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Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated The Predator (2018) in Movies

Nov 1, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)  
The Predator (2018)
The Predator (2018)
2018 | Action, Horror
Much like Aliens vs Predator: Requiem the majority of the film is set at night time, which was one of the things that I didn’t like about the 2007 movie, it’s a bugger to watch in daytime on a TV, unless you have a room with no windows! So no doubt The Predator will have the same issues when it has its home release.

The Predators have a bit of an upgrade in this latest movie in the franchise, they are stronger, smarter and bigger, which is something that you can see from the trailer. If you think that they are hunting for trophies then you’re wrong, they are harvesting the DNA to make themselves the dominant species.
  
Boundless (The Lost Fleet: Outlands, #1)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first in a new series by Jack Campbell but following characters previously introduced in his 'Lost Fleet' series (never mind the various spin-offs, including the 'Lost Stars' series) and so, as a result, I'm not sure it would really be a good 'jumping-on' point for any new readers to the series.

For those who *have* read the previous aforementioned series, though?

You know what you're getting: more politics, more 'real time' space action and more intrigue, with Captain 'Jack Black' Geary surviving assassination attempts on his life and put in charge of a mission to contact the aliens known as 'The Dancers', who have popped up in previous novels.

More of the same, really, but sometimes that's no bad thing!
  
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Alien: Covenant (2017)
2017 | Horror, Sci-Fi
Design (0 more)
Pacing issues (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Covanant colony mission is interrupted and discover a distress signal coming from a nearby planet. Liking the look of it more than going back into a dangerous hyper sleep, they go down to check it out. Down there they discover an alien species completely destroyed by causes unknown. The traditional saga formula insues: someone gets infected, the aliens reek havoc and the humans appear to have won.
Here we seem to have another reboot, posing as a sequel/ prequel, in that the format is very much like the first Alien film, back in 79'. Following a distress signal, lending on a planet, issues with a storm, evil company synthetic, alien inhabits host and ends up back on the ship, takes them.out one by one, juat wjen you think it is over, its not, Alien is blown out into space, heroine survives.
All making sence as it is Mr Scott back at the helm.

That is not this one does not have it's own flare, this film takes place after Prometheus, but before it's 79'older brother, so we see more of the creation and evolution of the Xenomorph (big happies for lovers of that horror puppy) and it keeps you fence throughout, like the originals.
There are some odd pacing issues with some parts, though it feels more like a bit of condensed editing to cut the film down (though what is with the flute scene?!?!?!)
Aliens (the Cameron 86' sequel) is one of my all time favourite films, and as a fan of the series, I did enjoy watching this film, but do hope for something truly compelling in the next instalment.
  
Near Dark (1987)
Near Dark (1987)
1987 | Horror, Mystery, Western
Bill Paxton (1 more)
Lance Henrikson
Finger-Lickin' Good!
Near Dark- is a great neo-western horror film about vampires. It was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, it was also her debut film.

The plot: Cowboy Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar) meets gorgeous Mae (Jenny Wright) at a bar, and the two have an immediate attraction. But when Mae turns out to be a vampire and bites Caleb on the neck, their relationship gets complicated. Wracked with a craving for human blood, Caleb is forced to leave his family and ride with Mae and her gang of vampires, including the evil Severen. Along the way Caleb must decide between his new love of Mae and the love of his family.

Vampire films had become "trendy" by the time of Near Dark's production, with the success of Fright Night (1985) and The Lost Boys (1987), the latter released two months before Near Dark and grossing $32 million. Kathryn Bigelow wanted to film a Western movie that departed from cinematic convention.

The combination of the genres had been visited at least twice before on the big screen, with Curse of the Undead (1959) and Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966).

Bigelow knew (and later married) director James Cameron, who directed Aliens (1986), a film that shares three cast members (Paxton, Goldstein and Henriksen) with Near Dark. Actor Michael Biehn was offered the role of Jesse Hooker, but he rejected the role because he found the script confusing. Lance Henriksen took over the role. A cinema seen in the background early in the film has Aliens on its marquee and Cameron played the man who "flips off" Severen.

Its a classic and a cult film.
  
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Erika (17789 KP) rated Captive State (2019) in Movies

Mar 16, 2019 (Updated Mar 18, 2019)  
Captive State (2019)
Captive State (2019)
2019 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Some pacing issues (0 more)
The plot of this film interested me immediately. This is not an alien-invasion film, it's an alien occupation film. It was definitely a nice change. The aliens only appear a few times, and you don't really know anything about them, other than they sounds like cicadas in the summer when they communicate and live underground.
John Goodman's character was my favorite, by far, and you could tell that not everything was as it seemed. I liked the Trojan Horse analogy, which is very apt for the plot. You can kind of figure out what's going on, and as the banner photo shows, you know John Goodman's character eventually goes down to the tunnels.
Overall, it was a different, refreshing movie and well worth a watch.
  
AB
Aliens: Bug Hunt
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A compilation of Alien(s) stories, set during the events of all 4 of the original movies (Alien, Aliens, Ali3n and Alien: Resurrection), with a large portion of these concentrating on just-about-everybodies favourite characters from the second movie: that of the Colonial Marines.

As a compilation, some of these stories are better than others: the stand-outs (to me) are the one about Bishop, the one about the history of the Pulse Rifle (yes, seriously! Somebody actually took time to write up a piece on that!) and the one told from an Alien Point-of-view (such as it were).

However, some of the others seem overly-formulaic: Marines get sent to distant planet that has lost communication with the inhabitants, to find the Weyland-Yutani has a hand in the proceedings ...