PART 2 of 2: What We Learned These MONTHS at the Movies: August & September 2013

We now rejoin the film wrap-up of Summer 2013. Yesterday you got the worst, now here are the best. From here on out, we like these movies. Get ready to gush...

Grade: B

Lesson 12 – What Just Happened? -- We’re The Millers

I can’t believe I’m about to write this but We’re The Millers is actually quite enjoyable. This a very solid film that deserves the success it’s getting. I’m usually not the biggest fan of Jason Sudeikis, but I really enjoyed him. Jennifer Aniston finds a middle ground between the recent garbage films she been doing and her Friends days, and it’s a joy to watch her again. With hilarious moments from Wil Poulter, Emma Roberts, and Nick Offerman, We’re The Millers skirts the line between gross out comedy and a heartfelt family film. Director Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) proves he’s more than a one-hit wonder and delivers an imperfect but enjoyable film.

Grade: A

Lesson 11 –Know What You’re Talking About – Elysium

The overall theme of this movie “America, your medical system is a giant mess. Fix it.” The problem with Elysium is that it’s more focused on the message than the story. Elysium is overall a great watch because of the performances of the fantastic cast and the visuals created by director Neil Blomkamp. Arguably it falls short of District 9, Blomkamp’s first film. In District 9 Blomkamp was able to mix his message and his story together so well, maybe because he’s a South African who grew up with apartheid (District 9 being an allegory of apartheid with aliens). In this case perhaps Blomkamp bit off more than he could chew, or lacked a more personal take on the American health care system. It’s a good problem for a director to start his career with a really strong film, but it does affect the way we watch their follow-up. It’s a somewhat shallow take on the subject, and overall keeps the film from becoming more than just a good summer blockbuster.

Lesson 10 – A History Lesson - Let Me Explain: Kevin Hart

I wrote earlier this summer about how much I enjoyed watching this. But what I really enjoyed was going to the movies and seeing a comedy special in the same vein as Eddie Murphy’s Raw, Bill Cosby’s Himself, Steve Martin’s Wild and Crazy Guy, or Robin Williams Live on Broadway. Kevin Hart’s Let me Explain really lets us see the man behind the show and really hits home as just good comedy. Soon enough Let Me Explain will be a great Netflix find.

 

Lesson 9 – Always Read the Signs – Prisoners

The most recent film we’ve seen on this list, Prisoners, is a captivating and intense thriller that presents a compelling mystery and character study at the same time. The cast, led by Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, give performances that work on many levels. Specific shout outs go to Paul Dano and Melissa Leo, who are both great in their supporting roles. Although overlong at points, it’s hard to point to any specific element that could be shortened or removed without hurting the complexity of the story. Josh thinks it borrows a bit too much from Fincher’s Zodiac, while Jeff actually prefers this film for its emotional payoff. Prisoners is a puzzle that deserves your attention.

A brief moment on the trailer (and if you’ve not seen the trailer and prefer not to be spoiled SKIP TO THE NEXT LESSON… those still here read on). In the trailer for Prisoners it shows the scene where Jackman kidnaps Dano and tries to force him to confess to the kidnapping of his daughter. It comes out of left field in the trailer and seems kind of spoilery, but in fact it’s not. It’s the foundation of the film, and Jackman’s character. As the marketing half of Nerd 5 noted, it’s a good move to put it out there early so that people knew this film was more than just a Mel Gibson crime thriller.

Lesson 8 – Who Needs Blood and Guts When You Actually Have a Story to Tell - The Conjuring

The Conjuring is a great example of how it doesn’t matter what your movie is about, or who’s in it, or how much money you put into it. It matters that the filmmakers tell a complete story, with real characters who want and real things, and that all of your shots serve these purposes. If you make good film, people will watch it. Case in point: The Conjuring. In fact it was so successful that director James Wan and star Patrick Wilson’s next collaboration Insidious: Chapter 2 is a box office smash in spite of poor reviews. In this critic’s opinion this is due to overt success and high quality of The Conjuring.

Lesson 7 – Some Good Times Aren’t For Everyone - The To Do List

I really enjoyed watching The To Do List. This film is straight out of the Clueless, American Pie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Superbad  class of films – and it fits right in. It’s also set in 1993 which works really well for me. That aside, The To Do List has heart wrapped inside a very raunchy teen comedy shell. I loved this film and it’s one of the most underrated of the year. Aubrey Plaza is great because she shows us something different than her usual dry, sarcastic character. The To Do List is very much a HARD R, full of a ton of sex jokes. If that’s not your style, then this isn’t for you. I would say The To Do List is Clueless meets There’s Something About Mary – and it really works for me.

Lesson 6 –What a Summer Film Should Be - The Way Way Back

The Way Way Back is a film full of hope, joy, heart, sadness, and fun characters. It all comes together in one of the most joyful films of the year. I love a giant summer blockbuster as much as the next person, but do I need one every week from May to September? No. This change-of-pace feel-good summer film was just what the doctor ordered.

Films Receiving an A+

Lesson 5 – Take Advantage of The Spectacular WOW - The Spectacular Now

What’s great about The Spectacular Now is that it’s a teen drama that doesn’t play to clichés, it takes the time to develop every character onscreen. Part of that is the fantastic cast, including Milles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kyle Chandler. Part of that is a screenplay that allows these actors and characters to breathe and a director that cares about great shot composition. The film never rushes, but doesn’t waste a single moment of screen time. The Spectacular Now is a spectacularly good film.

Lesson 4 – Wolverine Is the Best at What He Does - The Wolverine

The Wolverine is what a good superhero film should be. A character-driven piece with great visuals that wants to further its universe and connect with its audience. Whether it’s a smaller superhero film (a weird sentence to write) like The Wolverine, or a bigger one like Iron Man 3, these are the qualities that make it good. And these are the qualities that The Wolverine has. Why do I call a film that starts with the dropping of the A-bomb on Japan, a crazy-amazing train fight scene, and a CGI adamantium ninja a small superhero film? Because it is. Its soley focused on Logan (Hugh Jackman) and his reactions, thoughts, feelings and beliefs. This film is about rebuilding a human, and Japan serves as a needed rehab for this character and franchise. It’s a great watch that builds excitement for the next X-Men film, X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Lesson 3 – 2013’s Forrest Gump - The Butler

The Butler is a great film. It spans generations, has a point to make, a story to tell, and features stunning performances by Forrest Whitaker, Opera Winfrey, and David Banner. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s well made. The source subject is well-tread, yet this feels original. It’s an family film of epic proportions. The Butler plays as a 2013 version of Forrest Gump, telling the story of America from 1940s-present day by focusing on one man, one family, and their journey through the decades. There is nothing that is going to surprise you about this film, but it’s a great watch. This is an example of keeping it simple and doing it right. Come award season, I would be shocked if The Butler was not well represented, including screenplay, actor (Whitaker), actress (Opera) and picture.

Lesson 2 – Always Smile - The World’s End

If you need a to smile, if you need a good time, if you need a break, and if you want to support an amazing filmmaker, then go watch The World’s End before it leaves theatre. Also, if you want to see the best Martin Freeman performance of 2013 (yup I’m prejudging The Hobbit: The Desolation of my heart, soul and faith in humanity… it’s going to be pretty dull. Just go watch The World’s End).

Lesson 1 – One of the Best -  Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station is this year’s Sundance darling, winning the grand prize and the audience award. Totally deserved. Fruitvale is the true story of Bay area resident Oscar Grant and the events that happen to him, his family, and his friends on New Year’s Eve 2008. It is fantastically directed, brilliantly filmed, and Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, and Octavia Spencer give amazing performances. Spencer is almost a lock for best supporting actress this year, but only time will tell on the rest. Why? This film is great, and will easily be one of the best films of the year, BUT it came out in the middle of summer. Will it still get the attention it deserves during awards season? I really, really hope that it will. I hope Fruitvale Station is still on people’s minds because it hits so many emotional chords, and I dare you to come out with dry eyes. Fruitvale Station is one of the GREATS of 2013 and I hope it gets treated as such.

PART 1 of 2: What We Learned These MONTHS at the Movies: August & September 2013

Has this summer been good or bad? Yes. 

The Good has been very GOOD the bad VERY BAD. The middle is weak, and almost non-existent. It’s been a summer of giant bombs and huge hits, a summer of haves and have-nots. But late in the game, summer 2013 made a comeback due to a glut of small films trying to fill the void of August. Some of these indie films may just have saved the summer and paved the way to what should be a pretty fantastic fall and Oscar season.

So, it’s been a busy August and September. Though we’ve had the chance to see LOTS of films, finding the time write about them was a different story. Thus, two months worth of films in one go… but better late than never, right? In this edition of What We Learned we’re going to give you a brief round of lessons learned from these films and whether or not they’re worth seeing (though at this point you might have to wait for the DVD) since we’ve got 24 movies to cover for the months of August and September.

We’ve split them up by grade, and surprisingly enough the end of this summer has ranked high, delivering quite a few quality last-minute films. 

Since we're coviering soooooooooooo much material, we've split this post in half, not by date but by quality. Today you get the drek, tomorrow you get the good stuff! Without further ado, what we learned…

Movies Seen in Theaters August-September: Grown Ups 2, The Wolverine, The Conjuring, The Way Way Back, Turbo, Fruitvale Station, Let Me Explain: Kevin Hart, The To Do List, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, Elysium, Lovelace, We’re The Millers, Kick-Ass 2, The World’s End, The Butler, Planes, The Spectacular Now, Jobs, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Blue Jasmine, The Family, Prisoners, Instructions Not Included

Grade: F -

Lesson 24 –  You Get What You Give - Grown Ups 2

Adam Sandler’s sequel to the slightly-less-terrible Grown Ups is simply atrocious. The cast is still likable at points, but they didn’t care at all about making a good film, they just wanted to hang with their buddies and get paid for it (well who doesn’t really?). At one point Sandler was making really great main-stream comedies, but we are well past it and a little effort would go a long way for Sandler and his friends.

Grade: D

Lesson 23 – Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover - Planes

The Disney marketing machine succeeded in pulling a fast one on us with this film. They fooled people into thinking this was made by Pixar and made a cheap and easy 100 million with a film that was supposed to be released direct to DVD. Be ready for two more films to complete the Planes trilogy. We’re not kidding, Planes: Fire and Rescue is already on the fast track to hit theaters next summer. Planes is set in the same world as Pixar’s Cars films and does a fantastic job of retelling the exact same story as Cars in the least original way possible. Dusty Crophopper = Lightning McQueen, Chug = Mater the Tow Truck, and Skipper = Doc Holiday. IT’S THE SAME STORY. Not that Cars is a masterpiece (it and its sequel are far and away the worst work Pixar has done) but Planes is dull, unoriginal, and slightly offensive to all humans everywhere.

Lesson 22 – Ryan Reynolds Needs a Better Agent - Turbo

Turbo is better than Planes. That’s about the nicest thing I can say about this slow moving (snail-paced?) and dull story of snail that gains powers and can race in the Indianapolis 500 against the fastest cars in the world. This movie really is exactly what you think it will be, if you’ve seen the trailer and enjoyed it, then you’ll enjoy the film. It’s got aspects that kids will attach to and enjoy, unlike some other previously discussed kids films *cough* Planes *cough.* In reality Turbo only serves as another nail in the coffin of its star Ryan Reynolds, who can actually be a very good leading man and all-around nice guy but sadly his last five films (R.I.P.D., Turbo, Safe House, The Change-Up, and The Green Lantern) have been critically panned box office flops. RIP Mr. Reynolds. You had a good run.  

Lesson 21 – Read a Book Children! - The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

We’re sure people read these books, that’s why a film was made… GOODNESS The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is a tough watch. Mainly because it’s very clear that there is a good idea and strong characters somewhere in there that just got lost in translation. Instead of trying to make an original film this was nothing but an attempt to cash in on the success of Twilight. Skip this film and read the book, we’re sure it’s much better (we hope).

Grade: C

Lesson 19 – Always Care, Just a Little Bit. Care - Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

The problem with Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters is three-fold. First: there is a total lack of monsters in the Sea of MONSTERS! Second: no one making this film appeared to give a crap. It’s bland - and bland is death to a film. The third problems is that a month after seeing the film the only thing I can remember are the stand-out performances of Stanly Tucci, Nathan Fillon and Anthony Stewart Head, three great actors who steal every scene they’re in and provide relief from the doldrums of the rest of the film.

Lesson 18 – Lower Your Expectations - Kick-Ass 2

Earlier this summer we covered Kick-Ass 2 in a special double-edition of Talkin’ in the Movies. For a more in-depth look at this film, check it out. But for now, Kick-Ass 2 is a lesson in knowing what you’re getting into. I had very low expectations going into this sequel, which had lost most of the behind-the-camera creative team of the original, and therefore was pleasantly surprised when it only kind of sucked. Hard.

Lesson 17 – Two Halves Always Make a Whole – The Family

There are people out there in this world who are going to love The Family, I (Josh) am not one of them. But I’m also not willing to toss it under the bus. The Family is looking at Robert De Niro as a very familiar character (a mob boss) in a not-so familiar way. Without getting into spoilers The Family looks at what life is like for an older mafia boss who has a family and may not be completely still involved with the mob. Director Luc Besson is hit (Leon: The Professional, Taken) or miss (The Fifth Element, The Lady) at his best. What works here are the action sequences and the emotional center the characters. Besson manages to make us care, even if just slightly, for the “Blake” family. Bottom line: it’s enough for the second half of the film to work almost flawlessly. The first half of the film is plodding and deliberately slow, which sadly doesn’t work for this specific film. When it finally picks up in the final act, The Family becomes a great watch. It just takes a while to get there. Good performances all around from De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones and Michelle Pfeiffer – but the two standouts of The Family are Dianna Agron (TV’s Glee) and John D’Leo who play the family’s kids and are by far the most interesting part of the film.    

Grade: B-

Lesson 16 – Surprise Yourself – Instructions Not Included

I had heard lots of thing going into Instructions Not Included lauding it as one of the greatest comedies of all time, and the best Spanish language comedy ever – if not the best Spanish language film of all time. Well, I can’t speak much to Spanish language films; the only other one I can think of that I’ve seen is Pan’s Labyrinth. But I can speak to comedy films as it’s probably my favorite genre (a good comedy to me will hit home more than any other) and Instructions Not Included is a good comedy but not a great one. Possibly that’s a cultural and language barrier. I did enjoy this film and it has a very solid heart, I my expectations were a little too high going in, but overall Instructions is a heartwarming film that is worth seeing. The less you know, the better.

Lesson 15 – Always Applaud Effort – Jobs

In reference to a film that preaches that trying hard isn’t good enough, I’ll say that in this case it was. Jobs is not a perfect film, but with Ashton Kutcher actually trying to play a character with layers, his need to prove himself as a deserving member of Hollywood, and the fact that it was made for 8 million dollars and more than tripled its budget, Jobs is worth a watch. Kutcher never gets the character right and at times it looks like a high school student really trying to show feelings that they’ve just never felt, but it can’t kill the stand-out performances given by the rest of the cast and the solid direction of the film. My favorite is Josh Gad in the part of Steve Wozniak (the co-founder of Apple Inc.), Gad gives an Oscar-worthy performance that is layered, compassionate, and captivating and is certain to be overlooked at awards season.

Lesson 14 – Never Get Overshadowed When You are Trying to Breakout – Lovelace

Lovelace was supposed to be the break-out film for Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, Les Miserables), proving that she can carry a movie all on her own. While that is proven true, it’s Peter Sarsgaard who delivers the truly memorable performance. Seyfriend and Sarsagaard play Linda Lovelace and Chuck Traynor, respectively, and have a relationship that rivals that of Ike and Tina Turner (for the more contemporarily inclined, Rihanna and Chris Brown) and both do fantastic jobs with their parts. Lovelace never quite becomes amazing and survives on the performances of it’s great ensemble cast including Hank Azaria, Bobby Cannavale, Debi Mazar, Adam Brody, James Franco, Wes Bentley, Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick, but it’s worth a watch despie never reaching the lofty heights it strives for.

Lesson 13 – Sometimes it’s Okay to be Almost-Awesome – Blue Jasmine

Do I have an issue with Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine? Nope. Can I say it’s a poorly made film? Nope. Can I really say many negative things about it? Nope. Will Cate Blanchett be up for a Best Actress Academy Award this year? Yup. Blanchett and the supporting cast (Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard, and Andrew Dice Clay) all give great performances. Cannavale is a standout in his supporting part, but this is Blanchett’s film and she owns it. Her performance is layered and compelling, but sadly not good enough for me to love this film. An amazing performance cannot make me care about an entire movie. It’s just not for me. It might be for you if you’re a die-hard Allen lover, but the lead character is not likeable and her journey is not satisfying to me and that is why Blue Jasmine falls in the Almost-Awesome category. 

Whew! That's it for now. As you can see we have 12 lessons and 12 films left to go. Tune in tomorrow for the films we can't stop gushing about that made this summer fun. -Nerd 5

The Top 5 Reasons We are Insanely Psyched, Geeked, Pumped, Thrilled, Elated, Overjoyed, Exhilarated, Electrified, Tickled, and Over the Moon Crazy-Excited About a New Film Based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

The Anticipation is back! In case you missed this morning’s announcement, Warner Brothers announced a multi film deal with J.K. Rowling to adapt her textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. Yeah! We’re headed back into the world of Harry Potter, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. There’s no firm date yet for when these films will see the light of day, so it’s back to playing the waiting game. For a fan though there’s something great about the waiting and anticipation of what’s coming next. 

The fact that we’re getting something new, especially on this subject matter, totally blindsided even the most hardcore of Potter fans!

Rowling’s announcement this morning reads like this “Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.

It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of ‘Fantastic Beasts,’ realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.

As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.

I particularly want to thank Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would not have happened without him. I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”

Let’s dive right into this Nerd 5 Special about the reasons we think Fantastic Beasts could be totally awesome.

5. Possible Cameos/ In Good Hands

This project is in very capable hands. Whatever you think of the 8 previous Potter films (I personally really enjoy 6 out 8), WB really put its full force behind putting quality people behind the films, making a quality product, and adapting the books well to screen. Yes, this is a money grab, but money grabs have been successful in the past when they took the time for a quality approach. Since this is a money grab, I wouldn’t be surprised if WB and Rowling put in a few cameos for us fans. Could we get more Dumbledore? Olivander? The Marauders? Only time will tell, but with Rowling writing the film herself and a good past track record, I have faith.

4. It’s Not a Sequel or Prequel

One of the biggest things about being a fan is always asking: what’s next? And when your fandom reaches the end, you’re left with all the things it’s given you along with the small hope that you may someday get a tiny bit more. WELL HARRY POTTER FANS - WE GOT LUCKY! We get more! What I particularly enjoy is that these films will not be sequels or prequels, but a spin-off. They’re leaving behind the characters and story we know to give us something completely different. Something unique: a story in the Harry Potter universe where we don’t always know what to expect! It’s not like she’s telling the doomed story of James and Lilly Potter, the ending of which we already know. Rowling has opened herself up to do anything she wants. She’s already created a world, characters, and story we all love: given the chance, I bet she’ll do it again.

3. Magical Beasts

One of the best parts of the Potter series is the magical beasts. They’re unique and extraordinary looks at classic mythology and given the secret nature of Rowling’s world, it makes perfect sense to show us how they were discovered, tamed, created… who knows? It will be exciting getting to know a lot more about these amazing creatures and the person who discovered them. That’s right, the new lead of Rowling’s series will be Professor Newt Scamander himself. A man who made it his life’s work to find out everything about the magical beasts that shared the world, and to write down what he found. He sounds like a man who would put our dear friend Hagrid to shame.

2. Expanding the Wizarding World

Even though we’ll revisit the world of Harry Potter, we’re not going to get a single scene with Harry, Ron, or Hermione – WHICH IS GREAT!  Their story has been told, and though we’ll miss them, it’s better for us to have a passport to get explore what makes their world great. We love the places, people, and things from the Wizarding World, and now comes the time when we really get to expand upon them. This gives Rowling a chance to show us how the world we know was created, as well as showing us an entirely new side of it. Hopefully she won’t rely on the well-treaded ground of the books and films and will explore all the possibilities of the world as a whole.

1. More Stories from J.K. Rowling

The script of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be written by Rowling, her first screenplay. This means that she will retain control of her universe (not total control since she’s now working for Warner Brothers directly, but A LOT more than if someone else was doing it), something she has always been highly protective of. After reading The Cuckoo’s Calling it’s clear that Rowling has a talent for creating characters that we care for beyond good old Potter and friends,  and I have no doubt this will happen again here. It’s also great that Rowling is returning to the genre where she really succeeds, fantasy. Rowling is adept at setting her fantasy stories in a world which we can all relate to, and then giving us an amazing story that can comment on our world as well as the one that she created. I’ll be at theatre, midnight showing, wand in hand and ready for whatever Rowling brings us. Ready to love (or hate if this goes the way of Episode One: The Phantom Menace) these new films with all my fandom heart and soul. 

Crash Cinema Strikes Again!

Hello Dear Readers!

Nerd 5 was able to again take part in Seattle International Film Festival’s bimonthly Crash Cinema!

Last time Jeff went as a free agent (See the article here: http://nerdfive.blogspot.com/2013/04/tales-from-seattle-international-film.html) but this time we came in force. Josh brought two awesome co-workers from Seattle Children’s Theatre, Rachel LeValley and Michael Massey, to be in front of the camera, and Jason Fortman, our awesome collaborator on Seattle Bites (see more here: http://nerdfive.blogspot.com/2013/08/starring-justin-brown-chauncey-trask.html), joined us to lend his expertise behind the lens.

The Day Looked Like This:

9 am – Meet at SIFF in Seattle Center

9:30 am – Get five prompts from a hat

9:30 – 10:30 am – Break the story with the entire group

10:30-11 am – Write a movie!

11 am – 12 pm – Hastily gather props/costumes and zoom back to Jeff and Josh’s apartment

12:30 pm – 3 pm – Shoot the &$@% thing before time runs out!

3 pm – Curse ourselves for taking too long shooting as Jeff and Jason sit down to edit, one working from the beginning and the other from the end until they meet in the middle.

4:35 pm – Render the combined cut while the rest of the team piles into the car.

4:45 pm – Still rendering! Call SIFF to beg for more time with no answer.

4:50 pm – Grab the rest of the gear and drive to Seattle Center as fast as possible while making discs on the way.

5:11 pm – Arrive at Seattle Center (LATE for the deadline) and sprint to the SIFF offices while the car circles the block for parking.

5:15 pm – Slam a (sweat covered) disc with the final movie file down onto the table in front of the (unpaid) intern and gasp an apology that sounds like “I…. blughhhh…. Here, ughh. Phooo! Please…” Luckily he speaks out-of-breath-filmmaker and nods understandingly.

6 pm – Team Awesome watches their movie (along with 10 other entries and an audience of 200) on the big screen!

It was a great day, and Crash Cinema continues to be a fantastic shot of creative adrenaline. We love this program and would recommend it to anyone else who wants to feel the thrill of watching their own work on the cinema screen. Cheers to SIFF for their many educational programs and we’ll be back again soon.

Rachael LeValley as Clones Number 1-4.

Please check out our film, a farce about family and cloning here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d4lZWvd2s0&feature=share&list=PLYnR9vjfv9HO64lhrmZ2oJEi4Hht1fwLD

along with 10 other films made that day by other teams, using the same five prompts! 

REMEMBER: All of these films were made in 8 hours, with no way to plan ahead or anticipate what they would require. Nothing but good friends, a lot of caffeine, and the challenge of getting SOMETHING on screen.  

The Prompts Were: 

Genre-Sci Fi

Dialogue-"Goats are amazing"

Action-Uncontrollable crying

Character Name Referenced- Mr. E

Prop-Record Album

Enjoy!