Alien at the Movies

Argylle

Poor Things

This is twisted re-envisioning of the Frankenstein horror story. In Victorian London, a disfigured mad scientist Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) experiments by resurrecting the body of a beautiful young woman (Emma Stone) & implants within it an infant brain. He names her Bella. His new experimental creature has much to learn including speech & coordination. She behaves like a bratty spoiled child unaware of the norms of the real world. She is just one of many animal experimentations performed by Godwin. As Bella develops, she becomes curious about many things including the outside world & Godwin allows her to leave with Duncan (Mark Ruffalo) to experience the real world. It is a bizarre self-discovery & sexual liberation journey which eventually brings Bella home & she must face her past. The film is visually stunning in its settings & costumes. Stone is mesmerizing as the purely innocent individual experiencing life for the first time & being quite honest with her reactions to everything. This film is rated “R” for language, nudity, & sexual content. Depending on your conservativeness, the film may push you beyond your comfort level with its excessive sex scenes & nudity. It’s unrestrained innocence allowed to experience & explore all of her pleasures whether it’s gluttony or lust. This film may have limited mass appeal due to its quirky, dark, & bizarre nature. But if you’re looking for something extremely different with shocking moments, you may want to check it out. It’s very well made but can be a bit extreme to watch. 

Alien gives it 2½ “furious jumping” stars out of 4.

The Other Zoey

Zoey Miller (Josephine Langford) is a computer nerd who doesn’t believe in the traditional concept of romantic love, but having similar ways of thinking is the key to finding the perfect fit for you. She has developed an app that will match people up according to her algorithm. She believes Valentines Day is a holiday created by capitalism. She considers rom-coms as being formulaic & contrived. So of course in this romantic comedy, she is destined to be caught in a love triangle between 2 guys & is sure to learn her lesson on love. In a big lecture hall, Zoey becomes attracted to a mystery man who reiterates her thoughts about love but he disappears before she can talk to him. When Zach MacClaren (Drew Starkey) is involved in an accident causing him a concussion & some amnesia, he mistakenly thinks Zoey is his real girlfriend Zoey Wallace. Feeling partially to blame for the accident & concerned by the doctor’s warnings, Zoey plays along with the mistake leading to her going along on his family weekend ski trip where the mystery man shows up. Because of the genre, it all blows up on her but fate reunites them by the end. Andie MacDowell & Heather Graham have small supporting roles as the mothers. If you are a sucker for rom-coms, tune in & enjoy the journey.

Alien gives it 3 “Jam Fest” stars out of 4.

American Fiction

Monk (Jeffrey Wright) is a frustrated novelist/professor who is fed up the establishment that profits from & promotes Black entertainment that relies on tired & offensive images of African Americans. To prove his point, he deliberately writes an outlandishly stereotypical “black” book under a pen name as a satire to prove his point. However, much to his surprise, his work is published with high sales & receives much praise. All of this while he is dealing traumatic family issues & a new girlfriend. Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, & Keith David are among the talented supporting cast. This is a thought provoking film about perceptions of black people in America.

Alien gives it 3 “Stagg R. Leigh” stars out of 4.

Nyad 

In the 1970’s, Diana Nyad became a renown competitive long distance swimmer. When she her failed her Cuba-to-Florida marathon event, she swore that would be her last attempt & retired to become a sports journalist. Then three decades later at the age of 60, Nyad (Annette Bening) becomes obsessed with that 110-mile swim that she could not complete. Determined to become the first person to finish that swim without a shark cage, she goes on a thrilling 4-year demanding journey with her best friend/coach Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster) & a dedicated support boat team. This is an amazing true story about one’s dedication & focus on a dream and the many wonderful skilled helpers who banded together to see that dream come true. Bening & Foster are outstanding.

Alien gives it 3 “sea creature obstacles” stars out of 4.

Zombies: The Beginning 

A woman is found adrift in the ocean & rescued. She has reoccurring nightmares about being attacked by zombies. No believes her story until a corporate man asks her to lead a military operation back to this mysterious nonexistent island to recover some valuable assets from this multimillion dollar research facility. Of course, this rescue & salvage mission is ambushed & overrun by the undead. By now, audiences may feel this plot seems somewhat familiar as it resembles a low budget version of  “Aliens”, but with extra cheese. I️ kind of wished the subtitle was “The End” instead having the possibility of sequels. If you still want to check it out, just keep your expectations low.

Alien gives it 1 “little bastards” star out of 4.

The Boys in the Boat

It’s 1936 in Seattle, Washington & Joe Rantz (Callum Turner) is a student at Washington University struggling to pay his tuition. He has been on his own since he was 14 & abandoned by his dad & step family. Desperate to earn money to ease their situation during the Great Depression, he & a friend compete amongst hundreds for 8 spots on the school’s rowing crew. The coach (Joel Edgerton) is a hard driving man with a plan to build his dream team. This is an amazing true story about a group of boys from hard working blue collar backgrounds competing in what typically is considered an elitist sport. See how they & their coaches struggle against the odds & hardships that eventually leads them to the Olympic Games in Germany hosted by the Nazis. Director George Clooney tells a wonderfully touching underdog story where you’ll be rooting for Joe & the boys.

Alien gives it 3½ “Husky Clipper” stars out of 4.

Megalodon: The Frenzy

First there was 2018’s “The Meg” followed by its sequel 2023’s “The Meg 2: The Trench”. Now, along comes “Megalodon: The Frenzy”, the sequel to the 2021 “Megalodon Rising” which was trying to capitalize on this prehistoric shark popularity spawn by the original Meg film. This latest film is not related to the two starring Jason Statham. But this one has plenty of megalodons swimming about &  terrorizing the planet. Eric Roberts plays the commanding officer of the USS King, heavily damaged fighting against one of the megalodons. The crew at the CRATOS, a former drilling platform converted to a geothermal power station, is also threatened by another megalodon. Puerto Vallarta Mexico & Oceanside CA also report giant shark attacks. Cheesy lines & acting are featured in this sharksploitation/mockbuster ripoff. Although the film is not meant to be a comedy, I️ find goofs like the labeling of STARBOARD in big letters on the side of a U.S. naval vessel manned by marines amusing. Who lives? Who dies? Who cares?

Alien gives it 1 “close the floodgates” star out of 4.

Role Play

Emma (Kaley Cuoco) & Dave (David Oyelowo) are married with 2 kids. When Emma forgets it’s their 7th wedding anniversary, she tries to makeup for it by planning a role play game with Dave & her pretending to be strangers meeting at a bar & spending the night at a fancy hotel to spice up their love life. Unknown to her family, Emma is really a contract killer sent on assassination missions. She soon finds out there is a bounty on her head & her family may be endangered. So she spends the rest of the movie trying to resolve her situation in this action comedy. Bill Nighy & Connie Nielsen are among the supporting cast. It’s fun entertainment for a night of streaming TV.

Alien gives it 2½ “Jack Dawson & Alice Overby” stars out of 4.

Mean Girls

Excited about a new “Mean Girls” movie? But what is it? A reboot, a sequel, or a prequel of the original 2004 movie hit? Not quite. In 2018, there was a Broadway musical version of the original movie. This “Mean Girls” is movie version of the Broadway musical play based on the original movie. Tina Fey & Tim Meadows return to reprise their original roles. The storyline follows the original script using the same original characters & casting them with the same character types but with singing voices for the song & dance numbers. If you liked the original comedy & also like musicals, you’ll probably enjoy this delightful retelling of high school student drama with enhanced theatrical flair. It’s still as funny as the original but punched up with colorful, artistic, & lyrical twists. If you seen & remember the original movie, you may not be too surprised by this new version except for a featured cameo. Jon Hamm, Jenna Fischer, & Busy Phillips have small supporting cast rolls.

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

The Beekeeper

Mr. Adam Clay (Jason Statham) is another Bryan Mills, a man with a special set of skills that you don’t want to mess with. When his neighbor commits suicide because of an online swindle scheme, he vows to avenge her death. Mr. Clay is a retired covert government operative of secret organization that works outside of the law to protect society when absolutely necessary. He is liken to a beekeeper protecting his hive. It’s a simple vengeance plot where the good guy keeps following the chain of command until he gets to the top, killing or maiming anyone & everyone who gets it the way. Statham does what he does best as a cool & calm one-man killing machine. Although some of the plot points seems far fetched & ridiculous, it still loads of fun watching the Beekeeper calmly destroying all that gets in his way. Among the supporting cast are Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons, Minnie Driver, & Phylicia Rashad. See who dies & who survives. In a war to protect society, you got to pick a side: the law or justice.

Alien gives it 3 “jar of honey” stars out of 4.

Night Swim

There have been many movies about haunted houses. Now, here is one about a house with a haunted pool. Marco…

The Waller family moves into a new house. They unexpectedly discover there is something supernatural about their backyard pool. The husband/father Ray is recovering from a baseball injury & finds the pool therapeutic at first. But then, one by one each family has a bizarre incident involving the pool. Things escalate at the big pool party that the Wallers throw for their new friends & neighbors. Events are tied to something supernatural & possible demon possession but things don’t make a lot of sense. The plot is about as murky as the infected pool water at times. By the end, sacrifices have to be made to save the day. This one is more suspense & creepy than horror. Who will die & who will live? Can they cover up the evil in the backyard?  …Polo!

Alien gives it 2 “toy boat” stars out of 4.