Saturday, August 1, 2020
First Lines: Paolo Bacigalupi - Ship Breaker
Nailer clambered through a service duct, tugging at copper wire and yanking it free.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The surviving members of the resistance face the First Order once again, and the legendary conflict between the Jedi and the Sith reaches its peak bringing the Skywalker saga to its end.
This final Star Wars episode has a heavy load wrapping the whole saga up in feature length and unfortunately packs too much in to make this a thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi adventure; however, along its convoluted way, there are lots of sets of breathtaking visual appeal.
Friday, July 31, 2020
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy from the perspective of Liz, his longtime girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
Zac Efron gives a convincing portrayal of the serial killer Ted Bundy - as the charismatic, intelligent guy he appeared as to the public and as seen by his girlfriend; beyond this performance, however, the movie misses to give any depth or insight into the killer's character and the crimes, but rather ticks off the events as they happened.
Night Tide (1961)
A young sailor falls in love with a mysterious woman, performing as a mermaid at the local carnival, but he soon comes to suspect the girl might be a real mermaid, who draws men to a watery death during the full moon.
Interesting, but ultimately disappointing phantasmagorical tale is successful creating a mysterious, dream-like atmosphere hinting at more than it delivers.
Halliwell (no star): "Cheaply made and very derivative romantic fantasy which seemed to hold a promise never fulfilled."
Maltin**1/2: "Odd, dreamy little drama is strangely compelling, though not a horror film, as often promised."
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Hollywood (2020)
A group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Hollywood try to make it big - no matter the cost.
An interesting premise is carried out with excellent period detail and a superb cast, but over the time its sugary political correctness seems more like a whitewashing rather than an ironic criticism of Hollywood history, which was obviously the intention; nevertheless, lots to enjoy along the way.
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)
A teenage couple accidentally awakens an alien after hitting it with their car.
Sci-fi comedy, clearly aimed at a teenage audience, isn't really that funny; the biggest joke are the freaky alien costumes.
Maltin (no star): "Science fiction with comic overtones, though done with so little finesse that it is difficult to know what is intentionally funny and what is accidentally so."
Maltin*1/2: "Slow-paced, minor sci-fi comedy...Cheap, but has some atmosphere and Paul Blaisdell's outlandish aliens."
Monday, July 27, 2020
Sunday, July 26, 2020
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