Science Fiction

Perception: Our day-in, day-out world is real. Reality: That world is a hoax, an elaborate deception spun by all-powerful machines of artificial intelligence that control us. Whoa. Mind-warp stunts. Techno-slammin' visuals. Mega-kick action. Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne lead the fight to free humankind in The Matrix, the see-and-see-again cyberthriller written and directed by the Wachowski brothers (Bound). The story sears, the special effects stake out new moviemaking territory - the movie flat-out rocks.

The year is 2058. With Earth's resources dwindling, human survival depends on the Robinson Family - launched into space to colonize "Alpha Prime," the only other inhabitable planet in the galaxy. But when a stowaway sabotages the mission, the Robinsons find themselves hurtling through uncharted space and non-stop adventure! Packed with more than 750 dazzling visual effects, this $70 million adventure does more than give the 1965-68 TV series a state-of-the-art face-lift.

The disaster that occurred at Jurassic Park is over. It's been four years since the genetically bred dinosaurs terrorized the scientists and visitors who had come to marvel at their existence. But Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) has just learned some very disturbing news: John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), the billionaire entrepreneur who funded the original Park, has been breeding more dinosaurs at a second, secret location. What's even more shocking to Dr.

Multimillionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) has a plan for a spectacular new theme park: a secluded island where visitors can observe actual dinosaurs. With the latest development in DNA technology, scientists can clone brachiosaurs, tricerotops, velociraptors and a Tyrannosaurus Rex, using the blood preserved in amber from insects that bit the dinosaurs long ago. Paleontologists Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are duly impressed with the living results during an advance visit.

Based on the Jules Verne novel, a scientist leads his exploration party on a dangerous journey in an attempt to reach the center of the earth. With him, among others, are his Icelandic guide, one of his students, and the widow of a geologist, a former colleague and competitor, who steals his information in an attempt to beat him to the earth's core. Along the way the group are confronted by any number of obstacles and perils: extreme heat and cold, gale force winds, and tremendous floods, as well as experiencing the awesome and sublime beauty of hidden realms never before seen by man.

As paranoid cop Del Spooner, Will Smith (Independence Day, Men in Black) displays both his trademark quips and some impressive pectoral muscles in I, Robot. Only Spooner suspects that the robots that provide the near future with menial labor are going to turn on mankind--he's just not sure how. When a leading roboticist dies suspiciously, Spooner pursues a trail that may prove his suspicions. Don't expect much of a connection to Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction stories; I, Robot, the action movie, isn't prepared for any ruminations on the significance of artificial intelligence.

The time is now. The place is aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz, America's mightiest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier on maneuvers in theiPacific Ocean. Suddenly, a freak electrical storm engulfs theiship and triggers the impossible: The Nimitz is hurtled back in time to December 6, 1941, mere hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Following the events in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", Cornelius and Zira flee back through time to 20th Century Los Angeles, where they face persecution similar to what Taylor suffered in the future, and discover the origins of the stream of events that will shape their world. The importance of this movie is clear at the end, as we realize how the Planet of the Apes began.

Winner of four Academy Awards®, including Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Effects, Best Music, and Best Sound, E.T. The Extra Terrestial is the heart-warming family classic from director Steven Spielberg. When an alien (E.T.) is inadvertently left behind on Earth, he finds refuge with youngster Elliot (Henry Thomas). As Elliot and E.T. bond as friends, it soon becomes clear that E.T. must find his way home before government officials capture him for study. Together, E.T., Elliot, and Elliot's family and friends help unite E.T. with his spaceship.

An offbeat and charming comedy with elements of science fiction thrown in, director Ron Howard's (Ransom, Apollo 13) unlikely fantasy ponders the price of immortality and the power of everlasting love. A group of aliens travel to a Florida retirement community to rescue some long-stranded colleagues cocooned and buried beneath the sea. But as the aliens take on human form and stash their counterparts in a swimming pool, a group of elderly retirees discover the pool and after swimming in the water find themselves rejuvenated, with boundless energy and insatiable appetites.