Skyline

First, let's work on some maths: "Skyline" is an alien invasion flick that has a touted US$10 million budget! This amount is a shoestring for an alien attack film - it is not even enough to pay the salary of an A-list star! So now you can do the maths and understand why there are no big stars here.

If you had seen the trailer you might have been impressed by the CGI effects of the tentacled UFOs. This is probably where all the money have gone. Everything else, from its lame script and B-grade TV stars to its sets, are all hotch-potch and downright rudimentary. It is an exploitation film that seems destined for DVD.

Synopsis: After a night of heavy partying at a posh condo in Los Angeles, a bunch of friends are awakened in the early hours by mysterious beams of light from the skyline. Those who gaze on the light get entranced - like moths to a flame and get 'burnt up'. Yup, the alien ships have landed and the survivors at the condo unit, Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and his fiancée (Scottie Thompson, pictured below with Balfour), and their friends Terry (Donald Faison of TV's "Scrubs") and Candice (Brittany Daniel) must find a way to escape the aliens' grasp. But where can they run? There are so many things wrong with the movie that I don't know where to begin. The film, directed by the Brothers Strause who did the effects for "The X-FIles", centres the action inside the condo unit so much that we get the impression that LA is deserted and the only folks left are those in the half-empty building. No attempt is made to show the scope of the 'body snatching' and its effects on the millions of other city-dwellers.

Next, the main characters are being portrayed as such selfish and unsavoury people that we root for the aliens to take them away. This may be because the writers have not bothered to flesh out their backgrounds, except for a few predictable turns. The only one who comes on as real is David Sayas (of TV's "Dexter" fame) who plays the building supervisor. Also, the dialogue is lame and clichéd. The writers must have had the notion that audience interest can be sustained if they have the characters yell at one another.

There's no doubt that Strause brothers provide exhilarating special effects - but they need to work on getting a good story to go with their CGI magic. Otherwise it is just a damn waste.

One lesson I've learned is to not read online reviews before I go see a film as I did not find this movie to be half as bad as the people on this site claim. After reading that this movie was not even worth renting and that it was the worst film ever made and then seeing it, I didn't think it came close to any of those opinions.

It was far from perfect, but as far as entertainment value I was satisfied. It kept up a good pace with semi-interesting twists and turns. I even found myself to be holding onto my seat at times wondering what was gonna happen next.

This movie was 10 times better than something like Sex and The City part 2 or Eat, Pray, Love. I suggest checking it out for yourself and not listening to the scathing reviews on this site.

If you like all things alien, this one is for you, if you don't, you might hate it. I have nothing really bad to say about it, nothing that great either, i just enjoyed it.

Its obvious this is a low budget movie, and that most of that budget went into the special effects, which are pretty dazzling for its time!

The movie is set almost entirely inside an apartment building, but it manages to stay intense and exciting for the most part.

The characters are pretty one dimensional, nothing special, neither is the plot, but I don't expect much in the way of either from a B-level sci-fi thriller, and as such I was able to enjoy myself. There is a certain mystery surrounding the aliens and their motives, and although it's never really resolved, it keeps the film intriguing throughout.

So in short, don't expect another "Cloverfield" or "Arrival", in fact don't expect too much, and I think you will find you watched a nice little movie in the end.

Just saw an advance screening of this new sci-fi would be epic and although I won't give away too much of the plot (as wafer thin as it is)I will say the conclusion has shades of District 9, looks to be there for a Skyline part 2. After a gleaming light blankets over Los Angeles one random morning @430am, it lures people outside. Looking directly into the light causes a dire effect which is part of the problem. None of that is explained. Eric Balfour is a good looking leading man, pity his chiseled features out weigh his acting ability. However in his defence, the script sucks, I could write a better one over breakfast. The special effects are certainly effective for the most part. My favourite moments are when the bad boy aliens are on the attack against Stealth jets and the view from the rooftops are outstanding visuals. The trailer was certainly interesting and the film simply doesn't back up the premise. War of the worlds and Independence Day have had a baby, it's called SKYLINE. Worth a look, it's a good sci-fi curiosity and the female leads are all gorgeous which helps matters with such a soft screenplay.

I usually agree with IMDb ratings, but with this one I could not disagree more. 4.5???? Ridiculous. Yes, It's certainly not a masterpiece, and doesn't have an incredibly clever or elaborate script, however it has a lot of virtues that deserve a whole lot more than a poor 4.5: First the visual effects are really, really good. Second: the acting in my opinion was also very acceptable, very natural and according to the situation, the way normal humans would react to an extraordinary terrifying situation, an alien invasion; a few cliché dialog but nothing really to be annoyed for. Another plus is the end: incredibly bizarre and surprising, didn't see it coming. Finally and most important, it kept me interested all the way till the end, which is what a movie should do. Now, knowing that the budget for this movie was $10 million I honestly think the producers and the whole team did an excellent job. 7/10 seems a fair rating for me and I truly recommend it to sci-fi lovers despite the bad ratings.