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PROMETHEUS (Dir. Ridley Scott)
Ridley Scott said from the start that you shouldn't talk about Prometheus in relation to Alien. Yes, it's a prequel, and yes, it's 'in the same universe' or 'in the same timeline', but it most certainly isn't set on the same planet, and don't expect any xenomorphs. Sincerely, Ridley Scott. ps. I lied. On both counts.

Prometheus was an enjoyable watch and I loved it as a film, but as a long-time fan of Alien I couldn't help noticing how, essentially, it was a remake - or an update. Same director, same idea. Sure, some plotlines were different, but it had the same elements of horror and gore that with Alien birthed a whole new subgenre of sci-fi. Prometheus (similarly) is not shocking but rather horrifying - and kinda disgusting in parts. It pushes this sci-fi realism to its edges, much like Alien did. And Noomi Rapace, fantastic in the main role as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, is pretty much 2012's answer to Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley. She's tense, she's edgy, and yet still kinda sexy. There are throwbacks to Alien all through Prometheus, from the crew smoking and drinking on the ship, to Rapace's end monologue voiceover (and her final scene smacks of ol' Sigourney's revealing escape pod scene, too). I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just saying Scott isn't trying to be subtle.

Visually, the film was amazing - almost faultless. And the CGI is accompanied by an oddly orchestral score, which, when it gets a chance, soars over the visuals but luckily for the film's tone it doesn't do this too often. In terms of acting, performances are quite split down the middle; those that are exceptional and those that are quite commonplace. What makes the difference is the opportunities a certain character brings: Michael Fassbender excels as the android David, going above and beyond what Ian Holm did in 1979. He almost stole the show if it weren't for all Noomi Rapace's airtime. Behind them, Charlize Theron plays a heartless bitch (again) and Guy Pearce plays old man Weyland as convincingly as a young man can.

So, ultimately, the question to ask is 'which is better: Prometheus or Alien?', but I don't know the answer. They're both appropriate for their time - but there was something intangible, so subtle, about Alien's casual tone that is lost in today's sci-fi blockbuster. Perhaps it just had a little too much Hollywood sheen to it.

 ★★★★☆

FANTASTIC MR. FOX (Dir. Wes Anderson)
I'm one of a large-ish group of filmophiles that wants Wes Anderson's babies. There's no denying it - we're not indie, or hipsters, we just want his children to be our children. Such dramatic fanhood is not unfounded - Wes Anderson's films are 'well, you know, just really Wes Anderson-y', full of his unique style and clever dialogue and clever direction. I'd even let him name our kids.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is an unusual film is Anderson's portfolio because he's had to restrain his style partially - it's nowhere near the control he had over, say, The Life Aquatic. And good thing too, because though myself and my fellow Andersonites may love him at 100%, but others - and kids, Fantastic's target audience (erm, somehow) - need him with a little pinch of salt. Even his trademark Futura Bold titles are missing here.

Nonetheless, his adaption of Roald Dahl's classic is modern and immersive. What I really love is the choice of voice actors - George Clooney leads a group of fantastic voices, many not of the type usually used in animated films, bringing a different texture to this one (including Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, surprise surprise). The animation itself is not your usual stop-motion, at times realistic and at times comically fabricated. It's easy to see how much work has gone into it, so it's not hard to be blown away by the ambition of it all.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is not really a children's film, sorry kids. It's sometimes dark and sometimes irritatingly quirky (eg. using 'cuss' instead of swear words). But, for the mature adult/teenage viewer, it offers a beautiful cinematic experience and a curious one-off departure from some of Anderson's norms. Suffice to say I still want his kids.

★★★★☆

BRICK (Dir. Rian Johnson)
When it comes to film noir - cum - high school detective movies, it doesn't getter much stranger than Brick. There aren't many films in the category, sure, but Brick is certainly an unusual film. Set in the dry suburbs of California, the film follows a teenage detective (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he finds out who's responsible for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, dragging him into the high school drug underworld.

It's a difficult sell, and the script is thick, quick and full of detective slang that makes the film harder to understand than Inception but without all those dreams-within-dreams. Nonetheless, if you follow the gist of Brick, it's a rewarding watch. It's stylish - almost too much so, as the film often drags and catches on its own stylings. Nonetheless, the cinematography is excellent and the minimalist music is - erm - fitting. That's the nice way of saying it.

The genius of Brick comes in its throwbacks to film noir classics of the 50s, with all the key characters - the nerdy informant, the dangerous femme fatale, the mob boss, and of course the outsider detective - represented by teenagers at the school. There's even a smattering of West Side Story-esque gang wars near the end. The American high school is the perfect location to recreate all these stereotypes in a controlled, smaller environment, but throughout the film I couldn't help thinking that it was trying to be more serious than it could ever be with quirks like 'who's eating lunch with who' being the high school equivalent of 'who's in with who'. There's also a certain monotony and predictability in the format, in Gordon-Levitt's stoïc acting, and in the improbability of it all.

If you're a fan of film noir, and willing to take Brick's twists and turns, give it a go. As a stylistic exercise, it's spot-on.

 ★★★★☆

SYNECDOCHE,  NEW YORK (Dir. Charlie Kaufman)
Synecdoche, New York is another of Kaufman's epic, surreal films - he's best known for writing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich. Synecdoche, also directed by Kaufman, is pure surreal goodness. It's sad, extremely sad, and I'll admit I shed a tear at the end, but the artistic vision of the piece is phenomenal, creating some fantastic unforgettable scenes - Hazel's house (which is constantly on fire) and the ending, to name just two.

It's not a film for the light-hearted, and needs serious time and effort to watch, as it does tend to drag on in its later stages. Despite the brilliant imagination of Kaufman, the film seems to enjoy its own griminess, rolling around in the more disgusting parts of the film, and progressing to its eventual ending like - well, like a dying man. Kaufman's directing is decent, but Synecdoche shows us that he's more cut out to be a writer than a director, otherwise too much Kaufman can lead to a slow and distressing film. It's fascinating to talk about when you look back at it, but sloppy directing and a missed opportunity for Philip Seymour Hoffman (the main character) give the film a hopelessness that, as a viewer, is barely watchable.

 ★★★★☆