Alien at the Movies

In The Grey

It’s “Ocean’s Eleven” meets “Mission Impossible” in Guy Ritchie’s latest action thriller. Somewhere between moral & amoral, there is a covert operations team that operates in the grey. When ruthless despot Manny Salazar cheats banking executive Bobby Sheen (Rosamund Pike) out of $1 billion, Sheen hires Rachel Wild (Eiza González) to recover the debt. Wild is a lawyer with an elaborate & complex scheme to complete the job by forcing a face to face meeting between her & Salazar. To guarantee her success, she has put together an elite team of mercenaries/extraction specialists with include Bronco (Jake Gyllenhaal) & Sid (Henry Cavill). This is an action packed, gun brazing, bomb exploding always one step ahead cat & mouse game. See the preparation plans laid out for you & the see how it plays out. González, Gyllenhaal, & Cavill are terrific & make a great team. Ritchie’s style drives the plot & action.

Alien gives it 3 “negotiating with a lawyer” stars out of 4.

The Devil Wears Prada 2

It’s 20 years later & where are the fabulous four of Runway Magazine fame? Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is still head of Runway Magazine, of course. She is basically the same but time & HR may have soften some of her edges. Nigel (Stanley Tucci) is still Miranda’s right hand man. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is once again the newbie back at Runaway due some unfortunate circumstance, but arrives just in time to save the day. Emily (Emily Blunt) now works for Dior. She was ambitious & could not advance at Runaway. This is the setup for this sequel where their relationships are rekindled & the power play in the cutthroat fashion industry continues. The sequel feels very familiar as it seems to be an homage to the original with its many catch phrases & subtle Easter eggs (remember those cerulean blue belts?). Although, it’s not absolutely necessary to see the original first, I️ did enjoy this script because I️ did. The original will always seem better because it was new & fresh at the time. It seems like with the popularity & success of the original, many fashion designers joined as cameos & most of big name actors were added in mostly minor roles.

Alien gives it 3 “friendly reunion” stars out of 4.

Neglected

It’s Detective Shaw’s (Josh Duhamel) last day at the Clinton Police Department in Mississippi after 20 years of service. He is given the day off but is suddenly called back to the station. A bloodied kid (Dylan Sprouse) has walked into the police station to report a murder & insists on only talking to Shaw. The kid confesses to kidnapping Shaw’s son & Shaw must visit 3 crimes scenes to uncover clues before the kid reveals the son's whereabouts. With the clock ticking, Shaw must solve this crime spree mystery in order to save his son. See if you can figure out this crime mystery & the motive before our hero does. It is an intense thrill ride. Can Shaw save his son? What is this kid’s motive? Will justice be served? Keep an eye out for one last twisted scene mid credits.

Alien gives it 2½ “hear no evil, speak no evil, & see no evil” stars out of 4.

Animal Farm

From Angel Studios, George Orwell’s allegorical novella depicting how farm animals rebelled against their human farmer & attempted to create an equal society is now on the big screen. This animated story is actually a critique of the Russian Revolution & Stalinism while using farm animals to illustrate how power corrupts The leaders of the revolt are two pigs, Napoleon representing Stalin & Snowball representing Trotsky. All is going well in the beginning as all of the farm animals… pigs, horses, cows, sheep, & chickens were working together with great success on the farm. Rules were established to prevent society at the farm from being run like the humans operated it. But slowly, Napoleon schemes to get rid of Snowball & changes the rules to create an elitist pig class. The studio has modernized the story to appeal to today’s audiences as well toned it down for the younger viewers. This interpretation is more kid friendly.

Alien gives it 2½ “LAUGHTER misread” stars out of 4.

The Sheep Detectives

Talking Sheep, Rams, & Lambs… oh my! 

Are you an animal lover? Do you like solving crime mysteries? Then, maybe you’ll get a kick out of this PG-rated film.

A shepherd, George (Hugh Jackman), reads murder mysteries to his flock of sheep every night. Then one morning, he is found dead outside of his trailer. His flock of sheep using their knowledge of this genre, set out to uncover the murderer & solve the case. This is a murder mystery with a twist. The sheep are CGI-ed & talking in this live-action mystery thriller comedy. The sheep have great personalities giving this a delightful “Murder Sheep Wrote” vibe to this “Wool Dunit?” mystery. Of course, we have a good cast of suspects & a bumbling cop leading the investigation. Are smarter than the sheep & can solve the crime before the big reveal?

Alien gives it 3 “they call stupid humans… sheep” stars out of 4. 

Fuze

An unexploded WWII bomb has been discovered at a London construction site. A military team of experts is sent in to defuse the bomb. Police secure the area & evacuate the potential detonation area. Residents are staged safely away. The police have the area heavily surveillance & patrolled. But the band of criminals are covertly pulling off a bank heist within the secured zone. Tensions rise as the drama intensifies with the bomb beginning to tick & hints of movement occurring in the secured zone. With some twists & turns as well as some narrow escapes, audiences will wonder if these robbers will get away with their loot. Is there any honor among thieves? Who is behind this mastermind heist? Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Gigi Martha-Raw, & Sam Worthington are among the cast.

Alien gives it 3 “the shootout connection” stars out of 4.

Dust Bunny

8-year-old Aurora (Sophie Sloan) is terrified that there is a monster underneath her bed that will come out of the floorboards to eat her. Her mom tells her that only dust bunnies are under her bed. Frightened one night, she hides under her covers & hears scary noises. In the morning, her parents bedroom is torn apart & they are missing. Aurora hires the resident (Mads Mikkelsen) in 5B to kill her monster. He is skeptical but plays along to humor the little girl This is a very weird whimsical of the “The Professional”. It is a dark fantasy/horror/action/comedy. Resident 5B is actually a hit man with his own monsters, assassins, after him. Sigourney Weaver plays Laverne, his handler. This is a real mixed bag… reality meets imagination… metaphor of a child’s nightmares & fears… assassins’ gun battles…the huge monster who will eat you… This one was hard for me to get into… difficult to figure out what it wanted to be. Look for one last surprise clip mid credits. 

Alien gives it 2 “keep off the floor & I️ told you so” stars out of 4.

Apex

Do you enjoy rock climbing? Or are you afraid of heights & falling? How about white water sports? Or are you afraid of drowning? If you are an adventurer, you may enjoy “Apex”… well, at least parts of it. Apex is defined as the highest point of an object like a mountain or the peak of a thing like an apex predator. This survival action thriller starts with an exhilarating tandem mountain climb by Sasha (Charlize Theron) & Tommy (Eric Bana) up the Troll Wall in Norway. Then 5 months later, Sasha visits Australia to go to the Grand Isle Narrows. She plans to kayak the rapids to get there. A ranger warns her about some missing persons disappearing in the area. When she gets hassled by some rude hunters, I️ start to get a “Deliverance” vibe. But a stranger named Ben (Taron Egerton) runs some interference. After a wild rapids ride & a restful night, Sasha discovers her pack missing. Thus begins a terrifying cat & mouse hunter/prey game. The scenery is spectacular. The villain is a real psycho. This film is disturbing. The climbing & the water scenes are amazing.

Alien gives it 3 “crossbow & rituals” stars out of 4.

KPop Demon Hunters

Long ago, demons began claiming human souls but a team of three women warriors stepped up to stop them in this battle between good & evil. Over the centuries, each generation had their trio of defenders. The latest threesome is a K-Pop girl group that calls themselves Huntrix… composed of Mira, Rumi, & Zoey. In between their concert tours, they battle these demons to save souls. Thus, we have a musical superhero action movie with choreographed musical concert numbers versus big battle sequences. The demons create Saja Boys, a five-guy boy band to steal away Huntrix’s fans. At a critical moment, Rumi starts to lose her voice & a secret is revealed. This animated film explores the power of a team working together as well as finding your voice & not being afraid of who you are. The film is targeted for a younger audience but it is entertaining to all ages. 

Alien gives it 3 “patterns don’t define you” stars out of 4.

Christy

Sydney Sweeney stars as the trailblazing female boxer Christy Martin in this true biographical sports drama. Beginning in West Virginia in 1989, college basketball player Christy enters a local boxing contest & gets noticed. She gets introduced to trainer Jim Martin (Ben Foster), & thus begins her boxing career. Eventually, Christy & Jim marry. As Christy gains more & more success in the ring, Jim becomes more controlling & abusive. Both Sweeney & Foster give amazing portrayals. Sweeney really stretches & transforms herself to become this fiesty, fiery fighter. Sidney’s iconic image is barely recognizable beneath that boxer’s physique & 7 weeks after filming this movie, she looks like her former self to begin shooting her “Housemaid” role as Millie. This film highlights this woman’s journey to find her identity & to stand up for herself outside the ring. This may have been a theatrical box office bomb, but it’s an inspirational female empowerment message… as well as a bold choice for Sweeney to showcase her talents beyond her stereotypical pretty girl image.

Alien gives it 3 “Coal Miner’s Daughter” stars out of 4.