DENIAL (2016)

This release could not have been better timed, with the recent events unfolding in the United States; a.k.a the rise of neo-nazis into the public eye. The world needs a reminder of what occurs when people divide and rank the human species. A commonly paraphrased quote says "Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it", and with this generation being the last to be able to come face-to-face with a Holocaust survivor, maintaining the validity of the events is integral.

Denial is a slow-moving film. It is both frustrating and an eye-opener. The prospect that someone denies the Holocaust happened is laughable, but the reality of having to come up with incontrovertible proof of the matter is an entirely different matter. It causes you to question what you know. The reality is that as humans we are very easy to manipulate; we believe "reputable" sources. However, what counts as a reputable source is not so clearly defined anymore, and with the internet, misinformation is everywhere. 

The film slowly builds towards the court case which is undoubtedly the most exciting part of the film, as we are looking to see our own knowledge tested; to be able to hear what evidence people have to deny what we believe, and to hear the evidence that proves them to be incorrect. Despite the rather morbid topic, the film is self-affirming and in that regard, it almost comes across as a feel-good film, where the protagonist must overcome several obstacles that provide the antagonist with an advantage.

With many of the court scenes repeated verbatim as they were in the actual court case, Denial provides a valid and accurate representation of the process, and was definitely a necessary move in a movie about misinformation. The casting was generally top notch; Rachel Weisz was my only concern, as her fame does make it harder to see her as her character. She is still the gorgeous actress I remember from the Mummy franchise, just here she is given a frumpy hairstyle and a Boston accent; it was the only part that didn't feel authentic. That being said, despite differences in appearance the real Deborah Lipstadt clearly had no qualms with her casting.

The film is fueled by emotion and gives a great presentation of the battle between emotion, beliefs, and objectivism. I would have loved longer, more in-depth coverage of the court scenes, but with the run-time that the film has, again the balance was amicable.

Originally posted on: http://djin.nz/Kr7703

ALIEN: COVENANT (2017)

A lot of the successful franchises all began with a simple concept; Terminator had a cyborg trying to assassinate someone, Predator had an 'invisible' creature 'hunting' people, and Alien involved trying to escape a deadly alien that wanted to use the humans as a host for its parasitic babies. The downfall of the ongoing sequels is arguably the addition of backstory (apart from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which kicked ass). When a film starts placing too much emphasis on explaining the history and lore of the franchise over several films, you find the genre that the film fits in start to shift away from the original film.

In the case of Alien, the original film started off as a horror, which then became more along the line of action movies in the follow-up sequels. When the prequel Prometheus came around, it nearly came across as a drama with a superficial plot thrown in to generate action scenes to keep the interest of the audience (and it largely failed at that). The general lore is interesting, but the portrayal of it in the films leads a lot to be desired. With how poorly Prometheus was received, I was curious to see how Alien: Covenant would compare; with the inclusion of the word Alien, one would hope it signals a move towards the style of the original film.

Covenant is a movie of two intersecting parts; you have the plots relating to the lore and backstory, and then the human vs alien element. While the film starts on an exciting note, it falls into the trap of following convenient plot devices to lead the characters towards where the director needs them to be. Whether it is the husband-wife relationships in the crew that caused the poor judgement, or just poor writing, it's impossible to tell, but every character makes the worst decisions you could think of. 

The appeal of Alien movies has always been in the tension and suspense of being in a dark place, where the enemy knows its way around better than you, and the humans getting picked off one by one, by an unseen enemy. Covenant loses that aspect entirely by trying to shoehorn in the evolution of the Alien species, because suddenly every little thing must be pointed out and made obvious. There is no shock and surprise left. Despite some very realistic CGI these days, Aliens will always seem rather unrealistic, so to suddenly have them out in the light (as can be seen in the trailer, and cover of the DVD) they lose their mystique, and a lot of their threat (it's easier to kill an enemy you can see), as well as just looking ridiculous.

The film does do well at attempting to bridge the gap between Prometheus and Alien but is still well below expectations. When half of the film is backstory and exposition, you have to wonder whether the main arc of the film should have been centred around that portion of the lore, rather than trying to explain it inside of a different storyline. 

The film tries to fit action, horror, and drama all into the same film while explaining things in a way that a five-year-old child would understand. Ultimately, it becomes far too predictable. Michael Fassbender is both a delight and a hindrance depending on which character you look at (Walter vs. David), but you know what is going to happen. You are aware of every bad decision, you already can guess the consequences, and it isn't long into the film before you can outright guess the outcome. 

The environments are stunning (much of it was filmed in New Zealand (no need for CGI there), but the pacing of the film, and the avoidable nature of every threat, makes the film difficult to properly enjoy. Good for a date night if you want to give your partner some jump scares, or interested Alien evolution. As an action/horror/sci-fi it's a definite improvement on Prometheus, but still can't hold a candle to the original two Alien films.

Originally posted on: http://djin.nz/Kr7702