Annihilation | Paramount | Feb 23 2018 | Alex Garland | Natalie Portman | Reviews Embargoed till day of release

[Goffe]

Eh. Didn't finish the trailer. 

[kowhite]

Will watch.  You had me at Ex Machina.

[Gopher]

It's a very disturbing movie but I don't think audiences will hate it. The ensemble is so strong that I was convinced Rodriquez and Leigh would've gotten awards attention if it hit in the fall.  It'll last the test of time which is the mark of good weird sci-fi. 

[marveldcfox]

16 hours ago, grim22 said:

Looks okay, like the love child of Arrival and Contact.

Which one has the penis and vagina?

[That One Girl]

2 hours ago, marveldcfox said:

Which one has the penis and vagina?

 

 

[filmlover]

3 hours ago, marveldcfox said:

Which one has the penis and vagina?

[Valonqar]

6 hours ago, Gopher said:

It's a very disturbing movie but I don't think audiences will hate it. The ensemble is so strong that I was convinced Rodriquez and Leigh would've gotten awards attention if it hit in the fall.  It'll last the test of time which is the mark of good weird sci-fi. 

Why would Rodriguez get any awards attention? She looks like a typical canon fodder in it. The vibe that I got from the trailer is that it's a Portman movie and everyone else is disposable. 

[Jake Gittes]

Just now, Valonqar said:

Why would Rodriguez get any awards attention? She looks like a typical canon fodder in it. The vibe that I got from the trailer is that it's a Portman movie and everyone else is disposable. 

because unlike you he's seen the movie?

[Napoleon]

11 hours ago, Squadron Leader Tele said:

 

I'm not sure I understand those comparisons... do you mean visually? It's very different from those movies. 

In the sense that everyone praised District 9 and Donnie Darko and then their next movies disappointed and everyone turned their backs on those directors. This one looks like it has the potential to be another ambicious sci-fi mess to me, but since it's based on a well received book I assume, that's not likely to happen.

[Ethan Hunt]

Blomkamp is still a cool motherfridger in my book

[75Live]

finally saw the trailer, I kind of dug it.  I think I may catch this in the theater

[Valonqar]

16 minutes ago, Napoleon said:

In the sense that everyone praised District 9 and Donnie Darko and then their next movies disappointed and everyone turned their backs on those directors. This one looks like it has the potential to be another ambicious sci-fi mess to me, but since it's based on a well received book I assume, that's not likely to happen.

District 9 is the most overrated movie ever, IMO. That Blomkamp went to shit afterwards is no surprise to me cause D9 wasn't that good to begin with. Everyone bought the set up with apartheid parallels but there was very little else praise-worthy in the movie beyond that. It also dragged and had, like, 2-3 movies in one that didn't gel (the Nigerian narco cartel was such WTF addition cause Blomkamp needed villains but it just didn't fit with the rest and then he decided to make military the main villain at, like, 11th hour). Blech. 

[Plain Old Tele]

Counterpoint: all of Blomkamp's movies are pretty decent. ELYSIUM is the weakest but even that has a strong Matt Damon performance, fantastic production design, and some kickass action scenes. 

 

But I don't think he's a good comparison for Garland, who was already well-established as a novelist and screenwriter before EX-MACHINA. 

[75Live]

3 minutes ago, Squadron Leader Tele said:

Counterpoint: all of Blomkamp's movies are pretty decent. ELYSIUM is the weakest but even that has a strong Matt Damon performance, fantastic production design, and some kickass action scenes. 

 

But I don't think he's a good comparison for Garland, who was already well-established as a novelist and screenwriter before EX-MACHINA. 

 

Yeah I liked District 9 and Chappie.  Elysium not so much but it wasn't terrible either

[Ethan Hunt]

50 minutes ago, Valonqar said:

District 9 is the most overrated movie ever, IMO. That Blomkamp went to shit afterwards is no surprise to me cause D9 wasn't that good to begin with. Everyone bought the set up with apartheid parallels but there was very little else praise-worthy in the movie beyond that. It also dragged and had, like, 2-3 movies in one that didn't gel (the Nigerian narco cartel was such WTF addition cause Blomkamp needed villains but it just didn't fit with the rest and then he decided to make military the main villain at, like, 11th hour). Blech. 

garbage opinion. District 9 is amazeballs

[The Stingray]

Blomkamp's shorts are pretty cool.
 

[Valonqar]

51 minutes ago, Ethan Hunt said:

garbage opinion. District 9 is amazeballs

I don't care. I'm vindicated that Blomkamp didn't do anything of note since that overratedness. Also, Sharlto Copley is the worst actor ever in Maleficent. he was good in D9 but that appears to have been a fluke. 

 

@Squadron Leader Tele yep, "pretty decent" is the right description of Blomkamp opus including D9. 

Edited September 28, 2017 by Valonqar

[Barnack]

Kind of @Valonqar camp on District 9 (maybe less extreme), but at the time I remember having wish they would have stick with the mock-documentary genre for all the movie, the transition did seem strange and unjustified, loved the beginning and concept but dragged in execution.

[Valonqar]

36 minutes ago, Barnack said:

Kind of @Valonqar camp on District 9 (maybe less extreme), but at the time I remember having wish they would have stick with the mock-documentary genre for all the movie, the transition did seem strange and unjustified, loved the beginning and concept but dragged in execution.

You sum it up much better than I could. It was great while in mockumentary mode, rather generic beyond that. I mean, Copley's transformation was lifted from the Fly, a movie that did it so much better but was never nominated for Best Picture, not even close. 

Edited September 28, 2017 by Valonqar

[Plain Old Tele]

1 hour ago, Valonqar said:

I don't care. I'm vindicated that Blomkamp didn't do anything of note since that overratedness.

You're vindicated that your opinion is your opinion?  That's a circular argument, dude!