Annihilation (Alex Garland, February 23, 2018) Movie • Page 15

I replied to that with one for Boy Meets World. The bear scene in BMW is actually pretty close to Annihlation lol

 

My attempt at a Simpsons reference

 

lol not bad. Trying to think of others. This is fun

 

The film is decent enough, but this is the second time Garland has used the cinematographer Rob Hardy who shoots his films way too dark. It is an attempt to create moodiness and dread, but it just makes the whole thing ugly. Especially during the night scenes, it can be hard to tell what character is what, which isn't helped by a lack of focus on the throwaway characters.

It reminds a lot of Sunshine, which had the same problem of framing itself as intellectual science fiction but unable to resist explosions and death scenes. Stalker is an obvious influence, but it would be impossible to get the kind of budget you would need to make a movie like this while focusing exclusively on deeper thematic ideas.

 

I fail to see how explosions and death scenes keep this from being science fiction. Sunshine and Annihilation would not have been nearly as intense or emotionally effective without them. Knowing there are real, grave repercussions makes it more believable - even if just for the two hours while watching.

 

Capa’s jump in sunshine gives me chills every time. Incredible scene.

 

It is still science fiction, but the issue is the inability to trust the audience with a narrative without those things. Sunshine was ruined by the nonsensical Pinbacker plot because Garland could not think of a more effective way to end the movie. It is insultingly stupid; this guy somehow survived for years and is now going around the spaceship killing people like Jason Voorhees? All the moral questions don't matter anymore because it becomes an action movie.

Annihilation does not do it as badly, but when you create an alternative set of rules for your movie it is a copout that half of the characters killed get eaten by a bear and the plot is resolved by creating a giant explosion. The deaths leave a lot to be desired; the third woman to die just becomes a tree because they had to get rid of her somehow.

In a world where Alien: Covenant and Prometheus completely betray the ideas they start off with, Annihilation looks better by comparison. However, given the similarities between Annihilation and Stalker, it would have been more interesting to see how the alien presence changes their mental state. The film teases this with the second woman tying them up and becoming paranoid and the bear taking on the first woman's voice, but it is not expanded upon enough. Garland is not completely at fault in this; he is lucky he was able to get any money at all, and a more cerebral film would be a tougher sell.

 

Yo ima let you finish but cmon

 

If like you say, he created an alternative set of rules for his movie, how can any of it be a copout?

As far as Josie becoming a tree, you feel like her death just came out of nowhere and wasn’t enough background for her reasoning? Also whatever Prometheus and Covenant did right or wrong has no bearing on this at all?

What would your version of annihilation look like? Sounds boring. It’s OKAY to have some action/explosions/deaths in a (science fiction) flick.

 

I’m stuck on anyone watching this movie and thinking it looks ugly. What.

 

Yeah visually this movie was flawless

 

I disagree that explosions and actions are a problem with the film. But I do agree there were issues with the supporting characters being killed off in rushed, somewhat sloppy ways and exploring what it does to their mental state, etc would be more interesting.

However, this is a 2 hour movie already. This is not a mini series on Netflix, there really is only so much you can fit into a movie without making it 3+ hours of film. So, given the constraints of the medium, I feel that we got a very solid film.

 

I mean of course I would have loved to have seen how the shimmer effected each member physiologically and psychologically, but like @RyanPm40 said, it’s a two hour flick and not a mini-series.

 

some of the ideas he brings up are things I hadn’t even thought of, like the Shimmer not being destroyed at the end, but actually expanding to consume the whole world.

 

As far as the visuals go, this must have to do with seeing it in a theater vs. Seeing it on Netflix/torrent. I've seen it twice in a theater and never had any problem identifying characters, minus the bear attack, which I think was purposefully dark.

 

I'm just over here trying to figure out where in this movie a "giant explosion" took place lol

 

presumably the phosphorus grenade at the end

 

It is a copout because it is a way to deal with the characters instead of writing something more in depth. Dead characters don't need lines or character motivations or arcs.

 

That was a small explosion that led to the lighthouse burning down though. Not really a "giant explosion" in any sense, let alone the sense that it was meant.

Also I knew what it was referring to, I was just being sarcastic because it was a totally incorrect characterization of what happens in the movie being used to make an absurd point about how a movie can't be "intellectual science fiction" focused on "deeper thematic ideas" just because "thing goes boom."

 

This is so god damn funny

 

Both bear attacks are a big example of this. It is a bigger sin in a movie that does the admirable job of casting non-white actors, but making it so dark it is hard to make out the features of their face.

Film has a long history of shooting black and brown characters poorly, and setting so much of it in dark, enclosed rooms makes it even more of an issue.

 

I haven't seen this film yet but just wanted to jump in and say you are dead on with this.

S/O to Barry Jenkins/James Laxton doing this well in Moonlight

Soderbergh's photography of the Jada Pinkett Smith Savannah sequence in Magic Mike XXL also blew me away in this regard

 

I wonder if they purposely shot the bear scenes dark to mask any potential bad CGI

 

I think the first one was shot in the dark so the audience couldn't see the bear. Creating a fear of the unknown type of situation.