Okay, I'm back after a brief hiatus of watching movies and preparing for the onslaught of reviews I'm about to unleash. I was doing one about every 6 or 7 days, and I want to ramp it up a bit, to about every 3 or so days, but felt like I was starting to pigeon-hole myself into doing only good reviews, seeing as how I've rated most of these movies positively, with the couple of glaring exceptions really standing out. A good deal of films that hit the big screen don't fall into either the "Great" or "Awful" camps, they're just "Middling" movies (did I just coin that term?). Sure, they have fair to good production values, some recognizable casting, maybe even a decent story, but there are a few things holding it back from being a truly great movie. And it is this area that a lot of the films I watch fall into. They aren't the greatest of movies, but I also don't want to punch the director in the face and demand my money back. So I figured I'd give equal time to these "Middling Movies" (gosh, I really like that), and you can decide if it is worth your time or not. That brings us to our latest entry, the 2010 alien invasion film, "Skyline".
Foreshadowing for Dummies.
Set in present day Los Angeles, the film opens with a brief scene of what is to come, but it isn't anything that you don't get in the trailer, so no surprises there. It then backtracks a short bit to give you the obligatory introduction to the characters you're about to take this ride with. Not too much back-story is given to child-hood friends Jarrod (Eric Balfour-Six Feet Under, 24) and Terry (Donald Faison-Clueless, Scrubs), just that Jarrod and girlfriend Elaine (Scottie Thompson-NCIS, Trauma) are in town for Terry's birthday. Rounding out the main cast is Brittany Daniel (Joe Dirt, Club Dread) as Terry's girlfriend Candice, and Crystal Reed as Terry's assistant, with David Zayas (Dexter, The Expendables) as building concierge Oliver. Basically, the morning after the birthday party, big blue lights start dropping from the sky to the ground, and those that look into them are mesmerized to the point of walking zombie-like towards it and eventually getting sucked up, up and away. This almost happens to Jarrod, setting up a bit of foreshadowing, but he doesn't get taken and the group bands together to try to make it out.
THIS is who you want kicking mother-fucking aliens off your mother-fucking planet.
I can't really go much further in detail of what happens from here, but there are a few surprises along the way, and we get to watch certain cast members picked off, one by one, leading up to one of the cheesiest endings I've ever had the pleasure of seeing, and I say pleasure because it neatly sets up a bridge to a sequel, and leaves you satisfied with a sprinkle of positivity in an otherwise bleak ending. I feel that this movie suffers the most from not having "A-list" actors, which is to say that the actors on display do a good enough job, but don't put enough of themselves into the role. The visuals are awesome, and they really carry the film for me. I like the way the aliens look and I like their method(s) of regeneration. The story itself is ho-hum, standard run-of-the-mill alien invasion stuff, with the bit at the end putting a twist on it. My recommendation is wait for cable, but give it a watch for some popcorn fun.
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