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Staff Movie Picks

Explore a curated list of movies recommended by the staff at the SETI Institute—films that spark imagination, explore the cosmos, and reflect the wonder of science and the search for life beyond Earth.

10 Movies for Kids

Big Hero 6 (2014)
Rated: PG

High schooler Hiro and a giant inflatable healthcare robot (what we all need at the moment) team up with friends to become high tech crime fighters.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

The Last Starfighter (1984)
Rated: PG

Alex thought it was just a video game, but it was a recruitment tool for an endangered alien race looking for the best pilots in the galaxy.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

ET: The Extraterrestrial (1982)
Rated: PG

The classic tale of an alien left behind on planet Earth. Phone home? These days it would be “Zoom home.” And yes, we realize this violates the no blockbuster rule but we couldn’t leave it out!
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Men in Black (1997)
Rated: PG-13

True inside story of life at the SETI Institute.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Space Jam (1996)
Rated: PG

Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan team up to play for their freedom against an evil (or at least, not very nice) alien. All the Looney Tunes and NBA stars of the day make an appearance.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)
Rated: PG

Jumanji in space as two brothers and an astronaut are hurled through the galaxy by a magical board game.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

WALL• E (2008)
Rated: G

The exciting tale of a garbage robot in the distant future who sets out to save humanity. Not rubbish.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

The Iron Giant (1999)
Rated: PG

A boy befriends a giant alien robot in Cold War era Maine. How do you hide a 50ft metal man with the power to destroy, or save, humanity? Based on the classic tale by Ted Hughes.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Treasure Planet (2002)
Rated: PG

Pirates in outer space where the deck hands are robots and the doctor an astrophysicist with the best line in SF history: “Dang it, Jim. I'm an astronomer, not a doctor! I mean, I am a doctor, but I'm not that kind of doctor. I have a doctorate, it's not the same thing. You can't help people with a doctorate. You just sit there and you're useless!”
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Attack the Block (2011)
Rated R for creature violence, drug content, and strong language.

A street gang defend their community against an alien invasion (teen movie – some scary bits with bad language)
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

10 Movies for Adults

Annihilation (2018)
Rated: R

A biologist leads a team into a quarantined zone where the laws of nature have changed. A fascinating psychological study of facing a totally alien world with a couple of powerful female leads.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

The Dish (2000)
Rated: PG-13

The Parkes radio telescope in Australia (used for SETI searches and the discovery of fast radio bursts) plays a role in televising the Apollo 11 moon landing.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Sunshine (2007)
Rated: R

A mission to reignite the dying Sun and save all life on Earth. The first mission mysteriously disappeared, but aboard the second spacecraft the mood is optimistic. What could go wrong?
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

District 9 (2011)
Rated: R

In an alien refugee ghetto, a government agent gets caught in the middle of a human-alien conspiracy. An amazing statement on race, politics and humanity.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Ex Machina (2014)
Rated: R

A computer programmer is chosen to perform the Turing test on his boss’ android creation. Think you’re smarter than the machines? In this game of Turing tests, who is playing who?
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Monsters (2010)
Rated: R

After an alien invasion, a journalist is hired to escort an American tourist out of contaminated Mexico. The scary aliens are always just around the corner. Or are they? And who are the real monsters?
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Contact (1997)
Rated: PG

A technosignature contains the blueprints to build a mysterious machine. Carl Sagan’s story of first contact based (at least in the first half) on real places and people, including the SETI Institute’s own Jill Tarter.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Arrival (2016)
Rated: PG-13

When alien spacecraft descent to Earth, a linguist is chosen to lead an attempt at communication. Making contact is one thing; communicating with an alien civilization is another level altogether.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Solaris (2002)
Rated: PG-13

Psychologist Chris Kelvin is sent to a space station orbiting a sentient planet. Pushing the boundaries of what defines life and intelligence, it also gets to the very heart of human emotion.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Moon (2009)
Rated: R

An astronaut coming to the end of a lone three-year assignment on the Moon starts to realize things aren’t quite right, with the mission, or with himself. The ultimate self-isolation movie addresses the issues of existence and individual rights.
IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Seth's Picks

Let’s face it: Most science fiction films are heavy on the fiction and dopey on the science. But for me, that’s not the point: Sure, the writers have never enrolled in a physics course, but they can take you places you’ll never be able to go, whether that’s a hallucinogenic trip through a black hole, a hot ride through molten magma to the center of the Earth, or just a pleasant weekend on a jungled exoplanet.

You’re never going to travel more than a century into the future, but your multiplex or streaming service can take you much farther. What’s not to like?

Here are a few that stick in my mind like chewing gum.

War of the Worlds (1953)
Rated: G

This film comes in two varieties, the original (1953) and the Steven Spielberg (2005) remake. The latter is boring, but the former – which is careful not to give the Martians too much screen time – is deeply threatening. For Northern Californians, it’s satisfying to see that job number one for extraterrestrials is to destroy SoCal. But the real appeal is in the irony that the invading Martians are destroyed by Earth’s microbes when in reality, most astrobiologists figure that any real Martians are likely to be microbes themselves!

IMDb • Youtube Trailer

The Andromeda Strain (1971)
Rated: G

This adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel about a deadly pandemic from space has a disturbing resonance these days. But as a film, it’s nuttier than a boat-load of salted peanuts. The film follows formula, by spending most of its screen time with the drama of assembling a team of top scientists to battle a cruelly lethal outbreak, while simultaneously furnishing these academics with a government-financed dream laboratory deep underground. It’s science vs. the enemy. Sounds good, until every copy of the virus (!) opts to mutate to something as benign as pixie dust -- no fair changing the rules at the last minute.

IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Alien (1979)
Rated: R

The first of this successful franchise is basically a haunted house story. But the house is a spacecraft far, far away from any succor, and the ghost is an alien with multiple sets of cantilevered choppers. It’s mindless, it’s merciless, and it’s magnificently malevolent. Director Ridley Scott knows how to make you seriously afraid of being part of a future mining mission to the stars. The genius is that most people had never considered that as a career move in the first place.

IMDb • Youtube Trailer

The Mole People (1956)
Rated: Not Rated

Just one of an entire genre of B-films, cheaply shot on black-and-white film stock, which are now musty remnants of an extinct cinematic species. The mole people live underground in the grottos of a hollow Earth, an apparently happy existence. However, they occasionally need to grab a human or two to become slaves for their mushroom farms. Look, I like mushrooms well enough, but if that’s all I’m ever going to eat, I think I’d give up the cramped, troglodyte lifestyle. A truly underground film, and so bad you might even like it.

IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Pamela’s Picks

Arrival and Contact have made an appearance in Simon’s list, so I won’t repeat in my list, though both are in my Fav File. I bring you some great oldies.

Blade Runner (1982)
Rated: R

In the twenty-first century, a corporation develops androids to be used as slaves in colonies outside of the Earth, identified as "replicants". A former Police Officer is hired to hunt down a fugitive group of replicants living undercover in Los Angeles, California.

IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Spaceballs (1987)
Rated: PG

A hotshot pilot and his sidekick must come to the rescue of a Princess and save the galaxy (wink wink) from a ruthless race of beings known as Spaceballs. One of Mel Brooks’ funniest films with an illustrious cast. LOL!

IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Cocoon (1985)
Rated: PG-13

A group of elderly retirees discovers restorative powers of alien pods stored in a swimming pool. The aliens return to find the elderly in the way of their plan to retrieve the pods.

IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Rated: PG

Don’t miss French director François Truffaut, as one of the scientists looking for evidence of UFOs. Following some strange events, locals and scientists alike arrive at aß site in the dessert for the encounter with aliens.

IMDb • Youtube Trailer

Staff Reviews

Movies

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Apr 3, 2026
SETI Institute In the News: March Roundup 2026
In March 2026, SETI Institute researchers contributed to a wide range of conversations about our solar system and the search for life beyond Earth. From explaining unusual features on Mars and studying meteor airbursts in Earth’s atmosphere to advancing new ways of detecting technosignatures, this work reflects how scientists are continually refining our understanding of both nearby and distant worlds. #SETI Institute in the News #SETI Institute #Community #Mars #Pascal Lee #Peter Jenniskens #Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids #Astronomy #Vishal Gajjar #SETI #AI and Machine Learning #Astrobiology #Nathalie Cabrol #Carl Sagan Center #Seth Shostak #Movie Reviews #Bill Diamond
Featured Image
Mar 26, 2026
Where Fiction Meets Physics: Inside the SETI Institute’s Project Hail Mary Screening Event
#Movie Reviews #Rebecca Robinson #Heliophysics #Community #SETI Institute #Public Events
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Jul 9, 2025
Aliens, Friendship, and the Drake Equation: How Elio Brings SETI Science to the Big Screen
#SETI Institute #Movie Reviews #SETI #Life at the SETI Institute #Drake Equation
Featured Image
Jan 27, 2022
Movie Review: Don't Look Up
#Movie Reviews
Featured Image
May 23, 2017
Alien: Covenant Offers Ghoulish Fun But ‘Tinsel Town Science’
For those who imagine a future in which humans boldly cross the final frontier to acquire new real estate and frolic with exotic aliens, this film's dystopian view is a bummer. The cosmos, often portrayed as beautiful and beguiling, is here a ghoulish abattoir. #Movie Reviews #Outreach #SETI #Seth Shostak
Featured Image
Nov 14, 2016
Arrival: Squid Pro Quo
A refreshing change from most shoot-‘em-up alien flicks: Arrival dances to the beat of a different drum, emphasizing empathy and character development. #Movie Reviews #Outreach #Seth Shostak
Apr 3, 2026
SETI Institute In the News: March Roundup 2026
In March 2026, SETI Institute researchers contributed to a wide range of conversations about our solar system and the search for life beyond Earth. From explaining unusual features on Mars and studying meteor airbursts in Earth’s atmosphere to advancing new ways of detecting technosignatures, this work reflects how scientists are continually refining our understanding of both nearby and distant worlds.
#SETI Institute in the News #SETI Institute #Community #Mars #Pascal Lee #Peter Jenniskens #Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids #Astronomy #Vishal Gajjar #SETI #AI and Machine Learning #Astrobiology #Nathalie Cabrol #Carl Sagan Center #Seth Shostak #Movie Reviews #Bill Diamond
Mar 26, 2026
Where Fiction Meets Physics: Inside the SETI Institute’s Project Hail Mary Screening Event
#Movie Reviews #Rebecca Robinson #Heliophysics #Community #SETI Institute #Public Events
Jul 9, 2025
Aliens, Friendship, and the Drake Equation: How Elio Brings SETI Science to the Big Screen
#SETI Institute #Movie Reviews #SETI #Life at the SETI Institute #Drake Equation
Jan 27, 2022
Movie Review: Don't Look Up
#Movie Reviews
May 23, 2017
Alien: Covenant Offers Ghoulish Fun But ‘Tinsel Town Science’
For those who imagine a future in which humans boldly cross the final frontier to acquire new real estate and frolic with exotic aliens, this film's dystopian view is a bummer. The cosmos, often portrayed as beautiful and beguiling, is here a ghoulish abattoir.
#Movie Reviews #Outreach #SETI #Seth Shostak
Nov 14, 2016
Arrival: Squid Pro Quo
A refreshing change from most shoot-‘em-up alien flicks: Arrival dances to the beat of a different drum, emphasizing empathy and character development.
#Movie Reviews #Outreach #Seth Shostak
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