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Awesome Movie

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

I've never been a huge fan of found footage movies. Sure there are a few that come to mind where it actually worked in favor of the story being told. But far too often the herky jerky motion of the camera being used works against the storytelling going on. The only times that works to the movies advantage is when it becomes a character in the film, a moving person holding a camera in an attempt to document what is happening with sincerity. Such is the case with OPERATION AVALANCHE.One of the biggest conspiracy theories out there is the Apollo moon landing. Did we or didn't we land a man on the moon? If not, how was it that we sat enthralled as a nation, as a world, watching the images on TV? How could they have competently pulled this off and not a single person revealed what really happened? Much of that is answered in this film, a faux documentary about how it all took place. In the early sixties the CIA recruited a number of bright and gifted young men graduating in the top of their class from several outstanding universities. This group was put to use coming up with various operations that would put their talents to use.When it comes up that there might be a Russian mole in the space program at NASA, agent Matt Johnson tries to convince his boss that sending agents in to pose as scientists won't work. He feels they'll be caught due to lack of knowledge. His suggestion instead is to send his team in posing as a documentary film crew shooting for public television. When he's told that no one would let themselves be filmed like this he points out that they've been shooting the discussion since it began. The team gets their chance.Going to NASA in Houston they meet everyone and explain what they're there to do, at least on the surface. Everyone is willing to help them and be open with them all. Using this to their advantage they plant bugs in nearly every potential area they can which provides them with a possible lead. Rather than allow them to carry on they're told to return and let another team follow up.Johnson, still ambitious to a fault, wants to be in charge of his own team. The secret they had learned was that NASA doesn't have the ability to land a man on the moon before the end of the decade, the promised time made by JFK in his famous speech. Johnson films a few things on his own and puts forth another potentiality: what if they staged the moon landing. The astronauts would be in on it, playing tapes made and put on the module before they left Earth. All of it would be shot by Johnson and his crew.The plan is set in motion and they begin looking for ways to accomplish their goals. When location shooting comes up short of delivering believable footage they visit the set of director Stanley Kubrik who is in the process of making his own film that will include footage on the moon, 2001. Again posing as a documentary crew they learn techniques he is using and apply them to their own film.But as with all good conspiracies it only works with the least amount of people knowing that it took place. Add to the mix the amount of paranoia that those involved would experience and before the movie ends more comes into question than just the moon landing.I've seen some criticize the shaky hand held look of the film but in this instance I found that to be a plus. These would not be dolly shots and the Steadicam wasn't invented yet. Hand held would have been the way it was shot. The story may leave a bit to be desired but the whole point of the film is a "what if" scenario rather than a here are the facts and we can prove it type film. The acting is not great but then from what I've read a lot of it was improvised, another plus in my book here. What is particularly amazing to me is the look of the film in what is being shown, how they've captured the world of the sixties to perfection. Okay, I've heard there are a few glitches. But most shots of cars, people and cities on display here reek of that time period and fantastically so on the meager budget this film was granted.Sure the movie will not be for everyone. It's not an action film or a Bond styled thriller from start to finish. But it does tell an interesting story and attempts to put forth the idea that this was what really happened. Is it? I'll leave that for you to decide.

Many of us would have debated on either side of whether the man has ever set foot on Moon? Was the footage featuring Neil Armstrong and Co. staged? Was Stanley Kubrick who has just directed a near perfect space adventure involved in anyway? Was CIA involved? 'Operation Avalance' tries to answer exactly that using the found footage style of presentation that feeds on to the conspiracy theories surrounding this event.In the height of cold war and amidst the space race between USA and USSR, Russians are winning by sending a man to space through their Vostok program. John F. Kennedy made a promise to people that they will put a man on the moon by the turn of the decade. There is immense pressure on NASA to deliver. At the same time there is paranoia that Russia could have a mole within NASA to both steal the technology as well as know the latest status of their space program. Matt Johnson and Owen Williams are enthusiastic CIA agents who talk themselves into infiltrating NASA as documentary film makers to identify the Russian mole. During the process they learn that NASA doesn't have the technology to put a man on the Moon and bring them back safely. They come up with another outlandish suggestion to stage the event as an alternative workaround and even get it authorized. How this mission affects their lives, their friendship in a desperation to keep this a secret and inability to trust anyone else and a possibility that their lives could be in danger forms the rest of narrative.Though most part of the movie has an upbeat tone, there is one word that keeps popping in your head throughout - unconvincing. This movie is more of a fantasy that is built on top of the existing conspiracy theories and tries to justify how some of the discrepancies would have come into existence. Acting is natural and since this is all presented as a found footage, thankfully there isn't much scope for melodramatics. The cinematography is as if viewed through a camera from that era (doesn't make sense again since most of the documentaries at that time are done in b/w and this movie presents it in color). This is more of a geek's fantasy to have a closure on one of the most popular conspiracy theories of the past century but I look at it as an opportunity wasted. It neither goes in a comedy route nor as a serious version of the events and just ends up flip-flopping. The screenplay is repetitive and keeps circling back to the same place making it redundant and boring at times. The fact that CIA allows a rookie CIA agent to be at the helm of creating such a staged footage out in the open (even within the watchful eyes) already sounds ridiculous. And allowing to film the filming of this staged event is beyond ridiculous.Unconvincing take on a popular conspiracy theory with an undecided tone. Opportunity wasted!!

Matt Johnson previously directed The Dirties which was shot for less than $10,000, blew away audiences at Sundance and nabbed an exclusive distribution from Kevin Smith's company. I personally was very impressed with the gritty independent style of the film, and it left me wanting more from the filmmakers.With Operation Avalanche, Johnson is 2 for 2, delivering another solid film through his directorial style and performance. I'm not sure whether the film was shot digitally or on 16mm, but the cinematography throughout the film thoroughly immersed me in that 1960s environment. The other actors, Owen Williams and Josh Boles deliver authentic performances as CIA agents faking the moon landing. The film's dramatic tension is key here; scenes which are otherwise simple moments in an operation are brought to life by the film's unique staging and editing methods. In terms of historical accuracy, it's obvious that the film is merely faction, that is, taking archive footage of real people working at NASA in the 60s and seamlessly blending them into the narrative while still maintaining many details from the moon landing conspiracies. The script is structured in such a unique way that it's apparent how powerful editing can negate a bigger budget. Johnson has proved again that he knows the mockumentary format and how to keep a viewer on edge throughout a film. Even though the dialogue in the movie was mostly improvised, it feels completely organic. The film's real strength is in its tension, specifically the car chase at the climax of the film. Its staging and execution solidified it as one of my favorite all time chase scenes in a movie, without a doubt. I can't wait to see what Johnson and co. make next!

I gave it 3 stars for the premise. The acting, directing & writing is horrible. Namely Matt Johnson. He ruined the movie in every way possible. It was like watching a bunch of 12 year olds trying to make a movie in their garage at home. Both on screen & the crew behind the scenes were clueless Jr high school mentality & totally unaware just how clueless they truly are.IRL, the real moon photos prove the scenes were falsified. I'm an engineer, scientist & photo expert. This movie was just moronic. It made me nauseous to watch these morons. Save your money. This movie has no redeeming qualities. It is so bad, I couldn't bear to watch the deleted scenes.Capricorn One is much better. Great actors, excellent story & wonderful filmography. Everything this movie is missing. Matt Johnson needs to get out of the film business & never show his face on the screen again, much less write or direct. He bombed out on every aspect he touched. The movie is so bad, it is painful to watch. Even their personal assumptions are clueless on every issue.This is a subject which is of interest to me. It could have been a good movie if properly written with a good crew, good director & decent actors. All of which this film was missing. These actors weren't just bad. They were offensive with Matt Johnson as the worst. It certainly is no thriller. The reviewer who said it was Bill & Ted meeting Dumb & Dumber hit the nail on the head. The entire crew who created this film were a bunch of clueless morons. You can see this by watching them on the special features if you can tolerate it after suffering through the movie.Boring, disappointing, moronic, bad acting, bad directing, bad writing, clueless crew and a waste of money.