Category Archives: Reviews

Dark City Review

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Writer/Director: Alex Proyas (w/ Len Dobbs & David S. Goyer)

Starring: Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly

Year: 1998

In the year 1998 I saw a movie. It was a movie that seemed to come out of nowhere. It was a movie marked by distinct visual style, brilliant special effects and a heart-racing soundtrack. It was a movie that questioned the nature of reality as we know, and asked deep questions about humanity and life. My friends and I came away from it not quite sure if we’d ‘got’ all that we’d just seen, but certain that it was a remarkable and groundbreaking new standing stone in the evolution of movies.

I am, of course, talking about The Matrix… which I will never review.

What I can do is take that paragraph and Continue reading →

Alphas – Pilot Review

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‘When a grocery clerk commits an impossible assassination, the government calls in Dr. Leigh Rosen and his team of “Alphas”: unique individuals with neurological mutations that give them special abilities. The team must determine who the killer is and track him down, but soon discover that a greater plan is in motion.‘

I was very ambivalent about Alphas when I first heard about it, the premise sounded like a cross between Heroes and CSI, both of which started out very interesting but quickly ran out of steam. Heroes collapsed under the weight of its convoluted backstory after a fantastic first season, and CSI quickly became very repetitive. While I don’t know how Alphas will fare in the long run, the first episode definitely shows some promise.

One thing that I particularly liked Continue reading →

Interstate 60 Review

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Director: Bob Gale

Starring: James Marsden, Amy Smart, Gary Oldman

Year: 2002

Interstate 60

In 2001 writer/director Bob Gale (Back to the Future) wanted to make a movie. He invited all of his friends to help him out. The finished product ended up featuring Christopher Lloyd, Chris Cooper, Michael J. Fox, Gary Oldman and Kurt freakin’ Russel!

If you’ve heard of this flick, congrats, that makes about five of us. I stumbled Continue reading →

Falling Skies – Silent Kill Review

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‘Hal devises a risky new plan to save the captured teenagers, but pulling it off could put someone in danger. Following a sudden tragedy, Anne makes a discovery that could mean the difference between the success or failure of Hal’s rescue plan.‘

Falling Skies - Silent Kill

Series Website

Now that I’ve caught up with the show, Falling Skies won’t be dominating the blog so much. The reviews will come out once a week as the episodes air. – Al

Once again Falling Skies delivers an episode focused on the rescue of Ben Mason (Connor Jessup) from the aliens without dealing with the overall conflict. While there was a great deal of emotion on display here and some good performances, none of the issues I have with the overall series have been addressed.

I understand that the Masons are Continue reading →

Eureka – Liftoff Review

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‘Zane pesters Jo for details she does not want to reveal. Carter problem-solves at Andy and S.A.R.A.H.’s wedding. Elsewhere, Zane’s actions make him and Fargo unexpectedly airborne.‘

Eureka - Liftoff

Eureka has had really bad luck with scheduling over its lifespan. Thankfully, even with the crazy gaps between seasons and season halves the audience has stuck with this quirky little SF show. After a long break, Eureka is back and I have to say, this show’s still got it.

Season 4 has been a bit of a Continue reading →

Falling Skies – Grace Review

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‘Tom and Hal lead a team to find more motorcycles for the 2nd Mass after Pope provides details on where they can be found. Back at the high school where they’ve set up base Dr. Harris and Anne disagree over the best tactic to gather more intelligence on the aliens.‘

Falling Skies - Grace

Series Website

This episode should have been a lot more interesting than it was. We started learning more about the aliens and the nature of the harness devices, there was a chance for more action in another resistance raid, and Hal is now dealing with his own guilt over what happened in the previous episode.

They had all of that great Continue reading →

Falling Skies – Prisoner of War Review

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‘The 2nd Mass comes face to face with Skitters and Mechs when Tom and Hal lead a mission to finally attempt rescuing Ben and the other captured teens. Tom’s search for answers to nagging questions could jeopardize the plan to save the teenagers from the harnesses that is presented by the 2nd Mass’ latest recruit Dr. Michael Harris.‘

Falling Skies - Prisoner of War

Series Website

After a less than stellar premiere, I was hoping that the third episode of Falling Skies would be able to get me excited about the show. But unfortunately while I really want to like the show, I can’t look past the many problems it still has.

The biggest problem I have Continue reading →

Falling Skies – Premiere (Live and Learn/The Armory) Review

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‘After an unprovoked and devastating alien invasion of Earth leaves the planet in tatters, the remaining humans must learn to work together and fight the aliens if they are to continue to exist. Former history professor Tom Mason as Second In Command of the 2nd Mass must juggle his duties as leader with his duties as a father to his 3 sons, one of whom is being held captive by the aliens.‘

I’m a big fan of science fiction and I’m always on the lookout for new shows, but I must admit that I hadn’t heard a thing about Falling Skies until it actually came out. While I’m glad that more science fiction is making it to TV, I want it to be quality drama.

Unfortunately, this premiere didn’t Continue reading →

Scott Pilgrim vs The World Guest Review

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Another guest review from Lindsay. – Al

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Writer: Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright; Brian Lee O’Malley (original comic)

Director: Edgar Wright

Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, everyone under 30 in hollywood who’s awesome.

Year: 2010

There is a fundamental core audience to this flick (and the original graphic novels from Oni Press) and I want to make something perfectly clear: I am not a part of it.

O’Malley has always been upfront about the fact Continue reading →

The Hangover Guest Review

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Another guest review from Lindsay. My reviews will resume next week. – Al

The Hangover

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham

Writers: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore

Director: Todd Phillips

Year: 2009

If amnesia can be this much fun I should try whackin’ my head more often.

The setup couldn’t have been more basic: Guy’s getting married; friends take him Continue reading →