In his directorial debut, Moon (2009), Duncan Jones—son of David Bowie—creatively recycles elements from a bygone era of sci-fi. Pieces from films past include a resurrection of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in the moon base’s in-house computer GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), a nod to the hallucinations of Steven Soderburgh’s Solaris (2002), and a similar use of the memory implants from Blade Runner (1982). Also like Solaris, Moon is more concerned with inner space than outer space (and Clint Mansell’s score recalls Cliff Martinez’s best work). Sam Rockwell plays the lead astronaut in a role written specifically for him by Jones. If this movie doesn’t finally make the underrated Rockwell an A-lister then I am no longer qualified to write about movies. If you like the pre-CGI “golden age” of science fiction, Moon is your next destination.

—Roy Christopher, 22 August 2009