Tag: Film Review

REVIEW: Wonder Woman (2017)

Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of Wonder Woman – Directed by Patty Jenkins.

Although there are a lot of female heroes to read about in comic books, few of them have been given a chance on the big screen. In fairness, Hollywood has tried to make female superhero films work before, but when those attempts didn’t work out well, they weren’t really interested in pursuing other similar projects.

Jeannot Szwarc’s Supergirl was critically panned, as was both Pitof’s Catwoman and Rob Bowman’s Elektra. Now, in 2017, we are finally getting a good film about a true feminist icon. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman is here, and while it isn’t perfect, it is a strong origin story for an important comic book character. Continue reading “REVIEW: Wonder Woman (2017)” →

REVIEW: War Machine (2017)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Netflix’s War Machine – Directed by David Michôd.

In 2015, Netflix acquired the distribution rights to a film directed by David Michôd and starring Brad Pitt, one of the true movie stars of our day. Netflix acquired the film prior to having premiered both Beasts of No Nation and The Ridiculous Six later in 2015, and this film was thus one of the first major motion picture projects that Netflix had acquired.

Now, in the summer of 2017, the film now titled War Machine has premiered. It has been a long wait for people like me who were excited to see such a high profile production premiere on the streaming service, but it is finally here and, honestly, I don’t think it was worth the wait. Continue reading “REVIEW: War Machine (2017)” →

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)” →

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: 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)” →

REVIEW: Sandy Wexler (2017)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Sandy Wexler – Directed by Steven Brill

Sandy Wexler tells the story about a fictional 1990s talent manager (played by Adam Sandler) with a heart of gold, who constantly kept putting his foot in his mouth. But his luck suddenly changed when he learned of the unique singing ability and talent of Courtney Clarke (played by Jennifer Hudson), who quickly got a record deal because of him.

But his keen eye for talent once again was not matched by his managerial guidance, and soon the one client that had stolen his heart was slipping out of his hands and into a cold industry that didn’t want to recognize Sandy, who had to finally learn that there is more to being a manager than loyalty, love, and support. Continue reading “REVIEW: Sandy Wexler (2017)” →

REVIEW: Christine (2016)

Release Poster – The Orchard; Curzon Artificial Eye

The following is a quick review of Christine – Directed by Antonio Campos

Antonio Campos’ Christine is a biographical drama about the true story of Sarasota news reporter Christine Chubbuck’s suicide in 1974. The film follows Christine Chubbuck (played by Rebecca Hall) during some of the worst days of her life and leads up to her last live broadcast.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Christine (2016)” →