Annihilation (2018)

Director: Alex Garland

Cast:

Natalie Portman – Lena

Jennifer Jason Leigh – Dr. Ventress

Gina Rodriguez – Anya

Tessa Thompson – Josie

Oscar Isaac – Kane

Summary:

“Annihilation” comes from Alex Garland, the writer/director of the acclaimed sci-fi hit “Ex Machina.” Natalie Portman plays Lena, a biologist who is informed that her husband has been infected with some sort of contagion. The source had come from an unknown entity dubbed ‘The Shimmer.’ As a means to understand, Dr. Ventress (Leigh) leads a team of scientific women into the Shimmer to discover its purpose. Alex Garland has once again crafted a gorgeous intellectual sci-fi film. The story paces itself along well enough and it’s not until the third act where you piece the puzzle together. Portman and Gina Rodriguez are the two that shine throughout. The cast as an ensemble works well together with the added talent of Tessa Thompson. Along the way, the group comes face to face with creatures that have been changed as the entire landscape has been altered physically. Crocodiles with shark teeth as well as plantlike people. As with his last film, the visuals in “Annihilation” are so lifelike and real that they become mesmerizing. The visual effects don’t just shine with dazzling color, they create the looks of a crocodile to a bear. Garland directs this film remarkably well as he captures spectacle and creates that great tension throughout. The score is eerily great as well that when played at the right time, exhibits a tense presence. “Annihilation” is a visually striking film that boasts a great cast and director that will challenge the viewer and begs the question of life and existence.

Score: 5/5

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Director: Denis Villenueve

Cast:

Ryan Gosling – K

Robin Wright – Lieutenant Joshi

Ana de Armas – Joi

Sylvia Hoeks – Luv

Jared Leto – Niander Wallace

Harrison Ford – Rick Deckard

Summary:

“Blade Runner 2049” is out now and continues the legacy of the original that starred Harrison Ford and this time it poses new questions. “2049” takes place 30 years after the original and stars Ryan Gosling as K, a new blade runner who is tasked with eliminating the older replicant models when he comes across a clue that could lead to the discovery of the existence of replicant life. Harrison Ford returns as Rick Deckard and he was great for the amount of screen time he had and played well off of Gosling. Gosling was fantastic as K, pulling off the frailness of his replicant character while still teasing glimpses of raw emotion that click whenever he’s with Joi. Played by Ana de Armas, Joi is a replicant that is displayed as an hologram who is K’s “FaceTime” connection. These two had great on screen chemistry that grew throughout the film. Their blossoming romance becomes enlivened when she finally has sex with him but in a creative way. Leto plays the new replicant engineer Niander Wallace, and he displayed an eerie performance that was unforgettable. Sylvia Hoeks was the bright spot in the film as Luv, Wallace’s personal assistant that posed a tremendous threat in the film. Denis Villenueve has once again made a brilliant film that challenges the mind while also delivering a cohesive story. This may be his best film. I’m a huge fan of “Sicario” and that film was just about as perfect a film as it can be. The big thing is that this film had more pressure on it because it is tied to an existing film that fans of it love. “2049” is an spectacle to watch from its performances to the incredible cinematography as well as an explosive score that’ll leave you shocked and awed. Villenueve has created a sequel that expands upon the original while adding freshness to the universe.

Score: 5/5

Alien: Covenant(2017)

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast:

Michael Fassbender – David/Walter

Katherine Waterston – Daniels

Billy Crudup – Oram

Danny McBride – Tennessee

Demian Bichir – Lope

Verdict:

“Alien: Covenant” is directed by Ridley Scott and is the sequel to “Prometheus” (also directed by Scott). This film takes place 10 years after the events of “Prometheus” and follows the Covenant, a colony ship en route to a new planet that will serve as their home. Along the way, they take a detour and land in a planet that is stranded, or is it. This movie is polarizing to me as it is in its best regard a “Prometheus” movie as well as an “Alien” movie. The first hour of this film shows its “Prometheus” side as we follow the crew of the Covenant and are given equal amount of time to the varying cast that includes Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride and returning is Michael Fassbender in dual roles. The actors in this film are good in their roles, but I just didn’t care about any of them. This is because there is no development to any of them. The most interesting character in this entire film is an android. I’m talking about Fassbender as Walter and also as David. Fassbender is fantastic in his dual performance as he plays these characters differently and sells it to a tee. So, the “Alien” side of this film finally comes forth once they enter this planet and it is fine. It’s more of what you have seen before and that was a letdown. The visuals and the overall scope of this film is enchanting just as it was in “Prometheus.” The movie’s biggest problem for me is the way the film goes from exploration to what the hell is going on to survival. This becomes a tonal mess that never quite fixes itself. Aside from the tremendous performance from Fassbender, terrific direction and visuals and gore galore, “Alien: Covenant” is nothing more than a continuation of “Prometheus” that continues to ask questions with no significant answers and happens to feature Xenomorphs.

Grade: B-

Arrival(2016)

Director: Denis Villenueve

Cast:

Amy Adams – Dr. Louise Banks

Jeremy Renner – Ian Donnelly

Forest Whitaker – Colonel Weber

Verdict:

“Arrival” is directed by Denis Villenueve and tells the story of a linguist who is recruited by

the military to try and figure out why these aliens, that have landed here want. This movie

was a very interesting and challenging sci-fi film with good performances from its cast

and good direction. Amy Adams was incredible as she plays this very subtle character that

is becoming fixated on figuring out why these aliens are here. Jeremy Renner was also

good in this movie but he is just there as a plot device to further the story. Forest Whitaker

was also good and he did the same in the film for me as Renner, in the vain that he is there

to just further along the plot. The story itself kept me intrigued but it was the third act

reveal that blew me away. The whole of this story is a country is trying to understand why

a galactic species has come to their planet and through it all we follow one woman and

when the story unravels it makes you go back and rethink the whole film. Once again, the

direction is great as Villenueve knows how to frame a shot and just like in “Sicario”, you

get that one sweeping shot of the landscape and it was breathtaking. The score was also

good from Johann Johannsson as it felt similar to that of “Sicario’s.” The visuals in the

film are great as well and the look of the aliens are unique. “Arrival” is a beautifully shot

film with great direction and good acting that approaches the sci-fi genre in a new way.

Grade: A-

Star Trek Beyond(2016)

Director: Justin Lin

Cast:

Chris Pine – Kirk

Zachary Quinto – Spock

Karl Urban – Bones

Zoe Saldana – Uhura

Simon Pegg – Scotty

John Cho – Sulu

Anton Yelchin – Chekov

Idris Elba – Krall

Sofia Boutella – Jaylah

Verdict:

“Star Trek Beyond” is directed by Justin Lin and is the third film in the Star Trek reboot. In

this film, Kirk and his crew have been attacked by a scavenger crew led by Krall (Elba) who

is looking for this artifact that can bring destruction to many and along the way he runs

into Jaylah (Boutella) an alien woman who has been stranded on the same planet as them

and the two work together to free themselves from Krall. I found this film to be very action

packed thanks to Lin and the visuals once again were good. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto

once again were great as Kirk and Spock. The first two films focused heavily on Kirk and

Spock’s relationship, in this film it focuses on Bones and Spock’s relationship and they

were terrific together. Idris Elba was good as Krall, the main antagonist but you couldn’t

really get behind his reasoning until the third act which really fleshed out his character.

Jaylah was a great new addition to the film as she brought a toughness to her character.

Few problems I have with the film is Justin Lin likes to shake up his action scenes and it

made the movie hard to watch and finally for 2/3 of the film I couldn’t really get behind

Elba’s character until the third act. “Star Trek Beyond” is a fun action packed film that

brings back the light that was missing in the previous film.

Grade: B+

 

Star Trek Into Darkness(2013)

Director: J.J. Abrams

Cast:

Chris Pine – Kirk

Zachary Quinto – Spock

Zoe Saldana – Uhura

Karl Urban – Bones

Simon Pegg – Scotty

John Cho – Sulu

Benedict Cumberbatch – Khan

Anton Yelchin – Chekov

Bruce Greenwood – Pike

Peter Weller – Marcus

Alice Eve – Carol

Verdict:

“Star Trek Into Darkness” is directed by J.J. Abrams and is the sequel to the 2009 film. In

this film, Kirk has made some dumb mistakes as captain and due to this, he has been

demoted. Also, there is a rogue crewman who has been involved with bombed buildings so

Starfleet holds a conference and this man shows up and starts firing on the officers and he

kills Pike. So, the Admiral sends Kirk and his crew to go and take out this man and we then

have our movie. This movie was really different from the first one. The first movie was

this fun and fresh sci-fi film with great action, this movie is very dark and brooding. This

didn’t really bother me except for the fact that Khan, the villain was very convoluted. The

visuals once again were incredible and Kirk and Spock’s relationship really was the

highlight and focus of this film. The only problem with this film for me was Benedict

Cumberbatch’s Khan who was a somewhat compelling villain with ridiculous attributes,

such as his super blood which cures sick people and his resolution wasn’t satisfying

enough for me. “Star Trek Into Darkness” is not as fun a movie as the 2009 film, but it

does successfully continue the growing relationship between Kirk and Spock.

Grade: B+

 

Star Trek(2009)

Director: J.J. Abrams

Cast:

Chris Pine – Kirk

Zachary Quinto – Spock

Eric Bana – Nero

Bruce Greenwood – Pike

Karl Urban – Bones

Zoe Saldana – Uhura

Simon Pegg – Scotty

John Cho – Sulu

Anton Yelchin – Chekov

Verdict:

“Star Trek” is directed by J.J. Abrams and is a reboot of the original series. In this film we

are shown a past event involving James T. Kirk’s father George (Hemsworth) become

captain of a ship for 12 minutes and during this little bit of glory time, he saved 800 lives

and became a hero. We are then shown a younger James and he is depicted to be a rebel

without a cause and when he gets into a fight with Starfleet men, he impresses their

captain who was inspired by George and he informs James to make a difference and join

Starfleet and live up to his fathers legacy. That’s the basic synopsis. This movie was

amazing as it contained some of the best visual effects ever. The chemistry between Kirk

and Spock was amazing as you can’t wait to see what happens in the future for them. Also,

Eric Bana’s Nero is a solid villain as he adds more weight to the film. The only issue I had

was with the overused lens flare effect. “Star Trek” is a great sci-fi film that happens to be

a reboot in a beloved franchise.

Grade: A

Ghostbusters(2016)

Director: Paul Feig

Cast:

Kristen Wiig – Erin Gilbert

Melissa McCarthy – Abby Yates

Kate McKinnon – Jillian Holtzmann

Leslie Jones – Patty Tolan

Neil Casey – Rowan

Chris Hemsworth – Kevin

Andy Garcia – Mayor Bradley

Verdict:

“Ghostbusters” is directed by Paul Feig and is a remake of the 1984 film of the same name.

This version has four women in the lead; Wiig, McCarthy, McKinnon and Jones and these

women stumble upon paranormal events in New York. So the four decide to stop these

ghosts and become known as the Ghostbusters. When the first trailer dropped, people

trashed the idea of a female led Ghostbusters film and I for one was not impressed with

what I saw. After watching the film, I found it to be a movie that was good for what it was,

which is a funny ghost film with talented women in the lead. These four women are

playing distinct characters, Kristen Wiig plays the straight woman as she used to be

involved with the paranormal with McCarthy who plays herself, and she has since given

up until the two and McKinnon’s wacky scientist witness a real life ghost and they decide

to do something about these paranormal sightings. Leslie Jones plays a subway worker

who encounters a ghost and this leads her to meet the three women and through her New

York insight, she joins the team. Chris Hemsworth played the receptionist character who

is really dumb and clueless but I couldn’t get enough of him as he stole just about every

scene he was in. The villain was so generic and was the weakest part of the film. The movie

had great cameos sprinkled across the film that paid homage to the original. This movie

did a good job at telling a Ghostbusters story from a different point of view and will it ever

live up to the original, of course not, but these women faired well despite a generic story

and some not so funny characters. In the end, “Ghostbusters” retold a classic story with

new characters in a different way.

Grade: B-

10 Cloverfield Lane(2016)

Director: Dan Trachtenberg

Cast:

Mary Elizabeth Winstead – Michelle

John Goodman – Howard

John Gallagher Jr. – Emmet

Verdict:

10 Cloverfield Lane is directed by Dan Trachtenberg and stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead,

John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr. Winstead plays Michelle, a young woman who is

driving down the highway when suddenly she gets into a car crash and is saved by Howard

(Goodman) who informs her that the outside world is lost and she is being kept inside a

bomb shelter by him. The two lead performances from Goodman and Winstead were

fantastic as Goodman is very subtle throughout, but once he breaks, he looses it and

completely turns into somebody else. Winstead was also very good as she doesn’t play a

dimwitted character, but a smart and strong character who doesn’t give up. The movie is

tense throughout with the viewer not being able to expect what’s next to come. The last

10-15 minutes is when the movie takes a different turn and it in fact ends with a hint to a

sequel. Tension and strong performances is what makes this movie a must see.

Grade: A