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.

Death of a Unicorn

Do you believe in unicorns?

It’s unicorn connections, unicorn tapestries, & unicorn revenge in this fantasy horror comedy. On his way to his billionaire boss’s retreat home, widower Eliot (Paul Rudd) & teenage daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) accidentally hit this supposedly mythical creature & they panic so they stuff the lifeless young foal carcass into their car for later disposal. The Leopolds (Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni, & Will Poulter) are rich, spoiled, entitled elitists. After the brief revival of the unicorn & an experimental test,  the Leopolds greedily jump at the financial potential availed to them by this extremely rare find. However, it's not all rainbows & happiness when the parental unicorns come looking for their baby. It’s a bloody satirical fun ride so buckle up if you like gory humor. Most probably have never imagined this dark side possibility from these mystical creatures.

Alien gives it 3 “Leopold Wildlife Reserve” stars out of 4.

Holland

There is something wrong in Holland, Michigan. Fred & Nancy Vandergroot are married with a 13-year-old son, Harry. When school teacher Nancy (Nicole Kidman) suspects her husband may be having an affair, she enlists her colleague, David Delgado, to help her gather proof. Fred is an optometrist who has been traveling for work a lot lately. Suspense grows as Nancy & David almost get caught in the act of gathering evidence. But Fred is not the only one hiding secrets here. As the plot plays out, it’s hard to figure out what type of movie this is. In this weird small midwestern town setting, everything Dutch is featured: like windmills, wooden shoes, & tulips. Fred’s hobby is an elaborate scale model train set down in the basement. Are these oddities essential to the story or are they colorful distractions? Is this a drama about spousal cheating? Is it a mystery about digging up clues to uncover the truth? Its quirkiness makes me suspicious of some underlying black comedy humor. All along, the plot feels like it’s toying with the audience & feeding us misinformation. It kept me guessing till near the end when some twists turn up. Maybe too weird for me.

Alien gives it 2 “pup-peroni” stars out of 4.

A Working Man

Levon Cade (Jason Statham) is an ex-Royal Marines commando who is trying to bury his past. After his wife passed, he is a single dad to a cute little daughter. He just wants to live a quiet peaceful life as a construction worker. However, when his boss’s young daughter becomes kidnapped at a bar/nightclub by human traffickers, this tough guy/nice guy can’t sit back because it’s not his problem. He calls in some favors from his old military buddies & uses his special skill sets to track down & rescue the missing girl. By now, you are thinking could this be a reboot of Liam Neeson’s 2008 “Taken”? It is set up with nearly the same premise but Staten & company ups the action ante. “Beekeeper” director David Ayer is back at the helm. Ayer & Sylvester Stallone share writing credits. Statham is awesome when he is just working man, but when he shifts to commando mode, he takes no prisoners. Of course, with Statham & this premise, the outcome is a given, but the fun is in the ride & how we get there as Cade follows the bread crumbs. Micheal Peña & David Harbour have small supporting roles. As these lame villains begin to appear, I️ could not help but ask myself, who dressed these clowns. Predictable but in a good way so we can root for the good guys. It is a fun time guilty pleasure wild ride.

Alien gives it 3 “sledge hammer” stars out of 4.

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie

It's a trip back to my childhood memory lane when “Saturday Morning Looney Tunes Cartoons” meets “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” meets “Night of the Living Dead” meets “Armageddon”. Those lovable losers, Porky Pig & Daffy Duck, are back on the big screen. Porky & Daffy were raised by Farmer Jim. After Jim leaves, these 2 barnyard buddies struggle to maintain jobs & the upkeep of their house. Finally, they secure a job through Petunia Pig at the Goodie Gum factory where a new flavor, Strongberry, is being developed & promoted. Unfortunately, this new chewing gum has been infected by an alien invader & a mad scientist. The people of Earth are being turned into zombies controlled by the alien. Did I forget to mention a huge asteroid is also headed straight at Earth. Now this trio must somehow stop the zombie invasion & save our planet. It’s a nostalgic look back one of my favorite toons but adults would likely be bored. This one seems to be targeted for older kids; although there is a duck crack, a dog fart, & vomit jokes to amuse little kiddies.

Alien gives it 2 “Green Goo” stars out of 4.

The Alto Knights

Two boys, Frank Costello & Vito Genovese, were sons of Italian immigrants who had moved to New York City. They became best friends & hoodlums together. In the 1950’s they were 2 of the notorious crime bosses. Based on true events, this is their story about their friendship, their lives, their different styles of operation, & their falling out. Robert De Niro plays the dual roles of Frank & Vito. This is a classic gangster mob story scenario like previously portrayed in films such as “The Godfather”  & “Goodfellas”. This is a well-made period piece reflecting the look & feel of the times. The Alto Knights was the name of the social club in New York City’s Little Italy that was the safe haven where these mobsters met.

Alien gives it 3 “Upstate New York, exit 17” stars out of 4.

Omni Loop

It’s “Groundhog Day”/“Edge of Tomorrow”/“Happy Death Day” meets “The Incredible Shrinking Man” when Zoya (Mary-Louise Parker), a quantum mechanics textbook author tries to avoid her eminent death by time traveling back to save herself. When she was just 12 years old, she found this bottle of pills that would allow her to travel back in time 5 days. Ever since, for her whole life she would used these pills as her do-over plan to correct her mistakes & improve her quality of life. Now she is threatened by a growing black hole in her chest threatening to consume her body. She hopes to unlock the secrets of her found pills & perhaps extend her time traveling periods to possibly years. One day during one of her many recent repeats, she runs into a research student Paula who she begins to collaborate with researching solutions. Eventually, Zoya becomes frustrated with her endless dead ends & having to relive her last 5 days over & over. In the end, Zoya considers another possible direction & finds some peace of mind. “Omni Loop” is actually the name of the Miami transportation system use in the film & not a reference to a time loop. This film is less of a sci-fi story & more of person dealing with their own mortality & value of their life.

Alien gives it 2½ “birthday present” stars out of 4.

Demon City

Watch out John Wick… here comes a Japanese version of a hitman’s revenge. Sakata is a hitman who wipes out a yakuza clan all in one night so he can quit the business to be a normal family man to his wife & daughter. However, the kimen-gummi gang had other plans. These demon masked thugs frame Sakata for the suicide/murder of his wife & daughter but he remains in a coma for 12 years. Of course when he awakens, he savagely attacks the people responsible for his loss. It’s unrealistic violence by a 12-year coma patient who is back to fighting strength within hours. Through his fight scenes, he suffers terrible wounds but like the Timex watch… he keeps on ticking. His weapon on choice for the big showdown is a machete against a horde of gun toting hoodlums. A couple of twists are introduced near the end. One may be kind of expected but the other was a cheap plot ploy. This one is more laughable than realistic action. Who lives & who dies? Who cares?

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