Erik M.

Aliens have taken over the Earth and it's up to an inner-city youth and a disillusioned cop to form an effective resistance in this Science Fiction and political thriller that offers a nightmarish police state and hostile takeover scenario. Captive State has some interesting premises, a few warnings about freedom vs collaborators and survival under tyranny as well as the dangers of present technology worth thinking about, but it's a dreary ride.

Erik M.

The Silence is an odd movie about flying, ravenous beasts which attack anything that makes a sound, basically terrorizing the world in general and a family with a young deaf girl in particular, and a survivalist cult wanting to use the teen for mating! Gory but ill-conceived, this survival tale just doesn't add up but does deliver killer Pterodactyl-gargoyle things aplenty tearing into folks! Just a mess otherwise.

Erik M.

Flicka is a sweet family tale about a very admirable, brave and passionate teenage girl who discovers a beautiful, spirited female mustang and forms a strong bond with the animal as she dreams of one day inheriting her family ranch, Her father, however, has objections and doubts about his daughter's future and priorities as well as the horse's prospects. Katy must overcome challenges and stand up for herself as she tries to tame Flicka, convince her family of the horse's value, and protect it against predators and opportunists. Told against the beauty of rural Wyoming, this is a healing story, one of learning trust and unconditional love and a dealing with children growing up and discovering their own path while still remaining a loving, supportive family. Katy and Flicka are great for kids to watch as a modern fairy-tale drama and story that's affirming-you CAN follow your dreams, divisions between family members can be overcome, and faith/hope does matter.

Erik M.

Ma is a thriller/horror that revolves around a seemingly friendly but lonely and unstable woman who desperately seeks acceptance and companionship (as well as revenge) after past and present humiliations and disappointments. She reaches out to some local teenagers and at first appears as a sweet, "cool adult" they can befriend, but as they grow closer to her, her shifts in mood, unpredictable behavior and increasing attachment makes them suspicious of her true motives. Ma is a cautionary "stranger danger" tale, and Octavia Spenser switches gears adeptly and effortlessly as the tormented villain preying upon the teens she ensnares and those she considers her enemies. Luke Evans, Juliette Lewis, Missi Pyle and others ably support her nice-to-nasty transformations. Entertaining, if uneven killer thriller worthy of some fair attention.

Erik M.

New York City's urban jungle has become the blood-soaked hunting ground for some kind of supernatural predators with a taste for outcasts that appear to be intelligent and deadly wolves but may be spirits or shape-shifters from Native American folklore in this early 1980s horror film. A NYPD detective and a criminal psychologist are assigned to investigate the murders when the beasts kill some high-profile city residents, and the film follows their efforts to identify and stop the creatures. Clever use of a video filter to portray the beasts' visual senses, some gory moments and nighttime shots are effectively applied, and some of the backstory about what the Wolfen seem to be and why they're preying on their chosen victims is interesting enough to distract from the dated dialog, unfortunate stereotyping, settings, etc. but don't expect too much from this old, if earnest, film.

Erik M.

Winter's Bone stars a young Jennifer Lawrence as determined Ree Dolly, a teen who's trying desperately to keep what's left of her family safe and in a home when her father disappears after being let out of jail on bond for charges stemming from Meth manufacturing. She tries to find him, encountering various family members as well as criminals, all the while facing danger and tribulations in the backwoods of Mississippi. Gritty, hard and yet hopeful, Winter's Bone is a rural mystery drama that boasts a modern and realistic heroine that just wants to help her family survive; no superpowers here except fortitude and heart.

Erik M.

Peter, played by Robert Downey Jr., is a serious and stressed-out architect that just wants to get back to his pretty wife to be there for his wife's giving birth to their first child. Unfortunately, he crosses paths with the ultimate, obnoxious and dim pest named Ethan who's traveling with his small dog Sonny and a can full of his father's ashes, played by Zach Galifianakis in a role that could have easily been associated with John Leguizamo or Gilbert Gottfried. Things go steadily wrong for poor Peter during a long cross-country trip as his temper mounts and Ethan negatively influences every encounter he has, with airport security, a paraplegic war veteran, Mexican border police and others in this slapstick dark comedy that tries to capitalize on Robert's dry delivery and Zach's oblivious and off-putting actor-wannabe character. This odd couple stuck together plot grows thin pretty quickly, and even fans might chafe after awhile of watching this uncomfortable road trip gone wrong.

Erik M.

Flatliners has an interesting premise-that is, how far would or should one go to discover the answer to whether or not there is existence after death. Several young med students come together and attempt to explore that eternal question by dying for moments and then being revived, recounting any remembered experiences for prosperity. Things take a dark turn as they die and come back tormented by haunting visions related to things that they felt troubled or guilty over, and each must try to reconcile with their pasts. This film could have easily been based upon a Stephen King story for all that implies-a bit psychological and supernatural, with a moral message and cautionary tone about the pursuit of certain answers being perilous as well as the dangers of hubris. Dated and a bit quaint compared to current horror and science fiction films, but interesting enough to justify watching and strange enough to keep one watching.

Erik M.

Atomic Blonde is a spy action-thriller that has fast fights, plenty of double-crosses, mayhem and murder as Charlize Theron stars as deadly MI6 operative Lorraine, who is trying to stop some very nasty individuals from getting and using a top-secret dossier during the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. She battles hard and falls in love, then battles more with style and some great period music playing throughout. Good for an adrenaline rush.

Erik M.

Alita: Battle Angel is a cyborg fight-fest with a wide-eyed teen super-heroine using her incredible physicality to beat the grease and guts out of a variety of brutal mechanized bad guys while trying to figure out who she really is and stop rampant evil! Fans of cyberpunk will not be disappointed, and anyone who's familiar with Science Fiction films will no doubt see something of Frankenstein, Blade Runner, The Running Man, Rollerball, Elysium, A.I., The Terminator and more here as they share some DNA (or is it nanotechnology?). Uncanny Valley or incredibly realised CGI is in the eye of the beholder-Nevertheless, this is a violent action-oriented identity-quest for Alita, and heaven help whoever gets in her path.

Erik M.

Spider-Man: Far From Home sees the heroic web-head trying to woo MJ, deal with the sudden loss of his mentor, Iron Man and protect various spots in Europe from elemental menaces with some assistance from Nick Fury, Maria Hill, "Happy" Hogan and...Mysterio!? Well...things might not be what they seem, though the dangers to Spidey and his friends are real enough and soon he's dodging, leaping and using all his superhuman abilities to protect the innocent again in this humorous and fun film that makes its 2+ hrs practically fly by! Romance, adventure and questions of trust all come together in this exciting addition to the Spider-man series of films.

Erik M.

E.T. is the name given to the friendly botanist alien that befriends a young boy named Elliot and his siblings and forms a special bond during the short time he's stranded here on Earth in his heartwarming and sweet science fiction family film by Steven Spielberg! Some mischief ensues as the children try to hide the whereabouts of E.T. from various adults, including government agents and scientists. This classic has charm to spare and can magically lift spirits, so if you've never seen this film, give it a go and find out why it was a HUGE hit in the early 80s! Spot then very young actresses Drew Barrymore and Erika Eleniak, as well as the shot that makes up Amblin Studio's logo.

Erik M.

Enough has Jennifer Lopez starring as an abused mother who has to go on the run and then stand up to her cheating, awful husband Mitch, played by Billy Campbell. She attempts to turn the tables on Mitch while saving herself and her daughter Gracie in a physical fight after learning the martial art Krav Maga. Wasted characters, very linear plot and a wish-fulfillment ending dressed as "empowerment" subtract from the overall story's impact, unfortunately.

Erik M.

Elizabeth Olsen suffers hallucinations, terror and worse in this dark story about a deeply troubled young woman who joins her father and uncle in a project to restore an old vacation home he owns that holds awful memories for her. Shot in a way that feels like real-time, Silent House is a relentless, weepy descent into disturbing premises and some scarehouse cliches that "may" be based upon a true story. Miss Olsen deserves better than this film delivered.

Erik M.

Ender's Game is based upon the first book in a popular series by Orson Scott Card which tells the tale of a reluctant boy with a ruthless streak who is enlisted-and manipulated-to ultimately lead other children in an exercise to defeat alien insectoid beings known as Formics. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin excels at his training while growing to resent it and his commanders which leads to a fateful showdown and decision with the fate of two species (Humans and Formics) at war in the balance. Fairly faithful to the book all in all, though certain aspects are glossed over or minimized, weakening the story, and much of the drama just doesn't translate well in this adaptation. Read the book, before or after, to experience the difference.

Erik M.

Splice is a science fiction dysfunctional family story as well as a parental cautionary tale, if you can imagine it! Two bold geneticists who are involved in a romantic relationship are working on bio-engineered lifeforms for a commercial company when they toss ethics aside and essentially create a chimera "daughter." At first thrilled by their accomplishment, soon their joy becomes a nightmare as "Dren" shows increasingly unpredictable and aggressive behavior as well as remarkable adaptability mutations. Her "parents" try to seclude, restrain and even destroy the product of their experimentation as the story becomes a fight for survival. Some Frankenstein's Monster ideas come through-the admonition about playing God and monkeying around with nature, irresponsibility and hubris causing chaos will spring to mind. Sadly, both Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley have little chemistry and the story lumbers along instead of becoming greater than the sum of its genetically-mismatched parts.

Erik M.

The Missing is a gritty, classic type of grim western that has a woman and her youngest daughter meet and team up with her estranged father as they seek out her other, older daughter who was taken during a raid by renegade American Indians to be sold into slavery across the southern border. Tommy Lee Jones stars as Samuel, who had abandoned his daughter and her mother, and Cate Blanchette plays Maggie, desperate to find her beloved Lilly, his older granddaughter, before she is raped and/or killed. Ron Howard's rescue story has heroism, redemption and forgiveness as relationships are tested and sacrifices made during their quest to save Lilly and others from a terrible fate.

Erik M.

2011 saw the prequel to The Thing tackle the story about what happened to the Norwegian arctic camp populated by scientists who had originally discovered the spaceship-and the sole survivor. A larger team--including two women--face the shape-shifting, body-possessing horror in this less-suspenseful and more grotesque film that has the monster rampage and decimate the humans, filling in various gaps left as backstory in John Carpenter's original classic. Mary Elizabeth Winstead's plucky Paleontologist character Kate Lloyd tries her best to survive in a nod to the Last Girl trope and Alien's Ripley, but if you've seen The Thing, you know that things don't bode well for any of them. Imaginative SFX by the dynamic horror duo of Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. bring the nastiness to life. See it and watch 1982's The Thing in either order-the idea of an unknown and murderous life-form attacking isolated and ill-prepared people remains the same.

Erik M.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) is an all-out war between Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and Monster Zero aka King Ghidorah for supremacy, with the humans split between trying to kill or co-exist with the humongous creatures! In this sequel, they're bigger, badder and madder than ever, with the humans trying new and destructive weapons to try to contain the carnage. Long-time Godzilla fans will see nods to past franchise films and delight at the updates to the onscreen ferocity and updated looks of the familiar beasts. Which Titan will you root for? Are they divine powers, aliens, beasts born of human folly, or..? Watch and decide.

Erik M.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is a fast-paced action-oriented martial arts and gun-play fest with the lead character trying to survive being a marked man with a very high bounty on his head and very few friends to turn to! Halle Berry joins the fun as a reluctant ally who's also a deadly fighter in her own right. If you need an adrenaline-fueled 2 hrs of fairly mindless and violent escapism, this is your one-stop fix.

Erik M.