It’s worth noting at the outset of this Spacetime Report that Contrarian-in-Chief, Casey, announced via Twitter last night that he thinks Alien3 is superior to Aliens, and that in his opinion it’s the best film of the franchise after the original. This is clearly insane. I need to watch the film again before I can offer a cogent retort, but in the meantime I hope my fellow Contrarians mock him mercilessly for this. Now for the STR…
- This clever animation shows off the animator’s skills in 3D Studio Max by supposing what the Earth would look like if it had rings like Saturn. It’s an admirably realistic fantasy, taking into account the Earth’s Roche limit and considering what the rings might actually look like from different longitudes on the surface of Earth. Maybe it’s time we blew up the Moon so we could have these pretty rings!
- Some clever Japanese engineers and scientists have totally jury rigged the limping Hayabusa asteroid probe so it can make it back to Earth. 3 of it’s 4 engines have failed and the scientists have figured out how to remotely use two of the failed engines to make one working engine. If these scientists ever lose their jobs they could go to work for the Russian Space Agency with skills like that.
- The LHC is back online! Particles are accelerating and colliding and so far, no rogue black holes (keep your fingers crossed!).
- And congratulations to astronaut Randolph Bresnik — currently on orbit in the Space Shuttle Atlantis — on the birth of his daughter, Abigail, who was born back on Earth in Houston. The BBC notice mentions that Bresnik is “literally walking on air.”
Here’s wishing your spacetime coordinates remain stable as we enter this holiday season…
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November 23rd, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Dude, I totally stick by my tweet.
Alien3 suffered from rpoduction hell — mainly the fact that 20th Century Fox wouldn’t let Fincher just make the damn movie he wanted to make — and the fact that visual FX werein a transitional phase and much of what Fincher wanted to get on the screen just wasn’t feasible. Sadly, the compromises he had to make in terms of FX simply have not aged well.
HOWEVER, the story, script and acting are superior to Aliens. There are some incredible performances, particularly from the morphine-addicted doctor who never gets to be Ripley’s love interest, and the British dude who plays the townie at the Slaughtered Lamb pub from American Werewolf in London.
I love the premise, too — weird monastic, all-male ex-prison planet with no weapons. Damn.
Beats the lame James Cameron one-liners and “are you my Mommy?” shit in Aliens. Although I gotta admit, the Queen/PowerLoader faceoff was some fine cinema, as was the scene where the Bishop android gets torn in half.
Ultimately, the best in the series is Alien, which was more of a gothic horror flick anyway.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Hands down, the original is the best – but let me shine some light on the Aliens vs. Alien3 debate.
1) Both are victims of poor editing and decision making by the editors. From the missing scenes in Aliens where you learn Ripley had a daughter (who died of old age) and the theatrical sentry-gun scene, lost for years until the Special Edition DVD came out. Alien3 lost all the religious allusions and symbolism of Muslim and Christian faiths to the editing room floor, the unedited scripts surfacing on the internet display a much more sound and mature character arc. WINNER: Alien 3.
2) Aliens in a straight-up, no nonsense, 80’s shoot ‘em up action packed cinematic acid-for-blood fest, and doesn’t hold back. It starts up from the beginning and doesn’t let go. Alien 3 is more subdue, echoing in original’s tone and mood, but without the gothic tone. WINNER: Aliens
3) Aliens = blue, Alien 3 = tan. WINNER: Aliens
4) Endings: Aliens has the awesome loader “get away from her you, bitch” battle until the final “blew it out of the god damn airlock” finale. With a major faux pas when Ripley lets go of the handle BEFORE the airlock completely closes. Alien 3: Water falls on a hot alien. WINNER: tie.
5) Best line: Aliens: “They’re coming out of the God damn walls!” Alien 3: “You’re all gonna die. The only question is how you check out. Do you want it on your feet? Or on your fuckin’ knees… begging? I ain’t much for begging! Nobody ever gave me nothing! So I say fuck that thing! Let’s fight it!” WINNER: Alien 3
6) Not taken into perspective from the previous film? Aliens doesn’t mention the missing “mist” from the original, nor explains how the colonists of LV426 lasted so long before HR Giger’s demon came pounding on the door. Alien 3: Where the hell did the alien come from in the space pod? In Newt? WINNER: Aliens
Better movie: Aliens
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Dude, Aliens3 had a facehugger that had already infected Ripley with a Queen chestburster; it subsequently infected a dog. There was never a hatched xenomorph on the pod. Newt drowned in her cryotank; Michael Biehn (can’t recall his character’s name) was killed on impact.
Methinks you needto rewatch Alien3.
Aliens was Rambo with bugs. I prefer Starship Troopers, which at least had some intentional laughs.
November 24th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Hello! Behn was Hicks! Get some culture, would you!!!!
So, the facehugger was in the pod, and chose to infect Ripley only and then a dog!?!? Why not Newt? If because she was drowned, why not Hicks? He was healthy and vital and would make a great host! If I had to plant my seed in his throat, I totally would!
Why wait? They were floating in space for a long time – it only lays two eggs?
And then just so happens to wander around the prison undetected until it finds Fido in a fan vent.
PLOT ERROR! As determined in the original, the facehugger dies after impregnating the host!
And a dog? That was awful. They lined the ramp up to the shark tank for that one.
November 24th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Yes, Chris. And vampires can’t walk in sunlight (or else their skin sparkles like Fredrick’s of Hollywood BodyGlitter Cream™).
Originally it was suposed to be an Ox or some other beast of burden. I liked the dog idea conceptually — the xenomorph takes something of the shape of its original host body — but the FX of the time were not up to the challenge of making an alien move like a quadraped beast.
I watched a little of Aliens as I fell asleep last night, and I agree that it’s all about the special edition. I never made it to the Bill Paxton parts, though, which is where the film really starts bugging me. I mean, it was great fun when I was 12.
I still think the concepts explored in Alien3 make the film worthwhile. There’s an ever present sense of loneliness in Ellen Ripley that is expressed in a kind of defiant and exhausted resignation. She’s well matched by the big black dude and the doctor, who each struggle with their own demons (the doc, addiction; the preacherman sexual aggression).
It’s almost great even without the Alien.
November 24th, 2009 at 11:33 am
We should probably hold our fire until Bill does his big “shame Casey” post. I love those!
November 24th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Ha! Alien3 has the better story and symbolism, given – it appeals to the sense of intellect. You’re right.
But I just enjoy Aliens better – it’s Rambo vs. Aliens! And ends with a nuclear bomb!
November 24th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
T-minus 23 seconds. . .
November 24th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
3…2…1… Have a nice day! (wrong movie?)
November 24th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Casey & Chris,
Your unabashed displays of nerd-dom brought a much-needed smile to my face this afternoon. Thank you.
-B