Not recommended. But it's mildly interesting that the spaceship and its crew of young adults seem to be a microcosm of the USA under Trump. A stable leader (Colin Farrell) who follows the rules and enforces them is replaced by a bad seed who delights in breaking rules and creating dissension. The ship's culture becomes toxic. People are driven to distraction by fear of "the alien" they suspect is on board. A smoothly functioning community falls to pieces.
Reviews
10 Reviews
Fine performances, interesting occult story
9 May 2020
I've watched the first two episodes and look forward to the rest of the show. It features fine performances by Lane, Zovatto and especially Natalie Dormer, who plays multiple characters. I like the occult story line and the linkage to Mexican folklore.
The political angle and lack of resemblance to the original Penny Dreadful don't bother me at all. in fact, I find City of Angels more appealing than the first Penny Dreadful, which spent too much time developing atmosphere with characters standing around in costume in dark rooms and gloomy gaslit streets. At least the characters in City of Angels manage to get out into the Los Angeles sunshine occasionally.
As an aside, I wonder if Dormer delivered the multiple accents (German, American) herself, or were they dubbed? If she did it herself, that's impressive. I look forward to seeing her in more films.
The political angle and lack of resemblance to the original Penny Dreadful don't bother me at all. in fact, I find City of Angels more appealing than the first Penny Dreadful, which spent too much time developing atmosphere with characters standing around in costume in dark rooms and gloomy gaslit streets. At least the characters in City of Angels manage to get out into the Los Angeles sunshine occasionally.
As an aside, I wonder if Dormer delivered the multiple accents (German, American) herself, or were they dubbed? If she did it herself, that's impressive. I look forward to seeing her in more films.
Riveting, but...
15 December 2019
Things I especially liked: Pitt's performance; relationship between DiCaprio and Pitt characters; scene at Spahn movie ranch; on-set at filming of western.
But it's just not right to depict real people (Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring) in this fashion. Highly disturbing. If not for that, I would have given it 10 stars.
American Woman
(2018)
Simply outstanding
6 December 2019
Siena Miller gives a terrific performance. Christina Hendricks and Aaron Paul are fine, but most of all the story and script really moved me. I saw the last 3/4 of this in a hotel on pay-per-view. Couldn't rewind it to the beginning, so the very next night, I watched the first part just to get the back story on the characters . Highly recommended if you're looking for something other than a comic book-driven action story.
Patient Zero
(I) (2018)
Disappointing vehicle for Dormer and Smith
9 October 2019
I have long suspected that this film was shelved by the studio for years because they were concerned about its similarities to Justin Cronin's excellent novel The Passage (published way back in 2010). But now I think it's just because this is a poor piece of work that's painful to watch.
I tried to watch it because I am a big fan of Natalie Dormer. She does OK here, but the film itself is quite disappointing, for reasons described in other reviews.
Plot points shared by both this movie and Cronin's novel include a world overrun by people who have been infected by a supervirus that transforms them into inarticulate muscular beasts that chew people to pieces, a central character who is the only human who can communicate with the infected, and the search for "Patient Zero," the first person infected. Even the term Patient Zero is in both the film and the novel. That's too many similarities to be a coincidence. I'm surprised Cronin's publishers let it happen.
I tried to watch it because I am a big fan of Natalie Dormer. She does OK here, but the film itself is quite disappointing, for reasons described in other reviews.
Plot points shared by both this movie and Cronin's novel include a world overrun by people who have been infected by a supervirus that transforms them into inarticulate muscular beasts that chew people to pieces, a central character who is the only human who can communicate with the infected, and the search for "Patient Zero," the first person infected. Even the term Patient Zero is in both the film and the novel. That's too many similarities to be a coincidence. I'm surprised Cronin's publishers let it happen.
Rocketman
(I) (2019)
Like an old-school musical; enjoyed it anyway
30 August 2019
Surprisingly, this is a film in which characters suddenly burst into song. Sometimes troops of dancers glide onscreen to support them. Not what I expected, but I did like this movie. It features strong performances by the leads. The Elton John songs that form ALL of the soundtrack were carefully chosen to tie in to the story. The best example: the "Rocketman" chorus ("I'm not the man they think I am at all") fits perfectly with crises going on in Elton John's life, including his conflicted homosexuality. The sheer number of great songs, one after another, bang bang bang, makes it clear (as if anyone really needed reminding) how outstanding John and Taupin's songwriting was, in the early years at least. Hearing them again in this context, all in a single sitting and accompanied by great visuals, was totally different from hearing this familiar music on classic rock radio for the one-thousandth dreary time.
I kept wondering how a film like this about real living people could actually be brought to the screen. After all, it depicts a lot of very personal stuff about John's relationship with his parents (who are depicted in an unfavorable light, to say the least), his spoiled behavior and so on. Why would John and Taupin agree to let such a film even exist. But then the closing credits reveal that Elton John is "executive producer," which made me wonder if this was in some sense his personal vanity project. Even so, it's a fine film.
NB: For Soft Machine fans, there's an unexpected surprise. I'd forgotten that Elton Dean and Elton John worked together in Bluesology. That's depicted briefly in the early part of the film.
I kept wondering how a film like this about real living people could actually be brought to the screen. After all, it depicts a lot of very personal stuff about John's relationship with his parents (who are depicted in an unfavorable light, to say the least), his spoiled behavior and so on. Why would John and Taupin agree to let such a film even exist. But then the closing credits reveal that Elton John is "executive producer," which made me wonder if this was in some sense his personal vanity project. Even so, it's a fine film.
NB: For Soft Machine fans, there's an unexpected surprise. I'd forgotten that Elton Dean and Elton John worked together in Bluesology. That's depicted briefly in the early part of the film.
Tuff Turf
(1985)
Strictly for the junior high school set
21 August 2019
I tried to watch this, but I had to turn it off after 15 minutes. It was so juvenile that I couldn't stand it. That's a shame, because I wanted to like it. I remember the 1980s. I remember seeing this in video rental stores (in VCR format) when it was a recent release. Nostalgia is fine with me, but this was too much to bear.
Alien: Covenant
(2017)
Enjoyable, well-made summer entertainment...
20 May 2017
"Alien: Covenant" doesn't deserve some of the negative reviews I'm seeing on this site. When you're Ridley Scott, it's possible to be a victim of your own success: if you make a film that is not absolutely wonderful and doesn't match "Blade Runner" and "Gladiator," people are disappointed and slag it. That's showbiz.
For context, let me state up front that I'm a big fan of the first two Alien films, and "Prometheus" as well. I liked "Alien: Covenant" and will eventually watch it again on home video. I will leave to others to pass judgment on whether this is a "good" movie. To my taste, which is all I care about, it had good performances, an interesting, credible story, great action sequences, beautiful visuals and satisfying tie- ins to the previous films. I don't require great special effects, but this film rates high in that category, in my humble opinion.
As for themes, deeper meanings and big thoughts: yes, there are some here. But I will stay silent on that, because I didn't fully understand "Prometheus" until I read some reviews. Somebody smarter than I will have to instruct me on that.
Word of caution: you might want to watch "Prometheus" before "Alien: Covenant". This story arc is getting pretty complex.
For context, let me state up front that I'm a big fan of the first two Alien films, and "Prometheus" as well. I liked "Alien: Covenant" and will eventually watch it again on home video. I will leave to others to pass judgment on whether this is a "good" movie. To my taste, which is all I care about, it had good performances, an interesting, credible story, great action sequences, beautiful visuals and satisfying tie- ins to the previous films. I don't require great special effects, but this film rates high in that category, in my humble opinion.
As for themes, deeper meanings and big thoughts: yes, there are some here. But I will stay silent on that, because I didn't fully understand "Prometheus" until I read some reviews. Somebody smarter than I will have to instruct me on that.
Word of caution: you might want to watch "Prometheus" before "Alien: Covenant". This story arc is getting pretty complex.
Night of the Demons
(1988)
Makes Friday the 13th look like Citizen Kane
29 April 2016
I am a connoisseur of bad horror movies from the 1980s, but this one is sadly lacking even by those standards. The dreary dialogue, made worse by appalling acting, with everyone grimacing and grinding out their lines by rote like automatons, were simply too much to bear. These performances are of the quality you might find in a high school drama production.
Even worse, it lacked action, ignoring an unwritten rule for this sort of film: there simply must be a killing, maiming or supernatural occurrence during the first ten minutes. That doesn't happen here. The early scares are limited to silliness such as someone's little brother popping out of a closet shouting "Boo!" If you're 12 years old and willing to watch almost anything on TV while babysitting for your next door neighbors, you might find this acceptable. As for me, I tried to watch it but had to turn it off after 10 minutes. It was so stupid I couldn't stand any more.
Even worse, it lacked action, ignoring an unwritten rule for this sort of film: there simply must be a killing, maiming or supernatural occurrence during the first ten minutes. That doesn't happen here. The early scares are limited to silliness such as someone's little brother popping out of a closet shouting "Boo!" If you're 12 years old and willing to watch almost anything on TV while babysitting for your next door neighbors, you might find this acceptable. As for me, I tried to watch it but had to turn it off after 10 minutes. It was so stupid I couldn't stand any more.
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