Tag: Sigourney Weaver

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) | REVIEW

Din Djarin, also known as ‘The Mandalorian,’ and Grogu get ready to take off in their spaceship in Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu — PHOTO: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Jon Favreau — Screenplay by Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor.

Now, don’t get me wrong. For someone who, after the release of George Lucas’ prequel trilogy, once (and for a while there) was worried he would never get to see another movie set in that faraway galaxy, getting to see a new Star Wars movie in theaters is probably always going to feel like a treat. But I have to say that I don’t think I’ve ever been looking forward to a live-action Star Wars theatrical release less than here with The Mandalorian and Grogu. This is coming from someone who has seen every single episode of the Disney+ show it spun off from, who loved the first two seasons of the series, and who enjoys the titular duo a great deal. But despite that and the seven-year wait between this and the last theatrically released Star Wars film (J. J. Abrams’ critically panned The Rise of Skywalker), and even though last year’s second season of Andor was a miracle of intelligent and political storytelling that rivals the best films in the franchise, something about this next big release just feels off. Maybe it’s just because of the disappointing third season of the show, but it could also be the ill-judged marketing campaign (what with the faux-beer commercial as their Super Bowl ad). I have long sensed that the main problem is that the studio and the storytellers have, through three seasons, trained audiences to expect these stories on a streaming service, and even though this is an expensive Star Wars story that you’re putting the next ‘chapter’ of on the big screen, it doesn’t change the fact that people are going to view this as a TV-movie because of its origin on the streaming service. Nevertheless, I was hopeful that this would still be an enjoyable moviegoing experience. Having now seen it, I can say that, as a fan of this universe and these characters, I enjoyed seeing them on another adventure fine enough, but I was largely underwhelmed by what I was presented with, and I am really concerned about what this film may mean for the future of the franchise.

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The Gorge (2025) | REVIEW

Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy in “The Gorge,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Directed by Scott Derrickson — Screenplay by Zach Dean.

Scott Derrickson’s The Gorge follows two elite snipers, an American man named Levi Kane (played by Miles Teller) and a Lithuanian woman named Drasa (played by Anya Taylor-Joy), as they are both independently recruited for a top-secret mission in the middle of nowhere. At some unknown place in the world, there are two watchtowers standing across from each other, one representing the Western Bloc and another representing the Eastern Bloc. Each watchtower is guarded by mechanized turrets and bombs, and between the two watchtowers is a giant long hole in the ground — hence the title. Levi and Drasa have been hired to do maintenance on the weaponry and, at the same time, defend the world from what is hidden inside the mysterious valley. As they are the only two people in the vicinity, Drasa and Levi establish a connection, but when one of them accidentally falls down into the valley, everything changes and top secrets are revealed.

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REVIEW: Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Britain Dalton’s LO’AK interacts and bonds with Payakan, a whale-like creature, in AVATAR: THE WHALE OF WATER — PHOTO: 20th Century Studios / Disney.

Directed by James Cameron — Screenplay by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver.

The long-awaited sequel to Avatar that many have bemoaned was unnecessary (in spite of the original film being one of the biggest films of all time) is here. Frankly, I wasn’t sure it was ever going to come out, but, after a 13-year waiting period, it is finally here. It exists. I was 16 years old when the first film was released. Now I’m 29. The wait is over. And, hey, it’s actually an excellent improvement on the first film. Moreover, it definitely is a must-see transportive theatrical experience.

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Avatar (2009) is pretty great, even though its story feels very common | Retro Review

James Cameron’s late 2000s sci-fi epic is one of the biggest movies of all-time – Photo: 20th Century Fox.

Directed by James Cameron — Screenplay by James Cameron.

Whether it’s due to disbelief, overhype, or that product having been oversold, I think we’ve all been guilty of calling something widely praised or beloved ‘overrated.’ When Avatar first came out, people were perhaps slightly hyperbolic when it came to praising the somewhat allegorical James Cameron sci-fi epic. I was a teenager when it was released, and I remember once standing in line at a Blockbuster as people were over-the-moon excited to own the film on physical media. I hadn’t seen it in theaters and, after having seen it, I struggled to really be as thoroughly overwhelmed by it as other people seemed to have been. I really enjoyed the Leona Lewis song, and I thought it looked really good. I recognized that it was a solid picture, but, when I finally saw it, I do remember thinking something along the lines of “is that what all the fuss was about?” It wasn’t the best thing since sliced bread, which it certainly felt like it had been sold as.

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REVIEW: The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) – Directed by Noah Baumbach

Adam Sandler is a really great actor, when he wants to be one. Every seven or eight years it seems like Sandler lands a role with which he manages to wow even his biggest critics. Normally, when I watch a new Sandler Netflix-film, I am greeted with lazy attempts at humor that sometimes becomes downright offensive in films like The Do-Over and The Ridiculous Six. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)” →

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)” →

CLASSIC REVIEW: Aliens (1986)

Theatrical Release Poster - 20th Century Fox
Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of the classic science-fiction action film ‘Aliens’. This review was written in July 2016 in honor of the film’s 30th Anniversary.

After the success of 1984’s The Terminator, 20th Century Fox gave James Cameron the go-ahead to direct a sequel to the amazing science-fiction horror film, Alien. No one could’ve predicted the success Cameron’s sequel would get. Even though Alien is, itself, somewhat of a horror classic, Cameron somehow managed to make a sequel that was remarkably different from the original film, but still ended up being a classic, being iconic, and being, easily, one of the best sequels of all-time.  Continue reading “CLASSIC REVIEW: Aliens (1986)” →

RETRO REVIEW: Ghostbusters 2 (1989)

Theatrical Release Poster – Columbia Pictures

The following is a retro review of Ghostbusters 2 (1989).

In preparation for the release of Paul Feig’s new rebooted Ghostbusters, I’ve been rewatching the two original Ivan Reitman films. I’ve always liked the franchise and the characters, but I’ve never been a real Ghostbusters fanboy. Just the other day, I rewatched and reviewed the original Ghostbusters, which is still an amazing comedy. Now, I hadn’t actually seen Ghostbusters 2 in, maybe, around ten or eleven years. I couldn’t really remember it that well, and, when I sat down to watch the sequel today, I found out why: Ghostbusters 2 is a serious step down from the first film and, arguably, a thoroughly lackluster ghostly comedy by comparison.

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