Moon (2009)

Film written/directed by Duncan Jones

So somewhere in the not-too-distant future, a wealthy corporation has set up a mining facility on the Moon. Only one person is needed to operate it and they do so in 3-year stints. Our protagonist, Sam Bell has almost reached the end of his 3-year tour and he is incredibly anxious for his replacement to show up so he can go home and see his family.

Well, not only is he anxious, he is hallucinating. Three years in isolation will do that to someone who only has himself and a computer to talk to (he is unable to communicate live to anyone on Earth for reasons explained in the film). Anyways, Sam eventually meets his replacement (or does he?) and let's just say things don't work out as planned.

I didn't hear too much advertisement or talk about this movie when it came out, but I loved it. The story was classic sci-fi. No unnecessary action scenes or special effects, just a great story. It was well-casted, too. Sam Rockwell ("The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "The Green Mile") plays the protagonist and creepmeister Kevin Spacey voices the paranoia-feeding computer, GERTY.

Oh yeah and it was written and directed by David Bowie's son. 'NUFF SAID.

Watch the entire movie for free through Crackle.com right here:

Brainwave

Novel by Poul Anderson, 1956

One day in the mid-1950s, everyone wakes up a little bit smarter. Actually, they wake up A LOT smarter and continue to gain intelligence. This sounds like a great thing for humanity but it actually becomes more of an apocalyptic problem. The world's custodians and factory workers begin to get too bored for work. Foreign relations get even more complicated than usual and not everyone is coping with all the new ideas that are suddenly surfacing in their mind. 

OH YEAH. Not only do humans get smarter, but so does every other sentient being on Earth. For instance, pigs don't really like being harvested for food anymore and take on the offensive against their captors. On a much more neato note though, dogs can understand their masters perfectly and at least some chimps even speak rudimentary English.

I first heard of this novel when it was referenced in Stephen King's "The Tommyknockers". I'm happy I did. While it's not the greatest story-telling ever, sci-fi master Poul Anderson does an awesome job of describing every broad and minute effect a sudden global intelligence boost would have on our world. You can get it crazy cheap on Amazon, too.