REVIEW: The Leftovers – “Crazy Whitefella Thinking”

The following is a review and recap of the third episode of the third season of The Leftovers (HBO). Expect Full Story Spoilers.

The third episode of the third season – Crazy Whitefella Thinking – is a point-of-view episode from the perspective of Kevin Garvey, Sr. (played by Scott Glenn), wherein Senior is travelling around Australia to collect the chants of Australian tribes so that he can prevent a forthcoming flood of biblical proportions. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Leftovers – “Crazy Whitefella Thinking””

REVIEW: Alien: Covenant (2017)

Teaser Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of Alien: Covenant – Directed by Ridley Scott. For more Alien reviews, check out this category.

With 2012’s Prometheus and now with 2017’s Alien: Covenant, Ridley Scott – the directorial ‘father’ of the Alien-franchise – has reclaimed ownership of the vastly popular horror-science fiction film series. Unfortunately, Prometheus wasn’t met with much praise from fans, and now – with Alien: Covenant – Ridley Scott is trying to appease the rapid fan-base while still dealing with the themes present in his first prequel. And although it does feel a little bit like a compromise, Covenant is nonetheless a fantastic film. Continue reading “REVIEW: Alien: Covenant (2017)”

REVIEW: Prometheus (2012)

Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a short review of Prometheus – Directed by Ridley Scott. For more Alien reviews, check out this category.

Ridley Scott’s long-awaited return to the Alien-franchise – Prometheus – offered up several surprises and was ultimately deemed a ‘let down’ by many fans of the franchise. The premise of the prequel film was, to an extent, at odds with fan expectations, but was nevertheless an admirable and ambitious attempt at rebranding a franchise that needed to feel fresh again. Continue reading “REVIEW: Prometheus (2012)”

RETRO REVIEW: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a short review of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem – Directed by The Brothers Strause. For more Alien reviews, check out this category.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem takes place just after the events of Alien vs. Predator. The ‘alien’ that burst out of a Predator is a hybrid of the two alien species and manages to take down the Predator ship. The ship crashes into Earth, and suddenly the hybrid alien and other Xenomorphs are loose in a small town in Colorado. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)”

RETRO REVIEW: Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of Alien vs. Predator – Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. For more Alien reviews, check out this category.

Some might say that in 2016, Hollywood had ‘a thing’ for blockbuster movie mash-ups. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was one of the most anticipated films of the year, and so was Captain America: Civil War, which easily could’ve been called ‘Captain America vs. Iron Man.’

But in both of those cases these movie mash-ups were made to both improve and continue a cinematic universe. Those cases didn’t feel like last ditch attempts at making money, they were just the next chapters in those two cinematic universes.

In the early to mid-2000s, Hollywood also loved movie mash-ups, but back then the most well-known of those involved characters that had never really appeared in the same film. Freddy vs. Jason was one of those crazy movie mash-ups, and the science fiction equivalent of that was Alien vs. Predator, which I’m going to review for you right now.
Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Alien vs. Predator (2004)”

RETRO REVIEW: Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a short review of Alien: Resurrection – Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. For more Alien reviews, check out this category.

Alien: Resurrection takes place more than a hundred years after the events of David Fincher’s Alien 3, and the film follows Ripley 8 (played by Sigourney Weaver), a clone of Ellen Ripley, on the space ship USM Auriga, on which many Xenomorph and Ripley-DNA experiments have taken place. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Alien: Resurrection (1997)”

RETRO REVIEW: Alien 3 (1992)

Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of Alien 3 – Directed by David Fincher. For more Alien reviews, check out this category.

Alien 3 was directed by someone we today consider to be one of the great directors out there. David Fincher is a highly regarded filmmaker, and that is, sadly, in spite of his first feature film – Alien 3 – which is often regarded as the first real misstep in the Alien-franchise. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Alien 3 (1992)”

CLASSIC REVIEW: Alien (1979)

Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of Alien – Directed by Ridley Scott. For more Alien reviews, check out this category.

Who could’ve known back before Alien was released in 1979 that director Ridley Scott – a relative late bloomer when it comes to filmmaking, who had only previously directed one film – would create one of the most iconic science-fiction horror films of all-time.

Jaws in space,’ or ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre of science-fiction’ as it has apparently sometimes been called by both director Ridley Scott and writers Ronald Shusett and Dan O’Bannon may not have seen the light of day where it not for the science-fiction boom caused by George Lucas and his first Star Wars film, but with Alien Ridley Scott managed to carve out his own distinctive corner of science-fiction filmmaking. Continue reading “CLASSIC REVIEW: Alien (1979)”

REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Sunk Costs”

The following is a review and recap of the third episode of the third season of Better Call Saul, available on AMC in the U. S. and on Netflix internationally. Expect story spoilers. 

In the third episode of the third season – Sunk Costs – Mike (played by Jonathan Banks) and Gus Fring (played by Giancarlo Esposito) discuss what to do about Hector Salamanca, and Jimmy (played by Bob Odenkirk) pleads not guilty. Sunk Costs was directed by John Shiban and written by Gennifer Hutchison. Continue reading “REVIEW: Better Call Saul – “Sunk Costs””

REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Marvel Studios

The following is a review of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 – Directed by James Gunn

The first Guardians of the Galaxy film was very special to me. It arrived at the right time for me and family. My Godmother had just passed away, and Guardians of the Galaxy was the first film we saw as a family since she had passed away. Guardians of the Galaxy made me laugh, it made me cry, and I, to this day, still think of it as one of my favorite films of all-time. It had a huge effect on me.

I, however, never expected Volume 2 to have as big an impact on me as James Gunn’s first Marvel film had and, honestly, it didn’t. But while Volume 2 isn’t as good as the original film, I still really loved it and it did make me emotional more than once. Continue reading “REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (2017)”