Sharks

‘Jaws 2’ novelization (1978) reveals film’s early draft 

As I noted in my review of Peter Benchley’s “Jaws” novel (1974), Steven Spielberg’s film streamlined the plot and eliminated all the subplots. In the

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‘Deep Blue Sea 3’ (2020) wises up to cap smart-shark trilogy 

Because I can’t leave my readers hanging like one of those hapless characters dangling above a shark’s maw – as happens at least once in

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‘Bait’ (2012) plants hook of grocery-store shark horror 

As the shark subgenre of horror became increasingly glutted in the 21st century, it became important for a new movie to stand out, to have the

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‘Soul Surfer’ (2011) is Hamilton’s tale of true inspiration 

In “The Descendants,” another great Hawaii-set film from the same year, George Clooney says “This is paradise? F*** paradise.” And his character merely has financial

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Minimalist ‘The Shallows’ (2016) maximizes thrills 

“The Shallows” (2016) is minimalist shark horror as high art. Surfer/med student Nancy (Blake Lively) gets stranded on a rock two football-field lengths from a

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Lazy sequel ‘Deep Blue Sea 2’ (2018) bites the big one 

As time goes by, Renny Harlin’s “Deep Blue Sea” (1999) is becoming more appreciated as a great horror action thriller from the dawn of CGI

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Peter Benchley’s ‘Jaws’ (1974) goes beyond the shark stuff

Peter Benchley wrote “Jaws” (1974) before the boom of shark literature and films — indeed, his book and the subsequent Steven Spielberg movie (1975) launched

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‘Shark Night’ (2011) shallow but humorously entertaining 

“Back to the Future Part II” (1989) imagines “Jaws 19” hitting theaters in 2015. Rather surprisingly, that franchise didn’t have another entry after the fourth

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‘Deep Blue Sea’ (1999) a smart actioner about smart-sharks  

Sometimes I look at my old reviews and cringe. When I listened to a “How Did This Get Made?” podcast episode ripping into “Deep Blue

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Traucki’s ‘The Reef’ (2011) delivers stark shark terror 

“Jaws” (1975) was a famously expensive and physically punishing production, mostly because it used a mechanical shark. But the film was intense, and a classic,

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