sdrogue Reviews

The Lionshare (2009)

A short film that went to long

[5/10 · 23 December 2009]

I'm giving it a 5 out of ten on technical merit...the story however, and the execution of it fails on a lot of points. First, there is no drive behind the character...if this is the future of film-making, I think I'll stick to the classics...I want passion and drama, not stumbling about and making small talk. The story gave us nothing about the characters, what they wanted to do, why they wanted to do it, and what were the effects of their actions in the big picture. The film breaks down to this' 1. Boy meets girl 2. boy shares music of fav band 3. band becomes famous 4. girl connects with band/boy loses girl

and hour film for that? They could have excised the extended shots of the band playing music, after the first one, we KNOW they are good and the extended playing of the soundtrack...not every song needs to be heard in it's entirety

The opening scene was bad enough...it set (lowered) the tone for the whole film, a 7 minute opening scene of two people chatting over beers is interesting IF and only IF the people are interesting, what is going to happen next is interesting (and the audience knows it and they don't) or what JUST happened was interesting (they know it and the audience doesn't)...but outside of that, no, two people chatting over beers is not interesting...for all the content of the story we learn their occupation....and that's about it...for 7 minutes...they could have stared at each other for the whole time and it would have been as useful...

but in ALL that, yes, the filmmakers are talented...very...now do something with it that shows your talent...you have the resources and skills...don't let yourselves down by using an improvised script...dodgy camera angles...weak characters....

best of success on your next film.... Q

Route 30 (2007)

Two stories, only one really worked

[7/10 · 30 November 2009]

This was certainly watchable, it just should be noted that the first story has nothing at all to do with the second and in fact, while it tries to connect them, it does so with one line of dialogue that makes no sense at all in retrospect.... outside of that, yes, the film was enjoyable, not sure I would recommend it or hurry to watch it again but I'd watch what else this guy made...has a good eye for detail and assembles a strong cast....heck, Dana Delany...yum in a bottle....Because the first story falls short, even thinking about it in relation to the second story is pointless....so just enjoy it as two movies

Assassination of a High School President (2008)

Chinatown for the teen set

[8 October 2009]

This movie had all the high hopes of being Chinatown, had the clever dialogue, the out of his league hero, the femme fatale that was a shape shifter, the smarter than the hero villain who had it all....but by the hour mark I was over this film, not because of the acting or what was happening, but by what else was going on that kept taking away from the main story, much like many other films that would make a great 70 minute film that need 20 minutes of filler to make the feature length mark...that was the downside of this film, to many times to get bored because nothing on screen was leading to the main story and watching teenagers get high, get naked, get drunk is not entertaining cinema if the only purpose is to titillate Not a must see film....well made though, production wise and spot on for the film noir aspect....just next time...make us care.....a problem that can be solved in 10 minutes does not make a 90 minute film... Q

Knowing (2009)

Did anyone read this script before shooting???

[1/10 · 2 May 2009]

This movie was pointless....to the point of "wtf??" since the ending had absolutely nothing to do with the entire preceding film...I can suspend a lot of belief and yes, I am looking forward to May 10th, however, to have me believe that the end of the world is coming, and shape-shifting aliens/angels in mammoth spacecrafts are going to wait till literally the DAY of the end of the world (October 19th, not December 12th for those paying attention) and then only take "children" because....well, just because...seems like the thing to do...and how do they do this? By starting 50 years earlier appearing as a German rock band and whispering to children (scaring the pa-tooties out of them at the same time)....now the main plot was this girl has predicted every major disaster in the last 50 years...and Nick Cage's (who just happens to be a professor of....something to do with randomness) son just "happens" to get the letter the predictions are written on....(yes, how random is that)...and then Nick figures it out after he randomly sets his whisky glass on it just after he randomly fills it to the point of spilling it. The ring of liquid just happens to circle 9/11/01 2996...which gives the Eureka moment....he then proceeds to figure out the rest of the dates, minus the last three....cause they haven't happened.... queue an amazingly awesome plane crash....disaster #3..two to go queue an amazingly awesome worth the price of admission subway crash...disaster #2....one to go they get the idea this last one will happen to everyone, yes, it is an ELE (<--thank you Morgan Freeman) now, here comes the twist... the predictions were given to children to see which were able to "listen" to the angels (???)...not they could DO anything about the disasters...they were going to happen no matter what...and trying to stop them would only make them seem responsible for them, since they had prior knowledge....so that ENTIRE plot line was pointless...since they could just whisper once...the kid gets it....on to the spaceship.... okay, so end of the world, last day....aliens come down, they apparently need our cars to move around in (??? they have space craft, they are shape changers, and they need our cars???) and they get a lucky break when Diana (the mom) leaves her keys in the car to fill up her tank at a petrol station....(who the hell does that???)..she walks away...they jump in and steal the kids....in her car...with her keys...they are interstellar shape changing aliens now promoted to car-jackers.... okay, so they get to the spot where the alien space craft is going to land and tell the dad "you can't go..."...seems like a big enough space ship to me....I have a Kia Carnival and I can fit 2 extra kids and a dad in it....they have a SPACE SHIP and they are like "uh, no, not you...prepare to die" and they leave....with the kids.... queue awesome end of the earth sequence that makes everything before it look silly the end fade in kids are prancing about on an alien world underneath a big tree...preparing to start the human race over again....assuming these kids find food, and shelter...and live long enough to reproduce....

okay, yeah, ....

so why didn't the aliens just grab the kids anytime in the last 50 years and say "let's go!"

so why did they bother telling anyone about disasters they couldn't stop...leading them to think they were insane and committing suicide?

why did they need our cars again?

why did the parents leave the kids alone in the car TWICE after realizing that the kids, and not the parents, were the ones being stalked?

how the hell did Nick's phone work AFTER the entire mobile phone network went offline?

Why send the information at all?

If they could shape shift, could they pick anything nicer than angry looking blonde albinos in matrix like coats?

Where did Rose Byrne get the black nightie?

Why didn't Nick Cage just tell Rose Byrne what was going on the entire drive from the school to his place instead of letting her freak out? What did they talk about on the ten minute ride?

Why would Nick Cage go TO the exact spot he KNEW 182 people were going to die? (That's so Cloverfield)

Yeah, no, nice try but this was rushed and spotty and had no consistency....

I Want Candy (2007)

Loved it

[10/10 · 6 January 2009]

I am going to give this 10 out of 10 because it was THAT good... watched it late at night with no warning about what it was about and expecting another American Pie (I had time to kill)... and what I got was something completely different...these guys went for it and made a terrific movie... applause all around...am recommending it to people to watch..light hearted, funny, and the adult scenes were so tastefully done.... I really appreciated that part, that they didn't actually show any porn....that would have detracted from the film's light hearted feel I had some questions, like why he just didn't tell his parents he was filming a movie...they would have gave in...or why he had to lie to his partner, he would have gave in as well...it seemed these were dramatic plot points that only served to be conflict without thinking through the logic of it but yes, loved it, watch it...

Q

The Devil's Muse (2007)

Ambitious

[5/10 · 28 October 2008]

Any film that reaches a point of distribution has to be given a five...but I can't give it anymore than that...it lacks the single thing that makes a film watchable, a story about someone that needs to do something...this film has several stories in it, but it never makes it as an ensemble piece because of that very reason....who is it about, what do they need to do, what do they desire? Who's story am I watching...? Yes, I know a movie that doesn't follow that doesn't mean it's a bad film but it's a niche film, a film you watch not for the story but for another reason, the actors, the director, the locations...but the story has to be paramount...until you are David lynch, you can't make a David lynch film...

Suspension (I) (2008)

Good in theory, poor execution

[5/10 · 5 June 2008]

Okay, so I watched this just to watching something non-big studio and I can enjoy it for that...however, I just kept getting knocked back by the inconsistent logic of the script and the blatant abuse of physics in regards to both DV cameras and batteries....worse than Cloverfield.... It was shot well, the acting was fine, the sound was good, the score was good...all those elements, all those variables were in place....but there was no "why" to the equation of why the hero was acting the way he was acting.... 1. he loses his family 2. he starts obsessing on the other girl involved in the accident 3. he kidnaps her as part of his obsession....

okay, so he lost his family and substitutes this girl for the family he lost, fortunately, she is cute and perky, not gross looking, so we as an audience can understand his behavior, although it's slack casting to create a girl that ANYONE would start liking if they lost the rest of their family..no challenge there

But the continued plot device of the camera switching out of pause mode...okay, we get it, why doesn't he? Why not take more than two batteries...take ten...

and man, that guy left finger prints everywhere....

I get the story, he loses it after his family dies and needs a "new family"...but he does it in a creepy way of stalking the girl....and it had to be THAT girl because she was the one involved in the accident.... However, if all he wanted was to be around her, why push it any further? He could have lived out his days hanging out with her

DoI recommend it? Yeah, it has a lot of good qualities...just not enough energy.....a good thing to learn never to do is have people talk on the phone for a long time....just no reason to and it slows down the film....

Would I watch another film by these filmmakers? Absolutely

Hoodwinked! (2005)

loved this one

[10/10 · 26 January 2006]

this movie rocked, it was so good on a lot of fronts i was entertained the whole time...the voices were spot on, the characters were funny, this was a new take on the fairy tale that made me feel like I was watching something that someone stressed the story over the cool effects...the characters and dialogue over "OH MY GOSH THAT WAS SO COOL AND LIFELIKE"...if i want lifelike, i do not watch an animation in regards to what the animation was like compared to the other films out there, well, oh well, to bad, this was good enough to watch, the camera motion was good, the production techniques were spot

Q

Waiting... (I) (2005)

over rated - possibly some spoilers

[2/10 · 11 January 2006]

I give it a two instead of a one because of one scene...outside of that, this movie is so much a rental it's not funny, mostly because its not funny...its just 45 minutes of a coming of age story about a guy that has to decide about his future and the other parts are just "oh, this would be funny to see" excerpts...I like my movies well done and expect a lot from a comedy...Office Space was subtle...not a toilet joke/fart joke in the whole film and this was laced with them, it was like one long SNL skit about being a waiter...with no commercials...that was fine, i still stood up, got a drink, came back and didn't feel I missed anything...cause there was nothing to miss... none of the characters I cared about, hoped they would be successful, or had any direction whatsoever...the movie felt like one long Act Two....

D.E.B.S. (2004)

Absolutely loved it

[8/10 · 15 April 2005]

I watch and make micro budget films so this was a treat, you could see how much effort went into this both in the acting, the camera work and the technical side... the best part was scud....that guy rocked... no, wait, the best part was Dominique with that damn cigarette and the boyfriends.... the characters could have been developed a bit more...but thats a small tidbit and of course, could be in the sequel this movie rocked...stop your whinging and go see it I liked all of this movie, and thats a rarity, it ranks among those i would recommend easily to people and will put it on my "suggest" list when ppl come around for movie nights

Q

Timecode (2000)

Really enjoyed it

[10/10 · 9 January 2005]

was prepared for the absolute worst in watching this and actually really enjoyed it...I enjoyed watching time pass in real time, ppl actually having to sit in the car and drive somewhere, ppl sitting in an office waiting for someone to arrive, i really liked so much about this that i was surprised it took me so long to see it, gave me a ton of ideas about film-making and a lot of thoughts about story in general... well done...the soundtrack was good and the acting was spot on, it must have been so much fun to make this film...and it was all seamless, no fake cutting, no editing, just roll the camera for 90 minutes and lets see what we get..man, I am so going to work with a concept like this...it was so visual

Q

The Forgotten (2004)

I liked it

[28 October 2004]

okay, do the math, this was an experiment, and there is no reason for the experiments outside of learning from the experiment...so things are changed and manipulated... i loved the symbolism when she was running through the maze in the building after Sam... I loved the sucking into the air effect, that was just cooler than anything.. and as for returning to normal, well, scientists do that all the time, take a creature from the wild, experiment on it, and then return it to where they got it from, exactly as they found it (minus the implants) I think ppl missed the point of this film, it was an analogy to what we do all the time to other living things in our world, its not about a mother's love for her child, its about the callousness of the scientists, the enlightened ones, to inflict harm and pain on those they consider beneath them... this movie made aliens to humans what humans are to chimps...even to the bit about "they're listening" a very fourth dimension film, loved it...don't believe the hype...watch it and realize this is not a "dramatic suspenseful Hollywood cliché film" (like sixth sense which just dragged on and on and had so many friggen logic errors about its premise that i got bored counting)..this was an intelligent well made film yeah yeah and Julieanne Moore is a hottie Q

Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

Just asking questions

[25 July 2004]

This movie is a solid film to see on the basis that it simply asks questions about what was done, who was authorized to do it, and why was it done... fact: the bin ladins family was allowed to leave...WHY? no matter when, why the hell were they allowed out of the country at all before they were questioned...who was responsible for that?

fact: the money trail of the bin ladin's money into the bush family...how come they are a part of it all? isn't that called conflict of interest?

fact: the seven minutes of waiting after the WTC was attacked...to me, that shows someone that is not prepared for situations. My car gets jacked and my alarm goes off, I am out the door getting the guys that did it, not sitting there reading a children's book.

fact: using the words "humane" and "missle" together is such a spin tactic...

fact: don't hate the movie cause it asks questions, just answer the questions, don't argue the context of HOW he asks the questions, just answer the questions...

This film preaches to the masses, well, I am one of the masses, my tax dollars are funding this continued war, I read and saw the similarities between USA now and Orwell's book, I want to know why these things are happening and nobody is looking to kick GB out of office....

fact: I have a voice, i vote and my vote will be completely for Kerry

Bad Santa (2003)

ignore this one

[25 June 2004]

normally i would appreciate good editing, good camera work, good sound and all the other technical aspects of film making and let that be a basis for seeing a film, but the poor story in this one, the dialogue that was "lets see how many times we can debase everyone around us" and the wallowing in the lower regions of humanity was just not worth it...this film gets the award for being the first film i have ever walked out of, it was not even worth the 13.50 i paid to see it..not in the least, no way was i going to waste my time, time i cannot get back, watching some garbage film that made me feel like i was getting abused myself to have to listen to this ranting... there was nothing to this, it meandered, it wandered, it had no focus and no narrative that was worth watching... pass on this one

Jive Chicken (2002 Video)

enjoyed this one

[10/10 · 28 April 2004]

this one was looked and felt like real movie making, fast, funny, and quirky, full of characters that you could identify with and situations that you can think of being in.... I thought the location shots were good and that the party scenes were well done... good sound all around, good editing and just an all around positive review for this film...I thought it was funny with the comedy, but i could also sense the frustration with Chip about being in the bind he was in and trying to find his place in the world, to be a business man, a self made man...

Undead (2003)

postive comments

[24 February 2004]

actually, whoever didn't like this movie brought to much of expectations to the film... it was a zombie film, it has cliches, it has moments, it has bad acting, it has great lighting and great camera work, excellent sound and spot on editing...whats more to ask for...yes, there were ppl screaming, thats a zombie film, yes there was blood and gore...again..zombie film...comparing it to 28 days later, well, that was not a "zombie film" it was more man's inhumanity to man... and besides, about the aliens, well, loved the line at the end... Q

Audition (1999)

positive

[7 February 2004]

this is not a film for everyone, not at all, in fact, i would think many ppl could not stomach it....and its definitely not the "feel good movie of the summer" what it is is basically the Japanese version of Fatal Attraction with some subtle differences....whereas FA took place in the open, this took place in a lot more private places...and whereas Michael Douglas was a sleeve, this guy was actually a nice guy...but the message was exactly the same....mess with the wrong chick and you are going to get screwed and you have nobody to blame but yourself...in the greek mythology that would be fatal impudence, thinking you can do or say whatever you want.... one thing that i noted purely from an art direction angle, her costume at the end with the slicing and dicing was such the sexy meat cutters outfit that alone puts her up there with Freddy and Jason and Myers...it was so "artsy" I thought "man, i have got to get a poster of that for my wall" am suggesting this to everyone as a must see movie for the style in that it was filmed (lots of two shots and medium closeups) and for the colours in the film.... the ending was unexpected and actually i was thinking "oh man, what a hollywood" ending...but then...it took another left turn and I was like 'okay, thats cool" Q

Since You've Been Gone (1998 TV Movie)

unflattering comments

[21 January 2004]

this film was lame, it was a TV movie stretched out to long...it was not the actor's fault, all of them were good, i just didn't have a chance to care about any of the characters, there was no motivation, nothing, it was just "here they are, aren't they clever?" i only rented it cause it had molly ringwald, tomei, jennifer grey in it and yes, all of 5 minutes...am suprised they didn't add peter sellers on the credits... pass on this one, not worth your time or money cause for all the money and skill and talent involved, they could have made something a bit more imaginative... Q

Donnie Darko (2001)

unhappy comments about plot (spoilers)

[16 December 2003]

SPOILERS!!! I wanted to like this movie, really, and I went into it thinking "I want to be entertained" but then there were to many plot holes that made me think "hold on"... so the kid lives, and then all these "bad things" happen because of him living, so many bad things that when he sees the chance, he goes back in time and kills himself...either he goes back in time willingly, or he just resigns himself to the fact hes going to die and these events are not going to happen... I think the story hinges on his statement that life cannot be boxed into "good vs. bad" or "fear vs. love"....since the events that happened after he lived were actually "good" events or actually bad events that were only caused BY him being stupid..not just being alive..... 1) kiddie porn king gets arrested by him...thats a good thing, would not have happened if he had died... 2) girlfriend gets killed..she would not have been there except he told her to come along... 3) teacher gets fired...would not have happened if he had not flooded the school... 4) Frank gets shot..again caused by Donnie being up there with his GF

finally, the infamous casuality loop....engine drops and kills him, right..but the engine was from a plane a month in the future...meaning that in a month from that point, 10/31 that plan will still fall over and still drop an engine again going back in time and again flattening donnie and starting everything all over...meaning that the entire univerrse is caught in a 30 day cycle... i did like the refrence to back to the future..that was slick and a way to bring the luddites in the crowd up to speed... editing, camera, lighting, were all good... would i watch it again, hell no, would i recommend it...yes...theres lot more to a film than being pedantic about the story... cheers Q

Scary Movie 3 (2003)

horrible movie, only watched it cause it was a free screening

[12 December 2003]

have zero regrets about missing Scary Movie 3 in the theater, it sucks, totally, i can handle a lot just for watching it to watch it sake but this actually made me think "i could be doing so much else right now" it was below inspiring, it was garbarge, complete, it was worse the Tape, worse than "A dangerous man", worse than Ocean's Eleven... it was just bad, nice editing, great sound, great score, great lighting, but just such the throwaway "can we rip off police story, airplane, etc etc in making this movie any more???" Q

X2 (2003)

Excellent Flick

[13 May 2003]

jeez, its just a movie, and a good one at that, can we stop with the "they didn't make it just like the comic book"...i read the comic book for 20 years and thats a lot of back story to put in 90 minutes...and appeal to a wide audience...I think they did a great job...yes, the characters were different..but thats normal...that started with the first Superman show in the 50s...(he actually cannot fly, he can only LEAP...since he was just a more powerful human and we cannot fly....)..its called creative license... was i upset that Rogue is such a wuss now? Yes, of course, she rocks in the comics, always has from day one...they lost the Mystique/Nightcrawler/Rogue triangle that was so good and creepy...they made half the mutants teenagers and only give brief glimpses at the new mutants (aka X-force)...but thats all good, this was just a movie version...and man, 90 minutes of getting to see Mystique was worth it... Now, what would be excellent would be the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants coming out and playing...they would be kicking butt and taking names as they did in the books...but thats all good, right? I have to make a reply to a posting... "However I was disappointed, especially the at the end when Iceman could have easily solved the problem by freezing the water in the dam!!!"

actually, he could not have, that was a LOT of water and Bobby in this film is just a kid, so his powers would have been a lot weaker than in the comic books, and freezing all that water, and keeping it frozen would have been tough on him as an adult...rarely did Bobby freeze lakes and rivers and bursting dams...he would often freeze just the top layer as a means of getting across it...this would have been useless with that amount of pressure (although Superman could have done it, I think, or he would have turn the world backwards and so reversed time *grin* j/k) but then again, thats all from the comics...not the movie so they should have said that in the movie, about his powers.... loved the movie...but where was Stan Lee in this one??? Q

Brooklyn Babylon (2001)

enjoyed it

[23 March 2003]

On a lot of levels this movies comes after several other films that belong in the same genre...do the right thing, save the last dance, romeo and juliet...etcetera...but all films take from other films and all are designed to showcase something new against something familiar...for me it was the fact there is such a tension in the city...and how against such a huge mess, ppl still have unique and personal problems to solve.... I also though this film was very well shot, i loved the way they used the pull focus technique throughout and let the camera get intimate with the characters during the scenes... I loved the music and thought that was brilliant how it showcased their talents without it being a "concert movie" good rental, would recommend it... agreed, that I would like to see the lead actors in a more demanding story...

Rough Magic (1995)

I liked it

[22 January 2003]

I saw this in the theatre and on video, and recommend it in the theatre, a better effect... as far as the movie, I loved it, really, thought it was great and would definitely see it again...acting was good, production design was good and the story kept me interested and wondering what was going to happen next... Q

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

loved it

[13 January 2003]

I had never actually seen reservoir dogs all the way through, just enough of it in bits and pieces to know what the story was....so last night, i watched it...more for the camera work then the story, and for the location usage, since he really only uses the warehouse... although tarentino violates the "show, don't tell" rule, it seems to slip by in this movie, he gets where hes going in the conflict by getting the viewer to start wondering if there was a set up and who the cop was and its a nod to the actors that both Mr. Blonde and Nice Guy Eddie were so shifty looking, so "something else is going on", in their mannerisms..the only character that i thought was underplayed was Mr. Blue..he really had no role in this, not sure why he was there...he seemed like an extra voice in the chorus... the characters and their blatent sexism and racism only made me more disgusted with them, and wished they would all die, there was nobody to cheer for (minus steve buscemi only for the fact he WAS steve buscemi and always someone to cheer for)...other than him, they were all evil characters... there was tension when the cop was found out, and then you had to realize what he had to go through watching the other cops die and the innocents get shot, he could do nothing, he had to stay undercover. I wonder how Mr.Brown died though, he just had what looked like a bad cut on his head, then he was dead, did Mr. Orange shoot him? then why didn't Mr. White notice that? perhaps the heat ofthe moment. Anyways, i enjoyed it.... Q

The New Guy (2002)

Positive comments

[16 August 2002]

after suffering through Not Another Teen Movie, i thought i would never try and watch a teen movie again, but The New Guy is pretty damn funny (at times)...enough times that it was worth it (considering I got to watch it for free)...aside from getting to see Eliza Dushku again do her thing (just as cool as Bring It On), DJ Qualls was excellent in the lead role....his supporting actors were classic HS...very well done... yes, it was the standard teen high school movie, cliche and trite down to the Jake Ryan clone(<--showing my age there, I know) but there were some scenes that made it watchable...no way is this a "get up and walk out" movie..i stayed through the credits...of course that was also to see a listing of all the cameos that were in the movie...I would have loved to have been on this set with all the people he had in it... anyways, just my review...I give it 8 out of 10 stars, losing points on originality, and lack of ethnic characters in the central characters...as a frame of refrence, Not Another Teen Movie got one star (for technical work) and Amelie got 10 stars (for being cooler than anything to watch, over and over) cheers Quito