A British American science fiction directed by Alex Garland, starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac.
A biologist's husband returns from a military assignment bleeding profusely. On the way to the hospital, the husband and wife are abducted by cops. The wife goes into an area where an extraterrestrial presence is changing things with a group of other women.
Not so great. The main issue was audio. It seemed like the actors had all taken out a restraining order on microphones. No audio capture device was to be allowed within 20 feet of them. The plot was the next problem. It didn't really make sense and maybe that was because I couldn't hear what anyone was saying. The ending didn't make sense either, but I don't spoil that kind of thing. Suffice to say, there was CG involved. The good CG was used on an alligator and a bear, which constituted the only good parts of the film. Characters seemed to be trying to develop, but that failed because most of them died soon after they shared back-story. Pacing and cut speed were relatively slow for being such a new movie and I appreciated that. The women approaching the alien barrier looked like a scene from Ghostbusters because of their large backpacks and the guns in their hands (image). Overall, not something to go out of your way to see. I rate it o.k.
A British American science fiction directed by Alex Garland, starring Domhall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac.
A young computer programmer is invited to the remote home of a scientist who builds robots. The programmer must test to see if the scientist's new robot truly has artificial intelligence.
This really got me into it. The plot and characters were augmented by good camerawork and audio. The whole thing hinges on who can believe whom, but in a more understandable way than film noir. The special effects did not include giant spaceships or wild monsters. It was more about getting the viewer to believe that the robots were robots and they did a great job of mixing actors with CG parts. I won't ruin the unexpected ending. I rate this good. Watch it!
An American black comedy directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Oscar Isaac and John Goodman.
A folk singer is having some problems. He gets beat up, may have impregnated a friend's girlfriend, loses a cat, gets abandoned on the highway and turned down by a music company.
This was AMAZING!!!! Such style! Such grace! Everything was shot really well and the pacing went very slowly to let it all really soak in. The music was slow and soothing, but in a good way. In fact, I can't find anything to nay-say about this. I could keep singing it's praises and saying the Coen brothers can do no wrong, but it's better for you to just watch this movie. I rate it awesome. WATCH IT!!!!
