Future releases [2]

Alien 3 comes to mind- azriel

{{I am one of those rare fans of Alien 3, the extended version at least -still has issues but I'd pick it over Aliens every time, which is entertaining for a single watch but thats it}}}

Tolkien demonstrated some fine crabbit - Forest

{{{Tolkien was particularly fine at crabbitness, for an uneducated sassenach! }}}

Uneducated? 

I can't imagine a film being particularly good that has the tagline of "3 times the suspense, 3 times the danger, 3 times the terror".

{{{ Yup uneducated, in crabbit- didnt do crabbit studies at school or go to crabbit college or study for Higher Applied Crabbit. Being a sassenach and all.

As to Alien 3 I dont remember saying it was particularly good, just that I preferred it to Aliens. }}}

That's implying an incredible lack of quality in Aliens, which I'm rather surprised about!

{{No not a lack of quality, though it was on less of a budget than they made it look. But there is a lack of depth and substance. Its great once, but there is nothing to come back to. The characters are paper thin, the villains (human) shallow and obvious. The marines themselves are largely cartoon like and are given a character trait each-Vasquez is as good as a man, the Sarge chews on cigars and doesn't take shit ect and as emotionally deep as it gets is the faux family unit to replace Ripleys lost life and some mother issues resolved by killing the Queen and all her offspring and adopting Newt effectively with Hicks along in protective loving father mode. And Hicks character role is that old trope reluctant hero- good guy forced to take command who proves his worth because he doesn't desire the power of the position.

Whilst three is flawed its main flaws come from weird choices, such as killing of the two most interesting characters outside of Ripley in short order way, way too soon. But even outside of those in the extended version at least there are other interesting characters because all the main characters are designed to be unlikable- they are serving time for heinous crimes usually against women. Yet we see how some suffer from mental illness (Paul Mccann's character in particular though he is almost unrecognizable in the role), then we have Dillon and the religious aspect of the convicts and their relationship both to it, to the prison officers and to Ripley.
And  characters are nuanced, the performance are excellent form an almost all British cast, Charles Dance is perfectly judged, with a character that is relateable, interesting and somewhat pitiable all at once. And his interactions with Ripley feel natural and unforced.

Its a film that takes risks- it kills off two loved characters, off-screen before the opening credits have finished rolling, completely shredding the previous films happy ending and setting up the bleak tone of futile inevitability that goes right through the film. Its not an easy watch, its often unsettling and not because of the Alien, it has an attempted  gang rape of the lead character. Which contrary no modern tendencies to show strong female characters by making them invincible, she fights hard but is overwhelmed by superior numbers and brute strength. And its not afraid to do that, to Ripley.

Yes the green screen, the early cgi is awful and detracting, but for the most part its a far better looking film than Aliens- most of Aliens is shot on a sound stage and a disused power plant, in the dark. Its all effective , and well shot and directed, by doesn't compare to the vistas, massive beautiful sets and composition of shots in Alien 3.



So whilst Aliens is great for a one off viewing, I find I can return to Alien 3 over and over to find things to appreciate and enjoy. }}}

I just realized I've never seen Aliens 3! I think it's because it got some bad press when it came out for the reasons Petty outlined, so never felt compelled to see it in theaters, then sort of forgot about it. Putting it in my queue now.

I never saw Rogue One.

Ain't nothing wrong with that!

I liked Aliens 3, i liked Aliens v Predator as well. The pyramid under the Antarctic one.

" Whoever wins, we lose"

I think that was said about the recent U.S. election...

{{Nice one Forest }}

I thought Id put this piece here as you never know, someone might watch a dubbed film ??

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-39254740

I generally avoid dubbed films, preferring subtitles. The rare exception is when I watch a classy anime film like Princess Mononoke, because apparently dubbing for anime films is a popularly excepted thing.

But even so, that's an interesting tidbit. I can't imagine what a German Samuel L. Jackson sounds like.

Well, now I don't need to imagine it!

{{{ Latest poster for Alien Covenant- one of the best film posters Ive seen in a while- capturing both Giger and the work of Gustave in his illustrations for Miltons Paradise Lost (which this film apparently takes inspiration from in some way) }}

I've only watched Alien 3 once, I (like Michael Biehn) never quite forgave them for killing off Corporal Hicks offscreen in the opening scene.

I loved Aliens and Rogue One, paper thin the characters may have been but they were damn entertaining films...

Those dam things frighten me, I would die if I saw them in 3D

Might go see this, it looks great.

Another remake, but looks ok

Apes against guns, bombs and wot not. Should only be one winner.

Oh gawd It wasn't "Galadriel" was it that said "welcome to Alpha" ? The sci-fi one looks brilliant, I love these sorts of film. "IT" looks bloody scary ! but Id watch it. I always feel sorry for the apes ! I know its not real but, it brings home just how nasty humans can be & that upsets me. "Valerian" gets my vote