This week saw the 35th anniversary of the release of Aliens, the epic sequel to 1979's Alien and a rare example of a sequel that matches or surpasses the original. I actually saw Aliens before I saw the original, as I was too young to watch such a violent film in 1979.
But Aliens. Wow. Sigourney Weaver in control, jaw clenched, eyes blazing, guns firing. Carrie Henn bringing wide-eyed youth to Newt. Michael Biehn as the honourable grunt. And of course Jenette Goldstein bringing the butch to Vasquez. I loved this film when I saw it as a teenager.
So quotable, such a game-changer and still quite scary, Aliens remains an epic film synthesising horror, action and sci-fi and entrenching Weaver as the iconic action heroine, Ellen Ripley.