Recently watched movies!

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[jellydonut25]

[DannyBeane]

[MouthForWar]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[MouthForWar]

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[Arrow]

Alien (1979)
I feel kind of sad whenever I watch this. Once upon a time, Alien truly horrified me and made me completely reluctant to watch it again. I just finished it, and I realized that I've seen this movie so many times and enjoy it so much that there's almost nothing that disturbs or scares me anymore. The iconic scene where the alien bursts from Kane's chest makes me fidget a bit, but other than that... nothing. I've begun to see Alien as a fun film when I shouldn't. All the big reveals and plot twists obviously don't phase me and knowing exactly when and where each kill scene takes place robs the film of any element of surprise. In fact, I actually laughed when Dallas bit it (the way the alien appears in the beam of light with its hands wide open makes it look as if it's saying "Surprise!") and Brett's kill scene isn't even startling (you see the alien drop down behind him a few seconds before, and then there's the pan up where you get your first shot of it. By the time Brett dies, I'm not even scared anymore - mainly because I've already seen what a full size alien looks like thanks to the sequels and popular culture). Not even the scene where Ash tries to kill Ripley is all that horrifying anymore. This is probably why I've come to prefer the sequel, Aliens.

My personal feelings aside, however, this is a great movie - Ridley Scott's finest (that I've seen) and one of the greatest horror films that I've ever seen. I suppose it probably would have been best had I seen this without the context of the sequels because so much of the terror relies on the hidden presence of the alien. Only at the end do you see the entire thing. For most of the film, the alien remains hidden in the shadows and you only get a look at part of it. The alien itself is magnificent, though. And I definitely appreciate its phallic appearance, which furthers the "rape" angle. The sets, the space scenes, the creature, and whatever gory scenes (not many) were present were all examples of the great special effects. And the musical score is genuinely chilling. The general premise of a creature lurking in the ship that you cannot kill is frightening. The characters are all interesting and well-acted, my favorites being Ripley (of course) and Parker. Ash makes for a good "human" villain as well. It's largely thanks to these features of the film that I can still enjoy it, despite it no longer being able to frighten me.

In all, one could make the argument that this is the greatest film in the franchise. And while I certainly prefer it to the latter two Alien films (the vapid Alien 3 and the genuinely awful Alien: Resurrection) and the idiotic AvP films, as well as any Predator film, I personally think Aliens fares better in the long run - as one can watch it over and over and still continue to have fun with it. While Alien can only horrify you once or twice before you begin to stop feeling frightened. Despite that, it's still one of the greatest films that I've ever seen and one of my favorites.

[jellydonut25]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[Arrow]

[Tyler E. Martin]

Casablanca. Can't believe it took me so long to see it. What can I say? Great stuff.

[jellydonut25]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[MekaGojira3k]

Why did no one tell me how amazingly awesome the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is?

Great, great movie! I love the atmosphere, the cast, and especially the sounds the pod people make.

[jellydonut25]

[canofhumdingers]

[lhb412]

Casablanca is one of those films that excells in having great actors act at each other, like it's a contest!

[jellydonut25]

[MouthForWar]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[lhb412]

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[MekaGojira3k]