UFO - Estamos Sozinhos?

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.

"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.

As a physicist and a SciFi fan, I rather enjoyed the movie. It was very approachable in terms of dialog and the science seemed reasonable and accurate. I would highly recommend this if you like a thoughtful SciFi approach to UFOs.

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.

Boy, I haven't had chills like this since "Contact".

If you like well written movies, movies that leave you on the edge of your seat from the get-go - this is it!

If you like movies that are INTELLIGENT and push the envelope of interesting and well written, this is your movie!

Acting is superb, writing is superb - and content is mesmerizing.

This movie does what so many big budget films want to do at a fraction of the cost!

Do yourself a favor and watch it. You won't be sorry!