Category: sci-fi
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Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets [2017] ★★
“Valerian” is far from being a disaster, but when a movie offers spectacular visual effects and still fails to tell a memorable story, you can’t help feeling cheated. In trying to emulate the success of his superior 1997 film “The Fifth Element”, filmmaker Luc Besson relies on cutting-edge technology to tell the story of Valerian…
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Ranking the Spider-Man Movies
“SpiderMan: Homecoming” is coming in July, which makes this the perfect time to rank the Spider-Man movies. One of the most popular superheroes of all time, “Spider-Man” finally made his debut on the big screen in 2002. I already mentioned in a previous post that Spider-Man 2 (2004) is my favorite film so far. But…
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8 Great SCI-FI Movies
Science-Fiction movies have always been around, with Georges Melies’ “Le Voyage dans la lune” being one of the earliest examples of a film set in “space”. Naturally, people were curious. And naturally, the sci-fi genre would evolve through the years, hitting its peak in the 1960’s and 1970’s, when Stanley Kubrick and Andrei Tarkovsky made…
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Alien: Covenant [2017] ★★★
I don’t pretend to understand everything that goes on in the “Alien” universe, but having enjoyed most of these films (including 2012’s underrated “Prometheus”), I couldn’t wait to see what director Ridley Scott had in store for us this time around. Indeed, I wasn’t wrong: “Covenant” is a first-rate sci-fi/horror movie in every aspect, and…
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Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 [2017] ★★½
Guardians of the Galaxy fans would hate to admit it, but Vol. 2 is a mess. An enjoyable mess, but a mess nonetheless. I know it must have been hard for writer/director James Gunn to cook up a sequel to the hugely entertaining first film, but I think that he hasn’t fully succeeded this time around.…
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The Circle [2017] ★½
How can a movie feature such a talented cast and still suck so bad? Emma Watson can make almost anything worth seeing. And Tom Hanks is one of my all time favorite actors. But “The Circle”, written and directed by James Ponsoldt from a novel by Dave Eggers, just lays there onscreen, untouched by human…
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Ghost In The Shell [2017] ★★
I don’t know what Ghost in the Shell purists would make of this big screen adaptation, but as someone who loves science-fiction films, I thought it was tedious. And yet, it sounds cool on the surface, with beautiful visual effects and a kick-ass soundtrack to almost validate its existence. Scarlett Johansson plays Major, a cybernetic…
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Life [2017] ★★
Although it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, “Life” has an intriguing science-fiction premise and just the right actors to carry it through. So what could go wrong? Plenty, as it turns out. Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds and a group of astronauts find a life form on Mars that could provide enough evidence for extraterrestrial life. But is…
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Monster Trucks [2016] ★★
First the good news: this is better than any “Transformers” sequels, for the simple fact that the characters in it actually have words to say. But that’s not saying much is it? Shot in 2014 and originally scheduled for a 2015 release, Paramount pictures later on decided to move its release date to 2016, then…
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Passengers [2016] ★★
Picture this: you’re in hibernation mode, on your way to a distant planet where you’ll be starting a new life. The journey takes 120 years to reach its destination but somehow a glitch in the system occurs and you’re forced to wake up 90 years early. You’re all alone on a spacecraft and there’s absolutely…
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story [2016] ★★★½
I don’t pretend to be the biggest Star Wars geek in the galaxy, but I do know a good Star Wars film when I see one, and “Rogue One” is exactly that. For one, it cleverly and effortlessly works as a link between episode III and Episode IV while working perfectly well as a standalone…
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Arrival [2016] ★★★★
Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve follows up “Incendies“, “Prisoners”, “Enemy” and “Sicario” with his most ambitious movie yet. “Arrival” is a first rate science-fiction movie: Clever, completely immersive and hauntingly beautiful. In short: it’s a masterpiece. But artistic ambition can be a bitch in this day and age. Audiences seeking a straightforward story might complain about the…
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Fantastic Planet [1973] ★★★½
A psychedelic experience from start to finish, Rene Laloux’s richly rewarding “Fantastic Planet” (or “La planète Sauvage” in french) is unlike any animated movie you have ever seen. Set on a distant planet called Ygam where humans (called “Oms” here) are enslaved by giant blue creatures called Draags, a young boy called Terr dares to…
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Equals [2016] ★½
It’s not the worst Science-Fiction movie you could see, but “Equals”, clumsily directed by Drake Doremus, bored me to tears. I suppose it would only make sense to have Kristen Stewart in it, since everyone in this future society is supposed to be emotionless, even lifeless. The only actor who is allowed to dig into…
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Star Trek: Beyond [2016] ★★★
It’s not “Into Darkness” or the classic “The Wrath of Khan”, but producer J.J Abrams and his collaborators have managed to pull off the impossible by delivering yet another spectacular entry in the Star Trek franchise. “Beyond” , once again starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto (who both continue to impress) as well as Zoe Saldana, Simon…
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Independence Day: Resurgence [2016] ★½
“We always knew they’d be back” they said. And I always knew it would suck. Let’s face it: what clicked in the mid 1990’s clearly doesn’t anymore. Following the first movie’s huge success (and believe me, it was), director Roland Emmerich went on to direct several “end of times” blockbusters, from “The Day After Tomorrow” to…
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![Cell [2016] ★](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/cell-movie-2016-poster.jpg?w=800)
Cell [2016] ★
Here’s a list of things I ABSOLUTELY hated about “Cell”, one of the worst big screen adaptations of a Stephen King novel: 1- The story. Nothing against King (who wrote the screenplay), but what the hell was that? In telling his story about a man (John Cusack) who tries desperately to search for his missing…
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X-Men: Apocalypse [2016] ★★½
People who follow my blog probably know how much I loved Bryan Singer’s previous outing “Days of Future Past”. That movie was smart, exciting and a pure joy to watch. That being said, I left “Apocalypse” feeling disappointed. Was I expecting something better? Perhaps. Instead, this new installment, once again lead by Bryan Singer, tries…
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![10 Cloverfield Lane [2016] ★★★](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/10c_1-sht_online_teaser_alt1.jpg?w=831)
10 Cloverfield Lane [2016] ★★★
I never thought I’d be reviewing a sequel to J.J Abrams’ 2008 surprise monster hit “Cloverfield”, but here we are. “10 Cloverfield Lane”, this time directed by Dan Trachtenberg has literally come out of nowhere. It was only back in January that the studio released a mysterious trailer announcing the movie. The reason? To keep…
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The Divergent Series: Allegiant [2016] ★★
I don’t know about you but I’ve reached a point where I can’t tell the difference between “The Divergent” series and “The Maze Runner” series anymore. These movies seem awfully similar to me and to be honest, it’s becoming redundantly redundant. Even the fact that the final chapter is being divided into two parts for…
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