Reviews by Gator MacReady

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Saw V (2008)

  Review preview for Saw V

  These movies have become a parody of themselves.

  Death has never been one to keep Jigsaw and his cronies down... sadly.
• 
  Howard The Duck (1986)

  Review preview for Howard The Duck

  Part of the appeal of Howard is the fact that he is actually physically there and not some ghost who has been photo-shopped in afterwards.

  The misadventures of a cigar-smoking duck after he becomes trapped on Earth.
• 
  Waterworld (1995)

  Review preview for Waterworld

  Waterworld has a lot going for it. It's everything an action/sci-fi movie should be.

  The quest for Dry Land as Kevin Costner blows a sub-Titanic budget.
• 
  Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003)

  Review preview for Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines

  A breathless, relentless thrill-ride that doesn't let up until the shocking, refreshingly downbeat climax.

  Third installment in the Terminator franchise has robot Arnie fighting a metallic woman.
• 
  Hoodwinked (2005)

  The truth about Little Red Riding Hood.
• 
  The Lives Of The Saints (2006)

  Review preview for The Lives Of The Saints

  It takes ages to get going and there are loads of repetitive scenes.

  A small boy grants wishes, but what should people wish for?
• 
  3 Degrees Colder (2005)

  Review preview for 3 Degrees Colder

  It's crud like this that gives foreign language films a bad reputation with the average moviegoer.

  Five years after disappearing, a young man returns to disrupt the lives of those who knew him.
• 
  Snakes On A Plane (2006)

  Review preview for Snakes On A Plane

  More Zzzzz than Sssss!

  Some snakes. On a plane. What more do you need to know?
• 
  Clerks II (2006)

  The clerks start life anew in another miserable retail job.
• 
  Executive Decision (1996)

  Review preview for Executive Decision

  It's highly intense, superbly photographed and expertly edited entertainment.

  A counter-terrorist agent tries to disarm extremist plane-hijackers
• 
  Miami Vice: Season Two (1985)

  Review preview for Miami Vice: Season Two

  If you're a nostalgic fan, then go for it.

  Eighties vice cops turn on the style.
• 
  Magnum P.I: The Complete Fourth Series (1983)

  Review preview for Magnum P.I: The Complete Fourth Series

  PUH-LEASE Tom, buy some new shorts.

  From the Eighties comes Mr Moustache as an iconic Miami private eye in desperately short shorts
• 
  Ultraviolet (2006)

  Review preview for Ultraviolet

  Ultraviolet has nothing new to offer and goes through so many of the tired motions that it's exhausting just sitting on your ass watching it.

  Adrift in a Technicolor future, a dying vampire struggles to protect a human child
• Knight Rider: The Complete Third Series (1984)

  Review preview for Knight Rider: The Complete Third Series

  It's the coolness of K.I.T.T. (and the Hoff's MASSIVE hair) that made long-lasting impression on the world.

  The Hoff, wearing The Hair, kicks criminal ass, with the aid of his talking car.
• 
  Harry And The Hendersons (1987)

  Review preview for Harry And The Hendersons

  You just don't get family movies like this anymore.

  Bigfoot is taken into a suburban Seattle home.
• 
  Mission: Impossible (1996)

  Review preview for Mission: Impossible

  For those who cannot follow the plot there are some really good set pieces, with enough tension and excitement to carry the movie.

  Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt, Special Agent, in the first of his TV spin off action extravaganzas.
• 
  Airwolf: Season 1 (1984)

  The adventures of a big, black, heavily armed chopper.
• 
  The Warriors: Director's Cut (1979)

  Review preview for The Warriors: Director's Cut

  Now is the time to rediscover The Warriors and be reintroduced to a cult classic.

  Walter Hill returns 26 years later to his cult New York gang rumble and cuts it the way he always wanted.
• 
  Scary Movie 4 (2006)

  Review preview for Scary Movie 4

  The movies that David Zucker and Co are choosing to lampoon are already confined to the trash bin of history, thus rendering the film mostly purposeless.

  The spoof franchise creaks while they piddle on movies that were rubbish in the first place.
• Pumpkinhead (1989)

  Review preview for Pumpkinhead

  If you're in the mood for undemanding horror, with slight irony, mild mythology, an interesting killer and one of the coolest actors ever (Mr Henrikson, take a bow) then go for it.

  A man conjours a pumpkinheaded demon to avenge his son's death.
• 
  Basic Instinct 2 (2006)

  Review preview for Basic Instinct 2

  Catherine Tramell is a great character and Stone pulls it off perfectly.

  Sharon Stone reprises her role as sexy author with possible murderous streak.
• The Shaggy Dog (2006)

  Review preview for The Shaggy Dog

  No one in their right mind could read this script and find it worthy of their talents.

  Remake of family comedy about a bad dad who periodically turns into a dog.
• 
  Lost Highway (1997)

  Review preview for Lost Highway

  Lynch is a master of space and sound and the world of Lost Highway is at once beautiful and downright evil.

  A mysterious murder is only the beginning of the strangest story ever told.
• The Phantasm 5 Disc Boxset (2005)

  The five disc set of spooky adventures with the Tall Man.
• Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)

  Review preview for Phantasm IV: Oblivion

  The answers are hinted at rather than announced and the dialogue is sparse without being empty.

  Not the end quite yet, but the chase goes on, and the atmosphere is darker and the Tall Man more iconic
• Phantasm III: Lord Of The Dead (1994)

  Review preview for Phantasm III: Lord Of The Dead

  I don't feel that Coscarelli has found the perfect mix of action, sci-fi and horror with this third outing to best suit the series, but it is entertaining.

  The franchise becomes increasingly weird and bloody, with intriguing sci-fi bits.
• Phantasm II (1988)

  Review preview for Phantasm II

  Angus Scrimm is so wonderfully silent and unholy that no matter how slick and entertaining the rest of the film might be, he comes out on top.

  The continuing horror of the Tall Man who empties graves
• 
  Phantasm (1979)

  Review preview for Phantasm

  You can turn it upside down, inside out and back-to-front and you might be able to work most of it out, but there will always be one thing that doesn't fit.

  Baffling Seventies horror flick about a scary tall mortician, killer dwarfs and sci-fi spheres
• 
  The Fog (2005)

  Review preview for The Fog

  I had grown a beard by the time anything the slightest bit interesting began to happen.

  Fog wafts over a small town bringing revenge with it.
• 
  RoboCop: Prime Directives (2000)

  Review preview for RoboCop: Prime Directives

  This junk should be scrapped and left to rust.

  TV mini series, based on the cult movie about a mechanical supercop.
• 
  Running Scared (2006)

  Review preview for Running Scared

  Besides the schizophrenic storyline, what really brings the film down to a 3-star experience is the fact that director Wayne Kramer uses every editing technique he can think of, despite whether it is appropriate or not.

  Looking for a gun in New York is a dangerous business.
• 
  Scrooged (1988)

  Review preview for Scrooged

  Richard Donner shoots the film as a supernatural fantasy and gives it a superior shine.

  A stunningly cynical Bill Murray finds the true spirits of Christmas visiting him thrice.
• 
  Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

  Review preview for Young Sherlock Holmes

  Young Sherlock is a fine example of Chris Columbus' most sophisticated writing.

  Teenage Sherlock meets side-kick Watson and they set out to solve a mystery
• 
  National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

  Review preview for National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

  What stops it from being just another generic Christmas movie is a brilliant script by John Hughes, packed full of hilarious set pieces and perfect comic timing from Chevy Chase.

  The Griswolds try to stop their Christmas turning into a Turkey.
• 
  Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

  Review preview for Planes, Trains & Automobiles

  Planes, Trains & Automobiles is an eternal tribute to how great Martin used to be before he sold himself out to family movies and how wonderful Candy was as an actor and a person.

  Steve Martin and John Candy try in vain to get home in time for Thanksgiving.
• 
  The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

  Review preview for The 40 Year Old Virgin

  The film gets an impressive amount of mileage and you never really feel like it's dragging.

  American Pie for grown ups.
• Transporter 2 (2005)

  Review preview for Transporter 2

  The Transporter franchise suffers from some serious engine failure in this too-slickly produced sequel and only just makes it over the finishing line.

  The return of the ass-kicking courier in a convoluted tale of a kidnapped kid and a deadly virus.
• Unleashed (2004)

  Review preview for Unleashed

  Works best as a character drama, with only a few silly fight scenes in between.

  A Jet Li martial arts extravaganza, with sensitive side issues and Bob Hoskins in bully mode.
• 
  Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005)

  Review preview for Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

  One of the most boring films I've had to sit through in a long time.

  It's darker now and Voldemort is close. Can Harry triumph at the Tri-wizard Tournament and save the world?
• 
  The Last Horror Movie (2003)

  Review preview for The Last Horror Movie

  The convoluted narrative constantly conflicts with itself and could never actually add up in real life.

  Confessions of a childish, middle-class, self-confident, English serial killer.
• Saw II (2005)

  Review preview for Saw II

  'There will be boredom' is a more appropriate tagline for this absolutely worthless mess of a sequel.

  Serial killer plays games with stupid victims in spooky old house.
• 
  Choses Secrètes (2002)

  Sexual politics in the office.
• 
  The Castle Of Cagliostro (1979)

  The extraordinary adventures of a gentleman thief, as conceived by an anime master.
• Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005)

  Review preview for Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story

  This scatter-shot approach to comedy has all the sophistication of sticking a 12-bore into a crowd and pulling the trigger. Sure, you're going to hit everyone, but it's not very clever.

  The Family Guy Movie.
• 
  A History Of Violence (2005)

  Review preview for A History Of Violence

  This is not some PG-13 kiddie's movie. A film condemning violence only to not show it in its full, bloody, gory glory would be hypocritical.

  Violence begets violence in a study of retribution and small town defiance.
• 
  Wolf Creek (2005)

  Review preview for Wolf Creek

  Despite turning genre cliches on their heads and reversing expectations a few times, Wolf Creek is a dunderheaded exercise in routine horror.

  Backpackers go looking for hedonism in the Aussie outback... and find horror.
• Pretty Poison (1968)

  Review preview for Pretty Poison

  It's obvious that the film isn't headed for a happy ending and it's not even an easy watch getting there.

  Falling for the wrong girl can be fatal.
• 
  The Chronicles Of Riddick: Director's Cut (2004)

  Review preview for The Chronicles Of Riddick: Director's Cut

  The Director's Cut, as expected, beefs up the storyline with more established characters and small scenes to make sense of previously disorientating sub-plots.

  David Twohy beefs up his sci-fi fantasy and makes it less disorientating.
• 
  Battle In Heaven (2005)

  An ugly taxi driver and the prostitute daughter of a general go at it and at it and (yawn).
• 
  Dominion (2004)

  Review preview for Dominion

  Long-winded, overwrought and totally without a climax.

  Before The Exorcist came the demon Pazuzu.