OK, THE LAST ONE, FOR NOW : "ALIEN: RESURRECTION"

Like I said, this one was touch and go for me at first. I mean logically. I don’t want to give too much away about the third one in case you haven’t quite got round to it yet but… Hang on a minute. I’m not going to be able to say a thing about this film unless I give that away. Err… Ok this is awkward but seeing as I’m one of a mere handful of people who hasn’t watched this thing yet, and seeing that, well, we are so far evolved in our taste in films that, honestly, you don’t mind a tiny spoiler, right? I mean, it’s on the back of the Alien 4 DVD for God’s sake. Ok I’ll cut to the chase. So. You may (or may not) recall that at the end of Alien3 , Ripley had found out that she had a Queen alien embedded in her chest and had killed herself to save the human race. At this point, especially with big words like “Resurrection” being thrown about I had my doubt as to how realistic / good the film was going to be. But, and I may have mentioned this, the film had one redeeming feature in my eyes in the form of director Jean –Pierre Jeunet. The man is a little mad as far as I’m concerned (and anyone who doubts it should watch masterpieces like Delicatessen and Cite des Enfants Perdus) but this is a good thing in this particular case. I personally love the man’s style and thought that this alone was a recommendation for the film. Plus of course, this was the third “sequel” after all, if thing got a little doodah here and there, frankly, who could blame them? Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The film is brilliant. The resurrection is totally justified. And Jeunet works brilliantly with the entire combination. Allow me to explain. It is 200 years later. Technology has advanced tremendously even since Ripley’s time. And even though the aliens seem to be abandoned to the dusty vaults of history, there are still determined men and women out there who want to get their greedy paws on the aliens to use them as the ultimate weapon. In the end, a long series of experiments finally have a result: Ripley is cloned, using blood samples she gave while she was alive. And she is cloned with the Alien Queen inside of her. Now, the Queen is surgically removed and set to the task of breeding “warriors” but then there is the matter of Ripley. She is, thanks to her new genetic coding, a alien – human hybrid who, having been born in her early to mid-thirties is finding the world a slightly challenging place. Add onto this the crew of bounty hunters that have just come on board ship for shady business and already we have an interesting concoction. And as we all know only too well by now, if there are aliens in the mix, things are pretty much bound to get deadly… The film does something very, very intelligent here. They take something that could have been just used to “bring Ripley back” and glossed over and make it into a serious commentary. There is quite a serious, thought-provoking section on cloning in the film. I assume the date coincides with first arguments on the topic, but of course the arguments are just as relevant today. The other good thing is, the “argument” is not presented via long and somewhat stilted dialogue, but mainly through visuals and events, ergo it is emotionally engaging as opposed to being long, erudite words that have kinda been said before. There are, naturally, the pre-requisite chases through corridors and grizzly deaths but the whole thing carries the clear mark of Jeunet’s original style and quality so they are, all in all, a pleasure to watch. Plus, there are a few serious surprises in store. I mean one in particular made me go “Oh God, why didn’t I think of that!!” – out loud. It’s so obvious and yet so well-hidden. I did also spot a few comments on religion and its place in society, but that is possibly the topic of a longer, more serious write-up / essay (for those who aren’t sure what I’m talking about, surely you noticed that the omnipresent main computer in the spaceship is called “Father”?). I don’t necessarily agree with what the film is saying about religion, but I just wanted to point it out, if only to prove that Alien is really, really not like “any old” sci-fi movie. As someone who has actually studied film, it is my personal opinion that it merits multiple-viewings and serious consideration. And I mean, it’s a riot to watch, even if you watch it just the once… 

ANALYSIS OF A QUADRILOGY NOT QUITE LIKE ANY OTHER : "ALIEN3"

In for a penny, in for a pound. I might as well do the whole quadrilogy while I’m about it. Like I said last week though, to be fair the Alien series (it turns out) is the exception to the rule. “The rule” being that usually, even if a first film is potentially brilliant, the more sequels are made of it, the worse they turn out. But with such great directors and actors on board, really, the room for failure drops significantly. And David Fincher is, categorically, one of my favourite directors ever. Hence, I really, really, had to watch this. And review it. So, last time we abandoned Ripley, she was once again in cryosleep, crossing the galaxy with the survivors of the previous calamity. It seemed as if her troubles were over, but in fact they may, in a sense, only just be beginning. When a mysterious malfunction forces the ship to crash land, Ripley is the sole survivor. She is now officially the only woman on Fiorina 161, once a maximum security prison, now almost abandoned inhabited by the inmates who have “found religion”. Ripley has one single fear in this whole unfortunate turn of events: that an alien had snuck on board her ship and could have not found its way onto the planet. Pretty soon the bodies of the inmates begin to pile up… Her fears seem to have been confirmed… Now, I have to say we’re at an interesting point in the quadrilogy. I mean, this film is brilliant. There is a brilliant plot-twist at the end, which, the problem is, seems to bring the story to its natural end. I have the DVD for the fourth film and will review it next week, but the premise for it seems a little… Well, I do know it’s meant to be sci-fi but even so… We’ll have to wait and see if Jean-Pierre Jeunet can make it work. In the meanwhile, what of David Fincher? Stylistically the film is Fincher through and through and through, i.e. dark, gothic with a slightly apocalyptic feel about it. Fincher once again goes down the route of suspense rather than jump-scares. There are a few classical tropes employed, such as chase scenes down long, dark corridors, with the added stylistic renovation of our first p.o.v .shot from an alien. I mean, true, it doesn’t turn out to be anything mind-blowing but still, three films in, it needed to be done… It’s good quality adventure entertainment basically. It’s not an art piece, it will not change your world but hey. Not all films are meant to… And this one is perfect the way it is…

IT'S A SEQUEL - BUT DON'T HOLD THAT AGAINST IT! "ALIENS"

I’m pretty sure you’re surprised to see this title here. For those who aren’t familiar, this is the sequel to Alien, a film I reviewed last week. Looking back, I have to admit that sequels have been rather a rare occurrence on this blog. Not quite sure why. The fact that I have very, very little faith in sequels may be one reason though. It tends to mean that one formula struck gold and the production company is trying to milk this fact as much as possible. Usually however, it ends up just re-hashing the story, if the original director was someone particularly famous they tend to want to move on, the director of the sequel may not be up to the same standard… You get the picture. Of course the Alien quadrilogy (well that's what it says on the box set!) is an exception to this rule, not least because all four films were directed by quite extraordinary directors; Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Our director in the spotlight this week is James Cameron, one of the auteurs of the modern classic Hollywood style (you know what I mean. Right?). The main reason I decided to review Aliens after all is, surprisingly, I liked it a lot better than the first Alien film. No offense to Ridley Scott, I usually like his work a lot, but yeah… So, if you recall we had left Ripley “suspended” in her pod floating in outer space, safe in the knowledge she would be picked up soon. She is. The thing is, 57 years have gone by in the meanwhile and quite a bit has changed. For example, the planet she had her final battle with the “alien”(s) is now colonised. Ripley desperately tries to warn her bosses – or in fact anyone who will actually listen to her – of the danger that lays on the planet, but of course no one listens to her. But then, when all contact with the colony is lost, the authorities have to concede that something strange is going on. A band of marines are sent to investigate and “take out” anything that is lurking there and Ripley is taken along as a consultant. This is either going to help her face and overcome her recurring nightmares, or alternately “end” her nightmares… Along with her life. Right. Now, as you can imagine, there is nothing wildly original here. Which may be a strange thing to say but hear me out. I’ve said this about Ridley Scott, I will also say of James Cameron that, more often than not, their cinematic structure very rarely strays from the mainstream. This may be conceived as a lack of originality; however this is not necessarily the case. It is matter of doing something and doing it well. You may not be strong on composing, for example, but may be excellent at playing other people’s compositions. Same here. Cameron takes what we may know, but makes a work of art out of it. Unlike Scott in the first Alien, there isn’t such a heavy reliance on jump scares here, the buzz word here is suspense. I think this style works a lot better with the genre too, there are a lot of tense chases for example when the hero / heroine gets away just in the nick of time. Now, here actually is my point. Thinking rationally, you know that the hero /heroine will get away. Especially if it’s early on in the film. The point is though, that Cameron is capable of creating the suspense in such a way that you actually get excited about it. You actually are tense. Hence, as far as Cameron is concerned, mission accomplished. And you’ve enjoyed a good, exciting movie. Aliens shines with this classic brilliance. Do not be put off by the fact that it’s a sequel if you have that sort of prejudice (I know I do), it is what you might call the exception to this particular rule.

REMEMBERING A CLASSIC : "ALIEN"

Ok, I know. Yet another classic. But again, it’s the first time I’ve watched it myself! So I guess, I just guess there might be a few more out there like me who missed this one. Hence I will now just scribble it down. Just in case you thought, you know “Oh another silly old sci-fi movie. Naah, I’ll pass”. NOT the right attitude. At all. Well I mean, yes it is a sci-fi film. We’re pretty much in agreement there. But it isn’t “any old” sci-fi”. It’s a bl**dy good sci-fi / adventure film. And if you’re any kind of film buff you would be a fool to miss out on, if only because it is such a good example of its kind. The Nostromo is a mining ship back from an average duty shipping ore back to planet earth from a distant planet. They are well on the way home when the ship’s main computer changes their course and re-charts it to a seemingly deserted planet from which a mysterious, indecipherable signal seems to be being transmitted. The duty of the crew is to investigate any further life forms. From the moment the crew get to the abandoned buildings on the planet, something isn’t quite right. And although, when they get back to the ship, they are fully aware of the fact that they have returned with “something”, it will take a while to realise what a dangerous “something” they are dealing with. In the limited space of the ship, the danger grows and in the middle of outer space there is simply nowhere to run… Now, in my view Alien is an interesting mix of a thriller a sci-fi and a horror film. I have to wag my finger a tiny bit at Ridley Scott at this point, if only because he seems, in my opinion, rather overly reliant on jump-scares. And I mean they are well done, but still. Too much is too much, and to my mind it gives the impression of not knowing what else to do. But Scott lets the tension build up really well. Another thing, credit where it’s due, is that he has obviously let his imagination run wild. And he has done an excellent job of the whole sci-fi side of things; considering the film is not one of the newest around (I was just reading in one of my text books in fact that a lot of the Nostromo was built largely out of old souped-up airplane parts hehe). I mean, it’s not life changing by a long shot. It’s the classic story of the monster roaming an enclosed space where our characters are trapped and get “picked off” one by one. (Oh come on, that was NOT a spoiler. Besides, I haven’t ruined ANY of the actual surprises). It’s good fun basically. Watch it. You’re in for a nail-biting time if nothing else!