What would it take to get Sigourney Weaver an Honorary Oscar?

by Nathaniel R

Sigourney Weaver in "Master Gardener"

It's the age old question. When will the Academy honor [insert your legendary favourite here] with an Honorary Oscar? Oscars for actors that excel in genres outside of pure drama always have a more difficult road to industry honors. Michelle Yeoh & Jamie Lee Curtis' recent Oscars were grand exceptions, not the rule! Sigourney Weaver is one of those performers.

The 73 year old legend's best work has largely been in science-fiction and comedy, traditionally genres that Oscar voters don't think much of in terms of "acting". Sigourney Weaver is on the brain due to a "sizzle reel" that's going around the web that you should watch after the jump...

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"Aliens" Revisited.

by Nathaniel R

How long was I out. HOW LONG? Please."

This week I had the pleasure of guesting on InSession's podcast to discuss James Cameron's sci-fi/horror classic Aliens (1986). When they asked me to guest on the show I secretly thought "What more can I say about it? I've been talking about this movie forever!" but then of course I couldn't shut up and the episode was too short for me to squeeze in everything that was inside of me. So herewith some notes and, of course, the podcast itself...

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Vintage '86

The Smackdown of '86 (with special guests) arrives in just 9 days. Before we get to the main event let's talk about what people were talking about that year in film, television, stage, music, and books... 

Great Big Box Office Hits: Movie stars rather than IP still ruled so the top ten made room for Tom Cruise, Eddie Murphy, and Bette Midler vehicles along with just 3 sequels (can you imagine a top ten box office of the year with just 3 sequels nowadays? It's hard to do). Military men and women were also the rage with the marines of Aliens, the airforce bros of Top Gun, and the traumatized foot soldiers of Platoon all extremely popular with moviegoers.

1. Top Gun (military drama)
2. Crocodile Dundee (comedy)
3. Platoon (military drama)
4. Karate Kid Part II (sequel)
5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (sci-fi sequel)...

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1986: Jenette Goldstein in "Aliens"

Before each Smackdown, suggestions for alternates to Oscar's roster...

by Nick Taylor

My boyfriend had seen Aliens before we watched it together recently. Of course he had. Tommy loves science fiction and Aliens is one of the few perfect movies ever made in any genre, with so many elements that are not just immaculately assembled and realized in their own right but tremendously influential to how cinema subsequently related to sci-fi and war films. What’s undeniably stock about its characters and scenario is fresh and alive to behold, mixing an absolute lack of subtlety with nuance, modulation, and unimpeachable judgement. 

This is certainly the case with Jenette Goldstein’s performance as Private Vasquez, a member of the military unit assigned to accompany Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her Weyland-Yutani Corporation handler Burke (Paul Reiser) to a terraformed colony on a planet that may or may not already be lost to an invasive species of perfectly-built killing machines...

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Curio: Movie-Loving Face Masks

Curated by Nathaniel R

Here's a PSA for you. Since we've rebooted the Curio column, dedicated to movie art, we figured we should point out that you can have your art on your PPE. Face masks are the new norm, so here's  a way to make this uncomfortable reality a little more fun and tolerable. Show off your fandom...  

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