What's a while . . .I was so disappointed with Aliens: after the seductive creeping pace of the first movie we get testosterone driven space marines? Now I own it and have watched it several times. I like it, it's pure camp.
I think that I've suffered through Alien 3 from beginning to end once in one sitting. I'm familiar with its plot and crappy, just regrettable special effects. The horror is the movie, so tragic to see the franchise suffer like that.
Alien 4 well: we get a dream team of actors and Guillermo del Toro FFS, a little bit of bullshit cloning science that gifts us with a half alien Ripley. What a romp, that was fun.
Seen in perspective Prometheus was a really good (if slow paced) monster movie well above par for a prequel that's been riffing on HR Giger's work (keeping him current but without paying him a dime) since the 70's.
I say watch this stuff for the imagery, consider its golden age sci-fi flavour, revel in its unusual storytelling, or don't if that doesn't please you.
If anyone hasn't seen worse lately they haven't been watching enough movies, btw.
/edit: crap it wasn't GdT but one of my other favourite guys: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
(,
Sun 16 Dec 2012, 10:28,
archived)
I think that I've suffered through Alien 3 from beginning to end once in one sitting. I'm familiar with its plot and crappy, just regrettable special effects. The horror is the movie, so tragic to see the franchise suffer like that.
Alien 4 well: we get a dream team of actors and Guillermo del Toro FFS, a little bit of bullshit cloning science that gifts us with a half alien Ripley. What a romp, that was fun.
Seen in perspective Prometheus was a really good (if slow paced) monster movie well above par for a prequel that's been riffing on HR Giger's work (keeping him current but without paying him a dime) since the 70's.
I say watch this stuff for the imagery, consider its golden age sci-fi flavour, revel in its unusual storytelling, or don't if that doesn't please you.
If anyone hasn't seen worse lately they haven't been watching enough movies, btw.
/edit: crap it wasn't GdT but one of my other favourite guys: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
'Alien' was a haunted house movie.'Aliens' was an action film.
'Alien 3' was a group under siege movie.
'Alien: Resurrection' was an attempt at high-brow science fiction.
'Prometheus' is a film that tried to combine all of the above, but forgot to include the first film's sensibilities.
I liked it, didn't love it, and have no issue with it existing in the same universe as Ripley, Jones, Newt, et al.
It wasn't confusing, more of a lovely-looking frustration, but it did undo the mystery of the Space Jockey, which was a genuine shame.
('Alien 3' was a group under siege movie.
'Alien: Resurrection' was an attempt at high-brow science fiction.
'Prometheus' is a film that tried to combine all of the above, but forgot to include the first film's sensibilities.
I liked it, didn't love it, and have no issue with it existing in the same universe as Ripley, Jones, Newt, et al.
It wasn't confusing, more of a lovely-looking frustration, but it did undo the mystery of the Space Jockey, which was a genuine shame.
Captain Howdy,
Sun 16 Dec 2012, 10:39,
archived)
I imagine that Giger visualized it as a being permanently fused to the ship, but that left me wondering how a face hugger implanted the embryo; Prometheus did remove that problem while making the position of pilot look like a more plausible career, but I think we can still wonder about the original intentions behind the design until Giger speaks up to settle it.
(,
Sun 16 Dec 2012, 10:55,
archived)
I liked the mystery of it all.The need for any expanation was moot, because the viewer could create their own scenario, which would work for them, and not require the exact history to be hammered out.
My take on it, (when I first saw it on video aged 9), was that the Space Jockey was a solitary traveller whom had discovered an egg on his travels, been implanted by a facehugger, and then set off on his continued adventures, not knowing about the imminenet arrival of a chestburster.
Its violent exit caused his ship to crash, and as millennia passed, both he and the ship gradually fossilised. The only thing I was never sure of was where all of the eggs had come from.
Fastforward 6yrs, and 'Aliens' explained the eggs - the Space Jockey's chestburster was probably a queen.
None of this was ever discussed in the films, but it made sense to me, so that was, (rightly or wrongly), my take on it.
(My take on it, (when I first saw it on video aged 9), was that the Space Jockey was a solitary traveller whom had discovered an egg on his travels, been implanted by a facehugger, and then set off on his continued adventures, not knowing about the imminenet arrival of a chestburster.
Its violent exit caused his ship to crash, and as millennia passed, both he and the ship gradually fossilised. The only thing I was never sure of was where all of the eggs had come from.
Fastforward 6yrs, and 'Aliens' explained the eggs - the Space Jockey's chestburster was probably a queen.
None of this was ever discussed in the films, but it made sense to me, so that was, (rightly or wrongly), my take on it.
Captain Howdy,
Sun 16 Dec 2012, 11:23,
archived)
Just looked up Alien 4 on wikipediaFun fact!
"Jeunet was adamant about the hybrid having genitalia which resembled a mix of both male and female sexes. 20th Century Fox was uncomfortable with this, however, and Jeunet eventually changed his mind, feeling that "even for a Frenchman, it's too much". The genitalia were removed during post-production using digital effects techniques."
Here's a picture:
Blimey.
("Jeunet was adamant about the hybrid having genitalia which resembled a mix of both male and female sexes. 20th Century Fox was uncomfortable with this, however, and Jeunet eventually changed his mind, feeling that "even for a Frenchman, it's too much". The genitalia were removed during post-production using digital effects techniques."
Here's a picture:
Blimey.
Zoroastermouse thinks therefore he am,
Sun 16 Dec 2012, 11:01,
archived)