THE OPTIMIST - MOVIE REVIEWS

   Ridley Scott returns to familiar ground with his newest film Alien: Covenant , opening this weekend. The Alien franchise has had its ups and downs, with the first two films being the best and everything else after that being, well, meh. When Prometheus came out in 2012, audiences were unaware that what they were watching was actually an Alien prequel, even though it wasn't advertised as such. It was also met with mixed reviews. Alien  (1979) and Aliens  (1986) are, in my book, two of the most important films in movie history, and the best of the franchise hands down. Alien was this horror-inducing nightmare that introduced us to the Facehugger and the Xenomorph. Aliens took that horror aspect and gave it more of an action-packed upgrade. They also gave us Ripley, one of the greatest female protagonists of our day. Unfortunately Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection kind of destroyed her legacy a bit. Now, in the age of mass-used CGI and desensitized audiences,...

   The story of King Arthur and Camelot has become one of the great myths of our day. It's a story that has been told countless times, and will probably continue to be told forever. When it comes to film adaptations of the story, there are countless iterations. Even within the last decade, Arthur's tale has been told more times than one can imagine. This weekend marks the opening for yet another adaptation of the beloved tale. When it comes to rehashing stories that have previously been done, you've got to bring something new to the table to give your version some sense of relevancy. Take a risk, try something new, but just don't copy what has been done before. Thankfully, Guy Richie was at the helm of this new vision, and I have to say (with no surprise from anyone who knows me) that I absolutely loved King Arthur: Legend of the Sword .    The basic premise of the tale is present in this telling. Duped out of his birthright, Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) ends up atte...

     So on a whim I ventured out to watch a film that I had my eye on for a while. It wasn't playing at my local theater so I had to trek out to the only theater playing it within a 30 mile radius of where I live. I'm glad I did because it was definitely worth the drive. Writer/director Nacho Vigalondo, who has dabbled in TV and other smaller productions, gives us a humorous tale in what has been the first surprise of the year for me. Colossal is a movie that is weird, ambitious, flawed, but entertaining and refreshing. It's the most original film I've seen all year thus far. It's in no way a perfect film, reasons why I'll get to in a moment, but those flaws don't take away from the originality and entertainment value at all, at least for me. For these reasons, right off the top, I recommend checking it out.     Colossal is the tale of a woman named Gloria (played really well by Anne Hathaway). Gloria is an out-of-work alcoholic who is forced to...

   The summer movie season is here, people! The month of May has so many promising movies slated that as a movie-lover I don't know how to contain the giddiness within! This weekend marks the beginning with Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 , a rip-roarin' space opera that is a blast to watch. The big question that everyone will have going in is whether or not Vol. 2 will be as good or better than the first. I think that is an unfair question. The first Guardians of the Galaxy was such a huge surprise hit. Nobody expected it to be as amazing as it was. Heck, outside of the nerd-inclined society, nobody really knew who or what the Gaurdians of the Galaxy were. What writer/director James Gunn did with that property was nothing short of brilliant, blending a memorable soundtrack, unforgettable characters, and humor to boot, within a gigantic space epic that ultimately widened the spectrum of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. How in the heck does one top that? ...