"The Descent" - Best monster movie I've seen in many years. Six young and fetching British women go on a caving expedition in West Virginia that comes to tragedy when they are beset by mutant underground predators. The first half of the movie is as effective even before the creature attacks, with the explorers wriggling through dark flooded tunnels no bigger than their own shoulders making the viewer very conscious of the tons of mountain pressing down from above (and yet the movie was filmed on soundstages, to the credit of all involved with this production). Good gory and action-packed horror film from the director of "Dog Soldiers" not to be confused with "The Cave" released around the same time. The highly superior original ending not seen here in the States is included on the DVD release and lends the movie a weight and irony absent in most horror offerings these days.

"Feast" - This melding of old-fashioned monster flicks with the new "torture porn" genre of more recent horror productions is worth a look. A pack of losers barricade a desert saloon against the vicious mutant predators that are picking them off for food one-by-one. It's mostly for laughs if you can handle eyeball tug-of-war and monster genitalia getting lopped off in a slamming door. Amusing title cards peg the characters (most of whom are unnamed) and predict the fates of many of the victims. I myself did not like the looks of the monsters in the first half of the movie with their initial disguises composed of roadkill but when revealed they are not bad. Bravo channel's "Project Greenlight" production features the welcome addition of great genre character actor Clu Gulager, whose son John Gulager directed.

"The Last Mimzy" - Weird title, so-so trailers, didn't see much of interest until I read a review the day of release---anything that has a critic bubbling with praise even while confessing confusion over the plot sounds pretty good to me! So I saw it (with my four nieces in tow, all of whom loved it) and was treated to a different, dazzling and sentimental tale of a little girl who happens upon a toy rabbit from the future which whispers in her ear and helps the girl and her brother save the world. Featuring Rainn Wilson of "The Office" in a more serious role (and the lovely Joely Richardson, always a plus), Timothy Hutton, and a slimmed-down Michael Clarke Duncan. Judging from the sparse audience on the Saturday I saw it, this one may be destined for a short theater run---but take my advice and GO WITH THE KIDS, or BY YOURSELF, you're still gonna love it.

"Shooter" - Top-notch action film from Antoine Fuqua starring Mark Wahlberg as a former Force Recon Marine framed for an attempt on the President's life. Wahlberg is a bad-ass and a half in this---he not only knows the best gun and the best place to use it, he can even tell you how to build the best bullet, not to mention his combat and survival expertise. ACTION PACKED? Martial arts, gun battles, and car chases galore. GOOD GUYS/BAD GUYS? A terrific Michael Pena, boo-hiss Danny Glover (sorely missed on the big screen), Ned Betty, Rade Sherbedgia, and Elias Koteas. BABE FACTOR? Can't go wrong with the loin-achingly beautiful Kate Mara and the always mouth-watering Rhona Mitra. A little bit "The Hunted", a little bit "The Jackal", and time well-spent at the cinema.