UFO

Enjoyed this slow burn which inspite of being so doesn't bore you for a minute and keeps you engaged. Thoughtful, geeky fun.

"UFO" definitely went under the radar, no pun intended. I had not heard of the film until browsing the Internet. I was intrigued by the plot description and after watching the film I can say it did not disappoint. First off I was excited to see "UFO" took place in my town of Cincinnati. The story was clearly inspired by the real life events at Chicago O'Hare airport in 2006 where dozens of airport personnel, pilots and passengers witnessed a saucer shaped object hover over the airport before darting up into the sky at an incredible speed. In the movie after a similar event at CVG, Cincinanti's largest airport, both the government and a brilliant math student race to resolve a mysterious binary cipher delivered by a craft that briefly appears over the airport. The story is fascinating and mirrors the aftermath of the Chicago sighting, when the media was quick to label it simply a weather phenomenon but many silenced witnesses were left frustrated with what they know they saw. The director takes a refreshing approach in actually delving into the topic, rather than exploiting and ridiculing it. You won't see any crazy special effects or Amy Adams talk to a genius octopus, just ordinary people trying to make sense of an extraordinary situation. The film has a satisfying ending but you will be left wanting to know more. I highly recommend this film to the UFO enthusiasts and the skeptics alike, as well as those just looking for a smart and interesting SciFi movie without Matthew McConaughey getting stuck in the wall.

Yeah, it's been done before in Close Encounters, sort of, but it's quite a different take. There is a Eureka!! bonding moment between the professor and student about the wavelength of radio signals emitted by hydrogen and it's kind of touching.

It's nice see college students that really seem like college students. Andersen does a very convincing job of a college professor.

One major annoyance is the very last line, when the student is asked what all this means, and he answers "we are not alone." Well, DUH, by this point of the movie. Bad choice there.

This was certainly no big budget Hollywood blockbuster, but a fairly decent and interesting film that held my attention.

It didn't have any action or thrills, but the rather original concept behind a UFO sighting was enough to keep me well interested.

This is novice director and writer Ryan Eslinger's fourth film installment, and he did a very good job.

The score was a little too obvious throughout the entire film, and pausing it in certain scenes would have created better tension for the viewer. The pacing and length were just right. The C & B grade cast performed fairly well, but I feel Alex Sharp should have not been cast as the lead. Perhaps someone more seasoned would have made this film more appealing. It was however a pleasant surprise to see Gillian Anderson a.k.a X-Files' Scully, and she of course nailed her role.

I can see many people slamming this film, especially if they hate math, and because it's not your typical Hollywood production. Had there been narrating, it would have made for a great documentary type film. This felt more like one of those "based on a true story" films. Nothing spectacular, but still interesting enough to watch and make you think.

Nevertheless, still enjoyable and refreshing to see something different, even if not Hollywood-ish. Would I recommend it? Yes. Would I see it again? Probably not.

6.2 star average in IMDb is it bit more on the money than the ridiculous 2.8 on Letterboxd, but viewers have really missed the boat on the definition of an overlooked gem. Despite its pedestrian title, UFO is an excellent science fiction drama which somehow manages to make mathematics suspenseful by virtue of inspired casting, a tight, literate script, taught direction, and very good, sincere acting on everyone's part. The score is low key, but effectively adds an additional level of tension.

While not conceived on the grand scale of high-budget concept-driven productions such as Arrival, Annihilation, Interstellar, Ex Machina, and Predestination, UFO nonetheless joins the ranks of these films as part of the cycle of intelligent science fiction we've been enjoying in recent years.