found IMDB's top rated sci-fi movies and, though i've seen most, a few stood out that i want to view:

first up is delicatessen from 1996. i think i remember when this came out, but i never heard anything about it...now i have a little more info. this film comes from the director of amelie, so i have an expectation of how the movie is going to look. the plot outline is "Post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who creates cannibalistic meals for his odd tenants." it's at least worth a view.

second is kin-dza-dza from 1986. this is a russian film and is described as "advanced cyberpunk." it has that going for it and judging by how much i liked nightwatch (nochnoi dozor) i would like to check this one out.

another, not on the list however, is moebius from 1996. this one hails from argentina and deals with a train that has vanished from the buenos aires subway and a mathematician is called in to examine the mystery.