Alien: Covenant (2017)

Alien: Covenant, the follow-up to Prometheus (2012) begins with a disaster on board the colony ship Covenant, bound for a new and distant planet.  Many of the colonists and crew are killed, but there is a glimmer of hope in the discovery of a much closer Earth-like planet.  The crew decide to examine the planet closer, and make some startling discoveries.  After some horrifically disastrous contact with a dangerous alien spore, the Covenant's crew are taken in by the android David (Michael Fassbender), last survivor of the Prometheus.  The crew discovers that in his time on the planet, David has become something of a Dr. Moreau type, experimenting with the title creatures and refining them into the fearsome killing machines we see in later films.  After this point, the movie follows some familiar patterns, as the crew on the planet fight to survive while the others still aboard the Covenant desperately try to make contact with them.
As befits Ridley Scott's return to the Alien franchise, Alien: Covenant contains a good helping of thrills and tension, as well as a few gruesome shock scenes.  While the crew of the Covenant don't have the deepest characters in cinema, there is enough detail to make them distinctive and memorable.  In particular, I enjoyed watching Daniels (Katherine Waterston), who seems built for a crisis situation, and shares many personality traits with the more famous Ellen Ripley.  Also notable is acting-captain Tennessee (Danny McBride), who goes through a range of emotions over the course of the movie.  Finally, Michael Fassbender gives a very impressive performance, playing both David and the Covenant's android crew member Walter.  Although the two characters are essentially the same, Fassbender plays them with enough variation that they appear different in subtle ways.
The visual effects are about what's to be expected for an Alien film, although it does seem to lean a little more on the side of CGI effects over the physical element.  That being said, it makes the scary moments no less scary for it.  This atmosphere is helped along by the moody, synthetic sounding score of Jed Kurzel.
There are some philosophical and religious undertones to Covenant, but they seem to serve as a framework that the film is built on rather than communicating any sort of deeper message. (apart from the obvious 'don't play God' themes)  This is a welcome relief and contrast from the uproar Prometheus caused in some political/religious groups back in 2012.
If you were to ask me if Alien: Covenant is a good movie, I'd say yes.  However, if you were to ask me if it's better than Alien, I would question the reasoning of your comparison.  The fact is, there is never going to be another movie that matches the tone and style that Alien created, as much as some fans might want that.  Alien: Covenant is a good piece of sci-fi horror, and an interesting addition to the Alien canon.  Of course, if you'd rather just see Alien again, I suggest you stay home and let other people enjoy the movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

The movie that got us all 'hooked on a feeling' in 2014 is back!  This time around Peter 'Star Lord' Quill (Chris Pratt) and friends find themselves on the run from a golden-skinned race known as the Sovereigns after they discover a small theft by Rocket (Bradley Cooper).  During the chase, they are rescued by a mysterious man known as Ego (Kurt Russell) who reveals himself to be Peter's father.  The Guardians are invited to his home planet, where we discover his surprising motivations for searching out his son.  Meanwhile, Yondu (Michael Rooker) and his space-pirate crew the Ravagers have fallen on hard times, resulting in an internal power struggle.  Eventually Yondu's crew catches up with the Guardians, but by this time, their situation has changed dramatically.  Banding together for the greater good, the Guardians, along with Yondu and Nebula (Karen Gillan) face off against an unexpected villain in a fight that will determine the safety of the entire galaxy!
As is expected with any Marvel film, Guardians Vol 2 is full of eye candy, from the excellent makeup to the outstanding visual effects.  Thankfully, the quality of writing is just as good as the effects.  Every character gets a good amount of screen time.  Peter and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) continue their indecisive attempts at romance, Rocket and baby Groot (Vin Diesel) get numerous chances to explode people, and Drax (Dave Bautista) begins to understand the nature of love, as well as having some of the funniest moments in the movie.  I also appreciate that this sequel put a spotlight on the 'villains' from the first instalment, giving them some very complex new depth of character.
It would be irresponsible of me to talk about a Guardians film without discussing the soundtrack.  Once again, the music is made up of various hits and one-hit-wonders of the disco era, but something about this soundtrack doesn't feel quite the same.  It still has some very well chosen songs for the big moments, but overall, it doesn't seem nearly as vibrant or memorable as the first movie.  After some reflection, I think this has something to do with the context of the first film.  Guardians of the Galaxy started from a deep emotional place, which imprints itself on an audience very strongly.  As well, the first film was our introduction to these characters we now love, so those musical moments become even more ingrained in our unconscious, much in the same way we associate John Williams's Imperial March with Darth Vader, for instance.
As is the case with any Marvel movie, there is a small collection of post-credit sequences.  A few of them are chuckle-worthy, but unless you're well-versed in Marvel comics lore, there's not much worth sticking around for.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is full of action, laughs and adventure.  But more than this, it has a serious emotional story to tell.  Ultimately, it's a story about family.  We don't get to choose our relatives, but we do get to choose who we call our family.  Guardians explains this to us in a very clear and poetic way, and is a big reason I think it improves on the original.  If you're a fan of the original, or just like Marvel movies in general, I highly recommend you see this while it's still in theatres!

The First Three - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016)

Produced by Netflix and BBC America, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency chronicles the strange investigations of the title character (Samuel Barnett), and his unwilling assistant Todd (Elijah Wood).  The disarmingly friendly Dirk Gently differs from most detectives in that he uses a 'holistic' method of investigations.  In practice, this means that he doesn't interview witnesses or look for clues.  He simply goes about his business until he inevitably stumbles onto whatever clue unlocks the entire mystery.  He meets Todd under some very bizarre circumstances, and decides Todd will be his new assistant; the Watson to his Holmes, as it were.  Todd wants nothing to do with Dirk initially, but circumstances keep causing the two to cross paths, so Todd eventually resigns to his sidekick role.  At the same time, another pair of real detectives, Zimmerfield and Estevez (Richard Schiff and Neil Brown Jr.) are trailing Dirk and Todd, since the pair seem to be connected to some very bizarre cold cases.   Meanwhile, across the country, electrician/part time hacker Ken (Mpho Koaho) is abducted by 'holistic' killer Bart Curlish (Fiona Dourif).  Her life's mission is to kill Dirk Gently, even though the two have never crossed paths.  Dirk and Todd spend their time solving bizarre mysteries and avoiding death/capture, while the rest follow the trail they've left, in an exciting and strangely funny series.
For a series this unusual, the writing has to be spot on to keep the tone consistent, and it doesn't disappoint.  The writers have a clear appreciation for the original Douglas Adams novels.  The dialogue and plotting has all the earmarks of Adams's work, from silly arguments over semantics to odd speech patterns and out-of-the-blue weirdness.  The mysteries themselves are densely layered, but manage to have surprisingly coherent solutions in spite of their outlandish nature.  The production design goes a long way to helping the audience accept the strangeness of Dirk Gently's world.  Everything feels just a bit off-centre from regular life, and eventually, we're drawn into the strangeness and we begin to think like Dirk Gently would.  For instance, the idea of a shark attack on dry land becomes more of a brain teaser than a flat-out impossibility.
The pure strangeness of this show is brought to life by Samuel Barnett's portrayal of Dirk Gently.  While the show is set in America, Dirk is English through and through, which is a nice nod to the original books.  As mentioned above, Dirk is almost always cheerful and friendly to everyone, even in the middle of a grisly crime scene.  It's amusing to see other characters trying to decide how to respond to his friendliness.  Elijah Wood's character is very similar to the one he played in Wilfred: Todd is constantly frustrated with Dirk's actions, yet consistently winds up advancing the action whatever decision he makes.  The rest of the cast are excellent as well and provide good contrast with the main players.  Detectives Zimmerfield and Estevez don't have as much screen time, but they share some of the most amusing moments in the series with their hard-boiled dialogue and deadpan reactions to all the weirdness around them.  For me, the standout performances belong to Mpho Koaho and Fiona Dourif as Ken and Bart.  Ken seems to be a nice guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  His fear of Bart feels very real, and it's very interesting to watch that fear fade away as the two become uneasy friends, of a sort.  Despite first appearances, Bart is a fascinatingly complex character.  Fiona Dourif manages to make Bart scary, yet shows a certain sensitive side at times.  Even though Bart is ostensibly the villain of this story, she becomes likeable in the strangest way.
If you like a good mystery, but are tired of the same old predictable stories, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is the right show for you.  Dirk Gently combines sci-fi elements with solid mystery structure and comedic punctuation to create a very entertaining show that defies expectations.  If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth a look!