ELLIPSE *** USA 2019 Dir: Joe Bland & Grant Martin. 76 mins
Writer, director and one of the two main characters Grant Martin is grieving the loss of his wife and in a time where space exploration seems to be common place he goes on a bit of a drunken spaceship ride with his canine companion, Mac. This results in them crash landing on a volatile, egg shaped planet called Ellipse. It’s increased gravity and the ever changing atmosphere is taking chunks out of their life span and if they are to survive, Jon (Grant Martin) must replenish the ships battery and get them both home safely.
This low budget sci-fi offering has been met with some harsh reviews but I am here to try and balance this out a bit by saying that ELLIPSE is not that bad. I think Grant Martin did a good job at leading the dialogue and playing a typical American over sensitive jock that means well but is a bit of an idiot, there are a couple of comedic moments that raised a smile from me anyway. Obviously he is completely overshadowed by the acting prowess of his black lab partner Mac (credited as Jack Williams) who is, of course, the goodest of all the good boys! It actually gets a little emotional at times. It’s always a great idea to use animals as main characters in my opinion. As there are so many animal lovers out there the writers know that at least one character will have the viewers love and support straight away. If you then dress them up in a adorable little space jacket you can be sure of it!
There are a few elements that drag a little and some silly montages… to be honest it doesn’t really go anywhere and the whole catastrophe could’ve been avoided if he had just not gone for a drunken space joyride but thats by the by. The FX aren’t too bad and it’s shot well with a fitting soundtrack which isn’t always to my taste but it works. It’s not something I would watch again but I did enjoy it. This would be a different story if it did not have a dog as one of its main characters mind you.
Review by Sarah Budd