xhonzi said:

Does any computer in Missouri have spellcheck?

Nice.

Some torn down sets from the end of shooting.

Spoilers as per.

Click not least thee be spoiled.

I guess everyone has seen this now (put up while I was away).

I have been kicked in the nuts by exciting trailers in the past but dare I be as excited as I am now?

It got me all kinds of pumped up. It was all I could do to not drive to Walmart and buy Alien on Blu-ray (I only have Aliens so far).

Gotta love that recent teaser for PROMETHEUS.

I got a kick out of this recent 'fan-edited' one too - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ6SUTI1j9M

I am very excited about this one!

I don't know how I feel about this one. I mean, I'm excited and Scott is one of my favorite directors (Blade Runner is my favorite movie), but I'm not sure if I care to know where/how the aliens originated.

I assume I will see this in theaters but I'm pretty skeptical at this point.

Cameron's crappy sequel?

Don't be ridiculous.

Watching it again last night Aliens hasn't stood the test of time anywhere near as well as Alien 3 and I never thought I'd see myself typing that.

It looks like it was made for television and the dialogue is very clunky and cheesy (more like the other sequels than the first film).

I get the impression that the only reason Newt survived so long was because the aliens wanted to stay as well away from Carrie Henn's awful screeching and terrible line delivery as possible.

It's a fun silly action film on it's own but it doesn't really work as a sequel to the first film.

Bingowings said:

Watching it again last night Aliens hasn't stood the test of time anywhere near as well as Alien 3 and I never thought I'd see myself typing that.

It looks like it was made for television and the dialogue is very clunky and cheesy (more like the other sequels than the first film).

I get the impression that the only reason Newt survived so long was because the aliens wanted to stay as well away from Carrie Henn's awful screeching and terrible line delivery as possible.

It's a fun silly action film on it's own but it doesn't really work as a sequel to the first film.

My thoughts on your thoughts.

Bingowings said:

Watching it again last night Aliens hasn't stood the test of time anywhere near as well as Alien 3 and I never thought I'd see myself typing that.

It looks like it was made for television and the dialogue is very clunky and cheesy (more like the other sequels than the first film).

I get the impression that the only reason Newt survived so long was because the aliens wanted to stay as well away from Carrie Henn's awful screeching and terrible line delivery as possible.

It's a fun silly action film on it's own but it doesn't really work as a sequel to the first film.

Get away from the keyboard, you BITCH!

Just kidding. I do disagree, though. Aliens is a hell of an action movie and stands up quite well to me. Most of the dialogue in 80s movies might seem a little out of place today, after all.

Sure thing, most action films of that period were infected with the Roger Moore virus and I did say it was fun.

If it wasn't the sequel to Alien it would be difficult to knock it as it's enjoyable for what it is in the same way that one can enjoy Predator (which is why Aliens Vs Predator is an obvious taste combination). Just check out the screenplay credit for Rambo 2.

But as a sequel to the first film I genuinely prefer, with all it obvious flaws, the assembly cut of Alien 3 because despite it flaws (when the ribald dialogue and the OTT score are switched off) it feels like it takes place in the same world.

Aliens feels like it's taking place in a spoof version of that world or in a compromised 80's television spin off of that world.

I'm not very fond of any of the Alien films, but I did like the mysterious nature of the creature in the first film - Was it intelligent? Did it have a motive? Who really knows, it was all left up to the viewer to think about. That mystique was unfortunately thrown out in the sequels when the aliens were essentially reduced to giant ants.

The intelligence of human engineers went out of the window too when the sequels introduced wacky ideas like exterior airlock doors that can be opened when the interior airlock doors are open.

That and Ripley's bionic arm and ankle able to carry the weight of the Alien Queen and tonnes of escaping air without breaking.

Hilarious fun but not a patch on the original.

CP3S said:

...one of her ex-boyfriends talked her into going to see Alien vs. Predator with him and that was the only chance she felt the series needed from her. What a dumbass, introducing her to the series via a horrible spinoff only a lobotomized individual could enjoy...

That's like using the prequels to introduce someone to Star Wars.

I was rather surprised how much I enjoyed the first AVP film.

I respond to it in much the same way I do to Aliens.

It was certainly much better than it should have been considering the premise.

It's fun and silly but it's as related to the first Alien film as any French And Saunders spoof.

The second one however when visible (the lighting levels were so low the screen is almost black most of the time) is so repellent in a boring way that I found it difficult to watch in one sitting.

The scene in the maternity ward completely inverts the intelligent horror of Kane's birth scene by using vulnerable women and babies as the target of the monster, AVP2 is a dull 80's style slasher flick and to associate it by name with a film classic like Alien was a crime against cinema.

If I may;  When Alien was released, I became an instant fan.  A huge nerd, in fact.  I went to see it weekly, as I had Star Wars a couple of years earlier.  I bought a book that told the story in screencaps, wore out the soundtrack (one of only two pieces of vinyl I still have). I still listen regularly to the CD conversion of that very album, pops and all. I also keep a full audio rip of the film in my car and on my iPod for long trips and commutes.  I would estimate that I listen to that audio rip 5 or 6 times a year. Like I said, lifetime Alien nerd.

When the sequel was announced several years later, I was uninterested.  Alien was a complete story and I had no desire to see it being expanded into a franchise.  To this day, I've not seen any of the sequels, nor will I ever.

Fast forward to now.  I've been keeping up with Prometheus peripherally. The more I see, the more I know I'll be there opening week.  I love the idea of having completely unrelated stories taking place in the same location, separated by many years.  I may not dig it, but at this point I'm looking forward to it.  Scott has made two of my all-time favorites (Alien and Blade Runner), and a couple of others that I enjoy.  I feel like the story is in good hands.

Plus - after 33 years - it will be interesting to see this guy...

again...

Side note; I've been meaning to start a thread about an aspect of long-time favorite films.  Alien figures prominently in my topic of discussion.  I'll get to work on it this weekend.