Aliens Vs. Predator - Requiem

***SPOILER ALERT***

From the very beginning to the very end "Aliens Vs. Predator - Requiem" was just plain terrible.  There was so much wrong with this movie that it is hard to find anything right about it.  It didn't even find a way to further the story of either "Alien" or "Predator."

The movie did introduce a character that could have been a real good turn for the franchises and that was the alien/predator hybrid.  What could have been a great addition to the saga was wasted by making it unbelievable and brainless.  It would have been great to see it with the mindset of a Predator.  An alien that thinks.  The storyline of this movie could have been so much greater if they tackled it from that stand point.  Instead they made it so it could lay multiple embryos in you by sticking it's 'tongue' down your throat.  The idea was just silly.

The characters were younger, two-dimensional and full of b-horror movie cliches.  I didn't care for any of the characters and don't really remember any of their names.  Of course that leads to my biggest problem.

The lighting on this film was terrible.  It was a good thing I didn't care about any of the characters because I couldn't see what was happening to any of them.  A lot of the movie took place in sewers and during a power outage, but come on we can do something to make it easier to see.  Whenever there was a battle there was no way to distinguish who was winning, losing or who was even landing a hit.

A movie that could have been a wonderful addition to the "Alien vs Predator" franchise just ended up being a load of crap to be tossed in the trash can.

Alien Vs. Predator

***SPOILER ALERT***

The idea of combining the "Alien" and "Predator" franchises had been circulating Hollywood for well over a decade.  Ever since the two franchises combined in a comic book and video game franchise, many people wanted to see them together on the big screen.  In 2004, it finally came to be.

The idea is an interesting one.  A group of explorers are sent to Antarctica by Weyland Industries to explore an underground pyramid built in the style of the Mayans and Aztecs.  While there they find themselves in the middle of a 'coming-of-age' battle between the Predators and the Aliens.

It's hard to make a "Predator" film without the game mentality because Predators are hunters.  Therefore, this film is about three Predator 'teenagers' who are sent to earth to survive a battle with the Aliens to prove their manhood.  These battles had been going on for centuries.

There were a few inconsistencies with Lance Henriksen's Bishop character but other than that I found this film to be very entertaining.  By now all horror aspects of the "Alien" franchise are gone which cause this film to be a sci-fi action thriller.

Although nowhere near as good as both "Alien" and "Aliens," I do find this film to be superior to both "Alien 3" and the mess that was "Alien Resurrection."  I was moved by the female protagonist teaming with the sole remaining Predator to make sure the Aliens don't reach the surface over fear that they could inherit the earth.

This film is by no means a perfect film, but it's a great popcorn film that successfully combines the creatures from both franchises without sacrificing the integrity of either creature.  My recommendation is to own it.

Hostel Part III

***SPOILER ALERT***

It's hard to go into a direct-to-video sequel and expect a film that is in any way superior to it's predecessors.  Most of these sequels are done half-heartedly and do little to nothing to advance the franchise.  "Hostel Part III" is one of those rare exceptions.  I would even go so far as to say this film far surpassed both of the films that came before it.

Scott is about to get married in a week and his best man is taking him to his bachelor party in Palm Springs, or so Scott thinks.  Once he drives away with his friends he discovers that they are taking him to Las Vegas.  Once there the group meet two girls who, unlike the other two films, are not conspiring to kill the travelers.

The film knows that people who watch this are going to have seen the previous films and rely a lot of the early horror on fake outs.  It seems they've been dragged into a 'death chamber' several times only to find they've been brought back to their bedroom or something.

When the Elite Hunting Club does come into the picture it is in a different form than we've seen before.  This time there are spectators.  Of course this film ditched the German setting of the previous two films for Las Vegas in this one, so why not take advantage of what 'the strip' has to offer?

This film sacrifices extreme blood, guts, gore and nudity for three-dimensional characters, plot development, viewer intrigue as well as many twists and turns along the way.

Scott's Best Man, brings the group to Las Vegas as a form of revenge on Scott as a member of the Elite Hunting Club, he lures Scott into his trap to kill him.  He claims to need more of a rush, only to have the table turned on him several times in a definite twist ending.

As the film progressed I liked it more and more.  At the beginning I was prepared to tell you guys to skip it.  Then I grew to think of it as a rental.  When the film ended, I was both pleasantly surprised and satisfied that my best recommendation is to own it.

Alien Resurrection

***SPOILER ALERT***

After the mixed reviews of "Alien 3," 20th Century Fox set out to make a film that would reinvigorate the "Alien" franchise.  The result was "Alien Resurrection," an epic fail at any attempt to restore dignity to this dying franchise.

Ellen Ripley sacrificed herself at the end of the previous film in hopes of ending the horror the aliens have created.  Through some miracle, Weyland-Yutani found DNA of Ripley and cloned her.  I don't know how they found the DNA considering she tossed herself into a tub of molten metal.

To put it simply, this movie was just plain weird.  There was no character development and little was done to advance the plot of the series.  In fact, the only advance I can think of is returning Ripley to earth.

It was very clear that there was a link between the Alien queen and Ripley in this film.  Through the genetic experimentation even Ripley showed some attributes of Alien DNA such as acid blood.  I felt Ripley was extremely unlikeable in this film and I was confused with the 'erotic' relationship she shared with the alien queen and her newborn alien/human hybrid baby.

I found the film to be unnecessarily gory.  I felt they threw it in there to get the gross factor which is all this film had to offer.

I can't really tell you too much about the plot because I don't really know where it was going.  I know Weyland-Yutani was trying to train the aliens and domesticate them.  I know they failed.

My greatest advice is to ignore this movie.  It belongs in the trash can.  With all it's attempt at action, it's incredibly uncaptivating and boring.

Alien 3

***SPOILER ALERT***

The "Alien" series had been a series that had become a great financial success for 20th Century Fox.  After the success of "Aliens," the studio was eager to get a third film in the works.  Thus they hired David Fincher to direct the third installment that found Ellen Ripley on the prison planet Fury 161.

There are a lot of mixed emotions toward this sequel and I even find my own opinion to be quite mixed.  This film, like it's predecessors, is different. 

"Alien 3" does return to the single alien that the first film became known for.  The twist this time is the extremely rustic planet Ripley is on.  There are no weapons or any means of self-defense.  Ripley has trouble finding even fire.

There are several plot points I appreciated about this film.  The first is the 'post-apocalyptic' feel that this film had.  There was a sense of mistrust and the need for survival that made even other people a threat to each other as well as the alien.  I liked that the alien came from an ox instead of a human host.  It made the alien different, such as being a quadriped and extrememly quick on it's feet.  My favorite aspect of this film was the queen dwelling in Ripley's chest. 

Earlier on in the film Ripley had an encounter with the alien but was not killed.  It was soon discovered that the alien knew that a queen was inside of her.  This gave Ripley a sense of immunity from the alien that she used to her advantage.  On the flip side, we knew this could end only one way: Ripley's death.

I really like that Ripley met her end in this movie.  The notion that she kept waking up at the beginning of each movie to a new terror was getting old albeit still believable.  It was about time to finish that idea.

On the negative side, I felt this film was a half hour too long.  I feel this film could have benefited from a shorter run time.  It could have also benefited from a smaller cast.  At times I even felt like there were more people than they knew how to kill.

This film was incredibly talky at times.  I found the first hour to be necessary explaining the deaths of Newt and Corporal Hicks as well as Ripley's grief that Newt died.  I found myself intrigued with Ripley's insistence that an autopsy be done on Newt due to her fear that an alien could be dwelling inside her.  After that autopsy the film took a religious turn.

A lot of the exposition was preachy and overly religious and I thought that the behavior of the inmates contradicted the religion they were practicing.

While this story did advance the plot of the "Alien" series, it was nowhere near as good as it's predecessors and therefore recommend you rent it.

Teen Wolf Season One

***SPOILER ALERT***

Before watching MTV's 'Teen Wolf' I thought to myself how good could an MTV show be?  I  expected absolute fodder.  To put it simply, I was pleasantly surprised.  What I saw was a show that competes, and in some cases is superior, with other shows in it's genre.

The show centers around Scott McCall, a high-schooler that got bit by a werewolf while exploring a forest with close friend Stiles.  At first I thought this was 'Twilight' for werewolves.  As the season grew I saw spectacular performances from the four main actors Tyler Posey, Tyler Hoechlin, Crystal Reed and Dylan O'Brien.  Even the school bully, Jackson, is a character that receives great development.  I was impressed most with Crystal Reed's character Allison.  Her family full of werewolf hunters creates a very interesting dilemma for the teen romance.

My biggest complaint toward the series is the first season is incredibly short, running at a shy ten episodes.  The midseason tentpole where Scott and Stiles are trapped in the school being hunted by the Alpha wolf could easily be one of the best television episodes I've seen in a long while.

Tyler Hoechlin's character, Derek Hale, was introduced into a shroud of mystery.  It's unclear whether he is friend or foe, an interesting role to give the mentor of the series.  I want to believe that Derek is looking out for Scott's best interest but I don't really know.

In a genre filled with "Supernatural," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "The Vampire Diairies;" "Teen Wolf" stands on it's own two feet.  I believe "Teen Wolf" is here to stay and I"ll be following behind it like a dog.  For this reason, among many others "Teen Wolf" season one is easily part of the Essential Collection.

Aliens

***SPOILER ALERT***

In 1986, 20th Century Fox finally released a sequel to the 1979 blockbuster "Alien."  Stuck in development hell for many years, the studio was undecided how a sequel to the original film should be made.  They took a risk on a young filmmaker named James Cameron to come up with the story.  This was a decision that the studio would never regret.

It's hard to imagine a sequel to the original film that wouldn't come off as a remake, so James Cameron decided to take the series in a whole new direction...war.  With this decision Cameron crafted a sequel that I feel was superior to the original.  The stakes were much higher in this film, as well as the number of Alien growing from one to what felt like a thousand.

This film took place on the planet where the crew from the Nostromo discovered the crashed space ship in the first film, however the planet had been terra formed and colonized in the 57 years between the two films.  A community named Hadley's Hope now housed a whole host of families.

After losing contact with Hadley's Hope, the military enlisted Ellen Ripley, who had recently been discovered and awakened from her 57-year hypersleep, and a group of Marines to investigate.  From then on out the film took a turn towards a balls-to-the-wall action film.

In many ways it's hard to compare this film to the original based solely on plot.  The first one was more of a psychological horror film whereas this one was more of an intense action thriller.  I do feel the horror aspect was lessened in this film.  A lot of the horror in the first film was due to the unknown which had become known for this film so it was a logical choice, in my opinion, to not try and copy the first film.

I really appreciated the queen.  I felt it answered the questions I had regarding the 'face huggers' and the eggs from the first film.  It also laid grounds for one heck of an action sequence at the end of the film.

Ellen Ripley's character also got positive character development.  Early in the film it had been revealed that she had a ten-year-old daughter at the time of the first movie, a daughter that had grown into her sixties and passed away in the time between "Alien" and "Aliens."  Enter Newt, a colonist living in Hadley's Hope that had witnessed her whole family being killed by the Aliens.  Ripley immediately grew fond of this child and developed a very maternal relationship and sense of protection for Newt.  I felt a lot of this relationship was strengthened, if not formed, due to Ripley's guilt from the death of her daughter.

One point that really stood out to me was the sound effect for the queen Alien.  I don't know what was used to create her snarl but she really sounded brassed off.  This is probably one of the best sound effects I've ever heard for a fictitious creature.

All in all, "Aliens" is a spectacular film that has aged very well in the past 26 years. This film is easily added into the Essential Collection.