Aliens Double Bill

Perhaps Aberdeen is not the centre of the cultural universe, but as long as the excellent Belmont Filmhouse keeps putting on events and screenings of classic films, then I'll be happy.  My cinema going isn't as frequent as it used to be, but in recent years I've enjoyed an Indiana Jones double bill, Metropolis, Nosferatu, Labyrinth, The Thing, Robocop, Tron, The Big Lebowski Wii ten pin bowling night and now an Aliens double bill.

When I first saw the advert for the event, there was nothing that was going to stop me going.  I've seen Alien before on the big screen, I think it was on the 25th anniversary (I was only 3 when it was first released); but I've never seen Aliens in large format.

Free Hugs for anyone who books tickets for our Alien + Aliens Double Bill on Sun 27 Jul ;) http://t.co/DLcpANEG1d pic.twitter.com/06aGnHkZTy
— Belmont Filmhouse (@BelmontFh) June 13, 2014

Needless to say, both films were utterly brilliant; seeing them on the big screen shows up a level of detail that is lost on TV, and in Aliens in particular the practical effects look tremendous.  The sound design in Aliens (that freaked me out so much playing AVP on the PC in the dark) is superb and so atmospheric at volume, as is James Horner's score.  Being part of an audience who are all fans enhances the viewing; there is almost palpable excitement as the Alien logos come up on the screen (sublimely understated), and a lot of humour that is lost when viewed at home suddenly works like you're seeing it for the first time.

Of course this was an event as much as a showing of two amazing films, and as such was a great success.  Posters and T-shirts had been kindly provided by the excellent Last Exit to Nowhere, and before each film, Dallas (Marketing and Events manager at The Belmont - not actually beardy Tom Skerrit) asked Alien-related questions handing out Alien Kinder eggs as prizes.

Having simply worn a dressing gown and sandals to the Big Lebowski night, I thought I'd make more of an effort this time, and through a combination of old clothes, charity shops and eBay, I thought that I came up with a fairly convincing Brett costume.

Dallas (centre, complete with chestburster) thought so too, and I am very thankful for my complimentary Filmhouse tickets and my Blu-Ray boxed set of the 4 Alien movies + Prometheus prize.

Brilliant event, a great time had by all, and I'm looking forward to the Back to the Future Trilogy.

Prometheus (2012)

30 years after Ridley Scott changed cinema with his terrifying and brilliant film that started a phenomenon, he returns to the franchise to answer some questions and raise new ones. Set towards the end of this century the events precede those in Alien, and follow the scientific crew of the spaceship Prometheus as they set out to discover the origins of humanity.

The film is stunning; from the slick design of the Prometheus, the terrifying size of the dust storm, the creepy caverns, to the bots that map the caverns and Charlize Theron’s outfit. Ridley Scott’s visual style goes from strength to strength, and with today’s technology is as beautiful as it ever was. Linked with this style is the tremendous quality of the production; production designer Arthur Max has worked exclusively with Ridley Scott and David Fincher and clearly doesn’t pull his punches. The cinematography is also beautiful, the lighting of the Prometheus, the gloomy caves and the stunning aerial sweeps of the icelandic scenery at the beginning; it actually reminded me a lot of the beginning of The Shining.

The cast are mostly brilliant; Charlize Theron plays it very cool as Meredith Vickers, the captain of the Prometheus who views this expedition as a mission and nothing else; Idris Elba is groovy as Janek, the pilot of the Prometheus; but certainly the stars of the show are Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender. Rapace is brilliant as Elizabeth Shaw, the scientist who helped discover the Engineers’ (the alien race are referred to as Engineers) code in archaeological digs around the world. Initially on the mission as more of a consulting scientist, it soon becomes clear that Shaw is the one making the important decisions, and with the personality to drive the rest of the crew and the plot forwards. I don’t think Scott could have found a better actress currently working to carry on the mantle of Ripley. Fassbender is equally fantastic; having just finished watching 300 (because, you know, it’s a fun way to spend a couple of hours), he really is an adaptable actor! As David he has exactly the right stage presence for the role; he is slightly aloof, dogmatically believes that all his actions are correct, yet there is always the feeling that he has an alterior motive. Generally he steals every scene he’s in, and those when he acts opposite Rapace are the best.

I suppose that I was expecting a film with more traditional Alien canon. On the one hand I was disappointed that it wasn’t that film, but on the other I’m glad it wasn’t! If the life cycle of the aliens had been exactly as all four previous Alien films, I think Prometheus may have come across as too stale and unimaginative, so for that it’s great. Of course I loved seeing more background to the Space Jockey from Alien, though there are still some unanswered questions.

I’ve read a few reviews, and many people seem to be complaining about plot holes. Now I agree that there are a few parts where there is no explanation and a little would have been nice; but on the whole, the people complaining about plot holes are simply complaining about daft things that happen in any Sci-fi film. Spoilers! Yes it was silly that Vickers ran immediately away from the crashing ship instead of ducking to the side, but that’s hardly the first time that’s ever happened in a film! Yes it’s silly that Shaw is extremely active for one who has just undergone invasive surgery, but that’s hardly new; Operas were doing that a hundred years ago as people who were dying of tuberculosis were singing their hearts out! Spoilers end. I watched Alien very soon after (the wife didn’t know that the Engineers were the Space Jockey from Alien, in fact she couldn’t remember the Space Jockey at all), and I’m glad we did because there are as many “plot holes” as people are calling them in Alien, they just get ignored because it is such a damn fine film. When Dallas is in the air ducts and Lambert tells him the Alien is on the move towards him, he sits in a junction where the Alien could come at him from all angles! Dumbass! Toward the end when Ripley is alone and has just set the auto-destruct, she is on the way back to the escape shuttle when she comes across the Alien. She is terrified and runs back to try and reverse the auto-destruct. Why? She’s holding a flame thrower. Torch the fucker! See, no Sci-fi is immune from silly plot points. So ends my defence of Prometheus.

Overall, I thought this was an excellent film. Stunning, superbly acted, exceptionally made and truly terrifying at points. Fabulous to see some background to the crashed spaceship on LV426, and it raises as many questions as it answers. This was the one film that I was really looking forward to this year (as well as the Hobbit naturally), and it didn’t disappoint. Now, having written this, I really want to see it again.

Alien Resurrection (1997)

Ripley has been cloned, along with the Queen that was inside her in Alien 3! Finally, the scientists have got hold of her, extracted the Queen, and with the help of human cargo from the crew of the smuggling ship The Betty, are breeding Aliens. What could possibly go wrong? I actually quite like the start of the film, the idea that the Company (see later) has finally got their hands on the prize and are trying to investigate this new species. Ignoring the ludicrous idea of cloning Ripley and the Queen, it is the unexpected crossover of human/alien traits (giving Ripley super-strength and acid-blood); that provides the interest in the film. Is she human? Is she Alien? Where do her loyalties lie? Under these ambiguities I thought that Sigourney does a good job of rediscovering herself.

But then The Betty turns up and the film goes to pot. Who cares about this crew? I don’t! Never mind them bringing the human cargo, they should have been the human cargo and been impregnated themselves! Written by Joss Whedon, the film could have been so much better. Indeed it should have been had Fox not told him to re-write his script to include Ripley! To hell with the fact that she’s dead. So in his attempt to shoe-horn Ripley in (and fair enough Ripley’s character is interesting in a different way) I think he forgot to write much about the other characters. Within 5 minutes of meeting the crew of the Sulaco in Aliens we already know their dynamic, who the jokers are and who the hard-asses are. Within 30 minutes of meeting the crew of the Betty, I still couldn’t tell you any of their names, and I’m struggling now even having watched the extras!

I also think the choice of director was wrong. Jean-Pierre Jeunet had made Delicatessen and City of Lost Children up to this point and was working on Amelie. An Alien film is nothing like any of these; so why? Danny Boyle was initially approached to take the helm, and I can’t help but think that he would have made a more appropriate Alien film. JPJ tries to introduce too much humour which I don’t think has any place in an Alien film. Ripley saying “Fuck” instead of “Fork”, General Perez poking in the back of his head to pull a bit of brain out (was the alien pausing for this comedy moment?), and the whole “Ripley, I thought you were dead!” “Yeah, I get that a lot!”. None of this should be in an Alien film.

There are plenty of other silly, inappropriate and just plain wrong moments in the film. Please indulge me three. The film is set 200 years after the events of Alien 3, and we are told fairly near the beginning that “The Company” Weyland Yutani no longer exist. Walmart bought them! Yes, Walmart! Another attempt at humour I think. This is just stupid, there is absolutely no place for anything contemporary in an Alien film; it lowers the tone, in fact it ruins any tone there was. It’s as bad as Todd from Home and Away offering Death Sticks to Obi-Wan in Attack of the Clones!

Also near the beginning, the Captain of the Betty (Frank according to IMDB, I’m damned if I could remember his name) is talking with Perez and observes that whatever is going on cannot be very legal because the spaceship is operating in unregistered space. Unregistered space from which Earth can be reached in under 3 hours on 49% engine power? That seems unlikely. My final gripe is as Brad Dourif is explaining to Ripley her origin, he says that they cloned her from blood ffrom Fury 16. Fury 16?! It was Fury 161! Did the writers/director/cast even watch the previous film? Grrr.

So what did I like? Well, like I say, I did like the idea that the scientist have finally started to breed the aliens in an attempt to study them, I thought that was a good jump off point for the disaster that would inevitably ensue. I was also impressed by the underwater sequence, especially having watched the extras and seen how it was made. Ripley’s character is also a plus point for the film, not knowing how she would react to the other characters at any one point. For me though, these minor points can’t save the mess of this film. Shoddy story, inappropriate direction and forgettable characters. Ripley has a good character arc, as does Winona Ryder’s character Call; but the rest are just packing material, even the usually memorable Ron Perlman. Of course Brad Dourif is always watchable. I shall finish with a quote from producer David Giler when he first read the script: “This is going to ruin the franchise, this just doesn’t work at all”. We would have to wait 15 years before hearing another peep from this franchise.

The Sunday Scene: Alien

It has been quite a while since I did a Sunday Scene. I could come up with an excuse and say that I've been really busy (which is true-ish), but then it doesn't take too long to write these anyway; so who am I kidding. Anyway, on with this weeks scene.

Given that I'm really excited about the release of Prometheus in a few weeks, I decided that I could watch all four Alien films first, and I started this week with Alien (review to follow soon). A fantastic film that is full of wonderful scenes, but there is one in particular that I think has gained a certain notoriety; of course I mean the chest-burster scene.

Poor Kane (John Hurt) was daft enough to look directly into an Alien egg and received a face full of face-hugger for his troubles. After the parasite has fallen off, Kane seems fine and just wants some food before the crew go back into hyper-sleep. Poor Kane never gets back to sleep, because the thing that was implanted inside him now bursts forth in dramatic style.

The scene is wonderful for several reasons. It is the point in the film where everything starts to go horribly wrong; up to this point there are some clashes of personality between the crew, but from now on there is open hostility between them. It also consolidates the sexual horror of the Alien life cycle. Kane essentially has his face raped by an alien thing, and in this scene he gives birth (John Hurt's words). The chest-burster itself is very reminiscent of a very specific part of the male anatomy.

What really sells the scene is the reaction of the cast. There is a moment of real shock and surprise, as they are as horrified as the viewer. A persistent rumour is that none of the cast knew what was about to happen. Not quite true. They had all seen the chest-burster so they knew what they were reacting to, never mind that there was a guy under the table with the thing on the end of stick to poke it through dummy John Hurt's chest; and of course they all knew the script. What they didn't know was that there would be mini explosive pellets under Kane's shirt that would help the bursting effect, and they weren't prepared for the amount of blood that was going to be used. So when the initial thrust of the chest-burster happens, the reaction of the crew is completely real, and that really seals the scene.

Immediately following the bursting we see some of the different responses from the crew. Parker immediately grabs something to attack the thing, but Ash doesn't want it touched. Indeed, as the alien scuttles away, everyone looks horrified apart from Ash who looks curious more than anything.  I know he's the scientist and should be curious, but it looks more ambiguous than that. Excellent scene from an excellent film; everything about it is so visceral, and here's hoping that Ridley Scott will be as visually astonishing in Prometheus.

The Sunday Scene #6: The Two Towers

You Shall Not Pass!

I should start by wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas! I should then quickly point out that of course this is a scheduled post! I have definitely not written this on Christmas Day!

So on to the second of my LOTR trilogy scenes. Whereas I had to discount some great scenes when trying to pick my favourite from Fellowship, I have absolutely no problem with The Two Towers. For me, the opening scene was breath-taking; I think my jaw was on the floor of the cinema when I first saw it.



The film starts beautifully with aerial shots over the Misty Mountains, with perfectly scored music from Howard Shore enhancing the feeling of wonder and grandeur of these imposing peaks. Then we are thrust into the mountain to see Gandalf tell the Balrog where to go (Back to the shadow! What were you thinking?). Again we see Frodo's distraught face as Gandalf is dragged off the bridge by the Balrog's whip. Then suddenly we are plummeting into the abyss after Gandalf, as he hacks & hews at the Balrog, and the music becomes very operatic. After much fighting and gnashing of teeth while falling, there is a wonderful shot of a cave; then we see the scale of the cave as G and the B look tiny, falling towards the water at the bottom. Then as the battling duo finally hit the water there is a perfect cut to Frodo crying out for Gandalf as he wakes somewhere in the Emyn Muil.

I've talked previously about how amazing the opening scene of Star Wars is, but I think that The Two Towers is even more awesome. I'm not a fan of the word awesome, it gets far too overused for things that really aren't awesome (like a nice packet of biscuits for instance!), but the intro to TTT really is awesome, and my brief description really doesn't do it justice. The shot of G and the B falling into a massive cave always reminds me of the shot in Alien when Kane descends into the massive alien ship, and the tiny figure of John Hurt is completely dwarfed by the scale of the cavernous ship.

So there we go, a truly spectacular opening to The Two Towers. Helm's Deep is a great action sequence, but the intro is such a statement of intent regarding the film, we really don't get a chance to gather our thoughts before the film begins. Now, I just have to try and find my favourite scene from ROTK for next week!