The Advanced Guard (1998)

Very best movie i ever watch

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

THE COLONY is an early TV movie that comes from the Sci-Fi Channel and turns out to be just as bad as the CGI monstrosities they were churning out throughout the 2000s. It's a trite and low budget story that feels a bit like an episode of the 1990s version of THE OUTER LIMITS, except not as well written. A bunch of aliens (in human form, of course) visit Earth and capture an array of people they plan to experiment upon and analyse; the humans aren't too chuffed about this and fight back. Thankfully, one of the aliens is sentimental and comes across to their way of thinking. Cheesy effects and wooden acting are the order of the day here, with an occasional familiar face (such as THE WALKING DEAD's Jeff Kober) popping up in support.

I'm a big fan of movies that make you think. I'm still thinking long and hard about this one, fully seven minutes after the credits have rolled. What's really confounding my neurons is the attempt to fathom the relevance to the plot of the naked girlie fondling her slick oily body, made extra-tacky by being filmed on cheap video. This happens three times and I was certain it would be explained in the end. I put my trust in the film-makers that this lurid attempt to lure viewers would be justified. It was not.The movie has to be the most apathetic I've come across in the genre. The sets look like a cross between a 1970s Dr Who set and someone's ill-formed idea of a sponge-painted living room. The lighting is unimaginative (if your sets are going to be that bad, at least film them in semi-darkness to hide the plasterboard and create some ambiance). Of the abducted quartet, the girl stands out as being particularly lame, but none of them is given a personality. The aliens' plans for world domination are just plain silly - all they need is a birth control pill and their problems are solved. Most of the movie consists of people running down corridors. Yes, it really is that exciting. The "ray gun" special effect is ... curious, to say the least (what use is a weapon that takes a 15-second concentrated blast to kill, and even then the guy comes back for more?). The script is like a bad episode of The A-Team, and the ladies' hairstyles come from the same era, so they look like school teachers instead of an advance team of murderous alien invaders. When we finally get to see what the aliens really look like, they're in suspended animation and never even get out of their boxes. The resolution of the story - traitor alien simply has a few words with invading fleet commander and without a second thought he heads home - is truly the sign of a writer who's never had an idea more complex than a Saturday morning cartoon (I mean the bad ones with no plot, action, or characterization) in his or her life.But seriously, what is with the naked chick?! Was it really just so they could justify putting flesh on the DVD cover to boost sales?

I caught this movie on the Sci-Fi channel, and was pleasantly surprised. It is somewhat formulaic, but if you are a fan of Sci-Fi in general, you may enjoy it. I felt that the cast acted quite well, and the special effects were quite well done for the obviously low budget. All and all, I'm glad I watched it.

I didn't realise this was a "made for TV movie" when I rented the DVD. Even by that standard this movie is very tedious and cliched. Not to be recommended. I didn't understand the significance of the naked female that appears a couple of times at the beginning of the movie. Well, perhaps I do now.