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A community focused on discussions on movies. Besides usual movie news, the following threads are welcome
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Posts soliciting spoilers (endings, plot elements, twists, etc.) should contain [spoilers] in their title. Comments in these posts do not need to be hidden in spoiler MarkDown if they pertain to the title’s subject matter.
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2024 discussion threads
Why have we spent the past 45 years – which is longer than I’ve been alive – making seven different versions of the same film?
If you watch Alien, Aliens and Alien3 and come out with the idea that they are “different versions of the same film”, maybe the whole movie critic gig thing isn’t for you. Hell, they are not even the same genre.
Spectator journalist incapable of perceiving nuance
In other news, the sun rose today
yeah that take is completely absurd.
Facehuggers are Disney princesses
Since Disney owns the rights to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” so is…
I fully and wholeheartedly support this
God FUCKING dammit I hate Disney
If you watch the new Aliens movie they can kill your wife. Read the ticket!!
I mean yes, totally. I haven’t seen it, yet, but will likely be going to the cinema for this one.
But, to just throw an idea out there … covers of and homages to songs are normal and sometimes awesome in music, and fundamental in live music.
So maybe the same isn’t so bad in film, especially if they’re not done badly, as it seems to be here.
Maybe “the problem” is more the lack of properly original works, the copious unashamed cinematic universe slop and faithless reboots?
In the same way that Bond films and Disney films find ways to manifest and apply to each new generation or era, why not other classic forms?
The Bond franchise is an interesting one because they've essentially been remaking the exact same movie since Doctor No, and although there are definitely ups and downs, on balance it's still a good franchise! Virtually no continuity. Only occasional meta nods. In essence, every single Bond movie consists of...
Bond goes to exotic location
Bond engages in romantic shenanigans with one or more partners
Bond faces a threat ranging from personal to world-ending
Bond is menaced by a villain with some personal quirk
Bond engages in a popular extreme sport
Bond deals with a number of nameless goons plus at least one ascended chief goon, probably named, with their own particular quirk
Bond foils the plans of the bad guy and has an epilogue with a romantic partner
Change some variables, rearrange the furniture a little, but this is basically every single James Bond movie for the last sixty two years, and we still love them! It makes me think that originality is overrated.
But, to just throw an idea out there … covers of and homages to songs are normal and sometimes awesome in music, and fundamental in live music.
So maybe the same isn’t so bad in film, especially if they’re not done badly, as it seems to be here.
The film does a lot of things I liked but those call-outs are often so clunky it spoiled what could have been one of the great Alien films (it's still better than most).
Are we reading the same article? The text was bashing anything that has a scary alien in a rust bucket spaceship killing ppl. The callbacks are corny sure but not the point. To say no one should make a film that puts a xeno in a space ship and have it hunt down ppl anymore because they did that 50 years ago is insane.
I haven't watched the new film yet, but saying that 7 remakes of the first movie have been made is total bullshit.
Yeah … Alien is one of the greatest movies of all time and Aliens is a rare sequel which is almost as good as the original and it does it while switching primary genres from the first. 3 is weaker but is carried by set design and incredible acting.
Honestly, all of the Alien movies that don’t have “Predator” in the title are at worst above average films.
"Covenant" and "Prometheus" would've been killer movies to kick off a new IP.
I might be the old man shouting at clouds, but I've been turned off to all franchise "reboots". Just sick of rehashes and revisits and the cute little "winks" these movies do to the previous installments. Have an original thought, damn.
The interesting thing is that I almost always hate remakes and reboots, but I love the Alien series. I think Covenant and a couple others were bad but generally they're all still worth watching for me. I really enjoyed Romulus and I loved Prometheus. I do not get all the hate that movie got.
What about please stop making BAD Alien movies?
Exactly! Romulus is not without its faults, but damnit if it isn't a worthy follow-up to the first two films.
meh, I enjoyed it.
This article would maybe have a point if they hadn't finally released a good Alien movie for the first time in like 30 or 40 years.
Capitalism: No
Also capitalism: We’re threatening a lawsuit for even saying that because we can, and you can’t afford the legal fees
What’s the point?
Um, same point as any franchise or reboot or remake: money. It’s easy too. Story is already there in one form or another; just add a few modern tweaks. You get the nostalgia kick from the original fans, and you get a boost from the younger fans who have heard all of the hyper from the OG fans. People have short term memories, so they get to rinse and repeat every few years.
Edit: for example… 🙄
Hey, I have an idea, let's make another Spiderman/Batman/nope not going to continue this even as a joke...
Haven't seen it yet, but if it's got xenomorphs I'm in. I like all the Alien movies, even the "bad" ones like 3 and 4. I even liked the original aliens vs predators.
Then you'll love this!
Couldn't disagree more. I loved this movie. I could critique aspects of it, but it was fucking stellar overall.
I'm so surprised at how much people liked this movie. I thought it sucked out loud. Alien and Aliens FTW!
This movie was overall damn good, brother those first two are such a high bar that is impossible to clear let's be real
That’s like, just your opinion man.
I for one enjoyed Romulus and want to see more. Give me more.
Romulus would be better without the callbacks to the first two films. One character in particular I wish was someone else entirely. Also, I didn't like the ending as it tied into Prometheus/Covenant, my least favourite of the Alien franchise.
I feel Alien has gone the way of Star Wars which keeps linking to the Skywalker's. Let Alien break free of the Ripley verse (She's even in Romulus as a well hidden Easter Egg!) and do something different. The comics have had excellent stories over the years, adapt one of those.
One of my favourites is Aliens: Labyrinth which is about a crazy scientist on a deep space station who has successfully got the alien species under control. His backstory is quite something and you know it will go wrong in the end.
The problem is, Alien: Romulus was pretty good. It gives the original a run for its money in my opinion.
No. Keep making them because Alien: Romulus was fuckin rad. It didn't reinvent the wheel, I got kind of annoyed with the callbacks towards the middle/end part of the movie, but I want to see it again, if not in the theater I'll rent it on streaming. It's the 3rd best Alien movie imo, that's high praise for such a robust franchise. Anyway, the writer of this article is an industry hack, Furiosa is great too. I'm out 🤟
Counterpoint: please make another actually good work in the universe.
I have my fingers crossed for the HBO (I think) series set to release next year.
Remember when they re-released Star Wars episode 4 in 2015...
There are no new ideas. Just new talent to play old roles.
bro just stop watching alien movies it's that simple
Nothing wrong with watching it. Just don't PAY for it.
Yes make aliens mini-series instead. The comics used to release in anuals that would tell a complete arc wether that be about the destruction of a floating research station on a jungle planet after the hunters turned it into an alien hunting world, the fall of earth or refugees stumbling upon an insane scientist trying to domesticate the damn things. Any one of those anuals would make a fantastic basis for say a 12 episode mini-series.
reason is that historically and statisticwise, sequels make more money then original movies. so there you have it.
I just want another Aliens vs Predator video game. Those 3-way multiplayer matches were so fun.
Surprised no one in this thread has yet mentioned how this movie very much parallels Alien: Isolation and the huge success that game had by being so consistent with the premise of the first movie.
saw it, and I went put with the idea that it was an Alien movie whose target audience was young people that didn’t see the first alien movie.
I still prefer the original first alien movie. Like a lot, but this one is pretty decent. It was like a “netflix remake” with lots of copy/paste from the original movie. Some sentences are exactly copied, some scenes greatly copied and modernized for 2024 eyes.
The main differences that make the first Alien movie superior (to me at least). In this latest movie there is no “mother sound” in the original Alien the spaceship appear to breathe and live with a constant sound that really put you into the “Alien mood”.
Sigourney Weaver. Both her role and her acting were incredible. That is just decent in this new movie.
Critic about megacorps is visible in this new movie, but felt even more terrible in the older one IMHO.
Still, there are a few things not present in the original movie in this one that are a bit nice. The relation with the androids, some great action scenes. But that’s about it. If you love the alien universe it is a pretty decent Alien. If the first Alien is a 9/10 movie I would give this one a 7/10.