Ad Astra Offers an Aching Examination of Masculinity’s Failures
Ad Astra is an astonishing achievement.
Kin (2018)
There’s no reason Kin couldn’t have used its sci-fi hook to examine the degradation of the American working class.
Upgrade Deconstructs the Revenge Film
Upgrade is a clever genre mash-up. The film merges the tropes of the traditional revenge flick with speculative sci-fi,
at once indulging in genre thrills and commenting upon them.
Images on a Wall: Blade Runner 2049
At its best, Blade Runner 2049 is a film about negotiating the notion of identity in the dense lattice of a technological society. Villeneuve amplifies the first film’s themes of complicity in an oppressive society.
The Perverse Pessimism of Alien Covenant: The Best Alien Movie Since Aliens
Ridley Scott uses all the black goop and snarling xenomorphs to stage an earnest, ambitious attempt to grapple with big ideas.
Life (2017)
A film that asks “what if Alien but also Gravity?” and that’s about it.
Arrival’s Ambition is Undone by its Simplistic Screenplay
Denis Villeneuve’s optimistic sci-fi ambitions are undermined by a trite, often clichéd screenplay.
Star Trek Beyond Boldly Goes Where Sci-Fi Films Have Gone Before
The third instalment in the Trek reboot embraces its inherent whimsicality. However, the narrative is all too familiar, borrowing numerous tropes from similar films in the sci-fi genre.
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
Exactly as bad as expected.
The 5th Wave (2016)
The first chapter in a book-to-film young adult franchise has to balance telling a complete story with setting the stage for future entries. The 5th Wave is the latest to attempt that challenge, but it never finds its footing – the story is plodding, anti-climactic, and never gives any sense of the world needed for emotional investment…
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