Alienated (2015) Reviews

• Our relationships

  rootuser-400302016-04-03

  I am a real person, who really saw this movie, and has nothing at all to gain from leaving a positive and or negative review. Read below for my criteria on how I rate these movies. Some people seem to be complaining about the positive review ratio, not sure if those are valid concerns or not. I am not friends with the actors or distribution manager or anything like that, I chose to see this movie on a suggestion. Alienated is one of those movies that reminds anyone that has been in a a deteriorating long term relationship exactly how petty, small, and jaded we can become. First, for all the talk of aliens in this movie, you can replace the aliens with just about any "fantastic" object and or situation and the movie still plays. The "aliens" are just the beginning of a conversation. This is not an Alien movie in my opinion, it is a movie about relationships. If you are going in expecting a sci-fi flick you'll be surprised to find out it isn't. The movie opens with Nate, played by George Katt, witnessing a strange event/phenomenon. As he walks back into his house, the first thing you notice is he doesn't run in and tell his wife Paige, played by Jen Burry, what he just saw. They begin typical couple chit-chat as they prep for a party, but they have a subtle, yet noticeable little nag back and forth. As thing progress, you begin to note that not all is well in this household. There are petty jealousies and simply inane and pointless bickering. The movie is uncomfortable at some points because we all either know a couple in this situation or have been there ourselves. Enter, Griffin, played by the immortal Taylor Negron. Griffin is the next-door neighbor that offers Nate some insights into his life. Negron does not play a big part, but as a veteran actor he does a great job with his part. Would have liked to see more of him in this movie. I won't spoil it too much, but I look at this movie differently than most of the other reviewers. I see Griffin as a Jiminy Cricket character. In my opinion, he is just the subconscious thoughts of Nate and doesn't actually "exist". The end of the movie (which I won't spoil) isn't really what it appears to be. It is an illustration of exactly how when we are caught in these bad situations and relationships the entire world outside out little "Situation" just evaporates. There can be an alien invasion, a nuclear blast, or whatever, but we are just focused on the small things and missing the big picture, like maybe actually caring or no longer caring for the other person. I liked the movie. I was pleasantly surprised and it was worth my time. **** My rating system **** I have rated well over 700 movies on IMDb, and written reviews for quite a few. I try to take a scientific approach and as a result, my ratings fit a bell-curve pattern as would be expected over a large sample set. I am slightly skewed on the tail (Hey, when I hate a movie I hate it) and slightly under represented on the head (Hard to find a perfect 10 IMHO). I rate Independent flicks against independent flicks, and I rate big Hollywood against big Hollywood. It is not fair to take a movie that cost tens of thousands of dollars or less and compare it to a movie that costs 7 or 8 figures (Maybe 9!) With unlimited retakes, huge production crews, massive marketing budgets, teams of professional writers/re-writers etc I expect more out of big Hollywood movie. I try to rate equally on story. I like to take the time to write reviews about smaller independent movies rather than movies that 1000s of reviews as I hope some one takes what I write seriously rather than getting lost in a cacophony of similar voices.

• Strangely realistic

  bigkeeko2016-05-01

  I can't say I'm a big review writer, nor can I speak for everyone because my partner fell asleep during this movie but bear with me. I watched it because I had recently given up on Apollo 18 and it happened to be lumped into the same genre and couldn't be bother looking any further. I read the reviews on it after watching, which doesn't make sense but the reviews did and I'll explain. If you are in a relationship now or have been in a long term relationship before then you will understand what the characters are getting at. There are no special effects and nothing that particularly stands out at all I hate to admit BUT it did provide something. It more or less revolves round a couple trying to understand each other and get frustrated with each other in the process. Morbid curiosity kept me watching as the married couple tore into each other and if I got one thing from the movie it's a few tips/lines on how to defuse my next argument with my other half. For that it's worth a 6.

• For Married Couples ....especially

  albereinstein2016-04-03

  I gotta say I wasn't to sure about this one, but as a married man, this one evoke emotions I sometimes feel. A very good story, great dialogue, and good performances by three actors, two I watched for the first time deliver great roles in this movie that really goes into the heart of any and every true marriage. I say to young couples starting out, give this one a whirl, You'll probably see yourself in it. I really like movies that appeal to may intellect and not just my emotional side. Not much more to say other than, this is definitely worth the watch. I enjoyed it very much. Gonna recommend to some friends. Hopefully, they'll enjoy it just as much as I have.

• Unique

  riporeilly2016-04-14

  With a name like "Alienated" you might think this is a sci-fi or commentary on society type of movie. NOPE, it's about relationships. one in particular of a married couple struggling with their marital issues. But it does start with a man seeing a UFO, By definition a UFO is unexplained, he tells his wife and she doesn't buy it. Then the problems start as the movie breaks down into everything both of the couple have issues with regarding their marriage... such as kids(none) and so on. I've personally never seen anything like it and think they left enough room for a sequel. The movie does hit the nail on the head when it goes into the dialog the husband and wife talk/yell at each other and not wanting to give away the ending, it's best for me to say "watch it".

• Like watching the story of my life!

  tonyimbruglia-498272016-04-08

  I don't normally write reviews but I am compelled to write one for this excellent movie. Firstly I must say that I felt like I was having an out of body experience witnessing my own life to the letter from afar. This movie was so close to the bone it was almost therapy. Brilliant script, brilliant acting, it is NOT a SCi-Fi movie at all but a movie about a couple with differing opinions and outlooks on life. It is quite slow in the first half but after I realized what I was witnessing on screen, I became fully Immersed. In fact, I need to watch it again. So should everyone. Now it's time for my wife to watch it. She plays the lead actress very well. I want her to watch it alone as I don't think I could sit through it with her because the dialogue is so close to our real life experience. So eerie to watch your own life unfold in front of you.