Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

MonsterPerfect Good idea lost in the noise

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Smoreni Zmaj It's hard to describe this movie even with spoilers, let alone without. It's weird like Lynch did it, and reminds me of Jarmusch too. Strange combination of old school space SF, western, noir and musical. Extremely low budget and yet very effective. Cory McAbee, in Chaplin manner, brings us one man show. He wrote the script, directed, played leading role and wrote most of the music. And music is story for itself. It is impossible to picture it verbally. This has to be seen and experienced. You have to experience it for yourself.8/10

WolfgangHorizon This is a triumph of so many genres and ideas. I felt the black and white style was pretentious at first, but this movie just destroyed my prejudices one after another. This is one of those movies you MUST give 10 minutes to, and you'll be hooked. At first it seems silly and a little too given to retro b&w slavishness. Give the stand-up comedian an opportunity for the longest ever joke and the communist-style hero worshipping auditorium scene a chance and you will forever be hooked. Don't listen to me. Just go watch. what did your father teach you? kill a sunflower.This is imaginative cinema in the best possible style. I could happily go for a year of such style in cinema. Brilliant. Refreshing.

breezyturtle The American Astronaut is like a 60s sci-fi on acid. It's warped and doesn't make much sense. It doesn't have a strong plot and definitely isn't for everyone. But, I did find myself laughing at certain points and I enjoyed it.There is a scene where the main character is on the toilet in the bathroom and two guys follow him in there. You're certain they're about to beat him up....until they plug in their record player and start singing to him. It's like West Side Story in another dimension. The Ceres jumping (their version of moon walking) in sync with the music makes for another great scene. This movie was born a cult classic.

tonynotoppings This film is billed as a sci-fi, musical-western comedy. Sounds both original and strange doesn't it? The American Astronaut proves to be both of these (and strange definitely in a good way, believe me).The story is centred around space trader Samuel Curtis (played by writer and director Cory McAbee), who we find in a bar on an asteroid belt, landing in order to make a deal. The scene in the bar is extremely funny, and introduces us to the fact that this is partly a musical. In the bar, unbeknownst to Curtis, is his intermittently-reoccurring nemesis, Professor Hess. Hess, a psychotic killer, pursues Curtis throughout his subsequent journey, in which he performs a number of deals, culminating in travelling to Venus to provide a suitable male to the women of Venus, in order that they release the body of their late suitor, Johnny R), and the dialogue between the two is one of the highlights of the film.This film is stylishly shot in black and white, and Cory McAbee manages to convey the idea of outer space extraordinarily well with some simple direction. Especially impressive is the collage of still photographs showing Curtis explaining why Professor Hess is in his pursuit - it is funny, original, and ingeniously simple. Shot on a low budget, this film does not suffer from the fact in any way. McAbee's use of light and shadows is reminiscent of Orson Welles' direction in Citizen Kane - simple, but astonishingly effective.With a superb soundtrack from McAbee's band The Billy Nayer Show, and the script as impressive as the direction, the film's slightly abrupt ending is the only chink in this otherwise flawless masterpiece; although even that has an upside, in that it leaves you wishing to hear more of Samuel Curtis, and the others.Hopefully more from the same director will do.