Tag: Ripley

Top Ten TV-Shows of 2024

Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti in THE PENGUIN — PHOTO: Macall Polay/HBO.

I watched so many television (and/or streaming) shows this year. In my notes, I was trying to jot down all of the shows that I had seen and, given that I also watch a lot of movies every year, I was even a little bit shocked at how much time I spent watching entertainment (especially because I was very busy with other stuff this year). But, hey, I do love crashing and/or chilling in front of the television, watching a good show, and then jotting down my notes. And, you know, there were a lot of good shows this year. Some of the shows that it hurts to have to leave off the list this time around are Bad Sisters, Disclaimer, The English Teacher, Under the Bridge, The Boys, and Sugar (and I could, honestly, go on). But there can only be ten shows on this list, and let’s now have a look at what shows made it!

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Brief History of a Family (2024) | REVIEW

The family that Yan Shuo (played by Sun Xilun) tries to insert himself into in BRIEF HISTORY OF A FAMILY — PHOTO: Films Boutique (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Lin Jianjie — Screenplay by Lin Jianjie.

Lin Jianjie’s Brief History of a Family (or ‘Blood and Water‘ as it is called in my region) is a Chinese mystery thriller flick that follows a young man, Yan Shuo (played by Sun Xilun), as he attempts to ingratiate himself with the wealthy parents of a classmate. This all happens after said classmate, Wei (played by Lin Muran), deliberately chucked a basketball at Shuo, while the latter was doing a pull-up exercise. When Shuo is injured, Wei takes pity on his classmate and invites him back to his parents’ apartment to play video games. When Shuo tells Wei’s family about his bleak daily life, they, too, take pity on him and begin to admire him for being everything Wei isn’t. As Shuo gradually becomes more and more a part of their family, Wei becomes jealous, while his parents’ past insecurities are revealed. 

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2024 TV Highlights Thus Far, Pt. 1 | Bite-Sized Reviews

(L-R, 1st row, then 2nd row) SHOGUN (FX / Hulu), RIPLEY (Netflix), FALLOUT (Prime Video), MR. AND MRS. SMITH (Prime Video), and Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+).

You don’t really understand it when you’re a kid, but, boy, it really feels like time flies by as you get older. When you’re stressed or overworked or even just have more important things on your mind, it can be difficult to find the time to do what you want to do before it feels like you’re too late. This is, in part, why I started doing these review compilation posts sometimes containing bite-sized reviews about shows or films that I feel like I still need to talk about, even though I missed out on the moment right after the release. If you read my website frequently, then you know that I’ve recently posted two backlog/catch-up compilations for last year’s TV series. With that out of the way, I now want to focus on some of the shows of the past seven or eight months that I really want to give you my thoughts on. Today, I’ll focus on some of the shows that I think are the very best of the year thus far, including, but not limited to, a video game TV-adaptation and an incredibly stylish reimagining of an iconic Patricia Highsmith story.

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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)” →