Spoilers lurk in empty space stations too! 

A gang of space colonists trying to scavenge cryo-sleep pods from a derelict space station come across the remnants of monstrous creature experiments the Weyland-Yutani Corporation was conducting there! 

Following the current trend plaguing films with a long-running franchise, Alien Romulus is an interleaved sequel, which is to say the film is set timeline-wise between the events of the first Alien blockbuster and the excellent sequel Aliens. Everybody got where we are? Then make sure your futuristic ray guns are fully charged so you can take on the Xenomorphs in Alien Romulus! 

Meet Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her adopted synthetic “brother” Andy (David Johnson), who wants desperately to get off-planet and avoid the mines and further indentured servitude, which is a good deal harder than it sounds. So Rain gets together with other disgruntled colonist folk like herself – Tyler (Archie Renaux), Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn), and Navarro (Aileen Wu) – and hatch a wacky plan to swipe some cryogenic sleep pods so they can safely smuggle all of them to a nearby-ish idyllic planet system where they might live freely. This sort of trip normally takes years, hence the cryo-sleep pods. And Rain’s would-be commando pals all think it’s a pretty safe bet that this derelict space station they’ve found would have a bank of still-functioning cryo pods, so it’s off to play scavengers we go! 

The space station is indeed derelict, but it’s hardly empty. With the knowledge that the place was owned and operated by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation that’s all we the audience need to know, but our poor scavengers can’t make heads or tails of the clearly scientific experimental rooms, devoid of human presence but again, definitely not empty. And after a few rounds of catch-me-if-you-can with a roomful of face huggers, our scavengers come across someone, something if you want to be a jerk about it, that might actually be able to help them. 

They manage to get the synthetic android, Rook, the upper half of him at least, semi-functioning, and that’s all it takes for them to get a crash course in corporate greed and one particular aliens physiology and future potential, for Rook is still very much a Company man. And this means scavenging whatever information they managed to retain from their terrible experiments on the xenomorphs and their face hugger proto-form to get to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation by whatever means necessary, including co-opting and brainwashing fellow synthetic Andy to help him. 

The choice to use CGI and animatronics, built by Legacy Effects, and the visage of the late excellent actor Ian Holm for the countenance of the synthetic Rook was an interesting choice. It does keep a certain kind of continuity going in the Alien world and kind of cements where we are in the film timeline more, but I think the same effect could have been obtained with a different actor just as well. 

So the facehuggers are loose and the bigger scary-as-hell forms are starting to emerge and attack our scavenger crew, and somehow the pregnant Kay manages to get herself implanted by a facehugger, and the inevitable question of human-xenomorph hybrids begins in earnest – only a few hundred years before when it happened in Alien Resurrection. 

The whole human-xeno hybrid storyline, the proto-mashup thing that looks to me like they took an Engineer from Prometheus and gave it Xenomorph bones, and how quickly they adopt the need to shoehorn the two mismatched worlds of Prometheus and the Alien films into another Alien movie is entirely aggravating and unnecessary. The atmosphere of traditional Alien-style horror we came to love a very long time ago from Ridley Scott was carrying the movie just fine up to this point of sudden human-xeno pregnancy, traumatic birth, and the emergence (and thankfully, death) of this thing they simply called “the Offspring”. Again, the insistence to try and mashup two very different film worlds is unneeded and more likely to turn fans off both franchises. At least, former Romanian basketball player Robert Bobroczkyi and his more-than-7-foot-natural-height played the part of the Offspring, with only the tail being CGI’d, lending some vague manner of brief believability to the creature. 

It’s not as though the Alien films actually need a whole lot in the way of humans we care about, especially if there’s a pack of Xenomorphs scrambling around the station, or a fleet of green-slimed eggs that most definitely don’t have chocolate inside waiting to jump-scare the audience into oblivion. But if you’re going to have at least half the story be about the humans and their plight first, it would be better to give them something to make them less generic than “red-shirt A”, to try and give us the audience a reason to groan in sympathy when a chest-burster is born, instead of cheering for the baby xeno to go feast already! And to be fair, the first three acts of the film are quite good, in the OG Scott manner of silence-space-screaming horror that is now a genre standard. There is an almost long-standing non-tradition of being dissatisfied with the endings to the latter Alien movies anyway. 

Find out what happened to our scavengers and see if Rook takes all the pawns in Alien Romulus, in theaters now! 

A struggling couple with their young daughter are invited to spend an idyllic weekend at a newly made friend’s country house, that hides a whole bunch of nasty secrets! 

Normally, a review consists of a few paragraphs of expounding on the movie and then the ranted opinion itself, closing with a recommendation as to whether or not Moxie recommends going to see said film. Speak No Evil is a very weird exception, for there is very little in the way of plot to follow, and the would-be horror devolves into cheap scares and dumbassery for us to laugh at. When the theater audience has cat-callers hooting and calling out the protagonist dad figure of the film and there is no censure from anyone else, you’re doing something wrong. But, let’s attempt a dive anyway! 

So Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis) Dalton are struggling, with life, with career and money trouble of course, and perhaps most importantly but less often spoken of, with each-other. Whilst trying to hide it all from their sensitive bunny-stricken daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) too, of course. They somehow took a vacation runaway of sorts to Tuscany of all places, where they stay in a villa with a few other vacationers, bonding over the one annoying couple no-one else likes with new friends Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Fraciosi) and their apparently nonverbal kid Anthony or Ant (Dan Hough). Later, after a reminder postcard with the extended offer of a weekend stay at their country home is again extended to the Daltons, the two parental units decide it would be a good idea to run away some more and off they go, with Agnes and Hoppy in tow! 

It’s amazing that the Dalton parents know so little about Paddy and Ciara and still decide to spend a weekend with them at their run-down country house. And just as soon as they do finally find the place, Paddy goes from the amiable fellow-dad to sympathize and bro-mance with, to an opinionated antagonistic competitor, who has to have his way about absolutely everything. It begins with the named goose he cooked for their first dinner there, despite being well aware Louise is vegan, and escalates to trying to instigate Ben into being more manly and take-charge, to serious disagreements in the way Paddy tries to raise his not-quite-mute kid, and finally the Dalton parents begin to realize perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea. 

It’s often the children in these stories who provide the horrific reveal of what the villain, or villains, have been up to, and Speak No Evil is no different in this regard. Little Dan Hough gives a striking and ghastly performance as Ant, chop-chop-chopping his way through a silent explanation of what actually happened to his poor tongue. The brilliant way Agnes gets her parents alone to inform them of Ant’s new information is one of the few bright, smart spots of the entire movie. And after the Daltons have finally understood the true nightmare of their situation and their very real need to escape, the film basically degenerates into a kind of reverse home invasion horror flick, as the Daltons try to hide amidst the country house of our baddies trying to hunt them down! 

None of it is enough. No reason was ever given as to why Paddy the purported former doctor is like this, why he needs to OCD his trophies to the point of an incriminating evidence locker, why Ant was the one to finally find the courage to fight back, why the hell Ben is such a freaking milquetoast of a human one can’t even consider him the head of the Dalton family, why Louise is still putting up with all this nonsense over the safety of her beloved daughter, and why hasn’t the authorities or the families of other victims kicked up any kind of ruckus by now? Why is the neighboring handyman type Mike (Kris Hitchen) in league with our villainous couple to the point where he takes to hunting the Daltons with shotgun in tow, too? The film is apparently a remake of a 2022 Danish film of the same name, and we have to ask, why did anyone think the film market needed such a thing? Well, whatever. 

Cover your mouth to keep from yelling common-sense advice to the deplorably naïve characters on the screen and catch Speak No Evil in theaters now! 

Ryan Reynolds has become one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, known for his quick wit, charm, and ability to effortlessly switch between comedy, action, and heartfelt moments. With a career spanning multiple genres, Reynolds has delivered some truly iconic performances. Here’s a rundown of the top five Ryan Reynolds movies that every fan should watch, filled with SEO keywords to help you discover them easily.

1. Deadpool (2016)

Ryan Reynolds found his career-defining role as the wise-cracking antihero Deadpool, and the movie became a game-changer for superhero films. With its R-rated humor, brutal action sequences, and Reynolds’ perfectly timed one-liners, Deadpool is a must-watch for fans of comic book movies. Reynolds’ portrayal of Wade Wilson/Deadpool is the perfect blend of his trademark sarcasm and heart, making it one of his most beloved performances.

2. The Proposal (2009)

In this romantic comedy, Ryan Reynolds stars alongside Sandra Bullock as Andrew Paxton, an assistant who agrees to a fake engagement with his demanding boss to help her avoid deportation. The Proposal showcases Reynolds’ comedic timing, and his chemistry with Bullock elevates the film to one of the best romantic comedies of the 2000s. Reynolds’ charm and humor make it a standout in his filmography, and fans of rom-coms shouldn’t miss it.

3. Free Guy (2021)

In Free Guy, Reynolds plays Guy, a non-playable character (NPC) in a video game who gains self-awareness and decides to take control of his own destiny. The film combines action, comedy, and a surprisingly heartfelt story about finding your purpose. Reynolds’ performance is both funny and endearing, making Free Guy one of his best films in recent years. Fans of video games, action-comedies, and feel-good films will love it.

4. Buried (2010)

Buried is a tense thriller that features Ryan Reynolds in a solo performance, trapped in a coffin with only a cell phone and lighter. The film is a masterclass in suspense, and Reynolds’ gripping portrayal of a man fighting for his life showcases his dramatic acting chops. Buried is a must-watch for fans who want to see Reynolds in a more serious, intense role.

5. 6 Underground (2019)

In Michael Bay’s action-packed 6 Underground, Reynolds leads a team of vigilantes who fake their own deaths to take down notorious criminals. The film is pure adrenaline, filled with high-octane action sequences and Reynolds’ signature humor. If you’re looking for a fun, explosive action movie with witty banter, 6 Underground is the perfect choice for a thrilling movie night.

Honorable Mentions:

Deadpool 2 (2018): Reynolds continues to shine in this hilarious and action-packed sequel, cementing his role as the ultimate antihero.

Detective Pikachu (2019): Ryan Reynolds voices the adorable Pikachu in this family-friendly adventure, bringing humor and heart to the beloved Pokémon character.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017): An action-comedy where Reynolds teams up with Samuel L. Jackson for a wild, thrilling ride.

Ryan Reynolds’ versatility as an actor shines through in each of these films, whether he’s playing an action hero, a romantic lead, or tackling more serious roles. From Deadpool to Buried, his unique blend of charisma and talent keeps audiences coming back for more. Make sure to add these top five Ryan Reynolds movies to your watchlist!