Suicide Squad (2016)

 

A secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse.

Highly disappointing superhero drama with a sparkling set of big-name stars never really takes off with its thin plot and underdeveloped characters; alone Margot Robbie gives her Harley Quinn some panache and delivers most of the excitement and humor of the whole show.

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." 

Gemini Man (2019)

 

 

An over-the-hill hitman faces off against a younger clone of himself. 

 

Run-of-the-mill star vehicle with lots of well-made action sequences, but hardly any depth to the plot, which is quite astonishing for its director.

Ali (2001)

A biography of sports legend Muhammad Ali, focusing on his triumphs and controversies between 1964 and 1974.

Great biopic, good acting, and the boxing matches very well done. More than just a sports movie.

Concussion (2015)

In Pittsburgh, an accomplished pathologist uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.

Professionally made and well cast investigative drama has good intentions revealing a suppressed truth about professional American football, but remains very much in the conventions of this subgenre.

Focus (2015)

In the midst of a veteran con man latest scheme, a woman from his past - now an accomplished femme fatale - shows up and throws his plans for a loop.

Despite slick production, a good cast and a plot full of twists and turns, the movie fails to spark any interest, and the two leads create less charm than one would expect.

Independence Day (1996)

 

 

The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth; fighting superior technology, mankind's best weapon is the will to survive.

 

Successful rejuvenation of the 50s alien invasion/doomsday subgenre offers top-of-the-art special effects and action coupled with some good-natured tongue-in-cheek humor.

Halliwell*: "Enjoyably silly, jingoistic nonsense that found an appreciative audience for its sensational effects of blwing up the White House and most of the world; it sticks closely to the plot of The War of the Worlds, offering a technological version of a biological virus to knock out the aliens."

Maltin**1/2: "Spectacular - and spectacularly stupid - sci-fi saga...Big, Oscar-winning special effects are impressive, but the human stories are so dumb, the writing so lame, and some of the performances so broad they make some silly '50s sci-fi movies look brilliant by comparison."

 

 

After Earth (2013)

A crash landing leaves a young boy and his father stranded on Earth, a millennium after events forced humanity's escape, and since the father is injured, the boy must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help.

OK, but unremarkable sci-fi adventure does offer some nice settings, but leaves very much of its future vision unexplained.

Maltin**: "Juvenile adventure yarn...may appeal to younger viewers, but the script...is downright awkward at times. And what's with the oddball dialect?"