Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

[5] This belated sequel gets by, for the most part, on good will and fond memories of the previous three installments. It's light on memorable action scenes and heavy on silliness (the CGI mokeys and gophers are really, really hard…
Avatar (2009)

Avatar (2009)

[7] James Cameron's first film since Titanic is a supreme juvenile fantasy with a healthy sense of adventure and discovery. From its floating mountains to its bio-luminescent flora and fauna, the world of Pandora never stops unfolding before our eyes,…
Red Dawn (1984)

Red Dawn (1984)

[5] The Russians invade America and spark World War III in this Cold-War emblem from writer/director John Milius (Conan the Barbarian, Big Wednesday). Political correctness aside, the opening of this movie -- the Russian invasion -- is very effective. But…
Iron Man 2 (2010)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

[5] A so-so sequel with a few decent action set pieces to offer, but Robert Downey Jr is the real set piece here. Without his snarky persona, the franchise wouldn't have much to hang their hat on. The biggest weakness…
Thor (2011)

Thor (2011)

[4] Thor features solid direction from Kenneth Branagh, a rousing score from Patrick Doyle, and always stunning set design from Bo Welch. Tom Hiddleston gives the best performance in the film, as Thor's jealous brother, Loki. No one else, including…
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

[5] Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice feels like a movie with an identity crisis, tasked with performing two disparate, thankless tasks. The first is to set up a big fight between two iconic superheroes. You know, the kind of…
Deadpool (2016)

Deadpool (2016)

[7] Ryan Reynolds was born to play a wise-cracking vigilante, and indeed Deadpool comes off a bit like a higher-stakes Van Wilder. The story centers around the origin of the character, how he discovers he has terminal cancer and takes…
Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Jupiter Ascending (2015)

[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…
Dredd (2012)

Dredd (2012)

[6] Pete Travis directs from a script by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Sunshine) this second attempt to bring the comic book character Judge Dredd to the big screen. This is a smaller-scale production than the 1995 Sylvester Stallone version, but…
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

[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…