Alien

Rating:
Summary: A Real Thriller
Review: This film is set on the spaceship Nostromo on its return voyage to Easrth. The crew soon finds that they must fight for surrvival when an alien life form is brought on board.

The cast is great and has good chemistry with one another. This is one film that will really scare you, and you will be sitting on the edge of your seat the whole time. Not to mention that the special effects are spectacular.

You won't be dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: KNock iT OfF!
Review: Captain Dallas is the most miserable man in the galaxy. His catchphrase is "knock it off!" This despite the fact that the crew never does anything remotely knock-off-able. Well, they do accuse engineer Brett of being a parrot. "KNOCK IT OFF! KNOCK IT OFF!!!!" Yells Dallas and flings himself around the space cabin in apoplexy. Goodness, isn't he getting enough? Sleep, I mean. Apart from months in hypersleep, of course. "Thrill me" Dallas then sneers at crewman Lambert. I wish she would. Anything to cheer the shabby old misanthrope up. He's about as much fun as finding yourself trapped in a lift with a carnivorous alien life form. Which, curiously enough, sums up the plot. But the alien has not reared it's ugly head yet, so why is Dallas making with the negative waves all the time? Upping the ante, he tells Parker that he doesn't want to see any heroics out of him. But he hasn't so far as Parker didn't even want to land on the ruddy planet in the first place. Unlike Dallas, who couldn't wait to get down to the surface. It's such a miserable place, who better than Dallas to acquire real estate at drop down prices? Dallas then abdicates his captain's duty of plunging the crew into a state of clinical depression every twelve minutes by going into the shuttle to listen to classical music. Will the crew lock him in for the duration? Knock it off. When the alien does finally appear, Dallas treats it as an annoying distraction from his life long mission to be as grouchy as possible with a loud beard. So he announces to the crew that he intends to go into the duct to tell the alien to knock it off. Curiously, nobody objects.

Ridley Scott does the commentary. I wish he'd knock it off. For instance, he suggests Ash's odd reaction to Ripley's assault on him was due to the fact that he'd never seen anyone cry before. What about Lambert in the previous scene? Mr Scott, I don't want to see any heroics out of you. In future, just thrill me, will ya?

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Intense.
Review: I, for one, have never been too fond of films that portray aliens as these friendly and fuzzy creatures. "E.T.," for all its sentiment and warmth, seems a bit detached from reality. Aliens don't really befriend Earthlings and ride on bikes with little kids after dark. They KILL ON SIGHT and have only one thing in mind: world domination! That being said, "Alien" is a realistic and unsettling tale of a team (led by Sigourney Weaver) on a mission to locate and destroy these ghastly creatures of amazing strength, speed, and tenacity. Although it's billed as sci-fi fare, "Alien" builds an intensity that can only be rivaled by horror classics like "The Exorcist." Yet for all the gore, this film is also rooted in substance and succeeds as a thriller that doesn't insult the intelligence. I remember being 9 years old and seeing the movie's TV ads, which were enough to scare me then! I was spooked out my wit when I saw the little egg crack its head out of the blue. This is the film that would put on the map director Ridley Scott, who would enjoy a string of later hits like "Blade Runner," "Thelma and Louise," "Gladiator," and "Hannibal." The DVD is also a pretty good package with decent picture and a few other extras including the original trailers and TV ads. If you have a thirst for horror, then grab this DVD, turn down the lights, and brace yourself for an unforgettable ride.

Rating:
Summary: A Ridley Scott Formula For Blockbuster Success
Review: The futuristic mothership set is somewhat laughable in this day and age, much like how Disneyland's Tomorrowland is a kitschy souvenir of retro nostalgia. But the thrills and shocks are evergreen; of course, as Ridley Scott's breakthrough Hollywood hit, it sets the precedent for his blockbusters down the road, and establishes his suspense/blown away/suspense formula.

It is Sigourney Weaver's Ripley who no doubt steals the show, outlasting the other Nostromo crew members through wits and guts.

Unfortunately, not being a sci-fi fan at all, I'm not able to appreciate the movie any more than this, but my amateur knowledge of the genre tells me enough that this is an enjoyable romp.

Rating:
Summary: A great period piece -- A great character driven sci-fi film
Review: From watching Alien, you can tell that this movie was obviously inspired by Star Wars in its overall lived in look of the spaceship and the everyday speech of the crew that seems normal. My personal favorites were Yaphet Kotto as Parker, and Harry Dean Stanton as Brett. Their bantering scenes with Sigourney Weaver's Ripley are the true highlights of this movie.

The story is that of a horror film, but it is inspiring in a way that is euphoric, especially at the film's end. I fell in love with Howard Hanson's music the first time I heard it playing while the credits rolled. This doesn't describe most Sci-Fi horror movies, which makes Alien a very unique movie. The movie is definitely a period piece much like the movie Silent Running was a period piece of the early 70's.

The DVD version of this movie has quite a bit, including commentary from director Ridley Scott, who went on to direct movies like Blade Runner and Thelma and Louise. Some of the computer screen graphics that are used in Alien are re-used in Blade Runner, which was made three years later. There are also deleted scenes that could not have easily been put back into the movie that are on a separate menu section of the DVD, and may have been partly responsible for events shown in James Cameron's sequel, Aliens.

One of the interesting easter eggs can be found from the main menu. There is a fictitious bio of each crewmember, and the previous assignments that they had before working on the Nostromo.

Rating:
Summary: Unequaled !
Review: I have long waited for any Sci-fi/Horror to equal this film; to date, to no avail! Watching it again on DVD after 22 years it holds up to be the BEST in its genre! Try watching the whole thing through with Ridley's directorial comments (made in1999 for the Special Edition) it's amazing how well the film stands the test of time; with surpisingly little CGI and good old 'smoke and mirrors' It is the quintessential example of 'less is more' and superb acting.
Simply a brilliant film! And a MUST on DVD!

'Aliens' is a worthy sequel. Then the other two - Alien3 and Resurrection fall to weak continuations! I think only Ridley Scott could do a worthy 'Prequel' Hopefully he will one day!

Rating:
Summary: True Terror...
Review: One of the best horror movies ever made. Alien effectively
combined science-fiction and horror to tell a graphic, terrorfying tale; and few movies of its genre can match it. It introduced audiences to, argueably, the most terrorfying monster to be thought up in cinema history- the alien itself. Well over 6 ft. tall, well built, fast, 4 rows of sharp teeth, blood that's acid and not a creature you'd want to exist.
The movie has often been said to be slightly dated, but it has not lost any of its effect 20 years after its release.
I won't bother with the plot here, but it's simple- blue-collar workers vs. the alien terror from outer space. But what makes this movie work so well is that the dialouge and characterization approximates that of working-class people. The crew of the Nostromo bicker, distrust each other, react in different ways to different situations, etc. In the Alien future people are still people; they are not so hard to believe in.
And much credit has to go to whoever designed the sets. Alien gave us a future that was cluncky and imperfect, instead of sleek and clean. Things broke down and had to be repaired, and it was effective in giveing a believable sense of claustrophobia.
When this movie was first released people made a connection between it and the post-feminist world. And its quite obvious throughout the whole movie; as the plot moves along Alien increasingly focuses on Ripley, the strong willed female on board the Nostromo. And one could make the metaphor that Alien was about the challenges women would face in the post-feminist world. But as humankind progresses to takeing the first steps of becomeing a starfarring civilization the movie increasingly asks "Are there creatures out there like this"? I certainly hope not.

Rating:
Summary: Iconographic Horror
Review: ALIEN received mixed reviews when it debuted in 1979--largely from science fiction critics, who accused it of being little more than a sort of "Friday the 13th in Outer Space," a blood-and-gore horror flick given a futuristic twist via some problematic special effects. But while these accusations have more than a little truth, it has been an incredibly influential film--and even today, in the wake of CGI effects, it still holds up extremely, extremely well.

The story is well known: the crew of an interstellar craft responds to what seems a distress signal, only to encounter a remarkably lethal alien life form that boards their ship and sets about picking them off one by one. Some of the special effects are weak (the alien spacecraft and the android "revival" are fairly notorious). There is little in the way of character development, the film has a fairly slow pace, and the story itself is predictable; you can usually guess who is going to die next.

BUT. The art designs are incredible: the entire look of the film, from the commercial nature of the spacecraft to the iconographic alien itself (brilliantly envisioned by Giger) is right on the money. Director Ridley Scott encouraged his cast to ad lib from the script, and the result is a shocking sense of realism--and the somewhat slow pace of the film and the predictablity of the story gives it a sense of relentless and ever-mounting paranoia that is greatly enhanced by the tight sets and camera set-ups. With its odd mixture of womb-like organics and cold mechanics, ALIEN is a film calculated to send even the most slightly claustrophobic viewer into a fit of hysteria.

The entire cast, led by Tom Skerrit and Sigorney Weaver, is very, very good--and the film abounds with memorable images and scenes ranging from John Hurt's encounter with the alien egg to Skerrit's search of the ship air ducts to Weaver's terrifying race against time as the ship counts down to self-destruct. Seldom has any film been so consistent in design, cast, direction, and out-and-out fear factor, and although certain aspects of ALIEN are open to legitimate criticism the end result is powerful enough to bring it in at a full five stars. A word of warning, however: you'll need to send the kids to bed for this one. And you'll probably be up half the night afterward yourself! Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best sci-fi films ever made.
Review: Alien is astonishing.A scary,suspenseful,and creative film that is without a doubt the best horror/sci-fi film ever.The sets are amazing and so is the monster.H.R Giger's alien is terrifying.Sigourney Weaver is excellent as Lt. Ripley.The story follows a spaceship called the Nostromo that lands on a planet to answer a distress call.Instead they find an alien that breeds within a human host and grows to a huge size.It's up to the crew to kill it from then on.Anyone who has not seen it seen it should.Later.

Rating:
Summary: Great way to start a series!
Review: When I first saw Alien, I didn't really understand it. Then I saw Aliens and decided to watch the first one again. I understood it better then. This movie stars Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the sole survivor of the encounter with the Alien. When the crew of seven lands on a planet on their way home on the ship Nostromo, an alien gets aboard and kills every crew member one by one until eventually only Ripley is left. Alien and Aliens are my favorite in the series.