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Alien
Alex C:
I'm just gonna talk about James Cameron for a sec because Aliens is one of the things he's done that I liked.
I have a really ambivalent relationship with James Cameron's work and I wish he was less successful. Not because I wish ill upon the guy, but because I think there is a direct correlation between how much he is reined in by outside forces and the quality of his work. T2 & Aliens things held together because he understood and ruthlessly leveraged the way audiences tend to quickly become protective of family units, even if it's one as impromptu as Ripley-Hicks-Newt* or the Connors and a killing machine who can't act.** But you get into human relationships less clear cut or world building more complicated than that and suddenly the dude gets lost up his own asshole. I really wish he had a wider emotional palette than that because honestly, nobody frames a shot better than Cameron. The only one who disappoints me more is probably David Fincher.
I know I'm in the minority on this though given that people watched Avatar and Titanic like 80 hojillion times for some reason.
* (click to show/hide)Mind you, Aliens was hardly a tearjerker or character study, but that didn't stop people from being super pissed when A3 killed off Newt & Hicks in about the most cavalier fashion possible. Cameron and Biehn certainly didn't care for it.**Actually, I unabashedly love Ahnuld, but it must be said that Conan and the Terminators were perfect for him because they openly played to his limitations.
ackblom12:
Titanic and Avatar were both boring as balls. Cameron is one of those directors that the part of his career that I gave two shits about is more than 20 years dead. What he did during that time was amazing, but that's it.
I know we've both talked at length about it, but Ahnuld's career will always be one of my favorites.
Lines:
The Abyss is my favorite movie of his (other than Aliens). Avatar was pretty but...yeah. That's kind of it? The story wasn't that original, but the creature design and the effects were stunning. But pretty only gets you so far. The Abyss, on the other hand, also has stunning creature designs and hey, this was made a long time ago! And the story is so much more interesting! And, you know, not basically an updated, sci-fi take on Disney's Pocahontas.
I mean, just look at this guy!
And look at their home!
If you guys haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. I am really tempted to borrow it from my mom the next time I see her.
ackblom12:
Oh yeah, The Abyss was great. Though I do stand corrected on the time frame! The last movie he directed that I give two shits about was True Lies in 1994. So... 18 years that I have given no shits about his movies.
Bev:
Man, True lies was the best, I really wish Cameron had tried something like that again and take a break from the sci fi stuff. Not that I'm knocking his sci fi stuff, I'm in the same boat, everything he did up until titanic was great, and the Abyss is a fav of mine too, but it's nice to branch out. It's kinda like how Peter Jackson was going to do a low budget horror film after lord of the rings, then pussed out and made the Hobbit instead, it's exciting when a director wants to dial it back a bit. As much as I'm sure we all hate the guy, Michael Bays next movie cost something like 10 mil and is barely being advertised, not because he's been reduced to cheap films but because he wants to go back to basics. I dunno where I'm going with this...
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