Tag: Movie Review

Alien: Romulus (2024) | REVIEW

Cailee Spaeny as Rain face-to-face with a Xenomorph in Fede Alvarez’s ALIEN: ROMULUS — PHOTO: Disney / 20th Century Studios.

Directed by Fede Alvarez — Screenplay by Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues.

The Alien franchise can mean a lot of different things depending on the person you ask. For some, Alien, due to the original Ridley Scott 1979 classic, is Jaws (or a haunted house horror movie) set in space. Others think more fondly of James Cameron’s arguably equally iconic sequel, Aliens, which injected Scott’s blue-collar space-set horror flick with action adrenalin and a militaristic focus, while still keeping its key distrust of corporations at the heart of the film. I wonder if the subsequent divisive-to-middling sequels and spin-offs only further complicated the core audience’s understanding of what an Alien film is supposed to be. When Ridley Scott returned to shepherd the franchise and meld it with some of the ideas of his Blade Runner film in both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, they, too, divided opinion. While some embraced Prometheus‘ ambitious ideas and a key performance, others rejected them wholesale, perhaps because it wasn’t enough of an Alien film or for its specific answers (or lack thereof) as a prequel film, though I acknowledge that some may feel that to be an oversimplification of people’s problems with it. In any case, Scott responded with Alien: Covenant, which continued the overarching narrative started in Prometheus, but also, at the same time, sometimes felt like an effort to compromise and satisfy those that felt Prometheus was too different. The naysayers weren’t won over by Alien: Covenant, which, I contend, is actually an extremely underappreciated film, and the film was a box office disappointment. Seven years later, we now have the first Alien film since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox titled Alien: Romulus, which is a solid and suspenseful horror throwback. However, truth be told, it is also maybe a little bit too safe of a film given the big choices and risks that directors like Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and David Fincher have taken over the years.

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Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) | REVIEW

Deadpool looking up at the Wolverine in Shawn Levy’s DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE — PHOTO: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Directed by Shawn Levy (Free Guy; The Adam Project) — Screenplay by Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Shawn Levy.

Later this year, it’ll have been 7 years since Disney’s acquisition of Fox was announced. Included in the Fox acquisition were its assets including ‘their’ portion of Marvel characters, which had long been unable to be a part of Disney’s immensely popular Marvel Cinematic Universe of stories. I think a lot of fans out there will have, at that time, thought that years later they would have all been integrated into the Disney-Marvel-connected universe of live-action films, but, in actuality, it’s been quite slow. Certain characters have popped up in relatively insignificant ways, the classic X-Men theme song has played once or twice, and, sure, Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) did have some non-committal fun with the characters that Marvel fans have been desperate to have alongside the Avengers. Now, though, a significant part of that wait is over. Shawn Levy’s Deadpool and Wolverine is the first Marvel Studios film to be explicitly about a Marvel-Fox character and his integration into Marvel Studios. And, as if that wasn’t enough, it’s the one character that is the least audience-safe Disney character of them all: Deadpool, who is known for his R-rated violence and crude humor. Going into this film the big question for many fans was whether or not Disney, through Marvel Studios, would allow Deadpool to actually be the character that fans have come to know and love. The answer, which I can now give after having seen the much-anticipated film, is a resounding ‘yes.’

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‘Napoleon,’ ‘Beyond Utopia,’ and More | Bite-Sized Reviews

(Clockwise L-R) MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (Roadshow Film Distributors), BEYOND UTOPIA (Roadside Attractions / Fathom Events), NAPOLEON (Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Releasing), TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL (Magnet Releasing), and SHALLOW GRAVE (Rank Film Distributors).

In this edition of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, I give you my thoughts on 1) Mel Gibson’s final appearance as Mad Max, 2) one of last year’s best documentaries, 3) last year’s much-discussed historical epic from Ridley Scott, 4) Danny Boyle’s directorial debut, and 5) a horror comedy cult classic.

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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) | REVIEW

Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry in James Wan’s AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM — PHOTO: WARNER BROS. PICTURES (Still image from trailers).

Directed by James Wan — Screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick.

Once upon a time, the kickstarting of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) felt like such a big deal. Warner Bros. was going to do what Marvel did and actually have a connected cinematic superhero universe and it was going to be this prestige project with the first film, titled Man of Steel, echoing a kind of director-led importance that was supposed to follow in the footsteps of Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy. I think, however, that it is fair to say that it never got off on the right foot. Their Superman-universe opener was met with a mixed critical reception and fans criticized certain choices that they felt were against the core tenets of the beloved iconic character. In the next years, the DCEU was never fully embraced despite certain successes along the way (e.g. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman) in large part due to several films that missed the mark in one way or another (e.g. David Ayer’s Suicide Squad). Online toxicity, director idolization, and mild-at-best reception followed, and now the universe is being fully rebooted by James Gunn. Before that could happen though, they had to release a couple of ‘lame duck’ films that they already had in the can but which everyone knew mattered not. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the last one of those, and, unfortunately, the DCEU went out with a whimper. 

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A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) | REVIEW

Sam (played by Lupita Nyong’o) with her trusted service cat Frodo in Michael Sarnoski’s A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE — PHOTO: Paramount Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Michael Sarnoski — Screenplay by Michael Sarnoski.

It has now been more than six years since John Krasinski, then (and perhaps still) best known as ‘Jim’ from the American sitcom adaptation of The Office, proved himself as a competent entertainment triple threat (actor, co-writer, and director) with his third film as a director, A Quiet Place. The film, which was once suggested as a part of the Cloverfield franchise, has since gone on to become its own franchise, as Krasinski also directed a sequel — A Quiet Place Part II — but also because the film series has spun off into an upcoming video game. Now, John Krasinski has, at least for a moment, handed off the reins to the franchise to director Michael Sarnoski — best known for the Nicolas Cage-led film known as Pig — who has now made the franchise’s third film, titled A Quiet Place: Day One, which, as you may be able to guess, is a prequel to the original film that kickstarted it all.

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The Creator (2023) | REVIEW

John David Washington in THE CREATOR — PHOTO: 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS.

Directed by Gareth Edwards — Screenplay by Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz.

Gareth Edwards’ The Creator was originally released back in late September of 2023, but, in spite of it once being one of my most anticipated films of 2023, I didn’t end up seeing it until January of 2024. In fact, it was the very first film that I saw in 2024. Why did I wait for the VOD release? Well, frankly, the marketing controversy rubbed me the wrong way (one of the trailers used footage from a real-life tragedy as a visual effects plate shot). The film’s director later revealed that the shot wasn’t actually in the film, and, when I eventually sat down to watch the film, I will admit that I actually really liked what I saw. Ultimately, I am firmly in the ‘The Creator is good actually’ club. Frankly, it might be my favorite film that director Gareth Edwards has made thus far, despite the fact that his oeuvre also includes two fairly well-received sci-fi franchise films from universes that I generally enjoy.

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‘Sexy Beast,’ ‘TMNT: Mutant Mayhem,’ and More | Bite-Sized Reviews

(Clockwise L-R) THIS IS ME… NOW (Prime Video), SOPHIE’S CHOICE (Universal Pictures), SEXY BEAST (Searchlight / FilmFour Distributors), TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (Paramount Pictures), and ELEVATOR GAME (AMP International, Front Row Filmed Entertainment, M2 Films, Movie Cloud).

In this edition of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, I give you my thoughts on 1) an iconic film that I struggled with, 2) a strange passion project from a genuine pop star, 3) the debut film of one of Britain’s finest auteurs, 4) one of last year’s best animated films, and, finally, 5) a horror film that didn’t work for me.

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) | REVIEW

Anya Taylor-Joy as the title character in George Miller’s FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Directed by George Miller — Screenplay by George Miller and Nico Lathouris.

Back when the low-budget cult favorite first Mad Max film was released in 1979, no one would have expected it to eventually evolve into a franchise that director George Miller would still be working on when he, himself, was 79 years of age. But here we are, and even though it’s been nine whole years since Miller’s finest hour — the action masterwork that was Mad Max: Fury Road — it is now time to finally get the origin story to the character of Furiosa — who was originally played by Charlize Theron — in the long-awaited prequel film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Though it isn’t the instant genre classic that Fury Road was, it is nevertheless a very good film that builds upon the successes of the previous film through gripping world-building and an extremely entertaining supporting performance.

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The Greatest Hits (2024) | REVIEW

Lucy Boynton in Ned Benson’s THE GREATEST HITS — PHOTO: Disney+ / Hulu.

Directed by Ned Benson — Screenplay by Ned Benson.

Ned Benson’s The Greatest Hits is a romantic fantasy film that follows Harriet Gibbons (played by Lucy Boynton), a woman mourning her boyfriend Max (played by David Corenswet) who recently died in a car crash. To recover emotionally, she takes part in grief support group meetings, but she doesn’t know how to move on because whenever she hears a song that she listened to while she and Max dated, she is emotionally transported through time to the moment she heard it, while, for everyone else, it just looks like she is passing out or having a seizure. Harriet has become obsessed with the idea that she can use this condition and/or ability to travel in time and prevent Max’s death. However, she is also starting to become emotionally involved with another member of the support group named David (played by Justin H. Min).

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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) | REVIEW

Proximus Caesar (played by Kevin Durand) in Wes Ball’s KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES — PHOTO: 20th Century Studios / Disney.

Directed by Wes Ball — Screenplay by Josh Friedman.

The Planet of the Apes franchise is one of the most iconic and most beloved long-running science fiction film franchises. Despite it, admittedly, featuring a significant number of films and shows that the world has largely forgotten about (including Tim Burton’s 2001 remake), this franchise also happens to have a genuine science-fiction classic adaptation with one of the most famous and unforgettable movie endings of all-time (that is uniquely in the style of Rod Serling, i.e. the creator of The Twilight Zone who co-wrote the 1968 Apes-film), and every now and again these films represent massive leaps forward for the film industry either through prosthetics, visual effects, or motion performance capture. As if that wasn’t enough, despite failing to capture wide audiences’ interest for quite some time, the iconic franchise broke through once more with the reboot trilogy of the 2010s from directors Rupert Wyatt (of the strong and emotionally engaging Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Matt Reeves (of the jaw-dropping near-masterpieces Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes). 

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