Gravity

Gravity (2013) starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Bullock and Clooney play astronauts who get stranded in outer space by satellite debris which strikes the shuttle they came up in. It seems that there is no way for them to get back to Earth, but they formulate a plan which involves going to the International Space Station and using the Soyuz escape capsules to safely descend from orbit. This is a propulsive nail-biter of a movie, with seemingly accurate depictions of what it would be like to be marooned in space. I found the soundtrack to be a bit intrusive at times, but that is a minor quibble. My main regret is that I didn't see this film in an Imax 3D theater. I imagine it would have been spectacular. Cuaron won the Academy Award for Best Director, and the film won in several technical categories. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: A-

Aliens

Aliens (1986) starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton. Directed by James Cameron. Ripley (Weaver), the only survivor of the first mission to LV-426, returns with a fresh crew of gung-ho Marines to wipe out a colony of alien creatures. Weaver was nominated for an Academy Award for her excellent performance as the forceful Ripley. The movie is propulsive in its action sequences, driving forward with constant suspense, and arriving at one of those endings which Cameron became famous for after he directed The Terminator (1984). This is a real kick-ass movie, and deserves the attention of action and sci-fi fans everywhere. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+   

The Abyss

The Abyss (1989) starring Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn. In an underwater sci-fi adventure, a crew of divers on an oil rig goes down to investigate a nuclear submarine which has been sunk. While investigating, one of the crew (Mastrantonio) sees an underwater UFO. Meanwhile, a Navy SEAL team which has been sent to check out the status of the nuclear sub begins to interfere with the crew of the oil rig. Biehn gets to pull his favorite assignment as an actor by playing a member of the SEAL diving team who gets "pressure psychosis." I watched the "extended" video version of the movie, which, at two hours and forty-five minutes, is a bit too long. Also, the film kind of goes overboard in depicting the underwater aliens and their concern for mankind. It would have been fine just to know they're there and that they are aware of us. Still, a rather enjoyable viewing experience. (Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B        

The Terminator

The Terminator (1984) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton. Arnold is perfectly cast as a cyborg from the future who is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Hamilton), mother-to-be of the leader of the future human resistance to the rise of the machines. Biehn is a standout in his role as Kyle Reese, the soldier from the future sent back to defend Sarah Connor from the terminator. This is a classic science-fiction movie made on a small budget but very tightly scripted and directed by James Cameron. (Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: A- 

Westworld

Westworld (1973) starring Richard Benjamin, Yul Brynner, James Brolin. Written and directed by Michael Crichton. Two men (Benjamin, Brolin) visit an adult amusement park of the future, in which fantasies can be acted out with the help of robots. Rigid safety measures are in place so that none of the human guests can be hurt, but things get hairy when the robots start to rebel. Brynner is effective as a gunslinger robot who gets tired of being killed all the time. Interestingly, within the movie the resort is called "Westernworld." Although advances in technology and special effects have made this movie look a little dated, it's still a fun thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. (Subtitles in English, supplied on the disc, are adequate. Closed captions are also available.) Grade: B+

The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds (1953) starring Gene Barry, Les Tremayne, Ann Robinson. Invaders from Mars land all over the world, immediately make it clear that their intentions are hostile. The action in the movie takes place in California. Army and Air Force units hit the Martian craft with everything they've got, but to no avail. The Martians clearly have much more advanced technology, and conventional human weapons are useless against them. Finally the decision is made to use the atom bomb. But will it be enough? I won't give away any more of the plot, but suffice it to say that when the end of the movie comes, it comes with startling suddenness, and the film seems disappointingly truncated. The ending should have been drawn out for at least a few minutes, and some exposition should have been included. But it wasn't. I was very let down by the way this movie ended. (Subtitles in English are available for the hard of hearing, and closed captions are included.) Grade: B-

Looper

Looper (2012) starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels. The setting is 2044 Kansas, and Gordon-Levitt plays a looper -- a hit man who kills people sent back from the future to be disposed of. Problem is, his own future self (Willis) is sent back to be killed, and he can't quite bring himself to follow through. The logical flaw becomes obvious when you consider: Why send loopers back to be killed by their own past selves? Why not send them back to be killed by someone else? This point is glossed over in the movie, but of course there are always going to be logical flaws in a time-travel film. In general, I'd say that this one is pretty well done. For those with a taste for sci-fi, this will prove to be an entertaining movie. I'm already wanting to see it again. (Closed captions are not included, but the disc has good English subtitles for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B

Village of the Damned

Village of the Damned (1960) starring George Sanders, Barbara Shelley. In the village of Midwich, England, every animal -- humans, dogs, cattle -- passes out at the same time and stays unconscious for a couple of hours. Much to the consternation of many in the village, a group of children are conceived during this period. The children are unusually quick to gestate, and to mature after birth (all born on the same day, by the by). Soon, the people of the village realize that the children have amazing powers of mind -- but no compensating emotions. This is an eerily effective movie which takes a simple premise and develops it to its logical conclusion. Very entertaining. (Subtitles are offered, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B+

Source Code

Source Code (2011) starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga. Gyllenhall plays an agent sent back in time on a mission: He must find the terrorist who explodes a bomb on a train. The catch: Gyllenhaal goes back as a passenger on the train, and he has only eight minutes to find and identify the bomber. Also, the bomber is a fellow passenger, and there are hundreds of people on the train. There are other surprises in this movie's plot, but I won't give them away. Unfortunately, in the last half-hour, the film veers from speculative sci-fi into romance territory. It has a happy ending, but I wasn't satisfied with it; it seemed forced. The disc has subtitles in English, but not closed captions. Grade: B-

Inception (DVD)

Inception (2010) starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page. Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) earns a living infiltrating the dreams of corporate big-wigs to steal their secrets. Only trouble is, his activities have made him a wanted man, and he can't return to the United States without facing charges. His dead wife, whom he is suspected of killing, inhabits his subconscious, and keeps appearing in his dreams. The new architect he has hired (Page) figures out what's going on with his subconscious, and insists on going on his next mission. For a movie about dreams, this one has a surprising amount of action. The plot involves a dream within a dream within a dream, and it gets kind of complicated to follow at times, but it never ceases to be interesting. The subtitles are very good. Grade: A-

Surrogates (DVD)

Surrogates (2009) starring Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Ving Rhames, Boris Kodjoe, Michael Cudlitz, James Cromwell, James Francis Ginty. It's sometime in the future, and something like 98 percent of the population are living their lives vicariously, through robotic surrogates. The "surries" or "synths," as they are known, allow one to look any way one wants, to take risks one normally wouldn't take, without risk to the human body. Willis plays Tom Greer, an FBI agent who gets involved in a case where someone has invented a weapon that kills, not just the surrie, but the human operator. Through a series of events, he also loses his synth, so he must face the world in his original human body (or "meatbag"). It's all kind of creepy, and maybe it was meant to be. But I also found it chaotic, compressing too much action into too little time -- the rare instance of a movie being too short -- and it was hard to keep the characters straight and to make sense of it all. The subtitles are rather good. Grade: C+

District 9 (DVD)

District 9 (2009) starring Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Mandla Gaduka. An alien ship hovers over Johannesburg, South Africa, and the aliens prove to be surprisingly powerless. Derogatorily known as "prawns," they are forced into a large camp outside the city, where they are confined for 20 years. The action begins when one man, a rather incompetent corporate agent (Copley), becomes infected with an alien potion which begins to turn him from human to prawn. His corporate overlords quickly come to regard him as a valuable piece of biotechnology, and make plans to exploit him. But he escapes, and the action begins. The outcome always seems in doubt, but the movie progresses to a satisfying conclusion. The subtitles in this film are invaluable. Grade: A-

The Matrix (DVD)

The Matrix (1999) starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving. Reeves plays Neo, a hacker who learns that the world we live in is just a computer construct. Neo is destined to be the One, the human who can save us all from our fates as slaves to the artificial intelligence that has taken over the world. The special effects are outstanding and the action is practically non-stop in this sci-fi thriller. Even though it doesn't all stand up to close analysis (the business with the Oracle is particularly pointless), it's rollicking good kick-ass entertainment. The martial-arts scenes are killer. The helicopter flight over NYC is spectacular. The subtitles are very good. Grade: A-

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (DVD)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982) starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young. Set in 2019 in Los Angeles, "blade runner" Rick Deckard (Ford) is recalled from retirement to hunt down four replicants (humanoid robots) which have returned to Earth from the off-world colonies. This version of the movie is director Ridley Scott's preferred version, having been recut and remastered from the original. It dispenses with Deckard's voice-over and adds a dream sequence which suggests that Deckard himself may be a replicant. The visualization of a future, dystopian L.A. is stunning, and the soundtrack by Vangelis is a masterpiece. Some critics have panned this film for problems with the acting or the script, but it remains one of my favorite movies ever. Grade: A

Blade Runner (DVD)

Blade Runner (1982) starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young. This is the international theatrical release, the version that was shown outside the U.S. when the film was originally released. I've never seen it before and I'm curious to see if it is substantially different from the U.S. version. ... It's not. It only shows a few more seconds of explicit violence that, apparently, were felt to be too rough for Americans to see. It's essentially the same experience as watching the U.S. theatrical version. Grade: A-

Knowing (DVD)

Knowing (2008) starring Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne. A science teacher (Cage) comes into possession of a list of numbers, written in 1959, which predicts all of the major disasters of the past 50 years. But wait -- it predicts three more disasters, one of which means the end of all life on Earth. The premise is preposterous, but then this is a science fiction movie. Oddly enough, some of the plot elements which seem most far-fetched turn out to be central to the story, and in the end it all makes a kind of sense. My objection to the movie is that there is too much of it, and a lot of stuff has been thrown in which merely confuses us without ultimately contributing to the forward thrust of the film. This might be one to see again and reconsider, but for now: Grade: B-

The Terminator (DVD)

The Terminator (1984) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton. Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as a soulless cyborg from the future who has been sent back to assassinate Sarah Connor (Hamilton), who is destined to be the mother of a human resistance leader in the future war between man and machine. Biehn is effective as the human soldier who has been sent back from the same future to protect her. The action is non-stop, with new layers of the story gradually revealed so that the viewer has the pleasure of discovering them as the movie progresses. This is a seminal science-fiction movie, and well worth seeing for fans of the genre. Grade: A-

Jumper (DVD)

Jumper (2008) starring Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Diane Lane, Tom Hulce, Rachel Bilson. Young David Rice (Christensen) discovers that he has the amazing ability to teleport himself, and any objects he is touching, anywhere in the world. At first he uses his powers for purely hedonistic, selfish purposes -- "jumping" into bank vaults, seducing women, reclaiming his high-school crush. But then he finds out that there is a war going on -- that there are other Jumpers, and a group called the Paladins, who hunt down and kill the Jumpers. It's all pretty silly, really, but makes for an amusing couple of hours. Grade: B

Sunshine (DVD)

Sunshine (2007) starring Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh. It's 50 years in the future, and the sun is dying out. A group of astronauts is sent on a last-ditch effort to re-ignite the sun with something called a "stellar bomb." But they get sidetracked when they detect the distress signal of the space ship that went before them on a similar, failed mission. They decide to divert their mission to check out the other ship. Big mistake. At the very least, I hope when I view a movie that it will entertain me. This one did not, for most of its running time I was just bored. The special effects might have been more impressive in a movie theater, but on the home screen they just didn't shine. Then, about a half hour before the end, the movie takes an unnecessary and totally unbelievable turn into space-monster territory. I found it deplorable. Grade: D

Transformers (DVD)

Transformers (2007) starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Jon Voight. The Transformers are alien robots that can disguise themselves as cars, airplanes, tanks, trucks and more. Some of them are "good" (Autobots), some "bad" (Decepticons). The Decepticons attack humans, but mainly fight the Autobots. The script is of comic-book quality, but the machines are cool. Probably best if seen in a movie theater. Directed by Michael Bay. Rated PG-13. Grade: C