Film Review: Alien

"Ash, That Transmission... Mother's Deciphered Part Of It. It Doesn't Look Like An S.O.S..."

In preparation for what can only be regarded as Ridley Scott's last chance to revive the Alien series once and for all after the middling mediocrity which was 2012's Prometheus, cinema chains across the country are gearing us Xenomorph lovers up for Alien: Covenant with the re-release of the greatest science-fiction horror of all time in the form of the original 1979 Ridley Scott classic which for many, including myself, will be the very first time to witness the menacing threat of the first and very best entry of the everlasting Alien franchise upon the big screen. When it comes to the dissection of such a monumental piece of cinema, the release of Alien came at a time in which a 42 year old Ridley Scott was fresh and ready to begin his second high-profile cinematic release after the completion of the 1977 historical drama The Duellists, and with a script in-hand from American writer Dan O'Bannon, the journey onto the Nostromo was well and truly underway. Assembling a cast which featured an already well-versed acting talent in the form of Tom Skerritt, the Oscar nominated John Hurt and a leading star of Invasion of the Body Snatchers only one year previous in the form of Veronica Cartwright, Ridley Scott's had already embraced a solid acting staple to work from, yet unbeknown to possibly him at the time, the real ace in the hole was the seemingly unknown figure of Sigourney Weaver who in her portrayal of Ellen Ripley created a character who still to this day is as iconic as anyone in the entire backdrop of cinematic history.

With a narrative which is original as it is intelligent and rational, with each of the individual characters having enough solid background and personality to make choices and decisions that are both understandable and lifelike throughout the course of their torment upon the Nostromo, Scott takes the paranoid ambiguity of O'Bannon's script and treats it with equal portions of precision and care, with the real mesmerising features of witnessing Alien on the big screen for the first time dialling down to elements which on the small screen can sometimes be missed and washed over. These outstanding big-screen elements include a wickedly sharp sound design from renowned composer Jerry Goldsmith, one which encompasses the dark and grungy feel of the on-board surroundings of both the Nostromo and the alien planet in which our heroes venture upon, with Goldsmith trading full-blown levels of acoustic mayhem which is rife within modern-day horrors for carefully constructed moments of squeaks and hums which only enhance the oppressive nature of the film and the sheer predatory nature of its' titular murderous specimen. 

 Alongside the awesomeness of the soundtrack, the truly remarkable set design is a mind-boggling sight to behold, with it to this day being as groundbreaking as it is legendary in its' attempts to create a historic mythology which even in contemporary cinematic circles continues to baffle and blow the minds of every true science fiction fanatic out there who in their obsession with the world in which Scott has created link every clue from every subsequent release in order to understand the through-line to which the world of Alien has plated up since its' inception in 1979. Whilst many favour the James Cameron led sequel in the form of Aliens, the action-packed blockbuster which propelled Sigourney Weaver even more into the realms of cult status, my personal favourite of the franchise will always be Alien, a plain and simple masterpiece of cinema which laid the template for so many films that followed and a movie which ticks all the boxes for what I desire when sitting down and spending time delving into a cinematic universe, and with the direction and masterstroke of Ridley Scott, Alien is the type of cinematic universe which offers so much in return and will continue to do so for centuries to come. This is Ripley, signing off.

Overall Score: 10/10

Catch-Up Film Review: Jackie

"I Never Wanted Fame, I Just Became A Kennedy..."

Of the many Oscar nominated movies this year, there are still are few which have managed to slip by my eager eyes even after the conclusion of the ceremony on Sunday, one which ended in a somewhat controversial yet wholly hilarious fashion of course and one which ended up with a final tally of zero wins for Pablo Larraín's first English speaking movie in the form of Jackie, a cinematic adaptation of the life of First Lady Jackie Kennedy, one which focuses primarily on events within her life directly after the infamous assassination of her husband John F. Kennedy in 1963. With critical success all around and a barnstorming level of hype regarding the performance of Natalie Portman in the leading role, Jackie is yet another case of a film this year which suffers from the remarkable amount of reputation which precedes it, and whilst films such as Moonlight, at least on second view, and La La Land are examples of movies which stood up and deserved the many plaudits propelling them forward, Jackie is indeed a solid body of work with some superb individual elements, but ultimately a movie which is not as memorable or exciting as many that have preceded its' release this year. 

Of the most impressive elements of Jackie, Natalie Portman in the leading role is of course as superb as you would expect, with her performance a strangely captivating depiction of one of the most famous faces of the mid 20th century and one which almost requires the audience to tune their ear in order to distinguish performer from performance, particularly in regards to an accent and tone of voice which is extremely peculiar to say the least and actually requires an immediate referral to YouTube in order to find out whether the real Jackie Kennedy actually spoke in such a manner. Alongside Portman, composer Mica Levi continues her supermassive success in Under the Skin with an equally eerie soundtrack, one which succinctly captures the sense of strangeness of a post-assassination life of Jackie Kennedy whilst also seeming entirely out of place, with it having a sense of belonging to a knuckle-biting horror flick instead in a surrealist Lynchian-esque conundrum. Whilst these individual elements are impressive, the winding narrative of the movie becomes mildly dwindling after a while where the second half of the movie doesn't carry the immediate captivation of the first, resulting in a very solid adaptation of one of the most respected First Lady's to ever grace the White House. 

Overall Score: 7/10

Hercules (2014) - Can you smell what Hercules is cooking? - Review - SPOILERS

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is back, semi-naked and as big as ever. We all know Johnson isn't an actor that can play a role in the calibre of Dicaprio's Wolf of Wall Street or 12 Years a Slave's Chiwetel Ejiofor. Raised in the WWE(F), he was always going to be a showman, a man of the people if you will. Action was his forte and that is where he belongs. Tag him in for Expendables 4 and we're in for a treat. If Stallone would like to get him, that would be wonderful.

Moving on. Hercules isn't really the Hercules many of us have seen in the past. Obviously we have followed him take on the giant evils of the world from the Hydra to the Nemean Lion but now we have glossed over them. To avoid the typical remake, they showed Hercules after these events. A mere mercenary driven away from Athens due to the death of his family which was detailed as a murder by him. Obviously, this is not true. If you couldn't have guessed that from the off-set, you really need to start watching some decent TV. As a mercenary, Hercules and his entourage are called upon by the King of Thrace to defend the land from the a dark tyranny in the civil war but all doesn't really go to plan. Plot wise, the story is nothing extreme. Yeah, there's a few twists and turns but its nothing we haven't already seen.

Previously I spoke about The Rock's acting. Obviously it wasn't wondrous. Although I'm aware he passed out several times while filming the scene with the chains which he requested to be iron to make it feel real, it seems like an attempt to appear as a better actor than he really easy and wasn't a very extreme moment to watch. Often enough, I didn't feel that Johnson really had the vocal depth to really do Hercules justice, especially on a battlefield. To be completely frank, the general acting was actually pretty poor. Ian McShane was alright and fairly funny at points but in the reality of things, he couldn't carry as cast that look as if they are just there for some fun. With American Horror Stories Joseph Fiennes I expect a lot more from someone which such credible material behind them but with a character that walks like a moron whose arms have locked into the stupidest position imaginable and has a back-story of the characters from 50 Shades of Grey, I can't pin all the blame on him.

Because I may be worth it

The real reason Hercules is going to make money is because its an action movie. Although I have to give fair warning that in the 90 minute film, the last 30 minutes were where the action became truly enjoyable. With the attack on a settlement of bewitched corpses, I can't understand how repetitive and simple it all is. Considering Hercules tropes around with a damn club and completely ignores the enormous blade he has hanging around his cart, you would think that this club is something magical but its neigh on useless against a bloody horde. One instance, which somehow made it through into the cinema was one of the corpses running at the King. It appears that someone decided to max out the contrast button and then add a splash of faeces and PVA him onto the silver screen onto to be splatted away seconds later. At points the visuals were decent but the incredibly bad instance is something that haunts producers and directors and none of them actually picked up on it.

A half decent story, a cast of actors who don't really act, alright action and visual incidents resembling that of the inside of a lab monkey's cage all seem like really bad ideas to see this movie. Although Hercules stands as a movie that is so bad, it's good. The last 30 minutes were actually decent in general and Ian McShane's inevitable death was somewhat ruined in the trailer but if you really fancy something where you can watch Dwayne Johnson shout a lot, this is the movie for you. I may be being a little extreme on the whole thing but the movie seems like a 6/10 for me.