Latest news with #AlienRomulus
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Alien: Earth' Is Surprisingly Cinematic, a Bit Gross and a Whole Lot of Awesome
If you ask me, it's a great time to be an Alien fan. Last year's Alien: Romulus offered a fun, nostalgic taste of what made the Alien movies so iconic. It was the perfect appetizer for what's coming next. Of course, I am speaking about Alien: Earth. It's been about five years since FX officially announced the Noah Hawley project and, now, with the show just days away from premiering (the first two episodes drop on Tuesday, Aug. 12, on Hulu, FX and Disney Plus), I am here to squash your worries. Alien: Earth is good. In fact, it's pretty epic. Heck, I'd go so far as to say it's the best Alien story I've seen since James Cameron put Sigourney Weaver in a power loader back in 1986. Needless to say, I have a lot to say about the eight episodes I've seen -- and I'm going to do so as spoiler-free as possible. Still, if you want to avoid any details about the show, I advise you to tread lightly. Read more: Hulu to Fully Combine With Disney Plus and Expand Globally: What We Know Alien: Earth does something no other installment of the franchise has dared to do: It puts the majority of the story on Earth. The year is 2120, just two years before Ellen Ripley's (Weaver) fight for survival takes place on the Nostromo. In this world, five tech corporations govern the people: Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic and Threshold. Up until now, we've only heard of Weyland-Yutani. Adding the other companies to the mix and exploring their political conflicts and fight for power opens up the story and broadens things a bit from the usual monster-versus-innocent-crew-members formula we've come to expect from an Alien story. The Xenomorph is still very much the focal point of the series, don't get me wrong. However, Alien: Earth introduces a few new concepts to the mix: Cyborgs (humans augmented with machine parts), hybrids (synthetic bodies controlled by human consciousness) and a collection of insidious space insects that add new horrors besides the face-hugging variety. You can't really replicate the initial shock that audiences felt after watching Alien for the first time. Sure, a chest-bursting sequence in an Alien movie can be unsettling to watch. But these gruesome scenes are expected and have become formulaic. Hawley knows this and that's why he and his team brought an assortment of creepy-crawlies to the mix. The result is gross and gory; the inclusion of these space bugs delivers a collection of body horror sequences that left me, more than once, shouting in disgust at the TV. That's high praise coming from me. Building an original world such as this is only as enthralling as the characters who populate it and the talent slate really delivers the emotional stakes on all accounts. While Timothy Olyphant is the biggest name on the call sheet, each of the main players -- Sydney Chandler (who plays Wendy), Alex Lawther (who plays Hermit), Samuel Blenkin (who plays Boy Kavalier) and Babou Ceesay (who plays Morrow) -- delivers tenfold. Audiences have never seen Olyphant play a character like the synthetic Kirsh. He's enigmatic in his stillness and leaves you regularly guessing whose side he is on. As wonderful as he is, it's Chandler who carries the show. Wendy is the emotional entry point for the audience and probably the most complex of all the characters. She is also an advanced synthetic human infused with the consciousness of a child. Her youthful discovery of the world around her bumps up against her newfound responsibility to Prodigy, the company in charge of her synth existence. She strives to reconcile her human identity of the past while trying to make sense of her technological one of the present. Yeesh, talk about an identity crisis. The Alien franchise has regularly pondered whether humanity deserves to survive. The series asks the same question, whether it's in the face of the alien invaders or the corporatations bending the understanding of what it even means to be human. Transhumanism, mortality, corporate control and the perils of unchecked technological advancements are some of the heady themes explored here. As big as some of these creative swings get, you shouldn't worry: aliens are still killing people. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Stylistically, Alien: Earth regularly references the first two Alien movies. That said, there is ample room to create something new and explore uncharted ground in the process. And the show does just that. The result is a program that is grand in scope, and while familiar visuals and aesthetics are featured throughout, Alien: Earth is delightfully different. This brings me to the Xenomorph. I'm not sure how practical the effects are in reference to the iconic creature (it's clear in some scenes that there's a person inside of a costume), but there are shots featured throughout the show that present the monster in a unique perspective, unlike anything I've seen before. And instead of waiting multiple episodes before the big bad is revealed, it's set loose in the pilot episode. Through his TV work with Fargo and Legion, Noah Hawley has established a tone and flavor for his projects, and that offbeat energy can most definitely be found here. His fingerprints are all over this show (he even makes an on-screen cameo), and this is mostly a good thing. That said, if I were to really nitpick, it'd be the slow-burn pacing featured throughout the season that I'd take issue with. Still, that's a minor flaw to me, which is totally made up for with every banging needle drop that closes out each episode. It's probably evident that I am a huge Alien fan. I get the references and smile every time I see a style note or referential homage. That said, the show is surprisingly low on Easter eggs, which is great. It respects and honors what came before it without getting lost in the minutiae. Alien: Earth has equal appeal to newbies who have never seen an Alien movie and die-hard franchise fanatics like myself. I can honestly say this series is unlike anything I've seen in the Alien universe. It's familiar while also being new; it's different without being destructive to the lore. Alien fans have trudged through one disappointing movie after another to get here. Alien: Earth is a win, and I'm ecstatic. You could even say my chest is bursting with joy. It only took four decades to get here. I guess good things really do come to those who wait. Solve the daily Crossword
CNET
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
'Alien: Earth' Is Surprisingly Cinematic, a Bit Gross and a Whole Lot of Awesome
If you ask me, it's a great time to be an Alien fan. Last year's Alien: Romulus offered a fun, nostalgic taste of what made the Alien movies so iconic. It was the perfect appetizer for what's coming next. Of course, I am speaking about Alien: Earth. It's been about five years since FX officially announced the Noah Hawley project and, now, with the show just days away from premiering (the first two episodes drop on Tuesday, Aug. 12, on Hulu, FX and Disney Plus), I am here to squash your worries. Alien: Earth is good. In fact, it's pretty epic. Heck, I'd go so far as to say it's the best Alien story I've seen since James Cameron put Sigourney Weaver in a power loader back in 1986. Needless to say, I have a lot to say about the eight episodes I've seen -- and I'm going to do so as spoiler-free as possible. Still, if you want to avoid any details about the show, I advise you to tread lightly. Read more: Hulu to Fully Combine With Disney Plus and Expand Globally: What We Know FX Networks Alien: Earth does something no other installment of the franchise has dared to do: It puts the majority of the story on Earth. The year is 2120, just two years before Ellen Ripley's (Weaver) fight for survival takes place on the Nostromo. In this world, five tech corporations govern the people: Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic and Threshold. Up until now, we've only heard of Weyland-Yutani. Adding the other companies to the mix and exploring their political conflicts and fight for power opens up the story and broadens things a bit from the usual monster-versus-innocent-crew-members formula we've come to expect from an Alien story. Timothy Olyphant plays an aging synthetic named Kirsh in Alien: Earth. FX Networks The Xenomorph is still very much the focal point of the series, don't get me wrong. However, Alien: Earth introduces a few new concepts to the mix: Cyborgs (humans augmented with machine parts), hybrids (synthetic bodies controlled by human consciousness) and a collection of insidious space insects that add new horrors besides the face-hugging variety. You can't really replicate the initial shock that audiences felt after watching Alien for the first time. Sure, a chest-bursting sequence in an Alien movie can be unsettling to watch. But these gruesome scenes are expected and have become formulaic. Hawley knows this and that's why he and his team brought an assortment of creepy-crawlies to the mix. The result is gross and gory; the inclusion of these space bugs delivers a collection of body horror sequences that left me, more than once, shouting in disgust at the TV. That's high praise coming from me. Babou Ceesay plays Morrow, a cyborg security officer employed by Weyland-Yutani in Alien: Earth. FX Networks Building an original world such as this is only as enthralling as the characters who populate it and the talent slate really delivers the emotional stakes on all accounts. While Timothy Olyphant is the biggest name on the call sheet, each of the main players -- Sydney Chandler (who plays Wendy), Alex Lawther (who plays Hermit), Samuel Blenkin (who plays Boy Kavalier) and Babou Ceesay (who plays Morrow) -- delivers tenfold. Audiences have never seen Olyphant play a character like the synthetic Kirsh. He's enigmatic in his stillness and leaves you regularly guessing whose side he is on. As wonderful as he is, it's Chandler who carries the show. Wendy is the emotional entry point for the audience and probably the most complex of all the characters. She is also an advanced synthetic human infused with the consciousness of a child. Her youthful discovery of the world around her bumps up against her newfound responsibility to Prodigy, the company in charge of her synth existence. She strives to reconcile her human identity of the past while trying to make sense of her technological one of the present. Yeesh, talk about an identity crisis. The Alien franchise has regularly pondered whether humanity deserves to survive. The series asks the same question, whether it's in the face of the alien invaders or the corporatations bending the understanding of what it even means to be human. Sydney Chandler stars as Wendy, an experimental synth, in Alien: Earth. FX Networks Transhumanism, mortality, corporate control and the perils of unchecked technological advancements are some of the heady themes explored here. As big as some of these creative swings get, you shouldn't worry: aliens are still killing people. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Stylistically, Alien: Earth regularly references the first two Alien movies. That said, there is ample room to create something new and explore uncharted ground in the process. And the show does just that. The result is a program that is grand in scope, and while familiar visuals and aesthetics are featured throughout, Alien: Earth is delightfully different. This brings me to the Xenomorph. I'm not sure how practical the effects are in reference to the iconic creature (it's clear in some scenes that there's a person inside of a costume), but there are shots featured throughout the show that present the monster in a unique perspective, unlike anything I've seen before. And instead of waiting multiple episodes before the big bad is revealed, it's set loose in the pilot episode. Through his TV work with Fargo and Legion, Noah Hawley has established a tone and flavor for his projects, and that offbeat energy can most definitely be found here. His fingerprints are all over this show (he even makes an on-screen cameo), and this is mostly a good thing. That said, if I were to really nitpick, it'd be the slow-burn pacing featured throughout the season that I'd take issue with. Still, that's a minor flaw to me, which is totally made up for with every banging needle drop that closes out each episode. It's probably evident that I am a huge Alien fan. I get the references and smile every time I see a style note or referential homage. That said, the show is surprisingly low on Easter eggs, which is great. It respects and honors what came before it without getting lost in the minutiae. Alien: Earth has equal appeal to newbies who have never seen an Alien movie and die-hard franchise fanatics like myself. Sydney Chandler plays Wendy in FX's Alien: Earth on Hulu. FX Networks I can honestly say this series is unlike anything I've seen in the Alien universe. It's familiar while also being new; it's different without being destructive to the lore. Alien fans have trudged through one disappointing movie after another to get here. Alien: Earth is a win, and I'm ecstatic. You could even say my chest is bursting with joy. It only took four decades to get here. I guess good things really do come to those who wait.
Forbes
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Isabela Merced's Dina Is The Breakout Star Of ‘The Last Of Us' Season 2
The Last of Us There are plenty of debates about The Last of Us season 2, which seems to be far more controversial than the first. That's no real surprise after episode 2 where (spoilers) Joel is beaten to death in a massive moment that also launched the second game. There are also conversations about Bella Ramsey's Ellie, that this Ellie doesn't look different enough from the last season when she's supposed to be five years older. Plus, Ramsey's portrayal being a bit different than Ellie's game personality (personally, I think Ramsey is doing a great job). Unexpectedly, however, a star has emerged in season 2 that I don't think a lot of people saw coming, Isabela Merced as Dina. While Dina was an important part of the game, certainly, Merced's charming and compelling portrayal of the character has elevated her past what she was in the source material. This is in part because the show has opted to give her a larger role than the game. We saw more of an established relationship with Joel than the game allowed, which makes her mission with Ellie more than just about how she likes Ellie and wants to protect her. And speaking of Ellie, Merced has more chemistry with Ramsey than the two characters did in the game, at least for now. The Last of Us Merced's career has blown up as of late. In addition to landing this role, the 23 year-old just played a part in Alien Romulus (ironically across from older Ellie ringer Cailee Spaeny). Now she's set to play Hawkgirl in the first DCU movie, James Gunn's Superman, quite a jump from her last superhero role in Madame Web next to Sydney Sweeney. Some viewers may remember her playing live-action Dora more than half a decade ago. We can get into game spoilers if you want now, if you're curious where all this is going, and how 'safe' she is or not in this story. Those spoilers follow. She is in fact safe. Despite a lot of death in this story, Dina survives. And her baby survives. Yes, if the vomiting wasn't a clue, Dina is in fact pregnant via her relationship with Jesse (who will not survive the show). This eventually reaches a point where her and Ellie are living together after the Seattle story is over, but Ellie cannot let her revenge go when she learns the escaped Abby has resurfaced in California. She leaves, and when she returns, Dina is gone, which is how the game ends. But hey, at least Dina lives. So that's the good news, is that we will see both Dina and Ellie for the duration of the next two seasons and she's not about to suffer some tragic fate. I think everyone here is doing a good job from Ramsey to Young Mazino's Jesse to at least so far, Kaitlyn Dever's Abby, but right now, Merced seems like the big new standout. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Bluesky Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Forbes
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Official Alien Role Playing Game Evolves On Kickstarter
Director Fede Alvarez (L) and actor Cailee Spaeny (R) on the set of the film, 'Alien: Romulus', ... More Budapest, Hungary, 2023. (Photo by) The Alien franchise has emerged from a cryosleep-like state the past few years. Alien Romulus provided a solid cinematic entry to the franchise last year. Alien: Earth hopes to continue the winning streak when it premieres on FX sometime later this year. Fans of tabletop role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons have had a lot to be excited by as well. Free League Publishing put out an official Alien Role Playing Game in December of 2019 as part of a fresh batch of space horror games. Now, the company has taken an updated version to Kickstarter. The Alien Role Playing Game casts players as humans on the edge of a hostile universe. They may be the crew of a space freighter, a band of Colonial Marines or the settlers of a corporate colony. Not only must they deal with the titular xenomorph and all the spin-offs from the other movies in the series but there are the harsh realities of frontier worlds and company policy that can be just as deadly. The game can be played in cinematic or campaign modes. Campaign games are the classic long term games where players might fight a space war or manage a settlement. Cinematic games are meant for one or two sessions full of tense moments, human intrigue and alien slaughter. One of the most innovate things about the game is how it handles stress and fear. Taking on stress gives a player stress dice which can make it easier to succeed as a character focuses up knowing that there's a deadly alien about. But too many stress dice make it easier for a character to freak out and fail hard, leaving them a weepy mess when the creature finally comes calling. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Alien Evolved Edition looks to refine the award winning game play of the original while also expanding it based on feedback from players over the last five years. The Kickstarter features three main titles on an ambitious release schedule. In addition, fans are excited to pick up official miniatures sets to paint and portray desperate battles between humans and Xenomorphs on the table top. The corebook offers refinements on stress, stealth rules, talents and more. It's also including material from Alien: Romulus such as weapons, technology and locations players can use in their own campaigns. It's also going through a refreshed look that keeps the gorgeous, brooding art while shifting to an easier to read layout. The Starter Set provided several materials that make running the game easier such as dice, reference sheets, gear cards and even a Xenomorph miniature. The box included an expanded edition of Hope's Last Day, the killer introduction adventure that's been played by thousands of Alien fans. It's a cinematic adventure that sticks players in the colony of Hadley's Hope in the worst possible time; before the events of Aliens take place but after the Xenomorphs have started taking over. Rapture Protocol is the first in a series of campaign boxed sets with maps, character cards and full-color maps. The players are a crew of a small freighter caught between human factions on a remote colony. Soon enough, the xenomorph appears to kick everything into a higher gear. As a long time fan of the franchise, I am a huge fan of this role playing game. I'm looking forward to see where they go with it in the next few years. Even with uncertainty looming in the tabletop games industry, I know Free League will put out an excellent update to their most popular game soon. Alien Evolved Edition is on Kickstarter until April 17th, 2025. Backer rewards are expected in late Q3 of this year.
