The unfolding story of a magnificent British hoax is told with enthusiasm and some welcome humor. Whether the alien autopsy film is part of a United States Government conspiracy, an outright fake, or something else, is explored in this cleverly scripted film. Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, although unknown to me, were totally acceptable as the perpetrators of the "Alien Autopsy" hoax. Harry Dean Stanton as the original cameraman who supposedly was at Roswell in 1947 filming an actual alien being, is excellent. This hoaxed story of escalating proportions certainly set the U.F.O. world spinning, and I found it to be very entertaining from an American perspective. - MERK
82 Reviews
Credible, entertaining and fun
barrybridges20024 April 2006
I went to the premiere last night and wasn't sure what to expect - my initial thoughts were that Ant and Dec would fizzle out in a medium to which they don't fit. I was pleasantly surprised, however.
Overall, Alien Autopsy is a very funny, whimsical film. The script is patchy in places - subplots get twisted and don't really tie together satisfactorily in the end - but this is made up by the pleasure (and it really is a genuine pleasure) to see Ant and Dec putting in strong performances in the lead roles. This is the sort of film that the critics would be sharpening their knives for. I think those knives can be put back in the drawer.
Make no mistake: this isn't your traditional British comedy. The cameos fit perfectly into the plot and everyone has a purpose. There are no big faces included for the sake of it. Somehow, it works.
This is an enjoyable film and good family entertainment. It won't win any awards, but it's harmless, clean fun - and very good harmless clean fun at that.
Overall, Alien Autopsy is a very funny, whimsical film. The script is patchy in places - subplots get twisted and don't really tie together satisfactorily in the end - but this is made up by the pleasure (and it really is a genuine pleasure) to see Ant and Dec putting in strong performances in the lead roles. This is the sort of film that the critics would be sharpening their knives for. I think those knives can be put back in the drawer.
Make no mistake: this isn't your traditional British comedy. The cameos fit perfectly into the plot and everyone has a purpose. There are no big faces included for the sake of it. Somehow, it works.
This is an enjoyable film and good family entertainment. It won't win any awards, but it's harmless, clean fun - and very good harmless clean fun at that.
It's...different
manicminnie19 April 2006
This film isn't bad, it's a good 6 out of 10. Ant and Dec's acting skills are, to be frank, not really up to much but the plot line is so outrageous that you end up ignoring the acting just to keep up with which country they are in and who they are talking to. It takes a while to relax into the 'flow' of the film, but when you do it becomes quite enjoyable. Characters like Voros (played by Götz Otto) will intrigue, interest and even slightly scare you. The actually autopsy scene is cleverly put together and 'snortingly-funny' as one of my friends put it. I think the fact that the film is based on a true story is the only reason the plot is accepted in your mind as you watch it.
And when the cast list rolls across the screen, you will (as the whole of our cinema did) sigh, stretch then snigger quietly to yourself as you remember the more... interesting... parts of the film.
It has to be said however that I won't be buying it on DVD, BUT it takes up two hours and allows you to relax.
And when the cast list rolls across the screen, you will (as the whole of our cinema did) sigh, stretch then snigger quietly to yourself as you remember the more... interesting... parts of the film.
It has to be said however that I won't be buying it on DVD, BUT it takes up two hours and allows you to relax.
Surprisingly, this is a proper film.... and a decent one too
garystpaul2227 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is entertaining stuff. Ant and Dec are surprisingly effective, the production values are excellent - no feel of "low budget" in any scenes, and solid, notable actors support the two leads throughout.
Personally, I would have expected more laughs but the story telling doesn't really cater for wall to wall gags. Most of the laughs are derived from Ant and Dec, who display great timing, and I must give them credit for not hogging this film – their screen time serves the story rather than the other way round. The story itself is compelling, interesting and surprising, even for those who, like me, have a basic understanding of the "alien autopsy" scenario.
I'd recommend this film to anyone seeking some enjoyable light entertainment. Its not demanding, controversial, edgy or challenging, and its unlikely to offend. Despite the subject matter, it is a mainstream oriented film and its conclusion is both satisfying and non-committal, in terms of whether the whole thing – and I mean the "original film" was a hoax or not. That's pretty shrewd, as it serves no commercial purpose to alienate the UFO believers who would like to believe this whole controversy is based upon a genuine film.
Personally, I would have expected more laughs but the story telling doesn't really cater for wall to wall gags. Most of the laughs are derived from Ant and Dec, who display great timing, and I must give them credit for not hogging this film – their screen time serves the story rather than the other way round. The story itself is compelling, interesting and surprising, even for those who, like me, have a basic understanding of the "alien autopsy" scenario.
I'd recommend this film to anyone seeking some enjoyable light entertainment. Its not demanding, controversial, edgy or challenging, and its unlikely to offend. Despite the subject matter, it is a mainstream oriented film and its conclusion is both satisfying and non-committal, in terms of whether the whole thing – and I mean the "original film" was a hoax or not. That's pretty shrewd, as it serves no commercial purpose to alienate the UFO believers who would like to believe this whole controversy is based upon a genuine film.
Ant + Dec meet Bill + Harry
fintastique5 April 2006
The British TV Yoof presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly make their big screen debut (if you ignore their cameo in "Love Actually" where they interview the ageing rocker played by Bill Nighy). It's one of the strangest stories of modern times, the Londoners who discovered the Roswell alien autopsy film.
The cast also includes Bill Pullman as a Hollywood producer who wants to hear their story and Harry Dean Stanton as the original cameraman. Not forgetting the great Omid Djalili (the jailer in "The Mummy" and "Casonova"s servant) who gets to play a kebab shop owner.
I feared this would be a one joke movie (and maybe it is) but surprisingly it keeps its pace due to it's an amusing story with some good performances and some quirky characters including a Hungarian gangster and a granny obsessed with biscuits.
I doubt you will be rolling in the aisles but it's funny in its own way. Not to mention the choice hits of 1995 on the soundtrack. Unless you hate Ant + Dec (looking at the message board there certainly are) or the X-files, it is a Brit-com worth seeing.
The cast also includes Bill Pullman as a Hollywood producer who wants to hear their story and Harry Dean Stanton as the original cameraman. Not forgetting the great Omid Djalili (the jailer in "The Mummy" and "Casonova"s servant) who gets to play a kebab shop owner.
I feared this would be a one joke movie (and maybe it is) but surprisingly it keeps its pace due to it's an amusing story with some good performances and some quirky characters including a Hungarian gangster and a granny obsessed with biscuits.
I doubt you will be rolling in the aisles but it's funny in its own way. Not to mention the choice hits of 1995 on the soundtrack. Unless you hate Ant + Dec (looking at the message board there certainly are) or the X-files, it is a Brit-com worth seeing.
If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em!
silverrain-421 August 2006
ALIEN AUTOPSY Let me say first off that from frame one, the mentality of this movie is lost on non-UK residents! Americans will simply be agog by the acting, the dialogue and the venue (not to mention a 1000 other things British). Awe ight, mate? Gotnoo mowtuh? What's cute about this movie is that it is MORE believable than the actual current 'Roswell Scam' which is an alien craft that crashed in the New Mexico desert in 1947. Yeah, right. And I'm the Queen of Sheba. No, really I am! The acting is typical British, the pace and settings are well thought out and the script is also very well written (if you're a Brit!). The plot is cute, i.e. a guy buys a 'Roswell' film, supposedly of the Alien Autopsy, but the film is old and it disintegrates before he gets it home. Now he's in debt for $30,000 to a local London thug from whom he borrowed the cash to purchase the 'original' film! What to do? Make your OWN film of course .... and then the fun begins. All in all, a very watchable, well-presented movie that will keep you smiling at the antics of the main character (a London 'wide boy'). For foreigners (anyone NOT British), well, just try to keep up and follow along. This is not your typical US B-movie, pretending to be something it's not. It's just a lot of tongue-in-cheek fun for a Sunday afternoon.
Why?
remotekontrol6 April 2006
I would agree with the other reviewers that Ant & Dec are decent actors - they were decent enough in the unchallenging confines of "Byker Grove" - but their ubiquitous presence on British television has significantly reduced their dramatic credibility. Would you cast Cilla Black or Jonathan Ross in a movie? Exactly. This duo have morphed into television presenters and, sorry guys, there's no way back.
That apart, this movie is a mess - muddled tone, uncertain direction, a lower budget than most people's wedding videos - it's not much more than an over-extended sketch. Die-hard Ant & Dec fans may well find something about it to enjoy, but the rest of us (and the lads' agents, no doubt) will be begging the cheeky Geordie chappies to head back to the Australian jungle - and preferably stay there this time.
That apart, this movie is a mess - muddled tone, uncertain direction, a lower budget than most people's wedding videos - it's not much more than an over-extended sketch. Die-hard Ant & Dec fans may well find something about it to enjoy, but the rest of us (and the lads' agents, no doubt) will be begging the cheeky Geordie chappies to head back to the Australian jungle - and preferably stay there this time.
You want to believe ...
knight110tim14 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Showman PT Barnum famously once said: "There's a sucker born every minute" ... and this maxim never had more truth than for hoaxer Ray Santilli - the man who released the original 'alien autopsy' film footage onto an unsuspecting world. While clearly as phony as one of Derek Acorah's "spiritual possessions" on Most Haunted, people believed it because they wanted to.
Ray's tale is now retold on the big screen with Newcastle's finest - Ant and Dec - taking the lead roles of Ray (Dec) and his best friend Gary (Ant). Ray has always stuck to his guns and claimed that the footage was genuine, until now - conveniently timing his "re-imagining" of events to coincide with the release of the film that he and Gary have executively produced.
The story - as told in the light-hearted drama Alien Autopsy - goes that pirate video trader and general conman Ray went off to the States, with Gary, to buy up home movies of Elvis for resale in the UK, but ended up meeting an Air Force cameraman who showed him what he claimed was genuine footage from an alien autopsy shot in Roswell after the famous UFO crash.
However, by the time Ray got the money together to buy the film, and got it back home, it had eroded so much that it was unwatchable. So he then hit on the idea of "restaging" what he claimed to have seen and passing his film off as the genuine article. And the rest is history ...
Ant and Dec's film is surprisingly entertaining and thought provoking, relying as it does on that old storytelling favourite: the unreliable narrator (for better examples see The Usual Suspects or Fight Club), as Ray and Gary recount their adventures to documentary maker Bill Pullman.
It's not the laugh-out-loud, slapstick that one might expect from Britain's premiere light entertainers, but a quite straight recounting of the manufacture of a global-scale hoax - with only a light sprinkling of hilarity. I suspect the real Ray and Gary may have had a hand in keeping the tone semi-serious, so as not to show them in too bad a light.
Nevertheless, this is a film I can highly recommend. It's good natured, funny and reasonably family friendly (mild sex references and fake alien goo aside). The story doesn't quite hang together and the interesting twist ending feels slightly tacked on (perhaps in an attempt to milk the hoax for a few more dollars), but Ant and Dec do themselves proud and if nothing else it's one of those films where it's fun to play spot the cameo.
Ray's tale is now retold on the big screen with Newcastle's finest - Ant and Dec - taking the lead roles of Ray (Dec) and his best friend Gary (Ant). Ray has always stuck to his guns and claimed that the footage was genuine, until now - conveniently timing his "re-imagining" of events to coincide with the release of the film that he and Gary have executively produced.
The story - as told in the light-hearted drama Alien Autopsy - goes that pirate video trader and general conman Ray went off to the States, with Gary, to buy up home movies of Elvis for resale in the UK, but ended up meeting an Air Force cameraman who showed him what he claimed was genuine footage from an alien autopsy shot in Roswell after the famous UFO crash.
However, by the time Ray got the money together to buy the film, and got it back home, it had eroded so much that it was unwatchable. So he then hit on the idea of "restaging" what he claimed to have seen and passing his film off as the genuine article. And the rest is history ...
Ant and Dec's film is surprisingly entertaining and thought provoking, relying as it does on that old storytelling favourite: the unreliable narrator (for better examples see The Usual Suspects or Fight Club), as Ray and Gary recount their adventures to documentary maker Bill Pullman.
It's not the laugh-out-loud, slapstick that one might expect from Britain's premiere light entertainers, but a quite straight recounting of the manufacture of a global-scale hoax - with only a light sprinkling of hilarity. I suspect the real Ray and Gary may have had a hand in keeping the tone semi-serious, so as not to show them in too bad a light.
Nevertheless, this is a film I can highly recommend. It's good natured, funny and reasonably family friendly (mild sex references and fake alien goo aside). The story doesn't quite hang together and the interesting twist ending feels slightly tacked on (perhaps in an attempt to milk the hoax for a few more dollars), but Ant and Dec do themselves proud and if nothing else it's one of those films where it's fun to play spot the cameo.
The problem with UK cinema
chrisatthekeyboard11 April 2006
Think how much better the Americans would have done with this plot line and you've got a clue as to the current problems with UK cinema - something the Film Council and all the Lottery funding in the world won't cure.
A good film starts with a good script - this movie doesn't have one. Once you've got your knock-out script you cast the best possible actors you can get for the roles, not a string of television personalities, minor stand-up comedians and B-list celebs.
Then you get a good director and give him or her a decent budget. "Alien Autopsy" would have been much better done for television, where most of the performers in it belong. It just doesn't have the scale, scope or ambition to be a big-screen movie. And for something selling itself as a comedy, it certainly doesn't have enough laughs. Don't waste your money - avoid.
A good film starts with a good script - this movie doesn't have one. Once you've got your knock-out script you cast the best possible actors you can get for the roles, not a string of television personalities, minor stand-up comedians and B-list celebs.
Then you get a good director and give him or her a decent budget. "Alien Autopsy" would have been much better done for television, where most of the performers in it belong. It just doesn't have the scale, scope or ambition to be a big-screen movie. And for something selling itself as a comedy, it certainly doesn't have enough laughs. Don't waste your money - avoid.
Orson Welles would have been proud!
trouserpress6 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This was a review originally written in 2006. Someone flagged it on here for abuse, but I have no idea why. Let's try again! Welles asked in his documentary F for Fake "When the authority says fake is real, what is real and what is fake?" This question can equally apply to Alien Autopsy. It has been (more or less) well established by now that the autopsy footage presented to the world by Ray Santilli in 1995 was a fake. It was claimed to have been shot during the autopsy of one of the humanoids recovered from the Roswell crash in 1947. When it was shown on television stations across the globe millions tuned in, wanting to believe that we finally had proof that we are not alone in the universe. Fast-thinking entrepreneurs made small fortunes peddling any old rubbish with a picture of an alien on it, people wrote books about it and The X-Files became the 1990s most successful TV show. So you can hardly blame Santilli and his co-conspirators for not 'fessing up that they had filmed the whole thing themselves using a plastic alien and innards from a local butcher.
That is, until now. Alien Autopsy opens with the title "Based on a true story". Santilli and his partner in crime Gary Shoefield are the executive producers of this film, and McPartlin and Donnelly play the pair in this, their feature debut. So is the production of this film the final confession that the footage wasn't real? Perhaps. More importantly, is the film any good? Again, perhaps.
McPartlin and Donnelly, better known in the UK as Ant and Dec have been a popular double act on television for well over fifteen years. They began life presenting, moved into acting, had a brief flirtation with the music business and then went back to presenting. They proved to be something of a revolution in broadcasting, drawing adult viewers to what were essentially children's shows with such parent-angering games as Beat the Barber, where the losing child had their hair completely shaved off in front of a studio audience.
The premise of the film is that whilst on a business trip in America collecting Elvis memorabilia Ray comes across the footage detailing an autopsy in Roswell, 1947. He buys this footage with plans to make money from it back in the UK. However once the film has been exposed to air it rapidly deteriorates rendering the film useless. And that should have been that, except Ray had borrowed the money from a psychopathic gangster with a sideline in standing naked in crop circles, who will kill him if he doesn't come back with the promised footage. And so all kinds of madcap shenanigans ensue as the pair recreate the film and fool both the gangster and the world. Along the way they try their best to shock the audience more used to watching their various television shows with a few firsts: They drink! They swear! They have sex! It is interesting to note that this film was part produced by Ealing Studios, and it does have the feel of a classic Ealing comedy: imagine The Lavender Hill Mob crossed with an episode of The X-Files. This also means that the tone shifts dramatically throughout, from thriller to science fiction to comedy to drama and back again, leaving what few laughs there are rather thinly spread out. Being a long-time fan of Ant and Dec (I even have some of their CDs) I didn't mind this, but those unfamiliar with the duo who are just looking for an enjoyable movie may find it difficult to settle into the film.
Overall Alien Autopsy will probably not be a box office smash. It's currently in the UK top ten but may have a harder time in the US. It's worth catching however to see how one of the greatest scams of the 1990s was pulled off, and how it is still possible that there may be intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe.
That is, until now. Alien Autopsy opens with the title "Based on a true story". Santilli and his partner in crime Gary Shoefield are the executive producers of this film, and McPartlin and Donnelly play the pair in this, their feature debut. So is the production of this film the final confession that the footage wasn't real? Perhaps. More importantly, is the film any good? Again, perhaps.
McPartlin and Donnelly, better known in the UK as Ant and Dec have been a popular double act on television for well over fifteen years. They began life presenting, moved into acting, had a brief flirtation with the music business and then went back to presenting. They proved to be something of a revolution in broadcasting, drawing adult viewers to what were essentially children's shows with such parent-angering games as Beat the Barber, where the losing child had their hair completely shaved off in front of a studio audience.
The premise of the film is that whilst on a business trip in America collecting Elvis memorabilia Ray comes across the footage detailing an autopsy in Roswell, 1947. He buys this footage with plans to make money from it back in the UK. However once the film has been exposed to air it rapidly deteriorates rendering the film useless. And that should have been that, except Ray had borrowed the money from a psychopathic gangster with a sideline in standing naked in crop circles, who will kill him if he doesn't come back with the promised footage. And so all kinds of madcap shenanigans ensue as the pair recreate the film and fool both the gangster and the world. Along the way they try their best to shock the audience more used to watching their various television shows with a few firsts: They drink! They swear! They have sex! It is interesting to note that this film was part produced by Ealing Studios, and it does have the feel of a classic Ealing comedy: imagine The Lavender Hill Mob crossed with an episode of The X-Files. This also means that the tone shifts dramatically throughout, from thriller to science fiction to comedy to drama and back again, leaving what few laughs there are rather thinly spread out. Being a long-time fan of Ant and Dec (I even have some of their CDs) I didn't mind this, but those unfamiliar with the duo who are just looking for an enjoyable movie may find it difficult to settle into the film.
Overall Alien Autopsy will probably not be a box office smash. It's currently in the UK top ten but may have a harder time in the US. It's worth catching however to see how one of the greatest scams of the 1990s was pulled off, and how it is still possible that there may be intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe.
Film Autopsy
greene-17 April 2006
As we cut into the putrid flesh of this cinematographic carcase, what do we find? A collection of organs which never quite function together well enough to produce more than a vague titter from the audience. What was anticipated to be rip-roaring fare from the ubiquitous duo, turns out to be little more than a mildly amusing yarn. Can we learn anything from this dissection? Well the film's heart is in the right place, but as for it's brain; there appears to be a lack of wit. The vital juices that should have been coursing through the vessels of the body of this movie were weak. Is there any hope of resuscitation? No, although a TV presentation at some stage might cause a mild blip on the life monitoring equipment. Failing that, intake of a large amount of intoxicating substances might give the observer the impression that this production had life in it. In conclusion then, the 90 minutes of this film's life were less funny than the 3 minute trailer for Scary Movie IV that preceded it.
I just saw this movie and....
princess91912 April 2006
... I can't understand why some people gave it such bad reviews.
This is an excellent film, OK it isn't a movie that makes you laugh till you cry, nor is it a movie with huge depth, but it was so much fun. The jokes are not a mile a minute but the movie wouldn't work that way, this is subtle comedy and that needs to be understood.
My two younger sisters (12 and 14) came to see it with me and they enjoyed it just as much as I did. Ant and Dec were really good, Dec as the slightly cocky half of the duo and Ant as usual being the intelligent and safer one. I have loved these actors since their Byker Grove days and it is so good to see them acting again.
The mock up of the actual autopsy is hilarious as silly interruptions stop the filming I am laughing now as I remember it. The way the fake comes together with their friends all having something to contribute really seems to work.
The camera work as they film seemingly secret interviews with CIA operatives is great and the oddball characters all fit in so well.
I am appalled that I nearly did not got to see it so I recommend that people go to see it and draw their own conclusions.
This is an excellent film, OK it isn't a movie that makes you laugh till you cry, nor is it a movie with huge depth, but it was so much fun. The jokes are not a mile a minute but the movie wouldn't work that way, this is subtle comedy and that needs to be understood.
My two younger sisters (12 and 14) came to see it with me and they enjoyed it just as much as I did. Ant and Dec were really good, Dec as the slightly cocky half of the duo and Ant as usual being the intelligent and safer one. I have loved these actors since their Byker Grove days and it is so good to see them acting again.
The mock up of the actual autopsy is hilarious as silly interruptions stop the filming I am laughing now as I remember it. The way the fake comes together with their friends all having something to contribute really seems to work.
The camera work as they film seemingly secret interviews with CIA operatives is great and the oddball characters all fit in so well.
I am appalled that I nearly did not got to see it so I recommend that people go to see it and draw their own conclusions.
We Are Young
gtapreviews13 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
For most of you that don't know what this film is about, it is about the events of a somewhat Alien spacecraft crashing into Roswell in 1947, in that year there was also an Alien Autopsy, the Alien Autopsy was then filmed by a cameraman that worked for the US Military, he was called out to an airbase that he had never heared of, to film this autopsy, soon after he filmed the autopsy, he took home the film and a week later the US military was suppose to have picked it up, but no-one ever came for it.
Soon after this, Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield went out to America to buy Elvis merchandise, whilst out there, the cameraman sold the Alien Autopsy film to Santilli and that he was a foreigner, he would have never heared of it again, soon after he had raised enough money to buy this film, Santilli brought it back home to London to show it to his family and friends.
As he then soon realises, the film had eaten itself, the film is no longer viewable except some parts being regained by Shoefield's auntie which works in a film studio. She then asks for Jeffery, whom works in a film lab, to recover the lost footage, he then says: "Don't hold your breath" as in, don't get your hopes up, the regaining of some of the footage in this film is nearly non existent.
Santilli then has to remake this Alien Autopsy in Shoefield's sisters house, which she is in Ibiza for a week, but Shoefield's sister comes home early and she then collapses after seeing the fake Alien being.
Overall, this is a pretty good film, really good comedy, and the direction is not to shabby, this film is mainly a British comedy, and some of the Americans don't know about it, and for some chaps that the Americans may have not heared of before (Ant and Dec) they were really good actors in it.
Recommended to watch if your a Sci-fi buff, Comedy buff, and a Drama buff, all in one.
Soon after this, Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield went out to America to buy Elvis merchandise, whilst out there, the cameraman sold the Alien Autopsy film to Santilli and that he was a foreigner, he would have never heared of it again, soon after he had raised enough money to buy this film, Santilli brought it back home to London to show it to his family and friends.
As he then soon realises, the film had eaten itself, the film is no longer viewable except some parts being regained by Shoefield's auntie which works in a film studio. She then asks for Jeffery, whom works in a film lab, to recover the lost footage, he then says: "Don't hold your breath" as in, don't get your hopes up, the regaining of some of the footage in this film is nearly non existent.
Santilli then has to remake this Alien Autopsy in Shoefield's sisters house, which she is in Ibiza for a week, but Shoefield's sister comes home early and she then collapses after seeing the fake Alien being.
Overall, this is a pretty good film, really good comedy, and the direction is not to shabby, this film is mainly a British comedy, and some of the Americans don't know about it, and for some chaps that the Americans may have not heared of before (Ant and Dec) they were really good actors in it.
Recommended to watch if your a Sci-fi buff, Comedy buff, and a Drama buff, all in one.
Awful Alien Autopsy
ruth-com-15 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I read with amusement this was supposed to be restoring the old Ealing Comedy...as I can't remember much comedy in it.
In the UK it was certified as 12A, but I think the uses of the f-word were not warranted and indeed were out of place. A child can watch this with a parent...and if the parent isn't aware of the, maybe, small amount of usage of the f-word, but there were several uses, then this could cause offence. Also, for a child, the re-creation of the autopsy scenes were a bit gruesome.
And and Dec were very bad in this movie. All you saw was Ant and Dec..not two con men called Ray and Gary. They seemed to cut Ant's part down to the minimum as he just cannot act, he was stiff and unnatural and although Dec was better, that's not saying a lot.
No, a miserable performance and strange storyline....seems Ray and Gary conned hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 90's...must have spent the money so decided to cash in on the con again....sad really!
In the UK it was certified as 12A, but I think the uses of the f-word were not warranted and indeed were out of place. A child can watch this with a parent...and if the parent isn't aware of the, maybe, small amount of usage of the f-word, but there were several uses, then this could cause offence. Also, for a child, the re-creation of the autopsy scenes were a bit gruesome.
And and Dec were very bad in this movie. All you saw was Ant and Dec..not two con men called Ray and Gary. They seemed to cut Ant's part down to the minimum as he just cannot act, he was stiff and unnatural and although Dec was better, that's not saying a lot.
No, a miserable performance and strange storyline....seems Ray and Gary conned hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 90's...must have spent the money so decided to cash in on the con again....sad really!
The Magic of the Geordies
djerams23 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I was impressed by the ease of Ant and Dec when they were able to step in to the roles. Both added extra comments in scenes of conversation that you don't see (or hear) in major films today which make it seem like realistic conversations.
Before watching this film I saw a documentary with Eamonn Holmes about the story of the real hoax and you were able to see that the writers of the film had to make the film more interesting because it would have been extremely boring. The Hungarian gangster was added because Ray and Gary had to collect money over a few years after the USA visit. Also if you think about it, the fake cameramen who did the interview could be the real cameraman and the Harry Dean Stanton character could be based on a fake.
I can't believe that this movie is so underrated because it is both a British feel good comedy and leaves you thinking at the end whether the footage is another hoax or real proof of alien life. The people who have added negative comment on this film are being fickle because they are philistines who prefer Hollywood films and can't watch a film with no special effects or actors who have been in other big films.
Before watching this film I saw a documentary with Eamonn Holmes about the story of the real hoax and you were able to see that the writers of the film had to make the film more interesting because it would have been extremely boring. The Hungarian gangster was added because Ray and Gary had to collect money over a few years after the USA visit. Also if you think about it, the fake cameramen who did the interview could be the real cameraman and the Harry Dean Stanton character could be based on a fake.
I can't believe that this movie is so underrated because it is both a British feel good comedy and leaves you thinking at the end whether the footage is another hoax or real proof of alien life. The people who have added negative comment on this film are being fickle because they are philistines who prefer Hollywood films and can't watch a film with no special effects or actors who have been in other big films.
definitely fun to watch
dirtyharry6712 September 2006
this is a light-hearted easy-going British comedy, full of quirky characters. i really don't understand the bad reviews. well, as i said it is rather British, and its subtlety may elude some of our American viewers but anybody who has a feel for British comedy (although this is not a "classical" one) will probably enjoy this production. you can tell the actors had fun doing it. i agree with some reviewers that this is not award winning or very deep material but i found it really entertaining. great performances by ant mcpartlin, declan donnelly, bill pullman and many many others. watch out for the quirky characters all over the place (i really liked the guy from the filmlab - played by David threlfall).
if you have a feel for British humor: go for it and see this one.
if you have a feel for British humor: go for it and see this one.
Turkey Autopsy
filmbuff197012 April 2006
There have been many movies made by TV Stars wanting to become Movie Stars. But none have truly failed quite as badly as this movie. The stars of the film fail miserably. While there acting style may of been OK for children's TV, on the big screen there lack of acting talent shows when playing up against true character actors like Bill Pullman and Harry Dean Stanton. In fact Stanton and Pullman are really slumming to be in this shameful Turkey. Ant & Dec host a show called I'm a celebrity get me out of here. Well this could be called I'm a Cinemagoer, get me out of here! Or I'd sooner be in the jungle than watching the worst movie of 2006. Don't Waste Your Money, wait for it to appear on ITV. Then you can change the channel. 1 Out Of 10 but only because i cannot give it a zero.
Simple film for simple folk! cheap laughs and poor performance
neil_turner20007 April 2006
The 'alien autopsy' was stupid and so is this film. From start to finish all I could think about was if my car had been broken into outside the cinema and if Macdonalds was still open. Ant and Dec should stick to Saturday morning TV when anybody with any sense is still in bed! What more can I say about this film? nothing, I'm not wasting anymore time on it.
Wasted enough watching it.
And MacDonalds was still open so it didn't make it a wasted journey to the cinema :P
-neil
Wasted enough watching it.
And MacDonalds was still open so it didn't make it a wasted journey to the cinema :P
-neil
It is OK with mild humour, like an OK curry really!
christopher_smart12 April 2006
Ant and Dec are here hoorah its going to be great! Well thats what I thought and all was good. There was the normal problem at the cinema with the screen flickering while me and tom waited for the film to begin and then it did! After watching it I thought it was fairly good, some fairly funny jokes in it which made the obsessive Ant and Dec fans giggle like excited monkeys. This giggling after a while was slightly annoying as some parts where not that funny. The film its self is fairly well done. Throughout the film you switch back from 1995 to present day and this keeps you watching. Downers are that the same joke over and over again doesn't really make a film. Also I never seemed to pick up on the protagonists names because they where played by Ant and Dec and so will remain as Ant and Dec for...well forever! Also the story isn't the most amazing thing since spaghetti junction so that lost it brownie points.
The Truth is, This Movie Is Out There!
Cinema_Fan21 April 2006
Oh no, it's the polar opposites of Laurel and Hardy: Not at all funny and absolutely no talent whatsoever.
What was the point? This is worse than the 1970s Love Boat pilot, the only reason I went to see this movie was because of the two talented actors Omid Djalili and Harry Dean Stanton were in it, hang on, wasn't Harry Dean Stanton in another movie that contained an Alien? Is it me, or would it have been funnier if Harry had sat the boy down to show him his movie and the movie "Alien" came on? Now that would have been funny. Scary Movie 5 anyone?
As well as Omid starring in his own Alien movie in 1999, Notting Hill. Well, you have to be Alien to be in a movie with Hugh Grant, don't you? This is freaking me out, all this "Alien" conspiracy, where's my bed, I need to hide.
The only funny bit were the young girls grinning at everyone as she took our money and the other who took our tickets as we went in, even the Manageress , who we know well, said, "It's just not pulling them in, this one", thanks, after I've just paid my money. If you like your humour dry, then try filling your bath with sand and jumping in, because that is exactly what this movie feels like.
These two clowns, and I'm being kind here, were directed by Jonny Campbell, whose career is only television work, and he wanted to start his movie profession with this! Now that's scary.
Personally, Ant and Dec should continue doing what they do best, playing with each other, and hopefully away from any movie camera and preferably, in the dark too. With this thought in mind, this Alien Autopsy should have remained a secret and never have been released onto an unsuspecting public.
If you want the truth, then don't expect any answers here, because the truth is, to quote Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men; "You can't handle the truth"
No Col. Jessep, I just couldn't handle this movie.
Let's get a kebab then go home.
What was the point? This is worse than the 1970s Love Boat pilot, the only reason I went to see this movie was because of the two talented actors Omid Djalili and Harry Dean Stanton were in it, hang on, wasn't Harry Dean Stanton in another movie that contained an Alien? Is it me, or would it have been funnier if Harry had sat the boy down to show him his movie and the movie "Alien" came on? Now that would have been funny. Scary Movie 5 anyone?
As well as Omid starring in his own Alien movie in 1999, Notting Hill. Well, you have to be Alien to be in a movie with Hugh Grant, don't you? This is freaking me out, all this "Alien" conspiracy, where's my bed, I need to hide.
The only funny bit were the young girls grinning at everyone as she took our money and the other who took our tickets as we went in, even the Manageress , who we know well, said, "It's just not pulling them in, this one", thanks, after I've just paid my money. If you like your humour dry, then try filling your bath with sand and jumping in, because that is exactly what this movie feels like.
These two clowns, and I'm being kind here, were directed by Jonny Campbell, whose career is only television work, and he wanted to start his movie profession with this! Now that's scary.
Personally, Ant and Dec should continue doing what they do best, playing with each other, and hopefully away from any movie camera and preferably, in the dark too. With this thought in mind, this Alien Autopsy should have remained a secret and never have been released onto an unsuspecting public.
If you want the truth, then don't expect any answers here, because the truth is, to quote Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men; "You can't handle the truth"
No Col. Jessep, I just couldn't handle this movie.
Let's get a kebab then go home.
It was a hoax after all
siderite3 June 2007
Remember that big scandal about a video showing an alien autopsy? It was proved to be a hoax, although people still believe in it. This is the story of the making of the video, including the idea that the hoax actually started from a real movie.
Anyway, who cares? The movie is marginally funny, really indie, and actors like Pullman and Stanton don't really belong in it, but it's OK. It's like a brit gangster movie with little humor and pathetic gangsters. And everything revolves around a video not guns or money. Oh, and it's based on true facts :)
Who wants facts anymore? Give me fantasy or give me death!
Anyway, who cares? The movie is marginally funny, really indie, and actors like Pullman and Stanton don't really belong in it, but it's OK. It's like a brit gangster movie with little humor and pathetic gangsters. And everything revolves around a video not guns or money. Oh, and it's based on true facts :)
Who wants facts anymore? Give me fantasy or give me death!
Alien Autopsy
jboothmillard6 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Based on a true story of one of the world's biggest hoax, this is a good film with a great duo in their first feature film (unless you count their brief appearance in Love Actually). Declan Donnelly as Ray Santilli, and Anthony McPartlin as friend/partner Gary Shoefield are great. It is all about these two friends/partners and their story of how they recreated a version of Harvey's (Alien's Harry Dean Stanton) 1940s film, an alien autopsy! They tried to sell this original film to gangster Voros (Tomorrow Never Dies' Götz Otto), but it was wiped clean. So they remade it with family and friends, including Melik (Omid Djalili), Jasmine (Morwenna Banks), Amber Fuentes (Nichole Hiltz), Edgar (Lee Oakes) and Nan (Madeleine Moffat). When they fooled the gangster, they decided to make it global for everyone else to watch and hopefully believe, and it worked. We never knew if it was fake or not, until now! The real Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield even featured at the end. Also starring Jimmy Carr as Gary's Boss and Orson Bean as Homeless Man. A cool story with some cool and also funny happenings, Ant and Dec fans will love it. Worth watching!
The boys can still act, and act well. The comic duet brings this story to life.
hesdeadjim8222 April 2006
I for one, really enjoyed this film. The story is well written and keeps you interested throughout. Ant and Dec make you care about these characters, no matter how annoying they might seem. Sometimes the story seems to good be to good to be true for these guys, which can sometimes make it seem unbelievable. However, it explains the story of the apparent hoax well. For anyone who remembers watching Jonathon Frakes on the Sci-fi channel those years ago, its a could trip down memory lane. The movie doesn't try to convince you that a tape like this doesn't exist, which keeps people's faith in ET still as really as it was before you enter the cinema. All sci-fi fans should check this film out. Its worth watching because of the comic acting of our beloved Ant and Dec pair. Well done guys!
Entertaining! Not as bad as everyone says! Better than Firewall!
Heckie8 April 2006
Entertaining! Not as bad as everyone says! Better than Firewall!
Ant & Dec rise from Saturday night television to star in a quaint British film that shouldn't have you laughing hysterically but will have you smiling. It's probably the best way to have revealed the 'true' story about the alien autopsy.
True, you can never forget that Ant & Dec are Ant & Dec, but it doesn't detract from a thoroughly enjoyable film. If you're as gullible as the thousands who got sucked in by the original autopsy footage then you're probably the type who will be sucked in by the mistaken reviews that have already peppered IMDb. Don't be sucked in, go see this film.
Ant & Dec rise from Saturday night television to star in a quaint British film that shouldn't have you laughing hysterically but will have you smiling. It's probably the best way to have revealed the 'true' story about the alien autopsy.
True, you can never forget that Ant & Dec are Ant & Dec, but it doesn't detract from a thoroughly enjoyable film. If you're as gullible as the thousands who got sucked in by the original autopsy footage then you're probably the type who will be sucked in by the mistaken reviews that have already peppered IMDb. Don't be sucked in, go see this film.
The opposite of comedy is tragedy, but since this is no tragedy, let's just call it crap.
t_atzmueller20 February 2013
I slid this DVD into the player without having done much research about the film, expecting a quality British comedy in the vein of "Hot Fuzz" or "Shawn of the Dead". Boy, was I ever wrong! Would I have done some research, I would have noticed that the protagonists stem from proletarian TV-shows like "Pop Idol", "xxx got Talent" and "I'm a celebrity, etc" - if only I had done this little research, the plastic-disc would not have come anywhere close to my player. The two "stars" (I cannot recall their names) aren't really actors or comedians in the classical sense, since they can neither act, nor are they remotely funny. I'd rather call them symptoms; symptoms for the decline in quality and standard in contemporary entertainment, and if you happen to be British, reading this right now – don't worry, we have the same symptoms plaguing TV, cinema and entertainment generally in Germany.
The film actually features two real actors: Bill Pullman and Harry Dean Stanton, which only confirms that acting and prostitution have more in common than most actors would like to admit – and that 'dignity' isn't very high on the list of either trade. Then again, even actors need to eat and let's not forget Joan Crawford: academy award winner today, acting in "Trog" (1970) tomorrow.
To be completely honest, I feel a little guilty writing this review in the first place, considering that I really cannot remember much about the film itself. This rarely happens to me, since I have a rather good memory for films. Just another indication of how forgettable this film is.
But perhaps I'm too old-fashioned and simply not among the target-audience. Perhaps you, dear reader, have enjoyed contemporary slapstick comedies like "Epic Movie" or "Meet the Spartans"; in that case I might well recommend you "Alien Autopsy" (if your attention-span allows you to remember this reviews headline by the time you've reached the end).
Still, 1 point out of 10 from me (and that only because there is no zero rating on IMDb).
The film actually features two real actors: Bill Pullman and Harry Dean Stanton, which only confirms that acting and prostitution have more in common than most actors would like to admit – and that 'dignity' isn't very high on the list of either trade. Then again, even actors need to eat and let's not forget Joan Crawford: academy award winner today, acting in "Trog" (1970) tomorrow.
To be completely honest, I feel a little guilty writing this review in the first place, considering that I really cannot remember much about the film itself. This rarely happens to me, since I have a rather good memory for films. Just another indication of how forgettable this film is.
But perhaps I'm too old-fashioned and simply not among the target-audience. Perhaps you, dear reader, have enjoyed contemporary slapstick comedies like "Epic Movie" or "Meet the Spartans"; in that case I might well recommend you "Alien Autopsy" (if your attention-span allows you to remember this reviews headline by the time you've reached the end).
Still, 1 point out of 10 from me (and that only because there is no zero rating on IMDb).
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