This would be a really good movie except for one thing. First, consider the pros : Its got nasty cgi evil creatures. The acting is fairly fun. The movie is really well shot in a medium that’s never really been exploited. Babes are present and if you are female, there are good looking guys too.

What more could you want?

Well, the beef is that much of the feel and action is a rip off of one of the great sci-fi flicks of all time. If you make a movie that is like Aliens and you make it after Aliens, then your guaranteed of people saying things just like what I’m saying.

There is a bit more than that too. Its hard to beat Sigourney Weaver. Plus the aliens from Aliens, well they want your body for something that is pretty hard core. They want to feed their babies with your guts. And you die a horrible dramatic death. In The Cave, they just want to eat you. Also, Aliens had that whole conflict about humans and synthetic humans.

Of course, if they don’t eat you, you just might turn into one of them. So, thats not so good either but its just not as dramatic as becoming a living pet food. It could of been better if the transformation from person to monster had been a bit more interesting.

Of worthy note is the environment. Much of the movie is filmed underground in enormous underwater caves. Its a pretty interesting and eerie environment. Definitely see the additional footage after the movie.

So, if your in the mood to see a bunch of people trying to survive the onslaught of some hungry mean alien like monsters, then see this movie.

Viggo Mortensen (lotr) does a good job supported by some good talent (Mario Bello, Ed Harris, and William Hurt) at acting a fairly simple story.

Hey, I enjoyed it. How many movies have to be so clever and so original. This is nice and easy. Is it believable? Hmm, maybe. Who knows. It’s probably happened.

Basically, an ex mob hand tries to start a new life but is exposed while doing the good thing by some awful luck. His old cronies come to see him and he must set the unfixed wrongs of his previous life straight.

Its not really amazing or great but you can definetly say its good. Sure, go rent it.

A movie in Spanish by Guillermo del Toro who did a similarly excellent The Devil’s Backbone.

This movie is intense and engaging.  Its a bit depressing but eminently watcheable.

Essentially, a child with an amazing imagination is tied by family to live in rebel infested country with the awful local militant fascist representative.  The child’s only escape from the ugly reality of the political conflict occuring all around her is her amazing imagination.

Or is it?

She is approached by a faun who tells her that she is the long lost daughter of a fairy tale king and that she must complete 3 tasks. The three tasks take her into a magical fairly land that seems invisible to all others.

As the local conflict comes to a head, so do her three tasks.  In the end there can only be one reality but which is it?

Both worlds are marvelously rich and fascinating.   The fascist head a study in self absorbtion.  The fairy tale world as rich and excellent as can be imagined with nods to previous great movies - most obviously The Wizard of Oz.

Defintely worth watching but with the caveat that the imagery is sometimes disturbing and the ending a bit sad.