When Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse rumbled into movie theaters in 2014 with Godzilla, it did so with an advertising campaign that emphasized the movie’s gravitas. Director Gareth Edwards conservatively doled out peeks at the titular creature for two-thirds of the movie. The series’ second movie, Kong: Skull Island, showed a markedContinue Reading
In 2021, the Ghostbusters franchise saw a revival with Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which deftly balanced homage and reboot, welcoming new fans to the Ghostbusters universe while honoring the original films. In my review of Afterlife, I mentioned that it wouldn’t surprise me if it either reignited the franchise or stumbled atContinue Reading
During the summer of 1983, it was hard to escape the hype of Krull, an epic fantasy adventure movie that was heralded by marketing campaigns as the next Star Wars. Ads appeared on the back of comic books and Starlog magazine. Basically, anywhere a young nerd like myself would beContinue Reading
Celebrating his 70th anniversary in 2024, Japan’s biggest movie star, Godzilla, comes roaring back in what may be his most brutal screen outing yet. Godzilla Minus One again reinvents the atomic-powered lizard. This time around, he rises from the ocean to torment a post-World War II Japan already reeling fromContinue Reading
I’m a sucker for survival stories. Especially stories of people lost at sea who are forced to adapt, improvise, and apply their navigational and nautical skills to survive. 2018’s Adrift is a movie that tells such a story. An added bonus is that it’s true. (Well, it’s based on aContinue Reading
Chuck Norris was the first big American action star of the 1980s. His career started in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the late 1970s and early 80s that he became a household name. With his disco-era good looks and his martial arts prowess, Norris punched and kicked his wayContinue Reading
Other than Jaws, there are very few really good shark movies to pick from. A few movie studios, like The Asylum, have embraced the fact that they’ll never be able to equal the best shark film of all time. So, they shoot in the opposite direction. There is no shortageContinue Reading