This time it's war
Every Alien film since the second (fantastic) one.

apols for lack of depth...
( calgacus Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae, Thu 26 Jun 2008, 16:28, 8 replies)

*rolls eyes*
Alien 3 is a good film, it's only not good compared to the first two.

if you ignore them and examine it on its own merits it shines as a paragon of excellence.

and alien resurrection has ron perlman in it
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 26 Jun 2008, 16:36, closed)

Seconded.
I'm an Alientologist, and A3 does improve with time. Give it another chance and watch the version where its a Cow rather than a Dog it hatches from..
I really enjoy Ressurection too.
They all have a really good ensemble cast, you need to care about the people. Something thats lacking in the AVP movies. Mind you, even AVP can be a grower.. over time.
But AVPR is a fartbucket.
(Phlash, Thu 26 Jun 2008, 16:52, closed)

i like them all
they each have good points, but nothing compares to the second film.
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 26 Jun 2008, 17:01, closed)

huzzah, best film series ever (previously tied with Indiana Jones, but that's fucked now :D)
Original - scary as anything. Sadly now dated special effects.

Second - utterly brilliant, fantastically enjoyable and infinitely quotable. The director's cut is possibly my top choice for best ever film.

Third - very much a grower. I hated it when I first saw it, and now I really like it. Think of it like olives - noone likes it at first, but persevere and you'll always want it on your pizza. Or something.

Fourth - I love this director, I loved this film. The comic-book feel was just what I wanted, the swimming aliens were ace and Ron Perlman rocks socks. Even the dodgy hybrid-thing plotline grows on me now.
( Mockingbird Practitioner of SCIENCE, Thu 26 Jun 2008, 17:08, closed)

Phlash and Mockingbird have it exactly right
AVP:R was a big steaming pile of crap

in fact a steaming pile of crap would have had more suspense and atmosphere.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 26 Jun 2008, 17:24, closed)

Aliens
was my least favourite of the 4
1, 4, 3, then 2, in that order.

I didnt even consider AvP as a real Alien film.
(lordy lordy, Thu 26 Jun 2008, 17:34, closed)

^ this
AvP and AvP:R are a separate franchise to my mind, and one with very different goals.

AvP was a bit poo, but had a couple of genius moments: Having the entire huma cast do their "look at my backstory aaaah" bit in the helicopter and then killing ALL of them except one off in a single scene was spiffing.

AvP:R was exactly what I wanted it to be. It was a stupid film in which aliens fight predators and some humans get in the way and get munched. The brutality of having one of the first chest-burster victims be a child was pleasing, as was the number of disposable human characters.
( Mockingbird Practitioner of SCIENCE, Fri 27 Jun 2008, 9:57, closed)

Whither William Gibson
Vipros: "Alien 3 is a good film, it's only not good compared to the first two."

Talk about damning with faint praise!

If only they'd stuck with William Gibson.

I like Alien 3 and Rez but they could have been so much more. And I do the film equivalent of guiltwanking to AvP...
( calgacus Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae, Fri 27 Jun 2008, 14:25, closed)