They misspelled “The Thing.”
Chase!
It’s always bothered me that someone went and called their band “Death”, but I find it difficult to articulate why.
Death kicks ass, though.
It is, the Gun is just Naked (the OG trilogy.)
Bullet was a pretty good movie.
“Shoot em Up”. ?
It’s not so much a sci-fi film as a horror film in a sci-fi setting.
Event Horizon is a horror film in a sci-fi setting. Alien is a sci-fi set in a horror situation.
Is that like saying Star Trek is more of a Western show with a sci-fi setting?
What makes something a sci-fi film?
The science in the film is fiction. Like jump drives, FTL, or interstellar travel in general, laser zappers and swords, consciousness transfer, etc.
This really depends. Are we talking about “hard” science fiction (where the science is the main driver of the story, like much of Star Trek where attempts are made to explain the fictional science) or “soft” science fiction (like Dune, where the science is not really explained, more assumed, and serves as the background for the film)? I’d argue Alien falls into the former because the biology of the xenomorph is the major focus of the story.
I’m perhaps way off, but to me sci-fi is pretty much any narrative that mirrors our own world but with specific differences that have an effect on the story. Eg a story that’s a regular setting but everyone has to pay for oxygen, or a story set in an alternate history where the British empire never faded. The differences are variables that can be used to view humanity from a different perspective.
To me Star Trek and Dune are essentially fantasy settings. Star Trek though obviously has sci-fi stories. Eg depicting a broadly post-racial society but using aliens as a tool to explore racism in our own culture.
You know what a gun is. A lethal weapon
Except in this case the lethal weapon was the main character.
That’s Mr. Lethal Weapon to you.
Well, yippee-kai-yay
Sir, yes, sir, Mr. Weapon, sir!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_(video_game)
It was reasonably successful for its time.
I remember it being the better of the two open world cowboy games that came out that year.
best science-fiction film ever made
Idk about that buddy
We can debate the top rankings, but Alien is in the pantheon for sure. It’s practically flawless as a movie. You could argue for 2001, or Blade Runner, or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But you would have to at least compare those to Alien to prove they’re better in some way.
The matrix would like a word, as would Jurassic Park, and independence day. All three are far better than alien or aliens. I admit that I have a bias against sigourney weaver. She sucked in that and sucked in avatar. I’ve never seen a good movie that she was in. But the alien movies are highly overrated.
I’ve never seen a good movie that she was in
You talking shit about ghostbusters, peasant?
Actually… This may piss you off even more… But I haven’t seen it. 😬
ALIEN is a movie designed around making men understand the horrors of r*pe.
All three films you menion as alternatives came out in a post-ALIEN world, mind you.
it’s okay, there’s no giant corpo looking over our shoulder here treating us all like infants. we’re allowed to say things like rape, suicide, murder, etc.
I thought that men learned about the horrors of rope in PE class. I’m not sure what that has to do with Alien, though.
I’ve never seen a good movie that she was in.
Galaxy Quest.
I love all those movies. And if you don’t like an actress, I’m not going to convince you that you’re wrong. You like what you like.
From a holistic view, I’d point out that the three movies you mentioned were also pioneers in filmmaking. They each invented new technologies to do new things. Independence Day in green screens and explosions, Jurassic Park in blending CG with pratical puppetry, and Matrix created a new type of multicamera stop-motion slow-motion.
But they all borrowed heavily from Alien and Aliens. Each of the movies you mentioned had a direct homage to the Alien franchise. In aesthetic, in atmosphere, in creature design, they all stood on the shoulders of Ridley Scott and HR Geiger.
All of those except Alien could be argued to have pacing problems.
Pfft no, 2001 is perfect. Every time I’ve watched it I’ve been high af, and I fall asleep for a few min at a time throughout it, and I don’t miss anything at all!
I certainly wouldn’t want to watch it sober, though.
Upvoted simply for the concept of “it’s only good if you’re high” that was a ridiculously boring, shitty movie.
Try it high ;) you might feel different!
I sometimes miss the excellent straight-scifi film that gets interrupted by the horror move that breaks out.
Sunshine. I loved the first 2/3rds.
Sunshine was special until the monster
Ahem…Aliens
Aliens is quite possibly the most perfect sequel to any movie ever. Rocky II, Terminator 2, Godfather Part 2, Empire Strikes Back, it’s up there with the best of the best.
What makes Alien/Aliens special is that they are entirely different movies. Different styles, different feel, and almost an entirely different cast. All those other excellent sequels were continuations of the story, using characters and settings established in the first film. You start with Godfather Part 2, and you’ll be almost entirely lost with who is who and why you should care. You can go into Aliens entirely blind, and you’ll still get like 90% of the enjoyment. Watching Alien improves the experience, but is actually unnecessary.
And that’s part of why it’s so good. You should watch Alien, not just for the backstory on Aliens but because it’s an amazing standalone film.
It woulda been cool to get some more sequels, but alas…
Exactly.
Alien is a horror film.
Aliens is an action film.
1979: Ridley Scott directs “Alien”.
1981: James Cameron works as a production designer on a Roger Corman “cash-in” of Alien called “Galaxy of Terror”. It’s mostly awful (mostly due to the giant maggot rape scene), but some of the production design is WAY better than anything in this movie has any right to be.
1986: James Cameron directs “Aliens”.
I’m using the release years here as opposed to production for simplicity, but Aliens is really just a cash-in of a cash-in of Alien.
Yep, and I’d say they are both sci-fi, so it’s fine to compare them on the list of best sci-fi. But I give the nod to Alien because I enjoy that more as a horror movie than I enjoy Aliens as an action movie. Like if we were ranking horror movies, Alien would be in my top 10, maybe top five. For action movies, I’d put Aliens in the top 20, maybe top 10.
Yeah. Alien is is my top four on Letterboxd.
I love Aliens, but I do think it’s inferior.
I love the characters, set pieces, and all but it’s just not there.
Hell, I rewatched Predator recently. I think it may be superior.
Honestly, there’s also “The Thing” which is also as simple as it gets.
Here’s The Thing…
Nah man, that’s just a dog.
Yeah but that was actually good.
This is my vote as well. And it fits the prompt!
It’s certainly in the running, the first two are basically perfect movies
Sharknado is exactly what it says on the tin
Sharknado VR was worth the money I spent on it (it was on a 50% sale, so I only paid 50 cents)
I can never get in to Sharknado.
It just… sucks.
Like I get that it’s supposed to be corny and stupid, but I like my corny and stupid to be a function of the creators incompetence and a $257 budget most spent on aluminum foil.
Like the movie “Independents Day” (yes, ents and not ence).
In fairness, so is Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”.
I heard it was Top Gun. :^}
Yeah well it’s called ‘heat’
Aliens are not a core element of science fiction. It should be named Future
Im sorry wheres the mages and the wizards with the wands and staffs. The dragons need to be vanquished again.
