The Talented Mr. Ridley

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2009)

There were times when Ridley Scott made first-class genre pics, well, eh, two pics to be concise: "Blade Runner" and this spine-chilling space horror movie, which is still his best effort.
It's basically an old-fashioned monster movie, complete with cats hiding in the dark and false attacks, but the accoutrements are ingenious: the Alien's design, right down to its parasitic ways of spawning and breeding, is - one might say - lovingly detailed; the expressionistic set-pieces feel just right; Weaver's heroine lends a touch of intelligence and vulnerability to the proceedings that avoids the usual genre movie machismo; the low-key characterizations of the crew members don't resort to clichés; and some nerve-wrecking shock and suspense scenes, interrupting an otherwise effectively unharried story-line, are masterly handled by Scott and his expert team.
9 out of 10 gut-bursting baby Aliens