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ray_afraid said:

I'd say 6.5 is a fair grade for a guns-n-muscles remake of Alien. I'd probably rate it a bit higher, but that seems like a fair score to me.

 Now there's two crazy people.

SilverWook said:

That scene has bugged me since 1979. (Not to mention being totally freaky.) There has to be a easier way to dispatch Ripley than shove a magazine down her throat. And it sure isn't going to look like an accident, or the Alien. Was this supposed to emphasize Ash's major malfunction?

Pretty much. Either in the commentary or the making of Scott mentions that he was going for freaky and sexual (the magazine bit) with the scene. The malfunctioning android's idea of sexual intercourse, or something to that effect.

ray_afraid said:

^There's no accounting for taste. I realized when he first started posing movie ratings that his barometer was screwy and that he's probably quite young. Nothin' wrong with any of that.

I'm sure twenty-six is quite young from a certain point of view. But perhaps I should bring up the fact that I am a fan of older movies, prefer them to newer movies by a very long shot, and that my opinion has nothing to do with "Duh, old movies suck"?

As for why I rated Aliens the way I did ...

I didn't like any of the Marines. They were all asinine douchebags, and I was happy to see them die.

I find it pathetic that a group of Marines -- knowing they're going up a whole goddamn hive of nasty man-killing bugs with acidic blood -- armour themselves in bulletproof vests and helmets only, leaving the rest of their bodies open to damage. I could understand it if this movie were set in the present, but it's set in the far future; am I really supposed to believe that a future civilization capable of building FTL-capable starships can't come up with battlesuits or smart armour?

I don't like how all the mystique and ambiguity of the creature from the original film is taken away by making its species nothing more than giant, stupid ants driven by instinct and nothing more.  

Oh wow, you were born after the Y2K disaster that destroyed most of our societies.  Luckily we were able to rebuild quickly.

Tack said:

For the record, a few of my favorite films...

The Third Man (1949)

Solaris (1972)

Metropolis (1927)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Theatrical Cut) (1977)

Blade Runner (Workprint) (1982)

Citizen Kane (1941)

Jaws (1975)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

… and I'm thirteen.

It's a question of taste, not age.

Yay this guy! I'm 18 now but I've been appreciating classics since I was much younger, it's kind of annoying actually when people assume teens have bad taste.

I love all those movies by the way. Solaris is probably my least favorite though, too long. And that's not a critique I throw around often, I freaking love every minute of 2001, for example, but I find Solaris to be simply too long for its own good. The remake is much shorter, but, ultimately, much worse for entirely different reasons.

SilverWook said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

ray_afraid said:

^There's no accounting for taste. I realized when he first started posing movie ratings that his barometer was screwy and that he's probably quite young. Nothin' wrong with any of that.

I'm sure twenty-six is quite young from a certain point of view. But perhaps I should bring up the fact that I am a fan of older movies, prefer them to newer movies by a very long shot, and that my opinion has nothing to do with "Duh, old movies suck"?

As for why I rated Aliens the way I did ...

I didn't like any of the Marines. They were all asinine douchebags, and I was happy to see them die.

I find it pathetic that a group of Marines -- knowing they're going up a whole goddamn hive of nasty man-killing bugs with acidic blood -- armour themselves in bulletproof vests and helmets only, leaving the rest of their bodies open to damage. I could understand it if this movie were set in the present, but it's set in the far future; am I really supposed to believe that a future civilization capable of building FTL-capable starships can't come up with battlesuits or smart armour?

I don't like how all the mystique and ambiguity of the creature from the original film is taken away by making its species nothing more than giant, stupid ants driven by instinct and nothing more.  

 Pvt. Vasquez would like a word with you. ;)

And I don't see how Hicks could be considered an douchebag.

Vasquez is too butch for my tastes. I also don't like her personality.

And yes, you're right -- Hicks wasn't really a douchebag. He was something of a non-entity, though, and beyond serving as Ripley's love interest, he added nothing to the film.

Tack said:

I personally find it interesting for its artsy techniques and some interesting discussions. To me it's like if 2001 was talky and employed black-and-white footage frequently.

The fantasies were enough to keep me intrigued.

I was wondering what the remake was like. The only movie I've seen George Clooney in was O Brother Where Art Thou, and he had a southern accent there so I can't really judge his acting. 

I have plenty of classics left to see, though.

Mainly, The Seventh Seal, The Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven, Lady Eve, Vertigo, and Psycho, to name just a few.

I'll find time soon. 

 Yeah I enjoy that stuff too - I still love the movie, just wouldn't name it as one of my top favorites.

George Clooney is a fairly high quality actor, he's not the problem with the remake, he's done some great stuff (namely The Descendants, Michael Clayton, Syrianna, amongst others).

You have time to see the classics, don't worry about that. I've gotten nearly to the point where I've run out, or at least I have to look really hard now. It's fulfilling but also a little disappointing. I loved it when I was really young (like 6 or something) and I watched my first Oscars and I realized that there were a ton of amazing movies out there that I'll get to watch at some point.

The Seventh Seal and Seven Samurai are two of my favorites, Magnificent Seven is great too but not really at the same level. Lady Eve's great, check out Sullivan's Travels too if you haven't. Vertigo and Psycho are amazing, of course, my favorite Hitchcock films. I'm actually slowly working on seeing all his films (LMS The Lodger). Rear Window's up there too, make sure you see that if you haven't.