David Duckworth

Earthrise (2014) drops you into a future where Earth is basically a distant memory. Most of humanity bailed ages ago after turning the planet into a mess—think pollution, wars, the usual apocalyptic cocktail. Now, everyone’s stuck living on Mars, which, let me tell you, isn’t exactly a vacation. The Martian colony’s cramped, resources are stretched thin, and people are getting restless. There’s this big plan to send a crew back to Earth to see if it’s even slightly habitable again. That’s where our main characters come in—three astronauts who’ve been chosen for the job, which sounds exciting until you realize the mental and emotional baggage they’re all carrying. The movie isn’t just about the journey, though. It digs into what it means to be human when you’re so far from home, stuck in space with nothing but your thoughts and a couple of other stressed-out people. The crew’s got to deal with their own regrets, dreams, and the pressure of representing humanity’s last shot at redemption. It’s pretty claustrophobic, with most of the action happening inside the spacecraft, so you really get into their heads. Old wounds pop up, paranoia creeps in, and the whole time, the question hangs in the air: can they actually make it back, and even if they do, is Earth really worth returning to? Earthrise isn’t flashy or filled with explosions, but it’s a slow-burn, psychological sci-fi that makes you think about home, survival, and the stuff we leave behind.