In the wake of Speilberg’s successful adaptation of Jurassic Park there was an instant rush to adapt all existing Michael Crichton novels for the screen.We were shortly given movies based on Sphere, Eaters of the Dead (retitled The Thirteenth Warrior,) Rising Sun and Disclosure.One of the first in this wave was Congo based on the 1980 novel of the same name that combined at-the-time cutting edge science and technology with an old-fashioned jungle adventure story set on the “dark continent.”
Both the novel and the movie follow a mismatched crew on an expedition into the heart of Africa.The expedition is financed by a representative of a communications company that wants to find out about an earlier expedition of diamond hunters that mysteriously disappeared.Ostensibly, the trip is to send home an adolescent sign language-using gorilla named Amy, who in the movie uses a virtual reality glove to communicate her signs for the audience, both because people don’t want to have to read subtitles and, in the ‘90’s, there was no problem in a movie that was not solved by applying some kind of reference to virtual reality.
Congo tries hard to create another runaway hit science adventure in the vein of JurassicPark. Of all Crichton’s novels to that time, Congo is the one that has the most similar mix of cutting edge science and imaginative adventure so there were high hopes for it when it was released but ultimately it was not as successful in terms of quality or commercial success.Congo is a decent adventure movie that is hampered by a clichéd script and a wildly over-the-top Tim Curry performance (is there another kind?)
You do have to respect a movie that features a gorilla/laser fight.
THE MONSTERS/EFFECTS
The movie features Amy and a group of mysterious grey gorillas that have been bred to protect the ancient diamond mine.The grey gorillas are supposed to be the velociraptors of this movie and are depicted as being smart and fast.The book implies that they had been bred from human beings and gorillas.The movie is reasonably kid friendly and implies no such thing.
All of the gorilla effects in the movie are done with men in gorilla suits and animatronics.Rumor has it that the grey gorillas were supposed to have been realized digitally but in 1995 the technology was not yet able to realistically create hair and fur.The effects are realistic none the less with the exception of the bad CGI lava at the end of the movie that looks like it was recycled from Aladdin.
Someone set that Monolith to "KILL.".
HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY
Widely available.
MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE
It’s not a good sequence, but the most memorable one is the one in which Amy rescues her trainer from the troupe of grey gorillas by lamely telling them off with her stupid virtual glove.
I'm a big fan of the recent batch of Marvel superhero movies that are slowly leading up to The Avengers in 2012. I really love all of the attempts to tie the movies together into a coherent and consistent story. I even enjoyed The Incredible Hulk, which had about everything you could want out of a Hulk movie. So, it's with great sadness that I read the recent news that the studio is going to "go another way" with the casting and not use Edward Norton for the Avengers movie. This is particularly sad because it was only a few years earlier that Eric Bana played the role and now it seems like there is an Incredible Hulk revolving door at Marvel. The Hulk is one of their most popular and enduring characters, so it would be nice to have a little more respect for him. After some sniping between the studio and Norton's agent, and some very douchey statement from Marvel, Norton released the following statement on his Facebook page:
To me, it seems a little senseless to go through all of the trouble of creating this great shared universe (unusual for big movies like these) with an eye towards details and interconnections, to go and capriciously replace major actors. It was obnoxious when they did it with Terrance Howard in Iron Man II (I was really looking forward to hearing how his sweet falsetto voice sounded coming out of War Machine) and it's even worse when it is someone who was actually the main character in his movie. It's always very distracting for an audience who had been invested in a character to start over with a brand new actor in that character. Just ask Julienne Moore.
If you're Clarice then my name is Odin.
As a show of solidarity, I am going to go pick up the Bluray for The Incredible Hulk. Well, as soon as I can find it for under $15.
ALLIGATOR (1980) Directed by Lewis Teague Genre: Horror, Monster-on-the-loose
THE MOVIE
An enduring urban legend from the 1970's and 1980's was that in the sewers below several major American cities, lived alligators which were purchased as pets but later flushed down the toilet when they became too large. These stories are based on infrequent sightings but have persisted over most of the Twentieth Century, probably because they are so cool and something must be keeping the C.H.U.D. and Ninja Turtle population in check. Recently, an episode of one of my favorite shows/exercises in futility, Monster Quest, mounted an expedition into the New York sewers in search of alligators but found only a fat salamander. And my dreams died.
The 1980 horror movie, Alligator, is based on this sewer gator premise and is the big daddy of all the other crocsploitation movies that came after. SyFy pretty much owes their original movie line up to Alligator. While not a great movie by any means, Alligator is a fun-enough riff on the Jaws formula. It's worth watching if only for its very auteuristic Carter-era approach to the material and that great gritty, late '70's/early '80's exploitation movie feel. Supposedly, it is set in Chicago but, sadly, filmed in LA. At least Robert Forster manages to sound like he wouldn't be out of place ordering an Italian beef and a pop at a Chicago hot dog stand.
Forster stars as beleaguered and mistrusted police detective David Madison (not to be confused with Bruce Willis' character on Moonlighting) who teams up with a herpetologist to investigate a series of grisly murders in the sewer system. Add to the mix a shady pharmaceutical company experimenting on stray pets with a growth hormone (every movie from this era needs an evil corporation), a tabloid reporter, and a big game hunter. Needless to say, the beast finally busts out into the city (and apparently onto the set of the Beat It video) and wreaks havoc.
THE MONSTER/EFFECTS
The Alligator-Ramon-is quite a big puppy at about 36 feet long. Otherwise he's a regular gator. I imagine a lot of the shots were done with a real gator scaled to a slightly miniaturized set.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
In another very '70's moment, Ramon terrorizes a bunch of fat cats at fancy party andgoes all T-rex on a limosine.
Throw a Hawaiian shirt on him and you have a scene from just about any Rodney Dangerfield movie.Minus the killing.
SEQUELS
This movie did have one sequel. In 1991, Alligator II: The Mutation was released to no fanfare. Supposedly, it has almost nothing to do with the original movie.
So Lebron is getting his paper. In sunny Miami. Good for him. I hope this means we're done hearing about salaries and contracts. Tomorrow I will make my announcement as to why I chose to continue working in a mail room and not sign with the Miami Heat.
It's a good thing we comedians don't get offered multi-million dollar contracts. I'd make crazy ridiculous demands. Actually I don't think they're crazy at all:
I want to be followed by the Earth, Wind, and Fire rhythm section everywhere I go.
I want a phone call once a week at the times I decide, preferably between the hours of midnight and 3am from President Barack Obama where he says, "Ricky. This is President Barack Obama. I just want you to know that I and the great citizens of this nation think, know, and believe that you indeed are the shit and your kung fu is the best."
Every day I get to choose one person who has to dress up like Snake Plissken.
I want everyone to wear purple on Tuesdays.
I want AIDS cured right now.
Oh that last one is ridiculous? You'll dress up like Snake Plissken with a purple eye patch while I get a call from the President of the United States of America during my Earth, Wind, and Fire Logan Square block party that I've invited you to but that's ridiculous! NEW CONTRACT!!!
Was everyone so caught up in the Lebron story that no one mentioned the Cloverfield monster returned to attack New York City this morning?
Real talk people. My biggest concern of the weekend? Will Predators be any good? I hope so. When footage first popped up online I was intrigued. Now that it's here I'm nervous. I mean it's a Predator movie. You've got responsibilities now. You've got something to live up to. The original is....well.....its fucking Predator. That movie is a muscle. It's an actual fucking bicep of a movie. That movie should only be sold in Best Buys and the frozen meat section of butcher shops. Prime rib, t-bone steaks, BAM! PREDATOR. Covered in steak. Wrapped with a bow tie of bacon. And then a constant lit cigar hanging off it. That movie is made for men. It stars men, a woman, and machinery. Not necessarily in that order. I’m gonna tell you the three best things about that movie.
Number III: Arnold Schwarzenegger. The first time you see Schwarzenegger all you see is a muscular shadow with the glowing flame of a cigar as an outline. He’s the star and so is every line he says. It’s Shakespeare on steroids. "If it bleeds, we can kill it.” “Get to the chopper now!" "Kill me! I'm here. Come on do it!" But I don't like to get caught up on the Schwarzenegger quotes. They're like the Led Zeppelin "Stairway To Heaven" of the movie. Everybody knows them and says them to death.
Number II: Bill Duke. You don’t know who Bill Duke is? If you needed a black man to sweat in your movie between the years 1985-1989 you got
Bill Duke!
The first time you see Bill Duke in the movie he's getting off a helicopter. They’re in the middle of the jungle. He’s wearing a 3 piece suit! I’m convinced that if they would have formally offered him the mission they‘d say. “We need you to go kill an alien.” His only question would be, “Is there a dress code?” I met Bill Duke once in downtown Chicago. He was dry as a rock. I said, “Hey aren’t you Bill Duke?” He said, “Yeah.” Poooooosh! Starts pouring sweat. Then he started shaving, no beard.
Number I: Now you're gonna add Carl Weathers to the mix. Bill Duke and Carl Weathers. I haven’t been that excited about two Black men working together on a movie since Billy Dee Williams and Prince in Batman. Carl Weathers! The first time Carl Weathers and Arnold Schwarzenegger reunite and shake hands in the movie the frame is filled with so much muscle that your TV actually whimpers and lets out a small cry.
We know he’s Apollo Creed. He’s Action Jackson. And he’s a damn good acting coach who can make you a good stew. Now you would think if Carl Weathers were to lose an arm as he does in Predator that the impact would be gone right? Helllllllllllllllllll no! That arm is so goddamn strong it still has the strength to shoot that machine gun. His name in the credits at the end of the movie should have read CarlOne-Arm-Sweat-Glistening-Blood-Spurting-Still-Peeling-Caps-While-It-Lies-On-The-Jungle-Ground-With-A-Rapid-Fire-Machine-GunWeathers.
Alright I gotta get outta here. I'm gonna go have me some fun....I'm gonna have me some fun...I'm gonna have me some fun.
GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION (1996) Director: Shusuke Kaneko Genre: Dai kaiju eiga
THE MOVIE
Like the Lord of the Rings, trilogy, the ‘90’s Gamera movies seemed to get exponentially better with each entry. Gamera: Guardian of the Universewas at least as good as the contemporary Godzilla series, which in itself was surprising in light of the overall quality of the Showa Gamera movies. By the time we get to the second entry of the trilogy, the series really hits its stride and is actually much better than any of the Heisei Godzilla movies. Gamera 2 takes up about a year after the events in Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. Japan has rebuilt after the cataclysmic battle between Gamera and Gyaos and a series of meteors strike the country accompanied by strange electromagnetic and atmospheric phenomenon. It turns out the meteorites were harboring an insectile alien life form which cultivate a giant oxygen producing plant that seeks to blast a projectile into space thus continuing the life cycle while destroying the surrounding area in the process.Well, Gamera will have none of it. He enters about a half hour into the movie in exciting superhero fashion, pin-wheeling his way to the giant alien plant and taking it down before being swarmed by the little aliens. By swarmed, I mean literally covered head to toe in them. It is at this point that it becomes obvious that the filmmakers are trying to push the special effects envelope to show you things unseen in previous kaiju movies. They freely employ CGI to augment their suitmation effects to give us scenes like the above where thousands of alien creatures attack Gamera.
One of the military guys names the creatures Legion after the Biblical passage.Gamera manages to shake the little creatures, spilling a great deal of his green paint-looking blood in the process. He retreats before another creature emerges: The Legion Queen, a giant space mosquito/crab. The rest of the movie deals with the creatures trying to reestablish their launch pod and Gamera’s battles to destroy it and the military’s attempts to co-ordinate their attacks with the giant turtle.
Returning from the first movie is Asagi (played by Steven Segal’s Japanese daughter) who has a special empathic connection to Gamera through a curved jewel that was discovered in the first movie. She teams up with an astronomy teacher who has been consulting with the military on the Legion invasion and the two keep a vigil when Gamera is critically injured trying to stop the Legion Queen, Also returning in a cameo is the bumbling cop from the first movie who looks like Japanese Michael Keaton. A year later he is a security guard at a brewery who becomes the first witness of the Legion invasion.
THE MONSTERS/SPECIAL EFFECTS
While Toho showcases Godzilla for his famous invulnerability (he rarely is seriously injured or bleeds), Gamera often takes a severe beating in his movies. Director Shusuke Kaneko seems to enjoy inflicting pain on his star. In this movie alone there are many wince-worthy moments as he is swarmed by biting aliens, is impaled, has part of his shell blasted off, is engulfed in a fireball, and is attacked by laser whips, I like to refer to the 90’s Gamera Trilogy as “The Passion of the Kaiju.” Gamera’s ability to take abuse makes him seem really tough and Ramboesque.
Of course, in this movie we also see Gamera’s ultimate power and I suspect learn the answer to the ancient question that has dogged man kind for over forty years: Who would win in a fight between Gamera and Godzilla? Here we see that Gamera has the ability summon Mana, or life energy from all the living things on earth and use it to fuel an energy column that shoots out of his chest. This power is nothing to sneeze at. I think Godzilla is a total badass but I don’t know if he would be able to withstand all of the power of all life on earth.
This movie also features the Legion, new monsters created for this series. Now, if there’s one thing about the Gamera Trilogy I don’t like it’s the design of the non-Gamera monsters. The Legion drones look like something from a “Legend of Zelda” game. In fact, I’m pretty sure they were in the fire dungeon in “Windwaker.” And while the Legion queen is interesting to look at she is ungainly, awkward and looks like something that was designed as opposed to evolved. How she can dig underground with such an unstreamlined body is beyond me.
The effects throughout are good and near Hollywood quality. Gamera’s first appearance and his destruction of the launch pod are only topped by sequences from Gamera 3 and Godzilla Final Wars as far as special effects in kaiju movies are concerned. The Gamera suit has been subtly redesigned to make it a little spinier and more intimidating part of a trend that continues into Gamera 3.
MONSTERS FEATURED
Gamera Legion Drone Legion Queen MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE
Gamera initial descent into the city to prevent the Legion from launching. I like it because the writer and director made it so that you don’t see or hear anything about Gamera for the first half hour of the movie. By the time you see him you are sort of waiting for him in the back of your mind while still enjoying this alien invasion story that has been established. Add to that the fact that he enters in his own unique manner and the crowd-pleasing way that he is coming to take on the invaders. The filmmakers have managed to change Gamera from a cheesy “friend to all children” to a credible antihero badass.
SEQUELS
Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris (1999) Gamera The Brave (2006)
DVD AVAILABILITY
Has been released on its own and in a three pack with the rest of the trilogy. The DVDs have a good amount of behind the scenes material, interviews with the director and special effects designer, and a couple of scenes where the dialogue is humorously redubbed.
SEE ALSO
Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack 2002
For the most part, the movies we’ve looked at in this column have featured Gratuitous Monster Action, which begs the question: How many minutes of monster action are required to make a monster movie?M. Night Shymalan’s Signs shows very little monster action, with the exception of a rather anti-climactic money-shot at the end of the movie.For the rest of the movie the presence of the monsters is felt without actually seeing them.And there are even a couple of very intense scenes in which we catch a frightening glimpse of a foot disappearing into a cornfield, or a shadow under a door or a very pixilated shape on a TV screen.So without actually showing much monster, Signs is far more scary and effective than your average monster movie.I guess the difference is like to that of erotica and full on porn (the monster equivalent of that would probably Godzilla: Final Wars.)
Signsis one of the most masterfully suspenseful movies ever made and is the work of a great director whose ego had not yet outweighed his talent.It is an interesting take on a genre we have seen many times before.What is Signs after all but a very scaled down version of Independence Day or War of the Worlds?It is the familiar alien invasion film but from the point of view of a rural family.There are no monuments to destroy, only one family and their home.
As good as the movie is, it does betray some of the flaws that have bogged down Shyamalan's subsequent movies. There is some clunky plotting and an attempt to make a faux twist-ending ("Swing Merril, Swing!") and attempts to shoehorn the story into the director's "vision" for the movie. For a movie that is called signs, and that featured crop circles prominently in its ad campaign, the movie really has little to do with them. Despite the director's contrivances the movie succeeds, and Signs is perhaps Shyamalan's most crowd-pleasing and enjoyable movie to date.
Maybe you should think about putting some damn clothes on.
THE MONSTER/EFFECTS
The monster is nothing really new or interesting.It is essentially a buffed up version of the typical grey/reptoid seen in movies and tv over the last forty years or so.It is actually quite reminiscent of the alien featured in the first X-Files movie.The main difference is that this one is able to camouflage itself.
This movie does feature some of the most hilariously unprepared aliens since War of the Worlds. You would think that if you have a dangerous aversion to water, that you would wear some kind of environment suit if you are coming to a planet that is 70% covered in the stuff. What would have happened if it had rained during their invasion?
In retrospect....
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
I think the pantry scene is brilliant.Mel Gibson’s character enters a kitchen having been told that an alien has been locked in the pantry.We can see that something is moving around in there.The character is terrified.The audience is terrified.We’re all torn between fear and curiosity.He spends a few moments trying to figure out what to do.Finally he grabs a knife and attempts to get a look under the door…
It’s one of the scariest scenes in any movie.So good.
Sadly, not every animal will see its day as an oversized monster in a b-movie.For example, you probably will never see a movie about a giant tarsier that runs amok, killing hundreds of people.There seem to be no shortage however of movies about man-eating alligators and crocodiles.One of the most recent is Primeval and the twist here is that it is based on a true story. The movie was released in 2006 with a truly inept ad campaign that tried to sell the movie as a serial killer thriller.
Domenic Purcell plays a hotshot journalist who is incapable of using more than three buttons on his shirt.He is sent to the African nation of Burundi to cover the “sensational” story of Gustave, a killer croc and his network’s attempts to catch it.Along for the ride is his wisecracking cameraman, a female scientist and a Crocodile Hunter wannabe.They are soon trying to survive not only Gustave but the various warlords and factions vying for control of the area.
The movie is set in Burundi and the overarching theme is that the years of bloodshed and violence have literally fed this monstrous crocodile that has developed a taste for human flesh from feeding on the victims of war and genocide.The movie merges a story about the socio-political situation in Africa with a monster movie about a rampaging 30 foot crocodile.While I think that this is somehow fundamentally exploitative and trivializing, there is something about the allegory of it that works very well.Who said monsters were supposed to be subtle anyway?
THE MONSTER/EFFECTS:
Gustave is basically a big crocodile.So if you’ve seen one on TV or at a zoo you know what to expect.Only really big.He is realized primarily through CGI.Not fantastic effects but pretty good.
MONSTERS FEATURED:
Gustave.
HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY:
Widely available on DVD.There are some nice extras, including a featurette about how the croc was brought to life.
Also available on Bluray.
MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE:
Gustave charging across the savanna in pursuit of Orlando Jones.You may have different reactions to this scene depending on how you feel about the often annoying former MadTV cast member and 7-UP spokesman.
7-UP yours, Orlando Jones.
SEQUELS
None.
SEE ALSO
Primeval is part of a long line of crocsploitation movies.
First thing I should say is that this isn't a trailer to a new Mortal Kombat movie. There is not a new Mortal Kombat movie being made.........yet. However there has been a lot of positive feedback to this teaser called Mortal Kombat: Rebirth that it may happen at some point in the near future. This is a teaser/visual pitch to Warner Bros. by a director named Kevin Tancharoen who wants to make a new Mortal Kombat movie.
The first time I saw it I didn't have an all out nerd-gasm but I definitely had to readjust my Green Lantern underwear. What will probably stick out to you the most after you watch this is that they're going for a more realistic approach. Apparently we had a bit of a problem believing this before:
That's Christopher Lambert as Raiden from the original Mortal Kombat movie. I believe that picture was taken at a HotShots Hot Spot Photo Shop in a Waukegan strip mall.
No the new Mortal Kombat characters are going to be looking like this:
That's Reptile. Go ahead and mention to him that he got some shit on his face. Let me know how that works out for you.
Real quick, the problems that I did have with this teaser are pretty small. The recognizable actors, Michael Jai White aka Jax (aka Black Dynamite!) don't do any fighting onscreen. I have no idea who the actors are who are playing Johnny Cage, Scorpion, and Baraka so I don't know if they can actually act. They look like they can whoop that ass though. My biggest complaint is that I'm really not crazy about *Baraka's look.
Baraka looks like a cross between Lil' Wayne, and....well shit Lil' Wayne. Don't believe me?
But those are things I can let slide. If this is the direction that they're going to take a new Mortal Kombat movie than I'm in. I'll make sure to buy more Green Lantern underwear to prepare myself. What say you?
You can read an interview with the director of the teaser here where he explains how he would handle the new Mortal Kombat film.
*You can also really impress me by coming up with a Halloween Baraka Obama costume.
I grew up with the Alien movies.As a small child, I saw Alienon TV and loved it.When I was a little older my uncle took me to see Aliens and it became one of my favorite movies.As a seventeen year old, I was crazy psyched to see Alien3. Early looks at the movie promised that the Aliens would come to earth, the ads promised “three times” everything, and that “the bitch” would be back.I was already conditioned to expect any sequel to be twice as big and spectacular as the last one, much in the same way that Aliens was pumped up balls out version of Alien.However, Alien3 turned out to be a completely different creature than the other two movies.Instead of a hardcore action movie like its predecessor it is a moody and existential suspense movie that killed off most of the characters you came to care about in the previous movie.In fact, it has more in common with Ridley Scott’s movie than with James Cameron’s.For that reason, many people don’t like it; they feel that Alien3 is a step backwards in the series.But you have to admire a movie that is ballsy enough to give you something other than what you want or expect.One of the strengths of the Alien series is that each movie was worked on by a different gifted director with a different take on the material.
In this movie, Ripley often looks as though she is going to break out into "The Emperor's New Clothes."
Alien3 was the first feature of director David Fincher, who went on to make such movies as Fight Club and 7 both of which share a certain grimy visual style with his first movie.Alien3 was an extremely troubled production from the beginning.It had literally gone though a half a dozen distinct stories and over a dozen writers before settling on the final story.An early draft was written by science fiction writer William Gibson and focused on Hicks and Bishop and an alternative reproduction cycle for the Aliens.At one point, another version of the the movie was to be directed by Vincent Ward and to have taken place on a wooden planet on which lived a population of monks.At one point, the monks were going to be dwarves and there were going to have been seven of them.I suspect at some point there may not have been an Alien in the movie at all.
So the final script for Alien3 was distilled from many different sources, apparently by committee.And even the later drafts must have been significantly different, as proved by the teaser trailer that indicated that the movie would be set on Earth.So, Fincher was ultimately hired as an inexperienced director who would likely be easily controlled by the studio and to this day he doesn’t talk about the movie at all.He was the only series director to refuse to do a commentary for the Alien Legacy DVD boxed set.
Even the movie as it was filmed would have been significantly different.I remember at the time that Charles Dutton had said something to the effect that “The movie in the theater was not the movie we filmed.”Luckily you can now get a glimpse of this in the great Alien Legacy and the Alien Anthology Bluray set which includes an alternate and in many ways superior “Assembly Cut” of the movie which is about a half hour longer and includes numerous subplots and alternate story points.
I've been on this date. It's not fun.
The decision to have Ripley host the Alien was controversial but I think ultimately a good way to (at the time) end the series.It also brings the body horror of the Alien to the forefront.The movie then becomes about mortality and existential horror.Even the briefly reanimated Bishop gets emo: “I’ll never be top of the line again.I’d rather be nothing.”This is another horror movie that addresses the AIDS epidemic in an allegorical way as it is a story of someone who has a malignant presence in their body that will ultimately kill them.In 1992 that would have been a clear reference to the epidemic.
For me, as a teenager, the movie actually appealed to me in a totally different way than the others.I actually thought it was really cool.It was very dark and vaguely goth and punk.It was a very early ‘90’s kind of movie.And while the ending was a downer it was also very beautiful and tragic.Although it is clearly a flawed movie, Fincher’s brilliance shines through and I will always have a special affection for Alien3.
THE MONSTER/EFFECTS
The Alien got a redesign in this movie, the justification being that it came from a quadruped host.This Alien, while smaller than the others, was the fastest and most deadly yet.This movie actually boasts the best Alien effects we would see until Alien vs. Predator twelve years later.A common misconception was that this movie featured an early version digital Alien but it was actually a combination of suitmation and a rod puppet that was digitally composited into live action shots.
It also returns to the smooth-domed Ridley Scott style head as opposed to the Cameron head ridges. Here, the body is a roachy brown color which goes well with the rusty prison facility. The back tubes from the previous movies are gone for a more streamlined effect.
HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY
This movie is widely available on DVD on its own or in few different Alien boxed sets.As I stated above the Legacy and Anthology sets features the “Assembly Cut” which is definitely worth seeing.And I believe it is available in the single two-disc version as well.
The “Assembly Cut” is different in a few ways:
A lot the shots having to do with Ripley’s crash are much different.In the assembly cut she and the escape pod wash ashore.The pod is pulled back to the facility by oxen and it gives the planet a low tech effect.
There is a newly designed facehugger found, meant to represent the queen facehugger.
The chestburster comes out of an ox and not a dog.
There is an elaborate scene in which the prisoners succeed in capturing the Alien until it is let loose by the crazy prisoner.
The Alien does not hatch from Ripley’s chest as she dives into the melting pit at the end.
There are more character scenes overall in the assembly cut.
MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE
I like the scene (in the theatrical cut) in which the Alien hatches from the dog which is intercut with Hicks and Newt being thrown into the melting pit as Dillon eulogizes them.
The following are my set of questions that I was going to ask Steve Jobs at the unveiling of the new Iphone at the Worldwide Developers Conference being held yesterday in San Francisco. Shortly thereafter I realized I did not have the opportunity nor was I invited nor did I intend to be at the unveiling of the new Iphone at the Worldwide Developers Conference being held yesterday in San Francisco.
Nonetheless here are the questions:
Now just to confirm it is a phone correct?
Hey Coldblood, Monday mornings are a motherfucker am I right?
Are all of the numbers on the keypad the same as the previous version or did you make some new numbers up for this go around?
Yes but can it pay my rent? Can I hump it?
Is it true your middle name is "I Don't Need No"?
Follow up question to the numbers keypad question: Are the numbers in the same order as well?
How often do you get together with other CEO's and say, "Man this BP CEO's a real dumb ass, am I right folks!"
Did you see the ending of LOST? That shit was crazy?
You ever consider an "app" called "Snapps!" and it just talks about how your momma be tripping? No not my mom your mom.
Is it true your middle name is "Fuck All Y'all Jobby" as in Steve "Fuck All Y'all Jobby" Jobs?
Follow up question to the follow up numbers keypad question as well as follow up question to LOST: Hey how come you just didn't you use the numbers from LOST on the keypad?
Your company's name is Apple right? You the boss right? Then answer me as to why ain't you made a phone in the form of an apple?
Is it true that the original name for the Ipad was the Iwontgiveafuck?
How come you didn't put out a hit on that one guy who was all like "Ooooh, look at me. I found the new Iphone early and I'm online with it wow look at me."?
What words of sympathy and condolence do you have for those new Iphone users who are coming home to an old cellphone that's either hung, shot, or shit itself to death due to its inevitable outdated-ness?
How long before Apple finally unveils the Iboobies?
If you're one of the great minds and innovators of modern times then how can Dr. Octagon be Halfsharkalligatorhalfman and not you?
I planned to get arrested on this last question (or maybe the Iboobies one, I'm not sure) and then as I was being dragged out of the building I was going to look directly at the news camera recording the whole event, throw security completely off of me, throw on my commemorative Prince 1999 purple sequin trench coat with matching glasses (the glasses are original), throw up the Wu Tang "W" and yell "Chi-city jukin' for life!" as I flew off in a jet pack.
When it comes to creature effects from the 1980’s on, there is one artist who towers over the rest: Stan Winston.Winston designed and realized monster effects for such films as The Terminator, Aliens, Predator, JurassicPark and many other classic monster movies.In 1989 Winston made his directorial debut with Pumpkinhead, a country-fried supernatural revenge movie with an emphasis on creature effects.This is also one of the few starring roles for character actor Lance Henriksen’s weathered face and gravelly voice will be familiar to any genre fans from his supporting roles in movies like the Alien and Alien vs. Predator series, Near Dark and his starring role in the Chris Carter TV series Millenium.He’s a good actor and it’s nice to see him get to stretch his legs.
Henriksen plays a single father who owns a shop in a rural mountain community.When his young son is killed in an accident by a group of reckless young tourists he searches for a way to take revenge on them.He ultimately enlists the help of an old mountain witch who summons Pumpkinhead to take revenge on the teens.As Pumpkinhead slaughters the city folk, Henricksen’s character begins to see visions of the killings through the monster’s eyes and eventually grows disturbed by his increasingly symbiotic relationship with Pumpkinhead.He eventually decides to put a stop to it, shotgun style.
THE MONSTER/EFFECTS
Pumpkin head looks a bit like a cross between a human being and Giger’s Alien.He has an impossibly spindly body design that recalls the original costume in Alien.He also has an expressive, well-animated face.It is likely that the film was built around the idea of showcasing this monster and since the director’s background is in effects the movie does not stint on attention to the design and realization of the titular creature.
DVD AVIALABILITY
Widely available.
MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE
The “summoning” sequence is quite good and loans the film an almost Tim Burtonish fairy tale quality.In fact, it resemble Burton’s later Sleepy Hollow.
SEQUELS
Pumpkinhead 2: Blood Wings 1994
Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes 2006 (Cable)
Pumkinhead: Blood Feud 2007 (Cable)
TRIVIA
Henricksen, along with actor Bill Paxton, has the privilege of having been killed onscreen by an Alien, a Predator and a Terminator (although whether Bishop was actually “killed” by an Alien is debatable.)
Someone set that Monolith to "KILL.".
That's Christopher Lambert as Raiden from the original Mortal Kombat movie. I believe that picture was taken at a HotShots Hot Spot Photo Shop in a Waukegan strip mall.
