Big Man Japan (2007) Movie Review

“Big Man Japan”, now available on region 2 DVD via Revolver, marks the directorial debut of noted Japanese comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto, one half of the popular duo Dauntaun. Here, as well as scripting, he also takes the central role in a mockumentary following the daily life and exploits of Masaru...

September 22nd, 2009 | Read More

The Andromeda Strain (2008) TV Mini-Series Review

Science-fiction movies have a few rules they generally must adhere to in order to be considered “science” fiction. First, they must revolve around a science, whether that’s physics, astronomy, biology, quantuum mechanics, geology or any of a multitude of fields of study. Really good...

May 28th, 2008 | Read More

The Man From Earth (2007) Movie Review

“The Man From Earth” is a time travel movie that never travels through time; it’s very much a talky movie in every sense of the word, as the entire film consists of a group of people sitting around a cabin discussing theories and hypothesis, much of it based on truth as told by one...

November 17th, 2007 | Read More

The Invasion (2007) Movie Review

This has to be the lamest alien invasion movie since the killer tomatoes attacked. I knew going in about the production troubles and the massive reshoots ordered by the studio honchos to ‘fix’ the film, but I thought I could give it a fair shake anyway. I mean, it’s got Nicole Kidman,...

August 24th, 2007 | Read More

Sunshine (2007) Movie Review

It’s 50 years from now and once again mankind faces extinction. Not from a meteoric Armageddon, or the inconvenient truth about the environment, but from the death of the sun itself. A second ice age threatens to end life as we know it and so mankind looks to its last hope for survival, a spacecraft...

August 12th, 2007 | Read More

Transformers (2007) Movie Review

Robots. Big f**king robots. If that sounds like something you might like, then you’ll love Michael Bay’s “Transformers”, because it has robots. Big motherf**king robots. So what’s it about? Um, haven’t you been paying attention? One more time now: Big F**king Robots. The...

July 3rd, 2007 | Read More

Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) Movie Review

I recall the day I was in a Louisiana movie theater with my father watching the first Fantastic 4 film. We enjoyed most of the special effects and Blaze’s jokes. The plot was fairly nice and the dialogue wasn’t entirely bad all the time. The Thing’s drama was played very well. The movie...

June 17th, 2007 | Read More

Next (2007) Movie Review

You can see how “Next” got made, and how it managed to rope in not one, not two, but three A-list stars in Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, and Jessica Biel. The premise is killer: Cris Johnson (Cage), a two-bit Vegas magician can, in reality, see 2-minutes into the future at a time, which comes...

June 2nd, 2007 | Read More

Sunshine (2007) Movie Review

Once, every now and then, a movie comes along with imagery and tone so solid that it makes me say, “Yeah”. I say it with a sort of nonchalant awe and relaxed wonder, not unlike the reaction Shaft would give upon seeing a UFO landing and a super fine alien chick stepping out. The first ten...

April 10th, 2007 | Read More

Deja Vu (2006) Movie Review

Science-themed movies are so predictable. In my review of “The Sinking of Japan”, I mentioned the tried-and-true scene that invariably pops up when the film attempts to explain its science. At first, the scientist character will indulge in techno babble, but of course someone in the room...

April 6th, 2007 | Read More

Highlander: The Source (2007) Movie Review

If you thought “Highlander 2: The Quickening” was astounding in its ability to be utterly incoherent and incomprehensible, wait until you get a load of “Highlander: The Source”, the fifth installment in the neverending franchise about immortal swordsmen determined to take each...

February 24th, 2007 | Read More

Ultraviolet (2006) Movie Review

In his filmmaking career, director Kurt Wimmer has been pretty unlucky. His films have something to say, but have suffered from bad fortune in the process of conception to realisation. His 2002 sci-fi piece “Equilibrium” (in my opinion a very innovative movie with brilliant action and a strong...

August 9th, 2006 | Read More

A Scanner Darkly (2006) Movie Review

It’s odd when you realize that the novels and short stories of Philip K. Dick have been adapted to the screen almost as frequently as that of Stephen King or John Grisham. Odd because, unlike the pulpier writing of both King and Grisham, Dick’s stories are quite cerebral and, in the most...

July 20th, 2006 | Read More

Android Apocalypse (2006) Movie Review

Whoa! It’s that guy from “Blossom”, and he’s playing a cyborg! Whoa! Or, actually, Joey Lawrence (billed as “Joseph Lawrence”) plays a soft-voiced robot soldier who begins to develop feelings for humans, much to the chagrin of his ever-so-creepy Mad Scientist creator,...

June 25th, 2006 | Read More

Doom (2005) Movie Review

Movies based on videogames. You have to wonder why they keep making them. For every successful attempt (”Tombraider” being the best example), there are a dozen carcasses left behind to warn those who would dare follow in their footsteps. Andrzej Bartkowiak’s “Doom” is based...

December 9th, 2005 | Read More

The Island (2005) Movie Review

Since the makers of “The Island” already decided that secrecy was pointless, as the film’s main draw depended on the audience being lured in by said plot device (and in truth, it’s the only decision they could have made), let’s dispense with the secrets, shall we? “The...

November 28th, 2005 | Read More

Serenity (2005) Movie Review

Guest Movie Review by Alex Lui Fans of the now defunct science fiction show “Firefly” seems to be the main reason “Serenity” has reached the big screen at all. Cancelled in mid-season during its chaotic run on the FOX network, “Firefly” went straight from TV to DVD...

October 3rd, 2005 | Read More

Lethal Target (1999) Movie Review

Sometimes I think I’m just a glutton for punishment. Take my DVD buying habits as a prime example. The DVD “Lethal Target” is why I hate buying movies I have never heard of, starring people I have never seen, and showcasing a box cover that looks much too good for a film this obscure....

September 11th, 2005 | Read More

Avatar (aka Cyber Wars, 2004) Movie Review

Despite better than expected special effects, there’s one thing the Singapore sci-fi flick “Avatar” can’t quite overcome — well, okay, there’s a lot of things, including stilted acting, awful dialogue, and most of all, a story that seems cobbled together from what...

August 9th, 2005 | Read More

War of the Worlds (2005) Movie Review

Watching Tom Cruise fleeing giant mechanized alien tripods for most of “War of the Worlds” is liable to confuse some viewers. Ethan Hunt wouldn’t run to his ex-wife so she can save the day; John Anderton would have slipped on his jetpack and gone to battle; and Maverick certainly wouldn’t...

June 30th, 2005 | Read More