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Post by moviemouth on Sept 17, 2020 4:23:05 GMT
Bad, bad, bad. The characters are as annoying as any characters I have ever seen in a movie. Even Sigourney Weaver is unlikable and annoying in this movie. It has some good stuff to it though. I like the look of the movie for the most part and Brad Douriff is a welcome presence. I also dig the underwater scene. The basketball scene is sooooooo dumb. I added some stuff about my fondness of Prometheus and Covenant btw. RE Resurrection - It's a splendid-looking movie and the alien and creature effects are superb. The stuff of nightmares. Quite creepy in parts as well. And I agree that Brad Douriff was a welcome addition to the cast. The story is poor though. And I'm mostly in agreement RE the characters - though I do like the more sinister take on Ripley that the film offers up. It's basically a poor man's Aliens. I read what you posted about the latter two movies. I do like the look of Prometheus, but I just can't get past the bad writing. Plus I just don't like the idea of an Alien prequel. But I get where you're coming from. The difference between me and many people is that I don't love the Alien franchise. I don't even love the original, I just like it a lot and admire it a lot as a feet of visual filmmaking and tension building. The story isn't anything special and I have never found the xenomorphs all that interesting. Even with that being said, I think Prometheus should have just been it's own movie and not related to Alien. The story is essentially about the search for the origin and meaning of life and has no reason to really be connected to the Alien franchise. If I was a bigger fan of the franchise I probably would have been annoyed.
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Post by sdrew13163 on Sept 17, 2020 5:19:26 GMT
Only seen four of them...
1. Alien (8/10) 2. Aliens (7/10) 3. Alien 3 (6/10) 4. Prometheus (5/10)
Overrated franchise imo.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Sept 17, 2020 14:47:28 GMT
I just find it interesting how much I hated Alien3 when I first saw it, and how much I like it now. There's so much I see in it that makes sense to me now; especially after seeing all of David Finchers further movies. As for Prometheus and Covenant... I actually prefer Covenant. A) Even though a lot of the characters make dumb moves, the story is the more coherent of the two movies, B) you get actual Aliens in it, and C) that performance by Fassbender is amazing. The scene where he plays flute with himself alone should have earned him and the FX team Academy Awards. (plays flute with himself alone, giggle)I know no one will agree with me on this, but I hope we do get to see the third movie in that trilogy because I really want to know what happens with his character. I found him fascinating and the best part of both movies. Alien 3 is one of those movies that, while actually quite good, suffers from following in the footsteps of two masterpieces. Expectations were too high after what came before it and they were never likely to be matched. A lot of people were expecting another Aliens - replete with massive gun battles against alien hordes, etc. - and Fincher instead opted to follow the template of the original film. It was the correct approach, but I can see how it would have been divisive for audiences back in 1992. The movie is also very dark and (intentionally) grim and depressing. I actually love the ambiance it generates, but that wouldn't be to everyone's liking. It's definitely not a popcorn flick or one that was ever going to captivate mainstream audiences in the manner of Cameron's 1986 film. And of course the CGI xenomorph isn't the best looking. Computer effects were crude enough back in '92, after all. This obviously wasn't an issue in the preceding installments. I haven't yet watched Covenant. I eventually will, but Prometheus left a bad taste in my mouth and I don't trust Ridley Scott handling of the franchise at this point. What he did with the Space Jokeys in particular is unforgivable. Nor am I keen on seeing Michael Fassbender (good actor though he certainly is) playing with his flute - though to each his/her own. My biggest issue with Alien 3 when it first came out was that it was too mired in darkness. Not visually, but in terms of theme. It was so completely hopeless. That's no way to end a franchise. And not enough action. What little there is comes towards the end. Plus, no Hicks, no Newt and very little Bishop. WTF was that? And finally they kill Charles Dance character way too early. AND they kill a dog! Nowadays, there are a lot of things I like about it. But in a strange way I kinda don't think about it as an Alien movie. I think of it more as a Fincher movie, and in terms of his oeuvre, it works. But yes, after the first two movies, it had little chance of being a third masterpiece the same way the other two were.
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Post by Archelaus on Sept 17, 2020 18:35:50 GMT
Alien Aliens Prometheus Alien: Covenant Alien 3 Alien: Resurrection
Haven't watched the Alien v Predator duology and probably never will
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Sept 18, 2020 2:56:16 GMT
Alien 3 is one of those movies that, while actually quite good, suffers from following in the footsteps of two masterpieces. Expectations were too high after what came before it and they were never likely to be matched. A lot of people were expecting another Aliens - replete with massive gun battles against alien hordes, etc. - and Fincher instead opted to follow the template of the original film. It was the correct approach, but I can see how it would have been divisive for audiences back in 1992. The movie is also very dark and (intentionally) grim and depressing. I actually love the ambiance it generates, but that wouldn't be to everyone's liking. It's definitely not a popcorn flick or one that was ever going to captivate mainstream audiences in the manner of Cameron's 1986 film. And of course the CGI xenomorph isn't the best looking. Computer effects were crude enough back in '92, after all. This obviously wasn't an issue in the preceding installments. I haven't yet watched Covenant. I eventually will, but Prometheus left a bad taste in my mouth and I don't trust Ridley Scott handling of the franchise at this point. What he did with the Space Jokeys in particular is unforgivable. Nor am I keen on seeing Michael Fassbender (good actor though he certainly is) playing with his flute - though to each his/her own. My biggest issue with Alien 3 when it first came out was that it was too mired in darkness. Not visually, but in terms of theme. It was so completely hopeless. That's no way to end a franchise. And not enough action. What little there is comes towards the end. Plus, no Hicks, no Newt and very little Bishop. WTF was that? And finally they kill Charles Dance character way too early. AND they kill a dog! Nowadays, there are a lot of things I like about it. But in a strange way I kinda don't think about it as an Alien movie. I think of it more as a Fincher movie, and in terms of his oeuvre, it works. But yes, after the first two movies, it had little chance of being a third masterpiece the same way the other two were. I won't deny that it's a depressing movie. "Hopeless" is a good way of describing the overall mood of the piece. The relative lack of action comes down to the fact that Fincher was imitating Scott's 1979 movie over Cameron's, but I know that was a big let-down for a lot of people back in the day.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Sept 18, 2020 16:44:50 GMT
My biggest issue with Alien 3 when it first came out was that it was too mired in darkness. Not visually, but in terms of theme. It was so completely hopeless. That's no way to end a franchise. And not enough action. What little there is comes towards the end. Plus, no Hicks, no Newt and very little Bishop. WTF was that? And finally they kill Charles Dance character way too early. AND they kill a dog! Nowadays, there are a lot of things I like about it. But in a strange way I kinda don't think about it as an Alien movie. I think of it more as a Fincher movie, and in terms of his oeuvre, it works. But yes, after the first two movies, it had little chance of being a third masterpiece the same way the other two were. I won't deny that it's a depressing movie. "Hopeless" is a good way of describing the overall mood of the piece. The relative lack of action comes down to the fact that Fincher was imitating Scott's 1979 movie over Cameron's, but I know that was a big let-down for a lot of people back in the day. Hopeless is the only way I can describe it, lol. Ripley has the thing inside her right from the beginning, everyone we care about is dead or dies real soon, there's no escape from the place AND they have no defenses, and finally when the cavalry shows up its turns out they're the BADDER guys! In reality hopeless situations happen all the time, but in my entertainment I like a sliver of hope. Especially if its the end of a trilogy. That said, I do love me some David Fincher.
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Sept 20, 2020 5:13:42 GMT
I won't deny that it's a depressing movie. "Hopeless" is a good way of describing the overall mood of the piece. The relative lack of action comes down to the fact that Fincher was imitating Scott's 1979 movie over Cameron's, but I know that was a big let-down for a lot of people back in the day. Hopeless is the only way I can describe it, lol. Ripley has the thing inside her right from the beginning, everyone we care about is dead or dies real soon, there's no escape from the place AND they have no defenses, and finally when the cavalry shows up its turns out they're the BADDER guys! In reality hopeless situations happen all the time, but in my entertainment I like a sliver of hope. Especially if its the end of a trilogy. That said, I do love me some David Fincher. Well, at least Ripley evades capture in the end and finds comfort in the sweet release of death. Until they resurrect her in mutated form 200 years later, at least.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Sept 21, 2020 17:41:33 GMT
Hopeless is the only way I can describe it, lol. Ripley has the thing inside her right from the beginning, everyone we care about is dead or dies real soon, there's no escape from the place AND they have no defenses, and finally when the cavalry shows up its turns out they're the BADDER guys! In reality hopeless situations happen all the time, but in my entertainment I like a sliver of hope. Especially if its the end of a trilogy. That said, I do love me some David Fincher. Well, at least Ripley evades capture in the end and finds comfort in the sweet release of death. Until they resurrect her in mutated form 200 years later, at least. IF, and its a big IF, they ever make a direct sequel to the franchise with Ripley (not prequels like Prometheus and Covenant) I wonder if they would continue with that cloned Ripley from Resurrection or go in a totally new direction? On the one hand I would have liked to have seen where they went with that, but on the other hand I could take it or leave it. Something totally new might be just as good, if not better.
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Sept 23, 2020 6:15:29 GMT
Well, at least Ripley evades capture in the end and finds comfort in the sweet release of death. Until they resurrect her in mutated form 200 years later, at least. IF, and its a big IF, they ever make a direct sequel to the franchise with Ripley (not prequels like Prometheus and Covenant) I wonder if they would continue with that cloned Ripley from Resurrection or go in a totally new direction? On the one hand I would have liked to have seen where they went with that, but on the other hand I could take it or leave it. Something totally new might be just as good, if not better. I remember hearing about plans for an Alien 5 that would have picked up after the events of Aliens and ignored the subsequent sequels. Many years would still have passed and Ripley would have been a lot older, but it would have been a direct sequel to Cameron's movie. Neil Blomkamp was supposed to direct. The whole project seems to have fallen though though.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Sept 23, 2020 15:06:28 GMT
Alien Aliens Resurrection (It's goofy fun and it knows what it is) Alien 3 (To be fair, I only saw it one time, 25 years ago. I might appreciate it more on a rewatch.
Everything else sucks. Prometheus was a terrible reimagining, like so many far-too-late sequel/prequel/tie-in projects of the last 15 years. Covenant looked even worse, so I never bothered. You couldn't pay me to watch those AvP films, you could tell me Jason and Freddy show up and I'd believe you.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Sept 23, 2020 16:22:37 GMT
IF, and its a big IF, they ever make a direct sequel to the franchise with Ripley (not prequels like Prometheus and Covenant) I wonder if they would continue with that cloned Ripley from Resurrection or go in a totally new direction? On the one hand I would have liked to have seen where they went with that, but on the other hand I could take it or leave it. Something totally new might be just as good, if not better. I remember hearing about plans for an Alien 5 that would have picked up after the events of Aliens and ignored the subsequent sequels. Many years would still have passed and Ripley would have been a lot older, but it would have been a direct sequel to Cameron's movie. Neil Blomkamp was supposed to direct. The whole project seems to have fallen though though. That is exactly what we all hard last. It does seem like it wont happen at this point. Strange, because even Sigourney was on board, and Blomkamp would be perfect for that sort of movie. The whole package seems like a fan dream. I'd like for it to happen.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Sept 23, 2020 16:26:00 GMT
Alien Aliens Resurrection (It's goofy fun and it knows what it is) Alien 3 (To be fair, I only saw it one time, 25 years ago. I might appreciate it more on a rewatch. Everything else sucks. Prometheus was a terrible reimagining, like so many far-too-late sequel/prequel/tie-in projects of the last 15 years. Covenant looked even worse, so I never bothered. You couldn't pay me to watch those AvP films, you could tell me Jason and Freddy show up and I'd believe you. Jason and Freddy showing up would have been an improvement! I'm not even kidding! The shame about the AvP movies is that the comic(s) they are based on (INCREDIBLY LOOSELY BASED ON) are actually excellent. They've done a few, but the first AvP comic is about Predators that use Aliens to practice their hunting and killing skills. But, since the last time they did it, humans have tried to colonize that particular planet. So it becomes a three way battle. Its actually really good, and was a big deal at the time because it had never been done before. Too bad neither of the movies used that story. I'll always wonder why. Worst mistake ever. And if someone made that movie now it would be ruined by being considered part of that franchise. Too bad.
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Sept 24, 2020 3:50:32 GMT
I remember hearing about plans for an Alien 5 that would have picked up after the events of Aliens and ignored the subsequent sequels. Many years would still have passed and Ripley would have been a lot older, but it would have been a direct sequel to Cameron's movie. Neil Blomkamp was supposed to direct. The whole project seems to have fallen though though. That is exactly what we all hard last. It does seem like it wont happen at this point. Strange, because even Sigourney was on board, and Blomkamp would be perfect for that sort of movie. The whole package seems like a fan dream. I'd like for it to happen. I'd be open to it as well. Not that the franchise necessarily needs an additional movie, but if done right it could be something special.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Sept 24, 2020 16:18:41 GMT
That is exactly what we all hard last. It does seem like it wont happen at this point. Strange, because even Sigourney was on board, and Blomkamp would be perfect for that sort of movie. The whole package seems like a fan dream. I'd like for it to happen. I'd be open to it as well. Not that the franchise necessarily needs an additional movie, but if done right it could be something special. I don't think anyone cares to do it at this point. But if they did they'd have an uphill battle to undo the damage of the previous two in the publics eye.
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Sept 25, 2020 4:58:41 GMT
I'd be open to it as well. Not that the franchise necessarily needs an additional movie, but if done right it could be something special. I don't think anyone cares to do it at this point. But if they did they'd have an uphill battle to undo the damage of the previous two in the publics eye. I think the bigger problem would be the milking of the franchise that the studio has been undertaking since the Alien Vs Predator days and the impact this has had on the overall perception of the in-movie universe of the films.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Sept 29, 2020 22:26:44 GMT
I don't think anyone cares to do it at this point. But if they did they'd have an uphill battle to undo the damage of the previous two in the publics eye. I think the bigger problem would be the milking of the franchise that the studio has been undertaking since the Alien Vs Predator days and the impact this has had on the overall perception of the in-movie universe of the films. Yeah. IMO, at this point, I don't think there's anything that can save the Predator franchise. The Alien franchise is in similar straits, but it at least it still has a high quality level about it. Potentially Ridley Scott could make one more movie that finally ties this prequel trilogy to the original series in a spectacular way and give us a kind of rejuvenation. Mind you, I don't think that will happen, but its not impossible. Or Blomkamp or some new director could make a new Alien movie that could be good and rejuvenate the franchise that way. Again, I don't think it will happen, but...
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Post by mstreepsucks on Sept 29, 2020 22:40:46 GMT
I'd rank the first three only really. I don't really watch any franchise that goes after part 3.
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Sept 30, 2020 4:05:02 GMT
I think the bigger problem would be the milking of the franchise that the studio has been undertaking since the Alien Vs Predator days and the impact this has had on the overall perception of the in-movie universe of the films. Yeah. IMO, at this point, I don't think there's anything that can save the Predator franchise. The Alien franchise is in similar straits, but it at least it still has a high quality level about it. Potentially Ridley Scott could make one more movie that finally ties this prequel trilogy to the original series in a spectacular way and give us a kind of rejuvenation. Mind you, I don't think that will happen, but its not impossible. Or Blomkamp or some new director could make a new Alien movie that could be good and rejuvenate the franchise that way. Again, I don't think it will happen, but... I wouldn't have much faith in Ridley Scott at this stage. Prometheus was a tremendous misstep IMO. Blomkamp or some other new director would be the better option. I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of such a project being undertaken at some future point, but it's looking doubtful at present.
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Post by drystyx on Sept 30, 2020 6:19:15 GMT
1. ALIENS 9/10
2. Prometheus 8/10
3. Alien 8/10
4. Alien 4 Resurrection 7/10
5. Alien 3 3/10. Only loser in the bunch.
Haven't seen any others yet.
I notice a lot of love here for Alien 3, and even when it came out, one could tell it would get false praise, much like what we would call the "pity f..k".
The trouble with Alien 3 was that it failed miserably. It tried to be "no respecter of persons", but then was totally contrived.
That's why Resurrection was so far superior to it. There, the production team realized that if you have "no respecter of persons", you can't be "contrived". We get a totally "draw from the hat" approach to each character. Nothing is as expected. While Alien 3 was totally Hollywood formula, totally predictable after the beginning contrived death of Ripley's companions, Alien 4 was chaos to the full extent, with nothing contrived. It's as though each sequence was done in succession, with no agenda. It just "was what it was".
And lo and behold, Alien 3 gets the "pity f..k" and false praise from people who actually feel sorry for it, so it seems, just wanting to accept the "safe Hollywood formula approach", with no inspiration and no strategy. Just a contrived formula story line.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Oct 1, 2020 15:59:57 GMT
1. ALIENS 9/10 2. Prometheus 8/10 3. Alien 8/10 4. Alien 4 Resurrection 7/10 5. Alien 3 3/10. Only loser in the bunch. Haven't seen any others yet. I notice a lot of love here for Alien 3, and even when it came out, one could tell it would get false praise, much like what we would call the "pity f..k". The trouble with Alien 3 was that it failed miserably. It tried to be "no respecter of persons", but then was totally contrived. That's why Resurrection was so far superior to it. There, the production team realized that if you have "no respecter of persons", you can't be "contrived". We get a totally "draw from the hat" approach to each character. Nothing is as expected. While Alien 3 was totally Hollywood formula, totally predictable after the beginning contrived death of Ripley's companions, Alien 4 was chaos to the full extent, with nothing contrived. It's as though each sequence was done in succession, with no agenda. It just "was what it was". And lo and behold, Alien 3 gets the "pity f..k" and false praise from people who actually feel sorry for it, so it seems, just wanting to accept the "safe Hollywood formula approach", with no inspiration and no strategy. Just a contrived formula story line. That's ONE opinion. Another is that the movie, while no masterpiece, and no one is claiming it is, is actually better than for all the hate it gets. I feel that a lot of people fall in my category, which is that we didn't get it when we first saw it. And now that we know what David Finchers style (and subject matter preference) are, and that the studio was messing with him and the production the whole time, its actually on ok movie, and kind've a miracle it got finished at all! I mean, for example, the script is a mish mosh of at least three other scripts, Fincher is a first time director on this, and the story the chose to go with is overall is one of hopelessness. When I first saw it I was expecting something like either the first or second movie. Instead it tried to go its own way and doesn't work as well as the previous two. For those reasons it will always get the redheaded step child treatment. Again, I'm not claiming its any kind of masterpiece, but its certainly not a pity fuck. Those that say it is hate it far more than it deserves.
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