A "B" movie with its own artistic points
John M. Dlugosz | Allen, TX United States | 09/21/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"What I remember about this movie, which I watched a couple months ago, is that it is not a "formula" thriller. In particular, just when you think the Good Guy has a plan, the plot leaves the well-worn Hollywood rails when, basically, his plan doesn't work.
Another piece of artistic flair is the name of the movie itself. It doesn't refer to the obvious "bodysnatchers" central theme, but rather, the Bad Guy claims that *knowledge* is an infection that could spread and must be contained at all costs -- knowledge of his plot, that is. Shades of "the pen is mightier than the sword" and all that.
The science behind the sci-fi had its corny and disbelievable points, but is not as bad in that regard and many movies, and not to the point of detracting from the action."
What? No, seriously, what?
Robert P. Beveridge | Cleveland, OH | 04/15/2010
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Infected (Adam Weissman, 2008)
Please explain to me why on earth someone tabbed Adam Weissman, whose directorial efforts previous to this were centered on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel (iCarly, Drake and Josh, All That, etc.), to direct a Sci-Fi Original Movie. Was Tibor Takacs not free? Was Uwe Boll not answering his calls? Had Timo Rose gone out to lunch with his wife? Because judging by the cast list here, either the producers weren't hurting for funds or a surprising number of otherwise decent actors were. I get the feeling this is one of those movies that didn't start life as a Sci-Fi Channel Original, but got picked up on the cheap when no other studio would distribute. (Or maybe I think that just because I actually rented it, instead of watching it on what is now Syfy. Don't know.)
In any case, the painful plot has to do with aliens who want to use Earth's population as a food source, and a couple of intrepid journalists, Ben (Gil Bellows, probably best-remembered for the TV series Ally McBeal) and Lisa (Canadian actress Maxim Roy, currently appearing in Defying Gravity), who of course happen to be exes, because that's an integral part of any B-movie on Syfy. They're lorded over by Carla Plume (Isabella Rossellini, showing how far the mighty can fall), an editor with a heart of gold. Ben handles the crank page ("The Mystery of Science", oh yeah), while Lisa has gone on to bigger and better things. One of those bigger and better things hits her doorstep when an eco-terrorist calls her and sends her to the local Fed building, where he shoots the mayor and then grabs a blood sample that turns out to be jet black. Lisa and Ben have to figure out how to get the sample analyzed and get the word out before they're hunted down by the many humans in town who are already converts to the bugs' way of life. Etc.
How many times have you seen this movie before? I won't say it's been better every time, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a worse example. Oh, and did I mention Judd Nelson's in here, too? Granted, it's been twenty years since he made a good movie, but still. This? This is terrible. You wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy. I would, but then I have no morals. * ½
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