Best and worst movies about the end of the world

Let's admit it: Most of what we know about possible ways the world could end comes from Hollywood -- from talking apes to alien invasions to nuclear annihilation. Here, a rundown of some of the best -- and worst -- cinematic takes on the apocalypse. Agree, disagree, have your own suggestions? Sound off in comments. Tune in to the original Web series "Cybergeddon," which looks at the threat of cyber warfare on the world.

Best

Dr. Strangelove. At the height of the Cold War, director Stanley Kubrick's 1964 satirical vision of a nuclear scenario is both scary and funny. The plot centers on an unglued General Jack D. Ripper who orders a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, which kicks off a mad dash to try to recall the bombers.

Planet of the Apes. The 1968 sci-fi movie starring Charlton Heston as an astronaut who crash-lands on what he believes to be a distant planet in the far future is inhabited by talking apes and enslaved humans. The groundbreaking movie has one of the all-time greatest shocking endings.

War Games. This 1983 movie stars a very young Matthew Broderick as a high-school student who hacks the United States military's supercomputer and accidentally almost starts World War III. The movie is set in Sunnyvale, California, future home of Yahoo!.

War of the Worlds. Steven Spielberg's 2005 adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel is an epic disaster movie focused on a single family. The father, played by Tom Cruise, fights to keep his children safe from invading aliens that look like giant tripods.

Independence Day. The 1996 film about an alien onslaught stars Will Smith and focuses on a group of survivors who band together in the Nevada desert for a last-ditch counterattack. The movie had been set to open July 3, but anticipation grew and many theaters began showing the film on July 2, the day when the events in the movie start.

Wall-E. A lonely robot is left on Earth after the living abandon the planet when it becomes a junk-filled dump. Wall-E eventually makes his way into space, befriends another bot named Eve, and helps humanity find its way back home. The animated sci-fi adventure is surprisingly heartfelt.

12 Monkeys. The post-apocalyptic vision is based on the French short film "La Jetée," about a world where those not killed off by a virus have been forced underground. Bruce Willis plays a convicted criminal charged with returning to the past to try to alter the future.

The Matrix. The landmark 1999 sci-fi thriller imagines humans living in a dream world of simulated reality that is actually a nightmare created by machines. Keanu Reeves plays Neo, a hacker who joins a ragtag rebellion against the machines.

Worst

Reign of Fire. A frightening vision of the not-too-distant future that features a London besieged by dragons reawakened by subway construction. Yes, really. Stars a shirtless Matthew McConaughey, and Christian Bale as not-Batman.

The Day After. The ABC movie from 1983 was viewed by 100 million people -- and presented an unsubtle and unsettling view of U.S.-USSR relations ending in nuclear Armageddon. On the bright side, the project launched Steve Guttenberg's career.

The Rapture. This 1991 film stars Mimi Rogers and David Duchovny as swingers turned born-again Christians in anticipation of the end of days.

2012. How will the world end? Solar flare? Floods? Volcanoes? How about all of it? The disaster flick features every possible end-of-world scenario, yet still manages to come up short.

Battlefield Earth. The sci-fi action movie is based on the novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The universally panned film, starring John Travolta, tells the story of Earth under alien rulers and a rebellion that rises up against them.

Deep Impact. The movie didn't make much of an impact, although it did focus on a massive, seven-mile-long meteorite headed to Earth that would cause mass extinction. The movie didn't do as well as the similarly themed action movie "Armageddon," but was considered to be more believable.

Armageddon. The star-studded Michael Bay film was sure to have plenty of explosions but be thin on scientific fact. The plot centers on a giant meteor the size of Texas hurtling toward Earth. The only way to stop it: nuclear warheads that a bunch of misfit geologists, led by Bruce Willis, must fire into the meteor from inside the asteroid.