Tag Archives: Emily Blunt

Mar 2 2026

My Top 18 Space/Alien Movies

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved space and everything surrounding it (which, I guess, is literally more space…) I’ve always said, as I look up longingly at the night sky, “all that space, and we’re stuck here”. So it’s no surprise that I also love space movies (aliens optional, but appreciated). So here are my top 18 favourite space/alien films.

Number 18

Title: Independence Day
Year: 1996
Plot: After aliens invade the Earth and destroy many major cities around the world, an Army captain, a tech wizard, and the President all fight for the survival of mankind.
Starring: Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Vivica A Fox, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid, Margaret Colin, Harry Connick Jr, Robert Loggia, Brent Spiner, James Duval
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Based on a book?: No
Notes: It’s a bit of a guilty pleasure, but I’ll be damned if I don’t love this film. I just stuff popcorn into my cakehole and have a blast!

Number 17

Title: Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Year: 1956
Plot: A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
Starring: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, Jean Willes, Ralph Dumke, Virginia Christine
Directed by: Don Siegel
Based on a book?: Yes, The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
Notes: I’m not a huge fan of old timey films, but every so often one pops up that I love. This is the best iteration of this story except for…

Number 16

Title: The Faculty
Year: 1998
Plot: Six students band together as their high school is over-run by a parasitic alien.
Starring: Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Shawn Hatosy, Famke Janssen, Salma Hayek, Piper Laurie, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick, Usher Raymond, Jon Stewart
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Based on a book?: Not as such, but is greatly inspired by The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney and The Puppet Masters by Robert A Heinlein
Notes: …this one. I know it’s not exactly the same story, but it’s close enough that it counts. I loved this when it came out, and still love it today. So much fun!

Number 15

Title: Arrival
Year: 2016
Plot: Linguist Louise Banks leads a team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors.
Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mark O’Brien, Tzi Ma, Frank Schorpion, Christian Jadah
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Based on a book?: Yes, the novella Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang
Notes: I have yet to see a film by Denis Villeneuve that I haven’t liked and this one is no exception. It’s tense and heartwarming at the same time, with wonderful characters and beautiful alien effects. As a side note, I can pronounce Villeneuve’s name properly cause I’m from Quebec, just like him. It never fails to make me chuckle when I hear someone who doesn’t speak French try pronounce it.

Number 14

Title: Starman
Year: 1984
Plot: An alien takes the form of a young widow’s husband and makes her drive him to his departure point in Arizona. Distrustful government agents, along with a more ambivalent scientist, give pursuit in hopes of intercepting them.
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Phalen, Tony Edwards, George ‘Buck’ Flower
Directed by: John Carpenter
Based on a book?: No
Notes: This is pure, unadulterated schmoop, and I’m here for it.

Number 13

Title: The Blob
Year: 1988
Plot: A deadly entity from space crash-lands near a small town and begins consuming everyone in its path. Panic ensues as shady government scientists try to contain the horrific creature.
Starring: Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon, Jeffrey DeMunn, Donovan Leitch Jr, Candy Clark, Joe Seneca, Del Close, Paul McCrane
Directed by: Chuck Russell
Based on a book?: No
Notes: This film is so 80’s, and I mean that in the best possible way. The practical effects in this are mind blowing!

Number 12

Title: A Quiet Place
Year: 2018
Plot: A family struggles for survival in a world invaded by blind alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing.
Starring: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward
Directed by: John Krasinski
Based on a book?: No
Notes: This movie was original and tense, and we really feel for this family trying to survive in this new world. Great stuff!

Number 11

Title: Star Trek Generations
Year: 1994
Plot: With the help of long presumed dead Captain Kirk, Captain Picard must stop a deranged scientist willing to murder on a planetary scale in order to enter a space matrix.
Starring: Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, James Doohan, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Walter Koenig, Alan Ruck
Directed by: David Carson
Based on a book?: No
Notes: I loved many of the Star Trek films from each generation, but decided to only put one on this list. I may be in the minority here, but I find Generations to be one of the best. Two captains and a great villain equal a great time!

Number 10

Title: Signs
Year: 2002
Plot: A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, Cherry Jones, Patricia Kalember
Directed by: M Night Shyamalan
Based on a book?: No
Notes: I love this film. Sometimes schmoopy, sometimes spooky, it’s so well done. And it has one of the best jumpscares ever.

Number 9

Title: The Fifth Element
Year: 1997
Plot: In the far future, cab driver Korben Dallas unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep a great evil, and the man helping it, at bay.
Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker, Charlie Creed-Miles, Brion James, Tom Lister Jr, Luke Perry
Directed by: Luc Besson
Based on a book?: No
Notes: This film is a blast, start to finish. Very colourful, action packed fun.

Number 8

Title: The Iron Giant
Year: 1999
Plot: A young boy befriends a giant robot from outer space that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy.
Starring: Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr, Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel, Christopher McDonald, James Gammon, Cloris Leachman, John Mahoney, M Emmet Walsh
Directed by: Brad Bird
Based on a book?: Yes, The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
Notes: One of the best animated films ever. It’s fun, quirky, and boy get your Kleenex ready cause you’re gonna need it!

Number 7

Title: K-Pax
Year: 2001
Plot: A psychiatrist tries to determine how best to help a patient who convincingly claims to be from a distant galaxy.
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack, Alfre Woodard, David Patrick Kelly, Saul Williams, Peter Gerety, Celia Weston
Directed by: Iain Softley
Based on a book?: Yes, K-Pax by Gene Brewer
Notes: I adore this movie so much, but I have trouble watching now with such a problematic actor playing such a lovable character.

Number 6

Title: The Avengers
Year: 2012
Plot: Earth’s mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgård, Cobie Smulders, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L Jackson, Paul Bettany (v.o.)
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Based on a book?: Yes, the comic book series Avengers created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Notes: Ah, the good old days before superhero fatigue set in for me. This film is all kinds of quippy, quotable awesomeness. And Tom Hiddleston is absolutely delicious as Loki.

Number 5

Title: The Martian
Year: 2015
Plot: An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assumes him dead in a storm, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Benedict Wong, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Based on a book?: Yes, The Martian by Andy Weir
Notes: I adored the book this was based on so much that I went into this with much trepidation, mostly about the casting of Matt Damon as Mark Watney. But I was very wrong. While it does leave a few key scenes out (I imagine for length purposes) the rest is amazing, and very faithful to the book.

Number 4

Title: Pitch Black
Year: 2000
Plot: A transport ship crashes and leaves its crew stranded on a desert planet inhabited by bloodthirsty creatures that come out during an eclipse.
Starring: Radha Mitchell, Vin Diesel, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Claudia Black, Rhiana Griffith
Directed by: David Twohy
Based on a book?: No
Notes: I don’t know if I’m in the minority here, as I often am, but I loved this film so much. I love it just as much now as when I first saw it in the cinema. Great fun!

Number 3

Title: Stargate
Year: 1994
Plot: An interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra.
Starring: James Spader, Kurt Russell, Jaye Davidson, Alexis Cruz, Mili Avital, Leon Rippy, John Diehl, Erick Avari, Djimon Hounsou, Carlos Lauchu
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Based on a book?: No
Notes: Marrying ancient Egyptian-like culture and space travel? Sign me up! It also doesn’t hurt that James Spader was an absolute fox…

Number 2

Title: Event Horizon
Year: 1997
Plot: A rescue crew is tasked with investigating the mysterious reappearance of a spaceship that had been lost for seven years. While the ship seems empty at first, it’s clear that it did not come back alone.
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Joely Richardson, Kathleen Quinlan, Jason Isaacs, Jack Noseworthy, Richard T Jones, Sean Pertwee
Directed by: Paul WS Anderson
Based on a book?: No
Notes: This film scared the snot out of me when I first saw it when it came out (I was 16), and still manages to give me goosebumps today. A sign of a job well done!

Number 1

Title: Aliens
Year: 1986
Plot: Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Paul Reiser, Jenette Goldstein, William Hope, Al Matthews
Directed by: James Cameron
Based on a book?: No, although James Cameron acknowledged inspiration from Robert A Heinlein’s novel Starship Troopers.
Notes: Simply the best space/alien movie ever, full stop. I saw this (probably way too young) on tv when I was about 8 or 9 and have loved it since then. Action packed and tense, with killer effects, this film rocks!

And that’s it. Yes I’m aware some notables are missing from the list like Alien and The Thing. I’ve either not liked or haven’t seen them. That happens a lot with me, not liking the classics. I can acknowledge that they were important to the genre, but that doesn’t mean I gotta like them! Hehe
So I hope you enjoyed it!

M.

May 29 2014

Stephen King’s The Stand – Dream Cast

One of these days, this project is going to get off the ground, I know it will. But really, they’ve got to stop yanking our chains and get this ball rolling before all the directors on the planet attach and detach themselves from the project. David Yates (of Harry Potter fame) was originally set to direct, but he dropped out because he felt the story should be told as a mini-series on tv, not a movie. Then Ben Affleck signed on, and I was very happy with that. Because as crappy as he is as an actor, the man is brilliant behind the camera. He should stay there. That was in late 2011. When absolutely nothing moved forward by August 2013, Ben dropped out to play Batman (which made me and every other geek on the planet cringe horribly, I’m sure). Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) then joined himself to the project, just to drop out a little while later over “creative differences”.

So while the studios are scrambling around trying to find someone to write and direct the thing, I’ve been thinking of the cast. Now I’m a big fan of the original mini-series, but even I can admit that not all the actors were very good. In fact a few of them downright stank. And the style of filming, of acting, dress, talk, music and everything else is very, very 90’s, so everything would need a good updating (Baby, Can You Dig Yo’ Man? may need a little tweeking :-p ).

So, while thinking of all this, I did what every person with way too much time on their hands would do: I made a list of the actors I would love to see in each of the roles (and a few extras, just in case my first choice is busy, hehehe).

 

STU REDMAN (originally played by Gary Sinise)

Stu isn’t described much beyond being a “quiet man from Texas”. King seems to like us to make our own images of what the characters look like by what they say and do. I liked Gary Sinise in the role, but something was off. I’m not sure what.

MY PICK: Timothy Olyphant
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Ok, so he’s much prettier than I’d ever imagined Stu being, but I’m sure Timothy could handle looking scruffy. Plus he’s good at accents, so I’m sure he’d pull off Stu’s creamy southern drawl well.

Other choices: Colin Farrell, Nathan Fillion or Josh Brolin.

 

RANDALL FLAGG (originally played by Jamey Sheridan)

Flagg is described as “He looks like anybody you see on the street. But when he grins, birds fall dead off telephone lines.” Flagg was one of the characters I didn’t like all that much. The actor did a good job with what he was given, but he came across as too humourous. Flagg is supposed to be fucking creepy in a scary way, not a funny way.

MY PICK: Viggo Mortensen
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Viggo’s a damn fine actor, and can be creepy as hell. Remember him in The Prophecy? I still get goosebumps.

Other choices: Karl Urban, Guy Pearce, or Willem Dafoe.

 

FRANNIE GOLDSMITH (originally played by Molly Ringwald)

Frannie is described as a pregnant, red-headed college student. She was my least favorite character in the mini-series. Molly Ringwald was so wrong for the role.

MY PICK: Emily Blunt
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She’s beautiful, and can actually act.

Other picks: Alyson Hannigan, Megan Good, or Ellen Page.

 

MOTHER ABIGAIL (originally played by Ruby Dee)

Mother Abigail is described as being a tiny, black, 108 year old woman (who still bakes her own bread). Ruby Dee did an amazing job, and I wouldn’t dream of seeing anyone else in the role.
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LARRY UNDERWOOD (originally played by Adam Storke)

Larry’s described as a young, cocky singer. Adam was great in the role, but unfortunately too old to do it again.

MY PICK: Jared Leto
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Not only is he disgustingly beautiful, he’s got an amazing voice, and can really act. Bitch. I’m not digging his current Jesus thing he’s got going on right now (I much preferred the all dark, or black and red), but he’s still gorgeous. And he’s FINALLY getting the recognition he deserves (with both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyer’s Club). But anyways, I’m rambling here. The point is, he’d be perfect for this part. I’m sure he’d come up with a bitchin’ version of Baby, Can You Dig Yo’ Man?, hehehe.

Other picks: Orlando Bloom, Casey Affleck or Cillian Murphy.

 

HAROLD LAUDER (originally played by Corin Nemec)

Harold’s described as a geeky 16 year old at the start, but gradually becomes quite attractive as the book goes on. Corin Nemec did a good job acting Harold, but the look was so very wrong.

MY PICK: Jon Heder
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Ok, he might be a little old for the part. But so was Corin Nemec, so meh. I think he’d be so perfect for the part. He obviously does geeky well (Napoleon Dynamite anyone?) but I think he’s also really cute. He was downright adorable in Just Like Heaven.

Other picks: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Cera, or Ryan Gosling.

 

NADINE CROSS (originally played by Laura San Giacomo)

Nadine is described as a young, virginal, private school teacher. Laura San Giacomo looked like none of those things. This has got to be one of the worst casting decisions in history. And yes, I’m including Ben Affleck’s Batman. Seriously, it’s bad.

MY PICK: Natalie Portman
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She’s a wonderful actress, and great at descending into madness.

Other picks: Kat Dennings, Mila Kunis, or Genevieve Cortese (or is it Genevieve Padalecki now? Or Cortese-Padalecki? Whew, that would be a mouthful… Anyways, whatever, you know who I mean :-p )

 

NICK ANDROS (originally played by Rob Lowe)

Nick is described as being 22, beautiful, and deaf and dumb. Rob Lowe was awesome in the role, but unfortunately too old to do it again.

MY PICK: Jackson Rathbone
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Doesn’t get much more beautiful than Jackson, who is easily the best thing in every film he’s been in. Just look at those eyeballs, ah! I could drown in those pools. He doesn’t always pick the best material (*cough* The Last Airbender *cough*), but when given the chance to shine, he does, very bright.

Other picks: Ben Barnes, Jensen Ackles, or Ian Somerhalder.

 

TOM CULLEN (originally played by Bill Fagerbakke)

Tom is described as a big man with mild to moderate mental retardation, of indeterminate age. Bill Fagerbakke did an amazing job as Tom, and I couldn’t think of anyone else to do the job. And since he’s of “indeterminate age”, it doesn’t matter that the actor aged.
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LLOYD HENREID (originally played by Miguel Ferrer)

Lloyd is described as a petty thief who ends up on a killing spree with his partner, Poke. Miguel Ferrer did a great job in the role.

MY PICK: David Duchovny
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He’s a great actor, and is good at playing skeezy roles. And really, we don’t see enough of David. I don’t watch his show, Californication, so I barely see him at all. I have to watch The X Files to get my Duchovny-fix, hehe.

Other picks: Stephen Moyer, James Spader, or Brad Pitt.

 

TRASHCAN MAN (originally played by Matt Frewer)

Trash is described as a schizophrenic pyromaniac. He wanders setting whole cities ablaze until he’s recruited by Flagg.

MY PICK: Jackie Earle Haley
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Creepy and crazy. Nuff said.

Other picks: Steve Buscemi, Woody Harrelson, or Gabriel Byrne.

 

GLEN BATEMAN (originally played by Ray Walston)

Glen is described as a retired sociology professor handicapped by arthritis.

MY PICK: Ian McKellan
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The obvious choice for the wise old man, I know, but hey. If it ain’t broke…

Other picks: Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Walken, or Clint Eastwood.

 

JULIE LAWRY (originally played by Shawnee Smith)

Julie is described as an unstable, sex crazed teenager. Shawnee Smith was absolutely perfect in the role, and replacing her will be crazy hard, but it must be done. As beautiful as she still looks, she definitely doesn’t look like a teenager anymore.

MY PICK: Dakota Fanning
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She’s an amazing young actress. She’s got unbelievable range, especially for someone so young.

Other picks: Jennifer Lawrence, Jodelle Ferland, or Hayden Pantenierre.

 

There are many other characters in the book, but I’m tired now :p Maybe If I ever feel like a real big challenge, I’ll sit down with the book and make a list of the others. But, for now… The End 🙂

M.