NOT SO GREAT NEW MOVIE: ANNIHILATION

The scientists explore the Shimmer

ANNIHILATION (2018). Written and directed by Alex Garland.

Ex-soldier Lena (Natalie Portman) has not seen her husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac of X-Men: Apocalypse) for a year, when he walks into their home in a daze. Lena discovers that Kane was the only person to ever make it out from an area called the Shimmer, a strange zone that is inexplicably spreading outward from a lighthouse and if unchecked may envelop the whole planet. With a group of female scientists, Lena decides to enter this twilight zone (pardon me) herself, if only to find out what happened to her husband inside and what may be still affecting him. With an interesting premise and a promise of some emotional pay-offs, Annihilation should have been a worthwhile picture, but despite some interesting concepts -- as well as ideas recycled from everything from Invasion of the Body Snatchers to Alien -- the picture is pretty much sunk by a snail's pace, a weak script with both undeveloped characters and ideas, and direction that utterly strips the film of any dramatic punch it may have had potential for. There are mutated creatures, people's minds being screwed up, some quick gore cuts and the like, an occasional burst of minor excitement, but virtually no pay off, and the lethargic score doesn't help one bit. The actors do the best they can with material that may seem (pseudo) intellectual but is actually trite, and the average episode of Star Trek has more suspense. The frequent flashbacks and flash-forwards only pull the viewer out of the main storyline and do nothing to help sustain the creepy atmosphere. Annihilation does get points for being visually striking at times, but that's hardly enough to make this a winner. Admittedly, with some films you're willing to suspend disbelief, but with this picture we're asked to accept that these women, most of whom are scientists, would be sent into the Shimmer without military escorts and without contamination suits on (or even , heck, a rope and pulley with which they can be pulled back out of the zone in an emergency). There is no major military or government presence as you would expect in such a dire situation. It's as if Garland, afraid of making a "typical" sci fi thriller, stripped his movie of sheer common sense, not to mention thrills. Natalie Portman [Jackie] should choose her material with more care, and Jennifer Jason Leigh is positively weird -- too weird -- as Dr. Ventress; neither woman is seen to good advantage in this stinker. This reminds one a lot of Arrival, another recent mediocre science fiction film.

Verdict: Even something like The Atomic Submarine is a lot more fun. **. 

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE

A Really Bad Guy: Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac)

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (2016). Director: Bryan Singer.

In 1983 Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender), also known as Magneto, a mutant terrorist, has been leading a quiet life with his wife and daughter when his true identity is discovered and a confrontation with police leads to their deaths. Now his mind is in the perfect place for him to team up with En Sabur Nur (Oscar Isaac of Star Wars Part VII), the world's first mutant, born in 2500 A.D., and better-known as Apocalypse. Nur wants to remake the world over by demolishing human society, and Magneto -- at first -- is only too willing to help him. His former friend, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and even fellow terrorist Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) are out to stop the two men and their mutant allies. The trouble with X-Men: Apocalypse -- the sixth X-Men movie (the 8th if you count the two Wolverine films released before this one) -- is that it suffers from over-familiarity and despite a somewhat impressive main villain, lacks a really strong story or sense of desperation. This is another prequel, with younger actors completely taking over from those cast in the first X-Men -- Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan are nowhere to be found. The X-Men comic and its many spin-offs (Apocalypse actually first appeared in X-Factor) have been published for so many decades now that the movies have their own interpretation of the characters, hence Peter (Pietro) Maximoff --  apparently Magneto's son -- is no longer a brooding, unpleasant Russian but a hip teenage American, who (as in the last film) has been reinvented to be more like The Flash. The movie's most striking sequence has Flash -- I mean, Quicksilver (Evan Peters) -- rescuing all of the students from Xavier's mansion when it explodes. I don't recall Professor Xavier ever being able to stop time in its tracks the way he does in this movie. X-Men: Apocalypse isn't bad, but it does take a long time to get started, and despite some decent effects, the pace isn't great and the action scenes not that well delineated. Fassbender, who is quite good as the conflicted Erik, has emerged as the dynamic star of the X-Men movies. Hugh Jackman only appears briefly as Logan and was given three of his own films.

Verdict: Perhaps one trip to the well too many? **1/2.

STAR WARS PART VII -- THE FORCE AWAKENS

Mark Hamill as the aged Luke Skywalker

STAR WARS PART VII -- THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015). Director: J. J. Abrams.

Scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley), former storm trooper Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) team up with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and the ridiculous Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) to find the long-missing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and to destroy an installation that sends out planet-ravaging death-beams. The main antagonists in this are the First Order, who, naturally, want to take over the universe. Our heroes, under the command of General (formerly Princess) Leia (Carrie Fisher of The Women) also have to contend with one Kylo Ren (Adam Driver of This is Where I Leave You), who happens to be the corrupted son of Solo and Leia. I confess I've never been that carried away with the Star Wars movies, but this one (which sometimes seems like a retread of the original film) is colorful, has some good acting -- Daisy Ridley makes an especially good impression -- striking scenic design, and excellent FX. The man-eating, tentacled Rathtars are interesting creatures, and one of the best scenes is a suspenseful confrontation between Solo and Kylo Ren. It's been forty years since the original Star Wars and it's ironic that of the three leads, the oldest, Harrison Ford, looks the best, looking younger than his years, with Fisher and Hamill not having aged well at all and looking much older. J. J. Abrams also directed the Star Trek reboots.

Verdict: Frankly, despite all the money spent on it this is not nearly as much fun as certain of those classic cliffhanger sci-fi serials that inspired this. but it has its moments. **1/2.