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Author Topic: Annihilation  (Read 17593 times)
schild
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on: March 12, 2018, 09:42:03 PM

It's both thrilling and bad. Watching it now. AMA
pxib
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Reply #1 on: March 12, 2018, 09:51:50 PM

The weirdness of the acting is what bothered me the most. I could tell they were doing it on purpose, and somehow nobody noticed how artificial and off-putting it was. Or nobody cared. Portman and Leigh especially. What the fuck. Also nothing made any but the thinnest film of sense.

Some really beautifully horrific visuals, though: The man turned to lichen and the visitation by the screaming bear. Plus the whole ending sequence is as gorgeous, intricate, and pretentious as anything Darren Aronofsky ever dreamed of. I don't imagine anybody will give this much money to Alex Garland ever again. Either that or they'll hand him the next Star Wars.

if at last you do succeed, never try again
schild
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Reply #2 on: March 12, 2018, 10:09:44 PM

The acting is terrible. But I don't really like Jennifer or Natalie.

The set and monster design is stunning.

I'm at the end now. This is turning rapidly into garbage.
schild
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Reply #3 on: March 12, 2018, 10:40:17 PM

Fuck this movie.
Abagadro
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Reply #4 on: March 12, 2018, 10:41:01 PM

Well that was a roller coaster of emotions (the thread, not the movie).

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

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schild
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Reply #5 on: March 12, 2018, 10:51:07 PM

It was pretty much all downhill with an appearance by manbearpigcow and a light tunnel.
pxib
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Reply #6 on: March 12, 2018, 10:55:39 PM

IT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT

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Ironwood
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Reply #7 on: March 13, 2018, 04:43:22 AM

Welcome to The Books.  A lot of good writing, all for nothing.

From what I've seen of reviews, the movie is the same type of thing.  Some pretty shots for little or no point.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
BobtheSomething
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Reply #8 on: March 13, 2018, 10:19:50 AM

How does it compare to Ex Machina on the Pretentious-o-meter? 

My wife and I really wanted to see this, but after finding out it was by the Ex Machina guy we decided to wait for reviews.  Just because a film is well acted, well directed, and even well written, it doesn't mean it's actually good.
pxib
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Reply #9 on: March 13, 2018, 11:38:19 AM

I felt that Ex Machina was pretty open and straightforward about its pretensions. Nobody came out of it wondering what the hell the writer/director was trying to do. The real monster was men all along. At the end of the movie I could tell you exactly why everything happened, what all the characters wanted, and exactly who was deceiving whom and when. It's a nice little puzzle box that wants to lecture you about humanity and inhumanity. Fine.

Annihilation is not well-acted, well-directed, or well-written. It is only well made. Excellent concept art, great storyboarding, fantastic effects work, prop selection, and set design.

If I had to guess, I think it's about depression? I have no idea how any part of it makes sense. There's a big twist at the end that adds nothing and damages some of the sense earlier bits made. Everything happens for no reason other in order that the plot can proceed, and then the plot doesn't matter. That's not overall, that's at any given moment.

Nobody behaves like scientists. Nobody behaves like humans. This government project to save us all from a potentially world-ending threat employs maybe a dozen people and half of them are being sent on a suicide mission. Oh, and let's send this new lady too... the one who we've kidnapped to protect our secrecy. That shouldn't compromise the mission at all. They'll all die anyway and that way we don't have to kill her!

Seriously, schild is not overstating how bad this is. Do not watch unless you like that sort of thing. The risk is that you'll trip over this movie on cable, or that you'll start watching it on Netflix without understanding what it is, and it will be so beautiful, tense, and fascinating that you'll keep watching it wondering how it ends.

Then you'll be schild, too: all downhill with an appearance by manbearpigcow and a light tunnel.

if at last you do succeed, never try again
BobtheSomething
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Reply #10 on: March 13, 2018, 11:47:48 AM

I'm curious what the twist is that ruins the film.  Please post about it in spoiler tags, if you don't mind spending more time talking about Annihilation.
MediumHigh
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Reply #11 on: March 13, 2018, 12:14:35 PM

I'm curious what the twist is that ruins the film.  Please post about it in spoiler tags, if you don't mind spending more time talking about Annihilation.

I didn't hate this movie but I can see why people did. It wasn't as bad as the cast would imply as my general fear was that nothing will happen as the girl scouts wonder the woods discovering the happy happy joy joy of mother nature.


« Last Edit: March 13, 2018, 12:59:12 PM by MediumHigh »
pxib
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Reply #12 on: March 13, 2018, 12:28:43 PM

Yeah the twist doesn't ruin the movie, it just calls into question some of the few concrete things we might have been able to understand. "Derails" is a good word, and not a lot was on track at that point anyway.

Also I didn't hate the movie, I was frustrated by it. It was exhausting and disappointing. I wish the ideas in it were turned into a better movie, and that I hadn't sat through this one.

if at last you do succeed, never try again
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Reply #13 on: March 13, 2018, 01:17:25 PM

A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?

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Reply #14 on: March 13, 2018, 03:20:34 PM

The movie was ruined before it was made because it the book was shit.

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schild
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Reply #15 on: March 13, 2018, 03:28:13 PM

yea i wish I'd read the synopsis of the book before I watched the movie

the only english word for it is: garbage
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Reply #16 on: March 13, 2018, 05:01:43 PM

The first book had a kind of "Bright and shiny Lovecraft" thing going for it. The movie was just bright, shiny, and weird.

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Reply #17 on: March 13, 2018, 06:36:39 PM

yea i wish I'd read the synopsis of the book before I watched the movie

the only english word for it is: garbage
Lol, just ready the plot summary.  It's somehow even worst than the movie plot summary.

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Khaldun
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Reply #18 on: March 14, 2018, 04:01:51 AM

There was no possible way for a movie that was even remotely like the book to be a good movie, because the book is basically a long attempt to make you feel dread and revulsion--it has virtually no narrative, limited characterization, and is just generally not that great.
Lakov_Sanite
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Reply #19 on: March 14, 2018, 04:31:57 AM

I read some sort of scifi book about rapid evolution, unavoidably spreading across the world when I was 15.  I swore this was that book because I couldn't remember the name but apparently the odds of two authors coming up with this are higher than I thought.

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Reply #20 on: March 14, 2018, 06:20:07 AM

To bad this didn't turn out though.  Ex Machina was near fucking perfect, so had some high hopes.  I may give it a watch eventually, but literally everybody I know is shitting on it and the plot summary is terrible.

"My great-grandfather did not travel across four thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean to see this nation overrun by immigrants.  He did it because he killed a man back in Ireland. That's the rumor."
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schild
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Reply #21 on: March 14, 2018, 06:58:07 AM

I like Alex Garland and I loved Ex Machina, but let's be honest, his batting average is fucking awful.
Wasted
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Reply #22 on: March 15, 2018, 09:22:01 PM

I liked it.  I thought it maintained the progression of strange well enough to get to a pretty alien place.  I can forgive the unnecessary technobabble, they kinda had to try I guess.
schild
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Reply #23 on: March 15, 2018, 09:24:27 PM

I liked it.  I thought it maintained the progression of strange well enough to get to a pretty alien place.  I can forgive the unnecessary technobabble, they kinda had to try I guess.

i think the verdict is in, no one is allowed to like this piece of shit
SurfD
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Reply #24 on: March 15, 2018, 10:07:33 PM

Well, part of the problem with turning this into a movie is that the book was almost intentionally vague and cryptic about pretty much everything that was going on.  Even after you finish reading it, you are left with far more questions than answers and the core question about what the fuck was going on inside the quarantine area is only barely answered.  You only really get a deeper explanation and most of the blanks filled in once you read the second book.  So if the movie ends up feeling mostly surreal and creepy but doesn't actually really explain much of anything at all, then I guess it actually did a pretty good job of translating the book to the screen.

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Reply #25 on: March 17, 2018, 09:49:46 PM

After Paddington: I love bears!

After Paddington 2: I love bears so much!

After Christopher Robin trailer: Nothing will stop me from loving bears!

After Annihilation: aaaaaahhh AAAAAHHHH AHHH AHHHHHHHH AAAAAAHHHHH AAAAHHH AAAHHHHHHH AHHHHHH AHH AAHHHHHHHHH AAAAHHHHH AHH AHHHHH

Sauce: https://twitter.com/SidizenKane/status/974297056876560386

Tuned in, immediately get to watch cringey Ubisoft talking head offering her deepest sympathies to the families impacted by the Orlando shooting while flanked by a man in a giraffe suit and some sort of "horrifically garish neon costumes through the ages" exhibit or something.  We need to stop this fucking planet right now and sort some shit out. -Kail
schild
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Reply #26 on: March 17, 2018, 10:11:05 PM

After Paddington: I love bears!

After Paddington 2: I love bears so much!

After Christopher Robin trailer: Nothing will stop me from loving bears!

After Annihilation: aaaaaahhh AAAAAHHHH AHHH AHHHHHHHH AAAAAAHHHHH AAAAHHH AAAHHHHHHH AHHHHHH AHH AAHHHHHHHHH AAAAHHHHH AHH AHHHHH

Sauce: https://twitter.com/SidizenKane/status/974297056876560386

He liked the movie. He can't be trusted.
Soulflame
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Reply #27 on: March 18, 2018, 07:53:50 AM

To be fair, that is one FUCKED UP bear.

I enjoyed the movie.  Pondering the many questions the movie leaves unanswered has been enjoyable too.
palmer_eldritch
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Reply #28 on: March 18, 2018, 08:12:39 AM

Didn't hate it but I was surprised by the number of extremely positive reviews this movie had. Reassuring to know it's not just me.

I think there's a tendency to imagine a movie where the lead character is dealing with a loss is raising profound questions, but that doesn't automatically follow.
MediumHigh
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Reply #29 on: March 20, 2018, 01:19:44 AM

This movie wasn't bad but I can see why people don't like it. It's somewhere between just enough science fiction to get you excited or pissed off for giving you blue balls.
Ironwood
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Reply #30 on: April 09, 2018, 02:14:11 PM

Oh God, Schild was right, what the fuck was that.

Nope, nope, nooooopppppe.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
Der Helm
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Reply #31 on: April 13, 2018, 08:42:40 AM

That bear, though.  ACK!

I might have skipped past it, but I don't think they explained why the movie was named Anihilation, or did they ?  awesome, for real

"I've been done enough around here..."- Signe
Soulflame
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Reply #32 on: April 13, 2018, 08:54:09 AM

It's the title of the book.

Der Helm
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Reply #33 on: April 13, 2018, 09:15:24 AM

It's the title of the book.

Oh, I knew that. I just found it funny that the movie (to my knowledge) did not explain that, or did it ? I don't remember anything posthypnotic in it.

"I've been done enough around here..."- Signe
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Reply #34 on: April 13, 2018, 09:45:55 AM

It's just my opinion, but I think the gap between them crossing the border and setting up camp is strikingly similar to how the group arrived at camp in the book.  So "they were hypnotized" seems as good an explanation as any, since we're not given another one as to why they simply lost 2-3 days of time.

The movie differs from the book in another significant way, in that the border is moving much more quickly in the movie.  With the expectation that within years or months the border will cross a major city, and then presumably cover the world within a period of time I don't remember if it was specified, but I assume was within the lifetime of the current living population.

So, again, my opinion, Annihilation is used as the movie title because 1. the book title and 2. the looming threat of the annihilation of humanity by something they can't fight and can't understand.
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