21 May 2012

splice

This review is from: Splice (Amazon Instant Video) This film offers terrific elements of conflict. Some of the science is probably off. The overall thought of it all actually happening is absolutely crazy and throughly enjoyable. I love films that you have no ideal what will take place next. It did keep getting crazier and crazier. After reading some of these 1 star reviews I concluded that they wish it were a tv series. The films fills a lot for only 2 hours.

Ludwig_von_Mises

21 May 2012

Splice - a good film, with a few flaws.

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS Splice was... an interesting movie. Thereare flaws, like most movies, though it was far better than the averagemovie.Science fiction has, historically, been a story of that which may bepossible at a later date; however, Splice wasn't like that. Splice wasabout something that, most likely, is possible now. Back in the 70s abook was written by a man who claimed to have been involved with aproject to clone a human. He claimed that they succeeded, though thescientists of both his day and now say that it was all a lie.Still, there is also a chance that he was telling the truth. What if aclone walks among us today? Yet, Splice wasn't exactly about humancloning, rather human-animal hybridization. Still, there are historicalexamples for this topic, as well; the most notable being the 'MontaukMonster' which washed ashore July of 2008. There were many possibleexplanations for precisely what this 'Monster' was, and a common theorywas that it was a raccoon, or some other animal. Still, one cannot helpbut wonder.The aforementioned flaws were comparatively minor: the characters -being fictional - were typologically inaccurate. The acting, whileexquisite when it comes to Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody, could havebeen better by the other actors.SPOILERS Dren ('nerd' spelled backwards; fans of Happy Days mayrecognize it...) was formed in a laboratory as a hybrid between anothercreature and a human. Her 'parent' was a genetically engineeredhybrid-creature which was used to synthesize a protein. The female ofthat species later turned into a male in a rather grisly 'murder'scene.Anymore information, and the horror (or rather, the little horrorpresent in that film) would be even lower than the alreadyless-than-satisfactory 'horror film'.Overall, a very good film dealing with the ethical and moralimplications of cloning/hybridization.

18 May 2012

Splice

I saw this movie because of Adrian Brody who I find does some very interesting work. Remember "The Pianist?" This movie clearly isn't of the same dramatic import of that great wartime exploration of the Holocaust, belonging as it does in the class of Schindler's List. However, as a morality tale and warning for any renegade company or scientist contemplating genetic cloning of humans, it has a fascinating set of twists and turns which seem inevitable while being completely surprising. This movie is convincing in its apparent scientific treatment of the science behind cloning and then takes the outcome to horrifying but very interesting directions. For anyone interested in thougtful science fiction, I cannot imagine you will be anything less than impressed. One other reviewer placed it in the class of John Carpenter's "The Thing." If you liked that movie, and I did, you will enjoy this one a great deal as well. I am not an admirer of much of Carpenter's work, and found "The Thing" among his best. I'd place Splice in the same level of delivery of humor and horror.

imajestr

17 May 2012

Why This Movie Fails

It fails right from the get-go. Not that splicing human genes withanimal genes isn't interesting, but the whole thing feels very stagy.By that, I mean it feels contrived and artificial. The charactermotivations are practically nonexistent, so from the start it feelslike the writer is trying to force the entire plot.Why do Elsa and Clive want to splice human genes with animal genes?Well, just for the hell of it. They're getting shut down, anyway, sowhy not? Wow, what a way to take all dramatic tension right out of aplot.Since there's no real tension behind their actions, there's no realtension in the plot. From the beginning you're just thinking, boy Ihope these people get killed immediately.The rest of the movie is pretty standard stuff. It moves back and forthfrom one character or the other being completely unlikeable, to theother character being even more unlikeable, until you're really justpraying for somebody to get stabbed in the face already so somethingmight actually happen.The writers tried to use sexual tension with a mutant as a sellingpoint, but it's not working. Nothing drives this plot, and the wholetime I was watching it I was groaning inside because, rather than findsome way to propel the plot forward, the characters just worry aboutbeing "caught." Well, if I'm rooting against them, I could care less ifthey're caught. In fact, I wish they would be.So, this movie is essentially about watching an angry couple fight overtheir mutant baby. Without giving anything away, I have to say thethird act is absolute rubbish. Since the first hour and twenty minuteshad absolutely no momentum, the writers flip a switch and turn it intoJeepers Creepers without the scare factor. And the final scene isreminiscent of a sci fi channel, low budget cheese fest that "sumsthings up" for us: Nobody learned anything, and we might try to force asequel out of this turd; Gosh, humans are jerks! Sound appealing? Itshouldn't. It's not.

Mark R. Leeper

17 May 2012

The film sadly lacks the fresh originality of Natali's previous films. Natali's film about DNA-splitting seems disappointingly recombinant.

16 May 2012

Splice The subject material as well as the genre. Neither works exactly as planned.

Two criminally negligent and scientifically malfeasant bioengineers - Elsa (Sarah Polley) and Clive (Adrian Brody) - splice DNA to create new life-forms for their cutting edge facility, Nucleic Exchange Research & Development (NERD). When the scientific breakthrough of the millennia (causing a great Carrie tribute in the middle of the film) that could potentially cure a myriad of diseases isn't quite enough, they toss a little human juice into the equation, despite Clive's numerous protestations, and bring their Frankenstein into the world. The eventual result is a pseudo-humanoid they name Dren, that ends up looking sort of like a 21-year old Telly Savalas, but with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, ostrich legs, and a tail. A slew of other genetic surprises and advantages as well. Don't worry though, because the two were implausibly able to keep this genetic monstrosity a secret from everyone else in the lab. So no problem. Wink, wink.Up to this point the movie is exciting, interesting, and fairly original. The pair of fraternizing scientists - absolutely no chemistry, by the way - quickly form bonds with the freakshow, eschewing any sort of moral or scientific responsibilities. And that's only the half of it. Dren ages and learns rapidly, exhibiting both human and animal reactions, creating a more complex conundrum for the couple. Sounds enjoyable, right? Well, the third act devolves into a completely contradictory blend of Jeepers Creepers and backwoods West Virginia, as the controversial ending eliminates any audience involvement or momentum previously created. From sci-fi thriller to horror film in the blink of an eye...except the viewer doesn't adapt as quickly as Dren.

brian-derby157

16 May 2012

Did I just watch that?

I can officially confirm, I have now just seen the worse film I haveEVER seen. It was just so laughable, I did think at one point it was acomedy, but no, they were deadly serious. All the actors wereunconvincing, the script was such a joke, and nobody on this planet cansuspend belief to the degree where any of this drivel would be even theslightest bit plausible. However, all that aside, what on earth wasAdrian Brody doing in this less than a B movie film. This guy has wonan Oscar for goodness sake. Is this really the best he can find to do?Utter drivel. There was a film called Plan 9 from Outer Space yearsago. Compared to Splice, Plan 9 seems like Gone with the Wind. When Icame out of the cinema, people were just looking at each otherdumbstruck. Toy Story 3 was showing at the same complex, and I feelsure, without exception, that all of us wished we had seen thatinstead.

PTS

15 May 2012

The Splice is Right!!

Much more than a run of the mill horror scifi thiller. I would compare this film to Species in concept but other than that the comparisons stop. This is a FAR superior film in nearly every way.The jist is a group of scientists have developed a way to "splice" genes together and have successfully created a unique lifeform; 2 actually. These 2 "things" (Fred and Ginger) are to be the stars of the show for a Pharmaceutical company. While pitching the success the two lead scientists also pitch potential human testing as their technology and processes have improved to do so. After being turned down for moral and financial reasons they decided to do it anyway...or as it was said "it wouldn't be completely human". From the trailers you know what happens...it works and a new entity is created. This film succeeds however because it's not just about the experiment, also known as "Dren". It's about the moral and ethical conflict of the experiment as well as the emotional bonds that are created and severed between the scientist couple and their creation.I did feel that the film got from point A(rejection) to point B(human testing) a little too quickly but if they didn't do it eventually we wouldn't have a movie. Brody's Character also seems a little too whiney or at least a bit of a puss and can't say no when he clearly dissagrees with what's going on. Again...if he wasn't no movie. There are some character back stories that attempt to explain a few "behavioral" issues but are just sort of put out there with no real weight or consequence.The CGI gets better as the film progresses and the Dren Character is played extremely well and is intrigueing. There is a strong familiy dynamic that is created between the characters and like many families who have and are raising children go through troubles. This film captures that very nicely and creates a push and pull symetry between "mom", "dad" and baby...child...teen...adult. you almost forget that Dren is an "animal" but ultimately instinct wins out.This film has two epic and I mean EPIC fails that you will remember for a long time...one happens to the company and the other to Brody's character...both will have you squirming in your seat for completely different reasons. These 2 scenes are priceless and worth the price of admission.

Jerm Hacker

11 May 2012

Worst Genetic Movie I have ever watched.

I honestly did not like this movie. It had no story plot that I couldsee. Poor Special Effects and lack of Character emotion. Actors wereterrible. Don't waste your time with this movie. It needed better linesand better camera work. You are better off with watching the BlairWitch Project. This movie should have been a found footage genre. TheDirector of this film needed better actors and better story plot. Badmovie. I gave this a 3/10 because it wasted my time and didn't havegood plot development and it made me fall asleep in my chair. If it wasmore interesting I would have given more lean to my rating but it'snot. It does not deserve to be in the genre of science fiction itbelongs with Jaws.

11 May 2012

The kangaroo cockroach girl??? (SPOILER ALERT)

This review is from: Splice (Amazon Instant Video) All I have to say is ....this movie had potential but it fell short big time. The story was so disjointed and aimless . I soon realized that it was all just an excuse to show off the special effects that created this creature . Which brings me to something else that bugged me .... what the hell was she supposed to have been spiced with , I mean she had kangaroo legs and cockroach wings WTH...SMH. And the the "Piece de resistance" THE SEX SCENE WITH "DREN" ...I guess from this ,one must glean that a dude with stick his willy just about anywhere . I hated this movie , and wish I could get a refund of my time. And wow what a step down for Adrien Brody.

Peter Sobczynski

10 May 2012

As creepy and deranged as Don Murphy on an internet discussion board, though always infinitely more lucid, intelligent and entertaining.

10 May 2012

Horrible, Disgusting

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!!! I sat and watched and like I always do I have to finish a movie I start. I like Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley but when they decided to add the sex scene, rape scene and Sarah's character pregnant. Come On! I wish I could get that image removed from my memory. I overlooked the strange creatures they created that fight near the beginning of the movie. It was way overdone and I should have just stop watching it then.

ashcrda

06 May 2012

Sci-Fi inserted into a talking heads movie.

Thought it might be OK after reading some reviews but it's a Grade Bdrive-in movie. The way the characters talk so much reminded me of thevoice-over in the theatrical release of Blade Runner. Movies should doa plot, not talk a plot. Might make more money if they expanded the sexscenes and distributed it as porn. After watching a season of GhostWhisperer on TV I became aware of how some characters have a limitedset of facial expressions. Brody and Polley were both guilty in thismovie, especially Polley. She either looked frightened or like she hadjust found a puppy and that's it. The only significant shift in herface came in the scene when she had Dren strapped to the "operating"table. If you want a more frightening treatment of the theme Irecommend the book Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood. That would make agood movie about genetic manipulation if someone like Ridley Scott madeit.

06 May 2012

Very disturbing - No spoilers.

This is not a review for the DVD, it is for the movie itself.The previews for this movie were misleading I thought, making it look like a thriller. This is not a thriller, it is more of a sci-fi drama. At the very end it does turn a little "thriller"ish - for about 10 minutes.I found this movie very disturbing. And for everyone who would care to be forewarned, there is a rape scene.I was not aware of this when I saw the movie. I believe people should be warned of such scenes.This is not to say the movie is not "good," just that I personally did not like it.

quinnox-1

06 May 2012

Strong candidate for worst movie of the year

Splice was a horrible movie and a complete waste of time. Terriblespecial effects, bad acting and the movie was pointless and stupid. Astory line that had no surprises whatsoever, and the awful dialog andwooden acting made it even worse. I'm a big fan of good science fictionand horror movies so its not as if I don't like this genre, so I wantedto warn others about this movie bomb. The film this was made on shouldbe spliced together to make it a 1 minute short film to spare the moviegoing public. I could go on and on about the cheap looking sets,laughable creature effects, and silly science but I don't want to wasteany more time on this piece of junk. I can't believe any positivereviews this movie gets, it is mind boggling.

Dorf_Assburgers

05 May 2012

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial update with Stem Cell Cloning Issue Debate

If any of you are true connoisseurs of the science fiction genre, youwill be sadly disappointed. Based upon other reviews, I was hopefulthat this movie would be portrayed as believable science with the maincharacters behaving like real people, and a weird new creature.Unfortunately neither is true. Imagine a horror version of ET butinstead of the friendly martian we get a "land mermaid" (Kangaroohooves rather than a fishlike hind end) The actors and actresses weresilly with contrived dialog. The science fiction would have been betterdubbed stupid fiction. If you want to see a good science fiction movie,see Cronenberg's "Shivers" instead, its much better than this crap..Avoid it

05 May 2012

STORY A+ HOWEVER.........A Few Flaws but they are BIGGIES!

This review is from: Splice (DVD) The overall story and acting is amazing BUT (and that's a big BUT) there is too much gratuitous "F" bombs and too many sex scenes. I'm so sorry but I really don't think "scientists" talk like a pack of sailors and dress like Rockers. The story could have been told without the sex scenes taking several minutes for each one. Is this an "adult film" or what? They should be embarrassed because that's the the kinda thing you throw in a movie when the story can't hold up on it's own. This movie could have until that junk was excessively put in.

p_jones92

04 May 2012

Completely not deserving of all the hype

Once again, I'm amazed at how a movie such as this gets the score itgets on IMDb.I can't remember the last time I've been so bored watching a movie. I'mglad I didn't catch this in the theaters because I'm pretty sure thiswould have been the very first movie I ever walked out of. I hear talesof other films in which people were supposedly so bored they left halfway through and I would never have even imagined myself doing such athing until now.The premise of Splice is that two scientists (who are also a couple whodon't have children) illegally create a new human/animal hybrid speciesand, despite nearly killing it in the beginning, don't because theydevelop paternal instincts for it, that is until it grows up into amonster. This premise sounds like good horror fare, but it's let downin several major departments.The first is the script which, at times, absurd. I mean the final thirdof the movie has the male scientist Clive (played by Adrien Brody)first trying to kill the monster (Dren played by Delphine Chanéac),then falling in love with it and having sex with it, and then beingkilled by it (this is supposed to literally happen in the space 2 days- who tries to kill something and then fall in love with it within 2days? And that something being a human/animal hybrid of all things). Atthe same time the female scientist Elsa (played very badly SarahPolley) loves the monster as if it's her own child, then hates it andcuts off its tail to perform experiments on it, then loves it again,then gets raped by it, and then thinks twice about killing it afterit's already raped her (and it's this delay that gets Adrien Brody'scharacter killed), then kills it but not because it raped her butbecause it killed her partner and, if the ending is to be believed, isnow pregnant and willing to have a baby from being raped by themonster. It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, let only had topainfully watch.Secondly, this is billed as a horror movie but it's not scary inanyway, all of the supposed scares are signposted well before theyhappen, so you know who is going to die and when, and you know when themonster is going to jump on screen, which just adds to the boredom.Horror movies are supposed to surprise and scare you, not give you bigwarning flags about scary moments coming up.Thirdly, the acting is bad, I mean really bad. You don't believe ineither Sarah Polley's character being a super bright scientist who justwants to help save lives by creating this new monster to harvestspecial proteins, or in her somehow developing paternal instincts tothe monster she's created. There is no chemistry between Sarah Polleyor Adrien Brody, so you don't believe in them being a couple, hence youdon't believe that he's willing to go along with it out of love forher, or that he then becomes attracted to the monster because it lookslike his lover because she used some of her DNA to create it.Finally, the pace of the movie is soooooooo slow, it's only in the last15 minutes that anything remotely action orientated happens, the restof the time is spent on boring conversations about whether creating anew species is right, or how they can't kill this creature because it'slike a child etc, it's boring.I don't get this movie at all, it doesn't know if it's supposed to be ahorror movie or high brow social commentary on the dangers of genescience (or a splice of the two - pun intended). It fails on boththose, and many more levels. I'd steer well clear of this movie, it'snot worth the effort.

Emily Wheeler

03 May 2012

Worst Movie Ever AKA Best Movie Ever

The reason I saw this movie was because I had seen The Happening andlaughed for 2 hours straight and I wanted to see if Splice could topit. When I saw the rating on IMDb, I assumed that others scored it sohighly for its unintentional humor but reading the reviews it seemslike people either thought it was actually a quality film or weredisappointed because they were expecting a quality film. Both types ofopinion are, of course, valid (tho utterly mystifying to me) but Ithought my viewpoint should be represented as well.There were about 7 other people at the showing I went to, all going inwith the same expectations as I did. I was disappointed with the firsthour of the movie, which I thought was bad without any hilarity, butthe second half more than made up for it. My friend had actually read acomplete summary of the film and thought it was a joke. There are nowords to describe the ridiculousness of it all. The best I can dowithout giving anything away would be to describe it as a combinationof The Graduate, Twilight, and Zombie Strippets. There were moments socringe-inducing that I could not look at the screen. I have no ideawhether Vincenzo Natali meant to make a comedy (satire? RobertRodriguez-style B movie?) but I hope it was an attempt to create aserious discussion of the ethics of genetic manipulation because thatwould make it just that much funnier. That last sentence sounds mean,but honestly, I loved the film and am excited for the inevitablesequel. I'm still not sure if it beat the Happening, however.

Graham Young

03 May 2012

With above average creature effects and a succinct title which neatly bridges medicine and filmmaking techniques alike, teenagers looking for escapism should love it.