Alien Romulus (2024) Spoiler Review!

Space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life-form in the universe while scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station.

Alien Romulus is directed by Fede Álvarez who previously directed Evil Dead (2013), Don’t Breathe (2016) and The Girl in the Spider’s Web (2018). Alien Romulus is the ninth film of the Alien franchise (if you count the Alien Vs Predator movies) or the seventh film of the franchise (if you don’t count the Alien Vs Predator movies). The film takes place between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986).

The Alien franchise is always a fun one, not every single film in the series is a winner but the first two films are some of my favorite films and I quite like Prometheus (2012) and Alien Covenant (2017). I was very excited to see Fede Álvarez take on the franchise since he did an incredible job with the Evil Dead series and sure enough he does one hell of a job here.

The performances are a lot of fun, Cailee Spaeny is definitely the standout who gives yet another fantastic performance from this year (first one being Civil War). She makes for a great lead and really matches the incredibly thrilling atmosphere that the film goes for. Her best moments are when she’s connecting with the rest of the cast, particularly with David Jonsson who is also quite fantastic here as well. The two have strong chemistry and really make their characters Rain (played by Cailee Spaeny) and Andy (played by David Jonsson) sibling dynamics more interesting, it’s not some deep dive into their bond but it’s just a enough to make the viewer truly care for them. Isabela Merced is also quite great here, her character doesn’t get a lot of development but she makes up for it with her performance plus her character being quite likable.

Alien Romulus leans heavily into the franchise’s horror origins which combined with what ends up happening much later in this film completely works in its favor. The aliens themselves are scary, you never know when they are going to attack it’s some very classic usage of suspense that works effectively. The kills are brutal and gory, some of the most brutal of the franchise, there’s one scene in particular that’s quite shocking that will most certainly will get under people’s skin. In terms of kills, gore and the aliens themselves Álvarez really went all out plus the use of practical effects and animatronics were excellent.

Having that said the use of digitally adding the late Ian Holm for the character of Rook was a very unnecessary move, I get the film wanted to do a call back and apparently Holm’s estate did give permission. However it still doesn’t make a good choice, the CGI is very noticeable and is incredibly distracting from an otherwise beautifully shot and well made film. It’s not enough to completely break the movie (far from it) but the fact it was used at all is very questionable.

The writing is definitely messy at times particularly when it comes to a lot of the plot stuff, but at the very least the film itself is fun to watch. The film is clearly not interested in expanding a lot of the lore of the franchise it’s more interested in bringing fear to the viewer and keep the characters in their own story. Sure there are callbacks but that’s really about it the movie is mostly self contained and serves as sort of a bridge between Alien (1979) and Prometheus (2012).

Overall Alien Romulus works incredibly well and is a pretty solid addition to the series, it’s not anything mind blowing or even new to the series. But it’s a very fun film that knows what it wants to be.

Alien Romulus is playing in theaters.

8/10 B+

Rebel Ridge (2024) Film Review!

A former Marine confronts corruption in a small town when local law enforcement unjustly seizes the bag of cash he needs to post his cousin’s bail.

Rebel Ridge is directed by Jeremy Saulnier director of Murder Party (2007), Blue Ruin (2013), Green Room (2015) and Hold The Dark (2018).

Jeremy Saulnier returns with yet another strong film, Saulnier is definitely a filmmaker that I quickly became a fan of. He takes the thriller genre and goes all out with it especially with Blue Ruin (2013) and Green Room (2015) (one of my favorite films of the 2010s). I’m happy to say that he does that yet again with Rebel Ridge!

Right off the bat Aaron Pierre gives a fantastic performance, he absolutely sells this film and gives such a star power filled performance that really leaves the viewer stunned. He’s a badass who’s fantastic at going full Rambo against the villains, his character Terry Richmond is so well written a calm and collective performance that also blends well with the action filled scenes as well. It also helps that the character is incredibly easy to sympathize with and is easy for the viewer to attach themselves to, which all adds up to an incredibly strong performance. I truly do hope we get to see more of Pierre because he really does have star potential.

AnnaSophia Robb gives a strong performance here perhaps the best she’s ever been, plus it’s nice to see her again in a film that allows her to go all out with her acting talent. Don Johnson is incredibly strong here as the antagonist, he’s intimidating, fun and makes for a great villain that moves the plot along at such a nice pace.

Rebel Ridge as a film expands beyond being a thriller action film, as more plot elements are introduced with tons of interesting dialogue, a very sharp atmosphere that builds slowly over the course of the film and many gorgeous shots. It’s definitely not as action filled as the trailer might say but the amount of action the film does have is appropriate and still quite satisfying especially with the story being told.

The film definitely is a return to form for Jeremy Saulnier, it might not be as violent as Green Room (2015) or Blue Ruin (2013) but much like those films it builds atmosphere in clever ways such as with the cinematography or characters actions and words, Rebel Ridge is a bit of a slow burn mystery that you slowly start to figure out over the course of the film. It’s incredibly satisfying to watch unfold that really has you guessing what’s going to exactly happen next.

Overall Rebel Ridge is an incredibly solid film that I do recommend going into knowing as little as possible, it’s a one hell of a ride from beginning to end that might go on for a bit too long. But between the performances, filming and writing it’s still a ride very much worth going on.

Rebel Ridge is available on Netflix.

8/10 B+

Trap (2024) Film Review!

A man and his teenage daughter realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event while watching a concert.

Trap is directed by M. Night Shyamalan director of The Sixth Sense (1999), Signs (2002), The Visit (2015), Split (2016), Unbreakable (2000), Glass (2019), Old (2021), Knock At The Cabin (2022) and a few others!

Trap is a very interesting one that is definitely one hell of a ride, on the surface it might seem straightforward but as the film goes on it gets more and more chaotic. Especially thanks to Shyamlan’s elements that work quite well here!

Before that let’s talk performances, everyone does a pretty great job here especially Josh Hartnett who easily plays a loving father just taking his daughter to a concert to a wanted serial killer called “The Butcher” the way he balances the two is quite fascinating. Which leads to a lot of great moments that are pretty memorable and actually quite thrilling as well, he really revs it up during the 3rd act where we see a complete transformation. It’s silly at times yes but it works in the film’s favor due to the established atmosphere set early on.

Saleka Night Shyamalan is also quite great here, not only does she have a really neat singing voice that’s incredibly fitting but her acting is actually quite solid. There’s definitely a few hiccups here and there but for first time acting she is quite solid, it helps that her character Lady Raven is pretty fun as well. Jonathan Langdon’s performance is small but the time he is given on screen is hilarious, he makes for a good comedic relief and his interactions with Josh Hartnett are actually some of the film’s best moments (some of which is actually thrilling and starts to build the mystery of the film.)

As far as story goes there’s definitely some weak spots particularly the third act that I do think goes on for a bit too long and falters a bit, however it’s not necessarily bad. I really admire the twists and turns that Shyamalan went with here. We start out at a stadium because of the concert which is personally my favorite location of the film, I’m not exactly sure why but perhaps it’s because it does such a good job of setting up the chaos that is about to happen later in the film. The filming is also really strong, the usual Shyamalan close ups are actually very effective here due to the pretty thrilling atmosphere, I also do think out of all the locations the stadium does the best job of building the atmosphere.

The rest of the film after the stadium quickly goes into chaos, there’s a really strong scene with Saleka Night Shyamalan and Josh Hartnett that’s incredibly effective. It’s a scene that really builds the chaotic bridge of the rest of the film and it does that quite well, between the performances, the dialogue exchanges and the atmosphere it really sets everything up really nicely. It’s a great use of a small area that makes sure to show Lady Raven is afraid through her eyes and body language.

I won’t say too much more because I do think Trap is the sort of film you absolutely need to go into as blind as possible. It’s a pretty fun film that while does get ridiculous and won’t be for everyone does have a lot to like about it!

Trap is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

The Supremes At Earl’s All You Can Eat (2024) Film Review!

Lifelong best friends Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean share an unbreakable bond from decades of weathering life’s storms. Through new shades of heartbreak, the trio are put to test as they face challenging times.

The Supremes At Earl’s All You Can Eat is directed by Tina Mabry director of Mississippi Damned (2009).

The Supremes At Earl’s All You Can Eat starts out promising enough, we are introduced to a group of three friends with a 1960s backdrop, how the three’s nickname “the supremes” was thought of, a bit about their backstory and the introduction itself is pretty charming. Then fast forwarding to present day and we get what feels like a soap opera, even when the movie throws in important topics such as loss, addiction and infidelity. While there are some powerful moments involving these topics, the melodramatic tone the movie opts to go for really lessens the impact which ultimately hurts the movie in the end.

Having that said the performances are quite great and are easily what makes the movie, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Abigail Achiri and Tati Gabrielle all do a fantastic job here and deliver plenty of moments that are genuinely touching. It helps that their characters are likable and do have some interesting conversations between one another like many friend groups do, the voiceover from Ellis-Taylor is also very relaxing and grabs the viewer’s interest rather quickly.

Although a lot of the topics are tackled in a surface level way, I do think the movie does a pretty decent job of working them into the story and bringing emotions to the viewer. Which is mainly done through the characters and the dialogue, as I said before it can feel incredibly soap opera at times but it works just enough to give some sort of reaction out of the viewer.

The Supremes At Earl’s All You Can Eat is available on Hulu!

6/10 C+

Subservience (2024) Film Review!

When his wife becomes sick, a struggling father buys a lifelike AI android named Alice to help with the housework. Things seem fine until Alice suddenly becomes self-aware and wants everything its new family has to offer, including the affection of its owner

Subservience is directed by S.K. Dale director of Till Death (2021)

I actually quite liked S.K. Dale’s previous film Till Death (2021), sure it was very similar to Gerald’s Game but it was a lot of fun and Megan Fox did quite a solid job. So while Subservience did seem quite similar to M3GAN (2022) I was hoping that it would at least be entertaining and at some points it is! Just the overall package doesn’t deliver.

Megan Fox is pretty decent here, it’s definitely not one of those performances that I’ll ever come back to. But in the context of the movie it works, she plays Alice quite well and is actually kind of creepy at times. Michele Morrone is alright here, there’s definitely bumps in the road with his performance but I do think for the most part Morrone and Fox do a decent enough job to get through the movie.

As far as the rest of the movie goes it’s an incredible below average M3GAN (2022) clone, this is basically if you took M3GAN (2022) and added a darker side to it. Which while at some points the dark edge to this movie works, it ultimately starts to feel like something we have seen countless times before. Resulting in another “dangerous of Ai” or “the impact Ai will have on humans” story that’s been done so many times at this point and will probably continue long after this movie releases.

What made M3GAN work well was the tongue in cheek approach, Subservience on the other hand is trying to go for this erotic thriller type of tone that ultimately never really leads to anything of note. There’s definitely hints at it, but unfortunately the movie doesn’t commit to the tone and goes with a very traditional Ai story.

Overall there really isn’t much else to be said about Subservience it’s a fine enough watch but it’s definitely not something you would ever revisit again, unlike M3GAN (2022) I can’t see this movie going to be some sort of cult classic.

Subservience releases on all VOD Platforms September 13th!

5/10 C

Borderlands (2024) Film Review!

Returning to her home planet Pandora, an infamous bounty hunter forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits. Together, they battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets.

Borderlands is directed by Eli Roth director of Cabin Fever (2002), Hostel (2005), Hostel: Part II (2007), The Green Inferno (2013), Knock Knock (2014), Death Wish (2018), The House With a Clock In its Walls (2018) and Thanksgiving (2023). Borderlands is based on the video game series of the same name.

Borderlands was never going to be something decent, the movie was in development hell for years, nobody seemed to want to do the project at all, writers left the project it was a gigantic mess that predictably ended up being a trainwreck. Especially when the trailer came out, that’s pretty much the point where the movie’s fate was sealed.

The best way I can describe Borderlands is if you took everything that people (myself included) loved about the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies and somehow made it terrible. It’s very clear Borderlands was going trying to do what GOTG did from the character types to some of the approach to humor. The problem is none of it adds up to anything and falls completely flat in every single category.

The acting quite terrible here, Cate Blanchett gives an incredibly bland performance. We get very little backstory to her character Lilith and what we do get ultimately gets lost in the movie, Kevin Hart and Florian Munteau are about the same as Blanchett they aren’t necessarily horrible but feel incredibly out of place (seriously why was Kevin Hart casted as Roland?) Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ariana Greenblatt are the worst offenders here. Jack Black as Claptrap is incredibly harmful to the ears and delivers the worst jokes of the movie. Jamie Lee Curtis gives one of if not her worst performance of her career, this is the very definition of phoning in a performance because there was no passion at all here. Finally Ariana Greenblatt is mostly hurt due to the writing, you can tell she’s trying at times but when you have a line such as “I think some of it went into my mouth” (it being piss) you really can’t do much at all.

The writing is the main offender of why this movie immediately falls apart, there’s no development for any of these characters or any moment where the movie tries to make you care about them. It’s all stock character personalities that aren’t even expanded upon, the story is nothing interesting at all and has had similar plots been executed far better elsewhere. The main villain Atlas is forgettable and shows up during the third act of the movie, no build up, no interesting background information about him absolutely nothing. It really feels like they completely forgot to put him in the movie so they shoehorned him in at the very last minute.

What made GOTG so excellent and why it worked for many people is the characters, they got the proper development they needed, they were written incredibly well and there was genuine emotion put into them. Something that made them feel surprisingly realistic despite being in a superhero film. Borderlands fails to do any of that throughout it’s painful 101 minute running time, I’m not trying to say I expected masterful writing but at the very least try to make your audience care about what your putting on screen.

We have seen some recently strong video game adaptions such as Fallout or Sonic The Hedgehog so I do think Borderlands could have worked if it was a series, it needed far better writing, direction and a lot more time to craft it’s characters. Overall Borderlands takes the cake as the worst movie of the year so far.

Borderlands is available on all VOD platforms.

Disgrace To Cinema F

The Deliverance (2024) Film Review!

A family living in a home in Indiana discovers strange, demonic occurrences that convince them and the community that the house is a portal to hell.

The Deliverance is directed by Lee Daniels director of Shadowboxer (2005), Precious (2009), The Paperboy (2012), The Butler (2013) and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).

The Deliverance is quite baffling not only because of just how horrendous it is but how big names such as Glenn Close and Andrea Day are attached to this. Granted the only positive thing I can say is the two are committed to their roles even if they have to say some out of the blue lines I’ve heard in awhile (some of it being unintentionally funny) at the very least there’s laughs along the way, but that most certainly does not justify everything else about this movie.

The rest of the cast are fine enough and at times better than the movie deserves, Caleb McLaughlin and Demi Singleton are genuinely decent here which is why it’s so frustrating when their acting is surrounded by a terrible script. One moment we get a crumb of character moments and the next we have some horribly done horror elements, as far as exorcism movies go this is about what you expect. Outside of some hilarious moments during the exorcism itself (Glenn Close sniffing the air and saying “I can smell your nappy pussy” is quite an experience to witness) it’s your usual bad exorcism elements that do nothing to standout.

The first half of the movie is a family drama while the rest of the movie is as I said before a terrible exorcism movie. Despite the movie being inspired by the Ammons haunting case I honestly couldn’t tell you what exactly was the point in all of this. Lee Daniels’s direction is all over the place and doesn’t bother to stick with a tone that invests the viewer, it’s incredibly messy and goes off the rails in the worst way possible.

The Deliverance is available on Netflix.

1/10 F

Skincare (2024) Film Review!

Famed aesthetician Hope Goldman is about to take her career to the next level by launching her very own skin care line. However, she soon faces a new challenge when a rival opens a boutique directly across from her store. Suspecting that someone is trying to sabotage her, she embarks on a quest to unravel the mystery of who’s trying to destroy her life.

Skincare is directed by Austin Peters which is his directorial debut.

Skincare is definitely an interesting one…at least during the first act, I do like the setup of a competing business opening next door and trying to smear Hope Goldman (played by Elizabeth Banks) it’s a simple yet interesting setup that unfortunately doesn’t follow through with anything effective.

Before I get to that I will say the performances are pretty solid, Elizabeth Banks is a lot of fun here and makes for a solid lead. Her performance isn’t anything extraordinary but it’s the type of performance that I love to see from her. Lewis Pullman and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez are both solid here as well!

As I said earlier the movie’s biggest problem is what comes after the first act, it starts to become a mess with way too many red herrings that really seem like they are only there just extend the runtime. More problems with some of the characters get introduced with none of them really having a satisfying conclusion, it’s much more of tacked on solutions rather than actually exploring.

There’s implied themes of satire but at that point when these themes start to become more noticeable the movie has way too much going on at once to really fully develop those themes. It’s a shame because I can see what the movie was going for and it was definitely on the right track a lot of it just doesn’t mesh well unfortunately.

Overall Skincare has its positives but it’s unfortunately pretty forgettable, I think this barely misses the mark of being something decent.

Skincare is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

The Killer (2024) Film Review!

When a feared contract killer refuses to murder a young blind woman on the orders of her handler, she finds herself hunted by old colleagues and a determined detective.

The Killer is directed by John Woo who has previously directed The Killer (1989), Face/Off (1997), Run, Tiger, Run (1984), Silent Night (2023) and many others (there’s no way I’m listing every single film he’s done.) The Killer is a remake of Woo’s 1989 film of the same name!

It’s always interesting when a director decides to remake a film that they have previously directed, this happens every once so I was interested when John Woo decided to remake The Killers (1989) one of my favorite films by him. There was never going to be a chance that this remake would have been able to compete with the original, but I do have to say it’s definitely not as bad as I thought it was going to be. There’s actually a decent amount to really appreciate here.

Nathalie Emmanuel manages to pull her performance off quite well with the action filled moments, but is unfortunately halted by the more quieter moments. The problem here is her character is just not that interesting, the emotional weight, her whole conflict and such are just not developed as much as they should and what’s left is your basic tough protagonist with nothing incredibly investing going on. Having that said I do think Emmanuel and the rest of the cast did what they could and gave some alright performances that ultimately did push this movie to the end.

I will say the movie has some pretty nice visuals, it’s definitely one of the better looking straight to streaming films that’s out right now. It’s definitely not as impressive looking as the original, but at the very least there’s a decent amount going on with the visuals, action scenes (some of which are very neat) and the camera movements. It’s never dull to look at and uses some of Woo’s techniques that we have grown to love (although not always effectively.)

The biggest problem here is the movie just lacks the necessary depth of the original, the movie tries to give it’s supporting characters development but said development never really goes anywhere Omar Sy’s character Sey to be exact. Sure there’s a few moments but it’s ultimately very underdeveloped, there were attempts at bringing tension into the movie however the predictable plot squashes that almost immediately and when you have very bland characters on top of that it loses the viewer incredibly quickly.

Despite sounding very negative I actually don’t think it’s terrible, it has great acting, the filming is neat and I like the action scenes. The Killer just falls apart when it comes to the writing and building its characters.

The Killer is available on Peacock

5/10 C

The Demon Disorder (2024) Film Review!

The pasts of three brothers and their deceased father collide when a deep, dark family secret is unearthed, leading to a case of revenge from beyond the grave.

The Demon Disorder is directed by Steven Boyle which is his directorial debut.

Definitely one of those cases where I respect the effort and attempt that was put into the movie rather than actually liking it.

The biggest positive here is the gore and effects, Boyle has done plenty of makeup work and special effects work in the past so it’s not a surprise to see some pretty decent gore with some quite solid special effects. It’s some pretty gnarly stuff that leans into the body horror elements the movie is going for. Which to the movie’s credit the body horror stuff works very well, it might not really have that much meaning behind it but it works as an impressive showcase of makeup and effects.

Having that said the rest of the movie is where it crumbles, the movie explores family dysfunction and generational trauma which sadly doesn’t really execute these topics in a fresh way, there’s some metaphors for dementia and disease that are pretty neat but that’s really all there is to them. The third act I will say is definitely an improvement over the rest of the movie, simply due to it wanting to go in a far more interesting direction.

Overall The Demon Disorder really does not have a whole lot going on, there’s some excellent gore, special effects and a strong third act. But unfortunately the rest of the movie is incredibly lacking.

The Demon Disorder is available on Shudder.

4/10 D+