aliens

[6] After surviving two rounds with the xenomorphs, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) crash-lands on a planet where a few dozen convicts have found God in an abandoned mining facility. But God can’t save them from the alien that stowed away with Ripley, especially after Ripley learns she herself is impregnated with the next alien queen. Alien 3 was doomed to become the cautionary example of how …

[8] Writer/director Steven Spielberg follows up his immensely successful Jaws with this tale of extra-terrestrials and government conspiracy. Richard Dreyfuss stars as a family man whose encounter with a UFO brings him into contact with a grieving mother (Melinda Dillon) whose young son has been kidnapped by aliens. Together, they are haunted by visions of a mountain. When they figure out their mysterious, shared vision …

[7] Inner-city teenagers band together to protect their south London neighborhood from an alien invasion. This one’s for fans of monster movies, with interesting creature effects and a talented young cast. It kinda bugs me that the heroes (or anti-heroes) are all petty thugs and pot heads, but I guess that’s one of the things that distinguishes this flick from other monster fare. Leading man …

[6] Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Seth Rogen are intrinsically likable enough to make this goofball movie watchable. Pegg and Frost star as two guys vacationing to Roswell, New Mexico, the UFO capitol of the world. Once there, they meet an alien named Paul (voiced by Rogen) who has escaped Area 51. The three embark on a road trip to return the alien to his …

[7] It’s the future and an alien race has just about taken over all of Europe and Asia. Tom Cruise enters this scenario as a cowardly military spokesperson forced into the front lines of combat by a shit-if-I-care general (Brendan Gleeson). During his first big battle with the aliens (who look like Rastafarian tumbleweeds), Cruise’s character dies… and wakes up a day earlier, but with …

[3] While trying to lose their virginity, two college guys discover some of the girls on campus are actually terrifying creatures from outer space. You’re either going to like that summary or you’re not. Decoys is a low-budget flick with respectable ambitions, but its thin story needs to rest on stronger characters and more charismatic actors. The lead boy (Corey Sevier) is easy on the …

[7] In this Howard Hawks production, an arctic science team finds an alien buried in the ice, so they bring it back to their facility for closer inspection. Things go awry, the monster gets loose, and before long, all the men are in danger of becoming food for the alien’s progeny. This is a great atomic-age monster movie that well exceeds expectations for the genre …

[10] James Cameron accomplishes a rare feat with a sequel that doesn’t shame the original and succeeds on its own merits.  Aliens is so different in tone than the original Alien, I think of it as a sequel only in name (this goes for all the Alien movies).  In a smart move, Cameron decided not to compete with Ridley Scott in the areas of horror …