May 29, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES II & IV • Page 19 Aliens toy with average family in ‘Dark Skies’ Though the plot is far from novel, director Scott Stewart (“Priest,” “Legion”) offers some interesting touches. The film can be considered an allegory for uncertain times, with the aliens focusing on troubled families. Dad has lost his job as an architect, Mom is doing poorly in the real estate business, and money is tight. One of their teenage sons is watching porn and keeping bad company, and the kids start seeing ghosts. The last thing the Barretts need is uninvited, nasty visitors. The “Dark Skies” combo pack contains Blu-ray and DVD formats. Bonuses include alternate and deleted scenes, commentary with director Stewart and the film’s producers and editor. “Dorfman in Love” (Virgil Films) is a romantic comedy about San Fernando Valley girl Deb Dorfman (Sara Rue), who has no special guy in her life though she spends lots of time taking care of men. Those men include her demanding widowed father Burt (Elliott Gould); her vain, stingy married brother Daniel (Jonathan Chase), for whom she works as an accountant; and her journalist friend and secret (continued on Crossword page) Lacy Barrett (Keri Russell) and her family experience frightening manifestations in their home in ‘Dark Skies. by Dennis Seuling “Dark Skies” (Anchor Bay) is a science fiction/horror tale about a family targeted and tormented by alien beings. Daniel (Josh Hamilton) and Lacy Barrett (Keri Russell), a suburban couple with kids, witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family and their peaceful, safe haven of a home. Unexplained, harmless occurrences soon evolve into unimaginable terror as the aliens’ goal becomes clear: child snatching. The film moves along with an eerie atmosphere and the occasional scare, but too much is derivative of other movies, particularly Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” with nods to Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, and “Poltergeist.” The aliens in “Dark Skies” prefer to toy with the occupants of an average household before their ultimate goal is realized. Why they do so is never made clear.