iTunes Exclusive Episode Alien Covenant

Music
Greetings, Empire member and or members.
If you are hearing the sound of my voice, it means the following conditions have been
meant.
At least once in your life, you have checked out the Clubhouse podcast, live every Sunday
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And you also subscribe to this show on your favorite podcast app, because that means
it is time for another, I choose exclusive, number 288, I believe for this one.
Well, it's summer movies season, and that means it's time for oddly enough summer movies.
And one of them, we have gotten to check out for you.
You might have heard of it, it's a little independent film, but we like to call alien
covenant.
But before we get to that, let me tell you who else is here, because my name is Rob, I'm the executive
producer of the Clubhouse podcast and that, yeah, these kind of things creep me out.
My co-host, it's in a cost for me, doesn't creep you out as much, he's chat, welcome
sir.
Right in my wheelhouse, sir.
And then there's also the official fact checker of this show, who I think, out wheelhouse
is both of us for this.
You may know I'm as fond on go, but it's a moment, even down for him, I'm going to call
him down for it.
Hello, sir.
Uh-huh.
We are talking alien covenants, for we start this whole thing, ready?
All right, I'm in a bit of a morgue, I think Josh, the whole crew, thanks for the
invite.
This is the sequel in the prequel trilogy, the second of the three, after Prometheus,
ten years later.
Is it ten years later?
Yeah, that's all right.
Fair enough.
Covenant is actually the name of the ship that we're dealing with this go round, as
a crew and about 2,000 colonists and about 1500 embryos are headed to a faraway planet
to colonize and repopulate and all that good stuff.
But about seven and a half years short, something happens disrupts the ship, the crew wakes
up from cryosleep, has to repair the ship, but they also find that just a couple of
weeks out, instead of another seven and a half years, there's another planet that looks
very inhabitable.
So they go to check it out.
And as the title would probably tell you, things don't go well.
It's the planet where Prometheus took a man, took a place at.
If you saw, well, no, it's not so, it's not.
It's not.
Oh, my bad.
Because there are two prologues to this film that you can see on YouTube, one of them takes
a place on the ship right before they go to cryosleep.
The other one takes place as David and what's short.
Dr. Shaw are in the Prometheus ship, okay, going somewhere else.
Oh, I'm staying, okay.
I think that's as far down the rabbit hole as I really want to go.
Yeah, yeah, it's hard to avoid spoilers and something.
So here's the thing.
I have not seen Prometheus and I'm not ashamed to say it.
So before we went in, I just went to the Wikipedia page for Prometheus and you and I were
having dinner and I finished reading it and I looked at Chad and I went, so aliens
of thing and everybody's dead, right?
Chad was said, well, almost everybody.
I said, good.
I know what I need to know.
Because I've said it before to say it again.
These types of films, not a huge fan of the genre.
I don't like paying somebody to try to make me soil myself.
I'm sorry.
It's just not my deal.
But you love roller coasters.
Roller coasters are different.
You know what, you know what's coming with a roller coaster.
You can see the track, you can brace yourself, there's a difference between G forces
and somebody trying to make your heart stop because you don't know what's coming.
Yeah, but people have actually died on roller coasters.
People have died watching scary movies too because it freaks him out so bad, it gives
him heart failure.
They've had very weak constitution though and back to the movie.
But again, not a fan of this genre, but we do it for the kids.
I can say honestly without seeing Prometheus, I was not lost watching this film.
Good.
Which is a good thing.
Yes.
I had to ask him, I think, one question in the film, now did the, did brushing up
on Wikipedia, alleviate some of the confusion or not really think it would have made a difference.
It really did make a difference.
Good, good, good, good.
Except knowing who those two characters were that were the prologue.
Right.
Which is, which is it's playing actually in the film too.
And the end of the second prologue is actually in the film.
Because the, as the ship opens up, oh, okay, that's actually in the prologue, okay.
And we haven't even gotten to the cast here, I mean, you've got fast bender is back.
Catherine Watterson, she's one of those people that you would know from a lot of different
things.
Billy Crude up, Danny McBride, Danny and Bashir all in this thing.
I will say, I would, there's a little bit more I wish they would have done.
There's two hours and two minutes, there's a solid two hours.
But I will say this, that two hours for lies, brisk.
I was impressed.
Yeah.
Especially as apprehensive as I was going in, you know how that kind of affects the way I see
things.
Yeah.
This two hours sailed by, yeah.
I was impressed at the storytelling pace if nothing else.
Usually, I mean, we're at a point now, we, we really have to talk about the effects.
I mean, they're top notch.
Well, but when you say visually, though, you really only have two words that really
immediately spring to mind.
Ridley Scott.
Exactly.
You know, it, one of the things that Donna know, you've got to be with me on this,
there was Ridley Scott's DNA all over this freaking.
Yeah.
And it's something that has been sorely lacking from this series.
Resurrection.
He's a killer.
Those are my ears.
You're doing that too.
It's, it's something that the series has needed.
And I mean, even though he was responsible for Prometheus, it, there, but there were
other mitigating factors of kick with that right.
Right.
Right.
And I understand why you did Prometheus.
Yeah.
But just, it, that even though it was always marketed as, oh, it's not really, oh,
we'll get it.
Yeah.
That was the big thing is it's not an alien thing.
It's not an alien thing.
It's not an alien thing.
It's not an alien thing.
Okay.
It's an alien thing.
Yeah.
And it doesn't really feel like it until like the last fourth of the film.
Well, like, but again, you know, the mitigating circumstances that were involved in
that.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Damien, Damon Lindeloff got involved was like, no, it doesn't have to be an alien
film.
And then the water's got kind of muddied.
But apparently, if you can find the original shooting script, it's a much better shooting
script that they originally had and explains a lot more.
But this thing just felt right.
I mean, this, the ship is immediately on course, no pun intended.
The ship is immediately on course, and it's, it's a pretty straight shot.
I kept thinking, are the people at design the black hole going to sue somebody?
Well, you got to remember that, that those came out at the same time, just the first alien
and the black hole released at the same year.
Just so.
Um, I did like how the title card came up, just like the original.
Mm-hmm.
That was kind of neat.
There's a little.
And let me preface this also.
People are like, Rob, you're talking a little bit about this.
As much of not of a fan of this kind of film I am, I have seen all of them, but
me the instant over the course of my life and that doesn't include resurrection.
Yes, I did see it.
I have a guess all that in the theater, too.
I've seen all of it in the theater, so I mean, I've really enjoyed this.
I'm not, I'm not saying that I would pull myself through it again, just because of what
it is, but it could have been a lot worse.
And, and let me also say, you and I are having dinner and you're going, yeah, for
this one's like crazy, you're then before, and it's a lot gory or lumber, and I'm like,
not helping.
Well, at that point in your commitment, I was just, I was preparing you, sir.
You over-prepared me.
Well, I'm sorry.
I'll say nothing.
It was still creepy, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.
Because it was, compared to the first film, it was pretty dead, I'm gory.
Yeah, there was something really over the top of fix with how I mean, it does earn
it's our rating from both a visual and an audio, medium speaking of audio, I thought
the audio, not besides the language, but the actual sound field on this was amazing and
the theater we were seeing.
Yeah.
And I was impressive as well.
Don, for being our resident alien expert, you're kind of quiet over it.
I've been waiting.
We're waiting on you.
Okay.
Because I was letting you do your thing.
I mean, we're 10 minutes in already.
I know, but I'm just letting this is my, this is my one.
This is your wheelhouse.
Okay.
My thoughts on the film.
Okay.
I was here in what you guys wanted to think before I put mine in.
Because we haven't even talked about this, because you, you let the theater before
I did.
Yeah.
And we saw this the night before we record this.
So I've been waiting to hear your opinion.
Here's, as a fan, yes, you got to see this film.
Okay.
It, it's got, it's done with Ridley Scott in there, which is fine because it's not like
a genre of the, from resurrection.
I think your spleen just came out of your mouth.
Now, is this aliens?
No, it's not.
But, and, and for people that aren't well versed, aliens is really the kind of the one that
most, it's like the dark, it's the second one, it's the one that most people hold
in the highest regards.
Can we say that?
Yes.
I mean, you can't talk about the original, because the original is what it is.
But outside of the original, aliens is the one that everybody put.
It's like the dark night when it comes to bad.
It's too completely different films.
One and two were complete opposites.
Whereas, alien is a haunted house horror film in space.
Whereas, aliens was, now it's getting to high octane action film.
Oh, yeah.
But so with a good storyline.
Right.
And I still wonder if it's just part of the tradition that a female protagonist has
to be in a tank top at some point.
I'm just saying, go ahead.
All right.
So, watching through the film, yes, any fan needs to see this.
Okay.
This, in spoiler 3, 2, don't say the one.
Okay.
There's the alien in it.
It's on the, it's on the, the, you know, the alien's on the film.
I know that that's a spoiler.
Wow.
It's in the title.
It's on the trailers.
There's the alien on the ship.
You see that there.
We have a xenomorph.
Yes.
Because we do have a xenon.
But we saw in the last quarter of the film.
I wish was would have been in the least, the first, the last two,
thirds of the film.
And so you want it more of the alien itself.
Okay.
Now, instead of spending time with the other white thing,
that's why I'm going to say to be spoiler free, the white ones.
Okay.
I think the film would have done a lot better if when the neomorce came in
instead of doing the neomorce, the aliens come in.
It would have made it a lot better better film.
I see, I see what you're saying there.
Now, the film starts off.
I understand it's kind of like alien, or the aliens,
where they have to take the trip to wherever.
And it was good acting.
You give a little background.
But I thought it was too much on just the trip itself, getting there.
That's like the first hour before you get in.
That's like the first hour before you even see the neomorce.
Yeah.
I thought that was too long there with you on that.
But I think for me, it was so good.
And without giving away too much, it was about an evolution.
And I understand that point too.
But I think it spent too much time on the prep in the trip instead of the alien itself.
I see.
I totally respect you.
That's the best one I'm saying is it made the way worth it for me.
That's kind of the way I understand it.
Because we now, in this film, as we lead into the third and final chapter, that trilogy,
we're now seeing some of the things that we're used to seeing.
And now you're also getting more of the background of why things are what they are.
And I really, I like, you know what?
That's a creative way to do it.
That part impressed me.
And there is a certain scene and I loved this.
We were with the kid from the movie Brothers was sitting right in front of me.
Which is it?
What's your website?
That would be the moviebrothers.com.
That's their website.
BRUTHAS.
But there's a certain scene where you see something for the first time that's been a staple
of the alien franchise as far as how things happen.
And there's a line said by fast-bender that the whole thing, Kevin said to me,
he goes, I almost became a stereotype and yelled at the screen.
And I said, you weren't the only one.
The theater, the theater, the theater.
No, no, no, no, don't, don't, don't, don't.
That was funny.
Nobody became Pavlov's blog at that point.
The combination of, no, no, no, and the laughter at the same time really gave it a nice,
there we go.
It was a nice tension.
I think if I, if I was Scott, what I would have done is maybe the first quarter of the film
getting to that planet.
Okay.
And then maybe, maybe the first half an hour.
Yeah, first half an hour.
Okay.
Then you take the room.
We'll just say the room.
Okay.
And the other room.
And the zeomorph.
The thing with the other thing that had the thing with it.
Try to be more of the free here.
We're trying to be more of the free.
That's fair.
So that's fair.
No, hold on.
Okay.
Where the second quarter of the film is,
I'd like to say the room and the zeomorph.
In the last half, and the last half is just the alien itself.
Okay.
Because once it got in there, it's like, oh, there we go.
There we go.
There it is.
But let me ask you this though.
Do you think it was done the way it was done?
So that way when we get to the third film,
it's just going to be utter and complete chaos.
Here's, I'm scared about the third film.
Okay.
I hope it is the chaos.
I hope it is the alien all the way through.
And it's just like aliens boom boom boom boom boom.
And it makes the whole story complete.
That's what I'm hoping.
I'm praying it's not another one like this.
What's another one hour spaceship trip and all that stuff.
That's what I'm hoping.
And we can definitely talk about this aspect out there.
But the way the film ended, I think I'm very whole.
So you're feeling good with the way the film ends versus where you think it's going to get.
And where the third one will be.
Because this is going to happen fairly quickly.
Because Roddy said really Scott has said the next alien film
begins filming in 18 months.
And my interpretation of that is going to be whatever takes place,
either post-resurrection or wherever they decide to put it into the canon storyline.
Because I've heard rumors that they're actually going to do
the Superman Returns type thing where we're actually going to branch off after.
They may not even count alien three.
I've heard that rumor.
That would just be terrible.
But I mean, especially, I didn't realize it's strange when you realize that there's been five
years between these films.
Yes.
For me, this was 2012.
Yeah.
I hope the third one is where this one left off.
Because it's probably going to the way the film ended.
Okay.
And it leads to where the questions of alien itself with the eggs in the ship from alien.
Alien from 79.
The, the Nostromo.
If I'm not mistaken.
Yeah.
Yeah.
They go down that ship.
I mean, no one's stuff.
Check out the big brain on me.
I mean, where there's the thousand the big eggs.
They are only 4.
Yeah.
I hope it leads to 4.26.
The, the, the, the issue that I have though is that I'm afraid that if
really had gone with what you had in mind, it would have felt like one all over again.
That's also fair.
And whenever you're sitting there saying this, I'm like,
Don, this was almost the exact problem.
You had with the Force Awakens.
It was going to want to be a remake of the music killer.
I've read been some dangerous waters right now.
I'm just, I'm just saying what I think needed to be said was that you're,
you're expecting Ridley to do what you didn't want Star Wars to do with the Force Awakens.
Well, let's see, thank you for saying what needed to be said.
Well, let's see.
Well, last half hour was the alien on the planet and everything else.
Then it could have been a good mix of like what we got in the aliens,
which made so, so, so, so good.
But I really doesn't want to do that.
I don't think I don't think he wants to do what someone else has already done,
including himself.
Yeah.
See that, but I think it would have been more, you know,
they're calling the alien, Kevin it.
I would just want to more the alien.
I wish the last half was the alien.
And there's ways he could have done it.
But I'm just praying.
Let's see how this third one goes.
And I want us to shout out to Danny McBride.
No kidding.
Danny McBride.
I'm a huge fan of.
Let's be kidding with.
Yeah.
He's, he's Kenny Powers.
You know, he's always been that kind of character.
What I liked that he did in this film is he still had that same kind of character.
That you're used to him seeing.
But he dials it back enough to be able to stretch his wings dramatically a little bit
without you going.
This feels weird.
Yeah.
He did.
He fit the story.
The redneck kind of guy.
Mr. Tennessee.
Tennessee.
Well, what did they call alien originally?
How did, how did, how did, how did Danny van and always describe it?
Whenever he was telling people about it?
There's, there were, there were very specific group reports.
He called it truckers in space.
Okay.
Tennessee is the trucker in space.
But he, he was more carrying this passport.
He was really, what?
He was like, I don't care about the 80 mile.
Yeah.
He was very sympathetic.
Yes.
You know.
So, yeah.
I think of that fast bender.
Hello.
Fast bender's amazing.
Like, this guy can do anything.
How he did that?
As, as a famous drug.
I got a little bit of a big fan of one said,
if I remade jaws, I cast him as the shark.
You know, because he could do the shark.
Fast bender is just.
I think he had braggle a little bit of crap because when you first,
one of the scenes you see him and he's wearing like a hoodie.
And braggle has this huge conspiracy theory that John Wick is actually part of the matrix.
And so I'm like, so is this your new conspiracy theory that now you're going to work this series
into Assassin's Creed?
He just looked at me like, really did.
Yes.
I have a hoodie on.
So yeah, he did.
But I mean, crewed up was, he, what's your expect from him?
Right.
Like crewed up is just that guy.
He's really, really good.
But McBride, I was really, really excited for him the way he did this film
that he was really the guy for me that stood out outside a fast bender because
that's been to a place that's a huge part of his story.
Oh, he's always a droid.
So I mean, I hope, I hope he's in that third one.
Because, you know, he could be,
joyed after joyed after joy.
You know what I'm saying?
Well, yeah, you can just, you'd be infinite versions of that.
Yeah, so I hope he's in the third one.
And I'm a sucker for Damian Bashir.
No, no, I'm a fan of him.
Get enough of Damian.
If I could complain about one thing, I was like, I really would have liked to see more
of Damian Bashir because I love that dude.
I don't want to spoil anything, but the only thing that it was disappointing to me,
and you and I talked about this after the film,
there was a certain way I felt that could have gone and they didn't.
And I don't want to ruin anything.
And we can talk about it off air.
But to me, there was a prime opportunity here for something that could have been
monumental and they hinted at it and then to me never followed up.
Well, you have a theory, I have a theory.
Right.
And I think there's a greater than zero chance that maybe one or both,
and some form of those might take place in the third.
And I will say this, when the alien hits in,
it's that classic alien we know.
It's like, people are like,
I'm going to say two people are occupied and next thing they know from behind.
You know, out of the dark.
I'll say you get that alien that you see.
And the thing with the mouth and the thing that always freaks me out.
I love that.
Anything else we want to cover before we get to the final analysis?
I think we're good.
All right.
The way we do the final analysis on this show,
we're not going to give you a thumbs up thumbs down.
We're not going to give you letter grades,
or numbers, or face huggers, or anything like that.
God does things freak me out too.
Cheers.
We're going to ask two questions.
Question number one,
is would you see this film again?
If the answer is no, we're done here.
The answer is yes.
Then we're going to ask how far you are going to go.
Now, don't, did you ever verify?
Is this getting an IMAX 3D?
Really?
I don't think it is.
Okay.
Let me check.
Because I'm going to tell you what,
there were some moments in this that I was like,
if we had screeness and IMAX 3D,
I might be like,
can I get a 2D screenplay?
But yeah, no, it is an IMAX.
I don't know if it's IMAX 3D,
because I'm looking at one of the teaser posters and it does say IMAX,
but I don't know if it's IMAX 3D or not.
So here's, here's your spectrum from best to worst.
Full price at the theater,
and we'll add IMAX to it.
Twilight, matinee, early morning,
second run, dollar theater,
actually leaving your house to go get it from red box,
streaming it on Netflix or seeing it on cable.
Don't, we're going to make you main event on this.
Because this is your, this is your wheelhouse chat.
Would you see this again?
Yes.
Okay.
How far are you going to go?
I'm going to go.
I'm going to go.
I'm going to make you main event on this.
Because this is your, this is your wheelhouse chat.
Would you see this again?
Yes.
Okay.
How far are you going to go?
To the ends of LV426.
So you're putting this on, on the top, the top run.
Oh God.
Yes.
All right.
Don, you can see this again.
Oh, definitely.
How far.
All right.
You see, I'm going to say I'm going to put it down right now.
He does not covet this.
Because he's that critical.
No.
As the fan.
As the fan.
Okay.
The coveted.
As a fan.
As a fan.
But see, that's two different things.
It's alien coveted.
Well, how on a draw.
But as the objective.
Non-fan reviewer.
Because of that first hour.
Uh-huh.
I'm going to say twilight as objective non-fan.
As the fan.
Oh, yeah.
Because it builds that story.
It's going to build to that part three.
Because I want to be the objective reviewer here.
I don't want to put a bias in.
I will say.
I would see this again.
Which is really saying something for you.
Again, I thought it was very well done.
CGI, fast-bender, however.
I will watch it at home.
Just because, if or no other reason,
I would love to see this on something with a really good home theatre system.
With the lights on.
I'm not afraid to say it.
Don't turn the lights off.
That makes it better.
No.
I'll hit you with a chair.
Um, but, you know, because or I think, you know,
I think I'm acts regardless of when you go.
I think if you are a fan,
I think you almost owe it to yourself to see this in an
I'm acts style theatre.
So you could have that monster sound system that we
intended to work with.
But it's, I mean, it's well done.
Yes.
I can't complain.
It's really.
I mean, he's, he's in that right track.
Yeah.
versus.
Resurrection.
You know, everybody has their restaurant.
Yeah.
Ridley's back to form.
It is.
It is.
Alien Covenant.
You ready?
Yes, sir.
I didn't agree.
I'm working.
Got to think Josh, the whole crew.
And I really, really want to think Josh on this one.
That's all I'm going to say.
Josh is good people.
And he knows.
Everybody allied runs a great event.
But he, he.
And I love the way how everybody an ally.
I know what you're saying.
But he says, like, how allied everybody comes together.
They really do have great teamwork.
And I love the fact that we can go to any of their
screens.
And we can see multiple to them.
You know, we get like last night, ran into Tonya.
She was there.
Well, yeah.
And also is there.
I mean, just didn't know them.
Josh knew us such a fan in all that and that he even said,
Don, what you're, you know, when I walked out.
Don.
You're the one.
You're the bar center.
I want to know.
You know, that's great people.
Thank you so much.
All right.
Let's do the fun.
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No, I would be thinking to be safe to say that.
She was one.
I'm looking forward to seeing this.
Oh, yeah.
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But, you know what?
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