[6] Poachers are looking to rob a legendary elephant graveyard of its ivory in the first Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan sequel. I think the sequel is just as entertaining as the original. The sexual innuendo is more pronounced (we even get a nude swimming scene), and it definitely delivers plenty matinee action, culminating in a nice finale where we have Tarzan and Jane fighting their way …
[6] Jupiter Ascending is probably the last big-budget studio picture from Andy & Lana Wachowski, the creators of The Matrix trilogy and some other movies that failed to live up to expectation. I admire the Wachowski’s ambition and I appreciate how they always try to push the envelope with content and execution. It’s not always a success, unfortunately. Jupiter Ascending is a huge, epic story …
[8] Hot off his Best Director Oscar for Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu delivers another astonishing directorial effort. The Revenant is shot entirely outdoors with available lighting, capturing the story of an 1820s fur trader (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is viciously mauled by a bear and left for dead by a traitorous fellow trader (Tom Hardy). DiCaprio and Hardy are both equally up to the task here, …
[7] Fred MacMurray and Joan Crawford star as newlyweds who get roped into spying for British intelligence in Nazi Germany. The tone here is light-hearted. Despite the prospect of serious danger, Crawford and MacMurray’s characters actually enjoy trying their hand at espionage. It’s fun to watch them follow the bread crumbs and put clues together. A Franz Liszt concerto is incorporated into the mystery, as …
[7] A gaggle of Oscar-winners go topsy-turvy and fight to survive when a luxury liner capsizes at sea in the trend-setting disaster flick, The Poseidon Adventure. The film delivers on producer Irwin Allen’s desire to blow shit up (think of him as the proto-Michael Bay), but also manages to give its venerable cast plenty to chew on. The characters are engaging and no one is …
[7] In this romantic, seafaring adventure from director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), Errol Flynn swashbuckles as a pirate hired by Queen Elizabeth I to thwart the Spanish armada. The Sea Hawk rises above Saturday matinee standards by integrating a healthy dose of political intrigue and cinematic panache. Flynn is terrific as usual, but there are also memorable performances by Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth and Henry …
[8] A group of kids who call themselves the Goonies rally together for one last adventure before they’re all forced by a real estate meanie to move away from their Pacific northwest coastal community. They find a map and follow it to hidden treasure, encountering criminals on the run from the law, a deformed cellar-dweller, bats, booby traps, and more. I was eleven when I …
[7] James Bond returns for the 24th official time in Spectre. Know right away that this is not Skyfall. We were lucky to get a Skyfall — shit like that comes around in a franchise once a decade or two if it survives reinvention. Where Skyfall had the opportunity to mine a little backstory and emotion (thank you, Ms Dench), Spectre is a full-blown return …
[5] Brian DePalma (curiously) directs this wonky sci-fi action flick about a team of astronauts sent to Mars to look for survivors after the first manned mission to the Red Planet encounters a mysterious storm. There’s also something about the giant face on Mars — you know, the one that shows up in some NASA photos? The third act of this movie takes you inside …
[8] Matt Damon carries this Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator) film based on the book by Andy Weir. Half the film is practically a one-man show, with Damon playing a NASA astronaut feared dead and accidentally abandoned on Mars for several years. The other half of the run-time is split between Earth and the returning Mars spacecraft. Once NASA discovers Damon’s character is still alive, …
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