Wednesday, 17 January 2018

Ross's Reviews: Alien

So my current plan is to review the entire Alien franchise from beginning to end in order of release date which is why Prometheus will have to wait. I'm a big fan of this series so this should be a lot of fun.

Will I eventually do the Alien vs Predator movies? We'll see how I get on with these six movies first.

As a sidenote, I'm watching the original theatrical versions rather than the directors cut and I'll be doing that for each one. Also while I normally go with spoiler free reviews, this time every review will include spoilers as this is quite an old series, even if Alien Covenant is pretty recent.

Let's get started.

This is kind of a tricky one as you can probably guess my opinion on this one. I mean it's freaking Alien. It's one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made and has been this way for almost 40 years. If you haven't seen it, what the hell are you doing reading this? Go watch it and come back and I'll explain why it's so great.

Let's start with the story.

The mining ship known as the Nostromo is on it's way home when it intercepts what seems to be an SOS message from a nearby planet that they're now contracted to investigate. All seems normal while checking out the seemingly abandoned ship from which the message originated, until Kane (John Hurt) finds some dormant egg-like objects and then the shit hits the fan. A murderous Alien creature ends up emerging and picks off the crew of the Nostromo one by one.

One thing I really enjoyed about the movie is the aesthetic. It feels like the future while also retaining some of the past to give the ship and the characters a gritty feel to them, something that director Ridley Scott would go back to when making Blade Runner years later. This isn't Star Wars as even the technology used looks exactly like the same kind you would get in the 70s, and yet somehow it still comes off as timeless. I love it.

Speaking of the characters, pretty much all of them are terrific. They all have their own personalities and don't just feel like a makeshift buffet for the monster to eat at it's leisure. Everyone here feels important and any deaths that occur feel like they matter and feel like a gut punch at times. That is except for the character of Lambert. She's not terrible but she does nothing but scream and shout the whole time and I didn't really care for her. Thankfully she's not focused on all that much.

There are a couple of standouts, as I've always loved Ian Holm as science officer Ash. Of course he turns out to have the big twist towards the end when he's revealed to be a synthetic (robot). Watching this over again, you can see his little ticks that hint towards his true identity like the way he speaks to everyone and it's just some terrific acting and directing.

Of course you can't mention Alien without mentioning Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. While she wasn't quite the badass we would come to know and love later on, she's still great here and feels more like a survivalist more than anything. She's definitely the smartest of the group too as she actually tries to follow protocol when Kane is attacked by the face-hugger so that the rest of the ship isn't infected. If only they'd listened. 

You also have the absolute star of the show in our main villain: the Alien, also known as a Xenomorph. This thing is absolutely gorgeous and the design can only be described as perfect. Well it is the perfect organism after all. This thing is freaky looking, with it's strange double mouth and it's acid for blood. While it actually isn't in the movie all that often, it steals the scene whenever it appears and it just feels like this ever-present entity as it could be anywhere at any time.

Being a film from the 70s you would think it couldn't be that scary but oh you would be wrong my friend. This film knows how to disturb as well as shock. While it does have a couple of cheap jumpscares (that fucking cat Jones comes to mind) some jumpscares are masterful, like the Alien attacking Captain Dallas in the air vents, only revealing itself when the tension and dread is at it's maximum level. And I can't have been the only one that covered my eyes when the crew was searching for the missing face-hugger. That shit freaked me out. 

The famous chestburst scene is still fantastic and one of my favourite movie scenes. Knowing that the crew had no idea what was happening really adds to it and makes it seem that much more real and visceral. It's still shocking to watch and I absolutely love it. 

The last act of the film is a total adrenaline rush, as Ripley, now last survivor, has to contend with a self-destructing ship as well as the bloodthirsty Xenomorph to past so she can get on the escape shuttle. Even when she gets there and makes her escape, it turns out the Xeno is still on board as she has to contend with it one last time. 

Needless to say, I adore this film and to me it's practically perfect and is only really succeeded by it's sequel but that's a story for another review coming soon. I have only one word for this: masterpiece. Even if you've seen it already, go ahead and pop it in again for another watch. You won't regret it. 

Verdict: 10/10

Saturday, 13 January 2018

My Favourite Movies of 2017

Happy New Year everyone! I know this list is a bit late since we're halfway through January now, but better late than never.

Just to note these are just my personal favourite movies of the year, so it's less to do with the film's quality and more to do with my personal enjoyment of each one.

2017 wasn't my best year movie wise as there's still a few releases I haven't watched yet such as Baby Driver or It Comes At Night but I'll get to those another time. Let's get started.

No spoilers for any of these movies.

I'll start off with a few honourable mentions that didn't quite make it.

Beauty and the Beast
Annabelle Creation
Alien Covenant
Gerald's Game

And now to the main list.

10. Thor Ragnarok

This is a bit of a weird one for me as I honestly didn't enjoy it that much the first time round but I think that was me getting into the hype a bit too much as I did go to see it a second time and enjoyed it way more.
It definitely has it's issues that still slightly irk me like being quite unfocused in places and could feel slightly messy at times. That didn't matter too much in the end as this was a ton of fun with great jokes, great visuals and great action. 

9. War for the Planet of the Apes

This was one of my most anticipated movies of this year and it did not disappoint. While I still consider 'Dawn' to be my favourite of the trilogy, this was an excellent way to seemingly end this part of the franchise. It may not have a lot of action, this is all about the story and it was wonderful to watch. I don't know if there are any more sequels planned but I would not complain if there was.

8. Spider-Man Homecoming

Finally Spider-Man made his way to the MCU after all these years and was it worth the wait? I'd say it was. While I wouldn't go so far as to say this is the best Spider-Man movie yet (Spider-Man 2 FTW) this is still a fantastic outing and one of the better Marvel releases of the last few years. This felt like a more personal superhero movie as this was all about Peter Parker (played amazingly by Tom Holland) and even though Iron Man did appear a couple of times, it never once hindered the story. I look forward to seeing more of the webhead in future.

7. Wonder Woman

Oh look another superhero movie. This one was definitely a surprise seeing as I haven't been a fan of the DC movie universe so far (Man of Steel and Justice League are ok, but BvS and Suicide Squad can fuck off). This was definitely the ace that they needed though and gave us a standard of quality to hold the other movies to. 
While the climax was slightly iffy the rest of the movie held up spectacularly, including the brilliant visual of Wonder Woman crossing No Mans Land in a scene that still gives me goosebumps. Come on DC, now we know you can do better. 

6. Get Out

I was a bit late to the party with this one as I didn't see it until around October last year and was worried that the hype surrounding it would leave me disappointed. It definitely didn't. I don't want to say too much as this is a film you need to watch without knowing anything so that it leaves a bigger impact. It's smart, funny, and disturbing as hell. All qualities that I love in a good movie. Check it out.

5. La La Land

I had to double check that this was a 2017 movie, but yes it was released here in January so it totally counts. I'll admit that I have seen this a movie a total of five times now since it's release and I never get tired of it. Everything is great here from the acting (Emma Stone is amazing) the music and the story with an ending that totally kicks you in the balls and some people don't seem to like it for that reason. I love every moment and highly recommend this.

4. IT

No surprise here considering I've been gushing all over it since release. Hell I've even just pre-ordered the Blu Ray release so it arrives here on Monday. I've seen this one a total of four times in the cinema, and like La La Land, never gets old. 
I'm a big Stephen King fan and while this can't overtake The Shining as my favourite adaption, this is still up there with a fantastic young cast that put in a great, funny performance, and Bill Skarsgard's epic turn as Pennywise. Can't wait for part 2 so I can start floating again. 

3. Logan

This is where it starts getting tricky as I changed around the top 3 so many times as I love them all but I had to come up with an official order so here it is. First off Logan. Holy shit how did this movie end up so good? This might actually be the best comic book movie since The Dark Knight which is saying A LOT, it's that good. 
We all knew this was Hugh Jackman's final ride as Logan and he was sent out in spectacular fashion in a heartwrenching story that may leave you with a few tears. So long Wolverine. 

Number 1 and 2 are basically interchangeable seeing as I keep changing my mind on which one I like more. 

2. Blade Runner 2049

I was nervous about this one before release. I'm a big fan of the original Blade Runner, and making a sequel at this point just seemed like a cash grab. Turns out that was far from the truth as this may actually be better than the original. Sadly it didn't do too well at the box office which is a shame because I would love to see more movies like this. Visually stunning, a great cast, intriguing story and a ton of symbolism make this an absolute must watch. Can't wait for the Blu Ray release. 

1. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I think everyone knew this was going to be here. I'm actually just back from seeing it for the fourth time and I still think it's an absolute masterpiece. It's definitely a controversial one as it has split the fan base down the middle due to some of it's story choices. While I won't spoil them, I love the story here and how it totally played with our expectations while providing a massive sci-fi blockbuster for the ages. Hell I'll even say it's my second favourite in the franchise. 

Well here's my choices for 2017. I'm gonna start reviewing fresh soon, so keep an eye out for more reviews. Also make sure to check out Chew Bubblegum and Kick Ass on Facebook where I post my reviews and there's some other great posts and podcasts worth a look as well.