Moonfall

     It's that time of year when bad movies fill the void of winter and we can always expect a new Liam Neeson thriller.  While he does not star in this new sci-fi disaster film, Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson do and I guess they needed the paycheck.

     Directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich, the film is one of those "so bad, it's good" or just bad movies depending on your tolerance for ridiculous plots and even more ridiculous dialog. The premise of the moon falling out of orbit, I guess has a tiny bit of plausibility but the eventual reason for it happening is really ludicrous. And yet, Ms. Berry and Mr. Wilson do their best serious acting as the head of NASA and her disgraced astronaut out to save the earth. Joining them is John Bradley, as an armchair, amateur scientist who first discovers the problem. No one believes him at first but he somehow ends up in space, helping to save the day.

     There are the usual subplots involving family members in peril to give the film some gravitas and heart and lots of miniatures are destroyed in the ensuing mayhem. The special effects go from terrible to almost decent depending on what is transpiring on screen.

     The film co-stars Michael Pena, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu and in a "blink and you'll miss him" cameo, Donald Sutherland.  And of course, a bunch of adorable kids threatened by falling pieces of the moon. The only thing they forgot was a family dog.

     I realize this doesn't come off as a very favorable review but in a strange way, the film is still fun, especially in IMAX. It's actually a welcome distraction from the real-life problems we are all facing these days.