THE 5TH WAVE (***1/2)

(2016) The earth is under alien attack, and it's coming in waves.  First the huge ships overhead cut all power; engines, cell phones, all communications and transport gone as planes fall from the sky. Two: earthquakes and floods decimate the planet, killing more life.  Third: disease, which takes out the vast majority of whoever is left, leaving only those somehow immune.  When teenager Cassie Sullivan (Chloe Grace Moretz), having already lost her parents, is separated from her younger brother Sam, she makes her way to the military base where he and other young survivors are being trained to fight the alien force and take back the earth as the fourth wave - invasion - begins.  No huge surprises here - the "big reveal" of the film is easy to figure out early on  - but between the fresh-faced cast, cool special effects, and a fairly original premise, I enjoyed The 5th Wave like the best of the brainless but stylish alien B-movies of the '50s. (rated PG-13)

THE 5TH WAVE trailer