Skip to main content

Annihilation (2018)

Fear what's inside. Annihilation is a film about an ex-military biologist who signs up to explore a phenomenon near a coast.

Alex Garland does some wonderful things with this film. Most of the shots are great and vibrant when inside the phenomenon. There are a few questionable shots like when the characters and moving through the forested area but at the corner of the screen so you get a wide shot of a beautiful landscape. The writing of each character while good, does have the feeling of just getting to know the character so they can get killed off. I'm so glad they gave Garland the screenplay for the Halo adaptation.

Natalie Portman plays Lena and gives a class on how to give a variety of emotions throughout the film. Anger, sadness, depression, lostness. She is a completely deep character and it'd be hard to cast someone else as this role. Without her, the film would have fallen apart. I can't go into too much detail as that would spoil the ending.

The other big character in the film is Kane, played by Oscar Isaac. This would be the second time Garland directed Isaac and his performance is better for it. Back in Ex Machina, his character was sort of one dimensional. This performance allows Isaac to show a broader range of his ability and in some cases upstages Portman which is hard to do. Some of his early scenes seem weird but they make sense by the end of the movie.

I can't understand why Garland doesn't have any upcoming directorial jobs but then again this movie might confuse the average movie-going audience.

Result: A- (I loved the ending, but the film does have some slow parts.)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

  The Exorcist: Believer is another attempt by David Gordon Green to bring back old classics and make them new again. I wonder if history will be favorable with director Green.  In the past, he has done a disservice to Michael Myers and before that, he was probably best known for Pineapple Express. Before you ask if I might have had some bias going into the film, I didn't know Green directed the film till a few minutes ago. That being said I'm cautious about the sequel that was greenlit for him. The main victim in the movie is played by Lidya Jewett  who has some great makeup put on her and she does her best to impersonate Linda Blair  but I couldn't but get distracted by her huge forehead. Look her up and you'll see that her forehead is half of her whole head. Leslie Odom Jr. has the biggest part in the film. While the original exorcist focused on the priest this time the focus is on the father. He delivered the lines that were written for him well but I would have ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Godzilla Minus Zero (2026)

Godzilla Minus Zero is the follow up to Godzilla Minus One , once again written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki . While this entry is more exciting than its predecessor, it still carries some of the same flaws, particularly the overacting from one of its leads, Ryûnosuke Kamiki . The film continues to lean heavily into the human side of the story, taking time to establish what needs to happen for a Godzilla movie to make sense, including why the monsters fight and how everything eventually comes together. I understand the need for that setup, but I think most people in the theater were simply waiting for Godzilla to show up. Minami Hamabe was great as Noriko in the previous film, and her presence remains welcome here. Masami Nagasawa also makes a strong impression as the new character Makoto Aoyama , stepping into the story with a performance that gives the film another interesting human element. Hidetaka Yoshioka is another noteworthy presence, reprising his role as Noda and he...
Post a Comment
Read more

Drive (2011)

Drive is about a stuntman and mechanic who also does a side job where he a getaway driver. Things get heated when he gets involved with the mob by helping his neighbor. The film is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn . He's worked with Gosling before when he did Only God Forgives a mediocre film but regardless very well directed. Refn directs one of the best performances from Gosling and Mulligan. This film also has one of the best car chases I've ever seen as well as the introduction of the main character. Everything has a place in a film like this, even a shot of the back of Gosling's jacket shifting. Ryan Gosling plays the Driver. He has one of the best examples of minimalist dialogue with only speaking 116 lines. He has intensity and emotion in his expressions and the delivery of his lines. There's a scene especially when he talks with his neighbor's kid and asks him how he knows who the bad guys are. It's great. Look deeper and you'll find gems. O...
Post a Comment
Read more