Category Archives: Ridley Scott

Movie Review: ‘Alien: Covenant’

“Alien: Covenant”

“Alien: Covenant” is a strong stand-alone film. If you knew nothing about the Alien franchise, we have here a set of characters worth getting to know and a plot that holds it own. This time around, it seems that the space inhabited by the crew has opened up a little more and there’s more light. It’s not by any means as perky as Star Trek but the crew feels a bit closer to each other. Everyone seems to trust each other with one exception: Walter, the ship’s android. He’s sort of like Spock but not quite enough.

Michael Fassbender

Michael Fassbender knocks out a devilishly good performance. Or, should I say, two performances. He is Walter, the ship’s android. And, later on, we see David, the “synthetic” crew member from “Prometheus” also played by Michael Fassbender. David, the lone survivor of the Prometheus, has what you can call some major AI problems: too smart for his own good, too idiosyncratic. And when was it ever a good idea for a robot to have too much independence?

Katherine Waterston

As for the newer version, Walter, he can think for himself but knows how to hold back. Bots are spooky to begin with so it’s no surprise that humans don’t warm up to him. However, there is one crew member who genuinely finds Walter to be good company. Daniels (played by Katherine Waterston) is a young woman who just lost her husband in a serious accident on board. Captain Oram (played by Billy Crudup) blames Walter with no real basis to do so. Then there’s Daniels who tries to comfort Walter, and herself, by confiding in him about the plans she had for building a real log cabin on the next space station they settle.

The dynamic of Fassbender, Waterston, and Crudup serve as our foundation. Let the Alien critters descend from wherever they please! You can expect Alien embryos to burst forth from all the bloody spots they usually like to emerge from. Katherine Waterston does a fine job of channeling her best Sigourney Weaver. Billy Crudup is a lot of fun as the captain without all the answers. But it’s Michael Fassbender who is this movie’s undisputed quarterback. If ever Ridley Scott’s more esoteric ruminations on existential matters had a more apt orator, it is, without a doubt, Michael Fassbender.

For more details on “Alien: Covenant,” visit Fox Movies right here and check out the Alien Universe right here.

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Advance Review: ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT #1 by James Stokoe

JAMES STOKOE’S ALIENS

The much anticipated Aliens comic book by James Stokoe, published by Dark Horse Comics, will release on April 26th. ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT is going to be one of the comics highlights for 2017. Let’s take a look.

Page from ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT

James Stokoe has a way of drawing with his light and curved lines gathering up an intoxicating level of details. You could very well tell a whole story just from one panel: the way the wrinkles hug a young woman’s flight suit; the curious waft of steam rising from her cup of coffee; and, no doubt, the cryptic slogan emblazoned across the mug she holds. Now, that means something. Is it here just for irony or perhaps more? We’ll just have to see. Welcome to the first issue of ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT, story, art, and lettering by James Stokoe, published by Dark Horse Comics.

GEOF DARROW VARIANT

Dark Horse provides us here with a shining example of their inventive and daring approach to creating work for a franchise. With Aliens, it’s a dance we readers want to engage in before we get to the monsters. The whole look and feel has to settle into place. We want to gradually get to know the characters. With James Stokoe (Wonton Soup, Orc Stain, Godzilla: The Half-Century War) we have an artist/writer with the passion to engage with each trope and build up something totally enthralling and new.

As we begin this issue, we have the classic set-up of a lone survivor on a rust bucket of a space station. Who is he? What happened? What happens next? Where’s the monster? All valid questions and we get to a lot of them. Wassy, short for Wascylewski, is a chain-smoking hardened soldier. He is willing to keep his head down and do his job. That’s a good plan until things get complicated. Suffice it to say, there’s an incident. Oh, it starts out small but then it builds.

Page from ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT

Character development is really fun and solid here. This is a young crew. Our Captain Hassan comes across as impulsive, sort of a scruffy version of Captain Kirk. Well, sort of. Hassan seems to be on unsteady ground. There’s definitely a lot of unpredictable energy here. This is a crew that seems to already be on a short fuse to begin with. Any of the crew members we meet, perhaps with the exception of one, could prove to be Hassan’s equal, and rival. At least, that’s the sense I get from this dynamic.

I think Stokoe is a total natural at what he does. This is a guy who just loves to draw and to tell stories. The colors are gorgeous. The palette of light blues and oranges is a refreshing alternative to brooding dark greens that we usually associate Alien stories with. I also really appreciate the lettering. Word balloons have a nice organic feel. The lettering itself could actually be hand-drawn. It sure has that nice crisp look that a pro at hand-lettering can achieve. This whole first issue is quite a beauty and no reason to believe the rest won’t be just as stunning. Can’t wait for more!

ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT #1 is available as of April 26, 2017. For more details, visit Dark Horse Comics right here.

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Review: ELEPHANTMEN #59

H.R. Giger homage in Elephantmen #59

H.R. Giger homage in Elephantmen #59

This is an interesting time to drop in on “Elephantmen,” with its tribute to ALIEN designer H.R. Giger, who passed away earlier this year. This is apparently not your typical issue of this comic which finds, according to Image Comics, that “Hip Flask learns that no one is safe now.” That said, it looks like it fits right in with the spirit of this masterfully oddball comic: story by Richard Starkings; art by Axel Medellin; cover by Boo Cook.

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PROMETHEUS: Will Ridley Scott Deliver A Big Event Movie?

“PROMETHEUS,” will it live up to the dreams of Ridley Scott fans?

“ALIEN” is an all-out classic. “BLADE RUNNER” is another masterpiece. Will Ridley Scott deliver yet another amazing sci-fi event movie? Yes and No. From the hints that have been dropped, it sounds like there are enough intriguing connections made to “Alien” to keep things interesting for fans. But then, Scott has talked about how “AVATAR” has raised the bar. Really? “Avatar” is one colossal movie, a major piece of entertainment but the story is rather thin and predictable. In comparison, “Alien” and “Blade Runner” are strikingly original. “Prometheus” will be, should be, a big hit. And I hope a critical success as well. Who knows. They don’t make event movies like they used to. Mr. Scott should know.

Well, then consider the movie’s synopsis/logline:

Visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define, creating an original science fiction epic set in the most dangerous corners of the universe. The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery.

The last word on this: Go see it! The fun begins June 8, 2012.

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