Tag 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.

6 Comments

Filed under Movie Reviews, movies, Ridley Scott, Sci-Fi, science fiction

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.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Comics, H.R. Giger, Ridley Scott

Review: PROMETHEUS: FIRE AND STONE #1

From PROMETHEUS: FIRE AND STONE by Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra

From PROMETHEUS: FIRE AND STONE by Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra

The expanded fictional universe of Alien and Predator kicks off with the first issue of the Dark Horse Comics massive crossover series, “Prometheus: Fire and Stone,” continuing after the events of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. The combined talent of writer Paul Tobin and artist Juan Ferreyra provide an immersive and cinematic experience throughout this comic. We begin with a perfect plot device: Clara, one of the crew members, is in charge of a video documentary that provides us with various introductions.

This is the new crew sent out to see what happened to the old crew that went out to explore a most lonely and mysterious moon known as LV-223. It is definitely known to be mineral-rich so there’s one motivation to seek it out. But it could very well hold the key to unlocking the secrets of all creation. A relatively esoteric notion and quite possibly a deadly one.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Dark Horse Comics, Juan Ferreyra, Paul Tobin