The Invasion (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]
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Movie Reviews of The Invasion (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]
Movie Review: The Remake
Summary: 2 Stars
Saw part of it on TV, but didn't have a chance to see the resolution. I was actually interested enough to make a point to see the end. The movie starts out quite promising. Nichole Kidman is really great in this type of role(See also THE OTHERS). Maybe her encounters with Scientologists prepared her well for the role? The film is a little creepy and does succeed in engaging the viewer, or this one anyway. Upon viewing the ending the response it universly received was understandable.
But I went in with the lowest of expectations and managed to enjoy most of this arguably (somewhat) decent sci-fi flick marred by a very lame, unsatisfying ending. So, here's to low expectations.
But on the other hand I'm always against having low expectations in films. That's what most people do when they say, "It's just a movie" blah, blah, blah.. And I think we should have standards. Maybe, have low expectations for a film that sucks so you can enjoy it for what it's worth while at the same time freely acknowledging it sucks.
Movie Review: Made Me Hope That They Didn't Find A Cure...
Summary: 1 Stars
Somebody has to warn Nicole Kidman to leave classics like this and the very similarly disappointing The Stepford Wives alone. This, the third remake of the 1956 classic (also redone correctly the first time in 1978), is quite frankly all bark and no bite. Gone are the classic pods from another world simply replaced with a virus that makes you all cheesy while you sleep to awaken new, refreshed, and emotionless. At least with the first two films the possessed/aliens got angry from time to time, but in this the group plays the unphased to the point of boredom. At least they tried to make the film different with instead of a young couple running switching it to mostly a mother and her child (who is conveniently immune), but the chase is typical cat and mouse and the ending has to be one of the most upbeat & weakest ones I've seen in quite awhile. Watched off of cable (where it belongs), spend your next money to burn on the excellent 1978 version instead.
(RedSabbath Rating:5.5/10)
Movie Review: Hollywood ending
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a huge fan of the 1978 version of the Bodysnatcher "series" and also liked 1994's offering (I expected it to be pure muck but it was the only action movie left in the store I hadn't seen at the time). I heard all the bad reviews about this before I watched it and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The claustrophobic atmosphere was created very well.. the subtle hints building to the point which is the scariest of all.. when the aliens needn't bother with stealth any more - that's when you know we're in trouble for sure!
BUT (isn't there always a but!) the film was too short. It didn't give enough time to keep the suspense going. But that's not a major detractor. What is a major detractor is the hollywood happy ending. Please please please can someone involved with this project get the director's/alternaive ending/collector's/blah blah version out there with a different ending! I'll buy it straight away! It was the only thing to mar an otherwise suspensful, well directed movie with acting which was far better than I expected. Overall a slick production and worth buying if you get it cheap.
Movie Review: JACK FINNEY'S PREMISE IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL
Summary: 4 Stars
Jack Finney's science fiction novel INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (serialized is COLLIER'S magazine in 1954; published in book form in 1955) was made into a highly regarded film of the same title in 1956, starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter in an intense and heartbreaking political parable of the times. In 1978 it was filmed (with the same title) as a satire of California society, starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, and Leonard Nimoy--and again was quite well received. In a third film version, BODY SNATCHERS: THE INVASION CONTINUES (1994)--starring Gabrielle Anwar, Terry Kinney, Meg Tilly, and Forest Whitaker--the focus seems to be on horror and suspense for their own sake, and although most reviewers rate it below the first two movies, many consider it worth seeing for its young female star if nothing else.
In THE INVASION (2007), the latest remake starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig (the newest James Bond), and Jeffrey Wright, Finney's central idea is alive and well: i.e., our "humanity" (for better or worse) can be taken from us by an "alien" life-form. In this outing, the traditional pods are dispensed with and a much more plausible (but far less visually dramatic) virus takes their place. Ms. Kidman's character (a brave, intelligent, and attractive female psychiatrist) is clearly the protagonist of the action, which centers around her attempts to find and rescue her young son, who is important not just to her but to all members of the human race who do not wish to be altered mentally by the virus. (In a sense, Kidman plays a kind of heroic "Ripley" figure, parallel to Sigourney Weaver's roles in the various ALIEN films.)
This film abounds with tense action and dramatic chase scenes--as well as a few tender and/or funny moments between the mother and son; there are also several thought-provoking discussions of human nature that almost seem to have been spliced in to add depth and "serious purpose" to the film. Given the United States' recent and current national divisiveness, parts of this film may lead some viewers to see it as a parable about our religious/political factions. (I think this would be misinterpreting the film's intent.)
As far as the "inner peace" of the infected people is concerned, the script and acting suffer from many inconsistencies--with the disgruntled husband of Veronica Cartwright (who had been in the 1978 remake) and the ex-husband of Kidman among the worse offenders. (But, since logic has usually been sacrificed for the sake of vivid effects throughout 2,500 years of dramatic literature, why quibble about one more instance?)
The ending (which I shall not reveal here) strikes me as a bit "rushed" in the sense that we do not so much SEE the outcome as HEAR ABOUT it in a short voice-over that summarizes the later events in a minute or less. In this one respect, I will say it is comparable to the ending of M. Night Shyamalan's SIGNS (2003), an alien invasion film starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix, which I (in the minority) rated very low on several accounts.
Movie Review: Welcome to Hurlsville...Literally!
Summary: 2 Stars
Taking on a role that is a darker throwback to her role in "The Stepford Wives", Nicole Kidman makes another attempt at sci-fi remakes in this third onscreen incarnation of "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers". It's rather amusing how this film uses only half of the story's original title.
Kidman plays Psychiatrist Carol Bennell, the divorced mother of the Elementary school-aged Oliver Kaufman (an alert and intelligent Jackson Bond) who suffers from bad dreams about his impending visit with his father (Jeremy Northam) whom he hasn't seen in years.
Dr. Tucker Kaufman's first appearance in the film is as an expert who comes to examine the remains of a recently downed space shuttle. The plot thickens with the discovery that alien spores arrived on earth with the downed craft. While leaving the scene, Kaufman cuts his hand on a piece of debris, which will have foreboding repercussions.
We see Carol's daily routine, including work with her colleagues, Dr. Stephen Galeano (Jeffrey Wright) and Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig), we learn of the tempestuous relationships of Wendy Lenk( Veronica Cartwright, who appeared in the 1978 retelling of this story) with her husband, Richard (Adam Lefevre) and how that situation is linked to the main crisis in this story.
But viewers also share a delightful evening with Carol, Ben, and their friends, Dr. Henrik Belicec (Josef Sommer), his wife, Ludmilla (Celia Weston, who has come a long way since her appearance in the TV series "Alice"), and their friend, Yorish (Roger Rees).
Soon, their world changes, and the streets are full of emotionless automatons. Those who express emotions, especially in the extreme forms, are arrested, and the plot revolves around Carol and her colleagues trying to make heads or tails of the matter. Field Blauvet has a cameo as a creepy Census Taker.
Notably, the main method for the alien virus' transmission is through vomiting, and the film has quite a bit of that.Before it is over, Kaufman's behavior shows that he's channeled Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter. It's amusing to think that Northam can now add throwing up on Nicole Kidman to his resume.
Well, it's all been done before, but now it has a 21st century twist. It has good performances, but I can't say I was too impressed by this effort.
Director Oliver Hirschbiegel did better with films such as "Downfall". While I appreciate his efforts here, I think he operates better in his own language from what I've seen of his work so far.