L I F E

I have no plans to watch it. It looks rather well made and intriguing.  However, irrespective of how good it is, creative, dramatic etc.  I refuse to pay money that I earned to see Jake Gyllenhall  (not sure if that is the exact spelling, sorry) in a movie.  There are some "actors" and "actresses" I cant stand to watch.  Julianne Moore is another hack.  Apologies to anyone if these are their favorite actor and actress but it's just one man's opinion.

S P O I L E R S

Neo- thanks for this great review, glad you liked it!

I'm the guy in the theatre that welcomes stupid behavior because that's what opens doors, and in its defense I'd say it also communicates things like control being lost, and the panic that follows. And it provides us with scenes like Reynolds trying to kill a malevolent rubber glove with a flame thrower, and failing. 

The way Calvin snatches the oxygen lamp from Gyllenhall's hand, the selfish violence of it, and then it curls around it, you do get the impression it's just naturally violent, like it just doesn't know how to play nice. Nor does it want to. Calvin is pretty complex for a thing from space, like a bully who over reacts to everything.

The thruster thing was to me much like the sprinkler thing, I understood that they were weaknesses in the armor, but I failed to understand how getting in them would be to Calvins advantage. I did enjoy that being in an active thruster neither killed nor even injured it, but I would have liked to see the thruster fire up close, and then Calvin emerge from it with some of that great 'Oh No It's CALVIN' music! 

What it becomes at the end excited me because it was completely changed, but into what? Gyllenhall is still alive, but clearly begging them not to open the capsule. It looked like that stuff was growing through him. But just like in the movies of yore, that scene is a surreal setup for your imagination to run wild on. God only knows what happens next, but the music assures you it's gonna be BAD. 

Thank you for talking with me about this.

Parrot- I know how you feel. I personally can't stand Colin Farrell. I'm sorry Jake is in this movie, but he does do a fair bit of suffering, if that moves you.

Aorta: "The way Calvin snatches the oxygen lamp from Gyllenhall's hand, the selfish violence of it, and then it curls around it, you do get the impression it's just naturally violent, like it just doesn't know how to play nice".

Hmmm …while I agree that Calvin definitely appears to snatch it and completely envelopes his entire body around it, I was under the impression that it was because of the below freezing temperatures at the time and poor little Calvin was simply using it as a heat source to get warm!!! :D

Thank you Aorta, you sure piqued my interest in the first place. 

I can't wait to see this movie!! It'll give me something to gnaw on while waiting for A:C. I am VERY curious about Calvin!!

As for all the starry-eyed and wistful-wisher astronomers who think finding extraterrestrial life is going to be automatically a good thing, I wrote them off as hopeless idiots years ago. They always assume that a species more advanced than us technologically will be more peaceful...and that might be true, among THEMSELVES, and there is NO way to predict how some other species will view us.

S P O I L E R S

Newt- Lone pointed out that I don't do a lot of threads, which is true, and for the same reason I don't throw a lot of parties: It's a lot of work! Happy work, of course, but I feel I need to try to interact with everyone who posts. 

I really only participate in one other forum, and there I mostly just read because it, like many (or most) other forums, is a really negative, hostile place. Pointlessly so. This one is unique and totally to my taste so I view a thread as a party and want to be a good host!

As for Calvin: what blew me away when it escapes the containment chamber was the ingenuity of it, it was at once humorous and terrifying, you just don't see it coming and you understand in that moment that there is real intent in its actions, not just instinct. That made (to me) what happened to Hugh read as torture. I'm liking that perspective because it really made my blood run cold.

The fate of the rat was similarly blood curdling, I mean yes that's just the way it eats but still..Jesus. And you needed that information to truly appreciate what it did to Rory. From that point forward it seemed a lot like a cat, taking its time and toying with its victims. Anyway that's where the sadism impression comes from.

My impression was that it wanted to build up oxygen, which was why it was following the lamps? Remember, it was out in space on the hull of the ISS without ill effect, and they commented that it was storing oxygen in its issue.

Blackwinter- all we can hope is that these same scientists are the ones who discover their mistake first, heh heh. Oh wait, that would make them stupid scientists!

Aorta – I completely understand and appreciate your position! I too choose my forums with great care since I cannot abide profanity, wanton behaviour & trolling. Although a newbee, I adore this site not only for the wonderful scholarly topics posted, but also because of the courteous, thoughtful behaviour when members debate and express different opinions and lines of thought. Members here genuinely care how their responses will be read by others, and are quick to apologise should they inadvertently or “perceive” to offend another. This is truly rare!!!

Opps I digress…Calvin…I am beginning to catch a glimpse of where you are coming from with Calvin’s “intent” being so malicious. I honestly could not see it before from that angle. Thank you for elaborating on it further to help me understand your perspective more. All I saw was a simple petal like creature, inquisitively responding to Hugh – even changing its form to a starfish to mirror Hugh’s 5 fingered glove – its “friend”. Then it gets knocked unconscious & then electrocuted awake by this “friend” so it was frightened and consequently attacks with all its might. I saw absolutely no intent, just a reaction. I saw “intent” only when it realised that it was no longer “safe” in that box and therefore had to escape and problem-solve to the best of its ability using the tool to pierce the glove. When Calvin interacted with the rat, to me it was exactly the same way it initially interacted with Hugh’s hand – dancing, caressing, curious…another maybe “friend” that is... until the rat bit him.

Hmmm…so Calvin can play “nice” only while you play “nice” but try to attempt anything different, then except Calvin to over-react instantly and kill you in the most painful way possible. Hmmm… anger and revenge so sadistic because Calvin is deriving some pleasure from inflicting this pain back 1000000 fold. And after two attempts at trying to make friends, well that's enough for him...period! Am I on the right track?

Hmmmm... wondering just how long my innocent little Calvin actually would have "played nice" for - if he had not been inadvertently hurt by Hugh, rat and Rory...hmmmm

I do hope I'm not perceived as too sadistic here, but I would absolutely love to find out exactly what Calvin did to Rory’s insides lol!!! So much is left to the imagination and Rory acted this scene just perfectly!!!! :D

Ahhh…”it wanted to build up oxygen” the penny had dropped! I completely forgot about that comment about him storing the oxygen in his tissues – THANK YOU!!!

Aorta - just want to say you are indeed a most delightful and brilliant host, and I really do hope you can throw some more parties on here when you are able!!!

Aorta

Like you, due to same experiences, I also am VERY picky about forums, and I love this place!!

You're also more than welcome on any of my threads that you choose to visit! :)

MORE SPOILERS

Newt- this conversation is a great example of how people see what they want to see! Where you saw an innocent flower, I saw a giant space germ. Probably both interpretations are valid. Again, whoever conceived this creature created one of the great monsters, I think.

When Calvin entered the rats cage, I was pre disposed to see it as hostile, given what it had just done. It's possible I was holding on to that for the rush of fear it provided, honestly I hadn't felt that unnerved in the theatre since Alien, I was enjoying it.

So when Calvin then sort of sniffed the rat, all I saw was sinister intent, and the music certainly supported that. And you know what happened next. Sinister stuff.

Perhaps another way to perceive the creature is that it doesn't know it's own strength, and is prone to tantrums. It does seem rather impulsive. Maybe more is being said about how we perceive things than I realized?

I'm going to see it again with a friend on Wednesday, it'll be interesting to see what she thinks. Ha ha this thread just won't die!

Blackwinter- thank you, you are very kind.

Aorta – I too plan to see it again this week, and am super glad this thread has no intentions of dying!!!

I’m really kinda obsessed with trying to understand Calvin more! I do remember the music leaving a positive impression the last time I left the cinema, however I shall pay much more attention to it this time around - especially in regards to Calvin.

I love how we have both come away with entirely different interpretations/opinions of Calvin – almost polar opposites lol!!!! I am thoroughly enjoying our discussions, as I’m not that astute and often need others to highlight things that I missed. Again THANK YOU Aorta!!!

Newt- you seem pretty sharp to me, don't sell yourself short.

I love how this simple little horror movie is revealing more and more depth, not Prometheus depth, but so much more than you'd expect. Thank you for exposing that!

I gotta say, I saw this on Saturday....it was just eh.  I think I might have been in the wrong mood for that movie at the time...I wasn't in the mood to see a helpless weak mankind flick...

Great review Aorta.

I enjoyed Life, but I did feel that it was too similar to Alien/John Carpenter's The Thing.

I am an advocate for this movie from the start as i watched in on Thursday early screenings the week of its release....Aorta was one of the first on team Life, promoting it and suggesting to everyone as i have been to go and see it as its a great movie.

One of the knocks is it is copying other movies, where i dont see it as copying. There are only so many avenues a story of any can take, its the little details and the quality of your story that matter and Life is done with great detail and skill.Everything is similar to something else if you look hard enough. Let me give an example of things to do in space or with space:

A. Deal with an Alien Invasion---it would automatically be compared to War of the Worlds or Independence Day, etc

B. Have the movie's protagonists deal with mechanical failures in space---it would be automatically compared to Space Cowboys, Apollo 13, and Gravity

C. Have it deal with other dimensions it would be compared to Event Horizon etc

D. Having it deal with friendly Aliens, humanoid or otherwise it would be compared to ET, Echo, Starman, etc

E. Have a movie deal with a dangerous or malevolent creature it would be compared to The Thing, or Alien 

F. Have a movie deal with humans first encounters with an alien lifeform (of course many would qualify) but it would be automatically compared to Contact, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Close Encounters

So there is no such thing as a movie that is totally new and fresh and there is only so many things to do when dealing with space of alien life forms, everything uses certain elements repeatedly, elements that many of these movies ALL share., are they bad for using these elements, hell no, its how they use them that matters....its too easy to label a movie a copycat because no matter how original a general idea is, trust me that idea has been done before....so by all means go see Life its a great movie

Foxxy-

When I was a kid, one of my favorite movies was a 1969 Japanese science-fiction flick called Green Slime. In it, astronauts bring a green substance aboard a space station and, when it comes in contact with electricity, it grows into these sort of giant one eyed pickles with tentacles that roam the space station murdering astronauts.

10 years later Alien came out, and I was reminded very much of Green Slime. Dan O'bannon and Ron Schusett openly admitted that they stole from 'everybody' when writing Alien. Artists do this, it's a fine line between plagiarism and homage but Alien was homage and I think LIFE is, too.

The Beatles and the Stones were quite derivative of the artists they admired. Where would they have been without Chuck Berry, Little Richard or the Everly Brothers? We wouldn't have rock n roll without the blues. Everything comes from something.

I forgive LIFE it's trespasses because it isn't trespassing, it's honoring a classic scenario with its own very imaginative and well executed take. I love monsters in space, but the majority of them suck. All of them, really, except the MORB and it's kin, and The Thing. Actually I also like The Blob (the original, 1958). For me, Calvin can take it's place alongside these iconic creatures. 

Steve- I'm sorry you were disappointed, but I'm glad you went to see it. We need more film makers making these relatively small space horror movies and we can ensure that by spending our money!

I really love creatures attacking human movies, especially in space. I also feel given time Life will be honored as one of the best. While it's not as good as The Thing, or Alien/Aliens it better than any other space creature movies and I'm saying I found it better than A3 and definitely superior to Resurrection, although topping AR isn't hard as my morning dump is better quality than that trash.

But I do think Life is a great movie. I love the mistakes the smart astronauts made, they had precautions in place, scientifically thought out precautions but what Calvin submitted them to made their firewalls irrelevant. They were stressed and panicked as they didn't know what to do.

i also don't knock the film for having the two try to save the one character when they probably knew it was futile. They did this because they chose life. Also the character David in this film hated humanity and being among them on the planet thus his long space tenure... But when shit hit the fan he was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to preserve life. Lastly Calvin shown over and over again it was willing to do and could do many things to prolong life, it's own with horrific results. One cool thing about the movie is the humans and the antagonist were all choosing life throughout this film. When Rebecca Ferguson narrates about the core behavior of any species is to survive, I know she was talking about Calvin as they were trying to understand his actions, and intentions... But if you think about it ,she was talking about her and her crew as well, as they are choosing life just like Calvin, they make grasps, take chances, plan and plot and hide all to preserve life. The funny thing is that them and Calvin were both trying to do the same thing, preserve life. but were in direct conflict with each other and ultimately the reason both sides were struggling to fight for life. I know it's deep but it's a cool concept when u think of it

SPOILERS

Grinning- and then they think Earth has sent a rescue but no, it's a capsule that slams into them and starts pushing them into deep space which is EARTH trying to preserve life. It's a steroidal metaphor of what we face daily, and just one more chilling moment from a movie dripping with them.

I thought Life was a good movie, but will it end up being a cult classic?

Also, did the movie offer anything new to the genre? I personally felt that it didn't.

I felt it did add something new, it took conventions of actual space and planetary studies that humans are doing now and introduced a fictional but yet somewhat plausible villain. We are studying Mars right now doing exactly what the characters in the movies are doing except the ones in Life come across a cellular organism in a soil sample and we are off. The scenario in this movie is more realistic than most movies of this genre, I think this realistic tone is what's new and sets it apart. Calvin is not created by some sentient race of beings that fly juggernauts nor is he some constantly changing life form that flies a flying saucer that is buried in Antarctica, Life is set in the now and Calvin is just a simple organism with one basic need. He is not nor exists because of some higher form of life in the universe, he's the cosmic equivalent of microorganisms that exist on earth that have been discovered in lava fields, buried in ice at the south poke or creatures living where no life should exist but they do. There are plenty of examples of odd micro creatures that have been found on earth.... So It's that sense of the here and now and how plausible the entire movie feels, it's that realism and plausibility that adds to the tension. Using realism is what this film adds that is new and it works, it works very well.

Many classics didn't add anything new to their respective genres but they are still classics because how they executed or told their story. The basic concept of Alien had been done before a million times, they just had a crazy good monster design and told a better tale through story, presentation and acting than the million similar monster hunts people tales that came before it.

Life is a high quality movie, I wish more movies were done this well, especially in the Sci fi genre

You guys are going to laugh the ending threw me with Jake going to Earth and his GF taking the long trip to nowhere.  I think the GF taking the long trip was the most unnerving part of the movie for me.

Really good posts on this Topic!!

Dying in space...man, that's the stuff of nightmares, and one of the LONELIEST scenes in movie history is when they space-burial Kane in ALIEN...I love that scene for the Absolute Loneliness it speaks of.

I am really looking fwd to seeing LIFE!

@Rick

totally agree with her taking the long trip. It's not the cliched Hollywood ending, it's bleak and hella dark.... Kind of like the movie version of The Mist.... The ending was unnerving and dark

Ending of the film SPOILER: on (two scape-pods) is just like an Alien "fourth act" with Ripley on the shuttle, and poorly achieved for a serious viewer in my opinion, and lacks credibility.

SPOILER:

one of the scenes taken outside I swear to have seen jumping the bug like a Disney cartoon on the ship, that completely baffled me.

My veredict: interesting movie only.

The ending was dark but very predictable.

I'll be honest...I only watched Life because I used to have a crush on Jake Gyllenhaal when I was younger.

@ Foxxy_User “The ending was dark but very predictable”…Hmmm very dark indeed, but I’m not sure the ending was entirely predictable. The reason I say this is that…

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The fishermen open the hatch they see that a “switch-a-roo” has happened between the astronauts and that Calvin has made it to Earth after all. Predicable – hmm…maybe so! :D

What I consider “unpredictable” is the fact that Calvin did not “kill” said astronaut - when all his prior behaviour interacting with the astronauts speaks volumes.

Also, my dear innocent Calvin has somehow - as Aorta puts it…“it was completely changed, but into what? Gyllenhall is still alive, but clearly begging them not to open the capsule. It looked like that stuff was growing through him”

All the other astronauts were killed in horrific ways…this astronaut was kept alive…why? Most people think that Calvin is ready to decimate all life on Earth, yet I am wondering if Calvin has imbedded himself within said astronaut so that he can…yeah I’m pretty sure I’m the only one gonna be thinking along these lines…but I will be brave.. and face the laughter ...and will say it anyway…I think Calvin is trying to/wanting to communicate! :D

Roger, Foxxy-

LIFE doesn't break new ground, but then it doesn't claim to. It's just a very imaginative and well executed little movie. It's hard to innovate, especially within certain confines. Alien has been going on for almost 40 years with the only real innovation being Prometheus, and look how that went. And even then, the concepts of Prometheus weren't anything new, just well packaged.

Some things are just fun, and for me LIFE is high on the list. I like being intellectually stimulated, I like new, surprising ideas, but I also like weird monsters doing classically nasty stuff. And here, LIFE has one up on pretty much every space monster movie since Alien, with a creature that's unique, frightening and a little character to boot!

Newt- when I was 5 years old I saw The Blob on tv and it scared me to death, I think because it was truly otherworldly, not a guy in a suit, and it was so quiet and relentless, truly the stuff of nightmares. And it gave me nightmares, for a long time. My family tried to help by suggesting that I imagine it in funny ways, but there was no way to make that thing humorous.

I think you're trying to do the same thing now, to govern your terror by forcibly neutralizing the context of Calvin. I'm sorry, Newt, but it's hopeless. Calvin will get in. Succumb, like Hugh did. Let it inhabit your nightmares, feed on your mind. Submit to the terror, Newt. There is no way out.

SPOLIERS

I kind of like the ending, after the escape capsules got bumped i thought they might go the route then movie did , but not until then, it wasnt like i expected the ending halfway through the movie or anything....but maybe they could have went with a better ending but i kind of like that it was dark and ambiguous with Rebecca Ferguson rocketing off into deep space to die a dark, cold death and Jake Gyllenhall's character trapped in the escape pod on earth with Calvin definitely exhibiting new behavior or sorts.

Not as well done but still a very fun movie...the ending is in the vein of John Carpenters The Thing, where their is clearly not a happy ending for either of our last two protagonists but the movie leaves it on a haunting and big ..."What happens now moment"...i kind of like those, we dont need a sequel, just leave it at that ...that worked for The Thing and i think leaving the ending stand as it is is good

@Aorta

Sorry if I spoil your thread, my italian English is no very good but I very appreciate your interesting topic, because I love the space movies, but Alien was a beautiful rarity well executed then, and since more than 30 years ago is an unquestionable jewel yet, LIFE death very early in a very short film, due to differents director failures and others stupid shoots, LIFE has excellent shots and others that are not credible for me, it can not be matched to Prometheus for example despite of the plot holes, and being a short film too, Scott's style as a director designer (ship environment etc.. is all togheter a masterpiece), I think he's more an artist than a filmmaker, I've always said that. 

Aorta – “I think you're trying to do the same thing now, to govern your terror by forcibly neutralizing the context of Calvin. I'm sorry, Newt, but it's hopeless. Calvin will get in. Succumb, like Hugh did. Let it inhabit your nightmares, feed on your mind. Submit to the terror, Newt. There is no way out”.

hahahhahhhahhhhaaaa!!!!! You my dear have me literally belly laughing here!!! LOVE IT!!!! And THANK YOU!!!!! PS you may be right!!! :D

SPOILERS YET AGAIN (unfortunately the only 3 people who seem to care have already seen it)

Grinning- I knew what the end was before I entered the theatre, having read about it online. It still hit me hard, due to: Calvin's bizarre and most unexpected transformation, R. Ferguson's fantastic screaming of 'NOO!!NOO!!' as she hurtles into the void, and the nauseating music that accompanies the whole thing, a huge, cartoonish March of DOOM.

And that's another thing I love about the movie as a whole, it's self aware and this is communicated via the music, which while highly effective is also a sort of wink. I'm going to buy the OST, I'm hosting a big family dinner in June and it would be hilarious to play this until someone raises an eyebrow.

Roger- balderdash, you have not ruined my thread! All opinions are welcome, I only wish LIFE did for you what it did for me. But in this we agree: Scott is a master and it's a very good time to be his fan! He is very much an artist and it's a luxury to have his chapter(s) of the Alien saga!

Newt- going to see it again tonight with a friend, I'll post her impressions tomorrow. Until then, SWEET DREAMS.

There are others on this thread I haven't responded to and for that I am sorry, I couldn't keep up, Aaand that's my problem at parties too which is why I don't throw too many! Plus the clean-up! At least I don't have to chase you guys around with a sponge.

@Aorta

I am in total agreement with you on the music....the music in this was amazing and tension filled when it needed to be, the music felt like doom and i agree the music that played during that end sequence was most unsettling....just another thing this little movie did ohhhhh so right!!!

@Aorta

"Newt- going to see it again tonight with a friend, I'll post her impressions tomorrow. Until then, SWEET DREAMS."

Hey there Aorta – did you end up seeing it again? What was your friends impressions of Calvin :D lol!!!

Newt- yes I did, and I was confused by the experience and unsure how to present it, sorry for the delay!

My friend KD loved it, watched the whole thing in a tense little ball peeking through her fingers, so that was gratifying for me. And then when Rebecca Ferguson was careening away into space she said: 'no fucking way' so all in all it went well, heh heh. After, she said 'ok I need a drink'.

For me, on the second view I picked up on things that I liked specifically, like the way the astronauts looked and in particular their accents, which were not only global but well suited for delivering cosmically bad news.  

But there were a couple of moments where each one gets their cameo head shots in montage (with expressions of gentle wonder no less) that were a bit corny. Not a big deal though, there are similar moments in AC's Last Supper featurette.

What I really noticed was off was the theatre itself. The first time I saw LIFE was at the Lake Theatre in Oak Park Illinois. I've been going there all my life, saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang there as a kid, for example. Saw Prometheus there. The only other theatre I frequent is the IMAX in downtown Chicago. 

Apparently the Lake has excellent audio and projection. The second time I saw LIFE was at an AMC and both the picture and audio were quite flat, the image was grainy with a faint but visible dot grid and lacking contrast and saturation, and the audio was at the very least poorly EQ'd with no bottom to speak of. That said, even under these sad conditions my friend had a great time, having no point of reference. 

I do wonder though how many people's opinions of movies are affected negatively by the viewing environment? I wouldn't have been as impressed if I had seen LIFE for the first time in this theatre. Immersion is critical, obviously,and some theatres definitely do it better than others. Find one you like and stick to it, is the moral of this story!

and did your friend see “Calvin” as you did Aorta? Also did your understanding of “him” change or deepen in any way following the second viewing?

I couldn’t agree more re the importance of choosing your cinema well. I live in the deep south of New Zealand and unfortunately we have slim pickings. I am going to be travelling and paying very good money when Alien Covenant comes out to make sure that the environment is the best it can be. That and sincerely praying that all the “twits” – those special people who try their best to spoil movies for the rest of us, all get a nasty bout of vomiting and diarrhoea the night before and just can’t come along to the screening!!! lol :D

Newt- she isn't as inclined to invest personally in things as I am, so for her the experience was more primal.

I don't go to movies often, so I do recognize that ones I like probably seem a lot more profound to me than they do to anyone else, lol. But I am frequently let down, too. Skull Island is a good recent example, but I knew going in it might not work for me. My last WOW experience was Prometheus.

I always hope to replicate things like that for others, but my success rate is naturally low. That's why it's great to have this forum, where it's possible to meet the one person in the entire world who shares my view!

Hey there - don't be so hard on yourself Aorta! I think your success rate may be a lot higher than you realise for I know that there were others here on this ‘Topic Board’ that really had no intention of seeing "Life" prior to reading your review. I was definitely one of those people!!

Interesting your last WOW movie was Prometheus, for it was mine too. I became quite obsessed with it especially trying to deeper my appreciation and understanding of certain elements, as I have done so with Calvin. I actually saw it 6 times and it still to this day Prometheus remains high on the list. 

It takes a lot to pique my interest too and I feel left down by most. I am soooo glad that you my dear shared your review of LIFE with us all – for I know for certain that this little gem of a movie most would have definitely have slipped by my radar! lol

other films like this and higly recommended Spacewalker:

https://vimeo.com/195783901

Roger where are you from? Do you know what's being said in that trailer?