Reviews
Cabaret Total (2024)
S
seamouseNovember 24, 2024
seamouseNovember 24, 2024mal del plata39.
The birdman joker after insulting the IRA. The director said that the superficial level of the film is the expression of his creative dream, and the second level is the complex reality of his country. The film was written seven years ago and filmed three years ago, before the oct oct 2013 incident.
The birdman joker after insulting the IRA. The director said that the superficial level of the film is the expression of his creative dream, and the second level is the complex reality of his country. The film was written seven years ago and filmed three years ago, before the oct oct 2013 incident.
Alien: Romulus (2024)
J
Julian SchecterNovember 23, 2024
Julian SchecterNovember 23, 2024The story reportedly takes place in-between “Alien” and “Aliens”, specifically, 20 years after the events of the first film. The film opens in 2142 on the perpetually dark planet known as LV-410, a mining colony, film’s protagonist, Rain Carradine, an orphaned colonist and miner discovers to her dismay that her work contract has been deliberately extended by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. During her sleeping cycle, she dreams of living on a beautiful planet that is filled with clean air and water, rich with vegetation. Realizing that she is never going to get off this planet through legal means, she is determined to do it illegally.
Together, with her surrogate brother, Andy, a malfunctioning android reprogrammed by her late father, they pay a visit to see some of her old friends, her ex-boyfriend Tyler, his pregnant sister Kay, their cousin Bjorn, and Bjorn’s adopted sister Navarro. Like Rain, all of them have lost their parents from cancer, the result of working in the mines and are determined not to end up like them. The gang come up with a plan: There is an orbiting Weyland-Yutani space station called the Renaissance, an abandoned facility that is split into two modules; Romulus and Remus. They will leave their hell-hole of a planet, board a ship, head over to the space station, recover the remaining fuel and other supplies they will need to survive their multi-year trip to Yvaga III, a supposedly idyllic planet that is unaffiliated with Weyland-Yutani. Only there is one problem, the space station is on a decaying orbit which is set to collide with LV-410’s planetary rings and they have only hours to accomplish their goal.
What happens after is a series of tense and suspenseful moments that kept me engaged such as when the group encounters a heavily damaged android named Rook who looks suspiciously exactly like the android Ash from the first Alien movie (with a CGI rendition of the late Ian Holm) where Rain upgrades Andy’s security access with a control chip taken out of Rook in an attempt to properly control the station, but this advantage comes at a price: this reprogramming shifts Andy’s loyalty from Rain to Weyland-Yutani. And another highlight is when Rain and Andy are surrounded by xenomorphs and Rain disables the station’s gravity, while allowing her to shoot them without their acidic blood from burning down the hull as she and Andy cleverly make their escape from the Romulus section of the station. A common theme throughout this series is characters are repeatedly manipulated and endangered by the unscrupulous megacorporation Weyland-Yutani Corp, which seeks to profit from the aliens and that is certainly present in this movie.
The two British teenage actors, Archie Renaux (Tyler) and Spike Fearn (Bjorn) with cockney accents were terrible, I couldn’t understand a damn word they were saying! It was like they were talking with food stuffed in their mouths. Normally, I don’t have a problem understanding British actors with cockney accents but these two dreadful actors really challenged my ears, as well as my patience. In fact, the second time around I saw this movie I had to turn on the captions to make it a more pleasant viewing experience. And that’s the thing: When one of your main protagonists requires them to speak a lot of dialogue and you as the viewer are having great difficulty in understanding them, you have a problem.
On the other hand, Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine is engaging as the film’s protagonist, she’s no Ripley but she’s smart, pragmatic, and likable enough for you to care about her. However the real star of this movie is David Jonsson as Andy, the android. He does an excellent job of switching in-between good and bad android with subtle facial expressions, this guy is going to be a star. You really care for Rain and Andy and hope they will make it alive to the very end.
Directed by Uruguayan director, Fede Alvarez, who directed such hits as the “Evil Dead” remake and “Don’t Breathe” does an excellent job of creating a creepy and spooky look of the space station Renaissance and there is a lot of really good world-building on the planet LV-410 where we get to see the movie from a civilian perspective. The film is gorgeous to look at and consists of mostly practical special effects, and the cinematography is great. The soundtrack by Benjamin Wallfisch is very appropriate and feels like a worthy continuation of the late-great Jerry Goldsmith’s Alien soundtrack. The first hour is the best part of the movie but after that, it turns into complete schlock. It attempts to take the best elements of the first two alien movies by turning it into a roller coaster ride but just when you think the ride is over, it goes on and on and on. By the time it rolls to credits, you feel exhausted.
If you're a fan of the Alien movies, you will like it but if you're not a fan, wait until it comes out on DVD or streaming service.
Together, with her surrogate brother, Andy, a malfunctioning android reprogrammed by her late father, they pay a visit to see some of her old friends, her ex-boyfriend Tyler, his pregnant sister Kay, their cousin Bjorn, and Bjorn’s adopted sister Navarro. Like Rain, all of them have lost their parents from cancer, the result of working in the mines and are determined not to end up like them. The gang come up with a plan: There is an orbiting Weyland-Yutani space station called the Renaissance, an abandoned facility that is split into two modules; Romulus and Remus. They will leave their hell-hole of a planet, board a ship, head over to the space station, recover the remaining fuel and other supplies they will need to survive their multi-year trip to Yvaga III, a supposedly idyllic planet that is unaffiliated with Weyland-Yutani. Only there is one problem, the space station is on a decaying orbit which is set to collide with LV-410’s planetary rings and they have only hours to accomplish their goal.
What happens after is a series of tense and suspenseful moments that kept me engaged such as when the group encounters a heavily damaged android named Rook who looks suspiciously exactly like the android Ash from the first Alien movie (with a CGI rendition of the late Ian Holm) where Rain upgrades Andy’s security access with a control chip taken out of Rook in an attempt to properly control the station, but this advantage comes at a price: this reprogramming shifts Andy’s loyalty from Rain to Weyland-Yutani. And another highlight is when Rain and Andy are surrounded by xenomorphs and Rain disables the station’s gravity, while allowing her to shoot them without their acidic blood from burning down the hull as she and Andy cleverly make their escape from the Romulus section of the station. A common theme throughout this series is characters are repeatedly manipulated and endangered by the unscrupulous megacorporation Weyland-Yutani Corp, which seeks to profit from the aliens and that is certainly present in this movie.
The two British teenage actors, Archie Renaux (Tyler) and Spike Fearn (Bjorn) with cockney accents were terrible, I couldn’t understand a damn word they were saying! It was like they were talking with food stuffed in their mouths. Normally, I don’t have a problem understanding British actors with cockney accents but these two dreadful actors really challenged my ears, as well as my patience. In fact, the second time around I saw this movie I had to turn on the captions to make it a more pleasant viewing experience. And that’s the thing: When one of your main protagonists requires them to speak a lot of dialogue and you as the viewer are having great difficulty in understanding them, you have a problem.
On the other hand, Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine is engaging as the film’s protagonist, she’s no Ripley but she’s smart, pragmatic, and likable enough for you to care about her. However the real star of this movie is David Jonsson as Andy, the android. He does an excellent job of switching in-between good and bad android with subtle facial expressions, this guy is going to be a star. You really care for Rain and Andy and hope they will make it alive to the very end.
Directed by Uruguayan director, Fede Alvarez, who directed such hits as the “Evil Dead” remake and “Don’t Breathe” does an excellent job of creating a creepy and spooky look of the space station Renaissance and there is a lot of really good world-building on the planet LV-410 where we get to see the movie from a civilian perspective. The film is gorgeous to look at and consists of mostly practical special effects, and the cinematography is great. The soundtrack by Benjamin Wallfisch is very appropriate and feels like a worthy continuation of the late-great Jerry Goldsmith’s Alien soundtrack. The first hour is the best part of the movie but after that, it turns into complete schlock. It attempts to take the best elements of the first two alien movies by turning it into a roller coaster ride but just when you think the ride is over, it goes on and on and on. By the time it rolls to credits, you feel exhausted.
If you're a fan of the Alien movies, you will like it but if you're not a fan, wait until it comes out on DVD or streaming service.
Mad Max (1979)
C
containsfurNovember 21, 2024
containsfurNovember 21, 2024This primal, unpolished filmmaking style is perfectly suited to its simple, vengeance-driven story. The distinct aesthetic, from costumes to cinematography, stands out, though the music feels dated and the performances lack polish.
Over the Hedge (2006)
A
April_RobertsNovember 21, 2024
April_RobertsNovember 21, 2024While the story leans heavily on clichés, the incorporation of themes around modernization adds an interesting dimension. Some imaginative details hint at creative potential, though they never quite astonish. It’s an enjoyable watch but far from groundbreaking.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
S
Scott_SmalleyNovember 20, 2024
Scott_SmalleyNovember 20, 2024This is film shines with a fluid, unpredictable narrative. The climactic scene, where the trio sings to a roaring crowd, resolves the story with a humorously satisfying twist.
Red One (2024)
S
StevenCsMoviesNovember 20, 2024
StevenCsMoviesNovember 20, 2024Movies with an over-inflated budget have become one of my biggest pet peeves in the past couple years, especially whenever I see an amazing movie that costed almost nothing. I keep hearing Hollywood is “on its way out” or “broke”, but then they pull $250 million out from some dark corner and make RED ONE. From the director of the JUMANJI reboots and the writer of FAST AND THE FURIOUS, this is a Christmas themed action comedy about a jacked, ripped Santa Claus (J.K Simmons) getting kidnapped by a witch named Gwyla (Keirnan Shipka). His head of security, Callum (Dwayne Johnson), is forced to team up with an expert tracker, Jack (Chris Evans), in a cross-country rescue mission to save ol’ St. Nick and save Christmas. Despite this sounding like the most formulaic Christmas movie ever, and despite the horrible reviews from critics, it’s actually not that bad. I enjoyed it whenever I got more information about the wild world these characters inhabit. I could see the potential of what they could’ve done but didn’t. They touch on interesting ideas without delving deeper into any of them. Sorry, but I have a few problems with this movie. First, it has an identity crisis. It doesn’t know who the target audience is. It has silly humor aimed at kids, but they also throw in some adult humour and coarse language. Second, the characters themselves have no identity. It’s “The Rock” playing “The Rock” and Chris Evans playing the same old quippy Boston guy who he’s played whenever he wasn’t Captain America. I did enjoy J.K Simmons though, as I always do. T My last problem with this is more my thing, but the fact that Dwayne Johnson got literally 1/5th of the movie’s budget makes me mad, especially since he’s been basically playing the same role since he joined the FAST AND FURIOS franchise. I can guarantee I’m not the only one severely burnt out by him these days, especially with how big his ego is now. I know that has nothing to do with the movie itself, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it as I was watching. I’m sure people are going to find this movie entertaining enough, but as I’ve seen SO many movies, to me, RED ONE is yet another big budget, studio led, shallow, star-powered movie that was meant to release on a streaming service. I bet you that’s why it released so far away from Christmas, so it’ll be on Amazon Prime just in time for the holidays. I’d recommend waiting until then to see it.
Home (2015)
K
Kirk_CrossNovember 20, 2024
Kirk_CrossNovember 20, 2024As a tale of alien invasion, the film sidesteps war and conflict entirely, reflecting the director’s love for peace. This approach paints an idealized picture of extraterrestrial beings coexisting with humanity. However, by glossing over the fear and anxiety of invasion, the idea of peaceful alien integration becomes overly simplistic. While the film creates a warm atmosphere, the premise itself seems to evade deeper moral complexities.