Alien: Covenant

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. 

In the past week I've seen Alien: Covenant, Prometheus and Logan. The experience has left me feeling weary, overstuffed and over-stimulated, like a little kid who eats all his candy on the day after Halloween. I don't want to see any more sci-fi or films about comic book characters for a while. 

Browsing through the user reviews on imdb.com, I 'm surprised to see how many negative comments Alien: Covenant has attracted. But when you're Ridley Scott, it's possible to be a victim of your own success: if you make a film that is not absolutely wonderful and doesn't measure up to  Blade Runner  or Gladiator, a certain segment of the audience (fanboys, you might say) are disappointed. And a certain subset of that segment will go out of their way to write negative reviews. That's showbiz. 

I will leave it to others to pass judgment on whether this is a "good" movie. I don't pretend to the role of critic, nor do I require my sci-fi/horror films to meet Ingmar Bergman standards. I wiill say that I enjoyed all 122 minutes of Alien: Covenant.  Why? I suppose it's because it has a credible story, satisfying tie-ins to the previous films, great action sequences and beautiful visuals. But now I sound like a critic, so it's time to stop agonizing over why I liked it. I just liked it, and that's enough for me.  As for themes, deeper meanings and big thoughts in general: yes, there are some here. But somebody smarter than I will have to instruct me on that.

I'm a big fan of the first two Alien films, and Prometheus as well. This compares well to those entries in the canon. And it's brilliant compared to those awful sequels like Alien vs. Predator and so much else I see on DirecTV. So I guess the negative reaction from the fan audience just boils down to deflated expectations. As for me, I'm sure I'll watch it again on home video.  

Whatever format you choose, here's a word of caution: you might want to watch Prometheus before Alien: Covenant. This story arc is getting pretty complex. 

Drunken Man Sues Tavern

After a four-hour bender at a neighborhood tavern in Youngwood PA, including "shots of liquor," this patron became so intoxicated that he fell off his bar stool. In doing so, he suffered a painful 
shoulder injury. Aching and angry, he has decided to sue the tavern.

“They kept giving him drinks," said his attorney. "You're not supposed to feed people so much booze they fall off a bar stool." He has a point there.

I think I'll go down to this tavern  tonight. I want to sit on one of those bar stools and have a few shots. I'm pretty good at this sort of undercover work. 

Drunken man falls off bar stool, sues Youngwood tavern owners

Tribune-Review, Westmoreland PA, May 16, 2017

Self-Castration

When it comes to self-castration stories, this one tops this list. It's from The Latrobe (PA) Bulletin. Briefly: this person castrated himself and became a transgendered female. Then she (?) somehow convinced two of her six husbands to let her castrate them as well. I don't know what to say about this, except that life is full of surprises.  

source: The Latrobe (PA) Bulletin