Alien: Covenant is the sequel to Prometheus and prequel to the 1979 Alien film, and is directed by Ridley Scott, the director of both those films. The film follows the crew of a colonisation ship who, after being forced to stop due to a radiation storm, come across a new planet that they believe would be better for a colony than they’re destination. However, in true horror film fashion, the planet isn’t as perfect as it seems and the crew is subsequently terrorised by chest bursting aliens. I absolutely love Alien and Aliens, and so I was looking forward to seeing if the masterful suspense and horror that the first film managed to portray so perfectly. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t come close to the quality of its predecessors. I actually found myself laughing at the stupidity of the plot and characters actions, cringing at the poorly presented “horror,” and down-right insulted by some of the story elements that undermine the previous films. You can see how they wanted to turn the Alien franchise into the next big sci-fi franchise, like Star Wars or Star Trek, and so all the subtlety, and simple but effective storytelling, is lost in CGI action and pointless backstory that bloats he film and tries to establish this wide extended universe. This film is also directed by Ridley Scott, and stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, and Danny McBride. I am going to say that from this point on I may be revealing spoilers, so if you wish to remain spoiler free then stop reading now. Continue reading “Alien: Covenant (2017)- Film Review”
Category: film review
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)- Film review
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 is the sequel to the widely successful first film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film Returns to the rag-tag group of space criminals as they try to fight an inter-dimensional space monster and carries on from there in the same comedic action style that was fantastically done in the first film, with a great soundtrack and fun science fiction, but also adds a theme of friendship and family. This film focuses on Starlord meeting his father, and what that means for himself and the group, as well as the whole rest of the galaxy. All the same characters from the first film are back, with Yondu and Nebula having greater roles as Starlord’s surrogate father and Gamora’s rival sister, to greater support the theme of family. If you like marvel films, or even just sci-fi or comedy, then I think you already know that you’ll like this one. The Guardians of the Galaxy is currently my favourite sub-series in the MCU, and while Vol. 2 lacks in some areas when compared to the first film, it improves on it in others. The film is directed by James Gunn, and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel as Starlord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Baby Groot, with supporting roles from Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, and Kurt Russell. Continue reading “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)- Film review”
Power Rangers (2017)- Film review
Power Rangers is a new blockbuster based off the old TV show of the same name, focusing on a team of heroes in different coloured suits with giant robot dinosaurs, I’m pretty sure everyone knows what the power rangers are. This film follows a group of different high school students, Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Trini and Zack, who are all isolated, and when the group find a collection of coloured coins, and an alien spaceship carrying the AI consciousness of an alien hero, in the town quarry, they are transformed into the super powered rangers, and must train to defend the world from the evil Rita Repulsa. This film takes itself more seriously than the show used to, gone are the swooshing fists and over the top, well, over the top absolutely everything, but this film isn’t like all the dark and depressing DC films either, there is a lot of fun and excitement to be had. It reminded me a lot of Pacific Rim, the sort of film that is fun to watch because of the big, and really well done, CGI action that’s just supposed to be cool, but then if you actually think about it you know it’s got a lot of problems. I had a lot of problems with Power Rangers, there were so many things that annoyed me and were just plain stupid, but despite that I actually enjoyed the film quite a bit, even though I never watched the TV show as a kid. It’s a fun popcorn film that if you switch off your brain you can have a blast with, and none of the issues are offensively bad, there actually quite fun to laugh at, so bear that in mind as this review is probably going to sound very negative. This film is directed by Dean Israelite, and stars Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G. and Ludi Lin as the Red, Pink, Blue, Yellow and Black rangers, with supporting roles from Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks, and Bill Hader. Continue reading “Power Rangers (2017)- Film review”
Ghost in the Shell (2017)-Film Review
Ghost in the Shell is a new Sci Fi action film based on the highly influential 90s anime of the same name. Set in the near future, where most of humankind has merged with technology through cybernetic enhancements, human consciousness is referred to as their ‘Ghost,’ which reside inside their own ‘Shell,’ meaning body. The film follows Major, whose Shell is the first ever completely cybernetic body, with a human brain, after her original body was killed in an accident. Major works for Section 9, an anti-terrorist defence unit, and after a number of murders happen to executives of the cybernetics company, Hanka, her and partner Batou start an investigation that will dig up things from Major’s forgotten past. Much like the original anime, this film looks at what it means to be human, and whether something technological can be considered alive, and while this film doesn’t explore that concept in as deep or conceptual way as the original film did, I found this film to be a more accessible, simpler version of that concept. This film is more action heavy and easier to follow than the anime, but isn’t as subtle or artistic. I found this film to be a very entertaining sci-fi action film with a deeper concept than a lot of modern big budget films tend to have. This film is directed by Rupert Sanders, and stars Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk, Takeshi Kitano, and Michael Pitt. Continue reading “Ghost in the Shell (2017)-Film Review”
Get Out (2017)-Film Review
Get Out is a new horror thriller written and directed by Jordan Peele, from the comedy duo Key and Peele. The film follows Chris, a young black man in a relationship with a white girl, Rose. Chris is going to meet Rose’s family for the first time, and is feeling nervous about this, as she hasn’t told them that he is black. When they meet there is an underlying awkwardness as her family have that uncomfortable passive racism that old rich white suburb families can sometimes have. They aren’t outwardly racist or anything, they are nice and welcoming to Chris, but they do things like say “yeah man” after everything or assume he’s into basketball, the kind of behaviour that is uncomfortable to watch and, I imagine, even more uncomfortable and stressful to be stuck in the middle of. Anyway, as the visit goes on things get weirder and weirder for Chris, and he starts to figure that something isn’t right about this family. I will leave it there plot wise because this film is full of twists and turns. I heard that the trailer spoils quite a bit of the plot so I avoided watching it. I thoroughly enjoyed Get Out. I’m not often a fan of modern horror films because, honestly, I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to jump scares, but this was an exceptionally well made film with great acting and an enjoyable plot, so I thoroughly enjoyed this film. This film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Alison Williams, LilRey Howery, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, and Caleb Landry Jones. Continue reading “Get Out (2017)-Film Review”
Beauty and the Beast (2017)-Film review
Beauty and the Beast is a live-action retelling of the classic animated Disney musical from the 90s. The film follows Belle, an intellectual young woman who is mocked by her village for being able to read. Belle longs for adventure outside of her ordinary town life, but when her Father is locked up for trespassing in a mysterious castle in the woods she trades places with him and becomes prisoner to the cursed Beast that resides there. The Beast, and all the servants of the castle, have been cursed for many years due to the shallow nature of the Beast, and only by finding true love before a magical rose wilts can the spell be lifted. Time is almost up, and so the Beast and his servants try to court Belle. I think most people know this story as nothing really changes between this film and the original other than a few elements are extended or changed slightly. I am of the mind-set that all these live action remakes are pointless cash grabs and unnecessary, but if it is done well I will still enjoy them, for example I really liked the new Jungle Book film because they did something new with the story. That being said, the stuff that this film added to the story was uninteresting to me, and as most of the film was an exact re-tread of its predecessor, but not done as well, I came away feeling mostly disappointed. This film is directed by Bill Condon, and stars Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson and Ian Mckellen. Continue reading “Beauty and the Beast (2017)-Film review”
Logan (2017)-Film Review
Logan is the third spin-off film following the popular X-men character Wolverine, as portrayed by Hugh Jackman, in what is supposedly his last time playing this character. Set in the near future, Wolverine, who is an old and beaten version of the hero he once was, is caring for an ailing Charles Xavier in a secret hideout on the Mexican Border. However, Wolverine’s attempts to hide himself and his history from the world are forced into turmoil when he meets a new young mutant, who is being chased by dangerous forces. This film follows Deadpool in being an adult rated X-men film. However, this film, unlike Deadpool, is very mature, dark, and a much more serious and dramatic portrayal of a super hero story. It is more on The Dark Knight end of the superhero film spectrum than the Iron man end, there are hardly any jokes or quips, and the action is probably the most brutal and violent action I’ve seen in a mainstream superhero film, even more so than Deadpool as Deadpool’s violence was cosmetically over the top. This film is actually more of a character study of these characters that we have known for years, and is definitely one of my favourite X-men films. It’s intense, engaging, emotional, visceral and ever so exciting. The film stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Dafne Keen, and is directed by James Mangold. Continue reading “Logan (2017)-Film Review”
John Wick Chapter 2 (2017)-Film review
John Wick Chapter 2 is the follow up to 2014 fantastic action film John Wick. The film returns to John Wick as he is forced back into the underground world of assassins against his will, as a crime boss who Wick owed a debt to comes looking to collect on it. The film expands greatly on the secret and mysterious criminal underworld that was introduced in the first film, and takes it even further down the fantastical route while still remaining believable in the context of the film (I’m not saying there’s magic or anything like that but it’s definitely larger than life). John Wick is just as much of a badass as before, and you expect many henchmen to be shot in the face or killed in some other fashion. To be honest there isn’t a lot to say about this film, it’s pretty much the same as the first film, just with a bigger story and action scenes, which is expected of a sequel. I left feeling very satisfied, as this was just as good as a sequel to John Wick probably could be. If you liked the first film you will like this one as well, and I loved the first John Wick and I thoroughly enjoyed the second chapter. This film stars Keanu Reeves as John Wick, with supporting roles from Ian McShane, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ruby Rose, Common, and Laurence Fishburne, and is directed by Chad Stahelski. Continue reading “John Wick Chapter 2 (2017)-Film review”
Hidden Figures (2017)-Film Review
Hidden Figures tells the true story of three black women who fought through overwhelming racial and sexual prejudice to become instrumental in putting an American man into space. Set during the Cold War, the USA is falling behind in the space race against the Soviet Union, and when NASA’s mathematicians are unable to solve the problem of putting a man into space, they start looking for talent in the “coloured” computing division. The film follows Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, who are three incredibly intelligent and determined woman who previously have been unable to move upward in NASA due to their skin colour and gender, but are given the opportunity to work in the mathematics, programming and engineering sectors respectively. Despite excelling in their fields, these women are met with constant discrimination, but remain steadfast and determined to prove their worth. This is a very uplifting and inspirational film about equality and fighting for the rights that we take for granted. It is set in a tragically backwards time of frustratingly terrible inequality, but is primarily a film about hope, freedom and success against all odds. This film stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe as Katherine, Dorothy and Mary, with supporting roles from Kevin Costner, Mahershala Ali, Kirsten Dunst and Jim Parsons, and is directed by Theodore Melfi. Continue reading “Hidden Figures (2017)-Film Review”
Arrival (2016)-Film review
Arrival is a Sci-fi drama following linguistics professor Louis Banks, who is recruited by the American Government after twelve alien spacecraft appear around the planet. She, along with physicist Ian Donnelly, must find a way to communicate with these aliens, but fear of the extra-terrestrials is pushing the planet into a panic. Arrival attempts to show a realistic portrayal of what communicating with aliens would really be like. These aren’t like the aliens you’d see in Star Trek or other Sci-fi blockbusters, who look like humans covered in scales and talk in a random language that everyone seems to understand. These aliens are totally different from humans in every conceivable way and their method of communicating is unrecognisable to us, which makes the story of trying to communicate very engaging and interesting. This film is a very serious and grounded depiction of Science fiction, and I won’t spoil the plot in this review as it goes to some unexpected places, but this was one of my favourite films from 2016. Arrival is directed Denis Villeneuve and stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forrest Whitaker and Michael Stuhlbarg. Continue reading “Arrival (2016)-Film review”
The UK Reviewer 