Astronomers struggle to get the government and the media to engage with an extinction-level event. Patchy and overlong Trump-era satire: when it hits, it hits hard, but there’s about 45 minutes too much baggy stuff here. More focus needed: that said, there are some game performances and a great song.
Here’s the trailer.
An army ranger is transported to another dimension, where she must battle giant creatures. Okay and often handsome video game franchise adaptation, efficiently-enough riffing on everything from Aliens to Beetlejuice via Starship Troopers: well-tailored for an international action market, if a touch po-faced in execution for the most part.
Here’s the trailer.
An Alaskan oil company-sponsored reconnaissance team succumb one by one to a mysterious force. Solid little eco-horror drawing in equal parts from base-under siege flicks like The Thing as well as from first peoples legends. A decent crew of character actors and keen location work help no end.
Here’s the trailer.
A black bounty hunter is promised a marshal’s badge if he can bring in a notorious criminal. Based on a true story, this Western has good intentions but is a scrappy beast. Some good performances and the presence of solid character actors like Ron Perlman and Frank Grillo are undermined by poor writing and direction, and under-par cinematography.
200 years after the events of Alien 3, Ripley is cloned by military scientists eager to weaponise the xenomorph. Good-looking and humorous Part 4 with an excellent cast of character actors; tonal inconsistency and a wayward third act destabilise the storytelling. The compulsion to find new twists undoes some of the excellent earlier material presented here.
The rise and fall of 1970s heavyweight contender and Rocky analogue Chuck Wepner. Well-judged biopic that despite featuring every one of the usual story and character beats, hits every one of them with unassuming skill.
The crew of the Enterprise face a Romulan rebellion led by a clone of Picard. Action-heavy final instalment for the Next Generation crew, which revisits plenty of old series themes. Surprisingly tatty in places; for fans and completists only.
A demonic superhero battles neo-Nazi occultists bent on unleashing interdimensional chaos. Gorgeously-designed though shallow action fantasy clearly in love with its world and protagonist.
The CIA try to hire Stanley Kubrick to fake the Apollo 11 moon landing. Weak-sauce low budget farce with a shaky grasp of space history, though with some game playing in service of a duff script and an old idea.
![The Bleeder [AKA Chuck] (2016, dir. Philippe Falardeau)](https://255review.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/chuck-bleeder.jpg?w=180)
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