Alien

Alien (1979)

The entirety of my review tonight was going to be “movies are stupid” because that’s how I feel right now, but this is an incredibly not stupid movie so it didn’t feel right. There’s a lot to be said for this movie, and maybe you’ll get to read some of it next week when I watch the first sequel.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

So, Alien: Romulus is coming out in theaters next month, which means it’ll probably be another couple of months until I get around to watching it at home, but I am excited for it! So I’m (re)watching this in anticipation, and because it wasn’t yet released in 2016.

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

I first saw this movie with the whole family on Thanksgiving Day of 1997 (the day after its release). I hadn’t seen it since, mostly because I remembered being really disappointed by it. That’s about all I could remember about it though. Well, that and the twist. So really, I remembered the one piece of information that makes the first half of this movie interesting because it’s a twist, and I remembered being disappointed by it. I’ll admit I wasn’t really setting tonight’s movie up for success.

Alien³ (1992)

I know I’ve said it like every day this week, but I will be so happy when this week is over. It’s been a long sleepless week and I don’t feel like I’ve gotten much done. But what I did do is watch this movie. So at least there’s that.

I like this movie. It’s not quite as brilliant as the first one and not quite as ambitious as the second one, but H.R. Giger’s nightmare of a creature has never been more terrifying than in this movie. A David Fincher film, it’s definitely more Seven than Blade Runner or Avatar (or perhaps more closely related films by those directors). Which is to say it’s dark, it’s grim, and it’s not afraid to eschew a happy ending that might have fared better at the box office.

Aliens (1986)

Sadly it’s been a long and warm and busy day today, so I don’t have as much to say as I’d hoped. Which is sad, because there’s a lot of this movie. It’s long. Like James Cameron long. Oh, and did I mention it was written and directed by James Cameron?

So the dialogue at times sounds like James Cameron, the action sequences are loud and deliberate like James Cameron’s usually are, and the actors are familiar faces that seem to be favorites of none other than James Cameron. But it’s a damn good James Cameron film at that.

Prometheus (2012)

I can’t believe it’s July already. I mean, I can believe it, but I can’t really believe it. I saw this movie in theaters (albeit for a Sunday morning matinee if I recall correctly) a few years back and as I went in with no expectations, so I enjoyed it.

It was nice to see something in the Alien universe (even if only tangentially) and this was definitely better than last night’s contribution. It at least added something new to the universe.