10 Movies to See Before You Die

Last night at the Bloor it was amazing. Alien and Aliens on the big screen for the first time (for me) was absolutely incredible. Alien, of course, being released to theatres the year of my birth and Aliens coming out when I was six, neither of these were particularly good theatre-going opportunities. What I love most about repertory theatres like the Bloor is seeing older movies that I’ve seen dozens of times, but this time on the big screen. Sometimes, it leaves me feeling like I’ve never seen them at all…

I was very surprised at how well Alien held up over the years, given that the movie is 30 this year. This was the Director’s Cut, but to be honest it’s been so long since I’ve actually sat down and watched Alien all in one go that I’m not totally sure where the extra footage went. What I was sure of was how much I enjoyed this movie again. It held my attention perfectly and it scared me silly. Alien, you see, is an almost perfect ghost story – no one has seen it, no one knows what it does, it picks them off one by one and fractures the crew. Add to that some drooly, acid bleeding monsters and you have a brilliant movie. Not to mention, some fantastic additional attention with a cat. Cats make the best McGuffins, non?

Aliens was a whole different story. Watching it last night it struck me just how similar it is to Terminator. I realize that they’re from the same director (and writer), but they are really, really similar. Aliens, unlike its predecessor, is an almost perfect monster movie. They’re everywhere, you know exactly what you’re dealing with and you get to see new aspects of the monster’s character. Mix in some tension adding devices, like time, location, lack of working ship, an android and a child and – boom – it’s a brilliant, gripping movie. If I may say, every other time I’ve seen this movie I’ve flat out hated Newt. When I was about 13 and saw it for the first time, I really just wanted the Aliens to eat her. She was annoying, got in the way and seemed pretty stupid. For some reason, seeing her on the big screen (and all at once) made a huge difference. Not only did I feel exactly the opposite about her, I also kinda felt a little twinge of affection for her. She’s sweet and she’s smart and I love that Ripley loves her which, in the beginning anyway, is the only good reason to love her.

What I liked the most about these two movies together was the evolution of Ripley’s character, something you can see when watch them back to back like this. In alien, Ripley is a crew member and a rule follower. She’s not a rebel or a lone-wolf, she just does her job according to ‘the law’ and she only wants the best for the crew. She’s not a superwoman. She’s not even really a leader, she just the person with the next highest rank. But Ripley is smart. She understands her dangers and can keep a cool head despite ridiculous and new experiences and, because of this, gets away alive (with the cat). In Aliens, she’s really no different, except that now she’s a little bit mad. She doesn’t let her fear paralyze her, even though it could and she finds in a crazy situation something to anchor and focus her – Newt. After the act 3 turn (which I had trouble determining, since there were a few deciding factors) Ripley’s character completely changes. Now she’s angry. Now she’s a lone-wolf. Now she’s a soldier. You can visibly see the change in her. She’s still scared, but now in defiant way and the truly incredible thing about this change is that even though she’s on her way to becoming extremely tough, she’s doing it because she’s acting on her base mothering instinct – to save a child. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Played so perfectly by Sigourney Weaver, who somehow manages to remain soft, gentle and sexy while still kicking some serious ass, it’s no accident that Ripley has captured all our imaginations. Even if you can’t get to in on ‘the big scree’, I strongly recommend sitting down and watching these two movies back to back – and soon!