Month: March 2022

A starship, commanded by Leslie Nielsen, is sent to Altair IV to determine the fate of a previous expedition to the planet. As they approach, they receive a warning not to land from Walter Pidgeon, the only survivor from the earlier crew, which of course the current team ignores. I have developed quite an appreciation for 1950s science fiction and this one filmed in Cinemascope with absolutely gorgeous set pieces is an incredible specimen. I would have cynically tweaked the ending, but other than that, it’s an absolute classic from its score to its special effects to its quaint notions on interstellar travel.   

Oscar Nomination: Best Effects, Special Effects

Oscar Isaac is a former soldier, previously jailed for his role in the Abu Ghraib war crimes, whose sole focus now in life is to play cards. When the son of a soldier who served with him, Tye Sheridan, shows up in his life, it upends the sparse existence he has cultivated. The film completely revolves around Isaac’s performance and it’s a very strong one. It almost doesn’t matter what happens around him as it is to just watch him try to hold on to his constraint of self in a world that trained him to do otherwise.

In the year 2139, much of the planet has become inhabitable and the former justice system has been replaced by Judges who perform the combined duties of the police, judges, juries, and executioners. When Stallone’s Judge Dredd is found guilty of murder, secrets regarding his and his brother’s origin are discovered. There are bits of the film that remind me of another of Stallone’s films that I enjoy: Demolition Man. In those moments, Judge Dredd seems to express its comic book origins, with Armand Assante in particular playing a decent comic villain. The rest of the time, it fades and becomes an uninspired, dull slog that doesn’t take enough advantage of a mostly great cast and intriguing setting. 

The biggest conflict in the small town of Bitters, Wyoming is between rancher Robert Ryan and the homesteaders who have taken over the land. That is until an injured Burl Ives and his gang of bank robbers arrive and take the town hostage. Ryan is brooding and introspective as a not-so-good guy who searches for some internal honor to save the town from guys worse than him. I always enjoy seeing Ives as a bad guy even while getting Big Rock Candy Mountain in my head every time. It’s unusual to see a western set in snow, but the cold, covered mountains are a character themselves and adds to the atmosphere and tension. 

Bruce Willis is again working at the NYPD for the third installment of the series. Separated from his wife and suspended from the force, he is forced to team up with shop keeper Samuel L. Jackson in a game of cat and mouse against terrorist Jeremy Irons. It’s not as good as the other films, but still a relatively solid actioner. I miss the Christmas setting, but Jackson is more than capable of partnering with an even more self-important Willis. Irons is a decent villain though the writing of his character is quite weak as is his commitment to a German accent. 

Single mother and college student LisaRaye McCoy begins working at the titular club to pay for her schooling. When her younger cousin Monica Calhoun comes to town, she also begins work there, getting caught in a detrimental lifestyle that threatens to pull them both down. It’s quite the cliched film about adult entertainers with the men almost universally being despicable, performed by the likes of Bernie Mac, Terrence Howard, and director Ice Cube.

A team of five American martial artists, coached by James Earl Jones and including Eric Roberts, Chris Penn, and Phillip Rhee, is brought together to compete against Team Korea. The movie keeps referring to the martial art as karate, but it both doesn’t look like karate as I know it nor explain why they are competing against South Korea. The Koreans are portrayed as being ruthless with year-round, state-paid, no-holds barred training against the thrown-together, slacker Americans who haven’t yet discovered there’s no I in team. The stakes are about as low as they possibly can be while still portraying a competition. Luckily it doesn’t forget the important parts of a 1980s sports film and totally brings the blood-pumping soundtrack and training montages. Somehow this film managed to spawn three sequels.