Alien at the Movies

Anyone But You

Handsome hunk Ben (Glen Powell) bails out gorgeous law student Bea (Sydney Sweeney) at a coffee shop as she is trying to get the bathroom key. He is flirty & charming. They spend the day together & hit it off. After the morning of their one night stand, things go sour as misunderstandings are made & they go off angrily into their own separate directions hating each other. Six months later, fate brings them back together & they are both uncomfortably invited to an Australian destination wedding for her sister Halle & his friend Pete’s sister Claudia. Being this is a rom/com, hilarity ensues as each of Ben’s & Bea’s ex’s happen to be there for the wedding & people are blatantly trying get B & B together so they try to fake it as a loving couple. If you are a sucker for romantic comedies, you’ll probably like this one. It’s got cheesy lines & cheesy situations. It titillates with a little nudity, an extremely brief bikini, & sexual situations. But B & B are a cute couple that plays wells well off of each other. Of course, there is little doubt where these rom/coms end up. Clips shown during the mid credits give up a musical replay of many highlight moments in the film.

Alien gives it 3 “fear of flying” stars out of 4.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Aquaman (Jason Momoa) is back for a sequel where he is struggling as King of Atlantis & fatherhood with his new born son, Arthur Curry Jr. Returning also is David Kane seeking revenge on Aquaman & his family. When Kane obtains the Black Trident, he also receives special Atlantean powers, technology, & knowledge. Aquaman must free his imprisoned half brother Orm in order to stop the now superpowered Black Manta. Amber Heard has returned as Mera in a somewhat limited but key appearance. Who will survive in the battle that may save or destroy the world? The film is a bit overbloated with dizzying CGI battle sequences.

Alien gives it 2½ “Orichalcum” stars out of 4.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

This is the sequel to the 2000 animated comedy about chickens flying the coop à la “Stalag 17”/“The Great Escape” style. Back are Rocky & Ginger but now they have a baby girl named Molly. These escapee chickens have found sanctuary living on a quiet river island, but they become apprehensive & worried when they notice human activity just across the river. Molly becomes curious about these goings-on & tries to see for herself despite her parents being evasive about her questions & overprotective of their child. When Molly becomes captive at Mrs. Treedy’s new advanced high-tech poultry farm, Rocky, Ginger, & company must break into the Fun-Land Farms facility & rescue their daughter. This is good entertaining family fun as these chickens must escape the clutches of their past nemeses again. Can they save the day again as they originally did by derailing the chicken pot pies production, but now they must disrupt the chicken nugget manufacturing?

Alien gives it 3 “popcorn” stars out of 4.

 Wonka

Fresh off the boat, that wonderful magical candyman/chocolatier, Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) is back in this prequel to the dated 1971 Gene Wilder version & the 2005 Johnny Depp reboot. This film is a delightful whimsical fantasy tale. It leans more into being a song & dance musical. Chalamet is perfectly cast as Willy Wonka. This movie is about Wonka arriving in a new land & trying to set up a chocolate factory but faces opposition from a powerful Chocolate Cartel. Hugh Grant costars as an Oompa Loompa. Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins, Olivia Coleman, & Keegan-Michael Key are in the supporting cast.

Alien gives it 3 “read the fine print” stars out of 4.

Godzilla Minus One

Japan’s most famous kaiju, Godzilla, is back celebrating its 70th anniversary. It’s 1945 in the final days of WWII & a Japanese kamikaze pilot diverts from his mission to land at airplane maintenance station on a remote island. There, he has his first encounter with the island’s legendary beast. However, he becomes frozen with fear & his inaction results in many deaths. Months later, the war is over & he returns to a devastated Tokyo where begins a relationship with a young lady & a baby girl. He gets a dangerous job working on minesweeper when he has his second Godzilla encounter. The creature mutates to gargantuan size with a new radioactive power. Japan’s military might has been stripped after the war so it’s a citizens’ scientific plan used to try & stop Godzilla. Riddled with guilt & obsessed with vengeance, the kamikaze pilot volunteers to help. This is a terrific reboot of this horror monster classic. The film has great visuals & captures the spirit of the original but with modern special effects techniques. The plot here is character driven but still has those action sequences that we want to see. The dialogue is in Japanese with English subtitles. Who will survive this latest monster attack? Will the plan to stop Godzilla work? Who are we kidding? These monsters never really go away. They are always temporarily halted. I️‘m sure this is not the last we will see of Godzilla.  On another note: I️ never could decipher the meaning of the film’s odd title. Maybe, something was lost in translation?

Alien gives it 3 “Odo Island” stars out of 4.

Migration

It’s an animated bird version of “National Lampoon’s Vacation” with shades of “Misery”, “Hell’s Kitchen”, “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights”, & Jim Jones’ Guyana Jonestown. A family of mallards finally decide to go on the vacation of a lifetime leaving the comfort & safety of their New England pond to fly to topical Jamaica by way of New York City. Mack is the overprotective dad who is apprehensive about the outside world. Pam is his adventurous but loving wife. Together, along with their 2 kids, Dax & Gwen, and old Uncle Bob, they set off for some hilarious misadventures where they learn about themselves & overcome their fears & adversities while helping others. This is great fun family entertainment. See who they meet next & where their next adventure will take them.

Alien gives it 3 “home of the glowing waters” stars out of 4.

The Shift

This is a fantasy/dystopian retelling of the Book of Job story. Kevin (Kristoffer Polaha) is spinning his Alcoholics Anonymous coin while sitting at a bar with a beer when he meets Molly (Elizabeth Tabish) who chats with him on a dare from her girlfriend’s. They hit it off, get married, & start a family. Then, one day, he is involved in a car accident & meets the Benefactor (Neal McDonough), loses his wife, & is sent to an alternate universe through the Shift. Kevin is given some difficult choices testing his faith in God as he tries to reunite with his wife after losing everything. Sean Astin is in the supporting cast. This is an interesting new take of the old Bible lesson story designed to attract today’s movie going audiences.

Alien gives it 3 “necklace” stars out of 4.

Teddy’s Christmas

A sweet little girl named Mariann has a vivid imagination which gets her into trouble one too many times, but she learns her lesson & makes amends. This is charming wholesome family centering around Christmas & its traditions. It is a Norwegian live action/animated film with shades of “Toy Story”. However, if you children still believe in Santa Claus, you may not want to expose your kids to the fact there may not be a real Santa. The teddy bear in the story also learns a lesson about being too greedy. The film has good intentions but I️ get mixed signals from it & it isn’t quite the holiday special you may be looking for. 

Alien gives it 2 “cuddling” stars out of 4.