The Scariest Scenes from the “Alien” Movies!

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Chad Collins at /Film came up with his list of The 10 Scariest Scenes From The Alien Franchise.  Collins’ list is a good one and got me thinking.  Here are my top three scariest scenes, comments on each and a couple of scenes that would have made my top ten, but didn’t make Collins’ list.

The chestburster scene — Alien.  I was surprised that this scene didn’t rate higher on Collins’ list.  If, like me, you were saw the original release of Alien you can remember the shock that went through the actors on the screen (they hadn’t been prepped for what was about to happen) and the screams from the audience viewing the film. It was truly scary to see the alien bursting from William Hurt’s chest.  Scenes like that (especially with CGI) have become common place, but Alien was the first and remains the scariest.

Monsters in the vent — Alien.  This scene is a slow build to a jump scare and works perfectly.  Dallas, alone in the vents is searching for the creature.  His radio contacts are telling him it is close and getting closer.  He can’t see or hear it.  His only light is the small flame coming off the tip of his flamethrower.  They keep telling him it is closer and closer and RUN!  Too late.

A stowaway — Alien.   Ripley is alone on the escape pod… until we see the alien slowly come out from its hiding spot.  Ripley is unarmed and barely dressed.  She has no weapons… talk about a scary scene!

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I’m glad that the underwater chase scene from Alien Resurrection made Collins’ list.  It almost made mine.  I’m a fan of Alien Resurrection.

A couple of scenes that would have made my list but didn’t make Collins’…

Aliens inside the perimeter – Aliens.  The Colonial Marines have set up a perimeter with automatic weapons and have huddled together in a room hoping the aliens can’t get in.  Hudson is monitoring the aliens coming. He calls out their location and they are closing in.  Hicks’ tells Hudson reading can’t be right, that would put them inside the perimeter.  They all slowly look up… could the aliens be in the crawlspace above them…

Colonial Marines Escape – Aliens.  The Colonial Marines have had their first encounter with the aliens and are now in retreat.  As they get their wounded on the transport driven by Ripley, the aliens are still attacking.  Finally they are all on board and as marines pull the doors closed…an alien’s hands grip the door pulling it open…

Val Kilmer – His Best Films!

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Matthew Monagle at /Film came up with his list of The 14 Best Val Kilmer Movies Ranked.  Monagle’s list is a good one, but only one of my top three Kilmer films made his three best.  So, before you click over, here are my three favorites with my thoughts on each.  I also list a couple of other Kilmer films that didn’t make Monagle’s list but would have made mine…

Tombstone:  If this was the only film Kilmer ever played in, it would be enough to secure his legacy as a great actor.  It’s a shame that Kilmer wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Doc Holiday. 

Heat:  While Doc Holiday is arguably Kilmer’s best role, Heat may be the best film on his resume. 

The Salton Sea:  I’m a big fan of The Salton Sea.  I wish more people were aware of it.  Under-rated to say the least.

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Films that didn’t make Monagle’s list that would have made mine…

  • Willow
  • Thunderheart
  • True Romance  

Excellent Movies with Sequels that Weren’t Needed or as Good!

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Did you love a movie and then go to see the movie’s sequel only to find that the sequel wasn’t really needed and definitely wasn’t as good?  Yeah.  Me, too.

What got me thinking about this was David Court’s 14 Sequels That Truly Didn’t Need To Happen posted at /Film.  Before you click over, let me comment on three films that made Court’s list that would also make mine (and a couple more that he didn’t list, but I would have).

Highlander – I loved Highlander. It had a great cast (Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown); a fantastic story (Gregory Widen; Peter Bellwood; Larry Ferguson) and was cleverly directed (Russell Mulcahy).  Highlander could have easily been a one and done.  Highlander II was terrible.  Now we’re dealing with an ozone problem that will destroy the earth and aliens who are like Lambert.  What happened to “There can be only one?”  In this case, there should have been only one… Highlander movie.

Jaws: The Revenge – Jaws is one of the best movies of all time.  Critics loved it.  Fans loved it.  Jaws should have been a one and done.  Sadly, it led to three sequels that were terrible.  Since we’re talking Jaws: The Revenge, let me give you the synopsis: Chief Brody’s widow believes that her family is deliberately being targeted by another shark in search of revenge.  Doesn’t that sound like a Saturday Night Live sketch?  Jaws: The Revenge – critics hated it.  Fans hated it.  Even Michael Caine (the star) said he didn’t watch it, but heard it was terrible.

The Matrix Reloaded – Can you imagine if The Matrix had been the only Matrix movie made?  What a legacy!  It would have been like a movie star that never grew old.  You know, how James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Bruce Lee died in their prime and their legacy’s grew?  Same thing would have happened for The Matrix.  It was so ahead of its time.  The Matrix could have been a one and done film.  The story had been told.  It’s not that the sequels are as bad as the other two films above, but was The Matrix Reloaded really needed?  No.  Was The Matrix Reloaded as good as the original?  No.  Ok then, it belongs on this list.

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Other sequels that I would have included…

  • Speed 2: Cruise Control
  • Basic Instinct 2
  • Beyond the Poseidon Adventure

Truman Capote’s IN COLD BLOOD Trivia!

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In Cold Blood was the book that made Truman Capote famous.  Upon publication it quickly rose to best-seller status and is still one of the all-time best-selling true crime books.  A year after the book was released an award-winning movie adaptation premiered which only added to Capote’s stardom.  

I’ve seen the film In Cold Blood.  It’s an excellent movie which gets better with each new viewing.  I’ve had the In Cold Blood novel sitting on one of my many to-be-read book shelves for years.  After reading April Snellings’  7 Chilling Facts About Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood posted at Mental Floss, I’ve decided to finally read Capote’s book.  Before you click over to Snellings’ piece, here are my three favorite facts from her piece and my thoughts on each.

HARPER LEE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN RESEARCHING IN COLD BLOOD.  (That’s right, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird traveled with Truman Capote to Holcomb, Kansas and assisted Capote in getting access to people with for background info for the book! Harper Lee was Capote’s assistant! – Craig)

A FIGHT OVER THE FILM RIGHTS TO IN COLD BLOOD GOT TRUMAN CAPOTE’S AGENT ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT. (Capote’s agent was Irving “Swifty” Lazar!  Lazar also represented Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Cary Grant, Ernest Hemmingway, Cher and Richard Nixon to name just a few.  When Otto Preminger learned that Lazar had sold the rights to someone else, they got into a heated argument.  Preminger ended up with a busted head and a trip to the hospital.  Lazar ended up with charges for felony assault!  Read Snellings’ account for full details! – Craig)

THE MEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MURDERS DETAILED IN IN COLD BLOOD ARE SUSPECTED OF KILLING A FLORIDA FAMILY AFTER THEY FLED KANSAS.  (I had never heard this fact before.  Sounds like there could be another book in the making! – Craig)

 

“Attica” – The Trailer is Here!

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The Attica prison riot/takeover lasted for 4 days beginning on September 9, 1971.  Over 1,000 of the 2,000 prisoners rioted and took over the prison.  When the siege ended 43 people were dead (10 correctional officers and 33 inmates).  I was 12 years old at the time and remember being shocked at how long the takeover lasted.  I’d be interested in seeing this Attica documentary.

Attica details the five-day prison rebellion that transpired in the fall of 1971 in upstate New York and still stands as the largest and deadliest the country has ever witnessed. More than a simple recounting of the five days of rebellion, ATTICA will also offer a broader understanding of the Attica tragedy in the crosscurrents of politics, race, power and punishment during the early 1970s. Through expert voices and archival images of urban and suburban life, the film explores the tensions between a young, radicalized population of mostly Black and Latino inmates, and correctional officers from a predominately white company town, where the Attica prison was the primary employer for generations of families. ATTICA examines inmates’ demands for recognition of their humanity at the culmination of a moment where racial justice activists embraced prisoner rights as an extension of their fight for civil rights. Premieres November 6 only on SHOWTIME.

James Cameron’s Best Films Ranked

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Dalin Rowell at /Film posted Every James Cameron Film Ranked From Worst To Best.  Before you click over, here are my rankings for top 7 Cameron films…

  1.  Aliens – I love how Cameron took the Alien franchise in a different direction.  While Alien was a haunted house in outer space, Cameron turned Aliens into a war movie.  
  2. Terminator 2:  Judgment Day – Making the Terminator into the hero AND figuring out a way to make the unstoppable machine an underdog against a more advanced Terminator was such a smart move.
  3. The Terminator – It’s hard to believe at one point there was talk of OJ Simpson playing the Terminator and Arnold playing Reese. It was a clever idea to make Arnold the bad guy (or should I say, “Machine”).  
  4. True Lies – This is one of Arnold’s most under-rated films and perhaps it is one of Cameron’s as well.
  5. The Abyss – is perhaps James Cameron’s most under-rated film. 
  6. Titanic – Before it was released a lot of folks thought Titanic would end James Cameron’s career.  Once released Titanic just kept owning the box office week after week. 
  7. Avatar – Some of the same folks who thought Titanic would sink at the box office predicted Avatar would do the same… and it went on to surpass Titanic!  Never count James Cameron out. 

Sly Stallone Interviewed on the Unwaxed Podcast by Sophia and Sistine Stallone!

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Sly is interviewed by Sophia and Sistine on their Unwaxed podcast!

The moment you’ve all waited for… To celebrate our 50th episode, we decided to bring our most requested guest. For the first time ever, Sophia and Sistine interview their dad Sylvester Stallone. From his childhood, career, raising daughters- the girls cover it all. This episode shows a different, funnier, softer side of Sly and untold stories from the man himself.

HOLE by Gerry Brown with Eduardo Risso – A Novella of Crime and Mayhem!

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Hole by Gerry Brown with illustrations by Eduardo Risso is something that I’ve got to get my hands on!  Hole is a crime novella. The fact that it has art by Risso is what got me first interested  Then I read the synopsis…

It was the perfect shakedown.

Moundsville State Prison was rotten to the core. The guards were almost as crooked as the cons. Gangs ruled the jail, and Davie Ingram ruled the gangs.

The way it worked was Davie and his boys would isolate an inmate with no one to back him up. Hurt him, hurt him bad, on camera. Then send the video to the inmate’s loved ones.

They wouldn’t ask for much. Five, maybe ten thousand.

The first time.

Because if you didn’t want your son, your nephew, your brother to play punching bag for the meanest motherfuckers in Moundsville, you had to pay again and again and again.

But this time Davie’s crew picked the wrong man to shake down.

He’s a man who won’t take kindly to seeing a video of his brother being stomped by half a dozen vicious goons. A man who’s a professional in the art of making people pay. Not with money, but with blood.

A man named…HOLE.

I’d be interested in the novella based on just the synopsis, but the fact that Risso did illustrations has me sold! 

You can see some of Risso’s art for the story here.  

Risso also did a brief interview about Hole with Joe Gruenwald at ComicsBeat.

It looks like Hole is only available on Kindle and you can order a copy here.

“The Harder They Fall” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I love the poster and trailer for The Harder They Fall.  I’ll take the plunge when it premieres on November 3rd!

This ain’t your grandaddy’s Western! Check out Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Edi Gathegi, Danielle Deadwyler and Deon Cole in this action-packed thrill ride that injects New Blood into the Old West. The Harder They Fall is directed by Jeymes Samuel and produced by Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Carter James Lassiter, Jeymes Samuel and Lawrence Bender.