Annihilation (2018)

Awards
- 16 wins & 63 nominations

Trivia
Due to a poorly received test screening, David Ellison, a financier at Paramount, became concerned that the film was "too intellectual" and "too complicated," and demanded changes to make it appeal to a wider audience, including making Natalie Portman's character more sympathetic and changing the ending. Producer Scott Rudin sided with Garland in his desire to not alter the film, defending the film and refusing to take notes. Rudin had final cut.

Goofs
Sentries would never light the inside of a watchtower, which would illuminate themselves and make it impossible for them to see anything outside.

Quotes
Lena: Why did my husband volunteer for a suicide mission?
Dr Ventress: Is that what you think we're doing? Committing suicide?
Lena: You must have profiled him. You must have assessed him. He must have said something.
Dr Ventress: So you're asking me as a psychologist?
Lena: Yeah.
Dr Ventress: Then, as a psychologist, I think you're confusing suicide with self-destruction. Almost none of us commit suicide, and almost all of us self-destruct. In some way, in some part of our lives. We drink, or we smoke, we destabilize the good job... and a happy marriage. But these aren't decisions, they're... they're impulses. In fact, you're probably better equipped to explain this than I am.
Lena: What does that mean?
Dr Ventress: You're a biologist. Isn't the self-destruction coded into us? Programmed into each cell?

Connections
Featured in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: Annihilation (2018)

Soundtracks
Helplessly Hoping
Performed by Crosby Stills & Nash (as Crosby Stills and Nash)
Written by Stephen Stills
Licensed courtesy of Warner Music UK
Published by Gold Hill Music Inc (BMI)

A brilliant movie hidden in a mediocre movie

The only advice I can give to anybody going to see Annihilation is: stick with it. I definitely was close to checking out around the middle point, but quickly my interest was piqued and in the blink of an eye the movie turned into a profound, 2001 meets Under The Skin meets Predator surreal science fiction near- masterpiece.

The first half is so patiently mediocre that the second half almost feels like a completely different movie, making the movie a mixed bag but one that's totally worth it. Some of the performances are great, some are okay, and at least one is noticeably bad. Natalie Portman turns in a great performance (she carries the entire film) and Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a reserved and underplayed angle to a well worn out archetype. The side characters however, like Gina Rodriguez and Tessa Thompson, are mostly annoying and sometimes border on being simply bad. Oscar Isaac is very good.

Most of the technical choices are good. The cinematography isn't particularly flashy but it captures the world behind the shimmer in all of it's messed up glory (the last twenty minutes are truly a thing to behold). The music choices are also a mixed bag. Soft strum guitar comes in at random intervals and doesn't really work, but the dark, brooding thump of a certain synth track really gives you a sense of cosmic horror.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm going to leave it at that. Go support this movie, even if it isn't perfect. There are so many great things about it that they way outweigh the flaws.