I love a good series; I am all over sinking my teeth into a trilogy of movies or a series of films or even a long running TV program, but when do you cut your losses on a franchise and say enough already! Unfortunately, sometimes it happens, even the biggest die hard fans and fangirls can have too much of the same thing.
We have all been there, God knows that I have invested years of my life in staying up late to catch up on the latest episode of something that I have an addiction for, but in spite of all that, I do think that some movies and TV programs shamelessly flog a dead horse in the name of entertainment. Or should I say, in the hope of capitalising on their devoted fan base at the box offices despite the fact that they are clearly pushing the envelope with the quality of story that is being produced.
Yep, I said it, sometimes directors, producers and writers need to have a good hard look at themselves and just stop themselves...really....please....just stop! There's a tonne of original material out there just dying to be made, so stop rehashing things over and over again Hollywood, I beg of you... for the love of god, have mercy!
And believe me when I say that I have a fangirl's perseverance when it comes to series, sequels, remakes and rehashes; but sometimes even I need to check out. I can forgive an average season of a beloved TV series if it's followed up by a kick arse one, which they usually are, but if not - I'm out! And with movies, if the consecutive films appear to be on a downward spiral of crappiness and cannot live up to the first one, then I usually check out as well.
Take the Alien franchise for example, a totally solid body of work and a worthy undertaking, and a series of films that I am personally a fan of. Love H. R. Giger's freaky art work, love Ridley Scott as a director, love science fiction as a genre, love horror/ sci-fi even more - I mean the films are legendary, no doubt about it - but how many of them do we really need? After almost nodding off during Prometheus and then recently finding myself contemplating the snack food in the cupboard for about twenty minutes whilst watching the latest installment Alien: Covenant, I am going to answer that question by saying about three less than there are already. It would appear that no amount of cool Xenomorph hybrid action, or even Michael Fassbender (am I really saying this?) can make me interested in seeing any more Alien films, they have literally been done to death now. TO DEATH! And while I am on an Alien rant, let's be honest, there were some pretty dodgy moments on the way to the newest ones as well... Alien 3 - oh boy, don't get me started! And I haven't even bothered to mention the Alien vs Predator spin off series, because that is a whole other saga in itself, I mean come on, enough is enough!
Fair to say that I have loved them, and overall I respect them, but I have really had enough of them. I think that I have just paid to see my last Alien movie, but then again, it is always best to never say never - just in case!
We have all been there, God knows that I have invested years of my life in staying up late to catch up on the latest episode of something that I have an addiction for, but in spite of all that, I do think that some movies and TV programs shamelessly flog a dead horse in the name of entertainment. Or should I say, in the hope of capitalising on their devoted fan base at the box offices despite the fact that they are clearly pushing the envelope with the quality of story that is being produced.
Yep, I said it, sometimes directors, producers and writers need to have a good hard look at themselves and just stop themselves...really....please....just stop! There's a tonne of original material out there just dying to be made, so stop rehashing things over and over again Hollywood, I beg of you... for the love of god, have mercy!
And believe me when I say that I have a fangirl's perseverance when it comes to series, sequels, remakes and rehashes; but sometimes even I need to check out. I can forgive an average season of a beloved TV series if it's followed up by a kick arse one, which they usually are, but if not - I'm out! And with movies, if the consecutive films appear to be on a downward spiral of crappiness and cannot live up to the first one, then I usually check out as well.
Take the Alien franchise for example, a totally solid body of work and a worthy undertaking, and a series of films that I am personally a fan of. Love H. R. Giger's freaky art work, love Ridley Scott as a director, love science fiction as a genre, love horror/ sci-fi even more - I mean the films are legendary, no doubt about it - but how many of them do we really need? After almost nodding off during Prometheus and then recently finding myself contemplating the snack food in the cupboard for about twenty minutes whilst watching the latest installment Alien: Covenant, I am going to answer that question by saying about three less than there are already. It would appear that no amount of cool Xenomorph hybrid action, or even Michael Fassbender (am I really saying this?) can make me interested in seeing any more Alien films, they have literally been done to death now. TO DEATH! And while I am on an Alien rant, let's be honest, there were some pretty dodgy moments on the way to the newest ones as well... Alien 3 - oh boy, don't get me started! And I haven't even bothered to mention the Alien vs Predator spin off series, because that is a whole other saga in itself, I mean come on, enough is enough!
Fair to say that I have loved them, and overall I respect them, but I have really had enough of them. I think that I have just paid to see my last Alien movie, but then again, it is always best to never say never - just in case!
ALIEN SERIES:
1. ALIEN
2. ALIENS
3. ALIEN 3
4. ALIEN:
RESURRECTION
5. PROMETHEUS
6. ALIEN: COVENANT
Release Dates: 1979, 1986, 1992, 1997, 2012, 2017
Rating: MA or R 18+
Running Time: 824 mins (about 12 hours in total)
I've got be honest in saying that the quality of the viewing gets pretty inconsistent here, ranging from the epic first two instalments Alien and Aliens to the almost unwatchable third offering Alien 3. The fourth instalment Alien Resurrection gave the series some much needed wings again, only to rapidly descend into tedium with the two newest Alien efforts Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Overlooking that, I have judged the series as an entire body of work, as just one overall experience, and when you are viewing it from that perspective - it is nothing short of epic!
The first of the series, Alien was directed by Ridley Scott and rapidly became a box office smash, fastly gaining a massive cult following and setting itself up for an extremely lucrative franchise. The original Alien is still recognised today as one the best science fiction movies ever made and it received an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, mostly due to it's H. R. Giger inspired, black, slimy and utterly ruthless 'Xenomorph' alien creatures.
In an unspecified time in the future, a commercial spacecraft crew are awakened from 'hyper sleep' by the ship's computer Mother. A signal has been given out from a derelict alien spacecraft, and three of the crew head out to investigate. What they encounter is a new life form, unfortunately it is also an extremely aggressive, terrifyingly strong and apparently virtually unstoppable life form, so things rapidly go from bad to worse.
In a nutshell, Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is consistently used throughout the series for her incredible understanding of the aliens, and her die hard, kickass, women power attitude. And I have to admit, a female heroine was a refreshing addition. I really don't want to say too much, because if you haven't seen them, you should. They are insidiously scary, deeply atmospheric and grossly entertaining. The sets are tangibly futuristic, the scripts are mostly consistent and the aliens are so well done that they manage to steal the limelight in almost every instalment, truly epitomizing every science fiction fans worst nightmare.
FINAL SAY: That is most certainly NOT an Easter Egg!
4 Chilli Peppers
1. ALIEN
2. ALIENS
3. ALIEN 3
4. ALIEN:
RESURRECTION
5. PROMETHEUS
6. ALIEN: COVENANT
Release Dates: 1979, 1986, 1992, 1997, 2012, 2017
Rating: MA or R 18+
Running Time: 824 mins (about 12 hours in total)
I've got be honest in saying that the quality of the viewing gets pretty inconsistent here, ranging from the epic first two instalments Alien and Aliens to the almost unwatchable third offering Alien 3. The fourth instalment Alien Resurrection gave the series some much needed wings again, only to rapidly descend into tedium with the two newest Alien efforts Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Overlooking that, I have judged the series as an entire body of work, as just one overall experience, and when you are viewing it from that perspective - it is nothing short of epic!
The first of the series, Alien was directed by Ridley Scott and rapidly became a box office smash, fastly gaining a massive cult following and setting itself up for an extremely lucrative franchise. The original Alien is still recognised today as one the best science fiction movies ever made and it received an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, mostly due to it's H. R. Giger inspired, black, slimy and utterly ruthless 'Xenomorph' alien creatures.
In an unspecified time in the future, a commercial spacecraft crew are awakened from 'hyper sleep' by the ship's computer Mother. A signal has been given out from a derelict alien spacecraft, and three of the crew head out to investigate. What they encounter is a new life form, unfortunately it is also an extremely aggressive, terrifyingly strong and apparently virtually unstoppable life form, so things rapidly go from bad to worse.
In a nutshell, Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is consistently used throughout the series for her incredible understanding of the aliens, and her die hard, kickass, women power attitude. And I have to admit, a female heroine was a refreshing addition. I really don't want to say too much, because if you haven't seen them, you should. They are insidiously scary, deeply atmospheric and grossly entertaining. The sets are tangibly futuristic, the scripts are mostly consistent and the aliens are so well done that they manage to steal the limelight in almost every instalment, truly epitomizing every science fiction fans worst nightmare.
FINAL SAY: That is most certainly NOT an Easter Egg!
4 Chilli Peppers
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