Saturday, April 28, 2018
Friday, April 27, 2018
First Lines: Samuel R. Delany - Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia
He had been living at the men's co-op (Serpent's House) six months now.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Sneakers (1992)
A security pro finds his past coming back to haunt him, when he and his unique team are tasked with retrieving a particularly important item.
Good-humoured and harmless caper comedy, although it does presciently convey an alarming attempt at global surveillance.
Halliwell**: "Enjoyable caper that pleasantly passes a couple of hours."
Maltin**1/2: "High-tech caper yarn...Redford is in fine form in a lighthearted leading-man role, and his "team" is fun, but why does this story take so long to unravel - and why does it jettison every shred of believability toward the end?"
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
A scientist is nearly assassinated. In order to save him, a submarine is shrunken to microscopic size and injected into his blood stream with a small crew. Problems arise almost as soon as they enter the bloodstream.
At its time a spectacular special effects sci-fi event despite a trashy plot it very quickly became outdated and is now merely of historic interest.
Halliwell*: "Engagingly absurd science fiction which keeps its momentum but is somwhat let down by its décor."
Maltin***1/2: "Tremendously entertaining science fiction story...Film's then-state-of-the-art visual effects look great in widescreen."
Michael Weldon/Psychotronic: "Lots of enlarged guts, a voyage through the ventricles, and a lung-induced tornado."
Monday, April 23, 2018
Sunday, April 22, 2018
First Lines: Edward Abbey - The Monkey Wrench Gang
When a new bridge between two sovereign states of the United States has been completed, it is time for speech.
Man on a Ledge (2012)
As a police psychologist works to talk down an ex-con who is threatening to jump from a Manhattan hotel rooftop, the biggest diamond heist ever committed is in motion.
Nicely made and fairly entertaining thriller loses credibility with its far-fetched plot.
Maltin**: "There are clever moments, but the plot gets progressively more ridiculous and eventually loses steam; the depiction of dirty cops and a ruthless business tycoon are pretty shopworn."
