Joe Johnston

[5] Benicio Del Toro plays the cursed title character in this remake of Universal Pictures’ famous 1941 monster movie. After his brother is discovered mutilated, Del Toro returns home to his father’s estate to find out who killed him. Anthony Hopkins brings gravitas as the father, and Emily Blunt pours her heart out in the role of the dead brother’s fiancée. In searching for the …

[7] Steven Spielberg passes the directorial reigns of the Jurassic Park franchise to the superbly capable Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, Captain America: The First Avenger) for this second dino sequel. Sam Neill returns as Dr. Alan Grant, coerced by a wealthy couple (Téa Leoni and William H. Macy) to return to the prehistoric island for a personal guided airplane tour. But the wealthy couple turn …

[6] Marvel continues putting its superheroes in line, all leading toward its big Avengers free-for-all. This one focuses on the origins of the Avengers team leader, a weakling WWII soldier named Steve Rogers who volunteers to be part of an experimental ‘super soldier’ program that pumps him up into the shape of beefy Chris Evans. Evans endears you to Captain America more than the script or …

[8] This is an underrated comic book adaptation with slick, period production design and top-notch action choreography from director Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, October Sky).  There’s a gee-whiz ebullience about The Rocketeer that I find utterly charming.  Bill Campbell and Jennifer Connelly (future Oscar-winner for A Beautiful Mind) are attractive leads, even if their archetypal characters are somewhat shallow. Timothy Dalton’s villainous …