Jennifer Wood offers a convincing set of picks for the most underrated movies of the last 20 years. I'm surprised how many things here passed over, even though I remember being fascinated by their trailers and strong reviews. Now most of them are likely free if you have the usual subscriptions. This'll keep me going for weeks. First up: Annihilation.
Lena (Natalie Portman) is a cellular biologist whose Green Beret husband Kane (Oscar Isaac) suddenly shows up at home a year after being dispatched by the government to analyze an anomalous zone deemed "The Shimmer." Kane has no recollection of where he has been, or how he got back. As his condition deteriorates, Lena is called out on a mission of her own to go explore The Shimmer herself. But when she and her team arrive, strange things start to happen—and it becomes clear that not everyone will make it out alive. While Annihilation was fairly well received by critics, it was pretty polarizing among audiences, and it's almost easy to see why. The film was written and directed by Alex Garland, the man behind Ex-Machina (2014) and this year's FX miniseries Devs—both projects that mix sci-fi themes with deep philosophical questions. Annihilation is no different, and will have you thinking about life, death, and the nature of humanity itself for days after.
