I agree. And the that voice ofthe deceased woman screaming for help that comes out of that monster-bear was the worst part of it. Very disturbing in my opinion.
you guys didn't even mention the awesome sound design and the amazing score in the last 15 minutes. definitely worth the price of admission alone. great film.
The score was out of this world. I honestly found it the most haunting piece I’ve heard in any actual horror film and such. Fuck me I also cannot get the score out of my head it is a lot
This movie for me is a mix of the last of us and the line .. TLOU when it comes to music and tone the line dealing with twist and insanity .. Thia movie's awesome !!
The purpose of the subplot is to show the audience Natalie Portman's reason for being "self destructive". Remember the scene where the therapist talks about why people do things?
Yeah, the sub plot was incredibly important to the film as a whole, the theme of self destruction was one of the most interesting components of the film.
I don’t think so. My gripe is that with the subplot you go from this beautiful and terrifying place to just a cut to, you know. I feel as if you could show self destruction in a multitude of ways besides that specific choice
My take on it is that (self) destruction is the acceptance of the creation of something better without the former (self). That's why the alien invader accepted it's own destruction when finally facing the creation of something better.
Agreed, I watched it with my friend and we came out with completely different opinions. There are so many possible symbols in the movie but they aren't obvious to hammer it over your head. Which lets people build their own interpretations in their own way.
Did we watch the same movie...? Natalie Portman, being the narrator, is the only character in the entire movie whom receives a full fledged back story, unfortunately it's all done with these cheap flashbacks. Which after we've seen them all by the end of the second act, you've already figured out what's going on and how the movie's going to end. So the only real full fledged character in the entire movie comes off as entirely pointless, which you would think would be the movies greatest flaw, sadly the movies greatest flaw is it's total lack of characters. Besides the narrator the rest of the characters aren't characters at all, they're caricatures. The movie tries to pretend that they're actual characters by constantly divulging exposition about them, but than the very next minute completely ignores that exposition and makes them behave like caricatures all over again. We're supposed to believe that they're broken and damaged in some way to build empathy for them, but we never actually see it for ourselves, we're simply told that they are and are expected to accept it. Tessa Thomson is nothing but a caricature of the 'Nerd Of All Nerds', with no friends, glasses, et al. Cause her having glasses and no friends makes her 'Nerd' caricature totally legit yo! That's how it's done! Gina Rodriguez is suppose to be the 'Tough Girl', the 'Strong Man' caricature of the group. Yet acts out her caricature so poorly that she simply comes off as a lame Vasquez from 'Aliens'. The other two were so monotone and one dimensional I couldn't even tell you what caricature's they were supposed to represent, they were that poorly written. The only character we get to know is Natalie Portman and she's kind of reprehensible, you don't really like her. We watch these 'characters' descend into madness, but it's not the least bit riveting and is sometimes completely random. Not that it matters because I simply can't bring myself to care about any of them. This movie was nothing but, 'Oh... oh... Look, look, every actor is a woman including the lead, aren't they all so awesome and strong.' 'Storyline, Plot, The hero's journey, Characters, Character development... the movie having none of these doesn't matter. Because it has lot's and lot's of pretty things in it, 'Oh... look, look... rainbow colors, alien horse's, Oh... isn't it awesome! if you don't love this movie you hate womenz!' What a fucking joke...
Brent I can DEFINITELY see why others hate the film such as Jeremy, well not hate but don't really enjoy it. To me, the film does have flaws, but the overall film is good and the journey to the end of the movie, is nicely done. And again the ending is really up for debate....I haven't done a review of it myself, cause I'm not sure if the ending makes me hate the movie, or love it. I'm just too confused on it. Overall I think it's a nice movie, but the ending....yeah.
@TheMKatStudio I'm sorry Kat but there's absolutely nothing up for debate about this movie, it's not just a bad movie it's fake feminist propaganda at it's finest. And it's crystal clear that that's exactly what it is from the very beginning when Natalie Portman's character cheated on her husband, and not only does he not leave her but no one wants him to leave her, because we're all supposed to take the side of the woman, sorry I mean we're all supposed to take the side of 'The Cheater!' If someone, a friend, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a husband, a wife, what have you, lies to you, cheats on you, etc: they don't respect you Kat. They're not your friend, they're not in love with you, you are in an abusive relationship, and anyone whom wants you to stay in that abusive relationship is not your friend, at all, period. But hey I forgot he's a man, she's a woman, if a man cheats on a woman we have movies like John Tucker Must Die, and if a woman cheats on a man we have movies like Annihilation where he must forgive the Cheater, he must allow her to continue to cheat on him, and he must raise the baby that's not his or he's a deadbeat dad. Even though the kids not his because she cheated on him, and the 50 shades of Gray bad boy she cheated on him with has left town, you know equality, fake feminist style. Now if you want to completely ignore the fake feminism, which I know you do, and actually talk about how bad the rest of the movie was, let's do that. Natalie Portman's character is supposed to be a psychologist right, and what's her first decision? Oh yeah, you know that girl who keeps cutting herself? Let's give her a big gun and take her with us, cause that's going to work out really well. :) Where exactly did you get your psychology degree Natalie, the back of a fucking cereal box? Well played movie... well played... Oh and sure, every time the real scientists go any where near the shimmer they wear airtight environmental suits so they don't come into contact with it. So... are we going to wear environmental suits when we walk into the shimmer? Environmental suits? What are you a male!! How about some gloves or googles than? No...??? okay... just a thought. Hey uhhhh... are we going to fly or maybe drive into the shimmer? You know so we can carry more equipment and not have to sleep on the ground. No...?? Okay just a thought... Oh and eighty pound Natalie Portman carrying over a hundred pounds of equipment on her back walking though an alien forest for days and days and days, well that's just not fake feminist enough, let's also give her a gun that's bigger than she is! What I can't figure out is why did they stop there, why not give her a rocket launcher while they were at it? And when they finally enter the shimmer for the first time, they wake up in tents and discover that they've time travelled three days ahead in time, and I'm like... 'Holy shit... something science fiction-y is actually happening in this fake feminist movie. Maybe it's not that bad after all??? But no worries... because the actually, possibly interesting time travelling thing that happened when they first entered the shimmer, is never mentioned or brought up ever again, ever!!! Well played movie... well played... And if you don't love this movie... you hate womenz... What a fucking joke...
Apparently this film was made before there was a change up at Paramount’s studio heads and I guess the director and producer clashed with Paramount ultimately the director got final cut approval(thank god) but now it’s quite obvious Paramount is killing the film slashing it’s location count by a thousand and reduced marketing even selling international rights to Netflix. I hope people support this we need more films like this at this caliber of production.
the bear was one of the creepiest things i have avers een in a movie. It freaked me out. Also i think this is going to be a sci-fi classic as times goes by.
So the clone of NP contained her strong feelings of self-Annihilation, guilt that she felt due to her cheating on her husband. Which is why it took the grenade and sat there. Just my take on it. Also, F*ck bears.
Joe, my dude. You HAVE to stop interrupting your guests! I find it very annoying, and disrespectful. If you're going to talk over your friends. Then do a movie review by yourself.
I loved the final 20 minutes. The score and sound design massively kicked up there and the visuals were crazy. It felt original too. I could not look away. I've said it a lot, I found the whole thing beautifully disturbing. Reminded me a lot of survival horror games (with a lot less enemies). So much to think about too. As far as the mutated bear and all the living creatures, we don't see them go. Just the structures of the shimmer.
The “anus” tunnel took my breath away. I was on the edge of my seat. The alien was learning, creating, mimics, and it was so unpredictable. Alex is dead wrong. Go Joe!
ABSOLUTELY...!!! The way natalie just resolved herself to her fate but was still in total awe of the alien even after it just killed her friend....i love this film...
SPOILER WARNING - I have a theory regarding the scene with Shepard and the bear. At the end of the film, when Lena gets to the lighthouse, the Shimmer takes part of her DNA and creates a being that mimics her every movement, and then gradually her appearance. There is that moment where the being is beginning to look like her, but the face is very distorted and mannequin-esque. It could be that when the bear killed Shepard, it ingested her DNA and therefore mimicked her voice, but also possibly her appearance, hence why the bear appeared like it was meshed with another species. The bones in its face could have been human.
Apparently she hasn't come back yet. If she does at some point months or years later, expect some subtle weird behavior, confusion, a wild difference of understanding how much time has passed as opposed to reality, and don't expect to get all too many clear answers as to what happened other than "I don't know".
*BOOK SPOILERS - I RECOMMEND READING THE BOOK, IT IS NOT LIKE THE MOVIE!* Ok so I wanted to express my thoughts on the film and why I think it could have been better. If I went into this movie not having read the book, it would probably be a 9/10. Stunning visuals, music and theme. Having read the book I'll give it a 7/10. These are the main points in which the movie alters from the novel: - Lena's husband never returns from the shimmer. The novel ends with her trying to find her husband, which have written in his diary that he will try to travel to one of the nearby islands. The whole alien copying other organisms is not a part of the novel. - The book is super abstract. Not a lot gets explained and handed to you, which I really loved about it. The way the movie tries to explain the alien thing by having it copy other organisms kind of ruined the mystery for me. I agree with the guy on the left that the humanoid CGI thing could have been handed in a different way. By destroying the lighthouse and the alien, you would think the shimmer disappears. This does not happen in the book, its conclusion makes the reader think about what creation and destuction really is, based on what the protagonist goes through. - A BIG part of the novel is the tunnel (or "tower" as Lena calls it in the novel). It it is not located in the lighthouse and is this really deep mysterious kind of staircase in which Lena knows something is located at the bottom of it. The walls are covered in fungus that creates this endless sentence by shaping words. Lena gets sprayed in the eyes by this fungus and that is how she is "changed". In the movie the tunnel is mixed in at the end with the lighthouse, which was really disappointing for me. Every time the novel centers around the tunnel, you get this feeling of claustrophobia and dread, which was non-existent in the movie. - There are only 4 women on the mission in the novel and they are never refered to by their name: A biologist (protagonist), a surveyor, a phychologist and an anthropologist. Don't know why there were 5 in the movie. Not a deal breaker for me. - The physchologist's role made little to no sense in the movie, even less than in the book. In the book she has manipulated the minds of the other 3 members and she can control them by voice commands. One of these commands is "Annihilation", which orders the other members to commit suicide. For example, she manipulated one of the members to enter the tunnel to try and gather a skin sample of an unknown monster-like entity, which roams around down there. She seems evil and mysterious in the novel and we get to see why. We don't in the movie and I feel like she was misused. - The way the lighthouse is described in the book is really cool. A fortress, where the last expeditions have defended themselves with barricades against something unknown. At the top all the diaries of the last expedition members are gathered in a big pile and Lena finds her husbands, which feels really rewarding. It does not get burned down or destroyed in any way, and in the movie it feels so escalated how they used it. - At the bottom of the tunnel, Lena find this incomprehendable thing, which I REALLY liked how Garland depicted. It's so alien, as it should be. It does not get destroyed and does not make a copy of her. Its function is just unknown and mysterious. Maybe he thought it would be too unsatisfying to have it just be that? I totally get that Garland was going for something different and wanted to alter from the novel, but IMO if some of these elements I listed were used as in the book, it would have been a better movie. It is a really good movie for those not having read the book! :)
Octrox Garland began this movie When the first book wasn’t even published yet. So He only read the story of the first book in its prerelease state. Then he took that story and made his own thing with the intent to make it a stand alone film. He did not want it to have any sequels. So a lot of stuff that’s related to the sequel books he left out.
Wasn't aware that he only read it in its prerelease state, maybe some of the points I listed wasn't in that version? I only read Annihilation too though, and didn't feel like it needed any sequels. It is very much its own thing. Again, I think the movie is good and will captivate those who hasn't read the novel.
To be honest with you the book doesnt sound that good. Granted, a summary is not a great way to judge a book by but still some of those things you mentioned are either silly or just outright generic and if translated into a movie people would definitly hate it. Like i could see critics screaming "they didnt do anything with the alien".
There was near instantaneous dispersion and refraction of DNA or energy or whatever through the alien effect of the shimmer. The rates of change varied most likely with range from the ship/lighthouse. Portman gave the grenade at a point during the assimilation (at the core mind you) and the process of explosion, like the DNA, enrgy or whatever was "shimmered throughout. Any carbon based components of the assembled monstrosities at that point burned. Not convinced the alien "died" however. We know it survived in Portman and that guy but ill bet it survived at the lighthouse as well and took a different form. We all saw the strange form it was before that drop of blood - it is highly unlikely a simple grenade "tricked" it into death - probably just into a different form ...
Its Frankie it's hilarious thats the part alex liked. I loved the alien that mimics it was scary but pitiful at the same time. Really interesting....the glowing eyes thing was generic Micheal Jackson thriller bullshit . That was the worst part to me but movie was over anyways. Also the fact she was being interviewed was really distracting and unnecessary.
Kehinde O Yea the "actual" ending seemed kinda like bullshit to me probably had something to do with the book, and I see why the alien can be offputting and kinda easy to poke but from the very moment it was this crazy visual amazing looking thing to the not humanoid mimic I was hooked. Definitely weird Alex liked what came after that so much more lol.
Spoiler Warning: No mention of Natalie Portman finishing her report then drinking the water at the end, a test to see if her new DNA works with regular earth. A very small detail but with huge implications given what happens to her husband when he drinks water in the beginning of the movie.
The Natalie's subplot was put in to represent the self destructive nature of human code. Natalie's husband knows she cheated on him but he still loves her so he cant confront her. Thats why he goes on the self destruction mission of the shimmer. Also he tells his mimic to find Natalie which shows that he still loved her but he didnt want her to see him as this refracted version of himself. BTW the bear part with Shepards voice was f*cking amazing
I didnt "see" that subplot that she cheated. Well that WHOLE subplot was completely unnecessary then ... THAT was just bad writing attributed to the writer's personal view of relationships. Again - I see that as completely unnecessary and wasted film.
I'm a little shocked by this review guys. Natalie Portman, being the narrator, is the only character in the entire movie whom receives a full fledged back story, unfortunately it's all done with these cheap flashbacks. Which after we've seen them all by the end of the second act, you've already figured out what's going on and how the movie's going to end. So the only real full fledged character in the entire movie comes off as entirely pointless, which you would think would be the movies greatest flaw, sadly it's greatest flaw is it's lack of characters. Besides the narrator the rest of the characters aren't characters at all, they're caricatures. The movie tries to pretend that they're actual characters by constantly divulging exposition about them, but than the very next minute completely ignores that exposition and makes them behave like caricatures all over again. We're supposed to believe that they're broken and damaged in some way to build empathy for them, but we never actually see it for ourselves, we're simply told that they are and are expected to accept it. Tessa Thomson is nothing but a caricature of the 'Nerd Of All Nerds', with no friends, glasses, et al. Cause her having glasses and no friends makes her 'Nerd' caricature totally legit yo! That's how it's done! Gina Rodriguez is suppose to be the 'Tough Girl', the 'Strong Man' caricature of the group. Yet acts out her caricature so poorly that she simply comes off as a lame Vasquez from 'Aliens'. The other two were so monotone and one dimensional I couldn't even tell you what caricature's they were supposed to represent, they were that poorly written. The only character we get to know is Natalie Portman and she's kind of reprehensible, you don't really like her. We watch these 'characters' descend into madness, but it's not the least bit riveting and is sometimes completely random. Not that it matters, because I simply can't bring myself to care about any of them. This movie was nothing but, 'Oh... oh... Look, look, every actor is a woman carrying a big gun, including the lead, aren't they all so awesome and strong.' 'Storyline, Plot, The hero's journey, Characters, Character development... the movie having none of these doesn't matter. Because it has lot's and lot's of 'Pretty, pretty things in it.' 'Oh... oh... look, look... rainbow colors, alien horse's, Oh... isn't it awesome! if you don't love this movie you hate womenz!' What a fucking joke...
THANK you. I have no clue why everyone loves this movie. You just explained why the characters were awful. Which is such a small portion to why this movie is so overrated. There are so many flaws in this movie.
I think y’all have maybe misunderstood the ending. Remember that we’re not seeing the events that took place inside the shimmer directly: we’re seeing *the story the Natalie Portman who came out* tells the scientists. She claims it’s the copy who gets blown up at the end but... there’s plenty of reason not to take her word for that. I also wouldn’t assume that the shimmer suddenly disintegrates because the explosion in the lighthouse killed the alien intelligence. Remember why she goes in? Because her “husband” is experiencing massive organ failure... which suddenly and mysteriously corrects itself at the end. They don’t “cure” him, he just magically gets better. Because the only purpose of his ‘illness’ was to lure his mate in so a copy could be made. Because the purpose of the shimmer zone was to learn how to copy earth life, and ultimately produce a breeding pair of copies of the dominant species on the planet. The shimmer doesn’t collapse because she blew it up somehow; it collapses because it’s a reproductive organ that has served its function.
You know i like that this guy has a opinion, he judges the movies very passionately but why he always have to point out something which is bad according to hime but is not bad actually, what's up with guy? why is he so negative?
The screwing the guy cuts where they showed Portman cheating were wasted film - had zero purpose and effect to the plot. It should have been cut completely. Added nothing to the humanization, it was purely detrimental to the immersion of the film.
AngryJoe you wrong on this one it's at best a 7/10. 1. Sand does not have D.N.A. to make those glass trees. Only extreme heat can turn sand into glass 2,300 degrees Celsius (4,172 degrees Fahrenheit). Glass only can be shaped by to 3 ways blowing, shaping, and molding. The glass trees where there for the visual but in no way possible. 2. Her motivation doesn't make sense. She cheats on him, she realizes he knows, and then she cheats on him again. But she said this is the last time... how times have cheaters said this is the last time and not be the last time. So she owes him for the cheating but not enough to actually not do it again. 3. There is no tracking/sensing/link to her D.N.A.. The husband life-form would had to travel around 900-1000 miles to get to her. That takes some form of intellect even if it did get his memories.
I kinda share a lot of points with them. Here are my goods VS bads (spoilers): GOODS - Good premise, original, prioritizing exploration, suspense, and even horror sometimes. I like that they portrayed the threat as a neutral phenomenon that affects and changes living beings instead of simply destroying/killing everything. - The First Half (exploration) is suspenseful and intriguing. The pacing takes its time and I like the fact that the crew spends several day in the forest moving their way forward and discovering stuff along the way. - The Bear! The bear makes my favorite part of the movie and I was chilled throughout the whole scene. BADS - Ending killed it for me too. The reason is that I liked the idea of investigating a "Phenomenon" stronger than themselves that instead of destroying things, completely change the ecosystem into something new. The phenomenon is a bit illogical but fits well into the exploration of the unknown. The ending however was just a big return to "it's aliens folks" (even the ship screams generic aliens) and they even clone human which reminds me too much of "conquer the world!!!" kind of vibe. Even the ending twist where Portman is revealed to have changed was unnecessary which amplify this feeling: "OMG AN ALIEN DISGUISED AS A HUMAN TO CONQUER THE WORLD!!". One part says it's just changing stuff into something new, then "nope, we just cloning humans". - The "no so scientific" crew. First of all (it was said by AJ) they had no equipment at all for any eventuality (pff who cares let's just breathe the air in there, especially when everybody but one could return alive, and by the way he was sick and vomiting blood when he came back...). Also, they seemed to have nothing planned out in advance. What exactly was their plan when they would reach their destination??? The leader had an iron will to reach the lighthouse and her reason felt extremely weak: "We need to find a way to deal with this phenomenon". Like, how? What would you do at the lighthouse? Take pictures? Collect samples of whatever? THAT would help solve how to deal with the phenomenon? - Subplot: one flashback was enough, but there was way too much. I was tired to see it especially when it interrupted to very good suspense of the exploration part. - Stupid actions of the characters: 1. Sheppard STANDS in the open when its completely dark to try to "Help" Lena. She could've stayed up the watchtower for a perfect vantage point and even get a better view of the parameter to warn Lena? 2. The lead don't care, decides to go ALONE at the watchtower when anyway Portman would go there just a bit later. In the end, she just became crazy and explode. Way too random and illogical for my taste. 3. Josie who just decides to accept to be part of this nature and vanish. It felt way too sudden but it's not that bad overall.
Idea behind the plot was very interesting. Story was also nice. But I simple grew to hate the trope of "Lets gather best professionals - only for everyone to act as idiots". The idea of "We know nothing about what is going inside, absolutely nothing so go there and do not return untill you know everything" is so dumb. Just few hours after enetering the shimmer they already discovered some important information that would prepare better future expeditions. Why not return at that point, relay info, prepare better , get the opportunity for military to process all the samples they took and then go in again if they would want to? I mean they were not in any serious time rush. They had weeks upon weeks before the shimmer would be visible from nearest town. You gather profesionals who refuse to go with slow but steady and safe progress? And what was with the self-destruction of their team where they on drop of coin turned against each other? Where everyone suddenly schemed against each other and lied to each other? At that point I was wondering if the millitary did not intentionaly send them there to die while second, actual profesional team is sneaking behind them and doing the actual observation while using them as bait.
There mission was to reach the lighthouse and her husband came out fucked the only way they were surviving is if they won and the reason for that is that they are self destructive
She is pushed against the door, because she pushed the alien away. Its only the mimic reaction, not a hostility. When she hands her the granade, the mimic process is completed (metal form to human form) and they are merged into each other. So the alien is letting itself walk out the door. Also as soon as the merger is complete, the left behind burning character turns to the husband corps, showing us that Portman fully merged with the alien. Similar as with the bear earlier. He ate her vocal cords (quote from movie) and probably ate some rodent or smth to have the mouth changed.
The affair Lena is having is intended to be the motivation for Kane to go on a year long mission. Every character that goes into The Shimmer is self destructive in some way (The Oroborous tattoo is a very big sign). Lena's destructive tendencies are what led to the affair. The way it took the ending is that the alien and The Shimmer represent our destructive natures as humans and the clones are the new versions of ourselves that have accepted trauma and the bad things that have happened to us. Those who died succumb to their destructive tendencies, where Kane and Lena (the only ones to make it out) become copies of themselves with the lessons of those experiences taken to heart.
Naw. It’s just the type of movie that demands your full attention. If you talk or look at your phone you’ll miss stuff. Joe himself missed a lot of the details that answered the questions being brought up.
AngryJoe, u gotta allow people to finish their sentences n thoughts. U interrupt a lot. I know it's YOUR show but u do invite other minds for a reason. I like ur reviews. I'm not dumping on ur channel.
Kane(Oscar Isaac) even asks the copy "have you ever seen a phosphorus grenade?" "No" says the copy. "It's bright, cover your eyes." Strange interaction.
The film clearly has stunning visuals, and the story should get high marks on its creativity. However, the characters are seriously lacking COMMON SENSE! You can argue about the ending, or the mysteries of the "Shimmer," but it's annoyingly difficult to try and get past the characters pitfalls. Lacking urgency at times, willing to split up, sure why not? Go ahead and breath in the fresh alien spores while your at it, no contamination here! No need for any psychological evaluation from this group, they all seem fine!? It's not like anyone is cutting themselves to feel more alive before they take on this adventure, perfectly natural. In addition, we can see scientists in a research compound wearing HAZMAT SUITS! Hmm.. First Clue? Maybe someone from the "Shimmer" is INFECTED? Regardless, we see five women enter the alien contamination area without a hazmat suit, respirator or even goggles? And these are scientists??? (Alien: Covenant anyone?) For once, why can't we see a movie where the main characters do everything RIGHT and still fail? Make it more BELIEVABLE!!! Watching the film I ask myself, "would I do that?" "who the hell would enter a dark alien hole?" Did they forget they still have to make it back to base to deliver vital information!? But no, they have to dumb down the characters to move the story along. The film is a 7/10.
These people were picked for the expedition because they didn't have anything to come back to. It was a suicide mission. Do you think Lena cared about getting vital information out? The movie isn't about "the mission" - each character has their own motivations for being there. Hers was the guilt and grief over cheating on her husband which sent him on a suicide mission to this place. In the lighthouse before she enters the cave - she just learned that her husband killed himself with a phosphorous grenade and the man in a coma at the base was some weird alien clone. Do you think she was in the right state of mind to focus on a mission? Do you have any sort of idea what state of mind you would be in if you had just witnessed all the shit she had and your DNA was being mutated by this strange alien force? Would you expect characters placed in these situations to act rationally? You're critiquing this as a movie about a group of people that are on a mission to discover some alien object. While that is the basic plot it isn't the focus and is there to explore much more personal human themes like motivation, guilt, loss, self destruction, perception
Like you said, these people were "picked" for the expedition because they didn't have anything to come back to. So the government was handpicking idle suicidal candidates!? No wonder no one is coming back... It was a suicide mission, so why should they care about the mission? Oh ya, they don't, the people in the lab and the rest of the world do, or ffs should, but the team of scientists do not. They went walking into the Shimmer wanting to die, so lets not bother on even trying to have a mask. They need an assault rifle but no need for a basic mask? You claim the movie is not about the mission so that excuses all the stupid shit? The scientists personal reasons for being suicidal excuses any common sense problems in this film which is lazy. The human themes like motivation, guilt, loss, self destruction, and perception clearly cannot be expressed in this film without the characters becoming complete idiots. The director could have easily expressed these themes in the film with characters illustrating higher common sense.
@@ArthurVand well military is fucking retarded in this movie, Hey lets send in the suicidal troops to get intel for this thing that threatens the safety of the entire planet.
I hated this movie. Stupid protagonists, unrealistic global reaction (nobody had an iphone camera, a drone, anything to take pictures of it??), and a horrible ending that explains nothing about the plot.
You really have to pay attention to start to understand what the movies meaning really is. It’s very deep and it gives you goosebumps for sure but once you understand what it’s all about it really gets you thinking. And the soundtrack is absolutely amazing it gives you chills.
Thanks for pushing all these videos out and you Joe and that your family the all Angry Joe I know its a bit difficult to keep on pushing videos out so thank you and thank you all guys for giving us something to actually enjoy
@ 23:44, It explains that the shimmer refracts your DNA, so the bear absorbed parts of Sheppard, during her last moments, into itself, along with another person. This is why the bear has a human skull on its face, and is in a constant state of suffering, accounting for its aggression. Hence how the Alligator was fused with Shark DNA, and how Radek fuses with plants/flowers.
This film is defenetly my favorite film and it had one of the best soundtrack I've ever heard in a movie so far!, damn Joe u should've mentioned the soundtrack... What happened man?
I loved it. It's actually nice to have a movie that doesn't spoon-feed the audience and is left somewhat open-ended. The bear scene was the most intense thing I've seen in theaters in a long time.
Liked the movie, but I don't think the affair really had anything to do with the plot. Like you said, it was dumb that they didn't go in with hazmat suits or at least masks. I don't understand a scenario in which Rodriguez could tie each woman to a chair without alarming the other's. Also, they wouldn't have fully auto rifles and the lack of military presence is kinda strange.
The affair informs the motivations of both Kane and Lena to go into the shimmer. Kane agreed to go on a suicide mission because finding out his wife cheated on him made him stop caring about life. Lena went out of overwhelming guilt - if she hadn't cheated her husband wouldn't have gone on this mission which he now appears to be dying from. The other things are kind of nit picky. There are a lot of small flaws in the movie but the overall themes and questions raised set it apart and the overall execution with the production design, visuals, sound design and score is amazing for a movie with this modest of a budget. The entire thing felt dreamlike and once I suppressed my brains natural desire to pick out minor things (why is she taking a sample without putting on gloves???? why don't they have the person on watch be up in the tower???) I had an amazing viewing experience.
I thought the movie ending was amazing especially the 5th dimension take on it since the screensaver is supposed to be a tesseract. My interpretation was that the alien transformed the area around her to be 5th dimensional and when it dies, the self preservation of the alien is what transforms Lena and husband.
It's an instant masterpiece along side with ALIENS. Absolutely loved it. Easily a 10 out of 10 for me. Going to see it again. Alex Garland & Christopher Nolan are 2 of the most innovative writers & directors currently in Hollywood now.
I know I'm 2 years late for this review. But I just watched this movie tonight, and I had goosebumps all the way through. I don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep after the ending, and that fucking bear.
I really liked this movie. I loved that they tried to explore how an alien visit to Earth... might not be understandable at all, in the sense that they might be so much different to us, even to the biological level. Thank you for reviewing it guys!
Amutter loved the 3rd act too...was so psychologically disturbing. ..reminded me of the best of body horror Cronenberg style horror mixed with the fear of the cosmically unknown or unknowable like 2001. Can't wait to watch it again.
The film’s a study of humanity’s self destructive nature (hence the title Annihilation). Each character has their own affliction which ultimately result in their fate. Lena’s affliction is her lying, adulterous behavior. The flashbacks of her and her colleague were to provide the context that she strained her relationship with Kane, even sending him into the Shimmer a day earlier. It’s discussed that the Shimmer’s next stage of evolution is to purge it’s self destructive nature. Lena’s mimic literally destroys the Shimmer by destroying itself resulting in a changed version of herself. Alex really missed the metaphor of the mimic
Got a strong Roadside Picnic and Stalker vibe from it, with the typically American style love sub-plot injected into the fix. "Trying new ideas" it's not. Excellent cinematography and visual design, and good sci-fi overall though.
I see my opinion on Anilathion as a love hate relationship giving that. It traumatized me the first time I watched it I couldn't sleep for a while after. DAMN YOU ANILATHION
At 22:00, I completely agree with Joe. The way the “alien” is acting toward the end of the film implies (quite heavily) that it is merely MIMICKING the behavior of the humans it has come into contact with. To suggest that the “alien” is totally sentient, able to process information and retain memories about phosphorus grenades, that’s just trying too hard to be critical. The movie does a good job at demonstrating the “child-like” nature of the “alien”, mimicking the behavior of it’s human counterparts without any fleshed out motivations of it’s own.
I felt the ending was more about how they are no longer the “same” people as before (before being before the affair by the wife), they both acknowledge that they are never going to have the same relationship or connection as they did before the affair. If they were part alien they would have burnt up.
The "new" alien that mimics Portman isn't fully developed yet and wouldn't understand the grenade. As it is about to die it is still forming into her. I think a few minutes later it wouldn't have taken the grenade.
The "alien" wasn't sentient. It didn't have a conscience. It was basically a cancer strand given a humanoid form after Ventress gives herself completely to the "alien".
{SPOILERS?} Hey so I hear you guys but I would love to hear your thoughts on (#1) the tattoo the jumps between all of the characters arms at different points in the film, (#2) How Oscar Isaacs character goes from having a deep southern accent to not having one, (#3) the time shift in the film cuz remember they lose several days in the beginning and then she is in there for 4 months... somehow
Keaton Kitsune they weren't flat, they were just not exaggerated or typical stereotypes. they were played like normal scientists, human beings. this WHOLE movie was slow, subtle and quiet. that includes the characters.
They were flat. They were lifeless and uninteresting. Their flaws and history were delivered casually and suddenly as if it were supposed to be a surprise, but you didn't get to spend much time getting to know or care about them. They weren't portrayed as people, it wasn't subtle, it was slow I'll give you that.
i am sorry but they were flat and uniteresting. i mean the movie starts and you know in the first seconds that the whole team died. so why care about them? no reason to. two of them get sort of background story and the other two nothing. its all over the place
Why care about them?- youre not Supposed to care about them! this isnt a fun adventure movie with colorful characters who you root for. This movie is about the main character, The Shimmer and the concept of self destruction. The lesser characters are not important and only exist to service the movies main theme, and to get in some disturbing scenes without killing the main character. We experience the shimmer WITH her the fact that they told you right off the bat the others didnt make it was a pretty obvious message that this story wasnt ABOUT them.
Because interesting characters drive the plot and the drama. Also experience the shimmer? What? I didn't experience the shimmer, I experienced a bunch of flat and uninteresting characters walking around and talking, or sitting and talking. It was less an interesting or even frightening place and more just... a place. The Zone in Stalker was strange, the Stalker and the other characters had to follow strange rules. The zone in that movie is a lot more interesting than the shimmer even though the shimmer shows you what is so 'scary' about it. You cared about the characters in Stalker they had interesting conversations and motivations. I didn't care about the characters in Annihilation. I didn't care if they lived or died, I didn't find the Shimmer scary or interesting, I did find the scenery beautiful but in the way I find a lush forest beautiful.
The part with the bear having her voice from her screams me and my gf came up with the idea that since she’s screaming for help the bear absorbs that like how they say after they kill it but when you Natalie’s character find her you notice her throat was bitten or eaten by the bear so we think the bear absorbs those last screams which is a scary cool concept
Well one of the scariest things is, (and it's hard to see in the dark scene), is that the left side of the bear's face has a human skull growing out of it with the eyes forming in over the bear's eye socket, specifically the woman's face. It specifically absorbed -her-.
Fragadelic I was thinking the same thing. Specially with all the nature spore anuses. I feel Bjork could pop out of them at any time and start singing would be just as terrifying
The bear house scene was horrifying....
10jmsoccer dame
Same
I agree. And the that voice ofthe deceased woman screaming for help that comes out of that monster-bear was the worst part of it. Very disturbing in my opinion.
Kinda goofy when you see how bears actually behave it's just awkward
@@JP-wd1ok it wasen't an acutal bear it was a alien mutated bear.
you guys didn't even mention the awesome sound design and the amazing score in the last 15 minutes. definitely worth the price of admission alone. great film.
musicfilmhead90 I agree. ..it really, really got under my skin and raised my pulse. ..it was overwhelming in a good way.
The score was out of this world. I honestly found it the most haunting piece I’ve heard in any actual horror film and such. Fuck me I also cannot get the score out of my head it is a lot
This movie for me is a mix of the last of us and the line .. TLOU when it comes to music and tone the line dealing with twist and insanity ..
Thia movie's awesome !!
Agreed. Exceptional sound design.
musicfilmhead90 This movie was pointless and extremely boring!
I loved the final 20 minutes too. It was just cinematic bliss with that score. Felt like my brain was melting first time i saw it
the movie is basically lsd.
Pro tip: DON´T watch this film on acid!!....
The purpose of the subplot is to show the audience Natalie Portman's reason for being "self destructive". Remember the scene where the therapist talks about why people do things?
Naroon good point
Yeah, the sub plot was incredibly important to the film as a whole, the theme of self destruction was one of the most interesting components of the film.
I don’t think so. My gripe is that with the subplot you go from this beautiful and terrifying place to just a cut to, you know. I feel as if you could show self destruction in a multitude of ways besides that specific choice
My take on it is that (self) destruction is the acceptance of the creation of something better without the former (self).
That's why the alien invader accepted it's own destruction when finally facing the creation of something better.
I think this video COMPLETELY and UTTERLY exemplifies what Stuckmann says-this film offers good talks, film discord among friends and I looooove that.
Agreed, I watched it with my friend and we came out with completely different opinions. There are so many possible symbols in the movie but they aren't obvious to hammer it over your head. Which lets people build their own interpretations in their own way.
Did we watch the same movie...?
Natalie Portman, being the narrator, is the only character in the entire movie whom receives a full fledged back story, unfortunately it's all done with these cheap flashbacks. Which after we've seen them all by the end of the second act, you've already figured out what's going on and how the movie's going to end.
So the only real full fledged character in the entire movie comes off as entirely pointless, which you would think would be the movies greatest flaw, sadly the movies greatest flaw is it's total lack of characters. Besides the narrator the rest of the characters aren't characters at all, they're caricatures. The movie tries to pretend that they're actual characters by constantly divulging exposition about them, but than the very next minute completely ignores that exposition and makes them behave like caricatures all over again.
We're supposed to believe that they're broken and damaged in some way to build empathy for them, but we never actually see it for ourselves, we're simply told that they are and are expected to accept it.
Tessa Thomson is nothing but a caricature of the 'Nerd Of All Nerds', with no friends, glasses, et al. Cause her having glasses and no friends makes her 'Nerd' caricature totally legit yo! That's how it's done!
Gina Rodriguez is suppose to be the 'Tough Girl', the 'Strong Man' caricature of the group. Yet acts out her caricature so poorly that she simply comes off as a lame Vasquez from 'Aliens'.
The other two were so monotone and one dimensional I couldn't even tell you what caricature's they were supposed to represent, they were that poorly written. The only character we get to know is Natalie Portman and she's kind of reprehensible, you don't really like her.
We watch these 'characters' descend into madness, but it's not the least bit riveting and is sometimes completely random. Not that it matters because I simply can't bring myself to care about any of them. This movie was nothing but, 'Oh... oh... Look, look, every actor is a woman including the lead, aren't they all so awesome and strong.' 'Storyline, Plot, The hero's journey, Characters, Character development... the movie having none of these doesn't matter. Because it has lot's and lot's of pretty things in it, 'Oh... look, look... rainbow colors, alien horse's, Oh... isn't it awesome! if you don't love this movie you hate womenz!'
What a fucking joke...
Brent Clouda I bet your favorite movie is Fast and the Furious
Brent I can DEFINITELY see why others hate the film such as Jeremy, well not hate but don't really enjoy it. To me, the film does have flaws, but the overall film is good and the journey to the end of the movie, is nicely done. And again the ending is really up for debate....I haven't done a review of it myself, cause I'm not sure if the ending makes me hate the movie, or love it. I'm just too confused on it. Overall I think it's a nice movie, but the ending....yeah.
@TheMKatStudio I'm sorry Kat but there's absolutely nothing up for debate about this movie, it's not just a bad movie it's fake feminist propaganda at it's finest. And it's crystal clear that that's exactly what it is from the very beginning when Natalie Portman's character cheated on her husband, and not only does he not leave her but no one wants him to leave her, because we're all supposed to take the side of the woman, sorry I mean we're all supposed to take the side of 'The Cheater!'
If someone, a friend, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a husband, a wife, what have you, lies to you, cheats on you, etc: they don't respect you Kat. They're not your friend, they're not in love with you, you are in an abusive relationship, and anyone whom wants you to stay in that abusive relationship is not your friend, at all, period. But hey I forgot he's a man, she's a woman, if a man cheats on a woman we have movies like John Tucker Must Die, and if a woman cheats on a man we have movies like Annihilation where he must forgive the Cheater, he must allow her to continue to cheat on him, and he must raise the baby that's not his or he's a deadbeat dad. Even though the kids not his because she cheated on him, and the 50 shades of Gray bad boy she cheated on him with has left town, you know equality, fake feminist style.
Now if you want to completely ignore the fake feminism, which I know you do, and actually talk about how bad the rest of the movie was, let's do that.
Natalie Portman's character is supposed to be a psychologist right, and what's her first decision? Oh yeah, you know that girl who keeps cutting herself? Let's give her a big gun and take her with us, cause that's going to work out really well. :) Where exactly did you get your psychology degree Natalie, the back of a fucking cereal box? Well played movie... well played...
Oh and sure, every time the real scientists go any where near the shimmer they wear airtight environmental suits so they don't come into contact with it. So... are we going to wear environmental suits when we walk into the shimmer? Environmental suits? What are you a male!! How about some gloves or googles than? No...??? okay... just a thought.
Hey uhhhh... are we going to fly or maybe drive into the shimmer? You know so we can carry more equipment and not have to sleep on the ground. No...?? Okay just a thought...
Oh and eighty pound Natalie Portman carrying over a hundred pounds of equipment on her back walking though an alien forest for days and days and days, well that's just not fake feminist enough, let's also give her a gun that's bigger than she is! What I can't figure out is why did they stop there, why not give her a rocket launcher while they were at it?
And when they finally enter the shimmer for the first time, they wake up in tents and discover that they've time travelled three days ahead in time, and I'm like... 'Holy shit... something science fiction-y is actually happening in this fake feminist movie. Maybe it's not that bad after all??? But no worries... because the actually, possibly interesting time travelling thing that happened when they first entered the shimmer, is never mentioned or brought up ever again, ever!!!
Well played movie... well played... And if you don't love this movie... you hate womenz...
What a fucking joke...
Apparently this film was made before there was a change up at Paramount’s studio heads and I guess the director and producer clashed with Paramount ultimately the director got final cut approval(thank god) but now it’s quite obvious Paramount is killing the film slashing it’s location count by a thousand and reduced marketing even selling international rights to Netflix. I hope people support this we need more films like this at this caliber of production.
Damn, Joe looks tired af
Ranton
the bear was one of the creepiest things i have avers een in a movie. It freaked me out.
Also i think this is going to be a sci-fi classic as times goes by.
So the clone of NP contained her strong feelings of self-Annihilation, guilt that she felt due to her cheating on her husband. Which is why it took the grenade and sat there. Just my take on it.
Also, F*ck bears.
Joe, my dude. You HAVE to stop interrupting your guests! I find it very annoying, and disrespectful. If you're going to talk over your friends. Then do a movie review by yourself.
Cody Catastrophe he does that in every movie review it's a real shame.
Cody Catastrophe It’s the angry joe show, not the fake ass meat head joe and the guy joe used to bully in high school show
I noticed that also.
I agree. I'm interested in Alex's and Other Joe's opinions and thoughts, but AJ just bullies them into silence. Very annoying!
Cody Catastrophe He should stop inviting them...
I loved the final 20 minutes. The score and sound design massively kicked up there and the visuals were crazy. It felt original too. I could not look away. I've said it a lot, I found the whole thing beautifully disturbing. Reminded me a lot of survival horror games (with a lot less enemies). So much to think about too.
As far as the mutated bear and all the living creatures, we don't see them go. Just the structures of the shimmer.
Randomfools rt
seriously they didn't even bring up the score. That was some of the most unsettling music I've heard in a sci-fi.
Randomfools
Amen.
Yea, the sound design was incredible.
the damn bear with the girl DNA. Some good terror material that will stick with me 10x more than any horror movie these days. The fucking bear, man!!!
The “anus” tunnel took my breath away. I was on the edge of my seat. The alien was learning, creating, mimics, and it was so unpredictable. Alex is dead wrong. Go Joe!
ABSOLUTELY...!!! The way natalie just resolved herself to her fate but was still in total awe of the alien even after it just killed her friend....i love this film...
You can really feel the tension between joe and Alex on this one
Interesting: didn't notice at first.
definetly
Because Alex is so boring and doesn't like anything, he's not into SciFi but he pretends to be anyway.. Really wish it was Del instead.
Jason Quiroz Well, maybe if everyone didn’t fucking bully Del he’d still be there.
Darth Malgus LMAO
Watched this movie two nights ago... It melted my mind. I loved it.
SPOILER WARNING - I have a theory regarding the scene with Shepard and the bear. At the end of the film, when Lena gets to the lighthouse, the Shimmer takes part of her DNA and creates a being that mimics her every movement, and then gradually her appearance. There is that moment where the being is beginning to look like her, but the face is very distorted and mannequin-esque. It could be that when the bear killed Shepard, it ingested her DNA and therefore mimicked her voice, but also possibly her appearance, hence why the bear appeared like it was meshed with another species. The bones in its face could have been human.
This is the first Angry Joe movie review that I paused before the spoilers so I could go see the movie. I look forward to seeing it
Amber Haas I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did
wow same
Apparently she hasn't come back yet. If she does at some point months or years later, expect some subtle weird behavior, confusion, a wild difference of understanding how much time has passed as opposed to reality, and don't expect to get all too many clear answers as to what happened other than "I don't know".
I would rate it 2/10It's that bad!
@@atimtg yeah no, this film is a damn masterpiece
*BOOK SPOILERS - I RECOMMEND READING THE BOOK, IT IS NOT LIKE THE MOVIE!*
Ok so I wanted to express my thoughts on the film and why I think it could have been better. If I went into this movie not having read the book, it would probably be a 9/10. Stunning visuals, music and theme. Having read the book I'll give it a 7/10. These are the main points in which the movie alters from the novel:
- Lena's husband never returns from the shimmer. The novel ends with her trying to find her husband, which have written in his diary that he will try to travel to one of the nearby islands. The whole alien copying other organisms is not a part of the novel.
- The book is super abstract. Not a lot gets explained and handed to you, which I really loved about it. The way the movie tries to explain the alien thing by having it copy other organisms kind of ruined the mystery for me. I agree with the guy on the left that the humanoid CGI thing could have been handed in a different way. By destroying the lighthouse and the alien, you would think the shimmer disappears. This does not happen in the book, its conclusion makes the reader think about what creation and destuction really is, based on what the protagonist goes through.
- A BIG part of the novel is the tunnel (or "tower" as Lena calls it in the novel). It it is not located in the lighthouse and is this really deep mysterious kind of staircase in which Lena knows something is located at the bottom of it. The walls are covered in fungus that creates this endless sentence by shaping words. Lena gets sprayed in the eyes by this fungus and that is how she is "changed". In the movie the tunnel is mixed in at the end with the lighthouse, which was really disappointing for me. Every time the novel centers around the tunnel, you get this feeling of claustrophobia and dread, which was non-existent in the movie.
- There are only 4 women on the mission in the novel and they are never refered to by their name: A biologist (protagonist), a surveyor, a phychologist and an anthropologist. Don't know why there were 5 in the movie. Not a deal breaker for me.
- The physchologist's role made little to no sense in the movie, even less than in the book. In the book she has manipulated the minds of the other 3 members and she can control them by voice commands. One of these commands is "Annihilation", which orders the other members to commit suicide. For example, she manipulated one of the members to enter the tunnel to try and gather a skin sample of an unknown monster-like entity, which roams around down there. She seems evil and mysterious in the novel and we get to see why. We don't in the movie and I feel like she was misused.
- The way the lighthouse is described in the book is really cool. A fortress, where the last expeditions have defended themselves with barricades against something unknown. At the top all the diaries of the last expedition members are gathered in a big pile and Lena finds her husbands, which feels really rewarding. It does not get burned down or destroyed in any way, and in the movie it feels so escalated how they used it.
- At the bottom of the tunnel, Lena find this incomprehendable thing, which I REALLY liked how Garland depicted. It's so alien, as it should be. It does not get destroyed and does not make a copy of her. Its function is just unknown and mysterious. Maybe he thought it would be too unsatisfying to have it just be that?
I totally get that Garland was going for something different and wanted to alter from the novel, but IMO if some of these elements I listed were used as in the book, it would have been a better movie. It is a really good movie for those not having read the book! :)
Octrox Garland began this movie When the first book wasn’t even published yet. So He only read the story of the first book in its prerelease state. Then he took that story and made his own thing with the intent to make it a stand alone film. He did not want it to have any sequels. So a lot of stuff that’s related to the sequel books he left out.
Wasn't aware that he only read it in its prerelease state, maybe some of the points I listed wasn't in that version?
I only read Annihilation too though, and didn't feel like it needed any sequels. It is very much its own thing. Again, I think the movie is good and will captivate those who hasn't read the novel.
Octrox ....fantastic review and explanation of the book. Thanks
the books plot seems a little silly to me.
To be honest with you the book doesnt sound that good. Granted, a summary is not a great way to judge a book by but still some of those things you mentioned are either silly or just outright generic and if translated into a movie people would definitly hate it. Like i could see critics screaming "they didnt do anything with the alien".
There was near instantaneous dispersion and refraction of DNA or energy or whatever through the alien effect of the shimmer. The rates of change varied most likely with range from the ship/lighthouse. Portman gave the grenade at a point during the assimilation (at the core mind you) and the process of explosion, like the DNA, enrgy or whatever was "shimmered throughout. Any carbon based components of the assembled monstrosities at that point burned. Not convinced the alien "died" however. We know it survived in Portman and that guy but ill bet it survived at the lighthouse as well and took a different form. We all saw the strange form it was before that drop of blood - it is highly unlikely a simple grenade "tricked" it into death - probably just into a different form ...
The ending was not run of the mill lol, what a joke that guy on the left was.
YuGiOhDuelChannel it was literally unlike anything I’ve ever seen before and he had the audacity to say that I was shook lmao
YuGiOhDuelChannel The very last bit with the eyes was, was it not like don't tons of movies do that all the time?
Its Frankie it's hilarious thats the part alex liked. I loved the alien that mimics it was scary but pitiful at the same time. Really interesting....the glowing eyes thing was generic Micheal Jackson thriller bullshit . That was the worst part to me but movie was over anyways. Also the fact she was being interviewed was really distracting and unnecessary.
Kehinde O Yea the "actual" ending seemed kinda like bullshit to me probably had something to do with the book, and I see why the alien can be offputting and kinda easy to poke but from the very moment it was this crazy visual amazing looking thing to the not humanoid mimic I was hooked. Definitely weird Alex liked what came after that so much more lol.
He meant run of the mill with regard for sci fi literature. If you dont read much, this will seem refreshing and different.
Spoiler Warning:
No mention of Natalie Portman finishing her report then drinking the water at the end, a test to see if her new DNA works with regular earth. A very small detail but with huge implications given what happens to her husband when he drinks water in the beginning of the movie.
The Natalie's subplot was put in to represent the self destructive nature of human code. Natalie's husband knows she cheated on him but he still loves her so he cant confront her. Thats why he goes on the self destruction mission of the shimmer. Also he tells his mimic to find Natalie which shows that he still loved her but he didnt want her to see him as this refracted version of himself.
BTW the bear part with Shepards voice was f*cking amazing
I didnt "see" that subplot that she cheated. Well that WHOLE subplot was completely unnecessary then ... THAT was just bad writing attributed to the writer's personal view of relationships. Again - I see that as completely unnecessary and wasted film.
I'm a little shocked by this review guys. Natalie Portman, being the narrator, is the only character in the entire movie whom receives a full fledged back story, unfortunately it's all done with these cheap flashbacks. Which after we've seen them all by the end of the second act, you've already figured out what's going on and how the movie's going to end.
So the only real full fledged character in the entire movie comes off as entirely pointless, which you would think would be the movies greatest flaw, sadly it's greatest flaw is it's lack of characters. Besides the narrator the rest of the characters aren't characters at all, they're caricatures. The movie tries to pretend that they're actual characters by constantly divulging exposition about them, but than the very next minute completely ignores that exposition and makes them behave like caricatures all over again.
We're supposed to believe that they're broken and damaged in some way to build empathy for them, but we never actually see it for ourselves, we're simply told that they are and are expected to accept it.
Tessa Thomson is nothing but a caricature of the 'Nerd Of All Nerds', with no friends, glasses, et al. Cause her having glasses and no friends makes her 'Nerd' caricature totally legit yo! That's how it's done!
Gina Rodriguez is suppose to be the 'Tough Girl', the 'Strong Man' caricature of the group. Yet acts out her caricature so poorly that she simply comes off as a lame Vasquez from 'Aliens'.
The other two were so monotone and one dimensional I couldn't even tell you what caricature's they were supposed to represent, they were that poorly written. The only character we get to know is Natalie Portman and she's kind of reprehensible, you don't really like her.
We watch these 'characters' descend into madness, but it's not the least bit riveting and is sometimes completely random. Not that it matters, because I simply can't bring myself to care about any of them. This movie was nothing but, 'Oh... oh... Look, look, every actor is a woman carrying a big gun, including the lead, aren't they all so awesome and strong.' 'Storyline, Plot, The hero's journey, Characters, Character development... the movie having none of these doesn't matter. Because it has lot's and lot's of 'Pretty, pretty things in it.' 'Oh... oh... look, look... rainbow colors, alien horse's, Oh... isn't it awesome! if you don't love this movie you hate womenz!'
What a fucking joke...
You're an idiot.
JOSH CHIMICH Yeah you’re the Cringe worst villain in rogues of TH-cam.
@@kurtrivero368and you're a moron.
THANK you. I have no clue why everyone loves this movie. You just explained why the characters were awful. Which is such a small portion to why this movie is so overrated. There are so many flaws in this movie.
I think y’all have maybe misunderstood the ending. Remember that we’re not seeing the events that took place inside the shimmer directly: we’re seeing *the story the Natalie Portman who came out* tells the scientists. She claims it’s the copy who gets blown up at the end but... there’s plenty of reason not to take her word for that. I also wouldn’t assume that the shimmer suddenly disintegrates because the explosion in the lighthouse killed the alien intelligence. Remember why she goes in? Because her “husband” is experiencing massive organ failure... which suddenly and mysteriously corrects itself at the end. They don’t “cure” him, he just magically gets better. Because the only purpose of his ‘illness’ was to lure his mate in so a copy could be made. Because the purpose of the shimmer zone was to learn how to copy earth life, and ultimately produce a breeding pair of copies of the dominant species on the planet. The shimmer doesn’t collapse because she blew it up somehow; it collapses because it’s a reproductive organ that has served its function.
Alex seems bored
He always seems bored
If its not thor he don't care he likes big guys wearing small shirts hints his baby gap t-shirt
And Aj's clearly drunk of his ass
I actually felt he was more engaged in this one than usual
You know i like that this guy has a opinion, he judges the movies very passionately but why he always have to point out something which is bad according to hime but is not bad actually, what's up with guy? why is he so negative?
The screwing the guy cuts where they showed Portman cheating were wasted film - had zero purpose and effect to the plot. It should have been cut completely. Added nothing to the humanization, it was purely detrimental to the immersion of the film.
Kinda sucks we aren't getting this in cinemas here in Australia but hopefully it'll be out on netflix eventually, this looks right up my alley.
AngryJoe you wrong on this one it's at best a 7/10.
1. Sand does not have D.N.A. to make those glass trees. Only extreme heat can turn sand into glass 2,300 degrees Celsius (4,172 degrees Fahrenheit). Glass only can be shaped by to 3 ways blowing, shaping, and molding. The glass trees where there for the visual but in no way possible.
2. Her motivation doesn't make sense. She cheats on him, she realizes he knows, and then she cheats on him again. But she said this is the last time... how times have cheaters said this is the last time and not be the last time. So she owes him for the cheating but not enough to actually not do it again.
3. There is no tracking/sensing/link to her D.N.A.. The husband life-form would had to travel around 900-1000 miles to get to her. That takes some form of intellect even if it did get his memories.
What's the point of the guys flanking Joe? He won't even. Let them speak
I kinda share a lot of points with them. Here are my goods VS bads (spoilers):
GOODS
- Good premise, original, prioritizing exploration, suspense, and even horror sometimes. I like that they portrayed the threat as a neutral phenomenon that affects and changes living beings instead of simply destroying/killing everything.
- The First Half (exploration) is suspenseful and intriguing. The pacing takes its time and I like the fact that the crew spends several day in the forest moving their way forward and discovering stuff along the way.
- The Bear! The bear makes my favorite part of the movie and I was chilled throughout the whole scene.
BADS
- Ending killed it for me too. The reason is that I liked the idea of investigating a "Phenomenon" stronger than themselves that instead of destroying things, completely change the ecosystem into something new. The phenomenon is a bit illogical but fits well into the exploration of the unknown. The ending however was just a big return to "it's aliens folks" (even the ship screams generic aliens) and they even clone human which reminds me too much of "conquer the world!!!" kind of vibe. Even the ending twist where Portman is revealed to have changed was unnecessary which amplify this feeling: "OMG AN ALIEN DISGUISED AS A HUMAN TO CONQUER THE WORLD!!". One part says it's just changing stuff into something new, then "nope, we just cloning humans".
- The "no so scientific" crew. First of all (it was said by AJ) they had no equipment at all for any eventuality (pff who cares let's just breathe the air in there, especially when everybody but one could return alive, and by the way he was sick and vomiting blood when he came back...). Also, they seemed to have nothing planned out in advance. What exactly was their plan when they would reach their destination??? The leader had an iron will to reach the lighthouse and her reason felt extremely weak: "We need to find a way to deal with this phenomenon". Like, how? What would you do at the lighthouse? Take pictures? Collect samples of whatever? THAT would help solve how to deal with the phenomenon?
- Subplot: one flashback was enough, but there was way too much. I was tired to see it especially when it interrupted to very good suspense of the exploration part.
- Stupid actions of the characters:
1. Sheppard STANDS in the open when its completely dark to try to "Help" Lena. She could've stayed up the
watchtower for a perfect vantage point and even get a better view of the parameter to warn Lena?
2. The lead don't care, decides to go ALONE at the watchtower when anyway Portman would go there just a bit later. In the
end, she just became crazy and explode. Way too random and illogical for my taste.
3. Josie who just decides to accept to be part of this nature and vanish. It felt way too sudden but it's not that bad overall.
Idea behind the plot was very interesting. Story was also nice. But I simple grew to hate the trope of "Lets gather best professionals - only for everyone to act as idiots".
The idea of "We know nothing about what is going inside, absolutely nothing so go there and do not return untill you know everything" is so dumb.
Just few hours after enetering the shimmer they already discovered some important information that would prepare better future expeditions. Why not return at that point, relay info, prepare better , get the opportunity for military to process all the samples they took and then go in again if they would want to?
I mean they were not in any serious time rush. They had weeks upon weeks before the shimmer would be visible from nearest town. You gather profesionals who refuse to go with slow but steady and safe progress?
And what was with the self-destruction of their team where they on drop of coin turned against each other? Where everyone suddenly schemed against each other and lied to each other? At that point I was wondering if the millitary did not intentionaly send them there to die while second, actual profesional team is sneaking behind them and doing the actual observation while using them as bait.
agree
There mission was to reach the lighthouse and her husband came out fucked the only way they were surviving is if they won and the reason for that is that they are self destructive
She is pushed against the door, because she pushed the alien away. Its only the mimic reaction, not a hostility.
When she hands her the granade, the mimic process is completed (metal form to human form) and they are merged into each other. So the alien is letting itself walk out the door.
Also as soon as the merger is complete, the left behind burning character turns to the husband corps, showing us that Portman fully merged with the alien.
Similar as with the bear earlier. He ate her vocal cords (quote from movie) and probably ate some rodent or smth to have the mouth changed.
"In the name of science I will put my face in it!"
The affair Lena is having is intended to be the motivation for Kane to go on a year long mission. Every character that goes into The Shimmer is self destructive in some way (The Oroborous tattoo is a very big sign). Lena's destructive tendencies are what led to the affair.
The way it took the ending is that the alien and The Shimmer represent our destructive natures as humans and the clones are the new versions of ourselves that have accepted trauma and the bad things that have happened to us. Those who died succumb to their destructive tendencies, where Kane and Lena (the only ones to make it out) become copies of themselves with the lessons of those experiences taken to heart.
Joe seems like he liked the movie so much he wanted the others to agree with him. The movie seems to have a lot of unanswered questions !
Naw. It’s just the type of movie that demands your full attention. If you talk or look at your phone you’ll miss stuff. Joe himself missed a lot of the details that answered the questions being brought up.
Yeah the ENTIRE cheating subplot was completely unnecessary.
The end credits are the best end credits of all time, especially if you’re baked
Your legendary if you saw this movie high lmao
I just got done watching this movie and I’m still physically shaking. It’s been a while since I watched a movie that made me shake, literally.
AngryJoe, u gotta allow people to finish their sentences n thoughts. U interrupt a lot. I know it's YOUR show but u do invite other minds for a reason. I like ur reviews. I'm not dumping on ur channel.
Maybe he likes to cut people off. Stop hating
airtec87 - fuck u,coward.
airtec87 - I don't wanna take ur beloved life-long family job.
Kane(Oscar Isaac) even asks the copy "have you ever seen a phosphorus grenade?"
"No" says the copy.
"It's bright, cover your eyes."
Strange interaction.
The climactic duplication scene was the best part of the movie
- Change my mind
...and Alex is sniffing his own rectal emissions again.
A Windows 3.1 THROWDOWN over that scene ?! ohhhhhh COME ON ! 😏
“Anakin... you’re breaking my heart.”
I don't think the alien was CGI. it looked like a shimmery oilish colored suit. You could even se wrinkles in the arms and legs where joints are.
"Deplicted"
-oj
lol i heard that
I caught that too lol
I thought he said that
The film clearly has stunning visuals, and the story should get high marks on its creativity. However, the characters are seriously lacking COMMON SENSE! You can argue about the ending, or the mysteries of the "Shimmer," but it's annoyingly difficult to try and get past the characters pitfalls. Lacking urgency at times, willing to split up, sure why not? Go ahead and breath in the fresh alien spores while your at it, no contamination here! No need for any psychological evaluation from this group, they all seem fine!? It's not like anyone is cutting themselves to feel more alive before they take on this adventure, perfectly natural.
In addition, we can see scientists in a research compound wearing HAZMAT SUITS! Hmm.. First Clue? Maybe someone from the "Shimmer" is INFECTED? Regardless, we see five women enter the alien contamination area without a hazmat suit, respirator or even goggles? And these are scientists??? (Alien: Covenant anyone?)
For once, why can't we see a movie where the main characters do everything RIGHT and still fail? Make it more BELIEVABLE!!! Watching the film I ask myself, "would I do that?" "who the hell would enter a dark alien hole?" Did they forget they still have to make it back to base to deliver vital information!? But no, they have to dumb down the characters to move the story along.
The film is a 7/10.
RD Flight They were in the shimmer for months, I don't think they could pack enough oxygen for hazmats
These people were picked for the expedition because they didn't have anything to come back to. It was a suicide mission. Do you think Lena cared about getting vital information out? The movie isn't about "the mission" - each character has their own motivations for being there. Hers was the guilt and grief over cheating on her husband which sent him on a suicide mission to this place.
In the lighthouse before she enters the cave - she just learned that her husband killed himself with a phosphorous grenade and the man in a coma at the base was some weird alien clone. Do you think she was in the right state of mind to focus on a mission? Do you have any sort of idea what state of mind you would be in if you had just witnessed all the shit she had and your DNA was being mutated by this strange alien force? Would you expect characters placed in these situations to act rationally?
You're critiquing this as a movie about a group of people that are on a mission to discover some alien object. While that is the basic plot it isn't the focus and is there to explore much more personal human themes like motivation, guilt, loss, self destruction, perception
Like you said, these people were "picked" for the expedition because they didn't have anything to come back to. So the government was handpicking idle suicidal candidates!? No wonder no one is coming back... It was a suicide mission, so why should they care about the mission? Oh ya, they don't, the people in the lab and the rest of the world do, or ffs should, but the team of scientists do not. They went walking into the Shimmer wanting to die, so lets not bother on even trying to have a mask. They need an assault rifle but no need for a basic mask? You claim the movie is not about the mission so that excuses all the stupid shit? The scientists personal reasons for being suicidal excuses any common sense problems in this film which is lazy. The human themes like motivation, guilt, loss, self destruction, and perception clearly cannot be expressed in this film without the characters becoming complete idiots. The director could have easily expressed these themes in the film with characters illustrating higher common sense.
@@ArthurVand well military is fucking retarded in this movie, Hey lets send in the suicidal troops to get intel for this thing that threatens the safety of the entire planet.
They sent real military people first. None of them came back.
How drunk is Joe
i was thinking the same thing!. hes obviously drunk, the question is, How much? lol
I hated this movie. Stupid protagonists, unrealistic global reaction (nobody had an iphone camera, a drone, anything to take pictures of it??), and a horrible ending that explains nothing about the plot.
You really have to pay attention to start to understand what the movies meaning really is. It’s very deep and it gives you goosebumps for sure but once you understand what it’s all about it really gets you thinking. And the soundtrack is absolutely amazing it gives you chills.
Thanks for pushing all these videos out and you Joe and that your family the all Angry Joe I know its a bit difficult to keep on pushing videos out so thank you and thank you all guys for giving us something to actually enjoy
I am absolutely married to the ending especially the Capri sun guy it was so off putting and intriguing to me and I loved it. 9/10
The subplot is actually super relevant thematically as it really augments one of the central themes of the film which is self-destruction.
i wonder what movies alex would give a 9 or 10 to
Prem Thongkum XXX movies
its TOO, NOT TO, NOT TWO, BUT TOO
Prem Thongkum yeah, he must be a boring person irl
Prem Thongkum Ones that deserve a 9 or 10.
Nothing. He'd die before he gives a rating that high.
howd the clone husband get out? why did every expedition have to be in there for day? didnt anyone go -walk in, walk out- lol? still that was awesome.
This movie was amazing. Guy on the left is still clueless as ever.
@ 23:44, It explains that the shimmer refracts your DNA, so the bear absorbed parts of Sheppard, during her last moments, into itself, along with another person. This is why the bear has a human skull on its face, and is in a constant state of suffering, accounting for its aggression. Hence how the Alligator was fused with Shark DNA, and how Radek fuses with plants/flowers.
This film is defenetly my favorite film and it had one of the best soundtrack I've ever heard in a movie so far!, damn Joe u should've mentioned the soundtrack...
What happened man?
I don't understand how so many people love that film. I thought it was total garbage.
What's up Angry Joe are you going to do a review of Kingdom Come Deliverance?
Nick Roof He's doing Metal Gear I believe.
Nope
id much rather watch kingdom come! its like my favorite game right now! metal gear... I hate konami
Isaac Kershner nar would much sooner see an actual angry review I don’t consider it an angry review when it’s a good game he’s happy about lol
I loved it. It's actually nice to have a movie that doesn't spoon-feed the audience and is left somewhat open-ended. The bear scene was the most intense thing I've seen in theaters in a long time.
9/10.... really ....cmon.....really???
johnnano13 I don’t care I give 10/10
Really ??? Cmon Realy ???
Ok
Black Wolf129 i'm just kidding, i like that you liked but not for me it was like the tree of life.
It’s weird some people really didn’t like this some loved it
Liked the movie, but I don't think the affair really had anything to do with the plot. Like you said, it was dumb that they didn't go in with hazmat suits or at least masks. I don't understand a scenario in which Rodriguez could tie each woman to a chair without alarming the other's. Also, they wouldn't have fully auto rifles and the lack of military presence is kinda strange.
The affair informs the motivations of both Kane and Lena to go into the shimmer. Kane agreed to go on a suicide mission because finding out his wife cheated on him made him stop caring about life. Lena went out of overwhelming guilt - if she hadn't cheated her husband wouldn't have gone on this mission which he now appears to be dying from. The other things are kind of nit picky.
There are a lot of small flaws in the movie but the overall themes and questions raised set it apart and the overall execution with the production design, visuals, sound design and score is amazing for a movie with this modest of a budget. The entire thing felt dreamlike and once I suppressed my brains natural desire to pick out minor things (why is she taking a sample without putting on gloves???? why don't they have the person on watch be up in the tower???) I had an amazing viewing experience.
Joe acts like a Mexican trump. Look at his mannerisms LOL
I thought the movie ending was amazing especially the 5th dimension take on it since the screensaver is supposed to be a tesseract. My interpretation was that the alien transformed the area around her to be 5th dimensional and when it dies, the self preservation of the alien is what transforms Lena and husband.
"deplicted"
Does anyone know the actual song name for the Kaleidoscope anus scene? It seemed different from “The Alien” track that was specified on the OST.
5 years late but it was Moderat - The Mark.
Loved the ending. Loved the movie. Great stuff all around.
Gambino Switchpot can you explain the ending to me, please?
Are they all pissed off? He asks, multiple times, both for a few words to sum up their thoughts of the movie and they completely ignore him.
The ending leaves you hanging. Would have been great to see more of the beings, their intentions, where they came from etc.
Just like how Prometheus and Covenant did for the Alien franchise? Some things are best left unanswered...
It's an instant masterpiece along side with ALIENS. Absolutely loved it. Easily a 10 out of 10 for me. Going to see it again. Alex Garland & Christopher Nolan are 2 of the most innovative writers & directors currently in Hollywood now.
I know I'm 2 years late for this review. But I just watched this movie tonight, and I had goosebumps all the way through. I don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep after the ending, and that fucking bear.
I really liked this movie. I loved that they tried to explore how an alien visit to Earth... might not be understandable at all, in the sense that they might be so much different to us, even to the biological level. Thank you for reviewing it guys!
Crazy how the opinions differ, the ending/3rd act was one of my favorites in sci fi history, loved the film so much.
Amutter loved the 3rd act too...was so psychologically disturbing. ..reminded me of the best of body horror Cronenberg style horror mixed with the fear of the cosmically unknown or unknowable like 2001. Can't wait to watch it again.
The film’s a study of humanity’s self destructive nature (hence the title Annihilation). Each character has their own affliction which ultimately result in their fate. Lena’s affliction is her lying, adulterous behavior. The flashbacks of her and her colleague were to provide the context that she strained her relationship with Kane, even sending him into the Shimmer a day earlier. It’s discussed that the Shimmer’s next stage of evolution is to purge it’s self destructive nature. Lena’s mimic literally destroys the Shimmer by destroying itself resulting in a changed version of herself. Alex really missed the metaphor of the mimic
"sum up in 2-3 words" .... talks for 5 mins
The bear has Sheppard's voice because it ate her vocal cords. Pretty obvious.
I'm so glad to hear it was good. I've been really excited for this one.
Got a strong Roadside Picnic and Stalker vibe from it, with the typically American style love sub-plot injected into the fix. "Trying new ideas" it's not. Excellent cinematography and visual design, and good sci-fi overall though.
where are the new games reviews? Monster Hunter, Kingdom Come..?
I see my opinion on Anilathion as a love hate relationship giving that. It traumatized me the first time I watched it I couldn't sleep for a while after. DAMN YOU ANILATHION
You all look so tired!
Dro Talks damn you’re looking at them kinda close to notice that ...
Unkown Figure
...?
I think it's unfavourable lighting
Especially Joe.
no Joe looks like he just woke up after a nap lmao
At 22:00, I completely agree with Joe. The way the “alien” is acting toward the end of the film implies (quite heavily) that it is merely MIMICKING the behavior of the humans it has come into contact with. To suggest that the “alien” is totally sentient, able to process information and retain memories about phosphorus grenades, that’s just trying too hard to be critical. The movie does a good job at demonstrating the “child-like” nature of the “alien”, mimicking the behavior of it’s human counterparts without any fleshed out motivations of it’s own.
This movie was fucking crazy, so interesting, suspenseful, and thought provoking
I felt the ending was more about how they are no longer the “same” people as before (before being before the affair by the wife), they both acknowledge that they are never going to have the same relationship or connection as they did before the affair.
If they were part alien they would have burnt up.
I like Fat delrith not skinny delrith
xD
Delripped
Sucks that this is going straight to Netflix in the UK. I really wanted to see it on the big screen.
Guys this movie sucked. I couldn't wait for it to end.
I feel bad for anyone who didn't experience this film in all its Glory in theatre.
Also I hate bears now. Already had it visit me in my nightmares.
The "new" alien that mimics Portman isn't fully developed yet and wouldn't understand the grenade. As it is about to die it is still forming into her. I think a few minutes later it wouldn't have taken the grenade.
are you serious
The "alien" wasn't sentient. It didn't have a conscience. It was basically a cancer strand given a humanoid form after Ventress gives herself completely to the "alien".
{SPOILERS?}
Hey so I hear you guys but I would love to hear your thoughts on (#1) the tattoo the jumps between all of the characters arms at different points in the film, (#2) How Oscar Isaacs character goes from having a deep southern accent to not having one, (#3) the time shift in the film cuz remember they lose several days in the beginning and then she is in there for 4 months... somehow
This movie was beautiful... But absolute nonsense. Also all the characters were flat and lifeless.
Keaton Kitsune they weren't flat, they were just not exaggerated or typical stereotypes. they were played like normal scientists, human beings. this WHOLE movie was slow, subtle and quiet. that includes the characters.
They were flat. They were lifeless and uninteresting. Their flaws and history were delivered casually and suddenly as if it were supposed to be a surprise, but you didn't get to spend much time getting to know or care about them. They weren't portrayed as people, it wasn't subtle, it was slow I'll give you that.
i am sorry but they were flat and uniteresting. i mean the movie starts and you know in the first seconds that the whole team died. so why care about them? no reason to. two of them get sort of background story and the other two nothing. its all over the place
Why care about them?- youre not Supposed to care about them! this isnt a fun adventure movie with colorful characters who you root for. This movie is about the main character, The Shimmer and the concept of self destruction. The lesser characters are not important and only exist to service the movies main theme, and to get in some disturbing scenes without killing the main character. We experience the shimmer WITH her the fact that they told you right off the bat the others didnt make it was a pretty obvious message that this story wasnt ABOUT them.
Because interesting characters drive the plot and the drama. Also experience the shimmer? What? I didn't experience the shimmer, I experienced a bunch of flat and uninteresting characters walking around and talking, or sitting and talking. It was less an interesting or even frightening place and more just... a place. The Zone in Stalker was strange, the Stalker and the other characters had to follow strange rules. The zone in that movie is a lot more interesting than the shimmer even though the shimmer shows you what is so 'scary' about it. You cared about the characters in Stalker they had interesting conversations and motivations. I didn't care about the characters in Annihilation. I didn't care if they lived or died, I didn't find the Shimmer scary or interesting, I did find the scenery beautiful but in the way I find a lush forest beautiful.
The part with the bear having her voice from her screams me and my gf came up with the idea that since she’s screaming for help the bear absorbs that like how they say after they kill it but when you Natalie’s character find her you notice her throat was bitten or eaten by the bear so we think the bear absorbs those last screams which is a scary cool concept
Well one of the scariest things is, (and it's hard to see in the dark scene), is that the left side of the bear's face has a human skull growing out of it with the eyes forming in over the bear's eye socket, specifically the woman's face. It specifically absorbed -her-.
This movie reminded me of "Sphere" but not nearly as good IMO.
Michael M this was feminists take on sphere
Melanie Pifka you're an anti-feminist take on a walking piece of human garbage.
Andrew The TH-cam Noob You're a virgins take on a dumpster fire.
Just the friggin' "bear scene" was better than a lot of movies I have seen over the years.
J.F.L. Bousquet I agree, the way it was talking was really dam creepy, very well done.
Joe is packing on the pounds
The other two go to the gym for him so he doesn't have to.
He's on his way to 1 up delz
He's just getting THICC
Wow Joe needs to start exercise and start start eating vegetable and salmon and drink water.
How many yes has Joe said "the highest possible 8 I can give with an angry seal of approval"?
is the guy in the middle so drunk that he can't talk straight? :D
usually he doesn't let his guests talk other than the other joe! that looks odd too!
Joe needs to learn to accept other's opinion, just because he doesn't like the thing you liked doesn't mean he's wrong. Get a dislike on this.
Sounds like they entered a Björk music video.
The effects sound a lot like what Andrew Thomas Huang usually implements in videos he directs.
Fragadelic I was thinking the same thing. Specially with all the nature spore anuses. I feel Bjork could pop out of them at any time and start singing would be just as terrifying
Thanks for the great review! What song is playing during the last 20 seconds of the video? I really like it, but shazam was unable to identify it.