Love old or unusual movies but never know when they're on? Here are several I recommend you watch this week:
Alien (1979): "Jaws in space." This famous three words were uttered in a producer's office, getting the deal made to shoot this disturbing classic.
Sigourney Weaver stars as the second-in-command of a space ship freighter that gets redirected to a planet with an active distress signal. The subsequent contamination of their ship with an alien presence leads to some very big scares.
As usual, having an exceptionally talented cast helps lift a movie like this, and Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright, Ian Holm and Harry Dean Stanton are all terrific.
The design of the film was very influential and the chest-bursting scene is absolutely iconic. -- 10:15 p.m. Sunday, Fox Movie Channel
Aliens (1986): Arguably the greatest action thriller ever made, James Cameron's magnificent film is one of the few great sequels in movie history.
Greatly expanding on Ridley Scott's claustrophobic Alien, this film opens the story into a much larger setting back on the planet LV-1201. Cameron's handling of the technical elements that create the physical presence of both the aliens and the eerie deserted colony setting are masterful, and Sigourney Weaver is so good as Ripley that she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
This movie is a roaring good time. -- 12:15 a.m. Monday, Fox Movie Channel
The Net (1995): Lonely, work-at-home computer expert Sandra Bullock gets more than she bargains for when she plugs into The Net, a wonderfully paranoid thriller from the dawn of the Internet age.
In pure Hitchcockian form, Bullock trips over some nasty secrets while online, bringing the dashingly handsome and mysterious Jeremy Northam into her life. She's soon surrounded by conspiracy and murder.
Will the plucky Sandra prevail or will she find herself, uh, uninstalled?! -- 10:05 a.m., Thursday, Cinemax
My Dog Skip (2000): The same year his main claim to fame, Malcolm in the Middle, premiered, Frankie Muniz appeared in this terrific story of a boy and his dog that takes place in the 1940s.
Frankie's a lonely kid, and his mother (Diane Lane) overrules his gruff father (Kevin Bacon) and gets him a Jack Russell terrier puppy.
The two, naturally, become inseparable best friends. In fact, Skip helps Muniz's character survive the pitfalls of growing up. Moose and Enzo from Fraser play the fuzzy Skip.
This is a shaggy dog story worth watching. -- 5:45 a.m. Saturday, HBO
Trivia Question 240: What is the name of Ripley's cat in Alien and Aliens?
Answer to Trivia Question 238: Legendary American actor John Drew was Ethel Barrymore's grandfather.
Bryan native Ray Ivey is a writer and movie fan in Hollywood, Calif. He would love to hear from you at rayivey@ca.rr.com. His blog is at www.rayivey.com/wordpress.
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