Alien at the Movies

The Penguin Lessons

In 1976 during some turbulent times & political unrest in Argentina, a British teacher, Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) arrives at St. George College to teach English. He receives a less than warm welcome as he tries to fit in. The students in his classroom are unruly & pay little attention to his authority. When the school takes a sudden week long break due to recent nearby bombings, Tom & a colleague take a short vacation to Uruguay hoping to visit some night clubs & meet some ladies. After a night of dancing & a morning walk on the beach with a lady, Tom & his new lady friend rescue an injured penguin & clean it up at his hotel room. He only goes along with this idea to impress this lady. Tom tries to return the penguin to the ocean, but it keeps following Tom. Thus begins their comedy of errors in their bonding/smuggling journey back to Argentina & the college. Meanwhile, political unrest & protests continue as people continue to go missing which Tom personally witnessed but was too afraid to get involved. Then, life takes turn for Tom when he brings his hidden pet (now named Juan Salvador) into his classroom to get the students to focus, pay attention, & learn. This penguin is so damn cute. This is a bittersweet comedy drama about 2 strangers (Tom & Juan) in a strange land learning to adapt & rise up to their circumstances. Even more amazing is that this is based on a true story, which is reminiscent of another true wayward bird story “My Penguin Friend”. At the film’s end, home-movie footage of the real penguin who inspired this film is played.

Alien gives it 3 “The penguin is not a communist” stars out of 4.

The Luckiest Man in America 

From Television City in Hollywood, it’s time to play Press Your Luck…

This is the true story about a CBS game show contestant who had quite a winning streak back in 1984. This is a backstage look at how this TV game show operates & is told from that point of view. As potential contestants are being prescreened for TV viability worthiness, a mistaken identification auditions the wrong person, but the director likes his personality & asks this scruffy man to compete if he cleans himself up. This man is Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser), a part-time ice cream truck operator & a huge fan of the Press Your Luck TV game show. He is playing against two other contestants for cash & prizes by just pressing a stop button. It’s pass or play but don’t light up the Whammy symbol. As his winning streak gets longer, station begins to worry about the cost to the station. However, they try to spin this negative into a positive for the station. Then as Larson’s fortune amasses, the station suspects that he is cheating somehow. Is he cheating or is he just outsmarting everyone? This is a very intriguing & entertaining look at one of the big game show scandals.

Alien gives it 3 “18 squares on the Big Board” stars out of 4.

Woman in the Yard

A single mom, Ramona, with a teenage son, Taylor, & a young daughter, Annie, start to have a bad day when this mysterious woman dressed in all black is found sitting in their front yard. Ramona is on crutches due to a leg injury involving a recent accident where her husband died. The grieving family has been struggling to make ends meet in their fixer-upper house that still needs lots of work. Efforts to shoo this woman away doesn’t work. Who is she? What does she want? Is she dangerous? This is a psychological thriller/horror film. Is she real or some supernatural entity? Is she a ghost out to haunt this family? If so, why? These are the questions that this terrified family & the audience will ask themselves. As the day goes on & the woman creeps closer to the house & thus the suspense intensifies. The film uses darkness, light, & shadows to grab audiences by the throat. Is this family being tortured because of its past? Is this all real or hallucination? Supernatural or mind games? Who will survive the night? This mystery will keep you are the edge of your seat.

Alien gives it 2½ “grieving pains” stars out of 4.