Customer Ratings & Reviews

This film is, at best, a sleep aid. The acting is subpar, the cinematography is choppy and poorly managed, the story...I was barely able to stay awake. And the end...I was hoping for at least a thought provoking ending - but ended up being very abrupt and a massive letdown.

Very boring, third rate movie. Can I get my money back so I can buy another terrible movie?

Many sci-fi films are simply entertainment. Action sequences and special effects that temporarily transport me to another world. They’re fun, but forgettable. Guardians of the Galaxy was good and I enjoyed it, but I'm hard-pressed now to tell you what it was about or what it left me with. Not so with Radio Free Albemuth. It made me think. A rarity among movies today. What is is it that makes someone ordinary courageous? I identified with the characters' struggle to make sense of something beyond their ken. There are moments when it would be so easy to stay stuck or look away, play by the rules and get by, but Nick takes a leap of faith and embarks on a journey of rebellion. He's pretty much alone for most of it, other than an empathetic best friend and co-conspirator Silvia. Although RFA is an alternate reality, there are tons of resonances in the world today - corrupt authoritarian rule, government surveillance, political fear-mongering to exert controL. Nick recognizes Fremont for the corrupt despot he is and attempts to bring him down - something most people are content - or afraid - to live with, otherwise he wouldn't be in power. Nick's very ordinariness make his actions surprising, compelling. I rooted for him. As good as the plot is, what grabbed me most are the ideas inherent in the story. The characters seek answers and raise questions. What exactly is Valis? A force from without or a metaphor for something within? And some see it and some don't? Or it's both, but only some are able to recognize it? The film riffs on the banality of evil from the smarmy smile of Fremont as he cracks down on civil rights to the cherubic FAP interrogators' inane questions. You don't need a scary monster to embody evil - evil in the ordinary is much more frightening. If there's a genre for philosophical Sci-Fi, this is it. I don't know if there's any movie that can ever pack as much wallop as one of PKD's books, but this movie comes close. Felt the same way about Linklatter's A Scanner Darkly. The metamorphosis of Phil from skeptic to true believer is subtle and artfully done. Through his eyes, we see Nick's transformation from slacker to activist. Phil is both observer and participant, which brought me deeper into the story. Played by Shea Whigham, he is authentic and utterly watchable. All the performances were great, including the supporting roles. Standouts were Katheryn Winnick as Rachel and Hanna Hall as the villain. Her partner in crime was creepy good, too. The final scene will stay with me a long time. Heartbreaking. Yet hopeful. I want to know what happens next. When a movie lives on in my head, after the credits roll - that is my kinda movie.

An indie labor of love from folks who care deeply about Philip K Dick's work! The writer's most autobiographical novel dealing with his own mystical experiences in 1974 with entity he called VALIS (Vast Living Intelligence System). Very political - like 1984 or V for Vendetta. Shea Whigham is great playing Philip K. Dick himself. More like A Scanner Darkly than Blade Runner or Minority Report from Dick stories so not for everyone, but if you're a hard-core PKD reader, not to be missed.

Solid adaptation that lets gives you a chance to feel like you're peering in on private conversations. Love Shea Whigham!