In the Reddell household, we binge watch a lot of shows and movies in the evenings when we don’t have to cover major events.
Sadly, that also means we burn through entire season of TV shows over the weekend or movie series.
We sort of count it as recharging for the work week and take family time pretty seriously.
Plus, it just means lounging around in the afternoons in our comfortable clothes or pajamas early.
With the sun and heat being pretty unbearable, there’s really no reason not to indulge.
Or, at least that’s what I argue in favor of doing.
Last weekend, we watched the “Alien” and “Predator” franchise collections easily.
After all, they’re old favorites spanning over 40 years and remain as keystones for modern science fiction media – as movies, comics, videogames and more.
I mean these stories were being told before I was even born.
The first Alien movie hit the big silver screen in 1979 and that’s following on the success of George Lucas’ first “Star Wars” film in 1977.
However, Alien stood out more with its use of a female lead with Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley being the smartest crewmember on the mining spaceship Nostromo.
I’ve got to say that during the duration of the Alien films and Ripley’s experiences with the Xenomorphs, it really paints a grim future for Earthlings and space colonization.
Xenomorphs is the name that humans assigned the alien creatures – sometimes they’re also called “bugs” based on how they infest and nest.
The creatures have acidic blood, whip-like tails, claws, impressive teeth and show absolutely no remorse.
Ripley is honestly the only one who seems to have any common sense, understanding and enough self-preservation to not do anything stupid.
But, it does get annoying to watch her tell someone time and again that the xenomorphs can’t be reasoned with, trained or used – though with each evolution, they do seem to get a bit smarter.
It’s also unnerving to watch them use humans and animals as hosts for larval forms.
That’s the part that makes it straddle the line between sci-fi and horror genres.
Not to mention the body count and gruesome deaths that stack up.
Though it’s hard to say if it pales in comparison to the Predator series or not.
The Predators are a big game hunter sort of alien species that hunt other aliens or humans for sport and trophies.
They also have awesome gadgets and are much more advanced than their human counterparts.
Oddly enough, there’s a lot of background lore between them and the xenomorphs that leads to both franchises meeting for two movies.
Sadly, the second one flopped so hard that a third installment is only a rumor.
Naturally, I’m all for watching aliens beat the crap out of each other while humans sit back and watch the carnage.
Though I’d probably have a flailing fangirl moment if they bring Ripley back for it somehow since she’s always been my favorite part of the Alien series.
Even if it’s just for some recorded flashback footage or a warning for the next generation about the xenomorphs, I’ll still be a faithful viewer.
