INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE [2016]

20 years later, FX-driven director Roland Emmerich returns to his popcorn sci-fi blockbuster ID4-verse with Resurgence.
After developing their own technology based off the weapons found within the alien wreckage from the first invasion, Earth must defend itself again from an extraterrestrial invasion only this time without Will Smith.
While it might be a welcome breath of fresh air compared to all the gloomy cynicism of today's sci-fi films, the brainlessness leaves way too much to be desired.  This time around the multiple mini-plots revolving around it's ensemble cast doesn't quite flow as smoothly as the first and instead is a jumble of mismatched moments of "sentimental" mush.  It delivers quite nicely when the destruction begins but after 45 minutes or so you begin wondering "is this it?" and it keeps your mind hostage from wandering away with it's offensively loud noise.

2 doomed landmarks out of 5

GODZILLA [1998]

I don't know how he pulled it off but director Roland Emmerich managed to make a Godzilla film dreadfully boring.

After years of pressuring, Toho studios finally agreed to allow Hollywood to take their beloved franchise and turn it into something resembling Godzilla in name only.
To the average movie goer who's never seen a Godzilla film, they're simply about a giant lizard that destroys cities and that's exactly what you get here.  There's no subtext, depth or thematic subtleties floating around here and "big lizard destroys New York" is about all you get in this shallow excuse for a good time.  It's a big, loud and unforgivably soulless shitfest that was clearly a money-hungry attempt to ride on the tails of Jurassic Park.

1 mutant earthworm out of 5

INDEPENDENCE DAY [1996]

Director Roland Emmerich changed the anticipation of Summer blockbusters for better or worse with his sci-fi thriller joyride Independence Day.
Rather than sneak up on the puny earthlings, an alien race makes no attempt to hide the fact that they mean to invade Earth, leaving it to America and Will Smith to save the day.
By combining elements of an ensemble cast disaster pic with the alien invasion genre, Emmerich crafted what would be a benchmark for popcorn blockbusters with barely any brains.  The dialogue is absolutely abysmal that is occasionally forgivable due to some entertaining cast members.  It's bloated with pompous American patriotism that would assure big ticket sales with it's target audience.   As stupid as it is, ID4 can't help but be BIG DUMB fun.  

2½ victory cigars out of 5

Stargate (1994)

SG is often billed as an action movie, but the Emmerich style explosions aren't as heavy-handed as they’d eventually become. Instead, it’s a sci-fi drama that draws a line from ancient Egyptian mythology to modern day military exploration. The plot is so full of holes that it’s like a giant sand sieve, but it doesn't lessen my enjoyment of it.
James Spader is engaging and believable (even if his leaps of logic aren't) as the linguist with a bad case of dweeb. With the exception of Kurt Russell's flat top (it’s like a plateau) and some occasional CGI the film looks almost as good today as it did in ’94.

3 reactivations out of 5

Anonymous (2011)

What a piece of garbage. The trailer had me hyped because I thought it was going to be some sort of mystery-of-the-ages thing like with The Da Vinci Code, but it was just a load of fabricated nonsense. Yes, its plot is entirely plausible, but that doesn't make it any less snoozeworthy. Maybe I just don't like "historical" dramas. One long, boring piece of quasi-entertainment that I do not soon plan to revisit.

1 nom de plume out of 5