The Alien & Predator Appreciation Thread

[noiseredux]

When making a case about how a much maligned chapter of a franchise is actually good, I don't thing the best argument to use is, "Look guys! It totally could have been worse!"

I don't disagree. I like 3 and 4. I don't love them. But I like them.

I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion, but I like 4 more than 3. I like Ripley better in 3. But I like the 4th movie more.

[strangenova]

When making a case about how a much maligned chapter of a franchise is actually good, I don't thing the best argument to use is, "Look guys! It totally could have been worse!"

I don't disagree. I like 3 and 4. I don't love them. But I like them.

I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion, but I like 4 more than 3. I like Ripley better in 3. But I like the 4th movie more.

It's unpopular with me at least. I think 3 is overall a better movie, better set piece for an alien movie and a better part of Ripleys saga. The fourth movie is...hokey at best...case in point

[strangenova]

Also, did you see Predators strangenova? It's so awesome.

Ok so I watched this last night, this is my second viewing of it, the first was years ago and I hardly remembered to much about it. Here are some of my thoughts on it.

The fact they show two different subsets of the Predator species and have them in a blood fuel was a great idea by the writers. It setup a fantastic fight scene and built the mythos heavily.

The use of Predator technology was great, they really showed off alot of tech and what it's uses are. Usually they just show off the plasma gun and cloak device.

The samurai showdown was a great setpiece with some good choreography, but after these "super predators" have spent the whole movie not fighting fair, why all of a sudden does this one take a fair fight like a classic predator?

Adrien Brody's character builds from hunted to hunter in a believable way, but the rest of the cast stays two dimensional and unexplored. Except for the doctor which is a terrible character, I felt he was totally unnecessary to the plot.

Speaking of characters, in the middle of the movie the female character tells everyone about the first Predator movie, and how Dutch was able to hide his heat with mud to avoid detection, and then they don't use this advice til the last scene of the movie. Come on really?!

Also the opening sequence is literally Adrien Brody falls through sky, Adrien Brody hits the ground...BOOM Predators logo. I laughed at how ridiculous it was.

All that said I'd give the movie a 7/10 for its fantastic setpieces, good action scenes, and strong use of effects.

[noiseredux]

yeah, right on. To me Predators is a solid 7 or 8/10. There is def some ridiculous stuff, but I feel like the balance of ridiculous and awesome is really pretty perfect.

[noiseredux]

heads up, Humble has some Alien games on sale right now:

Isolation - $7.50
Colonial Marines - $3.75
Aliens Vs Predator - $3.75

...DLC's also available for cheap.



And a cross-post from the movies thread...



now that I've subject my wife to all Alien + Predator movies, it's time to move on to the mockbusters and unofficial sequels.

Alien Origin is from the infamous Asylum. And this one is a mockbuster made to capitalize on the release of Prometheus. Even you haters (I loved Prometheus) would agree that this is far worse, haha. So here's the scoop: Alien Origin is a found footage movie about a special forces team in Belize who are investigating two lost archeologists. And there's aliens. It feels sort of like a found footage Predator movie. The first half is much better than the second. The actors aren't actually bad. And some of the locations are pretty cool. Though it switches from jungle to forest on the fly. The first half has a sort of Blair Witch tension building, but the second half is mostly soldiers shooting guns into darkness and you don't see any aliens or even understand what's happening. It's only the last like 10 seconds that even tie it in to Prometheus. I've seen far better movies, and far worse. I think it's hilarious that it was released on Blu-ray though. I mean... why?

[CRTGAMER]

Watched the Legacy bonus by mail documentary DVD the other day. Pretty neat stuff, an effects person still had props decades later showing things. The space suits, ship model and various astronaut tools used on the planet. Great interviews and behind the scenes footage including how Giger's book inspired the Alien design concept. The video on Alien Legacy and Alien Saga discs was never released again on newer DVDs or Blurays.

@ noise - Did you watch that Alien Saga yet? Get the Digital Bits Insider's Guide book, lots of additional info with its own dedicated Alien Chapter. Oh and the rest of the book great; showing plenty of DVD Special Editions.

The Legacy version movie DVDs have exclusive Easter Eggs including crew bios and alien life cycles. The separate documentary disc is difficult to find for sale due to having the same name as the older DVD set.

[noiseredux]

yeah, we watched Alien Saga on ALIEN DAY, 4/26...

Alien Saga is a pretty nice 2 hour documentary that covers the first four Alien films. Spends some good time on each one and is pretty fair about each. Lots of special effect talk in there. Some neat interviews too.

[strangenova]

Watched Alien Resurrection last night after playing some Genesis. I had been missing this dvd, so it's been a very long time since I've watched it.

I will say that it was better than I remember, but damn if there weren't some cringe worthy moments. Most of Ripleys dialogue is terrible, and the characters are more like caricatures of tropes. It also got to be ridiculous that no matter the situation the characters had some snarky quip. Plenty of this

The buildup was almost nonexistent and the movie seemed to have spent more on effects than they did on writers. All this said, I did enjoy it for what it was, which is a popcorn flick featuring Giger critters.

[IKE/TT]

My experience of Alien is mostly from movies. I really like the first two Alien -films; in my opinion, they are a great example of how movies should be done. The first one has a really good horror elements and suspension throughout the film, and the second one has lots of well built action scenes.
I still remember the excitement when I discovered these movies. I think it was around 2003-2004. I had heard of the Alien -franchise but otherwise (luckily) I knew nothing about it. Even the alien and it's appearance were a mystery to me. I remember being scared as hell while watching these movies.
I really like the third one too, though it clearly isn't on the same level with it's predecessors. There are many great scenes in the film, but still there's something missing. It doesn't quite have the atmosphere of the previous movies. Still, there are some extraordinary elements in it though; the soundtrack (by Elliot Goldenthal) is absolutely amazing, and the ending scene is one of my all time favourites. For me, the ending is the thing that gives this movie a lot more value. And in my opinion, this is where the whole series should have ended.

[noiseredux]

so *might* know someone who has acquired an Nvidia Shield TV. And maybe it came with access to Aliens Vs. Pinball for free (w/ ads). Maybe.