It took me two watches, some 12 months apart from one another, for me to be able to say emphatically that Alex Garland’s (Ex Machina) Annihilation isn’t a great movie. While I appreciate its ingenuity and ambition, the overall execution, delivery, and continuity could not be overlooked. For as much as I was in awe of Garland’s 2015 directorial debut, Ex Machina, I was even more disappointed with Annihilation, a movie for me that came and went as it felt, broke its own rules, left me bored at times, and hoping for more, while knowing it was never going quite to deliver. With a critics’ score of 88% but an audience score of just 66%, I am comfortable saying that, after watching it twice, some artistry I was missing made this movie so likable by those who review movies for a living. I couldn’t help but remove myself from critic mode and, even after taking off that hat, couldn’t get behind Annihilation to come close to recommending it.
Category Archives: Science Fiction
The Shape of Water (2017)
Guillermo del Toro’s (Nightmare Alley, Crimson Peak) adult fairytale The Shape of Water is a movie we’ve seen so many different times in so many different forms that it’s a wonder that we’d even be willing to see it again. Starcrossed lovers find themselves in a forbidden love situation while fighting off some catastrophe or at least societal pressures. Think Titanic, a nearly perfect movie showcasing this, will always be remembered by everyone who watches it. So, how does del Toro pull off this story in a wholly original yet equally compelling way? He does it in a way that only del Toro can do. And in doing so, he creates the most unparalleled and (with no disrespect to Call Me By Your Name) the most romantic movie of 2017. This movie certainly is not for everyone. If Thor: Ragnarok or Justice League is more your thing, then I’m not even sure I’d consider The Shape of Water. It is the ultimate independent movie, and if you go into this movie with the mindset that you’ll be able to enjoy the ride and not have to think, you’ll be in for two long hours. In a year where the movies have been the worst since I began my blog in 2010, the uniqueness of the films (rather than their quality) has defined this year.
Alien: Covenant (2017)
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.
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.