MovieChat Forums > Extraterrestrial (2014) Discussion > here is why this is good....

here is why this is good....

posted 10 years ago by ben-adams1706
17 replies | jump to latest

The criticism seems to be that this is unrealistic with wooden actors and a naff script all of which has some merit. But this is a film about alien abduction.

What exactly are you expecting, watch it for what it is. Are you expecting Daniel day Lewis to appear and give it deep emotional multi-layered depth. Are the Coen brothers writing the script with contributions from the people that wrote blade runner with double meaning and symbolism. NO. I say again, this is a story about alien abduction. Lower the expectation. Its like meeting a nice girl at a bar, getting her home and being pissed off because she isnt Scarlett Johansen. Its like you guys buying a good functional Toyota and then bitching that it isn't a Lamborghini.

This film is not made for oscar glory, or to create a legacy of film, looked back upon for generations as a fine example of the craft. Its a move about alien abduction and i though for that purpose, it is fit for purpose. I didnt want, Daniel day Lewis or a de nero performance , i didnt want it to be 'there will be blood' but with aliens, i wanted an alien abduction movie.

It just seems a theme of imdb lately is to expect every film made, no matter what the subject, has to be deep, layered, incredible writing by the best writers.

Tell you what, this had a budget of $3,000,000. Realistically what could you film in terms of actors and writers for that amount,? if you think you could do better, get of imdb and go and make it. I just dont need to see the arc of human emotion and subtle emotional and social commentary in a FU**ING ALIEN MOVIE. I want to be entertained for an hour and a half and thats it. jesus christ.

[–] john-m-holt 10 years ago

Agreed.

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[–] thunderztorm 10 years ago

Good think you weren't born earlier then. Movies lasting two hours are common now, but certainly not in the 80s when I was a kid, back then the standard was 90 minutes, give or take a few.

[–] BlackDog123 10 years ago

Glad you liked it enough to rant about it. I thought it was boring and turned it off halfway through. 3 mil is technically low budget, but it's three times the budget of great movies like Absentia. Wasn't the first Saw made for about the same amount? And a movie like Late Phases has an equally terrible looking monster (though props for using practical effects), but you forgive it because the film itself is so well-written and well-acted. Maybe we should let Edgar Wright know not to bother with symbolism and intense character arcs, because he's just writing popcorn flicks.

Your pet peeve may be b*tching about the budget in movies, but mine is ranting about how one needs to earn the right to be critical by making their own films. It takes all kinds, I suppose.

They're coming to get you, Barbara!

[–] bladeshockey71 10 years ago

Fun fact, I'm pretty sure absentia had a budget of literally 10,000.

I liked this though, but I'm probably happier with well done technical stuff than most.

[–] pva3232 10 years ago

I totally agree Ben Adams.
I enjoyed the movie for what it was. A good B Horror flick.

[–] curtiscee 10 years ago

Agreed. The lead actress was hot, and much better than expected acting for this type of movie. Her best girlfriend was believable in her final scene, as was the tragedy felt for her and the good cop. Plus, the movie had some nice moments with the split rain, alien looks, the powers over the cops, inside the ship, and the extended ending with the silly, but effective X-Files homage. The douchebag male friend and the backup hick cop were standard issue poor, but their roles were amusingly disposable and made the probe scene and shotgun ends appropriate--you were glad in a way about their fates.

Special effects were cool considering the low budget. I'd hope I could pull as much quality from this movie on such a low budget. I actually prefer the quality like this over super-professional looking movies like War of the Worlds. Those movies are too glossy that they don't feel real; they always feel like "Hey! Cool! I'm looking at a CGI-movie made for 100's of millions of dollars! Wow!" I hate these reviews from people who are so random that they expect these movies to be seeking an Oscar. Point well taken. It's amateurish to grade a comedy by drama standards, in the same way it's crazy to grade an extraterresstial film by a biography standard. I was entertained. The reviewers do a disservice by rating such films so low that it makes me want to skip them on Netflix even though I know they're goofball reviewers; but thankfully I ignore them. They do a great service however by lowering my expectations so much that I can get out of my own way and enjoy the movie as a nice entertaining surprise.

Thanks Ben for putting this movie into the right perspective. I wish all of us likeminded people could get together and watch movies together and appreciate them for what they're worth. And then maybe we could get together and make a movie far less effective. But it would still be fun. It must suck royally, imagine if we made this movie, and then had to read all these *beep* reviews saying how much it sucks. Man, how proud we all would be if we actually had the talent and resources to make this film. I'd been proud. Thanks for the feedback. You get it.

[–] deanleitch81 9 years ago

Can agree more. some people just think it's cool to hate on movies these days, no matter what kind of movie it is.

[–] sftony 9 years ago

"Its like meeting a nice girl at a bar, getting her home and being pissed off because she isn't Scarlett Johansen." LOL love your analogy! And I agree with you. Some movies are just fun to watch. I don't have to ponder them for months.