“Moon” isn’t shot in black and white, but it’s so minimalist that it might as well have been. The premier outing for director Duncan Jones, this $5 million movie was the film in which actor Sam Rockwell revealed he could be much more than an excellent ensemble actor. With the bulk of this hour-and-a-half-long movie spent focused on the lonely Sam Bell, Sam Rockwell carries the movie with sorrow and dignity.

With a box office return of $9.7 million, “Moon” may not qualify as a blockbuster, but its cold lunar setting, achieved with studio sets, models, and budget effects studios, is a testament to how creative effort is more valuable than money. “Moon” is also a NASA favorite, touching on some neat stuff the space agency is still working on. It’s a movie that’s going to stay on a lot of science fiction best-of lists for years to come and all for a reasonable price.