The Fifth Element (1997) Review
March 20, 2026
The Fifth Element is a perfect film. Not a perfect science fiction film, not a perfect action film, a perfect film, period.
Tag: Practical Effects (Page 12)
1990sThe Matrix (1999) Review
March 20, 2026
The Wachowskis accomplished something that almost never happens in blockbuster cinema: they made a philosophy lecture into one of the most viscerally entertaining action films ever made, and the philosophy and the action are the same thing. This review is…
Film SeriesDune Parts 1 & 2 Review
March 20, 2026
From inside the book, these are the right criticisms. The short version: Villeneuve made two visually extraordinary films that get many of the big things right and a handful of things badly wrong.
1990sWaterworld (1995) Review
March 20, 2026
Waterworld had one genuine asset going in: a production design concept that was visually striking and physically coherent. A world covered in water would.
2000sAvatar (2009) Review
March 20, 2026
Avatar is a white savior film wearing the costume of environmental progressivism, and the combination is more offensive than either element alone. The Na'vi, despite everything that makes them extraordinary, apparently needed Jake Sully.
1970sStar Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Review
March 20, 2026
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the most expensive screensaver in cinema history. Paramount gave Robert Wise a budget that dwarfed the entire television.
1970sWestworld (1973) Review
March 20, 2026
Westworld is great and deserves considerably better than its current reputation as merely the prototype for the HBO series. Michael Crichton's original concept is tighter, scarier, and structurally cleaner than anything the television adaptation produced in its first two seasons.