Aug 13

Aug 13 Len Wiseman's TOTAL RECALL

Action, Popcorn, Robots, Science Fiction

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.

Aug 19

Aug 19 Zack Snyder’s SUCKER PUNCH

Dennis D. McDonald

Action, Aircraft, Fantasy, Quirky, Ridiculous, Robots, Science Fiction, War, Dragons

Bullet point review:

Feb 11

Feb 11 Fumihiko Sori's VEXILLE

Dennis D. McDonald

Action, Aircraft, Animated, Japanese, Robots, Science Fiction, War, Anime

This movie has plot holes galore, the graphic concepts and technologies are derivative, and the characters are oddly un-engaging. Still, it moves along at a very fast clip, the story itself is unusual, and some of the action sequences are spectacular.

Jan 25

Jan 25 Duncan Jones' MOON

Dennis D. McDonald

Mystery, Robots, Science Fiction, Space Travel

I like movies that start out with a fake documentary describing the imaginary culture underlying the film — two good examples are Monsters Inc. and Starship Troopers. Add Moon to the list.

Dec 8

Dec 8 First Spaceship on Venus

Dennis D. McDonald

Robots, Science Fiction, Space Travel

This 1964 European-produced, English-dubbed movie was cutting edge when released and even now contains elements that entertain.

Jun 22

Jun 22 McG's TERMINATOR SALVATION

Dennis D. McDonald

Action, Aircraft, Robots, Science Fiction, Thriller, War

This is a worthy continuation of the Terminator franchise. There’s enough new stuff here to keep your attention, the action is spectacular, and the characters are sufficiently differentiated to create some dramatic tension despite being frequently out-staged by the savage action sequences.

Mar 7

Mar 7 Kurt Neumann’s “Kronos”

Dennis D. McDonald

One of a Kind, Quirky, Robots, Science Fiction

Dec 27

Dec 27 Scott Derrickson's THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

Dennis D. McDonald

Action, Fantasy, Robots, Science Fiction, First Contact

I really enjoyed this current film. And I still love the original. I’m living proof that these two reactions are not incompatible.

Nov 19

Nov 19 Andrew Stanton's WALL•E

Dennis D. McDonald

Animated, Another Time & Place, Comedy, Fantasy, Intelligent, Pixar, Robots, Science Fiction, Sentimental, Space Travel, Star Wars

My first reaction to seeing Pixar’s WALL•E was “This is better than Coruscant!”

Nov 24

Nov 24 Steven Spielberg's AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Dennis D. McDonald

Action, Drama, Emotional, Fantasy, Intelligent, Robots, Science Fiction, Spielberg

I grew up with the science fiction of Clarke, Asimov, and Heinlein. At their best they wrestled with humans coming to terms with very large ideas and concepts in stories that spanned years and vast distances. I especially loved depictions of the far future.

May 25

May 25 Fred Wilcox's “FORBIDDEN PLANET”

Dennis D. McDonald

Robots, Science Fiction, Space Travel, Classic

When I was a kid, this movie scared me, especially the Id Monster’s attack on the starship’s sleeping crew.

May 25

May 25 Fritz Lang’s METROPOLIS (Kino edition)

Dennis D. McDonald

Classic, One of a Kind, Robots, Science Fiction, Silent

This 1927 film contains two of the most spectacular transformational scenes ever committed to film: 1. The giant machine’s transformation into “Moloch” 2. The robot’s transformation into the false Maria

Dec 14

Dec 14 Robots

Dennis D. McDonald

Animated, Comedy, Robots, Science Fiction

I especially liked the battle sequence at the end with its darkness, its massed robotic antagonists, and the feeling I was seeing some real cartoon malevolence the likes of which I haven’t seen since Oogie Boogie in Nightmare Before Christmas.

Aug 5

Aug 5 Katsuhiro Ôtomo's “STEAMBOY”

Dennis D. McDonald

Animated, Japanese, Quirky, Robots, Anime, Steampunk

At the end of Steamboy the credits roll over a series of detailed pictures that project the main characters of the movie into the future. We see Ray Steam’s inventions unfold even further, and they include flight and airplanes. And we see Scarlett defiantly staring into the camera as well as she shares Ray’s future.

Mar 15

Mar 15 Ishirō Honda's “THE MYSTERIANS”

Dennis D. McDonald

Action, Japanese, Popcorn, Robots, Space Travel, Kaiju

In 1957, Toho Studios released Akira Kurosawa’s epic The Hidden Fortress, a film that George Lucas has stated strongly influenced his creation of the Star Wars saga. I wasn’t paying attention. That was also the year that Toho released Inoshiro Honda’s sci-fi epic The Mysterians.

Jan 27

Jan 27 Alex Proyas' I, ROBOT

Dennis D. McDonald

Cops, Proyas, Robots, Science Fiction

Upon watching this a few times after purchasing the DVD I was struck not only by the excellent surround sound and picture quality but by the sophistication of the story and script.

Jan 21

Jan 21 Michael Anderson’s “LOGAN’S RUN”

Dennis D. McDonald

Dystopian, Science Fiction, Weird, Guilty Pleasure, Robots, Romantic, Action

Jan 18

Jan 18 Mamoru Oshii's GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE

Dennis D. McDonald

Animated, Japanese, Oshii, Robots, Science Fiction, Anime

Mamoru Oshii (Avalon) does it again, this time with a sequel to Ghost in the Shell. Some of the same characters continue. The world of the future is even more detailed and incredible than in the original. There are more philosophical musings about the nature of humanity and technology. Plus, this may be the most incredible piece of animation I have ever seen. But it is not a favorite film of mine, for a couple of reasons.

Nov 6

Nov 6 Brad Bird's THE INCREDIBLES

Dennis D. McDonald

Animated, Comedy, One of a Kind, Pixar, Robots, Science Fiction

The house was packed. The movie was terrific. We had a great time. Another Pixar triumph. So what is so great about this movie? It’s funny, the action is nonstop, the characters are memorable, the animation excellent, the dialog is witty, the satire is clever.

Sep 22

Sep 22 SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW

Dennis D. McDonald

One of a Kind, Action, Aircraft, Robots, Science Fiction

The most interesting extra on this DVD is the long documentary that tracks the production of the film. It documents with great detail and enthusiasm what I think is the main message of this film, that people “outside the mainstream” who have a vision can produce blockbuster entertainment that depends heavily on modern technology managed and used in a tightly controlled temporary business environment.