Dennis D. McDonald’s MOVIE REVIEWS
This section contains links to my occasional movie & DVD reviews. A complete index is here.
Having grown up reading the science fiction of Clarke, Heinlein, and Asimov, the original Star Trek TV series always seemed unsophisticated and juvenile.
Monday, June 3, 2013 at 01:21PM in Action, Disappointing, Science Fiction The only reason I rented this Blu-ray was to see Charlize Theron. I was smitten by her in Prometheus and was really looking forward to seeing her in a turn as the Evil Stepmother. Alas, it was not to be.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 11:26AM in Disappointing, Fantasy, Turkey Great popcorn movie. Really enjoyed it. Terrific visuals, interesting variations on familiar themes.
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 10:44AM in Action, Another Time & Place, Popcorn, Post-apocalyptic, Robots, Science Fiction I’m glad I saw this film, it’s a pleasure to see something that’s grounded in reality but sufficiently fantastic to the point where the dividing line between the two becomes blurred.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 05:19AM in Drama, Fantasy, One of a Kind, Spouse Approved While watching this film I said to myself, “If I could make a movie this is the kind of movie I’d make.”
To my surprise, I really enjoyed many Men in Black III. What did I like about it?
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 01:58PM in Comedy, Science Fiction, Sweet, Time Travel I was really looking forward to seeing Iron Sky after all the online hype. Actually seeing it was a major disappointment. This movie is awful.
Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 09:07AM in Comedy, Disappointing, Science Fiction, Space Travel, Turkey This is sort of a sequel to Avalon. We have, again, a post apocalyptic society where immersive multiplayer videogame warfare seems to have evolved into a major societal and economic force.
Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 12:13AM in Japanese, Oshii, Post-apocalyptic, Science Fiction My first reaction, walking out of the theater after the credits, was to ask my wife, “How is it possible that the same guy who directed a terrifying movie like War of the Worlds could then go on to do something like LIncoln?”
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 01:24PM in Another Time & Place, Biography, Drama, History, Intelligent, War I’m not a big fan of James Bond movies. I enjoyed Skyfall but I admit to having been bored at times. Why? A couple of reasons:
Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 11:08AM in Action, Disappointing, Ridiculous, Thriller I really enjoyed the previous Resident Evil movie so I looked forward to this one. I decided to see it in the theater and spent the extra $4 for a 3D ticket. Was it worth it?
In the Jakarta slums a derelict apartment building looms.
A young man, depressed, tries to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge. Instead he washes up onto a small island in the middle of the river and is cut off from the city.
The new TOTAL RECALL is a fun movie. It’s nowhere near as gratuitously gory and twisted as Paul Verhoeven’s great Arnold Schwartzenneger version, but it makes up for that with performances, visuals, and pacing that match and in some cases surpass the original.
Monday, August 13, 2012 at 05:11PM in Action, Popcorn, Robots, Science Fiction Director Caetano makes a beautiful gem of a movie out of worn out concepts:
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 at 08:52AM in Drama But the real star of this movie is the look.
Friday, June 29, 2012 at 11:57AM in Action, Science Fiction This is Miyazaki’s first feature films. It portends a lot of what’s to come in his career: dizzying action, vibrant color, clever stories, strong females, and humor.
Updated on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at 12:08PM by
Dennis D. McDonald
Is it Scott’s fault that all interstellar spacecraft now come equipped with handheld flamethrowers?
Monday, June 11, 2012 at 09:28AM in Action, Horror, Scary, Science Fiction, Space Travel, Thriller Some of the words come to my mind while watching this film include:
Saturday, June 2, 2012 at 07:22AM in Drama, Fantasy, One of a Kind, Quirky THE AVENGERS is an OK piece of entertainment, I guess. Several times during the first hour I started to doze off.