Post by burrunjor on Sept 7, 2021 16:46:02 GMT
GO
I'm going to say
1/ Alien
The first and still the best of either series. This movie is by far the most terrifying and what's even more incredible is that we only see the monster for a total of 3 mins! From the chest buster sequence, to the air vents chase, to Lambert's brutal death, it's just full of iconic and memorable sequences. TBH I think all of its cast get iconic moments and death sequences which is quite rare LOL. It's because it's such a tight claustrophobic piece overall.
I also think the way the alien is portrayed in this movie is far more terrifying. Though he may have buggered things up in the later movies, Ridley Scott's vision for the Alien was better than those who followed. He portrayed it as a powerful, quiet, mysterious killer. You had no idea where it came from, you had no idea how smart it was. There are so many moments that hint the monster is as intelligent as the humans, from its gruesome torture of Lambert, to the way it tricks Ripley by hiding in the pod all hint that it is more than just an animal. This coupled with its eyeless face leave you wondering just what the hell is going on under that horrific face.
2/ Predator
Much like the first Alien film this benefits from a small, strong core cast and claustrophobic horror. I don't think that it is ever quite as scary as Alien however, as Arnie never feels quite as vulnerable as the crew of the Nostromo as he is such a reliable action star. Having said that though, it is meant to be more of an action thriller, and it certainly succeeds in that respect. The Predator itself is also both a terrifying and fascinating monster. From the beginning they do a lot of world building about the creatures customs and codes and history, which sowed the seeds of future films.
3/ Aliens
Obviously the best sequel from either series. I'd say this is the one that made Ripley into one of sci fi's best leading ladies. Obvs Sigourney Weaver is brilliant in the first one, but this really fleshes out her character and her and Newt's relationship is brilliant. I also love the warring mothers dynamic between the Queen and Ripley too, whilst the Queen itself is a fantastic variation on the monster.
4/ Predators
An unconventional choice, but hear me out on this one. I liked the setting of this movie, the idea of having criminals fight the Predators was neat, and the cast were good. (Particularly Topher Grace who managed to be both horrible and vicious and pathetic and pitiful too. I liked the way they had him, a serial killer be a sad, worthless, cowardly character. I'm fed up of people glorifying serial killers as geniuses and charismatic people. Often they're just sad sacks like Edwin.)
Predators isn't a classic like the first two Aliens, but it's an above average sequel.
5/Alien Vs Predator
I don't get the hate for this one? I liked its story, its setting and I felt that it did both monsters justice. Normally when two monsters and villains are brought together, one is undermined for the other. (Look at Doctor Who with the Daleks and the Cybermen at Canary Wharf.) This film however had both monsters slaughter each other, played to their strengths and ultimately had the only survivor being a combination of both of them.
6/ Predator 2
A decent B-movie level sequel. I'd say this is on a par with Jurassic Park 3. IE a fun little romp, but falls flat compared to the originals that are among the best films ever made.
7/ Promethius
I don't hate this movie like most do. It's flawed yes, but overall it does have its moments and its cast at least are strong. The scene where Noomi Rapace has to cut the alien out of her, is easily one of the best moments of horror in either series.
8/ Alien 3
Not a great follow on to Aliens. Killing Newt off was f*cking awful. I don't know who's stupid idea that was, but it completely undermined everything Ripley went through to save her in Aliens and made that film look stupid. Killing Newt is a Chibnall type of thing to do to be honest in that it's someone who has been handed a franchise taking a massive shit on their predecessors work. James Cameron apparently despised it and I'm not surprised. Why Sigourney Weaver agreed to that I have no idea. I hear it was to stop an Alien Vs Predator movie from happening. If that's true well she shouldn't have been so f*cking pretentious, because hey AVP still happened and ironically it was better than this movie!
Still whilst killing Newt in such an undramatic way was unforgivable, once you get past that, Alien 3 is an alright horror movie. I like the return to the claustrophobic feeling, and some of the supporting cast are very strong like Charles Dance. Also I think it was a decent enough ending to Ripley. I don't mind characters dying to be clear, I just think it should be a big deal unlike Newt.
9/ Alien Resurrection
An absolute shit fest that has to be seen to be believed. This is Joss Whedon at his absolute worst. All of his shittiest traits as a writer are on display here. (I say that as a big fan of his remember, but I am not blind to his faults.)
Oversexualising the female heroes (which is made even more obnoxious by his faux feminism. Hilariously enough Anita Sarkeesian fanboy Joss was the first person to sexualise Ripley in ANY way shape or form.) Cramming too many characters in to the point where we hardly get to know or care about anybody. Having characters talk in annoying, stupid quips rather than real dialogue. And finally, weird kinky monster sex. Having Ripley shag the Queen was just f*cked up. I remember reading an interview with William H Macey where he said that he read for a scene in Alien Resurrection and it was the scene where the guy was watching the Queen bone Ripley and after reading it he walked out LOL. Who can blame him?
Joss Whedon has a weird thing about monster sex. All the creepy Buffy/Spike garbage was based on that with Spike going on about Buffy liking his cold flesh, and Vampires get her hot, then there is Xander and his Demon babes. Still at least that's two human looking people LOL as opposed to a big space bug getting on top of Sigourney Weaver.
To me Alien Resurrection is like Missy. In both cases we have a writer given someone else's world and characters and rather than do his research and try and continue it, he just does his own usual shit and slaps the name on it. In Missy's case that was obvs Moff's stupid MILF, bad girl, dominatrix crap he'd thrust on us four times. In Whedons, he basically made Ripley into his wank fantasy female character LOL.
Let's see, quip talking, over sexualised, super powered (seriously Ripley has super powers ffs? You might as well give them to Batman.) Girl who has a weird connection with monsters and bones one of them. The only effective moment is when Ripley kills the Ripley/Alien hybrid of herself.
10/ AVP Requiem
The worst in both series. Not only is it appallingly directed to the point where you can't see anything. This movie is an insult to the Alien franchise. Unlike the first film, it just completely and utterly undermines the Alien and OP's the Predator to a ridiculous extent. The writers of the movie even admitted they were huge Predator fanboys and don't like the Xenomorph and for that reason, plus its general crappiness, I think it is nothing more than an insult to the original film. I'm not surprised Ridley Scott hated and decanonised AVP with this in mind. (Though again I think that's a bit unfair to the first one.)
I haven't seen Alien Covenant or The Predator, but I've heard mixed things on both. I can't imagine that either are as bad as AVP Requiem or Alien Resurrection however.
I'm going to say
1/ Alien
The first and still the best of either series. This movie is by far the most terrifying and what's even more incredible is that we only see the monster for a total of 3 mins! From the chest buster sequence, to the air vents chase, to Lambert's brutal death, it's just full of iconic and memorable sequences. TBH I think all of its cast get iconic moments and death sequences which is quite rare LOL. It's because it's such a tight claustrophobic piece overall.
I also think the way the alien is portrayed in this movie is far more terrifying. Though he may have buggered things up in the later movies, Ridley Scott's vision for the Alien was better than those who followed. He portrayed it as a powerful, quiet, mysterious killer. You had no idea where it came from, you had no idea how smart it was. There are so many moments that hint the monster is as intelligent as the humans, from its gruesome torture of Lambert, to the way it tricks Ripley by hiding in the pod all hint that it is more than just an animal. This coupled with its eyeless face leave you wondering just what the hell is going on under that horrific face.
2/ Predator
Much like the first Alien film this benefits from a small, strong core cast and claustrophobic horror. I don't think that it is ever quite as scary as Alien however, as Arnie never feels quite as vulnerable as the crew of the Nostromo as he is such a reliable action star. Having said that though, it is meant to be more of an action thriller, and it certainly succeeds in that respect. The Predator itself is also both a terrifying and fascinating monster. From the beginning they do a lot of world building about the creatures customs and codes and history, which sowed the seeds of future films.
3/ Aliens
Obviously the best sequel from either series. I'd say this is the one that made Ripley into one of sci fi's best leading ladies. Obvs Sigourney Weaver is brilliant in the first one, but this really fleshes out her character and her and Newt's relationship is brilliant. I also love the warring mothers dynamic between the Queen and Ripley too, whilst the Queen itself is a fantastic variation on the monster.
4/ Predators
An unconventional choice, but hear me out on this one. I liked the setting of this movie, the idea of having criminals fight the Predators was neat, and the cast were good. (Particularly Topher Grace who managed to be both horrible and vicious and pathetic and pitiful too. I liked the way they had him, a serial killer be a sad, worthless, cowardly character. I'm fed up of people glorifying serial killers as geniuses and charismatic people. Often they're just sad sacks like Edwin.)
Predators isn't a classic like the first two Aliens, but it's an above average sequel.
5/Alien Vs Predator
I don't get the hate for this one? I liked its story, its setting and I felt that it did both monsters justice. Normally when two monsters and villains are brought together, one is undermined for the other. (Look at Doctor Who with the Daleks and the Cybermen at Canary Wharf.) This film however had both monsters slaughter each other, played to their strengths and ultimately had the only survivor being a combination of both of them.
6/ Predator 2
A decent B-movie level sequel. I'd say this is on a par with Jurassic Park 3. IE a fun little romp, but falls flat compared to the originals that are among the best films ever made.
7/ Promethius
I don't hate this movie like most do. It's flawed yes, but overall it does have its moments and its cast at least are strong. The scene where Noomi Rapace has to cut the alien out of her, is easily one of the best moments of horror in either series.
8/ Alien 3
Not a great follow on to Aliens. Killing Newt off was f*cking awful. I don't know who's stupid idea that was, but it completely undermined everything Ripley went through to save her in Aliens and made that film look stupid. Killing Newt is a Chibnall type of thing to do to be honest in that it's someone who has been handed a franchise taking a massive shit on their predecessors work. James Cameron apparently despised it and I'm not surprised. Why Sigourney Weaver agreed to that I have no idea. I hear it was to stop an Alien Vs Predator movie from happening. If that's true well she shouldn't have been so f*cking pretentious, because hey AVP still happened and ironically it was better than this movie!
Still whilst killing Newt in such an undramatic way was unforgivable, once you get past that, Alien 3 is an alright horror movie. I like the return to the claustrophobic feeling, and some of the supporting cast are very strong like Charles Dance. Also I think it was a decent enough ending to Ripley. I don't mind characters dying to be clear, I just think it should be a big deal unlike Newt.
9/ Alien Resurrection
An absolute shit fest that has to be seen to be believed. This is Joss Whedon at his absolute worst. All of his shittiest traits as a writer are on display here. (I say that as a big fan of his remember, but I am not blind to his faults.)
Oversexualising the female heroes (which is made even more obnoxious by his faux feminism. Hilariously enough Anita Sarkeesian fanboy Joss was the first person to sexualise Ripley in ANY way shape or form.) Cramming too many characters in to the point where we hardly get to know or care about anybody. Having characters talk in annoying, stupid quips rather than real dialogue. And finally, weird kinky monster sex. Having Ripley shag the Queen was just f*cked up. I remember reading an interview with William H Macey where he said that he read for a scene in Alien Resurrection and it was the scene where the guy was watching the Queen bone Ripley and after reading it he walked out LOL. Who can blame him?
Joss Whedon has a weird thing about monster sex. All the creepy Buffy/Spike garbage was based on that with Spike going on about Buffy liking his cold flesh, and Vampires get her hot, then there is Xander and his Demon babes. Still at least that's two human looking people LOL as opposed to a big space bug getting on top of Sigourney Weaver.
To me Alien Resurrection is like Missy. In both cases we have a writer given someone else's world and characters and rather than do his research and try and continue it, he just does his own usual shit and slaps the name on it. In Missy's case that was obvs Moff's stupid MILF, bad girl, dominatrix crap he'd thrust on us four times. In Whedons, he basically made Ripley into his wank fantasy female character LOL.
Let's see, quip talking, over sexualised, super powered (seriously Ripley has super powers ffs? You might as well give them to Batman.) Girl who has a weird connection with monsters and bones one of them. The only effective moment is when Ripley kills the Ripley/Alien hybrid of herself.
10/ AVP Requiem
The worst in both series. Not only is it appallingly directed to the point where you can't see anything. This movie is an insult to the Alien franchise. Unlike the first film, it just completely and utterly undermines the Alien and OP's the Predator to a ridiculous extent. The writers of the movie even admitted they were huge Predator fanboys and don't like the Xenomorph and for that reason, plus its general crappiness, I think it is nothing more than an insult to the original film. I'm not surprised Ridley Scott hated and decanonised AVP with this in mind. (Though again I think that's a bit unfair to the first one.)
I haven't seen Alien Covenant or The Predator, but I've heard mixed things on both. I can't imagine that either are as bad as AVP Requiem or Alien Resurrection however.
