Glenn Erickson's Reviews: Month: February 2026

Krakatit   — 4K 02/03/26

A thinking man’s apocalypse movie?  Otakar Vávra’s highly original film on the atomic panic of the late 1940s will either be too intellectual for Science fiction fans … or they will think it the most intelligent anti-nuke picture ever. It’s from Czechoslovakia before the communist coup and therefore not Soviet propaganda. But it is humanist, pacifist, and not-too enamored of American military arrogance. It’s from a classic Karel Capek book about a super explosive, updated to be an atomic parable. What’s most challenging is the artistic format: the entire show is a subjective fever dream experienced by a lone wolf Oppenheimer type who finds that he has the power to blow up the entire planet. It’s truly different. The one recognizable star for Sci-fi fans is Florence Marly, and if you know who she is, you’re going to be curious. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile Films.
02/03/26

Dante’s Peak   — 4K 02/03/26

It’s fundamentally a dum-dum ’90s disaster picture, an action-jeopardy roller coaster ride tailored to compete with the Roland Emmerichs and the Michael Bays … and we liked it. Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton and director Roger Donaldson put it across so well that we don’t mind the silly science or the cute dog; the special effects are excellent too. The 4K encoding shows us that the CGI folk were really getting their act together by this time. So shoot me: I was entertained against my better judgment. On 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from KL Studio Classics.
02/03/26