Her

Her (2013) starring Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson (voice), Amy Adams, Rooney Mara. Directed by Spike Jonze. In the year 2025, Theodore (Phoenix) falls in love with his computer's operating system (voice of Johansson). What's more, the OS "falls in love" with him. But of course it can't be that simple. Suffice it to say that his OS has the ability to learn and evolve, and their relationship goes places one wouldn't dream it could go. This is a very interesting "what if" sort of movie. It's not believable for a second, but it poses some fascinating questions about the nature of intelligence and emotion, and of the future of computers. It certainly made for a good evening's entertainment. (English subtitles for the hearing-impaired are available.) Grade: B+

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland. Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) takes another giant step toward becoming the leader of a revolution. In this film, the evil President Snow (Sutherland) contrives to have past winners of the Hunger Games come together as Tributes to battle each other -- thus, he believes, snuffing out any revolutionary sentiments among the people of Panem. But his plan backfires as the past Victors unite behind the saying, "Remember who the real enemy is." This was a very entertaining, if far-fetched, movie. Hoffman makes one of his final film appearances as a Gamemaker who is secretly a revolutionary. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: A-

The World's End

The World's End (2013) starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Pierce Brosnan. Five buddies set out to relive their high-school days by going back to their home town and doing a pub crawl to 12 drinking establishments, ending with a pub called The World's End. But their quest leads them into surprising territory, as they find that their home town has been taken over by aliens who intend to conquer the Earth. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it's just a toss-off of a movie, with cheap special effects and a weak script. There is some humor to be found in some of the friends' interactions, but it is seldom really funny, unless you think getting drunk is inherently funny -- which I don't. The aliens, in particular, are rather lame. They are extremely fragile, and their heads and limbs pop off rather easily in a fight. Their blood is blue, in case you're curious. Altogether, a disappointing movie. (English subtitles are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B-  

Elysium

Elysium (2013) starring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga. The year is 2154, and Earth has become sharply divided into the Haves and the Have-nots. The ultra-rich live on a space station high above the surface of Earth, and have medical technology that can cure any disease, repair any damage. Max (Damon) receives a lethal dose of radiation on the job and has five days to live -- or to get to Elysium and be cured. I'm a sci-fi freak, so I was eager to see this movie and find out how the premise had been translated to the screen. I was disappointed. The special effects are pretty good, but the plot boils down to a hand-to-hand fight on the space station -- always a cop-out, in my opinion. In addition, the acting had some weak spots and the script had some weak dialogue that detracted from the overall effect of the movie. Plus, the ending was too pat. So I can't give this film the highest grade, even though I applaud the attempt to make a full-on sci-fi drama. (English subtitles are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B

Alien

Alien (1979) starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright. Directed by Ridley Scott. Commercial spacecraft responds to a beacon and the crew end up being hunted down by a scary and very lethal alien creature. The only survivor is the forceful, resourceful Ripley (Weaver).This movie is a kind of cultural touchstone, and has some really neat ideas and some well earned scares. But after the creature is aboard the space ship, it amounts to little more than a haunted-house horror show. And an anti-corporate tirade (not such a bad thing). The version I watched was the Director's Cut, which added some footage not shown in theaters and trimmed a few scenes here and there. I didn't find it to be an improvement over the theatrical version. I remember this movie being a really big deal when it came out in 1979, but it is now mostly a disappointment (though a necessary prelude to the superior sequel, Aliens.) (Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B-    

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013) starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Benedict Cumberbatch, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Alice Eve, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller. This latest addition to the Star Trek canon tries hard but makes the mistake of dipping into the past, bringing back Khan as a villain. It also feels compelled to get a little too busy, with all kinds of camera motion and crazy camera angles. I'm a big Star Trek fan, but this movie failed to grab my attention  in a really big way. The plot was too complicated and too poorly explained. I just didn't enjoy it. On the plus side, favorite characters all returned, and there was even a Tribble subplot. It should have been good fun. (Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B 

Back to the Future

Back to the Future (1985) starring Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover. Young Marty McFly (Fox) accidentally travels back in time from 1985 to 1955, in a time machine built by Doc Brown (Lloyd). In 1955, he encounters his own parents (Thompson, Glover) -- when they were young. He gets enmeshed in their lives, and realizes that he must go back to the future after he manages to get them together. Although this movie is riddled with paradoxes and inconsistencies, it is nevertheless one of my favorite movies. There is so much good stuff here that it cancels out the bad. (Subtitles in English are available, but not closed captions.) Grade: A-   

The X-Files

The X-Files (1998) starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Blythe Danner, William B. Davis, John Neville, Mitch Pileggi. After surviving a bomb blast at a building in Dallas, Mulder and Scully (Duchovny and Anderson) set off on a quest to unravel a worldwide conspiracy involving extraterrestrials and a virus that invades humans and turns them into ... something not human. I think this movie will appeal mainly to fans of "The X-Files" TV show, and even they will be disappointed. Sure, it's nice to see all those  familiar faces again and to have some of the secrets of the conspiracy revealed, but this is basically a preposterous film. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B-  

Repo Man

Repo Man (1984) starring Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez. Repo Man is a cult film, which by definition means it has a small, rabid following, while everyone else is indifferent to it. Put me in the "indifferent" group. While the movie has some interesting scenes, and the basic premise is kind of fun, it doesn't hang together very well, the script is weak, and most of the acting is so-so. This is a low-budget film, with only one  interesting special effect. The premise of the film: A man is driving a 1964 Chevy Malibu to Los Angeles from Area 51, and he has something in the trunk (supposedly four dead aliens) that is lethal to anyone who opens the trunk of the car. Bud (Stanton) and Otto (Estevez) play two repo men whose job it is to find the car and collect the $20,000 reward. The film has a punk sensibility that I found off-putting, and a lot of scenes that go nowhere. Like I said, it's a cult film. (Subtitles in English for the hearing-impaired are available, but closed captions are not.) Grade: C   

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick. A "good" terminator (Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time to protect John Connor (Furlong) against the bad terminator (Patrick) that Skynet has sent back to kill him. The action is practically non-stop, and the movie almost lives up to the original "Terminator" film. What it lacks in freshness it makes up for with special effects, especially the liquid-metal terminator effects of Patrick. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired, but not closed captions.) Grade: A- 

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) starring Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin. Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves), two airheads on the verge of flunking out of high school, are given the opportunity to travel through time and gather famous figures for their final report in History. Carlin plays Rufus, a man from the far future who comes back to give them guidance. This is basically a silly movie with the most slender of plots, and little to recommend it unless you are a fan of Reeves and want to see him in an early film. (To the DVD's credit, it does offer subtitles in English and also closed captions for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: C 

Star Trek: Season 1

Star Trek: Season 1 (1966) starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, et. al. The first season of the storied "Star Trek" TV series is interesting to re-experience. It's great to see all the original stars looking so young. This disc includes the episodes "The Man Trap," "Charlie X" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before." The only one I remembered was "Where No Man Has Gone Before," with guest stars Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman. It was a pretty good episode, except that like so many "Star Trek" episodes it boils down to a fist-fight in the end. The original film from the series has been lovingly restored and even in some cases improved for the transfer to DVD, and I must say I can find no fault with the job the technicians have done in making the transfer. Seeing this beloved old TV series, created and (in many cases) produced by Gene Roddenberry, was like greeting an old friend again and finding that you still like them, even though their flaws seem magnified with the passage of time. (Closed captions are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: A 

It Came from Outer Space

It Came from Outer Space (1953) starring Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush. A spaceship crashes in the desert, leaving a giant crater, and soon aliens start taking the form of humans in order to effect repairs to their ship. One man (Carlson) is enlisted by the aliens to help them, but he can't get anyone human to believe him. Based on a story by Ray Bradbury, this movie is primitive by any standards. The special effects are poor and the acting is amateurish. Even by my standards, this is one sci-fi film that I wouldn't have minded not seeing. Grade: C

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) starring Andrew Garfield, Rhys Ifans, Emma Stone, Denis Leary, Sally Field, Martin Sheen. Bitten by a genetically modified spider, Peter Parker (Garfield) suddenly finds that he has amazing strength and the ability to climb things. He starts by battling petty crime, but soon finds himself clashing with the archvillain The Lizard (Ifans). Meanwhile, he falls in love with a girl from school (Stone) and reveals to her that he is Spider-Man. As superhero movies go, this one is not bad. Many elements are familiar from earlier Spider-Man films, but it brings enough fresh ideas to the mix to make it work. It will help if you like this type of movie. (The furnished subtitles are very good, although closed captions are not offered.) Grade: B+ 

2010

2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) starring Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban, Keir Dullea. Three American scientists (Scheider, Lithgow and Balaban) travel aboard a Russian space ship to visit the Discovery from 2001: A Space Odyssey, to try and figure out what went wrong. Meanwhile, back on Earth, an international crisis is playing out, with war breaking out between the U.S. and Soviet Union. Obviously, this presents a problem to present-day viewers of this movie, since we know that the Soviet Union will not exist in 2010. Dave Bowman (Dullea), from 2001, makes an appearance, with important news for Earth. This film is not a total success, but for sci-fi fans it will be sufficient as a followup to 2001. (Closed captions are available.) Grade: B    

The Avengers

The Avengers (2012) starring a large ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Cobie Smulders.  Loki and his evil army are invading Earth, and it's up to the Avengers to save it. Included in the mix are Iron Man, Captain America, the Hawk, Black Widow, the Incredible Hulk, and Thor, who all team up (eventually) to fight. It's a hyperkinetic movie, with nearly non-stop action and lots and lots of special effects. It would best be seen on a big screen in a theater, with theater-quality sound and preferably in 3D. On my little 22-inch TV it sometimes seemed like there was just too much going on. Still, it's a pretty cool movie, especially if you like superheroes. (Subtitles for the hearing-impaired are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+  

Total Recall

Total Recall (1990) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside. Directed by Paul Verhoeven. Sci-fi film set in the distant future has Schwarzenegger playing Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who feels he is meant for bigger things. When he goes to Rekall, a company that specializes in memory implants, he discovers that his memory has already been tampered with and sets out to find out why. The search for his past ends with him journeying to Mars, where he encounters strange happenings. My main impressions of this film are that the sets looked flimsy, the special effects look cheesy, and that Schwarzenegger can't act. Also, this is an ultraviolent movie, with constant hand-to-hand combat and shootouts, accompanied by lots of blood. Did I enjoy it? Yes, but I'm a sci-fi nut and an irrational fan of Ahnuld. I saw the film back in 1990, when it came out, and I had the same objections then as I have now. (English subtitles are available, as are closed captions.) Grade: B-

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre. In 1860s, giant "sea monster" which preys on shipping is discovered to be an atomic-powered submarine under the command of megalomaniacal Captain Nemo (Mason). Seaman Ned Land (Douglas) ends up a prisoner on board the submarine and bears witness to Nemo's crazed reasoning. The movie Disney-fies the Jules Verne novel, and while it did a good job of bringing it to screen for 1954, it now seems quite dated. (The subtitles provided on the disc are quite adequate, and closed captions are available as an option.) Grade: B

20 Million Miles to Earth

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) starring William Hopper, Joan Taylor. Creature feature in which space ship returns from Venus, crashes in the Mediterranean. Aboard the ship only one man lives -- and a creature from Venus that the explorers have brought back to Earth. The creature hatches and grows into a reptilian beast that rampages through the streets of Rome. The special effects are courtesy of legendary FX wizard Ray Harryhausen; highlights include a fight between the creature and an elephant, and the finale at the Roman Colisseum. The script and the acting are definitely of poor quality. The DVD offers a choice of watching the movie in black-and-white or in the colorized version, which I thought was a plus. The English subtitles are very legible, as are the closed captions. Grade: C+

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games (2012) starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci. In a dystopian future, the United States has been replaced by Panem, a country made up of 12 districts and the Capitol. Every year, two "tributes" from each district are chosen to come to the Capitol and engage in the Hunger Games, which involve fighting to the death until only one Victor is left. Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) volunteers to be District 12's tribute to save her little sister from having to go. It's the ultimate extension of today's reality TV shows, and it illustrates the questionable nature of these shows. It makes for a pretty entertaining movie, although the director's choice to use a shaky camera during fight scenes feels like somewhat of a cop-out. It may have been done to downplay the violence and keep the movie's PG-13 rating, since the contestants in the Hunger Games are all teenagers. (The film features available English subtitles, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+