Annihilation

Annihilation is a 2018 science fiction psychological horror film written and directed by Alex Garland, based on the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. It stars Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, and Oscar Isaac. The story follows a group of scientists who enter "The Shimmer", a mysterious quarantined zone of mutating plants and animals.

Plot
Lena, a biologist and former soldier, joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband inside Area X -- a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside, the expedition discovers a world of mutated landscapes and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Excellent visual effects that uses really innovative CGI. There is no bad CGI insight. Like, at all.
 * 2) Natalie Portman has probably one of her best performances in this movie. The other actors have marvelous performances too.
 * 3) There's a really thought-provoking story implemented here. It addresses depression, grief, and the human propensity for self-destruction really well. It doesn't even completely focus on the scares right away and just focuses on making a good story, and it only scares with its challenging plot and messages.
 * 4) The movie's also in a non-linear narrative, allowing us to explore Lena's recalling of memories of her husband when they were with each other and her memories in The Shimmer.
 * 5) While the movie does use an all-female cast, similar to the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, it's actually executed really well, unlike the latter.
 * 6) The Shimmer is a really intimidating place to be in. Especially with the mutated plants and animals.
 * 7) Every single character is well-written, making them very likable, which causes the viewer to care about them, especially Natalie Portman's character Lena. All of them go through a lot of character development too.
 * 8) A greatly composed score of Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow that fits the tone for the movie and its scenes.
 * 9) The animals' mutations are extremely terrifying to look at, which is what makes them more intimidating.
 * 10) * Sometimes, they can be beautiful, especially the plants.
 * 11) As the characters start descending into madness, that's when the plot and story reaches its complete potential.

Reception
Annihilation received praise from filmgoers and critics alike for its visuals, acting, direction, Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow's musical score, and thought-provoking story. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88%, based on 296 reviews, and an average rating of 7.75/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Annihilation backs up its sci-fi visual wonders and visceral genre thrills with an impressively ambitious—and surprisingly strange exploration of challenging themes that should leave audiences pondering long after the end credits roll." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on reviews from 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

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