It's always a bad sign when a film is directed by, written by and stars the same person. That's what you're getting here and it will be obvious within the first half hour that things are going very wrong. The space mangoes hanging from pine trees by fishing line is symptomatic of the low bar. Then there's endless slow motion and blatant attempts to jerk tears. Also, the "alien world" looks exactly like the mountains of California.

The best thing in this movie is a dog.

The story has emotional depth written into the concept, with subject matter revolving around loss and sorrow. Unfortunately there is never a moment that allows the viewer to connect or get a sense of that emotion. Almost every moment is tore down by spoofy humor and "Dad joke" silliness. The story arc is more or less a series of unfortunate events leading up to one miraculous stretch of the imagination.

The acting is a mix of one-liners, coordinated stunt drama and deep exposition that seems to get lost in fantasy fodder. The best thing going for "Ellipse" is the genuine attachment you develop for the dog in the story. There isn't much opportunity to develop a real connection with the lead human actor because comedy cuts that cord each and every time.

The special effects are the expected blend of low budget CGI like what is seen on the Syfy channel, and Game play stuff. Beyond a few noticable sci-fi elements everything about this movie looks like the here-and-now. The film does have a decent soundtrack and the cinematography is quality- minus the generic "male model fashion video-esque" moments.

Overall I was disappointed with "Ellipse". I expected a bit more sci-fi in a film that is supposed to be all sci-fi. Still I could have accepted that if the schtick hadn't stepped over the only legitimate story element- the subject of loss, mortality, and the pain associated with the human experience. Plus as heartfelt as the ending was it felt a little bit unnecessary. But I was all about the dogs storyline.

John has problems with alcohol. He is traveling in space and gets too close to D-14 which has unusual characteristics including gravity and time. John walks around in self-pity, self-hate, talking to his dog which unfortunately doesn't talk back like in the cult classic. John was boring as was the dialogue. Nice "Heavy Metal" type of scene in the beginning which created a fun atmosphere, quickly destroyed.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.