re: First Reactions for Alex Garlands 'Annihilation' - New film from the Ex Machina Director

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Ex Machina is one of the most over-rated films on this board. I watched it because of this board's enthusiasm and found out how shallow the pervasive opinions on here actually are.

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I am no movie snob and don't fall into the Movie/TV Board felatio over obscure movies or random, average actors.

Ex Machina is in my top 5 movies ever. I loved it, my wife loved it, my dumbass movie ignorant friends loved, my smart movie snob friends loved it.

Wonderful film. At least we know to ignore you from now on.

I haven't seen Ex Machina - yall have convinced me to give it a watch this weekend.

Yep they’re both top 5 for me.

FWIW, my #1 is City of God

Same. Always willing to support these types of sci fi films.

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Ex Machina is one of the most over-rated films on this board. I watched it because of this board's enthusiasm and found out how shallow the pervasive opinions on here actually are.

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You have to think through a few scenarios when reading reactions on the board:

1) Recency Bias
2) Hyperbole, for a variety of reasons
3) Over-infatuation with certain directors/creators/actors
4) Artistic Soft spots
5) Comparative Language

We all have some of these to a degree. To automatically categorize the board like this

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shallow the pervasive opinions on here actually are.

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is sort of unfair. Sometimes people are jut stoked that we get a science fiction film with a unique premise and solid all-around acting. Some people have a soft spot for science fiction and will love sci-fi no matter what (mine is horror, I'm way forgiving of horror as a genre). Some people really like Garland, or Nolan, or Villeneuve, etc.

When push comes to shove, even though plenty of people might say Ex Machina is an amazing, life changing film, when they really sit down and think about it, yeah it probably isn't better than Casablanca, Seven Samurai, etc. But we never get there in discussions, nor is that productive, so it's always an "amazing, life changing" film.

And for some people, it really is, and that's probably the truth.

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SJW circle jerk, all female cast, will bomb.

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You know, I was pretty damn vocal about all the SJW bullshite in TLJ...but what from the trailers leads you to believe it's a SJW circle jerk?

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You know, I was pretty damn vocal about all the SJW bullshite in TLJ...but what from the trailers leads you to believe it's a SJW circle jerk?

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The Far Left is actually pissed the frick off because the lead in the book is Asian and another is Indian. So long as Natalie Portman puts forth a good performance, I don't give a shite. If it's important to her background that she is Asian (like say Ghost in the Shell) then I have a problem with it, but generically, no.

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Even Portman said its problematic that she is playing an Asian character. I bet that paycheck wasn't problematic though.

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If it was so problematic, then she shouldn't have accepted the paycheck. She's pretty much declared open season on herself. If I was in the press, I'd tar and feather her for that.

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I have only read the first book of the series but I don't recall them mentioning her race. At the very least it was not important to the story at all.

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Because they didn't. That was what Alex Garland said and he refused to read the sequels where they explained this.