Alien (1979)

I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!!! I know it's been a looooooooooooooooong time since I've been consistently blogging. I have three simple reasons: 1. NanoWrimo, 2.Finals, and 3.I was uninspired once again.







Here was a common scenario:
    Upcoming three page lab report is due...in....oh....one day. And I have completed....oh....not one word. So I'm slumped in front of the computer screen, doing absolutely nothing. My piles of personal DVD covers have merged into a multi-colored stream. I sigh and sigh and sigh.
    Enter my boyfriend.
    "Babe, are you hungry?"
     "Mmm hmm"
      "Are you gonna cook?Ok.....stop laughing... did you do your lab report?....stop laughing...see now your choking.....how about this...i'll cook if you'll watch 'Alien'?"


       And just like that I agreed. See, I've been terrified of watching "Aliens". Every time I see that clip of the drooling alien, I freak. I've heard of the "Stay away from her you bitch" line a gazillion times that I figured I was pretty knowledgeable in my pop culture.Why bother right?  Until the stomach and sheer laziness takes over.With a warm bowl of heaping pasta,I prepared myself to be frozen in terror and sleepness nights.

  Seriously.

  WHAT THE HELL WAS I TERRIFIED OF?!??! THE ALIEN QUEEN IS BOMB-ASS!!!!

  Ok,..let me backtrack. The queen doesn't show up until the second one."Alien" is the first movie of four I absolutely refuse to acknowledge the fourth one as movie-but more on that one in another blog. It centers around space mining team that hears a distress call during their journey.  Theres the captain Dallas, the co-captain (played by the immortal Sigourney Weaver), a doctor, a droid, and other mining crew. As they veer off to the planet, their scout encounters an alien face sucker ( it is literally a six-legged creature with a tail that just jumps on the face and impregantes in your mouth...EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW).
   Now, there are strict protocols when it comes to alien contact which this obviously was. Ripley insists on refusing entrance to protect the rest of the crew. Ignoring reason (a.k.a Ripley), the rest of the crew grants the scout entrance.Dumb-asses......
   So they're able to surgically remove the face hugger and everything seems all right. Until the infamous spaghetti scene and a little alien is borne. The rest of the movie begins a suspenseful series of survival and trying to outwit an unknown alien. And on top of that, there is a whiff of a conspiracy since one of the passengers is a company man who does not want the alien to die. Hmmm....
   For  a movie that was made in 1979,it is just done amazingly! Alot of use of sound to scare the crap out of you. A simple but powerful story that has you gripping your seat. I couldn't help wondering (out loud-oops) what was happening next. All without the use of jump scares and crappy stories.
    I kept thinking of Kubrick as I watched this movie.I find that you either love Kubrick, meh about Kubrick, or absolutely hate Kubrick (dad...). I am in the meh section. I understand why he's influential but sometimes the scenes are so sloowwww.  And the beginning of "Alien" is sloooooooow. It probably didn't help I was tired when I watched this.
    I couldn't help but wonder what I would do in this situation. A situation where I'm stuck on a spaceship with a killer alien that. I would die first. Most definitely.
    There two things that I hated. One was the incessent strobe light effect. That became so annoying and painful that I got up to wash the dishes to wait it out.I hate strobe lights. The second was how tiny her underwear was at the end. Maybe it was her choice, maybe it was fan service but it was damn distracting. I kept watching for it to slip down.
    I did love that she went back for Jonesy the cat. I swear if they killed the cat, I was gonna stab my boyfriend with a pasta stained fork.
      Ripley has to be the most bomb-ass female character I have seen in the movies. She is strong, reasonable, and reasonably frightened. You are convinced that she is not an actress playing a hero in a thriller. Your watching a woman frightened but still using  her mind bent on survival. She is a great role model. Oh and she went back for the cat which win in my book!!!
      Can I just say, how amazing Sigourney Weaver is? Her character is awesome and her portrayal of the character is AWESOME. Every time she's on-screen he presence exudes strength and confidence despite running for her life.
     How can I write so long without managing to chat about the star of the move, the alien? Just on technicality, the alien is an animatronic and sometimes a body suit. No CGI and this alien was damn scary. It probably helped that it was designed by H.R. Giger, a damn freaky artist. It is complex, scary, and black. A very scary, shiny black.
    This movie was amazing and I had no reason to be frightened of it.Watching the first one made me curious about the second one. So I did. Then I watched the third. And....the fourth....ugh. 
   After watching this, I completely understand why this tops alot of sci-fi movies. I agree with this wholeheartedly. But alas, it is not my favorite. Which one was it?....Stay tuned....