Alien: Covenant (2017)
Genre: Sci-fi
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir
Duration: 122 minutes
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd

Ridley Scott directs another Alien movie, the third one to be precise.

The film is the second instalment in the Alien prequel series after Prometheus (2012) and the sixth instalment overall in the Alien film series.

Katherine Waterston faces unknown forces in space in Alien: Covenant.

The plot revolves around members of the colony ship Covenant, which is bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, who discover what they think to be an uncharted paradise.

While there, they meet the synthetic survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. The mysterious world soon turns dark and dangerous when a hostile alien life-form forces the crew into a deadly fight for survival.

The film stars Michael Fassbender as Walter, a synthetic android who assists the crew aboard Convenant, and also as David, a former synthetic crew member of the destroyed Prometheus.

Katherine Waterston is Daniels, a terraforming expert aboard the Covenant, while Billy Crudup stars as the first mate of the spaceship.

The film premiered in the UK this week but opens in Britain, like Malta, on Friday and in the US on May 19. Early reviews are quite favourable and director Scott’s return was welcomed by critics.

Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: “A return to form for both Scott and the series: a hard-R horror movie, featuring ferocious, acid-dripping space crustaceans, a tough female lead and a bunch of dead-meat crew members.”

Edward Douglas of the New York Daily News was equally impressed: “Scott has effectively created a satisfying hybrid of Alien, Prometheus and even James Cameron’s Aliens.”

Ian Freer of Empire, however, found a pot hole in the script.

He wrote: “An upgrade from Prometheus, Alien: Covenant amps up the thrills but doesn't deliver a memorable crew member or the full-on onslaught of the series at its height.”

The sci-fi film was made on an estimated production budget of $130 million.

Ratings
IMDB: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Empire: 3 stars

Sleepness (2017)
Genre: Crime drama
Director: Baran bo Odar
Stars: Jamie Foxx, T.I., Michelle Monaghan, Scoot McNairy, Dermot Mulroney, Gabrielle Union
Duration: 89 minutes
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd

In the remake of French thriller Sleepless Night (2011), undercover Las Vegas police officer Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) finds himself caught in a high-stakes web of corrupt cops and murderous gangsters.

Jamie Foxx is caught in a high-stakes web of corrupt cops and murderous gangsters in Sleepless.

When a failed heist leads to the kidnapping of his teenage son, Downs must race against time during a wild and restless night to save him and bring the criminals to justice.

The film received mostly negative reviews and did not fare well at the box office since its US release in January.

James White of Empire wrote: “For all its attempts at action, it’s a rote, dull crime thriller with little fresh to offer.”

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “Sleepless wastes a talented cast – and solid source material – on a tired crime drama whose clichés rapidly outnumber its thrills.”

Ratings
IMDB: 5.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 22%
Empire: 2 stars