The Small Town Critic » sci-fi

INCEPTION (2010) ***** movie review by COOP

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:35:51 +0000

Every few years or so, a film comes along that changes the way you look at cinema... One that incites scholarly debates, spawns books dedicated to analyzing it and inspires lesser filmmakers to shamelessly imitate it. Critics have to watch a lot (a whole lot) of bad movies to find these diamonds in the rough. I had a sneaking suspicion “Inception” might be a “crown jewel” in the rough, but often when I get that feeling I shuffle out of the theater with nothing but lumps of coal in my pocket. Not this time...

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): PREDATORS, BLOOD AND BONE, THE WHITE RIBBON, THE BROOD, ECLIPSE…

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:23:49 +0000

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): All I can think about is how jazzed I am about INCEPTION tomorrow... PREDATORS: Cheesy fun that honors and expands upon the original. Quite satisfying, but does it warrant more sequels? Maybe. 3&1/2 out of 5 BLOOD AND BONE: Michael Jai White plays badass, honorable ex-con fighting in underground circuits. Another Lionheart remake. Bah. 2 out of 3 THE WHITE RIBBON: In a pre-WWI German village, a cruel act reveals an underlying evil. Masterful allegory on the rise of fascism. 5 out of 5 THE BROOD: Shrink invents therapy to manifest rage in flesh of patients. Mediocre Cronenberg film still tops most horror efforts. 3 out of 5 ECLIPSE: Better than the first two due to bigger battles and neat vamp backstories. Romance scenes still terminally cheezy. 3&1/2 out of 5 Thy Twitter has spoken. -Coop

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): A-TEAM, JONAH HEX, MACABRE (2009), GALAXY OF TERROR, NECROMENTIA, IN AMERICA…

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:52:44 +0000

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): Yep, I've been slackin'. Maybe it's the weak summer box office releases getting me down. At least I've been watching a lot of low-budget horror... an unapologetic passion of mine. Groovy... IN AMERICA: Fine acting, but ultimately pretentious Oscar-bait about modern Irish immigrants. Includes an AIDS subplot? Ick. 2&1/2 out of 5. NECROMENTIA: Ripoff of HELLRAISER in theme and visuals, but told backwards. Terrific atmosphere and creep factor. Inept story. 2 out of 5 GALAXY OF TERROR: Goofy, gory Corman shocker. Flimsy storyline with some neat H.R. Giger visuals and monsters. Worst ending ever. 2 out of 5 MACABRE: Better than average, ultra-gory killer family story out of Indonesia. Creepiest lead villain in Asian movie history. 3&1/2 out of 5 JONAH HEX: Cool comic book premise gets railroaded into cinematic hell. Everything sucks, especially Jonah's face makeup. 1&1/2 out of 5 A-TEAM: Sloppy... but great actors/characters have undeniable chemistry. Nice action. Better than THE LOSERS. Murdock rules. 3&1/2 out of 5...

Why SPLICE is Overrated by DARK SIDE…

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:07:41 +0000

I was perfectly willing to let this one go until I read the imminent Stacy Ponder's negative review of Splice down over at the Final Girl blog. She expressed her reasons for disliking the film stem from the fact that if you take the sci-fi element of the film, you basically have a Lifetime Channel rehash of The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. Thanks for pointing that one out, Stacy. I admit I somehow missed that one, but now that I look back, you're 100% right and it's obviously another subconscious reason why I hate (that which I merely disliked beforehand) Splice. I have several other reasons why the flick failed to iron my britches and I feel the intense urge to list them all below...

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): SPLICE, EXAM, D.E.B.S., DISCTRICT B13: ULTIMATUM, VALHALLA RISING…

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:00:58 +0000

Coop’s most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): SPLICE: Frankenstein redo with icky scruples, laughably repulsive monster and jerk hipster protagonists. Uncool. 2 out of 5. EXAM: 8 job hopefuls locked in a room with ticking clock and menacing set of rules. Cool concept, sloppy plot. 3 out of 5. D.E.B.S.: Lesbian evil mastermind seduces crack agent of an all-girl superspy team. Spoof undermines message. 1 out of 5. DISTRICT B13: ULTIMATUM... Cliche, low on action. Huge insult to the original which set action standards. 2 out of 5. VALHALLA RISING: A bloody, trippy, grimy, violent, slow and pretentious allegory for the death of religion. 2 out of 5.

Strategies for women to convince their men to go see “CHICK FLICKS”… by COOP

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:43:15 +0000

For many of you couples, this is probably a common argument: He wants to see the new Bruce Willis action movie while she'd rather see the latest romantic comedy starring Julie Roberts. Now this may not apply to all guys. Girls, if you have a boyfriend/husband who likes most romantic comedies and Victorian Era dramas, then hold onto him. You've bagged yourself a sensitive, modern guy there. Since that description doesn't apply to the majority of men, here is some advice for women trying to convince their significant other to see the latest “chick flick” (don't worry tough guys... this benefits you too). Firstly, don't ever... EVER use the word “cute” to describe a movie. As soon as guys hear a movie is “cute” or “sweet” or any other adjective that conjures images of babies and puppy dogs, they immediately...

MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter!): THE CRAZIES, [REC]2, FROM PARIS WITH LOVE, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, SHE’S OUT OF MY LEAGUE, NINJA ASSASSIN, LEGION…

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:54:55 +0000

Coop's most recent MICRO REVIEWS (via Twitter): THE CRAZIES (2010): Great first half, effective scares (pitchfork!) but ignored much of what worked in the original. 3 stars [REC]2: Creative continuity/action/camerawork, but "Exorcist" twist undermines the mythology of original. 2&1/2 stars FROM PARIS WITH LOVE: Travolta = over the top and action scenes = outrageous, a must see for action fans. 3&1/2 stars HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: Better than AVATAR in story and intent. Total pleasant surprise. Take kids now. 4&1/2 stars SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE: Sub-par comedy. Baruchel unlikably insecure. Cop-out ending. Title ironically true. 2 stars. NINJA ASSASSIN: Good gore. Bad CGI shurikens. Rain = ok. Lead actress sucks. Sho Kosugi rocks. Lame plot. 2 stars. LEGION: Amazing concept. Angels + weapons = BOOM. Weak execution. All characters unlikable. Wings clipped. 2&1/2 stars.

IRON MAN 2 (2010) ***1/2 movie review by COOP

admin — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:00:12 +0000

The first “Iron Man” movie defied expectations to become one of the most critically acclaimed and popular superhero films of all time. “Iron Man 2” retains many of the qualities (special effects, performances, humor, etc.) that made the first one great, but overall the film suffers from a minor case of “sequel-itis”. The story picks up where the last one ended... Billionaire genius Tony Stark impulsively reveals to the world he is the armored superhero known as Iron Man. Months later the world is largely at peace due to...

The TRON LEGACY trailer… I’m still reeling from it… by COOP

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 05:34:49 +0000

Oh yeah, I'm diggin' it. You should dig on it too unless your dead... OR IN JAIL. And if you're in jail... BREAK OUT so you can see TRON LEGACY on December 17th. I'll bake a cake with a jackhammer in it. Drink in the new trailer below. I've watched it no less than 33 times. Did I mention that Academy Award Winning Actor Jeff Bridges stars, revising his role as hero Kevin Flynn from the original TRON? Well, he does...

THE BOOK OF ELI (2010) *** movie review capsule by COOP

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:41:31 +0000

Here's a movie with an ambitious story and message that almost pulled it off. Denzel Washington plays a cat-eating, machete-wielding post apocalyptic badass named Eli who walks the Earth (like Caine in "Kung Fu") and carries a book that is supposed to save the remainder of the planet's population 33 years after nuclear war. He runs afoul of Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the honcho of a wild west-style town who has been searching for the book for years with plans to use it to control the masses rather than save them. When he learns that Eli possesses it, he stops and nothing to get it...

AVATAR (2009) *** movie review by COOP

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:14:24 +0000

The most highly anticipated film of the year, “Avatar” marks director James Cameron’s first feature film since 1997’s “Titanic.” The notoriously meticulous filmmaker has painstakingly prepared this film, utilizing the largest motion picture budget to date. An estimated $300 million went into the making of this science fiction epic which boasts revolutionary 3-D imagery and supposedly “photo-real” special effects. Given Cameron’s exceptional track record for delivering some of the most successful mega-budget blockbusters of all time, “Avatar” has a lot to live up to...

THE FOURTH KIND (2009) ***1/2 movie review by COOP

admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:22:50 +0000

High on the heels of the runaway box office hit “Paranormal Activity,” another “found footage” scare flick has entered the scene just shy of the Halloween season. Touting itself as a dramatization of supposedly real taped hypnosis sessions that reveal alien abductions, the creators of “The Fourth Kind” made a sizable gamble. “The Blair Witch Project” was ten years ago and found footage films had not regained a foothold in the genre until “Paranormal Activity” came around. Add to the fact no one expected the escalating hype and sudden wide release of “PA” and “The Fourth Kind” gets the lucky boost it needs for box office success. There's one major difference between these two films...

DARK SIDE sez, “You must see PANDORUM before it leaves the theater!”

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:27:51 +0000

I'm giving this one 4 and 1/2 out of 5 stars. Now you know how I feel about it right off the bat. Why the urgency? Because like many others, I waffled in seeing it. For this reason, it's tanking like Ishtar which isn't fair at all because it's a great sci-fi film that deserves a dedicated following of fans, and it may not be in the theaters much longer. It's one of the oldest pitches in the book: "A guy wakes up in a ______ with amnesia, so he must solve the mystery of who he is, how he got there and why someone (or something) is after him."...

SURROGATES (2009) *** movie review by COOP

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:25:49 +0000

I like science fiction films that make me think, but sometimes a concept really gets my gears moving. Films with robots tend to catch my fancy. I even taught an English unit to high school students involving classic short stories about robots and how they could have a positive or negative effect on society. 95% of the time, the stories lean toward the negative. “Surrogates,” based off of a graphic novel, is no exception. While engaging and moderately exciting, it raises more questions that it answers...

SLEEP DEALER (2009) ****1/2 ain’t snooze-worthy. In fact, It’s great sci-fi! by COOP

admin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:36:27 +0000

Whew, back from a relaxing vacation to bring you an indie film that needs more exposure. Set in the future where fears of terrorism have made travel across the border between America and Mexico nearly impossible, native Mexicans find a new, high-tech method of illegal immigration. Luis Fernando Pena plays Memo, a young man who reads "Hacking for Beginners" books and tinkers with his own surveillance equipment at his father's struggling farm in Mexico. The U.S. Government has...

CIGARETTE GIRL… Memphis indie movie premiere (2009) by COOP

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:20:23 +0000

I met Tupelo native Mike McCarthy at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi a little over two weeks ago and I found myself surprised to realize I’d heard of the guy. I caught his ultra low-budget film “Superstarlet A.D.”years back which was released by shlockmeister/producer Lloyd Kaufman, famous for his “Troma” brand of low budget exploitation flicks. I wasn’t a fan of the film, but I got a clear grasp for McCarthy’s style and obsessions. McCarthy spends his time in Memphis soaking up the hip Midtown scene and planning feature film projects. He fetishizes pin-up girls, rockabilly music and indie film… precisely all the ingredients that make up his latest opus, “Cigarette Girl.”...

GAMER (2009) **** movie review by COOP… Surprise, Mikey! He liked it!

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:00:57 +0000

Color me shocked. What looked like a loud, obnoxious, superficial action flick in the previews actually succeeded in making a meaningful (yet disturbing) social statement. Harkening back to the exploitative B-movie action films of the late 80’s and 90’s, “Gamer” begins as a sleazy, violent bloodbath with seemingly no redeeming cinematic value. Just as I started to turn my brain off, the story surprised me with some plot devices and story concepts way ahead of its time...

I COME IN PEACE: Watch one of COOP’s favorite sci-fi movies of 1990 online!

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:24:55 +0000

It's an oddity of a film. Originally titled Dark Angel(???), this film capitalized on the late 80's/early 90's B-movie star power of Dolph Lundgren. Imitating a Shane Black, cop-buddy movie like Lethal Weapon or The Last Boy Scout, the film adds an additional element to the mix... a 9-foot tall alien drug dealer....

IT CAME WITHOUT WARNING (1980)… Watch one of my favorite horror/sci-fi films online for free! by DARK SIDE

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:28:13 +0000

Count yourself lucky if you've ever seen this movie prior to today. It's a rare find on DVD and appears sporadically on the Independent Film Channel. It Came Without Warning aka Without Warning aka Alien Warning aka The Warning aka Alien Encounter aka Alien Shock scared the heck out of me in 1980 with its shocking televised promo spots. The normally tame programming would interrupt to show humans being attacked by frisbee monsters thrown by a giant alien with an over-sized noggin. At 4 (or possibly 5) years old, I was horrified at seeing those images. Years later, I had completely forgotten the name of the...

Hollywood Green or “Everything Old is New Again” by JAY

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:00:57 +0000

Recycling is all the rage these days. In my neighborhood up in the Pacific Northwest, it’s almost a religion. In Michigan it’s actually mandatory – but at 10¢ a can, who’s complaining? Yep, taking a discarded resource and reshaping it into a usable commodity for a fraction of the cost of producing new materials is nothing new. In fact Hollywood has been doing just that for decades...