Ranking the Alien Franchise, from Classic to Calamity

by Cláudio Alves

They call it a perfect organism. The beast brings forth destruction like nothing else in the universe, designed for maximum lethality and single-minded bloodlust. It slays and reproduces, only ever caring about the perpetuity of its kind over other living creatures. There are many ways for it to come into the world, whether through a mysterious black liquid or intelligent spores, an infection, or insemination by a violating face hugger. It is the product of mutation, ravaging existing beings as incubators or raw material for a further step in monstrous evolution. So, is it perfect or just good at killing and hard to kill? Is it perfect or an abomination? Am I talking about the xenomorph or the franchise that birthed it?

Through transforming genres and crossbreeding with other movie legacies, through artistic inspiration and corporative rot, through thick and thin, masterpieces and mediocrities, the Alien movies have persisted across decades. With its ninth installment now in theatres, it's a good time to take a look back at the saga and rank its nine films...

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Happy 75th, Veronica Cartwright

by Mark Brinkerhoff

Veronica Cartwright in a 2020 documentary "LIfe After The Navigator" exploring one of her 80s films

Happy 4/20, which happens to be the birthday—same day/month/year—of both Jessica Lange and one Veronica Cartwright, the British-born former child star and current character actor extraordinaire.

When did you first clock the extraordinary Veronica Cartwright on screen? Though she mainly does TV guest spots (and the occasional direct-to-VOD titles) nowadays, I can say that she made an immediate impression for me in the mid-‘80s, starting with The Right Stuff (1983), Flight of the Navigator (1986), and most notably The Witches of Eastwick (1987)...

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A Sigourney Weaver Top Ten

by Cláudio Alves

Back in April, Nathaniel wrote about Sigourney Weaver, arguing that her legendary career more than deserves Oscar gold. Maybe it's time for the Academy to give her an Honorary award since they don't seem especially keen on recognizing her recent output. Regardless, you can't argue that Weaver has significantly faltered in her craft, for the thespian's excellence is as apparent today as it was in her 1980s heyday. Indeed, both that article and its comment section were full of recommendations for those eager to explore the star's filmography. Inspired by them and the release of Paul Schrader's Master Gardener in theaters, I decided to do just that, enjoying a SigWeavie marathon that doubled as research for this actress-y top ten.

Continuing the tradition established with the Nicolas Cage top ten, I shall exclude Weaver's Oscar-anointed work because there's plenty written about them already. In each case, she delivered superior work to the Academy's chosen victor, showcasing the sheer range of her talents as she did so...

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Streaming Roulette, June: Martha Marcy May Titanic

We never know which films to cover since there are so many channels so please note that we welcome comments and requests for more in-depth coverage of new-to-streaming titles.  June is looking very strong (nice change of pace) for streaming fun so we'll have so much to discuss.

Okay, time for this month's streaming roulette. You know the rules. We highlight new-to-streaming movies and an occasional TV series by freezing them on the scroll bar at entirely random places and just sharing what pops up. No cheating*!

The hulls not designed to deal with that pressure so what happens [SOUND] she splits, right down to the keel. And the stern falls back level. Then as the bow sinks, it pulls the stern vertical and then finally detaches... 

TITANIC (1997) on Netflix
Do you also forget about the long prologue to Titanic? I do. One of my fondest memories of moviegoing with my family is watching my dad fall in love with this movie...

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"Raised by Wolves" 1-3: Prometheus Reborn

by Tony Ruggio

"Mother" and her children

Raised by Wolves is Ridley Scott’s answer to those who didn’t take to Prometheus, his magnum opus follow-up to Alien decades later. The powers that be got in the way of his true passion and led to a compromised vision once Alien Covenant came along. This is clearly an opportunity for him to revisit such themes as religion, man’s origin, and artificial intelligence, as well as delve into his slower, more methodical aesthetic preferences in greater detail. The first three episodes introduce us to a future wherein a great war has been fought (or is still being fought? It’s unclear) between atheists and a religious faction known as the Mithraic, spiritual fundamentalists devoted to a sun god called Sol. 

The story begins on a planet distant from Earth where an atheist group has sent two androids with the mission of shepherding a successful human colony there. So far, Wolves is primarily interested in the evolving behaviors of these androids, known only as Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubukar Salim)... 

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