Alien: Covenant: Film Review

Alien: Covenant: Film Review

Cast: Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Danny McBride
Director: Ridley Scott

38 years after the original Alien film delivered the perfect blend of sci-fi and horror in space, director Ridley Scott continues to mine the world as he follows up the muddled pretensions of Prometheus, a film that looked to expand and explore the origins of the xenomorphs.

This time around, Scott tries to once again blend cod philosophy with abject moments of horror as he takes a new crew and plunges them against the perils of planetary exploration and the unknown.

Centring on the crew of the Covenant, an Ark-like project that's hurtling toward a new paradise home with 2000 colonists asleep on board, things start to go awry when the crew are awoken by the effects of a "random localised event."

With an uncertain newly-appointed captain at the helm (played by Crudup), the ship's taken off its course when it receives a transmission that hints at a better planet than the one they've had their sights on. Despite the protestations of Katherine Waterston's Daniels, the ship heads towards the potential new Eden - but on landing, survival becomes anything but certain.

Alien: Covenant mixes both the good and the bad as it tries to unspool its terror among the toe toe story.

But by shifting away from the claustrophobia of the likes of Alien and Aliens, the jump scares end up a little predictable (although nonetheless scary) and almost feeling like they're trying to hit beats and scenes we've seen before with more successful characters. It's a degree of fan service in the extreme, in some ways.

Continuing the prequel vibe that was so brilliantly realised in 2012's Prometheus, pristine white spaceship corridors and wondrous lighting give Alien: Covenant an inescapable sense of style while it's in space. But it's when the film shifts to the murky Milford Sounds that its darkness starts to come through, as large portions are swathed in muddied execution and lighting, as well as rote typical familial tropes.

It's also on the ground that the very familiar tropes of sensible people doing stupid things begins to manifest and the action, such as it is, takes a mind-dumbing turn. It's not massively helped by a a CGI alien that while modelled on HR Giger's original creatures, is less successful in its digital execution. (And subsequent scenes with the alien white make it look like a cross between Xenomorph and the Slenderman mythos, perhaps a nod to the internet sensation that's horrified many).

But to be fair, an early culling of relatively rote and underwritten crew members proves to be a blessing in disguise, an effective tonic to clear out the narrative chaff that would have undermined the story as went on. However, in doing so, the deaths prove to be inconsequential in terms of emotional heft, and serve only to showcase the body horror elements of the Alien's MO. There are nice apocalyptic touches (skeletal remains scatter the entrance to a city) that will fuel a lot of the fan debate after the lights have gone back up.

Elsewhere, while the cod-philosophical elements and talk of Byron/ Shelley/ Ozymandias et al continue to push the "Who am I, where do we all come from, playing God" debate that began in (and over-stuffed large parts of) Prometheus, it's Fassbender's continuing aloof and generally creepy synthetic that pushes a lot of the story forward (in ways that are many and spoilery here) as the story tries to build the myth of the Engineers and their place in Creation.

Fassbender works well as the nightmarish exploration vibe that's wrapped up in suspense and wilfully obtuse execution plays out, and Scott works his usual deft touches in the build-up of suspenseful moments that are peppered throughout. Waterston is initially quite fragile, a soul ripped apart by grief, but whose delicacy becomes hardened by the end, as she channels Ripley. (Though, this is also a problem, as there's really little else to do with the nuances of the character). And McBride does solid dramatic work as the pilot Tennessee, proving that Scott at least can turn expectations around of his actors - even if the script doesn't serve the characters as well.

By stripping out parts of the claustrophobia and trying to mesh parts of Aliens with Alien and mixing it with exposition, Alien:Covenant is a tonally jerky film. With moments of episodic action and sporadic exposition, it loses the primordial fear that the originals instilled, and while its technology and the execution thereof is second to none, the basics of what makes a solid Alien film feel lacking. The back half of it though, soars, with the confrontations that have been wanted and desired

While it's fair to say the Alien elements have teeth once again, the very essence of what made their virulence so terrifying is only slowly coming back to what makes the Alien franchise such a benchmark in sci-fi horror.

At the end of the day, it's simply a case of man versus the unknown that made the first films so iconic; by just adding layers of mythology and delusions of creators as well as their subsequent debate, is stopping the series from going back to its most terrifying basics.

MLB 17: The Show: PS4 Review

MLB 17: The Show: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Sony San Diego

There's something about baseball that clearly resonates.

Given the Minor League Baseball series is now on its 12th iteration, there had to be something done to keep the game relatively fresh. And thankfully by adding in something similar to FIFA 17's The Journey and NBA 2K's Path picker game, the concept's a little fresher than it was last time around.

Pave Your Path is the major plus side of the baseball simulation's outing this time around, adding in cutscenes to help you define your journey as you try to head to the top. Adding  in personality to the simulator is always a good thing, and many a sports sim has simply fallen by expecting the game mechanics and their relative facelessness to save the day.

But thankfully, the game mechanics are also impressive this time around, with a better representation of the AI and an improvement in the ball physics, the game plays easier than it should. And complete with a comprehensive list of teams and players, major fans of the game will be satiated with their desired choosings. The game's also more welcoming to non-baseball fans this year, ensuring that accessibility is also as important as the regular fans.

All in all, for a sports simulator to come out swinging as much as this one does nearly a decade on is a great thing. For those a bit reticent to the charms before, it's now time to step up to the plate.

A Dog's Purpose: Film Review

A Dog's Purpose: Film Review

Cast: Dennis Quaid, A golden retriever puppy, KJ Apa, Britt Robertson, Peggy Lipton
Director: Lasse Halstrom

Mixing sappy family film and a fluffy dog tail should be movie kryptonite, but A Dog's Purpose feels like it slightly misses the mark.

Adapted from the 2010 W. Bruce Cameron novel of the same name, the Amblin Entertainment flick follows the story of a dog that's reincarnated several times, before discovering what his reason for life is.

Starting in the 1950s, Josh Gad is the voice of the dog in this live-action fare that feels like a Saturday morning TV-movie writ large.

After a very brief and shockingly terminated life, Gad's dog is reborn as a golden retriever named Bailey who's saved from a hot car in 1961 by Ethan. As the pair bond, Bailey discovers Ethan is his soul-mate and the pair get into the sort of scrapes you'd expect from a fluffy story of its ilk.

From romancing a girl (played by Britt Robertson) to dealing with an abusive father, the 1960s set story is perhaps the more successful of the film, but also the one which showcases the most of what to expect of this film.

Tugging on heart-strings, touching on well-worn tropes of animal films and the familiar scrapes the plucky pair find themselves in, the Nicholas Sparks for animal lovers flick, A Dog's Purpose is likely to find favour with audiences looking to get their quota of sappiness filled.

And while Lasse Halstrom's film may have been dogged with some negative pre-publicity over the apparent treatment of its animal leads in one sequence that's since been debunked, it's more than likely to curry a great deal of favour with anyone who's ever owned a pet or shared a bond with said animal.

This is not a film that skirts over the heartache and heartbreak of losing a pet, and it's here the film takes great strides to really avoid milking the sentiment and hitting some of the emotional moments more successfully than many would want to admit to.

The reincarnation angle of the film is handled without fuss, and while its edges could have made for Nicholas Sparks' style tear-jerker territory, it simply gets on with it happening and lets the poignancy of the moment drown the work. But the rest of the film is predominantly every other film you've ever seen of its kind - coming of age mixed with family tension, all nicely brought to life in the world that's been created.

At least one of the dog's lives, the one with a police partner, is over so briefly, its inclusion seems relatively pointless, other than to showcase another relationship with a dog. But such is the film's MO; it simply passes over the middle part of the film to skip back to Ethan and Bailey's bond.

It's here that the heart of this film lies deep within the connection that's shared with a canine; and while Gad's occasionally childish narration distracts, the sentiment is clearly there from the beginning.

A Dog's Purpose is not a movie for critics, nor a movie that goes deeper or tries to do anything other than push a fuzzy, feel-good agenda.

It'll give comfort to many a pet owner who's believed their current furry charge has similarities to their previous ones, but the human elements of the film will remain infinitely more forgettable than the doggy goings on long after the lights of the cinemas have gone up.

Meat: Film Review

Meat: Film Review

Director: David White

David White's lovingly shot documentary purports to be the modern story of the animals we eat.

But what emerges from this 75 minute amble through bucolic life, is an often philosophical look at life on the farm and in the hills, with differing points of view on why their chosen lifestyle's the best.

Covering four different meat producers, from a hunter who kills and eats his own, a retiree who is a chicken farmer, a pig farmer who's produced around 400 tonnes of pork a year and a one-woman farmer, this is an amiable look at what goes into creating the food chain that New Zealand's been so famous for at times.

And while White's got an eye for the perfectly beautiful shots (it's no surprise to find he's grown up on a farm), be it rows of chickens in the farm or a drone shot of pigs being carted off to the abattoir that makes them look like packed sausages on the back of a truck, the doco's desire to be provocative and make people think about where their meat comes from never quite scratches below the surface.

Part of the philosophy of the film is clearly to educate, and perhaps, it's a reflection on current society that many grow up not knowing where the food they eat comes from or how it's produced. Certainly those who've had a modicum of education and are a bit wiser (and maybe a generation older) will find nothing new in this, which plays like an extended episode of TV long-stay Country Calendar.

Although, perhaps, that's part of the film's raison d'etre, what emerges more as the film goes through its 75 minutes cycle, are the philosophies of those who till the land and rear the creatures.

With a choice of four fairly similar characters, it's in the subtleties that Meat beats its own drum as it casts an eye into the world within and the attitudes of the farmers.

This is no hard-hitting expose of farming practices, and does, for the large part, feel like an extended advertorial for the Meat sector, with the various particpiants extolling the virtues of their varying practices and in Ian, the pig farmer, refuting some of the claims levelled against their industry. Certainly, for those fearing a full-on trip to the abattoir, complete with screeching animals as the death blow rains down, Meat doesn't deliver the goods.

It's a sensitive piece that handles deftly (or perhaps too tentatively and lightly) the final process of the chain - it's only the chickens whose fates are shown to the camera as White interviews one of those who's made it their livelihood to kill for a living. There will, however, be some who feel the view of a pig being killed and kicking and twitching as it dies may be a step too far, but in all honesty, White simply lets the camera capture the reality of what happens on a farm - and if you're going to educate, you can't hold back. Though, equally, claims can be levelled against the doco for not presenting a fuller picture of what happens once the meat moves on.

That said, as ever with New Zealand's docos, it's the characters within that stand out once the cameras are turned on.

From Tony, the chicken farmer who only hires retirees because they won't go anywhere (and who, in one of the more wryly Kiwi iconoclastic moments by our film-makers, has a group of people shown on screen and titled Ian's Death Squad to much amusement) to Josh the hunter who's determined to pass on his practices but whose hunt is him alone, it feels like there are moments that could have been explored further and a little deeper.

That said, there's a humanity on show here that's showcased in the intricacy of the connections within and the worlds that collide. From espousing different philosophies on their respective places within the food chain or in the pig farmer's case, railing against the perceptions of their industry, White's gone to great lengths to ensure that everyone's got their moment in the spotlight.

But there's a nagging sense of doubt that a bit more could have helped Meat in its post-film discussion.

Whether it's talking to the families about the decisions made or the stresses placed on others, there's a very real feeling at times that the movie's been slightly missing some elements for mass consumption and while that's not a major mark against it, it does leave you with the belief that Meat is not quite the full platter you'd have expected.

The Dark Tower trailer is here

The Dark Tower trailer is here

In a world full of superheroes, there’s only one Gunslinger. From the epic best-selling novels from Stephen King, comes #DarkTowerMovie - watch the brand-new trailer now. Only in cinemas.

The Dark Tower is due in cinemas August 4th

Handsome Devil: Film Review

Handsome Devil: Film Review

Cast: Fionn O'Shea, Nicholas Galitzine, Andrew Scott, Moe Dunford
Director: John Butler

Whilst it may be steeped in coming-of-age familiarity, writer / director John Butler's Handsome Devil packs a certain degree of charm into its story.

The tale centres around Fionn O'Shea's red-headed Ned who's sent to an Irish boarding school by his family. Bullied for not being into rugby and not getting behind the school's push to win a trophy for the first time in years, Ned forms a friendship with his roommate Conor (Galitzine), the star hopeful of the team, who's been shipped in from another school.

The two boys find themselves growing closer, and with the tutelage of Andrew Scott's English teacher Dan Sherry, they find their desire to be themselves blossoming.

But in a rugby mad school, homophobia's never far away...

Handsome Devil has elements of Dead Poets Society, Sing Street and great 80s music to set it apart.

While its familiarity of themes feels a little stale and predictable in parts (a macho school coach who's appalled at the burgeoning friendship between his star player and the teacher), there's a degree of warmth in the short run time to justify its existence.

It helps that it's sensitively acted and handled by a strong cast, with Scott's Sherry easily the early charismatic stand-out of the piece, recalling elements of Robin Williams' Captain, My Captain.

It's also helpful that both Galitzine and O'Shea play their characters with affable warmth and underpin their journey with a degree of plausibility that's engaging.

And that certainly helps given the film's denouement and conflict can be seen coming a mile off, its desire to be uplifting and feel-good almost crippling its intentions.

Handsome Devil won't spark a major renaissance in these types of films, but it can hold its head up high that this boarding school tale and its push for individuality does enough to bring its audience along for the ride, and leave them feeling slightly more uplifted than any cynical viewer has a right to have.

A United Kingdom: DVD Review

A United Kingdom: DVD Review

The director of Belle returns with another piece that looks at the strife caused by interracial relations in this period piece about King Seretse Khama (Oyelowo), who caused a stir and a division of nations in the late 40s when he fell for - and married - a white woman.

Seretse is a law student, whose life is about to change as his uncle recalls him to take his rightful place as the heir of Bechaunaland (aka Botswana). But within days of departing London, he meets and falls for Rosamund Pike's Ruth.

Determined to marry and despite protestations from their homeland, and British government concerns, the duo's relationship creates divides at home and abroad. As the political storms threaten to engulf the pair and Seretse's land, they find their Apartheid naivete coming to the fore - and hoping their love can save the day.

A United Kingdom is a slice of prime prestige picture, served largely up by BBC Films.

It's centred by an earnestness and two leads who gel (though, arguably, a more stoic Oyelowo is the stronger of the pair) while the political machinations whirl around them.

The film's attention to period detail is beyond stunning and the cinematography early on of London is beyond eye-catching. But for the necessity of the narrative, the England side of events is matter of factly dismissed and dispatched so the action, such as it is, can relocate to Bechauanaland. It's here the film anchors itself and the colonial sneery machinations of Jack Davenport and Tom Felton's characters come to the fore, promising barrier after barrier to this relationship.

Pike, who's initially a bit of a blank sheet of paper, rises in the second half as the compassion for the power of her new people infects her - and an impassioned Oyelowo really raises the bar when the exile of Seretse kicks in.

But while the parts are all there, and the pieces all assembled correctly, there's a distinct lack of anything really making the film soar. Its earnestness is obvious in the way the nicely told story unfolds, but the political drama crushes the emotional edges that should hit harder than they do.

There's a clarity of story to A United Kingdom, and it's a story which is worth expounding on; Oyelowo and Pike remain the reasons to view this tale - but you may feel that it never quite hits the heights it was aiming for and should have fully achieved.