What links 6th sense with Titanic?
Icy dead people

The African Queen
A matter of life and death
Zulu
Barefoot in the park (great romcom)
2001 A space odyssey
If
On the waterfront
Whatever happened to baby Jane
The taming of the shew (Burton & Taylor)
The man who fell to earth
and just for fun Star trek iv the voyage home

the entire "Alien" series

Last of the Mohicans

Avatar

Dirty Dancing

Silence of the Lambs

Truly #1 Jan Svankmajer's Alice (fantastic stop motion classic master)

(rest are off top of my head so could change on any give day ~8D)

2. Dr. Caligari's Insane Asylum (Stephen Sayadian) Trippy, low budget brilliance (long time favorite)

3. The Boys From Brazil (full of dobermans)

4. Inglourious Basterds (I love Marcel)

5. Look Who's Back (2015) aka
   Er ist wieder da (timely in this day and age)

[imdb.com]

None of my top favorite movies fits into your genre it seems, but if you like The Matrix, you might like The Thirteenth Floor which tells the story of a simulation created within a simulation. The movie was released about the same time as Matrix but not as well-made. Interstellar is an exceptional sci-fi movie

1. Spirited Away
2. Fight Club
3. Forrest Gump

I'm a bit of a movie buff so I'll restrict my list to the science fiction genre:

1: Ex Machina - ranked 1st by a long shot.
2: Arrival

And a very far 3rd, 4th and 5th
3: Tied (because I can't decide): V for Vendetta OR Serenity
4: A franchise, in order of preference: Mad Max: Fury Road, Mad Max 2, Mad Max
5: Equilibrium

Honorable mention:
6: The Matrix.

Listing it now, I can see that I'm less interested in the hero's journey (e.g. Star Wars) and more interested in the themes behind the stories. But I do like the Star Wars and Star Trek movies.

A few of my favorites... Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol 1 and 2), Deadpool, The Princess Bride, Stardust, The Lord of the Rings (trilogy).

To me, what makes a movie a favorite is that it is purely entertaining. I want to have fun watching a movie. That typically means a mix of action, adventure, and humor, with fun characters and a decent plot. There are certainly more elegant movies with legendary actors made by renowned directors. Such movies are like works of art. You watch them and appreciate them, then you go home. But a FUN movie is like a roller coaster ride that you want to ride again and again.

If you can find a movie "Moon" check it out.....with sam Rockwell,from maybe 10 yrs ago.....one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time......best movies of late..."florida project" and "I,tonya" are my faves