Poseidon (2006)

How about Lucas’ laugh, am I right? It’s like this was just a fun ride on a rollercoaster instead of a deadly disaster. Speaking of laughs, the first act characterization here is laughably poor and pointless (none of these storylines are followed up on so why have them in the first place?). The escape action is top notch though; each intense interior set piece (the elevator shaft crossing and vent climb are two highlights) builds effectively upon the last to create a real sense of suffocation.

5

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

“This means something. This is important.” There’s this incredibly compelling sense of mystery and discovery, yearning and wonder throughout the film; it’s got the nuts and bolts scenes of typical sci-fi investigation but there’s a wholly human element here too, as evidenced by Roy’s tragic arc (it was just tragic–a gross negligence, really–that the film ultimately didn’t paint it as such; that certainly would’ve added some fascinating nuance to the triumphant final scene). Wonderful camerawork.

7

Jaws (1975)

When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and a grizzled fisherman set out to stop it. (IMDb)

The horror of the first two tragic attacks is chilling, with the invisible attacker and vanished victim/bloody water aftermath, and the sense of impending doom in between is also well-crafted with a good score and tense character interplay between the paranoid cop and money-focused mayor. It’s a little slow and bloated, and only scattered spurts of action make the final act somewhat of a letdown (though the shark reveals still scare) but overall it’s still a suspenseful monster-attack movie.

7/10 (Good)

 

What About Bob? (1991)

A successful psychotherapist loses his mind after one of his most dependent patients, a manipulative, obsessively compulsive narcissist, tracks him down during his family vacation. (IMDb)

The character dynamic at the core of this film is comedic gold: A severely anxious patient (the fantastic Murray’s endearingly naive Bob) obtains a new psychiatrist (Dreyfuss’ high-strung Leo) and clambers for attention while all the doc wants to do is get rid of him so he can enjoy his vacation. As the patient persists (and improves) in blissful ignorance, the doc goes crazy. It’s a plot that reaches preposterous proportions (“Death Therapy, Bob!”) but never loses its original character humour.

7.5/10 (Really Good)