The Top 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies You've (probably) Never Heard Of

Before we proceed to #1, first, the list until now:

#10:  Renaissance
#9:  Strange Days
#8:  Outland
#7:  A Wind Named Amnesia
#6:  The Quiet Earth
#5:  Sleep Dealer
#4:  The Man From Earth
#3:  Anna to the Infinite Power
#2:  Dark Star

And without further ado, we're on to...

The Top 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies You've (probably) Never Heard Of

Sean Connery (OH YEAAAHHH) plays Federal Marshal William O'Neil, a grizzly old veteran who has just transplanted his family from Earth to the rugged frontier of Io, where he joins the security detail of a major mining outpost.  The outpost is managed by Mark Sheppard (Peter Boyle, of Everybody Loves Raymond), a cheery fellow who prides himself on achieving maximum efficiency in the workplace.  Under Sheppard's watch, however, workers begin to exhibit bizarre and increasingly erratic behavior, resulting in several deaths.  O'Neil doggedly investigates, despite growing opposition from his wife and son, and from every single member of the station's 2,144 personnel, with one exception:  the station's chief medical physician, Dr. Lazarus (Frances Sternhagen).

O'Neil gradually uncovers the conspiracy behind the mysterious deaths, leading to a climactic confrontation with three mercenaries who are due to arrive on the weekly shuttle at 1200 hours.  Sound familiar?  No?  What if I were to replace the word "shuttle" with "train" and "1200 hours" with...oh, I don't know, "High Noon?"

The cyberpunk brainchild of two people you might be familiar with - James Cameron and Kathryn before-she-was-big Bigelow - and starring a powerhouse cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore and Vincent D'Onofrio.  Strange Days depicts a chaotic Los Angeles in 1999, on the eve of the new millennium.  Racial tensions ride at an all time high, distrust of the police is rampant and rioting is a near-daily occurrence.  In the midst of all of this is a new technology, a "SQUID" (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) that is capable of recording or transmitting data directly to an individual's mind.  SQUID recordings are the newest and greatest thing in black market circles, with content ranging from robberies gone awry to downright snuff films.  One black market dealer, Lenny Nero (Fiennes), stumbles across a SQUID tape that depicts a horrific and politically charged crime, and must rely on the help of his friends Mace (Bassett), a bodyguard for hire, and Max Peltier (Sizemore), a Private Eye, to sort through a labyrinthine plot of double crosses and conspiracies.  Simultaneously, Nero is pursued by two corrupt LAPD officers (D'Onofrio and William Fichtner) and tries desperately to repair his damaged relationship with ex-girlfriend and singer Faith (Lewis).