I rented this movie from Netflix after reading rave reviews and seeing its impressive 7.0 rating on IMDB. It's said to be a low-budget indie-type film. But it has a seemingly-implausible science fiction storyline? Not sure how this will be, but let's pop it in the old DVD player and see, shall we?
Looks cheaply filmed...no mistaking its low-budget feel. The star actress already seems derpy in the first scene.
Driving after drinking, we know where this is going. Radio DJ mildly surprised about the discovery of an Earth-like planet near to us (what, just all of a sudden? what moved it into our solar system?), then nonchalantly goes on to play the next song. And a hip-hop DJ talking about science? I don't buy it.
She's so distracted by the tiny blue dot of the discovery in the sky that she rams into prof's car at about 70 mph on a road which is later revealed to be a minor road with likely a 35 mph speed limit. She wasn't acting THAT drunk.
Prof's stopped at a stop sign intersection and just sits there for a long time and never sees car coming being distracted by no doubt brilliant toddler in the back seat and pregers wife next to him.
After collision, windshield of prof's car all smashed out (in an unrealistic-looking way) but only the toddler is ejected, presumably from the open sunroof? Why did child safety seat fail so horribly?
She served 4 years time in a county jail not state prison? The discharging officer was a West Haven local police officer. The building was a county jail? Not New Haven county, I googled it, looks totally different.(CCF (County Correctional Facility?) stenciled on something near entrance)
On drive home from jail, her brother asks if she got any tattoos while inside. Didn't the family visit her anytime during the 4 years? He talks like he hadn't seen her in all that time. (In a later scene he tells her "you better write back this time" when talking about her upcoming flight to the other planet so I guess the writer wants you to believe that yeah, they hadn't seen or spoken while she was in jail due to her self-imposed isolation from her family?)
She moves out of her teen aged bedroom and up to the attic, keeping it Spartan and depressing. Why? Her choice? I guess it's the writer implying that she can't "go back" and live the life she once had anymore, but it seems stupid and contrived.
A school janitor job. Really? Ok, she said she wanted a low-profile job with little personal interaction working with her hands but a school janitor has contact with lots of people and if she is a felon, I don't think they hire felons for jobs were they'd be near minors. Especially DUI manslaughter (assuming that's what she got).
When commenting about proposed civilian travel to Earth 2 her brother says that the traveller might get sucked into a black star or something. Now even if the author of the screenplay is trying to portray a non-scientific persons naivete about astronomical terms, who seriously would ever say Black Star instead of the eminently-better known term Black Hole?
Why was "First Contact" 4 years after discovery? Now there was a quick TV or radio news blurb in one early scene that did state that radio communication wasn't responding, or something of the sort, at first, so I guess one could make the assumption the writer is justifying the delay in successful communication until 4 years later, but no scientific explanation is given for this. Never mind all the other scientific problems which are enormous: gravitational forces, the other planet is situated in every shot right near our moon, no matter what time of day (so I guess it's parked right near the moon and moving along with it in orbit around our Earth, not affecting anything gravitationally?)
More about the twin earth issue: Even early on, TV and radio audio mention that scientists are astonished that the continents and cities of the other planet are in same orientation as on our world. I think even the most stupid scientist wouldn't think this an astonishing coincidence but would assume it to be an alternate or parallel universe and space travel in the ordinary sense would probably not be possible.
Prof doesn't recognize her when she comes to clean his house? We know there must have been a trial. Web site implies he was in coma at time of trial but surely he would have seen pics of her from her own publicity from the trial? (Later explained that the records were sealed 'cause she was a minor at time of conviction. Cop out writing!)
Prof's house is in a lot worse shape than just a few years of depression and alcoholism...walls have holes exposing slats, paint crackling from decades old age. I guess we're to believe that the house was a fixer-upper even b4 accident. Well, thinking about it, some people, especially perhaps, pretentious yuppie Yale professors love living in a decrepit worn down historic house so this is somewhat believable.
Um, she gets naked and lies in the snow? WTF?
About this house; it is at least 200, probably more like 300 years old. I know, I grew up in New England and am familiar with old colonial houses. The window glass may not be original, but it looked at least 60 years old, too much distortion to use a telescope through.
The most retarded "bonding" scene in cinematic history...the Wii Boxing video game scene
Voice over "scientist" on some radio show, presumably, mentioned that there are potential hazards in "inter-planetary" travel (um, the thing is in the orbit of the moon, and we've landed on that...over 40 years ago!) like cosmic rays from stars (yeah, like the most prescient star in this case, the Sun)
The crazy old Native-American janitor. Really? In Connecticut? All Native-Americans in CT get huge financial assistance by virtue of the Mashantucket-Pequot tribes insane wealth as a result of the largest casino in the world, Foxwoods. They wouldn't be janitors.
In the cosmonaut story scene, close ups of her hands revel soft dainty hands and clean fingernails...but she is a janitor and cleans the prof's ancient house on the side...no callouses.
Black dude on the train is playing a transistor radio? This movie was made in this decade right?
Other problems with technology: The web sites she browses, namely the contest site and the prof's web site are archaic and simplistic html constructs with a decade or more old video embedding technology. The contest winner will travel by Space Shuttle?, slated for discontinuation even at the time (2010 or 2011) of this movie's filming.
Directorial issues: the scenes with all the floating dust make me feel like coughing and the super-fast camera zooms...um, you're no Scorsese, bud.
Um, just got to the scene where he is playing the saw on stage for her. What? Oh, now she's fake crying. Oh my god she's bad. Eerie saw music. B&W dreaming of being on the Space Shuttle. I'm only continuing 'cause I want to see just how bad this all can get from here.
Oh now the obligatory unrestrained sex scene. Is it me or anyone else creeped out by this middle aged guy with this young girl? Eww.
Old Indian in the hospital. Again, smooth hands for a janitor. He poured bleach in his ears...he'd be on the psych ward. The overlaying cloyingly-dramatic music, her lying next to him, the lettering in his palm, the ear gauze pads. The implied deep emotion of the scene...made me laugh in its ridiculousness.
So she tells him that she won the contest and he's all like "let's celebrate" and pours two glasses of whisky from a decanter. 1. He's recently gotten his life back together with her cleaning, caring and attentiveness, and he didn't swear off booze? He clearly had a problem with drinking before she came into his life. 2.If he was still an active alchy, he wouldn't have had the bottle of whisky around long enough to decant it.
"The Joan Tallis costume from Halloween?" This is a reference to the scientist from SETI who made radio contact with herself on the other Earth on live TV? I guess she would be famous? The remark is too awkward for the sequence of scenes we've seen. There was also her mention of Joan Tallis during the car ride he gave to her about 10 scenes back or so. Weird.
Four Months Later. It's still cold? Winters are long in New England, but really!
She meets herself. Not surprised 'cause I already read the IMDB and Wikipedia articles about this movie but it wouldn't have been a twist in the shocking sense anyway, but I think it tried to be.
End credits reveal that this crappy movie was written by none other than both the bad director and the horrible main actress. No wonder!
Looks cheaply filmed...no mistaking its low-budget feel. The star actress already seems derpy in the first scene.
Driving after drinking, we know where this is going. Radio DJ mildly surprised about the discovery of an Earth-like planet near to us (what, just all of a sudden? what moved it into our solar system?), then nonchalantly goes on to play the next song. And a hip-hop DJ talking about science? I don't buy it.
She's so distracted by the tiny blue dot of the discovery in the sky that she rams into prof's car at about 70 mph on a road which is later revealed to be a minor road with likely a 35 mph speed limit. She wasn't acting THAT drunk.
Prof's stopped at a stop sign intersection and just sits there for a long time and never sees car coming being distracted by no doubt brilliant toddler in the back seat and pregers wife next to him.
After collision, windshield of prof's car all smashed out (in an unrealistic-looking way) but only the toddler is ejected, presumably from the open sunroof? Why did child safety seat fail so horribly?
She served 4 years time in a county jail not state prison? The discharging officer was a West Haven local police officer. The building was a county jail? Not New Haven county, I googled it, looks totally different.(CCF (County Correctional Facility?) stenciled on something near entrance)
On drive home from jail, her brother asks if she got any tattoos while inside. Didn't the family visit her anytime during the 4 years? He talks like he hadn't seen her in all that time. (In a later scene he tells her "you better write back this time" when talking about her upcoming flight to the other planet so I guess the writer wants you to believe that yeah, they hadn't seen or spoken while she was in jail due to her self-imposed isolation from her family?)
She moves out of her teen aged bedroom and up to the attic, keeping it Spartan and depressing. Why? Her choice? I guess it's the writer implying that she can't "go back" and live the life she once had anymore, but it seems stupid and contrived.
A school janitor job. Really? Ok, she said she wanted a low-profile job with little personal interaction working with her hands but a school janitor has contact with lots of people and if she is a felon, I don't think they hire felons for jobs were they'd be near minors. Especially DUI manslaughter (assuming that's what she got).
When commenting about proposed civilian travel to Earth 2 her brother says that the traveller might get sucked into a black star or something. Now even if the author of the screenplay is trying to portray a non-scientific persons naivete about astronomical terms, who seriously would ever say Black Star instead of the eminently-better known term Black Hole?
Why was "First Contact" 4 years after discovery? Now there was a quick TV or radio news blurb in one early scene that did state that radio communication wasn't responding, or something of the sort, at first, so I guess one could make the assumption the writer is justifying the delay in successful communication until 4 years later, but no scientific explanation is given for this. Never mind all the other scientific problems which are enormous: gravitational forces, the other planet is situated in every shot right near our moon, no matter what time of day (so I guess it's parked right near the moon and moving along with it in orbit around our Earth, not affecting anything gravitationally?)
More about the twin earth issue: Even early on, TV and radio audio mention that scientists are astonished that the continents and cities of the other planet are in same orientation as on our world. I think even the most stupid scientist wouldn't think this an astonishing coincidence but would assume it to be an alternate or parallel universe and space travel in the ordinary sense would probably not be possible.
Prof doesn't recognize her when she comes to clean his house? We know there must have been a trial. Web site implies he was in coma at time of trial but surely he would have seen pics of her from her own publicity from the trial? (Later explained that the records were sealed 'cause she was a minor at time of conviction. Cop out writing!)
Prof's house is in a lot worse shape than just a few years of depression and alcoholism...walls have holes exposing slats, paint crackling from decades old age. I guess we're to believe that the house was a fixer-upper even b4 accident. Well, thinking about it, some people, especially perhaps, pretentious yuppie Yale professors love living in a decrepit worn down historic house so this is somewhat believable.
Um, she gets naked and lies in the snow? WTF?
About this house; it is at least 200, probably more like 300 years old. I know, I grew up in New England and am familiar with old colonial houses. The window glass may not be original, but it looked at least 60 years old, too much distortion to use a telescope through.
The most retarded "bonding" scene in cinematic history...the Wii Boxing video game scene
Voice over "scientist" on some radio show, presumably, mentioned that there are potential hazards in "inter-planetary" travel (um, the thing is in the orbit of the moon, and we've landed on that...over 40 years ago!) like cosmic rays from stars (yeah, like the most prescient star in this case, the Sun)
The crazy old Native-American janitor. Really? In Connecticut? All Native-Americans in CT get huge financial assistance by virtue of the Mashantucket-Pequot tribes insane wealth as a result of the largest casino in the world, Foxwoods. They wouldn't be janitors.
In the cosmonaut story scene, close ups of her hands revel soft dainty hands and clean fingernails...but she is a janitor and cleans the prof's ancient house on the side...no callouses.
Black dude on the train is playing a transistor radio? This movie was made in this decade right?
Other problems with technology: The web sites she browses, namely the contest site and the prof's web site are archaic and simplistic html constructs with a decade or more old video embedding technology. The contest winner will travel by Space Shuttle?, slated for discontinuation even at the time (2010 or 2011) of this movie's filming.
Directorial issues: the scenes with all the floating dust make me feel like coughing and the super-fast camera zooms...um, you're no Scorsese, bud.
Um, just got to the scene where he is playing the saw on stage for her. What? Oh, now she's fake crying. Oh my god she's bad. Eerie saw music. B&W dreaming of being on the Space Shuttle. I'm only continuing 'cause I want to see just how bad this all can get from here.
Oh now the obligatory unrestrained sex scene. Is it me or anyone else creeped out by this middle aged guy with this young girl? Eww.
Old Indian in the hospital. Again, smooth hands for a janitor. He poured bleach in his ears...he'd be on the psych ward. The overlaying cloyingly-dramatic music, her lying next to him, the lettering in his palm, the ear gauze pads. The implied deep emotion of the scene...made me laugh in its ridiculousness.
So she tells him that she won the contest and he's all like "let's celebrate" and pours two glasses of whisky from a decanter. 1. He's recently gotten his life back together with her cleaning, caring and attentiveness, and he didn't swear off booze? He clearly had a problem with drinking before she came into his life. 2.If he was still an active alchy, he wouldn't have had the bottle of whisky around long enough to decant it.
"The Joan Tallis costume from Halloween?" This is a reference to the scientist from SETI who made radio contact with herself on the other Earth on live TV? I guess she would be famous? The remark is too awkward for the sequence of scenes we've seen. There was also her mention of Joan Tallis during the car ride he gave to her about 10 scenes back or so. Weird.
Four Months Later. It's still cold? Winters are long in New England, but really!
She meets herself. Not surprised 'cause I already read the IMDB and Wikipedia articles about this movie but it wouldn't have been a twist in the shocking sense anyway, but I think it tried to be.
End credits reveal that this crappy movie was written by none other than both the bad director and the horrible main actress. No wonder!