Aliens: Is Their Time Almost Up?

[bruce_pullen]

Movies on aliens, men from Mars. Is the genre alive or dead? As with Indy 4, is it enough already? Or not?

Note: Yes, I'm aware of Race to Witch Mountain (2009). And Star Trek (2009).

[dvd_mazter]

Well, I wouldn't call them dead but they aren't as good as they once were however with Cameron's upcoming "Avatar", this could spark a new life in the genre.

[bruce_pullen]

Originally Posted by dvd_mazter

Well, I wouldn't call them dead but they aren't as good as they once were however with Cameron's upcoming "Avatar", this could spark a new life in the genre.

Good point. Can't argue that.

But prior to Avatar (2009)... you'd have to admit: there hasn't been much.

Agree or disagree.

Thanks Again.

[Secretagentnumber6]

I think this genre has been handled much better in videogames over the last 5-10 years. That being said, I think it is very much still a genre that could be very well handled in the right hands. As above Avatar looks like it will be a great one.

[tbizzle]

I don't think people will ever get tired of movies involving aliens. There's an infinite amount of movies that you can create that revolve around aliens. And they're always interesting because they're generally so different from one another. Whereas you can only make so many "the asteroid is headed towards Earth" movies, for example. Take some more recent ones: Evolution, Pitch Black, Mission To Mars, Starship Troopers, Independence Day, Transformers, etc. All those are so different from one another yet are all based upon aliens.

I personally love alien movies and can't wait to see what will come out in the future. I hope the Alien Quadrilogy wil be on blu soon!

[dvd_mazter]

Originally Posted by bruce_pullen

Good point. Can't argue that.

But prior to Avatar (2009)... you've to admit: there hasn't been much.

Agree or disagree.

Thanks Again.

Not really, there hasn't really been much because the trend these days has been more focused on realism over sci-fi. Again, once Avatar comes out and depending on it's success, we could see a lot of sci-fi / alien features in the near future.

Oh, as a previous member stated, I do think that the videogames are handling this topic better than the film industry has been lately (Halo, Dead Space)

[bruce_pullen]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

I don't think people will ever get tired of movies involving aliens. There's an infinite amount of movies that you can create that revolve around aliens. And they're always interesting because they're generally so different from one another. Whereas you can only make so many "the asteroid is headed towards Earth" movies, for example. Take some more recent ones: Evolution, Pitch Black, Mission To Mars, Starship Troopers, Independence Day, Transformers, etc. All those are so different from one another yet are all based upon aliens.

I personally love alien movies and can't wait to see what will come out in the future. I hope the Alien Quadrilogy wil be on blu soon!

But what new stuff on the horizon impresses you?

Is it just Avatar (2009) and Star Trek (2009)?

[bruce_pullen]

Originally Posted by Secretagentnumber6

I think this genre has been handled much better in videogames over the last 5-10 years. That being said, I think it is very much still a genre that could be very well handled in the right hands. As above Avatar looks like it will be a great one.

So videogames is the place for Alien stories?

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by bruce_pullen

Movies on aliens, men from Mars. Is the genre alive or dead? As with Indy 4, is it enough already? Or not?

Note: Yes, I'm aware of Race to Witch Mountain (2009). And Star Trek (2009).

Aw, crap, I thought this was a thread about James Cameron finally coming to Blu-ray!

[PH3AR]

They're not dead but they're close


The 70's-90's just because thats when the Aliens series started...


Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
Alien: Resurrection...
all very good movies

[kdn1221]

Movies with aliens can still be viable. More precise, Sci-fi is still viable as a genre. The problem is lack of originality. Sci-fi is more than just aliens. It encompasses alternate reality, time travel, fantastic worlds, probable future, emerging technology among other things. Many of these topics are elements within conventional genres as well because technology is part of everyday life.

My view of the Sci-fi genre's progression:
The 50's was the cheesy infancy.
The 60's was the start.
The 70's was the gradual growth.
The 80's was the adolescent stage of Sci-fi.
The 90's was the coming of age.
The 00's was the maturing of the genre with some missteps.

As long as subject matters within the genre are handled in a serious thought provoking manner, there is no reason why there can't be more good Sci-fi.

[Galactus]

ummm.... this is probably a dumb question but what is Avatar about? I've been hearing a lot about this lately.

[Ex Accountant]

I don't ever see the alien genre ceasing to continue. I am looking forward to Superman: Man of Steel, Monsters vs. Aliens & Mork & Mindy: The Beginning to name a few. I would guess its heyday was during the 50s, but it is still going strong. Now the alien-zombie-western genre, that's another story...

This may or may not count (since I don't want to give away any spoilers) but I just saw The Martian Child and cried my sissy eyes out.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by bruce_pullen

But what new stuff on the horizon impresses you?

Is it just Avatar (2009) and Star Trek (2009)?

Well we have no idea what's coming. I've never really paid any attention to Star Trek but the new one looks pretty kickass from what I've seen. And I just looked up Avatar, that sounds pretty good as well. Let's just sit back and see what else comes. I'd love to see a Deep Space type movie done like Event Horizon (the animated one sucked).

[Adhamhnon]

errr... Transformers?

[STARSCREAM]

They could most definately make some more awesome movies with aliens. Hopefully they start to have more as I have become really disappointed with games lately as they seem to have an awesom storyline involving aliens but then it turns out they are just humans that had mutated or something like that. I want some actual awesome alien species!!!

[GoYanks]

IN general, Science fiction/fantasy is a niche genre. I mean there will always be this genre. However, certain films break the mold.

Like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. These are stories about people, you could say, "the chosen one" structure. The idea being that anyone, child or adult, can relate to the hope that their true ability and awesomeness will be recognized either in the distant future or tomorrow, depending on one's age.

Like, Harry Potter is a normal kid. And then WAM he's not only a wizard but the chosen one.

Or Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins. Just a normal hobbit. But then he has an insurmountable task in a world foreign to him, yet he is unique.

This uniqueness is what people crave to be recognized for. Stories, usually in the fantasy, science fiction genre, tend to attract large amounts of people.

There are tons to choose from. But, with this capability to touch so many, whether niche or not will never die.

[STARSCREAM]

I voted for the 70's.