Annihilation

Parental Rating: R

Contains: Language    Violence    Sex    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens February 23, 2018

Runs 115 minutes

Kane (Oscar Isaac) is a soldier and Lena (Natalie Portman) is a former soldier, turned biologist. They are married and seem happy. When Kane is called for a secret mission he must answer the call. Lena feels that there is something different about this mission but understands that Kane must head out. Then things take a turn for the worse. It has been twelve months and there has been no word from Kane. Where is he? Is he dead? Just when Lena has made the decision to move on with her life, Kane stumbles back into their home, barely recalling where he has been and desperately in need of medical care. Then Kane and Lena are taken by soldiers right out of the ambulance and end up at a secret facility. It seems that an alien life force has landed at the nearby lighthouse and set up a translucent, bubble-like perimeter the government has labeled "The Shimmer". The Shimmer seems to pulse and spread, slowly taking over more and more of the area. And it seems that anyone sent into the Shimmer never returns until Kane stumbles back out. Soon, Lena feels called to join a team of other scientist types to enter the Shimmer and make it to the Lighthouse to see if they can figure out what is going on. She is joined by Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez), Cass Shepherd (Tuva Novotny) and Josie Radek (Tessa Thompson). All of these women have reasons of their own for taking on a mission that seems doomed to fail from the outset. What they discover is not at all what they expected. Who will survive? And, will anything ever be the same again?

Wow! Just wow! I really loved this movie. I would have given it 5 stars except for the ambiguous ending. I thought the cast was terrific. Natalie Portman was fierce and sorrowful at the same time. She was so good. I loved that the crew that entered the Shimmer was an all woman crew. That provided an interesting perspective. I thought this film was creative and thought-provoking. Just note that there are very strong horror elements to this film. My blood pressure climbed a few times and there was one really gruesome scene. But, it all served a purpose. The cinematography was amazing. I loved the way the Shimmer looked. I also thought the unique creatures and living organisms in the Shimmer were super creative. Overall, I just loved this movie. If you are a sci-fi fan or a horror fan there are elements of both here. Go see it!!

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