How-To Geek
Ask the Readers: What’s Your Favorite Geek Movie?
Whether it’s campy geeky or cutting edge Sci-Fi geeky, this week we’re interested in hearing about your favorite geeky movie. What’s your top pick for the best geek flick of all time?
Big budget or small, critical acclaim or scorn, if it’s your favorite film with a geeky streak running through it, it’s fair game. Sound off in the comments with your nominations, including what makes your favorite film worthy of the Best Geek Film title, and then check back on Friday for the What You Said roundup with a list of nominations.
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Comments (148)
Jason Fitzpatrick is warranty-voiding DIYer and all around geek. When he's not documenting mods and hacks he's doing his best to make sure a generation of college students graduate knowing they should put their pants on one leg at a time and go on to greatness, just like Bruce Dickinson. You can follow him on Google+ if you'd like.
- Published 07/18/12
I guess I’ll get the ball rolling with WarGames
TRON. The original.
Sneakers
“Train Man”
HACKERS
I’ll jump on the War Games bandwagon, I think it is the first movie about hackers I’d ever seen, had the biggest crush on Ally Sheedy too.
Real Genius for the win!!! :D
The Lake House. Just kidding, I may go with The Matrix just because of the cinemetography innovation we hadn’t really seen in any other movie.
“Deep Throat”
Spaceballs
TRON Classic, though TRON Legacy is pretty sweet as well.
ALL star trek movies old and new!
Weird Science
Matrix
Tron
In No particular order
Both Trons and most of the Star Wars and Star Trek movies.
Second Sneakers and add Silent Running.
The Lord of the Rings
Revenge of the Nerds!
Revenge of the Nerds II!
Revenge of the Nerds III!
Revenge of the Nerds IV!
Great Question HTG : )
Matrix
Every frame crafted, great tight script, some of the greatest fight scenes if any movie
Then
Lord of the Rings – The first movies that we realised that the only limits to FX are our imaginations
King of Kong – [If you're saying what's that? then this is the best gaming doco so far : )]
Sneakers Just Fun !
Fanboys
Titan AE
Wow… people named a lot of my favorite geeky movies… but I’m going to have to go with something different. While I love the matrix more than most things, my all time favorite geeky movie has to be Back To The Future.
Revenge of the Nerds & Weird Science
Can Comic Book Geek films count?
My favorites were the Spider-Man Original Trilogy, and the TRON movies.
Throwing a new one into the ring – Short Circuit!
Love sneakers – I’d forgotten about that movie!
WarGames and Password: Swordfish=
Three Days of the Condor
I said Hackers ealrierbut would also like to Mystery Science Theatre 3000.
Star Trek (all except the last)
Back to the Future
Short Circuit
Batteries not included
War Games
Weird Science
Revenge of the Nerds
Fanboys
Tron (original)
Its impossible to choose just one.
If I only had to pick one…
Mechanical Principles (1930)
Others (but I would call them Nerd Movies):
Metropolis
and Scott Prilgrim Vs The world
The Conversation
Although it doesn’t show up much in such lists, I like to speak up for Apollo 13. There are at least 3 scenes in that movie where every hacker/geek will be right there with them, because they’ve lived it:
* Gary Sinise in the simulator, knowing that his job is not done until he gets the power consumption level down to X (or whatever his particular challenge is, it’s been awhile). No value greater than X is acceptable.
* The scene where the engineers lock themselves in a room with nothing but a box of miscellaneous parts equal to what the astronauts have with them, and do not leave the room until they have and air scrubber built (or whatever it was that they were building).
* Ed Harris’s “Failure is not an option / This will be our finest hour” quotes. If you haven’t personally lived through your own version of such moments, you’re not taking enough risk in your life.
The Lawnmower man
The last Starfighter
DragonSlayer
in that order
All the listed movies are all great. I havent seen a few yet and I’ve got toget around to it.
My favorites are
Star Wars (the original trilogy mostly)
Lord of the Rings (all three)
And The Matrix (all three of them although the first is the best)
My vote would have been for The Last Starfighter
lawnmower man
blade runner
LOTR all of them + (the hobbit)
anything marvel comic`s related
I could go on & on & on, but this will do for now …
p.s. list is in no particular order.
1. Real Genius
2. The New Star Wars Movie
3. All the other Star Wars Movies
FORBIDDEN PLANET!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y4crGU7dkg
TYPO!!!
Meant to say Star Trek
the postman
You guys are too young… 2001: A Space Odyssey
Then WarGames
Then The Terminator (first one)
Does Space Balls count?
The King of Kong!
You guys have no knowledge of true cult classics. I have 4 words for you “Soylent Green is PEOPLE”! BEST FILM OF ALL TIME! Soylent green is a true Sci-Fi classic which as all great films do forces us to inward and examine our own souls. That and Heston truly makes the film. Check it out http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/
Another vote for 1992′s Sneakers.
Bladerunner and Dune.
Blade Runner (dir. cut)
War Games
Both Tron’s
Pirates of Silicon Valley
I, Robot. I don’t know why…
There’s a war out there, a world war. And it’s not about who’s got the most bullets. It’s about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think… it’s all about the information!
My vote Sneakers 1992.
i would say poseidon, Dr Strangelove, 2001: A space Odyssey… obviously the LOTR range, STAR WARS range, STAR TREK series (original) have their own charm and excellence.. but the tackiness of the 70s movies like “close encounters of the third kind” are the movies that set the “GEEK” trend..
I would nominate ET and WALL-E as well.
Office Space
Napoleon Dynamite
- The Net
- Sneakers
- Jumping Jack Flash ;-)
Hackers
Dark Star (Very old, still funny (2 me!))
2001, elegant, ground breaking, thought provocking.
Flesh Gordon.oh so politically incorrect!
Blade Runner, so many layers, visually awsome & stimulating.
Dr Strangelove
Star-Trek movies & TV series
Firewall: with Harrison Ford (not super-geeky, but still great)
iRobot
Dejavu
The matrix!!!
Just for the flawless storyline!!! Even without the special effects it has to be the geekiest story ever! I can’t imagine sitting down and writing that, it’s pure geeky genius!
Blade Runner
O.K prepared to be out geeked…. You’ve probably never heard of this film.
LIFEFORCE (1985)
It’s about naked vampires from space. (and no it’s not a porno).
From the director of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Salem’s Lot and Poltergeist – Tobe Hooper.
From the writer of Total Recall, Dark Star, Alien franchise and AvP franchise – Dan O’Bannon.
Stars Mathilda May and Patrick Stewart.
You can watch the whole movie on YouTube.
The Navigator!
“Broadway Danny Rose” or the lesser known “danny white roses”.
The Tron movies followed by Weird Science. There is just something appealing about making the perfect woman.
Matrix! Just the first one.
Gamers 2 is my all time favorite. If D&D isn’t geeky then what is. Star Trek Next Generation movies is my very close second
Old School – “War Games” Would you like to play a game?
The Andromeda Strain
Colossus, The Forbin Project
and, who can forget 2001, A Space Oddessy right, Dave?
has to be HACKERS for me…
A nod to Babbage, quotations from Ginsberg the line “yeah, RISC is good” and of course the reading of +++The Mentor+++ and his “Hackers Manifesto”
something for geeks of varying experience..
stargate
There is no geek movie more quotable than “Real Genius”. That said, “Sneakers” and “TRON” are also awesome.
Die Hard ?
Forbidden Planet
Robbie the Robot ftw.
Also young Leslie Nielsen.
The Social Network
Prometheus
The best is The Big Bang Theory (all the seasons, all the episodes)… Its simply the best.
Except that,
– Lord of the Rings (all of them)
– Spider-man (again, all of them)
– Any movie set in an alternate reality, with a sword-swinging guy, going through obstacles, to save a princess, from a strange species of inhabitants or an evil warlord, and finally gets to the girl and then marry (guy/girl giving up on returning home).
And did I mention The Big Bang Theory?
Enemy of the State. Even though I didn’t believe all of the technology they used, it was still scary to think about…and look what we do now.
“The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)” with Michael Rennie as “Klaatu” and Patricia Neal (worst actress ever, IMHO) as “Hellen Benson”.
Aliens (all of them – even the 4th).
Tron (Original and Legacy).
The Goonies.
Transformers (the first one – made me feel like a kid again).
The Matrix (all of them – yes I enjoyed #2 and #3 as much as I loved the 1st one).
Indiana Jones (all of them – again, I don’t care what people said.. Aliens are just as imaginary [or not] as Christianity or any other religion)
Jason Bourne (not THAT geeky but isn’t it based on the comic book XIII – to me that counts).
Shaun of the Dead
If the geek is the subject of the film, “This Island Earth”
Cal Meacham builds an Interociter from a set of schematics and alien components.
Anyone who’s built their own rig will identify with that.
Showing my age here
Silent Running
Soylent Green
The Thirteenth Floor although Weird Science is still a favorite too.
3 O’Clock High (1987)
Jerry Mitchell beats up Buddy Revel….classic nerd gets jock!
20000 Leagues Under the Sea
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The First Men in the Moon
The Mouse that Roared
and, because of its historical significance … Apogee of Fear
The Silent Earth strange movie but all built on man’s inability to control the sciene he created.
Real Genius
My Science Project
Fire and Ice
Heavy Metal
Wizards
Monty Python’s The Life of Brian
These are specifically geek films that were great viewing. Not necessarily the greatest science fiction/fantasy/whatever films.
Lot’s of great movies.
Count me in with “Nirvana”
Sneakers (1992) Robert Redford, Dan Ackroyd, Ben Kingsley, River Phoenix, Mary McDonnel, Sidney Poitier
Loved it!
The Pirates of Silicon Valley! :D
War Games
Time Bandits
Cloak and Dagger – Awesome when you are a kid!!!
Ice Pirates
The Terminator
Spies Like Us
They Live
Demolition Man
Real Genius
3 O’Clock High (1987) – Oh My God, I have to get this one – on DVD ;-)
Maximum Overdrive
Short Circuit – They did an amazing job of putting together the scenario in an almost believable way, down to the last detail.
My favorites would be Takedown and Wargames…love these movies on hackers..
@ Big Dom: Not only have I “heard” of “LIFEFORCE”, I have it on DVD…that Mathilda May, what an actress!
I’m with Aurora900…
“The way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?”
Bladerunner
Forbidden Planet
GALAXY QUEST… perfect parody movie, lot of laughs, pretty decent adventure, great thesis for a movie.
I am sorely disappointed in my fellow browncoats. No one has mentioned Serenity yet.
Also, Equilibrium. Awesome movie.
Has to be original “the Day the Earth Stood Still”. Hackers is good too! (Angelina Jolie…mmmmmm)
Lawnmower Man needs a mention.
Johnny Mnemonic
Simone, best geek movie ever. She is just perfect, too perfect. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258153/
S1m0ne
Lord of The Rings Triology
Christopher Nolan’s Batman Triology
Inception
Dune (the original: starring Kyle Mcclachlan) …I think that’s how it’s spelled.
Love the Steampunk-iness of the tech.
My favorite sci-fi movie right now is pitch black (first chronicles of riddick movie). Probly because riddick escapes in the beginning by dislocating his shoulders then relocating them :)
My other favorites are:
v for vendetta
district 9
the punisher
chronicle
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
Brainstorm
I will admit to not reading every single comment, but was surprised that Dark City didn’t show up.
The Matrix – Groundbreaking special effects, great story, and a healthy dose of surrealism. Great for both a tech geek and an art geek!
Cocoon and Poltergeist as well
IRON MAN!!
Ice Pirates -Dude they fixed the battle bots on the battle field.
Heavy Metal- (the original one) All the geek stuff in a time capsule
The Net- house bound code monkey gets tied into a real life adventure, She even had groceries delivered circa 1999?.
All the ones I would have named, have been, so why repeat them?
I liked “Another Earth”. What looks like a copy of Earth appears on the horizon. Other than that it’s just a character drama. But it was pretty good.
And I don’t think I saw Cube mentioned. That was a good one. More horror but it dealt with mathematics.
Blade Runner (genetically engineered organic robots humans) as if….
Lord of the Rings
Matrix
@Ushindi – Can’t wait for blue ray :)
Firefly
Final Fantasy
Pirates of Silicon Valley,
The Net,
Hackers,
War Games.
Hackers
Weird Science, hands down!
Definitely Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
The entire movie is a video game reference
Matrix
Galaxy Quest. Just like every geek….we are funny, can laug from beginningh at ourselves and entertaining from beginning to end……oh and we love to repeat what the computer says. ;)
Let me type this again…Galaxy Quest. Just like every geek….we are funny, can laugh at ourselves and entertaining from beginning to end……oh and we love to repeat what the computer says. ;)
you mentioned them all, so many, scary that i have watched so many. I may have missed it but no one mentioned the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, no doubt the book was better but still a dam good story.
Star Wars
Back to the Future
Spaceballs
Dune
Apollo 13
Alien
Stargate
Star Trek (2009)
The Matrix
Enemy Mine (so bad, it’s good).
Have to say The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.
The Social Network.
All the Trek and Star wars movies!
Weird Science!!!!
Remember “Forbidden Planet”? While dated and a long time back, The story was excellent, the actors were some of the best and the special effects were excellent for the day. The story also addressed topics that will probably always challenge us. That is the contrast and conflict between our extremely ancient origins and the incredibly foreign “modern” conditions where we find ourselves existing.
Real Genius
Can you hear me Kent?
Forbidden Planet (1956). Used to watch it with my dad when I was a kid. I liked Robbie the robot (who became iconic). In the modern geek world I look back and realize that the robot did his thinking with only six bits in the form of six electromechanical relays that would be clacking away inside his head dome. I guess the heroine, Anne Francis, had my old man’s relays clacking away.
I remember watching batteries not included and thinking this movie rocks!!
NERDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)))))
May not be in the same category, but….
DREAMSCAPE – With a YOUNG Dennis Quaid
Probably sucks now :o(
Bladerunner (all time … never been topped)
Matrix (is definitely up there though)
@smoss
wow! yeah – definitely a great one – Enemy Mine too!
@Chet
“and stop playing with yourself!”
@Big Dom
oh man! Hell yeah! Lifeforce!
man has THAT been a long time ago!
The Island by Micheal Bay
Tron
A few more that were good:
1) From Dusk Till Dawn with Salma Hayek. She was incredibly hot as a vampire..
2) Red Dawn
3) Aeon Flux
Although tons of my favorites have been mentioned in the various American franchises one favorite that I didn’t see yet was The Returner.
I’m pretty sure it is Japanese and the first time I watched it was with subtitles but since then I managed to get a copy in English. Anyone else see this movie?
Galaxy Quest because it pokes fun of Bill Shatner!
Also, this may not qualify, but “You only live twice” – because of all the spacejackings. When the villain’s ship closed on the lifeline of the astronaut…..Wow!
Wargames – ‘Shall we play a game?’
HACKERS
I’d vote for Dark Star, Blade Runner (the original) and Aliens.
Dune with kyle McLauglin
quite a few have been left out.
one in particular that I was fond of:
Colossus the Forbin project: super computer takes over the world.
another would be:
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb: peter sellers and slim pickens were wonderful in that movie.
Young Frankenstein the electronic gadgets were priceless and had been in storage for decades it was cool to see they still worked.
after those I would agree with many of the others like
Forbidden planet but I was more interested in Anne Francis and Robby the robot then any of the other cast I thought the creature was pretty cool.
then there are the movies I catch super late night that I don’t remember the names of like one where an alien space ship is found in an excavation in the London tubes and the mummified occupants are like these huge grass hoppers I always liked that movie I wish I could remember the name. yes it was one of those old black and white movies but I think it has been colorized since the first time I saw it.
anyway, I love old films and new one two. I just didn’t have the time to chime in until now.
found the name of the movie I described above it was called Five Million Years To Earth / Quatermass and the Pit; a good solid horror film.
I would also include Westworld for which Yul Brynner will be sorely missed.
Rather than the comic book or sci fi geek spirt, I’m going to have to go with something intellectually geeky. “Numb3rs” comes to mind.
Hmmmm,
Kung Pow Enter the Fist?
Any crappy 60′s or 70′s sci fi?
INCEPTION!
I was disappointed when BLADE RUNNER didn’t show up on the Sci Fi movie list so I’ll throw it in here.