The Thing 2011, The Arrival 1996, Cowboys And Aliens 2011, Signs 2002, War of the Worlds 2005, Mars Attacks 1996, and Independence Day 1996
Now this feels like the ideal alien invasion lineup. These seven films were chosen to fulfill the story arc of an alien invasion with three main story arcs of that theme. The first being when they arrive, the second being when they attack, and the third being when the human race fights back. Some of the most iconic alien invasion films were chosen for this marathon as well as low key ones that most people in the new generation have never heard of, but work effectively in setting up important plot points with this marathon. The first movie of the marathon is the prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 classic titled The Thing. The remake/prequel centers around the discovery of an alien spacecraft at a research site in Antartica leading towards a confrontation between a graduate student played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and a male scientist played by Joel Edgerton. The second movie in the lineup is the 1996 science fiction thriller titled The Arrival starring Charlie Sheen and Teri Polo. The story centers around an astronomer named Zane played by Charlie Sheen who stumbles onto a signal that indicates extraterrestrial life. Zane soon discovers that the aliens are keeping a deadly secret and are planning to keep him from discovering it. The Arrival and The Thing work as great preludes to the latter movies in the marathon with Arrival centering around aliens in Mexico which is referenced in Independence Day, and two intelligent scientists stumbling onto signals that indicate extraterrestrial life. The third movie of the lineup is Jon Favreau's entertaining but somewhat underwhelming Cowboys And Aliens. Starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, the film centers around a spaceship arriving in Arizona in the year 1873 in hopes of taking over the Earth. It begins with conquering the wild west region forcing a group of cowboys and native americans to band together and fight back. The fourth movie in the marathon is M Night Shaymalan's last quality film titled Signs which centers around an ex priest played by Mel Gibson and his family on a farm suddenly discovering mysterious crop circles in their fields indicating an alien invasion is on the way. The scope of the alien invasion is shown through news bulletins throughout the film with the presence of the alien revealing itself. Signs is a significant film because it indicates the last great movies that both Mel Gibson and M Night Shaymalan starred in and directed. The fifth film of the lineup is the Steven Spielberg 2005 blockbuster titled War of the Worlds starring Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, and Tim Robins. The story centers around Earth suddenly being invaded and attacked by alien tripod machines, with a family of three fighting to survive. Nominated for three academy awards including best visual effects, War of the Worlds remains one of Spielberg's darkest films and one of Tom Cruise's biggest blockbusters. It is their second collaboration together after working on the critically acclaimed science fiction thrilled titled Minority Report. The sixth movie in the lineup is the box office failure yet cult classic directed by Tim Burton called Mars Attacks. Mars Attacks centers around Earth being invaded by Martians with their intent on conquering the world with unbeatable weapons, and a sneaky yet cruel sense of humor. Mars Attacks has a legendary cast among the likes of Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Pam Grier, Joe Don Baker, Martin Short, and Michael J Fox. The film was not a commercial success but has achieved status as being a cult classic since it's release in December 1996. Due to being released the same year as Independence Day, it's highly speculated that it's failure at the box office attributed to Independence Day setting the bar for alien invasion films. The seventh and final movie in the lineup is the 1996 Roland Emmerich blockbuster that become one of the defining movies of the 1990's. Independence Day starring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Pullman centers around an alien invasion taking place over the fourth of July weekend with the intention of wiping out all of mankind by July 4th. The survivors of the destruction band together to combat the aliens through aircraft battles, and blocking their signals thanks to the combined efforts of Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith's characters. Independence Day remains one of the most successful movies of all time, and is getting a sequel that's set to hit theaters next 4th of July.
So what is the whole theme behind this marathon? With all of the alien invasion movies put together into one sitting, the message behind it is that the truth needs to be revealed to the rest of humanity so that we know whether we must prepare to fight back or remain optimistic or concerned. If aliens really do come in peace, they will not be trying to hide their identities within the population nor send signals communicating an attack. When the world is faced with a difficult task such as an alien invasion, the time has arrived for all nations to put aside petty differences and unite to save the world.
Our characters for this evening:
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