Forensic Science Movie Reviews

This is one of the 3 best movies Dennis Quaid has ever done, and probably the best Louis Gossett, Jr has ever done. The acting is superb. It is an excellent family movie, showing racism and the overcoming of it in a roundabout, nonthreatening, noninvasive way. Its a real tear jerker too. I recommend everybody see it at least once. A little sci-fi with good old fashioned family values hidden in it.

I give this movie the highest rating possible. I don't want to say much but it is exicting, yet moving. A wonderful metaphor of human bigotry, religion and understanding rolled all into one. By the end of this movie, if you don't feel an emotional stirring (if not actual tears in your eyes), then you are the alien on this planet. It is one of my all-time favorites and I cannot really put it in words. A "must-see" for sure. I have never been so audacious as to think I could rate a movie on any site until I saw this movie advertised. I created a logon ID to amazon just for the purpose of touting the spendor of this particular movie. I am not saying you should buy it... but I AM saying you should watch it! (I read the book, which goes beyond the movie. Very deep... (Lee in St. Louis - jubchuQun.com)

This movie while excellent sci-fi is also a morality play as well. It shows what we as humans are capable of...utter brutality in the name of whatever we define as right and utter selflessness and sacrifice for what we believe is right. The human, once he has totally befriended the Drac, swears to his friend that he will care for the offspring. When Zamis and our hero are separated by slavers, Quaid tells his rescuers that he has to go back and rescue his young ward. His comrades say he's crazy, it's only a Drac, but back he goes to the rescue because his personal honor is at stake. Great movie...I love happy endings. I don't have the DVD...yet

Ok. This movie has made me so incredibley mad, talk about a stupid movie. This movie is supposedly based on the book, but... there is nothing even remotely similar to the book. At the start of the movie, nothing was even close to the book, i had to turn it off, before i started crying.

I know the movie is old, but the book is older; making this movie is an insult to the writers. The movie has such bad acting that i think if someone has no idea what the book is about, they won't read it after watching this movie because of its horrid acting, special effects, plot. *crys*

The book is so good. Go pick up the book instead of this trash.

The production values in this movie are not bad, given its age. I mean, the use of models, stock footage and artwork is painfully obvious in places, but the photography is decent and it's in TECHNICOLOR! So while the effects are primitive by today's standards, they're pretty good for the era. Where the movie falls down, in my opinion, is the sappy overt religiosity and the hammy acting. And the "flight scenes" near the end are just pathetic; the passengers just sit there with no indication that they are in an accelerating (or even moving) spaceship. They look like they're sitting in a bus ... a PARKED bus! Still, I have to give this movie 3 stars just because it looks good in places and it captures the feel of an era. If a runaway star had entered our solar system in 1951, this is probably the way events would have unfolded. And the quality of the images on the DVD edition is quite nice, with rich, saturated colors. Definitely worth watching if you keep your expectations realistic.

When Worlds Collide is one of my favorite films. WWC starts when that South African space observatory makes a terrifiyng discovery..the Earth is on a collision course with another star!! The scientists know the truth of what will happen, but the UN thinks that the new planet will pass the Earth's atmosphere. The scientists do know that is another planet thats called Zyra that was to have contained vegatable life, and water on it's surface. The scientists then build a giant rocket that will take a fraction of people, animals, and equipment and start a new life on Zyra. This movie took home an Oscar for it's special effects and it's packed with some good actors, Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, a very young Stuart Whitman and Frank Cady who later went on to play 'Sam Drucker' in Pettycoat Juction and Green Acres. I don't know who the guy was who played the role Dr. Hendron, but he would later go on to play on Mr.Ed as Wilburs pesty next door neighbor, and the guy who played the ruthless industry tycoon Mr.Stanton, does a very good job in the part.
The DVD version is very excellent, the movie color is outstanding, the special effects don't mess up a bit, and the sound is terrific. If you like disaster movies, give this movie a try. I recemend it.

In the mid-1950's, Colombia Pictures did more then their fair share of creature features. But not a lot of them were any good. Case in point is this disapointment from 1955. Made alongside It Came From Beneath The Sea, it also suffers from a low budget, terrible script, and bad casting. The Ymir really looks like a "creature test" that Ray was doing in order to create the more realistic effects work of the Cyclops in "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", as that movie was done in a much more creative/entertaining/and style way which is really lacking in this film.

This is a good genre film and cult movie. Don't expect something as fancy or artistic as Murnau's Nosferatu. This a B movie. However, it has some attractive of its own.
The Ymir was really well animated for its time (OK, for today's standards, the "stop motion" technique might seem a little bit crude), but you can't help but notice that, although the creature looks fake, it "feels" real. Once again, Harryhausen shows his mastery.

There's really not much to this one. Earth sends a spacecraft to Venus, it comes back with an alien life form that starts out at six inches high then grows into a 20-foot beast that wreaks havoc on the city, etc., etc. Character depth? Why bother, this monster has a lot of character on its own. Plot intricacies? What the heck for, the monster is on a rampage and has to be stopped, what more do you want?

That's 50s sci-fi for you. No frills storytelling, and it's darn good fun. But what makes this entry especially enjoyable is, you guessed it, the monster itself. The Ymir (curiously, that name is never mentioned in the film) is another in the long list of stop-motion wizard Ray Harryhausen's creations. Unlke many of the mythology-based creatures in his other films, this one was entirely his own design, and let me say this, it looks really great. It's a neat mix of reptilian features reminiscent of the dinosaurs and humanoid form with fully-developed and functional arms (a decidedly non-dinosaur feature). Now that's cool.

I mentioned earlier that the monster has a lot of character. It really does. This isn't your basic carnivorous beast that devours any living thing in its path. It feeds on sulphur (!), and is actually non-aggressive. In one unforgettable scene, the Ymir stops and growls at a grazing sheep, then walks right by, leaving the sheep unharmed. (The growl probably translates roughly as, "excuse me, do you know where I can find some sulphur? You don't? Ok, thank you.")

The problems start when the humans, in their typical fear of what they don't know or understand, set out to destroy the creature. Naturally, it becomes violent. What the humans don't know is, the big guy is really just an unfortunate victim of circumstances that wants to be left alone. But then again, how do you leave a 20-foot Ymir alone?

Speaking of leaving things alone, this was Harryhausen's last black-and-white film. Nobody better even think about releasing a computer-colored version. That would take away so much of the nostalgic enjoyment we classic sci-fi fans get from watching films like this.

Once again, we're stuck with a full screen version of a movie that deserved better then what it got. As with "The Shadow", this is a decent little movie. It's not going to win any awards but it will certainly keep you entertained. Nice premise and decent Van Damme presence (I don't want to call it "acting"), but once again the studio decides to go on the cheap and not even give us a decent letterboxed version.

I just wanted to say that I expected much more from this movie. I think that the best of Van Damme is when he fights and in this movie he does it a very few times and not as good as he can.

Personally I think that the best movie of Van Damme is "Lionheart".

I'm so sick and tired of movie critics putting "The Muscles From Brussels" down,can this man get any props for his acting.It isn't common for an actor to grose over 200 million for one film.Van Damme proved his movies are worth that as Timecop hit theaters.I remember the buzz it recieved back in 1994.Realisticly 2004 will not be that way portrayed in the Peter Hyams film but realisticly it was a Van Damme good movie.It was Van Dammes highest box-office hit and put Van Damme in the action hero hall of fame.This film is an A+ for great martial-arts tecniques credited due to Van Damme who rarely uses a stunt double and a great storyline,with time travel,remember Back To The Future,well if you liked that movie I advise you to watch Timecop which is just as good with Van Damme in complete control...It's Van Damme at his peak"...

There are really two movies here: the first thirty minutes, which is a nice, suspensful, well done shocker, and then the rest of the movie, which is just a bad film about giant bugs that eat people.

As I said, the first thirty minutes really carried my interest a long way. There's Mira Sorvino as a scientist who creates a type of insect to combat cockroaches carrying a dangerous virus through New York City. As usual, God has a weird sense of humor and the bugs start to become dangerously manlike and violent. There are recent murders where people are mutilated, near where Giancarlo Giannini and his boy are (by the way, Giancarlo Giannini is with out a doubt one of the only reasons to watch this movie). Then one day Mira discovers that things may not be all that they seem, so she goes down to investigate. Later three guys go down on their own investigation.

Then the movie stops being good.

The insect, which is very manlike and sinister when seen only in shadows and silhouettes, is revealed as nothing more than a giant bug. Use your imagination...and you'll come up with a scarier looking monster. Oh yes, and it turns out there are hundreds of these things. Then the movie starts indiscriminantly killing off characters like there's no tomorrow, and then I lose all interest in the film. By that point it just becomes cliche giant bug movie.

This movie had so much potential and it just doesn't follow up on it. When it was one mysterious, humanoid insect it was cool, and the story was fascinating partly because the chemistry between the actors (especially the three guys who venture into the sewers) was good.

Then the movie's like, "Awe, screw it. Let's just end this thing. We got Mimic 2 and 3 to crap out..."

I saw this when it came out in the theatres some time ago. Half-decent film, but I don't remember most of it.

"Mimic" plunges right in to its icky little tub of spooky goo with what has to be the world's Worst Scientific Idea ever: in order to combat the virulent child-killing Strickler's Disease, which is spread by a New York cockroach plague, entomologist Dr. Susan Tyler (played with panache and conviction by Mira Sorvino)and some research pals from the CDC engineer a special hybrid bug.

Named the "Judas Bug", this little devil is a special combination of Mantid and Cockroach. Its modus operandi? It's awfully good at mimicrcy: drop it off in a cockroach hive, and it will draw the Strickler-infected roaches and poison them. Problem solved, New York's children saved.

Or are they? Cut to three years later: New Yorkers are disappearing in droves, and mysterious, shrouded figures are lurking around the subways and back alleys. Oh, and they like to make funny noises as they stalk their victims, noises like "click-clock-click". Sorvino gets back into the action when one of the Night Terrors comes clicking around her lab when she discovers a new specimen of super-sized mantid in the New York subway system, and things don't let up from there.

Let's cut right to Mimic's stylish, sleazy, richly atmospheric buggy heart: Guillermo Del Toro ("Cronos", "The Devil's Backbone", "Blade II") is a consummately gifted director with a fine sense of style, and "Mimic" gets its hands dirty from the start, delivering on the spooky, buggy fun, serving up gorgeous camera angles and a knack for the perfectly creepy shot. For example, the sequence where a mildly autistic boy encounters the shrouded lurkers in a decrepit church, for instance, is one of the more genuinely horrific scenes ever committed to film. And best of all, "Mimic" has no bones about shredding cute little kids if it needs to---how often do you get that in a film these days?

The acting is all first rate, from a competent job by Sorvino to nice turns by Charles Dutton and the Giancarlo Giannini, and even a nice hot slice of gratuitous F. Murray Abraham, who classes things up a bit. But style and ghoulishly good atmosphere are the real stars of this spookshow, and Del Toro delivers the goods in creepy-crawly spades. All of the set pieces, particularly the climactic scene in the subway, are beautifully designed, and add to the film's sleazy, rotten, infested atmosphere.

For a nice paranoid jaunt into the crawling darkness, you can do far worse than "Mimic": just take along a super-sized can of Raid.

I despised the main character, a nomadic rapist. There was nothing at all worthwhile about him. The movie sets him up as being a survivor only by very contrived writing. He is able to raid a gang only because the gang is the apocalyptic equivalent of the Keystone Cops. He waves his gun around in town - this will get a loner shot 100% of the time.

The "choice" he makes between the girl and the dog is also contrived. If you actually stop to think for a moment (warning, having a mind and using it destroys any chance of ejoying this film!), he had plenty of choices (there was food right behind that door if he made a quick raid).

Frankly, the only way I can see that this movie would have any appeal is if your emotional development stopped at 12, and you like having sex with women, but really dislike women themselves.

At the time of my writing this review, the new DVD has not been released. Hopefully it will address some of the quality concerns from earlier releases. I remember "A Boy and his Dog" being a thoroughly enjoyable film and would love to have a quality copy on DVD. More intellectual than a lot of other "Post-apocalyptic" films. Don't expect action-packed "Mad Max"-type stuff. This is more of a thinker's film, a fresh, clever story, lined with dry, dark humor. I reccomend it.

This movie is very well done despite the low budget, it has a good script, supurb acting, good direction, and a sick and twisted suprise ending that is one of the best in movie history. Obvioulsy women do not like the ending, (maybe because they know deep down the main character made the smart choice?) but let us remember who that female character was and what she did. She was a manipulative liar who was just out to use Don Johnson's character for her own purposes. She was out for herself and he could not trust her. Still the ending was really, really sick but then again so was the whole movie. Dark humor and piercing insight combine to create a dystopian underground world that reveals the true character of the American government in the future, in the past, and in the present. One revewier characterized this sophistacted and clever satire of American culture, politics, and self image as a "naive leftest world view." Sorry pal, you are the one who is naive, rather you like it or not this moive exposed our government for what it is, a tyranny run by fascist bullies. Not that any other government on this planet is really any different, some are just worse than others. This movie gives its main character two choices, life in a desert wasteland surrounded by roaming tribes of savages, or life underground enslaved by the rements of the old regime who enforce their will through androids. The Telepathic dog is by far the best character in the movie and has the best lines, vainly trying to give Don Johnson's character history lessons. This movie paints an exagerated but bascially accurate potrait of the world we live in, people are either dominated by fascist regimes that exploit their citizens, or live in wild, chaotic, untamed areas where different tribes or groups steal from and kill each other. Either slavery or an extreemly dangerous freedom are the choices the chacters in this movie are presented with, and it is that really so different from the world we live in? We are either corporate slaves or outlaws, one or the other. Some people might call these a simplistic world view but they would be wrong and I would be right. In this movie Don Johnson can trust no one but his dog, is that so different from real life? This movie is clever and disturbing, thought provoking and interesting. The first of its genre.

I despised the main character, a nomadic rapist. There was nothing at all worthwhile about him. The movie sets him up as being a survivor only by very contrived writing. He is able to raid a gang only because the gang is the apocalyptic equivalent of the Keystone Cops. He waves his gun around in town - this will get a loner shot 100% of the time.

The "choice" he makes between the girl and the dog is also contrived. If you actually stop to think for a moment (warning, having a mind and using it destroys any chance of ejoying this film!), he had plenty of choices (there was food right behind that door if he made a quick raid).

Frankly, the only way I can see that this movie would have any appeal is if your emotional development stopped at 12, and you like having sex with women, but really dislike women themselves.

At the time of my writing this review, the new DVD has not been released. Hopefully it will address some of the quality concerns from earlier releases. I remember "A Boy and his Dog" being a thoroughly enjoyable film and would love to have a quality copy on DVD. More intellectual than a lot of other "Post-apocalyptic" films. Don't expect action-packed "Mad Max"-type stuff. This is more of a thinker's film, a fresh, clever story, lined with dry, dark humor. I reccomend it.

This movie is very well done despite the low budget, it has a good script, supurb acting, good direction, and a sick and twisted suprise ending that is one of the best in movie history. Obvioulsy women do not like the ending, (maybe because they know deep down the main character made the smart choice?) but let us remember who that female character was and what she did. She was a manipulative liar who was just out to use Don Johnson's character for her own purposes. She was out for herself and he could not trust her. Still the ending was really, really sick but then again so was the whole movie. Dark humor and piercing insight combine to create a dystopian underground world that reveals the true character of the American government in the future, in the past, and in the present. One revewier characterized this sophistacted and clever satire of American culture, politics, and self image as a "naive leftest world view." Sorry pal, you are the one who is naive, rather you like it or not this moive exposed our government for what it is, a tyranny run by fascist bullies. Not that any other government on this planet is really any different, some are just worse than others. This movie gives its main character two choices, life in a desert wasteland surrounded by roaming tribes of savages, or life underground enslaved by the rements of the old regime who enforce their will through androids. The Telepathic dog is by far the best character in the movie and has the best lines, vainly trying to give Don Johnson's character history lessons. This movie paints an exagerated but bascially accurate potrait of the world we live in, people are either dominated by fascist regimes that exploit their citizens, or live in wild, chaotic, untamed areas where different tribes or groups steal from and kill each other. Either slavery or an extreemly dangerous freedom are the choices the chacters in this movie are presented with, and it is that really so different from the world we live in? We are either corporate slaves or outlaws, one or the other. Some people might call these a simplistic world view but they would be wrong and I would be right. In this movie Don Johnson can trust no one but his dog, is that so different from real life? This movie is clever and disturbing, thought provoking and interesting. The first of its genre.

I despised the main character, a nomadic rapist. There was nothing at all worthwhile about him. The movie sets him up as being a survivor only by very contrived writing. He is able to raid a gang only because the gang is the apocalyptic equivalent of the Keystone Cops. He waves his gun around in town - this will get a loner shot 100% of the time.

The "choice" he makes between the girl and the dog is also contrived. If you actually stop to think for a moment (warning, having a mind and using it destroys any chance of ejoying this film!), he had plenty of choices (there was food right behind that door if he made a quick raid).

Frankly, the only way I can see that this movie would have any appeal is if your emotional development stopped at 12, and you like having sex with women, but really dislike women themselves.

At the time of my writing this review, the new DVD has not been released. Hopefully it will address some of the quality concerns from earlier releases. I remember "A Boy and his Dog" being a thoroughly enjoyable film and would love to have a quality copy on DVD. More intellectual than a lot of other "Post-apocalyptic" films. Don't expect action-packed "Mad Max"-type stuff. This is more of a thinker's film, a fresh, clever story, lined with dry, dark humor. I reccomend it.

This movie is very well done despite the low budget, it has a good script, supurb acting, good direction, and a sick and twisted suprise ending that is one of the best in movie history. Obvioulsy women do not like the ending, (maybe because they know deep down the main character made the smart choice?) but let us remember who that female character was and what she did. She was a manipulative liar who was just out to use Don Johnson's character for her own purposes. She was out for herself and he could not trust her. Still the ending was really, really sick but then again so was the whole movie. Dark humor and piercing insight combine to create a dystopian underground world that reveals the true character of the American government in the future, in the past, and in the present. One revewier characterized this sophistacted and clever satire of American culture, politics, and self image as a "naive leftest world view." Sorry pal, you are the one who is naive, rather you like it or not this moive exposed our government for what it is, a tyranny run by fascist bullies. Not that any other government on this planet is really any different, some are just worse than others. This movie gives its main character two choices, life in a desert wasteland surrounded by roaming tribes of savages, or life underground enslaved by the rements of the old regime who enforce their will through androids. The Telepathic dog is by far the best character in the movie and has the best lines, vainly trying to give Don Johnson's character history lessons. This movie paints an exagerated but bascially accurate potrait of the world we live in, people are either dominated by fascist regimes that exploit their citizens, or live in wild, chaotic, untamed areas where different tribes or groups steal from and kill each other. Either slavery or an extreemly dangerous freedom are the choices the chacters in this movie are presented with, and it is that really so different from the world we live in? We are either corporate slaves or outlaws, one or the other. Some people might call these a simplistic world view but they would be wrong and I would be right. In this movie Don Johnson can trust no one but his dog, is that so different from real life? This movie is clever and disturbing, thought provoking and interesting. The first of its genre.

Konnichiwa. Upon watching this film, I was exited to see one of Gojira's films on DVD. I just recently got into DVDs, so I expected to see crystal clear imagery, explosions of sounds, and several special extras. Unfortunatly, I was a little disappointed. There were extras, but the only options were to change the sound quality from mono to surround sound, and a sneak peak at the new Destroy All Monsters Melee game. The quality of the DVD was poor; it was fuzzy, dirty, and pan-and-scanned. However, it's still a great classic and one of Gojira's greatest movies (IMO ^_^). This is overall is a fun lil DVD, but if extras are your thing (they're mine, too), check out the Terror Of Mechagodzilla DVD from Simitar. Happy Gojira DVD hunting, and sayonara!

Mechagodzilla is back again, but this time with titanosaurus, a monster that has his inner tail on his head! I'm a die-hard godzilla fan, and this movie is my second favorite (godzilla vs. megaguirus in first.) . The apes from (do I have to say all of it?) the third planet of the black hole come back with wierd hats, and they hire doctor Mifune who has Katsura who controls titanosaurus and mechagodzilla #2. Godzilla pops out to fight titanosaurus.Then,(this is my favorite scene)the aliens self-destruct there base and send out mechagodzilla #2 and Titanosaurus to destroy ( which of the following is the right answer a.new york b.tokyo c. seatopia d. planet X if you guessed right, its)tokyo. Mechagodzilla 2 didn't do much, but after that goodzilla comes to fight. They used stock footage from godzilla tearing off MechaG2's head but also showed the new lanturn uder his head. Gdzilla kills titanosaurus that kills katsura. the only thing bad is it doesn't have much navy, and the thing to make a campy movie great is to invite alot o' friends, camp out side with the tent with light on or off, get the tv and plop the movie in. WARNING:remember to have pop corn, hershies, or soda. the campy sleepover movie idea will only work on the vhs version(s), don't do what i did!

Good film should've been called Godzilla vs.Mechagodzilla 2 though it is as good as the original! AWSOME!

Konnichiwa. Upon watching this film, I was exited to see one of Gojira's films on DVD. I just recently got into DVDs, so I expected to see crystal clear imagery, explosions of sounds, and several special extras. Unfortunatly, I was a little disappointed. There were extras, but the only options were to change the sound quality from mono to surround sound, and a sneak peak at the new Destroy All Monsters Melee game. The quality of the DVD was poor; it was fuzzy, dirty, and pan-and-scanned. However, it's still a great classic and one of Gojira's greatest movies (IMO ^_^). This is overall is a fun lil DVD, but if extras are your thing (they're mine, too), check out the Terror Of Mechagodzilla DVD from Simitar. Happy Gojira DVD hunting, and sayonara!

Mechagodzilla is back again, but this time with titanosaurus, a monster that has his inner tail on his head! I'm a die-hard godzilla fan, and this movie is my second favorite (godzilla vs. megaguirus in first.) . The apes from (do I have to say all of it?) the third planet of the black hole come back with wierd hats, and they hire doctor Mifune who has Katsura who controls titanosaurus and mechagodzilla #2. Godzilla pops out to fight titanosaurus.Then,(this is my favorite scene)the aliens self-destruct there base and send out mechagodzilla #2 and Titanosaurus to destroy ( which of the following is the right answer a.new york b.tokyo c. seatopia d. planet X if you guessed right, its)tokyo. Mechagodzilla 2 didn't do much, but after that goodzilla comes to fight. They used stock footage from godzilla tearing off MechaG2's head but also showed the new lanturn uder his head. Gdzilla kills titanosaurus that kills katsura. the only thing bad is it doesn't have much navy, and the thing to make a campy movie great is to invite alot o' friends, camp out side with the tent with light on or off, get the tv and plop the movie in. WARNING:remember to have pop corn, hershies, or soda. the campy sleepover movie idea will only work on the vhs version(s), don't do what i did!

Good film should've been called Godzilla vs.Mechagodzilla 2 though it is as good as the original! AWSOME!