March is a very good month for sci-fi movie fans on Peacock. The usual schlocky B-movies are still there because they never really go anywhere. But what makes this month special is that Peacock has added a handful of legitimate sci-fi classics, as well as a modern masterpiece.
The entire Back to the Future trilogy is back on Peacock this month, but we decided to give the third movie some love on our list. Our other two choices feature very different takes on aliens. If you enjoy sci-fi movies, it’s almost impossible to go wrong with these films.
Alien (1979)
For modern audiences, there’s not a lot of suspense about who survives in Alien because there have been so many sequels. But that doesn’t take away from director Ridley Scott’s masterpiece of horror and sci-fi. Deep in space, the crew of the starship Nostromo follow a transmission that leads them to the body of a giant alien. One of the crew, Kane (John Hurt), is attacked by a face-hugger alien that eventually dies after spending hours attached to him.
By the time the crew realizes Kane is the host of the alien’s offspring, it’s already too late to prevent the xenomorph from killing Kane and escaping into the ship. As Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Dallas (Tom Skerritt), and the survivors question the nature and origin of the xenomorph, it quickly grows to full size and begins picking them off one by one.
Watch Alien on Peacock.
Arrival (2016)
If aliens ever come to Earth and establish first contact, it might be a lot like the film Arrival. In this story, the aliens are very inhuman in appearance, and they don’t speak any language that we would recognize. Additionally, the world reacts to their presence with fear, hostility, and paranoia. That is all very plausible.
Prior to making Dune and its sequel, Denis Villeneuve established himself as a great sci-fi director by focusing on the human side of Arrival‘s story. Through the eyes of linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams), viewers slowly understand not only the message that the alien visitors are attempting to convey but also the price that Louise will have to pay for that breakthrough, which includes a future with a heartbreaking loss set against the backdrop of a new era for Earth.
Watch Arrival on Peacock.
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
“Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one, both of you!” But before Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) can start building that future, they have to find a way home. Back To the Future Part III picks up after Part II‘s cliffhanger ending left Doc stranded in the Old West 100 years before the present. Marty manages to follow Doc’s trail to 1885, but both are stranded there when the DeLorean is damaged during Marty’s arrival.
To further complicate things, Doc falls hard for a school teacher, Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen), a woman whose passion for science and science fiction matches his own. Meanwhile, Marty manages to make an enemy out of Biff Tannen’s great-grandfather, Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson). And there’s a tombstone with Marty’s assumed name written on it if Marty can’t find a way to defeat Tannen in a duel.
Watch Back to the Future Part III on Peacock.
