“What if your teachers really were from another planet?” Synopsis: When Casey Connor, Herrington High School’s newspaper photographer, witnesses the murder of a nurse and sees her alive again, he decides to investigate the bizarre happenings.

Calamity Brains:

The Faculty is a pleasantly mediocre movie, mostly memorable because of its star-studded cast. It reflects a small-scale, rather sad takeover of a high school and town by aliens with their own agenda. Naturally, a rag tag bunch of students rebel. It’s the same story we’ve heard hundreds of times before, and unfortunately, The Faculty has nothing new to say.

Though there are a few memorable moments, The Faculty is mostly beige. It’s inoffensive and generally entertaining but fails to go above and beyond. Movie buffs – or even just anyone who spent a little too much time in front of a TV as a kid – will enjoy seeing who pops up, including Piper Laurie, Elijah Wood, and Salma Hayek. There’s also a few failures in casting that make the movie a bit rougher than it needs to be: Josh Hartnett isn’t believable as a bad boy, for example. (Jon Stewart, however, does a good job not acting like Jon Stewart.)

In the end, you’re not missing out if you have never seen The Faculty, but it’s a decent option for a casual movie night with folks who are more interested in the cast list than an exciting plot. It doesn’t deserve rave reviews, but sometimes that’s not what you need in a movie.

Calamity Brains’ Rating: C+