Sci-Fi
Rod Lott
You won't find Jules Verne's name in the credits of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, but so integral is he to the surprise-hit sequel that the classic author is practically a supporting character, despite being dead since 1905.

Thriller
Rod Lott
What do you get when a prosecutor, a police officer, a journalist, an accountant, a judge, a bodyguard, a paramedic and one unemployed junkie skank are drugged, shackled and forced to play a game of survival involving man-eating sharks? The Asylum Home Entertainment's Shark Week, not to be confused with the Discovery Channel programming people look forward to.

Horror
Rod Lott
With Vile, we may have a new cinematic achievement: the first torture-porn film to open with a quote from Gandhi. Take that with a grain of salt — or perhaps the box of kosher salt poured into the wounds of some sad bastard by some demented madman in the prologue.

OKG7 things to do
Gazette staff
Anyone who saw the Disney films Cinderella, Tangled and The Princess and the Frog, and thought, “Meh, could use some world-class ice skating,” boy, are you in luck! Disney on Ice presents just that in Dare to Dream, with 10 performances scheduled between Thursday and Tuesday at the Oklahoma State Fair, 3001 General Pershing. Tickets are $14-$40. Call 948-6800 or visit okstatefair.com.

Thursday-Tuesday

Horror
Rod Lott
In a post-Saw world, Darren Lynn Bousman quietly has been making a series of horror films more in line with scary movies of the 1970s than the torture-porn genre he helped usher in. Already this year, DVD has brought us his superlative Mother's Day remake and the low-key demonic pic 11-11-11, and now The Barrens. It's just too bad they've all been denied wide theatrical releases.

Horror
Rod Lott
Despite being unleashed from Twisted Pictures, those people who brought us all those Saws, The Tortured has sat in the shelf now for about two years, skipping a wide release on its way to DVD. It's easy to see why: It's strong, sick stuff that delights in punching and kicking its audience as its vengeful characters do their prey.

Action
Rod Lott
For the first 10 minutes, I wondered if Kill ’Em All weren’t a movie at all, but a collection of unrelated action vignettes — a bomb hit here, a knife throw there, fists and feet everywhere — as seemingly unrelated characters fight, but hardly speak, with no story given.

Sci-Fi
Rod Lott
Not based on Connie Willis' seminal sci-fi novel of the same name, Doomsday Book is preoccupied not with time travel, but the world's end. Telling three separate stories, the Korean film comes from acclaimed directors Kim Jee-woon (I Saw the Devil) and Yim Pil-sung (Hansel & Gretel). As with all anthologies, results vary; ultimately, this one ends up as two-thirds great.

Horror
Rod Lott
What began as an intended Saw prequel has spawned a franchise of its own, now that 2009’s The Collector has begat The Collection. I hope in my heart of hearts that The Collection begets a third chapter — The Collective, perhaps?