Friday, March 15, 2013

FLASH! UFO's Scared Off By Welsh Rarebit-On-The-Hoof! Nephilim Flee Planet In Fear! Film At Eleven!

Review - Netflix Watch Instantly Movies - "A UFO Conspiracy"




This documentary is part "UFO Phenomenon Recap" and "UFO's-as-demonology," the latter of which really takes away from the first 75% of the film, which was really quite good.

I've watched other such documentaries before, and I've found all of them interesting.  Who wouldn't, given the subject matter.  However, this one left me wanting at the end, and sorely disappointed.

Let's look at the film more closely.

The last hundred years or so of sighting information was presented accurately, and without any type of implications being imparted to the viewer--save for the obvious element of We On Planet Earth possibly having been visited by extra terrestrial beings at one time or another.  *That* is, of course, the entire point of this film's study.

Stated another way, the first three quarters of the documentary didn't dive off the deep end into scare tactics, essentially letting the viewer decide for themselves.

Things broke down at the 75% mark, however, with an almost immediate segue into the mentioning of Abrahamic viewpoints about "Satan", "demons", and "fallen angels"  Can anyone say "Nephilim"?  (I mean, what type of project would this be if it didn't delve into the "fallen angels mating with the 'daughters of men'" mythology?

Following the first mentioning of the creatures, the viewer is treated to a wonderful flash-frame-forward viewing of a series of demonic-like images, replete with the usual "Goat Horned 'Devil'" type of pctures.  Historically, images such as these took the place of the pre-medieval "Pagan Gods," such as Pan, Cernunnos, and the rest of the various Pantheons that existed before Christianity took hold of Europe in ages past, essentially being used by the early European Churches as "substitute imagery" for the "heathen folk" (read: Country Dwellers), who had very little influence upon the more powerful factions of the day.

The last 25% of the documentary is a cautionary tale, and we are "warned very sternly" by--get this!--A "Welsh Baptist" pastor from California!  What the heck?  A Californian, Baptist pastor of Welsh decent, complete with accent.  This guy took up TEN WHOLE MINUTES, and was the LAST PART OF THE MOVIE!

"Ouch!"  In a word.

So just what is this telling us?  That Baptists seem to know all there is to know about so-called demons, devils, and fallen angels and their semi-human offspring (from the 'courting' of early history's young ladies, so it would appear.)?

This reviewer thinks otherwise.

Summarizing, I found "A UFO Conspiracy" rather enjoyable for the first three quarters of the show, but ended up rolling my eyes at the end.  The addition of a "California-based 'Welsh' Baptist Preacher" ending the film just didn't cut the mustard with this reviewer.

There wasn't enough information presented before the segue into the last quarter of the movie; if more supportive information had been given to support the latter part of the film, I believe it would have made it more enjoyable, as well as supported the (assumed) opinions of the film's producers.  However, as it stands, it just didn't do that very well, as I see it.

The first 3/4 was informative and interesting.  The last 25% was somewhat less satisfying, meant more to provide a fear-response in the viewer, of the "believe in Christ or Go Straight To Hell" type of response.  At that point, I had, indeed, had enough.

I'm just glad that Welsh Baptist isn't served with Welsh Rarebit.  To me, the two would just clash too much! ;->

Be Well Everyone, and Thanks For Reading!  --Firefishe

Friday, March 01, 2013

Netflix Movie Review: Ghost From The Machine - Netflix

Being a ham radio operator, as well as a paranormal buff, I understand the concept.  The concept being that, electromagnetic imprints of long-term residents of certain places may remain after death, and, if you could energize the ionic space in question, well, perhaps something might just appear--and even, if one were not careful, they'd be a little naughty.

However, that's not what bothers me. It's not the concept, the technology, or the low-budget nature of the film, ergo, actors, props, devices, locations, and such.  All of the aforementioned were used, as I see it, with alacrity; I also thought the cinematography was excellent and highly believable for such a film.  I enjoyed the low-key nature of the environmental shots--the store, the neighborhood, inside the store, the school...  Ah!  The School!

Let's cut right to the chase.  This film had characters that were simply bullies, pure and simple!  The educational system of whatever town this was in had absolutely no tolerance for any type of 'going against the norm' relative to school attendance.  It was draconian, unsympathetic, and threatening; and not much else.

The Child Protective Services Man, and the woman teacher were--as all good movie stereotypical tropes from days of yore do tell us--black.  Black, and with an attitude, ten fathoms deep to their very core, with the "movie-typical, socialistic, fascistic personality tendencies."
The fact is, save for very few exceptions--if any...I can't think of any place on the silver screen where it wasn't--this type of character is always portrayed by a black person, or persons, and they all have "that liberal extremist, education-at-all-costs-or-death" type of attitude.

I actually just jumped to the end, right before the basement encounter with the "nasty couple."  It was true-to-form.  The young Guardian-Of-His-Brother pleading and begging with the "big, bad, CPS Agent," followed by the CPS Agent giving a short, sweet, catch-all  statement "all you had to do was get him to school on time."  As if that mere fact is the only important issue going on.


The grief wasn't even mentioned!

Gads, if the family death issues weren't enough!  Didn't these people have family or friends who were sympathetic enough to suggest grief counseling?  This reviewer has been through a nasty experience, myself, with a family death that had a similar alienation effect--although for different reasons.  Still, this film's "government teaching establishment characters" brought out an ire in me that few films have ever done.

Now don't get me wrong.  I absolutely L-O-V-E-D the science part of it.  That's what I think should've been focused upon more, and then the relationship issues.  Think along the lines of the movie "Solaris" and you'll get my meaning.

Now, I wouldn't have taken apart the fridge just to satisfy a hobby need.  However, these circumstances were a bit more, well, weird.  Grief does weird things to people at times, and this on-screen-fantasy might just be what could happen, given the proper instances.

So, in summary:
  • The scientific paranormal premise was, to me, a sound plot device.  So were the people centered around the happenings the device was causing.  I felt there could've been a bit more interaction along these lines, as this is what the film was primarily about.

  • The scenes were well done, overall, and I really felt like I was in the "relatively bucolic" neighborhoods portrayed.

  • The biology teacher seemed like a Les Nessman of WKRP In Cincinatti fame type of character, but with a bit more self-aggrandized arrogance, and not the least bit funny.  (Okay, I'll give his description of his classroom One Star for Effort!)

  • The black woman cast as the principal (I wasn't sure on this one) was so stereotypically "movie trope," I was overjoyed that the one scene she was in didn't last long.  The close-up really got to me; I felt it was *that* horrible, utterly predictable, and trite.  (Which leads me to question:  Did the director have an issue with Minnesota's Child Protective Services, of which I've heard some horror stories?  "Socialist Fascistic" type of stuff?  Read:  "Nazi In A Mortarboard!")

  • The real banger for me was the character of the Child Protective Services Agent.  I don't think this actor had much to do, other than act mean, be threatening, and pander to verbiage equaling nothing more than ultimatums, as if "someone as young as the surviving eldest son" couldn't figure it out, eventually, with a bit of sympathetic counseling.  (Empathic wouldn't hurt, either!)  My interior loathing was really drawn out by this character, and it was not a pleasant experience.
So the movie ends with the older son's younger brother being ignominiously driven away by an unsympathetic authority figure--who didn't even have a part in understanding the other part of the film--which, to me, is what the tale was really about.

I found the 'custody/threat' sub-plot non-engaging and detrimental, drawing the viewer away from the technical/spiritual elements of the main plot device, and ending the movie with a non-plussing sort of feeling

Still, I enjoyed most of it.  I give it a Net Total of Three Stars.


-THF