Movie Bingo. Full House !

Rating: 7/10 (26 March 2017)

Getting a bit bored with watching Iranian New Wave cinema I stroked my chin wondering what would qualify as the complete polar opposite . Sci-fi horror ? Maybe. After all for the vast majority of human beings we simply go to the cinema to be entertained and being thrilled and chilled by far fetched fictional horror is a great way to spend a couple of hours. Hollywood has been churning out science fiction big hitters in the last few months via ARRIVAL and PASSENGERS but this film LIFE - yet another SF movie with a minimalist title - seemed to be one that would really appeal to me . Only downside is that even critics who liked it such as Mark Kermode noticed it's a film without an original bone in its body
!!!! SUGGESTIVE SPOILERS !!!!!
Well one thing we can all agree on is that the professional critics are all singing from the same hymn sheet . Right from the out-set when we're introduced to the international multi-ethnic cast and when you've got that then it's best not to become attached to anyone who doesn't have white skin and speaks English as a first language. It also helps if you stop asking yourself questions like "If they're supposed to be clever scientists why do they so many dumb things ?" You know why . It's because scientists in films - unlike the audience watching - have never seen this type of genre film and if they did something sensible the film would stop long before the 90 minute mark. It's what is known as "The Idiot Plot"
Unless LIFE is the only sci-fi horror film you've seen then if nothing else you can have a lot of fun spotting all the other movie references . By the one hour mark I'd ticked off every box , shouted "FULL HOUSE" and wondered if I'd be getting any award for my observational skills . Nothing was forth coming but any rewards come via the traditional escapist way of storytelling . LIFE is rather diverting escapist popcorn entertainment . The predictable manner of the narrative isn't really a negative criticism though the director's technique of constantly using close ups to generate tension and having constant intrusive music be played is slightly overdone. You'll also probably work out the shock ending before it arrives on screen but despite all this - or maybe because of it - I found LIFE a very entertaining movie