August 16th 2024
Alien: Romulus
Iris and the Men
Twisters (streaming Prime, Foxtel)
The Beautiful Game (streaming on Netflix)
Another week of terrific variety in the movies on offer. If you're a fan of the Alien franchise, you'll love this latest film, while an adulterous French comedy, a disaster blockbuster and a feel-good sport film add to the mix.
Alien: Romulus
Dir: Fede Alvarez
Length: 119 mins
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© 20th Century Studios - one word for this
film: terrifying! |
Already taking an award for Most Anticipated Movie (did you know there was such an award??!!), Alien: Romulus has definitely lived up to expectations for me. For viewers not au fait with the franchise, I am not going to go into convoluted detail of plot and terminology. Instead I'll cut to the chase and say this excellent film, 45 years on from the first Alien, pays homage to the original while being its own beast! Cailee Spaeny (recently seen in Civil War and Priscilla) plays Rain, an orphan girl working on a remote mining outpost in a part of the galaxy that sees no sun. Her friends convince her to make an escape for a more amenable planet, and that's where the troubles begin. There are so many wonderful nods to the original film: making an unscheduled stop off from the original destination, face huggers and chestbursters, quoting of some iconic Ripley lines, Rain's behavioural resemblance to the original Ripley, android beings whose programming alternates between loyalty to humans vs the company, and of course the many face-offs between the humans and the creatures. Crafting of the sets and special effects are exemplary, and every performance is a winner. The film is seriously scary, with a number of leap-out-of-your-seat, bordering on repulsive, scenes, with a weirdly sexual aspect to the creature which makes it all the more terrifying. This film is definitely not for the squeamish, but it's a terrific adrenaline-fuelled ride onto the horrors of space.4 - highly recommended
Iris and the Men
Dir: Caroline Vignal
Length: 98 mins
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© Palace - delightful Calamy makes
being unfaithful seem almost cute! |
Iris (Laure Calamy) is 50 and runs a successful dental practice. She has been married for 16 years to Stephane (Vincent Elbaz). They seemingly have everything in life: careers, good friends, a great house and two lovely daughters. But they haven't made love for years, so when the seed is planted in Iris's head that she take a lover, she joins a dating app. Calamy has an enchanting screen presence and great comic timing, and again she teams up with director Vignal, with whom she made the delightful Antoinette in the Cevennes. She is just as charming in this film, but there are a few issues with the plot here that don't ring true. Nevertheless there are enough amusing and fun scenes to make for enjoyable viewing, especially the song and dance number Il pleut des hommes - It's Raining Men (which is incidentally the alternate and better title to the film). There are also more serious underlying themes to instigate robust discussion, especially between bored monogamous couples - but maybe it's just a French thing to imagine taking a lover cures all marital ills! Light-weight, cute and diverting.3 - well recommended
Twisters
Dir: Lee Isaac Chung
Length: 122 mins
Streaming on a variety of platforms
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© Universal - extreme weather combines with
humour, friendships and romance |
Kate (Daisy Edgar Jones) is a meteorologist who retires from tornado chasing when her friends are killed on the job. Her old friend Javi (Anthony Ramos) talks her into returning to the pursuit, supposedly in the service of helping predict disaster. Along the way she meets celebrity tornado chaser Tyler (Glenn Powell), and after initial antagonism, they gradually find a common meeting ground. I didn't see the original Twister, but apparently this film pays worthy homage to that movie. For me it stands alone as a fun and strong story, with enough excitement, romance and humour to make for enjoyable viewing. The three leads cook up a great chemistry, and special effects are terrific. The film also provides quite a fascinating scientific insight into what the natural disaster of a tornado is all about; and it is certainly frightening and dramatic.3.5 - well recommended
The Beautiful Game
Dir: Thea Sharrock
Length: 152 mins
Streaming on Netflix
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© Netflix - inspired by a true story of
homeless people having their own soccer championship |
The first ever soccer tournament for homeless people was in 2003 and has been the inspiration for this film, even though the characters are fictional. The ever-wonderfull Bill Nighy plays Mal, a talent scout, who tracks down Vinny (Micheal Ward), a talented player with a chip on his shoulder for never having made the big-time. Vinny, who is in denial at being homeless, is invited to the tournament in Rome, but he has a hard time fitting in with his team mates, who include refugees, ex-addicts and other folk down on their luck. The men in Mal's team, in fact all of the characters, seem a bit too "nice" to be true; I think a little more rough around the edges would have felt more authentic. Much-awarded Italian actress Valeria Golino has a lovely role as Gabriella, the event organiser. Elements of the story are predictable, but there is something so big-hearted and full of warmth, you cannot help but enjoy it, and as a lesson in the role sport can play in boosting the self-esteem and purpose of people, it's a winner.3 - recommended
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