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…

Dominic Cooper and Chris Evans inCaptain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

With the Captain America sequel not far away, I decide to catch up on the only Marvel release I’ve yet to see, Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Announcing this on Twitter, a friend commented that “the first half is great and then it sucks have fun” A succinct summary, but – sadly –…