Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Live. Die. Repeat. That’s the smart mantra behind “Edge of Tomorrow,” the unfortunately titled but damn entertaining Tom Cruise sci-fi actioner that marries “Groundhog Day” to “Starship Troopers.” The trailers promises action and explosions. Those we get. But it’s also a surprisingly funny romp about a pompous PR-hack-turned-soldier (Cruise) who resurrects every time he is killed in battle against alien creatures that mesh robotics and Red Lobster dinner fare. How so? Not important. What is of interest: Dozens of those deaths are comedy gold such as when Cruise -– let’s face it, the guy has ego to spare –- eats some tires getting run over while escaping push-up duty. But there’s a better reason to cheer: Emily Blunt plays the kick-ass hero who pummels Cruise’s worm into a deadly warrior. Blunt -– best known for comedy -– is damn good. Never weak per some script mandate. Cruise again gives his all, his eyes going from vacant to deadly smart. Director Doug Liman (“Bourne Identity”) wraps up with a popcorn friendly finale, but the ride is worth repeat views. Female hero. Pure send-up of macho action tropes. Bill Paxton satirizing “Aliens” bravado. Far better than its given title. B+

A Simple Plan (1998)

Between making the wonderfully sick “Evil Dead” films and three mixed-bag “Spider-Man” flicks, Sam Raimi made “A Simple Plan,” a supremely dark morality tale that could be the dead serious cousin to dark comedy “Fargo.” Both are set in a frozen white America where bodies stack higher than snow. Here, two estranged brothers (Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton) and the one’s slovenly friend (Brent Briscoe) stumble upon a downed plane in the snowy woods of Minnesota. Inside the plane are a dead body and a duffel bag with $4 million in cash. The bag is opened, and lines are drawn. Guns, too. The trick of Raimi’s direction and Scott B. Smith’s screenplay (based on his own great book) is painting the loveless Jacob (Thornton, amazing) as the only person of conscious, and high-lighting just how far brothers can stray from one another. The dark thrill of “Plan” lies in watching just what pains people –- family -- will inflict on one another for wealth, while justifying every action. Money trumps blood, every time. A

Near Dark (1987)

"Near Dark" is a cool, twisted, mid-1980s Western spin on vampire horror films, but with more blood and guts then a dozen Dracula films. And only a trace of the budget, too.

The plot: A young rancher (Adrian Pasdar, now of "Heroes") meets cute at night with a young woman (Jenny Wright) in a small Midwest town. They flirt, drive around, kiss and then she bites him. And the cowboy goes loony -- sucking blood and burning in the sunlight. He joins the woman's makeshift family of vampires (Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton, among them), driving across rural America and picking off victims for late night dinner. Except our hero won't kill.

This movie is a blast, and ignores the fangs, flying stunts and turning bats of most genre films and books. Briliant director Kathryn Bigelow ("Point Break") lays the blood on thick, and it's sick ghoulish fun. Paxton is the standout in the film, clearly having a gleeful, devilish good time as the meanest of the blood-suckers. The only negative: The last scene. An added note: Check out how many actors here worked in "Aliens," which gets a quick reference early in the film.

That Bigelow isn't making any more films is more proof of Hollywood's strapped down sexist conservatism where women, blacks and gays face extra scrutiny for every misstep. A-