[7] The Irwin Allen disaster epic is alive and well in this 1996 summer blockbuster in which evil aliens threaten to destroy Earth, leaving it up to a rag-tag team of politicians, soldiers, and scientists (plus a drunken crop-duster and a pole dancer!), to save humanity. The writing and directing team of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin (Stargate, Godzilla) almost strike the perfect tone for …
[6] Julianne Moore stars as a woman convinced that she once had a son who died in a tragic plane crash, but everyone around her — including her own husband — insists the boy never existed. The movie is full of revelations, the first of which is that Moore’s character isn’t nuts. A greater conspiracy is at play in the movie, and the less you …
[7] I usually appreciate an interesting mess more than a tidy bore. So sue me: Yes, I like one of the most famous bad movies of the last few decades. You wanna fight about it?
[7] For a movie that was no doubt jumping on the E.T. and Star Wars bandwagon, The Last Starfighter manages to carve a niche for itself. Teenager Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) wins the high score on a mysterious video game and is suddenly recruited by an alien to defend the universe from some cosmic bad asses. What counts here is charm. The Last Starfighter oozes …
[8] Director Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Basic Instinct) continues his knack for combining violence, gore, dark humor and social commentary in this loose adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s serialized novel about humankind’s future war against a race of insect-like aliens. I can almost enjoy the movie for the action alone. It escalates beautifully, with plenty of exciting sequences and spectacular visual effects. But it’s the satirical …
[5] Writer/director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) serves up a blunt class struggle allegory set in a future where the filthy rich live on Elysium, a nice orbiting space station, while the rest of us live on the wastelands of planet Earth. Matt Damon stars as the working-class hero who risks it all to break into the floating utopia where he can cure himself and a …
[7] A British couple and a mad scientist embark on the world’s first trip to the moon and end up getting more than they bargained for in this colorful fantasy featuring visual effects and animation by Ray Harryhausen. First Men in the Moon is beautifully rendered with imaginative set design, color-saturated cinematography, and a grand score by Laurie Johnson. It’s also a bit more sophisticated …
[7] In this Howard Hawks production, an arctic science team finds an alien buried in the ice, so they bring it back to their facility for closer inspection. Things go awry, the monster gets loose, and before long, all the men are in danger of becoming food for the alien’s progeny. This is a great atomic-age monster movie that well exceeds expectations for the genre …
[8] It may have been Disney’s pallid attempt to cash in on the success of Star Wars, but The Black Hole is another kind of animal, a kitschy matinee sci-fi/horror movie that’s worth a look in its own right. It’s a cross between Frankenstein and The Old Dark House, falling more in line with Forbidden Planet than it does George Lucas’ famous trilogy. Robert Forster, …
[7] Mild Spoilers Ahead! J.J. Abrams (TV’s Lost and Alias) serves up a second, solid entry in the rebooted Star Trek franchise. Into Darkness is equal parts action and character-driven charm, with an emotional climax and a terrific villainous performance from Benedict Cumberbatch. You don’t have to be a Trekkie to enjoy this flick, but it will add immeasurably to your enjoyment if you’re familiar …
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