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Alone Together (2017)
High Level Review
If it wasn't told in such a cliché, overly-sentimental way, there could have been something in this film. The films hits you with a small level of intrigue; ignoring the generic and the cliché, there is a little bit of humanity that you can latch onto here, just barely carried by the performances. By the final act, this is fully realised with a powerful splash of conflict - really the only genuine element of the film. Stavsjö may have a future in changing the world through film by touching upon such delicate subjects, but he really must move away from the fabricated narrative that this film perpetuates.
Mayday Relay (2016)
A Triumph
Mayday Relay is a claustrophobic, unsettling short which exists right in the middle of our socio-political climate, but explores this through a neutral, reactionary situation. The drama is powerful because of its restriction and minimalism, the meaning is profound because of its detachment from the story. The ending leaves one lusting for more, desiring to see if these characters ever do reach their destination. I even thought this is the first fifteen minutes to a feature. But it isn't. It ends exactly where it should. Narratively speaking, they probably never do reach the vessel. But existing is something more; subtly hidden in plot. The ship they call never answers once they mention the true facts of the crisis. They are apathetic, uncaring. The film hints at the larger problem at hand. A colossal, global catastrophe that is arguably being ignored. It brings this to light in a controversial way: challenging individual's morals and the larger society.
Just this once (2016)
Critical Review
The film presents us with a domestic snapshot in an Iranian girl's life, as she tries to hide the fact she hit a boy. It is refreshing to be provided with an insight into Iranian society, however, I feel as if there is more to be said here. It is unfortunate that the film only concerns itself with surface-level story and conflict, the script generally built around cliché and thread-thin writing. Nevertheless, a promising ambition exists here; one which seeks to create awareness of such a society in a modest and realistic manner. One hopes that Shahmohammadi explores more confidently his style aspirations within the cinematic form.
Broad Strokes (2016)
High Level Review
Fairly basic when it comes to artistic integrity, however, of course, the subject matter leans towards contemporary issues. But really, Broad Strokes doesn't do much with this either; the superficial story is masked by these 'issues' it is concerned with. Nothing much exists here: a basic teen mumblecore drama playing way too safely with the subject matter, we learn little, the film challenges even less, and we are left feeling empty and apathetic at the end. The performances are quite adequate though.
Earth to Echo (2014)
Combines my 3 favourite movies of all time!
Many people seem to dislike this film even HATE it. I on the other hand, love it!
The film has numerous problems such as the story: an alien has crashed on Earth and needs to rebuild its ship. And of course, the children get mixed up it and are hindered by government adults who want to stop the alien; that's basically Super 8's plot isn't it?
The movie takes inspiration from E.T., Super 8 and The Iron Giant, all similar films story wise but each have something very original that differs them. Earth to Echo on the other hand doesn't present to us too much originality; I'm fine with the techniques they took from those films but not with the originality of the story.
Let's talk about Echo (don't worry, I'll get to the positives in a moment). Echo seemed to be the main focus of the movie from the trailers but didn't seem to appear to be in the movie too often. Near the end of the film we were supposed to feel sympathy for the alien but because we hadn't build up a relationship with it, it didn't work. Echo seemed to be the films originality but to be honest, didn't shine to the capabilities it could have. The reason for this could be the children.
The children are what make up all of the movie - they're there from start to finish, unlike the three movies above. There's no drifting off to somewhere else where the children aren't in this movie, we are always with the children which makes us feel part of the group. This could possibly be the movies downfall though because it doesn't really give the writer much scope to tell a complex story. What also makes us empathize with the kids is the 'found footage' style!
It's debatable if found footage should ever have been used in this movie and after giving it a bit of thought, I've decided that it was the right decision. The reason why is that it makes you feel part of the group. You feel there, with the kids, as if you're looking out of their sight and every new experience they have, you also have. Another reason is that it is what makes this movie original and possible re-watch-able. If this film was not found footage, yes there'd be more scope for some more story, yes there'd be better pacing but the story remains bland and unoriginal. Found footage gives it authenticity, realism and seems like a no-brainier in a film were kids up to date with cameras and technology experience something phenomenal.
Next up is the CGI. The CGI in this film is memorable because of how amazing it is. The reason I don't view it as bad CGI is because there's not much of it, unlike The Hobbit, it is used sparingly (until the ending which I believe doesn't look as good as it could have been). I'll admit, there were times when Echo was not tracked well and I could see that it was fake but overall, pretty nice.
This film is very memorable to me - it may not be for others (or may for negative reasons). As a children's film: GREAT! It inspired me to go out and do something fun like the kids did and even inspired me to make a movie! The film is very reminiscent of my own life because of the realistic way they portrayed the kids (who by the way were brilliant actors and actresses but could have had a little more story behind them/a little more interesting like in Super 8). When I bought the DVD, it said "E.T. for a new generation" - I didn't didn't think highly of the movie, but now that I've seen it, it really is E.T. for a new generation because of the funny and realistic ways the children are presented.
Overall, forgetting about the story, I believe this film could have had a bit more detail character wise and just could have been a bit better in every way. Many people would definitely dislike this film because they have no experience of childhood in this generation but ones who have (especially children) would love this film because of how fun and realistic it is and would definitely inspire them do go out and do things, hopefully not to go out into Nevada for the weekend! Haha, hope you enjoyed my review; it's all right if you disagree with my statements and dislike the movie, it's not for everyone but definitely was a memorable experience!
TribeTwelve (2010)
Scary and Mind Blowing!
This ARG/Web Series is phenomenal. I've only watched up to Device Findings but that video was...jaw dropping. I'm not going to compare TribeTwelve to Marble Hornets, but it's different and unique to MH. But, to say to you, watch both! MH is pretty much the inspiration for most ARG's/Web Series' based on Slender but TT really goes into its own pretty early. TT follows the story of Noah who starts off posting video in memory of his late friend: Milo Asher. But each video, more and more weirdness is revealed and Slender Man is seen more and more. One problem I have with Marble Hornets (and many other ARG's/Web Series) is the camera fuzz and how it looks fake but in TT it's pretty real (the best I've seen). I'd say the story isn't as fleshed out as MM but still, I was stuck watching TT for ages. There where many videos that had my jaw drop and it just got better and better. With TT, it is quite different to other ARG's/Web Series' because it features mainly one character - Noah. Not all though, because in a few videos some characters are introduced but so far, nothing much has developed from them. Having only one character is very effective because it is more personal - more than MM I'd say. Another feature of TT is the interaction between the audience. It isn't much but I've seen the story change a bit because of this. Noah has a Twitter account which provides more "immersion" into the story and makes you more involved. TT hasn't been active since February 14th 2014 of this posting. I haven't seen the final video but I guess it hasn't ended - he's just taking a break (he said he'll lay low on his Twitter post in June). I just wanted to talk about this series after watching nearly three hours of TT because it just blew me away. I believe it (and other ARG's/Web Series') are much scarier and engaging than any horror movies today simply because they are REAL...or seem real. I hope you enjoyed my short review and check out TribeTwelve here: https://www.youtube.com/user/TribeTwelve Noah's Twitter: https://twitter.com/TribeTwelve And if you're going to binge-watch the series, go here for a two and a half hour compilation: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=RLyCQlWRWZ4&index=13&list=PLwhpJJAPrNpXyiuJbB2VUsWyXiJ7mwYJC Also, I'd recommend to watch Marble Hornets first since it's the origination of Slender in ARG's/Web Series and TT takes some ideas from it!
Pacific Rim (2013)
Everything about this movie is AMAZING!
I was completely sucked-in to this movie. The fiction that was created for the movie was so awesome and believable, it was amazing! The story was brilliant and the ending was perfect. The characters where so likable and believable and the plot twists where so effective. Oh and the visual effects...wow. One of the best visual effects movies I've ever seen. The pacing was perfect. It could have gone wrong if directed by someone else but Guillermo del Toro did it perfectly. There were some unrealistic points in the film but the film makers know this and you just need to embrace that. The film has a consistent feeling which is really cool and whenever you think about the movie, you have the same feeling. I was so taken into the world of the movie, I felt it was real...and this was in 2D, on my computer screen. I can't wait for the sequel and hope it doesn't go in a bad way!
Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)
Much better remake and amazing acting!
Compared to the original, the story is much more fleshed out, much scarier and the acting is much better. Throughout the beginning of the film, the acting seems quite fake, but near the end, the acting is brilliant and seems very real. The point of the movie is to seem realistic and acting is a gigantic point of that. But, it does only very well near the end. Also, the cuts in the film are quite annoying but also funny because you know they're fake. This does quite ruin the realism though, but it was funny to see the director - Dean Alioto in one of the cuts saying "No one could have directed this except me". I kind of think another remake would be pretty amazing with better effects and actors (maybe the same actors, just years on when they've gotten better!)