Skip to main content

Alien: Earth | Review by: Gal Balaban


 Noah Hawley’s small-screen dive into one of the most iconic film franchises lacks the urgency, terror, and fascination of the best Alien films. The production design of this franchise always stands out and is the highlight of this show. However, the story is so dull and loses the essence of what makes Alien so great.


Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Timothy Olyphant, and Essie Davis are all giving competent performances, but their material lacks thematic urgency, down to the dialogue they’re given to work with, and many supporting characters are irritating. The look of the Xenomorph also feels… off here.


One of the reasons the series didn’t work for me is that I feel Alien is inherently not built for a small screen long form of storytelling… or weird rock-n-roll needle drops. The slow build of the lore here doesn’t compare to the simplicity of human beings with almost nothing to protect them and the vast void of space facing off against the most terrifying killing machine in the universe. That requires the ticking clock of the pace and thrills of the cinematic experience. Even Alien: Covenant did many of these ideas way better.


2.5/5


Review by: Gal Balaban 


Popular posts from this blog

Boss Level Film Review

       Boss Level is a new addition to the time loop genre, with a twist. Ex-special forces officer, Roy Pulver, played by Frank Grillo, relives the same day until he dies. Every day he is hunted by assassins and when killed, he wakes up back in his bed where he started, only to have to try and survive all over again. Roy has no idea why he is stuck in this infinite time loop but he must do what he can to survive, and the longer he survives, the more he uncovers about his particular situation.  Unlike most action films that take time to build up, this film gets right into it and offers tons of non-stop combat sequences that would satisfy any lover of action films. Its erratic flow makes for some fun action scenes which come out of nowhere since Roy can expect the assassins to attack at any moment. If you play video games often and have ever been stuck on a level for hours or even days, you know the feeling of having to repeat the same thing over and over again u...
Read more

Godzilla vs. Kong Film Review

         Godzilla versus Kong is the action movie we have been longing for since all major blockbuster films pushed back their release dates. After three solo films between Kong and Godzilla, we finally see the two titans clash on film for the first time in what is the culmination of the Universal Monsterverse. The story is split nicely in two as team Kong and team Godzilla each have their own mission. Team Kong is on a secret mission to the center of the earth to uncover the mystery of the titans. This team consists of Dr. Nathan, Dr. Ilene, Maia, and the Youngest character in the film, Jia. Team Godzilla consists of Madison, Josh, and Bernie who are also on a secret mission, to infiltrate Apex Cybernetics with the theory that they are up to no good and are the reason why Godzilla has been acting up recently. The dynamics of the teams are well balanced as the Kong story provides us with serious and more action-heavy bits in contrast to the Apex team story that ...
Read more

Better Man | Review by: Benjamin Garrett

  What at first feels like a CGI gimmick allows Better Man to climb and swing it’s way beyond standard biopic conventions. This larger than life musical is worth a watch even if, like me, you needed to ask “Who the hell is Robbie Williams?”.  A pop icon in the UK who didn’t quite make a household name for himself in North America, Robbie Williams bares his life (the good the bad and the drug fueled ugly) in this dazzling account of his rise to fame. Musician biopics often focus too heavily on the creation of the artist’s work, and not enough on the actual artist. Better Man gives audiences a sobering portrait of the man behind the monkey, with his songs placed in pivotal life and career moments to move the narrative forward. This works especially well if you aren’t entirely familiar with Williams’ work, because you won’t find yourself waiting to hear specific needle drops. Instead they flow organically into the story, with gorgeously choreographed musical numbers.  And bo...
Read more