Alien (1979)

A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates with horrifying results.

Within the last two days, I've seen 3 of the 4 "Alien" movies, and this first one is, by far, the best one. Ridley Scott is a genius. I reviewed his "Blade Runner" earlier this month, and I can definitely see his fingerprint on "Alien." The lighting is dark, lit only by the pulsing electric bulbs of an ore carrier ship, and all of the characters are drenched in sweat for the majority of the movie. The soundtrack is perfect for the suspense the movie wants to create, and the jerky/wandering camera angles are guaranteed to make you sit at the edge of your sweat gripping a blanket to your chin. This movie is a must-see for anyone interested in sci-fi; it really turned the genre upside down and set the standard for sci-fi horror for decades.

I love Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, she says exactly what everyone would say in the situations she ends up in, and she's so street-smart, it's painful to watch anyone question her opinion on something. I watched the movies just to see what happens to her (though I wish now I would have just stopped after 'Aliens,' the third one was just awful, and I'm sure "Resurrection" is even worse.) The supporting actors are excellent, that's what made this movie really work for me, they spent time on every detail, from special effects to acting to score, it wasn't just some movie you see "for the graphics."

It's scary, not gonna lie. There's swearing and the kinds of disgusting images a lot of people aren't comfortable with. If you saw "Pan's Labyrinth" and were ok, then this will be fine, too. If you had nightmares about Pan, then don't see Alien. It's the kind of movie that sticks in your mind. I had dreams about it, not nightmares, but I was still thinking about Ripley and Jones and a creeping terror that attacks you from the inside....

Blade Runner (1982)

In the year 2019, genetic engineers have created "replicants," better versions of humans, but upon losing control of them, made them illegal on earth. Decker, a blade runner, is sent to track down four escaped replicants who are searching for their creator.

It's hard to describe this movie. It's...weird, quite frankly, but so many layers of weird, it's incredible. The visuals are astounding for 1982, and I loved the combination of a futuristic city matched with grunge like downtown Chicago and ambience like Chinatown. Everything is dirty, you can almost smell the exhaust fumes and rain, the sweat on a stripper's body, blood...everything is organic and natural. The acting is almost non-existent, nothing really amazing, but that's what I liked. The setting and plot is so over the top, if the acting matched, it'd be just another cheesy sci-fi flick. The music fits perfectly, it's either strains of synth or almost Indian sounding beats as our characters push their way through crowds of raincoats and advertisement lights. It's understandable why a lot of people didn't "get" this movie when it came out. It was ahead of its time.

Eden Log (2007)

A man wakes up deep inside a cave. Suffering amnesia, he has no recollection of how he came to be here or of what happened to the man whose body he finds beside him. Tailed by a mysterious creature, he must continue through this strange and fantastic world.

When I saw the trailer, I knew I HAD to see this movie. I searched online for hours until I found a Japanese website that offered a streaming version that loaded at about two minutes of film for every ten minutes of real time. It was the most unusual movie I've ever seen. It played out more like a video game than a movie, starting out with zero knowledge of our character or where he is or what's happened to him, and gradually he collects clues as he moves up "levels" in this strange grid of steel and plant-life. It's a French movie with English, but I'd rather it was just in French. The plot itself isn't original, it has a classic sci-fi vibe to it, a horror story of what happens when humans become consumed by the body of society and forget the individual. However, the execution is what makes it unusual, though it's not well-done. There is essentially no dialogue, no character development, and no visibility. The entire movie is bathed in darkness and the action is done in painful strobe-and-cut scenes, like a manic-depressive disco ball. Just as a movie-watcher, and not a critic, I would say this is a terrible movie. However, if one wants to think really hard about the filmmaker's choice of story and such, it's a really interesting experience.