By Dennis D. McDonald This movie is 1000% better than it should be. Credit the director (Takeshi Yamakazi) and his top-notch crew and cast. They shamelessly steal elements from numerous previous movies (Terminator, Independence Day, ET, Webmaster, Predator, Matrix, Timecop, Transformers, etc. etc.) ...

By Dennis D. McDonald This 1957 black and white science fiction movie is nowhere near classics like This Island Earth or Forbidden Planet in production values, but it holds up surprisingly well, if you give it a chance. I hadn’t seen it since I was a kid. I dimly remember thinking even back th...

By Dennis D. McDonald Review of DVD of Theatrical Version Many of the scenes in the Theatrical Return beg for more exposition. I don’t know if that’s because the story has been too highly compressed, or if I’m just aware that an Extended Edition is due out in a couple of months. Pr...

By Dennis D. McDonald The Movie Watching this movie I was struck by the similarities and differences with The Phantom Menace. Both make heavy use of computer animation, both were based on characters or situations already popular from previous media incarnations, and both dealt with grand issues like...

By Dennis D. McDonald Theatrical Release I have two opinions of this movie: It is a masterpiece of magical cinematic art that outdoes anything Lucas has done The story is a bunch of sword-and-sorcery hooey I have watched parts of the film repeatedly on DVD and have seen it in a theater. Many images ...

By Dennis D. McDonald What a great film this is. It’s a thoughtful, contemplative, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, road picture. Two young men — both doctors — set out on an 8,000-mile motorcycle trip through South America in 1952. One of them is a 23 year old Che Guevara. Alo...

By Dennis D. McDonald What I liked about this film were its gorgeous production values, its nonstop action, and its reverence for classic predecessor sci-fi films. These factors got me through this film which flags at the end with fuzzy story themes but. overall, it’s a fun and engrossing ride...

By Dennis D. McDonald Alex Proyas’ GARAGE DAYS is light years distant from DARK CITY. First of all, it’s a comedy. Second, it’s also a melodrama that concentrates on characters, sort of a “tale of death of youthful optimism” crossed with “sex drugs and rock &lsquo...

By Dennis D. McDonald This is a sweet comedy that doesn’t, for the most part, descend into mawkishness or treacle. It explores how one person struggles with self loathing and the inevitable loneliness that brings. For the most part it’s played for laughs, but the pervasive mood is also a...

By Dennis D. McDonald This two-DVD special edition has more than enough material to keep an SF fan happy for days. In addition to the “director’s cut” that adds nearly 20 minutes back to the film (including the original spectacular tidal wave sequence that was inexplicably cut from...