The Martian is the Anti-Alien – an Optimistic Paean to Science and Nerddom

Three-and-a-half decades ago, Alien established Ridley Scott as a director to watch. Drawing on the conventions of the increasingly-popular slasher film and rejecting the Star-Trek-esque optimism of the sci-fi films of that era, he created a chilling classic. But his potential as a director has dribbled away somewhat in the years since; while I don’t…

Margaret (2011)

Margaret, the long-delayed second film from Kenneth Lonergan, expends great effort to feel as real as possible throughout its achingly long three hour running time (I watched the Extended Cut – the Theatrical is “only” 2.5 hours). As the camera gently moves through scenes, the audio often picks up snatches of unrelated conversation, obfuscating the…