mfloerke Only a cult fan of author Dick could possibly find enjoyment in this. Set aside the cheesy low budget production quality, and the acting is still too weak to try and carry the poor direction. It is like some Highschool kids from the late 80s put this together as a school project. The director attempts to use character narration like Blade Runner, and fails miserably to try and hold the film together by the thinnest of threads. Unless you are a died in the wool cult-like fan of Dick, you'll be bored to sleep. It is unfortunate, as there is an interesting story underneath, just very poorly told.

Linda Leeb I love Philip K. Dick, the author of the novel from which this film is derived, and have followed all the various film adaptations with interest for many years. Some have been very good, some less so, some faithful to at least the spirit of the source material, some less so. I was thrilled to find this on Netflix, since it is one of his major works, in my opinion. I really wanted to like it. I wanted it to be good. It was not. I honor the intention to be faithful to the book, and it was, much more so than, say, Blade Runner, although BR is by far the superior movie. But this was poorly paced, flat, plodding, monotonous, and unrealistic. I realize this last may seem odd given the plot and theme, but lots of movies are about fantastical concepts and still manage to be realistic, in the sense that they create a coherent, consistent reality around those concepts and play out the story with verve and imagination, qualities this adaption lacked. The dream sequences were cheesy. Although Alanis Morissette brought some star power to the proceedings, and she was very good, the acting was poor. The direction left weird gaps in the sequences. The seams showed in this production. One pet peeve: I realize their budget was probably small, but could they not afford a few establishing shots of Berkeley? They kept saying they were in Berkeley, and then showing shots of a city clearly not Berkeley. It's a pretty iconic location, all you need is a few shots of the campus, the campanile, and the bay. This is indicative of the lapses and lack of imagination in this adaptation of a work of supreme imagination.

kdelarue Radio Free Albemuth is a very authentic look into the mind of Philip K. Dick. The mood is sombre and reflective - even noir - and the story has clear Orwellian overtones. The story and character development is strong. The movie is full of echoes of his work, including other movie portrayals of his books - the darkness of Blade Runner emerges as the story unfolds.I was also intrigued by the parallel with Total Recall: Rachel echoes Lori, and Sylvia recalls Melina. (Dare I also mention the similarity between Katheryn Winnick and Sharon Stone?) There is a world to be saved, but the saviors are flawed or compromised - or are remote in time or space.Although set in an alternative world of the 1970s, this is a movie for our time, reflecting today's politics. But in typical Dick tradition, there is more than one way to view it. There are the usual Dickian motifs here - which is the reality, and which is the illusion?The making of this movie was definitely a labor of love, and the attention to detail shines through. It is a fitting tribute to Dick, including the thoughtful and measured portrayal of the man himself by Shea Whigham.It's not space opera - but then Dick was never a space opera author. Expect to be intrigued, and possibly challenged.

The_Monocled_Mutineer Honestly? - Are the reviews here real, or are they members/friends of he film crew? I don't wish to sound indelicate here, but this is a truly awful film. It is a film made of a great story, but it falls short on so many levels. The acting is sub-par, the dialogue is tenuous, the action is moderately interesting and the visuals are woeful. I had been waiting for this film for a long time and like many other Dickian's, I relished the thought of a new addition to the world of PKD. However, this is by far, one of the worst adaptations that I have seen, yet. I am genuinely astonished that it has garnered 5.9, moreover though, are some of these reviews fake? I cannot for the life of me see anything of merit in these reviews, other than obvious bias. There is so much wrong with this film, I feel cruel listing them all. From writing to filming, from filming to post, from post to release - It is obvious that this film has had troubles from the start. I would implore Simon50 to keep hold of the rights to the novels that he has bought - And I would ask him to leave it to the professionals.