The Thing is back. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars in this prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic science-fiction horror film. How does the new creature-feature hold up?

In a new feature on Top 10 Films we will be looking at iconic images from the world of cinema new and old. Our first image is the instantly recognisable view of Elliott and E.T. flying past the moon.

I’m in the mood for some eighties science-fiction this week. When I say eighties science-fiction I don’t mean the horror shows of John Carpenter and James Cameron, I’m talking about the innocent romanticism of space seen in child-centric films such as The Last Starfighter, E.T., and Battle Beyond the Stars. For tonight’s Midnight Double Feature we are going to close the curtains and settle down to a double bill of kids heading into the stars. My choices for tonight are Joe Dante’s Explorers and Randal Kleiser’s Flight of the Navigator.

Surrogates is a cautionary tale about our increasing reliance on technology. The concept is intriguing as Bruce Willis attempts to piece together a murder plot involving robots and their human users. The film muses on the idea of a society living life where human dysfunction and limitation are discarded in the face of robotic better selves. These cosmetically perfect versions of human beings are controlled by their less than perfect owners who tap into their robot’s artificial intelligence through a neurotransmitter that allows them to live full lives without leaving their home.

In one of the great self-reflexive moments of Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Ben Affleck tells Matt Damon: “You gotta do a safe picture, then you can do an art picture. But then sometimes you gotta do the paycheck picture because your friend says you owe him.” It’s a great little moment in a great little movie, and fittingly, describes the sentiments of Rosamund Pike who turns up in Doom surely because she either has bills to pay or she owes a friend. The Libertine, Pride And Prejudice, and the Devil You Know actress surely knew what a mess she was getting herself into when she read Callahan and Strick’s script. I’ll just backtrack for a second – did I just say it took two people to write this awful film – I think I did.

Will Smith commands the role of Robert Neville – a military scientist alone in a post-apocalyptic New York City.

Science-fiction in the 1990s was a mix of dystopian societies, self-reflexive parodies, high-concept action, good old horror, and a smattering of sequels. Quite an eclectic mix. During ten years we went from the serious (Strange Days, Contact, 12 Monkeys) to the ridiculous (Galaxy Quest, Space Truckers, Fortress) but there was always an element of quality on show.

Check out our ten picks for best science-fiction of the 1990s…

Steven Spielberg returns to the film that made him a star and a billionnaire. Bringing back key character Matt Hooper with Richard Dreyfuss on board to act in the film, Jaws 5 is going to be the biggest hit of summer 2012.

The year is 2020. It is 45 years since ichthyologist Matt Hooper went out onto the ocean with police chief Martin Brody and fisherman Quint to kill the terrifying great white shark terrorising the beach community of Amity Island. He has become the leading figure in marine biology and the study of sharks. He has also become a minor celebrity after his exploits in 1975.