Yeah, but is it Sci-Fi?

Just because a movie is set in the future, does that make it Sci-fi? No, say I.

I had an interesting discussion with a good friend this week. In talking about writing for Suite 101 he ran down a list of movies and asked me to categorize them into science fiction, adventure, fantasy...etc. "Lord of the Rings", "King Kong", "1984", "Jurassic Park", and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" all popped up. However the only film on that illustrious list that I would consider Sci-Fi would be Jurassic Park in that:

A. It relied on a scientific platform to tell its story

and

B. Science was the motivating force behind the premise.

In my other capacity as horror films editor my job is more clear cut, in most cases a horror movie is obviously a horror movie, so I am curious as to what you, my Suite readers, have to say about this issue, as I know that you are passionate about Sci-Fi.

Let me Know.

Puppetmaster