Retro sci-fi sequels and action movie duds

In this week’s Criticize This! we take a look at a worthy sci-fi sequel on the big screen, a couple of so-so action movies on streaming, and a documentary that will teach you more than some film schools.

THE BIG ONE

Knowing that Alien: Romulus takes place between the events in Alien and Aliens helps set the mood before going in. The movie follows a group of young people on a scavenging mission aboard an abandoned space station where, surprise, surprise, they discover creatures that want to kill them. It’s a total throwback to the vibe that made the first two movies so good, and it’s definitely the best addition to the franchise since.

In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper agrees with the throwback vibe, calling it “a cool and retro and kind of 1980s vision of the future that feels authentic to the timeline.” Another critic praised it as “a gory celebration of every Alien movie that has come before it.”

That nostalgic feeling is not to everyone’s liking, it seems, with one negative review saying it “brews a pot that adds spice from other Alien films without the proper measurements, becoming a curdled mess that’s challenging to enjoy.” And another negative review said it “acts as an exhumation of the franchise, like the film has been buried on the ancient burial ground of Alien, its harpooned skeleton reaching out begging for death.”

There is a lot more to like than dislike about the movie, and it currently has an 82% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes with an 88% audience rating. It also has a 7.5 out of 10 on the IMDb.

WATCH: Trailer for Alien: Romulus

One of the highlights of the movie is the cast. With the exception of Cailee Spaeny, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in Priscilla last year and received accolades for her role in Civil War earlier this year, they are mostly unknowns (Isabela Merced played Dora in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, but that audience is not seeing this movie). They all deliver in their respective roles, though, especially David Jonsson as the android Andy.

Director Fede Álvarez is best known in the horror genre for movies like The Evil Dead (2013) and the excellent Don’t Breathe. He adds that horror element to Alien: Romulus, and there are plenty of bloody and freaky scenes throughout the film. He also opted to use mostly practical effects for the creatures, which make them look way more authentic than straight CGI.

The sound design is also stellar, allowing stretches of silence at times to build tension and uneasiness. Benjamin Wallfisch’s score needs to be mentioned, too, because it is one of the greatest sci-fi scores in a very long time (Wallfisch also did the recent score for Twisters and previously did the score for Blade Runner 2049, among others).

Our take: If you’re a fan of the franchise, especially the first two movies, Alien: Romulus is going to do you proud. But if you’re looking for something completely new and original in the series, you might be disappointed.

Alien: Romulus is now in theatres.

IN THEATRES

Skincare

In this wannabe thriller, Elizabeth Banks plays a beloved Hollywood aesthetician who goes on a downward spiral when she is hacked and stalked soon after another skincare boutique opens across from hers.

Banks carries Skincare, which is an otherwise disjointed mess with too many minor characters and subplots that go nowhere. While we did find some aspects likeable, it only has a 65% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes (with no audience or IMDb rating yet), so you might want to wait until it’s available on streaming to see it for yourself.

Skincare is playing in select theatres across Canada.

Close to You

Close to You is about a trans man (Elliot Page) who returns home to visit his family for the first time in almost five years. The movie is mostly scenes of conversations between family members and Page’s character, Sam, and it moves at an extremely slow and boring pace.

While some of the conversations are intriguing (there’s a great one between Sam and his dad), most don’t generate any feelings since we never get a chance to connect to the characters. There’s also a love story between Sam and an old female friend from high school that felt very forced.

The movie currently has a 57% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes with one critic calling it “a therapeutic exercise instead of an enjoyable film.” On the IMDb, it has a 4.2 out of 10 based on a few hundred ratings.

If you want a better movie with a similar topic, give National Anthem a watch on VOD.

TOP BOX OFFICE

STREAMING

Jackpot! (Prime Video)

Imagine winning the lottery, but then having to fight for survival in order to claim the prize as everyone is (legally) trying to kill you to take it for themselves. That is the premise of Paul Feig’s Jackpot!, a bizarre and ridiculous movie with very few funny moments scattered throughout.

WATCH: Trailer for Jackpot!

Starring Awkwafina and John Cena, the movie can be extremely obnoxious at times and we found it to be a bit much. No surprise that it’s getting terrible reviews from both critics and audiences, with one saying it’s “basically just a lot of running, screaming, car chases and creative weaponry.”

If you enjoyed Feig’s The Heat or Spy, this might work for you, but there’s really no reason to waste your time finding out. Simu Liu, Ayden Mayeri, and Machine Gun Kelly also star.

The Union (Netflix)

If you asked AI to write a generic, by-the-numbers action spy movie starring Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg, The Union is the script it would spit out.

Is there a montage training scene? Check. Is there a motorcycle chase through the streets of a European city? Yup. Does it have romcom moments? Of course!

Berry and Wahlberg keep it entertaining enough, and J.K. Simmons is great in his small role, but unless you enjoyed similar films like Lift or The Family Plan, this is probably not going to do anything for you.

It is getting good early reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but that could change once more are added.

Fly Me to the Moon (VOD)

Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson star in this cute, feel-good romcom that unfolds behind the scenes of the Apollo 11 Moon mission (well, an alternative take of the mission).

The first half of the movie has vibes similar to Mad Men as Johansson’s advertising genius of a character is hired to help “sell the Moon” to the American people. The latter half of the movie is about them planning a fake version in case the landing fails.

It has a 91% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes against a 65% critics score, so people are enjoying it much more than we are. Since it will be on Apple TV+ in a few weeks, we recommend holding out to stream it there if you’re on the fence about it.

Twisters (VOD)

We enjoyed Twisters in the theatre on the big screen (read our original review) and wondered if it would work for us the same at home. To our delight, it was just as enjoyable! And with full control over the volume (this is a movie that needs to be played loud on a great surround sound system), it allowed us to really feel the destruction going on while scaring the heck out of our neighbours.

Also streaming this week: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is on Crave, and National Anthem and The Fabulous Four are on VOD.

COMING SOON

The remake of The Crow is hitting theatres on August 23, and while many fans of the original film are not happy about it, there does seem to be growing interest to see how Bill Skarsgård takes on the role made famous by Brandon Lee.

We’re still not sure how we feel about it ourselves, but we do have three pairs of movie passes up for grabs to see it in any Cineplex theatre across Canada when it opens!

Check out the trailer for The Crow on our YouTube channel, and find out how to enter the contest at criticizethis.ca.

ON DISC

If you are a film buff or aspiring filmmaker, there is no better documentary to dig into than The Complete Story of Film, which combines the previously released The Story of Film: An Odyssey and The Story of Film: A New Generation.

Directed and narrated by Mark Cousins, The Complete Story of Film runs over 18 hours long across four Blu-ray discs. The first half is broken down into chapters spanning multiple years, beginning with the invention of the motion picture back in 1895 and highlighting the works of Thomas Edison and the Lumière brothers, among others. The final disc (A New Generation) ends in 2021 and shows how technology is changing the future of film.

There is a lot to digest, such as how editing and different shots were invented, the use of lighting, the first actor to be a star, the importance of women in the early days of filmmaking, and why Hollywood became the hub of movie production. It also does a great job at showcasing movies from around the world that were just as important to the history of film, if not more so, than early Hollywood productions. You could learn more from watching this than most film schools will teach you.

Along with film clips and the occasional interview with film historians, the doc relies on narration and its own footage to tell the story. Some people have complained about Cousins’ voice in the narration, but we found it to be almost mesmerizing. He speaks soft and slow, and repeats often, which helps you take in the material better.

The packaging for The Complete Story of Film looks nice on the shelf, but trying to take the discs out without getting fingerprints all over them is next to impossible. It does come with a great booklet that features an interview with Cousins as well as some making-of tidbits and a list of films referenced in each chapter. Just be warned that the print is tiny and you might need glasses or a magnifying glass to read it.

The Complete Story of Film is not for casual movie audiences, and you need to really have a love for film history and filmmaking in order to get through it all and appreciate what it has to offer.

You can order The Complete Story of Film on Blu-ray from Amazon.ca.

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