A great mix of brand new arrivals and some absolute classics.
That’s your evening viewing for the rest of the week sorted…
ALIEN
Aliens and Prometheus were already on the service, and now the rest of the franchise finally joins them.
Ridley Scott’s original is either the best or the second best (after Aliens), depending on who you ask.
ALIEN 3
David Fincher’s first movie arrived after much studio interference, and while it is a long fall in quality from the first two movies, there is still a certain amount of incredibly grim entertainment on display.
ALIEN: COVENANT
The most recent entry in the series sees Ridley Scott attempting to marry the moods of Alien and Prometheus, to middling effect.
But it does feature two Michael Fassbenders teaching one other how to play the flute, so… there’s that.
ALIEN: RESURRECTION
Written by Joss Whedon, everyone in this is a smart-aleck joke machine, even in the face of imminent, violent death.
Sigourney Weaver is still great though, and the underwater attack sequence is fantastic.
ALIEN VS PREDATOR
There was going to be a fifth Alien movie, written by James Cameron and directed by Ridley Scott, but when Freddy vs Jason became a box office hit, they ditched that movie and made this one, directed by the guy behind Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil.
Cool.
ALIENS VS PREDATOR: REQUIEM
In this writer’s humble opinion, the worst movie ever made.
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN
The fact that this Zack Braff/Gabrielle Union fronted remake of the too-many-kids! comedy has 37% on Rotten Tomatoes might seem bad, until you realise that Steve Martin’s 2003 version has 24%, so technically, this is a better movie.
ENCANTO SING-A-LONG
Not entirely a new movie, but this new version of the bangers-filled recent hit now comes equipped with on-screen lyrics so you can finally learn every last word to ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’.
FRESH
Sebastian Stan (I, Tonya) and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) go on a couple of very cute dates, both very fed up with the modern dating scene, but then everything takes an extremely nasty turn for the worst.
We chatted to Stan about his role in the new darkly comic horror, and you can check out that interview in full right here:
THE GUERNSEY LITERARY & POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
Awful title aside, this is actually a very sweet period drama about a writer sharing correspondence with the townsfolk of Guernsey during the occupation by the Germans in WWII.
THE IMPOSSIBLE
A horror movie disguised as a true-life disaster movie, Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor headline this incredible tense tale of a family on holiday in Thailand torn apart by a sudden tsunami.
It also features the first screen appearance of one Tom Holland.
MAN UP
Simon Pegg and Lake Bell star in this very watchable rom-com about two people who end up on the wrong blind date.
MINDHORN
Julian Barrett plays a washed-up actor, who used to play a TV detective by the name of Mindhorn, but he is dragged into a real-life case and work alongside the police when a serial killer will only speak to Mindhorn, believing him to be real.
MR. HOLMES
Less interested in action or mind-bending cases, this drama focuses on the man (here played by Ian McKellan) behind the mysteries.
88% on Rotten Tomatoes, a decent watch.
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
As we said in our review when it was released in cinemas just two months ago, this all-star psychological thriller is exactly the kind of adult-aimed movie people claim Hollywood doesn’t make anymore.
THE WOMAN IN BLACK
Daniel Radcliffe’s first post-Potter role sees him as a grieving doctor sent to a small village and discover the locals are keeping a dark, terrible secret.
An effective enough old-school spooker.
THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2: ANGEL OF DEATH
As with all unasked-for sequels, this is basically more of the same, but only about half as good.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
