Reviews

The pros: The cinematography is excellent. The editing is paced fairly well and makes good use of jump cuts. The lead actress is very good, considering she's acting in a vacuum. The CGI is seamless.

The cons: There is no story. There are no character arcs worth caring about. There is minimal suspense. The "alien" allegory is too simple. The lead male actor is inexperienced and uses slacker technique to mask it.

But, at the heart of this film is the relationship - and it seems to have been written by a 17 year old boy. I had to rent another film afterwards because this melted away faster than cotton candy in a sweaty hand (and yet, no brain candy and nominal CGI eye candy).

After the first episode, I thought I might nor continue. I was intrigued, but The Matrix/Lost aspects felt shoe-horned in.

After the second episode, I was hooked.

After the fourth, I am in love with it.

There is a craftsmanship to the visual that's wonderful. The camera work, the editing, the audio design - it's all top notch. Then there's Ian, breathing worlds into the simplest lines. The supporting cast are very good. The whole mix actually elicits the same feelings and thoughts that our #6 has. We are on the journey with him. I assume the final episode that answers everything will not compare to the journey, and that's fine. The journey is wonderful enough.

The problem with this movie is that they cast four high profile actors who, in turn, drew in a crowd of idiots. With lesser known actors, only people who consider film an art form would have watched it at a local indie house. There would be no talking during it, no cell phones ringing, no insecure laughter at harsh realities, and no expectations that the movie would spoon feed the meaning to them before the credits.

So, now that I've dissed the folks who most likely voted for Bush and hated Alexander because it was a GAY film (uh, remember history?), let me say to the rest of you that this film is lovely, with stylized, crackling dialogue and an end to make YOU connect the dots. If you have a brain and asthetic sense --- see it.