Movie of the Week – Aliens

This week’s movie: Aliens (1986).

The action sci-fi adventure sequel to Alien is about Ripley’s return, after being in stasis for fifty seven years, to the planet on which she encountered the deadly alien species that killed everyone else in her crew. Only this time, it has been colonized by miners who are in grave danger and have lost contact. Ripley joins a group of marines with the mission of rescuing any survivors.

The film is written and directed by James Cameron (following up his breakthrough hit The Terminator), who brought a lot more of an action-film vibe to it, compared to Alien. It features a score from James Horner, cinematography from Adrian Biddle and production design from Peter Lamont.

It stars Sigourney Weaver, with Carrie Henn (they mostly come at night… mostly), Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton (That’s it man, game over man, game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now?), and Jenette Goldstein in support.

While Ridley Scott’s Alien is more of a hard sci-fi thriller/horror film, Aliens is much more a fun and entertaining (and personally I like it more). It is a must-see for fans of sci-fi action movies, as this is one of the best (try seeing the director’s cut).

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray and DVD

Movie of the Week – The Princess Bride

This week’s movie is The Princess Bride (1987).

The adventure romance is about the truelove between a farm boy (Wesley) and Buttercup (a beautiful young girl). When Wesley goes off to make enough money to marry Buttercup, she finds out that he was murdered by the Dread Pirate Roberts and vows to never love again. Years pass and Buttercup is taken by the prince of the land to marry (though she does not love him), but it stolen by three mercenaries plotting to start a war between neighboring countries. Yet, a mysterious man follows them. The Princess Bride is one of my adored childhood favorites, and one of the few that holds up just as well today (it is still among my all-time favorite films). Director Rob Reiner had a number of classics between 1984-1992 (chiefly This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me, When Harry Met Sally…, and Misery), however this is his masterpiece. The script is brilliant with some of my favorite dialog in cinema history – funny and witty. Master scriptwriter William Goldman (known for: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the Presidents Men and many others) may have also down his finest work with this film. The film has a great score by rocker Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits), beautiful cinematographer from Adrian Biddle and perfect production design from Norman Garwood. The cast is also fantastic. It stars Cary Elwes and Robin Wright, with Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, Peter Falk, Peter Cook, Mel Smith, Carol Kane, and Billy Crystal in support. The Princess Bride is endlessly quotable, features tons of brilliant scenes and is one of the most beloved films of the 1980s. It is a must-see. Check out the trailer.

Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Streaming