Saturday, July 16, 2016
First Lines: Giovanni Giacomo Casanova - History of my Life
I begin by declaring to my reader that, by everything good or bad that I have done throughout my life, I am sure that I have earned merit or incurred guilt, and that hence I must consider myself a free agent.
Screamers: The Hunting (2009)
A group of humans arrive on Sirius 6-B to investigate an SOS signal sent out from the planet, which has been supposedly deserted since the destruction of the man-made weapons known as "screamers."
Mediocre sci-fi horror with some graphic violence and a completely predictable ending.
Red Planet (2000)
Astronauts, and their robotic dog AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Evaluation and Evasion), search for solutions to save a dying Earth by searching on Mars, only to have the mission go terribly awry.
It's quite a regular sci-fi adventure with maybe a bit too many obstacles packed into the plot, but manages to entertain in an old-fashioned kind of way.
Halliwell (no star): "Dreary science-fiction, with the actors inhibited by their space-suits; nothing interesting happens very slowly."
Maltin**: "Utterly ordinary sci-fi saga...Looks good, but covers awfully familiar dramatic turf."
Friday, July 15, 2016
Independence Day (1996)
The aliens are coming and their goal is to
invade and destroy Earth; fighting superior technology, mankind's best
weapon is the will to
survive.
Successful
rejuvenation of the 50s alien invasion/doomsday subgenre offers
top-of-the-art special effects and action coupled with some good-natured
tongue-in-cheek humor.
Halliwell*:
"Enjoyably silly, jingoistic nonsense that found an appreciative
audience for its sensational effects of blwing up the White House and
most of the world; it sticks closely to the plot of The War of the
Worlds, offering a technological version of a biological virus to knock
out the aliens."
Maltin**1/2:
"Spectacular - and spectacularly stupid - sci-fi saga...Big,
Oscar-winning special effects are impressive, but the human stories are
so dumb, the writing so lame, and some of the performances so broad they
make some silly '50s sci-fi movies look brilliant by comparison."
First Lines: Calvin Coolidge - The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
The town of Plymouth lies on the easterly slope of the Green Mountains, about twenty miles west of the Connecticut River and somewhat south of the central part of Vermont.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Snatch (2000)
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.
Another Tarantino wannabe ruffian satire with some interesting performances, but also offering some disagreeable humor and a hardly coherent plot; the makers are obviously quite convinced of their own cleverness.
Halliwell*: "Chaotic and hectic thriller involving American, Russian and English low-life, Irish gypsies and dodgy boxing promoters; the narrative moves quickly without getting out of the morass, while Brad Pitt goes over the top in a parody of his Fight Club role."
Maltin***: "Writer-director Ritchie's follow-up to LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS is a similarly energized, violent farce about sleazy underworld...Pitt is amusing as a garble-mouthed Irish gypsy fighter. Fresh, funny, and full of punch."
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Extreme Measures (1996)
A British doctor working at a hospital in New York who starts making unwanted enquiries when the body of a man who died in his emergency room disappears.
OK speculative thriller with dubious moral message.
Halliwell (no star): "An unsuccessful medical thriller about a mad scientist, notable mainly as an attempt to broaden Grant's appeal to encompass action."
Maltin**: "Medical conspiracy thriller starts out well enough but quickly becomes obvious and hollow. Grant has one of his best parts as a dedicated doctor..."
Sunday, July 10, 2016
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