Karry Best movie of this year hands down!
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.
Staci Frederick Blistering performances.
dcavallaro-33583 This has to look upward to equal the trashbin. As Awful as anything on film can get
hipCRANK Finally, the faked moon landing conspiracy nuts get their proof, and then some.Not only does "Operation Avalanche" tell the cold war truth of America's ridiculous claim to lunar escapades, but it's also a nifty espionage thriller, complete with gun play and classic car chases. A pair of documentarians, originally hired to sniff out a Russian mole, soon hatch a plot to film the impending (impossible) moon landing with some clever cinema magic. A tricky plan for sure, but when spy agencies heat up the cold war plans, our filmic nerds are in for the ride of heir life.Filmed on crackly old stock, old school, old film, "Operation Avalanche" captures the bizarro undercover adventures of the CIA, when the fate of everything America felt near and dear to her heart rested on conquering a barren, grey hunk of space rock.Could this found footage documentary be the real deal? You decide, and along the way, enjoy the greatest in-car filmed chase since "Bullitt".
Matthew Kresal Normally the "we faked the moon landings!" conspiracy theory makes my blood boil. That is even more true when people go out and make 'documentaries' trying to prove it to actually be the case. That said, the idea had produced some good fiction in its time including the 1970s conspiracy thriller classic Capricorn One. Added onto that list as well is this film, a indie made period thriller with a neat twist.That neat twist is that it looks and feels like a documentary being made in the 1960s. Operation Avalanche which claims to be a documentary following a group of CIA recruited filmmakers led by Matt Johnson (playing a fictional 1960s version of himself) whom, upon discovering NASA is behind schedule, convinces his bosses to let him and his team stage the Apollo 11 moon landing. If nothing else, it is a great way to bring to life an old idea.In fact, it is the documentary style nature of it that is what make this film. Johnson and many of his lead actors are playing fictional versions of themselves and (as the DVD extras reveal) there was a large amount of improvisation of dialogue going on, something which is evident. Evident not in a bad way but in that it means that there is always the sense that these are people in the heat of the moment. The reactions to things are never over the top but range from the comedic to the panicked, all of which are believable as the events taken on an increasingly darker tone.Yet the film has more going for it than just a good idea. Despite being indie made, the film features some of the finest period production values for a film set in the 1960s that I can recall seeing in recent memory. There are cars, clothes and yes even sets. It is sets that are among the most impressive elements of the film including the construction of the one that represents the Eagle lunar module on the Sea of Tranquility. As a NASA buff, I was impressed by the level of detail put into the film's NASA focused elements right down to recreating moments from a couple of later Apollo landings. It's impressive to say the least.The highlight of this film though might be in its cinematography and effects. The film has the look and feel of 16mm 1960s film in its look, containing the right amount of grain and an occasional washed out look to it. The camera-work as well plays well with the found footage format but also manages to avoid much of the shakiness that has become an all too frequent part of the genre. Indeed, it is to the credit of the filmmakers that they find just the right balance to make it believable but also not a frustrating (and for some even nausea inducing experience). The effects meanwhile are subtle and impressive, often finding ways to put the actors into real-life NASA footage including an impressive sequence in Mission Control where the footage works brilliantly with the scene playing out. The most impressive sequence of the entire film might well be the CIA filmmakers visit the set of Kubrick's 2001 in the UK complete with Stanley Kubrick himself. It's something that sets this film apart from both many indie films but conspiracy thrillers as well.All of which makes Operation Avalanche an impressive piece of work. It's an incredibly well made piece of work combining a period film with a thriller plot told in a documentary style. That also helps make the outrageous premise believable, presenting an (on the surface at least) idea of how it might have happened. If you enjoy conspiracy theories or the found footage genre, this is well worth a watch.Just , it ain't real...
OneOfOne in case you haven't heard, mankind landed on the moon. several times. internet douches tried to claim it was faked. they were debunked by nasa when they redid a laser light experiment involving equipment left on the moon. by mankind. because so many people are stupid sometimes lame concepts are funded and acted upon. this is one of them. did you even stop to think [ no you didn't because you're looking at reviews of this garbage ] that men didn't land on the moon in 1967? the cia doesn't send 'young' anybody to do anything unless its using copiers or getting coffee? neil armstrong is a very famous astronaut for a reason? the russians were trying and failing to land men on the moon? as a friend said to me today, 'man people are stupid'. he is right. and you are stupid if you watch this movie
