When Worlds Collide is one of the most watchable “sci-fi” B-movies from the early ’50s — and in colour! It’s about some scientists (or scienticians) who build a big rocket ship to take a group of people to the planet Zyra because the earth is about to be destroyed in a collision with some other rogue planet. Or something. 3 out of 4 stars on the cheese-o-meter. Couple it with Forbidden Planet, and you’ve got yourself a great double feature.
As straight up science fiction movies, Star Trek movies are kind of lame — but they’re fun if you can get into the whole Star Trek universe, and I do. That being said, Star Trek: Nemesis is a mess. Data has another evil twin? Captain Picard has been cloned? Why is this the first time we’ve heard of the Remans, and now we’re supposed to be scared of them? And how many women squirmed in their seats during Riker and Troi’s love scene? That was disgusting. It’s no wonder Nemesis put an end to the Next Generation movies.
The science behind the fiction in Mission to Mars is cool, so it’s worth a look if you’re into science. Everything else about this movie is so, so, so incredibly bad, you might want to keep your finger on the fast-forward button — or smoke a big fat one before you press play. It tries too hard to be dramatic, but it’s a joke. B-movie potential.
Nothing is a comedic science-fantasy story of two losers who, after having the worst day of their lives, manage to make the whole world disappear except for the house they’re living in. And that’s only the first 15 minutes. You have to be a little warped to appreciate this one. I watch it every couple years. It’s a hoot.
First Man Into Space is a “sci-fi” B-movie from the late ’50s about the first man in space who comes back transformed as a blood-thirsty but misunderstood monster. Watchable as a B-movie, but there are much better B-movies out there.
Terminator 3 may not be the best of the Terminator movies, but it’s action-packed and it’s fun. The performances from Claire Danes and Nick Stahl make the movie. Their reactions are convincing. The movie is basically one long chase sequence, but it works.
I saw George Lucus’s THX-1138 years ago when I was about 13 and it put me to sleep. I saw the “enchanced” version yesterday, and it put me to sleep. Makes you wonder how George Lucas ever made it in the movie business. Give him some toys to play with and he can come up with a few neat tricks, but he is otherwise pretentious and unoriginal.