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Neysa and Ebert...
18 years ago
General
Hello everyone,
I can't stand being in bed all day long (get your minds out of the gutter :) ) but at least I can watch movies while buzzing on the meds. So I got to watch two movies so far: Aliens (Special Edition) and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and figure, as long as I'm seeing pink elephants with chest bursters running around in my bedroom hallucinations, I might as well critique them for those who care and most others who only read this drivel because I get to make a fool of myself. Let's start with Aliens.
Aliens: Special Edition *not really spoilers ahead, but if you haven’t seen this movie yet, you either don’t like the genera or not from this planet*
The only time I have seen this movie was in the theater back in 1986. It was a great movie then, but an even better movie now! There was a great sense of camaraderie in that theater when watching the first time. I recall that the theater was packed, a sold out house, and we were all biting our fingernails when the aliens are detected by the motion trackers as being “inside the room”. Burke locks them all in the control center and some woman, sitting in the middle of the theater stands up and yells at the screen, “You son of a b*tch!”. We all cheered as it broke the tension. Well, the “Special Edition” didn’t really add much more tension, but it did show things I’d only heard about, or a few completely new things I would have never expected. As for the things I’d only heard about, people had told me about these robotic “sentry” machine guns that the Colonial Marines used, and I thought they must have been mistaken with another movie. Well, I concede, I was wrong. They utilized these weapons, although they didn’t really seem to do much good. I always regretted the fact that these Colonial Marines were armed to the teeth, but you never get to see what the “Bug Stomping” dropship, APC or the Sulaco can do with all those missiles, guns and cannons. If it were up to me, I’d bring a giant box of baking soda or Tums to neutralize their “acid for blood”. What was interesting about the “Special Edition” is that you get to learn history about Ripley, Ripley’s next of kin, Burke’s involvement with the ‘infection’ and Newt’s family among other things, like Hicks boasting about what sort of weapons they have. A total of 15 minutes of unreleased footage has been added to this DVD, so if you like Hicks and Hudson and Caterpillar Loaders, I would recommend this DVD highly! Two thumbs up.
P.S. If Bishop is programmed not to be able to “harm or by action let harm come to a human”, why did he say this just after he did the knife trick with Hicks? Was his AI that confident that no harm would come to Hicks even though he nicked himself? Contemplate and discuss.
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
I definitely have to admit that looking back at these two movies, you have to think, “wow, did I really wear close like that?” or “wow, did I really tease and spray my hair like that?” It’s much more apparent in Aliens than it is in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome… until you see Tina Turner. When they sing, “One of these things is not like the other…” on Sesame Street, you have to consider that everyone in Mad Max’s realm speaks with an Australian accent that is either almost understandable or completely “out there” for a naive person like me, and then, Auntie Entity enters the screen with her chain mail, chicken wire and dog muzzle dress. Somehow, I feel that if they cast Grace Jones, that would have been a more fitting adversary. Otherwise, the movie is fun, and really interesting when it comes to the language the lost children have invented and the climatic chase at the end. Mel looks hot with both long and short hair, and there’s something to be said about homemade dune buggies and people wearing football/hockey pads for armor. I give it a thumbs up.
Well, there you go! How’s that for reviews of movies that are 21 years old! I definitely want to thank all the well wishers from yesterday, and yes, it really hurts like you say. The worst thing is when I’m either shifting in bed or walking around the rib pops out of position and makes a painful, “crunching” feeling. Definitely stops you in your tracks! Next movies on the list are Terminator 2 and Total Recall, a Schwarzenegger double header! Any more suggestions?
*Edit* Being as bored as I am when not sleeping, anyone else on AIM? Send me a private message and I'll tell you my AIM handle.
I can't stand being in bed all day long (get your minds out of the gutter :) ) but at least I can watch movies while buzzing on the meds. So I got to watch two movies so far: Aliens (Special Edition) and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and figure, as long as I'm seeing pink elephants with chest bursters running around in my bedroom hallucinations, I might as well critique them for those who care and most others who only read this drivel because I get to make a fool of myself. Let's start with Aliens.
Aliens: Special Edition *not really spoilers ahead, but if you haven’t seen this movie yet, you either don’t like the genera or not from this planet*
The only time I have seen this movie was in the theater back in 1986. It was a great movie then, but an even better movie now! There was a great sense of camaraderie in that theater when watching the first time. I recall that the theater was packed, a sold out house, and we were all biting our fingernails when the aliens are detected by the motion trackers as being “inside the room”. Burke locks them all in the control center and some woman, sitting in the middle of the theater stands up and yells at the screen, “You son of a b*tch!”. We all cheered as it broke the tension. Well, the “Special Edition” didn’t really add much more tension, but it did show things I’d only heard about, or a few completely new things I would have never expected. As for the things I’d only heard about, people had told me about these robotic “sentry” machine guns that the Colonial Marines used, and I thought they must have been mistaken with another movie. Well, I concede, I was wrong. They utilized these weapons, although they didn’t really seem to do much good. I always regretted the fact that these Colonial Marines were armed to the teeth, but you never get to see what the “Bug Stomping” dropship, APC or the Sulaco can do with all those missiles, guns and cannons. If it were up to me, I’d bring a giant box of baking soda or Tums to neutralize their “acid for blood”. What was interesting about the “Special Edition” is that you get to learn history about Ripley, Ripley’s next of kin, Burke’s involvement with the ‘infection’ and Newt’s family among other things, like Hicks boasting about what sort of weapons they have. A total of 15 minutes of unreleased footage has been added to this DVD, so if you like Hicks and Hudson and Caterpillar Loaders, I would recommend this DVD highly! Two thumbs up.
P.S. If Bishop is programmed not to be able to “harm or by action let harm come to a human”, why did he say this just after he did the knife trick with Hicks? Was his AI that confident that no harm would come to Hicks even though he nicked himself? Contemplate and discuss.
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
I definitely have to admit that looking back at these two movies, you have to think, “wow, did I really wear close like that?” or “wow, did I really tease and spray my hair like that?” It’s much more apparent in Aliens than it is in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome… until you see Tina Turner. When they sing, “One of these things is not like the other…” on Sesame Street, you have to consider that everyone in Mad Max’s realm speaks with an Australian accent that is either almost understandable or completely “out there” for a naive person like me, and then, Auntie Entity enters the screen with her chain mail, chicken wire and dog muzzle dress. Somehow, I feel that if they cast Grace Jones, that would have been a more fitting adversary. Otherwise, the movie is fun, and really interesting when it comes to the language the lost children have invented and the climatic chase at the end. Mel looks hot with both long and short hair, and there’s something to be said about homemade dune buggies and people wearing football/hockey pads for armor. I give it a thumbs up.
Well, there you go! How’s that for reviews of movies that are 21 years old! I definitely want to thank all the well wishers from yesterday, and yes, it really hurts like you say. The worst thing is when I’m either shifting in bed or walking around the rib pops out of position and makes a painful, “crunching” feeling. Definitely stops you in your tracks! Next movies on the list are Terminator 2 and Total Recall, a Schwarzenegger double header! Any more suggestions?
*Edit* Being as bored as I am when not sleeping, anyone else on AIM? Send me a private message and I'll tell you my AIM handle.
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