Review of Annihilation (2018) by Jonathan B — 17 Jun 2018

Loved it. loved it. loved it. left me thinking. left me baffled. left me confused but not too confused. left me in awe. what a bizarre and engrossing movie. I was with it from start to finish.

Loved the story of self destruction. loved the biologicall and cancer aspect to it. loved the mental aspect to it. all of our physical and mental tendencies to self destruct are fascinating.

The connection that natalie portman and oscar isaac had at the end when both of there eyes lit up with the shimmer, to me that confused the whole thing a bit. who was the alien she was facing at the end. I think it was 25% alien 75% natalie portmans self destructive nature. it was her own self destruction that was fighting her living/fighting being. when she defeats the alien, I was asking the question, 'Who are we with out of self destructive habits? with our flaws and ticks and problems? who are if we strip ourselves of what may be strongest force within or DNA, our capacity and insistence on self destruction? self destruction by any and all means. addiction, alcoholism, poor choices, spite, jealousy, laziness, depression. We define ourselves and lets ourselves be defined by the self destruction within all of us. who are we if we rid ourselves of that. in a way we are a shell of ourselves.'.

I loved how the alien didnt really have any interest in what was happening. It didnt have a particular stake in the game. was only acting in its own organic process. it never became the outright villain. it never cheapened itself by relying on villainy and trope.

Question: if natalie portman killed the alien at the end... how did it survive within her and he husband? ... I kind of think it was just a red herring.