Best of the best

Rating: 10/10 (27 January 2005)

A scary thrill-ride with a big heart and a lot of funny lines. Unlike a lot of movies of its kind, the characters were worth caring about - even the minor ones who got killed off early.
How scary is it? Well, the friend I saw it with actually jumped out of her seat in one scene, throwing her popcorn all over me in the process.
How funny is it? My brother recently quoted Apone at me ("I don't know, is there anything you can do?") in the middle of a conversation - and it's been 15 years since he last saw the movie.
How dramatic is it? I could name a hundred scenes that gripped me - not just the scary-alien stuff but Ripley's confrontation with the company's people on the space station, her nightmares, even the mood-setting opening scene in which her ship is opened and the dust is swept off her sleeping pod.
How satisfying is it? It is absolutely the ONLY movie I've ever seen that actually made me cheer while watching it.