Skyline

'Skyline' is so laughably bad that it makes the Brothers Strause horrendous directorial debut 'Aliens Vs Predator 2: Requiem' seem like a quite an ... read more

'Skyline' is so laughably bad that it makes the Brothers Strause horrendous directorial debut 'Aliens Vs Predator 2: Requiem' seem like a quite an achievement in filmmaking. It's a relentlessly boring film punctuated by some decent effects that too aren't enough from putting you to sleep.

A large-scale alien invasion occurs on Earth, complete with huge motherships floating over cities and various minions scouring the lands below to capture humans. The movie's story is set specifically in Los Angeles and follows a group of people stuck in a luxurious high-rise. They watch in horror as humans are literally absorbed by the alien beings and have their brain sucked clean out to act as some sort of power device to keep the aliens running. The rest of the movie just follows this chosen group and their efforts to stay alive. With the small band of people the writers had an opportunity to create a sense of connection in our minds for them; they however simply don't seem interested to do so. The moment you walk out, you might find it difficult to even remember their faces forget their names.

The movie shamelessly pilfers plot elements & narrative structures from 'Cloverfield', 'Independence Day', 'War of the World's & even 'District 9' in creating a story that is epic in scope but presented in a glorious B-grade avatar. The script is rife with cheesy dialogues & amateurish handling of situations that its assured to make you laugh thanks to its sheer stupidity.

If you have seen the trailer and been wowed by the special effects then be prepared to expect just that; one endless VFX show reel. I do realize that the Brothers Strause are special effects gurus but a movie is never about the effects alone. Even if they had attempted placing a tried and tested; done to death plotline with half the ingenuity of the originals, Skyline might have been watchable. The way it stands currently Id only advice you to stay as far away from it as possible.

If you feel the urge to waste money, if you do not demand much from your films, if you enjoyed the Transformers (Shallow, soulless pieces of crap), I would still urge you to avoid this disaster. For the love of God and sanity, the success of this movie will only lead to another one and you don't want to be responsible for causing so much grief, please avoid.
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Do not judge a book by its cover. How true that statement holds. With intriguing trailers, this movie attracted viewers to the theaters but the act... read more

Do not judge a book by its cover. How true that statement holds. With intriguing trailers, this movie attracted viewers to the theaters but the actual content was such that it would leave one with scars for life. What a waste of time and energy and to think of it I had to sit through this hell. In fact the climax of this movie was so bad that I could not resist giving this film a standing ovation. This movie reached new limits of horrendousness as far I am concerned

Jerry and Terry (sigh) are best friends and are meeting each other for reasons untold. Incidentally aliens choose to attack earth that very same night. These are not spaceships but actual alien creatures that invade the face of earth. These creatures emit some sort of light which hypnotizes the earthlings and sucks them towards the creature. The alien then plucks their brains out (literally) and uses it for itself. Our hero and his chammiya fight with the alien throughout the movie. In one such scene Jerry also has a Suniel Shetty fight with the alien (shakti maaaa shakti). The climax of this movie can give Rajni's Robot a run for its money.

All the actors are newbies and did a decent job but they could not have helped make such a shoddy script work. Some might recognize Eric Balflour playing Jerry from the hit series 24.

I cant fathom what made the writers write this story. Alien attacks have been written to death in the Hollywood industry and its already boring enough if you don't bring in some innovativeness to the table. Let alone bringing in a shoddy concept that's not only hard to digest but even so more difficult to eat. Directors Colin and Greg Strause had to work of the script and could not have done anything to better the movie. To add to the misery the special effects are simply bad.

Overall the movie is horrible and a weak script ruins the movies chances in any which way.

Rating:
Love aliens: You are better off watching Independence day.
Date movie: Hell No!!
Nothing else to do: You are better off than watching this one. view less

Every now and then, Hollywood filmmakers remind us that their Indian counterparts are not only the one addicted to shed millions to churn super-dud... read more

Every now and then, Hollywood filmmakers remind us that their Indian counterparts are not only the one addicted to shed millions to churn super-duds. SKYLINE, their latest offing, claims to be a sci-fi thriller but it neither sizzles nor frizzles.

The minimum requirement for any sci-fi flick is to possess a decent plot; its a basic crux on which technological brilliance is dispensed. Unfortunately, right from the word go the makers fail to explain their real motive behind all the weird happenings on the screen. Movie kicks off interestingly but loses plot thereafter and transpire wayward paths pretty soon. The worst part is the fact that, as an audience we would wait for something interesting and that wait becomes eternal when it concludes into an abyss of uncertainty.

SKYLINE is very low on emotional content and action sequences just fail to thrill. Director spend no time in explaining how, when and more importantly WHY those strange lights descends on the city. At first its magnetic light, then it becomes men-eating herculean-metallic-ensemble wrecking havoc all over the city. And if you thought protagonists might get into the root-cause and provide some sanity near to the climax, then get ready to be dumbfounded. Nothing to rave about the actors as well, as the hollow script doesnt provide any scope to showcase their acting skills (if any!!)

Maverick Verdict: I could not find a single reason to pinpoint the actual rationale behind making this damp-squib; consequently I would not recommend it for anything in the world. Extend your Lifeline, Skip this Skyline and as always I would repeat my last line: Stay In PEACE!!!
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Skyline, like most of the alien invasion/disaster movies is about a group surviving an alien invasion. this time it is light wale aliens staring at... read more

Skyline, like most of the alien invasion/disaster movies is about a group surviving an alien invasion. this time it is light wale aliens staring at people and pulling them up to their spaceship like the ones in war of the worlds. with an opening exactly like Cloverfield this is one bore of a film with a script that looks like a first draft that ought to be trashed in a bin. As debutant writers Joshua Cordes & Liam O'Donnel have no originality in their writing and it shows in every scene of the film. the directors should have bought on board real writers instead of these two visual effects guys trying their hand at writing. what is commendable is that on a low budget the Brothers Strause ( i think Abbas - Mustan should start calling themselves The Brothers Mustan) create some neat vfx. I loved the way they have blocked some of the scenes.for students of a cinema it is an interesting film to watch because this film was financed by the directors themselves without any studio support and was shot on RED ( Camera). Watching it is on a 2k screen is fun. that alone was reason enough for me to sit through this film. after a point it was more about techniques and less about story telling.

Final Few Words : A must watch only for people working in vfx departments & students of cinema. the tag line says dont look up, i say look up at the sky. doing that for 5 minutes is more fun than watching this film.

Rating : * 1/2 ( pakao)

Ticket Meter : 90 ( worth the vfx)
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There are times when a film's name tells you what to expect. Like, a movie called 'Indra-The Tiger' will have a fat, moustached good guy bashing up... read more

There are times when a film's name tells you what to expect. Like, a movie called 'Indra-The Tiger' will have a fat, moustached good guy bashing up fat, moustached bad guys and serenading an ample bosomed beauty. Although no one's ever quite figured out what 'Daag-The Fire' or 'Ramgopal Varma Ki Aag' meant.

That way, Skyline's makers leave it open-ended. They don't give you anything to expect. Not even a story. It's like how people in school joked about demanding marks for neatness on a blank answer sheet. Here's how the film was scripted:

Not so long ago, in the land of riches called the U.S.A, there was a producer with lots of money. Because the IPL was too risky, he invested it in Hollywood. He hired a filmmaker and gave him a simple brief: 'Let's show the American skyline in a different light than Yash Raj and Karan Johar do . '

Poor guy took it literally.

He searched Skyline on Wikipedia which reads: '...View of a city's tall structures consisting of many skyscrapers with the sky in the background.'

The mind of a creator starts ticking:

'So that's the basic plot. But what about throwing light? I know. ALIENS. I'll have them throw light to devastate humanity. The characters will just shout and run but be killed eventually. Because light travels faster than their sound. Ha Ha. Im funny. I should write a comedy next.'

Pray he doesn't.

'Also, I'll scan Hollywood for the weirdest looking, most obscure actors and put them in. They just have to die anyway. Let's make the aliens look like Octopus Paul and an LED- Light Emitting Dinosaur. That way it's contemporary and traditional both. And in the end, let's just cover the guy and girl up in the aliens muck and make them kiss.'

NOTHING has a purpose in the movie. There's no motivation for aliens to come and kill. There's no real motivation for the earthlings to live. There's zero chemistry between the couple, which I've been led to believe are two people in love. Aliens throw light, humans run and get killed. Every dialogue is a cliche. The acting is mechanical- a smile means happiness, a grimace means hes pissed etc. Of course, there's Donald Faison(from Scrubs) who's familiar but hardly offers any respite.It doesn't make you feel ANYTHING. You do feel frustrated, but I wouldn't credit the movie with that either. Maybe you just have a sad life anyway.

If anything, it gives you fodder to rub in the face of all those who despise Hindi movies for defying logic. This one beats the entire spectrum from Sajid Khan to Ekta Kapoor to Arindam Chaudhuri.

Dare to dream beyond this filth of a movie.

About the actors herein, they needn't be disappointed. As long as we have Big Boss, there's hope for jackasses.


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