New Acquisition: House of Gucci (2021)

 

New acquisition: The Last Duel (2021)

 

Blade Runner (1982)

 

Alien (1979)

 

Blade Runner (1982)

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."

 

Alien (1979)

 

After a space merchant vessel receives an unknown transmission as a distress call, one of the crew is attacked by a mysterious life form and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun. 

Superbly directed and highly suspenseful sci-fi thriller, the decrepit spaceship design and especially the truly abhorrent creation of the alien still influence sci-fi and horror movies to this day.

On re-watching: a classic of its genre that reveals new details on every new viewing.

Halliwell****: "Deliberately scarifying and highly commercial shocker. On its own terms, a classic of suspense - and art direction."

Maltin***1/2: "Space-age horror film reverts to 1950s formula, but unfolds at a deliberate pace, populates the story with interesting, colorful characters, and plants its (genuine) shock moments with exceptional skill. Imitated but seldom equaled." 

Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner concept art by Syd Mead (illus. 1980, film 1982)

New acquisition: All the Money in the World (2017)

Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)

The defiant leader Moses rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses, setting 600,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.

Bombastic Biblical epic reliably ticks off the main highlights of the Exodus story, but never goes beyond Cecil B. DeMille's efforts - including the silliness.

 

Gladiator (2000)

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

Blade Runner (1982)

A blade runner must pursue and try to terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.

Groundbreaking sci-fi thriller in noir style with a coherent bleak vision of the future, perfectly designed, still achieves to amaze even today. 

On renewed viewing: still finding wonderful new details, a very rich movie.

Halliwell**: "Gloomy futuristic thriller, looking like a firework display seen through thick fog, and for all the tiring tricks and expense adding up to little more than an updated Philip Marlowe case."

Maltin*1/2: "A triumph of production design, defeated by a muddled script and main characters with no appeal whatsoever. However, the film has a fervent following. Loosely based on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

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.

New acquisition: Alien: Covenant (2017)

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."

Blade Runner (1982)

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.