Sci-Fi & Fantasy

As the sun begins to dim along with humankind's hope for the future, it's up to a desperate crew of eight astronauts to reach the dying star and reignite the fire that will bring life back to planet Earth in this tense psychological sci-fi thriller that re-teams 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle with writer Alex Garland and producer Andrew Macdonald. The skies are darkening, and the outlook for planet Earth is grim. Though the encroaching darkness at first seems unstoppable, scientists have concocted one desperate last-ditch plan to buy the human race a temporary reprieve from the grim future that looms just past the horizon. A crew of eight men and women has been given a nuclear device designed to literally reignite the sun and sent hurdling through infinity on the most crucial space mission ever attempted. Suddenly, as the crew loses radio contact with mission control, everything begins to fall apart. Now, in the darkest reaches of the galaxy, the men and women who may hold the key to ultimate survival find themselves not only struggling for their lives, but their sanity as well. Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy, and Michelle Yeoh star in a film that asks audiences just what would become of humankind if the sky suddenly went black. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A young girl walks through a secret door and discovers a parallel reality that is eerily similar to the life she already knows, yet deeply unsettling in a number of ways, in director Henry Selick's animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman's international best-seller. Eleven-year-old Coraline Jones (voice of Dakota Fanning) is fearlessly courageous, and perhaps far too adventurous for her own good. Coraline and her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) have recently relocated to Oregon from Michigan. Bored in her new home since her parents are distracted by work and she has yet to make any new friends, Coraline passes the time by exploring her new neighborhood with an annoying local boy named Wybie Lovat (Robert Bailey Jr.). But after paying a visit to her eccentric neighbors Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders) and Miss Forcible (Dawn French), a pair of aging British actresses, and crossing paths with the outright weird Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane), the precocious young girl becomes convinced that her new surroundings are just as dull as she'd initially suspected. Shortly thereafter, Coraline discovers a hidden door in her new house, and decides to investigate. Venturing into the eerie passageway inside, Coraline emerges into an alternate version of her own reality. At first glance, this strange new world seems even better than the real thing; there her parents aren't distracted by work, and Coraline is always the center of attention. There's even a mysterious Cat (Keith David) that's fascinated by her every move. But when Coraline's button-eyed Other Mother (also Hatcher) attempts to make her stay permanent, the frightened young girl must summon her resourcefulness and bravery in order to find her way back home and save her real family. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this cyber-savvy horror opus, several people surfing the internet stumble upon a site called "horrorvision.com". However, this proves to be no average bit of web design -- folks who click into the site don't survive to browse elsewhere, and it takes a internet expert named Dez and a mysterious stranger named Bradbury to uncover the secret of Manifesto, the villain responsible for the killer web page. Horror Vision stars James Black, Maggie Rose Fleck, Josh Covitt, and scream queen Brinke Stevens. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Surrender Cinema is Full Moon Entertainment's outlet for unrated sexploitation films, which somehow makes it different from the same company's old Torchlight label, although it's not quite obvious how. This naughty little number -- part of a veritable market flood by Surrender -- is a skin-saturated variation on the Sleeping Beauty legend, dealing with three young women who are imprisoned by a gypsy in a castle belonging to Lord Isherwood (Robert Donovan). He became engaged to all three, but the gypsy wants him and his wealth for herself, so she casts a sleep spell on the women after they all have sex with Isherwood at once and kill him with "kindness." A hundred years go by, and the action shifts to the present, where a young couple, Chip and Judy (Jon-Damon Charles, Michelle Hall), visit the castle with Judy's brother, Eddie, and friend, Francine. Judy and Eddie are Isherwoods, and both dreamed of the castle before inheriting it. When they arrive, both are tormented by visions and have a great deal of sex, before Eddie wakes the beauties and the gang somehow finds time to reclaim the castle for the Isherwood siblings. Director Sam Silver appeared as an actor in 1995's Bikini Drive-In, which also featured this film's frequently naked gypsy, Nikki Fritz. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

In this erotic sci-fi adventure, the men of the starship Prometheus are pleasantly surprised when they learn of their latest assignment. They are scheduled to make a delivery to a planet far away -- a cargo of several beautiful females to be bartered as brides. However, with a number of lovely women on board, the crew is sorely tempted to take them as their own rather than delivering them to their assigned port of call, even though that would be a clear violation of ethics (not to mention an easy way to make the boss angry). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide