Soldier (1998)

 

Event Horizon (1997)

A rescue crew investigates a spaceship that disappeared into a black hole and has now returned...with someone or something new on-board.

Although this sci-fi shocker has quite a messy plot, it is indeed fairly effective and has some quite natsy scenes; the star cast helps, too, a bit.

Halliwell (no star): "Creepy horror movie in outer space that delivers the requisite shocks; a little predictability would have been welcome, though."

Maltin**: "Well-acted movie begins promisingly but becomes increasingly unlikely; offers no explanation for the strange events. Some intense horror scenes."

Pompeii (2014)

A slave-turned-gladiator finds himself in a race against time to save his true love, who has been betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator, and, as Mount Vesuvius erupts, he must fight to save his beloved as Pompeii crumbles around him.

Below-average historical catastrophe drama full of age-old cliches; one is relieved when the volcano finally erupts.

Maltin**1/2: "Special effects are the star attraction in the kind of sword-and-sandal epic that was once a staple in Hollywood. This is pure, hokey fun for the nondiscerning, even if Sutherland's bad-guy performance is a bit monotonous."