[5] James Bond (Roger Moore) goes into outer space to stop a bad guy’s plot to… you know, destroy the world. While Moonraker packs more action than most other Bond films, it’s also sillier than most. Richard Kiel’s ridiculous Jaws character makes an unwelcome return and the final act aboard the space station is laughably inappropriate for the franchise. At one point, after Bond has …
[8] King Kong, the grandfather of all monster movies, is an ambitious visual effects extravaganza servicing a fast-paced adventure story. The film’s action set-pieces have inspired generations, whether its Kong’s clashes with prehistoric creatures on spooky Skull Island or his iconic last stand atop the Empire State Building. The film works fine as a good old-fashioned matinee movie, but its “Beauty and the Beast” overtones …
[8] After finishing The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson tackled a remake of his favorite film, King Kong. Jackson’s remake is largely faithful to the 1933 original, while generously expanding the storyline and embellishing some of the characters. Jackson protracts the opening act more than necessary, but his interpretation of Skull Island is amazing. It’s this middle portion of the movie that delivers the …
[8] Special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen brings Greek myths to life in Clash of the Titans. The story centers on heroic Perseus, favored son of Zeus, who must accomplish several deadly chores in order to save his beloved Andromeda from being sacrificed to the monstrous Kraken. The film features a wide array of stop-motion animated characters, including Pegasus the winged horse, Bubo the mechanical owl, …
[5] After the unbridled silliness of Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only makes an effort to dial down the franchise’s more comic-book qualities. After an unceremonious pre-title demise of long-time supervillain Blofeld, For Your Eyes Only achieves that goal, but it struggles to forge a unique identity in the series. With yet another villain seeking nuclear power and a rehash of skiing and underwater stunts from …
[6] There is at least a certain amount of fun to be had in watching Clint Eastwood pump lead into Nazis. Where Eagles Dare is about a group of Allied forces trying to raid a Nazi stronghold to rescue a captured General who knows the secret plans of D-Day. The film tries very hard to be The Guns of Navarone (they’re both written by Alistair MacLean). …
[6] Roger Moore is looking worse for wear in his penultimate outing as James Bond, but Octopussy still satisfies on most levels. This time around, Bond is trying to uncover a global jewel-smuggling operation that ends up being a cover for a nuclear attack against NATO forces. I like that Desmond Llewelyn, as curmudgeonly Q, has a larger part this time around, and I’m also …
[8] Chris Pine stars in this emotional rescue story about a heroic Coast Guardsman who leads a small crew into a winter storm to rescue the workers on a sinking oil tanker. The Finest Hours is based on the true 1952 story, which the Coast Guard still regards as their most miraculous mission. The movie may already sound exciting to you — and it is. But …
[8] A psychotic businessman (Christopher Walken) plans to plunge Silicon Valley into the ocean to create a worldwide microchip monopoly for himself in Roger Moore’s final outing as James Bond. A View to Kill is more aggressively paced than other Bond films, and features more than its fair share of set pieces and stunts, including a parachute jump off the Eiffel Tower and a climactic gunfight atop …
[7] What appears to be a hackneyed vacation nightmare movie turns out to be a fresh thriller from reliable writer/director David Twohy (Pitch Black, Below). The script takes a cue from Scream, reaching a level of self-reference that allows it to exceed genre expectations. I often criticize movies for indulging in unnecessary plot twists, but not this time. Twohy’s twists are well conceived and executed. …
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