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Aliens Vs. Predator Movies Discussion Thread (First 5 Minutes of AVP2 Online Legally!)

Discussion in 'Archive: SF&F: Films and Television' started by Jedi_Master_Conor, Feb 18, 2006.

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  1. DorkmanScott

    DorkmanScott Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Mar 26, 2001
    The problem I have with Paul W.S. is that his movies DON'T outright suck. Funny as that is to say. If his films flat-out had no value at all you could write him off as being simply incompetent and pity on the franchises he's tricked over the years.

    But, to me, his movies are always THISCLOSE to actually being really, really good, and it just doesn't get there because he doesn't care enough to try. That's what irks me about him. Not that his movies are bad, but that it's obvious, to me, that they didn't have to be.

    And I have not seen a Boll film but plan to soon subject myself to them. I can't trash the man in good conscience with no firsthand knowledge.

    M. Scott
     
  2. Syntax

    Syntax Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Aug 1, 2001
    I think that's the flaw with your argument. How many Anderson movies have you seen, exactly? It's not like he's made that many.

    Both times I saw 'AvP' at the theatre, the audience was clapping and cheering along with the movie. There weren't any laughs (except at the bits that were meant to be funny) or any MST3K wannabes.

    I didn't bother seeing 'Bloodrayne', but I watched 'House of the Dead' on DVD, because I'm a zombie-movie nut.
     
  3. Sn4tcH

    Sn4tcH Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 22, 2004
    I'm a Projectionist at a movie theatre, so I saw Bloodrayne... and Alone in the Dark... I'm sorry I did, but I saw them. And I rented House of the Dead, but that was Bolls first catastrophe so I didn't know what I was getting into. I was even more terrified of the trailer for Dungeon Siege though... ugh.

    Anyways, Andersons filmography is small, but it also gets the point across. Event Horizon? Mortal Kombat? Resident Evil? SOLDIER!? and of course AvP. Not to mention the man wrote Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and for that he should have his typewriter taken away.

    Out of all those movie, the only one I consider watchable is Event Horizon. There's not a bit of nostalgia in the world that could get me near Mortal Kombat again. Resident Evil was just empty. No comment on Soldier, I didn't know he made that till just now... that movie is just bad... wow... moving on...

    Though his record is small, his movies are consistently bad. But... they make money, and that's why he's still allowed to make/write movies. His movies are just sloppy, hyperactive and all over the place. It's like watching someone ADHD after forgetting the ritalin. I guess that means they're the perfect thing for todays market. :rolleyes:
     
  4. Panther50

    Panther50 Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 7, 2004
    I don't think Anderson it that bad. I liked the Resident Evil movies. I haven't seen Mortal Kombat or Soldier recently to remember how good they are. The only one I remember not liking is Event Horizon. Hes certainly not as bad as Boll.
     
  5. plo_koom

    plo_koom Jedi Knight star 5

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    Nov 26, 2002
    If you cut out all the lame exposition with the humans it'd be an okay movie but they tried way too hard to give the characters depth, but a lot of them just turned out incredibly overdone.
     
  6. Syntax

    Syntax Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Aug 1, 2001
    I liked 'Resident Evil'. I thought it was well done, and it made me care about the characters (especially the merc who survived the longest. I was sad when he died).
     
  7. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Behind the scenes, there is a distinct difference between Anderson and Boll- you read about anything Boll says (the most glaring example being that one about the development of Alone in the Dark and what the original writers had to deal with before they pulled out) and it's obviously he has no clue what a story is about. When you hear Anderson talk about stuff, he at leats is coming from a good direction and udnerstanding of things. He might screw up along the way, but just that initial starting perspective/understanding sets him worlds apart from Boll.


    As I mentioned before- of his films, only Solider felt really weak to me. Mortal Kombat isn't great, but I do have a bit of nostalgia for it and it DOES have some very good moments. I loved Event Horizon (been waiting almost 9 years for the long-promised extended cut to come out!)- great atmopshere, very creepy film and generally well acted (has a couple "stupid character" moments like any horror film, but those are excusable given the genre). Resident Evil was a solid B-movie I rather enjoyed (sure it was basicly an Aliens clone to some degree, and the Licker FX sucked, but it was still fun). Though he didn't direct it, RE2 was a big improvement over the first in the fun category.
     
  8. weezer

    weezer Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 16, 2001
    No offense but I seriously doubt you've seen the two that I haven't seen. Shopping was really only available in the UK as it didn't get a US theater release and the eventual DVD release was heavily edited. The Sight was shot for TV but I have no idea when or what channel as far as I know there was no DVD release.

    In other words I've seen every movie of his that I could possibly see. No he hasn't made many but what he has made sucks so.....

    You could easily make the same argument about Boll (see I said that you could defend him but I never really thought I would have to :p ) too few films. They've gotten better as he's gone on too. Obviously were talking degrees of suckiness here. From really, really, really, really, really bad to just really, really, really bad but at least its progress. I can't even give Anderson that. Again his movies are just really, really bad but sporadic in their degree. Event Horizon was much better received then his follow up movie Solder. The TV show "The Sight" is apparently one of his best which was done after the failure of Soldier and his follow up was RE. Like I said they all fall apart is just a matter of when (apparently the later they fall apart the better received they are. I watched Event Horizon with a friend because another friend had told us it was a great movie. So we're watching it not really too enthralled or impressed and it starts to get to the end and my friend and I are like "Conrad please tell me it isn't a black hole to hell, Conrad it isn't a black hole to hell is it?" "just wait, you'll see". Ol Sam Neil pops up "its a Black hole....to hell" I was pretty much done with it at that point).

    Having said that I'll probably see Man with the Football just to see what he can do with pure action. No horror, no fantasy, just stuff blowing up. Maybe its my general aversion to genre films that colors my opinion. Even then, going back to sporadic his follow up is supposed to be a remake of Death Race 3000 [face_plain]

    I don't know how much I believe that writer story. I have read it and yeah its pretty ridiculus but its almost too ridiculus. His DVD commentaries aren't any better though so I have no doubt that he is completely innept.

    Like I said I do have some sympathy of how you arive at suck. There are many good intentioned directors where something doesn't just quite click. I always use A Sound of Thunder because even though it sucked there were momments where you saw what the director was trying to do and it just kind of ended up being sad.

    Admitedly Boll isn't in that camp. He's just bad. But I don't really put Anderson there either. They both go for cool with no idea of how to get there. Boll because of ignorance or ego Anderson because he just goes completely overboard. Its still bad.
     
  9. Syntax

    Syntax Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Aug 1, 2001
    'AvP' was littered with little things for the fans. But when I say "fans", I mean the die-hard fanboys who read the comics and played the games.
    I.e., people like me. :p
    Nearly every single thing in the 'AvP' movie is based on something from the comics. Heck, even one of the characters is named for the writer of the original 'Aliens' comics from 1987.
     
  10. Beowulf

    Beowulf Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 28, 1999
    But sadly, all those little fanboy references didn't make up for a mediocre action/horror/sci-fi flick. I was disappointed with AvP because they missed so much of a fantastic story (see the original AvP DarkHorse comics). That should've been made into a movie, or something similar.
     
  11. Sn4tcH

    Sn4tcH Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 22, 2004
    Exactly, I saw all the little fanwanking moments during the film, and as cool as that was to see, it doesn't excuse it from being a bad movie...
     
  12. Beowulf

    Beowulf Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 28, 1999
    At least its a bad movie one can enjoy. Anderson does have that going for him, making bad movies that are at least enjoyable.

    What I wanted more of was the Alien and Predator backgrounds in that movie. How did the Predators come across the Alien species? Space Jockey-type ship or did they head to the Aliens' home planet?
     
  13. Syntax

    Syntax Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Aug 1, 2001
    The thing is, not even the comics and novels address that. It's just established that the Predators have been hunting Aliens for sport for a very long time.
     
  14. Jedi_Master_Conor

    Jedi_Master_Conor Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    May 24, 2005
    honestly i wouldn't want the Space Jockey story put into an AVP movie. i'd rather that just be in a separate Alien movie
     
  15. Syntax

    Syntax Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Aug 1, 2001
    I can't even think of any comics, novels, or games which has both Space Jockeys and Predators, actually. The closest one I can think of is 'AvP2' for PC, which has a lot of random Jockey technology that shows up towards the end of the Marine campaign, and I thinkt he Predator crosses paths with it at some point in his campaign.
     
  16. Jedi_Master_Conor

    Jedi_Master_Conor Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    May 24, 2005
    yeah. that's the only instance where the predators come across it. and even then the origin isn't explained. i think it'd be cool for AVP 2 to be set in the future with the marines. it'd be cool to see the marines go against some predators
     
  17. Beowulf

    Beowulf Jedi Master star 5

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    May 28, 1999
    Yeah, and flesh out how the Predators got the dang Aliens to grow so fast.
     
  18. Jedi_Master_Conor

    Jedi_Master_Conor Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    May 24, 2005
    i would completely ignore that and start over with that part. make it a couple hours between the chestbursting and becoming full grown
     
  19. Syntax

    Syntax Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Aug 1, 2001
    The novelization addresses that (and I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread). The Predators were injecting the Queen with hormones to speed up her reproductive cycle, and this feature was passed down to the facehuggers, and then on to the resultant embryos. Normal gestation within a human takes about 24 hours from implantation to chestbursting, and then another couple of hours for the chestburster to grow to a full-size Alien. Predators probably don't want to have to sit around and wait for their ritual to begin.
     
  20. Jedi_Master_Conor

    Jedi_Master_Conor Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    May 24, 2005
    i still don't like that idea. honestly they should've done with what they did in the comics and graphic novels. the predators send out a drone ship loaded with eggs and seed a bunch of planets. they arrive a couple days later when the aliens are fully grown
     
  21. Beowulf

    Beowulf Jedi Master star 5

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    May 28, 1999
    Well, not everybody reads novelizations of movies, and I for one did not. For lazy folks like me, they could've done a whole lot more characterization.
     
  22. Panther50

    Panther50 Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Apr 7, 2004
    Its funny in the making of documentary I saw on DVD, I think it was Anderson who said nothing in the movie contradicts anything thats happened in the previous movies. Changing the gestation time seems a big alteration.
     
  23. Jedi_Master_Conor

    Jedi_Master_Conor Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    May 24, 2005
    honestly i could care less about the gestation time. that could be understandable. it's not like they're changing how the alien gets into the human or anything
     
  24. Syntax

    Syntax Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Aug 1, 2001
    ...except that there's an explanation for it, as I previously mentioned. Therefore, it isn't a contradiction.
     
  25. Jedi_Master_Conor

    Jedi_Master_Conor Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    May 24, 2005
    i hope they ignore Alexa Woods character in the sequel. it would make sense for them to bring her back if she actually went with the predators at the end but i can't see them doing it.
     
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