Saturday, May 13, 2017

Movie Review … Alien Convenant

Since 1979, the ‘Alien’ series have scared audiences.  The tale of a crew’s fight against a seemingly unstoppable alien captured and spooked the imagination. It made stars out of Sigourney Weaver and director Ridley Scott.  Returning to science fiction with the Alien prequel ‘Prometheus’, Scott unwrapped a new chapter in the saga.  ‘Alien Covenant’ is the 6th film in the series with his abilities in telling an effective story still evident.  His latest should raise a shackle or two with space still a place where no one can hear you scream.

The colony ship Covenant is looking for a habitable planet.  Amongst the crew are android Walter (Michael Fassbender), Jacob (James Franco) and Daniels (Katherine Waterston).  Attempting to form a cohesive team, their personal issues are put aside for the mission. When discovering a planet looking like nirvana, they think they have succeeded.  They quickly discover they have walked into peril.  As an army of evil creatures begin hunting them, the crew do everything to survive a potential alien onslaught.

‘Alien Covenant’ is an intense ride echoing the original ‘Alien’.  Its plot is almost an exact copy going for a simpler narrative than ‘Prometheus’ muddled one.  Whilst fans may deride the increased focus on action than drama, Covenant works due to Scott’s lean story-telling style.  There’s an engrossing tale to discover even if it doesn’t have much personal depth.  It’s as emotionally distant as many of Scott’s movies as his talent for atmosphere and action rarely fails to transfer to crafting engaging characters.  He puts them through interesting situations with ‘Alien Covenant’ providing new wrinkles on classic deadly scenarios.

The biggest asset of ‘Alien Covenant’ is the CGI which is amazing.  You genuinely feel you are on the otherworldly plains along with the Covenant crew. The attention to detail is staggering and the action set pieces are expertly realised.  The performers bring stoic conviction to their roles despite none of them truly standing out.  Most seem fodder for the expected deaths although how they die conjures morbid fascination.  It’s tough being original in a 6th film in a franchise but to its credit ‘Alien Covenant’ brings new ideas to the table.

A reasonably scary alien space yarn ‘Alien Covenant’ does what it promises.  It has a bit of everything to satisfy most tastes in spite of not having much happening underneath its action smothered veneer.  Scott has promised at least three more entries in the series proving an alien’s menace is no match for the lure of further box office dollars.


Movie Review Rating out of 10:  7

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.


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Movie Review … Snatched

Goldie Hawn makes a long-awaited return to movie screens with ‘Snatched’.  Utilising her comedic skills to good effect, it’s nice seeing her again.  Roles for ladies of a ‘certain age’ are scarce in the youth-obsessed industry that is Hollywood with dozens of great actresses falling by the wayside.  Hawn has bided her time to settle on a comeback.  ‘Snatched’ ably fits the bill.  Her gift for raising laughs has remained undimmed proving why audiences have enjoyed her work over the years.

Emily (Amy Schumer) is looking forward to a vacation to a glorious paradise with her boyfriend. When he dumps her on the eve of their travels, she decides to invite her mother Linda (Goldie Hawn).  Complete opposites with Emily’s carefree ways an anathema to Linda’s careful demeanour.  Whilst working through their differences, they are kidnapped.  Jungle escapades, wicked thieves and mayhem ensure as mother and daughter partake in an unusual bonding session.

Without Goldie Hawn’s presence ‘Snatched’ would be totally forgettable. Predictable and prone to toilet humour for laughs, it goes for easy cheap gags than crafting anything witty.  Descending to the gutter is simple – working at creating genuine mirth takes talent.  There’s not much here as Emily and Linda go from one ridiculous scenario to the next. Their escapades get more outlandish, robbing the narrative of believability.  Hawn and Schumer make for a good team even if the script falls apart quicker than the quipped lines.

‘Snatched’ falls apart mostly due to poor editing.  Scenes change so fast you wonder how characters got from A to B.  Jonathan Levine’s pedestrian direction goes through the motions without much flair or originality.  The plot has been seen many times before with only the leads’ chemistry and sharp comic timing making it watchable.  The tropical setting looks nice and I’m sure it wouldn’t have been much of a hardship to accept a movie shot in paradise.

If you’re after easy, if crude, laughs then ‘Snatched’ is for you.  There’s an audience for simplistic humour where brain cells aren’t taxed.  Hawn still looks great and hopefully with a better story it won’t be too long before she graces screens again.


Movie Review Rating out of 10:  5

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

Agree with Patrick's Movie Review? Then please use the comment box.

Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.



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Movie Review … Rules Don’t Apply

Nearly twenty years after his last directorial effort, actor/director Warren Beatty returns with ‘Rules Don’t Apply’.  Beatty has never been one to follow any rules except his own.  This has made for a more interesting and diverse career with films such as ‘Bulworth’ and ‘Dick Tracy’.  He’s been away from screen for too long as ‘Rules Don’t Apply’ shows.  He’s lost none of his sparkle with his charismatic presence enlivening proceedings.

Marla (Lily Collins) is an aspiring actress wanting to make it in Hollywood. It’s 1958 and she thinks the world is her oyster.  Under contract to movie mogul Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty), she arrives and meets his driver Frank (Alden Ehrenreich).  Also a young person wanting to go places, Frank and Marla connect via their shared religious beliefs.  Their faith and aspirations become sorely tested as Hughes’ eccentric ways drive them to the edge of Hollywood lunacy.

‘Rules Don’t Apply’ is a narratively mixed bag.  At turns a romantic drama and then screwball comedy, it never settles on one genre.  Perhaps this was meant to reflect Hughes’ mental state as his erratic behaviour is reflected on the uneven script.  Using the young leads’ romance as an angle to explore Hughes’ fragile demeanour which he used it to manipulate people, the screenplay offers some interesting insights.  It doesn’t always work but when it does it’s an occasionally engrossing study of power and madness.

Beatty’s direction is as unfocussed as the story although he brings the best out of his cast.  His ensemble brings energy and gravitas to various situations even if some are wasted.  Collins and Ehrenreich display genuine chemistry allowing for genuine investment in their roles.  Beatty more or less plays himself with added psychosis showing his acting talents have undimmed with age.  He is served well by the gorgeous cinematography and score successfully evoking a bygone era on American movie-making.

More of a patchwork of incidents than a cohesive whole, ‘Rules Don’t Apply’ suffers from poor narrative structure.  It generates interest but not enough to make it memorable.  It’s good seeing Beatty back on screen however and hopefully he won’t leave it too long to return for another cinematic outing.

 
Movie Review Rating out of 10:  6

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

Agree with Patrick's Movie Review? Then please use the comment box.

Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.


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