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2017, Sci-fi/Horror, 1h 43m

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Critics Consensus

Life is just thrilling, well-acted, and capably filmed enough to overcome an overall inability to add new wrinkles to the trapped-in-space genre. Read critic reviews

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Life videos, life   photos.

Astronauts (Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds) aboard the International Space Station are on the cutting edge of one of the most important discoveries in human history: the first evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars. As members of the crew conduct their research, the rapidly evolving life-form proves far more intelligent and terrifying than anyone could have imagined.

Rating: R (Some Sci-Fi Violence|Language Throughout|Terror)

Genre: Sci-fi, Horror, Mystery & thriller

Original Language: English

Director: Daniel Espinosa

Producer: David Ellison , Dana Goldberg , Bonnie Curtis , Julie Lynn

Writer: Rhett Reese , Paul Wernick

Release Date (Theaters): Mar 24, 2017  wide

Release Date (Streaming): Jun 2, 2017

Box Office (Gross USA): $30.2M

Runtime: 1h 43m

Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Production Co: Skydance Productions, Columbia Pictures

Sound Mix: DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos

Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Cast & Crew

Jake Gyllenhaal

David Jordan

Rebecca Ferguson

Miranda North

Ryan Reynolds

Hiroyuki Sanada

Sho Murakami

Ariyon Bakare

Olga Dihovichnaya

Ekaterina Golovinka

Alexandre N'guyen

1st Fisherman

Camiel Warren-Taylor

Daniel Espinosa

Rhett Reese

Screenwriter

Paul Wernick

David Ellison

Dana Goldberg

Bonnie Curtis

Don Granger

Executive Producer

Vicki Dee Rock

Seamus McGarvey

Cinematographer

Frances Parker

Film Editing

Mary Jo Markey

Jon Ekstrand

Original Music

Nigel Phelps

Production Design

Nick Gottschalk

Art Director

Celia Bobak

Set Decoration

Jenny Beavan

Costume Design

Mindy Marin

News & Interviews for Life

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On DVD This Week: Life and More

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Critic Reviews for Life

Audience reviews for life.

The abundance of clichés doesn't prevent this from being a thrilling and entertaining ride.

life movie review reddit

It's best to see Life with zero expectations and knowing very little about the premise (e.g. don't watch the trailer). A tense thrill-ride with an excellent acting assemble.

Really well executed and partially exciting sci-fi horror that doesn't manage to reinvent the wheel nor even tries to. While the look of the space station is close to the realism of Gravity, the trope in which every tense situation kills off one crew member is old and not particularly surprising. The creature is pretty cool, at least. Unfortunately they went with a real shitty shock ending. If I ever wanna see pretty well known actors die rather horrible deaths I would....oh wait, no I don't, ever. Too bad about the really good first half.

I've often wondered how humanity would react to the knowledge of there being life on other planets, even if that life-form is a single-cell organism. Even discovering that, as minor as it might seem to some of the more uneducated sectors of the world, would be the greatest accomplishment of humanity's short, in the grand scheme of things of how long the universe has been around, existence. I've always been of the belief that I would love to be able to live to be, even, 10,000 years old. When I think of all the advancements in technology, science, society, etc, etc, that I'm gonna miss due to the fact that this stupid body is only good for, at the most (in my case at least), 80 years is one of the greatest disappointments of my life. It's not that I would want to be immortal, it's just that I wish humanity could extend their lifespan exponentially than it currently sits at. That's neither here nor there, the point is that, again, discovering life on other planets would be a monumental accomplishment. Of course, this is a theme that has been explored in numerous other films. But, in these cases, it's always framed as a 'be careful what you wish for' type of scenario. And, I suppose, there's a kernel of truth to that. I mean, if you really think about it, if we discover life on other planets, especially if it's as complex as human beings are and not, necessarily, a single-celled organism, who knows whether they'd be hostile to us or not. We know nothing about them. This is just me speculating based on films I've seen, which is obviously not real life. But it is still something to think about. Though, of course, I've always been an ask questions first kind of guy. I don't want to make an impulsive decision based on what my instincts tell me because, it could very well turn out that those instincts are wrong. I suppose that's relevant to the film that we're talking about here. If I was one of the international space crew, I suppose I would have been one of the first to die, given, again, my predilection for assessing the situation before making a decision. Though, let's be fair, the moment Calvin latches on to my arm like he did to Hugh (and proceeded to break it), my survival instincts would kick in. And, yes, the life-form in question really is named Calvin (some kids at this elementary school got to pick it). The crew is hunted down, and some are killed, by an alien named Calvin. Anyway, we're getting ahead of ourselves here. The movie sees the crew discovering a life-form from this Mars capsule. Of course, there's a lot of science talk that I'm not even gonna bother going into, because I would just fry everyone's brain. Essentially things started to go wrong once they start to notice that Calvin quickly grows into a multi-cell organism, is uncommonly smart and is able to survive in temperatures similar to ours, though with obvious...differences, in that he can survive outside in space, where there is no oxygen, longer than he probably should. Regardless, every time he consumes a living being, starting with a lab rat, he gets bigger and bigger. Not to mention that he gets bigger, seemingly, every time the crew sees him, it's also that the fucking thing seems to be unkillable and adapts itself to whatever situation he is put on. Having said that, I suppose I should mention that I definitely enjoyed my time with this movie. Of course, I suppose that I should also mention that there is literally no original bone in this film's body. It's every trapped in space movie you've ever seen. The comparison to Alien is, quite frankly, almost way too obvious. And, sadly, as great as Alien is, comparing this to that high standard is always gonna end up going badly for this film. I mean, really, it doesn't always have to be unfavorable. Like I said, there's no original bone in this film's body, but I still felt that it made for an entertaining horror movie. First of all, Calvin the alien feels like a an actual threat. But there's also something that a character mentions and that's that Calvin doesn't hate the humans he's attacking, he just needs to eat them to survive. And, of course, it's a throwaway line, but it's not something that you normally think about in films like this and, sadly, it's not something that's explored further than this line. I mean, I guess I wouldn't know exactly where you go with that concept, but I'm just wondering aloud as to how interesting it would be if done correctly. The movie is also very nice to look at. While, obviously this is not the technical masterpiece that Gravity was, the special effects in this movie are really strong. And, honestly, as far as special effects are concerned, I always seem to gravitate more towards these set in space films. What I mean by that, is that I always seem to get into the visual aspects of those films more than, say, a Guardians of the Galaxy, which still has impressive effects, but it just doesn't grab me as much. If that makes sense. The film is also very well cast, there are strong performances from, pretty much, everyone in the cast. There's not much character development, for sure, since it's concerned more with the survival of the crew and getting them out of this situation, but I liked the characters. There's enough personality to them for their deaths to not feel meaningless. And, of course, the horror is just strong all around. It's obviously not gonna change the world, but, as I mentioned, Calvin feels like a real threat here. He feels like that simply because, no matter what you do to him, he withstands absolutely everything that is thrown his way. No kind of extreme heat or lack of oxygen can really stop him from accomplishing his goals. I'm not saying that Calvin is a supervillain like The Joker or, for a more recent example, Thanos, but he is a good enough monster for this type of film. There's also a good amount of gore here. Perhaps nothing too extreme, but it is definitely good as well. I liked the ending as well, given that it is appropriately bleak. I mean, in short, this is just a solidly-made movie where, while it doesn't master any of its individual elements, it shows enough mastery over all of them for it to add up to a good horror movie. This is obviously never going to be a horror classic, nor was it really meant to be. What it does offer is a solid, enjoyable entry into a subgenre that we are all familiar with. Good movies, really, are hard to come by (even if you pick and choose) and this is, in my opinion, a good movie (whether it's a horror or not). Obviously, the arthouse crowd isn't gonna gravitate toward this, but genre enthusiasts should find something to enjoy here.

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Screen Rant

Life review, despite some promising elements, life amounts to a middling (and derivative) sci-fi horror/thriller that never fully realizes its potential..

Upon successfully recovering a probe returning from Mars, the International Space Station crew are enthralled to discover that they now have a sample from the red planet - one containing an organism that provides the first proof of life beyond Earth. The ISS team, which includes one Dr. David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), Dr. Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson) and Rory 'Roy' Adams (Ryan Reynolds), thereafter maintain a strict adherence to safety protocol, in order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, should the organism prove to be dangerous or deadly to humans.

The Martian organism (which is dubbed "Calvin" in honor of an elementary school back on Earth) begins to rapidly evolve in the ISS laboratory, but otherwise appears to be benign... until one day when, following an accident in the lab, "Calvin" suddenly turns hostile and becomes an immediate danger to everyone onboard. As the various people aboard the ISS struggle to contain this newfound threat and keep themselves alive in the process, there's one thing they agree on: they cannot allow this creature to make its way to Earth, even if that means sacrificing their own lives in order to do so.

The latest addition to the long list of movies descended from Ridley Scott's classic  Alien , Life is a surprisingly middle of the road offering, considering the caliber of talent involved on both sides of the camera . While the film takes steps to mix up the well-trod formula for a story about humans encountering not-so-friendly extraterrestrial life in outer space, it falls somewhat short of fulfilling those ambitions. Despite some promising elements, Life amounts to a middling (and derivative) sci-fi horror/thriller that never fully realizes its potential.

Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (of Zombieland and Deadpool fame), Life  is partially successful at taking the now-familiar concept of people being trapped in a spaceship/space station with a monstrous extraterrestrial (once pioneered by Alien ) and adding some clever variations to the narrative proceedings. Problem is, in order to achieve this, Life winds up incorporating plot contrivances - some of which inadvertently make its twists and turns all the easier to anticipate - and under-serving its various human characters, from a development standpoint. Similarly, the "monster" in Life  is creepy and innovative in certain respects, yet it doesn't always operate in accordance with a consistent set of rules (or one that evolves logically) in the way that, say, creatures such as the Xenmorph and Predator do. This reduces the tension in Life , making it all the more easy to predict when the "monster" is going to find some miraculous way to get the upper hand on the humans that it's stalking.

"Calvin" is a solid CGI creation that kills its victims in an effectively disturbing manner in Life , making it one of the film's more unique elements. Director Daniel Espinosa ( Safe House ) and the movie's cinematographer Seamus McGarvey ( Godzilla , Nocturnal Animals ) do a commendable job of visually mapping out the International Space Station's interior layout, allowing  Life to better maintain a claustrophobic atmosphere once it sets Calvin loose on the movie's hapless astronauts. At the same time, Life  recycles a number of techniques used in other recent sci-fi offerings set in space (the Gravity -style extended take near the beginning of Life , for example) without matching their achievements in terms of quality and/or bringing much that's new to the table.  Life  thus falls short of establishing a rich sense of atmosphere and striking visual style of its own - coming off more as a mashup of elements from other films as a result, rather than one with its own identity.

Similarly, the three main lead actors in Life - Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson - give solid performances in their own right, yet are saddled with characters that are never fully fleshed out in the film. Reynolds as Rory/"Roy" is one of the more memorable players in the film, despite being a standard variation on Reynolds' tried-and-true, foul-mouthed smart aleck persona. Gyllenhaal, by comparison, delivers a fine performance as the ISS's longtime resident David, yet the character never evolves beyond being two-dimensional (even with the references to why David prefers life in space to Earth). Ferguson is solid in her own right while playing the disciplined and by-the-book Miranda, yet her character likewise fails to leave much of a lasting impression.

Ariyon Bakare ( Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell ), Hiroyuki Sanada ( The Wolverine ) and the Belarusian actress Olga Dihovichnaya round out the main ensemble in Life , playing the additional members of the ISS crew that crosses paths with Calvin. In typical horror movie fashion, the supporting players in Life are basic archetypes that are provided with a slight amount of emotional depth (Bakare's Hugh Derry, for example, is a scientist who was wheelchair-bound when he was on Earth), in the hopes of getting the audience invested in their fates. As such, Life  struggles to sufficiently flesh out its side characters - making it all the more obvious that they exist in the movie primarily to be hunted by Calvin, no more or less.

Although it makes for passable genre entertainment on its own, Life  is also a routine sci-fi horror/thriller that amounts to less than the sum of its parts. While Life 's cast and crew have succeeded in delivering more inspired genre films in the past, Life fits pretty squarely into the Alien mold and lacks the personality to stand out as a memorable addition to that sub-genre. Nevertheless, those who are in the mood to watch some unsuspecting humans have a not-so-friendly close encounter of the third kind, may find that Life does a derivable job of delivering the goods and want to give it a look at some point (if not necessarily in theaters).

Life is now playing in U.S. theaters. It is 103 minutes long and is Rated R for language throughout, some sci-fi violence and terror.

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments section!

Key Release Dates

life explained

Life Movie Ending Explained (With Full Plot Details)

Life is a sci-fi thriller brought to us by director Jorge Daniel Espinosa. The film is about a crew on a space station which is conducting research on Mars’ soil. The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare and Olga Dihovichnaya. This is a rare film of Jake’s where you don’t have to put in many hours to understand the movie’s plot. It’s rather straightforward except for a few bits. There was a rumour that the film is a prequel to a movie about Venom (Spiderman). Well, no it’s not. Ryan Reynolds is now Deadpool so his contract wouldn’t allow him to feature in a Venom’s prequel. Here’s the plot and ending of the movie Life explained; spoilers ahead.

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Life Movie Explained

Dr. David Jordan (Jake) – Senior Medical Officer Dr. Miranda North (Rebecca) – Quarantine Officer Rory “Roy” Adams (Ryan) – Pilot of the International Space Station Sho Murakami (Hiroyuki) – System Engineer Hugh Derry (Ariyon) – Lead Scientist Katerina Golovkina (Olga) – Commander of the Crew

What is the crew up to?

Well, they are on a mission to collect and analyze soil from Mars. They suspect that they may have found life.

What happens in the beginning, what are they trying to catch?

One of the pods that contains the soil sample is out loose. So Roy heads out and uses a clamp to catch the pod floating by. This part is not very significant but if they missed catching the pod, there would be no story. Because in the pod, is Martian soil and in the soil is a single cell of Martian origin.

The single cell seems to be dead. But when Hugh changes the atmospheric settings to match ancient Earth, the organism is revived from its dormant state. The organism begins to grow and is now multicellular. Hugh notices that each of the cells, unlike human cells – is all muscle, all brain, and all eye. In humans, different types of cells come together to form eyes, muscles and the brain. For the alien, the cells are kind of supercells. I know I’m trying to justify the explanation in the film. But honestly, I have no idea what the concept of this all brawn and brain thing is. But hey, it’s fiction . America names the alien Calvin. The organism grows rapidly. However, there is an accident in the lab that messes up the atmospheric conditions. Calvin goes dormant. Hugh, the smartass, uses electricity to try and resuscitate Calvin. Calvin gets pissed and breaks the electricity wand and as a bonus, breaks Hugh’s hand too. Hugh faints. Calvin uses the broken wand to rip out of containment unit. Calvin then consumes a friendly neighbourhood lab rat and grows in size.

Roy enters to save Hugh. He gets Hugh out but gets trapped with Calvin. Roy tries to flame-throw Calvin but fire doesn’t seem to affect it. Calvin retaliates by entering Roy’s mouth and ripping him from inside out. Calvin exits Roy and has become even bigger. The still active flame thrower triggers a fire alarm and air vents open up. Calvin escapes from one of the air vents.

The ship loses connectivity to Earth. Sho sends out an SOS call which reaches Earth unknown to the crew. Katerina decides to step out and have a look at the antenna. She realizes that the coolant has been consumed by Calvin as food. This has caused the comm failure as well. Calvin attacks her as she tries to reenter. Her suit is damaged and coolant from her suit enters her head chamber. She realizes that the rest of the crew would be put in danger and hence decides to drown and die outside. But Calvin makes its way to the thrusters to enter.

How is Calvin able to breathe outside the ship? Doesn’t it need oxygen?

Well, Calvin is shown to be desperate, it’s trying to get to the oxygen in Katerina’s suit. After she dies, Calvin is desperate to enter the space station from the Thrusters. Calvin is a lot bigger that it was in the containment unit. Hence it’s able to last a while longer without oxygen. Okay, then how about the pressure? Isn’t it vacuum in space? Alright, fine, this bit makes no sense at all.

alien calvin

So why is Calvin on a killing spree?

It’s primal instinct. It is a carbon-based lifeform, it needs to survive, it needs food. Humans are food. Humans have also pissed it off. So it’s merely reacting to protect itself.

Sho tries to turn on the thrusters as Calvin tries to enter them. He runs low on fuel doing this. Calvin is unharmed. Apart from this, all the thrusting has caused the space station to begin entering Earth’s orbit. They can’t have Calvin entering Earth. So they save the remaining fuel to correct the course out of the Earth’s orbit and Calvin reenters the ship.

What’s up with Hugh and how is Calvin on his leg?

As the crew plans to cut off atmosphere from the rest of the station except their own, Calvin has already made it to their module. Unknown to the crew, Calvin latches on to Hugh’s legs. Hugh can’t feel this because he’s paraplegic. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that? Hugh can’t feel his legs. He goes into cardiac arrest. Let’s take a minute and see what Hugh is up to here. Hugh has some crazy affinity with Calvin. He sees Calvin approach while the others are taping up the place. He doesn’t say anything. He actually allows Calvin to latch on to his leg. He then goes on to talk about how the nature of life is through destruction. How Calvin doesn’t hate them but has to kill them for its own survival. He then touches his leg and then begins to lose consciousness. Then he says “I’m sorry”. Hugh’s helping Calvin here. He’s lost it and the crew doesn’t realize this. As they use a defibrillator on Hugh, they notice Calvin emerging from the leg. They make a run for it. David and Miranda make it into a module and Sho shuts himself into a sleep capsule. Calvin has eaten a part of Hugh along with his tracker. So now they are able to track Calvin’s location. Hugh dies.

Hugh Leg Calvin

What’s that thing about the firewall?

David and Miranda use Hugh’s dead body to lure it into a module. Remember that SOS call that reached Earth? Well, Miranda had planned earlier that in case the crew loses control of the space station, Earth should just send a spacecraft to push the space station into deep space. So the incoming spacecraft is doing just that.

It locks-on and begins to push. Sho thinks that rescue has arrived and makes his way to the spacecraft and manually opens the latch. Calvin attacks. David and Miranda try to save Sho but they can’t. The manual hatch opening sends the capsule spinning onto the space station damaging it severely. The temperature and oxygen begin to drop rapidly.

David and Miranda are in a module and Calvin in the other. As they prepare to die, they realize all the pushing has caused the space station to drop into Earth’s orbit again. Calvin could survive the reentry, and Earth is doomed. David has one last idea. He recollects two escape pods that are configured to autopilot back to Earth. He tells Miranda to get into one pod and make it to Earth. He decides to lure Calvin with the oxygen glowing thingy things into the other pod. He plans to override the autopilot and fly into deep space with Calvin onboard.

Life Ending explained

Life Movie Ending Explained

David lures Calvin into his pod and Miranda enters hers. Miranda has a navigation failure and begins to go off course from Earth. It is her pod that begins to float into deep space not David’s. David tries to pilot his pod into deep space but Calvin immobilizes him. David is unable to control the ship and it enters the Earth’s orbit. It lands safely in Vietnam. Two fishermen come to check the pod out. The ending of Life reveals that while the audience is made to think that Miranda is the one who enters Earth, we are shown that is actually David’s pod with Calvin. Surprisingly, David is alive and Calvin has spread out like a web over David.

Why has Calvin kept David alive?

Well, it could be because the reentry drastically changed the atmospheric conditions in the pod which may have caused Calvin to go dormant. Alternatively, Calvin plans to use David as bait to get out of the pod. Either way, the film ends with multiple boats coming to the pod to rescue David as he screams for them to not to. They manage to open the Pod. The film ends. Earth is doomed unless there is a sequel.

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Movie Review: Life (2017)

  • Greg Eichelberger
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  • --> March 28, 2017

From the premise that all extra-terrestrial life is harmful comes Life , a combination of “Alien,” “The Thing,” “ Gravity ,” “The Mummy” and a few other trapped-in-space or alien-assimilation movies that we all know and love (or tolerate in some cases). Life is the story of the six-member crew of the International Space Station who, while orbiting Mars, discover a new form of life. And, of course, we all know what happens next. That’s all well and good, though, since we are not expecting anything other than fast action and quick deaths, and the audience will certainly not be disappointed in the film’s rather short running time (just a tad over 100 minutes; no doubt folks in earlier years had more patience with story and character development than we currently have).

In space for almost a year, the crew (with a heavy international vibe going on), consists of two American studs (Jake Gyllenhaal, “ Nocturnal Animals ” and Ryan Reynolds, “ Deadpool ”), a Brit researcher (Ariyon Bakare, “ Jupiter Ascending ”), the Frenchwoman commander (Rebecca Ferguson, “ The Girl on the Train ”), a Russian technician (Olga Dihovichnaya, “House of Others”) and a Japanese scientist and new father to boot (Hiroyuki Sanada, “ The Wolverine ”).

Things are pretty mundane, but when a life form is brought aboard from the surface of Mars, the world celebrates while a bunch of goofy kids name it “Calvin” (after their elementary school). Meanwhile, Hugh Derry (Bakare), begins treating the species like his own offspring, coddling it and even bringing it back from suspended animation. There is not much suspense to realize that this action causes the semi-protoplasm to grab the guy’s hand and render him mostly useless for the rest of the film (plus the trailer gave that away).

It’s here that the astronauts, who are no more than cookie-cutter placeholders, violate not only NASA protocol, but every rule of motion pictures within this genre by opening the lab door and ultimately allowing the growing organism (now looking like a translucent octopus) to attack each of the Space Station members one by one (like we’ve seen before, right?). For example, an astronaut has the thing enter their mouth and come out even larger and stronger; another incident has the crazed being bouncing around in space (where it is not supposed to live, but it maintains enough oxygen to survive until it can re-enter through a thruster port; and finally, the creature is able to make its way into space suits and other sealed equipment, rendering it practically invincible.

The last resort calls for survivors to utilize a pair of escape pods, sending the creature into deep space while the other returns to Earth; it’s during this segment that a more than obvious twist may or may not take place (I even found myself saying to the person next to me, “Uh, there’s two pods and . . .”).

Nonetheless, director Daniel Espinosa (“ Child 44 ,” and doing his best Ridley Scott impression) makes fairly decent use of the limited time and produces some thrilling moments, while the camera work of Seamus McGarvey (“ Godzilla ”) is both claustrophobic and vast with some truly amazing scenes inside the space station; and the special effects (mostly the ever-changing alien life form) overseen by David Watkins (“ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ”) is quite realistic and very frightening in some sequences.

It’s too bad all of this wonderful technology could not have supported a more original idea. Still, Life is not a bad ride, it’s just that most of us have lived it before.

Tagged: alien , astronaut , Earth , scientist , space , survival

The Critical Movie Critics

I have been a movie fan for most of my life and a film critic since 1986 (my first published review was for "Platoon"). Since that time I have written for several news and entertainment publications in California, Utah and Idaho. Big fan of the Academy Awards - but wish it would go back to the five-minute dinner it was in May, 1929. A former member of the San Diego Film Critics Society and current co-host of "The Movie Guys," each Sunday afternoon on KOGO AM 600 in San Diego with Kevin Finnerty.

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Why 2017's 'Life' Is an 'Alien' Rip-Off Worth Revisiting

If you're going to copy something, copy 'Alien.'

Modern film development is dominated by sequels, prequels, spinoffs, adaptations, and basically any established existing property. When everything is based on a name brand or burdened with world-building, seeing an old-fashioned rip-off feels almost quaint. Not every rip-off has to be a deceptive Asylum title , and many rip-offs are classics in their own right. There wouldn’t be a Reservoir Dogs without The Killing , there wouldn’t be Assault on Precinct 13 without Rio Bravo , and there certainly never would never be Cliffhanger , Speed , Air Force One , or The Rock without Die Hard . For a recent, underappreciated example: The 2017 science fiction horror film Life takes the premise of Alien and runs with the story of Ridley Scott ’s claustrophobic classic nearly note-for-note. When an unmanned exploratory vessel discovers an extraterrestrial soil sample in a Martian probe, samples of the organism are delivered to the crew of the International Space Station. The life form, nicknamed “Calvin” by Earth-bound school children witnessing the televised reports, is both sentient and lethal.

With the ability to both expand and exterminate, Calvin begins to pick off the crew of scientists Dr. David Jordan ( Jake Gyllenhaal ), Dr. Miranda North ( Rebecca Ferguson ), engineer Rory Adams ( Ryan Reynolds ), system operator ( Hiroyuki Sanada ), Dr. Hugh Derry ( Ariyon Bakare ), and Commander Ekaterina Golovkina ( Olga Dihovichnaya ) one-by-one. However, just because Life is derivative doesn’t mean it's not a blast. Alien is never a bad influence to have, and the outer space body horror of Daniel Espionosa ’s underrated fright-fest deserves another look this Halloween season.

RELATED: 'Alien' Games Ranked by How Fun It Is to Use the Flamethrower

While both Life and Alien exist firmly in the space-slasher subgenre, the design of Calvin is completely distinct from the Xenomorph. The Martian creature begins as a single-cell organism, and takes on new forms as it devours its victims. If the Xenomorph is mostly hidden within the shadows of the 1979 classic until the very end, Calvin’s composition is always fluctuating. It's not only a distinguishing factor, but a means for Espinosa to get more creative with the kills.

The perspective of scientists is also unique compared to the motley working-class crew of the Nostromo . These are definitely “movie scientists” who make a lot of dumb mistakes (although they’re significantly less clueless than those in the actual Alien prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant ), but they seem genuinely interested in the potential Calvin’s biology could have on the future of medical advancements. Their radio messages down to Earth and the subsequent media coverage could have been nothing but a lazy method of doling out exposition, but it provides insight into how their studies are received.

Espinosa isn’t a flashy filmmaker, but as Hollywood “for hire” filmmakers go, he can reliably hit the right beats. Safe House and Easy Money are generic action movies unshackled from any larger ambitions, and Life keeps the story mostly focused on the question of which crew member will be taken out next. Espinosa gets away with a surprising amount of gore for a PG-13; Reynolds’s surprisingly early exit, in particular, boasts some fun body distortion.

The relatively thin characterization is elevated by a surprisingly stacked ensemble, and it's nice to see a studio project with such a diverse cast working together effectively. Gyllenhaal has mostly worked with experimental arthouse fare after the failure of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time , so it's fun to see him return to material that is campier. Jordan’s willingness to sacrifice himself in order to destroy Calvin is the exact type of simple, noble character decision that a great actor can make more emotionally effective, even when it reads fairly simplistic on paper.

However, the fact that Jordan’s intended self-sacrifice doesn’t go as planned makes Life even more interesting. Now unleashed on Earth when Jordan’s pod is recovered when Vietnamese fishermen discover the crashed vessel, Calvin can continue spreading and presumably set up an Aliens rip-off next. It's strange that online speculation ahead of Life ’s release centered on its connection to Venom , because screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernicks ’ ideas for a sequel centered on containing Calvin could potentially spawn a cool franchise of its own.

It's more than a little ironic that Life hit theaters only two months before Alien: Covenant , because the two films take nearly opposite “back to basics” approaches to the original Alien premise. Covenant is completely weighed down by its mythology; Scott became so obsessed with tying in events from his original film, retconning events from Prometheus , and examining the consequences of playing God that the kills felt secondary. Comparatively, the stripped-down nature of Life makes it much more suspenseful.

Life is a March movie that knows it's a March movie, but the refreshingly straightforward take on zero-gravity horror is worth revisiting amidst this year’s Halloween festivities. The demand for “original sci-fi” doesn’t always need to include projects as ambitious as Arrival or Interstellar . Being non-IP in of itself is a novelty, but the well-executed chaos and anxiety in Life ’s galactic thrills are worth another look.

KEEP READING: The Best Space Movies of the 21st Century (So Far)

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Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence age more than 50 years in "Life,'' the story of two New Yorkers who spend their adult lives on a Mississippi prison farm because of some very bad luck. It's an odd, strange film--a sentimental comedy with a backdrop of racism--and I kept thinking of "Life Is Beautiful,'' another film that skirts the edge of despair. "Life Is Beautiful'' avoids it through comic inspiration, and "Life'' by never quite admitting how painful its characters' lives must have been.

The movie is ribald, funny and sometimes sweet, and well acted by Murphy, Lawrence and a strong supporting cast. And yet the more you think about it, the more peculiar the movie seems. Murphy created the original story line, and Ted Demme ("The Ref'') follows his lead; the result is a film that almost seems nostalgic about what must have been a brutal existence. When was the last time that a movie made prison seem almost pleasant? "Life'' opens in 1932 in a Harlem nightclub, with a chance encounter between a bank teller named Claude (Lawrence) and a pickpocket named Ray (Murphy). They both find themselves in big trouble with Spanky, the club owner (Rick James), who is in the process of drowning Claude when Ray saves both their lives by talking them into a job: They'll drive a truck to Mississippi and pick up a load of moonshine.

The trip takes them into Jim Crow land, where Claude is outspoken and Ray more cautious in a segregated diner that serves "white-only pie.'' Then they find the moonshiner, load the truck and allow themselves to get distracted by a local sin city, where Ray loses all his money to a cheat ( Clarence Williams III ) and Claude goes upstairs with a good-time girl. The cheat is found dead; Claude and Ray are framed by the sheriff who actually killed him and given life in prison.

The early scenes move well (although why was it necessary to send all the way to Mississippi for moonshine, when New York was awash in bootleg booze during Prohibition?). The heart of the movie, however, takes place in prison, where after an early scene of hard physical labor, life settles down into baseball games, talent shows and even, at one point, a barbecue. Bokeem Woodbine plays Can't Get Right, a retarded prisoner who hits a homer every time at the plate, and Ray and Claude become his managers, hoping to get a free ride out of prison when he's recruited by the Negro Leagues. But it doesn't work that way, and life goes on, decade after decade, while the real world is only hearsay.

Demme has two nice touches for showing the passage of time: Prison inmates are shown simply fading from the screen, and in the early 1970s Claude gets to drive the warden ( Ned Beatty ) into nearby Greenville, where he sees hippie fashions and his first afro haircut. Meanwhile, Rick Baker's makeup gradually and convincingly ages the two men, who do a skillful job of aging their voices and manners.

All of this time, of course, they dream of escaping. And they maintain the fiction that they don't get along, although in fact they've grown close over the years (comparisons with "The Shawshank Redemption'' are inevitable). Ray remains the realist and compromiser, and Claude remains more hotheaded; the warden likes them both and eventually assigns them to his house staff. But what are we to make of their long decades together? That without the unjust prison term, they would never have had the opportunity to enjoy such a friendship? That prison life has its consolations? That apart from that unfortunate lifetime sentence, the white South was actually pretty decent to the two friends? "Life'' simply declines to deal with questions like that, and the story makes it impossible for them to be answered. It's about friendship, I guess, and not social issues. Murphy and Lawrence are so persuasive in the movie that maybe audiences will be carried along. Their characters are likable, their performances are touching, they age well, they survive. And their lives consist of episodes and anecdotes that make good stories--as when the white superintendent's daughter has a black baby, and the super holds the kid up next to every convict's face, looking for the father. That's a comic scene in the movie; real life might have been different.

But life flows along and we get in the mood, and by the end we're happy to see the two old timers enjoying their retirement.

After all, they've earned it.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film Credits

Life movie poster

Life (1999)

Rated R For Strong Language and A Shooting

100 minutes

Eddie Murphy as Ray Gibson

Martin Lawrence as Claude Banks

Obba Babatunde as Willie Long

Ned Beatty as Dexter Wilkins

Bernie Mac as Jangle Leg

Rick James Winston as Spanky

Clarence Williams III as Hancock

Directed by

  • Robert Ramsey
  • Matthew Stone

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‘new life’: film review.

Actor Drew Waters makes his directing debut with 'New Life,' a family-friendly drama of a new marriage's challenges.

By THR Staff

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'New Life' Review

“Mountaintop experiences in our journey through this world” make for little cinematic drama in New Life , actor Drew Waters’s earnest but stiff entry into the family-friendly movie marketplace. As childhood sweethearts who marry and must get past obstacles both universal and less so, Jonathan Patrick Moore and Erin Bethea radiate wholesome goodwill but can’t animate a by-the-numbers screenplay. Box-office potential, like the film itself, is modest to a fault.

Moore plays Ben, who in a plummy British accent narrates this story of a couple born to be together. Sweethearts since elementary school days, when his family moved to America, he and Ava ( Bethea , one of the pic’s screenwriters) are briefly tested during college, when she gets frustrated with their long-distance romance and almost lets herself be wooed by a hunk in her study group. But before the fella can even try to kiss her, Ava’s out at her car to rush off to see Ben — who has already had the same idea.

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Release date: Oct 28, 2016

This tidy pattern of problem/resolution continues, with Ben, for instance, committing the sin of taking work too seriously only to soon admit, “I lost track of what was important.” The two are headed for some less easily resolved problems in the health department, but the film’s inch-deep approach persists, keeping viewers from caring much about the vanilla ciphers onscreen.

A side story involving Ava’s less morally upright best friend (Kelsey Formost , required to affect a frightful French accent) reeks of contrivance, and provides for a maudlin end to this forgettable tale.

Distributor: Argentum Entertainment Production companies: Argentum Entertainment, Drew Waters Films Cast: Jonathan Patrick Moore, Erin Bethea , James Marsters , Bill Cobbs , Irma P. Hall, Terry O’Quinn Director: Drew Waters Screenwriters : Erin Bethea , Candice Irion , Josh Spake , Drew Waters Producers: Erin Bethea , Jay Michaelson , Drew Waters, Jon Wroblewski Executive producers: Arthur L. Bernstein, Adam Falkoff Director of photography: Kristopher Kimlin Production designer: Katherine Tucker Editor : Blake Benton Composer: Mark Willard Casting director: Beverly Holloway

Rated PG, 89 minutes

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Porn Star Rocco Siffredi’s Netflix Bio-Series ‘Supersex’ Is More Tedious Than Sexy: TV Review

By Aramide Tinubu

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Supersex. (L to R) Alessandro Borghi as Rocco, Gaia Messerklinger as Moana in episode 104 of Supersex. Cr. Lucia Iuorio/Netflix © 2024

Loosely based on the experiences of real-life porn sensation Rocco Siffredi , known as the “Italian Stallion,” Netflix ’s “ Supersex ” isn’t actually very sexy at all. Instead, the seven-part series, created by Francesca Manieri, is a tale about family, masculinity and toxic bonds. While the show, which stars Alessandro Borghi in the lead role, has some interesting chapters, the surrealist elements — including some hallucinatory moments and the bizarre way some of the sex scenes are filmed — make it more than a biographical account. Instead, it’s an overly complex examination of relationships and the vices people indulge in to escape their emotional turmoil.

Series opener “Superpower” acts mainly as a coming-of-age story. Following Rocco’s retirement news, the show zips back to 1974. Ten-year-old Rocco Tano feels trapped in the impoverished rural town of Ortona and lost in the chaos of his family life. His mother is devoted to his mentally disabled brother Claudio, and Rocco lives in the shadow of his charismatic older half-brother, Tommaso (Adriano Giannini). Tommaso is Rocco’s North Star. He represents a type of freedom and hypermasculinity that appears out of reach for the men of Ortona. Tommaso also has the love of the town’s most stunning woman, Lucia (Jasmine Trinca), which only endears Rocco to him further.

In addition to examining Rocco’s family dynamic, “Supersex” zooms in on his fixation on sex, which begins at a very young age. The series unpacks his crush on Lucia and later his discovery of “Supersex,” a pornography magazine starring Gabriel Pontello. The euphoria from observing and later engaging in sex is a feeling Rocco chases across the next three decades. But his sex work comes at the expense of his mental health. It also destroys the romances and familial bonds he tries to form and maintain.

Despite a lifelong admiration of Tommaso’s machismo, his brother’s treatment of Lucia, who funds their lifestyle through her sex work on the streets of Paris, slowly shifts Rocco’s point of view. An invitation to a sex club awakens previously unknown desires. Becoming a porn star gives him financial security, but his inner turmoil stems from trying to live up to the expectations his family places on him.

“Supersex” dwells far too long on Rocco’s dysfunctional brotherhood with Tommaso, giving the toxic and exhausting connection unneeded exposition. Fewer episodes and less time spent on the self-destructive café manager would have kept the storyline squarely on Rocco’s psyche. Moreover, Manieri positions Lucia’s life as a counternarrative to Rocco’s. As with Rocco’s female co-stars, she isn’t allowed the same agency and status he obtains. Women are sexualized and then vilified for being sexual in the same breath. While Lucia eventually finds herself on a new path, it’s not without suffering and sacrifice, difficulties Rocco never contends with. The pair are an intriguing juxtaposition, but this mirroring gets muddled under their dark pull toward Tommaso. Similarly, Rocco’s enthusiasm for rough sex acts is never fully explored.

Still, “Supersex” makes some smart choices. Intercourse and other types of sex are showcased, of course, but these scenes aren’t gratuitous. Instead, they illustrate Rocco’s emotional state as he deals with loss and yearning or even demonstrate his self-worth.

The penultimate episode, “Resurrection of the Bodies,” is the standout and centers on Rocco’s return to Ortona amid his mother’s illness and one of the biggest highlights of his career, winning best European actor at the Hot d’Or Awards. In 53 minutes, Rocco confronts the effects of shame and how so-called family members react to him when he’s no longer playing by their rules.

Though Rocco’s story is solidly depicted, audiences hoping for a bio-series-type narrative won’t find it here. It’s also worth noting that Netflix offers a dubbed English version, but the show is best viewed in Italian with subtitles. Overall, “Supersex” isn’t just an examination of one man’s life and career but a look at the lives people create, however unconventional, when they dare to move through the world as their most authentic selves.

“Supersex” premieres March 6 on Netflix .

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Moving war-time biopic celebrates the best of humanity.

Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter, and Johnny Flynn on the One Life movie poster

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Decency, compassion, courage, perseverance, and in

Nicholas Winton is an inherently good person and i

The film is the true story of hundreds of young re

Much of the the horrors of WWI play off-screen. Bu

Some use of "bollocking," "s--t," "damn," "twit,"

Characters are seen smoking. There is also some dr

Parents need to know that One Life is a British drama based on the true story of Nicholas Winton who saved hundreds of children from the Nazis in the outbreak of World War II. Set across two timelines -- Johnny Flynn plays Winton in the 1930s and Anthony Hopkins plays him in the1980s -- the film celebrates…

Positive Messages

Decency, compassion, courage, perseverance, and integrity are all prominent themes, even during times of war. Standing up to tyranny and doing what you can to help those in need. However, the film also touches upon accepting that you can't help everyone and not to blame yourself if that proves to be the case.

Positive Role Models

Nicholas Winton is an inherently good person and incredibly humble with it. He shows great compassion and levels of courage as he tries to rescue as many children as he can from the Nazis and is selfless with it -- refusing to take any credit for his heroics. He has a small team of others who share the same principles, and also risk their lives to help others. They are willing to bend the rules somewhat, but for the greater good.

Diverse Representations

The film is the true story of hundreds of young refugees, many Jewish, being saved from Nazi persecution in the outbreak of World War II. The story is told from the perspective of a White male, Nicholas Winton, and leans into something of a White saviour narrative, although Winton claims to also have Jewish grandparents. His motives are also questioned by a Jewish man, which feels like the filmmaker's way of acknowledging this potential criticism. There are no characters of color apart from a Black reporter only seen in the background. Female characters are given more agency, with a number showing courage and being integral in the rescue missions. A young child is seen with a large birthmark on their face that goes without mention and helps normalize such representation on-screen. The antisemitism shown by the Nazis (and others) lingers throughout. An elderly man who, for the large part, is shown to be stoic and unwilling to show emotion, eventually breaks down displaying a vulnerability not always shown in movies.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Much of the the horrors of WWI play off-screen. But the imminent threat and fear of those being persecuted is prominent throughout. Families are torn apart in desperate bids to survive and are seen living in poor conditions in refugee camps. There is a depiction of an abandoned baby and reference to children and parents being beaten and going missing, feared dead. Suicide reference. An intense scene involves a train being hijacked by Nazis -- people, including children are forcibly pulled off the train. Antisemitic behavior displayed and references to Auschwitz and other concentration camps.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Some use of "bollocking," "s--t," "damn," "twit," "crikey," and "bloody." Also "God's sake" and "Christ" used as exclamations. Antisemitic remarks such as a note saying "Refujews go home" and two Nazis saying "Why would England want all these Jews?"

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters are seen smoking. There is also some drinking including four people doing shots a at a bar. But no drunkenness is depicted. An elderly character is seen drinking at home alone.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that One Life is a British drama based on the true story of Nicholas Winton who saved hundreds of children from the Nazis in the outbreak of World War II. Set across two timelines -- Johnny Flynn plays Winton in the 1930s and Anthony Hopkins plays him in the1980s -- the film celebrates the goodness in humanity, despite the horrors of war and antisemitism at the time. Winton shows immense courage and striking compassion, while never looking for thanks or plaudits. Although the movie strays away from any actual graphic violence, threat is a constant, and families are shown being torn apart. In one scene, Nazi soldiers physically pull children and adults off a train, and there are constant references to people going missing, presumed dead. The refugees are seen in camps with poor conditions, while there are also references to Auschwitz and other concentration camps. During the 1930s scenes, characters are seen smoking, which is reflective of the time period. Language includes occasional use of "s--t," "bloody," and "Christ" as an exclamation. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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One Life: Johnny Flynn wearing round glasses and a hat at a train station

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What's the Story?

ONE LIFE tells the remarkable true story of Nicholas Winton who risked everything to help save Jewish children in the lead up to World War II. Leaving behind his supportive mother ( Helena Bonham Carter ) in England, Winton ( Johnny Flynn ) sets off alone to Czechoslovakia and after witnessing families being forced out of their homes into hopeless refugee camps, makes it his mission to rescue hundreds of children to the safety of the British Isles. Fifty years later, Winton ( Anthony Hopkins ) still carries this heavy burden and decides to try and tell the story of those children.

Is It Any Good?

This British biographical drama survives off its incredible story. One Life is set across two timelines, with Flynn and Hopkins both playing the central role of Winton, a man who saved hundreds of children from the Nazis in the run up to WWII. Many people with have seen the viral clip of an elderly Winton being surprised by several of these children -- now adults -- during a British television broadcast in the 1980s. It's a profoundly moving TV moment. The issue with James Hawes' film, however, is that while Winton's selflessness was nothing short of incredible, the actual act itself lacks dramatic tension. Most of what Winton achieved, and how he went about it, was largely paperwork. It was securing the right documents to ensure the majority Jewish children were able to leave Czechoslovakia and make it to England safely. This takes nothing away from Winton and the film is a worthy tribute to a great man. But as a movie it just lacks a sense of cinematic intensity. The performance by Hopkins is wonderful, though, in a role you just feel was made for this treasured actor.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the positive messages in One Life . Nicholas Winton shows tremendous perseverance , compassion , integrity , humility , empathy , and courage in his quest. Why are these such important character strengths to have? Can you think of a time when you've shown these traits?

How do you think the children in the movie must have felt? Did the events shown in the film remind you of anything happening today?

Discuss the outbreak of World War II as depicted in the film. Do you know much about this time period? Has this movie encouraged you to learn more about it? How to talk with kids about violence, crime, and war.

How was smoking depicted in the film? Was it glamorized? How has our behavior when it comes to smoking changed from when the movie was set?

Movie Details

  • In theaters : March 15, 2024
  • Cast : Anthony Hopkins , Johnny Flynn , Helena Bonham Carter
  • Director : James Hawes
  • Inclusion Information : Female actors, Female writers
  • Studio : Bleecker Street Media
  • Genre : Drama
  • Topics : History , Trains
  • Character Strengths : Compassion , Courage , Empathy , Humility , Perseverance
  • Run time : 110 minutes
  • MPAA rating : PG
  • MPAA explanation : thematic material, smoking and some language
  • Last updated : February 1, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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IMAGES

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VIDEO

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COMMENTS

  1. Official Discussion: Life (2017) [SPOILERS] : r/movies

    Directors: Daniel Espinosa. Writer: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick. Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal as Dr. David Jordan. Rebecca Ferguson as Dr. Miranda North. Ryan Reynolds as Rory "Roy" Adams. Hiroyuki Sanada as Sho Kendo. Ariyon Bakare as Hugh Derry. Olga Dihovichnaya as Katerina Golovkina.

  2. r/movies on Reddit: What did you think of the sci-fi horror film "Life

    Life was good in the sense that I found it entertaining, but it looked too polished and felt somewhat incomplete as a story. The alien design was a little disappointing; it suggested the creative team wanted to commit to a number of potentially interesting ideas that had come before without actually committing to them.

  3. Thoughts on the movie LIFE? : r/movies

    That's essentially what the plot of LIFE (movie) is: The astronauts having to make critical decisions to survive after they fuck up on the ship. To movie, the movie represented the human basic instincts and I think the director did a consistent job in this regard throughout. 3. XInsects. • 7 yr. ago.

  4. Life Movie Ending Explained: What Happened To The Capsules?

    The Life movie ending took audiences by surprise in 2017, offering a bleak and haunting conclusion to the sci-fi horror movie. While Life was not a box office or critical hit, it managed to impress many fans with its take on the contained killer alien story that draws a lot of inspiration from Ridley Scott's Alien.However, the aspect of the movie that seems to get the most attention is the ...

  5. Life movie review & film summary (2017)

    Life. After the relatively warm-and-fuzzy space odysseys of " Arrival " and " Passengers " it's salutary to see a relatively big studio sci-fi picture in which the final frontier is once again relegated to the status of Ultimate Menace. Genre thrill-seekers disgusted/disappointed by " Prometheus " but still salivating like Pavlov ...

  6. Life review

    Wendy Ide. he crew of a space station is picked off, one by one, by an extraterrestrial life form which seems to view the human contents of the craft as some kind of alien finger buffet. And if ...

  7. Life

    The film tries to create tension and scares, but it falls short. Full Review | Jul 3, 2020. Brent McKnight The Last Thing I See. "Life" is the movie equivalent of dropping a handful of Mentos into ...

  8. 'Life' Review

    Director of photography: Seamus McGarvey. Production designer: Nigel Phelps. Costume designer: Jenny Beavan. Editors: Frances Parker, Mary Jo Markey. Composer: Jon Ekstrand. Venue: South by ...

  9. Life

    Astronauts (Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds) aboard the International Space Station are on the cutting edge of one of the most important discoveries in human history: the first ...

  10. Life (2017) Movie Review

    The latest addition to the long list of movies descended from Ridley Scott's classic Alien, Life is a surprisingly middle of the road offering, considering the caliber of talent involved on both sides of the camera . While the film takes steps to mix up the well-trod formula for a story about humans encountering not-so-friendly extraterrestrial life in outer space, it falls somewhat short of ...

  11. Life

    Life - Metacritic. 2017. R. Columbia Pictures. 1 h 44 m. Summary The six-member crew of the International Space Station is on the cutting edge of one of the most important discoveries in human history: the first evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars. As the crew begins to conduct research, their methods end up having unintended consequences ...

  12. Life (2017) : Movie Plot Ending Explained

    Life is brought to us by director Jorge Daniel Espinosa. The film is about a crew on a space station which is conducting research on Mars' soil. The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare and Olga Dihovichnaya. This is a rare film of Jake's where you don't have to put in many hours to ...

  13. Movie Review: Life (2017)

    I have been a movie fan for most of my life and a film critic since 1986 (my first published review was for "Platoon"). Since that time I have written for several news and entertainment publications in California, Utah and Idaho. Big fan of the Academy Awards - but wish it would go back to the five-minute dinner it was in May, 1929.

  14. The Fisherman's Lure : r/horror

    Like you said, it was solid. I think it was originally supposed to be part of the Cloverfield universe hence the closing scene, but I don't remember the details. 1. Crocune • 1 yr. ago. To me this was like a solid 3/10 horror movie. Probably bottom 5 movies I've ever watched for Spooktober.

  15. Life (2017 film)

    Life is a 2017 American science fiction horror film directed by Daniel Espinosa, written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and starring an ensemble cast consisting of Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, and Olga Dihovichnaya.In the film, a six-member crew of the International Space Station uncovers the first evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars.

  16. High Life movie review & film summary (2019)

    With its brutal violence, explicit sex, and up-close views of blood, sweat, urine, and semen, it is proudly an R-rated film, verging on NC-17—though the X-rating, which was discontinued by the MPAA almost 30 years ago, might feel more appropriate. Everything about this movie is retro, from the opaque yet fully felt performances (led by ...

  17. Why Life Is a Good Movie and an Alien Rip-Off At the Same Time

    Jordan's willingness to sacrifice himself in order to destroy Calvin is the exact type of simple, noble character decision that a great actor can make more emotionally effective, even when it ...

  18. Life movie review & film summary (1999)

    Directed by. Ted Demme. Matthew Stone. Robert Ramsey. Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence age more than 50 years in "Life,'' the story of two New Yorkers who spend their adult lives on a Mississippi prison farm because of some very bad luck. It's an odd, strange film--a sentimental comedy with a backdrop of racism--and I kept thinking of "Life Is ...

  19. 'New Life': Film Review

    Production designer: Katherine Tucker. Editor: Blake Benton. Composer: Mark Willard. Casting director: Beverly Holloway. Rated PG, 89 minutes. Actor Drew Waters makes his directing debut with 'New ...

  20. The ending of Life (2017) is perhaps one of the best movie ...

    The ending of Life (2017) is perhaps one of the best movie endings I have seen. Question. First off, I enjoyed the movie, I thought it was a good sci-fi/horror story. It's also quite horrifying, but the ending.. I was in a huge shock after watching the final scene. I mean, what a twist!

  21. 'RedLife' Ending Explained & Film Summary: Did Aoi And Som Reconcile?

    RedLife is an emotional Thai drama film that is centered around a red light area in Bangkok. We are introduced to Ter and Mind, a young couple desperate to make ends meet. Ter struggled to make peace with Mind's line of work. The thought of his partner sleeping with strangers for money bothered him, but he lacked the education and skill required to land a decent job to keep themselves afloat.

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  24. Netflix's 'Damsel' Ending Explained

    Elodie watches from a distance as the dragon interrogates her father and kills off his men. Knowing that Elodie could hear him, he reveals that he had promised her life in exchange for gold ...

  25. "High Life" Review: What the Hell? : r/movies

    High Life bumps along with a steady clip of eyebrow-raising moments, including when a young female inmate murders an older female inmate who saved her from being raped by a now-dead male inmate just so that she can take the older female's place as pilot of a small vessel that will determine the viability of the black holes.

  26. 'Supersex' Review: Rocco Siffredi's True Porn Story Doesn't Shine

    The euphoria from observing and later engaging in sex is a feeling Rocco chases across the next three decades. But his sex work comes at the expense of his mental health. It also destroys the ...

  27. Official Discussion: High Life [SPOILERS] : r/movies

    The crew—death-row inmates led by a doctor with sinister motives—has vanished. As the mystery of what happened onboard the ship is unraveled, father and daughter must rely on each other to survive as they hurtle toward the oblivion of a black hole. Director: Claire Denis.

  28. One Life Movie Review

    Nicholas Winton is an inherently good person and i. Diverse Representations. The film is the true story of hundreds of young re. Violence & Scariness. Much of the the horrors of WWI play off-screen. Bu. Sex, Romance & Nudity Not present. Language. Some use of "bollocking," "s--t," "damn," "twit,"

  29. Film Review: KUNG FU PANDA 4 (2024): Po is Back in a Basic ...

    This subreddit is not associated with Amazon or the Internet Movie Database. Members Online Film Review: THE DROP: Gripping, Thrilling, and Interesting [LFF 2014]