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Dark Skies

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We just rented Dark Skies on VOD and it was better than expected. I was really leery of the paranormal/horror/alien abduction fusion. There were times when it was certainly over sensationalized, but there were also times when it had me nodding my head in complete agreement. I'm still a proponent of the idea that most paranormal phenomena can be explained by an alien presence. That's not to say I believe that it actually is, only that the idea makes more sense than invoking traditional explanations like afterlives, spirits, ghosts, incredible mental powers and so on. I'd also exclude from the list of phenomena such things as spoon bending, fortune telling, and perhaps some abilities that represent a natural sixth sense like a keen intuition.

Shadow people, missing persons, canine awareness, odd marks on one's body, unexplained illnesses, helplessness, mind manipulation, alienation from society, and more ... it's all woven in there in a way that could make someone think twice. But then of course there are also the obvious plot devices and obligatory FX sequences that leave one asking questions like, with all the shooting and lights as bright as daylight going on, why didn't anybody else in the neighborhood notice and why didn't the police show up sooner ... well you get the idea.

I liked the character of the old abduction researcher, particularly the part when he said, to paraphrase, everybody imagines aliens coming down in space ships and taking over in a shoot 'em up battle, but that's not how it is.
 
I was disappointed by this movie. I struggle with the concept of a highly advanced intelligence being so malevolent.
 
Maybe true , but i liked the theme , the atmosphere , the subject.I don't care too much about the story line , after all this is for the big audiences.
 
I thought it was surprisingly good. I didn't expect much out of it, so the bar was pretty low to start with. I like the fact that it wasn't a typical Hollywood special effects overload type movie. It generated a bit of tension without having a CGI monster in your face the whole time.
 
It goes to show that suspense and good acting can overcome a tiny budget. You don't need blood, gore, and expensive CGI to make a good sci-fi/horror thriller. It only took in $23.4 million in box office receipts, but it reportedly cost just $3.5 to make. So a profit before pay-per-view and DVD sales are factored.
 
exo_doc said:
Omniscient alien bad guys toying with hapless humans, maybe like a kid with a magnifying glass on ants?
If you liked this movie, you might also like "The Forgotten" with Julianne Moore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forgotten_(2004_film)
It's another aliens toying with humans movie.
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Yeah, that was a pretty good flick too.

Does it make me an ET voyeur to enjoy films featuring "alien bad guys toying with hapless humans"? It almost has the ring of a porn advertisement on the Internet haha... "click here to see alien bad guys toying with eager hapless homosapiens"!!
 
Funny how the world of entertainment mirrors the current perception of UFO entities, being that they are evil creatures who abduct humans willy-nilly and have their will with them for their own purposes.
 
Gene Steinberg said:
Funny how the world of entertainment mirrors the current perception of UFO entities, being that they are evil creatures who abduct humans willy-nilly and have their will with them for their own purposes.
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That's an interesting topic. No doubt some of the research for this plot took into account a fair bit of UFO abduction study and lore. But this would be nothing new either. After all J. Allen Hynek was a consultant for Close Encounters, and I think earlier movies were based on the work of guys like Keyhoe. So in the chicken or the egg question, it seems that it's the phenomena first, then portrayals of it in fact and fiction that mirror it back to us, often in a highly sensationalized manner.
 
Just saw this movie... not a bad movie. Toying with humans part was weird but then if you extrapolate the human 'mouse maze' to the gray 'picture vanish/kitchen math-pyramid' fun you get the idea. We measure mouse brain capacity where grays measure human emotional response. Interesting angle whose answer will be in part II ?
 
I am a big fan of Dark Skies. I went to see it in the theater and viewing movies in the theater is something I seldom do. I just downloaded it and I'll be re-watching it again tonight. I have to say they definitely did their research as far as abduction phenomena is concerned and I was impressed.

 
I saw this a few weeks ago and I also thought it was pretty well done, though I have to say that as far as movies go, this one really didn't make much of an impression on me in the long term, but then again I've yet to see a movie about aliens other than Close Encounters and ET that did. An interesting and entertaining film, but kind of shallow, at least imo. I do have to admit to being a huge fan of JK Simmons ever since the days of Oz, so I was glad to see him in the film. Overall a good popcorn horror flick, but not much more than that.
 
Muadib said:
I saw this a few weeks ago and I also thought it was pretty well done, though I have to say that as far as movies go, this one really didn't make much of an impression on me in the long term, but then again I've yet to see a movie about aliens other than Close Encounters and ET that did. An interesting and entertaining film, but kind of shallow, at least imo. I do have to admit to being a huge fan of JK Simmons ever since the days of Oz, so I was glad to see him in the film. Overall a good popcorn horror flick, but not much more than that.
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You are of course forgetting to include 'Alien'? Not any of the sequels or prequel, just 'Alien' which in my book is simply a top film of all time, never mind ET stuff alone. It's scary, looks great, acted amazingly and is also very thought-provoking on subjects such as meeting other life out in the universe, nature, evolution, food chain, innate intelligence etc. On so many levels is it a great film.
 
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