My weekend film festival and randomocity

So, one of my plans for the weekend was to watch my personal top three all-time favorite films.

I had a bit of an issue, though, as I can't find my copy of my number two film, Casablanca. It's around here somewhere, I know, but it got misplaced when I moved. Dammit.

So, I'm replacing my (current) number 2 film with my (current) number 5 film, Sunshine.

So, here's the list of films I'm seeing, in reverse order of their spots on my list, and remembering that while Sunshine is number 2 on the list it's actually number 5. Confused yet?

• John Carpenter's The Thing
• Sunshine
• Alien (director's cut)

I'm sure you've all seen the first one on my list. Who hasn't? It came out in 1982 but it holds up really well--there are only a couple of places where the effects let the film down, and those were there when it originally came out. This film is, no question, a horror film, and it's great on a number of levels. The mystery of the creature at the heart of the movie--what is it, really? Why is it here?

I know some attempts were made to answer those questions in the prequel--if you pay attention you'll see, when they're on the alien ship, that it looks like there had been some sort of conflict on-board. The story is, the ship was collecting specimens from all over the galaxy, as part of a scientific expedition, and the thing escaped from its containment. The ship crashed in Antarctica during the crew's struggle to contain it. As to whether or not I like that idea--I'm ambivalent about it, really. Watch that film, too, if you haven't, and make up your own mind.

Sunshine--directed by Slumdog Millionaire's director, Danny Boyle, is one of those films that nobody seems to know about for some reason. It's sort of a rare thing--it's about a desperate mission to save humanity by reigniting our sun, which is in the process of going out. Many people have problems with the final act--they think it tried to change from a science fiction film to something else at the end--and I can see that. But, personally, I don't mind it. It's a beautiful film, with an amazing soundtrack. No, it's not perfect, but I recommend it to you. This one is pure science fiction, with a few overtones of horror that become a bit more prevalent at the end.

And, of course, Alien. Number one on my list, the only one that never changes position and will probably never be dethroned in my personal list of favorites. I'm going to watch the director's cut, which has several minutes of footage not seen in theaters. I know you've seen it already, but watch it again. It's the source material for my nightmares, the springboard for my imagination, my inspiration, the benchmark that I strive for when I sit down to write something. To me, it's a perfect film, undeniably horror even though it's set on a space ship--it's essentially a haunted house story set in space. Still, I find it terrifying, even now, and I'll probably have nightmares about it again tonight.

Which is fine with me, actually.

Other than my film festival I'm doing some house cleaning, as I'm expecting some company in the next few days.

No, I haven't done any writing at all, though I've done some thinking about writing, and made some decisions, and will be resuming work on my own stuff in a bit.

So, watch the above films yourself, if you haven't already. Enjoy the nightmares.