5 THE TOP
The top five movies at the North American box office:
Ridley Scott’s space horror film Alien: Covenant scared reigning box office champ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 out of the No. 1 spot over the weekend — but just barely.
Alien: Covenant, a sequel to 2012’s Prometheus, opened with $36.2 million, pushing Guardians to second place with $34.7 million in its third weekend in theatres. (All figures in U.S. dollars.) The teenage romance Everything, Everything, meanwhile, bowed in third place with $11.7 million. Holdovers Snatched and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword rounded out the top five with $7.8 million and $7.2 million, respectively. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will challenge for the top spot this week. The Associated Press
Alien: Covenant: Ridley Scott’s first return to the Alien franchise since 2012’s messy prequel Prometheus is very good, even if most of that goodness feels remarkably similar to the very first movie, from 1979. But there’s enough that’s new, not least Michael Fassbender playing two very different generations of the same robot. Plus, lots of hungry aliens. (Chris Knight) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The sequel to the summer hit of 2014 continues to not take itself too seriously, which is a good thing. Chris Pratt’s Peter (StarLord) Quill and the rest of the gang find themselves pursued over some stolen batteries, and rescued by Peter’s dad (Kurt Russell, in Zeus makeup). Groot is still great, but Dave Bautista’s Drax really shines in this one. (Chris Knight)
Everything, Everything: A highconcept, teen drama is a kind of parable about relationships mediated by our obsession with screens. But it also purports to be a love story between two thwarted young adults unable to connect and in that it is an abysmally unrealistic depiction of what goes on in the heads of young people in love. (Calum Marsh)
Snatched: This culturally tonedeaf Amy Schumer vehicle (with Goldie Hawn tagging along as the flaky mom) is about two women vacationing in Ecuador who are kidnapped for ransom, escape, accidentally kill a couple of people and start an international incident. Almost an indictment of colonialism, but a little funnier. (Chris Knight) King Arthur: Legend of the Sword: Here’s the good news: Charlie Hunnam is terrific as King Arthur and — in this version of the legend — entirely believable as a streetwise orphan who grows up to reluctantly embrace his destiny. And here’s the bad news: the movie is a mess. It’s a mess graced by a few terrific sequences, but a mess nonetheless. (Liz Braun)