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Reviews
Life (2017)
Hollywood, please stop cuddle the alien
Another hit and miss big studio attempt to hardcore sci-fi (Gravity, Interstellar, Arrival), by my opinion the best of the three. What stands out are the mostly likable characters, almost believable as scientists.
The good side: The story takes place on ISS in close future, the sets are very good and the movement around the station looks very realistic. SPOILER: The story soon becomes an Alien clone, but so far the best I have seen. In comparison to, lets say, Prometheus, where there is also a group of scientists slashed by a monster, in this case you can at least care for some characters. BIG SPOILER: The ending is not happy by any means, which is at least interesting and bold (or maybe an attempt to milk the trend of dark movies?).
Bad side (I tried to avoid a list, but anyway here it goes):
1. The alien design is cool, but it looks and moves (unintentionally) funny in some shots - it somewhat resembles cartoon animation of that starfish friend of SpongeBob. The monster is most effective in scenes where it is only partially seen or not seen at all (breaking fingers, the pilot death in lab)
2. The editing seems sometimes confusing, the important plot elements are easy to miss (How many entities there was on the station? At least two I guess? The biologist tried to hide the alien on purpose, or he could not feel it because of his condition? What happened with the shuttles at the end, was the plan thwarted by the alien accidentally or on purpose etc.)
3. The last man and woman standing are the most underdeveloped characters.
The movie is worth seeing, it was a pleasant surprise. Just do not expect any milestones in storytelling.
The Carrier (2015)
Better than it sounds
This film is definitely good thriller. The characters are acting reasonably, the main dilemmas are actually answered in the movie: 1) why main characters try to stay in a plane: because they believe they can land in non infected city. 2) why infected characters want to board the plane: because they believe somewhere else could be a cure. One note: the movie starts so quick into the plot, kudos to the screenwriter here. SPOILER here: I kinda liked the ending. Basicaly, such kind of story cannot have too good ending anyways. The story quite lags in the middle, because the intentions of some characters are not clear: for instance, what they intended to do with infected on-board, how would they know the amputation even slow down infection etc. The cast is good too, definitely for the genre. The movie is overall better than you would expect and fun to watch (beside the depressing subject), try it out.
ARQ (2016)
Keeps the tension until the end
There seems to be new "Groundhog day" genre born for some time now. And the ARQ (strange title anyway, somewhat predestined to be forgotten) is another "iterative" story on the screen. But the realization is very good. Considering only half-dozen of characters, the story stays interesting until the end. This movie has some strange magic, which keeps you interested. Frankly, I was much more amused than last whole year in the movie theater. I recommend this movie, it is much better than it seems at first. And yes, if it would be more wildly edited (and one or two plot holes removed or explained), it would be a cult movie for sure.