ALIEN vs. THE THING

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  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    No, seriously, I need to understand how exactly "Aliens" = garbage. You buggin!

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    aliens was garbage??

    For real. I'm hoping the author misspoke 'cause otherwise...

    YOU BUGGING.


    If by "bugging" you mean "has a highly developed taste for quality sci-fi and horror, which precludes liking any of the Alien movies", then yes. I am bugging.

    Critique pleez?

  • DJBombjackDJBombjack Miami 1,665 Posts
    'Aliens' does have moments of 80s-ACTION-MOVIE-OVER-THE-TOP-NESS about it, enjoyable as it is.

    The Thing however is a stone cold classic and the head that sprouts legs is just the best. You know the FX guys were trying to outdo each other on that film.

  • SIRUSSIRUS 2,554 Posts
    aliens was str8 up blueprint material. for better or worse it influenced alot of films. old war movie tropes + alien = high concept.

    as far as the original question:

    MINDGARDEN PICK: the thing. if this movie isn't classique, nothing is.

    RAEL WORLD PICK: alien. ripped off cronenberg's 'body horror' style and brought it to the masses.

  • aliens was garbage??

    For real. I'm hoping the author misspoke 'cause otherwise...

    YOU BUGGING.


    If by "bugging" you mean "has a highly developed taste for quality sci-fi and horror, which precludes liking any of the Alien movies", then yes. I am bugging.

    Critique pleez?

    Stylish but ultimately empty (moreso as the series goes on), repetitious genre horror.

    The HR Giger sets were next level, but I'd rather sit and stare at a copy of 'Brain Salad Surgery' for 90 minutes.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    i dunno besides being "sci-fi" these films are quite
    differant,

    They both take from....


  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    The Thing got no love at the box office. Not that means anything...just sayin.

    E.T. was where folks were at.

    The sequels shouldnt really factor into this debate.

    The OG is that shit.

  • The Thing brought outer space to Earth w/ that Antartica shit.

    Scared the bejeezus out of me as a young youth.

    Thing slaughters Alien, IMO. I much prefer AlienS, which I find to be the pinnacle of 80s action films.

    The Thing has great performances, insane soundtrack, out of nowhere effects sequences, AND probably more quotables.

  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    The Thing brought outer space to Earth w/ that Antartica shit.

    Scared the bejeezus out of me as a young youth.

    Thing slaughters Alien, IMO. I much prefer AlienS, which I find to be the pinnacle of 80s action films.

    The Thing has great performances, insane soundtrack, out of nowhere effects sequences, AND probably more quotables.

    Yeah I love Alien to bits and think it does have to be one of the first to present space travel as just as dull and montonous as any other long haul shipping no doubt due to Dan O'Bannon's involvement with the script (it's funny how closely some of the plot follows Dark Star). Creepy as hell at times as well but The Thing is just one of The great eighties horrors.
    The sense of claustraphobia, paranoia and slowly increasing madness is so well done and there's very few films that could go up against it and win. I personally think the fx is fantastic as well, the fact that most of it is real time makes it far more horrific than any twice as gory cgi work.

    Aliens, while an excellent action movie, also marks the first stage in the ever more saccharine Cameron movies and will therefore always hold a mixed place in my affections.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts

    Aliens, while an excellent action movie, also marks the first stage in the ever more saccharine Cameron movies and will therefore always hold a mixed place in my affections.

    I hear what you're saying here but I think - just barely - the film manages to prevent itself from tipping over through the strength of Weaver's performance. Her Ripley, along with Bruce Willis' McClain are, in my opinion, the best action heroes for not just the '80s but most of the '90s too and certainly >>> anything Ahnauld ever did. They were human, vulnerable but straight up bad ass when the situation called for it (and let's be honest, who amongst us wouldn't want to have that same unlikely blend of attributes?)

    So while Newt was annoying at times (and let's be honest - how many 6-7 year olds do you know who aren't a little annoying?) - I thought Ripley's emotional connection to her felt genuine enough to prevent it from sliding into overly saccharine territory. In contrast, T2 just didn't work, not the least of which was that Linda Hamilton was over the top and the young John Connor was written to be pretty f*cking annoying and lame.

    Besides, the ensemble casting in Aliens was also, I thought, excellent. Same goes for The Thing.

    And to boot, in Aliens, they merged a steady cam harness with a machine gun. Ill as F*ck.

  • verb606verb606 2,518 Posts
    (and let's be honest, who amongst us wouldn't want to have that pulse rifle with a flame thrower strapped to it?)[/b]



    Fixed.


    And to boot, in Aliens, they merged a steady cam harness with a machine gun. Ill as F*ck.

    SO ILL. I like that in those movies they went with bullets (or some similar future-ass ballistic projectile) instead of lasers in terms of the weapons. Gave it that Vietnam-esque visceral impact instead of "Pew!....Pew! Pew! zap!"

  • Lucious_FoxLucious_Fox 2,479 Posts
    "Game over maaan......game over!!!!"

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    "Game over maaan......game over!!!!"

    "They come out mostly at night...mostly."

    But yes, Bill Paxon casting = so necessary.

  • Lucious_FoxLucious_Fox 2,479 Posts
    "Game over maaan......game over!!!!"

    "They come out mostly at night...mostly."

    But yes, Bill Paxon casting = so necessary.

    The Latin sista had ADIOS on her gun =

  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts

    Aliens, while an excellent action movie, also marks the first stage in the ever more saccharine Cameron movies and will therefore always hold a mixed place in my affections.

    I hear what you're saying here but I think - just barely - the film manages to prevent itself from tipping over through the strength of Weaver's performance. Her Ripley, along with Bruce Willis' McClain are, in my opinion, the best action heroes for not just the '80s but most of the '90s too and certainly >>> anything Ahnauld ever did. They were human, vulnerable but straight up bad ass when the situation called for it (and let's be honest, who amongst us wouldn't want to have that same unlikely blend of attributes?)

    So while Newt was annoying at times (and let's be honest - how many 6-7 year olds do you know who aren't a little annoying?) - I thought Ripley's emotional connection to her felt genuine enough to prevent it from sliding into overly saccharine territory. In contrast, T2 just didn't work, not the least of which was that Linda Hamilton was over the top and the young John Connor was written to be pretty f*cking annoying and lame.

    Besides, the ensemble casting in Aliens was also, I thought, excellent. Same goes for The Thing.

    And to boot, in Aliens, they merged a steady cam harness with a machine gun. Ill as F*ck.

    Yeah I heartily agree with the above. Certainly Weaver's performance is a major plus as she balances the aggression and maternal instincts she's feeling towards Newt. I think Aliens gets it about right it's just that these days when I watch it I see the beginnings of the Furlong and get the shivers.

    I'm a major fan so Paxton is an undeniable plus as he is with most films he graces but Biehn, for all the good it did him, actually offers up a nice balance to Ripley's anger by underplaying the "hero" role. Shame the next Cameron film was the end of his big movie career.

    Without wanting to sound too old and jaded it seems liked a long time since a major action film cast decent actors all the way down the list.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Detour but I always felt like Michael Biehn deserved a better career than what he was handed. After "Aliens" and "Terminator," dude could have been big but besides from "The Rock," he more or less disappeared by the '90s. I always heard the rumor that, back when Cameron had the rights to Spiderman, he was going to cast Biehn as Peter Parker. I'm not sure if that would have been 100% on point, casting-wise, but it seemed like a good choice at the time.

    ANyways, if we're going to talk garbage, whoever green-lit Alien3 deserves a face-hugger.

  • Lucious_FoxLucious_Fox 2,479 Posts
    Is 3 the one that takes place on the prison planet and the alien/aliens have replicated dogs/lions???

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    yes. piece of shit

  • Lucious_FoxLucious_Fox 2,479 Posts
    yes. piece of shit

    I agree, but its the "darkest" one of the 4 visually. I gotta watch it again.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    yes. piece of shit

    I agree, but its the "darkest" one of the 4 visually. I gotta watch it again.

    No, you really don't. It seriously sucked.

  • Lucious_FoxLucious_Fox 2,479 Posts
    yes. piece of shit

    I agree, but its the "darkest" one of the 4 visually. I gotta watch it again.

    No, you really don't. It seriously sucked.

    haha.

    Ill never forget how loud the crowd cheered in ALIENS, when Ripley comes out in the Exo-Shell thingy and says......"OVER HERE BITCH!!!"

  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    Have you seen the original designs for the planet where, if memory serves, everything's made out of wood and instead of prisoners the habitants are monks? Would certainly have been different.

    Alien3 despite protests from diehards, does indeed suck though.

    As for Biehn, I agree that it seemed like he got short shrift. Not sure if it was his preference for playing things soft rather than in your face that cost him his star career in the nineties or what. He would have been woefully miscast as Parker though anything's preferable to liplicker Maguire.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    yes. piece of shit

    I agree, but its the "darkest" one of the 4 visually. I gotta watch it again.

    No, you really don't. It seriously sucked.

    haha.

    Ill never forget how loud the crowd cheered in ALIENS, when Ripley comes out in the Exo-Shell thingy and says......"OVER HEREGET AWAY FROM HER, YOU BITCH!!!"

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    YOU BUGGING.

    Im watchin ALIENS now and this is fuskin heat.

    Yeah - it has that post Rambo thang, but still. Gun Play - less "cerebral".

    My Co-Worker is a big time StarShip Troopers dude. Ive never seen it, but he swaers by it and is old enuff to have seen 2001 in the theatre.

    Isnt Starship Troopers ALIENS x 4000?

    Just sayin....

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Starship Troopers is awesome for very different reasons. Mostly, the bad/overacting in the film - some say deliberate...but I wouldn't be so sure about that - just makes every scene f*cking hilarious.

    And man - it's about GIANT BUGS WHO ATTACK PEOPLE.

    I ride for Starship Troopers. It's not Aliens though but it's not aspiring to be.

    So many quotables..."It says...it's afraid!"

  • the other thing about ST is the 'military culture' in the whole thing. All the recruiting commercials for the army are effing hilarious. The newsreels, etc are a great riff on all of the 40s and 50s propaganda machines.

    Back to the Alien series, I've come to see that series as the jump-off for upcoming directors:

    Alien - Ridley Scott
    Aliens - Cameron
    Alien3 - David Fincer
    Alien Resurrection - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (albeit he had done City Of Lost Children already)

  • m_dejeanm_dejean Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts
    yes. piece of shit

    I agree, but its the "darkest" one of the 4 visually. I gotta watch it again.

    Chris Cunningham worked on FX for that one. Early one for him, just past 20 years old. From what I've read he wasn't too happy with the experience. Made him not want to work with Hollywood again.

    Re: the original topic, I'll go with Alien. I'm a John Carpenter fan, but Alien is the better movie IMO.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    the other thing about ST is the 'military culture' in the whole thing. All the recruiting commercials for the army are effing hilarious. The newsreels, etc are a great riff on all of the 40s and 50s propaganda machines.

    Back to the Alien series, I've come to see that series as the jump-off for upcoming directors:

    Alien - Ridley Scott
    Aliens - Cameron
    Alien3 - David Fincer
    Alien Resurrection - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (albeit he had done City Of Lost Children already)

    Your argument really doesn't work with Jeunet - he had already made both City of Lost Children AND Delicatessen, both of which brought him int'l acclaim and that's not mention the other, lesser-known films he had already made in France.

  • SIRUSSIRUS 2,554 Posts
    if anything, ressurection helped kill the momentum his career had in the states.

    watched the alien 3 director's cut 5 months ago. it's a bad movie no matter how u slice it. i understand trying to be subversive with genre material, but that shit was straight up boring.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    if anything, ressurection helped kill the momentum his career had in the states.

    watched the alien 3 director's cut 5 months ago. it's a bad movie no matter how u slice it. i understand trying to be subversive with genre material, but that shit was straight up boring.

    Yeah. I really can't find much of anything that's redeemable about it.
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