Tag Archives: Science Fiction

Star Trek: First Contact - * * *

Posted on November 22, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Once again the Star Trek series goes back in time, a theme used a bit too often, but used to good effect in this action packed entry. The film opens with the cybernetic Borg making an all-out attack on the … Continue reading →

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Escape from L.A. - * * 1/2*

Posted on August 9, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

This sequel to Escape From New York might not be as flashy as some of this summer’s earlier action extravaganzas, but it sure packs an attitude. Sixteen years after Escape From New York, the United States has become a Fundamentalist … Continue reading →

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Multiplicity - * *

Posted on July 17, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Multiplicity is a cloning comedy that starts out with a great premise, but fails to deliver on its promise. Michael Keaton stars as Doug Kinney, a harried construction worker, who doesn’t have time enough for work, family and himself. He … Continue reading →

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Independence Day - * * *

Posted on July 3, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Independence Day is a slightly derivative, but thoroughly crowd-pleasing alien invasion film. When the aliens arrive in their giant flying saucers, Independence Day introduces its diverse cast in typical disaster flick fashion. They come from every walk of life, from … Continue reading →

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The Arrival - * * 1/2*

Posted on May 31, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Some surprisingly good science fiction is watered down by tepid dialogue in The Arrival. In perhaps his best work in years (although that’s not saying much), Charlie Sheen plays Zane Zaminski, a paranoid researcher in the SETI program, searching for … Continue reading →

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Barb Wire - 1/2*

Posted on May 3, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Ridiculous rehash of Casablanca in a soft-porn Blade Runner-ish world. Pamela Anderson Lee is the titular heroine, a mercenary bar-owner who refuses to take sides in the second American Civil War. When Cora D (Victoria Rowell), a biochemist flees the … Continue reading →

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Screamers - * *

Posted on January 26, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Screamers is a science fiction thriller that actually manages to produce a couple of surprising plot twists (amid many all-too predictable ones). The story is set nearly one hundred years in the future, on the desolate planet Sirius 6B. A … Continue reading →

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Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace - 1/2*

Posted on January 12, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Horrendous sequel to what was a dubious movie in the first place. The first film dealt with Jobe, a retarded man who had a job mowing lawns (hence the title). After being dosed with experimental drugs, and subjected to virtual … Continue reading →

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12 Monkeys - * * * 1/2*

Posted on December 27, 1995 by Madeleine Williams

Coherent chaos abounds in this time-travel/virus thriller by the visionary Terry Gilliam. Bruce Willis is James Cole, a convict in the year 2035. In late 1996, a deadly virus wiped out most of the human race, forcing the few survivors … Continue reading →

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Virtuosity - * *

Posted on August 4, 1995 by Madeleine Williams

Disappointing action movie which doesn’t ever fully exploit the possibilities of its premise: a complex artificial intelligence amalgamation of 183 killers escapes from virtual reality in the body of a regenerating android (sort of an extroverted T-1000). However, the direction … Continue reading →

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