Tara Reid

(On TV, August 2015) The problem with self-aware trash cinema is that it’s frankly still trash cinema.  Third in a series meant to be mocked, Sharknado 3 knows the routine by now, and keeps escalating the craziness into orbit.  (This is not a figure of speech.)  Things start with such a full-tilt roar even before the opening credits, as sharks rain down on Washington and a crazy White House sequence ensue, that it’s hard to figure out how the film will top its own opening.  But after a slower first hour or so, things get crazy once again toward the end, delivering a big bang of a conclusion.  I’m not sure how they’ll top that in the already-announced Sharknado 4, but that’s part of the fun.  In the meantime, there are plenty of celebrity cameos, over the-top set-pieces, CGI sharks eating bystanders in equally-CGI bursts of blood.  Tara Reid and Ian Ziering know the routine as well, and work through their lines without breaking up.  (This being said, Cassie Scerbo steals most of her scenes.)  If nothing else, Sharknado 3 delivers on the promises made by its previous instalments, and little more should be said.  Still, it’s still trash cinema, and I can’t help but wonder if my time wouldn’t have been best spent watching something else.  But who am I kidding –I’m already planning forward to the sequel.