Ronin (1998)

The tense opening is arguably the best part of Ronin, with the remainder of the film attempting to match it, but overall it's an enjoyable crime drama with some solid acting from its primary cast members. It's the not very original 'group of men who don't know each other hired to commit a robbery' scenario with the usual stock types (i.e. anonymous employer; loose cannon; overly-cautious planner; the quiet and amiable teammate, etc) but the sense of foreboding is well-implemented and likely strong enough to keep fans of this kind of thing intrigued. But I suspect what a lot of people will remember most is the bitchin' car chases through the tight and narrow roads of Nice.

3 boost multipliers out of 5

Prophecy (1979)

Sent to study claims of ecological contamination, a cynical doctor and his pregnant wife (Robert Foxworth and Talia Shire) not only encounter disastrous and deadly effects to surrounding wildlife and the Native American tribe inhabiting the area, but a towering mutation in the form of a crazed and deformed bear. Its take on environmental issues is one rarely seen in horror cinema. Compared to most similar films which use nuclear waste as a device to simply create monsters, it is intelligently written with sound cause-and-effect. At the same time, I found the scientific weight fascinating as well as frightening. Writer David Seltzer deftly based the script on the tragic story of Minamata, Japan. The mutation's onslaught in the third act is poorly handled with choppy and evasive editing revealing sfx limitations. Yet despite this, the suspense holds up pretty well until the conclusion. But unreconciled plot points left me somewhat disappointed.

3 exploding sleeping bags out of 5

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)

It’s all fine for the first while, but once the painted white boulder that is Marlon Brando rolls into the story the entire production goes right off the rails. He seems to want to sabotage every scene he’s in, dragging everyone, including his Mini-Me, down with the whole tropical ship.
Kilmer didn't want to be there and it shows. His performance is shockingly bad.
Dir. John Frankenheimer is the only one with anything resembling an excuse for being off, he’d no time to prepare, having come to the project half a week into shooting after the previous director was removed. Still, he appears to make little effort to turn it into anything other than a pay cheque.
I feel sorry for Thewlis, Balk and Perlman, all of whom at least made some effort despite the odds stacked against them.

1½ hybrid moments out of 5