Cowboys and Aliens

Cowboys and Aliens went on general release in the UK and Ireland this week. I went to see it yesterday evening and to be honest I was quite disappointed.

The storyline could be quite interesting, but it just failed to deliver for me.

Daniel Craig plays Jake Lonergan, who wakes up in the middle of the desert with a strange device attached to his arm. Within the first few minutes of the film he establishes himself as being a “hard ass” and manages to better a group of heavily armed cowboys.

He’s been wounded, though he can’t remember how, so he makes his way into the nearest town where he’s patched up by the local preacher before being arrested as there’s a warrant (and sizeable reward) out for his arrest.

Before that happens we get to see Olivia Wilde, as Ella Swenson, who is wandering around the place with a sixgun in her belt (women carrying guns in 19th century Arizona??)

Olivia Wilde and Daniel Craig in Cowboys and Aliens

Harrison Ford plays Woodrow Dolarhyde,  a local rancher who seems to have to be inherently evil and thinks he can do whatever he likes, as his cattle is keeping the town alive.

Enter the aliens who snatch Dolarhyde’s son as well as a number of the townspeople.

The rest of the film involves Dolaryhyde working with Lonergan and Ella Swenson as well as the local Indian tribe to find the aliens, free their captives and save the day.

Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig in Cowboys and Aliens

If you ignore the rather weak storyline and unexceptional script you can probably enjoy the action sequences and the visual effects.

But even the visual effects really don’t save the film. It’s simply not that good. Sure, Craig’s portrayal of Londergan is endearing and Ford’s Dolarhyde is interesting, but their performances are, unfortunately, outweighed by the film’s flaws.

Related articles

• Cowboys and Aliens Locarno Film Festival (comingsoon.ie)
• Cowboys And Aliens Review (thevizzihendrixexperience.wordpress.com)
• Movie Review | Cowboys and Aliens (popspoken.wordpress.com)
• Cowboys & Aliens, review (telegraph.co.uk)
• Review: ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Turns Mash-up to Mush (abcnews.go.com)
• Cowboys & Aliens – review (guardian.co.uk)
• Cowboys and Aliens (12A) (independent.co.uk)

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There are dire films, there are “B movies” and then there’s MacGruber.

I’ve seen comedies that are tacky or where the jokes and gags were a bit forced. But compared to MacGruber they were works of art.

If you have any respect for your time and sanity don’t bother with this film.

The script is terrible. The cast take “wooden” acting to a whole new level, but with such a terrible script that’s probably understandable.

It’s meant to be a comedy parody of McGyver, but it’s simply not. Not funny. Not clever. Not worth watching.

Avoid

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Resident Evil Afterlife, which is the 4th instalment in the film franchise based on the video game of the same name, went on release in Ireland and the UK today.
In most cinemas it’s showing in 3D, so I went to see it this evening.

As a sidenote, while I do enjoy the visual effects that these 3D films are bringing to the big screen, I’m not overly happy with the glasses cinemas are giving patrons. Since I wear glasses I end up with the 3D glasses perched on top of my existing ones, which definitely is not comfortable. As soon as I can find prescription 3D glasses I will be getting some.
But I digress.

Resident Evil Afterlife is good fun overall, though it does drag in parts. The plot picks up from where the 3rd film left us, so the first few minutes of the film involve multiple Alices (Milla).
In terms of visual and special effects you will be pleased and the director made good use of the 3D. I found myself practically ducking at times.

Unfortunately the plot is more than a little weak, so if you’re expecting to get any depth from a film then is not the film for you.

So in summary.
Lots of action. Great visuals. Milla in 3D looks great. Wonderful soundtrack as usual.
If you want to escape for a couple of hours then it’s perfect

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