Electric Man
Written by Scott Mackay and David Barras
Directed by David Barras
Scotland, 2011
The opening credits sequence of Electric Man is structured as an animated comic, with panel shifts and camera manipulations aimed to recreate and enliven the experience of reading a comic. It’s a fun, kinetic sequence that actually seems to display some of the excitement of reading a comic. Unfortunately, it is one of the few moments in a film ostensibly populated with lifelong comic-book obsessives that feels even slightly enamored with the graphic medium. Electric Man often seems written from boilerplate, like someone took a Mad Lib of screenwriting clichés and mistakenly put it into production. The film is increasingly frustrating to watch, as missteps become missed opportunities and bad moves become bad habits.
The story is so standard, it’s rote at this point: Jazz (Toby Manley) and Wolf (Mark McKirdy) co-own a comic...
Written by Scott Mackay and David Barras
Directed by David Barras
Scotland, 2011
The opening credits sequence of Electric Man is structured as an animated comic, with panel shifts and camera manipulations aimed to recreate and enliven the experience of reading a comic. It’s a fun, kinetic sequence that actually seems to display some of the excitement of reading a comic. Unfortunately, it is one of the few moments in a film ostensibly populated with lifelong comic-book obsessives that feels even slightly enamored with the graphic medium. Electric Man often seems written from boilerplate, like someone took a Mad Lib of screenwriting clichés and mistakenly put it into production. The film is increasingly frustrating to watch, as missteps become missed opportunities and bad moves become bad habits.
The story is so standard, it’s rote at this point: Jazz (Toby Manley) and Wolf (Mark McKirdy) co-own a comic...
- 9/10/2013
- by Jordan Ferguson
- SoundOnSight
Jazz and Wolf run Deadhead Comics. They owe their landlord £5,000 but they don't have it and it seems the shop is doomed. But, when Issue No 1 of Electric Man mysteriously appears in the shop it seems their problems are solved. Far from it. Worth £100,000, the comic is being sought by a number of people who'll stop at nothing to get it for themselves - the strange and alluring Lauren McCall, Electric Man obsessive Edison Bolt and Lauren's Uncle Jimmy, a violent thug. Add to the mix, the return of Wolf's girlfriend Victoria and you have all the elements for what's been described as 'The Maltese Falcon' meets 'Clerks.'Electric Man, the feature debut from writer/director David Barras, is a deceptively charming and often...
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- 9/9/2013
- Screen Anarchy
This thriller-farce has the knockabout feel of a kids' TV show, which is no bad thing, but the comedy doesn't come together
David Barras's Electric Man is an uneven microbudget comedy-thriller-farce set in Edinburgh, with one or two nice moments and performances. Toby Manley does well as Jason, a hapless bloke who runs a failing comic store: Manley's style is a little like that of Joe Thomas, of Channel Four's The Inbetweeners and Fresh Meat. Jason's life is thrown into turmoil when a bizarre quirk of fate puts him in possession of an ultra-rare and valuable comic called Electric Man, which could solve his financial woes. Unfortunately, a couple of scary guys want it as well. The film has the knockabout feel of a kids' TV show on Cbbc, which is no bad thing, but the comedy doesn't quite come together. There is an accomplished pastiche of the...
David Barras's Electric Man is an uneven microbudget comedy-thriller-farce set in Edinburgh, with one or two nice moments and performances. Toby Manley does well as Jason, a hapless bloke who runs a failing comic store: Manley's style is a little like that of Joe Thomas, of Channel Four's The Inbetweeners and Fresh Meat. Jason's life is thrown into turmoil when a bizarre quirk of fate puts him in possession of an ultra-rare and valuable comic called Electric Man, which could solve his financial woes. Unfortunately, a couple of scary guys want it as well. The film has the knockabout feel of a kids' TV show on Cbbc, which is no bad thing, but the comedy doesn't quite come together. There is an accomplished pastiche of the...
- 11/30/2012
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
★★☆☆☆ Finding its way into selected UK cinemas this week despite a minuscule £55,000 budget, Scottish filmmaker David Barras' comic book/film noir homage Electric Man (2012) certainly deserves credit for its endearing lightheartedness and flashes of quality - even if the final results fail to ever really impress as a whole. Barras intentionally tried to avoid the tropes and stereotypes of traditional British independent cinema - kitchen sinks, housing estates, warring teens etc - and instead looks to Hollywood superhero movie for its inspiration. However, rather than following some Lycra-clad Adonis, our heroes here are the mortal consumers of such fiction.
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- 11/29/2012
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Electric Man, the micro-budget comedy shot in Edinburgh, has been selected for the prestigious San Diego Comic Con International Film Festival on July 13th – and is the only UK feature film to play at the world famous comic convention this year.
The film tells the story of Jazz and Wolf, two cash-strapped comic shop owners who need £5,000 in a hurry if they are to save their comic shop in Edinburgh. As luck would have it they chance across a copy of Electric Man issue 1 which just happens to be worth £100,000. But there are other people after the comic and it is soon lost, stolen, switched and switched again as Jazz and Wolf try to save both their business and their love lives.
Shot on a micro budget, the film has already gained BAFTA New Talent Awards nominations for its script and score as well as being shortlisted for Best Feature at the Celtic Media Festival.
The film tells the story of Jazz and Wolf, two cash-strapped comic shop owners who need £5,000 in a hurry if they are to save their comic shop in Edinburgh. As luck would have it they chance across a copy of Electric Man issue 1 which just happens to be worth £100,000. But there are other people after the comic and it is soon lost, stolen, switched and switched again as Jazz and Wolf try to save both their business and their love lives.
Shot on a micro budget, the film has already gained BAFTA New Talent Awards nominations for its script and score as well as being shortlisted for Best Feature at the Celtic Media Festival.
- 7/13/2012
- by Glenn Hauman
- Comicmix.com
San Diego’s Comic-Con International is the biggest event in the world devoted to genre pop culture. While the big Hollywood movies get the most mainstream press, there’s also a large, lesser known and promoted Independent Film Festival devoted to genre short films tucked away within the overall convention.
The Cci-iff, as it’s acronymed, runs completely concurrently with the convention with programming running from morning to night that includes films devoted to comic book-inspired movies, horror movies, sci-fi flicks, comedies and documentaries. There are also several panels on filmmaking sandwiched in between the on-screen entertainment.
The fest also gives out awards. This year’s juror panel includes filmmakers Steven-Charles Jaffee and Kyle Newman, plus entertainment journalist Borys Kit.
Programming blocks are broken up by genre and the full film lineup below gives the exact starting time of each short film. There’s also one feature film screening this year,...
The Cci-iff, as it’s acronymed, runs completely concurrently with the convention with programming running from morning to night that includes films devoted to comic book-inspired movies, horror movies, sci-fi flicks, comedies and documentaries. There are also several panels on filmmaking sandwiched in between the on-screen entertainment.
The fest also gives out awards. This year’s juror panel includes filmmakers Steven-Charles Jaffee and Kyle Newman, plus entertainment journalist Borys Kit.
Programming blocks are broken up by genre and the full film lineup below gives the exact starting time of each short film. There’s also one feature film screening this year,...
- 7/10/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Over the past couple of decades from Sex, Lies & Videotapes and El Mariachi until now (via The Blair Witch Project) it has become increasingly more practical for film industry outsiders working on relatively tiny budgets to make what might be considered ‘professional’ movies. What many of these attempts demonstrate, however, is that while HD cameras can be purchased fairly cheaply on Amazon, talent cannot. Part of the pleasure of Electric Man is that, while imperfect, there is clearly a great deal of talent bubbling under the surface.
The film’s writer, Scott MacKay, and director, David Barras, are originally from Armadale, West Lothian. The film received an enthusiastic response on its premiere, at the Glasgow Film Festival, and screened to an equally enthused crowd last week at Bathgate’s Regal Theatre – once the cinema where MacKay and Barras received their early film education. They are of...
Over the past couple of decades from Sex, Lies & Videotapes and El Mariachi until now (via The Blair Witch Project) it has become increasingly more practical for film industry outsiders working on relatively tiny budgets to make what might be considered ‘professional’ movies. What many of these attempts demonstrate, however, is that while HD cameras can be purchased fairly cheaply on Amazon, talent cannot. Part of the pleasure of Electric Man is that, while imperfect, there is clearly a great deal of talent bubbling under the surface.
The film’s writer, Scott MacKay, and director, David Barras, are originally from Armadale, West Lothian. The film received an enthusiastic response on its premiere, at the Glasgow Film Festival, and screened to an equally enthused crowd last week at Bathgate’s Regal Theatre – once the cinema where MacKay and Barras received their early film education. They are of...
- 4/12/2012
- by Adam Whyte
- Obsessed with Film
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