What are ya watch'n [MOVIES]

[Daehawk]

John still supports it totally. Owns some General Lees. Knows what paint it has and does get togethers. I cannot agree with him at all on his political views but when it comes to Dukes he is awesome.

[Holman]

Alien: Romulus / B

Major spoilers:

The Good:

Spoiler:

-- Cailee Spaeny is wonderful as the "new Ripley/Shaw/Daniels/final girl". She accomplishes everything that could have been asked of the role, and her character's innocence provides a relatively fresh spin. But it still feels derivative. It would have been nice to see a person of colour or of a different identity/background in the main role.
-- David Jonsson's android Andy is the absolute best thing about the film. It was a delight to see him transition between the two personalities, though I loved him even before the twist.
-- The setting is just outstanding. I'd like to have spent more time on the mining planet. (I'd be happy to see a high-quality TV series expand on the universe. Edit: Apparently there's a series in the works! Alien: Earth.) And the planetary rings set piece is gorgeous.
-- There's some real imagination put into some of the sequences, such as the "dodging acid in zero gravity" scene. And the station is creatively designed and shot so that it's able to feel expansive and visually interesting while remaining industrial and claustrophobic.
-- The first/false ending sets up the best/most original development in the film in terms of the final monster. And its birth was the first scene in the film that actually shocked me a little.
-- Overall, the film does a pretty good job of reeling in the franchise after Prometheus and Covenant (though I enjoyed them as well), telling a smaller story.

The Bad:

Spoiler:

-- The rest of the cast is fine if underdeveloped, but it's a traditional survival horror film; we know they're all probably going to be dead by the end. I appreciate that it seemed to be a plot-based decision to have a younger cast of characters, but it felt like "Alien: Muppet Babbies" some of the time.
-- I was able to "turn my brain off" for most of the film and accept the hand waves for the sake of the story, but there were a lot of small inconsistencies and leaps of logic that I don't think will stand up to scrutiny. As much as this is touted as a direct "midquel" to Alien, I'm glad I didn't re-watch any of the series in advance because I imagine it's a better experience only remembering the broad strokes. One thing in particular that bugged me: I'm pretty sure it's a canon thing that the xenomorphs grow extremely rapidly, but it seemed like the "final boss" went from infant to eleven feet tall in the span of ten minutes.
-- I'm disappointed it eventually got fairly over the top. Dozens of face huggers? Over a dozen fully-grown xenomorphs? That Rain, never having shot a rifle before, is able to take out with one cartridge of ammo, planted at the end of a hallway? So much for keeping things small. It really would have been better as a one-on-one throughout, as the final encounter is. But even as a soft reboot, being the seventh film in the core franchise I imagine the writers and/or producers wrongly assumed we'd be underwhelmed with less.

The Ugly:

Spoiler:

-- Bloody hell, could they not just let Ian Holm stay dead?? Not to mention that as amazingly detailed as the CGI/performer was, there was some extreme uncanny valley going on. Perhaps this could have been written off as him being an artificial lifeform (and a severely damaged one at that) if all androids in other installments of the franchise (including the original version of the character) weren't portrayed as passing fully for human. His inclusion comes off as cynical rather than as a tribute. The least they could have done was get Lance Henriksen instead, still alive (and acting!) at the age of 84. But I realize that wouldn't have fit in with the time line as well, and the evident desire to tie things back to the first film specifically.

Overall, the story somehow accomplishes feeling fresher than it actually is. But I'm content. I enjoyed myself. Sacrificing originality is the cost of continuing to play in this universe at this point, and it's a concession I'm willing to make.

Just got back from Romulus. I concur with Sudy's assessments.

Another couple of points on the androids:

Spoiler:

--I agree that Andy was amazing, and his "turn" was very well-done. I especially liked that the coldly calculating Weyland-Yutanibot who won't open the door is thinking like everyone who has ever watched the heroes in a horror movie try to do something they shouldn't.

--The movie played a little bit with the appearance of Rook (the Ian Holm android), giving you a few flashes of maybe-maybe silhouette before confirming that this was actually the same model. When it was clear, I thought it was a cool callback. Then, when he just *wouldn't leave the movie* I felt bad for the Holm estate.

[Holman]

Oh, and there was a preview for A Complete Unknown, the upcoming Timothee-Chalamet-as-Bob-Dylan movie.

When the preview first showed that it was Chalamet, I stage-whispered "Lisan al Gaib!"

I think at least one person chuckled.

[Archinerd]

Alien: Romulus / B

Major spoilers:

The Good:

Spoiler:

-- Cailee Spaeny is wonderful as the "new Ripley/Shaw/Daniels/final girl". She accomplishes everything that could have been asked of the role, and her character's innocence provides a relatively fresh spin. But it still feels derivative. It would have been nice to see a person of colour or of a different identity/background in the main role.
-- David Jonsson's android Andy is the absolute best thing about the film. It was a delight to see him transition between the two personalities, though I loved him even before the twist.
-- The setting is just outstanding. I'd like to have spent more time on the mining planet. (I'd be happy to see a high-quality TV series expand on the universe. Edit: Apparently there's a series in the works! Alien: Earth.) And the planetary rings set piece is gorgeous.
-- There's some real imagination put into some of the sequences, such as the "dodging acid in zero gravity" scene. And the station is creatively designed and shot so that it's able to feel expansive and visually interesting while remaining industrial and claustrophobic.
-- The first/false ending sets up the best/most original development in the film in terms of the final monster. And its birth was the first scene in the film that actually shocked me a little.
-- Overall, the film does a pretty good job of reeling in the franchise after Prometheus and Covenant (though I enjoyed them as well), telling a smaller story.

The Bad:

Spoiler:

-- The rest of the cast is fine if underdeveloped, but it's a traditional survival horror film; we know they're all probably going to be dead by the end. I appreciate that it seemed to be a plot-based decision to have a younger cast of characters, but it felt like "Alien: Muppet Babbies" some of the time.
-- I was able to "turn my brain off" for most of the film and accept the hand waves for the sake of the story, but there were a lot of small inconsistencies and leaps of logic that I don't think will stand up to scrutiny. As much as this is touted as a direct "midquel" to Alien, I'm glad I didn't re-watch any of the series in advance because I imagine it's a better experience only remembering the broad strokes. One thing in particular that bugged me: I'm pretty sure it's a canon thing that the xenomorphs grow extremely rapidly, but it seemed like the "final boss" went from infant to eleven feet tall in the span of ten minutes.
-- I'm disappointed it eventually got fairly over the top. Dozens of face huggers? Over a dozen fully-grown xenomorphs? That Rain, never having shot a rifle before, is able to take out with one cartridge of ammo, planted at the end of a hallway? So much for keeping things small. It really would have been better as a one-on-one throughout, as the final encounter is. But even as a soft reboot, being the seventh film in the core franchise I imagine the writers and/or producers wrongly assumed we'd be underwhelmed with less.

The Ugly:

Spoiler:

-- Bloody hell, could they not just let Ian Holm stay dead?? Not to mention that as amazingly detailed as the CGI/performer was, there was some extreme uncanny valley going on. Perhaps this could have been written off as him being an artificial lifeform (and a severely damaged one at that) if all androids in other installments of the franchise (including the original version of the character) weren't portrayed as passing fully for human. His inclusion comes off as cynical rather than as a tribute. The least they could have done was get Lance Henriksen instead, still alive (and acting!) at the age of 84. But I realize that wouldn't have fit in with the time line as well, and the evident desire to tie things back to the first film specifically.

Overall, the story somehow accomplishes feeling fresher than it actually is. But I'm content. I enjoyed myself. Sacrificing originality is the cost of continuing to play in this universe at this point, and it's a concession I'm willing to make.

This is pretty close to my thoughts as well. ...it's certainly better than Alien 4!

[Daehawk]

Watched Lesbian Vampire Killers. It was OK. Had James Cordon in it. Had the the urge to punch him in the face for some reason. That never happened in Carpool Karioki . The lead blonde girl was very hot. Little 5'2" petite thing she was. Wow. In fact all the lesbian vampires were sexy....must be my thing.

Movie seemed to drag near the end and out stay it welcome. Kept wondering when it was going to end. No nudity was disappointing in a movie with its name and filled with pretty girls.

[hepcat]

This is pretty close to my thoughts as well. ...it's certainly better than Alien 4!

It's primarily because I'm a huge Jean-Pierre Jeunet fan, but I thought Resurrection wasn't THAT bad. Jeunet was not a good fit for a gritty horror survival film though, I will admit.

[hepcat]

Wow. In fact all the lesbian vampires were sexy....must be my thing.

I'm pretty sure they could have been sexy bisexual CPAs and you'd still think it was your thing.

[Daehawk]

Whats that new avatar of yor'ins?

[hepcat]

Gary and his Demons.

[Daehawk]

Oh its Gary. Not up on new toons. I still live in an age of Thundarr.

Come to think of it I wish that 50s Panavision AI would do late 70s early 80s Sat morning cartoon trailers. Starting with Thundarr or course then The Herculoids.

EDIT: Hey I found 2...not Thundarr but still....

[Brian]

This is pretty close to my thoughts as well. ...it's certainly better than Alien 4!

It's primarily because I'm a huge Jean-Pierre Jeunet fan, but I thought Resurrection wasn't THAT bad. Jeunet was not a good fit for a gritty horror survival film though, I will admit.

Spoiler:

I think this leaned a little too hard in to Resurrection territory with the hybrid baby.
I couldn't roll my eyes hard enough.

Also, i get it Hollywood, you like call-backs and fan service, but word-for-word quotes always takes me out of the movie.

[Archinerd]

This is pretty close to my thoughts as well. ...it's certainly better than Alien 4!

It's primarily because I'm a huge Jean-Pierre Jeunet fan, but I thought Resurrection wasn't THAT bad. Jeunet was not a good fit for a gritty horror survival film though, I will admit.

Spoiler:

I think this leaned a little too hard in to Resurrection territory with the hybrid baby.
I couldn't roll my eyes hard enough.

Also, i get it Hollywood, you like call-backs and fan service, but word-for-word quotes always takes me out of the movie.

Jean-Pierre is generally fantastic. Amelie is great, and City of the Lost Children and Delicatessen have long been favorites of mine. Resurrection is a turd.

After sleeping on it though, I'm starting to think Alien Romulus is generally not good. What it gets right, it does well, but man... it's missteps are some of the lowest in the franchise.
Like I said though, I still think it's better than Alien 4!

[hepcat]

I won't argue that 4 was a good film. I will just say I was interested in seeing Jeunet bringing his quirky sensibilities to a film that was obviously not suited for it. It was a thought experiment that went awry, at best. But I enjoyed seeing some of the little Jeunet-centric touches in the film, as incongruous as they were. Ryder's Call trying to drink while wearing boxing gloves comes to mind.

[TheMix]

I liked the characters in 4. The plot? Much less so.

I do respect that they didn't try to keep creating the same movies. I know folks don't talk about 3, but at least they tried to do something different than Aliens Again.

[Brian]

The movie got a lot right, I'll give it that.
The look, the sound design, the lore...all spot on.
As an Alien movie, it's good. Not great, but good.
It's miles better than Prometheus and Covenant.
I'd rank it about on par with Alien 3.
It would have ranked higher but for the things I noted in my spoiler block above.

I actually like Resurrection up until a specific point and this movie suffers from nearly the exact same issue.
If you've read my spoiler, you'll know.
When I rewatch Resurrection, I will watch and enjoy up to a very specific point in the movie and then just shut it off.
I can see the same thing happening with this movie on future rewatches.

One thing I haven't mentioned yet is the music.
Honestly, I don't remember a single note from the soundtrack.
Maybe I just was not paying enough attention but nothing about the soundtrack stuck out to me like the creepy tones from Alien or the driving, militaristic force of the Aliens soundtracks.
So, the music gets a "meh" from me. At least until I watch it again and pay more attention to the soundtrack.

[Torfish]

Saw the new Alien movie. Set pieces were great. Action scenes pretty good. Nothing else was good. The story is bad. Acting bad. Callbacks bad. I wish callbacks would stop. I rewatched Alien, Aliens, Prometheus before this one. Those movies are far better.

I was wanting at least a good movie.

[Daehawk]

Theres movies I want to watch but they all want $4 from me. I mean a lot of stuff I want to watch is stuff I watched in the 80s and they still want $4 for me to see that shit?? WTF.

Then theres newer stuff I want to see.....

Free Guy....again
The Adam Project
Star Wars..old but still $4.....
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

come on streaming stop this shit...I have both Amazon Prime and Paramount+ and I cant find a damn thing to watch free. I sub to your damn service and yet you want even more money for stuff...STOP IT>!!

[JCC]

Star Wars..old but still $4.....
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

These two will probably never be available on any streaming service (for "free" with a subscription) but Disney+. You could always swap one of the 2 aforementioned streaming services that don't have a "damn thing for free" for a month or two of D+.

[hepcat]

Theres movies I want to watch but they all want $4 from me. I mean a lot of stuff I want to watch is stuff I watched in the 80s and they still want $4 for me to see that shit?? WTF.

Then theres newer stuff I want to see.....

Free Guy....again
The Adam Project
Star Wars..old but still $4.....
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

come on streaming stop this shit...I have both Amazon Prime and Paramount+ and I cant find a damn thing to watch free. I sub to your damn service and yet you want even more money for stuff...STOP IT>!!

There are literally thousands of movies and shows you have access to with even just those two. A far cry from the old days of ABC, NBC, CBS…and public access tv shows.

P.S. get Tubi. Free and a pretty healthy library as well.

[Blackhawk]

come on streaming stop this shit...I have both Amazon Prime and Paramount+ and I cant find a damn thing to watch free. I sub to your damn service and yet you want even more money for stuff...STOP IT>!!

I assume you're talking about Amazon.

Don't forget that Amazon is primarily a retail company. They offer streaming, and have quite a bit of content, but when you search for something, you're seeing both their streaming content and their store content by default. Why is Star Wars $4? Because Star Wars is a Disney property, and only streams for free on Disney+. If you watch Star Wars anywhere else, you're renting it, just like you would from Blockbuster way back when. You'll find the same thing with most of the shows you search for on Amazon, because you're not searching the Prime Video free offerings, you're searching the entire store.

If you just want to see what's actually included with Prime Video, search and then click the 'Prime' button at the top, the same way you would if you were looking for something with Prime shipping. That will filter it to only actual Prime Video free content.

[Unagi]

As we were leaving, Jen asked, has Willem Defoe done anything where he isn't a creep weirdo?

Actually, only Gill

[Jeff V]

P.S. get Tubi. Free and a pretty healthy library as well.

Freevee as well.

[hepcat]

Freevee has Gary and his Demons as well.

Tubi has started creating its own content recently. I'm curious to see what they can do.

Alien: Romulus / B

I look forward to seeing it on a streaming service near me someday. The only review I've read (other than yours) dinged it for catering way too hard to fan service, and for some crappy CGI that's somewhat redeemed by good physical effects/models. Overall the reviewer liked it and I probably will, too.

[gilraen]

Watched Set It Up, a Netflix rom-com from a few years ago. Really cute and overall staying away from slapstick vulgarity that seems to pass for humor in 95% of more recent rom-coms.

Zoey Deutch is a dead ringer for younger Keri Russell, it's uncanny.

[Daehawk]

No movie last night but sometimes I watch an ep of the original Star Trek..or one of Strange New Worlds. Last night it was TOS and Miri. Forgot just HOW MUCH I hated that damn kids chanted "bang on the head"....STRANGLE THAT LIttlerrrrrrrr nm. Miri is 77 now..wow.

[Daehawk]

I watched Jackpot. It was entertaining. The out takes in the credits were really fun.

EDIT: Had time to think deeper on this. If a movie could have too much action this one did right out of the gate. Hard to keep up. And like Fury Road there really wasn't any plot other than stay alive......and FR was a ton better. Also I wanted to watch this thinking it was pure John Cena action...but then they kept removing him from the action and replacing him with Awquafina action..which is lame. I mean I like her more these days..she is growing on me after Renfield...still hate her name.

[Brian]

Just saw The Last Starfighter at the Alamo.

Honestly, I was dreading the old cgi but was surprised to discover that it didn't bother me in the least.

I was surprised to see Wil Wheaton listed in the credits since I didn't recall seeing him in the movie at all.
Did a little research and it turns out most of his scenes were cut but if you know where to look you can still see him in the background of a few shots.

Catherine Mary Stewart to me is the quintessential 80's girl as she was in so many of the fun films from that time.
I'm still mad we ended up not being able to go to the Alamo event a few years back where she did a meet & greet.

Anyway, Starfighter is still a fun way to spend some time at theater.

[Daehawk]

Sounds fun. She was one of my 80s crushes. Starfighter, Night of the Comet, Nightflyers.

[Daehawk]

Watched Terminator Genisys and loved it. I recall this one getting some hate or something but don't know why. I thought it was great. I even loved the ending. Well except them inserting that small clip in the credits. I guess they had to do that to leave room for another movie to happen. I also love Emilia Clarke. She is so damn cute.

I admit the story was slightly confusing as to how all the time stuff was going....and I'm the one that never has problems following all the twists in movies,

[YellowKing]

Catherine Mary Stewart to me is the quintessential 80's girl as she was in so many of the fun films from that time.
I'm still mad we ended up not being able to go to the Alamo event a few years back where she did a meet & greet.

I met her at New Jersey Horror Con a couple of years ago and she is a TOTAL sweetheart. So friendly, so outgoing, took the time to chat with us about The Last Starfighter and Night of the Comet. She even remembered us the following day and stopped to thank my buddy for letting her know about The Last Starfighter musical soundtrack which she had not heard.

Here's me (left) with my buddy Brian with CMS and Kelli Maroney. They are still good friends to this day and do a lot of cons together.

[Brian]

Oh man, CMS AND Kelli Maroney!!
Dude, mark me down as envious.

We probably watch Night of the Comet at least once per year. Most recently a couple months back at, where else, the Alamo.

[hepcat]

Oh wow, the 3 hour Indian science fiction blockbuster Kalki 2898 AD appeared over the weekend on Netflix. It's also on Amazon Prime.



RRR helped me get over my dislike of Indian cinema by making impromptu singing and dancing less annoying to me. Kalki looks sufficiently huge and over the top. I'm putting it on my Labor Day weekend watch list, along with the 6 movie Joe Bob's Last Drive In marathon this Friday on Shudder.

[YellowKing]

Don't threaten me with a good time! Never heard of Kalki but it's going on the list!

[hepcat]

I was this close to seeing it in the theater near me that plays quite a few Indian films. But it disappeared rather quickly. However, that was only a few weeks ago. I wasn't expecting it on any streaming services for a few more months, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it appear suddenly on Netflix when I was looking for something to watch last night.

[Daehawk]

I watched Skyline last night. Was a good movie. Made me nervous lol. It ended ok I guess. Cant win them all.

[Jeff V]

I watched Atomic Blonde last night, and was surprised that it's opening theme song was David Bowie's theme from Cat People. First time I can remember seeing 2 movies with the same theme song, anyone know of others?

The movie was pretty good (good music throughout). Charlize Theron and John Goodman.

[TheMix]

I watched Skyline last night. Was a good movie. Made me nervous lol. It ended ok I guess. Cant win them all.

Be aware, there are actually several movies in that "series". I think I've seen at least two of them. I didn't feel like they tied them together all that well. But in case you were interested in more of the story.

[Blackhawk]

Oh wow, the 3 hour Indian science fiction blockbuster Kalki 2898 AD appeared over the weekend on Netflix. It's also on Amazon Prime.



RRR helped me get over my dislike of Indian cinema by making impromptu singing and dancing less annoying to me. Kalki looks sufficiently huge and over the top. I'm putting it on my Labor Day weekend watch list, along with the 6 movie Joe Bob's Last Drive In marathon this Friday on Shudder.

Can anyone with an active Netflix sub tell me if there's an English audio option?

[Daehawk]

I watched Skyline last night. Was a good movie. Made me nervous lol. It ended ok I guess. Cant win them all.

Be aware, there are actually several movies in that "series". I think I've seen at least two of them. I didn't feel like they tied them together all that well. But in case you were interested in more of the story.

Like Battle Los Angeles

NM I see that isn't it. I see Beyond Skyline and also Skylines.

[hepcat]

Beyond Skyline is actually a blast. It’s a Frank Grillo action film first and foremost. Also on Netflix