All posts by CJ

A pop culture devotee who is happiest watching any incarnation of Star Trek, reading Stephen King or Joe Hill novels, viewing great movies [primarily from the action, horror, adventure or science fiction genres], or flipping through a DC comic. Dream jobs would include: Starfleet Captain, joining the Green Lantern Corps, Pokémon Master, Disney Princess or plumber for the Mushroom Kingdom.
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Godzilla (2014)

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Review by CJ

Godzilla

Director:
Gareth Edwards

Starring:
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, David Strathairn

Other notable appearances:
GIANT FIGHTING MONSTERS!

Running time:
123 minutes

Watch this if you liked:
Godzilla (1954), Jurassic Park

 

Warning: May contain spoilers for a movie made in 1954, the 2014 remains mostly unspoiled.

A new species referred to as the MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) hatches at the former site of a nuclear reactor. The calls of the MUTO summon an ancient apex predator who hasn’t been seen in 60 years. It’s now up to Lieutenant Brody (Taylor-Johnson), his nuclear scientist father (Cranston), Doctor Serizawa (Watanabe) and the US military to herd the MUTO and Godzilla together for a battle that has been thousands of years in the making.

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RoboCroc (2013)

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Review by CJ

Robocroc

Director:
Arthur Sinclair

Starring:
Corin Nemec, Lisa McAllister, Dee Wallace, Steven Hartley

Other notable appearances:
A pair of crocs shoes

Running time:
77 minutes

Watch this if you liked:
Lake Placid, Dinocroc vs. Supergator

 

A shuttle carrying government nanotechnology explodes, ejecting its payload into a crocodile enclosure at a water adventure park. The nanotechnology integrates with the park’s Australian saltwater crocodile, Stella, and sends her on a single minded mission for survival. This, of course, includes detecting food in the form of the park’s guests and staff. It’s up to zookeeper Duffy (Nemec) to predict Stella’s next move and stop her before RoboCroc can take over completely.

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Amphibious (2010)

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Review by CJ

Amphibious

Director:
Brian Yuzna

Starring:
Janna Fassaert, Michael Paré, Monica Sayangbati

Other notable appearances:
Giant aquatic scorpion

Running time:
83 minutes

Watch this if you liked:
Anaconda, Jaws, Piranha

 

Two young brothers are sold into slavery aboard a fishing platform off the coast of Indonesia. When the oldest boy is killed by one of the slavers, the youngest child invokes Dukun (Indonesian shaman) magic to seek revenge in the form of a giant, man-eating scorpion. It’s up to a marine biologist and the crew she chartered to save the children on the fishing platform before they all become scorpion food.

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Avalanche Sharks (2013)

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Review by CJ

Avalanche Sharks

Director:
Scott Wheeler

Starring:
Alexander Mendeluk, Kate Nauta, Emily Addison

Other notable appearances:
SKOOKUM!

Running time:
82 minutes

Watch this if you liked:
Sharknado, Swamp Shark, Sharktopus, Shark Night, Bait, Ghost Shark

 

I hope I get this right, because I’m not entirely sure I know what was happening. It’s spring break at Mammoth Mountain and two snowboarders go missing. In Jaws style the authorities refuse to close the mountain despite skiers and snowboarders dropping like flies to the Skookums (Native American sharks possibly from outer space who swim through snow). It’s up to US Marine Wade, the mountain Sheriff and their girlfriends to stop the Skookums before it’s too late.

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NOS4R2 (UK) or NOS4A2 (US) by Joe Hill (2014)

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Review by CJ

NOS4R2

Page count: 692 [Including the acknowledgments because if you skim or skip the acknowledgements you get a free trip to Christmasland. No, no – that’s not a good thing.]

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Gollancz

 

When Victoria ‘Vic’ McQueen was a young girl she had a gift for finding things. She would jump on her bike and cross the Shorter Way Bridge to wherever the lost item could be found. When Vic has a fight with her mother and father she goes looking for trouble and finds Charles Manx with a gift of his own. Manx has taken hundreds of children away from their parents to the Christmasland with the promise of a world where fun rules and unhappiness is against the law. Vic barely escapes from Manx and he is locked away in one prison or another until his death. But Charles Manx is not the sort of man to let a little thing like death stop him and now Vic must save her son from Manx before it’s too late. Before he can’t be saved. Before he doesn’t want to be saved.

Continue reading NOS4R2 (UK) or NOS4A2 (US) by Joe Hill (2014) →