I Am Legend (2007)

 

Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.

Competent doomsday flic with a fascinatingly convincing setting in Manhattan, but with some flaws in the story (which takes some unreasonable liberties compared to the original novel).

On re-watching:  good entertainment, and Will Smith does a good job in the title role.

Maltin**1/2: "Third screen version of Richard Matheson's novel...benefits from Smith's charisma and physicality but falls back on horror cliches hen it comes to the zombies." 

The Duel (2016)

 

A Texas Ranger investigates a series of unexplained deaths in a town called Helena. 

Dark, brooding, at times hallucinatory tale has good production value and some moments, but it's plot development is slow and indecisive, even irritating; no problem for Woody Harrelson doing his thing. 

Repo Men (2010)

Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit, it revolves around a man who struggles to make the payments on a heart he has purchased. He must therefore go on the run before said ticker is repossessed.

Sci-fi romp with a strong satirical streak is too focused on its action and mayhem to be taken seriously and simply wastes its star cast. 

Maltin**: "Intriguing premise with strong social implications is given uninspired execution and fails to make its point. Law and Whitaker have good chemistry but cast is wasted on a script that must have looked better on paper."

Elysium (2013)

In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, and a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.

A good sci-fi plot with some great sets is staged like an ordinary actioner without any thrilling urgency and without the righteous moral and political rage you'd expect from the story.

Maltin**1/2: "Writer-director Blomkamp's follow-up to DISTRICT 9 offers a similar blend of science fiction and social commentary, but after a promising start it runs off the rails, becoming a grim, gritty shoot-'em-up devoid of fun. Foster's mannered performance...is also hard to take."