Alien (1979) - 4K Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written March 7th, 2019*

It's always pure joy for me to get to see one of my favourite films of mine at the cinema. Even better when it's presented in a gorgeous 4K remaster like the one displayed here. I've had a long history with the Alien franchise, I used to frequently watch Alien and Aliens on DVD on repeat as a kid, but I always liked this one more than Aliens. I just prefer the slow-burn slasher aspect of this to the more action-heavy sequel. The less said about Alien 3 and Resurrection the better though.

Being it's 40th anniversary, this still holds up extremely well. This is Ridley Scott on the top of his game. There is so much detail in every part of the production design, from intricate Nostromo ship to the foggy alien planet, everything is a feast for the eyes. Made even better with its reference quality 4K transfer. One I will be buying when it hits disc in late April.

It carries a very simplistic plot. A crew of a spaceship investigate a distress signal on a planet while on their way back to Earth, but end up bringing in an Alien entity that slowly starts to pick off the crew one by one. 

What helps most is how likeable the crew are at the beginning. We spend a good 50 minutes or so with these characters before the chaos starts. The cast all work well off each other, making for some surprisingly decent bursts of humour that I had completely forgotten were in this film. Sigourney Weaver is obviously the most developed of the characters, but it's a stroke of genius that she doesn't become front and centre until very late into the film, making me appreciate how much of a surprise her survival and role must have been back when this released. Weaver herself is fantastic though, a strong female lead that takes control of the situation and is never once a damsel in distress, making for one of the most iconic characters in sci-fi.

The Alien itself is still an absolute masterclass in creature design. The practical costume looks incredible and is used just enough to keep it mysterious and intimidating. It really shows that less is more, using the shadows and dark areas to hide various parts of the costume is a smart move that pays off in spades. I wish the franchise would go back to its roots and use suits like this again, as this holds up far better than the overly CGI look of the creatures in Alien: Covenant, which was only 2 years ago. 

I won't lie when I say some things just do not hold up. It's easy to make fun of a film made 40 years ago, but I could see why some people could find some of the effects a bit cheesy and laughable. In particular, after the alien bursts out of John Hurts chest, it runs across the table, and it looks a bit dodgy to say the least. Then there's the scene where Ash starts to malfunction and make weird sounds while all I could think of is he might just puking up lots of cum. 

I also miss what a talented filmmaker Ridley Scott used to be before having one of the most hit-and-miss careers of any director I can think of. He uses everything to his advantage here to rack out tension from nearly every scene. It's such a shame he's never managed to live up to this high standard as he continues to try continue the Alien franchise, but never coming close to what made this original film so great.

The sound design is utterly insane here too. Jerry Goldsmith's score is one for the books and seeing this in a loud theatre with surround sound was such a treat. It made me appreciate just how important sound design is to a film like this and how much it brings to the tension and dread of the whole thing.


Alien is still a defining sci-fi horror classic and easily the peak of the series. One of my favourite films of all-time brought back to life with a gorgeous 4K transfer that makes me appreciate a film I already loved so much. The peak of the franchise and possibly Ridley Scott's career. Pure cinema. 

10/10 Dans

Alien is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK with a 4K UHD release due out April 22nd with a steelbook available from Zavvi to pre-order

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All the Money in the World (2017) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written January 9th, 2017*

"All the Plummer in the World"

Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World will be remembered more for the controversy surrounding Kevin Spacey's removal due to his sexual harassment claims, which in all honesty, is more interesting than the actually film itself.

This is pretty middle of the road Ridley Scott. He's a director who just isn't capable of the greatness he once was. This is far more in line with the director of Body of Lies or American Gangster than the man who created masterpieces like Blade Runner or Alien. There's a fascinating true story here about the kidnap of the grandson of a billionaire and the reluctance to pay the ransom. It's just a shame that is completely by the numbers.

This is by no means a bad film, but it is massively overlong and drags so much. The opening act jumps around in time giving us backstory to all these characters, which wasn't really needed. Scenes that feel they should have tension really don't. There are some moments during the kidnap that are quite engaging, but it doesn't last or it cuts to something else. 

The whole thing surrounding Kevin Spacey is an odd one. We'll sadly never see the Spacey cut, but Christopher Plummer does steal the show as the utterly sadistic and sociopathic Paul Getty. A man who is essential a live-action portrayal of Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants. While his performance is a little hammy and over the top, it is certainly effective and elevated the film with his presence.

Michelle Williams also delivers an excellent performance as the mother of the kidnapped grandson, I was a bit distracted by her accent at first, but she quickly won me over. Mark Wahlberg was also well.... Mark Wahlberg, doing his usual Mark Wahlberg thing, don't get me wrong, I really like Mark Wahlberg, but there's something off about him in serious and not goofy roles that are much more suited to him.

I hate to say it, but if he was still alive, this would feel far more suited to Tony Scott, who has always been better at this sort of film than his brother. Scott's direction here is very bland and forgettable, I'm going to have trouble remembering anything about this that wasn't Christopher Plummer in a few days.


All the Money in the World isn't terrible, but it is very forgettable and lacks the tension a story like this deserves. It's lesser Scott and is saved mostly due to Christopher Plummer's excellent performance.

6/10 Dans

All the Money in the World is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Robin Hood (2010) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written May 29th, 2017*

I'm not sure if Robin Hood every needed a "gritty" and "realistic" adaptation, but here we have it. Starring Russell Crowe as he once again continues to be fightin' round the world and directed by Ridley Scott. It's similar to Gladiator in a lot of ways, mostly due to the style and aesthetic, but it's never as good.

The only other exposure to Robin Hood I've had is with the brilliant Disney animated film and the severely underrated BBC show that 12 year old Dan loved. I'm sure the BBC series is probably campy Saturday night viewing garbage that I'll probably find terrible now (Much like Doctor Who *Shudders*), but for a 12 year old it's good shit.

This is a darker and more violent take on Robin Hood and it doesn't really work. It was an okay film for the most part, it's a little bloated and goes through a lot of stretches that are quite boring, but the action scenes are actually quite great and well realized. There's an impressive level of work put into the set-design, everything looks practical and real, the final battle at the end is awesome.

Russell Crowe Fightin' Round the World

I think my biggest complaint is that it really isn't a fun film, it's dark and brooding, but never really fun. I've always seen Robin Hood as a light-hearted and fun character with humour, here it's just kinda bland. Russell Crowe does a fine job, but it's a shame that we never once see him really "Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor", instead we have a more or less historical war film with English folklore thrown in to the mix.

I don't really have a lot to say about Robin Hood really. I enjoyed more than I remember, but it's far from a great film. It's concept just doesn't make for a really gritty film. It reminds me a little of 2017's Power Rangers film, but this is way better than that disaster, but suffers from some of same problems.

Robin Hood and his Merry Men

The biggest shame of Robin Hood is that it had the potential to be, say, as good as Gladiator, but Ridley Scott is not the director he's used to be. He peaked in the '70s and '80s, but merely makes mediocrity these days (With The Martian being a huge exception). I guess I'm trying to say I miss good Ridley Scott.

There's also a hint of a sequel at the end, which unsurprisingly never happened, and to be honest, I'm not really bothered by that. Robin Hood is merely an okay film with some excellent technical aspects and action, but mostly fails as a franchise starter. Meh.

6/10 Dans

Robin Hood is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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Alien: Covenant (2017) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written May 11th, 2017*

Well, Alien: Covenant is a noticeable improvement on Prometheus at the very least, but it still has a few of the same problems and I can't just help but feel a bit disappointed seeing as this was one of my most anticipated films of 2017.

Ridley Scott returns to the Alien universe once again with the direct sequel to the Alien prequel 'Prometheus' and it answers a few of the lingering questions Prometheus left behind and creates some new questions to be answered with the inevitable and planned sequels.

Alien: Covenant opens with a new crew and a new ship of future Xenomorph victims who decide to respond to a distress beacon on a previously unseen planet that is capable of holding alien life. Things soon go awry and get gory when they discover eveything is far from safe on this new planet.

Where Covenant improves on Prometheus is with its cast and sense of momentum. The crew of the Covenant are far more likeable and well rounded than anyone in the previous film, there's even a surprisingly good role for Danny McBride, who actually doesn't play Kenny Powers for once. There's an added sense of dread when it's revealed that the crew members are all actually married couples. Bringing a bit more weight once they start getting picked off one by one.

An ugly CGI Xenomorph

I was surprised at just how much it seems to follow the original Alien beat for beat. The lead character played by Katherine Waterson doesn't really have much focus until the final act, much like Ripley in the original. That said, Waterson cannot hold a candle to Sigourney Weaver, as her character is fine, but not massively worth investing in.
Michael Fassbender returns once again, delivering a wonderful dual role as two seperate androids (Playing both David from Prometheus and the new Walter). As sinister and terrifying as Fassbender's performance is, which does get more and more horrifying as more is revealed.

The problem with Covenant, is once again within the writing. It's all fairly straight forward, but once it hits the second act, it succumbs to that annoying self-important and pretentious philosophy that annoyed me more than anything. While it does also answer some questions from Prometheus, it does some frustrating and very disappointing things with it. Two well known actors who were confirmed to be in this film are wasted and pointlessly. There is an horrific visual with one of them, but it doesn't make up for the fact it wastes the actor completely.

Speaking of horrific visuals. Alien: Covenant really does earn its 15/R rating. It is so much more gory and horrific than Prometheus. With the new alien creatures involved, there's a variety of different ways these version of Xenomorphs burst out of people, some of these are sadly spoiled by the trailer, but it was none the less, horrific.

Sadly, once the fully grown Xenomorph enters the picture, the blood and gore sort of loses most of its impact. The Xenomorph itself is annoyingly all CGI, really noticeable CGI and seeing it tear through people lacks any sort of impact and has nowhere near the same effect of seeing that perfectly designed suit burst through someones head in 1979.

Lovely Fassbender

The aliens itself might be disappointing to look at, but everything else is gorgeous. The wide shots of the environments are beautiful to look at, brimming with detail. The ships also feel and look practical with no noticeable green screen in site. I have to give Ridley Scott credit, he's 79 and still making these huge blockbuster films and risky ones at that. Alien: Covenant is a weird film, it's really uneven and tonally messy, but it's also a massive budget R-rated sci-fi film, which is a rarity these days, so while I didn't massively love it, I hope people support it and it is succesful.

I did really like the end at least. It was predictable, but it was at least a fun nihlistic ending that puts the series in an interesting place for the next entry. I would have liked the third act as a whole more if they'd gone a bit more practical with it. They seem to have gone back to its roots with its finale, but it loses most of its tension and fear thanks to that terrible CGI Xenomorph.

Alien: Covenant isn't a great film and I am a bit disappointed, but it is a marginal improvement on Prometheus and a step in the right direction for the franchise, it also might be the best in the series since Aliens.

6/10 Dans

Alien: Covenant is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Prometheus (2012) - Film Review

Review:
*Originally written May 11th, 2017*

On the road to Alien: Covenant, I decided to revisit every film in the Alien series (Excluding AVP, although I did shamefully rewatch those recently by mistake). With Covenant landing tomorrow, I finally got to Prometheus, the first prequel in the franchise.

This might be the fifth viewing of Prometheus for me since its release in 2012, and it is still the confused and frustrating experience I remember it being. I did at least appreciate a few things a bit more this time around, although my opinion still leans towards a negative overall feeling towards the film.

I know Prometheus was never intended as a direct prequel to Alien when it was made and released, but seeing as it is now part of a series leading up to the original Alien, it feels a bit messy. I do like that we're leading up to the eventually creation/discovery of the Xenomorph race, I even didn't mind the that little stinger at the end of that baby proto-xeno thing, but everything with the giant albino aliens was laughable at best.

Some giant albino alien *Shrugs*

It's a common criticism of Prometheus, but still a criticism. This film asks way more questions that it answers, which isn't a big concern, in fact it could be a positive if I was invested in these characters or journey, but I'm not. My biggest problem is the characters. I never once cared for any of these crew members, who range from annoying to stupid. Aside from Michael Fassbender bringing more class than the rest of the cast put together, everyone is wasted and forgettable.

I can suspend my disbelief so far, but it is borderline insulting to the audience when the script treats them to the dumbest scientists possibly to ever be put on screen. They do things no real human being would do, it's more script based than the actors fault, but these characters are frustrating to say the least. On top of these dumb characters, the script is full of cringe-worthy and terrible lines.

It is quite amazing that Michael Fassbender is playing an emotionless android, but manages to bring more life to his character than anyone else in Prometheus. Some of my favourite scenes were from the short time we see with him on the ship during the opening where he's just passing the time by watching Lawrence of Arabia and imitating what he saw in the mirror.

Michael Fassbender and Android 'David'

The biggest shame really is that this was director Ridley Scott's first time back into the Alien universe since his 1979 masterpiece that started it all. None of the personal terror or shock is there. It all feels bloated and up its own arse with its self-important philosophy on gods and where humans came from. I'm not asking for a mindless slasher fest, but something a bit more than this.

While Prometheus feels insanely tame for a film in the Alien series, there is one geniune moments of body-horror involving a self-induced abortion that was harrowing to watch, it was probably one of the most nerve-wracking scenes in the entire franchise.

Visually at least, Prometheus really is a feast for the eyes. Every scene is detailed, beautiful and filled with information. A lot of sets are practical and feel lived in, which I have to praise. even the CGI doesn't feel distracting, as it looks really, really good. I particuarly loved the the hologram maps.

Prometheus is a frustrating and unrewarding experience, it also doesn't have much to offer for Alien fans thanks to its terrible script, bland characters and general messiness, but for whatever reason, I seem to come back to it frequently.

5/10 Dans

Prometheus is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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