tomasbat

A cross of horror, science-fiction and the outright bizarre, it's no surprise that Annihilation is a very polarizing film. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. It's refreshing to see that some films are taking risks. How will you know if its terrible or great? You'll have to see for yourself.

Personally, what I liked most about the film (especially the last 20-30 minutes or so) is that it's WEIRD. Like really, really weird. The film fails in not delivering its best and showing its true colors until the final minutes (the film's like two hours long) but that's also where it succeeds.

That said, the film starts out pretty slow, but the nice visuals and a great musical score certainly help in keeping you hooked until the end.

If you're looking for something very different, trust me - you won't be disappointed.

First of all, let me make it absolutely clear that Voldemort: Origins of the Heir is by all means a short film. With that in mind, it really shows how much dedicated fans can accomplish with a 15,000 euro budget and a runtime of less than an hour - with no motivation other than their love for the series.

The result is a minimalistic, dialogue-heavy film full of references to characters and events from the official Harry Potter movies/books. The inconsistencies are either too small or too few to matter, though hardcore fans might notice. It is essentially a small backstory made into a film. As such, it will probably appeal to longtime fans, but at the same time leave them wanting more, due to the film's short length.

The production values are surprisingly good for being a fan film. The special effects are nice and full of eye candy, certain sequences are really well edited, and the portrayal of Tom Riddle stands out.

It is a polished film with some memorable lines here and there. They really could have messed up on this one - and they didn't. If you are a fan of the Harry Potter series, go give it a watch. It's free (due to the non-commercial nature of the film), it doesn't stray too much from the canon, and, after all, it only lasts an hour.

As a film that turned out to be better than I expected, I actually enjoyed the Saratov Approach. With a low budget, a somewhat niche target audience (the movie was initially released only in Utah, a state with a majority Mormon population), and little source material, the film delivered pretty well. Of course, the film will naturally appeal more to Mormons/Christians in general, but I didn't feel it was overly preachy or pretentious to the point of being unwatchable. Some have complained about the length of the film and a sense that most of the time "nothing really happens". To be honest, at no point did I feel that the movie dragged.

The acting, the pacing, the camerawork, the score... They're all ok (not outstanding by any means, but fine) and the film works out. The film isn't a breakthrough and it isn't terrible, it's just a decent thriller with a religious/"feel good" twist to it, and it is good for what it is. If you enjoy these types of films, you'll probably enjoy this one. Something I particularly liked about the film is that you could sympathize with the kidnappers and that they actually had something of a backstory. And the two missionaries had pretty good chemistry.

There aren't that many good LDS films out there and this is definitely one of the better ones.