My inbox, Facebook, and Twitter page were semi-flooded with messages of support and condolence when this A L I E N remake gossip hit the wires, and that’s because (as anyone in the universe can tell you), it’s my #1 favorite film of all time. Mainly because it’s just about the perfect horror film, but also because it’s a movie that helped plant me on the road of movie freakdom, and for that I’m eternally grateful. Plus it has Sigourney Weaver in her underwear. So if a film as undeniably flawless as A L I E N can be considered for a remake, it begs the question: What movie won’t they remake? Keep in mind that Psycho , Halloween , The Manchurian Candidate , and King Kong have already earned remakes, which tells me that all bets are off. Not even Casablanca , Gone with the Wind , or The Wizard of Oz are safe. Therefore, clearly, remakes are a force of pure evil. Then again, there IS the old Shakespeare argument, the one that says “Hey, the Bard’s plays have been remade over and over for centuries, and surely you wouldn’t call Casablanca superior to King Lear , would you?” To which I would respond, “Good point. And no, Casablanca is definitely not superior to King Lear . But A L I E N certainly is.” Permalink | Email this | Comments

My inbox, Facebook, and Twitter page were semi-flooded with messages of support and condolence when this A L I E N remake gossip hit the wires, and that’s because (as anyone in the universe can tell you), it’s my #1 favorite film of all time. Mainly because it’s just about the perfect horror film, but also because it’s a movie that helped plant me on the road of movie freakdom, and for that I’m eternally grateful. Plus it has Sigourney Weaver in her underwear. So if a film as undeniably flawless as A L I E N can be considered for a remake, it begs the question: What movie won’t they remake? Keep in mind that Psycho , Halloween , The Manchurian Candidate , and King Kong have already earned remakes, which tells me that all bets are off. Not even Casablanca , Gone with the Wind , or The Wizard of Oz are safe. Therefore, clearly, remakes are a force of pure evil. Then again, there IS the old Shakespeare argument, the one that says “Hey, the Bard’s plays have been remade over and over for centuries, and surely you wouldn’t call Casablanca superior to King Lear , would you?” To which I would respond, “Good point. And no, Casablanca is definitely not superior to King Lear . But A L I E N certainly is.” Permalink | Email this | Comments

My imagination was caught by the title of the upcoming movie Monsters vs. Aliens . I’ve seen a lot of monster movies and films with aliens in them. I wondered how would some of these characters fare in battle against one another. How would the gentle aliens from Galaxy Quest be able to stand up to vampires? Could Superman defeat the monster from The Host ? How would Ford Prefect deal with Noah Cross? So I decided to stage a smackdown event featuring some of the best-known monsters and aliens in film in one-on-one combat. Instead of matching up characters with similar (or notably different) abilities, I paired them up the old-fashioned way: pulling names out of a hat. Two hats — I filled one with the names of every alien creature I could think of from movies, and another with every conceivable monster. Here are the results. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Filed under: Cinematical Seven Continue reading Cinematical Seven: Monster vs. Alien Super Smackdowns Permalink | Email this | Comments