The universe is packed with aliens. Fat aliens, skinny aliens, aliens who climb on rocks. Tough aliens, sissy aliens, even aliens with chicken pox.What is the coolest alien on film?
Panelist: AndrewPrice
I gotta go with the Mangalores from Fifth Element. They're one of the few aliens on film to actually show emotion. Granted, they're borderline retarded, but they're still pretty cool.
Panelist: BevfromNYC
I know that it’s may not be the most effects-filled alien movie, but I really think that ET was the coolest alien film. It was one of the first alien movies that I have seen where the alien was harmless and benevolent rather than a psychotic killing machine.
Panelist: T-Rav
I'm going to say The Thing. Okay, maybe "cool" isn't the right word for it--that creature didn't scare me so much as make me want to throw up, and I'm sure you can guess why. But if you think about it, this is possibly the perfect life-form. There's practically no sure-fire (get it?) way to completely eradicate it, it doesn't have to go to great lengths to perpetuate itself, and it can shape-shift into whatever will allow it to survive in its surroundings. Actually, come to think of it, it is kind of scary, but you have to admire how well-suited it is to launch an invasion, one Will Smith and his spaceship would be powerless against.
Panelist: Tennessee Jed
The original GORT. Why? the language . Alright, he's a robot so . . . . those cool aliens from Close Encounters. Bah, Bah, Bah, Bah, Bah ;)
Panelist: ScottDS
In terms of execution, definitely the Predator. It was designed by Stan Winston and played (in the original films) by Kevin Peter Hall. What can I say? It's a badass!
Comments? Thoughts?
The giant carrot (played by James Arness) in the original The Thing From Another Planet(1951). He didn't show up much in the movie, but you knew he was lurking. Then he would suddenly appear briefly to terrify the crew. Sadly, at the end he became a giant fried carrot.
ReplyDeleteKreton, as played by Jerry Lewis in "Visit to a Small Planet".
ReplyDeleteHe was so cool that he made beatniks shave their beards and go normal.
I'm gonna go with the Martians from Mars Attacks! just because they are so iconic. I realize their look was inspired by several different mid-century cinema aliens, especially the Metalunans from This Island Earth, but the amalgamation is so much better than any of the individual aliens that make them up.
ReplyDeleteThere are many kinds of cool.
ReplyDeleteThe lethal aliens from Alien and Aliens, both facehuggers and adult ones. The Giger design was really something new back then. The are fast kamikazes with acid blood. What Ash said: "I admire its purity. A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality."
Mathilda May as the alien space vampire in Lifeforce. Do I have to explain? I was 19 at the time.
The Martians from Mars Attacks! for their sense of humor (can´t recommend the movie).
John Lithgow as Lord John Whorfin in Buckaroo Banzai. "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!"
I'm assuming by "cool" you mean "hawt" so I'll go with Natasha Henstridge as Sil in "Species".
ReplyDeleteI'll have to be honest and say this was not my favorite or easiest category. As such, it may be the first time I cannot honestly say "great choice" to all my fellow panelists. One could argue that, like nominees at the Oscars, people say "great choice" while they are actually thinking "WTF, why didn't I think of that." I wouldn't because at Commentarama, we are all adults who are much bigger than that (at least usually.)
ReplyDeleteNo, the reason I can't truthfully say that this time is that I can't recall the Mangalores from 5th element or recall what the thing looks like (are their multiple re-makes?) Of that group, I surely liked E.T. even if some of the product placements were a tad off-putting. And the original Predator was really neat; perhaps chilling is a better word.
Still, when it comes to "cool" anything that responds to "Gort--verada nictu" is pretty freakin' cool in my book. Oh, btw, my bah, bah, bah, bah, bah looks awfully stupid in print. I was trying to represent that very cool 5 note bar used by the close encounter aliens to communicate with earlings. Loved that and even the noxious duddy kravitz jerk didn't ruin that film too much.
Oh, and camp "cool." Why George Reeves in those ridiculous padded Superman tights. Still, it's what I grew up on.
ReplyDeleteLawhawk, LOL! Yes, the giant carrot!
ReplyDeleteK, That is a special power indeed! :)
ReplyDeleteSince Jed didn't mention it, that means my choice of "The Thing" was a great choice...right? <:-)
ReplyDeletetryanmax, There were an iconic design indeed. They're very memorable and the "feel right". That's pretty impressive, especially in the modern world where things soon began to trend toward blobs.
ReplyDeleteYes, T-Trav, you choices are always great.
ReplyDelete[Geez...men are so needy... {{{eyeroll}}} ]. ;-)
El Gordo, Indeed, there is no need to say more about Matilda May. I enjoyed Lifeforce a lot. :)
ReplyDeleteThe alien is now a much copied but still completely unrivaled design, both in terms of how it's described and how it looks physically.
I agree about Mars Attacks, excellent design on the aliens, but hard to recommend the movie.
Lithgow was hilarious in Buckaroo Banzai!
Floyd, Yes, cool always means hot! LOL!
ReplyDeleteJed, I'm shocked you don't like our choices?! LOL! But that is why we do these things, to see what different people think.
ReplyDeleteFifth Element wasn't a big hit, though it's become a cult classic with fairly widespread appeal since it's initial failure. The Mangalores are the main bad guy henchmen. This is them: LINK. What I like about them is that they are some of the only aliens on film who aren't "alien." They're goofy, stupid and emotional. They're much more like real people than most aliens who I typically find too mechanical.
The Thing was really just a collection of cells, but it took shape while it was trying to duplicate people and those were some cool puppet effects in the original.
Jed, Hmmm. I hadn't thought of Superman as an alien, but I guess he is?!
ReplyDeleteT-Rav, Sorry, he mentioned it. You've been shamed too. This is going on your permanent record. :(
ReplyDeleteBev, We men are not needed.... but my choices are always great too, right? right? ;)
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of sound like a Commentarama suck-up I would have to say that the coolest (non-hot variety) aliens would be the Klingons. Maybe that's because they've been fleshed out so much over the movies, series, etc., but there you have it. The militarism, the toughness, etc., etc.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I just googled "best movie aliens" and, wouldn't you know? Superman comes up on almost every list. But I never thought of him as an alien, either.
ReplyDeleteRoom, I have never seen Lifeforce but I am aware of Mathilda May's contribution. I see it's available streaming on Netflix. I may have to watch it this afternoon for research purposes.
Floyd, We like Commentarama suck-ups around here. :) That said, the Klingons are pretty cool for precisely the reason you mention, they are well fleshed-out and they've got a neat culture.
ReplyDeleteET: The true story.
ReplyDeleteET the Return
EHET The Extra Homicidal Extra Terrestial
It wasn't really a cool alien but you know what had a cool concept of an alien? Virus, with Donald Sutherland and Jamie Lee Curtis. The premise is that the life-form is electrical rather than biological, so while it can program computers and machines to build contraptions to house itself, it doesn't really have a body. Not a great movie, but props for thinking outside the box.
ReplyDeleteThe heck with you guys! This is what I get for trying to come up with an honest answer and everything.... >:-(
ReplyDeletetryanmax, It never would have occurred to me to think of Superman as an alien, but he is. I guess I just always thought of him as an American?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Lifeforce a lot. It's a combination science fiction, alien, zombie movie that I think does a great job despite a somewhat high cheese factor. It deserves to be better known.
I gotta go with the Mangalores from Fifth Element. They're one of the few aliens on film to actually show emotion. Granted, they're borderline retarded, but they're still pretty cool."
ReplyDeleteYou forgot the Gorn in STOS. One of the most powerful, emotional performances by any alien, bar none!
Ben, The Extra Homicidal Extra Terrestrial, LOL!
ReplyDeleteThat should be starring Samuel L. Jackson as the ET... "Those are some tasty M&M's motherf****!"
T-Rav, I didn't care much for the movie Virus itself, but I agree about the alien.
ReplyDeleteWhile we're at it, I should mention some of the coolest Doctor Who villains of late: the weeping angels, the creature in The Satan Pit and the shadow piranha from Silence in the Library.
ReplyDeleteT-Rav, Surely, no one meant any offense... at least not too much. ;)
ReplyDeleteAll kidding asnide (well, almost) these are some good picks! :^)
ReplyDeleteBen, LOL! Yes, the Gorn was truly Shakespearean in terms of emotion.
ReplyDeleteBen, I agree and I like that they are varied.
ReplyDeleteAndrew: LOL! I would watch that. "ET phone hoe."
ReplyDeleteHey, speaking of ET...
ReplyDelete"What? Ow! No Bev! I'm sorry! Ahhh! Noooo! Gack! Gack!! Ga..."
Andrew, they were Reese's Pieces. As in "I am tired of these m***** f****** Reese's Pieces on this m***** f****** spaceship!"
ReplyDeleteT-Rav, I thought The Thing was an excellent choice. You can put the kitten down now, and back away slowly.
ReplyDeleteClose Encounters Original Soundtrack Snippet
ReplyDeleteT-Rav: what part of "I can't recall what the thing looks like (are their any remakes?" did you think doesn't apply to your choice? Just because my typing skills and eyesight are eroding is no reason to get snippy my young Jedi.
ReplyDeleteAndrew - leave it to me to not be very clear. It's not that I don't like everybody's choices, I just honestly cannot picture either "The Thing" or the "Mangliores" in my mind, I simply can't picture either of them. I'm certain they must be wonderful aliens, and Gort assures me, he and Michael Rennie are honored just to be nominated for the award. He says "If I win, the award really honors everybody." He sounded kind of like POTUS when he said it though.
Ummm, Ben, are trying to tell me something?
ReplyDeletetryanmax, I couldn't remember. At least I didn't say Skittles?!
ReplyDeleteGreat quote, by the way. Someone really should remake ET with Samuel L! :)
Ben, That's hilarious!
ReplyDeleteJed, Be kind to T-Rav, he's young... you know they don't teach whippersnappers reading comprehension anymore! ;)
ReplyDeleteOn your harsh, harsh, harsh criticism (which made me cry), I got your point. :) And you make a valid point, most people probably don't know what those aliens look like. But to me, they're still the best.
One quick off topic: be sure to root for our local olympian swimmer, Claire Donahue of Lenoir City, Tn., as she competes in the finals of the 100 meter butterfly at 2:30 p.m. EDT. :)
ReplyDeleteN-n-no Bev. It was a mispelling. Honest! Y-y-you know me, I would never even think about some hidden message message.
ReplyDeleteExcept right now, of course. Since you brought it up.
I blame my childhood.
Jed, you're the one who's getting snippy with me! It's not my fault you didn't capitalize "Thing"! Aarrgghhhh....now I'm in a bad mood. This kitten is gonna get it.
ReplyDeleteppffft. capitalization is for losers.
ReplyDeleteFloyd R. Turbo's Species selection for the win, Elvis-loving Stitch for the runner-up.
ReplyDeleteWell, I've gotta split for a while. Bev, try not to kill Ben for his lack of courteousness, and Jed, I'll see you in hell.
ReplyDeleteApart from Mathilda May, the Queen Alien from ALIENS, Predator, Carpenter's shape-shifting THING and the MARS ATTACKS guys, I'd vote for:
ReplyDelete1.) Ray Harryhausen's 'Ymir' from 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH
2.) The "We Are DEVO" aliens from Planet X in GODZILLA VS MONSTER ZERO
3.) The Martian from the 1953 version (aka the *good* one) of WAR OF THE WORLDS
4.) Louis Gossett, Jr. as the reptilian humanoid in ENEMY MINE
5.) The Martian Intelligence (creepy silent head with tentacles) in the glass sphere from the original INVADERS FROM MARS (1953)
6.) Ro-Man, the gorilla suit with the space helmet, from ROBOT MONSTER
Jed, Best of luck to your local! I'm rooting for James Bond, as I'm watching a James Bond-athon on the pay channels.
ReplyDeleteT-Rav, "And Jed, I'll see you in hell" LOL! Ok, that was funny.
ReplyDeleteEric, Floyd's selection was indeed a top notch. I haven't actually seen Lilo and Stitch, so I will have to take your word for it.
ReplyDeleteBackthrow, I loved Robot Monster, or at least I loved the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of it. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's one to add to your list, the Krell from Forbidden Planet. What was so cool about them to me was that you never actually saw them, but you had a pretty clear sense of what they looked like based on how Morbius described them bit by bit throughout the film.
But if my comments cause Rav to slap around the cat, it will haunt me for the rest of the time it takes to type this sentence. :) "see you in hell Johnny Reb. See you in hell, Billy Yank!"
ReplyDeleteThat long, Jed?
ReplyDeleteExcellent quote, by the way.
Eric, RE: Stitch -- good call!
ReplyDeleteAndrew, if it were Skittles, he woulda said, "Taste the rainbow, B****!"
ReplyDeletetryanmax, Good point! I love that you can translate anything effectively into Samuel L. speak! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's just one of the many services I offer.
ReplyDeleteI know most of you haven't seen it, but there is a series Cars shorts called Mater's Tall Tales and one titled "Unidentified Flying Mater" features a cute lil UFO named "Mator." I think he deserves a spot on the list.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, That's why we keep you around! :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of this Mator of which you speak.
I was always partial to the Horta from TOS.
ReplyDeleteDon't know why?
Because it's friendly and productive.
ReplyDeleteindi- everyone loves silicon based life forms
ReplyDeleteJed, LOL! So true. They're very cuddly.
ReplyDeleteCourtesy of YouTube: MATOR
ReplyDeleteArg. It's animated Ernest.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess the difference between and alien and a monster is where it was born? So Godzilla is a monster because he's a local boy, whereas Luke Skywalker is an alien because he was born on Tatooine?
ReplyDeleteDUQ, Yep, that's the test. :)
ReplyDeleteAndrew: I grew up with and attended church with the little girl in Robot Monster. Her name was Pamela Paulson (married name Pam Casey) and she lives in and enjoys her grandkids in Newark, California. We were in little theater together in Downey, California. She got the movie part and all I got was a bit part in the pilot for the Lassie TV series. We watched the movie together a couple decades back, and she got the giggles because during filming she started to choke from the bubbles being emitted by the Billion Bubble Machine. Talk about "low budget." A gorilla suit and a diving helmet with antennae? Gimme a break! LOL
ReplyDeleteLawHawk - You were a child television actor/star??? Who knew? So, did Lassie look the same in person or was that all just makeup?
ReplyDeleteBev: And my part was type-casting. I played a bully. That was all makeup. Lassie was actually a French poodle. Now you have some real Hollywood Insider information. LOL
ReplyDeleteThere is only **one** cool alien:
ReplyDeleteKneel before Zod!
Gotta love the Mangalores, the 5Th Element was truly a mind candy movie. One of my most favorite films.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Alien(Alien/Aliens)was quite a creature. They turned it into something not so cool in the later features, perhaps because it was overdone.
Gremlins were really cool, starting out as a cute and cuddly creature. They eat after midnight, then it's all pandemonium.
The Borg, I think they were one of the best aliens ever conceived. "They look at you as something they can consume." Then the ST writers ran away from that concept as fast as they could.
One of the creepiest aliens for me was from Space 1999. "Dragon's Domain", when I first saw the monster from that show, sucking people in and spiting out corpses. That left me freaked out for weeks. Now I look back at that episode and laugh. It's amazing how effective such simple things are on a young mind(at least a kid of the 70's).
Lawhawk, So you were a child actor? Who knew?
ReplyDeleteYeah, a gorilla costume and a diving helmet. Such amazing costuming! But then, it was a low-no budget film, so it's hard to complain.
Bev, Lassie was all CGI. ;)
ReplyDeleteBig Mo, Zod. LOL! He was pretty cool, I'll give him that. And it didn't hurt that Terence Stamp was pretty cool too.
ReplyDeleteMax, Fifth Element was one of my favorites too.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Space 1999 a lot growing up. I hadn't seen it for years until recently when someone sent me a link to the episodes. They stand up pretty well, but not perfectly.
Cars and Cars 2 are a perfect example of how to handle (and not handle) show-stealing supporting characters. I don't care what anyone says, Mater the Tow Truck was a great addition in the first movie, he was funny and even kinda lovable--in small doses. But the sequel became "All About Mater" with Lightning McQueen reduced to the background. It's very rare that a supporting character can hold an entire movie, even a good supporting character. They should be used for comic relief or to reflect off of the main characters, not for pandering and all that.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about toy sales, Mr. Rav. If you get a popular character that can be marketed, you exploit the hell out of them until the kids stop buying.
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda impressed LeeLoo (Milla Jovovich)wasn't your Fifth Element alien choice!!! The blue singing chick was pretty cool too.
ReplyDeleteThe Tribbles!!!
Galaxy Quest's Thermians
I gotta admit that for sheer cool killingness, the Alien/Aliens critter wins...
(Mork!! ALF!!!)
T-Rav, the kittens know where you sleep...
ReplyDeleteExcellent list rlaWTX! Mork, Alf, the Thermians, LOL!
ReplyDeleteLeeLoo was ok, but she's no Mangalore! They're awesome. :)
P.S. The blue alien, the Diva Plavalaguna, was great too.
ReplyDeleteJust saw Starship Troopers again the other night....now come on.....those ass firing beetles were pretty badass. I also loved the way the humans kept attacking in their battle cruisers all bunched up so that the shit balls would destroy them and they would run into each other. What a bunch of maroons!
ReplyDeleteI always loved Q from TNG. Here is/are a race that can do and be whatever they wish. gotta love that! And what do they do with this universal power.....mess with Picard and the humans. Idiots.
And yes.....loved the Bangalores! Also loved Zorg after he gave them the weapons and walked off......classic !!
Patriot, Those were indeed pretty cool beetles.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Q is cool, but what a waste of time to mess with Picard. You'd think they would find something more productive to do?
That is a classic scene when Zorq walks off. I love the line, "so you are merchants after all!"
Andrew.....do you remember when te Denise Richards character (dang!!) was piloting the cruiser and she finally saw that they were about to hit the meteor?
ReplyDeleteWhy the heck did she wait until the last minute to swerve to miss the rock, when she could have taken evasive action immediately upon seeing it!?!? Oh....you just destroyed the superstructure....?! Well that was some pretty damn good flying Newbie......wait.....you're smoking hot!!!........never mind the piss poor piloting......here take command!
The book was SO much better.....Heinlein must be rolling over in his Borg unit right now.
Patriot, Yep. That was a truly stupid moment. So was bunching all the ships together as you noted in your prior comment so they could be easy targets and slam into each other. A lot in that film made no sense.
ReplyDeleteSorry it took so long but I see all the good stuff has been mentioned already (especially Natasha Henstridge and Mathilda May, ahem).
ReplyDeleteI have to mention the Red and Black Lectroids from Buckaroo Banzai and Morn from DS9, who never talked though I loved the running gag they did implying that he was a great conversationalist!
No love for the aliens - I mean, "interdimensional beings" from Crystal Skull? :-)
Scott, What's this "Crystal Skull" thing you mention? I don't believe I know that one. Perhaps some B-movie?
ReplyDeleteOnly one person mentions Star Wars?
ReplyDeleteThe coolest alien by far has to be my favourite Corellia (and yours), Han Solo with Chewbacca a close second.
I too loved the Mangalores from The Fifth Element, but I'd put Leeloo above them as cool.
Then as mentioned the Klingons have to get an honourable mention.
Scott.
Scott, I'm glad to see so much Mangalore love! :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, Han Solo is probably THE coolest alien of all time. I guess I just like to think of him as one of us rather than as an alien.
They were cool and as you said while non human more human like then most aliens.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the question should have been 'the coolest non-humanoid'. While Corellians were humanoids there were aliens and of course Han is cool as all hell.
Scott.
Scott,
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point, maybe we should have limited it to non-humanoids?
Out of curiosity, how do you view Superman down in Australia? Do you see him as an alien, an American, or just "one of us"?
T-Rav, I agree about the use and misuse of Mater. Beyond a supporting character, he's really only suited to short subjects. I thought Mater's Tall Tales was a perfect extension of the character and I'm a little disappointed that they've called it quits on them. They could've made a hundred before it got old. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI guess it all depends on how you look at it. Personally I've always seen Superman as both an American and an Alien. But a lot of people would just call him American which in a way is correct as he grew up as one and I'd suppose he has an American passport. Others would call him an alien as that is his main identity and how he gets his super powers.
Mostly I don't think that many people here think that hard about it.
Scott.
Thanks Scott, I figured that might be the case. He's never struck me as a character who is meant to be country-specific, like a Captain America or James Bond. I mean, he is an American and he speaks about "the American way" but he seems to be more universal than that. Maybe it's because he doesn't even live in a real city?
ReplyDeleteWelcome Andrew.
ReplyDeleteI don't think where he lives has anything to do with it. We just grew up watching some British and a lot of American TV and movies, so while they were never Australians our cultures are close enough that we could relate to the characters and situations easily enough.
I agree with Nolte from Big Hollywood that the world loves American movies where Americans are the hero's (and if they have an Aussie actor or Aussie character helping out all the better for us). I'm not into Anti American movies because that also paints badly on Australia as were are very similar and Allies. So we are tarnished as well. Though you would find some Australians (and some Brits and Americnas) who love these movies as it backs up their own feelings.
Well that went a bit deeper then I expected. I might got watch ID4 now! :)
Scott.
Mac from Mac and Me. He showed us the greatness of McDonalds and the curative powers of Coca-Cola.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.avclub.com/articles/ronald-mcdonald-approved-case-file-151-mac-and-me,36033/
Han was cool till Lucas castrated him, first in Return of the Jedi and then with the "Greedo fired first" kerfluffle. Lando, with his "Who have we here," smooth-up-in-ya moves on Leia, defined Star Wars alien cool. Of course, though un-cool with "I had no choice" trapping Han & Co., did redeem himself with the rescue.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, Lilo & Stitch is proof-positive 2-D animation can absolutely still work as long as you have a great story. The Elvis tunes also a huge plus.
Re: Star Wars -- coolest is Darth Maul. Upon seeing TPM the first time, a colleague said that Maul was like a "caged predator, pure animal ferociousness".
ReplyDeleteScott, That's interesting and I think we're actually kind of the same. James Bond, for example, is meant to be British, but I don't think American audiences see him as a foreigner at all. He's just James Bond and part of our culture.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, you never hear Americans worrying about having a Brit or an Aussie in a leading role. To the contrary, I think we like it because America is very much a nation of immigrants, and we like the idea that we have friends around the world.
And interestingly, the more I think about it, the more I realize that a huge percentage of our biggest stars are not native-born Americans.
Anthony, LOL! Yes, those are indeed special products! Addictive products, but special. :)
ReplyDeleteEric, I haven't seen it, but I absolutely prefer old school animation over the new stuff. The new stuff strikes me as artificial somehow.
ReplyDeleteLando was pretty cool, that's for sure. And yeah, Lucas has been trying to castrate Han (and Vader) for years now.
Mo, I like Maul a lot, but they didn't do enough with him. That was probably the biggest failing of Phantom Menace, that they had this fascinating character and just used him for a couple sword fights.
ReplyDeleteAndrew.
ReplyDeleteThat makes a lot of sense, while Brits, Americans and Aussie are different we all originated from the same group and have a similar shared culture. I remember growing up and a Brit always played the Australian character in Hollywood movies for so long.
But that is acting, as long as they get the accent right (which too often they didn't) and they can act, then who cares. And yes we are both immigrant countries so we accept everyone who wants to join us.
And while Lucas has messed with Han, we all remember what a badass he is and ignore any later tweaks Lucas has done. As to Darth Maul, he could have been up there but he was never used properly and was killed off way to soon so he never achieved the coolness he could have to me.
Scott.
Scott, We get BBC US here and they show things like Doctor Who, which I watch. I have to say I find it hilarious when they hire a Brit to play an American and they use all the wrong words and the accent never sounds quite right. On the other hand, there are actors I didn't know where British or Australian until I saw them in interviews.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder if the rest of the world gets how countries like ours work regarding immigrants? You always hear about the US being racist or nativist, etc. etc., but the truth is that the vast, vast majority of Americans love immigrants. We love seeing people come here and succeed and fall in love with this country.
Agreed about Han Solo. I simple refuse to be pulled into Lucas's later attempts to mess with the characters. Agreed on Maul too: lots of potential, poorly realized.
Andrew, I grew up with British shows so they were just as normal to me as American and Australian shows.
ReplyDeleteToo many movies have bad accents but it is a lot better then it used to be. I've also been fooled by good actors, the best being Dominic West and Idris Elba from The Wire and Hugh Laurie from house, it took me a few episodes to realise he was in Blackadder!
And I bet money that most foreign countries (which doesn't have large scale immigration) do not understand western democracies like the US, Australia, NZ and Great Britain. They have different cultures and vastly different histories then we do.
I had an argument with an Indian student in Australia who told me that Australia was a racist country. I told him to his face that if we were racists that we wouldn't let him into our country in the first place. He was struck speechless and had no comeback to that simple truth.
I've met lots of Aussies who don't look a bit like me (ie. white), they were either born here or immigrated here but they chose to become Australians so I consider them an Australian just like me. A lot of countries and quite a few people from Australia cannot get that simple fact.
Plus too many people purposely confuse a dislike of illegal immigration as a dislike of ALL immigration. That is mostly just to push a specific political point of view.
Scott.
Scott,
ReplyDeleteExactly. We have serious problems with illegal immigration because it shows a disrespect for the law and for the people who have done it legally. Plus, these people tend to be here simply for economic reasons with plans to return home and they never want to become Americans.
But that is very different than our view of legal immigrants. They come here because they want to become Americans and we love that.
And like you, it doesn't matter what color someone is, where they grew up, or if they speak with an accent. If they are here doing what everybody else is doing, we see them as Americans. Is there some racism? Sure. Humans are like that. But the vast majority of Americans really aren't racist, quite the opposite actually.
And I think you're absolutely right that countries without the immigrant tradition don't understand our mentality on this. It's the same thing with us not having an imperial tradition. I have German relatives who simply can't believe that we don't want to run countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. But we really don't. Americans genuinely don't want an empire. We view war as a necessary thing you have to do sometimes and then you go home again. We don't want more land or more people. It's just not something that would occur to an American.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI always say to people who support the boat people why would you support people who's first action in coming to our country is to break the law? Then in some cases the government gives them money, so what do you expect to learn from that? Break the law and profit from it, is that how we want people to join our countries?
I would rather someone who sacrificed everything, worked their but off and and followed the law to become an Australian. I'd rather them then a lot of Australian born people who take advantage of our lax laws and are a real drain on our society.
Scott.
Scott, Same here. I still remember when I first moved to DC, I got to talking to a guy fresh off the boat from Jamaica. He'd been in the country three days and he already had a job and a plan for how to open his own business at some point. That was great.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, there were a lot of people who were born here who were whining about "there ain't no jobs." Uh, sure there are, did you bother looking?
And I agree, what kind of message is it to let somebody come here illegally and then hand them money? How does that help?
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, I was talking to a taxi driver from India whose parents supported him to come here as a student. He worked while he studied, he then worked two jobs, while sending money back home and he was already planing to open up a delivery business.
I would rather call him a fellow Australian then the slack bastard who doesn't want to work and who offers nothing to Australia.
It has nothing to do with race, you could see my two sister in-laws to see that, it has to do with who wants to be an Australian. Who wants to work hard and take advantage of our country and make the most of their hard work.
Scott.
Scott, Exactly. It has nothing to do with race. It's about attitude.
ReplyDeleteScott and Andrew, I agree with both of you.
ReplyDeleteWe went from favourite aliens to a debate on immigration, I suppose it is apt.
ReplyDeleteIn the end I'm just glad that no one mentioned Keanu Reeves as Klaatu as that is by far one of the worst movies I've ever seen.
Scott.
Thanks Ellen! :)
ReplyDeleteScott, We do that around here, we roam from topic to topic. LOL!
ReplyDeleteRob Bottin's Thing (from "John Carpenter's The Thing")
ReplyDeleteMetalunan (from "This Island Earth")
The Alien Queen (from James Cameron's "Aliens")
whitsbrain, Excellent list! The Thing was definitely a well done effect, and the creature itself has unique talents... very impressive all around. I like the Alien Queen too. That was quite a surprise when it appeared on film.
ReplyDeleteNo love for the beachball alien from Dark Star?
ReplyDeletePersonal favorite: the alien from Alien.
Scott, I have a friend (my friend's dad so he's my parents' age - late 50s-early 60s) in Perth (originally from Scotland). Anyway, he sounds off regularly about Aussie illegal immigration issues [there was a SAR off the coast recently?]. He's also rather put out by some current politicians. Since I don't recognize them, I can't remember their names (that's very US-centric, isn't it?). It's kinda funny when he pops up on my fb feed with a political comment and I have to remember where he is...
ReplyDeleteHis son, my friend, is up in a mining office in Port Hedland - a paraplegic, former Aussie paralympic rugby team member...
And let me add Kim Bassinger from My Step Mother is an Alien. Yowza!
ReplyDeleteShawn, The beachball alien honestly slipped my mind. LOL! Yeah, Kim Bassinger... good call. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe Doctor on Doctor Who.
ReplyDeleteNo contest.
rla WTX as a guess your friends dad would be put out by the Labor party and our Prime Minister Julia Gillard who only came to power after backstabbing her boss. She then promised no Carbon Tax and only formed government with the help of three independents then of course went back on her word and is now going to tax the hell out of us.
ReplyDeleteThe Labor government when they came to power changed the immigration law (saying it was mean) which saw an influx of illegal immigrants coming here by boat (a record numbers of them dying in the attempt which isn't nice either). They have basically stuffed up everything they have touched and they will loose the next election.
I understand that most Americans know nothing of our politics, we are a small country half way around the world. I do follow American politics as it can have a large affect on us here and I'm on the net a lot.
I've seen American friends on Facebook posting anti Romney stuff about him laundering money so I ask them about the fast and furious scandal scandal. It's fun poking them, I think they expect me to not know enough to swallow what they are saying and not point out faults in their guy.
Scott.
Let's not forget Critters and Killer Clowns From Outer Space, LOL.
ReplyDeleteKit, He is pretty darn cool.
ReplyDeleteScott, Interestingly, the rise of the internet has probably helped us learn a lot about each other. Most of my German relatives, who are not on the net really, only know what they heard on their nightly news, which is even further left than out networks.
ReplyDeleteOn Australia, I read about it periodically, but don't follow the day to day stuff.
Ben, Who could forget the Killer Clowns! :)
ReplyDeleteMost Australians don't follow the day to day stuff here and from what I see a lot of Americans don't follow their own day to day, let alone some other countries.
ReplyDeleteI still remember all the anti Bush stuff from early 2000s that we got locally and from America. As we had no other source of information at the time we all ate it up and believed it.
If I hadn't gotten on the net then I would still believe what ever the left wing media told me.
Scott.
Scott, Most Americans are oblivious as well, and they definitely don't care about anything outside the border. Still, I like to remain aware of the world. :)
ReplyDeleteThe internet has helped a lot, even in the US conservatives were isolated before the internet came along. All of our media is left wing and so you and your friends may have known what they were saying wasn't right, but you had no way to know that other people felt that too.
P.S. I'm not fan of Bush, but the attacks on him were WAY over the top and a total disgrace.
ReplyDelete