Rating: Summary: Unquestionably a must-have! Review: Very widely considered to be the best of all four Alien films, Aliens is one of the few sequels to actually top the original. For sci-fi action, suspense, and special effects (not to mention what is quite possibly the best alien creature ever created--the queen), this film hovers near the very top of the science fiction list of greats. Even those with four other copies of the film on the shelf (like me) will find the DVD a must-buy-at-any-cost: restored footage, interview, photo galleries, and some other bells and whistles make this one of the most detailed DVDs I have seen for any movie. Better yet, buy the Alien Legacy set. But if you only buy one, you just found it!
Rating: Summary: Fantastic! Review: As an owner of the "original" VHS version, I was a little hesitent to buy the 10th Anniversary Edition DVD - but I'm glad I bought it!First off, the extra footage is actually good and really makes the movie better in most cases! This isn't cheesy, grainy stuff like at the end of Austin Powers - the scenes really help build the story - things like seeing the colonists alive and interacting, showing how the colony was infected, and going into why Ripley attached to Newt so much, really helped make the movie that much better. The other benefit of the DVD is the magnificent color! Many dramatic scenes are cast in a red or orange glow (ie: heat-lamps, red-alerts, etc..) and the clarity and sharpness is absolutely amazing. And how can I forget the "still-shots"? The disc has behind the scenes still-shots of the models used, sketches, etc... It's actually quite facinating to see how they created the colony, the ships, etc..
Rating: Summary: Non-Stop Action Extravaganza! Review: This is among the best action movies ever made. It has a great pace, once the action starts it never stops it only gets better. Sigourney Weiver delivers a great performance as Ripley that ranks among the best conceived and most believable character in any sci/fi movie. Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen are also great. Hardcore heavy-duty Action, but will also engross fans of sci/fi and suspense. Director's Cut runs 154 min and further expands some plot elements. Probably James Cameron's best movie. From a scale of 1-10 I give this movie a 9!
Rating: Summary: Great! Review: I really loved this movie. The action, the plot and even the evil little aliens. The story was great and the terror was there! The effects are great though the DVD transfer could have been better. The DVD extras make up for the less than perfect vidio quality.
Rating: Summary: Aliens makes Alien look like a night of good sleep. Review: Aliens manages to get going in the first 25 minutes where as Alien in the first 45 minutes . But this Directors cut of Aliens explains more then the theatrical release it show more about the colonists on LV 426.Ripleys nightmarish dreams may be all to real.But when Ripley gets a talk from the company that verifies to her that the colonist have lost contact, Ripleys hunch about the creatures becomes fightenly all to real.The companys answer send in high tech marines to , find out what happend to the colonists.But when they apporch the planet and find the Alien nest they find that with all there training will not help and it will be all out war. They find a survivor who has mangaged to escape the aliens but just as they thought it was over they had yet to meet the queen a , biomechanical walking fortress that will make thousands more of these creatures.It's up to Ripley again to stop the nightmarish creature. This movie is far more intense then the first. And its worth the money on the options the picture at time is blury but don't let that stop you from getting this awsome DVD a good choice.
Rating: Summary: DVD Special Edition worth the $ Review: Every time a new version of Aliens is released, I debate whether or not to purchase it. Is the marginal return worth it, I ask. Each time I end up buying and each time I am satisfied. This time the most. I was told the extra footage is essential to understanding the movie. Although this is one of my favorite movies, I had always had a problem with Ripley's relationship with Newt; it was unbelievable. I always thought: why would she go back to save her-it just didn't seem right, or real. But with the extra footage, when you see her grieve over her lost daughter, the relationship not only becomes believable, but it becomes inconceivable that Ripley would ever abandon Newt (her new daughter). There is also extra footage that better links Burke to the Station's initial demise. If you are even considering buying this movie--do it, it's worth it.
Rating: Summary: Really a 5 star movie, but... Review: The DVD picture looks a bit rough and fuzzy at times, even in component video output. I suppose they are digital artifacts or film grains. The picture is very sharp in some places, but grainy in others, expecially when the background becomes dark. If you pause the DVD once in a while during the chapter when Ripley goes back into the complex to get the girl, you'll see what I mean. I watched the Alien DVD (first movie) on the same TV set and the picture stayed sharp in that one, none of this fuzzy stuff.
Rating: Summary: Aliens VS Ripley, Take 2. Review: One of the best Sci-Fi movies I've seen. Though Alien was more of a horror movie, Aliens delivers plenty of action and excitement. Sigourney Weaver is excellent as the determined and combat-ready Ripley. Bill Paxton steals the show as the cowardly but funny space marine Hudson. The action sequences are definately first class. The battle between Ripley and the Queen Alien is still one of the most excited scenes Ive ever enjoyed. James Cameron has created a sequel that is equal or even better than the original. A must have for SciFi Fanatics.
Rating: Summary: The ¿Titanic¿ of the Horror Genre Review: Back in 1986, as I recall, I came across a friend of mine looking paler and more distracted than usual. Asked if anything was wrong, I remember his reply quite clearly: "I just came out of the theater where I saw "Aliens." ...I think I need a Valium, or something..." What do you get when you combine pulp horror fiction with first-rate acting, direction, editing and production values? You get "Aliens," the second -- and unreservedly best -- in the seemingly unending "Alien" Saga started by Ridley Scott in 1979. Director James Cameron, at the time known mostly for his work with Roger Corman and his directorship of the low-budget and hugely successful "The Terminator," neatly applied the dripping, claustrophobic atmosphere of the original with Reagan-era militaristic bravado. Cameron takes the semi-soft, semi-tough Ripley character, (Sigourney Weaver), fleshes out her personality with a dash of post-traumatic stress disorder and ships her back, (bribed, blackmailed and reluctant), to her dreaded creature-infested planet. She is accompanied by a squad of fatally over-confident Marine Co-Eds and a ladder-climbing Company Man, (played to smarmy perfection by Paul Reiser). Even back then, Cameron was demonstrating a masterly handle on the dramatic-action elements of filmmaking most lately evident in "Titanic." He condenses this lesson in a painfully obvious and often overlooked imperative: NEVER allow action without actors. The movie must be filled with believable and recognizably human characters portrayed by the best talent money can buy. Unless a film connects on a personal level everything else is just eye-candy; (or worse; a disgruntled hour or so spent with a thumb pressed on the fast-forward button - Does "Starship Troopers" spring to mind?) There are a number of key performances that make this movie a genre classic. Apart from Weaver's Ripley, the most unforgettable is Pvt. Hudson, (Bill Paxton). In a bit part that could have been mere comic relief, Hudson begins the mission with a swaggering machismo, degenerates rapidly into pathos and swings back just as quickly into the nearly heroic. Viewers may admire Ripley, but they closely identify with Hudson: he's an average guy and the system gave him the shaft. His enlistment was almost over, ("...four more weeks and out, man!"). You can rely on Hudson to give a voice to our unexpressed horrors: ("They cut the power! How could they cut the power, man? They're ANIMALS!"). In a world ruled by honesty and justice, Sigourney Weaver would have walked away with an Oscar for her performance in "Aliens." She packs talent and energy into every frame. At some point during the course of the film she has convincingly projected every conceivable emotion: love, tenderness, fear, hate, fury; you name it. Weaver is not just a great actress; she's a method to be studied.
Rating: Summary: Sci-Fi movie producers-take notice. Review: This is how a SciFi movie should be made.It is one of the very few sequels that was actually rated as better than the original by critics.I enjoyed the original but have to agree with the critics on this(i disagree so often with them).This is one of those rare scifi/horror movies that can take itself serious and get away with it.It has so many great actors in it and they do a marvelous job of taking you where no person has gone before,introduce you to some genuinely terrifying aliens and get you off the planet again in one piece-too bad most of the cast doesn't.The special effects are out of this world(pardon the pun),the acting is for real-no attempts at tongue in cheek or hamming it up.I purchased the Special Edition DVD version which is well worth the cost.Not only does it have 17 additonal minutes which wasleft out of the theatre release-it also has a wonderful special section which gives a slide show and a couple of short videos showing you the production procedure.There is also a very nice section with still pictures of the cast and crew and also alot of background on the creation of the minatures used and even the making of the alien queen. Very interesting stuff,especially for an "Aliens" fan.The DVD of this movie is in my opinion definately worth the cost.
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