The Edge

I can't believe how many awesome Survivor movies were made in 1997! Anaconda, Alien Resurrection, Cube, Event Horizon, The Lost World, Starship Troopers...and the most Survivor-esque of them all: The Edge. What a great year.

In The Edge, four men take a quick flight over the Alaskan wilderness in search of an Indian man for their photoshoot. The plot is so very non-epic which is great. The movie teased me in the beginning with a cabin full of several other people. I thought -oh yay- a large expedition into the woods, but no, they all stay back at the cabin safe and sound. After smashing through a flock of birds, the four men's plane crashes. They are stranded out in the middle of the wilderness and being hunted by that bear.

The pilot dies in the crash leaving us quite quickly with just 3 men left: Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins and Michael from Lost.

Stephen (aka Michael) gets seriously injured and later eaten by the bear in one of the most frightening scenes.

Things get heated when it's just Charles (Hopkins) and Bob (Baldwin) left. Charles' wife is cheating on him with Bob, and Bob is on this trip to kill Charles out in the wilderness ($$$).

Charles outsmarts the bear and Bob [justly] gets fatally wounded and does not make it back.

My final word: The Edge is a good movie, but not very fun to rewatch.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem (AVPR) picks up right where Alien vs. Predator (AVP) left off. The "PredAlien" offspring crash lands on earth and terrorizes a small town. There's an endless amount of characters and attacks, which really makes AVPR a poor Survivor movie. It fits perfectly into the Jaws model which I don't care for. There is a band of several characters the story tries to focus on amidst the carnage of an entire town which includes a couple hobos, some pregnant women at a hospital, and a dozen National Guard troops.

The humans in AVPR are supposed to have secondary billing to the real stars; the predators and aliens. It is their movie after all. Even though it's not that hard to predict who will survive (oh wow the dickhead, jock bully dies? The little girl lives? I'm falling off the edge of my seat...), the best part about AVPR is seeing who gets to claim each kill...the predators or the aliens.

In AVP the score was pretty much tied. In AVPR however, I think the aliens scored a major upset. Granted, I'm not sure which team the PredAlien is on and half the time I wasn't sure if it was the PredAlien or just some regular alien getting the kill (it's such a dark movie - literally). I'll put the PredAlien on the aliens team for simplicity. And there was only one real Predator in this sequel so the odds are not in his favor.

Victims
1. Buddy and Sam (father & son) - impregnated by aliens
2. Three Hobos - 2 impregnated by aliens, 1 killed by PredAlien
3. Deputy Ray - killed and skinned by Predator
Aliens: 5, Predator: 1
4. Carrie & Richie (diner) - killed by aliens/PredAlien
5. Man at the power plant - aliens
6. Mark (swimming pool) - alien
7. Nick (locker room) - alien
8. Jim (Molly's father) - alien
9. National Guard Troops - aliens
Aliens: 20+, Predator: 1
10. Hospital Nurse - PredAlien
11. 2 Stoners at the weapons shop - Predator
12. Dale - alien acid
13. Doctor and pregnant women - PredAlien
14. Pizza One Manager - aliens/PredAlien
15. Jesse - Predator
16. Eddy, Darcy & the rest of the town - The US Government
Aliens: 30+, Predator: 4

Survivors
Kelly & Molly (mother & daughter)
Dallas & Ricky (brothers)

The Pattern
Notice that the sole survivor in AVP was a woman, just like in Alien.
The survivors in AVPR include a kick-ass heroine, a little girl and an injured young man, just like in Aliens.
I appreciate this little homage whether it was intentional or just coincidence.
This means only 1 random bald guy will survive AVP3 :D