Sci-fi, 145 Minutes, 1996
Why the hell not watch this today? You think it’s some kind of cliché? Something that displays a lack of imagination? Well, what the hell are you watching, if you’re so smart? Some kind of weird foreign movie with a smart script, interesting story and no explosions?
Sci-fi/Action, 117 Minutes, 2014
You can’t review this movie without comparing it to the classic 1987 original [IMDB]. Directed by Paul Verhoeven [IMDB], the original was a brutally violent action flick that hid a disturbingly snarky satirical commentary on modern society (a formula he would leverage again 10 years later in “Starship Troopers” [IMDB]). This reboot? Well, it’s very pretty.
Sci-fi/Action, 123 Minutes, 2014
I had every intention of spending this entire review snarkily discussing the weird similarities this movie has with 1998’s universally riviled “Godzilla” [IMDB]. I had that intention all the way up until the moment that Cracked did it better, first. Bastards. Instead, I’ll take a different tack and discuss why so many of the things in this movie worked compared to the previous attempt. (There may be minor spoilers ahead.)
It’s Star Wars Day, May the Fourth Be With You!
The official Star Wars page has a huge list of sales and deals just in case there’s a nook or niche in your home that’s screaming out for a Jar Jar Binks combo foot massager and potato peeler.
It’s a good time for Star Wars fans. The cast of the new trilogy was recently announced and isn’t horrifying. So far, at least, Damon Lindelof has been kept away from the project. A new animated show, Star Wars Rebels, is in the works.
Yes, it’s a good time for fans, so enjoy Star Wars Day!
“Thor: The Dark World” on IMDB
Action/Fantasy, 112 Minutes, 2013
Thor, you crazy asgardian god, what’s going on?! Why are you throwing your hammer around? You look like somebody kicked your puppy. What? Your little friend from down in that other dimension get herself all infected with all-powerful ancient evil? Well, I’m sure she’ll be alright.
Sci-fi/Horror, 86 Minutes, 2012
Stop me if you heard this one before: a bunch of scientists in a secret underground base are creating monsters. Something goes very wrong (or very right, I suppose) and the monsters get out. The base goes dark. The government sends in a crack squad of soldiers to clean up the mess and kill anybody left breathing. When they get there it’s more than they bargained for and everything goes pear-shaped. One of the experimental subjects turns out to be the former lover of one of the commandos. He ignores his orders to kill her on sight. The head scientist doesn’t want to see his greatest achievement killed and he tries to sabotage the mission…
Sci-fi/Horror, 126 Minutes, 2007
This is one of those classic movies that you likely saw long ago and are then reminded about by something so you track it down and re-watch. Since my wife had never seen it, I was able to share it with her and was happily surprised that it held up just as well as I had hoped.
Sci-fi, 121 Minutes, 1994
Wanting to celebrate Pi Day with a movie gets a little difficult after the obvious options are ruled out. “Pi” [IMDB] isn’t exactly a family movie. “Life of Pi” [My Review] is great, but we had re-watched it recently on a whim. “American Pie” [IMDB] was floated as a possibility but dismissed as inappropriate for the audience. The excellent and often overlooked “Waitress” [IMDB], about a waitress who expresses herself through gourmet pies, was suggested as well; this was shot down by a small, but vocal minority who didn’t want any “chick flicks”.
Sci-fi, 114 Minutes, 2013
Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Orson Scott Card, author of “Ender’s Game”, is an asshat. This is a man that, when contemplating government recognition of gay marriage, said “I will act to destroy that government and bring it down.” He also defends the non-science of Intelligent Design and evidence against Climate Change as victims of scientific dogmatists.
Science-Fiction, 119 Minutes, 2013
I’m a huge fan of the Riddick movies and of director David Twohy [IMDB]. Riddick has the kind of over-the-top, comic-book cool that’s been missing from a genre more interested in epic run-times than fun. He was introduced in “Pitch Black” [IMDB], a near-perfect sci-fi monster thriller and expanded in 2004’s muddled, but still terrific, “The Chronicles of Riddick” [IMDB]. Vin Diesel [IMDB] clearly believes in the character: he finagled a deal to gain ownership of the franchise from Universal and produced this film independently.
“Independence Day” on IMDB
![IMDB, Godzilla [2014]](http://depressedpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/imdb-godzilla-2014.jpg)
