreams. While trying to rectify the wrongful arrest of one Harry Buttle, Lowry meets the woman he is always chasing in his dreams, Jill Layton. Meanwhile, the bureaucracy has fingered him responsible for a rash of terrorist bombings, and both Sam and Jill’s lives are put in danger. Written by Philip Brubaker {coda@nando.net}

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Alex and his three droogs, live in a futuristic Britain void of proper law and civil protection. They do drugs, drink, skip school, and wreak havoc during the night. They beat up an old drunkard, steal cars, rape helpless women, and start gang fights in the streets. Alex, being a rather arrogant leader, is rude and disrespectful towards his other droogs, and because of this they plot behind his back against him. In their plan to rob a woman on the outskirts of town, Alex enters the house alone to unlock the door for the other. When confronted by the owner of the house he strikes her in the head in attempt to knock her out. Meeting his droogs outside he is met with a bottle being smashed over his own head, stunning him long enough for the cops to finally arrive and arrest him. It turns out the woman he struck inevitably ended up dieing from the blow and Alex now finds himself with a 14 year prison sentence. In hopes of severely shortening his sentence, Alex signs up for a new breakthrough treatment that “cures” criminals of their want to do evil. The Ludovico treatment, as it is called, consist of Alex living a very high lifestyle while twice daily being subjected to gory and hateful films full of all that is considered wrong and evil. Part of Alex’s diet contains a special drug that causes him to slowly get sick as he is forced to watch these films. After a short period of time he is shown as being cured and when, in front of a small audience, he is subjected to another bullying man and a beautiful woman, he is unable to fight back or do what he would like to do, and instead is utterly paralyzed with sickness. The process stripped him not only of his evil, but more importantly and symbolically stripped him of his right to think and be free and live the life he wishes to. After being released from prison and kicked out of his home he is taken in by small group of people who want to get Alex’s pitiful story out to the public to attempt to harm the current regime in time for the next election. During this process, Alex attempts suicide and fails, but because of this the doctors of the original Ludovico treatment set out to cure him. Alex awakes from his coma cured of the sickness and is finally able to think and do what he wishes again. Written by Walker Parkhill

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Southland Tales is an ensemble piece set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles on July 4, 2008, as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Boxer Santaros is an action star who’s stricken with amnesia. His life intertwines with Krysta Now, an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and Ronald Taverner, a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy. Written by TheGuyInThePj’s

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Kaneda is a bike gang leader whose close friend Tetsuo gets involved in a government secret project known as Akira. On his way to save Tetsuo, Kaneda runs into a group of anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader. The confrontation sparks off Tetsuo’s supernatural power leading to bloody death, a coup attempt and the final battle in Tokyo Olympiad where Akira’s secrets were buried 30 years ago. Written by Tzung-I Lin {tzung@hugo.att.com}

In a cyberpunk vision of the future, man has developed the technology to create replicants, human clones used to serve in the colonies outside Earth but with fixed lifespans. In Los Angeles, 2019, Deckard is a Blade Runner, a cop who specialises in terminating replicants. Originally in retirement, he is forced to re-enter the force when six replicants escape from an offworld colony to Earth. Written by Graeme Roy {gsr@cbmamiga.demon.co.uk}

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Nearly 10 years have passed since Sarah Connor was targeted for termination by a cyborg from the future. Now her son, John, the future leader of the resistance, is the target for a newer, more deadly terminator. Once again, the resistance has managed to send a protector back to attempt to save John and his mother Sarah. Written by Colin Tinto {cst@imdb.com}

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The purpose of the program set up by the Pentagon, called the “Human Hibernation Project,” is designed so that the military can save their best men for when they’re needed most. According to the officers heading the project, too many times the talents and expensive training of the best pilots and soldiers go to waste during times of peace. So they enlist Bauers (Wilson), the most under-achieving average guy they’ve got, to be the test subject for the initial hibernation experiment. Also participating in the top-secret program is Rita (Rudolph), a prostitute who agreed to take part in exchange for dropping some criminal charges against her, among other things. Of course, the experiment, which was to last only a year, goes under due to the arrest of Officer Collins, who is busted for heading a prostitution ring. Seeing as though he was in charge of the experiment, one of the only ones who knew of its existence, and “due to a lot of top-secret red tape… and the massive scandals and base closure that followed, Joe and Rita were forgotten about. Written by Slider

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P.D. James’ novel Children of Men comes alive onscreen (albeit with a couple of major plot changes) via the masterful filmmaking of Alfonso Cuaron (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y Tu Mama Tambien). Cuaron skillfully weaves a fascinating story of nightmarish proportions by smoothly mixing high drama, dark humor, and one of the most riveting action sequences in recent history, into the tale of a dystopic society we can only hope is in no way prophetic.

Children of Men envisions a world in which women can no longer give birth. The youngest person on Earth has just died at the age of 18 and the fact that man will soon be extinct is a foregone conclusion. The world is one big war zone and no one feels safe or secure. A totalitarian government is in place in London and people who try to enter the country who aren’t residents are placed in holding pens and treated like cows.Theo (Clive Owen) exists in this world as an ex-activist-turned-bureaucrat. He begins most days by stopping in at a café to pick up his morning cup of coffee. But one particular day is unlike any others. Upon exiting the shop, a bomb goes off. Shortly thereafter, he’s kidnapped and reunited with his ex-lover, Julian (Julianne Moore in a restrained performance), a fearless, furious freedom fighter who needs help only Theo can provide.

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I’ve already established in previous reviews I’m not a comic book person (see “The Hulk,” “Spider-Man,” “Hellboy,” etc.). The same lack of knowledge of the source material extends to sci-fi films. I think I read Isaac Asimov years ago, but it didn’t stick with me. I didn’t know there were three laws robots must obey, and the title “I, Robot” reminded me more of a “Me, Tarzan, You, Jane”-type of thing than anything else.

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