Recent Reviews for The Astronaut's Wife
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MCT:August 4, 2008Charlize Theron acted well in this film. That's about it. Poor story line, poor directing...pretty much a no brainer B movie.
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MCT:August 3, 2008The film is not something that i would normally watch but i found it really intresting... although johnny was very scary in it (the evil eyes!) i really enjoyed it!
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MCT:July 26, 2008This movie gave me the shivers through the entire movie...I almost cried because it was so scary. When I was halfway through, I started coming up with this comment. I wanted to put it on here, right that second, but I just couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Then I realized, I was REALLY into the movie. The whole cast did a phenomenal job making this movie awesome.
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MCT:July 22, 2008
DEPP is the man! ok the movie was great too, i liked the concept but i didn't like what happened to Depp
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MCT:July 9, 2008Slick scifi premise falls flat in this obdy snatchers riff, when an astronaut returns home from space carrying a spirit that is not his own, who treatens to turn his wife's unborn children into tools of an alien invasion. Just what they need.
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MCT:June 13, 2008"Now you just keep quiet, and you rest. I'm here with you. I'm always going to be here Jillian. Always."
The Astronaut's Wife was a film I saw for Johnny Depp, and that reason only. If he wasn't included in this cast then I would have no intention of watching this, and I had low expectations despite the fact that it has in my eyes the greatest actor of all time included in the cast. It was a pleasant surprise for me when this film ended and I gathered my thoughts, as I realized that it wasn't actually half bad. Sure, there are some flaws and things I disliked about The Astronaut's Wife, but it has proven to be a pretty decent thriller.
Johnny Depp is Spencer Armacost, an astronaut who loses contact with NASA when on a mission at the beginning of this suspenseful film. For those two minutes it becomes a mystery as to what really happened, but it is stated by NASA that an explosion occurred while repairing a satellite. Meanwhile Spencer's wife, Jillian, and his partner's wife are left in confusion and emotions about what happened, and the viewers know no more than they do about what has happened. Shortly after the astronauts are rescued, and safely returned back to earth. The news is all good for Spencer, but for the other astronaut there comes some bad news not long after the pair's return to Earth.
But that is only the start of the complications. Spencer and Jillian then move to New York to accept Spencer's new job offer, and then it isn't long before Jill becomes pregnant. As time goes on we notice sudden changes in Spencer's personality and realise that he isn't quite the same as he was before the contact was lost for those two minutes. As Jillian notices, we notice more changes as well. Jillian must make decisions that affect her relationship with her husband and eventually find out exactly what happened for that short and eventful time in outer space.
The plot is original to say the least, but there were still times when I started wondering where it was going. It seemed as if it delivered the chills and suspense where it was needed, and the various sneers from Spencer make his overall character quite chilling and unsettling. For most of the film the information and discoveries were made at the right time in the plot, giving it more realism and effectiveness. The ending was absolutely and incredibly unique, giving an exceptional view on the events. If possible, watch the alternate ending. Looking back on it now, I like the alternate a lot better. It gives more of an insight and ends the film on a higher note than the other ending. There was really only one main aspect of the film that I particularly disliked, and that was the constant shots of the babies towards the end. The Astronaut's Wife could have done a lot better without them, but nonetheless; there were many dodgy effects despite when this was made. For most of the film it wasn't too distracting though I must admit, mostly it was held together by the interesting plot and powerful acting.
Johnny Depp certainly made Spencer Armacost one defying and creepy character. Although he wasn't the only reason this film has succeeded my expectations, he certainly was the one who held it together. He gave a brilliant and electrifying performance and maintains my view of his acting talent. Charlize Theron wasn't half bad, and gave a pretty good performance considering she usually doesn't quite satisfy me. She portrayed Jillian's emotions intensely and I can now say that I admire her more as an actress. Joe Morton gave a great performance through my eyes, he was someone I'm not too familiar with.. and yet I found him to be quite exhilarating. Clea DuVall was... well, Clea DuVall. Nothing beyond average from her, or from the rest of the cast.
The Astronaut's Wife was overall a pretty decent and effective thriller. It combines Sci-Fi with horror/thrills and does it highly effectively. I can't say that this is a perfect film, but I found it to be definitely worth watching, so I therefore recommend it to anyone interested. If you give this film the attention it needs and look beyond what you would expect, you should find yourself thinking that this is an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. -
MCT:May 26, 2008
I thought this movie was going to be better than what is was, still like watching it though I thought Charlize and Johnny were great together
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MCT:May 25, 2008This...is not Johnny's best work, nor is it the best movie I've ever seen. If you're into alien type things, go ahead and watch this...I'd say it's worth maybe one watch, but you're not missing a whole lot by not watching :p
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MCT:May 16, 2008Mmm, this looked as though it could have been good but it just didn't get there. Some great actors and a reasonable story.. I don't know what went wrong but it all turned out pretty dull.
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MCT:May 4, 2008Charlize Theron gave a better performance than her devil's Advocate role although they had the same criteria,the disturbed wife.
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MCT:April 24, 2008
"He's not your husband, not anymore."
The Astronaut's Wife had two things going for it that eventually persuaded me to commit to a screening.
One is that it's a thriller. I love watching thrillers that can successfully send a chill down my spine and was anxious to see if the filmmakers had done a good job this time.
The other thing, of course, is Johnny Depp in the lead role. I make no effort to hide the fact that I admire Depp because he is a versatile actor capable of executing any role if he puts his mind to it.
When I read the synopsis for The Astronaut's Wife I thought it had potential and sounded quite chilling, although I couldn't shake off the feeling of déjà vu in relation to Roman Polanski's classic horror film Rosemary's Baby. And so I settled in with lunch and a great friend of mine to watch this thriller.
Regrettably I must have raised my expectations too high because the film turned out to be quite dreadful. This film had a very intriguing concept but ultimately failed in its execution.
The Astronaut's Wife is a trip into clichéd territory where the scares are predictable and the characters are stupid. The writer/director appears to have no problem with travelling from obvious plot point A to even more obvious plot point B. I lost count of the plot holes and loose ends that are never addressed.
There isn't much you can say about the plot without spoiling the whole thing (not that it would be a bad thing - by all means save 100 mins of your life for something more productive) so I will attempt to outline the plot with very little detail. An astronaut named Spencer (Depp) leaves his wife Jillian (Theron) to embark on a mission into space. After a lapse in communication following a mysterious problem, Spencer returns home to his wife in good health.
But Jillian soon realises that her husband has gone rather peculiar since he returned from his dangerous mission; acting strangely and never wishing to discuss what happened while in space. Although I didn't go into much detail, you can pretty much predict what is going to happen from there.
The film is sort of a cross between Rosemary's Baby and perhaps a little bit of Species II mixed with The Omen. The combination could have produced something a little better quality than this ineffective thriller that missed all opportunities to be something decent.
The cast were at least some compensation for bad scripting. Johnny Depp steers away from all his prior characters; developing something fresh and innovative. It seems that Johnny tried to add some intensity to his character. This is ultimately let down by some poor filmmaking. The editing and cinematography, not to mention the special effects, are what I refer to in that statement.
Charlize Theron sports a haircut that suitably mirrors Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby. Like Depp, she tried and you have to give her credit. There were some scenes when the terror in her performance seems genuine.
One of my central complaints about the film is that evidence is sometimes spilt out far too blatantly. From about an hour into the movie we know that the crazy ravings of Joe Morton's character are going to be right; and can suitably predict the film's subsequent events. I thought it was tradition for thrillers to spill the beans a few scenes before the climax. The film also ends with an uncertain whimper rather than something conclusive.
I am happy I watched The Astronaut's Wife as I am an avid fan of Johnny Depp. I enjoyed the pleasure of being in the company of one of my best friends as well. Thank God for these two things to overshadow the shallow, predictable writing. -
MCT:April 21, 2008
the heroine character reminded me of Rosemary's baby... unclear plot, bad ending, but Deppr's brilliant acting makes it easy to watch
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MCT:April 20, 2008
it was certainly interesting - not as psychologically thrilling as i would have liked, the end is EVIL!
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MCT:March 29, 2008
Good movie, this one keeps its cards hidden until well into the second half.
The movie was building up to something and you knew, like the wife that something wasn't quite right, it was just so subtle to brush off but so pronounced that you had to think about it.
While i thought the ending was very incomplete i enjoyed the strange journey. -
MCT:March 19, 2008johnny depp looks INCREDIBLE here *swoon* Really wanna watch this one!!!!!! (okok so maybe its only because Depp's in it)
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MCT:March 11, 2008THE ASTONAUT'S WIFE (1999)
directed by Rand Ravich
starring Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron, Clea DuVallSince the huge success of the mildly acclaimed Pirates of Caribbean, Johnny Depp has gotten a new generation of fans and they all love him so much cause they think he is a God as an actor. Depp has been around way longer before that film always giving us weird but interesting portrayals of his characters and rare are his bad performances, but here is one.This ridiculous new take on Rosemary's Baby sees the main character - played by a quite ordinary Charlize Theron in this film - being pregnant with aliens instead of the devil's son. It obviously doesnt bring you the same themes or questions and its not as disturbing. Its rather funny at times.
Depp is her astronaut husband who has become an alien in some badly explained moment early in the film while he was in space. He is overacting and he never gets interesting as the evil guy. It even feels like he was forced to do that film, that might even be the case cause he seems totally careless.
If you can skip this one then you should. Its unoriginal, boring and long. See the Roman Polanski classic instead.
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MCT:March 1, 2008
This is a true creepy film, the plot is that Jillian's husband Spencer goes out to space and an alien takes over his body but keeps Spencer's form and then get Jillian pregnntonce there back because the aliens' plans are to make alien children to take over the world. Good stuff though, what really makes it worth watching though is Depp's amazingly creepy gazed and husky voice that just send chills down your spine.
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MCT:February 17, 2008
I really enjoyed this film and sci-fi is my least favourite genre. So, if this movie is cliched or a rip-off from other sci-fi movies then I didn't know about it! The films only real flaws were the ending and the constant playing of music. Overall a pretty good film.
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MCT:February 15, 2008
hm...nothing was actually bad in this movie but it was all ..a bit dull and i dont know i got bored after the first 20' ....
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MCT:February 13, 2008
this movie is so weird...i cant even begin to wrap my head what it is really good about it...two worthy actors but in a movie that makes u scratch ur head and go 'why???!!?!??!'
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MCT:February 8, 2008
Charlize therone and Johnny Depp sure look good together. The story is a bit out there, but god movie to watch.
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MCT:January 27, 2008
I liked this movie. As bad as everyone says it was I really like Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron together. I liked it, but what do I know?
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MCT:January 27, 2008
pretty bland and stupid. makes you wonder what everyone involved was thinking when they signed up. really bad over-direction and bored lead performances (johnny depp's southern accent is really horrible and spotty) and charlize theron with quite possibly the most unattractive haircut a woman could ever have lead to a movie that is not worth anybody's time...im glad i watched it free on tv. the plot is basically johnny depp acts weird charlize theron is sort of suspicious, some guy warns her but she doesnt believe him then she does weird stuff happens blah blah conspiracies johnny depp is evil and shows up behind refrigerator doors after they are closed with a sting in the soundtrack....the usual.
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MCT:January 26, 2008Pure shit! This is nothing more but a sci-fi horror rip-off of "Rosemary's Baby" (even Charlize Theron's haircut looks a lot like Mia Farrow's). Both Johnny Depp and
Theron give the blandest performances of their careers, the plot is dumb and the script and direction are horribly done. This is complete utter mess, skip it! -
MCT:January 20, 2008
Astronaut Spencer Armacoust was on a mission when he suddenly lost contact. When he got home, to friends he was the same, but to his wife he was different. She becomes pregnant, but as time progresses she begins to feel like the lives inside of her are not of this world.
