Showing posts with label Alien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alien. Show all posts
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Um, wow. I'm putting it out there to say I'm totally loving Michael Fassbender just a little bit right now. I hadn't caught on to the Fassywagon yet (to be fair, Hunger is taped on my DVR waiting to be watched), but I get it now. I sat through half of Prometheus just marvelling at him. He was the best thing about this film. And then I find out he's Irish/German. Enough said.
In my excitement for the lead-up, I also did mini-reviews for the Alien quadrilogy. Man, Ellen Ripley is a champ.
Prometheus (MA15+)
WHEN Sir Ridley Scott brought Alien to cinemas all those years ago, he presented a story that
left most questions unanswered. With the three subsequent films that formed the
Alien quadrilogy, how the aliens came
to be and why they were so hell bent on destroying Earthlings was never
addressed. But Scott’s idea of that concept went deeper as he weaved his way
back into the franchise, travelling on a road to discover where mankind comes
from and why we exist.
Set 37 years before events of the original film, Elizabeth
Shaw’s (Noomi Rapace) job as an archaelogist is to answer some of life’s
biggest questions. She is sponsored by The Weyland Corporation, aka The
Company, to travel two years through space with partner Charlie Holloway (Logan
Marshall-Green) and attempt to meet their makers, the ‘Engineers’. But things
start going wrong when the crew of Prometheus mess with the nature of planet
LV-223.
With an excellent cast including Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron
and Idris Elba, Rapace holds her own as Shaw, seeking answers and avoiding
confrontation with what they find. But Michael Fassbender as android David is most
commanding, subtle in his disturbing ways and taking matters into his own hands
as he questions the superiority humans think they have.
The 3D edition enhances Scott’s vision, which is something
to behold. The planet they discover is barren, but what they find is
extraordinary. His idea of what the Engineers turn out to be is confronting and
allows room for even more questions of the theories of existence. It’s a
welcome return for Scott to the franchise, the suspense maintained as it creeps
towards an inevitable link with the films of old. Yes, there are nasty
multi-mouthed aliens.
Rating: 4/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 9/6/2012
***
A Room with a View
(1986)
This period drama based on E.M. Forster’s 1908 novel on
Edwardian England is a bit odd for its sort, not in the direction but the story
itself. Characters seemingly ahead of their time are pushed to the side and scenes
including nude frolicking and wild screaming manage to present the males as
rather strange.
Lucy (Helena Bonham Carter) travels to Florence, Italy, with
her prim and proper cousin Charlotte (Maggie Smith), where they meet
like-minded travellers in their hotel. Among them are Mr Emerson (Denholm
Elliott) and his son George (Julian Sands), forward-thinkers who aren’t
perceived as positive influences by Charlotte.
George and Lucy have a moment after Lucy witnesses a murder
and faints at the scene and George acts on it while out on a country trip, kissing
her in the fields before Charlotte finds them and forbids any further contact.
Back in England, Lucy is soon engaged to the respectable Cecil (Daniel
Day-Lewis) but when the Emersons appear in town her world is shaken up yet
again.
The film was well-received following its release, winning
three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe for Smith. The beautiful Tuscan setting
for part of the film helps its appeal, but the story is one that stops and
starts suddenly; it isn’t hard to follow but lacks detail on the development of
the central relationship, which disappoints.
But the performances are all spot on, Maggie Smith perfectly
English as the uptight and pitiful Charlotte and Day-Lewis is entertaining as a
fiancé with no knowledge of intimacy, while Bonham Carter still exudes an
ever-so-slight kookiness to Lucy, a naïve girl who becomes muddled as she’s
torn between her two admirers.
*Published in the Mailbox Shopper (Dubbo) from Wednesday 6/6/2012
*Published in the Mailbox Shopper (Dubbo) from Wednesday 6/6/2012
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEWS? See what I thought of What To Expect When You're Expecting and Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night.
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Wednesday, June 06, 2012
The exclamation marks in the title may signify how excited I am. And of this year's releases it was not a film I would have imagined to be one of my most anticipated. But I've geared myself up and immersed myself in Ellen Ripley's world over the last five days.
Okay, so Ripley's not in this one, I know that. But I wanted to know the full history behind the return of the franchise.
I'd only seen Alien before and thought it was quite good. Aliens was a high priority for some time on the have-to-borrow list but never got around to it before now. I just want to say that I think Sigourney Weaver is just amazing as Ripley, I could never imagine anyone replicating her in that role. And she was 48 by the time Alien: Resurrection was made. I was shocked to realise today that she's 63. 63! She looks incredible.
Anyway, to compliment my review of Prometheus, which will be up on Saturday night as per usual, I watched these to provide mini-reviews. In short, I loved Alien and Aliens, didn't mind Alien 3 and hated Alien: Resurrection. Science fiction has never been so creepy. I'm so excited that Ridley Scott's back for the prequel. And I'll have a similarly excited crew accompanying me for a change which is always nice. We can all be crazy excited together.
***
Alien (1979)
The quadrilogy begins with Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the crew of Nostromo landing on planet LV-426 to investigate an SOS signal. They find a pretty nasty little alien that makes itself at home on board but is nothing compared to what comes next. Ridley Scott’s vision is terrifying and fascinating, and Weaver’s comfort with Ripley from the start carries the film to a strong finish. 4.5/5
Aliens (1986)
Regarded as one of cinema’s best sequels, Ripley returns to find LV-426 has been colonised and returns to face her demons when there are reports of disappearances from the administration. There’s a lot more action, plenty of twists and a Ripley who is a force to be reckoned with. What should be a typical blockbuster cuts above its weight. James Cameron takes credit for that one. 4.5/5
Regarded as one of cinema’s best sequels, Ripley returns to find LV-426 has been colonised and returns to face her demons when there are reports of disappearances from the administration. There’s a lot more action, plenty of twists and a Ripley who is a force to be reckoned with. What should be a typical blockbuster cuts above its weight. James Cameron takes credit for that one. 4.5/5
Alien 3 (1992)
David Fincher’s stamp on the franchise has Ripley fall into a dark place as she finds the aliens have a particular liking for her. Landing on a penal colony with maximum security-jailed prisoners as her team, she struggles mentally and physically with finishing the bastards off once and for all. An edgier soundtrack and darker characters make for an interesting arc but it just doesn’t manage to reach the heights of the first two, even with a great ending. 3/5
David Fincher’s stamp on the franchise has Ripley fall into a dark place as she finds the aliens have a particular liking for her. Landing on a penal colony with maximum security-jailed prisoners as her team, she struggles mentally and physically with finishing the bastards off once and for all. An edgier soundtrack and darker characters make for an interesting arc but it just doesn’t manage to reach the heights of the first two, even with a great ending. 3/5
Alien: Resurrection (1997)
The franchise ends like the Twilight Saga – number four should never have been created. Ripley is brought back to civilisation 200 years after her death as a clone and is used by The Company to breed a queen alien. The aliens escape the research labs as a rogue crew come on the ship. With an extremely 90s feel to it, Joss Whedon’s script is poor. Ripley’s turn as an alien sympathiser doesn’t suit her (although Weaver is still very effective) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s direction fails to make an impact. 1.5/5
The franchise ends like the Twilight Saga – number four should never have been created. Ripley is brought back to civilisation 200 years after her death as a clone and is used by The Company to breed a queen alien. The aliens escape the research labs as a rogue crew come on the ship. With an extremely 90s feel to it, Joss Whedon’s script is poor. Ripley’s turn as an alien sympathiser doesn’t suit her (although Weaver is still very effective) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s direction fails to make an impact. 1.5/5
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