Alien: Covenant (2017)

 

The crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination, and must attempt a harrowing escape.

Highly professional sequel to the director's Prometheus and a great addition to the Alien saga offers a more stringent plot than the predecessor and offers lots of visually stunning scenes and shock moments; Fassbender is perfect in his android double role.

On renewed viewing:  I especially enjoy the fantastic scenery and Michael Fassbender's performance.

On rewatching: Worth the watch just to discover new details. 

 

 

Prometheus (2012)

 

A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe.

All the ingredients are there, and certainly this has been made by an intelligent craftsman and a great cast, but the plot doesn't add this all up and has too many open ends.

On renewed viewing: I still agree with my first assessment: the script is muddled, but the movie does deliver some of the goods.

On re-watching: meanwhile this film has become a guilty pleasure.

Maltin ***: "Companion piece to Scott's ALIEN offers echos of that film in both good and not-so-good ways: it's thoughtful and intelligent, with two strong female characters, and masterfully crafted, but gives way to icky, gross-out moments...right up to the end. Fassbender is a standout as a sly, watchful robot who's one step ahead of everyone else."

 

The Light Between Oceans (2016)

A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from a drifting rowing boat.

Unabashedly old-fashioned tearjerker with good performances and beautiful scenic cinematography; watchable, but keep a handkerchief at hand. 

Steve Jobs (2015)

Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.

Energetic, breathless tour-de-force character study easily makes one forget that it mostly consists of talking heads; Winslet and Fassbender deliver amazing performances.

Slow West (2015)

A young Scottish man travels across America in pursuit of the woman he loves, attracting the attention of an outlaw who is willing to serve as a guide.

Indeed slow (and short) elegiac Western gives its conventional story depth with its good cast, beautiful landscape cinematography and a sense for the madness of violence.

Jane Eyre (2011)

A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.

Masterful adaptation of  Charlotte Brontë's classic novel is brilliant in all departments and manages to translate the complex relationship to the screen, highlighted by the perfect performances by Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender.

Maltin***: "Wasikowska is well cast...Exquisite but restrained interpretation rests largely on its talented leading lady's shoulders. Screenwriter Moira Buffini has juggled the chronology of the novel but retained its dramatic power."

Alien: Covenant (2017)

The crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination, and must attempt a harrowing escape.

Highly professional sequel to the director's Prometheus and a great addition to the Alien saga offers a more stringent plot than the the predecessor and offers lots of visually stunning scenes and shock moments; Fassbender is perfect in his android double role.

On renewed viewing:  I especially enjoy the fantastic scenery and Michael Fassbender's performance

Town Creek (2009)

(aka Blood Creek)

A man and his brother on a mission of revenge become trapped in a harrowing occult experiment dating back to the Third Reich.

A preposterous story is given the nonstop full action treatment, but little horror; Michael Fassbender as the supernatural villain is unrecognizable.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

The crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination, and must attempt a harrowing escape.

Highly professional sequel to the director's Prometheus and a great addition the the Alien saga offers a more stringent plot than the the predecessor and offers lots of visually stunning scenes and shock moments; Fassbender is perfect in his android double role.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.

Visually pleasing and action-ridden installment in the X-Men series is unfortunately over-populated with mutants and stuffed with so many sub-plots that it's difficult to comprehend the individual intentions and rivalries.

Maltin***: "Provocative idea is overcome at times by visual bombast, but the ticking-clock structure works well. New mutants in the future segments don't get much to do;..Not quite a bull's-eye, but still highly watchable for devoted fans, who will also cheer a handful of cameos."

Prometheus (2012)

A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe.

All the ingredients are there, and certainly this has been made by an intelligent craftsman and a great cast, but the plot doesn't add this all up and has too many open ends.

On renewed viewing: I still agree with my first assessment: the script is muddled, but the movie does deliver some of the goods.

Maltin ***: "Companion piece to Scott's ALIEN offers echos of that film in both good and not-so-good ways: it's thoughtful and intelligent, with two strong female characters, and masterfully crafted, but gives way to icky, gross-out moments...right up to the end. Fassbender is a standout as a sly, watchful robot who's one step ahead of everyone else."

The Counselor (2013)

A lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking.

Fascinating left-field (and downbeat) thriller plays out its plot like an ancient tragedy about guilt and fate; excellently directed with a stellar cast of characters.

Maltin*1/2: "Grimly fascinating train wreck of a movie. Novelist Cormac McCarthy, in his first screenplay, provides an all-star cast with dialogue so dense it's indecipherable...Opens with a sexy sequence under the bed-sheets with him [Michael Fassbender] and Cruz, but it's downhill from there. Fetishists might check out the scene where cold-blooded Diaz makes love to a Ferrari, but there's nothing else to recommend here, despite a formidable lineup of actors."

[N.B.: I usually force myself to write my 'review' in a single sentence only, but in this case I might need to add some thoughrts. Before watching this movie I was aware that it had got quite a few negative reviews and it was rumored that the plot was impossible to follow. However, I found no problem following the story; maybe I was in advanatge, since I've read all of McCarthy's novels and knew what to expect of him. The script is indeed unusual as it is elliptical, but it is construed to enable you to connect the dots. Similarly, you needn't know the full background of the characters' motivations, since it is based on the one central motive: greed. That said I find this to be an amazing and excellent movie, but slightly inferior to No Country For Old Men, which you can comapre it with.]

X: First Class (2011)

In 1962, the United States government enlists the help of Mutants with superhuman abilities to stop a malicious dictator who is determined to start World War III.

Typical modern-day superhero extravaganza: great production value and some good bits, but very slow to get started and the heroes' diverse superpowers seem silly and arbitrary.

Maltin**1/2: "Good story tries to cover too much ground and introduces an abundance of characters...but the appeal of Marvel's X-Men remains intact, especially in the solid perforances of McAvoy and Fassbender. Newcomers Lawrence and Hoult score while Bacon seems miscast. A couple of surprise cameos will please series fans."

Prometheus (2012)

Following clues to the origin of mankind a team journey across the universe and find a structure on a distant planet containing a monolithic statue of a humanoid head and stone cylinders of alien blood but they soon find they are not alone.