Aliens..

[JAG.]

fucking R U L E S ! man i loved watchin this movie growing up.. and its been a few years since ive watched it. but man its so freaking awesome, every time i watch it again i still get just as excited and drawn into it as the first time. it never disappoints.. wish more movies could be like this again :[

anyway, kinda outta no where but i had to share my excitement.. anyone with me? - JAG

[Moai]

I'm totally with you, dude. "Alien" and "Aliens" just have something that nothing else has been able to match.
The line of toys that went with the movie was pretty kick-ass too.:rendered:

[Flake]

Absolutely with you, best Sci Fi action movie ever.

Even the trailer is the best trailer ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxsX5cTrwHw
Really though, how did Cameron go from this and the Terminator films to that boat thing? Wha?

Edit: I just realised that considering how old this movie is, quite a few CA'ers probably haven't seen it.
Run, do not walk, RUN to the video shop. It's all kinds of stylish, violent , scary and awesome.

[DavePalumbo]

it's good, but Alien blows my mind

I just realised that considering how old this movie is, quite a few CA'ers probably haven't seen it

I hope that's not true. it would make me sad. I also get sad when people haven't seen Blade Runner and prefer T2 to the original Terminator.

[Hookswords]

That series really went down hill after Aliens. Such a departure from greatness. Alien is an old school romp through when horror meant something and Sci fi was still cutting its chops. It works well on so many levels. Aliens is held close to my heart. A wickedly talented cast, so quotable, and loads of great scenes. Just about anything Michael Biehn touches turns to gold.

DavePalumbo, I feel the same way. I think I reference Blade Runner almost daily. I sat my girlfriend down to watch it after referencing it add nauseum, and she looked at me like I was crazy. It was then that I knew I could not marry this girl. Funny story. I'm on a search committee at my university for hiring a new Provost. We started phone interviews and we were talking about how odd the phone interview can be. I made a comment about how we should make a Voight-Kampf machine for when we get applicants on campus. The committee looked at me like I was speaking a different language. I stood up and said " Listen, if you are telling me that not a one of you has ever seen Blade Runner, I am walking from this committee!"

[Ulrik [fC]]

Funny .. I just bought the DVD a few days ago .. loved it since I first watched it somewhen in the 90ties, watch it at least once every half year and what is most interesting, that the special/ visual-fx work better than in most current sci-fi flicks .. very impressive and the whole movie still kicks ass. awesome characters, score, storytelling, atmosphere, weapons etc !


and I agree there are some films you just have to know .. Blade Runner, Aliens, Terminator, Escape from NY are some of those :)

[JAG.]

yeah lets just forget any of the other sequels ever happened. in my happy little world, it stopped at Aliens. :)

i dont think ive seen a sci-fi movie SINCE that could even stand up to comparison with Aliens. it has it all.. and the music is so intense and perfect for the action. Ripley is easily one of the most bad-ass characters in the history of cinema..

Aliens.. :yayca: - JAG

[jfwalls]

Aliens was good, but the original Alien was the best. Although the director's cut of Aliens was much better than the theatrical version. The added scenes really complemented the movie. Especially where you see Ripley find out that her daughter had died while she was in hypersleep. For me that made the movie much more believable because I had never liked the way Ripley became instantly attached to that little girl in the theatrical version.

I know everyone will jump on me for this one, but I really liked Alien 3 too. I thought it had much more of a feel that was closer to the original. It was dark, gritty, and had a bleak ending that was fitting for the series. They should've stopped there with it, and never made that lame Resurrection movie.

[Brendan N]

Loved the first two, didn't much care for the last two. Aliens is my fave of the two, but Alien was brilliant as well.
Kings of their genre in the classic sense, haven't seen anything to contest their rule since they came out.

[corky13]

classic horror movies ? Shining comes to mind , although it is not a sci-fi movie ^^

Loved Blade Runner and the first Alien. Never really got into 2 and 3...4 was boring...

[Moai]

A wickedly talented cast, so quotable, and loads of great scenes.

"I guess she don't like the cornbread neither."
"Have you ever been mistaken for a man?" "No. Have you?"

Jfwalls, I liked "Alien 3" as well. Except for the part that everyone from the prior movie was dead except for Ripley. That kinda sucked.
"Alien Resurrection" was just lousy. The earlier movies were much quieter and more subtle, and because the special affects weren't so good back then they relied more on quick glimpses and atmosphere, which was much more effective. Also, the spaceships from the earlier films that were made with real, physical models were much more believable than the computerized ones of "Resurrection." Same thing goes for the aliens, actually.

[jfwalls]

I miss the good old days of special effects. The queen from Aliens was absolutely incredible, and no amount of computing power can even touch that scene at the end. It's like the difference between a real oil painting and one done in Painter. The digital one would look cool, but it could never completely simulate the subtle nuances of a real painting.

Back to movies though. I think out of more recent movies Pitch Black was pretty good. Of course it still borrowed some cues from Alien, but over all it was a quality pic.

Another thought about the Alien franchise though; I don't think it would be nearly as popular if not for Giger's designs. Those sets, and of course the Alien were absolutely mind blowing the first time I saw them. I really wish they would use his designs for more movies.

[Chingwa]

The first one scared me so bad I still have brain twitches just thing about it.

The second one was so goddamned awesome that's all I could think about for about a year after seeing it.

Were there others after that? If I saw them, then I totally forgot about it.

[Carnifex]

have the quadrology,love watching it as often as possible...aliens is just the best outta the bunch,and while the first one scared me shitless upon watching it the first time,the second one is just more memorable and re-watchable. as said,music is good and it's quotable to death,but what makes it most for me is just the storytelling and actors. everything,and i mean everything feels natural and real. you identify with the characters and really feel with them. even the quotable sentences just happen naturally, not set-up to be it like in most of todays movies. and really,the story...gawd so perfect. if anything is action and suspense today it just seems to consist of random eyecandy scenes thrown together.
i have to say i like the sequels too. yes,the "killing off" at the beginning of alien3 sucks,but watch the extended version and tell me it's not good...
i did like alien4 aswell,although it's not half the calibre of the other movies. the end always seems to get me,and even if you argue that the hybrid is stupid, i did feel for it at some point. and if you watch the extras,you can appreciate some of the weirdness jeunet put into it. it isn't worse than any action movie today (unfortunately),and the underwater scene is pretty suspenseful.
but anyways,aliens still rules! it just rules!
i haven't seen any movie that good yet. just perfect.

[jfwalls]

i haven't seen any movie that good yet. just perfect.

John Carpenter's The Thing IMO is the only other horror/sci-fi movie that equals Alien. Here's my quick list of the greatest sci-fi and horror movies to date.

Alien
The Terminator
Star Wars
Blade Runner
The Thing
The Exorcist
The Shining
Night of the Living Dead
Halloween

All were genre defining classics that can only be imitated today.

[Brendan N]

John Carpenter's The Thing IMO is the only other horror/sci-fi movie that equals Alien. Here's my quick list of the greatest sci-fi and horror movies to date.

Alien
The Terminator
Star Wars
Blade Runner
The Thing
The Exorcist
The Shining
Night of the Living Dead
Halloween

All were genre defining classics that can only be imitated today.

I think there a few film today that do have the potential to become classics, though perhaps not quite as classic as those you have listed.

Chronicles of Riddick was a worthy sequel to Pitch Black for me, I thought it was up to par with some great sci fi movies from the 70s and 80s. If it had been timed earlier it would have been a classic IMHO.
The Kill Bill series, though not a favourite of mine can also achieve cult status so speak, though it's not really sci fi or horror.
We'll have to wait for the next Sin City film but I definitely think these too have the potential to become classics, though it's not really a sci-fi or horror film either.

I think there are a few underrated horror films around today, such as The Others, Skeleton Key and Below, which get into the same class as The Shining for their intelligent story telling.

anyway, just my 2c.
great list you have, I'll be sure to check those I haven't seen.

[Nismo]

John Carpenter's The Thing IMO is the only other horror/sci-fi movie that equals Alien. Here's my quick list of the greatest sci-fi and horror movies to date.

Alien
The Terminator
Star Wars
Blade Runner
The Thing
The Exorcist
The Shining
Night of the Living Dead
Halloween

All were genre defining classics that can only be imitated today.

I always considered star wars as fantasy rather than sci fi, although i guess the boundaries are pretty blurry...

And I agree with others that Alien3 is a really underrated film. It might pale slightly compared to Alien, but I think it is a great film in its own right.

[JAG.]

man i dunno.. what i hate about Alien 3 is that it destroys EVERYTHING you knew before. it literally kills Ripley.. why would you do that??

Alien introduced us to her, and even though she was the survivor.. it didnt solely focus in her. it was more about this dangerous alien and the terror it caused.

Aliens definitely centered around Ripley going back for some kick ass revenge [or closure if you prefer].. but it was about the characters and how they dealt with the aliens. watch the film, count how many sceens you ACTUALLY see the aliens.. not many compared toe the scope of the whole film. it was definitely about the chracters..

so where do we go next after getting all hyped up about these new characters??? no where! they're all dead! and heres a bunch of guys you couldnt care less about cuz they all look the same and cant act anyhow. but to make it worse, all the aliens were gone TOO! now it was back to Alien, one on one.. except this time it did focus a bit more on Ripley.. tried to show her sensitive side and her longing to have a normal life and some sort of loving relationship... i can understand the why.. but it was a bad idea nonetheless. it destroyed her character. then they killed her. i guess they hoped the saga would end there.. but oh no..

Resurrection came out and im not even gonna get into that cuz ill have to cut-a-bitch >:{

well.. a littel ray of hope: back in '03 there was a rumor that Scott AND Cameron would team up for a final Alien 5. they were both disappointed with the way the series has turned out and wanted to close the story once and for all.. they both expressed 'an interest in doing this' and left it at that.

havent heard about it since.. lets hope this doesnt go away. - JAG

[jfwalls]

It's interesting how people either like or dislike Alien 3. There's no middle ground at all on it. I thought it was a great ending to the series. The original Alien was subtle and smart in the way it approached the story, and 3 tried to take a similar approach. The second one was awesome, but the action and technology was cranked up to 10, and it was so far from what the original was.

For 3, all that was taken away, and once again Ripley had everything from her life stripped away by the aliens. In a way, she had become just like the prisoners on the planet; alone, desperate, and nothing to lose.

I also liked all the religous undertones to 3. If you look at like that, you begin to see Ripley as a christlike figure. That is especially evident in the end when she falls into the furnace.

I think people were let down by 3 because they wanted another action packed sci-fi thriller like Aliens, but I'll always admire Fincher for trying to direct the film while having so many problems with it.

[Brendan N]

I always considered star wars as fantasy rather than sci fi, although i guess the boundaries are pretty blurry...

Wuh? Star Wars defined so much the sci fi genre as we know it today. How do you interpret it as fantasy? Not sarcastic, honestly interested :).

JAG I agree with pretty much everything you said. Alien3, apart from killing the mood and flow of the previous two, kept reminding me I'm watching a movie. So I never felt for ANYthing of the characters - not even Ripley. Furthermore, it was never memorable to me. Really the only thing I remember about the movie was orange sewers and some lava or molten lead or something. I understand you need to innovate but you don't need to lose consistency and become iconoclastic in a sense. IMHO it should have ended with Aliens, then we wouldn't need Alien 5 to clear things up.

That said I don't think it would have been a bad standalone movie.

Thanks for the thread JAG, it's great to have yet another discussion about this universe :).

[Moai]

Wuh? Star Wars defined so much the sci fi genre as we know it today. How do you interpret it as fantasy? Not sarcastic, honestly interested .

Star Wars is actually considered science fantasy, because it mixes elements of both science fiction and fantasy. It's pretty much lightsabers and the force instead of swords and sorcery.
Of course, the definitions of science fiction and fantasy are pretty fuzzy and vague, and under more strict definitions anything not written by Poul Anderson or Arthur C. Clarke would be considered just fantasy in space.
I dunno. Here's some links: hard science fiction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_science_fiction), science fantasy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fantasy), Star Wars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_wars)

Back on topic, I already said that I don't like how the characters of Aliens were killed off in Alien 3, but the scene where their bodies were dropped into the furnace was very emotionally powerful, in my opinion.

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Spoiler: Ending of Alien 1, the best part of the movie, imo.
NSOvvjEXXhU

Anyways, Alien and Aliens were the best. I can't see the appeal of Alien 3, it was non sequitur. 4 was.. kind of nice stylewise, but it had story elements and technobabble which just ruined it.

I hope they never ruin the enigma of the aliens or the derelict ship with explainations.

[Brendan N]

Star Wars is actually considered science fantasy, because it mixes elements of both science fiction and fantasy. It's pretty much lightsabers and the force instead of swords and sorcery.
Of course, the definitions of science fiction and fantasy are pretty fuzzy and vague, and under more strict definitions anything not written by Poul Anderson or Arthur C. Clarke would be considered just fantasy in space.


Ah, I see where you guys are coming from. I've always made the distinction by looking at setting and time period, and everything in between would be a bit of both. Agreed, very blurry boundaries, but then there's no real need for them.

[Moai]

After watching that clip, I am filled with an overwhelming urge to see these movies again.:teeth:

[Brendan N]

Spoiler: Ending of Alien 1, the best part of the movie, imo.
NSOvvjEXXhU

Anyways, Alien and Aliens were the best. I can't see the appeal of Alien 3, it was non sequitur. 4 was.. kind of nice stylewise, but it had story elements and technobabble which just ruined it.

I hope they never ruin the enigma of the aliens or the derelict ship with explainations.


tiny superlow white cotton panties!
:P

[Nismo]

Sorry if i'm going a little of topic..

When I think of Science Fiction I think there has to be an element of science (physical laws must be obeyed, or have explainable technology that is based upon extrapolation of what we already know) and I think that its important that it's set in this universe (I know, I know, Star War has the 'galaxy far, far away..' thing but its effectively a different universe).

I know that the new Star wars trilogy attempted a half assed 'scientific' explanation for the force, but IMHO this detracted from the 'magical' 'fantastic' side of the force, and made it seem more mundane....

When I think of great sci-fi movies I think of Alien, Aliens (back on topic a bit here...), Blade Runner, Pi (subtley), Ghost in the Shell etc....

I think some people think that Fantasy = Swords n Sorcery (i.e. historical) and Science Fiction = Guns n Lasers (ie futuristic). Whereas I see Sci Fi as essentially an extrapolation into a possible future (or past), and fantasy is a leap of faith into a purely imaginary place. Both require bucket loads of imagination and creativity from the creator!

Just my opinions! Like Moai's Wikipedia link suggests, the genres are very poorly defined! Maybe I like to think of hard sci fi as the real sci fi


Wrenching this back to topic....

I sorta agree about the killing off of Hicks and Neut(?) at the start of Alien3. Maybe it was a bad move. Although maybe you could argue that its a great way of preparing us for the bleakness of the rest of the film. And I think that Ripley dying at the end of the movie was necessary. She had given/lost everything to the Xenomorph over the course of the trilogy, and she had nothing left to live for.

I also like the film because its got the element of humanity sticking together, at the arse-end of the galaxy, even if its a bunch of murderers and rapists. blah.

Plus the Megadrive (Genesis) game had a cool soundtrack.....

[JAG.]

heres that article about Alien 5.. its old though so things may not stand any more. theres some links to follow in there as well..

http://scifi.about.com/library/weekly/aa070903.htm


and heres some more gossip.. apparently theres back & forth on it. i dunno.. i'll only watch Alien 5 if Cameron writes it..

http://www.countingdown.com/movies/546775


EDIT** heres the most updated reports [apparently]..

http://www.avpgalaxy.net/alienfilms.php?section=moviealien5

last entry quotes sigourney weaver as saying:

"Talking with Entertainment Weekly, actress Sigourney Weaver says that despite teaming up with James Cameron again for his "Avatar" project, don't expect anymore "Alien" films. "I love the character, but I think the monster, once they did the other film (Alien vs. Predator), which I never saw, but that really maxes our monster out"..

- JAG

[Hookswords]

Yeah... I remember hearing about that. Wasnt one of the original ideas to have the aliens get to earth or the space station in earth's orbit? I think of the things that screwed the pooch too was that Weaver wanted to get away from the Aliens way of doing things. I think she became a gun control nut or something like that.

[jfwalls]

If they make another one, it shouldn't have Ripley in it. I'm tired of seeing her in the movies, and honestly, she's getting kind of old. I'd rather see some kind of prequel, or bring Giger back before he dies and have him help design an Alien homeworld or something.

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Yeah, How about Natalie Portman in tiny superlow white cotton panties this time around? Or Michelle Rodriquez!

I think Cameron mentioned on the commentaries on Alien SE that he wanted to go back and explain the derelict ship, but I'd hate to see that. I'm not sure much more could be done with the alien universe. I honestly can't see the aliens take earth, as they are close combat units in open terrain. The aliens work best in chaotic situations in cramped areas, and that has been done 4-5 times.

[JAG.]

perfectly stated Prometheus.. i cant see the aliens jumping off a ship and attacking humans on an open field. thats nonsense. they come internally, infecting just one. and from their they destroy from the inside out.. literally. till enough are 'impregnated' and the aliens then run amok. like those colonists in Aliens.

and sigourney weaver definitely has to be gone. no reason to not start with som fresh meat.. i mean chracters. this movie should be about the aliens anyway and how people must deal with them in their given situation. and as long as there are aliens out there somewhere ,since they came in on a derelict ship from some place obviously, there can be any number of tories left to tell.

whos up for writing the CA version of Alien 5 ;) tiny cotton panties, face-huggers, and chest-bursters sounds great to me :D - JAG

[Carnifex]

John Carpenter's The Thing IMO is the only other horror/sci-fi movie that equals Alien.

gotta agree that it comes close in atmosphere and scare factor,but the characters aren't as good imo :)
prom -in interviews ripley says she was surprised she didn't run around naked in the end,she was used to that from theater...apparently director's decision :D (and if you're gonna have someone in cotton panties,i'd be for winona ryder)
if i were to make alien5 it would be a prequel. definately on to writing with you JAG :D

and i feel abit sad for the director when i read people bashing on alien3, cause he did a terrific job, and he didn't even have a finished script till half of the film...and atleast they didn't go with the first version of the script (with another director),which would have been a wooden planet monastery...:$

p.s.: i'd even go as far as to incorporate predators in the film...but really good ones. (and maybe briefly only...like purchasing those alien eggs for their wars)

[jfwalls]

I really enjoyed the characters in The Thing. Kurt Russell and Keith David were great. I especially like the one scene where Garry is tied to the couch when they're testing everyone's blood and he says,"now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'd rather not spend the entire winter tied to this FUCKING COUCH!". Then the guy (Palmer I think) starts to change into the Thing. Great scene. I think I'm gonna go buy it on ebay now, I haven't seen it in a few years.

On a side note. The Thing video game they made for ps2 and xbox was actually pretty good. Especially the first few levels.

[JAG.]

im down for some writing.. i think theres life to be breathed into this.

ALiens vs. predator the video game was great too.. scary asa hell in some parts.

also, paul anderson has begun work on AVP 2.. supposedly hes taking it in a new direction. the first one was very loosely based on the 1st book frm back in 95 or 96 when it was written. this new movie i think is mostly his ideas but based on some old info. we'll see. i was kinda disappointed with AVP, regardless of how many people went to see it.. it could have been better - JAG

[jfwalls]

I thought the first AVP was "fun", but that was about it. It wasn't really bad, but it wasn't really good. The second I hope will be good, but from what I've heard it's supposed to take place in a small rural town in Colorado. Not sure how that will work though.

[DavePalumbo]

Oh my god, The Thing. Middle part of the Carptenter/Russell trilogy of brilliance (Escape from NY, Big Trouble in Little China being the other two). Often called a remake, though it's actually a reinterpretation of the original story ("Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell), and a far more faithful one in my opinion.

As a tangent to this tangent: I think it's pretty sad that they made big budget remakes of Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Hills Have Eyes. I think it's confusing and shameful that they made a big budget remake of The Hitcher. I'm thoroughly perplexed that they remade The Fog in any shape or form. But I'm outraged, outraged, that they're in the process of an Escape from New York remake. God it makes me angry.

[Moai]

"Alien vs. Predator" had absolutely no mood. The characters weren't interesting. The one guy's fake accent was annoying as hell. What could have been an interesting exploration of Predator culture was nothing but action and special effects.
Those are my thoughts on the subject.

[Nismo]

...I honestly can't see the aliens take earth, as they are close combat units in open terrain.

If the aliens landed in major metropoli, (especially if initially undetected) then they could quickly infect a large number of people. But I guess that would take some planning on the aliens part.... I guess the only way for aliens to get to earth would be to hitch a ride on a human vessel anyway.

I honestly think that the whole Alien franchise should be laid to rest. The only 'mystery' left to explore is the derelict ship in the first movie, but as Prom said, that would kill some of the mystique of the first movie., and isn't really necessary. The best thing about the Aliens trilogy (I'll pretend ressurection doesn't exist) was the relationship between Ripley and the Xenomorph which developed over the course of the trilogy. Without Ripley, I think you would have an empty film....

Having said that......

Random Alien 5 plot suggestion:

Humanity has been forced to flee earth on a giant mothership (bear with me here...), the ship carries the last suvivors of the human race (maybe there has been a nuclear holocaust or something)... Hence we have our cramped conditions... Somehow the alien gets onto the mothership (perhaps during some asteroid mining expedition, or another derelict ship is sighted, as in Alien - this could help to explain the derelict ship plotline).

The mothership is so vast that there are tonnes of opportunities for great scenes on different sections of the ship (vent shafts, life support, hydroponics, engineering, recreation etc...). As the number of aliens increases, whole sections of the mothership would become no-go areas, and a war would wage throughout the ship between the aliens and the security forces on the mothership. The aliens could reach the main reactor and then it would be critical to defeat them or loose the ship

Maybe one of the surviors is an ancestor of Ripley, so you have the family connection?? Maybe that's too far fetched... (Jaws 4 etc..)

[jfwalls]

"Alien vs. Predator" ... was nothing but action and special effects.
Those are my thoughts on the subject.

That was the only part I liked.

[JAG.]

But I'm outraged, outraged, that they're in the process of an Escape from New York remake. God it makes me angry...

well then you probably wont be happy about the fact that The Thing is being remade too :nohope: script re-write in in process..


back on Alien 5.. i think theres still something worth saving. i dont think Ripley is necessary any more. that character arc is complete. and personally, id rather just see some more alien ass-kicking than anything else, but no reason not to develope a FEW good characters within that. and i think theres a way this is very possible.. most people dont realizie it becuase they try to find a way to keep the storing going further. why cant you just have a new story?? ;) [Alien 5 idea spoiler.. but i wont take it much past that cuz now..]

bah.. getting ahead of myself. lets just see where this goes. we gotta do something about this remaking business.. too many classics are being blatantly violated and its unbelievableits gone on for so long.. - JAG

[Hookswords]

I think I remember hearing that the idea was that they would infest the space station around earth. They could get to earth as stow aways on ships or by crashing the station into earth

[DavePalumbo]

well then you probably wont be happy about the fact that The Thing is being remade too

lame as that may be, it actually doesn't irk me one tenth as much as Escape. I mean, it was already a "remake", or at least it was a previously written story. I'm sure the new one won't hold a candle and, ironically, will probably not have nearly as awesome visual effects, but meh. Escape, on the other hand... it just hits all my buttons

[Carnifex]

ha,incidentally i just thought more about how a possible alien 5 could be,and i also came to the conclusion of a derelict spacestation.
only difference is that i'd have it set parallel to aliens and the spacestation possibly be like the ship of alien. and again just a bunch of "salvages" finding it,exploring and falling to doom :) dunno if i should share more of my ideas...

[DavePalumbo]

and again just a bunch of "salvages" finding it,exploring and falling to doom

it's sort of the problem with most sequels out there though, retreading old ideas. The reason that Aliens actually worked for me was that they managed to make a completely different kind of movie, as oppose to the usual "bigger, faster rollercoaster" (though it was that too, I admit. But they didn't use the same track layout). Then they decided to make a 3rd and it was back to haunted-house-in-space, oh well.

[Kan Muftić]

Hey guys, then maybe you'll hate me when i tell you that i met Mr. Alien himself, Hans Ruedi Giger. I visited the same school as he did and there was this big retrospective of all the succesfull students from the past.
I came there and as i entered the room, the first person that stood infront of me was him. He didn't expose his stuff but just came to see old and new students.

And the craziest thing of all and the reason why we intruduced to each other was that i had practically the same clothes as him. We looked at each other and laughed. We had a little chat, but every word he spoke was very inspiring.
Everyone think he's some kind of a freak but i can assure you, that guy is shy and scared of world that surrounds him. His paintings are reflection of his fears.

So yeah, i felt like sharing this with you guys. It was one of the most beautifull expreriences in my career that influenced me for many years afterwards.

Cheers,

[Moai]

That was the only part I liked.

That was my point.
Hehe...This is like the first actual discussion this section has had in a while.:rendered:

[jfwalls]

I'm jealous Chupacabra! I've always wanted to meet Giger. One of the greatest artists of the century (last one that is) imo.

[Flake]

I'm not a huge fan of his work but the fact that you can describe something as "Giger-esque" and anyone with a passing interest in visual arts will know instantly what you mean suggests he's done something very right. :)

[Carnifex]

dang chupacabra,i'm jealous aswell.
someday i want to meet him,if possibly in his lifetime :D.

[JAG.]

man.. Chupacabra, you definitely get a gold star for the day. thats awesome man, you've had an opportunity most of us woul cry for and you got it for free ;) very nice..

now get back on topic :P - JAG

[Prometheus|ANJ]

For a script, I'd use the ejected alien queen. It's a tough mofo, so naturally it curls up into a ball, secretes stuff and goes into space-cryo-cocoon mode. Actually it dies but it lays a protected egg inside itself. (Note, a human can survive minutes in space they won't pop like a balloon, it's the radiation that is dangerous, and there is no temperature, just loss of heat.) So, the titles are just abstract shots of the queen turning in space, morphing into a cocoon.

Anyways, a mining colony inside an asteroid doing salvage operations somehow somehow gets the trajectory of the cocoon. They salvage it and cut it open. BAM! Everyone starts wearing tiny panties cuz they're all like hot babes and then the baby oil sprinkler goes off and the rest of the movie is slowmotion croth shots. :} :} :}

---

Alien summed up in 10 minutes by some nutcase (Spoiler Warning)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNHKzgHaeV4

He also did one on Dark Star, an early scifi movie made by Carpenter and O'Bannon (Alien(StarBeast) script).

[Hookswords]

Dont forget this one
http://www.angryalien.com/0704/alienbunnies.html

[JAG.]

..BAM! Everyone starts wearing tiny panties cuz they're all like hot babes and then the baby oil sprinkler goes off and the rest of the movie is slowmotion croth shots. :} :} :} ..

dude im on it.. i'll write, you illiustrate ;) - JAG

[jfwalls]

How about a Star Trek Alien crossover? That would totally rule!

[Coinpurse]

damnit, anyone here mention the abyss? fire in the sky? close encounters of the third kind?

Alien was a "good" movie imho, and like JFwalls mentioned,
the directors cut made everything else that made the first one that much better.
Didn't really care much for the others sadly.

lol anyone here enjoy the fifth element? :P

[twelve monkeys]

Plan 9 From Outer Space!

[Carnifex]

actually i did boom :)
i mean it's hollywood,but it felt just like a cool sci-fi movie should feel.
(even if i'm a minority with that opinion)

[jfwalls]

I liked The Fifth Element, but I didn't think it was ground-breaking, or set a new standard for movies. It was just a fun sci-fi movie.

The others you mentioned were good too, and I suppose you could put Close Encounters in there, but for me it was kind of boring. What about the TV series "V". Now that was an awesome ufo/alien story. I love the part when they discover the aliens are using people for food. Campy sci-fi television is great!

[DavePalumbo]

This just reminded me of an Aliens gripe I had, which sparked a number of arguments with Aliens-fan friends who didn't want to hear about it.

There is absolutely no reason to have a queen alien in the sequel other than to introduce a new kind of monster (that bigger faster rollercoaster thing I mentioned earlier). Ripley herself says at the beginning of the movie that "there were thousand of eggs", yet later she's puzzled by "who's laying all of these eggs?" That and it also doesn't make much sense to me that the derelict space craft would be transporting any queens in the first place, assuming that the egg cargo is a weapon as they occasionally imply. Nothing big, I mean the queen is pretty cool and all, but it rankles me when I see silly sequel-driven story points that don't correspond to the original (this one even contradicts itself though)

[Hookswords]

Well, I suppose you have to know how it is that they work as a species. There is the the which came first argument. The Alien or the egg? If they work like, say, bees, then that would suggest that the eggs could be more of a weapon. It would also depend on what they can endure. Can they survive naked in space? Could they survive entering an atmosphere unprotected. What is their driving force? Obviously they need other races to make more of themselves. Hosts in other words. And they nature of the host will change the nature of the alien made. Once matured they can establish a hierarchy and introduce elements to make a queen, etc.

[Coinpurse]

stepping away from the sci-fi genre a bit,
but anyone here remember clash of the titans?

I think the scene with the giant vulture holding a cage with the broad inside did it for me.

[RogerAdams]

I think everyone is in agreement that the third and fourth weren't that great. They were both pretty weak imo. But if you go back and view them again you'll see that the directors, David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (The City of Lost Children, Amelie), added their own touches to the series.

I think Alien3 has some great photography, the autopsy scene of Newt is one I remember in particular. And Alien 4 had Ron Perlman kicking ass! :)

[Prometheus|ANJ]

I think the queen makes sense. She might be needed for 'administration', plus Kane might have run into one of the few still living eggs after all those thousands of years. The queen layed new fresh eggs at a better location. You know what they say abot eggs and baskets too.

I see the derelict ship fossil dude as an unfortunate traveler who ran into the aliens thousands of years ago. For some reason he set down on some god forsaken planet, maybe the alien was in a temple he was exploring, or he was already infected and he wanted a desolate location as quarantine. Realizing he was screwed, he went to his chair to tap in the warning signal cuz he realized this thing wasn't healthy for anyone. Then the alien hatched. The alien, realizing it was stuck on a shitty planet, evolved into a female queen. There are animals and insects on earth who turn into females if there aren't any males around. Some insects select a single queen out of the females and kill the rest. The queen went into some large room, layed eggs in a cradle. The mist is some cryo shit secreted by the eggs. It reacts when broken, so the eggs can decryo and greet the guest.

I hate the idea of the aliens being degraded to mere bioweapons that were being transported.

[jfwalls]

I agree Prom. There are bees where a queen is born from the ranks of soldiers/drones. If the aliens need a queen to perpetuate the hive/species, then one of the eggs can mutate into a queen.

I don't like the bioweapons thing either. What could be interesting though, is that the aliens we've seen aren't what the original alien even looks like. If they use some of the genetic traits from their hosts, then they may have completely mutated from their original form. It might be kind of cool if there was an alien movie that a had a slightly different, more "pure" version of the species. Of course the design of that would have to be done by Giger.

[JAG.]

heh yeah Clash of the titans is awesome too.. i dunno about the remake thats in process though :[

and the Fifth Element is a blast.. as was stated its just fun to watch, but certainly doesnt blow my mind like Aliens did.

Dave has a good point.. if all the colonists had been caccooned there would have been planty of aliens for the marines to deal with. that would have been a suitable sequel. but cameron wanted to go BEYOND that, make it crazy.. as stated he took the film in another direction and made it HIS film. so to really differentiate it there had to be some new element.. no?

but where'd the queen come from anyway?? maybe she was stuck on that derilict ship with all the eggs.. and once the colony was overtaken the aliens transported the queen from the ship to the station? whatever.. it worked. she wasnt necessary.. but it was a freakin great idea i think ;)

id say the new element in Alien 3 was the 'revelation' that the alien takes on traits of its host.. like the dog-alien, and even the lame ass 'joke' at the end of AVP.

being that the eggs were originally found on that derelict ship, that showed some big ugly 'alien life-form' in a turret.. so that derelict ship may not have been the aliens'.. which means there planet and civilization is elsewhere..- JAG

EDIT: there was a 20 min break between writing and posting that.. so what i said was already discussed a bit above :bashful:

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Yeah, one of the redeeming things about #3 is the trait inheritence deal (I guess in order to blend in, and steal ideas (evolve)). Imagine Aliens assimilating a zoo! Giraffe aliens!

Edit:

[JAG.]

haha awesome.. do a hippo alien :D! - JAG


PS you forgot the white cotton panties.. :dur:

[DavePalumbo]

If the aliens need a queen to perpetuate the hive/species, then one of the eggs can mutate into a queen

granted, but it still doesn't really explain why Ripley needs to suggest the idea of a queen to us because she's already established that there are more than enough eggs (from what Kane told her, which she believes is true) to infect the entire colony 10 times over.

[JAG.]

i see your point Dave.. after thousands of eggs youd think it'd be obvious about the queen right? but in aliens [which was released 7 years after Alien] it was more of a reminder for audiences i think... kind of like 'remember all those eggs?? well there a queen thats laying them, in case you forgot..' just to tie the stories together in a sense. again, really not necessary.. but semi-useful for the sake of story-telling. - JAG

[jfwalls]

Haha...nice alien Prom. We should all do different versions of aliens.

Off the alien topic, the Matrix was one of those great movies I forgot to add. I just watched it on TV the other night, and I remember when I first saw it in the theater. I didn't know what it was about, and when Neo wakes up from the Matrix and gets ejected from his pod I was like WTF. That scene has to be one of the classic sci-fi moments.

[Moai]

You're so awesome, Prometheus.
Anyway, the idea of aliens assimilating many different kinds of animals was explored pretty well by the alien toy line. There was a gorilla alien, panther alien, cobra alien, mantis alien, crab alien, rhino alien, bat alien, and at least a dozen others that I can't think of at the moment. Ah, I had some fun times playing with those guys when I was a young un. Damn, those were some great toys.
The alien queen wasn't completely necessary for the story, I guess, but "Aliens" would have been a lesser movie without her, in my opinion.

[jfwalls]

Ha, I found a link with images (http://www.toyarchive.com/STAForSale/NEW2001+/Aliens/FSAliens.html) of a bunch of those. I don't know...they look pretty goofy to me.

[Flake]

Haha...nice alien Prom. We should all do different versions of aliens.

Off the alien topic, the Matrix was one of those great movies I forgot to add. I just watched it on TV the other night, and I remember when I first saw it in the theater. I didn't know what it was about, and when Neo wakes up from the Matrix and gets ejected from his pod I was like WTF. That scene has to be one of the classic sci-fi moments.

The first Matrix movie is one of the very few sci fi films I like as much as "Aliens".

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Got any links to these alien toys Moai? Edit: Ooops there's a link! Got cought up watching Godzilla clips while typing a reply.


Godzilla has to be the most powerful movie monster though, and I'm not talking about the hollywood version which gets owned in this cute scene (youtube) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOISbaA2G18). It's a clip from Godzilla: Final Wars where these badguys somehow spawns lots of mega-monsters for Godzilla to fight. The mouth beam is probably as powerful as that of an Independent Day ufo, but Godzilla uses it more casually...


stepping away from the sci-fi genre a bit,
but anyone here remember clash of the titans?

Harryhausen's skeleton scenes (Argonauts, Sinbad) blows any other fantasy stuff right out of the water, I think even Army of Darkness.

[Carnifex]

Ha, I found a link with images (http://www.toyarchive.com/STAForSale/NEW2001+/Aliens/FSAliens.html) of a bunch of those. I don't know...they look pretty goofy to me.

omg haha,my inner fan totally geeked out when i came to the micro machines figurines :D
most of the rest looks kinda stupid,but still...man that would've been something for childhood :D
thanks man,made my day.

[JAG.]

hah i remember those toys! never had any but a friend of mine did. man creative stuff.. thats an lien 5 waiting to happen ;) 'Alien 5 - Aliens Take the Manhattan Zoo'

definitely some good COW ideas though.. a new alien-animal breed ;) - JAG

[jfwalls]

The Japanese Godzilla movies totally own the lame-ass US version. I'd much rather see a guy in a suit than the stupid CG lizard one. That scene was awesome by the way.

I saw Harryhausen give a lecture at the Cleveland Cinemateque back in the 90's. He was so cool. He had the creatures from a bunch of his movies, including the gorilla from Mighty Joe Young (minus the fur because it had deteriotated).

[Moai]

most of the rest looks kinda stupid,but still...man that would've been something for childhood :D

It was something, man. It was something. I owned most of those action figures.
Edit: Thanks for the link, jfwalls. It's strange how your childhood memories evolve to suit your grown up tastes. For example, I remembered those toys being a lot less simplified and super-deformed-ish than that.

[Hookswords]

In the Aliens vs Predator RTS there were a few different animals you could use as hosts, other than space marines of course. They looked similar to some of those toys. The toys are interesting. Some are great and some are awful.

[SgtDirtbag]

@Prometheus|ANJ: This NEEDS to be a theme for COW. : D
Imagine an alien-spider, now that thing would kill you by just looking at it. xD

[Coinpurse]

what is this blasphemer I heard.... A remake....Clash of the Titans?
And I thought it couldn't get any worst... :nohope:

[JAG.]

man you have no idea.. for some reason hollywood thinks it better to remake and 'improve' every film that was worth a spit instead of putting for the effort to try and achieve that glory and creativity once again with new films.

a lot of the films coimng in the next few years are remakes.. - JAG

[Moai]

Hollywood often thinks (often correctly, unfortunately) that it's safer to reuse old ideas than come up with new ones. Profit is more assured if you use a tried and true formula than test out a new one.
A good way to send a message that you do not approve of this is to simply not go see all these remakes. Unless they're crazy awesome, like the latest King Kong.:wink:

[Prometheus|ANJ]

I think the problem with remakes is that they keep the broken parts, then 're-vision' the non-broken parts so they become broken aswell. Also, suspension of disbelief stops working when you add midichlorians.

I found King Kong a total bore. The endless scene with the flubby dinos made me turn it off. My mind was already exhausted by all the effects-seeking at that point, and the movie was kinda long. Haven't resumed watching yet.

[jfwalls]

I also didn't enjoy the new Kong that much. It just seemed to go on forever, and although it had some memorable parts I just thought it was mediocre.

I'm starting to dislike the overload of special effects they're cramming into movies these days. Everything has a more wow-look-at-all-we-can-cram-in-here kind of feel to it. Again, classic movies like Alien had their share of effects, but everything felt like it had a purpose.

The difference between something like Kong and Alien is like being starving and having the choice between a steak dinner and a bag of candy. The steak looks good AND fills you up. The candy looks great too, but after you eat it all you feel like shit.

[N D Hill]

I loved the first two aliens movies and liked the second two for what they were. I recommend the special edition of Alien3 for those who haven't seen it. It redeemed the movie for me on almost every level. It has about 25 minutes of added length and some alternate scenes and effects. The continuity is much smoother and character development is a little bit deeper. The plot is much beefier too with the prisoners actually succeeding in capturing the alien and added side plots. I actually admire the route they chose for this film, getting back to the isolated and claustrophobic roots rather than pursuing the logical next step off from Aliens which probably would’ve been something like Starship Troopers.

Alien Resurrection, I can enjoy as an unapologetic campy, over-the-top monster flick. It struck me more as an homage to the subsequent cheesy alien knockoffs like Leviathan and Nemesis. I hated the movie at first but with every viewing, I found that it became harder and harder to do so. It was a bad alien sequel but a good genre flick.

[N D Hill]

I found King Kong a total bore. The endless scene with the flubby dinos made me turn it off. My mind was already exhausted by all the effects-seeking at that point, and the movie was kinda long. Haven't resumed watching yet.

From that point on, all you're really missing out on is an endless succession of slow motion scenes where Anne and Kong stare at eachother longingly.

[JAG.]

yeah pretty much. its a one-time watch. but thats it.

and yes hollywood definitely plays the 'safe-but-rich' card all the time. just repeats itself for the sake of profit and forgets the fact that at one point there was the 'magic of movies'. and honestly i DONT go see all those remakes, but im just one little guy. the millions of folks that do confirm that its ok for these remakes to be made..

i hope someone remakes Alien :) - JAG

[jfwalls]

i hope someone remakes Alien :) - JAG

What! Blasphemer! I can just see it now...3/4% digital sets and 100% digital aliens. Yuck.

[Hookswords]

What! Blasphemer! I can just see it now...3/4% digital sets and 100% digital aliens. Yuck.

And Ice Cube will be in it

[jfwalls]

And Ice Cube will be in it

LOL...yeah, and Jessica Alba too.

[central]

you know what, inspite a lot of people saying that they disliked alien 3 i thought i was brilliant. Like someone already said, Ripley just had to die for the sake of the series, she had nothing more to give in her almost eternal struggle with those damn creatures, and the only way to end the trauma seemed to be to kill the very seed inside of her. Also I thought the start of alien 3 was by far the darkest start that I've ever seen to any movie .. killing off hicks and newt ... AFTER ALL THE HELL THEY WENT THROUGH just to make it off that planet ... man that was cold, defintely a fincher touch. The first time I watched the movie, I just couldn't belive that it was true ... I just couldn't believe that the director could be so cruel .. but what a tone and mood it set for the rest of the movie as a whole. Thinking about it now it still hurts .... AFTER ALL THEY WENT THROUGH !!!! arrgghhh
alien 4, well i watched it on reallly bad print so should probably watch it again and get a hold of the extended version if there is any such .. aliens was just .... WOW .. the best soldiers against the universe's deadliest predators ... and the bg score when ripley takes command of the assault tank thing and rescues the rest of the squad from certain death ... brilliant. Could never watch the series 'mad about you' cause every time i looked at that actor all I could see was the character he played in aliens, Burke .. wat an #$#$#$#$#($*#($*#. credit where credit is due though, he played the part of a #$#$# to perfection.
scott and cameron to set things right ??? WOW, there may not be much purpose to live for after I watch that movie though :D . later

[Carnifex]

LOL...yeah, and Jessica Alba too.

i'd just go to see such a movie for her to be covered in alien goo and stuck to the wall...in cotton panties of course :D
mmmm

[Liam Harvey]

damn near everything i think of the alien films has already been stated.
guess i'll go watch aliens then.

"adios muchachos"

[JAG.]

haha nice line. man theres so many to pull from that movie.

man the Alien remake with Ice Cube and Jessica ALba.. just wouldnt be a remake without Johhny Depp as the alien :dur: - JAG

[Carnifex]

nahh johnny depp has to play burke :D

[Moai]

I think David Bowie should be the alien. That way it can be a kind of "Labyrinth in Space."

[jfwalls]

Could never watch the series 'mad about you' cause every time i looked at that actor all I could see was the character he played in aliens, Burke ...

Haha...The same thing happened to me. No matter what I saw Paul Reiser do, all I would think about was Burke.

[JAG.]

heh he played a perfect douche bag Burke in Aliens.. but i liked that guy in other films. hes got that quirky nerd thing going on.. good for laughs. but he does have that creepy big green eyed 'i never blink' thing going on too. - JAG

[DavePalumbo]

No matter what I saw Paul Reiser do, all I would think about was Burke

Even in Diner? He was so harmless :) "Are you going to eat the other half of that sandwich?"

[JAG.]

this is what happens at 2AM.. :nohope: - JAG

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/9930/avr1xd2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[central]

ROFL ... hilarious pic jag .. the two greatest predators the universe has ever known to face off ... one one side the alien-to-end-all-aliens, on the other side the 'man' (corrupt government/corporation) :D

man hilarious pic .. i think today's gonna be a good day afterall .. cheers bud, drinks on me :vodka2:

[Carnifex]

haha snap,if i look any longer at that pic,reiser's starting to give me the creeps :D
his smile in this one really says "i could fuck you up soooo badly"...it's like the jigsaw killer or something :D

but on the other hand,in aliens you just wanted to bash his teeth in at some point,he played the nervous little asshole so well. ahhh gotta watch that film again,so perfect!

[DavePalumbo]

I love how that reads with the tag line. We lose indeed...

[JAG.]

heh i honestly thought id get yelled at for posting that... but hey if it made you laugh then its coo' with me :bashful: - JAG

[jfwalls]

Look at him! Those cold calculating eyes. What is he thinking! WHAT IS HE THINKING!

[jfwalls]

Did you hear the news about Terminator (http://www.darkhorizons.com/news07/070510k.php)? Three more movies are planned, as well as a TV series. I always hoped they would make a movie about after the robots took over. Hopefully they won't suck.

[Moai]

Hopefully it'll be better than Terminator 3. Far too many attempts at humor, and far to many scenes set during the day (the scenes with all the prototypes of the future robots was pretty cool, though).

[jfwalls]

It wasn't the best one, but I liked T3. It was a fun movie, but I was getting tired of seeing them try to kill John Connor. I'm glad that the new ones will be taking place in the future.

I used to read the comics, and they were pretty interesting. I remember one issue where the humans were trying to destroy one of the "Flesh Farms" where the machines grew skins for the terminators. I thought that was a cool idea.

[DavePalumbo]

The only thing I liked about T3 was that they had the balls to nuke the whole planet, though seeing as they've been telling you it was going to happen since the first movie, I guess it wasn't too shocking. The T-X (or whatever the hell they called it) being able to drive cars by "linking into their computers" was completely ridiculous. Now that they've finally come around to the apocalypse, maybe the future sequels can do something new.

[0kelvin]

I think the problem with remakes is that they keep the broken parts, then 're-vision' the non-broken parts so they become broken aswell.
I think the biggest problem with remakes is that they usually only remake movies that were really good to begin with. Since remakes are always going to be measured against the original, and the original is almost always an above average movie, then statistically the remake is very likely to be inferior. It's a form of regression toward the mean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regression_to_the_mean).


Eric

[Prometheus|ANJ]

Maybe the regression towards the mean is possible because there's too little inheritence? If they actually built upon the previous work then the chance of improvement would be greater. But they rarely do. It's kind of taboo to just make small gradual improvements. Legally there's a problem, and culturally aswell since people are nostalgic.

I think that's a problem for how our culture develops. The Canon storyline in Star Wars, Star Trek, Terminator or Alien can only be built upon by very few persons, sometimes without much quality control, and the risk of one of them screwing up approaches 1 for every sequel done. It's also very hard for any of them to go back and admit that Sequel X or Event X was shit and it never happened.

The only people trying to do this are fan editors on youtube for example.

[JAG.]

yes i had heard of the terminator 'new trilogy' but i quickly dismissed it as drug induced hallucinations and laughed merrily at the mere possibility that they would be worth watching hahaha :D man what a laugh.

ok seriously, T3 was complete shite! again.. james cameron = good.. people oicking up after cameron = bad

terminator should have been left alone after T2. but if they insist on this nonsense, i think the only way to save it is to tie off the two trilogies with connor sending back Reese to 1984. dont go as far as to show the humans winning the war and everyone living happily ever after. that just wont do.. - JAG

[tomwaits4noman]

The wisdom of Hudson:
What do you mean "THEY cut the power"? How could they cut the power, man? They're animals!

We're on an express elevator to hell - going down!

You maybe haven't been keeping up on current events but we just got our asses kicked, pal!

Game over man... Game over!

*Seventeen days?* Hey man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last seventeen hours! Those things are gonna come in here just like they did before. And they're gonna come in here...

Right, right. Somebody said "alien" she thought they said "illegal alien" and signed up!

Maybe we got 'em demoralized.



Ripley: HUDSON! This little girl survived longer than that with no weapons and no training.
Hudson: So why don't you put her in charge?

[jfwalls]

dont go as far as to show the humans winning the war and everyone living happily ever after. that just wont do.. - JAG

Perhaps they could just have the humans and the machines reach a peace agreement like the Matrix.

[Burtzum]

Right, right. Somebody said "alien" she thought they said "illegal alien" and signed up!


I read somewhere that the actress who played Vasquez auditioned for the part thinking that the movie was about an illegal alien, so when they ended up using her anyway they added that line in the movie to make fun of her.

Anyway, definitely one of my favorite movies. Alien as well. #3 wasn't too hot for me. 4 was pretty bad. And Michael Wincott didn't even have long hair, wtf dude?

[Carnifex]

k,who here has played the game Aliens vs Predator 2 btw? if you ask me,storywise it's up to par with aliens, most of all how the different storylines are intertwined.

[Liam Harvey]

not played the game, BUT ive seen the trailer for Aliens vs Predator 2 the movie and (although different from the game) it looks promising and that it may reedeem both franchices for the bad alien:resurrection and the shit Aliens VS Predator, it better be good.

[JAG.]

yeah i think AVP 2 would definitely redeem the situation created by the last few films. but its too early to tell - JAG

[wiggum]

I saw a trailer for AVP2 the other day and it looked terrible! I loved the first three alien movies, alien 3 is a very under rated movie.
As far as other Sci-Fi Horror movies, has anyone else seen Event Horizon? It is about a jump ship that gets transported to hell, it stars one of the archeologist guys from Jurassic Park (another great movie). I saw it when I was about ten years old and I can't really remeber if it was any good, but it was scary enough to give me nightmares for months!

[Flake]

Yeah, Event Horizon was cool, bizarrely enough it was directed by the same guy who later screwed up AvP so spectacularly.

[Jabo]

Thanks for digging this up. Don't know if I have ever posted here.


Uh... yeah. Alien³ owns you all. You have no idea!

Honestly, I don't understand how people like Aliens so much and hate Alien³. Aliens is soooo popcorn, probably the most mainstreamed and uncreative part of the series (yeah, even compared to Resurrection).

Whining about everybody's death after Aliens is... yeah, whiny. Guys, that's Alien, not Space Balls. What would the movie be about then? Ripley fighting her way through corridors with Newt in her arms all the way through the movie, except for a short interruption to lay Hicks and drink coffee with Bishop? Nah, Ripley was designed to be a lone wolf and Weaver plays best in that role.

BTW, I think Alien³'s trailer was pretty neat. The first one (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Afx_U_ym2Io) (still with the "on-earth" plot) for the sound and typography. The second one (http://youtube.com/watch?v=rPbAGNmLvxA) for this awesome line. "And most of all... The bitch... is back." :P

[JAG.]

hmmmmm. no. :)

Alien3 was lame. it had a lousy story, lousy characters, a lousy script and even lousier cinematography.

sorry man, no way Alien 3 was better than Aliens, on any level. - JAG

[Carnifex]

not better,but it was pretty good in my opinion. then again,i even think alien resurrection was good on it own. not so much scare or gore,but interesting ideas and fun little details. also,even though everyone's bashing on the newborn,i found it to be well-made,it did evoke some emotions in me when it died...rather scared of it's screams tbh.
plus i think ripley had the best haircut in no.3 :)

edit: the underwater scene in alien4 is damn strong,especially music-wise.

[wiggum]

There were a lot of interesting ideas presented in the fourth movie but in the end it simple couldn't compare to the first three on any level. I bought the quadrilogy a while back and in the making of section I remeber them discussing ways of making Ressurection more like a regular summer action movie. It seems like they were actually trying to make it a mediocre movie!
While I don't think that 3 was the best, it is certainly a lot better than a lot of people seem to want to give it credit for!

[Flake]

I enjoyed 3 for its completely grim bleakness (I imagine it appealled to my angsty teenage head..) but Aliens wins hands down for me.

It's certainly more mainstream (although I'm not convinced that's a bad thing at all, I don't subscribe to unpopular = good..) but it's also a masterclass in everything that awesome cinema can be.

Seriously, look at the pacing, set design, lighting, cinematography, direction, it's a masterclass in how to make an artistically spectacular film that people will actually want to watch, see also "Batman Begins" and "The Matrix"..

[timpaatkins]

Has anyone seen the re-edited version of 3? Its like a whole different movie, much better than the one that was released widely. I think they went though 13 scripts or something. David Fincher hated the result. So thats why he isn't featured in any of the extra stuff, or in commentaries. But yea, if you get a chance to see the re edited one, with the whole subplots reinstated, check it out. Its on the new quadrilogy.

[Flake]

I've got it but I haven't seen it yet, it's on my "to watch" list though, heard many positive comments about that edit of it.

[Jabo]

The Quadrilogy box is likely the most elaborated DVD box on the market. I'm so lucky I have it because a great amount of what I know about film making comes from these 12 hours or so bonus features in the set. I still regularly watch the making-ofs from time to time and each time I think "Woah, look what a bunch of people can make out of their ideas." If there's a top-10 of favourite movie productions, this would be my number one for the rest of time. A must have for everyone into movie-making.

About 3: The intro is especially nice on the extended version. They threw away some really graceful designs when they cut it out. I love the long cape Charles Dance wears when he carries Ripley into their base. Great post-apocalyptic designs everywhere.

JAG: Alien3 carries some really cool elements, especially in cinematography. The light design and camera work is just too bad-ass (well, 4 has nice wide angles too, but it's a little too french). Take away the rather boring plot and minor content glitches (which are present due to bad management) and you have a masterpiece.

EDIT: Plus Sigourney Weaver is so sexy without hair :D

[JAG.]

wel i'll give it an A for effort.. and its not THAT horrible.. but its certainly not the best of the bunch. it may have a good thing or two goin for it, and i still watch it cuz im a fan. but c'mon.. it's got nothing on Aliens. - JAG

[Jabo]

*sigh* :wink:

[Krawnik]

Man, there's an Aliens topic and no one told me!?

I first saw Aliens when I was like, 9, and it scared me backwards (fun side note! Every nightmare I've ever had, ever since seeing Aliens, has been about the Xenomorphs). But shaking in terror didn't prevent me from thinking it kicked fucking ass! I've seen Aliens more times than I can friggin' count, and it's definitely my favourite of the series, and one of my faves of all time. I mean, the violence, the suspense, the dialogue, the characters, atmosphere, art direction, all Aces. There's not much I can say about the film that hasn't already been said, so in summary: Aliens rules the friggin' schools.

And hey, I liked Alien 3 too. I know it was plagued by development problems and ended up being kind of watered down (what's that saying, a camel is a horse designed by a committee?), but I still think it added to and developed the Alien storyline in mostly positive ways. I agree that killing off Hicks (and Newt and Bishop I guess, whatever) sucked, and was kind of a waste of that character, but I definitely understand why they made that decision (I've actually read a working version of the Alien 3 script in which Ripley dies right off the bat and the only survivor is Hicks. Mostly the same film with less cotton panties). The way the series plays out now, the whole ordeal is mostly about Ripley and the Aliens. Each time she gets a new crew of supporting bozos, and is forced to come up with new and original ways to combat the beasties (well, kind of. Run away, kick ass, run away, and kick ass, respectively).

I even liked Resurrection! A little bit! Sure it wasn't as technically good, or well written, or whatever, but it still did what the other sequels did- experiment with the formula. Rather than truly rehash one of the previous films, it modified the situation and characters just enough to justify itself. Even if it did it in unusual ways.

The only Alien outing I didn't really care for was AvP. It seemed very confused about itself. It spent a third of its bulk offering pointless exposition about why a bunch of doods were going to the Antarctic, or wherever. It introduced like, two dozen human characters, only to have around 80% die off within minutes of the Aliens appearing. I mean, getting your humans out of the way to focus on the Aliens and Predators was a good move, but then after that there are only, what, two scenes in which Aliens and Predators actually fight? In my AvP, a bunch of humans go to Antarctica for basically no reason, all of them are immediately killed off by Aliens, and then Aliens and Predators fight for like, two hours. It would be an awful film, but it would give the people (as in, me) what they (I) want.

So, in summary: Aliens is where it's at.

[Carnifex]

i don't consider avp to be part of the series. ever.

[JAG.]

werd. :yayca: - JAG

[Flake]

^

What they said.