Let's Talk About The Latest Influx of ALIEN: COVENANT Promo Material

THE NEW POSTER

My thoughts on this latest poster are pretty much the same as my thoughts on that first teaser poster (i.e. I admired how it conveyed such a foreboding prescience with just one word and an iconic object shrouded in darkness). Thus far, both of the posters for this have been suitably cryptic. 

THAT PROLOGUE THING

Okay, let's address the elephant in the room: James Franco is probably going to be the first one to die, given how sickly he looks here and how that guy in the first trailer...you know, this guy...

...looks suspiciously like Franco). But, who knows? Maybe, I'm wrong. Anyway, back to the actual clip. From the looks of it, this is either just a good bit of viral marketing, like that faux TED-talk that was made for Prometheus back in 2012, or an actual scene from the movie. Either way, I dig it. I'm hoping it's part of the movie because it does a pretty good job of humanizing the Covenant's crew in less than five minutes, very much in the spirit of the earliest days of the franchise.  

THE LATEST TRAILER

And now, lets get into the nitty-gritty. Outside of some questionable CGI and a bizarre music choice (that drumbeat feels just a tad conspicuous), I absolutely love this trailer. Of course being a Ridley Scott flick, the visuals are fantastic. We already knew that there were going to be different types of Xenomorphs*; that said, I'm more than pleased to see that we will be getting an appearance from the classic version probably at the end. Also, hey, it looks like Danny McBride might survive to the end. That's nifty. Overall, this seems to give me what I want from an Alien flick and I'm positively hyped for it. ALIEN: COVENANT drops into theaters on May 19.

*For the record, the new Neomorph and what I've dubbed the "spineburster" look pretty badass.

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE Review (Spolier Free)

While I am one of the few bizarre individuals who has derived enjoyment from the much-derided DCEU, I'll admit that I had an absolute blast watching its overly self -serious nature get savagely mocked by its more lighthearted, animated counterpart. The Lego Batman Movie is an absolute treat from beginning to end. Even though it doesn't reach The Lego Movie's level of (for lack of a better word) transcendence, its still a colorful, hilarious and heartfelt little film on its own merits.

The film benefits a lot from its heavily frenetic pace. The gags come out at a rate so quick, you don't care if they all stick the landing because if there is a dud in the mix, its almost immediately overshadowed by a solid gutbuster. Yet, what keeps this film balanced is its emotional center. I won't give too much away here; but, suffice it to say, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the goofy children's film handles Batman more maturely than the current live-action version of the very same character. Kudos to the filmmakers on that alone.

Will Arnett is still a lot of fun as Batman and Michael Cera is absolutely adorable as Robin; it'd be disingenuous to ignore that a noticeable chunk of the movie's best jokes come from or revolve around him. The marvelous voice-work done here by the villains/supporting characters is almost too much material for a quick review such as this; that alone should tell you how good the cast is.

Yet, ultimately, I think that the ultimate reason why The Lego Batman Movie succeeds is that it both joyously celebrates and gleefully mocks almost everything in the Caped Crusader's extensive history as a pop culture icon. Almost half the fun of this film is just picking up on the countless in-jokes and background quirks. It is, in every sense of the word, a very loving parody.

The Lego Batman Movie gets an...
NICE JOB, MAN! out of 10

If you're looking for a good time at the multiplex, check this one out!

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 Review (Spoiler Free)

There's about six or seven movies worth of greatness packed within the entire 122 minute runtime of John Wick: Chapter 2. Not only is this a great action flick (and even more than that in ways I'll get to in a moment), it's extremely close to being as good, if not better, than the first John Wick.

While its predecessor had heavy hints of neo-noir/comic book influences, Chapter 2 dives in with ceaseless momentum when it comes to genre expansion. It effortlessly switches from being an great action flick to a colorful yet moody noir to a globe-trekking adventure to even a demented black comedy. Speaking of which, I was surprised to find how many outright hilarious moments are contained in here. Then again, considering that the bloodletting is so absurdly excessive, how could you not find humor in it?

Do I even need to tell you that the action is great? Well, who cares? I'll tell you anyway. The phrase "You could teach a class on [insert movie and what it does exceptionally well here]" is incredibly trite; yet, like the first one, you really could teach a class on how great the direction and fight choreography in each individual action sequence is. One sequence in particular is best described as what if Nicolas Winding Refn and John Woo had remade The Lady From Shanghai's iconic mirror sequence (go watch the movie if you want to know what I mean). Earlier, I mentioned how bloody this flick is and I wasn't saying that lightly. Maybe this was what Rutger Hauer meant in Blade Runner when he said he'd "seen things you people wouldn't believe"... or maybe not. Needless to say, the R-rating here is well-earned.

Let it not go unheard that how terrific the cast is. Keanu Reeves is, as to be expected, great as the titular hitman. Common is fun as a recurring nemesis with an absurdly deadpan demeanor. Ruby Rose displays a lot of personality for a character that can be easily summed up as just a mute henchman. Even bitplayers like Peter Serafinowicz and Franco Nero are memorable, despite their miniscule amount of screentime. Also, Laurence Fishburne's cameo is easily one of the highlights of the film.

Do I have complaints? Totally. One or two scenes feel tone-deaf and the dialogue is a bit stale at times. Still, those are pretty minor nitpicks to be found in what is overall a fantastic package.

While calling this movie on par with Empire Strikes Back and Dark Knight in the pantheon of great sequels might be a bit hyperbolic, the ways it expertly expands upon its predecessor and how much of a bitter cliffhanger the ending turns out to be (again, go see the movie) might elevate it to the level of those classics within the coming years.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 gets a...
BADASS out of 10!

DO NOT MISS THIS ONE, FOLKS!

Breif addendum: I forgot to mention the absolutely breathtaking cinematography and the eclectic score from composers Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard. Just thought that those two positives deserved a mention.

Rating System Explained

Just to be clear, I'll have two reviews coming in the very near future. But before that, I feel that I should explain my ratings for movies before I dive into any actual critiquing. With all that out of the way, let's get the ball rolling.

MASTERWORK out of 10
This rating is specifically reserved for movies that I'd consider as close to perfect as movies can get (consider it my equivalent of a five-star rating). Examples: The World's End and Guardians of the Galaxy.

BADASS/EXCEPTIONAL out of 10
I divided this rating into because, while they both mean the same quality, they have different purposes. BADASS out of 10 would be used for a movie like Deadpool or John Wick and EXCEPTIONAL out of 10 would be used for movies like Brick or Arrival.

NICE JOB, MAN! out of 10
Bascially, movies I can describe as this...

SATISFACTORY out of 10
This one's for movies that I consider far from great but distinct enough to save them from being just okay.

MEDIOCRE out of 10
Mediocre out of 10 is for movies that are just.. meh. No further explanation needed.

CRAP out of 10
Most movies that I consider bad (i.e. the Transformers flicks and The Village) will get this. That having been said, there are some films I'll consider so atrocious, that they transcend being merely crap... which brings me to the next rating.

UNWATCHABLE out of 10
I suppose this rating speaks for itself. This rating is used for only the bottom of the barrel, only for absolute cinematic detritus (examples of this sort of filth include Movie 43 and Catwoman).

Now, you know my criteria for judging movies. I'll be back with reviews of John Wick: Chapter 2 and The Lego Batman Movie. Stay tuned!