Ron Howard (“Apollo 13”, “The Da Vinci Code”) is in the director’s chair for this charming comedy, titled “Parenthood”. Although, it could easily be called something such as “Life” as it deals with a variety of topics including sex, jobs and fun.

Meet the Buckman family. They’re just a normal family with normal problems. Steve Martin (“The Man With Two Brains”, “Planes, Trains & Automobiles”) stars as Gil Buckman, who wants to help his son become as normal as can be, get a promotion in his job and become the perfect father his dad never was. Also, we see other members of the family such as Nathan Huffner (Rick Moranis “Ghostbusters”, “Ghostbusters II”), who wants to make his daughter 100x smarter than any average kid.

I really like how charming Steve Martin is and he is suited to this ordinary guy role very well. It’s bizarre how he did this good film about parenting and then years later, his “Cheaper By The Dozen” films were so bad. Martin is a great comedic actor and not far behind the likes of Robin Williams (“Good Will Hunting”). He has many highlights here such as playing a cowboy at his son’s birthday party, having vivid and strange dreams about the future and celebrating a baseball win. My favourite character is definitely the one played by Moranis as he’s a really good comedic actor as well and the role is perfect for him. The only characters/actors that let the side down are Keanu Reeves (“The Matrix”) as Tod Higgins and Joaquin Phoenix (“Signs”) as Gary Buckman as they just don’t work.

Ron Howard has made a terrific film here but it isn’t without its flaws. There are several jokes that don’t work, there are some dud characters and while the ending is good, it doesn’t seem quite as witty or funny as I had anticipated. All-round it’s a very funny look at life, among Steve Martin’s best work and contains some great music by Randy Newman (“Toy Story”).

“King of the Lost World” is easily one of the worst offerings from The Asylum. Known for the ‘mockbusters’, this one clearly tried to rip-off Peter Jackson’s 2005 version “King Kong” and also capitalise all the popularity of the “Jurassic Park” movies too. This movie is so abysmal that it’s not even funny.

A group of survivors of a plane crash find themselves on a dangerous island. They encounter various deadly monsters including dragons and a giant ape. They also must deal with a savage tribe as well. The group must try to find a way to escape the island else they face certain death.

The characters are so incredibly boring. There is not a single line of dialog in this whole movie that I was interested in and nobody looks like they want to be there. Somehow, the monsters are even worse than the people. We have lots of giant creatures and the C.G.I. effects are among the worst I’ve seen. This movie came out in 2005 (just like the Jackson “King Kong”) yet the giant ape here looks less convincing than King Kong did back in the original 1933 film. It’s amazing that after all these years, the original King Kong creature doesn’t look all that bad.

“King of the Lost World” is just a complete disaster. I was so bored that I virtually switched off. The special effects here are only marginally better than the effects in “Birdemic” and “The Amazing Bulk”. However, those movies at least used bad effects for a comedic purpose. Whatever you do in life, please don’t be fooled into watching “King of the Lost World”. Just watch the 2005 “King Kong” (or any of the “King Kong” movies) instead of this dreadful mess. Whether or not it is the worst film from The Asylum doesn’t matter, it’s lame and should be avoided at all costs.

“Parasite” is a South Korean film that starts off brilliantly and then it takes some really clever twists and turns. I honestly was amazed by it but then the final few scenes feel rather unsatisfying. It’s a weak way to end what was a brilliant experience in so many ways.

A poor family decides to exploit the naïve nature of a wealthy family. They con their way into situation in which they are all employed by the wealthy family in roles including private tutor and housekeeper. They find themselves feeding off the family in every way but they might not be the only ones that are hiding things.

The characters in this movie are interesting because you initially see the poor Kim family as the ones in the wrong. They lie and cheat their way into a better existence but as the movie continues, we see some of the other characters are not so innocent. However, the movie has a rather muddled message at the end. Is the divide between the characters one of class or one of morality? I don’t know and I don’t think the filmmakers know exactly what the answer is either. I think most of the performances are really good though.

“Parasite” looks great. Much of it is very disturbing in a realistic way. It makes you question just how much you really know about a lot of the people in your life; are they truly what they claim to be? Director Bong Joon Ho (“Snowpiercer”, “Okja”) almost created a masterpiece here. Up until the birthday party, this is an incredible movie but the last part is just meaningless to me. Perhaps I’m wrong and maybe this is a flawless film but I just didn’t see it that way. It’s still really good and worth checking out though.

I’ll admit that I was disappointed in “Pan’s Labyrinth”. I was expecting a dark “Alice In Wonderland” but I felt I got an uneven movie. Parts of it were like “Narnia” and other parts were like a more mature and extremely violent war movie. Although I saw that they tried to merge the two by showing the horrors aren’t so different, I felt it didn’t work.

“Pan’s Labyrinth” is set in fascist Spain in 1944. We meet a girl, named Ofelia (Ivana Baquero “The New Daughter”), and her pregnant mother as they move into a military outpost in the middle of the countryside. They stay with Ofelia’s mother’s new husband, Captain Vidal (Sergi López “Dirty Pretty Things”). Once there, Ofelia stumbles upon an old labyrinth where she discovers she is a lost princess and is given a chance to return to her home.

For me, one of the big problems is the cast. Everyone feels like they’re really forcing their lines and none of them feel remotely comfortable. Although his dialog is poor (just like everyone else), I will say Captain Vidal is an intimidating foe. Everyone else is really disappointing in every way, which is a real shame because I feel that if they had sorted out the acting and the dialog, it might have been a movie I’d have recommended. Some of the creatures look interesting but are not especially memorable.

The special effects are decent and film is very stylish but there are too many flaws for me. The film is never scary but it is quite unpleasant. Lots of characters are brutally stabbed, a mother dies giving birth and a child is shot. Also, the film seemed to want to be mature but at times seemed to have the sort of silly moments you would see in a corny horror movie. More work on the fantasy, less gore, better acting and less wooden dialog would have made “Pan’s Labyrinth” a wonderful film because I really do see potential in some of the material.

Not to be confused with the unrelated Alicia Silverstone film from the 90s with the same name, “The Babysitter” is a 2017 horror/comedy. It’s essentially “Home Alone” meets “The Purge” so I imagine it will appeal to some people out there. However, I just could not get into this movie at all and found it pretty irritating for the most part.

Nerdy kid Cole (Judah Lewis) is used to being picked on. He decides to stay up past his bedtime to see what his babysitter (Samara Weaving “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) gets up to. He’s horrified when he discovers that she’s part of a satanic cult and now he will have to fight if he is to survive the night.

Judah Lewis is okay as the kid but he’s about the only one in here that did not get on my nerves. The babysitter is really annoying and comes across as a little creepy even before it’s revealed that she’s a Satanist. The other teens that are part of the cult made me want to punch a wall. The members include a cheerleader bimbo, a shirtless quarterback and a sort-of Wayans wannabe. The dialog is beyond cringeworthy and times and many of the performances are just painful to watch.

There are tons of nerdy conversations about sci-fi shows such as “Star Trek” but they add little to nothing to the experience. The violence in this movie is very bloodthirsty but it’s never amusing like films such as “RoboCop” or “Evil Dead II”. This clearly seems to be part of a recent wave of movies and tv shows that are determined to cash-in on 80s nostalgia. I would recommend that you instead watch (or even re-watch) a great movie from the 80s instead of this. “The Babysitter” is a waste of time.

“Spectral” is a sci-fi/action flick that delivers entertaining action sequences, some interesting concepts and some rather impressive special effects. I really get the sense that the people that made this film were raised on “Aliens”, “Predator” and “Universal Soldier”.

As the U.S. military struggles to control the violence erupting in Moldova, it becomes very clear that the insurgents are not the most threatening enemy American troops face. A research scientist (James Badge Dale “The Departed”, “World War Z”) is brought in from Virginia when the goggles he designed detect an anomaly. Now a team of special ops soldiers are facing an enemy they do not understand and seems invulnerable.

Like a lot of sci-fi/action films, the characters in “Spectral” are not particularly captivating. None of the characters are bad or anything like that but they will not leave any real impression. It’s a shame that the filmmakers were not able to copy the great characters and dialog from films such as “Aliens” and “Predator”. Bruce Greenwood (“Gerald’s Game”) gives a good performance as General Orland but unfortunately, he does not get given a lot of screen time. The enemy that the soldiers face looks rather spectacular at times and think the people working on the special effects have done an impressive job.

I think the setting is quite interesting, the sci-fi ideas discussed are quite fascinating, the action scenes are very enjoyable and again the special effects are wonderful to look at. I like the fact that the movie only seems to use computer effects where it is necessary so I imagine it will still look really good in a decade’s time much like how “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” still looks great. “Spectral” will definitely entertain those that really enjoy sci-fi/action films because it combines the two genres very well.

The third film in the “Cloverfield” franchise does little to answer our questions as it raises countless others. “The Cloverfield Paradox” is neither as terrible as the first film nor as gripping as “10 Cloverfield Lane” but it does have its moments. I think the problem is that a lot of it is very similar to movies such as “Event Horizon”, “Alien”, “Prometheus” and “Sunshine”.

In “The Cloverfield Paradox”, the world is heading towards disaster due to an energy crisis. A team of scientists from across the globe are sent on a mission to test a device that could save the planet but something goes awfully wrong because the Earth has seemingly disappeared.

As previously stated, the crew in this film is from all over the world. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (“Concussion”), Chris O’Dowd (“Bridesmaids”), Zhang Ziyi (“Hero”), Daniel Brühl (“Rush”), David Oyelowo (“Selma”), Aksel Hennie (“Hercules”) and John Ortiz (“American Gangster”) play the crew members. I did not really care for any of them and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact they are meant to be from different nations; they end up feeling like caricatures rather than real characters. They do have to face some legitimately disturbing scenarios but better writing could have helped me invest more in the fate of these characters.

There are some interesting sci-fi concepts in here and there are some moments that are genuinely unsettling. My favourite moment arguably involves some strange sounds coming from a panel and that whole scene is very well done. “The Cloverfield Paradox” tries to explain a few things about the other “Cloverfield” movies and how they tie together but it feels very forced, which is not surprising considering this film was originally unrelated to “Cloverfield” and titled “The God Particle”. However, I am still interested in seeing if the filmmakers can convincingly explain how the “Cloverfield” movies are linked.

Produced by Roger Corman (“The Terror”), “Sharktopus” is a hilarious film. This is such a cheesy film and it knows it. If you are expecting anything even remotely serious then I’m afraid you are looking in entirely the wrong place.

In “Sharktopus”, the genes of a shark and an octopus have been spliced together to create ‘Sharktopus’, which the United States Navy hopes to use a new weapon. However, Sharktopus breaks free from his masters’ control and goes on the loose off the coast of Mexico. Leaving a trail of destruction, a team are dispatched to hunt the creature before details of its ties to the military can be exposed.

Eric Roberts (“The Dark Knight”, “Runaway Train”) plays one of the scientists. He gives a relatively good performance and it’s a shame he’s not the main character as he’s clearly the only real famous face in here. The other characters are okay, some of them are pretty goofy. The Sharktopus creature looks terrifically stupid. I was reminded of the creature from “The Giant Claw”, which looked equally silly. The special effects on the shark are not convincing and it never looks like anything more than some cheap C.G.I. monster. Of course, all of the films highlights involve the Sharktopus.

“Sharktopus” is an unapologetically stupid movie. If you want good writing, fancy special effects or an even vaguely sensible premise then stay far away from this flick. I liked that this movie does not just give us a regular shark because there are so many shark films out there so I have to sort of applaud their creativity. If you are a big fan of the low-budget nonsense that comes out of Roger Corman then “Sharktopus” is maybe worth checking out. The movie will certainly make you chuckle with its countless ridiculous moments where the creature causes mayhem.

“Sharknado” has a hilarious premise but everything else is shockingly bad. This another movie from production company The Asylum and this arguably become their biggest achievement as to date, there have been five sequels to “Sharknado”.

A hurricane off in the Pacific Ocean picks up countless sharks and soon the predators are raining down on Los Angeles. The city becomes severely flooded and now the sharks can attack from the sea, land and air. A group of survivors desperately tries to escape the carnage and find a way to end this horrendous nightmare so that thousands of lives can be spared.

The acting in “Sharknado” is truly atrocious. Tara Reid (“American Pie”, “The Big Lebowski”) gives arguably the worst performance in the entire film. John Heard (“Home Alone”, “Big”) also appears. Of course, you are not here to see the humans, you’re watching “Sharknado” for all the sharks. There are a lot of them as there a few different kinds including hammerhead sharks. We see the sharks getting flung at people by the storm. The special effects for the sharks are so terrible. It’s not quite “Birdemic” bad but it’s pretty darn bad. The sharks never look even remotely convincing in any shot.

“Sharknado” is a film that was made for television audiences so it’s got a low-budget. However, I’m sure the movie would have been greatly improved by not hiring Tara Reid and using whatever they paid her to improve the special effects or to hire a better writer. While the sharks look bad, all the special effects throughout the movie look horrific. There is some fun to be had seeing flying sharks blasted with shotguns and sliced into pieces with chainsaws but everything else just comes across as like the filmmakers didn’t care and just wanted to get this movie made as quickly as possible.

“Reign of the Supermen” is the follow-up to “The Death Of Superman”. Both movies are equally enjoyable. This one has quite a lot going on and it maybe could have done with being longer but it still managed to keep things entertaining.

After Superman’s demise, new ‘Supermen’ have appeared. Who are these mysterious new beings? Is one of them the ‘real’ Superman? Are these new ‘heroes’ friendly or are they even more dangerous than Doomsday? The world is eventually plunged into a new crisis when at least one of them is revealed to be orchestrating a plot that threatens the world as we know it.

We have quite a lot of characters in here as we have the Justice League, Lex Luthor and Lois Lane as well as the new Supermen. Of course, Superman does eventually appear. I liked the Eradicator one but he probably gets the least amount of time to shine and that’s a real shame. I like the designs of all the Supermen. We also have some other villains thrown in there and the whole movie manages to stay relatively simplistic considering how many different threads it has. The animation looks fairly good on all the characters.

“Reign Of Supermen” feels like its going to just spin out of control because there is just so much going on (stuff that I cannot really explain without spoiling it). There’s a lot more going on than in the last movie but it seems to handle it a little better. The evil scheme seems unnecessarily complicated as well as some of the villain’s motivations but I still had a reasonable time with this film. It crams a lot of action in it considering how much story it also has to cram in. They have apparently released a version where you can see this and “The Death Of Superman” edited together as one movie. It might be a good idea considering how you need to see both but it might also be a little overwhelming.