Boyz n the Hood (1991)

The lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles.

Slice-of life approach with a great cast achieves both authenticity and heartfelt drama.

Halliwell**: "Episodic in form and over-schematic in its depiction of social difficulties, particularly those caused by absentee fathers, but it holds one's interest throughout."

Maltin***: "Sober, thoughtful look...Impressive debut...; longish, and not always on-the-money, but overall quite potent and effective."

Anaconda (1997)

A "National Geographic" film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who forces them along on his quest to capture the world's largest - and deadliest - snake.

Tongue-in-cheek creature feature with an A-list cast doesn't quite do the trick, but is mildly enjoyable, mainly due to Jon Voight's smog over-the-top villain performance.

Halliwell (no star): "A bungled rip-off of Jaws, with Voight, who seems to relish his role as an expert snake-hunter, providing what like a parody of Brando at his most excessive; otherwise the action is decidedly tame."

Maltin**: "Hokey special effects and an expositionless script detract, but there's campy fun in the form of Voight's demonic snake poacher...Film makes most of beautiful Brazilian rainforest locale, yet the big serpentine climax looks strangely like deepest, darkest Arcadia."

Ghosts of Mars (2001)

A story of human colonists on Mars who must be rescued after becoming possessed by vengeful Martian ghosts.

This is like Assault on Precinct 13 set into a sci-fi context, but compared to that masterpiece this has a very messy script, mediocre performances and a silly, superfluous and irritating flashback-in-a-flashback dramaturgy.

On second view: still not good, but has some entertainment value.

Halliwell (no star): "Quaint, old-fashioned sf adventure, with a feeble premise for some unexciting action."

Maltin*1/2: "Routine, predictable, and dull: unimaginatively, the Martian-possessed people adopt a punk/grunge look."

Trespass (1992)

Two Arkansas firemen get hold of a map that leads to a cache of stolen gold in an abandoned factory in East St. Louis.

Despite the evident expertise in the production the plot is messy and the action and violence hardly exciting.

Halliwell**: "Tense and violent thriller, like a modernized, interior, technological version of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre."

Maltin***: "Fast, furious, culturally disreputable entertainment filmed in potent cat-and-mouse style by director Hill - his most entertaining movie in years."