Movie of the Month - Annihilation (June 2018)

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Liked it so much. I'll try to listen to the podcast. Wanna know what Yoda thinks. Also, welcome back bluedeed - I missed you!!!!!!!



"Luck don't live out here."
Excellent! One of my favorite films of the year so far. Just bought the 4K/Blu-Ray the other week and plan on watching it again soon. I'll definitely have to tune into the podcast.
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Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
I thought it was closer to a cross between Predator and Stalker with an otherworldly cancer taking over parts of the Earth. Watchable but uneven enough for me to rate it
. Oh well, I rate all three films the same so I guess I deserve universal derision.
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Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
I'm a little confused by this, because "similar" and "surreal" are not points on the same spectrum.
What I tried to say was I don't think these two films are similar, and don't think they are surreal, and in my opinion comparing these two because of how supposedly surreal they are makes no sense (because if you even think they both are surreal they are so in different ways).
I'm also not sure how someone could dispute the idea that the imagery in Annihilation is surreal, even if they didn't like it much.
I can understand why somebody thinks the imagery in the film is surreal. It's okay. I can see where it's coming from but I generally have a hard time calling most sci-fi surreal. I think Bunuel and the Surrealists of the 20s are paragons of surrealism in cinema. 2001 didn't have any surrealism in it. The Stargate sequence is abstract but not surreal. Annihilation is trippy but not surreal. Okay, the ending clone sequence might be perceived as surreal, I give you that.

Or maybe I'm just full of sh*t.
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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
Hahaha this movie! It's like an unwanted obsession for me. Sitting in a showing if Hereditary to relax after a rough week and this movie, Annihalation, is bugging me.

Ok. There were very beautiful considerations given to details. For example the use of light. Opening shot post-crash into the light house, the angle of light streaming from the light house demanded attention. The projection screen during her course lecture created a lens flair that called back to the light house illumination. The partial glass of water between Portman's character an her husband refracted and inverted their hands as she pulled away from his touch maybe suggesting his character's reflected existence, or foreshadowing their change in the final scene. The light of the shimmer as they wake and examine their surroundings also call back to the opening light house shot.

There are clever and intentional compositions throughout that were clearly doted over and significant---at least to the director, DP, and/or whoever.

Cancer and its continued reference as an intrusive and aggressive force totally parallels this entity. The contrast here, for me, is how much thought and love must have been given to these details, yet other, more obvious details to plot and necessary internal rules (if this movie wants to do more than pretend to be intelligent) seemed to be dismissed. If not dismissed, then I struggle to see the greater design.

For example, it appeared as though the U.S. government/military had simply given up on this. Facilities seemed to have hardly no staff, military personnel, or direction considering the risk of complete "Annihalation." Why then have no other countries been notified that might could help? Why only one guard on her husband under an open tent through which Portman's character could just walk into and touch him, while after she returned from the shimmer everyone was full-on quarantine mode? Why allow so many psychologically unstable and suicidal staff enter without additional support? Why draw parallels with this entity to cancer as an invasive, evolutionary-driven means to exist (completely unaware of itself or its affects on the host world or species) to later imply conscious intent through Dr. Ventress' increasingly awkward title-line speech near the end, followed by Portman and Isaac's "birth" and self awareness moment? It just so happens that the wife of the sole surviving team member is the one needed biologist that can figure out this puzzle that no one before could AND she has the military training to defend herself and her team? That's a Devine Intervention scale of coincidence, except that it's not. Because its just gallactic cancer.

The movie had beautiful moments, sure. But the attention to those details were not consistent in other elements of this movie, to me. Seeing those details work so well only heightened my awareness of so many other details that did not work so well. And that may be the core fault I had with it from which all other faults were magnified.

Ok so I had to watch Hereditary before finishing this. I hope it still reads in context of the earlier conversation.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
I don't think the imagery in 2001 and Annihilation is similar let alone surreal.
I'm a little confused by this, because "similar" and "surreal" are not points on the same spectrum.

I'm also not sure how someone could dispute the idea that the imagery in Annihilation is surreal, even if they didn't like it much.
Surreal in bits, but inconsistent overall IMO. The inability to maintain just exaggerated the differences in quality from one scene to the next and while few scenes were wonderful (swimming pool deep end flora-skull and howler bear!), those that were not were all too obviously lacking by comparison. Same for its concepts and story.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
I was gonna wait till Netflix, but I guess I need to get my 2 cents ready.

@Yoda
Have you thought about a call in/ chat/ email segment for these pods?



I was gonna wait till Netflix, but I guess I need to get my 2 cents ready.

@Yoda
Have you thought about a call in/ chat/ email segment for these pods?
I think we took questions for a couple here and there. I'd be open to maybe posting the threads further in advance to allow for people to ask before we record, if you think there'd be enough interest in it.



Hellloooo Cindy - Scary Movie (2000)
It was very bleak. Not only that ending but I think it was devoid of any humour. Can’t say I founf any of the characters really likeable - not to say that makes it a bad movie. The story was the real focus. Am interested to here thoughts.



You can't win an argument just by being right!
It was very bleak. Not only that ending but I think it was devoid of any humour. Can’t say I founf any of the characters really likeable - not to say that makes it a bad movie. The story was the real focus. Am interested to here thoughts.
I thought it was entertaining but strangely enough I can't remember much of the detail. I was on some heavy duty drugs though.



Hellloooo Cindy - Scary Movie (2000)
It was very bleak. Not only that ending but I think it was devoid of any humour. Can’t say I founf any of the characters really likeable - not to say that makes it a bad movie. The story was the real focus. Am interested to here thoughts.
I thought it was entertaining but strangely enough I can't remember much of the detail. I was on some heavy duty drugs though.
Lol can I have some? Think it’s one of those movies perfect for a discussion/podcast. Bleak but thought provoking. Lots of strange things that other people may see and understand differently.



You can't win an argument just by being right!
Oh yeah definitely. And I will rewatch this keeping that in mind. I didn't go for the chick flick element, but that's the same for anything I perceive to be pushing the girlfriend power agenda (yes I can't tolerate the word agenda used in this context either so please be gentle🙄😩



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
The most puzzling part was how Kane picked up that accent.



Hellloooo Cindy - Scary Movie (2000)
Oh yeah definitely. And I will rewatch this keeping that in mind. I didn't go for the chick flick element, but that's the same for anything I perceive to be pushing the girlfriend power agenda (yes I can't tolerate the word agenda used in this context either so please be gentle🙄😩
Sorta understand why only women went in this time as all men had gone previously. That made sense and was worth a try - anythings worth a try given the situation. I def wouldn’t call it a chick flick. The characters though - they’re bleak and intentionally so but there wasn’t much too them if you ask. I found one of the women really cringeworthy and so unlikeable. The bigger loud aggressive one. She felt like a try hard and maybe that’s a credit to here acting as she was the first one to crack and was mentally the weakest which goes with that try hard over compensating type personality.

The physicist we don’t really get much from....she’s just sorta there moping around. And the leader, the blonde boss, she basically just speaks with an emotionless monotone which is not endearing. But I’m sure all of that was intentional and the real focus I believe is meant to be on the story.

Can’t say I really understood the animal attacks either lol.



It struck me as mediocre, similar to some 1950s "B" sci-fi or horror movies. They must have had a good budget for all the special effects, especially the atmospheric ones, but they just didn't seem to convincingly accentuate the premise or the theme of the film properly. Are there paisleys and pastels in another dimension? I doubt it.

The story was actually rather cliched: Something comes from outer space, or from another dimension, the authorities send a crew to investigate, but they don't all make it back. Lord.

And why must they artificially put a group of women into situations where it is impossible to believe? I haven't read the book, so perhaps that was the way it was written in the novel. But to gather 5 women scientists who in a matter of hours turn into commando babes is somewhere between silly and ridiculous. There seems to be a concerted effort in Hollywood to portray women, lately especially in groups, in roles that were only marginally believable when portrayed by men. Cultural Stalinism has replaced good movie making.

The film was not without some interesting parts, but whatever it was that some people found deep, completely escaped me.

~Doc



Hellloooo Cindy - Scary Movie (2000)
It struck me as mediocre, similar to some 1950s "B" sci-fi or horror movies. They must have had a good budget for all the special effects, especially the atmospheric ones, but they just didn't seem to convincingly accentuate the premise or the theme of the film properly. Are there paisleys and pastels in another dimension? I doubt it.

The story was actually rather cliched: Something comes from outer space, or from another dimension, the authorities send a crew to investigate, but they don't all make it back. Lord.

And why must they artificially put a group of women into situations where it is impossible to believe? I haven't read the book, so perhaps that was the way it was written in the novel. But to gather 5 women scientists who in a matter of hours turn into commando babes is somewhere between silly and ridiculous. There seems to be a concerted effort in Hollywood to portray women, lately especially in groups, in roles that were only marginally believable when portrayed by men. Cultural Stalinism has replaced good movie making.

The film was not without some interesting parts, but whatever it was that some people found deep, completely escaped me.

~Doc
Yea I’m sorta in the same vein as how deep the movie is....I may have missed the mark with certain things that’s why I was interested in the discussion. Honestly was fine with the women being women and there was a sort of explanation for that but they were all so bland. I reckon it would have been the same problem if it was men....think it’s a director and script deficient thing imo.



Hellloooo Cindy - Scary Movie (2000)
Hahaha this movie! It's like an unwanted obsession for me. Sitting in a showing if Hereditary to relax after a rough week and this movie, Annihalation, is bugging me.

Ok. There were very beautiful considerations given to details. For example the use of light. Opening shot post-crash into the light house, the angle of light streaming from the light house demanded attention. The projection screen during her course lecture created a lens flair that called back to the light house illumination. The partial glass of water between Portman's character an her husband refracted and inverted their hands as she pulled away from his touch maybe suggesting his character's reflected existence, or foreshadowing their change in the final scene. The light of the shimmer as they wake and examine their surroundings also call back to the opening light house shot.

There are clever and intentional compositions throughout that were clearly doted over and significant---at least to the director, DP, and/or whoever.

Cancer and its continued reference as an intrusive and aggressive force totally parallels this entity. The contrast here, for me, is how much thought and love must have been given to these details, yet other, more obvious details to plot and necessary internal rules (if this movie wants to do more than pretend to be intelligent) seemed to be dismissed. If not dismissed, then I struggle to see the greater design.

For example, it appeared as though the U.S. government/military had simply given up on this. Facilities seemed to have hardly no staff, military personnel, or direction considering the risk of complete "Annihalation." Why then have no other countries been notified that might could help? Why only one guard on her husband under an open tent through which Portman's character could just walk into and touch him, while after she returned from the shimmer everyone was full-on quarantine mode? Why allow so many psychologically unstable and suicidal staff enter without additional support? Why draw parallels with this entity to cancer as an invasive, evolutionary-driven means to exist (completely unaware of itself or its affects on the host world or species) to later imply conscious intent through Dr. Ventress' increasingly awkward title-line speech near the end, followed by Portman and Isaac's "birth" and self awareness moment? It just so happens that the wife of the sole surviving team member is the one needed biologist that can figure out this puzzle that no one before could AND she has the military training to defend herself and her team? That's a Devine Intervention scale of coincidence, except that it's not. Because its just gallactic cancer.

The movie had beautiful moments, sure. But the attention to those details were not consistent in other elements of this movie, to me. Seeing those details work so well only heightened my awareness of so many other details that did not work so well. And that may be the core fault I had with it from which all other faults were magnified.

Ok so I had to watch Hereditary before finishing this. I hope it still reads in context of the earlier conversation.
Pretty much agree with all of this, good comments.