alien vs. predator Tagged Articles at Cinematical

How do you get people interested in watching a TV airing of Alien vs. Predator? Why, show them playing chess or pool or a swing game. The ads look to be for an airing of the film on the Sky network overseas, and while I'm not sure if it's the first film or the sequel (probably the former), it's still a pretty smart and funny (albeit a little corny) way of promoting it. Dare I say they're better than the movie itself?

Apart from the image above (of Alien and Predator playing chess), there's also one of them playing pool (while drinking beer and enjoying a few smokes, no less) -- and then a third one of them playing some sort of swing game. Do the ads take a little away from the horror and intensity of the film? Maybe. But if you see these ads and tune in because you're expecting a sitcom-ish scenario ("It's like the odd couple, but with an Alien and a Predator!"), then there are larger issues at hand. Check out all three images in the gallery below.



[via Superpunch]

I haven't read Twilight, but a friend who has described it as chapter upon chapter of Kristen Stewart's character swooning over Robert Pattinson's youthful 108-year old vampire. Males the world over are running for the hills -- but maybe they shouldn't. After all, the horror-romance has a long and venerable history. The juxtaposition makes sense: just like clowns can become scary with just a small tweak in their make-up, love stories can turn into horror stories by edging just slightly toward the sinister. I have some hope that Twilight might be creepy rather than gooey; we'll see soon enough. In the meantime, here are a few examples of films that have done a nice job with the horror-romance combination.

1. The Fly (1986) - I actually think that Cronenberg's take on The Fly is the scariest movie I've ever seen, albeit for reasons having little to do with the romance between Jeff Goldblum's Seth Brundle and Geena Davis's Veronica. (I'm generally freaked out by genetic weirdness.) But the film gets much of its poignancy from their relationship, which both sets things in motion and brings them to a close. Consider that Brundle tries his invention on himself out of jealousy, imagining an infidelity that didn't exist. And Veronica's final heartbreaking gesture is one of both pity and love.

So it would appear that Alien vs. Predator is truly the movie franchise that will not die. No matter how many bad reviews the films get, or the overwhelming cries of 'blasphemy!' from fans of the original series, it seems like nothing is going to stop Fox from churning out another sequel in the sci-fi series. According to sources for Shock till You Drop, talk of another film in the AVP franchise has already begun to surface at 20th Century Fox -- and Shock's sources say that it is a "certainty."

After AVPR: Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem was released last Christmas, Fox hadn't made any promises about the franchise. According to the film's directors, the studio was going to take a 'wait and see' approach. Cut to three months later, and Fox seems to be a little surer that another installment is a sure thing. There is no word on whether Colin and Greg Strause would return to direct again, or whether Fox is going to run with the Strause's idea of taking the story back into space. Considering their installment managed to pull in $128.8 million internationally, I think Fox might want to take their advice. Nothing is official yet, so stay tuned to Cinematical for any news that comes our way.

So what do you think? Is the AVP franchise worth keeping alive? Or more importantly, will the fans keep coming back no matter how bad the movies are?

The first few lines of dialogue in Alien vs. Predator: Requiem include "take your time" and "slow down," which is pretty ironic considering how impatient the movie comes off in its initial five minutes. Thanks to Yahoo! you can now watch those five minutes and see for yourself. You'll agree that at least in the opening, the sequel is not trying to waste any time. Right away we see an Alien pop out of a Predator's chest, which leads to a quick Alien-Predator battle, which immediately results in the Predator's ship crashing down onto Earth. At this point we meet father and son hunters, the former of which utters those first words.

Oh, and that's when it gets awesome: the hunter shoots one of the baby Aliens, which bleeds acid on his arm, which then falls off. Then another baby Alien jumps onto his face and another baby Alien jumps onto the kid's face. Satisfied yet? Well, you still have the beacon, which is picked up on the Predator home planet, where the last few minutes' events are given an instant replay, which is viewed by another Predator, who abruptly gets into another spaceship and heads to the rescue. And then ... we see the title sequence.

Yeah, in case the red-band trailer hadn't been enough, I have to reiterate that I've never been so excited about a movie I've had such a low expectation for in my entire life. Will Alien vs. Predator: Requiem suck? It's possible, but if it continues with such disregard for pauses, it's going to at least be a quick and painless shot of entertainment.

If you're anything like me, upon reading some of the names that were up for roles in the new live action Justice League of America movie, your first response was probably: "Who the f*ck is that?" It's okay to feel that way; most of the actors up for roles are young up-and-comers who don't have many credits next to their name. And in order to be familiar with them, you'd need to watch The O.C. or read Teen Hotties of the Month Magazine. Forget about the film for a moment (which I do not think should be made at this time), my main problem with this cast is that they're so damn young. Armie Hammer, for example, is rumored to be playing Batman. He's 21. He looks like a baby. And am I the only one who expects my Batman and Superman to actually be, ya know, MEN?

As it stands right now, this whole film will feel like a Beverly Hills 90210 Halloween episode, in which everyone dresses up like their favorite superhero. My suggestion: They wait a few years, and instead of launching a live-action film, why not exploit the new 3D IMAX nonsense. Mo-cap the hell out of the thing. Get an older, more experienced and well-known cast to voice the roles. Let poor Christopher Nolan finish his Batman trilogy without having to deal with pics of Armie Hammer as "hottie Batman" leaking all over the web. Launch solo films for Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash before this JLA movie. Sure, one day it might be fun to watch Superman and Batman fight one another, as it's somewhat cool to watch the new Alien vs. Predator movies, but wait until those franchises have run out of steam. Those are my two cents, anyway ... How about you?

Yup, it's about that time again for our favorite Aliens and Predators to meet up, swap yearbooks, talk about cute boys and absolutely friggin' annihilate one another. This time, however, they'll be doing it in our own backyard. JoBlo has snagged the first teaser poster for Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (or AVPR) (click on the poster for a larger image), a follow-up to 2004's Alien vs. Predator in which the Alien from the Aliens films and the Predator from the Predator films battle it out on the big screen in an attempt to win the coveted title of "Best Kick Ass Monster Movie Villain Ever!" In my household, the Predator has always maintained a healthy lead over those Aliens, but only because it seems to have more of a personality ... and better weapons. And so help me God, if that Predator doesn't use its invisibility technique to sneak into a girl's locker room and subsequently blow those birthday suits to bits -- well, I just won't pay any money to see a third one, is all.

And how about that tagline: "This Christmas There Will Be No Peace On Earth." Gee, thanks. As if it wasn't bad enough having to lug boxes around to seven different holiday parties -- now I have to worry about some slimy beast showing up to kill me and impregnate my wife!? WTF? Directed by Colin and Greg Strause (they did the visual effects on films like 300 and X-Men: The Last Stand), AVPR finds our two nasty villains descend upon a small town in the middle of America. Those smart enough and ballsy enough (not me, I'd be dead in three minutes) then team up and, together, try to find a way to rid themselves of these creatures. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem hits theaters on Christmas Day.

One of the only cool things about the first AVP: Alien vs. Predator was that Lance Henriksen co-starred. Of course, he didn't play "Bishop", his beloved android character from Aliens (or even Bishop II), but it was still a nice touch to have him in there. That is why it's disappointing to hear that none of the past Alien or Predator actors will be appearing in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. In an interview with the MTV Movies Blog, AVP2 co-directors Colin and Greg Strause revealed that they attempted to cast some surprise guests, but were unfortunately unable to do so. The brothers wouldn't name names, but said that one person sought after was too expensive -- even for a cameo? -- and another "shockingly" blew them off. Funny, because aside from Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Bill Paxton and Ian Holm, I can't imagine many of the Alien series players being too high profile that they couldn't do a fun little throwback appearance. Maybe the Strause Brothers were aiming too high, but surely they could have even made attempts for Charles S. Dutton, Ron Perlman, Veronica Cartwright, Tom Skerritt or even Paul Reiser, not to mention tons of others. And what about Carl Weathers, for the Predator way around? After seeing his recurring role in Arrested Development, I believe he would have been up for such an idea.

The Strause Brothers also discussed with MTV the title, although they didn't even mention the lame "Requiem" part. They only said that Fox is currently not into numbering their sequels and that the pluralization of "Alien" is directly referencing James Cameron's Aliens. Other highlights from the interview (as pointed out by Movieweb) include an acknowledgment that the studio -- not just the Strauses -- thought the first AVP was a disappointment for fans and that the R rating is a response to that (Colin: "I mean, we chest-burst a little kid!"), a discussion of the Alien/Predator hybrid (aka "The Predalien") and a hint that the duo want to do another sequel set in space. MTV Movies Blog has also been sharing some exclusive fight-scene photos from the upcoming sequel (out this Christmas) that are pretty neat.

For those of us hoping that AVP2 is better than AVP1, our prayers seem to have been answered. IGN has the new red band trailer for the spin-off sequel, and it looks pretty damn good. It begins with an appropriate tagline: "In space, no one can hear you scream. On Earth, it won't matter." Then, it's pretty much everything we'd hoped the first Alien vs. Predator movie would be. Well, to be honest, I had wanted a human free, dialogue free movie featuring only the Aliens and the Predators, but this is definitely my second choice.

It isn't even just that the sequel is Rated R, unlike its PG-13 predecessor, and that this uncensored trailer gives us more gore and violence than the anything in the first movie. It's that the Strause Brothers (sibling effects-wizards-turned-directors Colin and Greg) and screenwriter Shane Salerno seem to have the right story for us fans of the original franchises. From the Alien series we have a government/military that doesn't care about civilian life (this is also popular in other horror films of late). From the Predator series we have the thick brush of a forest (almost jungle-like) for more thermal-vision stuff -- which just wasn't as interesting in the cold, arctic setting of the last effort.

Of course, the R-rated stuff is pretty sick, too. As is the seemingly Spielbergian touches: the flashlights in the woods searching for an alien, but it isn't E.T.; a very Jurassic Park-esque scene with Alien young substituted for Velociraptors. Hey, I know it won't possibly be as good as any Spielberg movie nor will it likely be as excellent as the real installments in either franchise. But it still looks awesome. I just hope the trailer hasn't spoiled the best killings -- that Predator knife thrown at the blonde, the double head-shots, the eyes poked out -- or the ending with that final shot with the F-bomb and the Alien kill, which looks climactic. Anyway, one thing is clear: Fox is really going with that Requiem subtitle, and I now realize that I made a mistake with my last AVP2 post; the official title is Aliens vs. Predator -- Requiem (not Alien vs. Predator -- Requiem), as if it really matters.

Does it really matter what the Alien vs. Predator sequel is called? Unless Fox titles it something like Women who Grow Old Together and Discuss Past Romances and Needlework, the movie will attract the same fanboys, geeks and franchise loyalists who hope that it will redeem the series after a disappointing debut. So far, the studio has tried the following titles: the too-redundant Alien vs. Predator: AVP2; the too-abbreviated AvP2; the too-long Alien vs. Predator: No Peace on Earth and finally the too-inconspicuous Aliens vs. Predator (as if to align it with Cameron's masterpiece). However, according to ComingSoon.net, that "finally" wasn't actually a final decision, as Fox is now picking the dumbest title of all: Alien vs. Predator - Requiem. Sounds like a subtitle for a Resident Evil movie, and it's just as unnecessary.

Why not just go with the obvious: Alien vs. Predator 2? It's simple, it's straightforward and it doesn't require all the money paid to some marketing guy who probably took all day thinking up "Requiem." Considering how many titles are listed as Requiem on the IMDb, Fox might want to stay away from the thing. But then, the studio isn't the best at coming up with sequel names (Live Free or Die Hard?). Whatever it's called, AVP2 has only a few months left before its Christmas release, so Fox better finalize its decision and get us some posters and trailers soon. The sequel, directed by effects wizards Colin and Greg Strause, takes the battle of alien species to a farm in Texas, where Shareeka Epps (Half Nelson), John Ortiz (Miami Vice), Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me), Gena Holden (Final Destination 3), David Paetkau (Final Destination 2) and Reiko Alesworth (24) will be caught in the crossfire. According to Pasquale, it will be scarier than the first movie. According to many fans, it better be.

With Michael Bay's Transformers pulling in Daddy Warbucks dollars at the box office, it's inevitable that we'll soon be seeing a flood of films based on cartoons making their way to theaters. The question is: Will we be treated to quality adaptations of cartoons that actually do lend themselves to the big-screen treatment ... or will we have to endure a two-and-a-half-hour "epic" entitled My Little Pony: At World's End?

As it happens, studios are already answering this question, with a bevy of 'toon-based films set to hit cineplexes this year and in the not-so-distant future. First, after years of speculation and anticipation, The Simpsons Movie lands in theaters July 27. Then in August Jason Lee lends his voice to a live-action Underdog movie (he's the superheroic dog), and in December he pops up again (in human form this time) as David Seville in the live-action/animation hybrid Alvin and the Chipmunks. And next summer, the Wachowski bros. will try to spin cinematic gold out of Speedracer, starring Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci (sorry, no Jason Lee this time).

Also on the horizon is a live-action CGI Thundercats flick, in which Lion-O and an army of humanoid cats (yes, you read that correctly) battle the evil sorcerer Mumm-Ra on a planet known as Third Earth. And last but not least is a real gem for the true cartoon aficionado: a live-action movie based on the Japanese anime 'toon Voltron, about five rebels who battle evil using robotic lions that unite to form one giant ass-kicking robot warrior (Voltron) when the individual lions inevitably get thrashed.

That's about it as far as upcoming cartoon-based film. Which other cartoons would you love to see made into movies? Personally, I'd love to see a crossover mash-up of two different 'toons, Alien vs. Predator-style. I mean, who wouldn't line up to see SVGB: Smurfs vs. Gummy Bears?