Annihilation

[nefilim]

Plot : A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don't apply.

Director: Alex Garland

Stars: Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh

[nefilim]

[nefilim]

Trailer

@ukade2327 @45Caliber @Masterblaster @atomicblonde @Scary Hair @psychoscot @RhodW @Steelbookzombie @DodgyDave @MrsXena @Benoit46 @pioneers

The trailer looks excellent IMO !!!!

Some how reminds me of Alien movies ... ! I a good way !

?

[Masterblaster]

@nefilim definitly interesting thats for sure ..

 

[hdblueman]

@nefilim thanks for the trailer, looks like my sort of thing.  Will look forward to watching, loved Ex_machina so if it's anywhere near as good i'll be happy. ?

[ukade2327]

Thanks @nefilim this looks promising , very interested in this......

[atomicblonde]

NATALIE PORTMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is one of my favorite actresses of all time, I've missed seeing her in movies (well non-straight to DVD movies anyway). I will be seeing this!!  

[pioneers]

@nefilim thank's for the tag this sounds very interesting ☺️

[nefilim]

Featurette

[FN-2187]

A quiet answer to the current state of cinemas:

 

Annihilation is quiet film, and as unsuspecting as this film may seem when viewed through the lens of a punchy trailer or an exciting TV-ad, the film that lies beneath is an unexpected introspective journey. 

Leaning hard in to the Science Fiction elements of the genre- Writer/ Director Alex Garland aims to deliver a methodically paced and unnerving feature- much like his last film, Ex Machina. However, whereas Ex Machina was very blunt and up front about the ideas that it explored, Annihilation choses to take the audience along on an expedition with our main cast of characters.  Venturing in to the unknown of the Shimmer- the film presents visual aspects that echo some of the larger themes of the film- and characters, contemplative in nature, explore their completely alien surroundings in the same fashion that a viewer may explore the gravity of motifs hinted at.  

 

At times, Annihilation can be unsettling and grotesque- but the maliciousness of the unknown is only given as much credence as you project on to it. The sheer ideal that an existence of the unexplained being a threat can be explored by examining your own emotional feelings towards the events depicted on screen; the motives, actions, and exchanges between the main cast and the shimmer is indicative of the fragmentation and reflection that reverberates through society and through individuals. There are many motifs that run throughout Annihilation, and each of them, while subtle- can impact you in different ways in different viewings; and while some of these ideals are vague- they don't act in hinderance of the story, but rather serve to amplify the smaller details.

 

Aesthetically, the film is visually stunning- Jock- has done a lot of the concept art for the film and the cinematic framing of each scene by Rob Hardy is stellar... and the beautiful and frightening phantasmagoria of the film create a completely unique visual style. In contrast to Ex Machina, Alex Garland does not juxtapose the natural and the artificial- but instead chooses to blend these two distinctive aspects in to a single, disturbed reality.  

As a film itself- it is very effective in every scene it aims at- it can be somber- it can be exhilarating- it can be horrific... it is a ride entirely unto itself, as each twist navigated around feels perfectly crafted to the specifications of every intention. Personally, I found that this film tickled at the inner, child-like notions of exploration that I had... holding the allure and mystery of what I would want to know and trapping that excitement in unbridled fear of the alien. Structurally, this film can be compared to that of Denis Villeneuve's Arrival- yet while Arrival takes a more optimistic approach, Annihilation feels more oppressive in nature... and while not explicitly a horror film- Annihilation's sense of reality allows for the situations to feel like something out of a horror film.

 

It's hard to recommend this film- Paramount chose to drop this film on to Netflix to be distributed internationally, after U.S. test-screenings found the film to be "too intellectual" for general audiences. Each time I saw this film- the audiences that I saw it with complained that there was not enough action- or that the film was too confusing- and at that- I cannot say whether or not you will enjoy it. But I can say that this is the first remarkable film I have seen of 2018- and the sheer contempt that Paramount seems to have for "intellectual films" makes me want this film to succeed.

 

8.5/10

 

If you're in the U.S.- chances are that your local cinema won't be carrying this film. If you're anywhere else in the world- Annihilation is available to stream on Netflix. 

 

Spoiler

Seriously though, why did Benedict Wong wear a HAZMAT suit when interrogating Lena is NONE of the teams sent in to the Shimmer bothered to wear them at all?