Alien 3

David Fincher fought a losing battle and won

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“When i first saw Alien 3 i was sad. They killed my favourite characters, inclusive of ripley at the end, it left me hollow and a tad upset! upon repeat viewings i found the tone and atmosphere to be unmatched in any film I've seen since, coupled with the most perfect musical score I've heard (which i still listen to even today) makes for a hard to stomach film which is actually the best in the series. Why do i think this? the character of ripley is really fulfilled, we see her grow from the first film into a strong female character. Such additions as the alien 3 life cycle and alien design just add to the creepy atmosphere, this film i remember more for its tone and new direction it took the series in. Its a sad film, depressing and very dark indeed. Its just like the alien, without remorse or answers. This film restores what the alien is: scary. In aliens they weren't as scary because they seemed to be rather weak? though it still stands as a wonderful film in its own right (action). For me alien 3 is superb, worth watching and studying.”

This review is right, Alien 3 is a film that grows on you, when you first watch it with the two films before it in mind; it’s a disappointment. However the film is a very brilliantly crafted film, dark and sinister with real sense of melancholy and why not? Ripley has lost everyone again and now must stop the company getting the alien. The Directors cut is especially brilliant and adds an element that fills out the story better, the chest bursting scene at the beginning.

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“This one is really horrible. It messes up everything that made Alien and Aliens great movies. The transition from the end of Aliens to the beginning of this crap makes no sense at all. The survivors of Aliens are simply killing off, probably for no better reason than that the script simply doesn't fit into the Alien series at all. A military ship jettisoning its crew after a tiny fire (don't they build warships to stand a little damage anymore?). An "escape pod" crashes headlong into a planet with not even an attempt at steering or breaking (wasn't there something called "landing")?. And all of a sudden two Aliens pop up out of nowhere. The nice high-tech environments and cool hardware are exchanged for a prison that more reminds of sewers than anything else. And from there it's just a boring matter of watching the Alien doggy eat all of those feeble, uninteresting characters (good that suddenly humans can outrun the doggy). I have seen this one once and being a fan of Aliens, I regret it. If you liked Alien and Aliens, do yourself a favor and stay away!”

It’s not that hard to believe what happens between the ending of the second and third films, we’ve seen what these Facehuggers are capable of why was it hard to believe the queen laid a few eggs before her little trip in outer space. The few other points they’ve made here are knit picking, Alien 3 is not as good as its predecessors by a long shot but in no way is it a bad movie.

What I thought:
Continuing the Alien films I watched Alien 3 very recently, although I did watch the Directors cut which is much superior to the theatrical cut. I think it every time I see it but it is extremely underrated, Alien 3 had to live up to two incredibly good and influential movies. Perhaps that’s the reason most people bring it down, well not today! Today I shall be singing its praises, David Fincher was a perfect Director for this, his directing took Alien back to the one stalking Alien format of the first one. As a director who’s not afraid to spill a bit of blood and shock an audience he made it more visceral than its predecessors, showing a side of the Alien we hadn’t seen. With an almost over whelming feeling of misery surrounding it all it’s easy to say why some people don’t like it.

For me the only downfall is that the two characters who survived with Ripley for so long were taken from her, but then again having Newt dead is vital to one of the best scenes in the film; The Autopsy. As Ripley desperately try’s to find out how she died, Sigourney Weaver does a top notch job of showing the fear of the thing and the fear of the truth not being believed. It’s scenes like that where the director also shines; his use of sound effects and shots of bloody utensils is dark and very effective.

My 500th post: The Social Netwrok

You like me, you really like me!

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“I have been a fan of David Fincher ever since I saw Se7en when I was 13. I saw all of his films the following week and not one of them disappointed me. That was back in 2003. I loved Zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as well, but he really knocked it out of the park with this one. I was fortunate enough to see The Social Network at a screening on 9/16/10 for my college. Eisenberg, Hammer and Sorkin were there and did a Q and A after the film. It was a GREAT experience. All of them seemed excited about the film and rightfully so. The film brilliantly tells the story of college students who go through hell with each other over the credit for Facebook and the damage that comes to all of them because of it. The acting and dialogue were flawless. Eisenberg, Garfield and even Timberlake churn out performances that should get them serious attention come award time. Fincher's direction is also perfect. you can always tell a Fincher film when you see it because his visual style is so striking and The Social Network is no exception. When this is released, please go see it and watch a film that defines a generation and what the world has become.”

A good review, couldn’t agree more on acting and dialogue. I think that stylistically this is no where near as visually impressive as Finchers other films, but The Social Network is a power house of a movie and make no mistake.

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“The social network to me is just another proof of recent mass hysteria where we can't distinct good from bad. This cheap drama-soap dramatically rewrites the history and I guess that's what made me angry. This is too much of a recent history and they're using real names in a docudrama setting. To me, this is history manipulation and not dramatization of a real story! 1)How lame that the Napster founder is played by the girls idol Justin. 2)How lame that he's talking about social networking as if he discovered it! Geez! Facebook just added a few very smart add ons, the social networking is certainly not their idea! I'd rather see a movie about the guys who actually did come up with the social networking idea i.e. profiles not for dating, but for friends. 3)Facebook is based mostly on cheating, lying, copying and misleading (i.e. Did u forget that back in the days we all used to receive this "friends invitations to join facebook?" Do u remember that facebook once u joined misled u on entering Ur e-mail password and then hacked into Ur address book and sent ALL of them an invitation to join face-book without our permission??) This film is a horror film about how horribly well things work if Ur smart and unethical. As far as the film goes it technically work fine, it's interesting that Mark is somehow honest about himself not being such a nice person, but under my humble opinion this whole film is made to fill Mark's vanity issues and wanting to stay in history as the founder of social networking, which is simply a lie.”

I think this person’s problem is with facebook not this movie, so really this review is a bit defunct. Who cares if the writers have taken some liberties if it makes the films better, it’s been done countless times before!

What I thought:
I was as I think everyone was; a little dubious about this film, say it out loud “a movie about Facebook” it sounds terrible! This could not be further from the truth, The Social Network is actually more gripping than you would think. Put it into context, Mark Zuckerberg is ‘that’ friend, every group must have the person that says and does unbelievable things without really noticing they’ve done anything or hurt anyone. The only difference, Zuckerberg just happens to be the genius behind Facebook! So the usual friends falling out that happens to all of us and forgotten within month’s maybe weeks is escalated into a major law suit. Very much in the public eye this feud over the creative rights of Facebook put in stark reality the nature of Social Networking and just how important it has been.

Now it sounds riper for a film ah? David Fincher captures this and what I like most about it; he captures without his usual visual flairs. The Social Networks main feats are in its dialogue and cool as you like acting! The screenplay oozes with sharp tongued wit for almost all characters but Zuckerberg most of all, played by Jesse Eisenberg to perfection. The casting is perfect and that’s even with the left hook of casting Justin Timberlake who is unbelievably good in this! Andrew Garfield making you feel genuinely sorry for the guy who was gradually pushed out and the Winklevoss Twins played brilliantly and very funnily by Armie Hammer.

Back however to Eisenberg who’s performance as the founder of Facebook is utterly compelling, throwing off the Michael Cera comparisons to give us a character that before he knew it was caught in a whirlwind had last everyone he actually cared for. It’s important that you feel conflicted about him, some hate him and some will feel sorry for the guy, as in the end he was a young man who (with little help) came up with an idea that revolutionized the way we communicate.

The Social Network is everything you have heard, it is a landmark film in many ways and it is a film of our times. More importantly it’s actually just a really entertaining bit of cinema.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

It’s like life, back wards.

Lover: Taken from IMDB

“This film is worthy of a 10/10 rating simply because of its imaginative and complex nature, I mean, I couldn't bring myself to know why this simple idea of a man aging backwards hadn't sprouted up before. Set all the way back at the end of the Great War, to New Orlean's meeting with Hurricane Katrina, this movie tells the story of Benjamin Button, a baby born an old man of eighty, destined to die in the mere form of a zero-year-old. I found this movie very emotional and special because there's reeally nothing like it. I honestly thought, when I found out the immense length of the film, it was going to be boring....I was wrong, it gripped me from start to finish. There are many emotional and touching scenes in it, including the end, where it brings forth Benjamin Button's 'younger' years as an old man. Nothing went wrong with the cast, Brad Pitt played a great job as a reverse-aging man, and Cate went well as his childhood friend. Overall, this movie was great and I recommend it to anyone who loves the genre.”

The length is a bit of a problem but it is very touching movie.


Hater: Taken from IMDB

“I wasn't particularly enthralled with the idea of this film before seeing it but there was nothing else good on, so I gave it a try. An interesting idea for a film, that he grows physically younger but mentally develops in the normal way. However, this leads to many inconsistencies in the storyline. It doesn't make sense that Benjamin, when he becomes a father, decides to leave and travel the world. He looks of the age to do something like this but he's meant to be more mature... And when he's an old man in a young boy's body, he has a tantrum like a young boy would, but that doesn't fit the idea of the story, either... When trying to find the point to this whole story, all it comes down to is that we should look after those close to us and take more care of them. Well, that's an original one! To me, it became extremely boring as there is never any deep meaning to it and it just keeps dragging on for far too long when you can see that it's quite a stupid idea to put into a film. The anecdotes in the story, the acting and the direction are all good but in the end, what's the point?”

Hmm some good points but a little defunct if you watch the movie closely.

What i thought:

I liked Benjamin Button but it was a bit depressing, it was like Forrest Gump without all the meetings with famous people and major events. Button is essentially about life and death and the idea that everyone is unique but that we all eventually go the same way. Depressing? Oh yes. Of course this is David Fincher though, the cinematography is sublime and the effects of the “reverse aging” are stunning. Brad Pitt is also brilliant playing the different ages; in fact it’s a real tour de force for him!

It’s not very re watchable though, I already don’t think I could sit through it again and as the reviews above are a testament to it does leave a lot of questions, sign of a good move or just bloody frustrating, like Big Brother “you decide”.