PROMETHEUS (2012)

[Update 03/21/2021: This review sucks. Just deleted it and going to review the entire series again instead and then fix this review better when I get to it.]

Original series:

Part 1 - Alien

Part 2 - Aliens

Part 3 - Aliens 3

Part 4 - Alien Resurrection 

Prequel series: 

Part 2 - Alien: Covenant (2017)

Crossover 1 - Alien vs. Predator

Crossover 2 - Alien vs. Predator: Requiem

NEXT TIME WE LOVE (1936)

Nineteen thirty-six was a very busy year for Jimmy Stewart.  He starred in eight full-length movies and NEXT TIME WE LOVE was his first outing as a leading man.  And he does a great job.  The film opens with him and his girlfriend (Margaret Sullavan) talking nonstop love stuff and then getting married.  It's all very sappy, but then the film takes a serious turn. A very serious turn.  James and Margaret quickly learn that love cannot overcome financial difficulties and when James takes a job as a foreign correspondent in Russia they solve the financial part, but now they have the long distance thing to deal with...and in 1936 Russia was way more long distance than it is now.

I have no idea how successful (or unsuccessful) NTWL was at the box office, but I liked it quite a bit and will definitely be watching it again.  The story is mature and maybe even a little bit ahead of it's time?  Or maybe not, I don't know, GRAND HOTEL and I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG were both made four years earlier and both even more depressing.

My biggest complaint is the movie just isn't long enough.  The story, especially towards the end, goes way too fast and it doesn't give the viewer enough time to react emotionally.  Also the ending just ends.  I wanted more or at least some closure.  Even so, NEXT TIME WE LOVE is an enjoyable watch and a nice chance to see a young Stewart before he became a household name.

BATTLESHIP (2012)

Aliens in large spaceships land right smack dab in the middle of a Navy exercise off the coast of Hawaii and immediately put up a large force field that they can fire out of but nobody can fire into.  Stuff happens and only one ship, captained by a total fuck up, can save the day.

The main reason I watched BATTLESHIP is because it featured Tadanobu Asano, but despite the fact that he only had a minor role I still ended up walking away enjoying the film simply because it's so goddamn crazy.  Common sense, reality, intelligent story...all of that is thrown out the window in exchange for raw entertainment.  And it somehow works.  Funny opening scene, non-stop action, lens flare overdose, sound effects overdose, fat tits in a white t-shirt, pretty explosions, impressive special effects, aliens killing the fook out of humans, a chicken burrito, aliens that could totally kick our asses doing stupid shit, Liam Neeson, beautiful Hawaiian locations, cringefest dialogue, rock music montages and lots and lots of shooting and explosions.  Worth a watch while folding laundry.