Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

WiseRatFlames An unexpected masterpiece

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Woodyanders An alien black box is found in a chunk of ice in the South Pole by a team of scientists conducting botanical experiments. Cryptologist Julian Rome (an excellent performance by the always dependable James Spader) gets sent down to decipher the code from said black box. However things go awry when the ice melts and the alien frozen inside is unleashed. Director Ron Krauss relates the absorbing story at a snappy pace, creates an intriguing air of mystery, makes good use of the desolate wintry setting, and generates plenty of tension. J.S. Cardone's smart and thoughtful script draws the characters with a pleasing amount of depth while providing a few nice twists before reaching a bravely ambiguous climax. The solid acting by the able cast keeps the picture humming: Janine Eser as Julian's snippy former old squeeze Dr. Kate Brecher, John Lynch as the sarcastic and antagonistic Dr. Michael Straub, Leslie Stefanson as the perky Nyla Olson, Aimee Graham as the cute Shelly Klein, Carl Lewis as the friendly Grisham, and Roy Dotrice as stern college dean Dr. John Bachman. Kudos are also in order for the nifty special effects, Darko Suvak's slick cinematography, and Tim Jones' moody score. Worth a watch.

wipster-1 Just woke up on a Saturday morning and this movie was just beginning on SciFi... I'd seen the name before, but honestly did not expect much, specifically because of the name, it's terrible and does not describe this movie at all. So not expecting much, I was more than pleasantly surprised! I had no idea James Spader was in it and he played the role well, mainly because he didn't need to act much. The plot was similar to a number of other films as folks have mentioned, but sufficiently different enough to keep you guessing. For a made for TV movie, I thought it was well done and would recommend it to anybody who is looking for some decent scifi. While it would have been much better broadcast in HD (the channel was, the movie wasn't), it was good entertainment with which to start the weekend. Now if they'd just change that frackin' name...

bradsbucs "Hey everybody! I've got an idea, we found this egg-shaped thingie from outer space so why don't we thaw it out and open it up?" "Yes, I know that would be the dumbest thing a scientist could do, and it could be filled with contaminating bacteria or viruses unknown to earth and could potentially wipe out the human race, but hey, I want to know what's in it". "And nobody tell NASA, they might take it away from us". "Wow this thingie gives off vibes!" "Yes,really strong ones on contact so don't touch it but it's okay to cut it open". "Hi there handsome, check out my nips". (Later that day); "DO NOT OPEN"!!!!! Uh oh, we have to run all the way to the lab and tell them not to open it because we don't have phones or radios or intercoms even though we have a gazillion dollars worth of other equipment here. "I've never seen such organic technology!" "Yeah, lemme take this stick and stab it.". "I'm getting out of here, I don't care if I do kill the other 6 billion people on Earth, nobody's nukkin' me!" "Look! it's the friendly aliens from "The Abyss"! They want us to come with them". THE END

clive-13 SPOILERS AHEAD!!Someone once said something like "there are only ten basic plot lines". Now you notice I don't know who said it, why, when. etc. I don't even know if the correct number was 10. This piece of vaguely remembered trivia did come to mind after reading some of the reviews of "Alien Hunter". Yes, I would agree, there are more that a couple of similarities with such films as "Alien", "The Thing (1982 version), "Coccoon" and others. Does the use of proved and successful elements from great Sci-Fi make this well written, atmospherically haunting, and intelligent film a poor quality rip-off? I think not. Let me share with you why I believe "borrowing" elements of previous Sci-Fi winners makes "Alien Hunter" a very good film of this genre.First, I do admit that the title of this film does not bring about confidence in an aficionado of what I like to call "Speculative" Science/Horror films. A little imagination could have been used here.....maybe something upfront like "Alien Warning", or something sly and esoteric like "Prime Directive!". Even something as recycled and trite as "We Came in Peace" would have certainly brought more interest from the film's target audience than"Alien Hunter" That sounds like a stupid computer game title. Oh well, back to why I liked this film regardless of it's meaningless title.I love this genre of film and have since seeing at the age of six, "It Came From Beneath the Sea". at the Rialto Theater in Loveland, Colorado in 1951. I have made it one of my life's not so secret "guilty pleasures" to see not all ( I wish), but hundreds of films of this general type. From the excellent "Them" in 1954 to the recently seen DVD mess of a film, "Absolute Zero", a film so bad it never got a theatrical release. My point is......whether it's trips to mars by NASA, DNA sucking androids in Seattle, aliens in deep space or Wyoming, viral insanity from defense labs, volcanoes in New York, mind eating parasites in Toronto, plagues in London, giant leeches in Louisiana, mad scientists in the desert, killer bees in LA or computer viruses that kill you by getting into your brain synapses while your writing a review on IMDb.....IF THE FILM DOESN'T HAVE A GOOD STORY AND IF THAT STORY IS POORLY WRITTEN THE FILM WILL BE DOA! That said, it's fine that the writers place the story in the depths of an underground NASA lab in Antarctica in a howling days long blizzard. Sure it's been used before. But it works because of the interesting story line and believable dialog. They find an object under the ice. Done before? Of course. Yet this object means something different than past films in the "WHY" it's there. That comes from an intelligent and NOT USED before story line that hooks together "Roswell" and the contemporary story. Yes, the object contains an alien. Done so many times now you would think there wasn't another direction for this element to move towards. Yet there is a unique and haunting difference between this "coccoon" which contains the alien and past films where there is an object that falls from the skies and contains an alien.Why? It's called good writing. I could go on. People are infected. People fight each other. The big, bad U.S. Government knows all and must act to save the world. All done before, but many times.... done poorly. In this oddly named film all these elements come together differently because of a good back story, good, realistic dialog, reasonably good acting, effective editing and, for the most part, excellent CG.What I really LIKED......The disturbing and hauntingly claustrophobic underground station, with its endless round and darkly lit corridors and Star Trek "sliding entryways". Theunderground genetically altered and hydroponically grown corn fields, that through the magic of CG and the terror of a fleeing "infected"scientist, start turning black with infection and curl up in steaming black rot before your eyes. The opening sequence in Roswell primes you with an interesting and ultimately satisfying explanation for that curious and still mystifying event. I liked the Russian officers on the submarine. Although it;s hard to believe that submarine officers are always in "Dress Parade" uniforms. I liked the way they began to SWEATbefore the launch of the missile. I liked the suspense and terror of being underground with IT!, the alien. I liked the characters and the subplots Well done all around. All in all this is an excellent representative addition to the Sci-Fi genre. The writing makes this film. It does use many clichéd concepts, but it uses them WELL, with good dialog, acting CG and, to me, a satisfying ending. I know some reviewers felt there should have been more of an explanation of the future of the four survivors, but they want TOO much. Speculative Fiction shouldn't spell out EVERYTHING. Use your Imagination.7 stars out of 10 Recommended! Clive 13 in Denver, Colorado