The horrible and overwhelming smell of popcorn which seemed to adorn every nook, cranny and urinal of the Nova is one of many unfortunate memories that, as a miserable collection, have lodged in my brain as a result of celebrating the 45th anniversary of 'Alien'. This was no '4k' cinematic experience that I had expected. The print looked very much its age and the soundstage (such as it was) was so inferior to the original theatrical release that a younger audience would have it that audiences in 1979 enjoyed the use of a single speaker. The small (by that I mean 11 rows in total) theatre was insufficient to convey an atmosphere that actually relied on a very large screen. Even worse was the very silly and everso wanky conversation that preceded the main attraction: two film directors - one, the protagonist of the film we had paid to see - and the other, the director of the latest in the franchise. The resulting mess of an introduction to the franchise told us nothing those very familiar didn't already know. And for the uninitiated, well, their experience was perfectly ruined. The last word, perfectly summing up this awful experience, was left to Ridley Scott. Asked if he had anything to say to the audience, Scott replied simply but with a great deal of self-aggrandisement: "NO". In 45 years I'll celebrate Alien at home on my 200inch TV with 20 speakers. At least my toilet won't smell of popcorn.

Update to Nova's response: "still grousing" because I sent them an email two weeks ago without a response. Odd how some take criticism so personally; odd how they are so defensive. This old retail nonsense that if no-one else complains then I must be wrong is far too predictable to take seriously. I stand by my review and totally reject Nova's flaccid and insincere response. So there!