journal features

movie review - Under The Skin

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Toronto, 2014.02.07

This is a science fiction story featuring aliens that have come to Earth to harvest men. It's not clear how this works or what benefit they get from it, but they use bait (hot young women) to lure men into a van and then march them into some kind of black goo where they implode after drifting under the surface. The main character, played by one of the hottest young women, comes to in a situation where it's fairly clear that she's replacing a previous bait woman. Who is crying as she .. dies? Goes offline?

Our gal goes about the job of luring human men but eventually starts to have problems with it. And with her own (artificial?) body, that part wasn't entirely clear I think they just wanted the hot actress to get naked but maybe I'm being needlessly cynical and I'm while I'm at it I am not complaining. Will she fight back? Will she escape? Will the pace ever pick up to the point that you might identify a climax? Well; no, no, and no in my opinion but your mileage may vary.

Not recommended.

rand()m quote

One day you will take a fork in the road, and you're going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go. If you go one way, you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and get good assignments. Or you can go the other way and you can do something [...] for yourself. If you decide to do something, you may not get promoted and get good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won't have to compromise yourself. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That's when you have to make a decision. To be or to do.

—John Boyd, US Air Force