Target Earth

Ludicrous labor of love is merely an object of ridicule. Yeoman efforts of professionals are no match for cardboard sets, costumes, effects and meandering, pointless plot.

Kwaidan

High production values serve powerful ghost stories. Recklessly veers from unnerving to nervous jollity frequently.

The Frightened City

Sean Connery utterly dominates entire production with pre-Bond charisma. Even the characters in the story seem to know that their roles are lost in the glare of a god among men.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Polished with no slickness. Guiness is in practically every scene after he is introduced. There is hardly any action to speak of but it is full of tension. Supporting performers are uniformly strong.

Coffy

Hey! No one told me that this was soft porn! It's soft porn with a message, though. The message is, "Do not mess with Coffy."

T-Men

Dennis O'Brien and Alfred Ryder dupe a gang of counterfeiting morons. If I tell you Alfred Ryder is the married one then do you know who is doomed?

Underworld: Evolution

Well, it may have evolved into a more successful movie organism, but it's not an improvemnet over the mostly inept first 'Underworld' go-around. Good use of bat-wings, though.

The Holy Mountain

Duller than it sounds. Lili Reifenstahl toys with the affections of two skiers. I was unable to slog through.

Life With Father

Disappointing print doesn't distract from amusing performances by all. Elizabeth Taylor's assay of a spoiled ingenue was a bit too close to the bone, though.

Pitch Black

A pleasant surprise after the bloat-fest that is "The Chronicles of Riddick."

Barbary Coast

Interesting performance by Walter Brennan. A trial run for his bravura performance in "My Darling Clementine."

Appleseed

The plot that informed "Ultraviolet," apparently.

Genghis Blues

I was saddened to discover that the principal westerners in this documentary had passed away since it was released. Not too surprising as their precarious health was a large part of the story. I now know where Tuva is. I have no idea how throat-singing is accomplished.

Stray Dog

Kurosawa must have made Mifune run 500 miles during the making of this movie. Fascinating all around. Post-war Tokyo is more like post war Paris than one might have thought.

Inuits blame U.S. for climate change

Inuits blame U.S. for climate change

Simon Nattaq hunts in the Arctic with prosthetic feet. Sometimes being alive in the 21st century is pretty neat. Except for the feet-losing, global-warming part. That sucks. But "Simon Nattaq hunts in the Arctic with prosthetic feet" sounds like a line from a William Gibson novel.

Hawking to make zero gravity flight

Hawking to make zero gravity flight

I really hope Hawking also makes a flight in Branson's sub-orbital plane. That would be a good thing.

Chronicles of Riddick

Too much. Unworthy and bloated successo to Pitch Black. And Riddick is not a patch on Conan the Barbarian.

Ultraviolet

Better than Resident Evil: Apocalypse, I guess. No, wait. It's the other way around.

Battleship Potemkin

The score was replaced with selections from Shostakovicth (The Fall of Leningrad, etc ...) A major distraction. What to do?

ROME

Rome rocks. Practically educational.

Superman Returns

I would give three hundred thousand coconuts and every ounce of Brandon Routh's blood to get the two hours and thirty-four minutes that Superman Returns took from me. The movie ends four or five times.
I don't even know where to begin: the uneven tone, the formless narrative, the unfunny camp, the bad hair styles, the insouciant sepia tone, the smarmy melodrama? Bleh!
John Ottman kept the score in appropriate territory and managed to add a little bit of sense to the drama, but there is only so much that music can do. What a trooper.
Given the improbable physics, some of the special effects are realistically detailed. The ripples cascading down the skin of the 777 as Superman decelerates it were arguably realistic.
On the literary resonance side, Superman has been conflated with his original messianic role, an overt Appollonian syndrome and all too literal Jesus references. Lex Luthor introduces Superman as a god, so this is consistent.
Look up Larry Niven's essay on Superman's girlfriends for further insight into the problems this screenplay introduces. Me, I am going to stop thinking about this movie right now.

Thing in a Tree

Thing in a Tree 

The Toa Maiden Disappears from Captivity

More Toa Maiden related adventure.

Santa Bionicle

It's Santa! Run for your lives!

Festivus is tomorrow.

Teaser: Toa Maiden Fever Dream

This started out as a Bionicle Santa, which didn't work out too well, mostly because of the difficulty in making a convincing beard. Also making a plausible belly like a bowlful of jelly proved not easy. Robot monsters do not tend to rotundity. Except Tic-Toc. The closest I got was Santa Mantis and that was not satisfactory. It morphed into this more conventional ACTION FIGURE. Features to note:

• Festive color scheme.
• Cape!
• Mantis-like head.
• Golden bustle.
• Articulated waist.
• Gadgetized feet.

Talk to the hook!

Joe Barbera Has Died

Thanks for Jonny Quest, Joe Barbera.

The Toa Maiden is betrayed

Last time, the Toa Maiden had met another Toa-like being also intent on helping a group of villagers. Some time later, the villagers prove to be not what they seem.
Coming soon: The Toa Maiden's Holiday Fever Dreams

The Toa Maiden Tries to Do a Good Deed

The Toa Maiden sets out for a noble cause.

Painful juxtaposition

 
Ah, the dangers of targeted advertising.