'Annihilation' a great film, but maybe not for everyone

Editor's note: Robert Setlock is a movie reviewer who runs the YouTube channel Organized Chaos."Annihilation"• Setlock review: ***** out of five stars• Rated: R• Runtime: 2 hours• In theaters nationwideEven though it's only March, "Annihilation" will easily be a contender for best movie of the year. Though I can guarantee it won't be for everyone. I heard an audience member audibly groan at the end of my showing.It's a movie where the questions, "What is the movie about?" and "What's the story?" will give you two very interconnected but different answers.Because of this, it is actually very difficult to talk about this movie without delving into spoilers, however, I will do my best.The story is about an astral object hitting a lighthouse. From this emanates an ever-growing expanse called "The Shimmer." Everything that is sent into this shimmer sends nothing back. Drones stop sending signals, radios stop communicating, and, most concerning, people never return.That all changes when Kane (Oscar Isaac) inexplicably returns home to his wife, Lena (Natalie Portman). Kane has no memory of really anything. The government is quick to sweep up Kane and Lena in an attempt to get information of what's inside the shimmer. This fails, but Lena's education makes her a valuable asset and soon she is allowed to enter the shimmer with a team.I've pretty much spoiled the first act of the movie there, but that's just story. Further, the story involves monsters and mutilations and bears… oh my! On the surface level, this is an entertaining sci-fi/horror. Though, if you take it at its surface, the ending my infuriate you.The movie is about how humans self-destruct; how easy it is to just be passive and allow what you love to die simply because, at that moment, it seemed like the easy idea; how life is constantly trying to tear you apart; and how you have to fight to maintain. Being passive and taking the easy route will guarantee failure. There's almost an irony you have to fight to keep the peace and fight to do the right thing.I could easily spend this whole review discussing how all the themes play into this movie's moral but that would be spoiling the experience, which isn't remotely my job.This is Alex Garland's second time writing and directing a movie. The first was the fantastic "Ex-Machina" back in 2015. That movie won Oscars for visual effects and a best actress for Alicia Vikander (Alright, technically she won it for "The Danish Girl," but her performance was far more interesting and deserving in "Ex-Machina").However good that movie was, "Annihilation" is even better. With this Garland cements his position with directors like Denis Villeneuve as a brilliant sci-fi director on the rise.This image released by Paramount Pictures shows, from left, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Natalie Portman, Tuva Novotny, Tessa Thompson and Gina Rodriguez in a scene from "Annihilation."Setlock, Robert