Number Twelve: Alien

I hath returned after a couple days of break. I had a few really long days and didn't get a chance to watch anything, so I'm back today with two movies. The first I watched this afternoon: Ridley Scott's Alien. Maybe I watched it wrong... because I didn't really like it.

I've been scolded several times for not having seen Alien and Aliens, but to be honest, I was never really that interested in watching them. The movies were made and became icons before I was born, so I've grown up watching parodies and copy-cats. As a kid, my brother was pretty into the horror/sci-fi genre, but I wanted no part of it. Now that I'm actually interested in it, Alien is obviously something I must see. It's a classic movie that is referenced in plenty of pop culture and other movies, but that doesn't mean I thought it was great.

I can totally see where this movie was a huge hit. It is by all means a wonderfully made thriller. There's not too much going on- all we find out is that there's a commercial mining ship on its way home that gets an S.O.S. call en route and goes to check it out. From there... well I think we all can guess what happens. The crew doesn't really know what's going on and therefore we never really find out what's going on. We just know that the crew is a LONG way from home with something potentially dangerous (this is confirmed partway through the movie with the most parodied scene of the alien bursting forth from a poor schmuck's belly) on board the ship. We never find out where the alien comes from. Ash/aka Bilbo Baggins/aka Vito Cornelius figures out the creature is perfect and hostile, but that's about the most we ever learn about it. This leaves room for all the tension and suspense required to enjoy this movie. I will say that the sets and the design of the alien itself are pretty awesome- dark, scary, and hostile. Really, just perfect.



The one thing I learned from this movie is that Sigourney Weaver (I mean her character- Ripley) is a badass. I also learned that effects have come a long way since 1979. I'll still give Aliens a chance... but I really didn't think the first was as awesome as everyone said it'd be. Just sayin.


Anyway, I'll be back in a few hours with another review.