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The UFO Movie They Don't Want You to See (2023)
The truth is out there! And this documentary reveals it
Unfortunately, this documentary (and it's an actual documentary, unlike the 100% of UFO "documentaries" you'll find on Netflix and the "History" channel) will be seen by very few people because it dares to do something in the early-mid 2020s that (hi, future historians) is frowned upon: tell the truth and bring receipts to the truth without stirring up magical thinking in order to do it.
Why is there a sudden surge in UFO/UAP sightings? Why is Congress investigating? What is happening that is driving all of this? In short, con-artists and news media willing to sell their ethics for a few dollars in order to promote stories they know will draw people in while they think it's fine because it's harmless, right?
Except we know selling magical thinking to people isn't harmless. It drives them to believe more fantastical things until they no longer believe in real things. They seem to question everything EXCEPT the active con game being run on them.
Invasion: Home Invasion (2021)
I've never demanded my partner turn off an episode of TV before
The fact the people who made this figured out a way to make an already annoying set of characters way more annoying is impressive. It's as if the showrunners were actively trying to sabotage the show with this episode. Or I think so considering I did not finish it, that's how frustratingly stupid it is. Where I quit was when the mother finds her family & the homeowner is like HEY SHUT UP! And they're like WHISPER LOUDLY WHISPER LOUDLY TALK LOUDLY HEY SHUT UP! None of this makes any sense. It isn't even necessary in the sequence. It's just annoying. And then the homeowners wife begins to lose her mind because people are making noise despite losing her mind and demanding they leave is what will get them ALL killed.
It's not a sequence written to illustrate panic in a dangerous situation, it is a sequence written to artificially & unrealistically amplify the moment. But it just comes across as terrible film-making. Episode 4 is a wildly superior episode but somehow this one got a better rating on IMDB? It's laughable.
Terror on the Prairie (2022)
A movie so stiff only an old tree looking for company could find it inspiring
The only way this movie has 5-stars from a few hundred/thousand voters is because the actor supports a certain political position that motivates trolls/bots to vote for her movies. The thing is, Carano has done actually mediocre work with her limited acting skills.
THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM. It's as if she knew she didn't have to try to get the torchbearers of bigotry to give it 10 stars.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)
Michael Bay undrapes the American flag from his shoulders to make his best movie yet
There isn't a ton of depth here, since it is essentially about a single day-in-the-life (and death) of a group of people serving their country. What is most impressive is what Michael Bay does and doesn't do with it.
Unlike most of his other movies involving the military, this time Bay leaves the eye-rolling patriotism out and just tells a story with some of his most understated visuals, granted, there is still overuse of shining light into the camera, making a few scenes, that should have felt genuinely dramatic, too stylized.
It's not without other problems, like the moments when Bay just HAS TO add Hollywood explosions where realistic ones would have made the movie feel even more powerful, but it's surprisingly without preachy political BS.
I think what hurts this movie is that it is called "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" because while I'm sure the word "Benghazi" definitely draws in the usual crowd to the movie, it also likely drives some away.
To sum up:
A solid movie about terrible things happening to people serving in a dangerous place. It is not a political movie demonstrating evidence that your least favorite side purposely tried to destroy the country you and they claim to love. And if less sentimental in spots, could have even been an 8 out of 10.
Elstree 1976 (2015)
A mildly interesting but otherwise pointless piece
While perhaps 20 minutes of this documentary deliver actually interesting anecdotes about the film-making process, the creators of it never show the personalities interviewed to be all that interesting. And the history of bit-players who became bit-players in the industry and perhaps their own lives could have been very interesting and significant, but none of it is ever elevated to anything but a bit-player film level... which is somewhat appropriate for a below average experience, but doesn't make the film worth seeing.
If there is a reason to watch this movie, it is for future documentarians to learn what not to do.
Star Wars: Threads of Destiny (2014)
A Top Notch Cheesefest of Terrible Acting & Writing
If you want to be impressed by special effects on-the-cheap, then this is the movie for you. Provided you watch less than 10-minutes of it. Otherwise, the writing is pedestrian at best and atrocious at worst. The acting isn't much better.
However, I could have stomached that if the editing had been tight. Unfortunately, the pacing is set to the speed of poured molasses. The creators needed to cut about 40% of the material they presented.
At the end of the day, this is just a hot mess of self-love. I wouldn't be shocked if the creators thought they were making the next great epic Star Wars story. Instead, they've just emphasized that if you were good enough to make a great movie, you wouldn't be making fan-fiction.