sum1

Alien, Aliens, Alien3, Alien Resurrection and the various Alien/Predator movies.

I've been watching some of these recently and felt like discussing them here.

The first one, Alien, is a rather limited film. Kind of primitive. Ian Holm makes an annoying robot. The cat was my favorite part, along with the fact that it survives. Yaphet Kotto was good. But the characters aren't really developed.

The second one, Aliens, is most people's favorite, but not mine. It's a much better film than the first one, but still kind of limited. The marines include some good characters (notably Hicks and Vasquez). Paul Reiser is good as Burke. The kid is slightly annoying. Lance Henriksen is very good as a robot. Bill Paxton's marine is a Pain In The Butt. And of course Sigourney Weaver is good. The aliens are made satisfyingly scary, the queen in particular. The best part of the film is from when Ripley goes back to find the kid onwards. Good stuff. But the film overall only goes so far, doesn't feel terribly real, with character portrayal feeling not quite right. Still, the film certainly has its merits.

The third film, Aliens3, is better made overall but not as much fun as #2 and kind of depressing, plus the aliens aren't half as scary as they were before. Charles Dutton and Charles Dance are both very good. There are numerous annoying characters, though. Character portrayal feels more real than in the last two. There's plenty atmosphere. Things generally feel more real than in the previous two films. But the film still doesn't work 100% And it's annoying how they kill off the previous film's survivors (except Ripley) in the beginning of the film. I get the impression Michael Biehn was pretty pissed off about that and I can sympathize -he's killed off in most films he's in. The director is David Fincher, who directed Fight Club.

The fourth, Alien Resurrection, is my favorite. It's just generally more interesting and works better. And Winona Ryder is really good as the android Call. I'd say she's the most relatable character in all four films. She makes the film. Ron Perlman's presence is welcome, and Dan Hedaya's. Kim Flowers is sexy and killed off too soon. Vriess is annoying -every film has to have at least one annoying character. Brad Dourif and J E Freeman are good. Sigourney Weaver turns in a good performance as a semi-alien Ripley clone.