Touches You

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

********Spoilers********* I was very surprised by this film. First of all this is not a large budget independence day film. However this film would graduate top of its class in the lower budget sci-fi genre. The acting is good, James Spacer one of my favorite actros, plays a good roll. The support cast is also on par for this type of film. The special effects though not fantastic are still well done, and function well for this film. The story draws on several different aspects of the first encounter alien genre. The film starts out in the past with a ham radio operator, near roswell new mexico, receiving a signal and going to investgate. He disappears in a bright light and the story jumps to the present. A large mass is found in the ice in the Antarctic that is sending out the same signal from earlier. James Spacer, playing a Professor in linguistics and communication, is brought in to analyze the signal. He then goes to the Antarctic to see the object. I want spoil the rest of the film for you, but it is safe to say they get snowed in, things happen good and bad. The ending was also something I didn't see coming. The title of the film is very misleading, don't think this is a film about the Antarctic team hunting down the big bad alien here to destroy the planet. I would recommend this film to anyone how likes sci-fi films. It was a very pleasant surprise.

Ever reliable James Spader plays a professor named Julian Rome, dubbed an "alien hunter" because he used to work for S.E.T.I. He gets called in when a mysterious alien "black box" is discovered in the Antarctic. Some of his colleagues are eager to open this thing, and naturally when this thing - which could also be called a Pandora's box - is touched, it sets off unforeseen circumstances. Circumstances which could be dire for the whole planet. Meanwhile, a bunch of political bigwigs in Washington are meeting to discuss the implications of the matter, and the possible end result.At the risk of sounding unoriginal, this reviewer will say that what hurts "Alien Hunter" the most is its derivative nature. It plays like an amalgam of ideas borrowed from "Alien", John Carpenters' "The Thing", "Warning Sign", and even "The Abyss". It also succumbs to an unfortunate common cliché in having a Complainer character in the form of a scientist played by Irish actor John Lynch. This guy does so much bellyaching that one prays for him to be dealt with expeditiously. You know if the character doesn't become a menace himself, he'll at least be a major nuisance. The screenplay by J.S. Cardone (based on a story he concocted with Boaz Davidson) is uninspired (and, for a while, threatens to choke on its "science fact" style exposition), but director Ron Krauss (who also appears on screen) and his crew are competent enough to make this a passable viewing. The production design and cinematography are well done and atmospheric, and the music by Tim Jones is quite nice.Other than Spader, the rest of the acting is basically decent. Co-stars include Janine Eser, Leslie Stefanson ("The General's Daughter"), Aimee Graham ("Jackie Brown"), Stuart Charno ("Friday the 13th Part 2"), Anthony Crivello ("Spellbinder"), Roy Dotrice ('Beauty and the Beast', "Mozart"), Joel Polis ("The Thing" '82), Keir Dullea ("Black Christmas" '74, "2001: A Space Odyssey"), and Bert Emmett ("The Forsaken" '01). It is nice to see a bunch of these familiar faces here.Worth it for fans of "The Thing" to see the Norwegian video footage from that film, used here in a somewhat different context. What also makes this a little above average is that ending; while somewhat predictable, it is an interesting touch. (One has to dig those trippy visuals.)Six out of 10.

Just woke up on a Saturday morning and this movie was just beginning on SciFi... I'd seen the name before, but honestly did not expect much, specifically because of the name, it's terrible and does not describe this movie at all. So not expecting much, I was more than pleasantly surprised! I had no idea James Spader was in it and he played the role well, mainly because he didn't need to act much. The plot was similar to a number of other films as folks have mentioned, but sufficiently different enough to keep you guessing. For a made for TV movie, I thought it was well done and would recommend it to anybody who is looking for some decent scifi. While it would have been much better broadcast in HD (the channel was, the movie wasn't), it was good entertainment with which to start the weekend. Now if they'd just change that frackin' name...

Snuggle down in your favourite chair and switch on the play-station, as you toss this into the waste disposal unit. Spend a useful 90 min. living your favourite game. Disjointed - poorly filmed - non directed junk. It takes a bits from several other "science fiction" movies and badly attempts to join the parts into a pathetically weak story. There's nothing new here, the filmmakers do not seem to realise that providing simple entertainment would achieve a monetary game, but a touch of skill ingenuity and flair is required to turn it into a good film. Any money spent watching this is a waste, and personally i would like my 90 min of life back.