Fucking hell, Nimoy, you try that shit and I'll slap you good, man.

I honestly can't see a reason for watching this a second time. I would buy it, but purely because it's an interesting example of internet / film convergence, and being a pretentious kinda motherfucker I'd like to have it in the house just in case Richard Dyer or somebody needs a copy for to talk to the students.

But it suffers so badly from "so what?" syndrome, you can feel the apathy dripping from your very bones as yet another rambling conspiracy is unraveled, one what has no bearing on nothing or nobody. It doesn't matter that it looks authentic, it plainly isn't, and nor is it the least bit interesting.

When we go to the cinema we suspend our disbelief, and even though it's some shit like Austin Powers - Pet Detective or whatever, we get emotionally involved.

Nothing So Strange, however, suffers because it so constantly attempts to underline it's credibility that it simply reminds us of the falseness of it all. It's impossible to feel attached to these people, because whilst the actors are fantastic throughout, the characters are the kinda people you end up sitting next to at weddings and then falling out with the rest of your family on account of, cause they seated you beside these monotonous boring wretches.

There's no tension, no sense of drama, no memorable scenes (excepting one at the beginning, which involves Mr James and his diorama) and nothing to latch onto emotionally.

Still, the marketing is fantastic, the care and attention to detail is stunning, the respect for the folks what like the flick is heart-warming (the web-site, NothingSoStrange.com offers a wealth of extras that they couldn't fit onto DVD), and the determinedly independent spirit is inspiring. For example, Nothing So Strange is the first-ever "open-source" film. Whilst the finished work is copyrighted, the raw material is not, so folks like The Duke who thought it was a wasted opportunity can grab all the footage and make their own version, without having to pay a cent in royalties.

So like I said, it is entirely admirable, and definitely demanding of respect, but try as I might, I just couldn't like it.

Sorry folks.

The Duke resides at Mondo Irlando

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