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I was excited to see two upcoming UFO documentaries arriving in August 2021, one on Showtime notably produced by J. J. Abrams and then "Top Secret UFO Projects..." on Netflix. With all the recent revelations on the topic of UFOs I felt a fresh new Netflix documentary would delve into the latest evidence and offer some new insight as well as a better production value than the options that are mostly available these days. Well I desperately sat through all 6 episodes of this once anticipated show filled with utter disappointment and at times astonishment. While the show features some credible talking heads on the subject like Nick Pope, George Knapp and Richard Dolan they interlace their brief statements with crude CGI re-enactments straight out of an early 90s after hours sci-fi show along with vague conjecture from more relatively unknown talking heads and then occasionally throw in totally unbelievable stories told by utter charlatans like Emery Smith that basically discredit anything of substance already covered. The topics are all over the place and are either a rehashing of the recent pentagon leaks, are old stories heard many times over or follow completely insane fantasy stories by proven conmen. By the last episode I concluded this documentary show to be a total waste of time. Sadly being desperate for anything new on the subject I watched the entire thing. I found it funny they frequently showed clips of an interview with Jeremy Corbell but dedicated nearly an entire episode to Emery Smith, whom Corbell said in a 2018 tweet to be a total fraud. And he is, his stories are so outlandish it's astonishing any production would give him the time of day. Not sure what went wrong here, or who raided the mushroom stash but I will be holding out for the Showtime series backed by J. J. Abrams.

"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.