Rating: 
Summary: Misses more often than it hits
Review: The best part of this movie is the opening sequence when the spaceship makes an emergency landing on the alien planet. It is an exceptionally well done sequence, the best in the movie by far. Unfortunately, the remainder fails to live up to the beginning. I knew the moment I heard the prisoner talking that he would live, that he would be the know-it-all, that everything hinged upon what he did, or didnt do, and that ruined a lot for me. Part of the fun of these types of movies is NOT knowing who dies and who lives, morbid as that sounds. In the movie ALIEN, it was anybody's guess who would die next. While Im on the subject, this movie is a far cry from that movie. The acting, direction, production and, yes, special effects in Alien are all superior. The fact that the special effects from a movie over 20 years ago are better than this one says a lot. Pitch Black could have been a very good movie, but it bogs down under poorly defined characters, cliched-riddled ones that nobody really cares about. The planet amounts to nothing more than a trip out to the desert. Now in Star Wars, I can overlook that, but in today's CGI world, the least they could do is create a truly ALIEN world. The actors go through their lines dutifully, they do an adequate job. The creatures look exactly like they are. Computer created in every detail. Not for a moment did the suspension of disbelief ever overcome the reality of watching the movie. The very good movies do that. The exceptional movies overwhelm that. Pitch Black has some scary moments, I agree on that. Unfortunately, they are few and far between. It really is too bad. The main idea was there, but the subplots to fill a feature film as well as the pure execution ultimately are found lacking. Its an okay rental film. Nothing more.
Rating: 
Summary: A Must See!
Review: I had not seen this movie in the theaters so the first time I saw it was when I purchased my DVD from Amazon. I was amazed at what a good movie this was. Some reviewers compared it to a cheap version of Alien. Granted Alien is one of my favroite SCI-FI movies of all time but this movie surpassed it in some ways. From a pure SCI-FI stand point Alien was far better. But Pitch Black had far more character development and was also a psycological thriller. I expected the ending in Alien about 3/4 through the picture. But the ending of Pitch Black suprised me. I would recommend this movie for people who are not really into SCI-FI as well becuase the film is rich in character development and drama. The only thing I was disappointed with on this DVD were the additional features. The Making Of was bascially a commercial and the Rave Parties were just awful. The commentaries were decent. The strength of the movie and the awsome video transfer with the DTS 6.1 audio made me give it 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: An smart action sci-fi thriller.
Review: This smart sci-fi premise:About an commerical space ship crash landed on a planet, that has three sun. 11 has survive the crash, looking for water and people, if they live on that planet. Then one of the survive is missing on that planet. After they thought with these three suns will never turn dark. But it`s turn dark, really dark, flying aliens that look like bats, are attacking the survive of the ship with the help of an resourceful captain(Rahda Mitchel), An drug addled cop(Cole Hauser) and an deadly prisoner(Vin Diesel).DVD features has an strong anamorphic widescrren format (2.35:1) and superb Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and DTS 5.1 Surround also. Also include a behind the scenes featurette and two different audio commentaires from the director, cast and visual effects supervisor. Strong film is surprisngly well made. Grade:A-. Super 35.
Rating:
Summary: Superb film but DVD's a dud!
Review: Pitch Black is a great sci-fi thriller and can be compared to other bigger budget sci-fis out there. The film really shows what you can do with a small budget and yet the end result is fairly exciting and interesting. Van Diesel offers a convincing performance as both a villian and a hero at the same time. Director David Thowy succeeded in bringing the fear of the dark to it's audience with some smart directing. Even the ending of the movie is unpredictable. Pitch Black makes for a passable DVD. Picture quality is good with no signs of grain or scratch and the 5.1 audio sounds perfect and balance. The only problem to knock the film down to 4 stars is the lack of extras. There is a short featurette which lasted 5+ minutes, a video stressing about the rave of the film and 2 trailers just doesn't cut it especially for fans alike. I suggest you rent before you buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Pitch Black Is Worth It
Review: I'm the kind of person who gets excited over movies by seeing the trailers. I even get chills from trailers, and this one of those "chilled" movies. The plot: A group of ship-wrecked survivors fight for their lives on a planet overrun by dark loving blood-thirsty creatures. The positivities: The acting was awesome, and I was glad to see a movie full of fresh faces. They may not be new actor(resses), but they aren't widely known. But after this movie, they should all be recognized for their great acting and characterization. Especially Vin Deisel who played a convicted murder with heat censored eyes who plays the hero of the movie. The guy's intensity made his character (a top-notch murderer) very mysterious, and spontaneous. Radha Mitchell did great as our heroine and leader, and the young actress who played the girl who disguised herself as a guy were awesome additions to the cast. The suspense was kept up scale after the eclipse happened that allowed the creatures to come out of hiding. You keep asking yourself: Who's going to die next? Or when they're going to die. The negative: This isn't really a negative thing, but there are some places in the movie where you feel as if you're watching the sequel to Starship Troopers. Although the creatures are totally different and more high-tech looking, there was just something about the movie that gave me the feeling. All in all, Pitch Black is a great sci-fi/horror that is well worth seeing, and buying.
Rating:
Summary: actually 4 1/2 stars
Review: they really tried to give it something different and succeeded. The ship ripping apart on impact was stunning along with the planetscape horizons, overall effects good but the aliens did look a little fake when menacingly flying around. The sepia tones were a nice effect to convey otherworldlyness. I liked the characters and the script held up. Aliens rippoffs were kept to a minimum thank god for once.
Rating:
Summary: If you want A.A.A. (action, adventure, Aliens)See this film
Review: Pitch Black I one of the most creative sci-fi/Horror movies since Alien. If David N. Twohy could make a better movie I'd be amazed. Twohy also made the move "The Arrival" Which probably spurred ideas for M.I.B. But back to Pitch Black. the premise is: These people who crash-landed on the ghost planet. Only 11 survivers. They drink alchol as a source of water. Until one of there surviver (who was diging) gets pulled into this hole that he finds, they thought they were fine. The main-character Riddick (who is an escape convict) has these glossed eyes that ables him to see in the dark. When another character named Carolyn Fry goes down the hole to envestigate the death of the surviver. She sees swift phterodactyl like creatures which try to attack her. When she gets out they have already found a Skiff (a small space ship). The porblem was they had to get 4 power cells to it and a solar eclipse is about to occur. Thats how I'm going to leave you off. I will entertain you with it's intense special F/X, and radiant CGI (computer graphic imaging) beside all its brutal violence and smart catch phrases. But over all being a writer like myself I think I has a really good plot with a subtantial ammount of detail for a movie atleast. If you want to read the book I recommend either BOTH ARE GREAT!
Rating:
Summary: I was very surprised
Review: I wasn't super eager to see it in the theatre. On one hand it seemed cool, but from the trailer, the fx didn't seem too great. But still, I love sci-fi and was eager to rent it. Wow. I was really surprised. It kinda blew me away. The cinematography and the way they depicted the lighting of a planet with 3 suns was really wonderful and innovative. Something I've never seen before and I watch a lot of movies. Had I known this was directed by the same guy who directed The Arrival, I probably would have jumped to see it in the theatre. This guy is really talented. He seems to have the midas touch. Everything he touches turns to gold. I completely love The Arrival I and II. I have them both on dvd and they are both really good. There is just enough innovation in them to make them really good as opposed to those who try to use these tried and true alien themes over and over again and just cannot pull it off. True, I guess Pitch Black is not a masterpiece and surely has it's faults, but in sci-fi, it really is the cream of the crop in my humble opinion. True, the story is tired, but somehow the story works and is not tired here. The acting's good and the character's are intriquing. The guy who plays the villian really does do a wonderful job. Also, the special fx and animation did not disappoint as I thought it would. Far from it. The creatures are very interesting and unique and very believable. The way they move about... complete alien predators... is just so cool. The animation is really good in my opinion and just the way they depicted them. How the villian guy (being a predator himself) learns how to hide from them in their blindspots and put up a good challenge. That conflict is really stimulating, and his character really endearing. The planet is beautiful, untamed and inspirational. The negative, inverted effects they splash throughout the movie, simple, yet for some reason never really done before... And there is also a tint of that trippy, twilight-zonish aura that I really like that certain movies and shows manage to achieve. I don't know if you'll know what I mean if u saw the movie, but anyway. This is really a great movie if u love good sci-fi. I highly recommend it. Well, I'd probably give it 4.5 stars because it's just one of those movies that has something special about it even if it is not perfect, but I can't so guess I will give it 5. I think it deserves more than 4, for some reason.
Rating:
Summary: Some of the most amazing aliens ever!
Review: The movie is so-so. To give you an idea, wait 6 months and it will be all over Cinemax. Not HBO or Showtime, just Max. But the aliens are the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Watch the movie just for the aliens. And, oh yeah, the movie lacks anyone even remotely resembling an attractive women. Hence, no five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Sharp toothed yarn
Review: Do you think a film about nasty aliens is ever going to outdo Alien or Aliens? I doubt it but of all the derivatives I have seen this one does better than most. The story is simple (or is the word thin): space ship crash lands on planet, a known multiple murderer is within their ranks (Vin Diesel), planet is infested by nasty flying lizards that only come out in the dark and despite having three suns, a total eclipse (once every twenty two years) is on its way. The characters are rounded out(I suppose): Vin Diesel is cool as the not-quite-as-psychotic mass murderer - and his hyper sensitive eyes are a valuable asset in the dark. Cole Hauser makes a good bounty-hunter-not-good-cop and Radha Mitchell serves her purpose as the gutsy captain (but I am sorry - you were a million miles from Ripley). Where the movie does move beyond mediocre is in the effects and the simplicity of the tale (it touches on deep meaning but gives up quickly). The crash at the start is good as are the lizards themselves. Thousands (millions) swooping overhead as the light extinguishes: very locust-like. The killing is very CGI (a la Deep Blue Sea) and the ending gets a little tense. I liked this and I said it is better than many. Well worth having a look.
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