i thought it was alright. good music, and cool effects... ending was strange and a bit awkward. just don't go in expecting pitch black 2. 

I don't really know about new releases, but Dark City is always a good bet. And of course the original Pitch Black if you haven't seen it.

...

Um, this was actually going to be a very big list, but I don't really have anything else to add. 

I'll second the Dark City vote, and add a few faves from the sci-fi/thriller/weird camp:

Angel Heart
Brotherhood of the Wolf
The City of Lost Children
Harvey
The Man Who Would Be King
Sorcerer
The Stunt Man
True Romance
Wild at Heart 

I'm interested in the cinema shizznaz at present. 

Dark City. 

Dark City was smelly, don't watch it. 

riddick is crap, some of the design work is good but the movie is crap.

Hellboy is ok, decent effects and so forth but it's a bit too long and there's nothing truly spectacular in it.

Good current stuff in line with what you asked for :

donnie darko (I think the director's cut, albeit an inferior version, is playing at cinemas around the world)

Spartan's not bad for a thriller.

Collateral is also pretty good for a thriller.

Also, I havent seen it but Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow looks like an interstingly styled pulp sci-fi film. 

a direct qote from my brother

' so, so, so, bad. Cutesy crap made me wanna gash my eyes out.'

I haven't seen it. 

a direct quote from my brother

' so, so, so, bad. Cutesy crap made me wanna gash my eyes out.'

I haven't seen it. 

When Shambler said "not into arty abstract weirdness though", I pretty much assumed that Donnie Darko would be out. Plus the sci-fi themes aren't as much in the foreground of the film as other sci-fi films. 

they are in the director's cut (to the detriment IMHO but that's another issue). 

Donnie Darko sounds fine actually, but I thought it was long gone to DVD.

Funnily enough the Sky Captain thing looked pretty entertaining - the style of it looked cool, and it makes no pretence to have an ounce of sense to it.

Will consider Collateral then.., 

the original cut of Donnie has been on DVD for ages. However, a new director's cut (with about 25 mins extra footage) is showing in many cinemas around the world. 

Like Saying Britons Are Not European

Try asking my average countryman about it and they'll deny it vehemently.

Xenophobic bastards the lot of them. 

It has some excellent moments. Style++ for about 3/4 of the movie. Towards the end it starts to decohere, but all in all it's worth the price of admission. 

how noticeable is the cg? I hate obvious cg (hello Matrix sequels), especially when it's used in large parts as it is here. 

Predictable. Nothing special in the writing. There is a small bit to consider after you're through watching, but as I said it's not anything special. Visual style is kinda nice and dark.

Oh, and it had the phone ringing sound from The Matrix. 

the salton sea, yeah it wasn't AMAZING, i didn't rush out and buy the dvd, but I didn't walk out of the theatre feeling ripped off.
It had some giggles, some sad, some bad, and some yummy val kilmer. 

Well since I am neither A) a homosexual male, nor B) a heterosexual female, I didn't find Val Kilmer all that hot. The sad was just cliche stuff (can you say "The Crow"?). The giggles were... okay, they were giggles.

As I said, it had a decent style in the visuals, but everything else was either mediocer or cliche.

Oh, and I didn't feel ripped off. But the movie just wasn't that great. 

It holds up pretty well. The fact that the whole thing is done in one style is what makes it all work. The only time I thought the cg was off was for the rain. Rain is hard. 

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/skycaptainandtheworldoftomorrow/

Watch the 'exclusive clip', that probably gives as good an indication of the CG as you'll get. 

I love a good zombie movie. For some reason hordes of slow witted numbsculls appeals to me. Shaun of the Dead isn't an esception. There are some hilarious moments, but they don't take you out of the movie. It manages to be funny and still hold up well as a standard zombie flick, which is impressive. 

Yes, great film. I saw it in the cinema way back when it was released. Is it true though that they filtered out Ed's classic opening line for the American release? 

Then yes, it was in there. Usually the Canadian release is the American release, though not always. We do have a different rating system. More focus on violence, less on fucking language. 

Lovely, lovely movie. Two thumbs up. Though I'm not big on gore, I did kind of like when David got ripped apart. The best zombie movie I've seen, though I haven't seen all that many. Can't wait for DVD.