Aliens?

I know that most of you are probably familiar with the Alien Merchandise- started by Ridley Scott and killed off in the recent "AVP" movies. Well, I always thought of it as... somewhat stupid. I mean, I sort of saw it as one of those really violent video games, like "Halo", where there is not really any objective apart from follow the road and kill people.

I never liked those games. Too violent for me. And Aliens... where do I begin. I always thought it was some stupid movie that was all about seeing marines killing- or vica versa- Aliens. It always looked like it had the bones there, but where's the meat?

About a week ago, my view of the merchandise changed. First of all, we have to state that the creatures are what they look like- skeletal, bug-like and drooling. And yes, I admit that they look like they're out of a game like "Halo". However, The first film is supposedly very clever. I've heard many of my suposedly "clever" friends say it's somewhat like watching a haunted house movie in space. Similar in style to "The Shining"- which I saw the other day, and, frankly, loved.

Now that I know that the Alien Merchandise is somewhat clever and exciting, I've started dipping my toe in the water. I bought the "Alien Triple Pack" which contains the first three movies- and, if I like what I see, will go on from there. I won't bother with "Alien: Ressurection", however, as loads of people say it's a bad movie. So, if I like it, I may check out some of the comics and novels (depending on the violence- I don't want people being ripped apart in front of my eyes). But, I am going to say this- I'm not going to bother with "Predator", unless someone convinces me likewise.