Earth vs. the Spider (2001)
Oct 8, 2001Human-Spider Hybrid/Superhero Gone Wrong
One of a spate of remakes of old AIP titles conducted in 2001, this spins the original giant spider amok film out into a superhero-gone-wrong take on Spider-Man
John Cho
Star Trek (2009)
May 12, 2009Intergalactic Adventures
J.J. Abrams revives the Star Trek franchise by recasting it with younger faces and rewriting continuity. But in the appeal to a hipper, sexier vibe, it feels a long way from Gene Roddenberry’s creation – nowhere in evidence is the original's concern with galactic politics and social issues of the day
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011)
Nov 4, 2011Gonzo Stoner Film
The third film in the series of stoner comedies trips off into gonzo genre territory. A relentlessly and unashamedly vulgar film that also manages to be occasionally quite funny
Total Recall (2012)
Aug 2, 2012Virtual Memories/Reality Bender/Action
I was never a particular fan of the Schwarzenegger original and this improves on it somewhat. This is far better conceived as an action film with some amazing Cyberpunk designs. On the other hand, the two decades interim has made the story's Philip K. Dick-ian reality bendings seem commonplace
Get a Life! (2012)
May 25, 2021Star Trek Fandom Documentary
The William Shatner directed documentary can be a unique beast. Here he makes a quite reasonable effort to examine what is at the heart of Star Trek fandom
Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)
May 17, 2013Intergalactic Adventures
I had mixed feelings about J.J. Abrams' reboot of Star Trek This time around the actors seem more at home in the characters and the plot works a good deal better (for the most part), while Abrams creates a hurtling effects spectacle that is the most action-oriented of the Trek films
Star Trek: Beyond (2016)
Jul 30, 2016Intergalactic Adventures
Gene Roddenbery created a tv series that was about boldly going, confronting different ways of life. The choice to hire the director of The Fast and the Furious films to helm the film made for the show's 50th anniversary says how wrong-headed the reboot series has become – all about cool young leads and hurtling effects sequences
The Grudge (2020)
Mar 22, 2020Haunting
The fourteenth Ju-on/The Grudge film, a reboot of the 2004 English language version from Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures. This was dumped by its distributor and received some terrible reviews
Afraid (2024)
Sep 28, 2024Smarthome A.I. Amok
The first film to come out following the advent of generative A.I. From American Pie director Chris Weitz, an evil A.I. film that arrives with all the hysteria of villagers with burring torches in a Frankenstein film