Past Movies: Part Deux

[ForeverFan]

If you have to choose between the two, go with Lawrence, a true classic.

Hear hear! My brother and I saw Lawrence of Arabia last summer, and we were going around quoting it for days afterward. We even jokingly gave ourselves points when we used a quote in regular conversation. Anyway- the movie was enjoyable, and we quite liked the whole Egypt-British-World War I-history aspect.

[PrinceCor004]

Well, this post should make Shadow happy.....

Last night I purchased and watched Ridley Scott's 1979 classic Alien. I have already seen and quite enjoyed James Cameron's Aliens (1986) and have been wanting to see the first one for a long time. What are my thoughts on the film? Simply put: Wow.

There are lots of films that are given the title "artsy", but Alien is truly an art film. The entire production feels like a work of art. From the set design to the special effects everything feels real. You would be hard pressed to find any badly rendered visuals in this film.

The acting and characters are good and likable. Occasionally the acting was a tad stiff, but overall the cast did a great job. I loved some of the dry humor sprinkled throughout the film.

The iconic Alien itself is handled with skill, though there are a few instances where it is painfully obvious it's a "man in a monster suit". Thankfully, these scenes are few and only last a scant number of seconds.

The music works well in the film, though I would highly recommend giving the complete Jerry Goldsmith score a listen. The score as heard in the film works, but is a heavily butchered version of the originally intended score.

Finally, a shout-out has to go to Mr. Scott and Terry Rowlings for their excellent pacing of the film. Some complain about the first Alien film being slow and boring. I never felt it was either of those and actually, the slow pace just adds to the tension.

One more thing! The miniature work and matte paintings are simply stellar!! You really can't tell they are miniatures/mattes.
-----------------------------

In closing, I greatly enjoyed this movie. There are a few things that keep it from getting a perfect rating, but that doesn't mean it's not one of my favorites now. If you can handle some strong language and a few gory moments, I highly recommend checking this film out. A true classic.

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5
Film rated R: Creature violence and language
Recommended for ages 17+

[Shadowlander]

I'm glad you liked it, PC004! Folks that enjoy Aliens and then view Alien for the first time expecting more of the same are likely to be greatly disappointed. They're two totally different film styles. Alien is a pure horror film, and what makes it so very effective is that the viewer sees so precious little of the titular antagonist, which creates a pile of tension and paranoia. There comes a major plot twist about 2/3rds of the way through the film involving Ashe, the ship's science officer, which just piles tangible feelings of loneliness on top of everything else. These poor folks are out in the middle of nowhere and truly on their own against a creature that is malevolent and cunning in equal parts.

Captain Dallas crawling around in the air shafts with the chirping noise of the motion sensor in the background always gets my hair to stand up on end. Worth the price of admission alone.

PC, I'm not sure which edition of the DVD you got, but if you got the super duper Collector's Edition (or Director's Cut, etc.) it's worth your time to take a look at at least one deleted scene involving Ripley making a sobering discovery in one of the Nostromo's landing gear bays. Another one where Dallas, Kane, and Lambert all listen to the distress call that brings them to the planet is interesting as well. I'm very much looking forward to Scott's return to the story when he releases the prequel to this film sometime in the future.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

It's great to see another Alien fan! I love both movies for different reasons - Alien for the horror, Aliens for the horror/action). They're surprisingly intense.

[PrinceCor004]

@ Shadow. Thanks! Fortunately I already knew the basic plots and moods of both films before I saw them, so I already knew to expect Alien to be slower and more eerie than Aliens. The way I see it Alien is a pure Sci-Fi/Horror film while Aliens is a Sci-Fi/action film with a bit of horror thrown in.

This may be a poor choice of words, but I still find the sequel to be more "fun" to watch. It's the kind of film I could watch over and over and still enjoy. I think I would need a break after a few consecutive viewings of Alien.

I bought the "Special Edition" which has a commentary by Scott, a photo gallery, deleted scenes and two isolated score tracks (a major selling point for me! ). I need to check out the deleted scenes.... I've heard about the "Cocoon scene", but never actually watched it. I'll let you know what I think of it when I do!

@ Warrior. That pretty well sums up my feelings for the first two as well. I prefer to believe that Alien3 and Alien Resurrection never existed.

[7chronicles]

Definitely like Alien and Aliens, great movies, probably my favorite movies involving Aliens. "That's it man, game over man, game over! - Hudson

The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition is finally coming out on Blu-Ray, on June 28th 2011!
I Can't Wait!
Here is the Link in Case anyone is interested:
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/03 ... e-june-28/

[Graymouser]

PrinceCooroo4, you summed up my feelings exactly, though I'm still lad I saw them right way round

And 3 & 4- absolutely

[narnian_at_heart]

Over the past few days, I watched for the first time, all three of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

I really liked them. I think my favorite character is the pirate with the wooden eye. He's just so funny. I love when his eye pops out and it rolls all over the deck and he's chasing it, "Me eye! Me eye!!" He and his side-kick are so funny to watch. I also loved Elizabeth's character. She started out this pretty little helpless damsel and turned into this fighting awesome pirate.

I was a little disappointed in the ending of the third one.

SHOW SPOILER

I wanted Will and Elizabeth to end up together and instead, they can only see each other once every ten years. It was so sad.

Also, I have a question.

SHOW SPOILER

In the end of the third movie, Will kills Davy Jones and replaces him. When he replaces him, all of Davy Jones's crew turn back into humans. Why is that? And why didn't Will turn into an octopus head himself?

[narnian1]

It's funny, my girlfriend and I are watching POTC too, re-watching actually. Saw first last Monday, second on Friday. Haven't gotten to the third yet.

I hope I get this right, it's been a while I see the third.

SHOW SPOILER

Unless I am mistaken, the reason Davy Jones and his crew looked the way they did was because Davy Jones corrupted his work. He was to transport safely those who died from one world to the next, I think. In corrupting it his appearance changed, along with his crews. But Will isn't corrupted so he remains the same, and the crew changes back to original form.

[7chronicles]

I was a little disappointed in the ending of the third one.

SHOW SPOILER

I wanted Will and Elizabeth to end up together and instead, they can only x see each other once every ten years. It was so sad.

I actually read, I think someone said it here on NW that:

SHOW SPOILER

In the movie commentary the directer said that Will was released from his responsibility because elisabeth waited for him. So they actually did end up together after Will spent ten years at sea. If you fast forward the credits at the end, there is a little scene that I guess you could say hinted at this. I Hope I worded all of that right.

I am really looking forward to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, I love Captain Jack Sparrow!

[narnian_at_heart]

I was a little disappointed in the ending of the third one.

SHOW SPOILER

I wanted Will and Elizabeth to end up together and instead, they can only x see each other once every ten years. It was so sad.

I actually read, I think someone said it here on NW that:

SHOW SPOILER

In the movie commentary the directer said that Will was released from his responsibility because elisabeth waited for him. So they actually did end up together after Will spent ten years at sea. If you fast forward the credits at the end, there is a little scene that I guess you could say hinted at this. I Hope I worded all of that right.

I am really looking forward to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, I love Captain Jack Sparrow!

Yea, I did see that scene at the end but I didn't realize that's what it signified. I thought it was just there to show us that

SHOW SPOILER

they had a kid and that they were going to see each other for there one day. Although, your explanation makes sense. We already knew that they could only see each other once a decade so what's the point of having a scene that shows that. Thanks! Now I like the movies so much more because they have a happy ending.

And I'm looking forward to the next one too.

[wolfloversk]

Does anyone know of some good sci-fi or fantasy movies? I still need to watch LotR (gotta read the books first) and all of the Star Trek movies except the last one.

But I was thinking for being a pretty big Sci-Fi/Fantasy fan, my movie knowledge is actually rather small... especially in terms of Fantasy movies. Some favorites of mine include Narnia, Jurassic Park, Serenity/Firefly (what I've seen of it ), Star Trek... Also I typically don't watch R-rated movies... so PG-13 or under please! I really liked the Spacewestern style of Firefly... and JP is is the only other series besides Narnia that I'm really obsessed with

Since I'm at it, any good westerns? I like the Clint-Eastwood one's that my dad watches, after some explanation as to what was going on, Once Upon a Time in the West was ok, and of course I fell in love with Hidalgo

Dances with Wolves -I still have to see this, suprisingly since my dad is a huge western fan and the fact that it involves a wolf, I've seen parts of it but not enough to know what's going on... It's also on my to see list.

Avatar -meh. It was ok, great graphics, but the fowl language was really distracting... Other than that it was a good story, not as good as the other movies I saw around the time I watched it however, like To Save A Life.

[PrinceCor004]

Wolfy, I'm not sure if you have seen some of these, so I'll just list them all and if you have.... just disregard them here.

Fantasy:
Krull (1983)
The Dark Crystal (1985)
Legend (1985)
7th Voyage of Sinbad (1950's)
Clash of the Titans (both 1981 and 2009 versions.)
Jason and the Argonauts (early 1960's)

Sci-Fi:
Day the Earth Stood Still (original B&W)
Star Wars Original Trilogy (1977, 1980, 1983)
Invaders from Mars (1950's version)
War of the Worlds (both classic version and Steven Spielberg version)
Alien and Aliens (1979/1986) *Sorry, had to put those out there...
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (50's version)
Forbidden Planet (1950's) * "The Tempest"..... in space!!
The Thing from Another World (1955)
It Came From Outer Space (1950's)
I Married a Martian (1950's) *hockey title, good little thriller
The Blob (1959)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

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Hope that helped!

[Rising_Star]

I find it a little hilarious that you put up Dances with Wolves and Avatar together, wolfloversk, seeing as I see Avatar as almost a carbon-copy of Dances with Wolves.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

[Liberty Hoffman]

ooh that LOTR set looks epic 7chronicles!
I want it..... *drools *

[Shadowlander]

Hey Wolf PC004 has a great list of films to watch there. The Alien movies (Alien/Aliens) are rated R primarily due to language and a tad bit of goriness in places. If you can endure that you should be good to go. Admittedly some of em' I haven't seen and others I haven't seen in a really long time. Shout out for the 1959 version of Journey to the Center of the Earth with James Mason and Pat Boone (yes, that Pat Boone ). *thinks* I might just Netflix that tonight, methinks. It was one of my absolute favorites to watch on a Saturday afternoon when I was a little kid.

I don't want to say that Avatar is completely identical to Dances with Wolves, but they're very, very similar, and they'll never escape the comparisons. I have a suspicion you'll like DWW better though.