Invasion of cinema

Hollywood has been going to the alien-well for decades. Sometimes the results are good – “E.T.” for example – and other times audiences get “K-Pax.” After much deliberation, the WEEKEND staff compiled this list of the 10 best and five worst alien-centric films of all time.

The best
 
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) --  Far ahead of its time and one of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpieces, this film depicted evolution from the time of the apes through the dawn of man and the realization of space travel. One of the most visually-stunning sci-fi movies ever made, as well as one of the most critically dissected sci-fi films due to its cerebral, allegorical plot.

“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) -- Steven Spielberg introduced us to aliens and the world was never the same. This film is as fascinating today as was when it was released in 1977.

“E.T” (1982) -- Steven Spielberg took the alien theme and made it more personal, showing us that aliens can not only be our friends, but cure disease.

“Alien” (1979) -- One of the scariest movies ever, Alien made audiences everywhere doubt the potential friendliness of extraterrestrials. With the alien bursting out of the guy’s stomach, Ridley Scott gave us one of the most memorable scenes in film history.

“Contact” (1997) -- This movie really makes audiences think about a lot of things -- the role of faith in science, the nature of reality and what it would mean for our planet to have contact with an alien civilization. Jodi Foster gives a great performance as Dr. Arroway, and it stayed pretty faithful to the original novel and the real-life science due to Carl Sagan’s almost-constant influence.

“The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951) -- Though its effects and props are probably not as impressive to us today, the movie still sends a vital message to modern earthlings -- curb your penchant for destruction and learn to live together or face certain destruction.

“Aliens” (1986) -- Arguably better than the original, “Aliens” is one of those rare sequels that don’t drop the ball in any area -- acting, dialogue, storyline or effects.

“Independence Day” (1996) -- Certainly not the best film on the list, but one of the most memorable. There were a lot of cheesy moments and over-the-top explosions, but the characters were pretty well fleshed out, and Jeff Goldblum never fails to disappoint (mostly because he’s always the same character, but whatever, he’s a lovable neurotic).

“Superman” (1978) -- The world’s most famous alien came to life for the first time in this now-goofy 1978 adaptation of the DC comic. Christopher Reeve’s performance led people to believe a man could fly while Marlon Brando bizarro appearance led them to believe a man could do whatever he wanted when he is Marlon Brando.

“District 9” (2009) -- This “small film” (the budget was still over $100 million) built a groundswell of buzz over the summer and became the only truly great action film of 2009. Throw in a tight script that metaphorically touches on Apartheid in South Africa and we have ourselves one hell of a movie.

The worst

“Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen” (2009) -- Not only was this one of the worst movies of the summer, but we think it’s also one of the worst movies of all time. Between the unremitting explosions, non-existent plot and racist robot archetypes, there is nothing, literally nothing, to enjoy about this movie.

“Alien vs. Predator” (2004) -- This was just a bad, bad concept. It was worse than its movie-mash-up predecessor, “Freddy vs. Jason,” since at least one of those foes could mouth some semi-scary dialogue.

“The Day the Earth Stood Still” (2008) -- The only appropriate decision that came about after the completely inappropriate decision to remake this movie was casting Keanu Reeves as Klatuu, since his normal acting style usually makes it seem like he’s playing a confused alien. OH WAIT – it actually was still a bad decision.

“Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000” (2000) -- Oh John Travolta, you sullied your career in the name of Scientology. The scariest part? The fact that L. Ron Hubbard is primarily considered a prophet, not a bad science fiction writer.

“Plan 9 From Outer Space” (1959) -- Even for the era, these special effects were bad, and the cemetery-centered, skeleton-exposing plot didn’t make much sense either. Critics often cite “Planet 9” as one of the worst films ever made, and we have to agree with them.