Has "The Man Who Fell To Earth" with David Bowie been mentioned?

"Moon" seconded.
Lower budget than most, and sort of a surprise like from me.

I'd recommend The Book of Eli, but it doesn't fit scifi. Some people don't like it, but I found it well done.
Distopian backdrop, themes of faith etc. Quite an interesting story told in my book ;)

I was just about to mention on, I think British, "time travel paradox" movie that I just saw on TV like two weeks ago or so. First I was like "ewww, yet another time travel movie, haven't we seen enough of these?", but I felt it actually did bring something new to ponder to the table, and it was not at all about action or suspense, but it was more like a slightly romantic drama. (I have to look up on the movie's name on IMDB, just based on actors I recognized in it...).

EDIT: The movie is "About Time" (2013):

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2194499/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_34

I recognized the movie by the actor playing the Dad, Bill Nighy.

SLIGHT SPOILERS BELOW to the aforementioned movie!
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I mainly liked how the movie dealt with two dilemmas when the guy was jumping around in time. At this point I have to admit though that I didn't quite see the full movie so I may have misunderstood something in the plot, I need to see the movie in full next.

- If he kept going back and forth the date when his daughter was conceived, he wouldn't have the same kid that he had already grown to love, but some other kid. You know, someone else got conceived when you relive the day when your kid was conceived? Like when he earlier had this lovely daughter, next time he had a brat son who was showing tongue to him, and he was like OMG where is my daughter that I love?

- Due to the aforementioned dilemma, I understood he decided he doesn't want to pass the date of his daughter conceiving anymore so that he will not lose her again. But then his father died, and he had to deal with that somehow as well, wanting to go back in time to meet his father again. (Here it gets a bit fuzzy to me though, how he managed to re-meet his dead father (before he died) without losing his kids...).

How has Ex Machina not been mentioned yet?!? I consider it a classic.

That happens to have the same lead actor that in the movie I just mentioned, Domhnall Gleeson.

Why have I seen this guy only in some scifi paradox movies? The first time I recall seeing him was in the Black Mirror episode "Be Right Back", which was scifi stuff as well (being able to bring back to "life" people you loved). Typecasted much?

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2290780/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_25

"About Time" was certainly a beautiful story.

And since a lot of time paradox movies have been suggested, I would like to add another one to the list: Time Lapse

I'll throw another vote in here for Moon. I consider it "classic sci-fi" in the sense that it's a solid story about the characters who inhabit a science fiction world, not just mindless tech-like jargon and lasers. Basically it's what sci-fi used to be before Star Wars came along. It's also my kid's favorite sci-fi movie at the moment.

I'm not to big on Arrival though, it had an interesting premise and I enjoyed it up to a certain point but hated the ending. It reminded me of Contact, so if you like that movie then Arrival would be worth checking out.

I second both Man from the Earth (not too eventful or very sci-fi but interesting approach) and Ex Machina. About Time is funny but decent.

Not to diss on Lord of the Rings but I go by something similar trying to find good fantasy books.

Moon looks interesting, I haven't seen that. Is it inspired by 2001?

I get you on LOTR. Everyone tries to copy the formula of elves, orcs and wizards without the underlying themes that made LOTR what it is.

Moon is a very small scale story with a bit of a nod (almost an Easter egg) to 2001. Without giving too much away, the story is based around the real life science if solar winds. The sun is a giant nuclear reaction that's fueled by hydrogen and releases helium. The solar winds coming off the sun is hydrogen. Earth's atmosphere keeps the solar hydrogen away from the planet surface, however the Moon has no atmosphere so it has a few billion years of solar hydrogen embedded in the surface. In the movie a company has developed the technology to harvest the helium from the lunar surface via automation. The whole process only requires one human to run it all. The story is about Sam Bell who is counting down the days of his 3 year rotation as the only human on the Moon.

recently watched The Beyond... not your usual sci fi movie. robots, wormholes, aliens, impending doom all with a new take on those sterotypes

Yeah, I was about to mention Moon.

And also Primer. No space stuff, just time travel madness. Keep a tube of aspirins at hand.

Also, Her is a wonderful wonderful movie, and counts as scifi (A.I.-themed).

depend on what you mean by "smart"....

I quite liked "Sound of My Voice" and "Another Earth", both staring Brit Marling and from 2011. Offbeat and quiet.

"π" from 1998 is about math, so has to be smart by default, if is sci-fi or not depends on your perception.

K-PAX (2001) is quite good, again offbeat

Then you have a slew of dystopian / political films, such as THX 1138 (1971). They tend to have some action, but it is not the main focus. In this vein, I will also mention one of the best films ever made, the wonderful "Brazil" (1985) by Terry Gilliam.

is this the type of films you are interested in?

I love Predestination! Usually, with films involving time travel I can understand them pretty well after seeing them once. I was still scratching my head after watching Predestination for the 3rd time. Magnificent story, Brilliant acting. It is one of my favourite films of all time, let alone in the sci-fi genre.

Given my great disappointment at most of the bigger budget supposedly blockbuster science fiction offerings over the last few years, there's been quite a few smaller budget or independent productions that I've quite enjoyed of late. Possibly because I went into them with lower expectations, only to be quite surprised, but they're films I enjoyed nonetheless.

Upgrade (2018)

Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when Grey, a self-identified technophobe, has his world turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant called Stem.

What Happened to Monday (2017)

In a world where families are limited to one child due to overpopulation, a set of identical septuplets must avoid being put to a long sleep by the government and dangerous infighting while investigating the disappearance of one of their own.

Mute (2018)

A mute bartender goes up against his city's gangsters in an effort to find out what happened to his missing partner.

The Void (2016)

Shortly after delivering a patient to an understaffed hospital, a police officer experiences strange and violent occurrences seemingly linked to a group of mysterious hooded figures.

Spectral (2016)

Civil Unrest in the European country of Moldova has US forces engaging the insurgents however there is a new threat who has decided both are their enemy. This new threat resides in an alternative spectrum that makes them invisible to the naked eye and instant death to anyone confronting them.