Movies
A solid, but predictable disaster flick. Dante's Peak does little to deviate from the template, instead it hopes that the appeal of Brosnan and some first-rate CG effects are enough to keep audiences glued to the screen. And for the most part that bet paid off, as Dante's Peak turned out to be an enjoyable flick. As with most of these disaster films, I like the setup better than the actual disaster. Donaldson does a good job with that. He doesn't drag things out, still he takes time to create a feeling of unease. The second half is entirely dedicated to the eruption, which was a little less impressive than I remembered. The best thing about this film is that it stayed below the 110-minute mark. The pacing is slick, the genre payoffs are decent and even though it gets a bit too cheesy, the film never stays too long at one single point for it to become a problem. Not exactly great cinema, but a pleasant film nonetheless.Read all
Simple 80s romance. I once saw it a long, long time ago, well before I started keeping track of films. All I remembered was Cruise throwing bottles in the air and The Beach Boys' Kokomo. That wasn't by accident it seems, as these are by far the most remarkable things this film has to offer. Cruise wants to make it big after coming back from the army, but his part-time job as a bartender quickly takes over his life. He's quite a talent and before he knows it bartending becomes his ultimate dream, introducing him to his best friend to be, his wife to be and ultimately a happier life. Cruise is the main attraction and he does his thing quite well here. The plot is middling, Elisabeth Shue fails to sparkle, the drama is predictable and the soundtrack is pretty bland too. But there's an upbeat atmosphere that makes this a pretty each watch. Just simple fun, don't expect too much and it ends up pretty decent filler. Read all
Pointless rewatch. This is one of those films I watched well before I began tracking my ratings. The sole reason to watch this film was Giger's involvement in the creature design, but don't expect to find the next Alien. Species is a very bland mix of action and horror that does no justice to the designs of Giger. What surprised me the most was the cast. I remembered Species as a full-blown (read cheap) B-flick, but the cast is actually pretty decent, hosting quite a few respectable names. Not that the performances are outstanding, but at the very least it indicates this wasn't made to be random shelf filler, even though the actual quality may suggest something different. The police chase is bland, the 90s atmosphere is kitsch, the effects are atrocious and Henstridge clearly wasn't cast for of her acting talent. What could've been a fun, juicy B-flick turned out to be an uninspired, run-of-the-mill genre flick. A waste of potential, it's beyond how a film like this managed to get two more sequels.Read all
