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S-Lanaway
Reviews
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Not nearly as good as it's own commercial....
This is basically a badly executed B-Movie with a big budget. It's so bad it's almost silly.
The original Alien had a brooding, well-paced ambiance. You could identify with the characters and it artfully led you into the action-conflict.
This feels like it was written by 10 different screenwriters, with a studio exec coming in to make sure it is dumbed down enough to hold the attention of people unable to follow a plot, or with no patience to really absorb characters. But for people who simply want to look at shooting and space monsters on a screen - this has that.
I was literally bored watching it. There is minimal character development. The science/technology part is inconsistent and shaky.
I think there were some good ideas at the core of the script, but it tried to do and be too much, and dumbed itself down to the point of idiocy.
Even the CGI of the ships in space looked more fake to me than the 1979 analog effects.
The commercial that is airing on TV with the 'Take me home' song, is cinematic and haunting. The film itself is sadly a waste of time. Unless you are cool with plot gaps, science gaps, no character development, completely implausible scenarios etc. There is definitely shooting and alien monsters chasing people.
Import Export (2007)
A nearly fruitless exploration of cruelty and meaninglessness
I'm not going to write much here. I am open to dark films (in fact I tend to prefer them). But this was one of the most depressing, frustrating films I have ever seen. Long, long, long cut scenes of depressing or morbid circumstances (such as people suffering in palliative care, very raw). The director establishes the mood and the dynamic between the characters and then stays on the scene, often with minimal dialogue for 4-5 minutes - agonizingly long. This film is not an exploration of existential depression -- this film IS existential depression.
The one 'warm' scene in the film where Olga dances with the old man, felt to me like a brief smile before being sucked down a black hole - which is what this film felt like.
The sole mandate seemed to be to show that life is sh*t and then you die - mission accomplished.
The Killing of John Lennon (2006)
A superficial, slightly silly rendering of a horrible event.
I have read many Lennon biographies as well as numerous detailed accounts of Chapman's life. The books that I have read go deep into his background and they explore what conclusions can be made about his thought process and motivations.
In that regard, this film presents a strikingly superficial rendering of who Chapman was and what was motivating him. While skipping realistic depth and detail, the film uses atmospheric shots, music, and creative editing to conjure an atmosphere that is in effect, an art project.
Given the subject matter, I find it distasteful.
The shots of Chapman walking around in a clearly 21st-century time square (the film is set in 1980) are silly. The randomly sped-up shots of him maniacally grimacing are irritating, and, honestly, a bit cheesy.
I will give the film credit for it's depiction of Lennon at the end, I found him strikingly life-like.
If you really want to learn about Chapman, get one of the recognized books on the subject matter and delve deep.
This film is an art-school project that reveals nothing and presents a superficial, unbelievable caricature of Lennon's murderer.
Men in White (1934)
Pleasant Surprise
I stumbled across this and TIVOed it -- curious to see a young Clarke Gable, with Myrna Loy.
The thing that grabbed me most was the cinematography. The use of shadows was very evocative, almost Citizen Kane-like. Beautifully framed shots, sometimes looking slightly up or down, slightly angled. Very poetic. A few crane shots. Worth seeing for the cinematography alone.
All the early 30s doctors in their white robes look like they exist and work in some idealized, futuristic art deco spaceport. Very odd and interesting to look at.
The other reviewer here pointed out that there was no music. Without the sappy over the top music to help tell the story, we instead experience the evocative camera-work in it's splendor.
Definitely worth a watch.