Phoenix Forgotten (2017)

This movie was a good movie it was basically based off of the events of the Phoenix incident basing all the real 3 people that went missing which really went missing but it shows what they thought happened because of how the three were together with UFO's and stuff but I thought this movie was good, not amazing but a good found footage film it had great showing of how they come together to find out what happened in Phoenix with the lights and everything and showing how all of them come together to find out what it was and also it shows the sister filming on what happened to her brother which is one of the three missing people but what happened to them it shows don't want to say what to ruin it but it is interesting and it feels like the government would actually hide something like this because they said this is based on the same event just not the footage and stuff but it was an okay movie and a good found footage movie.

Ever since The Blair Witch Project made its debut in 1999, a host of other, found footage films have followed. Ten years later, Paranormal Activity reinvigorated the found footage juggernaut, giving us a micro- budget, horror flick that managed to frighten you in the daytime and make almost $200 million dollars. It's now present day and I've grown so tired of this genre. Years ago the material was fresher. Now the found footage stuff has gone by way of a cinematic, rinse, repeat cycle. Annoying, unknown actors spew improvised dialogue while thinking they are cooler than they actually are. The protagonist is relentlessly holding a shaky cam and filming even though danger is constantly around the corner. Finally, there's always a young kid character who sees and hears things that no one else does. Yeah these movies make a modest profit but that doesn't make them admirable affairs. Found footage films are now in a word, "dumbfounded". Anyway, Phoenix Forgotten is my latest review. Yes it is a found footage endeavor but it's much better than stuff like Nightlight, Unfriended, and the disastrous, last two Paranormal Activity sequels. The acting in "Forgotten" is actually decent, the troupers are a tad more likable, and the film's calculated backstory provides a little more tension. Now could I possibly bring myself to recommend Phoenix Forgotten which oddly, is produced by legend incarnate, Ridley Scott? Not quite. Still, "Forgotten" makes found footage fodder more tolerable to watch than in years past. Director Justin Barber (not to be confused with pop star Justin Bieber) shoots most of "Forgotten" in the style of a guideline documentary. He then has the last half hour veer into complete, retrievable tape territory. Basically, he lets the audience know that his flick is The Blair Witch Project meets aggregate alien abduction. Yeah there are a few fretful moments but as a whole, Phoenix Forgotten fails to drum up the nasty fear and breakneck restlessness that "Blair Witch" projected in 99'. Added to that, Barber's non- visionary ending is abrupt and "Forgotten's" running time barely registers at a squeaky, hour and twenty minutes. It's all harmless but mildly disappointing in the nicest way possible. The story of Phoenix Forgotten which I guess is partly true, involves the disappearance of three high school kids who set out to find the source of a UFO phenomenon called the "Phoenix Lights". This all happened in March of 1997. "Forgotten's" main plot point has the sister of one of the vanishing kids shooting a documentary twenty years later. She's bent on finding out what happened to her brother and she's convinced that he's still alive. Phoenix Forgotten documents said plot point with avid creativity and mounting anxiety. Then nothing comes to fruition. "Forgotten's" key intrigue for sixty involving minutes goes on the back burner. The final twenty is unceremonious found footage in which Phoenix Forgotten literally goes full Blair Witch. Bottom line: Justin Barber in his feature, directorial debut does a so-so job but it's clear that his efforts have rabid continuity problems. "Forgotten" gets a strong yet mixed review from me. Rating: 2 and a half stars.

"Phoenix Forgotten" (2017) has a couple of things going for it. The first is its use of real events as the MacGuffin for its found- footage horror story — the 1997 mass UFO sighting in Arizona known as "The Phoenix Lights." The second is the young Chelsea Lopez in a lead role. She appears to be a gifted young actress, and she's … astonishingly good here. (The script, too, does succeed in painting her adolescent protagonist as likable and identifiable.)Those two things, however, do not save "Phoenix Forgotten" from being a mediocre movie. It's sometimes slow and occasionally even boring, despite the fact that it picks up quite a bit in its closing minutes.It also feels far too much like a beat-for-beat remake of 1999's "The Blair Witch Project." Yes, it's a different sub-genre, with a science fiction plot device instead of a supernatural threat, and a desert setting instead of the Maryland forest. But its story, its conclusion and even its closing shots parallel that superior film very closely.I'd rate this a 4 out f 10.

After seeing the trailer, I figured this would be one of those movies I'd see if nothing else was on, and so I did. I have to say, I was really impressed! The story was eerie and well done and acted. It seemed very real as if the events actually happened. Thankfully I saw it before reading all the negative reviews, or I may have missed out watching this. Not sure what everyone expected, but this was a fun and well put together movie!