The Transformers: The Movie (1986) – Nelson Shin

In the mid-80s there were two sets of toys that seemed to be everywhere, G.I. Joe (who would get his animated movie the following year) and the Transformers – a collection of robots whose civil war had spread to Earth. There are two sides, the brave and loyal Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen)…

Maximum Ride (2016) -Jay Martin

James Patterson’s young adult novel series, Maximum Ride, takes flight cimematically this week from Paramount Pictures. I read the first book when it came out in 2005. It was fun, engaging. Patterson is a very entertaining and imaginative writer, and Max seemed perfectly suited for exploration in other media. The downside to this big screen…

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005) -Garth Jennings

Grab your towel and Don’t Panic! Douglas Adam’s classic tale gets a big screen adaptation, of his book/screenplay, which had previously been so well used by the BBC as a miniseries, and before that a radio programme. There are things that work in this version, and things that don’t, but the effort is there to…

Doom (2005) – Andrzej Bartkowiak

Karl Urban, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and Rosamund Pike head to battle in this film adaptation of the hit video game Doom, my next stop in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. Strange things are happening in a research base on Mars, and a group of Space Marines, with Sarge (Johnson), kitted out to take on whatever…

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005) – George Lucas

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles brings me to the final entry in the Prequel Trilogy, and arguably the strongest despite some troubling moments. While still suffering from the too clean, too digital, green-screen EVERYTHING, this one feels the closest to a Star Wars movie, and that opening sequence through the space battle over Coruscant is highly…

The Proposition (2005) -John Hillcoat

  The next recommendation following my screening of Night of the Hunter for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is this Australian western that sees a lawman, Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) apprehend notorious outlaw Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) and offers him a deal, he has nine days to track down and kill…

Serenity (2005) – Joss Whedon

  Ahhh, Serenity. I’m so glad I got a chance to watch this one again, thanks to the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. I remember the year Firefly started, and the now legendary story of how Fox screwed everything up and didn’t give Joss Whedon and the show the support it deserved. Despite that of course, when…

Batman Begins (2005) – Christopher Nolan

  Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale take over the reigns of one of DC’s greatest characters, Batman, in the next film to be watched for the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, and the last one to review, as I’ve reviewed Nolan’s latter entries into the trilogy before. On reflection this morning, as much as I like this…

Assault On Precinct 13 (1976) – John Carpenter

A number of elements both horrific and action oriented combine as the siege on a closed down police station begins in this classic John Carpenter film that makes a welcome appearance on the 101 Action Movies list. 6 gang members are shot down by cops, raising tensions on the street, as Lieutenant Ethan Bishop (Austin…