Why hasn't there been a decent UFO movie in 35 years?

reply to post by Orkojoker


Independence Day rocked. Where you been ?

reply to post by Orkojoker


Why mess with perfection ?

Originally posted by MisterFister103
S+F for you my friend. While I don't agree that ALL UFO movies since that one have sucked, at least 95% of them have. They're all the same recycled plots; day in the life of main character(s), aliens land in big city, Americans wonder what's going on, aliens get hostile, Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith save the day!!!!

I will confess though, despite it being a Nicholas Cage movie, I thought 'Knowing' was pretty decent.....at least because it was a little different. I'm tired of the alien movies where we end up coming out on top. You're gonna tell me that a super-advanced, cosmos-traversing, angry army of aliens that want to destroy Earth, are gonna be outsmarted by a militia of puny humans?

The Lilliputians put down Gulliver in a hearbeat. There is strenght is numbers.

reply to post by markymint


But the X Files were not just about UFO's. It seems that was more about monsters then aliens. The back story, about Moulders sister being abducted seems the only UFO stuff they covered although they did if over and over again. I remember stories about vamipires and some creature that moved around in the drains lots of creepy creatures and some UFO stuff. The movies made after the TV series ended were about UFO's. I was disapointed as I wanted more of the monster stuff.

Originally posted by markymint
True, moreso - why have you been un-entertained for 35 years? Hard to please?

I suppose if you're looking for actual factual films or ones that really, really take the subject deeply and seriously then we may be lacking somewhat, but all the films mentioned are classic and there are so many more. If you covered the same ground as Close Encounters to bring in all those "realistic" elements then surely you'd just be creating Close Encounters again. But perhaps it is time hollywood put that message across again...perhaps not. Even the recent 'Skyline' and 'Battle LA' aren't too bad IMO, but I'm basing this on light entertainment, not "near non-fiction" type settings.

- Close Encounters
- Flight of the Navigator
- Independence Day
- The Abyss
- Explorers
- ET
- Batteries Not Included
- The Fourth Kind

to name a few that I found 'decent'. It would be good if X Files 3 was actually about UFOs though

edit on 27-4-2012 by markymint because: spelling

District 9
Battle LA
Communion
Fire in the Sky
X-Files movie

reply to post by Urantia1111


You are rude.
Those are ligitimate alien movies that do not deal with aliens hell bent on destroying us. That was 10 movies he listed. He proved what you said about Hollywood was incorrect so you call him a douch. How mature.

Originally posted by mblahnikluver

Originally posted by Blue Shift
UFOs are boring, man! They're just blinky lights that fly around in the sky. Big deal. And the same thing happens in all the movies. Aliens try to take over and we fight them and somehow luckily manage to win. Ho-hum.

Vampires and ghosts. That's where all the action is these days.

Hey UFOs are awesome! Why? Because aliens are in them

I'm all for a movie involving aliens but I better see an alien and not just some ship and lights.....um The Fourth Kind comes to mind. Terribly disappointed when I saw that movie.

Now how about a movie with UFOs, aliens, ghosts and vampires

Thank goodness for True Blood, vampires were being wimp-a-fied by Twilight

Ghosts....the last scary ghost movie I saw, well I can't even recall one! Ghosts don't really freak me out all that much since I've had my own paranormal experiences but there were a few episodes of the show "A Haunting" that really give me the creeps and chills. 13 Ghosts was a ghost movie I really liked. It had a huge creep factor to it.

The Twilight series only hastened what Ann Rice started with Lestat. What ever happened to a good neck biting vamp ? Now a days they're all whimpy little worriers.

Originally posted by Blue Shift

Originally posted by Urantia1111
How about tens of thousands of witnesses in Phoenix 1997? Look it up. THAT would make a good flick.

You'd still have to frame it in a way where there was some conflict between people that would work out in the end. Remember, the number one thing you need to make a good movie is a guy (or gal) with a PROBLEM. So you'd still need to fictionalize it in some way. Not just "a guy sees a huge ship fly over and then it flies away." Zzzzzzzzzzz...

How about centering it around the Phoenix City Council member who had the audacity to listen to what her constituents were telling her and began looking into the matter. She was subsequently ridiculed right out of office. That's drama.

Originally posted by Orkojoker
How about centering it around the Phoenix City Council member who had the audacity to listen to what her constituents were telling her and began looking into the matter. She was subsequently ridiculed right out of office. That's drama.

Eh... We're going to pass on this one, but thank you for coming in to pitch. Please have your parking ticket validated at the front desk.

reply to post by Orkojoker


you answered your question

the reasonable and thought provoking thing has been done already, any attempt to redo it would be flamed mercilessly

Originally posted by karen61057
reply to post by Urantia1111

 

You are rude.
Those are ligitimate alien movies that do not deal with aliens hell bent on destroying us. That was 10 movies he listed. He proved what you said about Hollywood was incorrect so you call him a douch. How mature.

This thread was never intended to be about "alien movies". Granted, Close Encounters did HAVE aliens in it, it's fairly unique in that it includes many notable staples from the serious UFO literature: stopping of car engines and car radios, pilots and air traffic controllers being reluctant to report incidents, radiation burns, police chasing UFOs, government trying to reassure people that there is nothing going on, the dramatic effect a sighting can have on a witness's life. It's a realistic depiction of what really happens. In real life. The UFO phenomenon does not automatically equal aliens. It's amazing how many people cannot grasp that.

Originally posted by Blue Shift

Originally posted by Orkojoker
How about centering it around the Phoenix City Council member who had the audacity to listen to what her constituents were telling her and began looking into the matter. She was subsequently ridiculed right out of office. That's drama.

Eh... We're going to pass on this one, but thank you for coming in to pitch. Please have your parking ticket validated at the front desk.

Are you sure? We could throw in a few explosions and some gunfire for you.

reply to post by Blue Shift


You forgot ZOMBIES or Democrats depending on your point of view. CEot3K is the standard for all to follow

Originally posted by karen61057
reply to post by Orkojoker

 

Independence Day rocked. Where you been ?

I agree it rocked, but so did Reservoir Dogs. However, neither one of them has anything to do with UFOs. Here's basically the way this thread is going:

"What do you mean there are no good movies about the UFO phenomenon since Close Encounters? Are you nuts? What about Braveheart? Schindler's List? Transformers 2? Hostel? Dracula 2000? Knocked Up? Napoleon Dynamite?"

Thread closed...if only I could.

Yes. The other UFO movie almost forgotten was/is James Cameron's THE ABYSS. It is truly a UFO movie, only set underwater... USOs. Underwater Submerged Objects. Many sightings of UFOs involve entering/exiting bodies of water. It makes sense. If you want *privacy* just build your base underwater. You will have very few unwanted visitors.

I've always wondered why more movies weren't made showing more of the ufo's or sightings and without the aliens having tentacles and being "monster" like or taking over the earth. I would love to see something to do with abductions, with the aliens being more like the greys or something similar. Fire in the sky wasn't bad and i also liked Communion. same thing goes with ufo documentarys. What happen to those? I mean they were alot a few years ago and lord knows I've watched them all a 100 times but would love to see some new material on that as well.

Originally posted by sparrowstail
I have a funny feeling that TPTB may be preventing a serious depiction or account of the UFO Alien abduction phenom. to be portrayed in Hollywood. If not why have we not seen an accurate sincere interpretation of what is purportedly happening. With so many North Americans believing in the phenom. it would seem that little marketing and hype would be needed to sell the idea. Wasn't Dan Ackroyd denied airing when he was slated to have his doc. shown on TV , supposedly had a brush with the Men in Black too during that incident.
Just remembered that a Bob Lazar movie was in the works. That hasn't manifested yet. If hes legit can't see it getting by those powers.

The story of Bud Hopkins or John E Mack would be neat to see. Just an idea.

edit on 27-4-2012 by sparrowstail because: (no reason given)

edit on 27-4-2012 by sparrowstail because: (no reason given)

John Mack was great. His introduction to and absorption with the abduction phenomenon would be stellar as a movie.

Originally posted by Druscilla

E.T. gave me nightmares.

Super 8, however, I thought was pretty good, and shot in similar vein of style to those old 70s Spielberg classics.
I really enjoyed Super 8.

These are not exactly 'ufo' movies, but, I think they're related. Watching them together, you might think both movies were filmed the same year.

I had to be taken screaming and crying from the theater during E.T. because I apparently couldn't handle the scene in which he appears to be dying and he gets all pale. That evening is etched in my memory. I must have been about four years old.

Originally posted by Blue Shift

Originally posted by Urantia1111
How about tens of thousands of witnesses in Phoenix 1997? Look it up. THAT would make a good flick.

You'd still have to frame it in a way where there was some conflict between people that would work out in the end. Remember, the number one thing you need to make a good movie is a guy (or gal) with a PROBLEM. So you'd still need to fictionalize it in some way. Not just "a guy sees a huge ship fly over and then it flies away." Zzzzzzzzzzz...

And obviously it's going to have a plot and characters and whatnot - it being a movie, you know. Why could you not base a film on that event?

I prefer Documentaries on the subject

James Fox's
Out of the Blue

UFO Crash at Kecksburg

Also I know What I Saw

But I will say that the TV program Dark Skies is one of the best series on the subject.