Sundance Film Reviews

Film Reflections

Monday
Skateistan
This short but powerful documentary chronicled the affect of skateboarding on kids in Afghanistan. It was only 8 minutes long, but packed more of a punch than some of the long-form documentaries that I saw while at Sundance. I was pleasantly surprised by this brief documentary. It was shot on 16 mm film, giving it an interesting appearance, definitely setting it apart from other films I saw. The color was beautiful. The cinematography was lovely. The shots were well framed. The most intriguing part for me was that no one spoke while they were on screen. Instead, the film relied on a series of video portraiture to portray the individuals seen in the program.

The Green Wave
This film was shockingly upsetting, not to say that it was a negative. It took a major risk, relying on animation to tell the tales of the lives of bloggers after the most recent Iranian election. Although reminiscent of comic books, I was surprised the style of animation didn’t detract from the overall production value of the film. In fact, I wasn’t consciously aware of the animation. I was too moved by the story and harrowing journey of these individuals. The story was well constructed, with a good mixture of talking head and animated segments.

Buck
This charming film won me over at the festival. Although it lacked some of the qualities that I usually am a stickler about, I appreciated the development of character and the general plot arc of this film. The audio tended to peak and the camera had a tendency to be shaky, but surprisingly this didn’t detract from the overall quality of the piece.

Tuesday
An African Election
Although at times slow, An African Election provided an in-depth and fascinating look a the developing legal processes in Ghana. It was a look at a new and unstable election process that was beginning to take shape in Accra, Ghana. Both political parties were represented and the issues that the politicians were confronted with by having a relatively young democracy and an unstable democratic system. The film was successful at building suspense through the portrayal of various issues during the election, but used awkward titling to break up the sequences and was relatively slow, probably due to the nature of the story.

The Troll Hunter
The Troll Hunter was a surprising attendee at the Sundance Festival. I never expected to see a film that largely relied on special effects at an independent film festival. The dialogue was hilarious. It was a Norwegian comedy/thriller and is likely to become a cult classic. The film portrays three college students who are trying to follow and find a man who authorities say are responsible for various bear-killings in the area. They discover that the man is actually responsible for killing trolls. The rest of the film chronicles the trying experience of hunting trolls. Overall, it was a hilarious, but at times slow comedy and is definitely worth seeing, if to do nothing more than say you saw The Troll Hunter.

Wednesday
Vampire
Oh, Vampire. What is there to say about this film? It claimed to bring a new look to the ancient lore of the blood sucking fiend, but in reality it was nothing more than a quirky and horribly written melo-drama about a confused individual with a blood lust and fascination with suicidal females. Overall, it was hilarious, utterly hilarious, but only because I neglected to remain quiet the entire time. I sat with a friend, with whom I made ridiculous comments. But, Vampire wasn’t the source of my happiness. It was horribly written, acted like a soap opera and overall, not worth seeing. It makes a wonderfully bad movie to see with a large group.

Thursday
Prairie Love
When I think of the prairie, I think of boring, rolling fields. Needless to say, this film was just what I expected: boring. Slow as molasses, the film progressed as much as a short in the length of a feature. With the unexpected twist at the end, I felt nothing, mostly because I didn’t care at all what happened to the characters. It was weird, funny at times, but mostly boring and slow.

The Last Mountain
The Last Mountain was the most surprising film that I saw at Sundance this year. I went in expecting a slow, steady documentary and what I got was a racy, emotionally charged in-depth look at coal mining in West Virginia. The most unexpectedly fantastic element of the film was the editing, which was reflected by its best editing award won at the festival. The film covers Massey Energy’s controversial methods of mining for coal on Coal River Mountain, the last untouched mountain of the Appalachians. Bill Haney, the director, was unafraid to use text in this documentary, which is usually a risky thing due to the boring nature of simple words on a screen. But The Last Mountain livened up text with exciting backgrounds and lively layering. The Last Mountain was my favorite film at the festival.

Friday
Happy, Happy
“Happy, Happy” was an unexpected take on unconventional family dynamics and a charming, hilarious film. It was an unexpectedly innocent take on infidelity. This foreign film takes place in a desolate backwater town in Norway. Two families collide in the dead of winter. Spousal fidelity is explored, along with race relations between the two children. The film takes on a large number of controversial issues and surprisingly effectively tackles them all in the relatively short amount of time. The writing gives the audience a unique insight into Norwegian life. “Happy, Happy” is a fresh new look at a racy romance. The innocence with which it explores mature and controversial themes is incredible.

Saturday
The Details
A busy and quirky black comedy about the most dysfunctional of families, “The Details,” had an unexpected, yet wonderful, payoff. It was incredibly well executed, with fantastic acting, cinematography and editing. The acting was splendid and loaded with names. From Toby MacGuire to Laura Linney, the highlight of the film was definitely the fantastic characters. The dialogue was insightful, but the actors’ portrayal of the characters was what made the film.

Film Review # 10

“It’s a Villainous Life”

This refreshing and quirky comedy was an amusing way to spend five minutes.

The lighting and editing were the strongest aspects of the film. It went from limbo lighting, to natural lighting, to incredibly stylized and dark lighting. There was a huge variety in the style of lighting, along with the types of various situations.

The overly dramatic acting worked well for the stylized film. The actors, although not truly real life, were incredibly relatable. There was a definite chemistry between the two main characters, which translated well to the screen.

The script was short and sweet but the ending was a bit confusing. There wasn’t much clarity as to what actually happened. It could have been up to the audience to decide if Markus was successful or not, but there is no clear cut ending, which was a little frustrating.

In addition, the final scene had some continuity errors, including rain. Besides that, the shots were well-timed, well-acted and well-cut. I enjoyed the overall pacing of the film and especially noticed the way it relied on music to draw the audience in.

The lighting in the opening scene was captivating enough to make me watch the entire film. I loved the limbo lighting for the lair that was so appropriate for attempted supervillains.

The color was wonderfully vibrant, with high saturation when in daylight, and low saturation in candlelight. Overall, the lighting and color were appropriate for each situation and very intriguingly stylized.

The constant camera movements were a refreshing take on student film. There was a clear effort put in my the crew to make the viewer interested in what was happening onscreen at all times. That was evident in the slight movements made constantly, and made to flow together well.

Overall, the film was well crafted and enjoyable. There was a clear vision that the directors had that was very well thought out and communicated.

Final Project Reflection

For the final project, I decided I would go out on a limb and try something new. That something new turned into something I really enjoyed. I found that I really enjoyed creating this quirky film about a failure of a super villain.

I worked with my film partner, Dan Koehler, on the project.

We encountered a number of difficulties on our shoot, as with all film shoots. With rain, missing actors, various technical difficulties, and changing of scripts, Dan and I had a lot to work around. I think that, overall, we were incredibly successful. We both were on our toes and were able to adapt to necessary situations.

Over this semester, I’ve become much more confident in my filmmaking abilities. At the beginning of the semester, I was relatively unsure of myself and everything I could do. But after creating a plethora of different style films this semester, I find myself being more focused in the filmmaking process.

In addition to a newfound focus in film, I found working in groups to be especially enjoyable in this class. In the past, I have dreaded group work because usually I end up pulling a vast majority of the weight. In this class, I’ve found like-minded people that I genuinely enjoy working with.

In addition to that, my involvement in various outside programs has helped me a great deal this semester. I’ve been involved in editing for an ESTV show, have participated in Elon Docs Production Program and have assisted in a variety of outside projects.

Overall, I have narrowed my focus this semester to film, which is something that I haven’t done in the past. I have found that I enjoy and can contribute to a wide variety of film work and am looking forward to my next few years in the film department at Elon.

Film Review #9

“I just witnessed the brutal murder of a film”: How Editing and Scotty P. Didn’t Get Along.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World had a cloud of positive buzz around it. I heard many things before watching, how funny it was, how well made it was, how flawlessly glorious the film interpreted the graphic novels.

I disagreed wholeheartedly.

I found the stylization to be amusing, chaotic and, most of all, corny. Various techniques used, like the stylization of one scene to make it sound like an episode of Seinfeld and the battle sequences, were over used. Whereas they would have been successful if used for only half of the time, they overused each and every technique. This made each fun little accessory into an unnecessary addition to the remarkably slow paced film.

Paul Machliss and and Jonathan Amos, the minds behind the kitschy and outrageous editing style in the film, didn’t have many famous films under the belt before taking on this huge project. Perhaps their lack of experience is what contributed to the ill-timed effects, in terms of duration.

Whereas the weakness of the film were overused techniques, edit transitions were the strengths. The highlight of the film was the minute attention to detail scene in the transition between scenes at the beginning. On more than one occasion, a person would walk across screen and a wipe would follow them. This resulted in a very interesting effect.

Most surprising was the initial success of the techniques. For the first 30 minutes, I was enthralled. Then, nothing new happened. Within the opening, Amos and Machliss shattered the glass ceiling, but when you shock and awe within the first, opening minutes, you walk a tight rope. If you shatter expectations in the beginning, they must continue to be exceeded. Instead, the edit built up a momentum, and instead of accelerating and decelerating with the pacing and emotionality of the film, it kept the same general feeling.

Overall, however intriguing the general style was, the editors were unsuccessful in continuing the momentum established within the first section of the film. There was no editing payoff.

Although the audience considers the director to be chief storyteller, that award would have to go to the editor, responsible for taking whatever available and cutting it together to actually tell the story. In a visual medium, the visual storytellers, the editors, have the ultimate power to make or break a film.

In Scotty P.’s case, the editors made the film with the extremely exciting transitions and stylized effects. Then, they savagely beat those effects to death and killed the film in cold blood. I witnessed murder.

Film Review #8

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

This insightful documentary depicts the quality of life in Appalachia, the differences in culture, the unique view of the world. It follows a year in the life of one family.

The documentarians featured the use of graphics to help understand the family structure. Using an interactive family tree, of sorts, the White family was connected and brought to life, used as a bridge between people featured.

The White family’s claim to fame was D. Ray White, a former miner turned famous tap dancer. D. Ray was notorious in the area for his uncanny ability to monopolize on undeserved government benefits.

D. Ray started his entire family on government welfare checks when they were each eleven. The family continued to monopolize on government services long after D. Ray’s death. None of the white family works. They all receive social security.

This White family is notorious in the area for their bad behavior, lack of respect for abiding the law and general contempt for authority.

This was a fantastically unreal story. Although I enjoyed the ridiculousness of the White family, I found myself wanting more of a message in the documentary.

It wasn’t until the last 20 minutes of the documentary that I received any message at all as to what the documentary was even supposed to say. Throughout most of the piece, the documentarians do nothing more than talk about the drug habits of the family members.

And, suddenly, in the conclusion, the audience begins to understand why they have no respect for the authority, why they live for the present, why they have no respect for life. In an attempt to wrap up the unanswered questions raised in the first hour and a half, the story of D. Ray is told.

A former miner, exploited by the coal companies, D. Ray saw how much advantage was taken of him by the coal company, who had control of the general store, control over every good he purchased.

In an attempt to give his family what he wouldn’t otherwise be able to, he learned to take advantage of the social security system, beginning to get pay for doing no work. He went through various loopholes in government in order to allow his family to have a normal life.

Because of the nature of coal mining, the culture in West Virginia focuses on the present, not the future. The White family embraces this philosophy, using government loopholes to support themselves without an actual profession.

Overall, I enjoyed the documentary. I thought it was strong on character development, but marketed itself more as a social documentary. As such, it was weak due to its lack of in-depth exploration of the topic introduced in the beginning and left for dead until the end.

A Ghost Town

This is a photo documentary that I completed as part of the Elon documentary production program.

Project #4

Moirae

Our narrative film project was quite an undertaking. Drawing inspiration from the fates, I wrote a story about a man with an incredibly dull and sad life, who finds a red thread. Captivated when it repeatedly turns up throughout his day, the thread and he form a bond that ultimately ends in his demise.

For filming, my team (Steph, Christie and me) used a Canon 7D to film, along with kinoflo and rifa lighting, a few sets of reflectors, an indie dolly and a variety of sound equipment. Overall, I thought we managed to successfully convey the story in all its intricacies.

Part of what made this film challenging was the actual script. I wanted to tell a compelling story, establishing character and action without words. I felt that Sean Liang, our lead actor, rose to the challenge of using just motivation and facial expression to show the development of a rather complicated character.

He was magnificent to direct. I speak a language of my own, using obscure film references, acting references and real life observations to take my actors on a journey with me. Sean, luckily, had an easy time keeping up with my fast paced style of directing. He was always on point, always in character, always ready to go.

I’ve worked with Aly before on my experimental film. Her unique features and piercing looks make a very interesting person to look at on camera. I love the way she subtly interacts with the audience.

I found it challenging to remain upbeat and constantly on my toes during our 13 hours of filming. Due to the dangerous location of one dolly shot (in the middle of the road), I operated the camera. After we were done that shot (which we had to repeat at least 15 times), I wiped out. The most challenging thing that day was to do a 180 after wrecking my shins on the curb, coming back to rally my team for what I called the home stretch (which turned into another 7 hours of filming).

My crew was phenomenal. Due to the amounts of equipment on set, we brought along Dan Koehler, who worked wonderfully with the rest of the crew. He made sure to help out when necessary (like when our rifa wires were cut and Dan came to the rescue with electrical tape or when no one was free to hold a reflector), but also gracefully knew when to step back and go along for the ride.

My favorite thing about directing this film was the thought that went into the relationship that Aly and Sean had on camera. Relying on character backstories and quick cuts in editing, I think the two interact marvelously on screen.

Overall, I loved directing my actors and crew in the creation of this short film. I found it to be a challenge, but a challenge that was incredibly enjoyable and worth while.

Film Review #7

Kick Ass Can Thank Vaugh

I had reservations about seeing the film, Kick Ass. I had heard mixed reviews of the campy-looking, wannabe superhero teen flick. The advertisements appeared to draw a younger audience without emphasizing the extreme violence in the film. Many were put off. Personally, I love gore in film so I wasn’t deterred. I decided to give Kick Ass a try. Those reservations were alleviated, though, when I saw the film was directed by Matthew Vaughn.

Although Vaughn is not the most well-known of British directors, he is famous for his first film, starring Daniel Craig. Layer Cake, released in 2004, is a gritty crime drama about a cocaine dealer, Mr. X (played by Craig), who is given two nearly impossible assignments on the eve of his early retirement. Craig was actually considered for the role of James Bond because of his role in Layer Cake.

Naturally, I was curious to see how this director, who bounces around from genre to genre like Danny Boyle, would handle a satirical action film about a kid who decides to become a super hero with no training, talent or riches.

Although what I first noticed about the film is the art direction, upon further reflection I noted that it was the direction of Matthew Vaughn that truly made the film compelling.

The sheer fact that Vaughn was able to control the loose canon that is Nicholas Cage speaks volumes to his ability as a director. Cage, although highly eccentric, was a believable character (a stark contrast to the other roles that he’s played).

The best directing is the directing that goes unnoticed. The strongest directors not only make the actors feel comfortable, but allow these actors to assume new identities. The actors shouldn’t sound or look like they’re acting, the audience should forget they’re watching actors. They should feel like they’re watching real people live their lives onscreen. This is where Kickass becomes a sticky situation.

Due to the satirical nature of the film, the characters already had a dramatized existence. Much like its graphic novel background,

Despite the excellent function of each individual part of the machine, the pieces never fully came together in Kick Ass. The characters, despite their otherworldly existence, never fully make it off the page. I never forgot they were acting. I never believed they were real (within their world).

The main character, although being shockingly adorable, was missing a certain aspect of humanity: that of reason. I just couldn’t relate to his choices, and couldn’t understand his motivations. Therefore, he never became a real person for me.

This film made me recognize the incredible challenge of directing actors within a fictionalized and self-sustained world. The directing and acting needs to be subtle, it needs to be consistent. But most of all, it needs to be real. The actors can’t just act, they have to live. They have to become the character. The best directors don’t just go over intonation for specific lines, they foster character growth.

Film Review #6

I’m a sucker for well-crafted British humor. Naturally, when I heard of the film Hot Fuzz, I knew I had to take a look.

This action comedy was made in 2007 by famed British direction Edgar Wright, the mind behind Shaun of the Dead, Grindhouse and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
Overall, Hot Fuzz lived up to its expectation of a campy, yet humorous and suspenseful tale about an ambitious cop who is transferred to a small village and given the challenge of accepting mediocrity.
The main character, Nicholas Angel (played by Simon Pegg), fails to accept his new role as average citizen in an unexciting town and begins a vendetta on all sorts of crime in this, previously lax setting.
Naturally, the locals are unamused by this new crackdown on wrongdoings, but go along with it until Angel discovers a plot by some of the townspeople that involves a string of murders.
Within the film, the two locations greatly contract each other, creating an element of juxtaposition which fosters a change in the main character. Angel goes from overly ambitious and competitive to someone who learns to work as a team. The hustle and bustle of London, mixed with the sleepy setting of Sandford, creates an interesting dynamic explored through the characterization of Angel.
Although sometimes a bit corny, I’ve always enjoyed a campier style of action film. The acting mainly showed off this feature.
The aspects of filmmaking that I usually note were unremarkable. The dialogue was good, but no quotes from the film jumped out. The cinematography is well done, the dolly shots are seamless. All various parts of the film are good, but nothing was amazing.
Yet, even considering this, the film remains to be one of the funniest I’ve seen.
A mix of the sarcastic and satirical tone in Simon Peggs voice, the use of physical comedy and the stone-faced bravado of the various cast members, Hot Fuzz was a lovely comedy, perfect to watch with a group.

Project #3

Behind the Mask

Making a documentary about two Hollywood makeup artists was a daunting task. Greg and I arrived at The Original Hollywood Horror Show, a theatrical production put on by Dean and Starr Jones, and were immediately thrown in the chaotic rush of a night just prior to Halloween.
People trickled in throughout the night, making b-roll and interviews a difficult, and sometimes impossible, task.
Working only with the truth is an obvious aspect of documentary. Although it may seem convenient to be able to rely only what has happened, it added one more element of confusion to the mayhem of film production at a haunted house.
When Dean and Starr had a chance to sit down with us, the haunted house was still operating. This made trying to capture audio near impossible, especially with chainsaws, screaming and horrifying music in the background.
Using the lav mics, Greg and I were able to overcome some of the obstacles of a bad filming location. Although there is still some ambient sound on the track, I felt like we were able to cover up this mistake using a soundtrack.
The main issue we faced in the creation of the documentary was conveying some kind of conflict within the story. Because of their tremendous successes, we mainly cover their accomplishments and only touch on some of the difficulties they’ve had.
Those conflicts that Dean and Starr mentioned were only touched on and had very little to do with their makeup career, making it difficult to thread them into a piece about the exciting career about two glamorous makeup artists.
If reproducing the story, I would attempt to do the interviews outside, in nice lighting, at the horror show. The show is a production they’ve put on for 21 years, and something they put a great deal of themselves into. I would also ask them to explain a bit more about the conflicts in their lives.
Overall, I feel that given our obstacles of limited space, Greg and I rose to the challenge of creating an entertaining documentary.