Ridley Scott’s (Gladiator, The Martian) brainchild franchise proves a few things. First, the Alien series still has legs, its sequels continue evolving, and Scott has no plans to let his baby fall into the wrong hands again. Ridley’s monster first burst onto the screen in 1979’s Alien, a movie that did for space travel what Steven Spielberg’s Jaws did for swimming on beaches. It certainly wasn’t the first movie set on a spaceship. But, if it wasn’t the first horror film set in space, it was undoubtedly the first one we all remembered as the first one. And, just as the tagline of the original movie poster suggests, In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream, nothing can be more accurate as we sit down and prepare ourselves for one of the Alien movies.
Category Archives: Genre
The Wall (2017)
First things first, if you think you’re going into this seeing a John Cena movie, you will be sorely disappointed. This movie is similar to 127 Hours, Cast Away, I Am Legend, or All Is Lost in that it revolves almost entirely around a single character. However, some significant differences exist between this one and those just stated. There are no flashback scenes. This movie is done almost entirely in real time. And it occurs in a single location, though 127 Hours, for the most part, does as well. The Wall is similar, though, in that each of the mentioned movies experiences extreme periods of hopelessness during a part of or a majority of the movie. The Wall isn’t nearly as good as these other movies, but it was unique enough to hold your interest. Whereas 127 Hours was based on a true story, where All Is Lost is easily believable, and where I Am Legend is more of a science fiction movie for which we must suspend our belief, The Wall falls somewhere in between. I loved that it was just 81 minutes long. It didn’t need to be any longer, so why drag something out when it doesn’t have to be? And the first 20 minutes were completely engrossing. I knew little about the movie but not enough to know where it was going. But then it took a turn for the weird that took the believability aspect out of it and turned it into a game of cat and mouse that, while entertaining, was not something I’d expect out of my war movies.
The Lost City of Z (2017)
The Lost City of Z was a movie with all the makings of a film I should love. I love a good adventure movie, and the idea of floating down a wooden raft in the Amazon River sounds like something I’d enjoy. I’m a big fan of John Grisham novels. Still, most law thrillers (except ones like A Time to Kill or The Firm, adapted into films) often tend to blend except for The Testament, a novel that was equal parts a big city courtroom as an Amazon Jungle adventure. I find something about the Amazon intriguing, almost like I can’t get enough of it, especially when it’s displayed onscreen as a true adventure story. This is precisely what James Gray’s (Two Lovers, The Yards) is.
Life (2017)
Wow! Life > Alien!
Yup. You heard that right. 2017 is off to a tremendous start! January, February, and March typically combine for movies’ worst quarter of the year. I’ve been reviewing movies since 2010, and each year has confirmed this belief. I didn’t anticipate 2017 feeling differently, but it is slowly happening. First, there was the surprising Split, which I wasn’t a fan of, but one that did fantastic with audiences and critics. Then there was Logan, one of my five favorite Marvel movies ever at the time of this writing. Sprinkle in the surprise hit Get Out, the quality reboot Kong: Skull Island, and the live-action smash success Beauty and the Beast. You already have five movies that won’t necessarily be up for awards at the end of the year but will be remembered as success stories for 2017.
Logan (2017)
James Mangold’s (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) Logan is about to set the standard for the next wave of superhero movies: the death of a significant character. In an age of film (particularly superhero ones) where we’ve seen sequels, prequels, and reboots, we have yet to see the story’s beginning, middle, and definite conclusion. We’ve seen plenty of superhero movies that COULD be a conclusion story, but we’ve all learned that we think the end isn’t the end unless we see that character killed off. And even then, we don’t know. When there is the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars to be made, who are we to believe that the end is the end? Often, the end is determined by a crappy movie in a series that doesn’t resonate with audiences or critics. Sometimes, that movie can be a concluding story, but often it is not. But (spoiler, but not really) based on what happens at the end of the film, I don’t expect to see him back. I probably will in another fashion, but that can be an argument for a different day. Until then, I’ll continue to sing the praises of Logan. At the time of this review, I have it as one of the top five Marvel movies ever.