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For me that title belongs to the infamous Prometheus.  ;)

Predictable, I know, but it has to be Alien 3 for me...

A:R for me.

Back and forth of Prometheus and the horrid script made it one big yawn fest...

Resurrection. "Gee, which one of these jerks is gonna die next? Could the aliens not kill them all at once, so I can go?"

The music tries to liven things up with its rising chromatic stabs, which are also, musically speaking, boring.  :P

A:R.

Prometheus, because of no Aliens, just about the Engineer.

I am actually not surprised someone would pick Aliens as the most boring. I showed the series to my friend and his girlfriend one time and his girlfriend HATED Aliens mainly cause she hated the boring visuals and marine shoot-em up atmosphere. She was a big fan of David Fincher and more story/visual driven films. Hearing Aliens be the most boring is actually not too uncommon nowadays.  :laugh: Just compare Cameron's visual aesthetic to the likes of Scott, Fincher, Hell even Jeunet.

Resurrection
Prometheus
Covenant
Alien
Alien 3
Aliens <- least boring lmao

Quote from: Chronicle on Jun 16, 2017, 02:41:32 AM
I am actually not surprised someone would pick Aliens as the most boring. I showed the series to my friend and his girlfriend one time and his girlfriend HATED Aliens mainly cause she hated the boring visuals and marine shoot-em up atmosphere. She was a big fan of David Fincher and more story/visual driven films. Hearing Aliens be the most boring is actually not too uncommon nowadays.  :laugh: Just compare Cameron's visual aesthetic to the likes of Scott, Fincher, Hell even Jeunet.

My experience with showing Aliens to other was the complete opposite, the pro photographer shared my absolute love for the expressionist visuals (Alien and Aliens share the same visual style, some comparisons)

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and everyone praised the story for having more heart and unbearable tension, and all of my audience hated action films, like I do. I loved how aliens are presented as shadows basically, very creepy and great cinematography. For me those images above and those are just the most wonderful, dream like cinematographic jewels, I love expressionism

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I guess everyone is simply different. Ive met people in my life who said Alien and Aliens are the most boring because nothing happens for almost entire movie. Met people who said they fell asleep during Alien before chestburtsting and during Aliens for the same reasons - very long buildup

So IM also not surprised someone would pick Aliens, theres such a long buildup in it, like in Alien, most people today cant hold for so long

Going back to visuals, both Scott and Cameron are my favorite when it comes to their early work, with their using the abovementioned expressonism and noir lighting, theyre both absolute best film artists. For example, my all time favorite shot of Scott is in Blade Runner when the elevator goes up and the light silhouettes the mannequins. Beautiful. And both very similar in their early work, unfortunately both moved on from that style a long time ago

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For me that unified visual style of Alien and Aliens is probably what I love the most about those movies, even above the story and feel, and I missed that style after those because  expressionism never returned to the Alien ever again, even tho, Alien 3 is absolutely phenomenal, but its not that same hazy dream-like Backlit imagery that I love so much about the first two. That style, those visuals of the first two films, which are basically the same by design, are my favorite imagery and style of any film ever, and made me go into my field a long time ago because I was so breathtaken by it

Quote from: StrangeShape on Jun 16, 2017, 09:34:57 PM

So IM also not surprised someone would pick Aliens, theres such a long buildup in it, like in Alien, most people today cant hold for so long

Yeah, you would have to really accelerate the sense of ominous dread and/or thrills/suspense.

cov

1 dimensional characters. a plot you could see coming from a million miles away. gotcha ending. felt like a 2 hr trailer.

Alien 3
Resurrection
Covenant

All 3 sucked mooseballs.

Alien 3 for me.

I can understand how A:R is a bad film to some people but "boring"? The black comedy and clone scene along with the cinematography Jeunet uses thorough-out this film make it far from boring in my opinion.

Probably have to be A:R. I've only managed to sit through it once.

None of them bore me, honestly. I have issues with some of the films but I'm never bored.

Quote from: Chronicle on Jun 17, 2017, 11:08:13 PM
I can understand how A:R is a bad film to some people but "boring"? The black comedy and clone scene along with the cinematography Jeunet uses thorough-out this film make it far from boring in my opinion.

See, the thing about comedy is that it should be funny. Apart from Vriess's physical gag of stealing the parts, all the 'jokes' produced in me only groans and eyerolls.

The clone scene struck me only as a retread of the deleted cocoon scene from Alien. True, I feel sorry for Sigourney on that table, but not in the way the filmmakers intended, I think...

I don't find any of the films boring tbh

Quote from: PsyKore on Jun 18, 2017, 11:08:19 AM
None of them bore me, honestly. I have issues with some of the films but I'm never bored.

Yeah. I would have to agree with PsyKore above. I'd never call any of them boring. Sometimes I may not be in the mood to watch a certain film but that's different.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Jun 19, 2017, 12:22:52 PM

Quote from: PsyKore on Jun 18, 2017, 11:08:19 AM
None of them bore me, honestly. I have issues with some of the films but I'm never bored.

Yeah. I would have to agree with PsyKore above. I'd never call any of them boring. Sometimes I may not be in the mood to watch a certain film but that's different.

I agree with this entirely  :) I enjoy all the films.

Yea guys, I get yea but still, you have to pick one. How I look at it, the movie that I'll watch the least is A|R... meaning by default it has to be the most boring.

Yeah, I'm not saying you HAVE TO consider any of the films boring but I was just curious. I mean I always run into a few odd ones that will complain about the pacing and visual aesthetic of one of the films. Living in a world of Michael Bay action and spectacle I wouldn't in my honest opinion find it suprising that people find some of the films a little slow/boring. I don't find ANY of the films personally "boring" with the honest exception of Prometheus. I'm just trying to look at everything objectively and without bias. Everyone is going to have their own unique opinion on the Alien films. Whether the opinion be good or bad I never want to believe that anyone's personal opinion is wrong.

A3 for me, mostly because it's a not so great retake of Alien. One Alien going around killing people just like the first film, but no were near as great. Alien Res at least trys to do something different. But I'm also not much of a fan as AR.

Quote from: Chronicle on Jun 23, 2017, 05:33:43 PM
Yeah, I'm not saying you HAVE TO consider any of the films boring but I was just curious. I mean I always run into a few odd ones that will complain about the pacing and visual aesthetic of one of the films. Living in a world of Michael Bay action and spectacle I wouldn't in my honest opinion find it suprising that people find some of the films a little slow/boring. I don't find ANY of the films personally "boring" with the honest exception of Prometheus. I'm just trying to look at everything objectively and without bias. Everyone is going to have their own unique opinion on the Alien films. Whether the opinion be good or bad I never want to believe that anyone's personal opinion is wrong.

Then where is the  "I don't find any of them boring" pick? I mean after all, we have to be honest with ourselves and pick one. :P

I can totally understand why you'd find Prometheus boring.

Quote from: Kimo on Jun 24, 2017, 06:46:08 AM
A3 for me, mostly because it's a not so great retake of Alien. One Alien going around killing people just like the first film

I would strongly disagree with that. The idea of one alien and no weapons around is just about the only thing that Alien and Alien 3 has in common, and in grand scheme of things, a very surface similarity. Aside from the fact that theres one alien, Alien 3 is completely different on every level. The cinematography is different, it abandons the expressionist backlit style of the first one (the second continued the original style too), the story structure is completely different - while in both Alien and Aliens we only know as much as the characters, in Alien 3 we are always ahead of them, for example, we see the alien being born, we know its there, we know what happened on Sulaco, we know before anyone else that the alien starts its killings, etc etc. Also, in the first two movies, nothing happens for over an hour into the film - both movies are pretty much one very long buildup into a single, multilayered climax. Alien 3 has the more conventional pacing - it starts with a bang and goes from action to no action, action to no action. And plenty more to that. In case of Alien 3, if you cut the alien out, the movie doesnt change much if you replace it with cholera or something, cause its all about grief of the characters in it and Ripleys dealing with her terminal illness

Quote from: StrangeShape on Jun 24, 2017, 01:41:28 PM

Quote from: Kimo on Jun 24, 2017, 06:46:08 AM
A3 for me, mostly because it's a not so great retake of Alien. One Alien going around killing people just like the first film

I would strongly disagree with that. The idea of one alien and no weapons around is just about the only thing that Alien and Alien 3 has in common, and in grand scheme of things, a very surface similarity. Aside from the fact that theres one alien, Alien 3 is completely different on every level. The cinematography is different, it abandons the expressionist backlit style of the first one (the second continued the original style too), the story structure is completely different - while in both Alien and Aliens we only know as much as the characters, in Alien 3 we are always ahead of them, for example, we see the alien being born, we know its there, we know what happened on Sulaco, we know before anyone else that the alien starts its killings, etc etc. Also, in the first two movies, nothing happens for over an hour into the film - both movies are pretty much one very long buildup into a single, multilayered climax. Alien 3 has the more conventional pacing - it starts with a bang and goes from action to no action, action to no action. And plenty more to that. In case of Alien 3, if you cut the alien out, the movie doesnt change much if you replace it with cholera or something, cause its all about grief of the characters in it and Ripleys dealing with her terminal illness

I'm not comparing A3 with Alien by saying it's a carbon copy when it comes to story because they are both differnt. I should of been more clear in my last post. I was referring to the fact that A3 for me doesn't offer anything new to the table, other then the Alien comes from a dog/ox. As of now, I do think out of the 6 films it's the one that I find the most boring to watch because if i want to watch a film with a single monster killing people in space? I tend to choose the first Alien film over A3 because the 1st film is more fascinating to view. Maybe I just hate A3 for being soo dam depressing.
Here's what I think of the other films.
Aliens manages to turn a horror movie in to a war film and also puts a Queen in to the mix. Aliens is like a roller coaster ride it's a great sequel to alien.
Alien Resurrection is a bad film, but at least it trys to do something different by cloning Ripley. The Newborn on screen looks stupid but the idea behind it, is good. It's a shame AR was made to look like a comic book movie because it has some good ideas in there.
Prometheus went down the ancient astronaut Theory route and also gives us David. It also looks beautiful and I like to watch it once in a while. However it has some stupid moments in it.
Covenant I've only seen once, need to see it afew more times to judge whether it will be one of them films that gets better or worse with multiple viewings. Personally I think it will be the latter. :(

Quote from: Kimo on Jun 24, 2017, 04:11:06 PM
if i want to watch a film with a single monster killing people in space? I tend to choose the first Alien film over A3 because the 1st film is more fascinating to view.

Well, but single monster killing people in space IS the main, or rather only focus, its what the first movie is all about. Alien 3 could be without the alien and the movie wouldnt really change much. Ripley crash landing on eev with the others dead in the crash, contemplating, landing on depressing planet with a lot of other wasted lives, and terminally ill to that. Alien 3 isnt about monster killing people, its a character driven story

Prometheus. Uneven pacing, uninteresting things happening onscreen -- besides a couple scenes

Quote from: StrangeShape on Jun 24, 2017, 05:34:07 PM

Quote from: Kimo on Jun 24, 2017, 04:11:06 PM
if i want to watch a film with a single monster killing people in space? I tend to choose the first Alien film over A3 because the 1st film is more fascinating to view.

Well, but single monster killing people in space IS the main, or rather only focus, its what the first movie is all about. Alien 3 could be without the alien and the movie wouldnt really change much. Ripley crash landing on eev with the others dead in the crash, contemplating, landing on depressing planet with a lot of other wasted lives, and terminally ill to that. Alien 3 isnt about monster killing people, its a character driven story

Other then the original Ripley's depressing final chapter and them killing off Hicks and Newt, the rest of A3 is still a movie thats already been done previously in the first 2 films... The other alien films (not counting Covenant at this moment in time) have more to offer when it comes to story then A3 has in my option.
Aliens: has enough momentum to keep the juices flowing by offering something new. like the Queen/hive and adding firepower in to the mix, and having interesting characters. However Aliens when you look at it, is just a bigger version of Alien with "this time it's more" with an insect colony spin on the original Alien idea... But still Cameron manages to make a film that's a solid sequel to the original alien film.
Alien Res gets a lot of stick, but it manages to at least (on paper) bring Ripley back and put a whole new angle on the series by adding cloning and having Ripley8 that's also a hybrid clone herself. We now get to see humans mixing Xeno DNA. The New Born execution on film looks bad but it had potential to be something f**king creepy if it was done right. Also why I consider AR to be a bad film, it has interesting characters even if they look and feel that the were taking right out of a comic book. If I had to choose between A3 and AR I would pick AR because I know I would get depressed and bored with A3 far sooner then any of the other films in this series.

I get that they is a lot of love and hate towards Alien3 and I respect the fact that the film is a solid film if your ok with were the original Ripley story ends? but I just find it the least interesting when it comes to the xenomorph itself because it's been done before in Alien. I want to know more about what the xenomorph is and were it came from and what it is capable of but we don't get that in A3 other then the Runner looks cool and that it came from a Dog/Ox.

Most of the Alien movies are nicely paced. Alien3 does bore me, though. It isn't a bad movie, it just doesn't hold my attention. Overall I like the pacing of Prometheus the best. The other movies sometimes lose my attention after the build-up to the action.

Prometheus a bit a bit all over the place in the second half.  Alien 3 moves better in the theatrical.  Aliens sags a little in between the drop ship crash and the facehugger attack.  Resurrection is stop-start after the Aliens escape.

Alien rules all and none of them are boring.

Alien drags in the final act.

Quote from: Omegamorph on Jun 24, 2017, 06:42:50 PM
Prometheus. Uneven pacing, uninteresting things happening onscreen -- besides a couple scenes

THIS ENTIRELY.

I don't know where Alien Resurrection is "boring" came from? Yeah, it's silly but not boring like these 12 people voted for surprisingly.

There's too much 'lets stand around and have a chat' in Resurrection.

Yeah and Resurrection is literally "let's get from point A to point B!" Done.

And yeah I never noticed it but holy shit Resurrection is a lot of extraneous yapping. Perez and Elgyn get a dialogue scene and for what? They die minutes later. The "we can't trust her" scene. The "earth? I'd rather stay here with the things" scene. The Call boxing gloves scene. The Call is a robot scene. Those damn Resurrection hallways.

My vote goes to Covenant. I'm a colossal Alien fan. Since four years old. There is a big f**king problem if I'm falling asleep and bored out of my mind in a Dolby cinema watching a new Alien movie by Ridley Scott with TWO MICHAEL FASSBENDERS in the scene. Once David showed up the movie turned into a mess. I still can't get over how random and pointless and lacking in story Covenant was. My LORD.

Prometheus has barely if any gratuitous yapping. Very tight. And amazing dialogue. Unlike Ron Perlman and Winona Ryder ruining everything with their lines.

Aliens: Extended Cut.

Quote from: PierreVW on Jun 29, 2017, 05:36:07 AM
Aliens: Extended Cut.

James CAMERON released a special edition for both Aliens and T2 with SIMILAR RUNTIMES.

James Cameron is VERY METICULOUS with his movies that is why RIDLEY has directed more.

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jun 29, 2017, 05:21:45 AM
Yeah and Resurrection is literally "let's get from point A to point B!" Done.

And yeah I never noticed it but holy shit Resurrection is a lot of extraneous yapping. Perez and Elgyn get a dialogue scene and for what? They die minutes later. The "we can't trust her" scene. The "earth? I'd rather stay here with the things" scene. The Call boxing gloves scene. The Call is a robot scene. Those damn Resurrection hallways.

My vote goes to Covenant. I'm a colossal Alien fan. Since four years old. There is a big f**king problem if I'm falling asleep and bored out of my mind in a Dolby cinema watching a new Alien movie by Ridley Scott with TWO MICHAEL FASSBENDERS in the scene. Once David showed up the movie turned into a mess. I still can't get over how random and pointless and lacking in story Covenant was. My LORD.

Prometheus has barely if any gratuitous yapping. Very tight. And amazing dialogue. Unlike Ron Perlman and Winona Ryder ruining everything with their lines.

I don't think Resurrection has excessive yapping as such, it's more the fact they stand around yapping and you never get the impression they're in any real danger.  They could've condensed the scenes where they meet Ripley and where they meet Vriess into one.  The chapel scene is one of my favourite in any Alien film (the extended version) but it comes at a point where they should be building on the excitement of the kitchen/ ladder scene.  Everything just stops so they can have another yap.  There's a scene where they're walking along and Johner asks Ripley about meeting the Aliens before - Resurrection needed more 'lets talk while we walk'.

Compare it to Aliens and you get 20 minutes of yapping between the dropship crash and facehugger attack - but a) they're sealed in a safe spot and b) it's punctuated by the sentry guns scenes meaning it's not going to be safe for long.

Ahh that's what I couldn't quite put my finger on the last few times I watched it. There is indeed no sense of threat a lot of the time. The film could've used an Andrews' death moment to break that spell. That extended chapel scene is an all great Alien scene.

Not to mention all of the Aliens dialogue is really good. Such amazing scenes with ripley and Burke. And ripley putting newt to bed. Vs Ron and Winona yelling and whining.

Yeah an Alien jumping out and just nailing someone in the middle of some dialogue, would've helped them get a wriggle on.

Probably should have just sold it as a podcast

Resurrection's "stand around yapping" is typical of Joss Whedon's writing. It really reminds me of Buffy which was similar in that regard.

But of course, Whedon had nothing to do with how bad the film was. :laugh:

Yeah it was everyone else.

The film is not bad, but if there is a problem it is Whedon's script (not bad on it's own, but there may have been mistranslation) and the budget cuts.

But the visuals and style are more important in Alien Resurrection, than the dialogue.

All of it is important, in any film.

Aliens is so boring I can never get through it. I realized it's because it spends the first 25 minutes recapping the first movie, then spends the rest of the movie reenacting the first movie. The only difference now is that there are more Aliens and the characters are all asshole military grunts, The movie barely gives us anything new, everything Aliens did, Alien did it better. After spending the first 25 minutes watching Ripley tell everybody about the Nostromo the movie turns into a remake of Alien.

-We start with an exterior shot of the Soloco (Nostromo)

-Then an interior tour of the ship.

- The crew wake from hyper sleep.

-The crew eat and banter.

-The crew gets briefed on an incident on LV-426.

-they get on a smaller ship that detaches from the main ship and go down to the planet.

- They encounter Aliens, run around for a while until they realize an explosion is going to happen. just like the Nostromo.

-Flashing lights, steam, alarms blaring.

-the marines have cameras mounted on their helmets just like the Nostromo crew.

- Ripley gets on a drop ship and escapes the explosion.

-But UH-OH an Alien has snuck aboard the ship and Ripley has to fight one more time.

-Ripley wins by sending the alien out the airlock...again.

-Ripley goes back to hyper sleep.

The differences between the two films is negligible to me. The only good thing about it is that it made Ripley a more three-dimensional character but overall I don't like this movie at all. It takes an hour and 15 minutes for the Aliens to show up. an HOUR and FIFTEEN MINUTES building up to something we already experienced once before. BORING!

I actually enjoy the buildup in Aliens more than the action sequences.

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jun 29, 2017, 05:21:45 AM
And yeah I never noticed it but holy shit Resurrection is a lot of extraneous yapping. Perez and Elgyn get a dialogue scene and for what? They die minutes later. The "we can't trust her" scene. The "earth? I'd rather stay here with the things" scene. The Call boxing gloves scene. The Call is a robot scene. Those damn Resurrection hallways.

Prometheus has barely if any gratuitous yapping. Very tight. And amazing dialogue. Unlike Ron Perlman and Winona Ryder ruining everything with their lines.

Resurrection does leagues more character-building than does Prometheus. Prometheus actually has more characters than does Resurrection, but ends up killing off literally everyone except two. In Resurrection, more than two people survive: you get Ripley, Call, Perlman, Vriess, and probably someone else (Distephano?). Everyone has more developed characters than in Prometheus; sure, people die, but they're having fun with it. Do you really need Sigourney Weaver to make that one in a million basketball shot? Maybe not for the plot, but you can't say that it, including the reactions to everyone else, helps develop her character and helps to set the tone.

I think the scene with Elgyn and Perez, even though they both die soon after, is one of the best in the series, precisely because their characters are subdued and cool. But you not only learn that they're both bad people, but you also learn a bit of backstory and you can extrapolate about what the crews of both the Betty and Auriga are like. Is it a necessary scene? Well, think about it this way: what would be lost if you took out the scene in Aliens when they're explaining the mission to the marines, even though we as an audience know what's going on. What is the point of it? The scene develops character and beautifully conveys the marines' over-confidence and helps the audience feel like a badass by having the characters, including Vasquez, contribute to the overall machismo as they rib each other: "She thought they said illegal aliens and signed up"; "f**k you, man"; "Anytime, anywhere"; "How do I get out of this chickenshit outfit?"; "I only need to know one thing: where they are". Think about how much character development is skipped if that scene, which in terms of plot is basically unnecessary, were omitted? And the vast majority of the marines die too; in fact, only Hicks survives. But you need those scenes to establish characters, an environment, and an overall atmosphere/tone of the movie (as a not-quite-excuse, I heard that the film was supposed to be longer and that it the characters were supposed to be in more scenes, but that it was cut for time, although I'm not sure how true that is).

I'm not saying the Elgyn/Perez scene is on par with that marines scene, but the "talky" scenes in Alien: Resurrection are by far better than the action scenes. You come to understand that the crew of the Betty are actually pretty scummy, but Elgyn's smile is somehow still endearing. Obviously the company is experimenting with things that they shouldn't be playing with, but Perez's and Wren's scenes are humanizing. They're not just vague, faceless corporate bad guys at the other end of the universe, as in Alien. They're people with personalities. Brad Dourif and Wren both basically fill the same role, but their personalities are very different. The scene with the boxing gloves shows how the Betty crew interacts with each other, helping the audience to understand relationships between characters that we'll be spending time with throughout the movie. In Prometheus, at the analogous time (where Scott should be character-developing), everyone's confined to chairs, listening to a pre-recorded speech. The only character relationships we get at the beginning of the film are Vickers pulling up her jockstrap and Holloway and Shaw showing that they're a couple. Wow, so deep.

My main point is that when the characters in Resurrection die, such as when Christie sacrifices himself, you feel something. In Prometheus, the characters are so robotic and undeveloped, and all the talky scenes are so needlessly convoluted and abstract that when everyone dies, even Vickers, I didn't feel anything. They're all either cold and stiff or so stupid that it's impossible to sympathize with them, with the one except of Holloway, who instead gets offed early. Once that happens, there's no real reason to get invested in anything afterwards, unless you care about what happens to Panting McSweaty-Hair Shaw--and note that I say happens to her rather than what she does...because she doesn't seem to do much of anything except run around a whole lot.

I feel that even though the plot to Resurrection is a dime-a-dozen horror movie cliche, it has way more character than Prometheus. The crew of the Betty and even of the Auriga actually have personalities rather than reductions to stereotypical archetypes that Scott can just shove down the audience's throat so he can get to his so profound sci-fi/religious/quasi-philosophical masturbation session. I wonder if you can guess which one I find the most boring.

QuoteMy main point is that when the characters in Resurrection die, such as when Christie sacrifices himself, you feel something.

Most people feel annoyance at what they perceive to be a pointless death, due to dodgy execution.  This is the same Christie who said earlier 'I don't trust anyone' - then gives the guy who would've executed him 10 minutes earlier an ammo pack for his gun.

Also I'm not sure what's terribly humanizing about Perez or Wren.  They wanted live human hosts for medical experiments.  Williamson at least has the manners to look away when the hosts get hugged.  Wren smiles.

The talky stuff in Resurrection only become an issue after the 40 minute mark when the Aliens escape.

I was comparing it to Prometheus. The whole series hasn't been terribly good with developing personalities of the Company. You get nobody in Alien; in Aliens there's the board members who hear about the destruction of the Nostromo (do they even count?) and Burke, one of the best characters in the series; in Alien 3 all you have is the "real" Bishop, who is just delighted to be slimy and scummy. By comparison, Perez and Wren are much more developed than anyone except Burke, but you're never going to top Burke. Prometheus has Peter Weyland, possibly the worst-developed/most annoying member of the Company. He has nothing humanizing about him; he has no emotions except the desire to live forever. He takes no joy in anything and even his goal is vague except inasmuch as he just wants to be immortal. There are much more developed comic book villains. His existence is only to be hated; he's a walking, talking hypocrisy with no personality and is completely self-absorbed. We can't even smile at his comeuppance because he's boring, undeveloped, and would be a better character were he not in the film at all. Brad Dourif may be silly or over the top, but at least you can smile at his last words.

Resurrection has problems, don't get me wrong. But it does have characters and character-developing scenes that make them seem like real people, not like self-centered robots. I didn't care that anyone died in Prometheus except Holloway because I think he actually tried to have a personality, but you knew he was doomed from the moment that he drank from the glass.

2001:  A Space Odyssey doesn't have great character development, either.  Heywood Floyd is a stiff company man/scientist who we know nothing about except that he has a daughter on Earth.  Dave Bowman has not much character, either.  Everybody else is just part of the scenery.

I think 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the most boring movies I've ever tried to watch. It goes to show what I look for in movies. On the other hand, Ran, which is actually a longer film, is one of my favorite films and is more engaging to me.

Quotein Aliens there's the board members who hear about the destruction of the Nostromo (do they even count?)

No, they weren't Company - ICC, ECA, insurance etc.

Quotein Alien 3 all you have is the "real" Bishop, who is just delighted to be slimy and scummy.

There was Andrews and Aaron too.  Aaron's 11th hour conversion was a nice touch, but sadly they lost a connection between him and Morse that's hinted at in the workprint.

Quote from: Olde on Jul 04, 2017, 02:37:14 AM

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jun 29, 2017, 05:21:45 AM
And yeah I never noticed it but holy shit Resurrection is a lot of extraneous yapping. Perez and Elgyn get a dialogue scene and for what? They die minutes later. The "we can't trust her" scene. The "earth? I'd rather stay here with the things" scene. The Call boxing gloves scene. The Call is a robot scene. Those damn Resurrection hallways.

Prometheus has barely if any gratuitous yapping. Very tight. And amazing dialogue. Unlike Ron Perlman and Winona Ryder ruining everything with their lines.

Resurrection does leagues more character-building than does Prometheus. Prometheus actually has more characters than does Resurrection, but ends up killing off literally everyone except two. In Resurrection, more than two people survive: you get Ripley, Call, Perlman, Vriess, and probably someone else (Distephano?). Everyone has more developed characters than in Prometheus; sure, people die, but they're having fun with it. Do you really need Sigourney Weaver to make that one in a million basketball shot? Maybe not for the plot, but you can't say that it, including the reactions to everyone else, helps develop her character and helps to set the tone.

I think the scene with Elgyn and Perez, even though they both die soon after, is one of the best in the series, precisely because their characters are subdued and cool. But you not only learn that they're both bad people, but you also learn a bit of backstory and you can extrapolate about what the crews of both the Betty and Auriga are like. Is it a necessary scene? Well, think about it this way: what would be lost if you took out the scene in Aliens when they're explaining the mission to the marines, even though we as an audience know what's going on. What is the point of it? The scene develops character and beautifully conveys the marines' over-confidence and helps the audience feel like a badass by having the characters, including Vasquez, contribute to the overall machismo as they rib each other: "She thought they said illegal aliens and signed up"; "f**k you, man"; "Anytime, anywhere"; "How do I get out of this chickenshit outfit?"; "I only need to know one thing: where they are". Think about how much character development is skipped if that scene, which in terms of plot is basically unnecessary, were omitted? And the vast majority of the marines die too; in fact, only Hicks survives. But you need those scenes to establish characters, an environment, and an overall atmosphere/tone of the movie (as a not-quite-excuse, I heard that the film was supposed to be longer and that it the characters were supposed to be in more scenes, but that it was cut for time, although I'm not sure how true that is).

I'm not saying the Elgyn/Perez scene is on par with that marines scene, but the "talky" scenes in Alien: Resurrection are by far better than the action scenes. You come to understand that the crew of the Betty are actually pretty scummy, but Elgyn's smile is somehow still endearing. Obviously the company is experimenting with things that they shouldn't be playing with, but Perez's and Wren's scenes are humanizing. They're not just vague, faceless corporate bad guys at the other end of the universe, as in Alien. They're people with personalities. Brad Dourif and Wren both basically fill the same role, but their personalities are very different. The scene with the boxing gloves shows how the Betty crew interacts with each other, helping the audience to understand relationships between characters that we'll be spending time with throughout the movie. In Prometheus, at the analogous time (where Scott should be character-developing), everyone's confined to chairs, listening to a pre-recorded speech. The only character relationships we get at the beginning of the film are Vickers pulling up her jockstrap and Holloway and Shaw showing that they're a couple. Wow, so deep.

My main point is that when the characters in Resurrection die, such as when Christie sacrifices himself, you feel something. In Prometheus, the characters are so robotic and undeveloped, and all the talky scenes are so needlessly convoluted and abstract that when everyone dies, even Vickers, I didn't feel anything. They're all either cold and stiff or so stupid that it's impossible to sympathize with them, with the one except of Holloway, who instead gets offed early. Once that happens, there's no real reason to get invested in anything afterwards, unless you care about what happens to Panting McSweaty-Hair Shaw--and note that I say happens to her rather than what she does...because she doesn't seem to do much of anything except run around a whole lot.

I feel that even though the plot to Resurrection is a dime-a-dozen horror movie cliche, it has way more character than Prometheus. The crew of the Betty and even of the Auriga actually have personalities rather than reductions to stereotypical archetypes that Scott can just shove down the audience's throat so he can get to his so profound sci-fi/religious/quasi-philosophical masturbation session. I wonder if you can guess which one I find the most boring.

So I was wrong this whole time. Huh. Ain't that funny.

Not necessarily. But if you want to convince me, I'd say you need to back up what you said with examples and explanation. I even said that one of the things that personally draws me into a movie is the character-building scenes. What would Predator be without the iconic helicopter ride scene? Technically that doesn't really serve as anything plot-related except as a transitional scene, but it is so memorable for its music, color, humor, interactions, and character development that it gets you invested in the characters and the story. Or what about the scene in Alien with Parker, Brett, and Ripley that seemingly goes nowhere?

One huge thing that bores me is when a story, even a good story, is centred around characters that the director hasn't made me care about. Prometheus might actually be a decent movie if Scott knew how to create characters. I don't know, maybe you prefer a movie that has focuses more sustaining momentum regardless of the characters? To each his own. But as for me, I think it's a disservice to Jean-Pierre Jeunet to write off some of the slower scenes that try to build atmosphere and characters just because it's not in the best interest of the plot.

No no, I understand. I'm wrong. Olde thinks I'm wrong.

Grow up.

Don't hold your breath, he's been like this for a decade.

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jul 04, 2017, 06:00:12 AM
No no, I understand. I'm wrong. Olde thinks I'm wrong.

You are imo. Character development in Prometheus is atrocious. I can't even remember their fcking names...
A:R, aside it's stupid story and the newborn, does have characters that are interessting in a certain way. Elgyn was one of them, and he blows Janek away with the little lines he got in the movie. I'm always bummed out when the scene with the guns pops up, and hope he somehow survives this time.

With Janek I couldn't wait untill he fckin killed himself. Shame...Idris did not deserve such a lackluster role.

None of them really develop in either movie. Elgyn and Perez die early, Jonner, Vriess, Purvis, and Wren are basically the same at the start of the movie as they are at the end. Ripley maybe kind of develops as she discovers the balance between Alien and human within herself. Shaw's perhaps the most egregious example: she goes through the entire film as the protagonist and ends up precisely where she started off as a character.

I found Shaw interesting in terms of everything she believes is proved to be wrong - but she still wears her cross.  Of course when David asks her why, they squib it...

Never understood that about the character (Shaw). She learned nothing from the entire ordeal.

Cal has some development in A:R though, besides Ripley.

I'm not sure Shaw is that simple.  She's championing a theory that could undo her entire faith right from the outset.  But then isn't terribly willing to let it go, with the 'Who created them?' thing.  And even though the Engineers want to destroy us, instead of running home - she wants to go and ask them why.  Even though, again, it's very likely to challenge her faith.

She doesn't really develop as such, but she's an interesting conundrum.

was...

And some find her faith a bit annoying...borderline fanatic.

I never really understood that criticism.  If people don't like her for whatever reason, fair enough - that reason though, I don't get.

Quote from: SM on Jul 04, 2017, 12:40:00 PM
I never really understood that criticism.  If people don't like her for whatever reason, fair enough - that reason though, I don't get.

(https://assetsnffrgf-a.akamaihd.net/assets/m/502012468/univ/art/502012468_univ_sqr_xl.jpg)

Quote from: Hemi on Jul 04, 2017, 10:41:37 AM

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jul 04, 2017, 06:00:12 AM
No no, I understand. I'm wrong. Olde thinks I'm wrong.

You are imo. Character development in Prometheus is atrocious. I can't even remember their fcking names...
A:R, aside it's stupid story and the newborn, does have characters that are interessting in a certain way. Elgyn was one of them, and he blows Janek away with the little lines he got in the movie. I'm always bummed out when the scene with the guns pops up, and hope he somehow survives this time.

With Janek I couldn't wait untill he fckin killed himself. Shame...Idris did not deserve such a lackluster role.

Yes, continue having the mindset that someone's opinion can be wrong. It'll serve you well.

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jul 04, 2017, 04:08:28 PM

Quote from: Hemi on Jul 04, 2017, 10:41:37 AM

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jul 04, 2017, 06:00:12 AM
No no, I understand. I'm wrong. Olde thinks I'm wrong.

You are imo. Character development in Prometheus is atrocious. I can't even remember their fcking names...
A:R, aside it's stupid story and the newborn, does have characters that are interessting in a certain way. Elgyn was one of them, and he blows Janek away with the little lines he got in the movie. I'm always bummed out when the scene with the guns pops up, and hope he somehow survives this time.

With Janek I couldn't wait untill he fckin killed himself. Shame...Idris did not deserve such a lackluster role.

Yes, continue having the mindset that someone's opinion can be wrong. It'll serve you well.

Some people have the opinion that the world is flat...

Opinions can be uninformed or just flat out wrong. The fact that you believed it doesn't make it valid.

Right or wrong, Olde is actually trying to argue his point and discuss his opinion. But as per usual you are being condescending and dismissive without providing any actual counterpoints.

This isn't about facts, it's about character development in a movie. Which I wasn't even talking about anyway. My opinion isn't wrong, his opinion isn't wrong. Don't be ridiculous. Two members have now tacitly said that my thinking Prometheus had better character development than Resurrection... is wrong! Amazing. And when I said that I was wrong, I was being sarcastic. My word!

We all like different things. This is all subjective, nothing AT ALL like 2 + 2 equaling 4.

Can just about understand people not liking Aliens, but honestly can't see how anyone would find it boring...  :-\

It's interesting that ALIEN and COVENANT got the least votes.

That's mean ALIEN and COVENANT are the most entertaining.

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jul 04, 2017, 06:33:17 PM
Two members have now tacitly said that my thinking Prometheus had better character development than Resurrection...is wrong!

In their opinion... Relax, it's a damn forum.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/57/29/06/5729063e37aeeff21b7011be483da9f2.jpg)

Quote from: Hemi on Jul 05, 2017, 06:32:37 AM

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jul 04, 2017, 06:33:17 PM
Two members have now tacitly said that my thinking Prometheus had better character development than Resurrection...is wrong!

In their opinion... Relax, it's a damn forum.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/57/29/06/5729063e37aeeff21b7011be483da9f2.jpg)

LMAO  :laugh:

Quote from: Hemi on Jul 05, 2017, 06:32:37 AM

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jul 04, 2017, 06:33:17 PM
Two members have now tacitly said that my thinking Prometheus had better character development than Resurrection...is wrong!

In their opinion... Relax, it's a damn forum.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/57/29/06/5729063e37aeeff21b7011be483da9f2.jpg)

Don't be stupid.

Quote from: Rankles75 on Jul 04, 2017, 06:57:09 PM
Can just about understand people not liking Aliens, but honestly can't see how anyone would find it boring...  :-\

It's overblown like all James Cameron movies minus the original Terminator.

Cameron has the tendency to kill the rythm with overlong scenes in all of his movies. His movies are too long.

Other Directors has the other tendency: they made their films too short.

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jul 04, 2017, 06:00:12 AM
No no, I understand. I'm wrong. Olde thinks I'm wrong.

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jul 04, 2017, 04:08:28 PM
Yes, continue having the mindset that someone's opinion can be wrong. It'll serve you well.

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jul 05, 2017, 05:11:26 PM
Don't be stupid.

BishopShould Go, I wanted to inform you that I have reported you for breaking AvP Galaxy's first rule (http://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/index.php?topic=3.0):

Quote- Be Nice & Respectful. Be nice to other members. While a forum is for debating issues, just plain insulting people will not be tolerated.

You are demonstrating childish behaviour by insulting others and myself by acting like others are making a personal affront against you simply because they may not agree with you on what is ultimately an inconsequential issue. I suggest you shape up.

Drop the attitude BishopShouldGo. Feel free to have a disagreement of opinion and argue your point just leave the insults and condescension out of it.

Thank you RidgeTop for reorienting me. Will do.

Quote from: Olde on Jul 06, 2017, 08:12:05 AM
BishopShould Go, I wanted to inform you that I have reported you for breaking AvP Galaxy's first rule (http://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/index.php?topic=3.0):

Quote- Be Nice & Respectful. Be nice to other members. While a forum is for debating issues, just plain insulting people will not be tolerated.

I thought that was Fight Club.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Jun 19, 2017, 12:22:52 PM

Quote from: PsyKore on Jun 18, 2017, 11:08:19 AM
None of them bore me, honestly. I have issues with some of the films but I'm never bored.

Yeah. I would have to agree with PsyKore above. I'd never call any of them boring. Sometimes I may not be in the mood to watch a certain film but that's different.

This. I find the beginning of Alien slow, but its never boring. All the films keep me somewhat engaged all the time.

Quote from: SM on Jul 04, 2017, 03:00:26 AM
Also I'm not sure what's terribly humanizing about Perez or Wren.  They wanted live human hosts for medical experiments.  Williamson at least has the manners to look away when the hosts get hugged.  Wren smiles.

Yeah the only scientist (in the film) that has any humanity is Gediman who visibly cries during the egg scene and talks to Ripley 8 with some respect, calling her by proper pronouns instead of the dehumanizing "it" like Perez did and I believe he asked if they could keep her alive. But then Gediman turned out to be bats*** insane himself and given his behavior during the monitoring scene, he was pretty eccentric before being captured. The novel version states that quite a few scientists were very uncomfortable during the egg scene, I believe some threw up? haven't read it in awhile.

I read Gedimans tears to be joyous.

Did Williamson end up escaping?

Yes.

The last three.

Quote from: SM on Jul 12, 2017, 01:11:03 AM
I read Gedimans tears to be joyous.

His facial expressions while crying seem to indicate sadness/remorse, though I wouldn't be surprised if he did cry out of joy  :laugh:

Definitely PROM for me. All the quasi-existential ancient astronaut mumbo-jumbo didn't do it for me and the editing butchered the flow. I've watched PROM five times since it came out (two of those being fan-edits).

Prometheus

I'd say Covenant. The first two have perfect pacing for me, the third one is very close, Resurrection was middling but I don't consider it really boring. Prometheus wasn't what I would call a boring movie too, but definitely has flaws in this regard.

Alien Resurrection by far; which sucks, because the cast had so much potential.

E.T.

Probably Prometheus. Alien and Alien 3 (especially the extended edition) are slow but I don't find them at all boring. Prometheus tries to be interesting with all its "big questions" but ends up coming off as pretentious and illogical.

To me, ALIEN is the most entertaining.

The worst is RESURRECTION.

None of the original four Alien movies are boring. Prometheus and Alien Covenant however are extremely boring. Alien Covenant is just a little less boring than Prometheus.

Quote from: Scree on Aug 16, 2017, 09:31:54 PM
None of the original four Alien movies are boring. Prometheus and Alien Covenant however are extremely boring. Alien Covenant is just a little less boring than Prometheus.

Nah, Joss Whedon really destroyed Resurrection's potential.

Of all Resurrection's problems, being boring is hardly one of them. It's the shortest of all the Alien films, and it moves along at a good old trot.

Quote from: Alionic on Aug 16, 2017, 10:32:45 PM

Quote from: Scree on Aug 16, 2017, 09:31:54 PM
None of the original four Alien movies are boring. Prometheus and Alien Covenant however are extremely boring. Alien Covenant is just a little less boring than Prometheus.

Nah, Joss Whedon really destroyed Resurrection's potential.

I would have put it the other way around. I think Resurrection would be a lot better without JPJ or Darius Khondji's touch. It's not perfect, of course, but I think it'd be better. 

Whedon only writes one set of characters and one type of movie. Everyone is a wisecracking smart arse - even the dumbest characters - and every moment of tension is followed immediately by a cheesy jokes, spoiling any potential dread or suspense.

Jeunet was equally inappropriate as a director, but take him out and you're still stuck with Whedon's useless f**king script.

It'd have needed some more go overs to get rid of a lot of those jokes and humor but I still think there's an interesting movie buried in that script.

Buried by Whedon being Whedon.

The underlying concept could work, but Whedon's what you need to get rid of to get to it, not Jeunet.

And Khondji is amazing.

Some if the shittier dialogue got cut prior to shooting. Stuff about little pink bottoms and eat my f**k was mercifully ditched.

I have no problem with the dialogue because I like the actors and the performances.

I don't think their style is suitable either. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the 2 films I've seen them work together on. But I still think JPJ is still too comical and Resurrection is a little dull looking for my liking.

I'm not exactly Whedon's biggest fan either. I love Firefly/Serenity and I think Avengers is fun but I can't say I've every cared for Buffy. I just think there's really potential in Ripley 8 and I think the humor works really well when it's dry. Personally, I'd just rather read the novelization than watch the film as I think it's a much better experience for losing their touch.

Khondji without Jeunet is very different. He did Se7en with Fincher, for example.

I never got around to watching Se7en. It's been on my list for ages. Definitely need to give it a go soon.

srsly?

You need to check it out.  Fantastic flick.

Yeah, as SM said. Fantastic movie, if very unpleasant at times.

Quote from: SM on Aug 17, 2017, 08:19:58 AM...eat my f**k...

:laugh: Not heard that one before.

QuoteWREN

DiStephano!  Take their weapons.

DISTEPHANO

Begging your pardon, sir, but eat my f**k.

Another choice cut

QuoteRIPLEY

Get away from me.

JOHNER

Why should I?

RIPLEY

Because pain hurts.

Shakespeare.

Quote from: SM on Aug 17, 2017, 09:56:12 AM
Because pain hurts.

Oh my god, that one would have had me throwing things at the screen!  :D

I have re-watched Alien and Aliens this year and for a while I thought Aliens, despite being my favorite, was slow.  It's great at setting up the world and developing characters you care about, but once you've seen that, it seems to have less of an effect. 

However, we recently did a big upgrade on our home theater (100" screen, massuv sub etc) and holy hell Aliens blew me (us) away.  I had managed to not watch it for a couple years and we watched it with some family for the first time in a while, everything nice and loud.  Everyone was laughing at Hudson (of course) and jumping at the anvil pounding alien reveals.  Man, it felt great and fresh; an assault on the senses.  I no longer see it as slow.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Aug 17, 2017, 09:30:23 AM
I never got around to watching Se7en. It's been on my list for ages. Definitely need to give it a go soon.

The more I see it, the more I notice certain "Fincherisms" that got their start in Alien 3 and made their way into his later films.

Quote from: Local Trouble on Aug 18, 2017, 12:08:04 AM

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Aug 17, 2017, 09:30:23 AM
I never got around to watching Se7en. It's been on my list for ages. Definitely need to give it a go soon.

The more I see it, the more I notice certain "Fincherisms" that got their start in Alien 3 and made their way into his later films.

Alien 3's nihilism and dark, grimy look carried over into Se7en, which I appreciated.

Quote from: Alionic on Aug 18, 2017, 02:14:24 AM

Quote from: Local Trouble on Aug 18, 2017, 12:08:04 AM

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Aug 17, 2017, 09:30:23 AM
I never got around to watching Se7en. It's been on my list for ages. Definitely need to give it a go soon.

The more I see it, the more I notice certain "Fincherisms" that got their start in Alien 3 and made their way into his later films.

Alien 3's nihilism and dark, grimy look carried over into Se7en, which I appreciated.

Very much agree with you. I think if people would also look at David Fincher's other works maybe people would soon learn to fully appreciate Alien 3 (The Special Edition of course  :laugh:). Nowadays most people and audiences understand what the film was trying to achieve but by looking at Fincher's other directorial debuts, Alien 3 would be even more of a clearer and more concise picture.

Quote from: Chronicle on Aug 24, 2017, 05:35:35 PMI think if people would also look at David Fincher's other works maybe people would soon learn to fully appreciate Alien 3 (The Special Edition of course  :laugh: ).

:o :o :o :o :o

Alien 3. Especially the Assembly Cut is dull as dishwater. You can say a lot about A:R, but not that it's boring.

By far Prometheus getting to philosophical asking too many big questions with no pay off not to mention the pacing , I find the film completely runs out of energy half way through and never recovers. I am also surprised with A:R being called boring...the film has its problems but has enough effective set pieces and and colourful characters that makes it easy to sit through.

So hard to choose, I love them all really.

PROMETHEUS, hands down. I love the idea of PROM but the result doesn't work for me. It's so badly edited and cut that I just can't get into it. I prefer the fan edits over the official ones hands down.

ALIENS - no layers, little subtext, not much reason to watch it again, aside from the action and special effects.  The acting is mostly good, but there's no 'meat' to the story.  All the other films have multiple meanings.

Quote from: Scorpio on Jan 06, 2018, 11:55:12 PM
ALIENS - no layers, little subtext, not much reason to watch it again, aside from the action and special effects.  The acting is mostly good, but there's no 'meat' to the story.  All the other films have multiple meanings.

Blasphemy.

:)

Quote from: Scorpio on Jan 06, 2018, 11:55:12 PM
ALIENS - no layers, little subtext, not much reason to watch it again, aside from the action and special effects.  The acting is mostly good, but there's no 'meat' to the story.  All the other films have multiple meanings.

Y'know, Scorpee, I just, I gotta say... You are really full of shit.  ;) But that's okay, because it's never a dull moment...


Most boring for me is probably Alien Resurrection. With Covenant and Prometheus I at least get the classic atmosphere every now and again and the master class cinematagrophy of Ridley Scott. Resurrection literally makes me feel ill to look at it, and I just don't care about the events that take place within the film. Ripley 8 is not Ripley. So I feel, well, alienated by her character. Weaver gives it all she's got, but damn if they don't make most of the characters dull and unlikable.  The one thing I wanted to see more of, Alien mad science with Douriff, I was robbed of! Closest we ever got to ALIENS Labyrinth.

Quote from: OpenMaw on Jan 07, 2018, 06:04:37 PMResurrection literally makes me feel ill to look at it

Huh. I always imagined I was the only one.

I think we've probably all had that one friend or relative with the utterly filthy apartment with the drapes drawn 24/7, and Resurrection makes me feel like I'm trapped in that apartment.

AR is kinda like a Marvel version of Alien.

therefore unwatchable

Quote from: Scorpio on Jan 06, 2018, 11:55:12 PM
ALIENS - no layers, little subtext, not much reason to watch it again, aside from the action and special effects.  The acting is mostly good, but there's no 'meat' to the story.  All the other films have multiple meanings.

You've got to be kidding me!  :laugh:

Don't feed the troll.

Quote from: HuDaFuK on Jan 08, 2018, 02:02:33 PM
Don't feed the troll.

I agree, but who's the troll? I'm only see people sharing their honest opinions.

I think he's saying that I'm troll in which case he should report it to the mods, but instead for some reason he made a post about it.

Anyway, back in topic.

Quote from: Mr. Clemens on Jan 07, 2018, 06:45:48 PM

Quote from: OpenMaw on Jan 07, 2018, 06:04:37 PMResurrection literally makes me feel ill to look at it

Huh. I always imagined I was the only one.

I think we've probably all had that one friend or relative with the utterly filthy apartment with the drapes drawn 24/7, and Resurrection makes me feel like I'm trapped in that apartment.

We need more posts like this.

Sounds scary.

I'm a little creeped out about how accurately he described my place.  :-\

Quote from: Scorpio on Jan 06, 2018, 11:55:12 PM
ALIENS - no layers, little subtext, not much reason to watch it again, aside from the action and special effects.  The acting is mostly good, but there's no 'meat' to the story.  All the other films have multiple meanings.

I see where you are coming from, it's a film I can rarely find much to appreciate in beyond it's visceral thrills, however Resurrection wins the most boring award. I just don't care where the story is going.

Am I the only one who will admit that Alien 3 was boring?

God no. Its first half is a chore.

Alien 3 is a bit mixed for me. it's got really boring parts between really well-filmed, awesome parts.

I don't find A3 boring at all, the atmosphere and set design alone keep me engaged.

For me Resurrection is the most boring by miles, it has plenty going on and moves at quite a pace yet still manages to be dull as dishwater.

Resurrection is a movie I have not watched again pretty much since it came out. I bought the big flashy DVD and Blu-ray boxsets and still haven't watch A:R or the extras. I just didn't like the pace or the story itself, and the characters were great but really felt like they didn't belong in an Alien movie. As strange as it sounds, if the film had been it's own thing and not connected to the Alien mythology I probably would have enjoyed it more.

Prometheus and Covenant would have made the list but I try not to look at them as Alien movies but rather lacklustre attempts to tell a grandiose story - luckily, I had inside skinny on the production so I kind of knew what to expect. My main problem is that the characters in these movies made dumb decisions, and for a bunch of supposedly smart scientists that was really grating. Other than that I find them watchable as visually they're pretty good and I've got a soft spot for concept and design.

I love Aliens, it's a got-to action movie of mine that I can watch again and again, but I have a long list of issues with it that have only hit me in the last few years. I'll share that at some point.

I have it on good authority that anyone who likes Aliens but not AR just wants more guns, more marines and more 'splosions.

Quote from: farsightblogger on Jan 11, 2018, 10:36:14 AM
I love Aliens, it's a got-to action movie of mine that I can watch again and again, but I have a long list of issues with it that have only hit me in the last few years. I'll share that at some point.

Is Hudson's "ultimate badass" speech on that list?

Quote from: Local Trouble on Jan 11, 2018, 10:37:37 AM
I have it on good authority that anyone who likes Aliens but not AR just wants more guns, more marines and more 'splosions.

Quote from: farsightblogger on Jan 11, 2018, 10:36:14 AM
I love Aliens, it's a got-to action movie of mine that I can watch again and again, but I have a long list of issues with it that have only hit me in the last few years. I'll share that at some point.

Is Hudson's "ultimate badass" speech on that list?

It isn't, but the movie could do without it!

I like Aliens for the same reason like a lot of 80s action movies - thrills, spills and tension. I do think, however, that the film was a bad sequel that took away a lot of the alien's mystery, but I understand Cameron's choice as there's no point in doing a carbon copy of the original (even though the story was similar).

Quote from: farsightblogger on Jan 11, 2018, 10:43:30 AM

Quote from: Local Trouble on Jan 11, 2018, 10:37:37 AM
I have it on good authority that anyone who likes Aliens but not AR just wants more guns, more marines and more 'splosions.

Quote from: farsightblogger on Jan 11, 2018, 10:36:14 AM
I love Aliens, it's a got-to action movie of mine that I can watch again and again, but I have a long list of issues with it that have only hit me in the last few years. I'll share that at some point.

Is Hudson's "ultimate badass" speech on that list?

It isn't, but the movie could do without it!

I like Aliens for the same reason like a lot of 80s action movies - thrills, spills and tension. I do think, however, that the film was a bad sequel that took away a lot of the alien's mystery, but I understand Cameron's choice as there's no point in doing a carbon copy of the original (even though the story was similar).

That's kinda how I view Aliens, I wouldn't go as far as call it a bad sequel though. I certainly think it hasn't aged as well as Alien.

I think part of the reason it hasn't aged well is because of the aspect ratio and film grain.

That beautiful mid-80s film stock.

Is it even fixable?

Quote from: Local Trouble on Jan 11, 2018, 01:55:51 PM
Is it even fixable?

There's a controversial fix called DNR (digital noise reduction), but film purists hate it (and so do I). Film grain is part of the reason a particular stock is chosen, so it's not really a 'mistake' per se.

I know there was a blu-ray of Predator out there that people were boycotting because they'd used too much DNR and Arnie ended up looking like a rubber mannequin.   :P

Quote from: Local Trouble on Jan 11, 2018, 04:11:40 AM
I'm a little creeped out about how accurately he described my place.  :-\

:D

The Anthology bluray release used DNR (digital noise reduction) to good effect. When it's used with a heavy hand skin tones turn "waxy" but I believe CAmeron himself oversaw the digital grade and he made sure it was done properly. Even so, it's not a good as a near-grainless modern digital camera capture, but who knows what up-coming technology can achieve. I think Cameron was thinking about the possibility of a 3D conversion of Aliens, and 3D has a far greater need for noiseless imagery.

But what you said about the 1:85 aspect ratio; yeah, it really should be 'scope.

TC

Quote from: TC on Jan 11, 2018, 11:10:12 PM
But what you said about the 1:85 aspect ratio; yeah, it really should be 'scope.

Me, I'm of two minds on that score. I love 'scope, and for series continuity he should have used it, but... when I watch Aliens projected on my wall here at home it's extra-exciting, because it's just so freakin' HUGE!  :D

As I recall he went with the 1:85 for visual effects reasons. Something, I swear the Stan Winston guys mention something about it in the commentary, there's lens distortion considerations or something...

None of the movies are boring but A:R is the slow one and it is very much a puke green film. Even though Alien³ had that awful bronze/sepia color it was much better to look at. In truth though, Prometheus and Covenant are a bit slow as well.

The grain in Aliens sucks but it also rhymes with the tone of the film. Definitely fits the horror vibe of an aliens movie that came from the 1980's.

Still the 2 special edition fixes that need to be done to save alien³ and A:R is to fix the shitty composting in A³ and remove that stupid swimming fin from the A:R aliens. Not that it'll make them any less boring but come on already. :P

The most boring Alien film by far is the last half of Covenant. I can point to the exact moment it drops off the precipice and that's when the mouthburster erupts. I'm a huge Alien and gore fan, why didn't I eat that up?

Executed poorly. And David was not fun to watch like he was in Prometheus. Here he was obnoxious and overt. The last half of Covenant was "I can do human things and feel like a human and YOU can't, neener neener neener!" + "let's get the f**k out of here!" from the humans. Why are there two instances of women getting attacked while they scream offscreen? Ridley fumbled. No passion.

Give me the first half of Alien 3 all day. That movie is a visual treat to watch and I really enjoy Clemens and the others. The dialogue and the acting are natural. Whenever it's about the humans I dig it. Although sometimes I just get upset that it's not the alien 3 I wanted.

Quote from: Local Trouble on Jan 11, 2018, 05:28:48 AM
Am I the only one who will admit that Alien 3 was boring?

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/siHaSUpdBH9coY6r1cbGzhZxCXI8pHLO21GhALqj8bXVluOvEXQoetOl9caAWbZ4iP7kxcHD_F0CFUdcKu7VgWWUB1t1ptrhGrvRoJtTwOa7yRfjsQ9hdqQNX3Vh=w576-h240-nc)

Quote from: OpenMaw on Jan 12, 2018, 01:15:41 AM
As I recall he went with the 1:85 for visual effects reasons. Something, I swear the Stan Winston guys mention something about it in the commentary, there's lens distortion considerations or something...

Yeah, from my recollection of one of Cameron's commentaries, he'd been working on Escape from New York which was anamorphic (aka 'scope). 'Scope has very limited depth of field, which made their in-camera effects difficult (pre-digital era, obviously). So he was rather gun-shy about attempting the same thing for Aliens, for which he was also going to use the Skotak brothers, who specialise in forced perspective and mirror tricks.

(Speculating here:) I think this was also the source of Syd Mead's original Sulaco design being nixed, which was a huge spherical spaceship. Mead was told this would cause difficulties with miniature photography because it had too much depth, hence the slimmed down, pulserifle-like version. I am guessing that the original plan was to get the Skotaks to do the Sulaco shots as well. But if you look at the finished movie, there are some three-quarter angle shots where depth  of field was obviously not a problem, probably because in the end they decided to give those shots to Brian Johnston and his Arkadon company which had motion control and bluescreen capability (mo-co has no problem shooting long exposures per frame - minutes if necessary), thereby circumventing depth of field problems.

But what if they'd kept Syd Mead's original Sulaco design? (Which I am rather partial to.)

Alien films have a history of imaginative spaceship designs. The Nostromo, Narcissus, Sulaco, the drop ship, the Betty, and also all of Ron Cobb's designs that were never used (eg. the Snark, which I also like).

The most boring ships, imo, are the Auriga (is this even a spaceship, or is it a space laboratory?), and the Covenant.

The Prometheus; superb. The Covenant; boring.

TC

I love The Snark. What a cool looking craft. I'm honestly shocked Ridley didn't have the guys borrow form more of Cobb's work for Prometheus and Covenant.

The Auriga reminds me a rusty orange Spaceball One. Especially those opening shots where the ship takes forever to fly by.



https://youtu.be/I18kPO6zQms?t=1m26s

The Prometheus is a sweet ship but it is so damn over powered and out of place within the alien universe. The Covenant is a much better fit. To be honest Prometheus is one of those perhaps they should have bite the bullet and gone retro with the movies props. Made it fit aesthetically into the alien universe timeline rather than the real worlds lofty ambitions.

I know people who find the first Alien really boring, but it's a generation problem... They are used to fast paced movies etc, so they don't really enjoy what Alien has to offer, which is a shame IMO  :'(

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Jan 12, 2018, 07:39:18 AM


Executed poorly. And David was not fun to watch like he was in Prometheus. Here he was obnoxious and overt.

He's off the leash, AI madness.  In Prometheus, he's still a servant.

Quote from: BigDaddyJohn on Jan 13, 2018, 11:47:47 AM
I know people who find the first Alien really boring, but it's a generation problem... They are used to fast paced movies etc, so they don't really enjoy what Alien has to offer, which is a shame IMO  :'(

I was saying 20 years ago that Alien is better than Aliens, but all the kids liked Aliens.

I remember working in a video store in 1991 and some guy said to me, "Didja hear? They're making Aliens 2!"

I died a little inside.  :'(

But then I gave him a 'stern drubbing'.  :D

Quote from: Local Trouble on Jan 11, 2018, 04:11:40 AM
I'm a little creeped out about how accurately he described my place.  :-\

Is it a bit scruffy lookin'?

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Jan 15, 2018, 04:44:59 PM

Quote from: Local Trouble on Jan 11, 2018, 04:11:40 AM
I'm a little creeped out about how accurately he described my place.  :-\

Is it a bit scruffy lookin'?

Yep.  All carbon scored and smells of wookiee.

But has your place got it where it counts?

Quote from: OpenMaw on Jan 13, 2018, 08:35:20 AM
I love The Snark. What a cool looking craft. I'm honestly shocked Ridley didn't have the guys borrow form more of Cobb's work for Prometheus and Covenant.

The Auriga reminds me a rusty orange Spaceball One. Especially those opening shots where the ship takes forever to fly by.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dZveoBfiww

https://youtu.be/I18kPO6zQms?t=1m26s

Lol what a parody of those shots in sci fi movies.

THonestly, i havent watched it a while (last i watched was Covenant in theaters and Alien at a projection in a house some years ago) but i do not find any of the movies in the franchise boring at all.

Quote from: whiterabbit on Jan 12, 2018, 02:12:29 AM
Still the 2 special edition fixes that need to be done to save alien³ and A:R is to fix the shitty composting in A³ and remove that stupid swimming fin from the A:R aliens. Not that it'll make them any less boring but come on already. :P

They're never going to replace the dodgy composited Alien puppet with a digital one in Alien 3. I don't think I want them to, either.

And it wouldn't save the flick if they did.

Prometheus, followed by Alien: Covenant.

Prometheus. Too many big, philosophical questions, very few answers. Couldn't give a shit about most of the characters. Covenant did a bit better in that regard. I don't know why Resurrection is getting a lot of votes. I thought it was bad, but it definitely wasn't boring.