What a big, fun, goofy, and exciting film this is!
All in Popcorn
Scott Charles Stewart's PRIEST
How can you possibly resist a gritty and bloody post-apocalyptic alternate-history vampire movie starring Paul Bettany, Christopher Plummer, Karl Urban, and Brad (“Wormtongue”) Dourif?
Louis Leterrier's CLASH OF THE TITANS
I enjoyed this movie a lot but it could have been much better had more attention been devoted to character and story.
Henry Levin's JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
This thoroughly enjoyable 1959 classic is a childhood favorite. Viewed again recently I was pleasantly surprised to see how enjoyable it remains.
Je-gyun Yun's TIDAL WAVE (HAEUNDAE)
As disaster movies go this one is pretty good. We get to know an odd group of people and wonder, of course, which will survive When The Big One Hits.
Pierre Morel's TAKEN
This movie is silly, prepostrous, nonsensical, and the plot has more holes than the strainer I use Sunday mornings to defrost frozen blueberries when I bake muffins.
I loved it.
The “invisible aliens among us” story has been done many times before. This one focuses less on wild histrionics than continually escalating terror.
Timur Bekmambetov's WANTED
Talk about no redeeming social value! But it’s great fun.
This is a good, but not great, popcorn movie.
Ishirō Honda's “THE MYSTERIANS”
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.
This movie has some of the most incredible special effects I’ve ever seen. The views of the earth and disastrous weather systems viewed from space are simply gorgeous. The repeated disasters are very skillfully done and usually very scary. The surround soundtrack is spacious, effective, and loud.