aliens

This Japanese poster for AVP2: Requiem uses a bold silhouette of the "Predator-ized" xenomorph to great effect, creating a very cool poster for a movie that most people found disappointing. Audiences didn't exactly flock to see the Predators fight the Aliens in a present-day, rural Colorado town. Fox has since decided to "reboot" both franchises, separate from one another.

[Welcome to the Sci-Fi Lunch Break, where we'll be occasionally supplying you with a cool bit of audio/visual goodness to break up the monotony of the work day. You bring the turkey on rye, we'll bring you something out of this world to watch while you eat it.]

Are you prepared for a 10-minute long rap based on James Cameron's Aliens? No, I'm not joking. Someone has written a rather lengthy rap that runs down every aspect of the '80s sci-fi staple with a beat and you know what...it's actually pretty damned good. From the YouTube page:

"This video is in no way trying to take credit for this almost flawless masterpiece, it is merely a tribute to how spectacular it is. The song was written & produced by DJ MAYHEM & features the polish & vocal skills of Mouthmaster Murf, both from the up & coming band THE ANOMALIES & DJ act THE FARCICAL 3. "

Check it out below and if you enjoy it, an MP3 can be found right here.

Lance Henriksen is one of those actors who are better than the material they choose. He's been quietly forging a career in the straight-to-video trenches, and I'm not really sure why. He's got an interesting screen presence, and I'd much rather see him taking small roles in great films than starring roles in terrible ones.

That being said, Henriksen is always a welcome face in the Alien franchise. After making a name for himself in 1986's Aliens as the android Bishop, Henriksen's appearance in Alien 3 felt like a real treat (at the end of a movie that needs way more treats, if you ask me), and he added a bit of gravitas to the junk food actioner AVP: Alien Vs. Predator.

Sega and Rebellion, the makers of the new Aliens Vs. Predator first-person shooter, recognize Henriksen as probably the only actor next to Sigourney Weaver whose likeness has become synonymous with the Alien series -- they're adding Henriksen to the 2010 video game.

Henriksen gushes, "This is the first time I've been fully represented in a game, with my voice and how I look, and the Rebellion guys have done a great job. I might score from this game!" Bad puns aside, every bit of news about this game is making me more and more excited. Henriksen will be playing Karl Bishop Weylund, a descendant of the character he played in the AVP film. Aliens Vs. Predator, coming to PC, X-Box 360, and PS3, should hit stores in February.

(via Latino Review)

If Bulgarian scientist Luchezar Filipov is telling the truth, then he should really be getting more attention from major media outlets. Filipov is the deputy head of the Space Exploration Department of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, and when it comes to strange visitors from another planet he says, "They are here right now, among us...They want to help us, but the problem is that we don't know what to ask of them once a contact is established."

We don't? I'm sure we've got plenty of questions for them; they really shouldn't worry about that. What they do seem worried about is our perceived immorality. "The aliens are very critical of our immoral behaviour and our destruction of the environment," says Filipov, speaking on their behalf. "They say that global warming is attributed mainly to infrastructural engineering. Additionally, they are very skeptical of our use of cosmetics, and artificial insemination because this is 'unnatural'."

Filipov swears the aliens are undetectable and will only communicate telepathically with those they choose to talk to (how convenient for them). The Space Exploration Department is currently working on a "strategic" group of questions that they hope to get around to asking the aliens in 2010. Somebody, please ask the visitors if Mac and Me is based on a true story.

(via The Sofia Echo)

I am a bubble burster, always have been. My first experience with The Fourth Kind was writing up the trailer for SciFiSquad with the slug "Trailer for 'The Fourth Kind' Might be Lying to You". I have no innate grudge against the film, but I am aware that we live in the year 2009 and that I am surrounded by magical Interweb-enabled devices that can tell me whether or not I should believe a movie that purports to be "based on actual case studies". Immediately after watching the trailer I set out for confirmation as to whether or not its claims about alien abductions in Nome, Alaska had any basis in this world. I found nothing.

However, I have since then seen The Fourth Kind and I can tell you flat out that it is fascinating. Not because the film is, in fact, fact, but because of how intentionally delusional it is in its approach. It's interesting that people assume/remember The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity both sold themselves as being "real footage" because neither did. Both just played with conventions of the first-person perspective to create an illusion of truth. The Fourth Kind is not content with such a linear ploy, though. It not only contains the same 'found footage' gimmick as those two films, but it pretends the footage is real. It has its star actress literally walk right up to the camera and tell us that the movie is unadulterated truth.

And while that tactic annoyed me at first, I've since come to respect it. I cannot think of any film that has ever used the Door-in-the-Foot technique so brilliantly. I'll explain.

Science fiction is often born out of a desire to create something that doesn't exist in our world, but every now and then the process is reversed and scientists turn a bit of fiction into reality. I present to you Activelink's Dual-Arm Power Amplification Robot (video after the jump), a mechanized, force-feedback suit powered by 18 electromagnetic motors that a person climbs inside to operate. Capable of enabling its operator to lift in excess of 220lbs, the bot is being designed for construction work, though once it's up and running it'll feature interchangeable parts that will adapt it to a host of other scenarios from warehouse work to disaster relief to saving Zion from hordes of robotic, flying squids.

And if you're assuming that it's coincidental how much Activelink's DAPAR is conceptually similar to the power-suit Sigourney Weaver uses to shove the xenomorph queen out of the airlock at the end of Aliens, you should know that the scientists building it do lovingly refer to it as the Power Loader. It's not just a good sense of humor either, Activelink's chief engineer recognizes the idea popularized in James Cameron's film that robots shouldn't inherently be autonomous:

Yes, it's a long way from the far reaches of outer space to Bora Bora, but you just know that if you managed to get away with your girlfriend for a few days of rest and relaxation, something's going to screw it up. That's what happens to four romantic pairs in Couples Retreat, which was filmed in Bora Bora and opens tomorrow. In the movie, the couples think they'll be able to enjoy of fun and sun in Bora Bora, but instead are forced to undergo couples counseling.

None of the therapists quite rises up to the level of "villain" -- though Jean Reno comes close -- but, as a science fiction fan, I thought it would fun to imagine the sci-fi villains you'd least like to see on an island retreat. It would be impossible to get romantic with these guys around.

1. Jabba the Hut

Talk about a buzz kill! You don't want to head down to the dining room and see this monstrosity sitting next to your table. First, he's make you lose your appetite. Which is a good thing, since he'd eat all the food on the island anyway. Of course, your girlfriend would probably already be wearing a bikini like Princess Leia's in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but she wouldn't take kindly to enforced slavery. And he'd force you to compete in a real-life battle to the death, which is no way to enjoy your holiday. The only plus: he'd probably eat all the insects in your vicinity.

It's been nearly unavoidable. Even if the movie doesn't live up to the hype, Jennifer's Body has burned a new image into our subconscious: the murderous Megan Fox in a bloody white blouse, eager for more boys to kill. In the sci-fi realm, it's much more common to encounter men who murder than their homicidal female counterparts. When women kill on screen, it tends to be downplayed.

Thus, we have Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix, who identifies more strongly as a great action fighter and/or great and cool intellectual, rather than a murderous vixen. Likewise with Famke Janssen in X-Men: The Last Stand, who only wants to kill when she is transformed into the Dark Phoenix, and even then her homicidal inclinations seem less important than the outfit she's wearing. In honor of the intentionally wanton murderers, here's a list of my top ten killer sci-fi chicks.

1. Mathilda May as Space Girl in Lifeforce
If you call her nothing more than a space vampire, you've only hinted at her power. First is her power to distract, which is a given when you're talking about a beautiful woman who has a great body and is always naked. Next, though, is her power to desiccate, sucking more than blood from everyone she meets, or, at least, everyone she manages to grab hold of to give them the shock of their lives. And she refuses to stop! Unlike normal vampires, who just want a pint or two of blood before heading back to their coffins, Space Girl wants nothing less than everything -- which is why she's the #1 killer sci-fi chick in my book.

The Fourth Kind is a new film from Universal presenting itself as a dramatized account of a purportedly real string of stories from the isolated town of Nome, Alaska. A town that inexplicably has a hard time keeping its residents safe on Earth. An excerpt from the official synopsis:

"Here in this remote region, psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) began videotaping sessions with traumatized patients and unwittingly discovered some of the most disturbing evidence of alien abduction ever documented.

Using never-before-seen archival footage that is integrated into the film, The Fourth Kind exposes the terrified revelations of multiple witnesses. Their accounts of being visited by alien figures all share disturbingly identical details, the validity of which is investigated throughout the film."

Now when something is marketed with that much confidence it's only begging to be picked apart. Though I think that particular brand of cynicism should be reserved until after you've seen the trailer, which Sci Fi Wire unveiled recently.

Last night Ain't It Cool News held a screening of the much anticipated District 9 in Austin, TX followed by a Q&A with Writer/Director Neill Blomkamp and D9's charismatic star/first time actor Sharlto Copley. It was a tremendous film in its own right, but hearing the behind-the-scenes devotion that went into even the smallest of details made me fall farther in love with this special brand of Peter Jackson produced sci-fi adrenaline that Sony will be releasing in the US on August 14^th.

The hour long probing covered everything from what was shot that didn't end up in the film (a 900lb pig launched from a gas powered cannon), to what was written but never shot (including creatures not seen in the film), to what was in the film but never written (the majority of the dialog). I think it's all must-know stuff about what I'm sure will end up being one of the geek community's most talked about films of 2009.

Oh, and don't worry, I've kept the following spoiler free: