Aliens (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Aliens (Special Edition)
Movie Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
Just about everyone who has seen this film agrees that it is rare in that it is a sequel which is better than the original. The directors cut is a longer than the original and has a lot more scenes. It is hard to see why they were cut originally as they do not change radically the character of the film. Aliens is a film that is set over a very short time period. The basic plot is that some combat personel called marines and sent to investigate a colonly which has been destroyed by an Alien life form. The marines transport is destroyed by the Aliens and with it most of their ammunition. They have to hold out for half a day until a rescue ship can be piloted down from orbit to rescue them.
The attraction of the film is the plot density and the characterisation. A lot of science fiction films have simple linear plots and the characters fall into a narrow range of sterotypes.
Aliens has a large range of characters all of whom are interesting and none fall into the simple patterns of good guy, female love interest or cannon fodder.
The other aspect of the film is its pace. Once the marines land on the colony the film exudes tension and menance. The action scenes are convincing and heart renching. And of course the film is significant in having a female lead who has a real role instead of being a love interest.
Probably the best science fiction film made and one of the better films in any catagory.
Movie Review: Crawl Space
Summary: 5 Stars
Alien's is one of the most refreshing action film's that I've seen in a long time. It has all of the pieces needed to create a dazzling example of fine form and just plain slick wizadry.Ripley awakens after being discovered in a decades old sleap. She is greeted upon awakening by "Mad about you" Paul Reiser, who shows he has more dirt under his fingernails than most think. After an entire colony of settler's disappear, Ripley is cohersed into returning to the planet which caused all of the problems in the first film. She goes on one condition: They don't go to study the Alien's (if there are Alien's), or to capture an Alien, but to kill them.
Once they land with a large crew of soldier's, they find the settler's are indeed missing, and they begin to find traces of resistances and soon discover that they are not the only ones alone on the planet. Bill Paxton is (unintentionally) hilarious as one of the soldier's, and has some of the more memorable quotes from the film:
"Game over man, Game over!"
"This can't be happenin', man, this can't be hapenin'."
Also, an absolutely touching relationship is developed between Ripley and a young girl survivor. This is one of the stronger point's that alone could have been the film's back bone, even without all the extra goodies. (Entirely overlooked in the next movie.)
What it boil's down to is a lot of fun, and a great dvd to add to your collection.
Movie Review: Kudos to Fox for finally getting their act together.
Summary: 5 Stars
When DVD, that roaring locomotive of a format, first rolled out, FOX sheepily stepped aside while studios like Warner Bros. and New Line took charge. Then to add insult to injury, FOX decides to just test the waters with a few obscure titles, like Home Alone 3 while at the same time endorsing the only thing scarier that the Alien itself, DIVX. Now all this is slowly changing. Fox is finally starting to release some fantastic DVDs. The ALIENS: SPECIAL EDITION DVD is incredible. I expected FOX to have just a flat menu screen with maybe a alien graphic and some links buttons. Boy was I blown away when I saw the fully interactive and animated menu screens. If you appreciated the moody, atmospheric, dark tone of the film, then you will love this discs 3D menus, which allows the viewer to walk down the dark wet halls of Hadley's Hope while Lt. Gorman rambles nervously over the speaker. FOX also takes full advantage of the the audio-god Dolby Digital and its super side-kick THX, and of course I cant say enough for the restored footage. The DVD even comes with a booklet with great information on the actors in the film. The only drawback I could find was that FOX could have done a directors audio commentary, but that's ok. This disc, with its awesome menus, great sound capabilities and restored scenes and extras, is the only ALIENS version to own.Movie Review: The Best Of The "Alien" Series
Summary: 5 Stars
This rip-roaring sequal to the original "Alien" somehow manages to top that austere sci-fi classic.Directed by James Cameron,the hot-shot rookie who blasted out of the gate swinging with the original "Terminator" in 1984,this film more than expands on the original,it completely reinvents it,taking the scientific cues from the concept of the hostile,unstoppable,slime-oozing monster and giving it many,many brothers and sisters.This time out,it's not a small crew of oil workers in space that gets attaked,it's a colonized planet,complete with families.Howerever,going up against them is a crew of well-armed "colonial marines"(played by Bill Paxton and fellow Cameron stand-by Micheal Biehn,among others),along with Ripley,who agrees to join the marines and smarmy company man Burke,played by Paul Riser,on a mission back to the planet when they lose contact with the colony(it's a long story,buy the DVD and try to keep up).Suffice it to say that when they get there,they find more than they bargained for.Also suffice it to say,that this is probably the most riveting,stomach-churning,thrilling action film ever made,and Sigourney Weaver deserved the Acadamy Award nomination she recieved for the film;her performance is astonishing-rich,complex,brimming over with humanity and ferocious tenacity.On all fronts,an excellent film.Movie Review: Good work, Cameron.
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this movie some time after the "Aliens" action figure franchise took off. I had bought several of the toys and later a friend told me that they were based on a movie. You can imagine my surprise, and I was not at all disappointed with the movie, despite severe distortions in both the action figures and the profile cards on the back (with the exception of Hicks), but that's another story. The special effects are superb, the sets are intricate and impressive, especially the cruiser's interior and the atmosphere processor turned alien lair. I had a previous suspicion that Wierzbowski and Crowe were played by the same person since they are basically throwaway characters but now I know better. The aliens are truly frightening and convincing, especially the queen. Awesome performances are given by Sigourney Weaver as the confident leader type Ripley, Michael Biehn as the cool-headed marine Hicks, Lance Henriksen as the synthetic--excuse me--artificial person Bishop, Bill Paxton as the pessimistic but tough marine Hudson, and Paul Reiser as the sneaky (and eventually evil) corporate businessman Burke. "Aliens" is easily the best film in the four-part series, although "Alien" holds up strongly too. Great story, great dialogue, great performances, great action, great movie. Buy it.