The Man from Outer Space

Loved the story line of a common struggle families encounter.

Stars: Christopher Mychael Watson, Aliyah Conley and Erica Auerbach

( Is it so bad of me that the actors who portrayed bad guys on dual Earths were so good at it...I don't want to list them here ?)

a Ben Hall flick.

We absolutely loved this film, Reminded one of Planet Of The Apes,2001 and Tyler Perry before he sold out.

Actually this could have been a Disney movie, Aliyah could embody a live - action MOANA on any stage or screen.

So, Loved it I was invested in the trials and tribulations of the Screenwriter/Astronaut ...Christopher ( Great name BTW) you have a everyman gift of speaking to your viewers with your demeanor and Just So Likable as a lead hero...or Dad.

The biggest shock I had with this film is how many people were listed in the credits. For a cast that had all of eight people, several of whom played double roles, I was amazed to see the credits rolling for minutes with a football field of names.

I watched it based on the trailer and the opening scene with the astronaut wearing a space suit made from what looked like pipe cleaners. This should be funny I thought, and yes, it had a couple of funny moments and was semi interesting at times, but generally it was pretty boring, pretty basic and seriously underdeveloped... hence the title of this review.

I'm conscious of the fact that people, including myself, can be overly critical with reviews and similarly excessive with expectations, so I'm not going to flog this one to death. I think the concept is a good one, but it needs several layers of rework before it's anywhere near ready for production, and a director who knows how to get a competent performance from the cast. The plot is simple and the focus of the majority of the film hinges on personal interaction and strong competent delivery, sadly little of this is present and the script is far too weak to carry it off even if the parts were played by the most renowned Hollywood A-listers.

Erica Auerbach who plays Alyssa is probably he stand out performer and seriously puts effort into delivering a competent performance whilst everyone else renders up roles like they're reluctant extras for the school play they've been forced into to make up grades.

Christopher Mychael Watson is wooden and unnatural except when he's delivering monologues and adlibbing playing an agitated scene. Given he's the lead its unsurprising this film has all of two reviews here (mine being the third) but perhaps he was a late stand-in and only had a day to memorise his lines... who knows.

I've already written too much about this film and given its already four years old, I'm not even sure why I'm bothering. Anyway. It gets a 3/10 for effort, but like so many of the report cards I received in school, it's needs a lot of work to make anywhere near a decent grade.