Alien Resurrection (R, 1997)

ALIEN: RESURRECTION is just a strange movie. Basically it's a completely unnecessary continuation of the Alien franchise, which started out brilliantly strong and unfortunately sunk to low standards before its closure. Maybe the filmmakers sought to redeem the franchise with this next movie. It doesn't work. Resurrection isn't a horrible movie. If you've come to see aliens kill people and Sigourney Weaver fire some massive blowtorches, then you surely won't be disappointed. However, this Alien movie lacks what the first two had a lot of: spirit. These movies have always been gross, don't get me wrong. But while the first one was cinematically brilliant, the second carried strong characters and plot, and the third was (again disappointingly) cynical yet thought-provoking, this one is just plain disgusting. There is absolutely no reason for you to let any kid or teen see this movie. The bloody atrocities committed by aliens and humans alike transcend description. It's almost like we're watching Saw in space. People's heads are crushed, split in two, skulls are pulverized, intestines are eaten, blood is sprayed, aliens are ripped apart inch by inch (with accompanying entrails), and one guy is blown apart (quite gorily) after being frozen in liquid nitrogen. The camera doesn't blink for one second. The previous Alien movies (yes, even the third) used a certain class when approaching violence; yes, it was graphic, but it wasn't just violence for violence's sake. This one is just gore porn. I'm typically not a squeamish person, but it made me want to vomit. Plus, there's pretty much every vulgarity in the book, used in every which way (including in a sexual context). Two words can sum up this movie and its content: completely unnecessary.