Nerd in the 'Noke

Alien: Covenant (2017), R, 122 minutes - With Alien: Covenant, director Ridley Scott gives us the second prequel film to the horror franchise he launched nearly forty years ago.  Covenant takes place ten years after the events of 2012's Prometheus , a rapidly anticipated film, that didn't quite seem to live up to the public's lofty expectations. Covenant opens with a quiet scene that takes place long before the events of Prometheus between Peter Weyland (Guy Pierce) and his newly created synthetic David (Michael Fassbender).  The scene acts as a summary of that film's events (man's search for their creator) as well as a prologue for this film.  We then begin following the Covenant, a colonization vessel on course for Origae-6 carrying a crew of around fourteen members (all couples), two thousand would-be-colonists, over a thousand human embryos, and the latest model Weyland synthetic Walter (also Michael Fassbender).  Their mission is to colonize Origae-6 upon ...

The Martian (2015), PG-13, 141 minutes - I had originally hoped to see this film back in October when it first hit theaters, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, I didn't have the opportunity until its recent blu-ray release.  So after having to wait (not so patiently) for that to happen, my wife (who has read the book) and I sat down this past week to see if The Martian was as good as everyone said it was. If you've read Andy Weir's book that was the source material for this film, then you already have a bit of an idea of what to expect (although my wife informs me that there are plenty of differences).  According to her, some plot points are more heavily focused on than others but fear not, the basics of the story remain intact!  If you're like me and were excited by the trailer but were too lazy to read the book first, it goes a little something like this: Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is part of the Ares III crew that comprises the first manned mission to Mars....

Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), PG-13, 150 minutes - Generally I really enjoy sword and sandal 'epics'. And generally I enjoy films directed by Ridley Scott, especially when they boast a strong cast. Unfortunately, an extremely poor 3D screening severely limited any enjoyment that could have been had with this film. I tend to avoid 3D when at all possible, but on this occasion it was the only showing that fit my schedule. At first I thought that my eyes just had to adjust. I hadn't sat through a 3D film since earlier this summer when I saw How to Train Your Dragon 2 (which happens to be an example of 3D done right). After a few minutes, nothing had changed. A person or object would be clear, but the rest of the picture still looked fuzzy as if I weren't wearing the 3D glasses at all. It didn't seem to be bothering anyone else in the theater so I figured it was just my eyes. I put up with it, disappointed but determined to try and enjoy whatever I could of ...

Robin Hood (2010), PG-13, 140 minutes - The latest Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe collaboration is not the Robin Hood story we've all grown up with. Instead it's an alt continuity story of how Robin Hood became the outlaw that robs from the rich and steals from the poor that we are all familiar with. When you get right down to it, Ridley Scott's version is a prequel that mixes up character's histories while they still filling the same roles within the story. Russell Crowe stars as Robin Longstride. That's right, Longstride. Not Loxley as in previous incarnations. Longstride actually poses as Robert Loxley at Sir Walter Loxley's (Robert's father) request after Robert and his fellow knights were killed in an ambush as they attempted to return the recently deceased King Richard's crown back to the palace (he was killed in battle). It seems like an odd request, but Sir Walter (Max von Sydow) knows that if news of his son's death reaches the public, t...