Tonight's marathon is all about a woman turning her fear into strength while combating an entirely new species in space. Even though the characters in Ridley Scott's 2012 blockbuster Prometheus are entirely different than the ones in the Alien series as well as the one's in Gravity, the entire setup of the marathon is centered around the concept of a strong female character in each movie taking their fear of the unknown and turning it into strength to overcome the situations they're in. In the case of this marathon, those situations are women going toe to toe with aliens or a new breed of species. Whether you thought Prometheus or Gravity were good movies, one cannot deny that they both helped to reaffirm the belief that the Alien franchise is one of the finest science fiction series ever created, and Ellen Ripley is one of the best action movie heroines there is. One can say that this marathon is essentially a character study regarding the major female characters in each movie. For tonight's exciting marathon, we have on the following menu:
Prometheus 2012, Alien 1979, Gravity 2013, and Aliens 1986
This is the ideal way to present the theme of a woman turning her fear into strength with the main character of this marathon being Ellen Ripley played by Sigourney Weaver in the iconic Alien franchise. Ripley is a character who experiences great changes in her character as the films go. She begins as one of the crew members of the Nostromo in Alien to becoming the leader of the marines in Aliens. She also goes from being a parent to losing her child during her 57 years in space and through the character of Newt in Aliens, finds reason to keep going and become a mother again essentially. The first three Alien movies center around Ripley's journey with battling the Xenomorph from the beginning when she first discovered the alien to the very end of Alien 3 when she performs the ultimate self sacrifice not just for herself but for the good of mankind. The character Ryan Stone from Gravity is a woman who contends with issues of isolation, grief for losing a child, and having to find her way back to Earth alone essentially. This marathon gives us three distinct directing styles such as Ridley Scott, Alfonso Cuaron, and James Cameron, three different filmmakers who give different perspectives of the theme of women becoming stronger while trapped in space. Themes that run rampant throughout this marathon are loss, regret, safety, acceptance, renewel, second chances, and ultimately doing what's right.
The first movie of the evening is the 2012 blockbuster and semi prequel to the 1979 classic Alien titled Prometheus. Starring Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Idris Elba, and Michael Fassbender, the film centers around a team making a journey across the universe on a trillion dollar mission to find a structure on a distant planet containing a monolithic statue of a humanoid head and stone cylinders of alien blood. What they discover instead is the horrifying reality that they are not alone in the universe. Prometheus received general praise from critics but also heavy criticism from many science fiction fans due to logical problems with the characters and story. Examples are scientists brought on the planet acting like cardboard characters straight out of a horror movie, scientists entering dangerous caves containing extraterrestrial species without taking proper procedures such as bringing weapons and wearing space helmets when one see's a member of the group becoming infected. Prometheus doesn't come without it's admirable traits which is stunning cinematography and visual background which is a trademark of Ridley Scott's films. The end of the film implies that the movie is indeed a loose prequel to his 1979 classic Alien with the emergence of the Xenomorph. Prometheus is the perfect first movie for the marathon because it gives us a female character to ultimately care for, and also a foreshadowing of the character of Ellen Ripley in Alien and Aliens. Noomi Rapace's character in Prometheus is essentially the Ripley of this story as she senses something terrible happening and takes steps to fight back against it as well as protecting human kind.
The second movie of the marathon is the is the 1979 horror movie classic titled Alien starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerrit, and Ian Holm. Nominated for two academy awards including Best Visual Effects and Best Art-Set Decoration, the film centers around a commercial vessel named the Nostromo receiving a distress call from an unexplored planet. When the vessels crew goes down to the planet and searches for survivors, one of the crew members gets attacked by one of the new life forms forcing the crew to head home. What they find on their way back is that a deadly new alien species has joined them on their ship, slowly killing everyone off one by one. Alien is the perfect follow up from Prometheus, and remains one of the most influential science fiction movies of all time. The film is expertly shot, filmed, and paced. The movie is slow but every moment is used to built up the suspense and anticipation for the alien making it's presence known. While the alien makes it's presence known, so does the rise of a female heroine named Ellen Ripley, one of the crew members on the Nostromo as well as inevitably being the last survivor after successfully defeating the Alien. Ripley being the films main hero is a process that slowly emerges throughout the course of the film as she is hidden within the comforts of her team members. Ripley is a great character in the science fiction universe as she learns by the end of Aliens to conquer her worst fears of encountering the Xenomorph and gets to move on with her life happily ever after in space (That's if one doesn't acknowledge Alien 3 and Resurrection as part of the series).
The third movie of the marathon is the 2013 blockbuster and critically acclaimed space film titled Gravity starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. Winner of seven academy awards and also being nominated for Best Picture, the film centers around two astronauts repairing a damaged satellite in space suddenly end up fighting for survival as a missle destroys a Russian satellite, shooting debris in their direction and leaving them adrift in space. Much like the film Alien, Gravity is a masterfully directed and visually stunning space thriller in the same vein with the main focus being on a female character who grows progressively stronger as a person by the end of the film. Sandra Bullocks character in the film goes through two struggles in the movie both eternally and internally. The eternal battle is Bullock struggling to stay alive in space so she can make it back to earth without her partner played by George Clooney, and the second is overcoming personal grief with the death of her child and finding the will to live again when realizing that her situation is hopeless. Gravity is a thilling Science Fiction movie that is also inspirational for those who have fallen through hard times in life and experience a rebirth or a moment where they rise again as a stronger person. The end sequence of Gravity with Bullocks character taking several major steps onto the mainland is a visual demonstration of that.
The fourth and final movie of the evening is the 1986 critically acclaimed action horror movie sequel to the 1979 classic Alien titled Aliens. Bringing back Sigourney Weaver in the role that made her famous as Ellen Ripley with Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton as supporting cast members, Aliens picks up 57 years after the events of the first Alien with Ripley being awaken from her cryo sleep and living with the reality that no one really believes her story and the company she worked for essentially throwing her under the bus. When she is approached to return with a group of marines to LV-426 when contact with a colony on the alien planet has been lost, the marines find themselves battling a force that is more powerful than any major firepower they carry. Nominated for 7 Academy Awards and winner of two, Aliens is generally considered to be on par or better than the first installment in the popular Alien franchise. It is here that Weaver turns in her most powerful performance as Ripley building her character back up from being fearful of the Xenomorph in her nightmares to her taking charge of the marines and fighting to not only protect a little girl named Newt, but to exterminate the alien race before they reach earth. What makes Aliens a great sequel to Alien is that while Alien is a expertly crafted horror movie, Aliens is an expertly crafted action horror movie. Director James Cameron takes all the great aspects of Ridley Scotts film and expands on the alien universe, making it one of the most intriguing science fiction franchises ever. Aliens is the perfect movie to end the marathon with Ripley overcoming her fear of the Xenomorph, getting a second chance at being a mother when her real daughter dies on Earth during the 57 year gap, and successfully destroying the Alien species for good.
So what is this movie trying to say when you put all the films together as a whole? The marathon says that a situation as terrifying as the ones presented in Gravity or Aliens can make a person stronger turning fear into great strength and courage. Sometimes a situation like those can be a persons rebirth in the end as a dangerous situation can give life new meaning. If one experiences the death of a child or loved one during their lifetime, there may be a situation that allows you the chance to become a parent again such as Ripley finding Newt and becoming her new guardian. A species as deadly as the Xenomorph should be destroyed without hesitation and not considered to be brought back to Earth for financial gain as such a species can mean the wiping out of life as we know it. Women like Ellen Ripley from the Alien series and Ryan Stone from Gravity can experience transformations that'll present them with the will to live when their darkest moments arise, and through those moments they gain great strength and courage to prevail. Prometheus ultimate message is that the greatest things have the smallest beginnings.
Our characters for this evening:
So what is this movie trying to say when you put all the films together as a whole? The marathon says that a situation as terrifying as the ones presented in Gravity or Aliens can make a person stronger turning fear into great strength and courage. Sometimes a situation like those can be a persons rebirth in the end as a dangerous situation can give life new meaning. If one experiences the death of a child or loved one during their lifetime, there may be a situation that allows you the chance to become a parent again such as Ripley finding Newt and becoming her new guardian. A species as deadly as the Xenomorph should be destroyed without hesitation and not considered to be brought back to Earth for financial gain as such a species can mean the wiping out of life as we know it. Women like Ellen Ripley from the Alien series and Ryan Stone from Gravity can experience transformations that'll present them with the will to live when their darkest moments arise, and through those moments they gain great strength and courage to prevail. Prometheus ultimate message is that the greatest things have the smallest beginnings.
Our characters for this evening:
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